Consulting Assignment for Advanced Marketing

Table of Content CONSULTING ASSIGNMENT CONSULTING ASSIGNMENT 1 1 KEY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS & TRENDS 1. 1 Macro-Environmental Analysis Political There are legal requirements to set up retailing shops in Singapore. One can just apply for a retail permit online at the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) website. This leads to it being easy to overcome the barriers of entry, which may further cause an increase in the amount of competitors for OSIM.Since OSIM is in the Health industry, its subsidiary company of GNC/RichLife would have to go through the need of applying an additional permit from Health Sciences Authority (HSA). Another major concern would be the product safety issues and requirements in OSIM’s products. OSIM is registered with SPRING Singapore for Consumer Protection Scheme. This scheme ensures the basic safety requirements in OSIM’s products, and is further verified authentic with the â€Å"Safety Mark† label. Economical According to the latest World Health Statistics (2008), Singapore’s total health care expenditure only amounts to 3. % of its gross domestic product, which is substantially lesser than other Asian countries like Malaysia, China and India. However, Singapore spends more dollars per head than Malaysia, China and India, with an average of SGD$1228 per person. Even though Singapore is facing an economy recession since 2009, Singstat has reported an increase of about 4. 5% in sales of medical goods in 2009 as compared to in 2008. This proves that Singaporeans are progressively concerned about healthcare and are more willing to spend on healthcare even in times of economic downturn.With this display of trend in Singapore, more competition and new entrants have penetrated Singapore. This will affect OSIM in terms of sales and many other factors, as new players will be fighting for the same market share. Increasing sales of healthcare products in Singapore shows that the lifestyle he althcare industry will continue to flourish or if not, do better in future. 3 More and more competitors are seeking to reduce production costs by locating their manufacturing plants in countries with low production costs and labor.This will affect OSIM in terms of pricecompetitiveness, as all of their massage chairs are designed and built in Japan. Social As Singapore is expected to continue developing into an increasingly affluent society, this will have substantial impact on trends in consumer behavior. Consumers will progressively become more brand and status conscious, more discerning and health conscious. As the population ages and material comfort grows, consumers are expected to pay more attention to their health, thus an increasing demand for fitness and health clubs, as well as choosing more expensive yet healthier food choices.This is particularly true for â€Å"Baby-Boomers† in their fifties now with larger spending power. More emphasis is placed on leisure activit ies, such as travelling, water sports, golfing and cultural activities. However, being workaholics, Singaporeans are constantly moving forward, hence little time is allocated to work out. Therefore, there is a potential market for OSIM that is in accordance with its philosophy of bringing healthy lifestyle to its consumers without the need of spending hours in the gym. In addition, especially after the recent pandemics such as Bird Flu, H1N1 and SARs, there is a greater need to lead a healthy lifestyle.Speaking of social status, being able to purchase an OSIM uDream would reflect the status symbol of those who can afford it due to its hefty price tag. Technological OSIM stands out from its competitors in terms of technological advances as well as the innovative design for its products. It is further proven and supported by prestigious Singapore Awards such as â€Å"The Brand with Exceptional Performance† and â€Å"RedDot Design Award† on more than one occasion. OSIM al so makes it a point to constantly come up with new designs and products to further attract existing customers as well as new potential buyers.The company has come up with 6 new products catering to different needs in the last two years, such as uKimono, uSqueez Warm in 2009, and also uRobic, uSpace, uYoYo and uCrown, the world’s first anti-stress head massager in 2008. Offering an extensive range of products to suit the different needs of customers, as well as a wide range in product pricing, OSIM seeks out a large range of target market. 4 Improvements in technical functionality such as additional health benefits other than removing muscle aches in the massage chairs, lower electrical consumptions would help give OSIM further competitive advantage.OSIM has also made use of the technological advancements available to almost every household, which is the access of the internet. OSIM’s website allows potential buyers to find out more information, reviews by other users, and even to make online purchases, all at the comfort of their own home as well as at their own time. In order to attract more buyers, OSIM even have exclusive online offers that are not available in the physical shops. 1. 2 FIVE FORCES IMPACTING ON OSIM’S INDUSTRYThreat of New Entrants It is relatively easy to apply for operating license for new businesses in Singapore and it can be reflected in the daily average of 138 (ACRA Annual Report 2008/2009) of new entities that were registered. However, the initial capital requirement is high for the healthcare industry because of the R&D cost and infrastructure of the manufacturing plant. In addition, the increase in imitations also amplifies the competitiveness of the industry posing great price differentials, thus leading to a high threat of new entrant. Despite being less price-competitive, OSIM’s products possess more superior quality.Therefore, threat of new entrants is deemed to be moderate. Threat of Substitute OSIM is highly threatened by the many varieties of substitutes available in the market. Since OSIM’s mission statement is to â€Å"offer their customers total well-being†, customers can also easily find these needs in many other substitutes. For instance, there has been a recent surge of fitness clubs, which serves as a one-stop centre for many consumers. Customers looking for a total workout can obtain all the equipments they need in these fitness clubs, without having to buy them.These fitness clubs also cater to consumers’ needs for lifestyle, for example, by providing plasma televisions fitted all around the clubs. Other substitutes includes, the very well-received spas and massage parlors, low cost manual and electrical massaging equipment, participating in active sports like Yoga or kickboxing, adopting healthier eating habits and consumption of health supplement pills. 5 It can be seen that most of the substitutes provide consumers with lower cost benefit s an d some may even provide the same health advantages as OSIM products, hence, the threat of substitutes for OSIM is relatively high.Power of Buyer Consumers are presented with a wide array of competitive brands and alternatives such as fitness clubs and traditional massages. As Singaporeans are becoming more affluent, an average household income amounts to SGD$7440 which illustrates a high spending power. Hence, power of buyer is moderate. Power of Supplier Supplier Power for OSIM is moderate. They do not own their personal manufacturing plant or factory. Most of their manufacturing is outsourced to external companies in China and Japan. Recently, they have also entered a Joint Venture Agreement with Daito Electric Machine Industry Company.Daito will help OSIM in the molding and manufacturing of healthcare appliances. However, given that OSIM has numerous supplies of manufacturers, they can fall back on other manufacturers if one fails to commit for whatever reasons, thus the power of supplier is low. Intensity of Rivalry in Industry The main rivals in the healthcare industry include OTO and Ogawa. Being the market leader, OSIM is renowned for its quality and constant innovations. This clearly differentiates OSIM from its competitors. Conversely, its price positioning might put off some consumers and encourage consumers to patronage its competitors.Furthermore, as mode of entry to the retail market in Singapore is relatively easy, cost of exiting would be higher as ACRA has the right to reject any application of termination of a retail permit if they feel that the applicant can still â€Å"survive† the business, which simply means that the barriers to exiting the market is high. 6 1. 3 Key issues that are likely to impact on the marketing strategy for OSIM Key Environmental Possible Market Impact / Industry Issues Economical Rising expenditure on health OSIM care in Singapore can offer more attractive Possible Marketing Mix Implications romotions such as a package deal to attract more buyers Social Consumers are more aware of OSIM can educate consumers on the the need to live a healthier products and the health benefits lifestyle Technological Ever-advancing technology OSIM has to constantly update themselves with the latest technology to continuously innovate to retail existing customers Threat Substitutes of Many different forms of It is difficult for OSIM to counter such except to offer more substitutes, some of which substitutes might cost a lot less than the attractive promotions, better products roducts of OSIM or even attempting to reach out to the consumers more readily with well located shops Intensity of Rivalry Mode of entry into a retail The chances of more competitors within Industry business is relatively easy, entering the market and â€Å"lingering†, and while barriers of exit are high since OSIM focuses on quality in its products, it has to counter such new businesses in the form of quality products with newe r technology, rather than low pricing strategies 7 Consulting Assignment 2 2 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 2. 