Plagiarism Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plagiarism - Article Example Unlike a few years ago, lecturers are today implementing more stringent measures to discourage students from indulging in plagiarism. They making efforts to sensitize students on the dangers associated with plagiarism and the repercussions one risks facing if found plagiarizing. As a result of this, many students in my other classes are vigilant and abide by the rules of plagiarism (Gilmore 73). There are a number of indicators that confirm this assertion. For instance, most lectures insist that students turn in their assignments through Turnitin. The Turnitin system detects any form of plagiarism in a paper and rejects papers that have high percentages of plagiarism. The fact that most students do well in class assignment is an implication that they avoid plagiarism because it is only those assignments forwarded through Turnitin that are marked (Gilmore 73). Despite the fact that stern measures are being implemented to discourage plagiarism amongst students, there are some students who still engage in this act. Such students ought to be punished accordingly because they are undermining the quality of education that has gone down considerably in the past few years. First of all, students who still plagiarize their work in spite of the widespread campaign against the malice should not be awarded marks for their plagiarized assignments. This is because they do not deserve the marks. Culprits should not be left at that. Their cases should be forwarded to the school’s disciplinary committee for further disciplinary actions. They should perhaps be suspended from school for some time (Gilmore 97). The punishment should be universal for students who plagiarize content above fifty percent of the entire assignment. However, percentages below 50% can be treated fairly and perhaps be awarded zero marks but their perpetrators should be exempted from suspension. There have been concerns of whether

A grammar test to an intermediate level Assignment

A grammar test to an intermediate level - Assignment Example For a longtime teachers have had a hard time trying to determine whether their students have grasped the various learning concepts tests were therefore introduced to enable teachers asses the learning levels of their students (Harmer 2007, Pg 2). Prior to any testing exercise, teachers often put many factors into consideration, such, may include the age of the students, the topics covered under study. One of the importances of testing the intermediate students English language levels is that it helps the teacher make various decisions regarding the teaching models to use.   Teachers have various styles of teaching and such may affect the students understanding of the given topic (Hughes 1989, pg 15).   The testing therefore enables teachers to tailor their teaching styles to fit the students that are being taught. In the face of ever changing English and language developments, the testing of students gives them exposure to these changes. Students at intermediate levels may not ha ve so much grasp and command of the English language, however, through testing the teachers may introduce elements that will be suitable for their learning (Yule, 2000 Pg 17). Therefore, testing of this kind allows the teacher to determine what the learners ought to know and the various changes that are talking place in the English language. Through testing, the teacher will be able to know the various interests of the learners especially in regards to the learning styles applicable in teaching them.   For instances students that are convergers.... Prior to any testing exercise, teachers often put many factors into consideration, such, may include the age of the students, the topics covered under study. One of the importances of testing the intermediate students English language levels is that it helps the teacher make various decisions regarding the teaching models to use. Teachers have various styles of teaching and such may affect the students understanding of the given topic (Hughes 1989, pg 15). The testing therefore enables teachers to tailor their teaching styles to fit the students that are being taught. In the face of ever changing English and language developments, the testing of students gives them exposure to these changes. Students at intermediate levels may not have so much grasp and command of the English language, however, through testing the teachers may introduce elements that will be suitable for their learning (Yule, 2000 Pg 17). Therefore, testing of this kind allows the teacher to determine what the learne rs ought to know and the various changes that are talking place in the English language. Through testing, the teacher will be able to know the various interests of the learners especially in regards to the learning styles applicable in teaching them. For instances students that are convergers are often solitary and may not like learning in the same environment as the others (Yule, 2000 Pg 17). Through this the teacher will be in a position to identify the conformist students who have preference to studying the language rather than using the language. Others like concrete learners and the communicative learners will also be identified and the teacher will come up with various teaching models that are suitable for them. Having knowledge on the type of students in your

Glass Squash Court Analysis Engineering Essay

