Context and Setting in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go Essay

Context and setting are quite significant in the text â€Å"Never Let me Go.† According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of context is â€Å"the whole situation, the background, or the environment relevant to a particular event, personality, creation† as well as â€Å"the parts of a sentence, paragraph, discourse, etc, immediately next to or surrounding a specified word or passage and determining its exact meaning.† According to Dr. Ezekiel Alembi â€Å"context is the social, economic and political environment under which a piece of literary work or art is written.† He goes on to say that context is important because it not only makes the reader, understand and appreciate the theme, but also understand and appreciate the style used. However,setting is what the writer wants us to see. Writers try to establish in the minds of their readers a sense of place and time. They use, ‘the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you fe el – it is above all to make you see’ (Joseph Conrad). It is also used to refer to the mood and the atmosphere created by the author, and the culture and the shared values and beliefs of the characters. In â€Å"Never Let Me Go† Kazuo Ishiguro uses details to create a sense of setting, as well as the full effect of the story depends on the presentation of an increasing amount of descriptive details. In this book the setting plays an integral part in the story. Apart fom providing the reader with a sense of where and when the story takes place, the setting can also serve other purposes, such as contributing to the plot. The aim of this essay is to evaluate the importance of both context and setting in text, â€Å"Never Let Go† by Kazuo Ishiguro. â€Å" Never Let Me Go† by Kazuo Ishiguro was published in 2005. He was already one of the most renowned and acclaimed British writers. Never Let Me Go addresses some contemporary issues. This novel has scie nce fiction qualities and a futuristic tone , thus takes place in a very similar yet alternate world. This novel is set in a recognizable England of the late 20th century. Yet it contains a key dystopian, almost sci-fi dimension you’d normally expect to find in stories set in the future. It also explores more timeless questions like childhood bullying and the role of sex in relationships. Never Let Me Go has three main institutional settings which are as follows: Hailsham, the Cottages, and the donor recovery centers. This is quite significant as it creates the mood and setting for the simple  yet intense plot for the story. The first sixteen years are spent at the Hailsham by Kathy and her friends. According to Kazuo Ishiguro based on interviews done, â€Å"The school setting, I must add, is appealing because in a way it’s a clear physical manifestation of the way all children are separated off from the adult world, and are drip-fed little pieces of information about the world that awaits them, often with generous doses of deception, kindly meant or otherwise. In other words, it serves as a very good metaphor for childhood in general.† From the ordeal related by Katthy, Hailsham is qite perfect and neat but somewhat mysterious, ‘This spacious house contains plenty of classrooms and dorm huts for all your schooling needs. It boasts a large sports pavilion perfect for spying on boys playing in neighboring fields. The ample grounds are surrounded by a fence that is not electrified (but which no one crosses anyways) and creepy woods (where no one goes because they fear they may get dismembered). Entirely secluded from the outside world, this real estate gem is p erfect for hiding clones that you want to pretend don’t exist. But beware: if you ever leave, you will never ever be able to find Hailsham again.’ However, in comparison to Hailsham, the Cottage is quite different . Their move to the cottage was difficult because of its air of shabbiness and lask lustere. However they were still able to be entertained and and have a great time. The cottage was described as, â€Å"These converted farmhouses require some TLC. The buildings are run-down and the rooms are damp. But there’s a charming churchyard nearby perfect for reading outdoors or getting in squabbles with your friends. The heat doesn’t work, so residents will need to sleep under extra blankets, carpets, and coats in order to avoid freezing during the winter. Enjoy!† The final stop for each of the donors is a recovery center. These are the buildings where Kathy and her friends undergo operations to remove their vital organs, and where they recuperate between donations. They are also the places where the donors â€Å"complete.† The setting of this centre as quite significant as this acttion is quite outstanding and essential in understanding the story. Additionally while Kathy is a carer she spends a lot of time driving around Norfolk and the English Countryside. She frequents Norfolk as well as other twons. It serves to be a great places to relax and retrospect. In fact, these scenic areas seems to be her favorite part of being a carer: â€Å"I do like the feeling of getting into my little car,  knowing for the next couple of hours I’ll have only the roads, the big grey sky and my daydreams for company.† These descriptions and strategies are intentionally utilized by Ishiguro for the readers to actually visualize exactly what is felt and experieced by the characters. Furthermore the setting in Never Let Me Go reveals traits of the character and in particular the narrator. According to various reseachers, Ishiguro’s novels share similarities in a particular aspect that is they are first-person narrators. This allows the reader to view the events of â€Å"Never Let Me Go†from the position of someone present and involved , in this case Katty. In this way the reader is given an insight into the character herself and at the same time can also directly experience what is happening in the story and so be able to relate to the surroundings. This is quite obvious by the intense and scenic descriptions stated above . It is noted that Ishiguro’s novels are â€Å" character studies and moral inventories that serve to illuminate the context of given political events. In the course of a story, then, a character is not ony seen struggling with their own feelings in reaction to interpersonal situations, but also a political environment.†

Chemistry In our Daily Life

Chemistry is a big part of your everyday life. You find chemistry in daily life in the foods you eat, the air you breathe, your soap, your emotions and literally every object you can see or touch. We live in a world of matter. From the food that sustains our lives to various objects that have built up our physical culture, everything is made up of matter. The human body itself is a mixture of matter of differing types. The humans who used materials obtained from nature for centuries, later made new materials out of these to suit their needs.Now the humans have thousand of materials for their use – both natural and human made. The ability that humans acquired to make new materials from natural materials is the basis of human progress. When the structure of the material world and the nature of physical and chemical changes in them were studied, humans were able to make new materials and to control their different properties. The development of chemistry made this progress possib le. The contribution of chemistry to fields like, agriculture, industries, health care, food industry, habitat, transport and research has been invaluable.1. You feel hungry because of the satiety center in your brain falls short of particular hormones to function and then sends the signal of hunger.2. If you have wondered, why is the sky blue, it is due to a phenomenon called the â€Å"Rayleigh scattering†, which depends on scattering of light through particles which are much smaller than the wavelength. Hence when light passes through gases, there is scattering and the sky appears blue.3. Coffee keeps you awake because of the presence of a chemical called adenosine, in your brain. It binds to certain receptors and slows the nerve cell activity when sleep is signaled.4. Anaerobic fermentation is also a great concept which is present in the chemistry of everyday life. It is present in yogurt, breads, cakes and many other baking products. It is the multiplication of certain us eful bacteria which increase the size of the food and make it more filling and soft.5. Soap is formed by molecules with a â€Å"head† which likes water (hydrophilic) and a long chain which hates it (hydrophobic).6. Lactose is the main complex sugar found in the milk. It's a pretty big compound formed by two smaller components: glucose and galactose. Such a big compound cannot get through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream, so we need â€Å"something† to break it into smaller pieces. This â€Å"something† is an enzime named lactase. The more milk and milk products we consume, the more lactase we need.7. The iodised salt is a necessary intake. It prevents a disease called goitre.8. In the garden we use sprays to kill insects from attacking our plants.9. Vermiwash is a liquid fertilizer. It isused as a leaf spray.10. Elements in the Human BodyYour body is made up of chemical compounds, which are combinations of elements. While you probably know your body is mostly water, which is hydrogen and oxygen. Most of the human body is made up of water, H2O, with cells consisting of 65-90% water by weight. Therefore, it isn't surprising that most of a human body's mass is oxygen. Carbon, the basic unit for organic molecules, comes in second. 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of just six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.11. The medicines which we use to cure diseases is produced with the help of chemisty.Chemistry has a major role in our lives.Chemistry In Everyday LifeOur entire universe is made up of matter which is constantly changing forms and evolving into other forms of energy. Chemistry is defined as the study or science of this ever changing matter. The other sciences which we study commonly like biology, physics and mathematics are all dependent on chemistry and are known as specific studies under the elaborate subject of chemistry. Since there is chemistry seen in biological forms as we ll as physical states of nature, there are subjects called biochemistry and physical chemistry which help study these changes. There are many chemical changes which occur around us everyday but we are never aware of them.Chemistry in Everyday Life Examples:1) Water, which occupies 70% of the earth's surface is made by two chemical elements, hydrogen and oxygen.2) Soap is an emulsifier which allows oil and water to mix and so the oily mixtures on body and clothes can be removed after application of soap and water.3) Chemistry in everyday life for kids can also include why vegetables are colored. Colored vegetables consist of chemical compounds called carotenoids which have an area known as the chromophore. It absorbs certain wavelengths of light and thus there are colored vegetables.4) Food is cooked because of the steam that's present either in the water added or that which is present inside the food items.5) Onions make you cry due to the presence of sulfur in the cells which break after the onions are cut. This sulfur gets mixed with moisture and thus irritates your eyes.6) Polymers: Cotton is the material used for the manufacture of clothes for our daily use. Clothes are made by weaving together thick strands that are obtained by twisting together delicate fibres. Different kinds of fibres are utilized for different purposes. In modern times, we have been able to make substances that are similar, and with better qualities with the help of chemistry.

Mustafa Kemal Atatrk Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mustafa Kemal Atatrk - Research Paper Example Mustafa Kemal Atatà ¼rk  has shown the world that how effective leadership and dedicated services can make revolutionary changes in the life of people. The life of Atatà ¼rk is a lesson for the modern political leaders who are struggling to contribute something to their nations because of widespread corruption, partialities, biases, discriminations and prejudices.  Ataturk was born in Salonica in 1880 into a family which was Muslim, Turkish speaking and precariously middle class†(Mango, p. 25). Salonica is not part of Turkey at present; it is the part of Greece now. Even though, Ataturk had many brothers and sisters, only one of Atatà ¼rks siblings, a sister named Makbule survived childhood. Mustafa Kemal was the childhood name of Ataturk. Even though the origin of Ataturk is still controversial, it is widely accepted that his father was an Albanian whereas his mother was a Macedonian. Ali Raza, a civil servant, was the father of Ataturk who died at the age of 46 because of his crazy life styles (Mango, p. 30). The sudden and unexpected death of Ali Raza brought the entire responsibility of looking after the family, on the shoulders of his mother. His mother was a strong believer in God and religion and she encouraged Mustafa to attend childhood education at a religious school. Even though Atatruk was not much interested in religious education, he spent a brief period of his childhood in this religious school. However, he joined another secular school later because of the instructions of his father. His parents were interested in making Ataturk a business man and forced him to learn more about the trade activities. But his interests were different and unknown to even his parents. Atatà ¼rk continued in the President ship for 15 years until his death in 1938. He did everything possible to make Turkey capable of standing in its own legs with the help of comprehensive reformation processes in the political, social, legal, economic, and cultural spheres. Emerging nations now admire and imitate him as an idol. The visions of Atatà ¼rk were highly integrated and he believed in secular credentials and humanity. Renowned world lead ers like Churchill, Roosevelt, Nehru Nasser, Kennedy etc paid immense tribute to Atatà ¼rk for his contributions to the world. He never treated neighbouring countries as friends rather than enemies which helped Turkey to get more cooperation from the neighbouring countries for its economic growth.

