Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Father of Microbiology

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (October 24, 1632–August 30, 1723) invented the first practical microscopes and used them to become the first person to see and describe bacteria, among other microscopic discoveries.  Indeed, van Leeuwenhoeks work effectively refuted the doctrine of spontaneous generation, the theory that living organisms could spontaneously emerge from nonliving matter. His studies also led to the development of the sciences of bacteriology and protozoology. Fast Facts: Anton van Leeuwenhoek Known For:  Improvements to the microscope, discovery of bacteria, discovery of sperm, descriptions of all manner of microscopic cell structures (plant and animal), yeasts, molds, and moreAlso Known As: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, Antony Van LeeuwenhoekBorn:  Oct. 24, 1632 in Delft, HollandDied:  Aug. 30, 1723 in in Delft, HollandEducation:  Only basic educationPublished Works:  Arcana naturÅ“ detecta, 1695, a collection of his letters sent to the Royal Society of London, translated into Latin for the scientific communityAwards:  Member of the Royal Society of LondonSpouse(s): Barbara de Mey (m.1654–1666),  Cornelia Swalmius (m. 1671–1694)Children: MariaNotable Quote:  My work...was not pursued in order to gain the praise I now enjoy, but chiefly from a craving after knowledge. Early Life   Leeuwenhoek was born in Holland on October 24, 1632, and as a teenager he became an apprentice at a linen drapers shop. Although it doesnt seem a likely start to a life of science, from here Leeuwenhoek was set on a path to inventing his microscope. At the shop,  magnifying glasses were used to count the threads and inspect the quality of cloth. He was inspired and taught himself new methods for grinding and polishing tiny lenses of great curvature, which gave magnifications up to 275x (275 times the subjects original size), the finest known at that time. Contemporaneous Microscopes People had been using magnifying lenses since the 12th century and convex and concave lenses for vision correction since the 1200s and 1300s. In 1590, Dutch lens grinders Hans and Zacharias Janssen constructed a microscope with two lenses in a tube; though it may not have been the first microscope, it was a very early model. Also credited with the invention of the microscope about the same time was Hans Lippershey, the inventor of the telescope. Their work led to others research and development on telescopes and the modern compound microscope, such as Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer whose invention was the first given the name microscope. The compound microscopes of Leeuwenhoeks time had issues with blurry figures and distortions and could magnify only up to 30 or 40 times. Leeuwenhoek Microscope Leeuwenhoeks work on his tiny lenses led to the building of his microscopes, considered the first practical ones. They bore little resemblance to todays microscopes, however; they were more like very high-powered magnifying glasses and used only one lens instead of two. Other scientists didnt adopt Leeuwenhoeks versions of microscopes because of the difficulty in learning to use them.  They were small (about 2 inches long) and were used by holding ones eye close to the tiny lens and looking at a sample suspended on a pin. Leeuwenhoek Discoveries With these microscopes, though, he made the microbiological discoveries for which he is famous. Leeuwenhoek was the first to see and describe bacteria (1674), yeast plants, the teeming life in a drop of water (such as algae), and the circulation of blood corpuscles in capillaries. The word bacteria didnt exist yet, so he called these microscopic living organisms animalcules. During his long life, he used his lenses to make pioneer studies on an extraordinary variety of things—living and nonliving—and reported his findings in more than 100 letters to the Royal Society of England and the French Academy. Leeuwenhoeks first report to the Royal Society in 1673 described bee mouthparts, a louse, and a fungus. He studied the structure of plant cells and crystals, and the structure of human cells such as blood, muscle, skin, teeth, and hair. He even scraped the plaque from between his teeth to observe the bacteria there, which, Leeuwenhoek discovered, died after drinking coffee. He was the first to describe sperm and postulated that conception occurred when a sperm joined with an ovum, though his thought was that the ovum just served to feed the sperm. At the time, there were various theories of how babies formed, so Leeuwenhoeks studies of sperm and ovum of various species caused an uproar in the scientific community. It would be around 200 years before scientists would agree on the process. Leeuwenhoeks View on His Work Like his contemporary  Robert Hooke, Leeuwenhoek made some of the most important discoveries of early microscopy. In one letter from 1716, he wrote, My work, which Ive done for a long time, was not pursued in order to gain the praise I now enjoy, but chiefly from a craving after knowledge, which I notice resides in me more than in most other men. And therewithal, whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that all ingenious people might be informed thereof. He did not editorialize on meanings of his observations and acknowledged he was not a scientist but merely an observer. Leeuwenhoek was not an artist either, but he worked with one on the drawings he submitted in his letters. Death Van Leeuwenhoek also contributed to science in one other way. In the final year of his life, he described the disease that took his life. Van Leeuwenhoek suffered from uncontrollable contractions of the diaphram, a condition now known as Van Leeuwenhoek disease. He died of the disease, also called diaphragmatic flutter, on August 30, 1723, in Delft. He is buried at the Oude Kerk (Old Church) in Delft. Legacy Some of Leeuwenhoeks discoveries could be verified at the time by other scientists, but some discoveries could not because his lenses were so superior to others microscopes and equipment. Some people had to come to him to see his work in person. Just 11 of Leeuwenhoeks 500 microscopes exist today. His instruments were made of gold and silver, and most were sold by his family after he died in 1723. Other scientists did not use his microscopes, as they were difficult to learn to use. Some improvements to the device occurred in the 1730s, but big improvements that led to todays compound microscopes didnt happen until the middle of the 19th century. Sources â€Å"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek.†Ã‚  Famous Biologists Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek Comments, famousbiologists.org.Cobb, M. An Amazing 10 Years: The Discovery of Egg and Sperm in the 17th Century. Reproduction in Domestic Animals 47 (Suppl. 4; 2012), 2–6, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.Lane, Nick. The Unseen World: Reflections on Leeuwenhoek (1677) ‘Concerning Little Animals.’  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences 370 (1666) (April 19, 2015): 20140344.Samardhi, Himabindu Radford, Dorothy M. Fong, Kwun. (2010). Leeuwenhoeks disease: Diaphragmatic flutter in a cardiac patient. Cardiology in the Young. Cardiology in the Young. 20. 334 - 336.Van Leeuwenhoek, Anton. Letter of June 12, 1716, to the Royal Society, quoted by the University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley.Vision Engineering. Later Developments.

Ethics in Modern Marketing - 1383 Words

Ethics in Modern Marketing Abstract: The success of every marketing company depends upon their involvement towards their customers. The modern marketing concept mainly stresses the importance of developing a good relationship by every marketing company with its customers to enhance their business and to withstand in the competition. During the last two decades, marketing professionals were increasing their awareness of customer/ client relationships; society has become much more aware of ethical issues. As competition increases, the marketers are involved in some unethical activities to compete and attract the customers. But the customers are more aware and they have more options for every product. They are giving high importance for†¦show more content†¦Another responsibility of marketing in direction of ethics is influencing the value system and the promotion of non-values. Products advertised are not always perfect, and the ads are not designed with original concept and do not reveal the reality of the produ ct. Ethical issues in marketing are an important consideration for a modern business. First consider marketing, our understanding of what is required of a marketing professional has changed over the last decade. It used to be adequate to discuss product, promotion and price. A modern marketing professional is also expected to develop his/her relationship with the customer or client. TOP 5 ETHICS ISSUES IN MARKETING Every business relies on marketing to attract customers and to sell products or services. The problem is that marketing can sometimes promote products or services in unethical ways. What can businesses do to follow ethical standards in their marketing strategies? What are the top 5 ethical issues in marketing? 1. HONESTY The news of corporate scandals seems to be a daily occurrence. Consumers have lost trust in the integrity in many corporations because of the unethical and sometimes illegal behavior that seems to be embraced in the organizational culture of the corporation. Companies need to realize that company reputation is part of the honesty factor. People seekShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"Marketing, Consumerism, Materialism and Ethics: the Modern Marketing Conundrum†4276 Words   |  18 Pagesto service. Later the concept of ethics came into existence. Companies had to market their products in an ethical and responsible manner. This created more pressure on the companies. To tackle this problem the companies had to resort to aggressive marketing strategies. Companies knew that materialism is considered very important in a market like India because all people want physical possession of the products that they buy. So they resorted to unethical marketing. Yet they are successful in theirRead MoreAdvertising : The Positive Impact Of Ethical Advertising1000 Words   |  4 Pages In the modern day society, advertisements have huge influence everywhere, especially those through the media. Advertising through the media is pervasive and powerful in shapin g up attitudes and behaviors in the contemporary world. Advertisement does have profound impact on peoples understanding of life, the world and themselves, particularly regarding values and choices in life. Today, there is increasing literature focusing on ethical and moral issues that advertisement can and does actually raiseRead MoreProduct Quality1288 Words   |  6 PagesAn essay on: â€Å"Marketing and ethics are like oil and water – they just don’t mix. There is no place for ethics in the cut-throat world of marketing†. Discuss The success of a product is always determined by how well it’s marketed. In that case marketing has an important role in every product that we produce. 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With a plethora of characteristics, the ones that I believe to be high raking are as follows: An Effective public relationRead MoreEssay about Legal and Ethical Considerations of Marketing1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe Legal and Ethical Considerations of Marketing in America Paper Evolution of the Market Orientation explains why marketing is a driving force in the modern global economy. First of all, the first stage was covered up until the early years of the 1920’s, in the United States, called the ‘production era’. Goods were scarce and buyers were willing to accept virtually any goods that were available and make do with them. The ‘sales era’ picked up right after the early 1920’s to the 1960’sRead MoreOnline Advertising Methods For Advertising1719 Words   |  7 Pages Online Advertising Methods Background Every day, marketing professional come up with new ways in which they can market their products to consumers successfully. Marketing of products has significantly changed following the invention of the internet. The enormous popularity of the internet in the past decade has opened doors for marketers in a manner that one could not have imagined twenty years ago. Marketers utilize the internet for the purpose of advertising products in a great way than otherRead MoreCompanies Are Impacted By Competition Through The Price Of Their Resources929 Words   |  4 Pagesbusiness and ethics do not belong in the same sentence. History has proven that we are making a valiant effort to change that way of thinking. For instance, if we look back at how some of the biggest cases in America that dealt with ethical business practices, we can see that America is taking a stand against unethical behavior in business. Organizations such as Enron, has single-handedly destroyed our faith in ethical busin ess practices. This also rings true when discussing ethics as it relatesRead MorePutting Theory Into Perspective On The Field Of Marketing916 Words   |  4 Pageson topics in the field of marketing. This paper will synthesize studies/theoretical frameworks that can be cited as part of research endeavors in the field of marketing. This paper will also discuss scholarly views related to what constitutes a theory. In addition, the ways that research, both qualitative and quantitative, can contribute to theory will also be discussed. Finally, this paper will explore the criteria that explain how theory adds to the field of marketing and will analyze two areasRead MoreThe Culture And Practice Of Good Governance1338 Words   |  6 Pagesmoney laundering, racketeering, and wire fraud. FIFA officials, including nine of its high-ranking officials and five sports marketing executives, were implicated in the said scandal (Jennings, 2011). These scandals involved the individuals’ involvement in a series of bribery cases as well as other backdoor deals that were aimed at securing tournaments and FIFA events’ marketing rights. The concerns of the Association of Institutional Investors (AII) about the risks associated with investments in theRead MoreCoca Cola Environmental Factors Paper1224 Words   |  5 Pagesenvironmental factors that could possibly affect their marketing both globally and domestically. The Coca-Cola Company and Subsidiaries have many environmental factors that affect their global and domestic marketing decisions. These factors include; global economic interdependence alongside trade practices and agreements, demographics and their importance on top of physical infrastructure, cultural differences, social responsibilities, ethics versus legal obligations, political systems and international