1 Market Segmentation OSIM OTO OGAWAGeographic ? Residential Areas ? Shopping Areas ? CBD Areas ? All age groups ? Residential Areas ? CBD Areas ? Residential Areas ? Shopping Areas ? CBD Areas ? All age groups Demographic ? Middle-aged Psychographic ? Consumers that seek innovation ? Fast-paced lifestyle ? Family-oriented ? Benefit from consuming novelty ? Seek quality ? Traditionally-oriented ? Family-oriented ? Consumers that seek innovation ? Fast-paced lifestyle ? Benefit from consuming novelty ? Seek value for money Behavioural ? High consumer loyalty ? Seek value for money 2. 2 Strategic Group Map The above strategic map illustrates the positioning of the two closest competitors in comparison with OSIM. Judging from the numbers in the map, OSIM has the strongest global presence with more than 1,100 outlets across 31 countries. OSIM also has the most product offerings that can s atisfy the varieties of needs of consumers. Furthermore, OSIM makes use of their advancement in technology to constantly introduce innovative products to the market. This would allow OSIM to attract new customers and retain existing ones.However, OSIM’s products are priced at a much higher level than its competitors. This gives OTO and OGAWA a competitive edge over OSIM. Despite the attractive prices, they have a weaker brand image. This can be clearly seen in an independent survey conducted where OSIM came up as the number 1 brand of healthy lifestyle products in consumers’ minds, ‘most preferred healthy lifestyle brand’ and ‘the most preferred Massage Chair’ across Asia. 9 2. 3 Competitive Strategy Theory Officially launched in 1993, OSIM is the global leader in branded healthy lifestyle products.The company is constantly developing new products that possess innovation technologies, bringing its consumers healthier lifestyle and overall well -being. The two key direct competitors include OTO Bodycare and OGAWA World. Name of Company OSIM Porter Generic Strategy Differentiation OSIM uses Market Positioning Market Leader advanced PRODUCT INNOVATION: OSIM expand its technology such as Osimotion total demand by constantly introducing Technology that distinguishes new products like uSqueeze and uKimono. tself from conventional devices that rely merely on vibration EFFECTIVE PROMOTION: OSIM recently and innovative Warm Air launched the uKimono that is endorsed by Technology to soothe tired International artiste SHE to reach out to muscles and improve blood the younger crowd so as to increase new circulation. users. INCREASE USERS: OSIM reinforced their global leadership position in the healthy lifestyle industry by their geographical expansion into USA, a large homogenous consumer market with about 100 million household, by entering into a definitive merger agreement with Nasdaq-listed Brookestone Inc.This transaction will br ing OSIM to the next level in its growth and opportunities. OGAWA Cost Leadership Market Challenger Like OSIM, OGAWA does not OGAWA adopts the indirect attack on manufacture its own products. OSIM’s high pricing strategy. OGAWA’s This function is to in China being products are being priced much lower but the with similar functionality as compared to to OSIM thus securing the market share of outsourced manufacturer 10 achieve economies of scale. The more price sensitive customers. savings are then translated to the consumers by retailing the products at a much lower price.Despite the low price, quality is being compromised as the country of origin plays an important role. OTO Cost Leadership Market Challenger OTO focuses on providing lower Most products have similar functions and prices to win a larger share of benefits to OSIM, except that they are the market. Integration therapies of and traditional modern-day priced more competitively. With this, OTO is able to try t o fight for a larger market share. technology allows them to offer OTO tries to indirectly attack OSIM’s high quality at low prices. With most of their outlets in weaknesses, its uncompetitive pricing strategy. eartland malls, they ensure Many of OTO outlets are also situated in maximum exposure in their the same locations as OSIM, strongly targeted market and also challenging them for market share. minimize operational expenses due to low rental costs. This ensures that they remain price competitive. 11 2. 4 OSIM’s Competitive Response Competitors OTO Strategies by Competitors Price Low pricing strategy to gain market share Product Combines traditional therapies with modern-day technology OGAWA Price OSIM should employ Attack. the They OSIM Competitive Response Encirclement hould constantly develop firstin-the-market technologies and innovative products, to avoid Adopted penetration pricing price competition. strategy to gain market share. It is interesting to note th at in They can also employ more Malaysia, an OSIM massage celebrity endorsements to chair is priced at RM 14K where increase their credibility, brand a massage chair from OGAWA awareness and gain market with a similar feature only share. retails at RM 6. 7K Product Product fulfils basic function of providing the total well-being and healthy lifestyle. 12 Consulting Assignment 3 DEMAND FORECASTING 3. 1 Forecast Summary Table FORECASTING METHOD SINGLE MOVING AVERAGES CRITERIA P= 2 P= 3 P= 4 P= 5 P= 2 P= 3 P= 4 P= 5 ? = 0. 8 ? = 0. 2 ? = 0. 9 Y= a + bX FORECAST FOR N=9 8,110 7,550 6,963 6,450 8,868 9,970 8,629 9,346 5,292 8,204 8,311 9499 COMPUTED MAD 1,466 1,973 2,490 3,073 507 514 814 413 2,887 1,242 1,121 200 SINGLE MOVING AVERAGES USING ABOSLUTE CHANGE EXPONENTIAL SMOOTHING REGRESSION TABLE 3. 1 3. 2 Analysis of Forecasting Methods Judging from the sales figures, a positive linear trend is identified based on the increasing sales of OSIM in the past 8 periods.There are various reas ons that contributed to the growth. Singaporeans are earning a higher income, thus a greater disposable income which translates into a larger purchasing power. This escalation in spending power allows the consumer to purchase OSIM products as a status symbol. Also, due to the nature of Singaporeans being workaholics, there is little time to be engaged in outdoor activities, hence, resulting in a gradual boost of such healthy lifestyle products. Therefore, due to the stable demand, the time series model best suited to this pattern is the least square method.All in all, this method is deemed to be the most effective as it has the lowest computed MAD which reflects its accuracy in the forecasted sale for period 9. Though said so, OSIM should not rely exclusively on the regression method as the model has problems identifying seasonal impacts, and integrating those fluctuations into the forecast. The alternative would be to use the single moving average using absolute change as the deman d of the products are stable and by adopting this method, small random fluctuations are levelled out.It also has the next lowest MAD which implies the accuracy of forecasted sales in comparison with the other models. 13 Consulting Assignment 4 4 FINANCIAL RATIOS 4. 1 Ratio Summary Table OSIM FLAGSHIP STORE GROSS MARGIN PERCENTAGE NET PROFIT PERCENTAGE STOCKTURN RATE TABLE 4. 1 67. 72% 17. 41 2. 75 INDUSTRY AVERAGE 52% 5% 6 4. 2 Ratio Analysis Gross Margin Percentage The gross margin percentage is a measurement of a company's manufacturing and distribution efficiency during the production process. In comparison with the industry average of 52 percent, OSIM generates a much higher gross margin of 67. 2 percent. This indicates that OSIM is more efficient than most of its competitors from the industry. This disparity could be due to the low manufacturing cost that OSIM obtained from its contract manufacturers, thus the high gross margin. Despite the constant introduction of new products , OSIM still managed to attain a high gross margin percentage, thus reflecting the low inventory level which signifies high sales volume. Net Profit Percentage OSIM has a high net profit percentage of 17. 41 percent as compared to the industry average of 5 percent which is at least 3 times more.The figure implies that OSIM has better control over its costs compared to its competitors. This substantial difference is largely attributed to the high sales volume and low operating costs incurred through economies of scale. Stockturn Rate Stockturn rate basically determines the firm’s efficiency in managing inventories. The stockturn rate of 2. 75 times by OSIM is relatively low as compared to the industry average of 6 times. The figure is still reasonably acceptable despite being a far cry from the rivals within the industry as it indicates that the inventories of OSIM were used and then again replaced almost thrice in one year.The reason for the gap could be attributed to OSIMâ⠂¬â„¢s experience in managing the inventory. It reflects OSIM’s ability to forecast its sales accurately for the next period and thus, do not need to worry about stock out situations. The risk of OSIM having a low stockturn rate could contribute to higher 14 holding costs which would eventually result in a low gross margin. However, with reference to the gross margin percentage of OSIM, the company is doing rather well in managing its resources. Also, a lower stockturn rate