Physics134 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physics134 - Coursework Example The Ministry in charge of energy conservation established standards of energy consumption for the sector. The Chinese government has also established fees and tax rebate system for low energy buildings to encourage constructions. Under the feebate system, one either pays a fee or receives a rebate when one connects to electric system or gas. The amount received or paid relies on the size of the subscription of the efficiency of the building. Efficient buildings receive a rebate while inefficient buildings pay a fee. The system is politically attractive and cost neutral. This model is workable for the United States, and can help in conserving energy in the construction sector. it is a desirable approach for the United States due to the energy conservation benefits, its political desirability, and cost neutrality. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) improves cars’ average fuel economy. It has been a successful program to a greater extent because some of its auto manufacturing set goals has been met. CAF has managed to regulate fuel economy with its strict fuel economy standards. The major purpose of CAF is to reduce consumption of energy through increasing the cars’ fuel economy. CAF in collaboration with NHTSA improves the country’s energy security. Compared to a tax added gasoline purchased at the pump, CAF standards are still effective. This is because the fuel economy rises as CAF standards increase. However, using tax added gasoline purchased at the pump would mean that the prices of gasoline increase. This will, in the long-run, increase the average fuel economy of the passenger car fleet. Due to the energy consumption, the increasing fuel economy would drive the gasoline price down. Therefore, CAF standards prevail over tax added gasoline purchased at the pumps. CAFÉ standards, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Average_Fuel_Economy http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/04/business/energy-environment/04mileage.html

Strategic change and quality improvement Assignment

Strategic change and quality improvement - Assignment Example 9-10). In a study conducted by Codispoti, Douglas, McCallister, & Zuniga (2004), the use of multidisciplinary teams evidently improved patient care through: improved satisfaction and management of patients; establishment of collaborative teamwork; forging effective team communication; enforcing regular patient monitoring and follow-up; and use of electronic records or other improved patient care systems (Codispoti, Douglas, McCallister, & Zuniga, 2004, p. 201). Still, in another discourse, the use of multidisciplinary teams to improve primary care was also found to be effective (Cote, et al., 2002). In this regard, the current discourse hereby aims to propose the implementation of using multidisciplinary teams in the health care setting. The paper would initially present the rationale for the proposed change; prior to detailing the benefits that the change could generate for the health care institution. Likewise, the group and members who should initiate or lead in the proposed chang e process would be determined and presented in terms of their significant contribution to the recommended transformation. A proposed timeline would also be structured, in conjunction with an evaluation process which aims to determine the gauge or measure for the proposed change’s success. ... Thus, it could be deduced that the symptoms that were initially relayed were addressed; but not comprehensively to encompass other possible avenues for recurrence or deterioration of health conditions. Therefore, rather than seeing just an attending physician to address the illness; it was evident that other members of the professional team could have been needed to provide medical advice and improve patient care. A multidisciplinary team is defined as consisting of â€Å"psychiatrists, clinical nurse specialists/community mental health nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, medical secretaries, and sometimes other disciplines such as counsellors, drama therapists, art therapists, advocacy workers, care workers and possibly others not listed† (College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, n.d., p. 1). The definition was corroborated in the study conducted by Ababat, Asis, Bonus, DePonte, & Pham (2013) who emphasized that â€Å"multidisciplinary care conference s, have been defined as planning and evaluating patient care with health professionals from a variety of other health disciplines. Key activities that can be integrated into interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) include summarizing patient health data, identifying patient/family problems, defining goals, identifying interventions, discussing progress toward goals, revising goals and plans we needed, generating referrals, reviewing discharge plans, and clarifying responsibilities related to implementation of the plan† (p. 1). As such, the need for multidisciplinary teams have been stressed to encompass a wider scope of patient care through covering varied disciplines and a more comprehensive health care. Concurrently, external factors which support

Discussion Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 22

Discussion Question - Assignment Example Her approach engaged students by asking specific questions about discrimination and instilling the idea of equality and goodwill. Likewise, education serves to enhance people’s knowledge about issues in the contemporary world in a shared manner. Jane Elliot achieved this by enabling the children to develop respect for everyone regardless of their color or origin. Her approach is best because it aimed at building a sustainable future generation through upright children. Hence, she emphasized the value of social cohesion in her lessons. If I were a teacher, I would borrow Elliot’s approach to teaching about human diversity. In addition, I will incorporate the religious views about discrimination and make the children understand that it is against the religious teachings. Most importantly, my approach will introduce an aspect that values the successful people of different backgrounds. In this regards, I will help the children to identify successful world or business leaders who despite their color have prospered by availing relevant research materials (Clauss-Ehlers 56). The approach will focus to impact knowledge that color difference or origin does not make someone superior or intelligent. Every person has intrinsic values and skills. Hence, humans must treat one another with respect and

Hershey's Sweet Mission Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hershey's Sweet Mission - Personal Statement Example This paper tells that active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. Workers that are active listeners are able to communicate better with their colleagues. The new appraisal system must identify traits that are important in the performance of a particular employee. The company will monitor other personality traits of the employee that can impact performance. Diversity can be spread further into a corporate culture giving minority jobs in which they have to perform a supervisory role. Diversity in team activities has the benefit of fostering creativity among team members. Creativity helps workers provide better ideas and alternative solutions. As a Hershey, employee my perspective and motivation would be to comply with the vision and mission of the company. The first value that I would apply in my everyday interactions with my co-workers is teamwork. â€Å"Teamwork occurs when group members work together in ways that utili ze their skill well to accomplish a purpose†. In the corporate environment of the 21st-century, teamwork has become a critical success factor for corporations. Teamwork can help Hershey create an environment of trust and mutual respect. My mentality as a Hershey employee would be to cooperate with my colleagues at all times. Teamwork and cooperation are two desirable work outcomes. I would maintain good communication with my supervisors and with the other employees of the company. The employees of Hershey represent the corporate image of the company. It is important for them to behave properly with the utmost moral values during both their work and personal time. A second trend that is going to impact human resource professionals in the future is an increased dependency on technological tools. One of the HR practices gaining popularity in the work environment of the 21st century is empowerment. â€Å"Empowerment is increasing in popularity because it helps firms reduce their administrative expenses† (Worldbank, 2011). The employees at Hershey would benefit from empowerment because more responsibility will be given to them. The moral of the workers also improves due to the use of empowerment. Hershey is an enterprise with a global workforce. The use of empowerment can help streamline the work and reduce beaurocracy. The motivation of the employees also increases as a consequence of the use of empowerment. Giving greater responsibility to the employees of Hershey should provide valuable work experience to the workers. Empowerment is also beneficial to a company because it frees up a lot of managerial time that can be used in more productive practices such as strategic planning. The use of empowerment also increases employee satisfaction. Employees that are happy at work produce at a higher level. The use of mentoring is an HR practice that can benefit Hershey in a variety of manners. The mentoring relationship is composed of a mentor and a protege. The protege receives training and knowledge from the mentor. The training the mentor provides will help the protege achieve his daily activities for the company. Mentorship is an efficient and cost-effective way to help in the developmental process of an employee. One of the drawbacks of using mentorship to develop the skills and abilities of employees is that the technique is limited to the amount of managerial time at disposal.  

Individual project Drugs Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individual project Drugs Abuse - Essay Example The psychological reasons for drug addiction might include the notion that some people want to find the state of unconsciousness in order not to think about current problems, some drug addicts started using drugs for medical purposes and reached the condition of not being able to control their desires (this type of addiction is neither sociological not psychological), some people, both youth and adults, use the drugs because they are able to change the way the person feels (it is especially common when the person does not want to have that feeling), some of the artists are heavy drug addicts because they believe that drugs are able to cause the creative process. In my opinion, the sociological and psychological causes of drug addiction are interrelated and cannot be perceived separately. For example, the young man from the poor district, whose friends are all drug addicts and spent their time robbing and stealing from others in order to get some money to buy more drugs is very likely to become drug addicts as well. Both sociological and psychological causes are present here: sociological are poverty, absence of employment, peer pressure, the unawareness about how to live differently; the psychological are undesired to be different, â€Å"everybody around does it why should I be different†, â€Å"I want to be one of them† and similar thoughts. Thus, both explanations supplement each other. For example, some of the drug addictions are caused by the social forums when some of the rituals include chemical use to evoke the â€Å"happy moments† and some of the religions incorporate the usage of the mind-altering chemicals. The drugs can heighten the desires and give the false sense of power and fearlessness. Thus, people who are really shy in the normal life can become very aggressive when addicted to drugs. Drugs show the bad side of the human soul and create the perfect condition for criminal