Development of Community Partnerships

Question: Identify and discuss strategies which an early childhood educator/leader could use to develop community partnerships to the benefit of the children. Answer: Teachers play a unique role and position due to their profession that they are able to guide and present the students throughout the path of learning and discovery. Mentors, Educators, parents, as well as, communities all play an important role in accomplishing different milestones when regarding the closing of the achievement and literacy gap for the students belonging to different social, cultural, and economic backgrounds in the pursuit of knowledge (M. Faitar, 2011). It has been observed that low socioeconomic status has an influence on the early literacy and educational achievement of the child. Poverty also influences the academic levels of the student and generally have problems in their schools in comparison to middle-class and upper-class students. Moreover, the culture also affects the development and understanding of the education they receive (Kendra, 2015). Research have shown that the critical time for children for developing foundational capabilities is until 5 years of age of the child since his/her birth. These foundational capabilities are those on which the entire subsequent development of the child builds. This period is the crucial time for the children as the most dramatic progression of the cognitive and linguistic gains are produced. Emotional, moral, regulatory, and social dimensions are also enlaced during the early developmental phase. Hence, each of these areas needs focused attention for the development of the children in an appropriate manner (Individualist, 2009). One such step is the development of the community partnerships for the improvement of the various outcomes of the children. Community partnerships will help in the positive results for the early childhood services related to their education, school, families, as well as, the community because children will experience better and effective support throughout their early years of childhood. Educators and leaders play a vital role in developing community partnerships. One such approach is that the early childhood leaders and educators could discuss the data based on the development of the children of the community with the stakeholders for engaging them in action to gain help for the improvement of the outcomes of their communitys children. The early childhood educator can raise the awareness and knowledge about the importance of early childhood development with schools, families, and communities. As the early childhood educators are well expertise in the development of the children and factors influencing it. They are in a well-position for generating the momentum of the community towards improving the developmental outcomes of the children in the local community. Moreover, they can help the communities to effectively understand the concentration and degree of the various developmental vulnerability, as well as, the requirements of the children living in the community. By having a better understanding of the development of the children, early childhood educators, as well as, communities could initiate the examination of the environmental or ecological factors, which may influence the outcomes of the child-development period in their community (Wisneski Goldstein, 2004). Hence, by these strategies and with the help of a well- expertise early childhood educator, the community partnerships will be developed, which, in turn, would increase the outcomes of the early childhood dev elopment. References Individualist (2009).How Do Socio-economic Factors Affect Early Literacy?.HubPages. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://hubpages.com/education/socio-economicfactorsofearlyliteracy Kendra, C. (2015).The Psychology Behind How Kids Tick.Verywell. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://www.verywell.com/what-is-child-psychology-2795067 Faitar, G. (2011). Socioeconomic status, ethnicity and the context of achievement in minority education.Journal Of Instructional Pedagogies,5. Wisneski, D. Goldstein, L. (2004). Questioning community in early childhood education.Early Child Development And Care,174(6), 515-526.