Applications of amortization

amortization Definitions (2) 1. The gradual elimination of a liability, such as a mortgage, in regular payments over a specified period of time. Such payments must be sufficient to cover both principal and interest. 2. Writing off an intangible asset investment over the projected life of the assets. Read more: http://www. investorwords. com/200/amortization. html#ixzz2GXWACfP2 Applications of amortization In business, amortization refers to spreading payments over multiple periods. The term is used for two separate processes: amortization of loans and amortization of intangible assets. Amortization of loansIn lending, amortization is the distribution of payment into multiple cash flow installments, as determined by an amortization schedule. Unlike other repayment models, each repayment installment consists of both principal and interest. Amortization is chiefly used in loan repayments (a common example being a mortgage loan) and in sinking funds. Payments are divided into equal amoun ts for the duration of the loan, making it the simplest repayment model. A greater amount of the payment is applied to interest at the beginning of the amortization schedule, while more money is applied to principal at the end.Commonly it is known as EMI or Equated Monthly Installment. [1] or, equivalently, where: P is the principal amount borrowed, A is the periodic payment, r is the periodic interest rate divided by 100 (annual interest rate also divided by 12 in case of monthly installments), and n is the total number of payments (for a 30-year loan with monthly payments n = 30 ? 12 = 360). Negative amortization (also called deferred interest) occurs if the payments made do not cover the interest due. The remaining interest owed is added to the outstanding loan balance, making it larger than the original loan amount.If the repayment model for a loan is â€Å"fully amortized,† then the very last payment (which, if the schedule was calculated correctly, should be equal to al l others) pays off all remaining principal and interest on the loan. If the repayment model on a loan is not fully amortized, then the last payment due may be a large balloon payment of all remaining principal and interest. If the borrower lacks the funds or assets to immediately make that payment, or adequate credit to refinance the balance into a new loan, the borrower may end up in default. Amortization of intangible assetsIn accounting, amortization refers to expensing the acquisition cost minus the residual value of intangible assets (often intellectual property such as patents and trademarks or copyrights) in a systematic manner over their estimated useful economic lives so as to reflect their consumption, expiry, obsolescence or other decline in value as a result of use or the passage of time. A corresponding concept for tangible assets is depreciation. Methodologies for allocating amortization to each accounting period are generally the same as for depreciation.However, many intangible assets such as goodwill or certain brands may be deemed to have an indefinite useful life and are therefore not subject to amortization (although goodwill is subjected to an impairment test every year). Amortization is recorded in the financial statements of an entity as a reduction in the carrying value of the intangible asset in the balance sheet and as an expense in the income statement. Under International Financial Reporting Standards, guidance on accounting for the amortization of intangible assets is contained in IAS 38. 2] Under United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the primary guidance is contained in FAS 142. [3] While theoretically amortization is used to account for the decreasing value of an intangible asset over its useful life, in practice, many companies will â€Å"amortize† what would otherwise be one-time expenses by listing them as a capital expense on the cash flow statement and paying off the cost through amortization, thereby improving the company's net income in the fiscal year or quarter of the expense Amortization schedule An amortization schedule is a table detailing each periodic payment on an amortizing loan (typically a mortgage), as generated by an amortization calculator. Amortization refers to the process of paying off a debt (often from a loan or mortgage) over time through regular payments. A portion of each payment is for interest while the remaining amount is applied towards the principal balance. The percentage of interest versus principal in each payment is determined in an amortization schedule.While a portion of every payment is applied towards both the interest and the principal balance of the loan, the exact amount applied to principal each time varies (with the remainder going to interest). An amortization schedule reveals the specific monetary amount put towards interest, as well as the specific amount put towards the principal balance, with each payment. Initially, a large portion of each payment is devoted to interest. As the loan matures, larger portions go towards paying down the principal Methods of amortizationThere are different methods in which to arrive at an amortization schedule. These include: †¢Straight line (linear) †¢Declining balance †¢Annuity †¢Bullet (all at once) †¢Balloon (amortization payments and large end payment) †¢Increasing balance (negative amortization) Amortization schedules run in chronological order. The first payment is assumed to take place one full payment period after the loan was taken out, not on the first day (the amortization date) of the loan. The last payment completely pays off the remainder of the loan.Often, the last payment will be a slightly different amount than all earlier payments. In addition to breaking down each payment into interest and principal portions, an amortization schedule also reveals interest-paid-to-date, principal-paid-to-date, and the remaining principal ba lance on each payment date. Example amortization schedule This amortization schedule is based on the following assumptions: First, it should be known that rounding errors occur and depending how the lender ccumulates these errors, the blended payment (principal + interest) may vary slightly some months to keep these errors from accumulating; or, the accumulated errors are adjusted for at the end of each year, or at the final loan payment. There are a few crucial points worth noting when mortgaging a home with an amortized loan. First, there is substantial disparate allocation of the monthly payments toward the interest, especially during the first 18 years of the mortgage. In the example above, payment 1 allocates about 80-90% of the total payment towards interest and only $67. 9 (or 10-20%) toward the Principal balance. The exact percentage allocated towards payment of the principal depends on the interest rate. Not until payment 257 or 21 years into the loan does the payment alloc ation towards principal and interest even out and subsequently tip the majority of the monthly payment toward Principal balance pay down. Second, understanding the above statement, the repetitive refinancing of an amortized mortgage loan, even with decreasing interest rates and decreasing Principal balance, can cause the borrower to pay over 500% of the value of the original loan amount. Re-amortization' or restarting the amortization schedule via a refinance causes the entire schedule to restart: the new loan will be 30 years from the refinance date, and initial payments on this loan will again be largely interest, not principal. If the rate is the same, say 8%, then the interest/principal allocation will be the same as at the start of the original loan (say, 90/10). This economically unfavorable situation is often mitigated by the apparent decrease in monthly payment and interest rate of a refinance, when in fact the borrower is increasing the total cost of the property.This fact is often (understandably) overlooked by borrowers. Third, the payment on an amortized mortgage loan remains the same for the entire loan term, regardless of Principal balance owed but only for a fixed rate, fully amortizing loan. For example, the payment on the above scenario will remain $733. 76 regardless if the Principal balance is $100,000 or $50,000. Paying down large chunks of the Principal balance in no way affects the monthly payment, it simply reduces the term of the loan and reduces the amount of interest that can be charged by the lender resulting in a quicker payoff.To avoid these caveats of an amortizing mortgage loan many borrowers are choosing an interest-only loan to satisfy their mortgage financing needs. Interest-only loans have their caveats as well which must be understood before choosing the mortgage payment term that is right for the individual borrower. 3 Amortization calculator An amortization calculator is used to determine the periodic payment amount due on a loan (typically a mortgage), based on the amortization process. The amortization repayment model factors varying amounts of both interest and principal into every installment, though the total amount of each payment is the same.An amortization schedule calculator is often used to adjust the loan amount until the monthly payments will fit comfortably into budget, and can vary the interest rate to see the difference a better rate might make in the kind of home or car one can afford. An amortization calculator can also reveal the exact dollar amount that goes towards interest and the exact dollar amount that goes towards principal out of each individual payment. The amortization schedule is a table delineating these figures across the duration of the loan in chronological order.The formula The calculation used to arrive at the periodic payment amount assumes that the first payment is not due on the first day of the loan, but rather one full payment period into the loan. While normal ly used to solve for A, (the payment, given the terms) it can be used to solve for any single variable in the equation provided that all other variables are known. One can rearrange the formula to solve for any one term, except for i, for which one can use a root-finding algorithm. The annuity formula is: Where: †¢A = periodic payment amount P = amount of principal, net of initial payments, meaning â€Å"subtract any down-payments† †¢i = periodic interest rate †¢n = total number of payments This formula is valid if i > 0. If i = 0 then simply A = P / n. For a 30-year loan with monthly payments, Note that the interest rate is commonly referred to as an annual percentage rate (e. g. 8% APR), but in the above formula, since the payments are monthly, the rate must be in terms of a monthly percent. Converting an annual interest rate (that is to say, annual percentage yield or APY) to the onthly rate is not as simple as dividing by 12, see the formula and discussion in APR. However if the rate is stated in terms of â€Å"APR† and not â€Å"annual interest rate†, then dividing by 12 is an appropriate means of determining the monthly interest rate. Derivation of the formula The formula for the periodic payment amount is derived as follows. For an amortization schedule, we can define a function that represents the principal amount remaining at time . We can then derive a formula for this function given an unknown payment amount and .We can generalize this to Applying the substitution (see geometric progressions) We end up with For payment periods, we expect the principal amount will be completely paid off at the last payment period, or Solving for A, we get or After substitution and simplification we get 4 Negative amortization In finance, negative amortization, also known as NegAm, deferred interest or graduated payment mortgage, occurs whenever the loan payment for any period is less than the interest charged over that period so th at the outstanding balance of the loan increases.As an amortization method the shorted amount (difference between interest and repayment) is then added to the total amount owed to the lender. [1] Such a practice would have to be agreed upon before shorting the payment so as to avoid default on payment. This method is generally used in an introductory period before loan payments exceed interest and the loan becomes self-amortizing. The term is most often used for mortgage loans; corporate loans which have negative amortization are called PIK loans. Amortization refers to the process of paying off a debt (often from a loan or mortgage) over time through regular payments.A portion of each payment is for interest while the remaining amount is applied towards the principal balance. The percentage of interest versus principal in each payment is determined in an amortization schedule. 5. Amortizing loan In banking and finance, an amortizing loan is a loan where the principal of the loan is paid down over the life of the loan (that is, amortized) according to some amortization schedule, typically through equal payments. Similarly, an amortizing bond is a bond that repays part of the principal (face value) along with the coupon payments.Compare with a sinking fund, which amortizes the total debt outstanding by repurchasing some bonds. Each payment to the lender will consist of a portion of interest and a portion of principal. Mortgage loans are typically amortizing loans. The calculations for an amortizing loan are those of an annuity using the time value of money formulas, and can be done using an amortization calculator. An amortizing loan should be contrasted with a bullet loan, where a large portion of the loan will be paid at the final maturity date instead of being paid down gradually over the loan's life.An accumulated amortization loan represents the amount of amortization expense that has been claimed since the acquisition of the asset. Effects Amortization of debt has two major effects: Credit risk First and most importantly, it substantially reduces the credit risk of the loan or bond. In a bullet loan (or bullet bond), the bulk of the credit risk is in the repayment of the principal at maturity, at which point the debt must either be paid off in full or rolled over. By paying off the principal over time, this risk is mitigated. Interest rate riskA secondary effect is that amortization reduces the duration of the debt, reducing the debt's sensitivity to interest rate risk, as compared to debt with the same maturity and coupon rate. This is because there are smaller payments in the future, so the weighted-average maturity of the cash flows is lower. Weighted-average life Main article: Weighted-average life The number weighted average of the times of the principal repayments of an amortizing loan is referred to as the weighted-average life (WAL), also called â€Å"average life†. It's the average time until a dollar of principal is repaid. In a formula, where: †¢ is the principal, is the principal repayment in coupon , hence †¢ is the fraction of the principal repaid in coupon , and †¢ is the time from the start to coupon †¢ 6. Amortization (tax law) In tax law, amortization refers to the cost recovery system for intangible property. Although the theory behind cost recovery deductions of amortization is to deduct from basis in a systematic manner over an asset's estimated useful economic life so as to reflect its consumption, expiration, obsolescence or other decline in value as a result of use or the passage of time, many times a perfect match of income and deductions does not occur for policy reasons.Depreciation A corresponding concept for tangible assets is depreciation. Methodologies for allocating amortization to each tax period are generally the same as for depreciation. However, many intangible assets such as goodwill or certain brands may be deemed to have an indefinite useful lif e, or â€Å"self-created† and are therefore not subject to amortization