Glass Squash Court Analysis Engineering Essay The intention of this proposal was to testing the trinquete for Prospec LTD. The trinquete is a special court for indoor ball games and games played in trinquete are very similar to squash. This testing assess whether the product is structurally suitable for use in ball game courts. Their critical failure modes were to be established in order to assess and improve upon the design. World squash federation recommends using of safety glass in situations where a risk of human impact can result. Around 30 years ago, in Sheffield the glass company by name Ellis Pearson produced the first glass back wall for a squash court. But in the 80s along came chemical giant ICI and produced a Perspex (plastic) court and suddenly glass was too heavy and uneconomical. So Ellis Pearson (now going under the name of Prospec) forgot their roots and started using Perspex. (Ref: GLOBAL GALLERY June 2003, Martin Bronsteins astigmatic view of the world of squash) Prospec Ltd offers a complete range of squash court packages including wet plaster and dry panelled surfaces, flooring and the Ellis Pearson Glasswall system. Prospec is considered to be the market leader in the UK for the supply and installation of World Squash Federation (WSF) approved squash courts and Glasswalls. Prospec have installed more than 30,000 Ellis Pearson Glasswalls round the world for Squash, Racquetball and Pelota. Prospec LTD manufactures toughened glass squash courts that meet the stringent specifications of the World Squash Federation. This glass carries WSF certification for both two and four panel backwall systems. Prospec Toughened Safety Glass meets the performance requirements of all national building regulations, based on test requirements of local authorities as well as the WSF. Installation of these glass walls is carried out by operatives trained by Prospec Court Systems Ltd., either direct or through Contractors who specialise in fitting out squash courts. Installation will be done according to the world squash federation technical standards. Introduction For centuries people have played games that involve hitting balls with racquets against wall or back and forth to each other across a net. The most common example is tennis. In 19th century the prisoners were exercised by making them hit small and hard ball around the walls of a large room in the Fleet prison in London, England. A trinquete is a special court for various indoor versions of Pelota (Spanish for ball). It has the same characteristic feature of a squash court. The Pelota is a traditional sport played in more than 52 countries. Pelota is a name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using ones hand, a racquets, a wooden bat or a basket against a wall. These game is played by two or four players, with two team face to face separated by a line on a ground or a net. Today,  Pelota  is widely played in several countries: in the  Basque Country  and their neighbours; in  Valencia  where it is considered the national sport; and in rural areas of Ireland, Belgium, North of Italy, Mexico, Argentina and other American countries. The reason for the dramatic growth of these type games is because these sports combine fitness, fun and competition. This is an international sport played between two or four players in a four walled court with a small hollow rubber ball by hitting rubber ball against walls. The players strike the ball alternately on to the front wall, which is 4.75 meters high. Players can hit the ball directly to the front wall or use the sidewalls and rear wall to create subtle winning shots. Playing squash type games develops speed, endurance, agility, coordination and court savvy. The average length of the game is less than 45 minutes. The popularity of the game is due in large part to the competitive workout it generates in a small span of time. These games are simple to learn and its difficult to master. The challenge is to achieve goal against more skilled opponent and youll play as you improve. This game is mentally and physically draining and at the end of the day you will be satisfied and exhilarated and possibly a little tired. A trinquete is a special court for various indoor versions of Pelota. Trinquete measures 28.5m long and it has different shape than the other courts, with an inclined roof along the left wall. Left wall of the trinquete is constructed by toughened glass. Trinquete is constructed by many materials providing suitable rebound and safe to play; however, the World Squash Federation publishes court specification which recommends standards. Types of wall systems: (Ref: http://www.andersoncourts.com/wall.htm) 1) Armourcoat hard plaster: is 100% gypsum based plaster system formulated with high impact resistance. This is been installed in over 40 countries and accreditation with world squash federation. This system contains no cement based product, hence eliminating shrinkage and stress cracking. The total system thickness is 12.7mm consisting of 2 layer of base coat plaster and 3 layers of finish coat plaster which is applied on wet for permanent bond and smooth finish. Armourcoat requires no painted finish, finished coat available in blue, green, white and yellow colour. Armourcoat walls can be cleaned using household, non-abrasive cleaners with scouring pads and rinse with clean water. 2) Doweloc edge grain: is superior in quality and durability, longevity proven is 60+ years court and still in play. Doweloc is a Northern hard maple; edge grain system consists of tongue and groove wood strips held securely by the aluminium dowel. Each 12inch section is composed of 14 edge grain pieces. Walls are then painted to secure wood based on the usage of the court. 