Internal Pricing Performance

Question: Write an essay on Internal Pricing and Performance? Answer: The global aviation industry has witnessed so many remarkable milestones in the last decade. Various players tried their hand in the industry but two of them have gained much importance and went on to dominate the global market. These two are Boeing (which is an American company) and Airbus (the aircraft manufacturing division of the Airbus Group, situated in France). Boeing was the market leader for a very long period until 2002, when Airbus took over them for the first time. However, both of them have created a duopoly situation in the market. A series of mergers globally by both the companies has made these two companies the market leaders and arch rivals. As a result of the mergers various competitors such as the Lockheed Martin, Convair and Fairchild Aircreaft of the US and a few companies from Europe were completely eliminated from the competition and the market. History of competition between Boeing and Airbus William E. Boeing was the founder of the Boeing Airplane Company which mainly manufactured sport and military airplanes. It grew and touched heights during World War II. Its most striking and successful product was the B-29 bomber which helped the company gain supremacy in the industry. Airbus was founded in the 1970s. Its first leap of success was the manufacture of A320, which was much more economical than its competitor the Boeing 737. During the years, Airbus revolutionized its model which offered much more ease and economical advantages to the company. Ultimately the introduction of the A380 gave them the position of the market leader. Current position of the competition The rivalry between Airbus and Boeing has being going on for a long period of time. But the recent years has witnessed it to be intensified to a great extent. Presently, there is a neck to neck competition between the two companies. Airbus is the leader in narrow body aircraft category while Boeing leads in the wide body category. But aircrafts such as the A330/340 has been very much effective in the wide body market. As stated earlier, both these major corporations have created a nature of duopoly in the aircraft manufacturing market. The different modes of competition can be evaluated on the following points which reflect a true picture of the nature of competition between the two: Currency: Boeing being based in the US deals with UD dollars as compared to Airbus which being a European company uses Euro. Due to fluctuations in the UD dollar value, the cost of production of a Boeing aircraft increases with a decrease in the value of US dollar. Airbus on the other hand has an upper hand in this case and has priced its products in various markets in various currencies. Outsourcing: As a common practice, procurement of aircrafts by different countries is mainly a political decision which is taken according to the political criteria of the concerned country. Both Airbus and Boeing tend to exploit this situation by subcontracting the manufacturing of component parts to companies of the buying countries. This gives them a competitive edge. Thus, both the companies are in a constant vigil to exploit the market conditions of the buying country. Technology: Airbus introduced the extensive use of composite material in its model A330 which was a break through point for the company. Further it automated the flight engineers functions which revolutionized the aircraft industry. Both the companies compete with each other on technological advancements. Presently their main focus is on weight reduction and fuel efficiency of their products. Engine Choices: The choice of engine in an aircraft has a considerable amount of influence on the competition scenario. Both Airbus and Boeing direct their constant efforts to procure a single source engine which is most advanced in the market. General Electric, Rolls-Royce and Pratt Whitney are the leading manufacturers and suppliers of aircraft engines in the market. All the above factors determine the nature of the competition prevailing in the market. But there are new players in the market too, which are giving a tough competition to the leaders. The market share of the global aircraft manufacturing can be represented by the following charts: The above figure represents the global market share of aircraft manufacturers. Market Situation as on 2014 The recent trends in the manufacturing show that there is an approximate increase of 8.7% in the narrow body segment of Airbus. On the other hand the numbers for Boeing increased by 10% but was set off against a decline in the manufacture of 737s by a steep percentage of 6.4%. in the wide body segment Boeings increase in the 777 fleet is about 8.5% which gave them the dominant position in the market. The new entrants are flourishing gradually. One of the notable one is the Brazilian Embraer. Embraer is developing at a constant rate year after year at an approximate rate of 8.2%. Embraers E-Jet series crossed the 1000 mark in the year 2014. Another rival in the field is Bombardier. It had a hike of 7.5% in its CRJ series which was unfortunately set off by a decline of 11% in its 50 seat products. Another regional player is the ATR which enjoyed a growth of 14.6% in its fleet strength. Other companies such as the Beechcraft 1900 and the de Havilland Canada Twin Otter tried tough to maintain their position in the top list. The position of the Russian manufacturers continued to decline. Thus, it is clear that the market is hugely dominated by Airbus and Boeing. The following figure shows the overall global ranking of the aircraft manufacturers. The status of deliveries of Boeing (Boeing.com, 2015) and Airbus (airbus, 2015) can be represented by the following figure: Both Airbus and Boeing are in a constant race to gain market share and occupy a dominant position. This has a severe effect on the market price of their products. Their prices vary with the quantum of demand. Further, often there is a huge difference between the listed price and the market price of the products. Though recently, the price of Airbus products have increased a little, but both the companies offer huge discounts to the buyers and the lessee in order to boost their sales. They tend to focus on short term goals. Thus, the price game plays an important role in determining the market situation (airbus, 2015). An approximate appropriation of total costs involved in the manufacture of an airplane can be illustrated by the following figure: As discussed earlier, the nature of competition exerts immense influence on the pricing of an airplane. In the above case, the main competition is between Airbus and Boeing. Duopolies always tend to reduce the market price. Both the companies constantly review their pricing policies to boost their sales and capture the market. Globalization of the market gave rise to opportunities for competition to grow which in turn diminished the prices of aircrafts even if there is an increase in the overall cost of production. In such a condition it is impossible for an aircraft manufacturer to charge a high price. Both the companies are constantly re-engineering the pricing policies to gain a competitive advantage over the other. Cost advantages enable them to offer a product at a cheaper rate than the competition. The table below will illustrate factors determining costs of aircrafts (Doganis 2010) Air-travel has increased many folds. This is due to the fact that the airline companies are in a constant vigil to offer more and more facilities to the customers. The target group has also expanded as they are able to avail these services at a much lower cost nowadays. Airline companies have started new routes at lower prices. This is the most influencing factor for new passengers to go for air travel. This opening up of the market has resulted in the increase in demand for commercial aircrafts. The factors influencing the demand for commercial aircrafts can be roughly summed up as follows: Increased volume of passengers: an increase in the air traffic has made the airliners to start new routes to various destinations. This has in turn increase in the demand of the commercial aircrafts. Constant efforts of airlines to gain market dominance: tough competition the dynamic market scenario has increased competition. This has led for the airliners to provide better and unique services to its customers. Technological advancements in the aviation industry: airplanes tend to become obsolete and there is a constant demand for newer and better aircrafts which are technologically advanced. Increase in business relations among different nations beyond geographical boundaries: globalization of the world economy and liberalization of the international regulations has encouraged the aircraft industry to explore new destinations. This is an important factor which has increased the demand for commercial aircrafts. Economic factors: business growth has prompted the airline industry to gain economies of scale by increasing their operations. Increased business operations gave rise to the demand. Economies of Cost: increased operations have resulted in an increase in sales. Increased sales tend to bring down the cost of production which helps the companies to employ the excess funds in the acquisition of additional capital assets. Thus, the induction of low cost carriers and various other factors have brought a boom in the aviation industry. Aircraft manufacturers forecast this demand to grow in the future at a constant rate. As a result, manufacturing is being undertaken at a large scale to cope up with the demand. Though the aviation manufacturing industry is dominated by Airbus and Boeing, new entrants to the industry are also giving a tough competition to the market leaders (Boeing delivers first 787 Dreamliner, 2011). Bombardier, Embraer and Chinas Comac are the most notable ones. Among these three new entrants Canadas Bombardier (Bombardier CSeries aircraft takes shape, 2011) is the most promising with its C series, CRJ series and Q series of commercial aircrafts and is all set to give a tough competition to Airbus and Boeing (Global commercial aviation industry looks to MEA for effective and environment-friendly aircraft, 2009). The company forecast of their demands can be compares as follows: Airbus Boeing Bombardier 32,600 by 2034 36,770 by 2033 15,000 by 2034 Airbus forecasts the global oil price to be low which will increase the passenger traffic. It assumes the demand will be for approximately 31,800 passenger and 800 freight aircrafts. Apart from that 13,100 passenger aircrafts will be required to be replaced. It assumes that the demand for single-aisle will be 70% while wide bodies will represent 55% of the total value. Boeing forecasts the GDP growth at 3.2% which will increase the passenger traffic to 5% annually. Its forecast of 36,770 aircrafts will worth $5.2 trillion. Among this 42% of planes will replace the existing ones, and the remaining will serve the purpose of increasing fleet strength. Single aisle requirement will be of 25, 680 aircrafts and wide body fleet will comprise of 8,600 new aircrafts. Bombardier expects the fleet strength of 60-150 seats to be 6,900 by 2034 and that of 100-150 seats to be 8,100 aircrafts. It also estimates that the revenue of 60-150 seat aircrafts to be $48 billion (Bombardier.com, 2015). In such a situation, where the industry is dominated by two major players, new entrants have to price their products carefully. As the leaders already have the capacity to eliminate them from the competition, new players must attract the customers with much economic prices along with impeccable after sales services. Usage of improved technology and faster disposal of customer grievances will also boost the image of the new entrants. There are generally four elements of a marketing matrix. These are known as the four Ps pf marketing which constitute the marketing mix. The four Ps are as follows: Product: the product decisions are the first and the foremost decisions which are to be taken by a company. In the aviation industry aircrafts are the products. Product decisions will contain determining the nature of the aircraft according to the present demand and requirement of the industry. It should be technologically advances to cater to the needs of the customers. Aircrafts are segmented as narrow body, wide body, single aisle, etc. the needs and demands of various segments are to be fulfilled by the manufacturer. Price: the second element is the pricing of the aircraft. Various pricing policies are adopted by the manufacturer according to the market situation. The pricing has to be such that there is a constant and increasing demand for the product. This will generate revenues and ensure long term sustainability of the company. Place: place means the place where the product is to be introduced. It basically comprises the target customers and market. An ideal place is a market here the manufactured product is most appropriate. Promotion: promotional strategies and policies have to be drawn to promote the product in the target market to sell the product. Promotional plans are to be drawn carefully and executed keeping in mind the market sensitivity. Thus, in the aviation industry, there has to be a constant effort for research and development of the product. As technological developments render one product to be obsolete, it is very important to keep pace in the development process. Next comes the pricing decisions. There exists a duopoly in the market with the two greatest manufacturers competing to outgrow each other. Thus, pricing has to be competition sensitive. The one, who offers a technologically advanced aircraft at a cheaper price, will obviously gain market dominance. Thus, there has to be a constant effort to bring down the cost of production. The next element is the place or the target market. With globalization and opening up of the economy, the whole world has become a playground for the business concerns. Both the companies are in a constant effort to tap into new markets and increase their market share. The last element is the promotional strategy. The main promotional strategy used by both the companies is the offering of huge discounts to the buyers. As mentioned earlier, the buying decision is mostly political and the companies offer various discounts to the sellers in order to boost their sales figures. Thus, the whole marketing mix should be carefully designed (Gent, 2014). The following figure depicts the market reach of Airbus and Boeing. The projected financial performance of Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier, based on their projected sales figures are as follows: Airbus Projected Financial Performance (refer to Appendix 1) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Revenues 63599 66980 71233 84472 99110 102200 Gross Margin 11178 12450 12033 21172 32330 31279 Profit before tax and finance costs 6073 6633 5303 13643 23761 21490 Total Finance Costs 853 1338 1889 2875 4147 5439 Income Taxes 1088 1856 2688 3766 5117 6254 Profit 4132 3439 726 7002 14497 9797 Boeing Projected Financial Performance (refer to Appendix 2) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Revenues 61250 65880 71224 78678 84887 98326 Gross Margin 9268 12652 12986 13948 17133 22436 Profit before tax and finance costs 6094 9191 8884 9306 10852 15492 Total Finance Costs 631 1129 1482 2451 3304 4616 Income Taxes 1587 1866 2788 3866 4837 6434 Profit 3876 6196 4614 2989 2711 4442 Bombardier Projected Financial Performance (refer to Appendix 3) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Revenues 14759 17365 20536 26666 32558 35568 Gross Margin 5823 6978 7660 11341 12860 14268 Profit before tax and finance costs 3537 3988 3941 6602 6162 6559 Total Finance Costs 408 819 1223 1646 2074 2825 Income Taxes 1022 1158 1355 1765 2537 3234 Profit 2107 2011 1363 3191 1551 500 The following figure illustrates the total production rates of Airbus and Boeing by 2020: It is evident from the above figures that though Bombardier is projecting the lowest figure in sales over the next two decades, its revenue projection is the highest among the three. It has a cutting edge advantage of the most advanced aircraft in the form of the C series, which is anticipated to fetch maximum market share for them in the near future. On the other hand, an increase in the demand of wide body aircrafts will increase the sales volume of Boeing aircrafts. Single aisle aircrafts are meant to do the trick for Airbus it projects a 70% increase in that segment. Thus, the projected financial gains of these companies show a healthy growth of the aviation industry (Iata.org, 2015). References Airbus, (2015).Global Market Forecast 2015-2034| Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer. [online] Available at: https://www.airbus.com/company/market/forecast/ [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015]. Boeing delivers first 787 Dreamliner. (2011).Reinforced Plastics, 55(6), p.4. Boeing.com, (2015).Boeing: Commercial. [online] Available at: https://www.boeing.com/commercial/ [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015]. Bombardier CSeries aircraft takes shape. (2011).Reinforced Plastics, 55(4), p.14. Bombardier.com, (2015).Commercial Aircraft - C series, CRJ Series and Q Series - Bombardier. [online] Available at: https://www.bombardier.com/en/aerospace/commercial-aircraft.html [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015]. Gent, E. (2014). News: Airbus unveils budget rival to Dreamliner.Engineering Technology, 9(8), pp.10-11. Global commercial aviation industry looks to MEA for effective and environment-friendly aircraft. (2009).Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 81(2). Iata.org, (2015).IATA. [online] Available at: https://www.iata.org/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015].