Relationships and Human Behavior Perspectives Essay

Reviewing human behaviors from different perspectives, including the five main perspectives of biological, learning, social and cultural, cognitive, and psychodynamic influences, can sometimes shed light on why humans act the way they do. Using these perspectives to review how relationships begin, develop, and are maintained can provide a deeper understanding and context of this phenomenon. Framing love relationships with these different perspectives also helps to show how the perspectives themselves differ or are similar in relation to how they consider relationships as being formed and maintained. The biological perspective contends that innate causes drive human behavior. Specifically, this perspective states that the actions of the nervous system and genetic heredity lead to different types of behavior (McLeod, 2007). From this perspective, hormonal reactions and feelings of reinforcement in the brain that are associated with a particular individual lead people to start relationships (McLeod, 2007). Additionally, the relationship is maintained because humans have an innate desire to reproduce and pass their own genetic material on to their offspring, and in order to drive this urge, the brain continues to trigger feelings of pleasure and hormonal releases to strengthen the association between a given person and good feelings (McLeod, 2007). This perspective is somewhat unique from the other ones in how it views relationships, because it claims that advanced cognitive processes are not even necessary for a relationship to last; instead, only biochemical processes are required . The next type of perspective, the learning perspective, claims that learning through association leads to specific behaviors, and that individuals will generally learn to enact behaviors that they see are rewarded (Mikkelson & Pauley, 2013). From this perspective, humans form relationships because they see other relationships, such as those of their parents, externally rewarded, and come to associate the notion of â€Å"love† with reward. The rewards that one receives from a relationship, such as attention, compassion, or even financial security, are associated with â€Å"love† over time, which strengthens the relationship and makes people more likely to  maintain a relationship after they have been involved in it for some time (Mikkelson & Pauley, 2013). Like the biological perspective, the learning perspective deems relationship behavior as something beyond humans’ conscious control and does not necessarily require conscious thought, although the learning perspective does not claim to know the internal processes that drive it, and it does require that humans have at least the ability to learn in order for them to be involved in relationships (Mikkelson & Pauley, 2013). Social and cultural perspectives claim that humans are ingrained with what constitutes â€Å"right† behavior through socialization. Because people grow up, in many cases, in households with married parents, or at least where the parents date other individuals, children learn early on that relationships are not only acceptable, but actually desirable (McLeod, 2007). This notion is further reinforced through messages given to the child through the media, their friends and other family members, and most people they come in contact with, all of whom deem â€Å"love† to be one of the highest goals a person can achieve. Individuals therefore seek out relationships in their teen years because they have been told that it is a positive objective to strive toward, and they are further reinforced in their views by their partner and others who know them after dating or getting married, which leads the person to continue their relationship (McLeod, 2007). This perspective is unlike the learning and biological perspectives in that it does not rely on reflexes or innate drives, but instead requires complex thought, and, moreover, socialization; a person living outside of society would likely have no desire to be in a relationship, according to this perspective. The cognitive perspective claims that human thought is what drives all behavior. In this sense, then, humans enter relationships because they see relationships as something that they desire, and which will provide them with some type of enjoyment or reward for seeking out (Mikkelson & Pauley, 2013). If they find that they do receive some type of benefit from dating a person, they will make the decision to develop the relationship further, learning more about the person and perhaps even getting married, if they believe that they are sufficiently compatible with the other person for the  relationship to last and continue to be rewarding (Mikkelson & Pauley, 2013). This perspective, like the social and cultural perspective, is very reliant on human thought as a driver of relationships, but the cognitive perspective deems relationships an individual choice rather than a result of societal pressure. Lastly, the psychodynamic perspective contends that behavior is due to interactions between the conscious and the subconscious mind. A relationship might begin because a member of the opposite sex might remind an individual of the loving relationship they had with their parents, but in order to sublimate the inappropriate desire for one’s parents, the individual seeks out a relationship with a person outside of their family. The relationship is maintained because it provides the person with ego fulfillment (McLeod, 2007). Like the cognitive and social perspectives, the psychodynamic perspective describes relationships in terms of human thought and cognitive activity, but unlike those other perspectives, the psychodynamic outlook believes that humans are essentially bound to enter into relationships, because it ascribes the behavior to innate drives. In this sense, the psychodynamic perspective is somewhat like the biological perspective. All of these different perspectives, then, can provide different types of insight into human relationships. References McLeod, S. (2007). Psychology Perspectives. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/ Mikkelson, A. C., & Pauley, P. M. (2013). Maximizing Relationship Possibilities: Relational Maximization in Romantic Relationships. Journal Of Social Psychology, 153(4), 467-485. doi:10.1080/00224545.2013.767776

Healthcare law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Healthcare law - Assignment Example Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973), where the House of Lords concluded that abortion was only allowed if it was to save the life of the mother. The lesson I have learned in this module is that neither the common law nor the statute allows the termination of pregnancy unless the life of the mother is in danger. Additionally, if it has been established that the continuance of the pregnancy will cause grievance harm to the child in case they are born in instances where they are born with mental physical defects or in instances where the pregnancy was acquired through incest or rape. I have also learned that sterilization is the surgical procedure that allows an individual to end their ability or capability to bear children (Tribhuwan & Patil, 2009). There is voluntary and involuntary sterilization; however, in involuntary sterilization it occurs to individuals who lacked informed consent and occurs in cases where the patients is incompetent or because the state has indicated that sterilization is compulsory especially in eugenic sterilization. The government retains the right to privacy of individuals in the sense that, it doe s not provide any statute that govern the reproduction as people have the right to choose whether they want to procreate or not. Therefore, involuntary sterilization has been highly disfavored by many as it has been held to be unconstitutional. The lessons I have learned in this module can be applied t may work by ensuring that people understand the statutes that govern issues or reproduction ensuring that people do not violate the fourteenth Amendment of the constitution. In the case of Skinner V Oklahoma ex. rel. Williamson, 316 U.S. 535 (1942), Skimmer was sentenced to involuntary sterilization under the Oklahoma Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act permitted the state to sterilize individuals who had been convicted form more than three times for crimes that amounted to felonies and moral turpitude. However, the

Select an architectual complex like Parthenon in Athens or Colosseum Research Paper

Select an architectual complex like Parthenon in Athens or Colosseum in Rome and discuss the influence of that structure on mod - Research Paper Example Like every other thing architectural complex of past nations such as Parthenon in Athens and Colosseum in Rome also have a direct influence over the modern architecture and the structure of buildings. This paper aims to establish comparison between the architectural techniques of Parthenon and that of the contemporary world. Thereafter conclusion is presented to reflect the overall study of the subject. Discussion of Architecture or Architectural Technique The Parthenon is the most admirable architectural complex in Greece which is also the largest temple in the country. The temple significantly symbolizes all the ideas, way of living, heritage and artistic sense of people of that particular time period. Furthermore it explains the great understanding of the Greek people regarding the use of mathematical formulae so as to build successful structures like Parthenon. The religious beliefs are also represented by the overall architectural structure and the statues it contained. The anci ent architects used to construct buildings on huge lands since then there was no significant issue of population. Additionally they had stone walls which actually made their structures so strong that they resisted all the storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Use of wood and glass is absent in the architectural remains of Greek civilization which represents that their focus was more towards the rigidity and long lasting life of structures (The Parthenon). The Greek Architecture had a distinctive pattern of buildings with major concentration over the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands. They had several unique features of their architectural structural and the most prominent among them was the Parthenon in Athens. Greeks had a concept that the optimum success of an architectural design lies in its arithmetic calculations which should be made with the help of comparative analysis and established theories in mathematics. This concept is reflected thorough out the Greek arc hitectural history since they had the most accurate designs based on scientific approach. Parthenon has been built upon the perfect mathematical formula which has equal portions and rhymic correspondence. The whole structure is based upon the entablature areas which are further alienated into different ratios having harmonious and logical relationship among them. In addition to this there is a significant association of columns with the capital. The Greek architects had a firm believe on the perfection of designs and this was something they had never compromised on whether it is architecture or any other field of life. The pillars of Parthenon are made considering its vision from a distant area and due to this they always seems straight. The entasis have very little puffiness and recession of pillars’ structure and columns which is yet another application of mathematical tools and techniques (Greek Architecture). Furthermore the top most parts of the pillars are bended toward s the middle point on both sides of the colonnade. The bend deepens as they move towards the end since there is a row of pillars which actually seems in line with each other and show space over the top corner. The pillars are made in such a way that if the colonnade would starts inclination then their pointers will meet one another up in the air. The curve in the middle of the design along with the horizontal lines gives a look of slump in the centre. Parthenon does not have straight lines

Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist Research Paper

Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist - Research Paper Example The invasive context in which the monster in The Exorcist (1973) has manifested represents the ways in which biological changes occur without the will of an individual. Regan is not under her own control, but is controlled by forces within her body that she cannot escape. No one can control what is happening to her. The priest, a representation of the male dominant gender, has no true power over the changes that are occurring within the little girl. He is flummoxed by the changes and is impotent in stopping what is happening to her. However, the male figure is still charged with saving the girl from her own spill of identity, the demon representing the psychological and physical changes that she cannot control and will set her life on a new course in which she must navigate the newness.According to Davies, human beings are fascinated by monsters because they most often have elements of explanation that real life does not often provide. As well, the ’paradox of horror’ c an be explained in terms of the ’disowned self’, the parts of the mind that a person may not want to own or acknowledge. The monster represents â€Å"the struggle between oppressive social norms and our repressed desires†, creating a tangible link between the parts of the self that cannot be expressed and the parts of the biological development that cannot be denied (330). The identity is often complicated by physical changes and manifestations of mental desires that are beyond the direct control of the self.

A long Way Traveled Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A long Way Traveled - Research Paper Example As the saying goes ‘you won’t know where you are going until you know where you are coming from’. However, when we understand history- in this case; Native American History it would mean that we understand and accept each other. Native Americans in general are known to be earthy people who are one with mother earth and they believe that every living thing on earth should be respected. Their history depicts, a vibrant culture and history and is also responsible for the early development of the Americas. The Navajo Nation Reviewed literature declares the Navajo tribe one of the largest reservation in America with an area covering an estimated 27 000 square miles. The area covers portions of Arizona and New Mexico, and a small part of southeastern Utah. Presently the capital of the Navajo nation is found at Window Rock in Arizona. The Navajos populous is said to be over 200 000 people, landing them the title of the largest Native American tribe in the United States. Furthermore, they are noted to be bilingual as they speak both their challenging and native Navajo language and also English. This noble Indian tribe lived in the South Western part of the United States. This definitive set of people refers to themselves as ‘Dineh’ which means â€Å"the people†. ... gnition as warriors from the Spanish and other surrounding Indian tribes because the Navajos raided the Spanish settlers often to get their horses for hunting and fighting. The Navajos grew corn, beans and squash in fields that the Spanish term as ‘Nabaju’, which when translated means â€Å"great planted fields†. According to the said source; by the year 1750, the Navajos were living in valleys and mountains around the canyon de chelly in north eastern Arizona.1 They adopted a new life style being sheep herders and gave up hunting. Today Navajo tribes can be found in scattered locations in Arizona and New Mexico in houses called Hogans which are very easy to assemble. Before, their Hogans were made with supporting poles that were covered with mush and brush. Then they transformed to more stable Hogans made from logs chinked in mud in a circular shape.2 Culture of the Navajo Nation The culture of the Navajo people is quite exciting. They hold fascinating beliefs an d engage in colorful ceremonies. They believe that the spiritual and the physical world blend together as one. The ‘Yei’ (holy ones) as they are known live in the four sacred mountains in each of the four directions that marks the boundaries of the Navajo land. The navajopeople.org website argues that the Navajos are highly ceremonial second to some of the Pueblo groups. Almost every act of their life; example, building a Hogan, planting crops and so on is ceremonial in nature, each being carried out with songs and prayers. The said source also declared that â€Å"the Navajo dead are buried by others than immediate relatives in unmarked graves. No ceremonies are held, for the dead are considered evil and are feared. The hogan in which death occurs is forever abandoned, often burned. Sometimes a hogan is