Public Sector Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public Sector Accounting - Assignment Example Conversely, the cash flow accounts have been adopted into company accounting in the latest decades, however, it is not called â€Å"adoption of public segment accounting.† Regardless of the significance given to cash inflow accounts, it acts only to â€Å"add-on the data in the balance sheet as well as the statement of income† (Hopwood 2000, p.24). In the debate enclosing present day’s public sector accounting restructuring, the existing philosophy intervenes an absolute changeover from â€Å"company accounting-like† techniques, by which on hand information is re-organized to produce additional financial accounts, to double-entry accounting and other company accounting techniques ‒ that is, the execution of company bookkeeping practices for public segment accounting ‒ and this transformation will necessitate significant reforms to the existing framework (Budding & Tagesson 2010, p.55-73). Bookkeeping has traditionally been split into company accounting as well as non-profit bookkeeping on the grounds of whether the monetary unit works to generate net profits. Comparisons with company bookkeeping, which has, in general, the â€Å"bookkeeping† aspect, should be drawn when debating changes of public segment accounting. One setback mentioned in the present system, nonetheless, is that such assessm ents have included nothing more than cataloging those components available in company bookkeeping but not available in public segment accounting, although the two vary in their aims. As a result, this manuscript will study the nature of public segment bookkeeping as it was and company bookkeeping as it is, and will examine the adoption of company bookkeeping practices in public segment accounting now getting underway (Handbook of national accounting: Public sector accounts 2003, p.44)

Business writing - Informal Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business writing - Informal Report - Essay Example Although the NCLB act act was signed into law to help improve school performance it has not been as successful. On the contrary, the act has only narrowed the curriculum to the detriment of science subjects. The federal and state governments have continued to invest the vast amounts of resources that in public education. Over the past few decades, the average performance of American schools has increasingly stagnated. This has been particularly attributed to the effects of rapid globalization. . Consequently the stakeholders of the U.S public schools need to be informed of the causes of low performances (NCES, 14). This report will therefore be Significantly critical in providing valuable insights into the causes of poor performance in our schools. Finally the report will help in the evaluation of potential mitigation measures for the stagnating performance in American schools. There are a number of potential causes of the current problem of low performance in American public schools. One of such causes is the problem is misallocation of resources and poor funding. For example, public schools generally receive fewer funds and sometimes these funds are distributed unequally in these schools. As a result students in private and chattered schools tend to perform better. Characteristically, most public schools are understaffed though the students in these schools are many. This often result into low educational and staffing ratios or rather student-teacher ratio (Darling, 87). Generally, the current issue of inequitable funding and misallocation of resources can be attributed to the following reasons: Public schools in the USA normally allow corporations apart from the federal government to manage chain of these schools. Consequently this has brought about different policies and procedures for the management of these schools because there may be contradictions in the policies. i. Poor documentation of administrative procedures-

David Myers, Worldcom Essay Example for Free

David Myers, Worldcom Essay Introduction WorldCom was Americas second largest telecom company in 2000 (The WorldCom Accounting Scandal, 2002). Making a modest beginning in the hinterland of Mississippi in 1983 with a meager capital of less than 100,000 USD it reached the pinnacle of corporate success reporting more than USD 39 billion in revenue and USD 150 million in MCAP (The WorldCom Accounting Scandal, 2002). In the process it became 42nd in the Fortune 500 list. Under the leadership of CEO Bernie Ebbers it grew rapidly by means of acquisitions and increased demand for telecom services farther fuelled the growth of WorldCom during the whole of 90s. However on June 25, 2002, WorldCom announced that it had overstated earnings in 2001 and the first quarter of 2002 by more than $3.8 billion (The WorldCom Accounting Scandal, 2002). The Scandal WorldCom scandal was one of the biggest accounting scandals of American corporate history. WorldCom was a U.S based telecommunication company. The WorldCom accounting scandal was disclosed in 2002. The Company had resorted to fraudulent accounting practices for five quarters (four quarters of 2001 and the first quarter of 2002) (The WorldCom Accounting Scandal, 2002). The well-known telecommunication company WorldCom and the accounting, auditing and consultancy enterprise were involved in this big accounting fraud. The corporate scandal of WorldCom ultimately headed the company towards the disgrace that ensued in the biggest bankruptcy in American history. After this act the company terminated the service of the top executive including Scott Sullivan, the Chief Financial Officer and David Myers, the Senior Vice President and Controller. Myers knew that the accounting entries were made without supporting documentation, were not in conformity with GAAP, were not disclosed to the investing public, and were designed to allow WorldCom to appear to meet Wall Street analysts quarterly earnings estimates. In addition, during the same period Myers and others, including members of senior management, made materially false or misleading statements or omissions to WorldComs independent auditors in connection with audits and the preparation of filings with the Commission. Myers violated the anti-fraud, books and records, and internal control provisions of the federal securities laws, and aided and abetted WorldComs violations of the reporting, books and records, and internal control provisions of the federal  securities laws. Using this illegal accounting practice WorldCom intended to defer and spread the expenditure for the next 5-10 years. Significance of Organizational Behavior Theories Organizational theories help to the company for surviving in the global environment. The WorldCom Company CFO and Director may not have followed good organizational behavior theories. Had they followed good organizational behavior theories, they would save the organization from the failure. Ethical Decision Making Ethical decision making represents the decision that is based on the ethics. The ethical decision making involves making those decisions that are in the favor of all related persons of company such as board of directors, shareholders and stakeholders. The ethical decision making helps the company for making the goodwill and the long term survival in the global market. The WorldCom Company did not adopt the ethical decision making theory as if they did there would have been false numbers reported. The company was continuously doing misrepresentation of the accounts and the company became the bankrupt. If the company CFO and executive would adopt the ethical decision making theory, they would have resolved the bankruptcy due misappropriation of balance sheet of the company (McKenna, 2000). Goal Setting Goal setting theory is very useful methods to motivate the employee to enhance their capacity for attain the organizational goal. Goal setting theory directly affects the performance of the organization. This theory helps the employee and the concern people of the company to set the appropriate objective for the organization. If the WorldCom would have adopted the goal setting theory in their organization, its executive and auditor would have not gone for the unethical accounting practices for the business (Griffin Moorhead, 2009). Corporate Governance Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions, which directed, administered and controlled over the corporation (Monks Minow, 2008). Corporate governance is a way by which a  company governs itself for providing the values to their stake holders. The WorldCom did not follow the corporate governance policy. If the WorldCom would have followed the corporate governance it would have not led towards this business failure and company would have not gone for the unethical practices conduct in the organization. Corporate governance would have increased the faith of stakeholders towards the company and company would have survived for long time (Monks Minow, 2008). Adoption of Ethical Behavior The Ethical Behavior would enhance the performance of the company, because the ethical behavior would creates the good image of the company among the stakeholders. If The WorldCom would have adopted the ethical behavior in the organization it would not have attained bankruptcy in the market. The company acted in unethically to misrepresent the accounts of the company (Salter, 2008). Contribution of Leadership, Management and Organizational Structures Every organization is directed with a particular leadership, management and organizational structure. The WorldCom Company is directed by their directors, CFO and the auditors. If a leader is indulged in ethical practice its follower also follows that kind of management and leadership qualities. The WorldCom auditor was indulged in the misrepresentation of the accounts of the company and due to his this kind of conduct his followers also got indulged in wrong act. How it could have been avoided? We conclude that the debacle in WorldCom could have been avoided by a more independent and watchful board of directors, which should have sent a signal to the company management that somebody, is watching them closely and they better mend their ways and means. The concept of board of directors is age old and when it functions properly it is effective. In this case the independent directors failed in their responsibilities. In almost all corporate fraud it has been seen that the board has been ineffective over a long period of time and aggressive managers use this opportunity to take the rein completely in their own hand. We also conclude that Arther Anderson miserably failed in its duty as external auditor. We hold a puppet board and a malleable auditor as responsible in allowing Ebbers and his associates to perpetrate the accounting fraud. Both the board of directors and external  auditors has roles in averting operational risk and they have failed in their responsibilities (McShane, Glinow, Sharma, 2006). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Due to organization such as WorldCom Congress rushed to pass the complicated Sarbanes-Oxley Act. CEOs and CFOs of public companies are required to personally certify the accuracy of various financial reports, with significant criminal penalties for false certifications (up to 10 years in prison for â€Å"knowing† violations; up to 20 years if â€Å"willful†) (WorldCom scandal, nod.). While the penalties sound significant, the government’s difficulty in enforcing this provision will likely come in proving that a corporate officer’s inaccurate certification was done at least â€Å"knowingly,† as opposed to negligently or even recklessly. However, in short this law made many disclosures and certifications on the part of the firm mandatory. It also made the commitment of the external auditor binding. This is significant in view of the fact that when WorldCom fraud came to light, Arthur Anderson simply issued a statement saying the last two year’s accounting statement are no longer reliable without owning much responsibility. What is noteworthy is the fact that US authority introduced the risk management step in the form of Sarbanes Oxley legislation, making the BOD, the company management and the external auditor responsible and bound by law. In addition, if a public company makes a required accounting restatement due to misconduct, that company’s CEO and CFO can be forced to forfeit any bonuses or profits gained from selling company stock for a one-year period. But the lack of definitions for the terms required and misconduct, other potential loopholes, and the SEC’s power to grant exemptions could combine to dilute the strength of this provision. The new law makes it somewhat easier for the government to prohibit officers and directors who have committed securities law violations from ever again serving in those positions. However, that potential sanction was at least theoretically available even before passage of Sarbanes-Oxley. Conclusion A leader is a person that directs a company and its management and if he adopts wrong practices to achieve personal goals, the management may get distract and go in the unethical direction. Management of WorldCom was not  evaluating the efforts of its executives, CFO and auditors that is a conduct as every business demands continuous evaluation. Another major contributing factor in the direction of companys failure was its organization structure that was not managed and apportioned appropriately by its top management. The organization structure of the World Com was also not appropriate. In WorldCom, there was the lack span of control, means the audit department was not report to the companys upper level management and not provides the right information about the accounts status of the company (Mcshane, Von Glinow Sharma, 2006). There was also lack of transparency in the organization. That means in the organization two different levels of management did not know about the wrongdoings which they were doing in the organization and there was not flow of information with each other. In any business, the organizational behavior of the company starts from top management. If the top management has high moral, ethical and leadership traits and standards, then so will the employees. The leaders of WorldCom, in this case did not and it not only affected the company but other telecommunications equipment manufacturers, and other employees. Top management must set the standards and keep them. Changing basic accounting procedures and the lack of ethical standards with top management contributed to the fall of WorldCom. References Griffin.R.W Moorhead.G. (2009). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations (9th ed.). Cengage Learning. McKenna, E. F. (2000). Business Psychology and Organizational Behavior: A Students Handbook (3rd Ed.). Psychology Press. McShane.S.L, Von Glinow.M.A. Sharma.R.R. (2006). Organizational Behavior (3rd ed.). Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. Monks.R.G Minow.N. (2008). Corporate governance (4th ed.). John Wiley and Sons. Salter, M.S. (2008). Innovation Corrupted: The Origins and Legacy of Enrons Collapse. Harvard University Press. The WorldCom Accounting Scandal, (2002). Retrieved September 7, 2013. From http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Finance/The%20WorldCom%20Ac counting%20Scandal.htm WorldCom scandal: Lessons for corporate America, (n.d.). Retrieved September 5, 2013. From WSJ.com: http://online.wsj.com WorldCom Scandal. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2013. From http://voices.yahoo.com