Emma Essays - British Films, Jane Austen, English-language Films

Emma Jane Austen's novel Emma is basically a biography. As Jane Austen matured through her childhood years, she acquired many talents which are reflected through the character Emma. Jane Austen lived in the popular image of Victorian society. Many critics agree that Jane Austen bases her novels on her own life. In the novel Emma Jane Austen portrays her life in a time of maturing through the main character Emma. In the early years of Jane Austen, her accomplishments and talents are then reflected in the character Emma. Austen as a child had an excellent talent for drawing, painting, playing the piano, and dancing. As in her novel Emma, the character Emma is very talented in these areas. Emma's expertise was in dancing; she absolutely loved it and was very good just as Austen (Parrish 340). Emma being the perfectionist that she was, always wanted everything ideal, and that goes back to Austen in her talents and everything she did. In the novel Emma, when Emma is asked to paint a portrait of her best friend Harriet for Mr. Elton, she wanted to perfect the artwork all the way down to the finest detail . Even when she thought she had a long way to go to finish it, Mr. Elton stopped her and said that it was perfect the way it was (43). Inevitably, Emma's life was based on the childhood and early years of Jane Austen's adulthood. Although part of the upper class society at an early age, Austen was not influenced by many of the contemporary novelists of that time (Parrish 343). As a child Austen was never around many people. She did not trust herself enough to speak unkind words to anyone, and she controlled her temper well (Parrish 340). She was essentially confined to her home and nearby areas. So everything Austen wrote or any idea she had was genuinely original and a homemade article (Parrish 343). Austen always delivered herself in a manner with great fluency and precision (Parrish 340). Once Jane Austen stated: "My greatest anxiety at present is that this fourth work should not disgrace what was good in the others" (Lauber 79). Austen was known for taking not of the behavior of mankind and a class of society, having a universality that makes them valid to modern times as well as the days of George III (Hardwick 11). In studying this behavior, Austen tries to identify her characters with those in her life, including herself mainly. Austen's ability to have consistency with perception and depiction of the people around her, and her occasional special touch of irony, makes her novels timelessly successful (Hardwick 11). Also, by her perceptive powers, as Virginia Woaf said: "Jane Austen was a mistress of much deeper emotion than appears upon the surface. She stimulates us to supply what is not there" (Hardwick 11). The image of the Victorian society in the minds of people is not the reality. It just happens to be that Jane Austen lives in what people believe the upper class Victorian society is. The popular image of this period was elegant, handsome men and women dressed in big fluffy dresses who went to balls and social events most of the time (Mitchell 1). Mainly these people inherited their wealth. Their daily lives consisted of having brunch everyday, long chats, playing cricket, and in the evenings had social balls. The upper class women painted, played the piano, had social graces, and most of the time had general knowledge of political events (Mitchell 7). The middle class women were usually a governess (Mitchell 7). As in Emma, Miss Taylor who later becomes Mrs. Weston was a middle class women, and she was the governess of Emma from the time she was a child till Miss Taylor was married to Mr. Weston (16). Basically, Jane Austen lived in this world. She shows this through the novels she writes. In her novel Emma, Emma meets with her best friend Harriet for brunch one morning to discuss the matter about Mr. Elton (69). Another time Emma throws a ball for Mrs. Elton and invites everyone to show that she does not despise Mrs. Elton (291). The reality of the Victorian society is that it was hard to make a living. Practically everyone except for the upper class had it bad (Mitchell 2). Men struggled to make enough money to support their families and provide food for their wives and children. They would work nonstop, and just barely have enough for the day or week

The Gain and Loss of Naming Essay Example

The Gain and Loss of Naming Essay Example The Gain and Loss of Naming Essay The Gain and Loss of Naming Essay What do we gain and what do we lose when we name something? When we name something, we are literally classifying that object or person and thus losing or manipulating the knowledge that surrounds its appearance, etc. By naming something (i. e. an object), we run the risk of not describing its appearance accurately and being misleading. An example of an object/product being deceivingly named is the Coca-Cola Companys alternative to the original version Diet Coke, formally known as Diet Coca-Cola (also known as Coca-Cola Light or Coke Light). By placing the word diet in the product name, it automatically seems like a healthier alternative to the original Coca-Cola. The difference between the two is that Diet Coke contains no sugar, instead an artificial sweetener called aspartame. Diet Coke was sweetened with aspartame after the sweetener became available in the U. S in the 80s. However, to save money, this was originally in a blend with saccharin. Unknown to the public, saccharin was actually a by-product of coal tar and was extremely damaging to health with studies showing a correlation between saccharin consumption and increased frequency of cancer. However, saccharin is not the only unsafe sweetener present in Diet Coke; certain studies have shown possible connections between aspartame and negative effects such as headaches, brain tumours, brain lesions, and lymphoma. In actual fact, Diet Coke contains no calories and is thus considered healthy; but I would prefer the sugar-abundant original Coca-Cola. At least I can be sure that Im not running the risk of developing cancer from drinking coal tar. By naming something, we run the risk of losing the concept of what it actually is, and instead gaining the connotations surrounding the word in question. Human nature includes a natural urge to identify everything in our view, which means that there is no way to avoid naming everything around us. However, naming things is also beneficial as it enables us to make reason of something so that it makes sense. It is an easy way of categorising a large amount of information that can be easily recalled in our minds by the use of one word as opposed to a long-winded description of its appearance and/or historical background of how it came to be in existence. An example of this is the word pencil one automatically thinks of the ideas: writing instrument, long, thin, wooden, mechanical, lead. Then comes the word association: sharpener, eraser, ruler, pencil case, etc. All of these words are triggered by a memory recall initiated by the use of the original word: pencil. By using a single word, the object can be referred to with the least amount of effort involved. As for naming people newborn babies in particular giving them a name gives them a sense of being and an identity. With identity comes the feeling of self-awareness. Knowing who you are is necessary for success in the ruthless society of today, and the ability to be successful is dependent on the single achievement of this characteristic. By naming things, we both classify that object or person so that they are referred to with ease, but at the same time losing or manipulating the knowledge that surrounds its appearance. However, the gain outweighs the loss in this situation; even so, the characteristic of naming things is a fundamental human thing even if it incurred a loss, we would still do it.

Trends in the Global Emergence of Islamic Banking and Finance Essay

Trends in the Global Emergence of Islamic Banking and Finance Practices - Essay Example Global reach – First and foremost, the major trend in Islamic finance is geographical. There is a strong outward push of Islamic banks from predominantly Muslim regions to the Western world dominated by conventional institutions. For instance, in October 2003 the Bahrain Monetary Agency announced the move of Citi Islamic Bank and parent Citigroup to arrange a $250 million Sukuk (Islamic bond) issue for investors outside the Gulf. Nearly all the major international banks have set up Islamic-finance subsidiaries or units, such as Amanah by HSBC, Noriba by UBS, and so forth. Furthermore, in 2000 the Dow Jones established stockmarket indices tailored to Shari’a-compliant companies. Probably what has spurred the faster growth of Islamic banking is that Western institutions have themselves driven the development and acceptance of Shari’a banking products and services (Economist, 2003; Martin, 2005; Roane, 2007). Engineering of new finance modes – Initially, only Murabaha existed as the only mode of finance, mainly to finance imports and domestic trade, and ultimately giving rise to the momentum of establishing commercial Islamic banks. Later other instruments were devised, such as Ijarah for the purchase orderer and Salam to finance agriculture and light industries. Today, financial engineering is on the forefront of many financial institutions’ Islamic desks, in order to come up with Shari’ah based instruments that parallel conventional ones and which cater to the needs of not only Muslim but also non-Muslim institutions and individuals (Kahf, 2002). An example is the launching by Sharia Funds, an American institution, of the first hedge fund that was compliant with the Koran in December 2003 (Economist, 2004). Adoption of a uniquely Islamic audit culture and framework - One of the most critical areas where new practices may or have begun to evolve is in the field of accounting. Accounting practice and â€Å"audit cultures† are formed around conventional finance where interest is recognized as a necessary component of debt. With the growing acceptance and importance of Islamic banking conventions, there is a need for a rethinking of critical accounts (Maurer, 2002) and their definitions in accounting and auditing. Presently, the financial reportorial systems are highly attuned to the conventional methods of finance particularly in the treatment of liabilities and interest, and its view of risky assets. A new auditing system will need to evolve to address the special treatment of riba (interest) and gharar (risk) in the reporting of financial activities of institutions in the context of Islamic banking and finance. Adoption of a Shari’ah based legal framework – A major development in the adoption of Islamic finance and a certain sign of its widespread adoption is the move towards the establishment of a dispute resolution system that pursues a distinctively Islamic legal framework. Until recently, Islamic B&F disputes in developed countries sought recourse in the conventional courts which are not equipped to handle the special knowledge in shari’ah law which is required in adjudicating shari’ah compliant financial contracts and practices. For this reason, practitioners and scholars in Islamic law have begun exploring Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) what would be recognized under this legal framework. For a legal system to be set up to address these cases is

Business Models and Planning Chapter Questions Assignment

Business Models and Planning Chapter Questions - Assignment Example Typically, business models undergo significant adaptation to immediate business environments. This means that managers can employ an appropriate business model to counteract changes brought by actions of competitors and other market forces. Technically, business models strive towards maximizing profits by optimizing interrelatedness of production inputs. Practically, outcomes of adopting a given business model remains uncertain. Some model innovations may yield successful outcomes while others may lead to failure. Based on chapter 4 on business model innovation, it is undeniable that companies use different approaches in trying to increase profitability. Despite the immense competitive pressure exerted by active model innovations, most changes in those models are still radical as opposed to being specific2. In many cases, a firm may adopt a correct model but lacks technical framework of articulating the model’s principles into its marketing lines. One definite relation between model innovation and profitability features in the aspect of value proposition. Value proposition becomes instrumental whenever product and service firms understand essential behaviors of consumers in potential markets. All model innovation processes adopts the notion that value proposition plays a significant role in influencing consumers’ purchase decisions3. Inclusion of a concise and appealing proposition statement will not only attracts customers’ attention but also convince a new consumer into purchasing a product or service. In order to appreciate the importance of value proposition in marketing, one should acknowledge the influence exerted by service-profit chain. This chain establishes the relationship between customer satisfaction and profitability. Supposedly, model innovation aims at enhancing corporate profitability by addressing the needs of stakeholders, which in this context comprise

How has HSBC Chosen to Improve its Knowledge of Customers and Case Study

How has HSBC Chosen to Improve its Knowledge of Customers and Therefore its Decision Making - Case Study Example From this paper it is clear that by implementing a DSS the management will be more easy as all the information will be stored at one central database. The organization will be quite effective as data will be stored in a proper manner with not much redundant information. Last but not the least implementing a DSS in the organization will give HSBC an edge and will improve future decision making processes. The solution chosen by HSBC was quite optimal i.e. learning from its past experienced of Subprime mortgage crisis the availability and classification of vital data and information in a timely manner was necessary. Going for the implementation of a DSS will prove quite vital as it will help the managers in the future and provide them with information in concise and to the point manner with relation to the strategic goals of the company hence making the decision making process easier and more reliable. Does this Web site provide opportunities for HSBC to gather data about its customers? Describe the customer data collected at the Web site and explain how that data can be used to improve its business performance. Would you redesign the Web site to increase interactions with customers? The website can prove as a vital source for collecting data of HSBC customers. Firstly from the main website we can collect data that which customers prefer internet banking over conventional banking. Next customers of which country visit the main website in majority. Which specialist service of HSBC attracts most score of visitors. Average amount of time a user spends on the website to get his task done. Which news was found most interesting by the customers.