Case Study#1 Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

#1 - Case Study Example In the state of Florida, it can be found out that most of the wildlife has been safeguarded by one or the other law. Such laws of Florida have been enacted by the governments at the various level including local, regional, state or federal (Schaefer, Tucker & McGurie, â€Å"Laws that Protect Florida’s Wildlife†). The other law regarding that of two weeks counselling prior to marriage, for the interracial couples, has been enacted for the best interest of the couple. As, the involved individuals in such marriages are often from a very different cultural and economic background, so it can be identified that such counselling would help the future husband and wife to know each other better. Though it seems that the both the law statutes have been enacted for the greater good of the society, one to reduce the pollution content and save the ecological balance by protecting the extinct species of blood and the other contributing towards post marriage harmony but one might not like the statutes. The person travelling from outside the state of Minnesota might feel that he has to incur extra cost in lieu of pollution resistant device in his vehicle. The interracial couple can also have reservations as they are adult and the state can not impose them the counselling sessions. In such cases, the affected parties might appeal to the higher court of law i.e. the court of appeal. If the legislation permits, they can also appeal to the apex court i.e. the Supreme Court. As discussed earlier, the law of the land should not impose certain statutes upon the mature adults. If any of the individual decided to choose upon his life partner, who happens to be from a different race, the legalities of the nation should not compel him to have mandatory counselling session for two weeks. As matured individual adults, they have the right to get married to the person they want to. Also, it is very hurting

Diel Oxygen Measurements Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Diel Oxygen Measurements - Lab Report Example The water may be used in anthropogenic activity such as cooking and laundry. Measurement of diel changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations of freshwater systems is a widely accepted method of examining its productivity. It measures the dissolved oxygen concentrations twice a day (sunrise and sunset) to determine the gross productivity and respiration of the system (Van de Bogert, 2007). This is based on the carbon dioxide-acquiring and oxygen-producing photosynthesis, as well as the carbon dioxide-producing and oxygen-acquiring respiration. It is thus to be expected that the oxygen is highest during the sunset because the sunlight-requiring photosynthesis happened during the day, and lowest during the sunrise because photosynthesis does not occur to offset respiration (Hansom et al., 2003). In this light we may also expect that the surface is more productive at the bottom than at the surface, because it is more difficult for sunrays to hit deeper areas of the water. The objective of this experiment was to measure the productivity of aquatic systems in San Joaquin Marsh. Specifically, the researchers aimed to measured the dissolved oxygen concentration on the bottom and surface of the marsh, to calculate the productivity/respiratory ratio, and to assess whether the surface and bottom are autotrophic (productivity/respiratory > 1), or heterotrophic (productivity/respiratory Dissolved oxygen concentrations were measured at the surface and bottom of 8 different ponds on the site from Monday, 6:00 am sunrise and 7:45 pm sunset, to Tuesday, 6: 00 am sunrise. After data gathering, productivity/respiratory ratios were calculated as

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Essay Example for Free

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Essay Ever since the first printing of the first Harry Potter novel, the book series has been under attack from people arguing that the books are intended to initiate children into witchcraft and demonic practices or that they undermine traditional spiritual values. Yes, indeed, there are ghosts and Halloween, and the practice of magic. However, Harry Potter books are no more a threat to the traditional spiritual values of our children than The Wizard of Oz was before them. Harry Potter has not grown up in a â€Å"normal† family, even outside of the wizarding world. The Dursleys do not care for Harry and treat him poorly. They are clearly nominally Christians; in Chapter Two, Harry’s uncle threatens him with punishment, saying that Harry will â€Å"be in that cupboard from now until Christmas† if he is involved in any â€Å"funny business† (24). There is no evidence, however, that the Dursleys ever practice any particular faith. That lack of spiritual practice carries through the book, even in the wizarding world. .While no one falls to his or her knees in religious fervor, neither does anyone sacrifice a goat to Satan. Rowling has kept her books carefully neutral, but not because she wishes to undermine traditional spiritual values. Rather, it seems that Rowling wishes to appeal to the largest possible audience, without appealing to one spiritual belief over another. Rowling presents Halloween in such a manner that would appeal to the imagination of children, with bats, candles in pumpkins, and a feast; however, it is also merely a backdrop for the action that brings the Three Musketeers of Harry, Ron, and Hermione together (Rowling 172-179). Later in the book, the characters celebrate Christmas. Christmas, however, is no different from Halloween. The Christmas break serves only to give Harry a quiet moment to investigate the library and to investigate the Mirror of Erised (Rowling 204-209). Once again Rowling is carefully neutral, describing Christmas only in terms of what would appeal to children. While Rowling focuses primarily on food, gifts, and games, Ron’s brother George also takes the time to tell another brother that he will not be sitting with his fellow prefects, because â€Å"Christmas is a time for family† (203). Rather than glorifying the wizarding world, Rowling chooses to show that the wizarding world is no more appealing than the Muggle world. There are still bullies there: Draco Malfoy is just like Harry’s cousin, only he is thinner and can ride a broom. Friendship and loyalty and knowledge are all valued there; fellowship and fun are as much a part of the school as magic is. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is simply a fantasy story about a boy and his friends away at boarding school. The only real magic connected to this book is that it rekindled many children’s interest in reading. Who can truly argue with that result?

Climate change and human health

Climate change and human health Introduction The negative impacts of climate change are numerous and wide ranging. But none are as disturbing as those that pose a serious threat to human health (Smith et al., 2001). Moreover, these negative impacts are extremely complex in nature. Climate change can affect human health in several different ways (Haines Patz, 2004). With a 0.8% rise in the earth surface temperature over the past 30 years ( Solomon et al., 2007) and a further expected increase of 1.1- 6.4 degrees over the next 100 years, climate change would result in volatile global temperatures, fluctuations in the worlds rainfall level, extreme droughts and severe floods all effecting human health adversely (Haines et al., 2005). The effects can be either direct in the form of a life threatening situation or indirect ones, with detrimental consequences for biodiversity integral to human life existence. In addition, climate change can potentially influence the quality and quantity of disease carrying species thereby affecting the pathogens that carry those diseases (Bosello et al., 2006). According to WHO the fluctuations in global temperatures and rainfall have resulted in the deaths of around 150,000 people (Campbell-Lendrum et al., 2003). Furthermore, by 2030 the risk to human health from climate change will almost double (WHO, 2002) Main Threats to Human Health Heat Waves The rise in temperature predicted in future is most likely to cause more severe and prolonged heat waves (Hulme et al., 2002). Increased temperatures usually lead to cardiovascular, cerebral vascular and respiratory diseases, especially in the elderly with high mortality rates (Haines et al., 2006). Heat waves are particularly dangerous for urban areas due to the urban heat effect often resulting in higher temperatures than less crowded rural areas. In the absence of a co-ordinate effort, the threat of a heat wave is all the more real. In 2003 several thousand people died due to heat wave across Europe (Johnson et al., 2005; IVS, 2003). Severe heat can also lead to increase in humidity with negative implications for human health (Haines et al., 2006). Floods Droughts As the frequency and severity of floods and droughts increase, so do their devastating impacts on human health, in a direct and an indirect way. Human life can be threatened or even lost as a result of flooding or injury caused due to it. There are long term negative impacts on the victims mental state associated with flooding (French et al., 1983). Moreover, flooding can cause the release of toxic chemicals thereby constituting a health hazard (Albering et al., 1993-94). Flooding often leaves behind a legacy of diarrhoeal and diseases related to respiration especially in crowded regions. Mental illness like anxiety can creep in after the damages of flooding in a population (Haines et al., 2006). Droughts can lead to infectious diseases, extreme dry conditions which are highly conducive to forest fires and severe food shortages leading to low nutrition (Bouma et al., 1997). Malaria Infectious Diseases Infectious diseases are mostly caused by agents normally in the form of insects. These insects are sensitive to slight temperature variations. With the increase in temperature due to climate change, there is a likelihood that the population of these carrier agents would increase. Temperature isnt the only variable affected by climate change that helps such disease carriers. Factors like humidity, sea level rise, soil moisture and alteration in rain forest can positively affect the numbers of these insects. This can lead to an increase in the overall incident rate as well as an increase in the duration of the transmission season (Kovats, 2003). Addressing the Issue Policy making with regard to assessing the impacts of climate change on human health needs to address two basic notions: vulnerability in future as well as the cost in terms of resources needed to implement the strategies in order to reduce or mitigate the effect of climate change on human health (Ebi, 2008). Successful policies should be able to address the following basic issues: select the most climate sensitive health problems, the relationship between climate change and current health patterns, strategies available to help address the issue of climate change in terms of its costs on human health, and how can we successfully implement the health related climate change strategies (Ebi, 2008). Conclusion The issue of climate change carries enormous significance with respect to its impacts on human health. Several studies indicate a clear linkage between the climate change and its negative effects on human health. Climate change negatively influence human health in numerous ways with severe repercussions. Changes in the different variables associated with climate change help nurture the conditions harmful to human health. Policy making therefore needs to address some of the most sensitive and pressing issues in this regard. We should be able to target the issues in a more economic way as the costs of climate change mitigation are already perceived to be too high. BIBLIOGRAPHY Albering HJ, van Leusen SM, Moonen EJC, Hoogewerff JA, Kleinjans JCS. Human health risk assessment: a case study involving heavy metal soil contamination after the flooding of the river Meuse during the winter of 1993-1994. Environ Health Perspect 1999;107:37-43 Bosello, F., Lazzarin, M., Roson, R., Tol, R.S.J., 2004. Economy-Wide Estimates of the Implications of Climate Change: Sea Level Rise, Research Unit Sustainability and Global Change FNU-38. Centre for Marine and Climate Research, Hamburg University, Hamburg. Bouma MJ, Kovats SR, Goubet SA, St H, Cox J, Haines A. Global assessment of El NinËÅ"os disaster burden. Lancet 1997; 350:1435-8. Campbell-Lendrum, D., Pruss-Ustun, A., Corvalan, C., 2003. How much disease could climate change cause? in: McMichael, A.J., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Corvalan, C., Ebi, K.L., Githeko, A.K., Scheraga, J.S., Woodward, A. (Eds.), Climate Change and Health: Risks and Responses. World Health Organization, Geneva, pp. 133-158. Ebi, K. Burton, I. 2008 Identifying practical adaptation options: an approach to address climate change-related health risks. Environmental Science Policy II, 359-369. French J, Ing R, Von Allmen S, Wood R. Mortality from flash floods: a review of national weather service reports, 1969- 81. Public Health Rep 1983;98:584-8. Haines, A. Patz J. Health effects of climate change. J Am Med Assoc 2004;291:99-103 Haines, A., Kovats, S., Campbell-Lendrum, D. Corvalan, C. ( 2006) Climate change and human health: Impacts, vulnerability and public health. Public Health (2006) 120, 585-596 Hulme M, Jenkins GJ, Lu X, et al. Climate change scenarios for the United Kingdom: the UKCIP02 scientific report. Norwich: Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia; 2002. Institut de Veille Sanitaire. Impact sanitaire de la vague de chaleur en France survenue en aouˆt 2003. De ´partement des maladies chroniques et traumatismes, De ´partement sante ´ environment, Paris; 2003. Johnson H, Kovats RS, McGregor GR, et al. The impact of the 2003 heatwave on mortality and hospital admissions in England. Health Stat Q 2005;25:6-11. Kovats S, Bouma MJ, Hajat S, Worrell E, Haines A. El Nino and health. Lancet 2003;361:1481-9. Shea, K., Truckner, R., Weber, R. Peden, D. 2008 Climate change and allergic disease. Clinical reviews in allergy and immunology Smith, J.B., Schellnhuber, H.-J., Mirza, M.Q., Fankhauser, S., Leemans, R., Erda, L., Ogallo, L., Pittock, B., Richels, R., Rosenzweig, C., Safriel, U., Tol, R.S.J., Weyant, J.P., Yohe, G.W., 2001. Vulnerability to climate change and reasons for concern: a synthesis. In: McCarthy, J.J., et al., (Eds.), Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, pp. 913- 967. WHO, 2002. The World Health Report 2002 Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. World Health Organization, Geneva.