Challenges to Maritime Security in Southeast Asia

Challenges to Maritime Security in Southeast Asia Lt Mohd Fadhil bin Ahmad Southeast Asia: The Current Challenges of Maritime Security Introduction Since ancient times, the control (or to have at least some forms of control) over the lucrative waterways has always been the ambition of littoral states as well as those with vested and specific interests. The reasons can be abundance, such as that for the purpose of facilitating peaceful trade and commercial, or nations or empire’s expansion or projection of power and influence, or for gaining quick wealth through a less peaceful means of piracy. With everyone going for a slice of cake, it then resulted in disputes, conflicts and even war and some are still unresolved until today. Back to the present, littoral states or these adjacent to Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) are now not only faced with tall order of keeping of SLOC safe for navigation and secured of threats, which most often than not are mostly non-traditional in nature, but are also pressured by extra regional and international â€Å"interested parties† to do so, as such are made preoccupied in keeping these â€Å"interested parties† at bay, i.e. from interfering. Littoral states are expected to ensure safety and security as their responsibilities, on their own effort and with heavy financial cost, without any modality of burden sharing through international funding. But, the question then, do they (the littoral states) really want any forms of funding with the terms and conditions which can be interpreted as external interference? Especially, when international users have already considered the Malacca Straits for an example as an international sea lane with their rights of usage. Apart from these threats and the conflict of interest, this strategic outlook or landscape can also be looked upon as having its own opportunities at the same time. Although the factors that shape these opportunities are mainly driven by economic gain, the aspect of security interests could lead to other mutual beneficial partnership. A lot has been said on the needs for collaboration or joint efforts with regard to maintaining the safety and security of our immediate waters which include from the north-west of the Indian Ocean-Andaman, down to the Straits of Malacca and the Straits of Singapore, and up to the South China Sea as well as the adjacent seas, oceans and waters. Has this SLOC not attracted enough attention with regard to the availability of both threats/challenges and opportunities? In this regard, have we not seen the rising numbers of piracy at the Straits of Malacca before, in the early 2000s of the increased traffics and trades that play this SLOC (from 56,000 ships in year 2000 to 73000 in 2011 for ship of more than 300 GRT)? Has this situation not attracted influential players-major military and economic powers, into this foray? These only proved how vital this SLOC is, and why all concerned parties should coordinate, cooperate and collaborate–bilateral or multi-laterally, for a concentrat ed/ integrated effort. Challenges Over the years, ASEAN through its various forums has introduced numerous commendable efforts and initiatives to ensure the safety and security of its water. The outcome has been remarkably encouraging especially when incidents of piracy has dropped to a near-zero. However, there are still other works to be done especially at the Straits of Malacca and more work elsewhere vis-a-vis the South China Sea. With regard to the Straits of Malacca, with piracy no longer in the limelight, the main concern now is the increasing traffic volume as mentioned earlier. As we know, the Straits of Malacca is one narrow Strait and with this increased in traffic volume; coordinated efforts now must be focused towards regulating the North-bound passage in ensuring navigational safety and putting in place a mechanism to address shipping-related pollutions-by irresponsible acts or mishap at sea. Competition over Resources There are some issues with regard to the maritime Southeast Asia waters which have been standing out such as competition over resources. As we know, maritime Southeast Asia, which are located between the Pacific and Indian Ocean, is composed of the volcanic and non-volcanic islands and also the island arcs. The geology of the area is highly complex but it is very promising in term of resources development. Extensive continental shelves washed by seas of less than 200metres deep join many of the islands to Australia and Asia. The Continental Shelf areas are the important location of sedimentary rock which contains of yields oil, tin, and others minerals. The growing in demand for energy is obviously generating greatly increased in offshore exploration for oil and natural gas. China for example, has expended massive efforts in exploring for oil in South China Sea as well as the Pearl River Basin to the North of Hong Kong. Nowadays, we can see that the developed oil-fields in Southeast Asian waters are small and located only in continental shelf area. So that, reservoirs are being depleted and increased in exploration and competition are to be expected. At present, oil, offshore minerals and also fisheries are the main focal point of disputes and future conflict. China has claimed a major portion of the South China Sea makes other littoral feel threatened against other interests over the South China Sea and its resources. Most of the contiguous states have claimed a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Indonesian and the Philippine concept of the archipelagic state were incorporated in the 1982 Convention of the Law of the Sea. Article 47 of this convention stated that an archipelagic state may draw straight baselines to the outermost points of the outermost island. Furthermore, the 200 nautical mile EEZ, other claims of the littoral states, and the archipelagic claims of Indonesian and the Philippines and also the China’s undefined general claim, leave no uncontested or unclaimed maritime areas in Southeast Asian waters. Example like what had happened with regard to the Spratly Island where friction and some viol ence have occurred which jointly claimed by Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Philippines. Because of the pressure for a greater exploration develops, the areas with potential for exploration and drilling, which are normally located on or near continental shelves and disputed boundaries are becoming pressure points for disputes. The areas which are currently in disputed and believed to have hydrocarbon potential are the South-western Gulf of Thailand (involving Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam), the waters North of Natuna Island (involving Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Vietnam), the waters offshore of Brunei (involving Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and China) and also the Spratly Island (involving China, Malaysia, Philippine and Vietnam). The fisheries issue is more difficult to address in many ways since fish do not respect political boundaries. The fishery resource management problems are largely unresolved and frequently not even identified. The recent changes in the Law of the Sea, especially the establishment of 200 nautical mile economic zones, make governments are ill-prepared to cope. The establishment of the 200 nautical mile economic zones has created severe hardship for fishermen of certain Southeast Asian nations. For example, Thailand has suffered the loss of some 115,000 square miles of traditional fishing grounds. It is reported that most of the Thailand fishing fleet has been force back into the Gulf of Thailand which is already overfish. Sea Lines of communications, the Straits, the Achipelagoes and Extended Jurisdiction The question of the unilateral extension of maritime jurisdiction is gradually over loading regional mechanisms designed to avoid conflict. Political orientation and economic circumstances are important fact ors in the temptation to use force in order to establish or defend a maritime claim. Within ASEAN community there are well-established, if not perfect, informal procedures for settlement of disputes. The communist states of the East and Southeast Asia are less practicable and have used naval power in the recent past to emphasize their claim to areas in the South China Sea. Use of the straits and sea lines of communication throughout the region affect not only regional powers but also international trading community. Closure, for any reason, of the straits of Malacca and Singapore would severely damage the economies of Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, as well as other states. Major shipping routes of international importance use Indonesia’s Sunda, Lombok, Makasar, and Ombai-W etar straits. The Philippines, which also has declared its achipelagic status, possesses international passages within its territory. The maintenance of open sea lines of communication is of great interest to nations using the South China Sea. The major north-south routes transit the Natunas area disputed by Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. They also pass through the Paracel and Spratly zones disputed by China and Vietnam as well as other states. Future local naval engagements in either of these areas will impede or lengthen the transit period of user nations. The extended jurisdictional claims of China (legally unspecified but encompassing much of the South China Sea) and Vietnam require the most attention. The Chinese and Vietnamese claim the Paracel and the Spratly areas based on their claims of historical occupation. The Chinese evicted the South Vietnamese from Paracels in the 1974. Oil is being extracted to the west of these islands and is rumoured to exits on or very near the Chinese-occupied Paracels. The Spratly area viewed as being potentially rich in oil and natural gas. So far China has not pressed its claims to the Spratlys by occupying one or more of the islands. Vietnam and Indonesia are currently at a stalemate in their discussions over the delineation of their maritime boundaries. The talk have been going on for five years and involves rights to hydrocarbons located in the continental shelf north of the Natuna islands which are occupied by Indonesia. Indonesia has allowed Marathon Oil Company to explore in this area. Vietnam has vigorously and challenged this contract and stated that â€Å"foreign companies should pay attention to this matter and should not conduct survey and exploration operations in the disputed area without Vietnam’s consent†. Any oil company which failed to observe these instructions must be held responsible for the consequences arising from its act. Impact of the Arms Build-up and Major Power Interests The South China Sea and the maritime waters of Southeast Asia are of major strategic importance to the littoral nations as well as the major powers. The guarantee of innocent passage for the merchant and military ships of all nations is fundamental to stability in Asia. Passage in these waters, however, is becoming increasingly constricted especially in the sea lines of the South China Sea and the Vital Straits of Malacca, Sunda, Lombok, and Wetar-Ombai, all of which are within Indonesian archipelago. Waters adjacent to these sea lines as well as the straits are sensitive for security and political reasons. These seas are bordered by countries of very different political ideologies and political outlooks. The western area (Spratly Islands) of the South China Sea especially sensitive, mainly because so many states have made claims to and have occupied island in this area. Potential strategic uses for the more developed island islands in the Spratly included bases for sea line interdiction, surveillance and possible launching points for further attacks. The Philippines and the Indonesia have particular reason to seek for influence maritime activity in parts of their archipelagos. The south of the Philippines, especially the Sulu Sea area, is a focal point for continuing friction with our country. Supplies for the continuing military support for the Moro National Liberation Front and New People’s Army in Zamboanga, Tawi-Tawi, Palawan and Davao are via sea routes. Indonesia vie ws the eastern portion of the country with continuing concern for security. Other strategic considerations include continuing use of the major straits for military purposes. East to west passage in important for surface units of all navies. North to south passage is also importance to submarines. The existence of the U.S. military bases in the Philippines and Soviet bases in Vietnam serve to complicate the security picture in the South China Sea area. Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base in the Philippines have been importance features of U.S. security policy in Asia since World War II. Both are vital logistics support facilities which allow the U.S. Navy and Air Force to stand behind security commitments made to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand. These bases also support U.S naval missions in the Indian Ocean. The United States has provided a continuous military presence in Asia since 1975. This presence has enabled the ASEAN nations, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, to increase their gross national product by an average of 10 per cent. While the United State does not take credit for the economy and the security successes of most of these countries, its policy of deterring Soviet, North Korean and Vietnamese intimidation has been effective. In the mid 1980s, the Soviet has a quantitative advantage in the military balance in the Pacific region, having greater numbers of newer, more sophisticated submarines, tactical aircraft, bombers, and infantry and so on. At present Soviet naval and air forces would be severely disadvantaged in a conflict with United State forces in maritime Southeast Asia. China’s impact on the security of maritime Southeast Asia already been outlined as it affects the Spratly area and also China’s relation with Vietnam. Other considerations worthy of mention are th e upgrading of China merchant fleet and evolution of the PLA navy in recent years. China has not entered the maritime power competition but clearly has the capacity and will to do so. In the near future, China will further expand its volume of maritime trade on a global scale. The PLA navy is attempting to catch up rapidly with those of the Soviet Union and the United States by developing a seaborne nuclear deterrent. It is also obvious from the interview with Liu Huaquing, head of the PLA navy, that China is serious about protecting its claim to the resources of the South China Sea as well as asserting itself as a maritime power in Asia. At present, the Soviets are effectively projecting their military power into an area which had previously been a preserve of the West. It is disconcerting to United States power to have the Soviets expanding their air and naval assets in Cam Ranh Bay as well as conducting a large scale construction programme within that base. The Cam Ranh Bay base in being expended into an advanced staging and repair facility which will save the Soviets time in projecting their naval forces into the Indian Ocean. In parallel and as back-up facility, in case of a break in relation with Vietnam, which is not likely to happen. The soviet are also developing the naval facility in the Kampuchean port of Ream. These points having been made, the soviet presence in Southeast Asia is prominent only in the military area. The KGB activity in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in recent years has been closely monitored by the security agencies of these countries. However, the soviets present no role models for eco nomic development. Future Developments and Conclusion The 1982 UNCLOS provides compulsory procedures for the settlement of disputes. Many venues are open to disputing parties, including arbitration, adjudication and conciliation, as well as other regional or local ad hoc procedures. As an example is ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus Expert Working Group (ADMM Plus EWG) on Maritime Security. This is one EWG which is giving full attention in as far as â€Å"providing a platform for information sharing among ADMM Plus countries in the hope of enhancing and further developing mutual confidence towards regional peace and stability† is concerned. It is sure that with the activities already conducted such as the Table-Top Exercise (TTX) held last year, and those already on the drawing board (i.e. to establish a virtual communication network/website, to conduct exercises at sea); practical operational cooperation in common areas of maritime security will soon become a norm (standard practice) among members, at least, where maritime se curity is concerned. Conflict in which resources are said to be the major issue but where, in reality, strategic position is the major motivation, will be more difficult to resolve. Solutions to fisheries questions will apparently leave some countries, such as Thailand, disadvantaged. The claims to ownership of hydrocarbon are, in theory, more easily negotiated. Joint development in production and policy is a possible solution to competing claims within ASEAN. With no clear sight of a permanent solution, the easiest way out as a short term measure is to a model a Joint Development Area (JDA) involving all the respective claimants such that of the Malaysia-Thailand JDA which jointly exploit fisheries and hydrocarbon-based resources. It is worth noting that this idea of JDA has in fact caught the attention of claimants to other disputed areas as well. Therefore, if we could not resolve the challenges we might as well capitalise on the opportunities. The question of providing a security presence in the region will increasingly become a problem for the regional powers. It may become increasingly difficult for the United States to continue to maintain its long term air and naval presence in Southeast Asia. Political and economic constraints are cited by friends of United States when there are ask to share greater cooperative security burdens. The major security burden of the future will fall upon the ASEAN nations, Australia, Japan and South Korea. National interest in the security terms may serve to overcome other inherent obstructions such as South Korea-Japanese cultural issues and the lingering effect of anti-Japanese feeling in Southeast Asia as a result of World War II. Australia may have a heightened role to play, given a receptive political climate, as a partner in co-operative naval and air patrol agreements and as a fall-back position for the United State forces. The regional communist states (China, Vietnam) appear to be transferring to the South China Sea their current confrontational relations. In order for stability to be maintained in the South China Sea, China and Vietnam will need to avail themselves of existing mechanisms for resolutions of disputes. References: ASEAN Partners invited to Jointly Develop Gas Field, Business Times (Kuala Lumpur), 14 November 1984. The Malaysian Chief of Defence Force Presentation on 10th ASEAN Chief of Defence Force informal Meeting, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, 19 to 21 Mac 2013. Robert A. Brand, Defence Down Under: An American View, Pacific Defence Reporter, June 1985. J.C Johari, International Relation and Politics, (New Delhi: Sterling Publisher 1997). You Ji, The Armed Forces of China (Australia: Allen Unwin, 1999).