3) High density fiberesin panel: is the pre finished playing surface and engineered specifically for racquetball, handball and squash courts. It is a solid and rock hard sheet material used to meet a rigid specification and requirements demanded for the fast action sports court. It is composed of high density particle board cores and multiple layers of thermalset resin impregnated sheets that are moulded in hydraulic presses under controlled heat and pressure into sheets of varying thickness and density. Fiberesin requires no refinishing and only occasional washing. Glass walls: is a substitute for the walls which been mentioned above, since 1980s guaranteeing to meet world squash federations high technical standards. Glass walls are transparent, so it makes game visible for spectators. Walls must not only be transparent, it has to be tough enough to rebound the hard ball without breaking. Since normal glass is not hard to withstand the pressure of the ball toughened glass is used. Toughened or tampered glass is very much strong and satisfies all the standards of world squash federation, like strength, transparency and safety etc. The 12mm toughened glass panels are designed to provide a flush finish and easy panel adjustment and alignment. The panels are joined by special patch fittings and 15mm thick glass fins. Joints between the glass panels are filled with a clear silicone sealant, to complete the continuity of the glass and ensure a true playing surface that is tough enough to withstand pressure from either ball or player. This joint configuration distributes and reduces stresses, minimizes deflection, vibration or damage, and provides true ball rebound. Toughened glass Toughened glass  is much stronger than normal glass, having been processed by controlled  thermal  or chemical treatments to increase its strength. Toughened glass is impact resistant, and it is made from annealed glass which is heated and then rapidly cooled. Thermally toughened safety glass offers first order mechanical characteristic. This is the only glass exhibits well establishment and reliable mechanical capacity under static and dynamic load with resistance to impact properties conforming to regulations and European standards. The glass usually shatters into small fragments instead of sharp shards when broken, making it less likely to cause severe injury and deep lacerations. Toughened glass is used in a variety of applications as a result of its safety and strength. (ref: Toughened Glass: Mechanical Properties and EN 12600 Behaviour Michel Dubru, Glaverbel S.A. Jean-Clement Nugue, Saint-Gobain Guy Van Marcke de Lummen, Glaverbel S.A) The manufacture of toughened glass Flat glass is toughened in an oven, the glass is transported on rollers and in rolled back and forth inside oven and heated in a temperature between 600 and 700 °c until glass become soft. A softened glass is rolled out of the oven into air shower where both the side of the glass is cooled rapidly. The inside of the glass is hot and soft while the outer surface of the glass cool, solidify and contract due to thermal contraction. After this the inside glass cool, solidify and contracts. The outer surface is already cold when the inner region begins to solidify, so contraction in the inner region squeezes the outer surfaces. Hence the region near the outer surface experiences high compressive force and which is balance by the tensile force generated at the inner surface. The toughening process produces a safety glass which is very strong. The rapid cooling places the internal stresses on the glass which allow it to be strong and break into regular cubes. Due to the internal stresses the toughened glass cannot be broken into the required dimension, therefore all shapes will be done before the toughening process. Toughened glass surface is more resistant to impact. The same object thrown would create a hole in a pane of annealed glass would likely bounce back when compared to toughened glass. Because of this impact resistant and bouncing nature, toughened glass is used in trinquete and squash courts. (ref: www.picams.com.au//Toughened%20glass%20-%20with%20an%20achilles%20heel.pdf) DATA TABLE: Mechanical Properties Quantity Value Unit Youngs modulus 50000 100000 MPa Bending strength 200 200 MPa Physical Properties Quantity Value Unit Thermal expansion 9 9 e-6/K Thermal conductivity 0.9 0.93 W/m.K Specific heat 840 850 J/kg.K Melting temperature 1100 1100  °C Service temperature 0 700  °C Density 2500 2800 kg/m3 Resistivity 1e+18 1e+18 Ohm.mm2/m Environmental Data Quantity Value Unit Ex (in) / Ex (out) 38.1609195402299 MJ/MJ Remark: Has to be made to measure before hardening. Available in 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12mm thickness (Ref: http://www.matbase.com/material/glass/toughened-glass/thermal/propertie) RECOMMENDED STANDARDS OF CONSTRUCTION (Ref: http://www.worldsquash.org/uploads/Court%20Specs%20-%20With%20Diagrams.pdf) International Squash court has been constructed from glass or transparent materials, to make game visible for the spectators. Spectator areas may be located behind the plane of any wall of the court. The play is televised, filmed, photographed or recorded from above the court or through any of the walls. No camera or any equipment is projected into the court or below the clear height of the court. Camera panels may be incorporated in any part of the court playing walls provided that any such panel shall. Court dimensions and tolerances: is the important standard which has to be taken into account. The length of the court is 28500mm and with tolerance of plus or minus 10mm. The Court Walls should be vertical to within plus or minus 5mm in a height of 2 metres when measured within 250 mm of each corner of the court and at three additional intermediate points evenly spaced along the length of each wall. The court walls shall be straight to within plus or minus 15 mm in the length of any wall when measured horizontally at a height of 1 metre above finished floor level. The floor shall be level to within plus or minus 10 mm in the length, width and on the diagonals of the court. The walls of the court and all the components should be capable of withstanding all the stresses due to impact of the ball, racquet and the