Strategic Human Resource Management And Assessment Centre Management Essay

Strategic Human Resource Management And Assessment Centre Management Essay Answer: Strategic Human Resource Management is the efficient way of organising the workforce by the implementation of a particular strategy, where employees performance can help to accomplish the planned organisational targets, such as increasing revenue or improving the profit margin. Strategic Human Resource management helps to recognise the business strategy that you can adopt. For example, you implement an effective training and performance improvement plan to improve customer service. More satisfactory customer service will bring in more revenue. It gives clear direction for a business, without strategic human resource management managers will be unaware about business goals, targets and competitors and it can give rise to uncertain environment. Strategic human resource management is also about considering the companys internal strengths and weaknesses. This is very important as the strengths and weaknesses of a companys human resources have a direct effect on the how a company will do in the future. 2.   Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using an assessment centre to select employees Answer: Assessment Centre is a process whereby a group of participants undertakes a series of job-related exercises under observation, so that skills and character persona can be assessed. Various methods of assessment may be used, including interviews, group discussions and group problem solving exercise. Assessment centres are used in selection for recruitment and promotion and in training and development, and aim to provide an organization with an assessment process that is consistent, free of prejudice, and fair. Assessment Centre brings about many advantages. It provides organisations with the opportunity to see how an individual performs in a work situation. It provides more in depth profile of a worker which can help an organisation to gain more knowledge about an individual. Assessment centres not only help the organization in placing the right candidate for the right job but also helps in developing the participants. When participants see others handling the same exercise di fferently, it gives them an insight into their own performance thereby raises the credibility of the selection procedure. Stimulations can also help to assess leadership skills. However some anticipated disadvantages of assessment centre could be: Assessment Centre requires highly skilled observers as the observers may bring in their own perceptions and biases while evaluating. Those who receive poor assessment might become de motivated and might lose confidence in their abilities. Assessment Centre is very costly and time consuming 3.   Explore the reasons why recruitment, selection and training costs are ‘one and a half to three times a persons salary Answer: Recruitment is best described as the way in which an organisation tries to source or attract the people from whom it will ultimately make selections. Recruitment strategies include efforts to reach better pools of candidates and to sell the organisation as an employer of choice. Selection is about choosing between job candidates. It is about how to make a fair and accurate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of applicants and how to identify the candidate who is most likely to perform well in the job. Employment recruitment is composed of several stages: verifying that a vacancy exists; drawing up a job specification; finding candidates; selecting them by interviewing and other means such as conducting a psychometric test; and making a job offer. Effective recruitment is important in achieving high organisational performance and minimizing labour turnover. Employees may be recruited either externally or internally. Selection is a two way process and should be just as m uch about employees as the other way round. Employee needs to decide the company is a place they can work in. The company needs to decide the employees will fit within organisation, job and team itself or not.   The search of a perfect selection method continues. More attention is paid to the cost of the poor selection. It should be noted that in recruitment agencies are often used as they provide expert advice on how advertisements should be worded and where placed which tend to be very much expensive. There are direct costs of working with external agencies. Direct advertising cost, as local press, corporate website, specialist journals the costly as well. These are very real costs to the employers Administration costs that are sending out job information, letters, arranging selection events, etc. Managers time that is short listing, interviewing, selection, taking up references Training cost in order to ensure everyone has the necessary skills to recruit. Administration costs of new employee that is payroll, pensions, etc Recruiting from overseas that is employers looking for overseas staff and then by giving selected employees work visa and arrangements for their travel. After that their accommodation cost can be very much expensive. 4. Analyse the strategies a business can use to retain its staff Answer: Employee motivation and performance management depend on good systems that offer both financial and non-financial rewards (non-monetary rewards). In reality, despite the views of Herzberg that monetary methods of motivation have little value, firms still use money as a major incentive. There are a variety of payment systems that a business could use to motivate its employees. Some of the Financial rewards are: Share ownership: This is a common incentive for senior managers who are given shares in the company rather than a straight forward bonus or membership of a profit sharing scheme. It means that some staff is also shareholders. Because of share ownership the employees will work harder as they have a stake in the company, just like a shareholder has. Workers are less likely to leave the firm. Performance-related pay: This is paid to those employees who meet certain targets. The targets are often evaluated and reviewed in regular appraisals with managers. It is system that is being increasingly used in businesses in the UK. It is easier for managers to monitor and control their staff. It reduces the amount of time spent on industrial relations (negotiations with trade unions). Fringe Benefits: These are often known as ‘perks and are items an employee receives in addition to their normal wage or salary e.g. company car, private health insurance, free meals. It encourages loyalty to a company so employees may stay for longer and also it helps meet workers human and social needs. Piece-rate is paying a worker per item they produce in a certain period of time. It was recommended by the motivation theorist Taylor and had close links with working on production lines. It tends to increases speed of work and therefore productivity. Some of the Non financial rewards are: Job enrichment means giving workers more interesting, challenging and complex tasks. Workers should also be given the opportunity to complete a whole unit of work rather than individual separate tasks. This is motivating for several reasons as it gives workers the chance to test themselves and use their full range of ability it is more motivating as it increases the complexity or challenge involved in the task, rather than just simply providing more variety to the work. Workers should be able to obtain a greater sense of achievement and possibly more praise or recognition of their work when they have successfully completed a tougher task. Job enlargement means simply giving workers more tasks to do of a similar nature or complexity. This will reduce the monotony or repetition involved in a persons work but over time this will not increase a persons satisfaction or sense of achievement. Team working is where employees work in groups or teams. Thi s can meet a workers social needs as a person can more easily build friendships and feel a sense of belonging to a unit or group and hopefully to the business as a whole. This applies in much the same way as being a member of a sports team or any other team representing a school or college. A business can create a number of different types of team; examples include production teams (often known as cells), quality circles and management teams. Team working has other advantages to a firm over and above improving motivation. It can lead to greater flexibility of production, as employees are likely to be multi-skilled (able to do more than one persons job) as they have learnt from other team members or undertaken formal job rotation. This means they can cover any absences and can quickly adapt to a new production technique. Empowerment is like delegation. It is when power or authority is given to employees so they can make their own decisions regarding their working life. For instance w orkers have control over how to use their time and deciding the priority of tasks that need to be done. They are encouraged to consider problems they face and come up with some solutions. For empowerment to be successful, workers must have adequate training and/or good skill levels in order to be trusted to make the correct decisions. If they do not, then expensive mistakes can be made that could affect the whole business. It is the managers job to judge whether a subordinate can cope with more authority and decision-making power. It should be noted however, that even if managers pass down authority to their subordinates, they are still responsible for the work that is done by them. Essay:   5.   ‘Modern Organisations operate in increasingly dynamic and uncertain business  Ã‚   environments Does this reduce or increase the need for human resource planning?   Justify. (Word limit 1000 1500 words) Answer:   Modern Organisations operate in increasingly dynamic and uncertain business  Ã‚   environments this increases the need for human resource planning. Human resource planning has traditionally been used by organisations to ensure that the right person is in the right job at the right time. Due to Increase in environmental instability the need for Human resource planning in leading organisations has increased. It is the process by which management determines how the organisation should move from its current manpower position to its desired position. Through planning, management strives to have the right number and the right kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, doing things which result in both the organisation and the individual receiving maximum long-run benefits. Currently human resource planning occurs within the broad perspective of organisational and strategic business planning. It involves forecasting the organisations future human needs and planni ng for how those needs will be met. It includes establishing objectives and then developing and implementing programmes to ensure that people are available with appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organisation needs them. It may also involve developing and implementing programmes to improve employee performance or to increase employee satisfaction and involvement in order to boost organisational productivity, quality, or innovation (Mills, 1 985b). Finally, human resource planning includes gathering data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing programs and inform planners when revisions in their forecasts and programmes are needed. In other words, Human resource planning is directly and closely associated with the development and success of an organisation. If an organisation is desperate to be dominant in its industry, compared with other rivals, it should pay more attention to the function of Human resource planning and apply it scientifical ly. Virgin Atlantic is the second largest long haul airline in the UK and the third largest European carrier over the North Atlantic. Since Virgin Atlantic Airways was founded in 1984, it has become Britains second largest carrier serving the worlds major cities. Now based at both Londons Gatwick and Heathrow airports, it operates long haul services to thirty destinations world-wide as far apart as Las Vegas and Shanghai. Its route network has grown rapidly to include destinations in the US, Caribbean, Far East, India and Africa, and they have won virtually every award the travel industry has to offer. Virgin Atlantic has enjoyed huge popularity, winning top business, consumer and trade awards from around the world. The airline has pioneered a range of innovations setting new standards of service, which its competitors have subsequently sought to follow. Despite Virgin Atlantics growth the service still remains customer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovat ion. Virgin Atlantic has carried around 53m passengers since it began operations and now employs almost 9000 people worldwide. Human Resource planning plays an important role in Virgin Atlantic Airways. The future in any country is uncertain i.e. there are political, cultural, technological changes taking place every day. This effects the employment situation. Accordingly Virgin Atlantic Airways may have to appoint or remove people. Therefore Human Resource Planning can only be a guiding factor. If Virgin Atlantic Airways does not plan for the future they have less opportunity to survive the competition ahead with a lot of competitors like British Airways, Bmi, British midland, American Airlines, Continental and Delta. Without the process of human resource planning if Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to find out how many people will be required in future they will have expansion problems. In case of recession if Virgin Atlantic Airlines wants to undergo retrenchment, withou t human resource planning it will be difficult for the business to decide which departments cost should be cut down, which departments workers should be fired and how many people should be laid off. Therefore major issues of a business such as expansion, diversification, technological change, should be backed up by the availability of human resources. As it suggest modification in the plan when the expected manpower is not available. Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to take further actions. The company will not be able to identify the number of jobs which will become vacant in the near future. Without Human resource planning Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to offset uncertainty and change. Sometime the organisationmay have machines and money but not men and consequently the production cannot be started. The individual needs of the employees for the promotions transfers, salary enhancement, better benefits will not be provided if business is unaware of human resource planning, therefore employees will suffer from financial and non financial rewards and will lose the interest in the business resulting in absence and risk for business in long term. Without human resource planning business will be unable to anticipate the cost of salary, benefits and all the cost of human resources facilitating the formulation of budgets in a society. Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to provide required working conditions in a business. As according to Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, also referred to as HASAW or HSW, is the primary piece of legislation covering occup ational health and safety in the United Kingdom. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcing the Act and a number of other Acts and Statutory Instruments relevant to the working environment. Workplace health and safety is an important issue for every business. Every employee needs to be aware of the importance of these issues in the workplace and the best way to improve staff awareness of these issues is by providing access to a health and safety course. Without human resource planning Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to closely know what important safety measures should be taken into an account as well how staff awareness of importance of these issues can be improved. Resulting in a lot of unhealthy activities as well harmful incidents for workers. To summarise an effective HR planning helps the company to prepare ahead of time for these vacancies rather than acting in a reactionary manner when an employee resigns unexpectedly. Another benefit of having a recruiting plan in place is that the recruiters know where to target theirjob searchto find the best candidates. Successful recruiters plan ahead and know what skill sets are essential for the right candidates, and they know how to interview effectively. Companies that include HR planning are prepared for future open positions that result frombusinessgrowth and expansion. Another benefit of HR planning is having career-development procedures, which consist of identifying future company leaders and helping them grow. This means that when an executive or manager leaves or retires, there is already someone ready to promote into the position.Successful HR planning includes training models and procedures. This training includes new-hire training to teach new employees about the com pany culture, internaldatabases, software, and the skill sets necessary for specific positions. The benefit of this type of training is that all employees are taught the same thing in the same manner, which creates consistency and accuracy in daily work. Effective HR planning incorporates aspects of employee management, such asperformancereviews and disciplinary procedures. Companies benefit from having these systems in place because they help managers do their jobs and prevent potential lawsuits. Standardized performance reviews help managers look for key items when reviewing and ranking subordinates and ensure that everyone is reviewed on the same scale. Therefore without Human resource planning business will not be able to survive in short term. As Human resource planning is a backbone of a business survival.