L-Shaped Array for Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope

L-Shaped Array for Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope Abstract An array of eight antennas with different configuration, more precisely an L-shaped array has been built for the Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope for Radio Astronomy (MITRA) project. It consists of quite newly designed Dual Polarised Log Periodic Dipole Antennas (DPLPDA). The first stage of the project was to test the existing array of DPLPDA antennas in a parallelconfiguration in the North South direction and to bring forward different improvements. Also, comparision of data was done with the Durban University of Technology (DUT) at Durban RSA where a similar array was constructed. Next, UV coverage of different arrays were simulated. After that, the DPLPDA were constructed.After setting up the array, the antenna response of each antenna was tested and the results obtained was interpreted. The final test was to test the complete array after combining all the antennas. CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Overview 1.1Introduction 1.1.1Radio Astronomy Radio astronomy is the study of celestial objects that emit radio waves.In the 1930’s, Karl Jansky (1905-1950), working for the Bell Laboratories, was trying to determine the origin of the source of noise interfering with radio voice transmissions. He built a steerable antenna designed to receive radio waves at a frequency of 20.5 MHz. From the observations, he found that the period of the earth’s rotation relative to the radio source was 23 hours and 56 minutes instead of 24 hours. Hence, he concluded that the source was follwing sidereal time. He also observed that the strongest radiation was coming from the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.Inspired by Jansky’s work, Grote Reber (1911-2002) built a parabolic radio telescope of diameter 9m in his back yard, in 1937. After several trials, Reber successfully detected radio emission from the Milky Way, in 1938, confirming Janskys discovery. This led to the discovery of a range of celestial objects, such as radio gala xies, quasars, and pulsars with radio emission with various types of antennas. [1] 1.1.2.1 Radio Interferometry Radio interferometry are arrays of radio antennas that are used inastronomicalobservations simultaneously to simulate singletelescopesof very largeapertures and are used to make measurements of fine angular detail in the radio emission. Radio interferometry enable measurement of the position of radio sources with accuracy to allow identification of other objects detected in the electromagnetic spectrum. Michelson and Pease made the discovery of the interferometric techniques in 1921. They were able to obtain sufficiently fine angular resolution to measure the diameters of some of the nearer stars such as Arcturus and Betelgeuse. [2] 1.1.2.2 Aperture Synthesis Aperture Synthesis or Synthesis Imaging is a type of interferometry that correlates radio signals obtained from a collection of telescopes or antennas to produce images. These images have the same angular resolution as that of the size of a single and a much larger telescope or antenna. Aperture synthesis was first discovered by Sir Martin Ryle (27 September 1918 – 14 October 1984) and coworkers from the Radio Astronomy Group at Cambridge University at radio wavelengths. In 1974, Martin Ryle was the first astronomer awarded a Nobel Prize. [3] Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) also makes use of radio interferometric techniques. TypicallyVLBIrefers to experiments that do not process their data in real time, but record it for latercorrelation to produce the resulting image. It achieves ultra-high angular resolution and is a multi-disciplinary technique. VLBIis used in measuring pulsar parallaxes andproper motion, resolving the cores of radio galaxies and fets from supermassive black holes, among others. [14] Some of the commonly used radio interferometers are: the Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico,USA; It consists of 27 radio antennas, each of diameter 25 metres, along three arms of a Y-shaped configuration spread over three 21 kilometres tracks providing 351 baselines. [4] the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), operated by Jordrell Bank Observatory; It is an array of 7 radio telescopes spread across Britain with separation up to 217 kilometres operating at frequencies between 151 MHz and 24 GHz. [5] the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) in Narrabri, NSW, Australia. The telescope is an array of six identical 22 metres diameter dishes with five movable dishes along a 3 kilometres railway track and the sixth one is 3 kilometres west at the end of the main track. The maximum baseline length is 2.7 kilometres and the observing frequencies are from 300 MHz to 8 GHz.[6] the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Narayangaon,Pune, India. It consists of 30 steerable parabolic dish each of diameter 45 metres opertaing at six different frequency bands and where 14 dishes are arranged in a central square and remaining 6 in a three arm Y-shaped array giving a baseline of about 25 Kilometres . [7] Some of the new radio interferometers are: Low Frequency Array (LoFAR) in north of Exloo, the Netherlands (core) and neighbouring countries It is a phased-array of radio telescopes of about 25,000 small antennas in at 48 larger stations where 40 of these stations are distributed across the north of Netherlands, five stations in Germany, and one each in Great Britain, France and Sweden and has a low requency range from 10-240 MHz. [8] Figure 1: The LoFAR Array Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in llano de Chajnantar Observatory, Atacama Desert,Chile It consists of sixty six 12 metres and 7 metres diameter radio telescopes observing at wavelengths of 0.3 to 9.6 millimetres . [9] Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Murchison Radio Astronomy Observatory, Western Australia It consists of 2048 dual-polarization dipole antennas, each a 44 array of dipoles and operates at low radio frequencies, 80-300 MHz, with a processed bandwidth of 30.72 MHz for both linear polarisations, and consists of 128 aperture arrays (known as tiles) distributed over approximately 3- kilometres diameter area. [10] Figure 2: MWA Antenna tiles KAT7 MeerKAT in Northern Cape, South Africa Figure 3: Aerial View of KAT7 KAT-7 consist of 7 dishes of 12 metres in diameter each a Prime Focus Reflecting Telescopes having a minimum baseline of 26 meters and maximum baseline of 185 metres and have a frequency range of 1200 MHz – 1950 MHz. KAT-7 is an engineering prototype for the MeerKAT. KAT-7 is the world’s first radio telescope array with fiberglass dishes. . MeerKAT, which is still under construction and is slated for completion in 2016 , will consist of 64 dishes of 13.5 meters in diameter having a minimum baseline of 29 metres and maximum baseline of 20 kilometres and it will operate at frequency ranging from 580MHz – 1.75 GHz and 8 – 15 Ghz.[11,12] e- MERLIN is an enhanced and upgraded array of the old MERLIN array.The e- MERLIN instrument is a high resolution radio interferometer connected by a new optical fibre network to Jodrell Bank Observatory. This new system gives rise to a massive increase in sensitivity and observational capabilities.[13] Figure 4: e-MERLIN array European VLBI Netwok (EVN) is an interferometric array of radio telescopes spread across Europe which also includes stations in far-East Asia , South Africa and Puerto Rico that conducts high resolution radio astronomical observations of radio sources. It is the most sensitive VLBI array in the world. It was formed in 1980 and the administering body now comprises 14 institutes[15].TheEVNalso routinely joins other networks, such as theVery Long Baseline Array (VLBA)and the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), to become a globalVLBIarray. The VLBA is spread throughout Mauna Kea , Hawaii and St Croix. It typically consists of 10 VLA radio antennas and as result it has a maximum baseline exceeding 8000 Km[16]. Some of the future African based new radio interferometers are: African VLBI Network (AVN) Multi-Frequency Interferometry Telescope for Radio Astronomy (MITRA) 1.1.3 MITRA (Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope for Radio Astronomy) 1.1 The MITRA is an international radio astronomy project which aims to do extremly wide field of imaging with heterogenius non coplanar arrays. The acronym of MITRA means â€Å"friend† in Sanskrit. It is a low frequency array telescope jointly started by Girish Kumar Beeharry from University of Mauritius (UOM) nd Stuart David Macpherson and Gary Peter Janse Van Vuuren from the Durban University of Technolagy (DUT) in South Africa. The project is being simultaneously implemented at the Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT), located at Bras D’Eau Mauritius, site and at the DUT campus site. The projects will then be expanded to the different SKA Africa partner countries and eventually to other African countries. Data from each country will be combined to form an international aperture synthesis telescope using the techniques of Very Large Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). It is a sensitive high resolution multifrequency dual polarity instrument in the range of 200 to 800 MHz. The instrument chosen for this purpose are Dual Polarized Log Periodic Dipole Antennas (DPLPDA)[17]. 1.1.4 African Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) The African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) is an array of radio telescopes throughout Africa. It is planned to form part of the existing global VLBI networks . It will be associated with the European VLBI Network (EVN ). The latteris a consortium of major radio astronomy institutes in Europe and China (Schilizzi). It has member and associated radio telescopes in Europe, China, South Africa (Hartebeesthoek0, Japan(Kashima) and Puerto Rico (Arecibo). The EVN is capable of providing an excellent angular resolution(from 5 to 0.15 milliarc seconds depending on observing frequency) and high sensitivity for VLBI observations. One of the main technological drivers has been the availability of telecommunication antennas all over Africa. Part of the scheme is to modify the existing dishes, of about at least 30 m in diameter, into radio telescopes. All these telescopes will be linked together, and to radio telescopes in South Africa, forming the African VLBI Network. This, in t urn, would be connected to radio telescopes and arrays in Europe and elsewhere in the world, including North and South America, Asia and Australia. The conversion of a Ghana located dish into a radio telescopes has already been begun.The AVN’s plans to convert three more dishes in Kenya, Zambia and Madagascar. It also aims to build four new radio telescopes in Namibia, Botswana, Mauritius and Mozambique. [19] 1.1.5 Electronic Multi Beam Radio Astronomy ConcEpt(EMBRACE) and African European Radio Astronomy Aperture Array (AERA3 ) The EMBRACE demonstrates the technical and scientific potential of the aperture array concept using a phased array station with the essential SKA. There are two stations, one in NanÃ’Â «ay, France and the other one at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) in the Netherlands. These two stations are prototype arrays for the SKA MFAA. It consists of an antenna array organized in tiles of dual polarization antennas. A large number of antenna tiles forms the collecting area. The signals from the radiating elements of the antenna from each tile are amplified and the initial analogue RF beam forming is applied. Generally, an EMBRACE is designed for a frequency range of 400-1500 MHz of single polarization, a collecting area of 100 m2 , system temperature of 100 K and has two fields of view with 8 digital beams . The idea of having multiple independent beams gives rise to the AERA3 because EMBRACE considers only two beams. AERA3 is similar to EMBRACE but this new aperture array will have a greater collecting area with will be approximately 2000 m2 varying with a frequency range of 400-1500 MHz with full polarization, two fields of view with 64 digital beams, system temperature of 50 K and bandwidth of less than 500 MHz. AERA3 will be used for intensity mapping, surveys of the whole sky and search for pulsars.[20,21] Figure 5: Embrace at Nancay, Paris 1.1.6 The Square Kilometre array (SKA) The SKA will be a revolutionary radio telescope made of hundred of thousands of receptors. They will be linked together, forming a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometre. It will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever built. It will be able to survey the sky faster than present instruments. In 2006, the African consortium and Australia were both shortlisted as potential sites fot building the SKA. In the 25th May 2012, the SKA organisation announced that SKA would be shared between the African consortium and Australia on a 2:1 ratio basis. The African consortium would be undertaking the construction of the high and mid frequency arrays. The Australian would be in charge of the low frequency aperture array. The SKA consists of two phases where Phase 1 is the construction of about 10% of the SKA. It will make use of the existing infrastructure and telescopes already being built by the two countries. That is, the South Africas precursor array the 64-dish MeerKAT telescope and the Australias 36-dish SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). Additionally, there will be 50low-frequency 1.5 metre high antenna stations, 60mid-frequency 15 metre dishes built in Australia. Finally, 190mid-frequency 15 metres dishes will be built in South Africa. Phase 2 is the extension to a baseline of 3,000 Km or more in South Arica and African partners countries. These are namely, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zambia. Also, a total of about three thousand dishes, with the highest concentration in the Northern Cape, South Africa, and some dishes in the other consortium countries will be built. In Australia, the telescope will extend over a baseline of200 km. It will operate with a frequency coverage from 70 MHz to 30 GHz. The SKA will use aperture synthesis, over a distance of more than 3000km to simulate a single giant radio telescope capable of extremely high sensitivity and angular resolution. The SKA will be able to observe the black holes, stars, galaxies and detect black holes[11,22,23,24]. Figure 6: SKA overview 1.1.7 The Log Periodic Dipole Antenna A log periodic antenna, also referred to as a log periodic array, is an antenna that can operate on a wide frequency band. It was à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst built in 1958 by Dwight Isbell at the University of Illinois, United States of America. LPDA is a directional antenna which possesses constant electrical characteristics such as gain, impedance and front-to-back ratio over the wide range of frequencies. It varies periodically with the logarithmic. The antenna consists of a series of linear elements also known as dipoles and the individual elements connect with a transmission or feed line such as coaxial cable. Each element is placed in an alternating configuration leading to a phase shift of 180o (Ï€ radians). [25] 1.2 Aim The aim of this project is to construct a front-end system for radio astronomical observations in the frequency range 200 MHz to 800 MHz using the Dual Polarised Log Periodic Dipole Antenna model with bandwidth 200 MHz to 800 MHz. The front end system will consist of an L-shaped array of antennas. This L shaped array is the start of a matrix of an eight by eight antennas. It will be used as a prototype for Intensity mapping for large scale neutral hydrogen (HI) mapping. Several improvements to the existing antennas will be made and applied to new array configuration. Also along with the array, a shielded box will be constructed for electronic purposes. This work focuses on the longer baseline sparse mid frequency aperture array (MFAA), in contrast to the dense aperture arrays like EMBRACE and the future AERA3.