player, and glass must get permanent or temporary damage. Mass of the player should be considered, glass might be damaged when the player falls on the wall. The mass of the player is equivalent to 100kg and co-efficient of absorption is 47 %( i.e. 47% of the impact energy is observed by the body and remaining 57% energy will be transmitted on the wall). Where courts have transparent walls they shall be constructed of safety materials tested in accordance with the appropriate national standard and shall meet the stated requirements for safe breakage. The walls of the court must not deflect for the impact of the ball in such a manner that rebound of the ball is affected. The walls may deflect under the impact of players; however, it should not deflect to such an extent or in such a manner so as to affect the safety of the players. The wall which deflects shall return back to its original static position within one second of the impact, as a result of deflections the wall must not suffer from any permanent and temporary damages. All walls of the court shall have a hard and smooth finish. Any front or side walls, or any transparent panel in the playing surface of the front or side walls, shall be treated and/or lit in such a manner as to make it non-reflecting when viewed from inside the court. The average reflectance of the front and side walls shall not be less than 50% at any point when in a clean condition. The reflectance of the front and side walls shall not vary at any point by more than plus or minus 5% of the average reflectance. The ball shall rebound truly on striking all parts of the playing walls. The ball rebound shall be consistent over the whole area of each wall. All wall surfaces including transparent materials shall have surface friction such that the pace and wall angle characteristics are equivalent to that encountered in a plaster court. Any open joint in the finish of a wall of panel construction shall not deflect the rebound of the ball in any way. There shall be no protrusions of any kind into the court at the junction of one wall with another. The bounce of the ball shall be of even height and pace over the whole area of the floor. When viewed from vertically above the line of flight of the ball, the linear path of the ball shall not be affected when it bounces on the floor. SPECIFICATIONS www.worldsquash.org//Court%20Specs%20-%20With%20Diagrams.pdf GLASS All walls and fins are 12mm clear tempered or toughened glass with finished edges. All holes on the playing side are countersunk and dimensioned to receive special flush mounted fittings and hardware. A clear silicone compound is used to bond all joints. No glass-to-glass or glass-to-metal contact is permitted. FITTINGS All glass-to-glass connections are manufactured in hi-tensile GSM Nylatron. Nylatron GSM is a cast and partially cross-linked. Nylatron GSM is manufactured by modifying Nylon 6 material by a carefully controlled level of finely divided particles of molybdenum disulphide additive. The  molybdenum disulphide enhances its bearing and wear behaviour without impairing the impact and fatigue resistance inherent to unmodified cast nylon grades. All parts are moulded for maximum strength. These parts will have tensile strength of 773 to 984 kg/cm ² with Hardness durometer of 2.3 and Shear strength of 541 to 668 kg/cm ². Base angle brackets which is been used to fix wall to the floor and are available in either steel or anodized aluminium. Size of the brackets will be 12 x 3 x 2 1/2 x 1/4. Two anchor bolts of 11mm dia. x 89mm are used for each angle bracket. Aluminium channels of size 25 x 25 x 3mm and Aluminium angles of size 50 x 50 x 6mm are used to hold panels and attached to fins. MANUFACTURERS OF GLASS WALLS (Ref: England squash and racketball, technical information sheet number 1, march 2010) Complete glass wall systems, court doors, view windows and moveable glass walls as supplied by many glass manufacturing companies. The glass wall is supported by glass fins, aluminium L angle, aluminium posts, or aluminium tube frame. World Squash Federation (WSF) is the governing body for the game of Squash and racquetball throughout the world and is therefore responsible for setting standards for courts and equipment. In order to continue the process of ensuring that courts are built to appropriate standards, it has introduced a scheme whereby materials and components may be tested against the standards set by the Federation. The WSF assess the manufacturer based on the following criteria: Court must be easy to install Suitable performance characteristics Reliability Ease of maintenance Efficiency of back u service Court contractors The companies listed below will liaise with the architect builder regarding the background surface requirement prior to fitting out. COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME SQUASH LEISURE SERVICES Tel:(01895) 450800 Fax: (01895) 450801 email:[emailprotected] Web: www.squashandleisure.co.uk 5 Sarum Complex Salisbury Road Uxbridge UB8 2RZ Contractor PROSPEC LTD Tel: (01709) 377 147 Fax: (01709) 375 239 email: [emailprotected] P O Box 48 Canklow Meadow Estate West Bawtry Road Rotherham S60 2XP Contractor COURTCRAFT LTD Tel: (01942) 881500 Fax: (01942) 881501 email: [emailprotected] www.courtcraft.co.uk Logic House 31 Gibfieid Park Ave Gibfield Business Park Atherton Manchester M46 0SY Contractor Prefabricated court systems COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME ASB CONSTRUCTION LTD Tel: (01548) 580669 email: [emailprotected] www.asbsquash.com Huccombe House Huccombe Kingsbridge Devon TQ7 2EP Selfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœsupporting sand filled system plus a wall lining system. A sliding wall system is also available. Rainbow coloured court system. PROSPEC COURT SYSTEMS LTD. Tel: (01709) 