Similarities Between Hurston’s Novels, Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God :: Compare Comparison Essays

Similarities Between Hurston’s Novels, Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God Seraph – page 153 So, calling soothingly to Earl, Jim started from the south border of the sink hole and began to pick along to where Earl stood braced between two great cypress trees. Earl’s face was cold and unrecognizing. Jim caught hold to vines and shrubs to keep from slipping off the precarious footing into the water, and said nice things to Earl and kept going. He was a good half way along the dangerous route when Earl stepped forth and leveled the rifle and took aim. Eyes – page 184 He steadied himself against the jam of the door and Janie thought to run into him and grab his arm, but she saw the quick motion of taking aim and heard the click. Saw the ferocious look in his eyes and went mad with fear as she had done in the water that time. She threw up the barrel of the rifle in frenzied hope and fear. Hope that he’d see it and run, desperate fear for her life. But if Tea Cake could have counted costs he would not have been there with the pistol in his hands. No knowledge of fear nor rifles nor anything else was there. He paid no more attention to the pointing gun than if it were Janie’s dog finger. She saw him stiffen himself all over as he leveled and took aim. The fiend in him must kill and Janie was the only thing living he saw. Ms. Hurston’s two books Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God are remarkably similar in many aspects, and I believe that these two passages exemplify that likeness. These two scenes take place just before a person is shot, Tea Cake in Eyes, and earl in Seraph. Janie kills (shoots) Tea Cake because he contracted rabies during the hurricane by a dog, and Earl was killed (shot) by several of the townsmen because he tried to rape Lucy Ann. Both Tea Cake and Earl were rendered mad and lost all humanity due to their circumstances. Both men needed help long before someone realized they could possibly be a danger to themselves or others. Both men were killed for attacking a woman, even though they clearly could not control themselves. Jim and Janie both try to help, but ultimately fail.

Established Strategy for Leadership Essay

Leadership, as defined in the book Leadership Challenge (1995), is a set of practices that is observable and learnable. It is not something mystifying and sublime by which common and ordinary people cannot understand. If a person is bestowed with an opportunity for feedback and practice, and has the desire to lead and to make a difference, he can considerably develop his abilities to do so (Kouzes and Posner 1995: iv) and be a leader. On the contrary, strategy is a plan of action which results from the intended and determined to achieve a specific goal (Farlex 2009). There are a lot of known leaders in the world because they make a change and a difference. They are pioneers for a certain movement that, for instance, bring peace and freedom in their land. Or sometimes, they are the reasons why their company has been saved from bankruptcy or collapsed. There may be a myriad of well-known people in the realm of leadership and yet, anyone, even in their own little ways can be a leader and can definitely be called as leader. One of the leaders whom I know is the vice-president of a women’s organization. She is a scholar and a consistent honor student since her freshman in college. She may not be that famous in the whole university but she does exist. The organization where she belongs is already out of number and their President has not showed up since she is not currently enrolled thus she does not have the privilege to rule and to take a lead in the organization. Definitely, being the vice president in the roster of officers means that she has to carry out all the responsibilities of the president. Presently, the organization is composed of ten members: seven of them are members of the Executive Committee, where faction exists due to political reasons and belief. Being the vice-president, who needs not be biased with the existing division in the group, how did she manage to merge the faction, to increase the number of their members and to carry out all their organizational activities with a limited number of cooperating people? Being in the position, she has the power to lead the members. In order to comprehend the nature of leadership, one must understand the essence of power, because leadership is a special form of power (Burns 1978:12). The way she exercises her power as a vice-president as well as a president has something to do with her motives and resources—her goal for the organization and for her members. According to Burns, motives and resources are two vital factors of leadership for they are interrelated. If a person lacks motive, the resource diminishes. If one lacks resource, motive becomes idle. Thus, lacking either one, power subsides and disintegrates (1978: 12). On the other hand, the faction in the group has something to do with politics, the essence and exercise of power. If the past leaders of the organization have used their power for self-interest and dominance in the group, the current vice-president is different. She just manages and organizes meetings, as well as ideas. But those ideas, for example, for a certain activity that needs to be carried out, come from the members of the group. Everyone is entitled to speak out and to share their thoughts. There might be a division in the proposed ideas, but definitely, those propositions that are not chosen, are still in line for possible alternatives if the chosen proposal has not worked out. On the contrary, the decision-making in the organization is put into action by means of votes and quorum. Everyone is entitled to cooperate. If there are oppositions, those oppositions will be heard. The demands with her as the leader of the group may seem high, but she has achieved to manage all the predicaments because in everything she does, she is driven by her motivation to uplift the organization. Her enthusiasm with her work and responsibility has spread among its members that definitely help in the cooperation; the faction in the group has disintegrated, and thus, the recruitment of members has been done. Definitely, the members have increased its number. Furthermore, whoever the next leader that will be elected, she is certainly been defied to do her best and to rule for her members and for the organization, not for her self-interest and fulfillment, but for the group. List of References: Burns, J. (1978) Leadership. New York: Harper Torchbooks. Farlex (2009) The Free Dictionary. [online] available from http://www. thefreedictionary. com/strategy. Kousez J. and Posner, B. (1995) An Instructor’s Guide to the Leadership Challenge. New York: Jossey-Bass Publisher.