The New Satellite Technology Media Essay

The New Satellite Technology Media Essay Apart from the military or intelligence gathering usage the satellite technology can be put to a number of uses, which are socially, economically and politically acceptable. The new satellite technology leads to broadening of broadcasting and telecommunication services. It has lead to free television services across the world. Through satellite dishes people can look at hundreds of free channels. Free Air Satellite technology is modern way of viewing television free. Apart from the entertainment tool it can also be an effective education tool, particularly for the remote areas where public schools do not exist. With FTA technology you do not pay any monthly fees; there is only one time expenditure of putting a satellite dish. Free to Air satellite technology can help you learn more about the other cultures and languages and with the diverse selection of channels you have at your fingertips, there are a variety of things to learn from. There are a number of channels catering to the di fferent languages, like French, Spanish, Arabic and English. We can select the channel of our choice and language. Satellite telephones are another result of latest satellite technology. They are called ISAT phones and provide unlimited global connectivity and access to global data to individual clients, businessmen, travelers and tourists. They use the satellite and GSM network and easy to use and depend on the area and location. IsatPhone can be used within Asia, Africa and the Middle East using Inmarsatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s latest generation l-4 satellite, which are most advanced commercial communications satellites ever launched supporting IP data services at broadband speeds and simultaneous voice. Latest satellite technology is used to track the movement of fishes in the oceans and wild animals on land. The movement of blue tuna fish across the ocean. A pop off satellite tag technology is used to investigate the Atlantic-wide movements and potential stock overlap of western and eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna. This technology is also used to archives data on water temperatures. The pop off satellite technology provides data, which is independent of commercial fisheries. Satellite technology also provides space junk tracking. Space satellite monitor and provide information on and track many thousand pieces of junk. U.S. Strategic Command monitors these, which is where the Space Based Space Surveillance Block 10 satellite comes in. There are estimated 19,000 pieces of junk constantly under the eyes of the US Strategic Command, many of them the size of a golf ball. The new satellite technology hopefully provides significantly more accuracy when it comes to tracking possible threats to orbiting platforms. It is will provide an integral tool to watch towards understanding what is going on in the space. Satellite technology also provides space junk tracking. Space satellite monitors and provides information on and tracks many thousand pieces of junk. U.S. Strategic Command monitors these, which is where the Space Based Space Surveillance Block 10 satellite comes in. There are estimated 19,000 pieces of junk constantly under the eyes of the US Strategic Command, many of them the size of a golf ball. The new satellite technology hopefully provides significantly more accuracy when it comes to tracking possible threats to orbiting platforms. It is will provide an integral tool to watch towards understanding what is going on in the space. There is increased focus on this problem since a U.S. communications satellite collided with a defunct Russian intelligence platform 500 miles above Siberia in early February, resulting in extra 1,000 pieces of orbiting junk being flung in all directions. There is high concern for possible human cost of this type of fall out. Advance satellite technolog y is used by U.S. Strategic Command, it is monitoring an estimated 13,000 pieces of junk measuring more than 30 feet, and while a further 100,000 pieces below four inches are also thought to be in constant orbit. New satellite technology in Europe also promises to dramatically lower the costs of satellite bandwidth, potentially bridging the digital divide and enabling satellites to deliver TV, internet and telephony services via satellite. It is estimated that nearly 10% of the European population, or 30m people, are too isolated to be covered by landline broadband services and, so far, no viable solution has presented itself. It is hoped that with this new wifi satellite technology the gap would be filled and hopefully it can be cheaper as well. The Euro funded IMOSAN solved many of the technical hurdles facing widespread satellite adoption for triple-play services. Another service, which new satellite technology is exploring is the use of portable satellite antenna. New satellite technology is exploring the possibility to provide use of portable satellite antenna. This internet service helps the military in Afghanistan. W6 satellites are used to serve Afghan market, which also includes soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. It is a broadband service, which offers two-way high-speed Internet access without phone lines, cable or dial-up modem. It is always on line, available virtually anywhere and affordable. Most soldiers deploy to Afghanistan or other remote locations with a laptop in hand and a hook-up to the Internet in their barracks can stay in touch with their family and children, and feel less cut off from home. Troops in Afghanistan use the Internet a lot for professional tasks and this new satellite technology has helped them to get in touch with many online communities composed of military professionals. This would have not been possible without this new satellite technology. New satellite technology has played an important role in development of digital and online journalism. Improvements and advancements in satellite technology have enabled scientists to produce and transmit images live across various news mediums from even highly remote areas such as war zones. This form of technology is called Satellite News Gathering Technology or SNG and it uses mobile equipment for news casting. Mobile units are usually vans equipped with advanced, two-way audio and video transmitters and receivers, using dish antennas that can be aimed at geostationary satellites

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Essa

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave was written by Frederick Douglass himself. He was born into slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland in approximately 1817. He has, "†¦no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it" (47). He became known as an eloquent speaker for the cause of the abolitionists. Having himself been kept as a slave until he escaped from Maryland in 1838, he was able to deliver very impassioned speeches about the role of the slave holders and the slaves. Many Northerners tried to discredit his tales, but no one was ever able to disprove his statements. Frederick Douglass does offer a biased review of slavery, as he was born into it, yet even in his bias he is able to detect and detail the differences in the slave holders cruelty and that to which he was subjected. From being whipped and humiliated daily, "a very severe whipping†¦ for being awkward" (101), to being able to find his own work and save some money, "I was able to command the highest wages given to the most experienced calkers" (134), he is able to give the reader a more true picture of slavery. His poignant speeches raised the ire of many Northerners, yet many still felt the slaves deserved their position in life. Douglass, for his own safety, was urged to travel to England where he stayed and spoke until 1847 when he returned to the U.S. to buy his freedom. At that point, he began to write and distribute an anti-slavery newspaper called "The North Star". Not only did he present news to the slaves, but it was also highly regarded as a good source of information for those opposed to slavery. During the Civil war, Doug... ...thony]" (49). The slave holder was not above satisfying his sexual urges by the usage of black slaves. The book was easily digested and powerful yet Douglass softened the tone by not becoming graphic when he had every right to do so. This was the first publication of the book and it would be interesting to see how much "gentler" he was by the third rewrite. Published by the Anti Slavery Committee, it was definitely biased against the slave holder but Douglass seemed to write fairly of his experiences especially since he was able to relate both good and bad experiences with his slave owners. Douglass’ words sum it up the best, "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." (107) Work Cited Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.