377147 Fax: (01709) 375239 email: [emailprotected] P O Box 48 Cranklow Meadow Estate West Bawtree Road Rotherham S60 2XP Respatex Squash Court Panel System (prefabricated) Wall plasters COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME ARMOURCOAT LTD Tel: (01732) 460668 Fax: (01732) 450930 email: [emailprotected] Morewood Close London Road Sevenoaks Kent TN13 2HU Armourcoat Hard Court Plaster (white). REBOUND INTERNATIONAL LTD Tel: (0161) 929 7758 Fax: (0161) 929 7786 Mob: 07818 046464 email: [emailprotected] Copley Square Charter House Woodlands Road Altrincham WA14 1HF Rebound Plaster (white) Flooring contractors COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME V A HUTCHISON FLOORING LTD Tel: (01243) 841175/841127 Fax: (01243) 841173 email: [emailprotected] Units 1,2 3 Building NA Beeding Close Southern Cross Trading Estate Bognor Regis West Sussex PO22 9TS Flooring Contractors Maple Beech New Levelling System Cross Batten System Glass walls COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME PROSPEC COURT SYSTEMS LTD Tel: (01709) 377147 Fax: (01709) 375239 email: [emailprotected] PO Box 48 Canklow Meadows Estate, West Bawtry Road, Rotherham S60 2XP Ellis Pearson Glasswall System SQUASH LEISURE SERVICES LTD Tel: (01895) 450800 Fax: (01895) 450801 email: [emailprotected] 5 Sarum Complex Salisbury Road Uxbridge UB8 2RZ SLS Glasswall System FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is the most important tool for the mechanical design engineer. The desire for more accurate design in complex situations is the reason for the development of FEA, and allowing improvement in both design procedures and products. The growing demand of FEA has made possible for the creation of computation engines which are capable of handling the huge volume of calculations and carryout analysis and display results. FEA is now available at a practical cost to virtually all engineers and designers. Pro/Mechanica offers much more than simply an FEA engine. Pro/Mechanica is one of the modules of pro-engineer, which is widely used to understand structural and thermal product performance. Moreover, unlike many other commercial FEM programs where determining accuracy can be difficult or time consuming, Pro/M will be able to compute results with some certainty as to the accuracy. This saves cost, time and physical prototyping. By studying the product behaviour in early stage, we can improve quality and time, cost and efforts. In todays competitive market the design team is forced to get the product right at first time. When the team has to rely on prototype models to test product behaviour, schedule and budget has to be compromised. Standalone CAE offers a solution but its usually disconnected with CAD solutions, hence engineers have to spend lot of time in preparing prototype models for analysis. Then each time there could be design change and have to repeat the process. Special ski ll sets are required for CAE users. Pro/ Mechanica is the faster and smart way to analysis the product and easy to use the solution. In Pro/Mechanica we can identify where the higher stress area is and any changes in model design can be done to avoid the concentration of the stress and failure of the product. One best part in Pro/Mechanica is once we identify the problem, we are allowed to change the design and regenerate and analyse again. This saves lot of time and efforts to reproduce the design. Pro/Mechanica has an ability to evaluate the product performance virtually; onscreen and this gives an engineer to explore new ideas and then optimize their design. This gives a confidence to an engineer and fewer changes may require during prototyping, hence delivering superior quality to the market. Steps in preparing FEA model for solutions There are several steps to be followed in the analysis, starting from the simplified geometric model. 1. Identify the model type 2. Specify the material properties, model constraints, and applied loads 3. Discretize the geometry to produce a finite element mesh 4. Solve the system of linear equations 5. Compute items of interest from the solution variables 6. Display and critically review results and, if necessary, repeat the analysis Create geometry with PRO/E Model type Simulation parameters: Material property Constraints Loads Discretize model to form finite element mesh Setup and solve linear system Compute results Review The overall procedure is illustrated in the above figure. The steps must be executed in order, and each must be done correctly before proceeding to the next step. The steps shown in the figure are: 1. The geometric model of the part is created using Pro/ENGINEER. 2. The model type must be identified before entering Pro/Mechanica. The default is a solid model. 3. This is an important step where we need to define parameters. Specify material properties for the model. All the elements will not have the same properties. The different parts can be made of different materials in an assembly. Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio must be known for stress analysis. Pro/Mechanica consists of set of materials in the library, which can be directly used to assign material. Identify the constraints on the solution. In stress analysis, there could be fixed points, points of specified displacement, or points free to move in specified directions only. Specify the applied loads on the model, like loads on surface, edges etc 4. Once all the above steps are completed, we can set up and run a processor that actually performs the solution to the posed FEA problem. This starts with the automatic creation of the finite element mesh from the geometric model by a subprogram within Pro/M called AutoGEM. Pro/M will trap some modelling errors here. The processor will produce a summary file of output messages which can be consulted if something goes wrong for example, a model that is not sufficiently constrained by boundary conditions. 