An Analysis of Nadine Gordimers Short Stories Essays

An Analysis of Nadine Gordimers Short Stories Essays An Analysis of Nadine Gordimers Short Stories Paper An Analysis of Nadine Gordimers Short Stories Paper Essay Topic: Literature Death is something that affects everyone and is always reoccurring. Nadine Gordimer references death in her work frequently; breaking down boundaries and stereotypes. She opens her mind on paper and tells the world as it is. She talks about subjects that are taboo, and while doing this she makes us aware of its constant presence in our lives and the world around us. In her short stories, such as Loot and An Emissary, the contrast of life and death is a theme throughout each of the stories. She weaves stories about experiences that all come to an inevitable end. Life is a bunch of events that you build up for death to take it away. At the start of each story there is an unawareness of death being present. They only seem to be aware of the present, neither the past nor the future matters. The people in her stories seem to be only thinking of themselves and their actions. In An Emissary there is one setting where it is always summer or summer-like weather. This adds onto the lack of awareness of the presence of death, because winter is a symbol for death. I relate to these people because I often avoid the thought of death. When I actually stop to think about it I realize how much time I am wasting; this gives me anxiety, which in turn makes me block it out more. These stories made me realize that even the little things should not be held for granted because you could die at any moment. People have the mentality of trying to collect everything, even though death takes everything away. In the story Loot, we see that people are greedily taking what is not theirs, but their motives are meaningless in the end. Death takes hold of them and takes everything from them. Once again, I realize the consequences of greed and the habit of taking things for granted. The people in the story had an incredible urge to strive for more and if they had just cherished what they had, they would have had different consequences. This drive for possessing more inevitably brought them to their end. I noticed that in the middle of the story the characters go through realizations of their own. In the story Loot, the man who the writer was speculating found a mirror. I think this symbolism self reflection and realization. I think that character was trying to collect all these things because he was trying to lose himself. In the end, when he picked up the mirror, he found that what he was looking for is what he has been trying to avoid all this time. Its rather tragic that Nadine Gordimer decides to kill off this poor man that has just found self fulfillment. Her unconventional way of writing makes you unravel your brain and reflect upon things that you thought you knew. Nadine Gordminer put experiences in to perspective, with situations that have never occurred to you before. In the story An Emissary, there is the realization of death in the most peculiar situation. The characters notice death when they are in an intimate situation. This really contrasts the idea of death and the moods that death usually doesnt portray. Nadine bends the common definition of death and brings out a whole new meaning to it. In the finale, for both the story and the characters, everyone gets swept away along with their memories and possessions. In the story Loot, I find that Nadine was not only trying to have the ocean be the cause of the deaths but also have the ocean to be a metaphor for death. The ocean puts a black sheet over everything and wipes it from existents; exactly how death does the same thing. She also says how the ocean hides everything underneath it and I think this is also exactly what death does as well. In the story An Emissary, the end of the story becomes a circle to the beginning of the story. This, to me, represents the circle of life and how its always going to continue on the same path through different experiences. Death always is going to be there, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. These two stories really stuck to me because it made me question all my answers. It made me look at life in a different perspective. Nadine, as well, made me rethink what a short story is. I thought that short story was like a little story. However, she showed me that it is a reflection of another persons experiences. It doesnt have a good ending and unexpected things happen throughout it just like how life is. The definition I currently think of as a short story is that it is a little tidbit of life depicted on a piece of paper. A short story can teach us about things we feel and things we could have not understood before. The perspective of death has even changed for me. Now it is not necessarily a bad thing but a thing that I need to accept is going to happen. It really opened up how death can happen at any time, no matter the circumstances. Her stories made me think about what I have in life and what I should cherish. She also showed that every story has many sides and no one in the end is absolutely right. Her stories and the way her writing reflects on society today, makes the reader understand more about the world around him/her and propels him/her towards self fulfillment.