Acid Rain 10 :: essays research papers

Acid rain is exactly what it suggests- rain that is acidic. The definition of "acid rain" is rain with a pH of below 5.6. Rain becomes acidic because of gases that dissolve in the rain. Approximately 70% of acid rain is a result of dissolved sulfur dioxide (SO2) which forms Sulfuric Acid. The remaining 30% or so comes from various Nitrogen Oxides (mostly NO2 and NO3 which has collectedly adopted the mane Nox). There is also a small percentage of hydrochloric acid that makes up hydrochloric acid as well. The equation is as follows: Sulfuric acid when it joins with hydrogen atoms in the air: SO3(g) + H2O(l) = H2SO4(aq) In the air, the nitrogen ion becomes nitric or nitrous acid: NO2(g) + H2O(l) = HNO3(aq) + HNO2(aq) Sulfur dioxide is a colorless, prudent gas released as a by-product of combusted fossil fuels containing sulfur. What causes this is a variety of industrial processes, such as the production of iron and steel, utility factories, and crude oil processing. In iron and steel production, the smelting of metal sulfate ore produces pure metal. This causes the release of sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide can also be emitted into the atmosphere ny natural disasters or means. This ten percent of all sulfur dioxide emission comes from volcanoes, sea spray, plankton, and rotting vegetation. The oxides of nitrogen are by-products of firing processes of extreme high temperatures, for example: automobiles, and utility plants; and in chemical industries, for example: fertilizer production, etc. Also, natural processes such as bacterial action in soil, forest fires, volcanic action, and lightning make up five percent of nitrogen oxide emission. Transportation makes up 43 percent, and 32 percent belongs to industrial combustion. There are a number of things that acid rain effects in our environment. Forests, soil, lakes, streams, rivers, materials, and essentially mankind. One of the most serious impacts that acid rain has on our environment is acid deposition on our trees and soil. When Sulfuric Acid falls on the earth in rain, nutrients in the soils are washed away. Some of the aluminum also present in the soil is released and can be absorbed by the roots of trees. This causes the trees to starve to death because they are deprived of their vital nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. Sometimes the sulfur dioxide doesn’t get converted to sulfuric acid. In fact, there is a large amount that can float into the atmosphere and return to earth unconverted.

Fall of Rome :: Ancient Rome Roman History

Fall of Rome Essay: Why was it possible for Rome to become an empire and last so long. What were the reasons for it's fall? Rome was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world. The early Roman state was founded in 509 B.C. after the Romans drove out the hated Etruscan king. By this time Rome had already grown from a cluster of small villages to a small city. Little did the settlers know that this was the beginning of one of the greatest and largest empires ever known. After Rome established itself, they were determined to never again be ruled by a monarch. The Roman setup a new government called a republic. Romans thought a republic would keep any individuals from gaining too much power. Later Romans looked back with enormous pride on the achievements of the early republic. Between 509 B.C. and 133 B.C., Rome adapted the government to fit the need of the people it served. It also developed the military power to not only conqueror not only Italy, but also the entire Mediterranean world. In the early republic power was controlled by the patricians, the land holding upper class. Senators, who served for life, interpreted laws and issued decrees. In the event of a war the senate might elect a dictator who ruled for only six months in time of emergency. Julius Caesar emerged. He was able commander who led many conquests for Rome. In 59 B.C. Caesar set out for a new conquest. After nine years of constant fighting, he finally conquered Gaul. Pompey grew jealous of his achievement and had the senate order him to disband his forces and return to Rome. Caesar secretly crossed the Rubicon and killed Pompey then entered Rome. After crushing many rebellions, Caesar forced the senate to make him a dictator. Caesar launched many reforms such as public work programs and giving land to the poor. According to legend those in the senate murdered Caesar on March 15. Caesar's Grandnephew, Octavian, and Marc Anthony joined forces to capture his killers. However bitter feuds grew it soon became a battle for power. After the Pax Romana ended, the next 100 years were in political turmoil. In one 50-year period, at least 26 emperors reigned and only one died of natural causes. At the same time high taxes used to support the armies began to anger the people. During this Germanic tribes were attacking the outskirts of the Roman Empire.