5. FEA produces immense volumes of output data. The only feasible way of examining this is graphically. Pro/M has very powerful graphics capabilities to examine the results of the FEA displaced shape, stress distributions, mode shapes, etc. Hard copy of the results file and screen display is easy to obtain. 6. Finally, the results must be reviewed critically. In the first instance, the results should agree with our modeling intent. For example, if we look at an animated view of the deformation, we can easily see if our boundary constraints have been implemented properly. The results should also satisfy our intuition about the solution (stress concentration around a hole, for example). If there is any cause for concern, it may be advisable to revisit some aspects of the model and perform the analysis again. Benefits: Pro-engineering Mechanica gives the clear picture of the product performance, and discovers design flaws at early stage. This helps a designer to make any changes in the design and deliver superior quality at first time. Improves user efficiency with an intuitive, familiar user interface Mechanica gives realistic performance solutions and this data can be used to improve the quality of the product by directly applying real world conditions to design geometry. There is lot of limitation in analysing physical prototype; these are overcome by Mechanica in which more scenarios can be evaluated. This save lot of time by avoiding prototypes and analysis time is very less when compared to any other type. Mechanica reduce errors by working in a seamlessly integrated design and simulation environment with no data translation. Simultaneously designing and simulating design variations gives a new idea for an engineer. Thus give an opportunity for innovations. Development cost for the product is decreased by reducing the cost of the prototype or by eliminating the prototypes. (ref:http://www-ipe.uni-duisburg.de/Rechnereinsatz/lehre/pw_download/cad2_cae_promech_tut_toogood_2.pdf) TESTING All glazing material must undergo impact load and environmental test requirements and should be labelled by manufactures as per part 1201 SAFETY STANDARD FOR ARCHITECTURAL GLAZING MATERIALS. The impact load being applied at a height of 1100mm to 1500mm above the playing surface, since the ball hits maximum on these heights. Glass walls must satisfy the following conditions: A glass wall in racquetball or squash court subjected to impact load shall remain undamaged following a test impact. The deflection of the walls shall not be greater than 1.5 inches (38mm) at the point of impact. (Ref: Oregon structural specialty code, 2007, chapter: glass and glazing) Testing Equipment The impact test frame is used to minimize the movement and deflection of the specimen during test. The testing equipment used for testing glass panels are shown below. The test specimen will be placed in a frame and the four edges kept fixed. The frame is made up of wood. The inner subframe is used to secure the test specimen edges; the material used for inner subframe is neoprene strips, which shall be in contact with specimen corners. The pressure on the test specimen shall be controlled, and the compression of the neoprene strips shall be between 10 and 15 percent of the neoprene. To limit the compression of the neoprene and prevent distortion of the subframe, metal shims of an appropriate thickness shall be used. Impact load is applied on the glass by impactor from the height of 48 inches. The impactor shall be a leather punching bag or a rubber bladder. The bag is filled by chilled lead shot of a weight of completed assembly of 100 pounds. After filling the leather bag, it is been tied with a cord or leather thong to a metal sleeve. The exterior of the bag shall be completely covered by  ½ inch wide glass filament reinforced pressure sensitive tape. Impact test procedure: Each specimen (glass panel) shall be struck within 2 inches of its geometric center with the impactor dropped from a single height. Specimen is impacted one time from drop height of 48 inches. If the specimen withstands this impact will pass the quality and reaches the customer. It is very important for the manufacturer to perform the impact test on the glass panel, since it rules from the federation. The manufacturer has to label the following details on the glass panels, like manufactured date, test passed, and test conducted date. The tempered glass is permanently labelled to indicate it conforms to ANSI Z97.1-1972 or 1975 or is accompanied by a certificate certifying conformance to ANSI Z97.1-1972 or 1975. (ref: part 1201 SAFETY STANDARD FOR ARCHITECTURAL GLAZING MATERIALS) IMPACT TESTING WITH PRO /MECHANICA Pro/Mechanica is a multi discipline computer aided engineering tool that enables the user to simulate the physical behaviour of a model, and therefore enable the user to improve the design. Pro/Mechanica can be used to predict how a design will behave in the real world by calculating stresses, deflections, frequencies, heat transfer paths etc. Pro/Mechanic is the most effective analysis tool for testing the impact loads on the glass panels. The above mentioned test procedure is takes long time and prototype required for analysis. Pro/mechanic gives the accurate results for applied loads on the specimen and different sets of load could be applied without redesigning the specimen. The Mechanica packages include thermal, motion simulation and structural analysis. Analysis is the larger set of pull down menus and dialog boxes within CAD packages. Pro/Mechanic is integrated and run simultaneously with the 3Dsolid modelling computer package Pro/Engineer. After a design is modelled, the user may select Pro/Mechanic option to access finite element analysis. There are two types of model for