Concept of Steganography in Society

Concept of Steganography in Society Introduction Cheddad, Condell, Curran and Kevitt (2010) allege, â€Å"Steganography refers to the art of covered or hidden writing† (p. 752). The primary objective of steganography is surreptitious communication to conceal a message from unauthorized parties. Steganography is different from cryptography, which is an art of hidden writing that aims at ensuring that a third party does not read a message.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Steganography in Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While steganography hides the presence of a secret communication, cryptography leaves it palpable. Despite numerous distinctions between steganography and cryptography, there are numerous similarities between the two. Some scholars treat steganography as a method of encryption. Nevertheless, this article will tackle steganography as a distinct way of ensuring information security. Even though the term st eganography was invented in the early 16th century, the use of secret communication dates back a couple of millennia. Before the innovation of steganography, people could tattoo messages on the scalps of slaves or hide information in the stomachs of rabbits (Cheong, Ling, Teh, 2014, p. 3566). Students and kids have been using indiscernible ink for hundreds of years. Besides, terrorists and spies have for decades used the concept of concealed communication to perpetrate serious espionages (Cheong et al., 2014).  Despite steganography hiding the hidden message, it is easy to note that two parties are communicating. The process of steganography entails inserting covered communication in a particular transport means, known as the carrier (Cheong et al., 2014). The clandestine communication is attached to the carrier to create the steganography medium. The parties may use a steganography key to encrypt the concealed message or randomize the scheme. There are two main categories of ste ganography; technical and linguistic steganography (Cheong et al., 2014). Technical steganography applies experimental techniques to conceal a communication. The experimental methods include microdots, invisible ink, and other size-reduction mechanisms. On the other hand, linguistic steganography hides a message in a transport medium in a manner that is hard to detect (Cheong et al., 2014). History of Steganography Throughout history, individuals have been concealing messages through numerous approaches and variations. For instance, in the early days, the Greeks used wax-coated tablets to hide texts. To relay a secreted message, an individual would scrap wax off a tablet, engrave a communication and conceal it using wax. It was hard for other people to suspect that a wax-coated tablet contained significant information (Chiew Pieprzyk, 2010).Advertising Looking for research paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another ingenious method was to â€Å"shave the head of a messenger and tattoo a message or image on the messenger’s head† (Fridrich, Goljan, Hogea, 2012, p. 86). Once the hair grew back, it was hard for people to notice the message. The recipient of the message had to trim the messenger’s hair to retrieve the communication. During the World War II, people began to use invisible ink to send messages. During this period, steganography entailed the use of invisible inks only. The inks enabled people to encrypt a message in an apparently innocent letter. It was hard for a third party to detect a signal included in a message. Later, technological development made it easy for third parties to recognize concealed messages. Consequently, people had to look for alternative methods of relaying clandestine messages. The need for hiding sensitive information led to the invention of the microdot technology (Fridrich et al., 2012). The technology used i mages to send information. It made it easy for government agencies and criminal groups to relay information undetected. As computer experts continue to develop programs that can detect hidden communications, people are developing novel steganographic applications. Some information security experts have built on ancient steganographic methods. Indeed, the present development of computer technology has resulted in a revolution in steganography. People continue to store massive and sensitive information in computers and broadcast it over networks. There is no doubt that steganography has infiltrated the digital era (Hamid, Yahya, Ahmad, Al-Qershi, 2012). Today, there are steganographic applications that enable people to hide any form of a binary file in other records. Nevertheless, most messages are transmitted in the form of audio and image files. Hamid et al. (2012) hold that steganography offers some quite valuable and economically essential roles in the digital universe. For insta nce, steganography facilitates digital watermarking. Digital watermarking enables an author to â€Å"embed a hidden message in a file to safeguard the integrity of the content† (Hamid et al., 2012, p. 177). An artist, for instance, can publish their creative work on a website without fear that another person might steal it. If other parties take the work and claim it to be theirs, the real owner can retrieve the watermark to substantiate their claims. Even though both digital watermarking and steganography use similar concepts, the former has singular technical objectives.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Steganography in Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The contemporary steganography allows people to conceal data in varied formats like text, images, internet protocol (IP) headers, and email. Hernandez-Castro, Blasco-Lopez, Estevez-Tapiador and Ribagorda-Garnacho (2006) claim that s teganography has been crucial in information warfare throughout history. Hernandez-Castro et al. (2006) posit, â€Å"Steganography continued to be seen as another aspect of the internet until the September 11th attack against the United States† (p. 68). A majority of the media outlets alleged that terrorists were using steganography to send secret messages. They further noted that terrorists could entrench messages into pornographic image files, websites, notice boards, and chat rooms (Hernandez-Castro et al., 2006). However, it was hard for the media outlets to substantiate their claims since they never produced evidence. Today, many people are apprehensive that terrorists may use steganography to stage a devastating cyber attack. Consequently, the internet civil libertarians call for the law enforcers to institute stringent rules to govern encryption and steganography (Hernandez-Castro et al., 2006). Principles of Steganography According to Hmood, Jalab, Kasirun, Zaidan, an d Zaidan (2010), various embedding techniques and rules enable communicating parties to conceal messages in a given medium. Nonetheless, all the techniques and regulations must meet several principles for steganography to be useful. One of the principles is that the integrity of the concealed message must not change during and after concealment. In other words, the meaning and purpose of the hidden message should remain intact. A successful steganography is one that upholds the integrity and quality of the secret information. Another principle is that the image or object used to hide information should remain unchanged (Hmood et al., 2010). People should not see changes in the stego-object as this might stir nosiness. Individuals sending messages through steganography should always presume that a third party is aware of the concealed message. Such an assumption helps to ensure that the communicating parties are cautious when concealing and relaying messages. Steganographic Technique s People use different approaches to hiding information. Over the years, information technology (IT) experts have come up with diverse techniques of embedding covert information in multimedia objects. According to Lin and Tsai (2008), IT experts have come up with multiple ways of entrenching messages in images such that it is hard to detect them.Advertising Looking for research paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The experts encode entire message or segments of a message in â€Å"noisy† regions that are hard to detect. Besides, some experts distribute a message haphazardly all over the image. The most conventional steganographic techniques used in images include â€Å"masking and filtering, least significant bit (LSB) insertion and transform techniques† (Lin Tsai, 2008, p. 407). Apart from the steganographic techniques used to conceal messages in images, individuals use numerous methods to hide messages in texts. The methods include feature, word shift, and line shift coding (Lin Tsai, 2008). Least Significant Bit Insertion Least significant bit (LSB) insertion is the most common and straightforward method of securing information. The method entails attaching a message to a cover file. The primary disadvantage of LSB is that it is susceptible to even a minor image change. Changing an image may have significant repercussions on the concealed message. The least significant bit (LSB) insertion technique uses a steganographic application that packages LSB insertion to ensure that it is hard for a third party to detect a concealed message. According to Luo (2010), the application uses EZStego tools to organize the palette and minimize the chances of arranging colors that differ so much close to one another.  The EZStego tools are used mainly in gray-scale images. The method works fine in images with associated colors. Apart from EZStego tools, LSB technique also uses the S-Tools. The S-Tools are different from the EZStego tools as the former require drastic palette changes (Luo, 2010). For the 24-bit images, altering the least significant bit of the pixels may result in new colors. The S-Tools facilitates minimization of the number of colors without affecting the quality of an image. Therefore, the S-Tools guarantee that changes in LSB do not affect the color values. Masking and Filtering Papapanagiotou, Kellinis, Marias, and Georgiadis (2007) allege that masking and filtering technique is useful in gray-scale and 24-bit images. The technique conceals messages by marking an image in a manner similar to paper watermarks (Papapanagiotou et al., 2007, p. 591). Watermarking systems are more incorporated into the picture. Therefore, the system ensures that the quality of an image is not lost due to lossy compressions. Unlike traditional steganography that hides information, the masking and filtering technique conceals messages by extending the information and assuming a characteristic of the cover image. Masking is more versatile than the least significant bit (LSB) insertion in terms of cropping, image processing, and compression. The masking and filtering technique entrenches information in crucial areas such that the concealed communication is more important to the cover image than just hiding it in the noise areas. Transform Techniques The transform techniques embed the message by modulating coefficients in transform domain like discr ete cosine transform (DCT) used in Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)† (Qiao, Retraint, Cogranne, Zitzmann, 2015, p. 15). The transform techniques help to retain the quality of an image after lossy compression or image processing. One of the transform techniques that are common in information security is Jpeg-Jsteg. Qiao et al. (2015) argue that Jpeg-Jsteg â€Å"creates a JPEG stego-image from the input of a message to be hidden and lossless cover image† (p. 18). The autonomous JPEG group holds that the existing Joint Photographic Experts Group’s (JPEG’s) software has been altered to work with 1-bit steganography in JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) output files. The files comprise lossy and nonlossy segments. The software uses a JPEG algorithm to coalesce the concealing images and message leading to the formation of JPEG stego-images. The DCT helps to compress the JPEG images. Apart from the discrete cosine transform, the communicating parties can use Wavelet Transform and Discrete Fourier Transform to process images (Qiao et al., 2015). The techniques change other features of an image like brightness. The hidden information is distributed throughout the cover image using patchwork and other techniques.  Wang, Wu, Tsai, and Hwang (2008) allege â€Å"Patchwork uses redundant pattern encoding or spread spectrum methods to scatter hidden information throughout the cover images† (p. 154). These methods help to maintain the security of the hidden message during image transformation process like rotation or cropping. Besides, they conceal a message more comprehensively than through simple masking. Other transform techniques encrypt and distribute the hidden data all over an image. Distributing the secret information makes it look like noise. Hence, it is hard for a third party to detect the message. Such techniques use a stego-key to secure information. Consequently, even if a third party manages to extract some bits of a concealed message, they can hardly decipher it without the stego-key and the algorithm. A good example of this steganographic technique is the White Noise Storm technique (Wang et al., 2008). The method relies on frequency hopping and distribution range technology that spreads the data all through the image. Despite the ongoing developments in information security, steganography cannot substitute for cryptography. Instead, it ought to work as an addition to encryption (Wang et al., 2008). Line Shift Coding Line shift coding technique entails moving various lines inside the document up or down by a small fraction according to the codebook (Liu Tsai, 2007, p. 27). The affected lines are hard to detect since the alteration is too diminutive. However, one can identify the lines using a computer by measuring the gaps between individual lines. Line shift coding uses differential encoding techniques to hide information. The method ensures that the lines bordering the one being shifted re main untouched. The direction of the change is used to represent a single bit. When an entire document is put together, it is easy to entrench multiple bits, and thus be in a position to conceal a large data. Word Shift Coding According to Shirali-Shahreza and Shirali-Shahreza (2006), the principles of word shift coding technique are similar to those of the line shift coding. However, for the word shift procedure, the words are moved instead of lines. Additionally, the words are moved to the left or right but not up or down. The word shift technique is also referred to as the justification of the document. The codebook instructs the encoder on the words to move as well as the direction of the movement. Again, the moved words are identified by measuring the gaps between individual words. Both the right and left shifts are assigned different bits. Feature Coding Feature coding technique is slightly different from word shift and line shift coding skills. The feature coding method uses a parser to evaluate a document. The parser generates a unique codebook for individual documents. Satir and Isik (2012) claim that the parser selects all the characteristics that it deems might help to conceal a message. Feature coding technique uses different features to enforce security (Satir Isik, 2012). They include the dots on top of individual letters like i and j and the height of certain letters. Besides, feature coding technique may be used together with line shift and word shift techniques to enhance security and augment the quantity of information that can be concealed. Benefits of Steganography The main advantage of steganography is that it is easy to relay a message clandestinely without the knowledge of a third party. Steganography allows parties to a communication to hide different types of files over any communication medium in a way that it is hard for unauthorized persons to detect or read the concealed data. Such capabilities have numerous effects, both positive and negative, on the contemporary world. For instance, people can use steganography to relay sensitive and confidential information, therefore safeguarding their privacy (Castiglione, De Santis, Soriente, 2007). Additionally, an organization may use steganography to preserve copyrighted property. The present level of competition in the corporate world calls for the protection of business strategies. For an organization that uses the internet to communicate with employees, it might be hard to secure information from unauthorized persons. Nevertheless, the use of steganography can go a long way towards ensuring that employees share organizational policies in a safe manner. Sumathi, Santanam and Umamaheswari (2014) claim that steganography can facilitate information warfare. A government may use steganography to relay sensitive information without the knowledge of the enemies in the event of a war. For instance, government spies may use steganography to inform their soldiers about th e strategies that an enemy intends to use, therefore facilitating preemptive attacks. Limitations of Steganography Steganography has numerous limitations. One of the limitations is that the process involves momentous overhead to conceal a limited amount of data. One requires a lengthy text to hide a short text message (Rengarajan, Jiaohua, Balaguru, 2012). Besides, it is hard to hide audio or image files in text records because of their sizes. The size of the medium used to conceal a message is a major limitation. The principles of steganography dictate that a message must be hidden without changing the integrity of the medium used to protect the communication (Rengarajan et al., 2012). However, it is hard to conceal data without affecting the quality or nature of the concealing object. Another limitation of steganography is that it is prone to attacks (Rengarajan et al., 2012). Once hackers detect a steganographic system, it becomes ineffective. Consequently, steganography does no t guarantee the security of a message that is in transit. Thus, it is difficult for institutions or government agencies to transmit sensitive or classified information through steganography. Rengarajan et al. (2012) allege that steganography acts as a suitable avenue for terrorists to perpetrate heinous acts or spread propaganda. The dynamic nature of the contemporary electronic networks makes it easy for terrorists to send messages without being detected. Today, people create new websites and discard them after use (Saha Sharma, 2011). Besides, novel auctions are mushrooming on a daily basis. All these offer tremendous opportunities for terrorists to create steganographic contents. According to Saha and Sharma (2011), a majority of the steganography detection mechanisms are numerical. They focus on the files that look suspicious. Thus, the terrorists take advantage of this loophole to perpetuate crimes. The fact that paintings, photographs, graphics, and drawings have varied image features makes it hard for the existing detection techniques to identify the files that look suspicious (Sallee, 2005). Besides, criminals have identified new methods of circumventing detection. Today, criminals use distraction or diversion techniques to evade detection (Saha Sharma, 2011). The methods entail adding inconsequential data inside a single file. The inconsequential data serves numerous purposes. The criminals ensure that the data corresponds to a particular statistical profile. Thus, when a file is scrutinized, the detection software detects the insignificant data. Hence, the authorities do not discover the actual message. Conclusion Institutions and government agencies have been using steganography to relay classified information for security purposes. The growth in technology and the advent of the internet have resulted in tremendous changes in steganography. People no longer use steganography to send classified and concealed messages only. Presently, numerous stega nographic tools are accessible to the public. As long as people have access to the internet, they can use the available steganographic tools. Unlike in the past where people concealed information in the bellies of animals or tattooed it on scalps, technology has made it easy to embed a message in a text, image or even an audio file. Indeed, people can transmit concealed data over a long distance without fearing that it might fall into the wrong hands. The growth of steganography has not come without merits and demerits. It has enabled people and organizations to safeguard copyrighted properties. Furthermore, government agencies can relay classified information without being detected. The major drawback of steganography is that terrorists can use it to communicate and spread propaganda. The growth of technology has opened room for criminals to come up with diversion and distraction mechanisms. Therefore, they can evade the detection mechanisms that are put in place with ease. The pub lic should know that steganography is not the safest method of sending confidential information. Rather than relying on steganography alone, people should use it together with other security techniques like cryptography. References Castiglione, A., De Santis, A., Soriente, C. (2007). Taking advantages of a disadvantage: Digital forensics and steganography using document metadata. Journal of Systems and Software, 80(5), 750-764. Cheddad, A., Condell, J., Curran, K., Kevitt, P. (2010). Digital image steganography: Survey and analysis of current methods. Signal Processing, 90(3), 727-752. Cheong, S., Ling, H., Teh, P. (2014). Secure encrypted steganography graphical password scheme for near field communication smartphone access control system. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(7), 3561-3568. Chiew, K., Pieprzyk, J. (2010). Binary image steganographic techniques classification based on multi-class steganalysis. Information Security, Practice and Experience, 6047(1), 341-358. Frid rich, J., Goljan, M., Hogea, D. (2012). New methodology for breaking steganographic techniques for JPEGs. Security and Watermarking of Multimedia Contents, 143(1), 83-97. Hamid, N., Yahya, A., Ahmad, R., Al-Qershi, O. (2012). Image steganography techniques: An Overview. 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