Sue and Arabella in Thomas Hardys Jude the Obscure Essay -- Thomas Ha

Sue and Arabella in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy's diary contains an entry that explains how he will show the world something it needs to be shown in a story about a poor, struggling young man who has to deal with ultimate failure (Howe 132). This brief description of a story has turned into Hardy's phenomenal Jude the Obscure. Jude is emotionally torn between the two main women in the novel, Sue and Arabella, because each woman can only partially satisfy his urges. The stark difference in emotion, conversation, and sexual appetite make Sue and Arabella polar opposites in Hardy's Jude the Obscure. Jude is ripped between the pure sexuality of Arabella and the pure intellect of Sue (Draper 252). Ronald P. Draper writes that Jude is sexually more comfortable with Arabella so, in this sense, she is Jude?s true partner (252). ?Arabella represents the classical entrapment by sex: the entrapment of an ?innocent? sensual man by a hard, needy, shackling woman? (Hardwick 69). Bernard D. N. Grebanier goes even farther, saying that Arabella with stop at nothing to get Jude (713). Sue is a complicated mesh of sexual aversion and the power of female intellect (Hardwick 68). As Elizabeth Hardwick puts it, Sue ?thinks and that is her mystery? (67). Sue has radical ideas, especially for a woman, and it is commonplace for her to question society and it?s problems (Hardwick 68). Sue, to Jude?s dismay, also dismisses much of religion (Hardwick 68). The sacred act of marriage is questioned in Jude the Obscure (Saldivar 192). Marriage is seen as an institution open to criticism that is violated by need, chance, and the choices made by the characters (Hardwick 68). For Sue, violations in wholeness and freedom are agoni... ... K. Hall & Company, 1990. 243-254. Grebanier, Bernard D. N. The Essentials of English Literature. Volume Two. New York: Barron?s Educational Series, Incorporated, 1948. Hardwick, Elizabeth. ?Sue and Arabella.? The Genius of Thomas Hardy. Margaret Drabble. New York: George Weidenfeld and Nicolson Limited, 1976. 67-73. Hardy, Thomas. Jude the Obscure. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Howe, Irving. Masters of World Literature: Thomas Hardy. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967. Saldivar, Ramon. ?Jude the Obscure: Redaing and the Spirit of the Law.? Modern Critical Views: Thomas Hardy.Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 191-205. Weinstein, Philip M. The Spirit Unappeased and Peregrine?: Jude the Obscure.? Critical Essays on Thomas Hardy: The Novels. Dale Kramer. New York: G. K. Hall & Company, 1990. 228-243. Sue and Arabella in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure Essay -- Thomas Ha Sue and Arabella in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy's diary contains an entry that explains how he will show the world something it needs to be shown in a story about a poor, struggling young man who has to deal with ultimate failure (Howe 132). This brief description of a story has turned into Hardy's phenomenal Jude the Obscure. Jude is emotionally torn between the two main women in the novel, Sue and Arabella, because each woman can only partially satisfy his urges. The stark difference in emotion, conversation, and sexual appetite make Sue and Arabella polar opposites in Hardy's Jude the Obscure. Jude is ripped between the pure sexuality of Arabella and the pure intellect of Sue (Draper 252). Ronald P. Draper writes that Jude is sexually more comfortable with Arabella so, in this sense, she is Jude?s true partner (252). ?Arabella represents the classical entrapment by sex: the entrapment of an ?innocent? sensual man by a hard, needy, shackling woman? (Hardwick 69). Bernard D. N. Grebanier goes even farther, saying that Arabella with stop at nothing to get Jude (713). Sue is a complicated mesh of sexual aversion and the power of female intellect (Hardwick 68). As Elizabeth Hardwick puts it, Sue ?thinks and that is her mystery? (67). Sue has radical ideas, especially for a woman, and it is commonplace for her to question society and it?s problems (Hardwick 68). Sue, to Jude?s dismay, also dismisses much of religion (Hardwick 68). The sacred act of marriage is questioned in Jude the Obscure (Saldivar 192). Marriage is seen as an institution open to criticism that is violated by need, chance, and the choices made by the characters (Hardwick 68). For Sue, violations in wholeness and freedom are agoni... ... K. Hall & Company, 1990. 243-254. Grebanier, Bernard D. N. The Essentials of English Literature. Volume Two. New York: Barron?s Educational Series, Incorporated, 1948. Hardwick, Elizabeth. ?Sue and Arabella.? The Genius of Thomas Hardy. Margaret Drabble. New York: George Weidenfeld and Nicolson Limited, 1976. 67-73. Hardy, Thomas. Jude the Obscure. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Howe, Irving. Masters of World Literature: Thomas Hardy. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967. Saldivar, Ramon. ?Jude the Obscure: Redaing and the Spirit of the Law.? Modern Critical Views: Thomas Hardy.Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 191-205. Weinstein, Philip M. The Spirit Unappeased and Peregrine?: Jude the Obscure.? Critical Essays on Thomas Hardy: The Novels. Dale Kramer. New York: G. K. Hall & Company, 1990. 228-243.