Data Storage - History, Technologies, and Challenges :: data storage store

Data storage covers many areas. Anywhere information is stored for later retrieval could be considered "data storage." While it is not the first thing we would think of, a bill board advertisement is data storage. The advertisement (data) is meant to be read (retrieved) by many people. Other examples that might more readily come to mind include check books (storing your financial information), filing cabinets and books, among many others. What we will attempt to do here is present a (brief) history of data storage, especially as it applies to computers, and outline the current technologies that are used to store data, and their limitations. We also want to discuss the exciting data-storage technologies that are on the horizon. These new technologies will allow data storage to continue to be inexpensive and reliable. Computers, when it gets right down to it, only have two states which are recognized: on and off. As it processes information, all it really sees are a series of ones and zeros. These ones and zeros are called "bits," and computers are what are called "binary machines," meaning they process ones and zeros, or binary information. So, a character such as S is represented to the computer as 01010011 (8 bits are known as a byte). Pay attention! This will be important later, as this is how computers store data as well. A brief, yet (almost) entirely inaccurate, history of data storage. A really long time ago, man started wanting to store data. He realized that always trying to rely on human memory can have its pitfalls. There had to be a way to augment the human's capacity to remember. Thus, data storage. The first attempts at data storage used sun dried clay tablets with characters inscribed in them. They realized very quickly that this was not entirely efficient. You didn't have to write much before you couldn't carry it around any more. Pocketbooks ® would have never flown, let alone walked. Well, it could have walked, but with great difficulty. But I digress. The search began for more efficient methods of data storage. The Egyptians came up with the idea of making paper out of papi--, papy--, river reeds. Now they could store a lot of information, in funny little characters that no one could read until the Rosetta Stone, in a much smaller amount of space.

Childhood Obesity Essay

Introduction Obesity is one of the important contributing factors to diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, depression and several forms of cancer [Williams, 2006]. Obesity is often established in adolescence, [Williams, 2006] examined the effect of child and adolescence high Body Mass Index (BMI) on the prospect of being overweight at 21 and reported that 40% of those who were overweight at 21 could be identified by age of 7, another 25% were identifiable by the time they were 15.   Genetic, familial, socioeconomic, psychological, behavioral and environmental factors have been identified as contributors to increasing prevalence of overweight in the population. Of these, genetics is the only factor, which for the time being is not possible to alter; a known genetic disposition towards overweight however provides more reason to try to control the factors that fall under human control. Parents have an important role in ensuring that their children adopt good eating and physical activity habits from the very beginning to prevent obesity in their children.   Parents have to provide the critical development phase support, beginning before birth and continuing through adolescence.   They are the key in ensuring that their children do not develop habits contributing to overweight and obesity. Family meals, balanced diet, support in getting adequate physical work and exercise and a watchful eye to ensure that their children do not acquire sedentary habits will result in reduced risk of overweight in children and adolescents. Unfortunately economic pressures, working parents, broken families and other social problems means that parents cannot exercise the kind of control required to ensure control of the problem through parental control and guidance.   Another problem is that children and adolescents spend most of their time away from home, in schools. The role school-based approaches can play in preventing and controlling obesity, therefore, acquires immense importance. Social scientists, physicians, schoolteachers, administrators, and parents have long recognized this role. The role schools have played in contributing to the overweight and obesity problem in school age children and adolescents has been the subject of considerable research. Many researchers have developed new school-based approaches and analyzed the effectiveness of the approaches for the prevention and control of obesity. Body Mass Index (BMI) In estimating the overweight and obesity problem, we ideally need to measure the percentage body fat of the subject; however this is an impractical measure. A much more convenient measure of Body mass Index (BMI) is widely used for determining if the person meets the desirable body/mass ratio. The body mass index (BMI) is defined as: BMI= (weight/height2) Where weight is measured in kg and height is specified in meters. For adult population, the cut off point for overweight is taken as 25 kg/m2 while people with BMI of 30  kg/m2 or over are considered obese.   