Easyjet analysis, competitive advantage and plan Essay

Easyjet is one of the successful European ‘no frills airlines’. The airline was founded in 1995 by a Greek man called Stelios Haji-loannou. A concept that made him found the Airline was based on the fact that customers’ demand for short-haul air transport is price elastic. This can be translated to mean that when flight costs are reduced, many people fly due to the affordability of the flight prices. Easyjet has been successful because it has been able to liberate itself from traditional airline concepts. These concepts were based on the assumption that the lowering of flight costs could only lead to decrease in the economy. The traditional concepts made many airlines believe that airline traffic grows in line with the economy. Easyjet benefited from the introduction of the ‘no-nonsense’ concept and its deregulation in 1992, to the European market. (Gregory, 2000). The company has been able to woo customers from other airlines due to the low competitive prices it offers for its services. This has made the company expand and increase the size of the market it can access. As of now, the airline company provides 125 routes from 39 European airports with Geneva, Amsterdam, Luton and Liverpool operating as its base airports. As of November 2003, the company was operating seventy two aircrafts. The number now has tripled as the airline has continually increased in size. Easyjet has established goals that the company hopes will be able to attract and maintain its customers. The company’s strongest desire is to develop long lasting relationships with its customers. These goals have been incorporated into the Company’s Mission statement. These goals include: †¢ To provide customers with safe, good value, point-to-point air services. †¢ To effect, and provide a consistent and reliable product and fares, appealing to leisure and business markets on a range of Europe routes. (Collett, 1999) Porter’s five competitive forces have been used to effectively analyze the airline industry comprehensively. These competitive forces comprise: The threat of substitutes, the threat of new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of buyers, and finally, the rivalry among existing firms. The airline industry experiences minimal threats from other substitute modes of transport. For example, transport modes like train and car are not speed conscious. For a journey that could take an hour when using Easyjet plane, a train takes approximately 6 hours. It is also cheaper to travel on an Easyjet plane than it would cost when travelling via train. Thus, the time and cost advantage of travelling by the low-cost carriers far outweighs the increased flexibility and comforts of trains. Trains and cars cannot manage long distance international routes. Therefore the only substitute is to ravel by plane and this is where Easyjet enjoys the competitive advantage it has over its substitutes. (Porter, 1985) Easyjet was founded using a large sum of money. It was established with a loan of 5 million dollars. This being not enough, it still required 50 million dollars for expansion to meet the needs and demands of customers. The airline sector demands of new entrants to have high capital in order to start a stable business. Limited finance has been a barrier for many businesses which consider entering the industry. New entrants in the airline sector are discouraged by the limited take-offs and landing slots which make it difficult for them to find suitable airports. The low cost airline market in U. K is very mature as compared to the rest of Europe. Easyjet has been in the market for quite long till it has acquired the title of being the biggest operator in the market. This is a very comfortable position for it as it considers itself as a leader in the field. This is not all advantageous to the airlines as entering new markets in Europe may become a big problem for it. Any entrant in the low-cost market has to be ready to make a few losses before establishing itself. Hence, Easyjet has not really considered the threats of new entrants as a big problem. (Gregory, 2000) Easyjet has been affected by the powers of suppliers. Easyjet has realized that depending on one supplier or manufacture for spare could pose a risk. Boeing and Airbus are the major manufactures in the industry providing majority of commercial planes. Easyjet needs to expand more in order for it to have more powers over its manufactures and suppliers. The cost of oil and the price of aviation oil have a direct relationship and it is not in the power of Easyjet to alter this. The power of buyers within the airline industry is very strong. Airline operators have the duty of checking on prices to avoid being exploited by the consumers. Consumers are in a position to detect price discrepancies which they exploit. Due to the low switching costs experienced within the airline industry, the customers need to be loyal. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has ensured that the airline customers are well treated and protected. Some of the ways in which CAA sides with the consumers is by, protecting customers against the consequences of travel organizer failure for people who buy package holidays. It also ensures that airlines are licensed and comply with the requirements of UK and European liability, financial, and resources legislation. Easyjet experiences rivalry from existing firms. In the UK, Easyjet has My TravelLite, Ryan air, Buzz, and BMIbaby, as its major competitors. Ryan air is Easy jet’s greatest competitor as it has shown continuous yearly profit. Future expansion plans may increase its competitors to include the: Virgin Express, Hapag Lloyd Express and Air Berlin, some of which are already competing with the airline. The other competitor that Easyjet has is the British Airways but it competes at a lower scale as it targets different market segments. (Porter, 1985) SWOT-Analysis of the Easyjet Company which reveals its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and Threats has been carried out. (Anthony, 1998). Internal analysis of the Company depict the fact that there are numerous strengths that it has enabling it to have a competitive edge over Companies in the industry. Easyjet has a strong e-business. This airline has incorporated the advanced technology and this has enabled it to offer quality services to customers. The other strength that Easyjet has is its ability to reach a wide scope of customers. This is due to many branches that exist all over the world. Research shows that this airline is expanding globally and will soon be able to have branches in all parts of the world. One aspect that is important to airlines is safety. This airline is highly reputed for safety and this has enabled customers remain loyal to it. Its up dated website enables customers to book for their flights on line. The comfort in travelling by Easyjet planes is exceptional. The airline also has got qualified personnel like the cabin crew, control assistants, flight attendants, customer care, pilots and stewards. Another strength that is found in Easyjet is its flexibility in adapting to new technology in the future. This airline is not tied to single technology. The airline has been financially successful and is part of the consortium that has been awarded to run UK’s air traffic control system (NATS). (Anthony, 1998) One of the world’s largest industries is the Air travel which in 2001 generated over $ 300 billion in revenues. In the past, business people dominated air travel but then this changed when living standards of people improved so that many people could afford air travel for leisure activities. The deregulation of the airline industry has served to increase the frequency of air travels. Easyjet contracts everything from pilots to check-in staff. The airline avoids travel agents high commissions by selling seats over a telephone reservation system. To ensure it grows in future, the airline invested 6. 6 million dollars for developing a safe, reliable and efficient air traffic system. This was meant to ensure that it has sufficient capacity in the air and on the ground. Easyjet acquired British Airways ’low-cost subsidiary GO which played a huge part in its expansion. Easyjet stands for ‘orange culture’ which means being ‘up for it’, ‘passionate’ and sharp. Easyjet has low operational costs because all bookings are done via phone and it has less cabin crew due to the absence of the business class. Easyjet has been able to recognize that Business class reduces seats from 149 to 109. (Matthias, 2005) Some of the other players in the airline industry include the: Virgin Atlantic, Ryan air and British airline. These airlines pose a healthy competition to Easyjet which it has to measure up to improve on its position in the market. These airlines have a strong brand name which makes them to have a competitive advantage over Easyjet. The name ‘Virgin Atlantic’ is quite unique and it attracts many customers to use the airline. Research shows that virgin atlantics’ airline provider is global in nature. It operates its services to Barbados, Lagos, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and London Hub. This is a great strength for this airline. (Branson, 2006). One aspect that is important to airlines is safety. This airline is highly reputed for safety and this has enabled customers remain loyal to it. The airline also has got qualified personnel like the cabin crew, control assistants, flight attendants, customer care, pilots and stewards. (Branson, 2006). The British and Ryan airlines have efficient customer service and effective policies that positively affect the overall running of the airlines. These airlines have a competitive edge over the Easyjet and Virgin Atlantic in terms of the many operation routes they have. The British airline has a high technological advancement which has greatly increased its customer base. The Virgin Atlantic has some weaknesses which affects its smooth operation in the airline industry. One of them is very evident in its prices. Virgin Atlantic airline flight charges are slightly higher than the other airlines. This makes most people who are middle class not to afford their services. Another weakness in Virgin Atlantic airline is in its departure control systems which are not really updated to the current technology. Ryan airline which is the major Easyjet competitor in the market has continually expanded and made lots of profits over the years. Thus, the airline has enough resources to cater for its consumers. It has a stable base and enjoys the comfortable position it holds in the market. Easyjet offers affordable flight prices attracting many customers to use its services. The Ryan airline and British airlines have very high operational costs. This is because they contract the services of customer agents who charge them exorbitant prices. Similarly, because they have a business class, the numbers of seats are reduced and the airline is also forced to increase the number of cabin crew it has to cater for passengers in the business class. The low flight charges of Easyjet plane are what attract customers to its services. The key element of the brand is the low price. The management uses differential pricing systems. (Michael, 1985). The cost of flight is directly related to the time one wishes to travel. Off-peak travelling and advance ticket booking is less expensive. Easyjet encourages its customers to book tickets online by giving discounts to tickets booked online. The airline company has good promotion strategies that catch the attention of many potential customers. Some of the attention catching lines that the airline uses include: ‘size matters’, and ‘the web’s favourite airline’. Most of its advertising campaigns are humorous, attention-catching and unforgettable. (Hilltop, 1994) For Easyjet to do well in future, it has to consider how it is going to handle new entrants in the market. It should decide whether it is going to create niche segments in the market for the new entrants or if it is going to compete aggressively on price, routes and services to drive the entrants out of the market. Easyjet should make strategic decisions market research on the size of different combinations of pricing and service if it intends to increase its market share over the next three years. It has to know the amount of power the competitor has over it. (Massingham, 1988). For example, the competitor’s service costs, competitor’s capacity for the various airline routes. Easyjet should target leisure travellers this is because business travellers usually seek very high quality service, frequent flights to a wide range of destinations which could translate to high operational costs and low profits. The airlines need to develop an accurate and realistic assessment of the market-niche it wants to serve. The market shares of Easyjet could increase in the next three years if it adopts CRM (Cause Related Marketing) scheme which involves selling shares in forest help programmes over its websites and supporting charity by collecting foreign currency on flights. The airline should also establish a growth plan that would see it expanding over the next three years. (Matthias, 2005) Experts have predicted that Easyjet airline is well positioned in the market and that it has excellent growth opportunities for the low-cost sector. Competition is likely to intensify because the UK market is really saturated. Therefore, marketing is very important if Easyjet wants to attract new customers as well as maintain those that it already has. Since the UK market provides very little growth opportunity, more airlines are likely to invade the continental market with new bases being established at Berlin as well as Eastern Europe. (Collett, 1999). Marketing should play a role in convincing customers that flying is the safest mode of transport. Before formulating a market plan for the airline, the political, legal, Technological, Socio-cultural, and Economic factors should be taken in to consideration. (Massingham, 1988)

What Love is for Shakespeare

Like every other poet, mainly characterized by idealism and creativity, William Shakespeare views love as an eternal and ideal state of being. People often look at its grim features. But Shakespeare chose to distinguish love from pain, as what it naturally is. This essay will try to discuss love as seen by Shakespeare and written in his 66th sonnet. Shakespeare wrote the sonnet by citing important influences on love – time and place, beliefs, church and politics, life and death, change, and permanence. He admits that there are impediments because of these factors, but he refuses to give in and be stopped by them. He said, â€Å"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. † These impediments for him are considered to be fixable, as he said in Much Ado (MA. II. 2. 1-4. ). Shakespeare disagrees on the kind of love that is easily broken or vanished. He thinks that it is permanent and doesn't yield to heavy toil and suffering. He said, â€Å"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove:† This is actually common to everyone, particularly those who are new to such intense feeling and have not yet experienced the pain of their first love. However, Shakespeare thinks of love as an unyielding and enduring connectedness. He then compared it to a beacon used by sailors in shipping, unshakeable even by great waves and storms. â€Å"O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests and is never shaken. † Love guides every wandering soul like the northern star guides every sailor. He wrote, â€Å"It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. † Also, love is not a plaything or a toy easily broken by ageing. â€Å"Love is not Time's fool,† proves that love is not based on physicalities that rots as Time dictates. Love endures even Time and doesn't change in distance served. The fleeting time is measured by weeks and hours but these don't matter really for a love that endures change. Death may end everything and given that we don't believe in continued life after death, reincarnation perhaps, love will bring people to their end, still holding each other tight, even with their hands cracked by age. He said, â€Å"Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. † However love may seem perfect and eternal to Shakespeare, he still realizes that everything has an end. This is explained by a seemingly underscored concluding couplet of the sonnet. Love will always be a part of life that is temporary. Nonetheless, he has already made his claim and established his points on the wondrous feeling brought by love to the extent that he seeks challenges from other people and willingly sacrifices the validity of all his sonnets, the melting pot of his romanticism, when this treatise on love is proven wrong. This sonnet has been read widely, like all of his other works, and became the basis for those who seek answers on the question of what love really is. It is never wrong to be idealistic, especially on issues as fulfilling as this. However, we must always accept that everything has its end. Since everyone who feels such love is going to die anyway. Still, Shakespeare is one of those who aims high and gives this very particular topic the right for eternity and endurance. Love is never a simple thing, it is wide and complicated. It digs in people's hearts and reveals what they truly are, without much consideration of what others might say or what time has kept ahead for him. It is worthy of the best imaginations, best literatures, and best descriptions no matter how painful it is at times, the happiest point of loving is always far eternal than that of other source of happiness.