Hollowness in Emily Dickinson’s Poetic Discourse Essay example -- Biog

Hollowness in Emily Dickinson’s Poetic Discourse Much has been said about Emily Dickinson’s mystifying poetry and private life, especially during the years 1860-63. Allegedly it was during these years that the poetess, at the most prolific phase of her career, withdrew from society, began to wear her â€Å"characteristic† white dress and suffered a series of psychotic episodes. Dickinson tended to â€Å"theatricalize† herself by speaking through a host of personae in her poems and by â€Å"fictionalizing† her inner life as a gothic romance (Gilbert 584). Believing that a poem is â€Å"the best words in the best order† (to quote S.T. Coleridge) and that all the poems stemming from a single consciousness bring to surface different aspects / manifestations of the same personal mythology, I will firstly disregard biographical details in my interpretation of Dickinson’s poems 378, 341 and 280 and secondly place them in a sort of â€Å"continuum† (starting with 378 and ending with 280 ) to show how they attempt to describe a â€Å"plunge† into the Unconscious and a lapse into madness (I refrain from using the term â€Å"journey,† for it implies a â€Å"telos,† a goal which, whether unattainable or not, is something non-existent in the poems in question). Faced with the problem of articulating and concretizing inner psychological states, Dickinson created a totally new poetic discourse which lacks a transcendental signified and thus can dramatize the three stages of a (narrated) mental collapse: existential despair, withdrawal from the world of the senses and â€Å"death† of consciousness. In poem 378 the reader is introduced to the mental world of a speaker whose relentless questioning of metaphysical â€Å"truths† has led her to a state of complete â€Å"faithlessness†: l... ...son’s Poetry: Stairway of Surprise. New York: Holt, 1960. Eberwein, Jane Donahue. Dickinson: Strategies of Limitation. Amherst: U of Massachusetts P, 1985. Feit Diehl, Joanne. â€Å"’Ransom in a Voice’: Language as Defense in Dickinson’s Poetry.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 156-75. Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the 19th Century Literary Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. Homans, Margaret. â€Å"’Oh, Vision of Language’: Dickinson’s Poems of Love and Death.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 114-33. Miller, Cristanne. â€Å"How ‘Low Feet’ Stagger: Disruptions of Language in Dickinson’s Poetry.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 134-55.

Public and Private Policing Essay

Police, Securityguard, Security, Crimeprevention, Constable, Criminaljustice, SurveillancePublic and Private Policing The growing privatization of police services is a global phenomenon. It was first widely noted in the United States in a 1972 Rand Corporation study commissioned by the National Institute of Justice. Several years later, Stenning and Shearing observed that a â€Å"quiet revolution† toward private policing had occurred in Canada. South documented a similar trend in both western and eastern European countries. And an update of the original Rand assessment in 1985 concluded that private security outspent public law enforcement by 73 percent and employed two and a half times as many people. Public and private policing have many similarities, as well as differences and the distinction between public and private police are often blurred. Private policing, while emerging as a new industry, is not a new phenomenon and predates the existence of public police as witnessed today (Wilson 1994, p. 285). There are at least three reasons for the dramatic increase. First, in both post-industrial and developing nations, there has been an increase in what Stenning and Shearing call â€Å"mass private property†: shopping malls and gated communities. These spaces have traditionally fallen outside of the domain of public police, although this is now changing. Second, the fear of crime among those with property has grown faster than government’s willingness to spend more money on police protection. In many countries, this fear of crime among the propertied classes was intensified by the transition from authoritarian to democratic rule. Third, private police forces have often placed a higher priority on visible patrol than public police, hoping to deter crime through their presence. As early as 1971 Scott and McPherson worried that private policing might infringe upon civil liberties with impunity. Formal and familiar mechanisms exist around the world to hold public police accountable for their actions, but accountability mechanisms for private police are less well understood and often emanate from private rather than public institutions. In many cases, the state has little power or incentive to hold private police accountable. Stenning, however, believes that the inadequate accountability of private police has been overstated; marketplace competition, consumer pressures, demands of organized labor, and potential civil liability, he argues, compensate for lesser state regulation and oversight. Public policing has been known to have a monopoly on policing until the increased trend of private policing in the United States. Public police consist of the governmental department charged with the regulation and control of the affairs of a community, now chiefly the department established to maintain order, enforce the law, and prevent and detect crime. Private policing refers to that policing activity of crime prevention, detection and apprehension carried out by private organizations or agents for commercial purposes. Private policing may be defined to include those people who work for a security company or are employed by an individual or firm to carry out security work, crowd control or private investigations. In seeking to describe the policing activity of private police, however, most functional definitions stem from the perceived role of the public police (Nalla & Newman, 1990). Private police look and behave like public police and describing their function often involves a comparison of the activities and responsibilities of the two. Despite the differences, public and private police tend to mirror each other to a certain extent (Nalla & Newman, 1990). Private policing is provided by a private individual or organization, rather than by a public body or the state like public policing is. Private police are seen to be concerned with the protection of personal and corporate interest while public police represent the interests of the public and seek to enforce the regulations of the judicial system. The police are â€Å"persons with a special legal status employed by governments to preserve the peace† (Shearing, Farnell & Stenning, 1980,) Private policing, in comparison to public policing, has been described as passive policing as to active policing, or as proactive and preventative rather than reactive: where public police generally react to the crime, private police through surveillance and presentation are seen to prevent crime. (Wilson 1994) Private policing targets private crime and is in the business of protecting private and corporate interests. Private policing usually operates behind the traditional and legal boundaries where the public police cannot lawfully cross unless by invitation or probable cause. This leads to the private policing sector having a â€Å"broader enterprise than public policing, with a wider range of functions. † (South, 1988, p. 4) One difference between public and private police is private investigators are hired by individuals or businesses for a certain purpose and work mostly behind the scenes or undercover doing surveillance while Public policing is known to society as the police who protect our communities and arrest those individuals who commit crime. Public policing has the role to maintain law and order, preserve peace and prevent crime. Public police are employed by governments and paid for by tax dollars and grants. Another difference between the role of public and private policing is the private providers of security is their flexibility. They can, and will, perform most tasks they get paid to do. Their customers can demand a lot from them, since they are directly answerable to the paying clients and their needs. The private entrepreneurs are also forced to ‘do right’ by the market. If they fail, they will lose their money. Public police do not have the negotiation factor and are paid on salary, no matter how they perform or how efficient they are in performing their duties. Many have said that private policing is for the rich and public policing is for the poor. This could be effectively argued based on the fact that private policing is not designed to consider the general good for society, like public policing. Private policing is primarily protecting the interests of their paying clients and focuses more on â€Å"loss prevention†, rather than â€Å"crime prevention†. Private policing has been scrutinized and concern has expressed that private security can be overly intrusive, less than scrupulous in its adherence to self-imposed guidelines and, on occasion, the law, and threatening to civil liberties. Although public and private both play a major role in society, they do have different responsibilities. The responsibilities of a public officer include preserving the peace, preventing crimes and other offenses, assisting victims of crime, apprehending criminals, laying charges, prosecuting and participating in prosecutions, executing warrants, performing the lawful duties assigned by the chief of police, and completing the required training. The responsibilities of a private officer include training for private investigators and security guards is generally the responsibility of the employer. No license is required if the private investigator or security guard is hired . in house,. which means that he or she is an employee of, for example, an insurance company, court house, law firm, or store. Compared with police officers, private security in Canada is characterized by the following: lower wages, minimum or no recruitment standards, higher percentage of part-time work, higher turnover rate, lower levels of education, and minimum or no training (Marin,1997). In conclusion, Public and private policing are major components in the criminal justice field. It would be impossible for our communities to feel secure without the combination of both forces. The focus has been on public and private policing to effectively interact and cooperate with each other. Understanding the importance of one another’s responsibilities and roles could lead to a great partnership. Throughout recent years, some law enforcement agencies have come to realize how to benefit from private policing. Private security personnel differ from police officers in a number of ways. Private security personnel work for clients who pay them for services rendered, while police officers are responsible for serving and protecting the public. Minimum requirements and training are considerably less for private security than for police officers.