Consumer Securities Trading in United States

The following is an in depth look at the effects the Internet has had on trading securities in the United States. Its purpose is to define the impact of the Internet by determining specific changes in the structure of the trading market as a result of the numerous online brokerages that have surfaced in the past few years. A brief look at traditional brokerages and market characteristics prior to the advent of the Internet provides a foundation with which to measure many of its impacts. The arrival of the online brokerage model has not only introduced an entirely new vehicle with which to trade securities, but it also beginning to effect the way traditional brokerages view their own business models. Specifically, it appears that both the online/discount model and full service model of brokerages will both succeed in the next few years, with the top firms exhibiting characteristics somewhere between the two extremes. New Ameritrade television commercials debuted early this year with a twenty-something-year-old punk extolling the virtues of his new brokerage account to various business men and women. Perhaps the witty E*trade commercial featuring monkeys that first aired during the 2000 Super Bowl was more notable. These commercials are quite a contrast to the traditional brokerage commercials of Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Fidelity among others. This contrast is for good reason. Online brokerages have uprooted the traditional model of consumer securities trading and have attracted a critical mass of followers. Before brokerage fees were deregulated 1975, eliminating fixed commissions, trading was something only done by the wealthy. Since then, fees have dropped considerably among the full-service firms making it possible for more and more people to manage portfolios. Until 1995 there was still a fundamental restraint for many consumers: access to timely and accurate information at any time from their own computer. With the arrival of online brokerages in 1995 came a slew of options for investors, new and old, to access an abundance of information and research, and to initiate their own trades all at considerably discounted fees. According to Deutsche Banc, as of 2Q00, online brokerage accounts represented approximately 25% of all accounts in the United States. Furthermore, by 2003, online brokerage accounts are estimated to control 50% of the brokerage market. The online model has already attracted nearly 20 million investors, initiating an increase in overall trading volume. An brief examination of the brokerage industry pre-arrival of the Internet and an in depth look at the brokerage industry now illuminates the many differences and possible implications for the future of consumer securities trading in the United States. Traditional brokerages have been operating freely since 1975. The deregulation of brokerage fees at this time allowed new firms to enter the market, marking the first major alteration in the way Wall Street traditionally offered its services. Before 1975, the market consisted solely of â€Å"full service† firms, those firms who offer trading, research, and financial advice through brokers or financial advisors at a considerable fee. After fees were deregulated, â€Å"discount† firms began to appear, offering consumers smaller fees, but at the cost of less research and financial advice. The market slowly split between these two types of business models, but they were fundamentally similar for 20 years: generate revenue by providing consumers the ability to trade and receive financial advice based upon firm research. The concept of having a broker, or financial advisor who acts as an agent for consumers, was the prevailing idea of stock trading in between 1975 and 1995. Many of those who had portfolios would leave its management entirely up to their brokers, others would call periodically for advice, and some would be actively co-managing their portfolios with the broker. The prevailing model for securities trading was still professionally managed, although different levels of management and cost evolved at this time. Wall Street was altered again in 1995, probably more significantly than in 1975, when securities trading and the Internet converged. According to the Securities Industry Association, K. Aufhasuer & Company was the first to execute securities trading online in 1994. However, it was not until 1995 that the first online brokerages debuted their new business model. Momentum mounted quickly, as many investors flocked to the lure of extremely discounted prices and quick trade execution. Without the â€Å"brick and mortar† presence typical of the traditional brokerages and a significantly less extensive network of research and financial advice, online brokerages can offer transactions at fractions of the costs of traditional brokerages, even of the traditional discounters. The first online investors were, and still are, predominantly â€Å"a mix of young, first-time investors and older, more experience ones,† according to a McKinsey & Company study. When online brokerages first surfaced, they introduced an entirely unique channel for delivering securities trading to consumers. No other brokerage firms offered the ability to trade securities over the Internet; it was exclusively reserved for those companies referred to as â€Å"online brokerages. † This has changed however over the past couple of years. Traditional full-service brokerages are beginning to adopt their own online components. The two most frequently cited reasons for the scramble of full service firms to enter the online market were customer pressure, and the fear of asset flight to online brokerages, according to a Deloitte & Touche Survey. The ability to distinguish these early online brokerages from full service firms is no longer a matter of whether or not they offer online services. The distinguishing feature now is between the cost of their services, segregating firms into a classification again of â€Å"discount† or â€Å"full service. In a sense, the online model has redefined â€Å"discount,† moving the discount brokerage to a much further extreme. Indeed, it is true that most of the firms that are classified today simply as â€Å"discount† are founded on an online business model or have quickly adopted online capabilities, but many of the full service firms, as mentioned, are turning to the online channel in hopes of competing with the discounters. Therefore, when an â€Å"online brokerage† is referred to, it implies both the discount firms and the few full service firms with online capabilities. The evolution of the online brokerage market has been explosive in growth, catapulting from just one online brokerage in 1995 to an estimated 170 in 2000, totaling 19. 5 million online accounts (refer to Figure 1 below). The first online brokerages to emerge were predominantly â€Å"deep† discount, followed by mid discount firms, and finally some of the traditional discount incumbents adopted an online strategy and are now classified as mid-tier firms. To illustrate this trend, consider the emergence of 5 of today's top 6 online brokerages: In 1996, two major deep discount firms emerged, Datek and Ameritrade. Over the next two years, two major mid-discount firms appeared, E*trade and DLJdirect. In 1998, Charles Schwab made their presence felt in the online market which was one of the few traditional discount firms before the online model developed. Fidelity quickly followed suit. This upsurge of online brokerages and the trend for some of the traditional brokerages to go online has had some lasting effects on the securities trading market, which will be explored in the next two sections. The impact of online brokerages is manifested in nearly every aspect of the securities trading market today. Trading volume increase is one of the largest impacts, as a result of the ease and availability of trading that online accounts bring to consumers. It is worth examining the numbers to determine if the large increases in trading volume are actually a result of online accounts, or merely pure correlation with a booming bull market. Over the past decade, the volume of shares traded on the NASDAQ stock market has grown at a compound annual rate of 26%, but since the arrival of online brokerages in 1995, it has grown at a rate of 30%. Although this is not an enormous increase, it is certainly quite significant. To look at it in another light, online accounts represented 15% of all brokerage accounts in the US, but more than 37% of the trading volume. Based upon past experience in the stock market, it may seem that this increase in trading volume is an entirely productive result. However, much of the trading volume from online accounts is a result of day trading, which raises concerns with the SEC. Day trading was not possible before online brokerages made it possible to quickly and effectively trade securities multiple times daily. It is a speculative business, more so than the traditional brokerage business. As Deloitte & Touche describes it, â€Å"Customers usually [trade] in and out of several securities positions every day hoping to earn a positive spread on their transactions. † The SEC is responsible for maintaining fair and orderly markets, to protect investors, and to enforce securities laws that were established upon principles that day trading discards. According to a Deloitte & Touche survey, 62% of discount firms said they would offer services to day traders versus 0% at full service firms. Most online brokerages recognize that day traders make up an integral portion of their customer base, and do not wish to sacrifice the relationship. Day trading is one negative result of the advent of online brokerages that will remain a challenge for some time to come. Another notable consequence of online brokerages is the further development of after hours trading. The New York Stock Exchange first expanded its hours to â€Å"off hours† trading in 1991. The NYSE added a modest extension extending the after hours from 4pm to 5:15pm. It is now possible, with an online account to trade at any time. This can be advantageous to many investors in giving them more flexibility regarding time availability and for investors overseas who have holdings in US securities and cannot trade at regularly scheduled hours. After hours trading in 1999 represented 50% of all online transactions. Online brokerages have improved execution time quite dramatically to an average of 20 seconds per trade versus nearly 60 seconds for full service firms. In addition to improved execution time, the reliability and accuracy of online executions at discount firms is generally considered to be far superior to full service firms' online counterparts. The reasons most frequently cited for this are two-fold. First, most discount firms are built upon an online model, it is their core competency, allowing them to devote all of their efforts to perfect the core of their business model. Discount firms rely on trade volume for revenue, not asset accumulation, so it is imperative that their trade execution is the best that it can be. The second reason for superior trade execution at discount firms is that full service firms simply do not devote the same technological resources to their online channel. Full service firms focus primarily on performing cutting edge research, and providing sound financial advice through its network of brokers. The speed and reliability in execution at discount firms has been one of the top attractions of investors, along with largely discounted prices. The online brokerage market has also greatly impacted the availability of brokerage services to those who were previously unreachable. This hinges upon Internet penetration in the US, which is approaching 120 million active adult Internet users, or a penetration rate of 50%. As was mentioned previously, the first investors to move online were mainly those who were brand new to securities trading, or those who were experienced enough to feel confident trading with little or no professional advice. Most of them brought below average asset values online. In fact, in mid-1999, although online accounts represented 15% of all brokerage accounts, they only represented 5% of the total assets. As stated previously, these accounts also accounted 37% of the trading volume. That would indicate that the online brokerages do not focus on producing revenue through asset accumulation, but through trading volume. This has some major implications to be discussed in the next session. The majority of discount firms rely on trading volume to create revenue through their online offerings. This means they depend on accumulating customers who trade frequently in order to collect fees for trades made. Trade volume has been increasing quite dramatically over the past few, as the percentage of online trades increases as a proportion of total. This bodes well for the online brokerages who are accumulating customers, although those players who are at the bottom of the pack will likely fall out soon. The market is remarkably consolidated after just 4 years in existence. In fact, the top ten online brokerages comprise 90% of the online assets and accounts, and the top 4 comprise 86%. Those brokerages who are having a tough time accumulating customers and trade volume even while the online brokerage market is hot, will likely fall out soon. Referring back to Figure 1, it can be seen that the number of online brokerage firms is expected to decrease over the next few years while the number of online accounts increases. The online industry is consolidating quickly while continuing to grow. Although there is still a large disparity between discount firms and full service firms in terms of how they operate and what they offer, this is likely to change in the coming years. Already, the trend for full service firms to go online is in motion, and there are even some discount firms that are beginning to complement their trading services with plans for banking, insurance, and bill payment services. Currently, discount firms have approximately 74% of their transactions online versus 18% online at full service firms. In a Deloitte & Touche survey, 100% of full service firms said they planned to use online trading to enter new businesses, create alliances, or shift the business model, and 74% of discount firms said they planned to add additional services that are typically offered only by full service firms. It appears that the two extremes in brokerage services are headed towards a common middle ground. As the author of the Deloitte & Touche study put it, â€Å"the distinction between discount brokers and full service firms is becoming less evident. There is distinct evidence that the brokerages that will prevail in the next decade will have features of both a discount brokerage and a full service brokerage. A 50/50 hybrid model of online and full service could prevail, but it is more likely that the future constituents will be based on one core competency (online vs. full service) and have significant characteristics of its counterpart. This is because each business model appeals to different segments of the population. It is generally agreed that full service firms have a distinct advantage in advertising dollars and brand equity, and appeal to investors with more money and/or less knowledge of investing. Online brokerages appeal generally to investors with less money and/or more knowledge of investing. At this point in time, they are quite distinct, but the gap is closing. Another salient example of this phenomenon is that the top focus of current marketing strategies for 18% of online brokerages is to build brand equity, a la the full service firms. Each model, discount and full service, is moving to a common ground. The question that now stands is, who will win out? It is not an easy task to predict the future, or the future of brokerage services in the United States for that matter. One thing is for sure: the online channel will succeed. The top brokerages of the future will certainly incorporate online components very significantly. Those that will continue to succeed will be able to be flexible and adjust to the changing demands of consumers and technology, just as the top firms today are able to embrace the online channel. As Deloitte & Touche put it, â€Å"firms that cannot be innovative will find themselves niche players or acquisition targets. â€Å"