The body mass index among children and adolescents varies significantly with age. [Cole et al, 2000] report the result of their research based on international data consisting of 97,876 males and 94,851 females from birth to 25  years of age from 6 countries including United States. They used this statistical data to tabulate boundary values for children up to 18 years of age. International cut off points for body mass index for overweight and obesity by sex between 2  and 18  years [Cole, 2000] Age (years) Body mass index 25  kg/m2    Body mass index 30  kg/m2 Males Females Males Females    2 18.4 18.0    20.1 20.1 4 17.6 17.3    19.3 19.1 6 17.6 17.3    19.8 19.7 8 18.4 18.3    21.6 21.6 10 19.8 19.9    24.0 24.1 12 21.2 21.7    26.0 26.7 14 22.6 23.3    27.6 28.6 16 23.9 24.4    28.9 29.4 18 25 25    30 30 Subgroups at Increased Risk of Overweight [Sherwood et al, 2004] investigated the children at increased risk of obesity and reported that while childhood obesity is present across all demographic and social classes; however, African American girls were at a higher risk. The data analyses showed that African-American girls of age group 6-11 years of age were almost twice more likely to be overweight. In this age group 22.2% of African- American girls were over weight compared 11.6 % white Americans. Among the adolescents (11-19 years age group), 26.6% African-American girls were overweight while 12.4% white girls were considered overweight. [Sherwood et al, 2004] believe that African–American girls do not face the same kind of social pressure about their weight as their white counterparts. Black American girls face less negative attitudes about overweight and are therefore less likely to be concerned about watching their weight [Kumanyika et al, 1993]. Correct Age for Overweight Intervention in Schools A 5-year British schools-based research project carried out by [Wardle et al, 2006] highlighted the need to target obesity prevention measures to

Strict Teachers Produce Outstanding Students?

When coming to the discussion whether strict teachers can produce outstanding students, most of us must have our thumbs up and find it absurd and ludicrous if one claimed the famous Chinese saying is wrong. Undoubtedly, strict teachers have high expectation on their students and always demand them to do their best. Under such a strict confinement, students would become more obedient and disciplined. As a result, to a certain extent, students may have a better academic result since they follow what their teachers asked them to do.However, what is the true meaning of â€Å"outstanding†? From my point of view, an outstanding student should not only has good academic result or discipline, but more importantly, balanced development of a student should never be neglected. Therefore, based on the above definition, I cling to the view that strict teachers do not necessarily produce outstanding students. My views will be expressed as follows. First, strict teachers always constrict stu dents' daily activities.Students are requested to spend most of their time studying or doing a host of homework which are assigned by their teachers. Thus, they will have fewer chances to participate in extra-curricular activities or engage in other learning experience. This includes doing exercise or voluntary works, which are vital parts in all-round education. Students' personal development would then be hindered and obviously, they cannot be outstanding on a social dimension. Another standpoint to be put forward is that students' thoughts will be restricted.Nowadays, it is not difficult to notice the significance of critical thinking among students. That's why the latest educational reform stresses on the importance of liberal studies because the previous educational system is too exam-oriented. Yet, strict teachers would ask their students to follow what they have said and refuse all the ideas from students. In this way, students may just follow suit as they are afraid of being punished by their teachers. Hence, they cannot learn how to think critically.This certainly violates the principle of education, let alone producing outstanding students. What is more, the harsh training methods of strict teachers, indisputably, are not suitable for all students. For students who cannot keep abreast of the progess under the harsh training, they may not be able to study efficiently and effectively. In worst case scenario, they might even give up their studies. Being too strict, therefore, cannot guarantee students to be outstanding.It really depends on whether students themselves can accept such kind of teaching methods or not. The teaching methods of strict teachers sound powerful but dreadful at the same time. Strict teachers do not infallibly produce outstanding students. It is essential for them to strike a balance between strict and lenient so diversified development of students can be fostered. I believe that when balanced development can be achieved, an †Å"outstanding† student would be produced.

Reasons for surfing the internet

Reasons for surfing the internet The term ‘surfing the internet’ was invented because of people’s behavior of randomly roaming from one website to another. Internet surfing essentially involves causal clicking of different web links one after the other in search of similar or related information. As such, it is important to note that internet surfing was only possible after the invention of the World Wide Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Reasons for surfing the internet specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Given the vast information that is currently available on the internet, most people especially the young adults have found themselves being addicted to internet surfing. However, it should be noted people surf the internet reasons. This paper is therefore an in-depth analysis of the various reasons that make people surf the internet. Since the invention of the internet, it is agreeable that it is one of the most important innov ations to be made by man. This is because of the many benefits it has proved to have to people of all generations. The list of things that can be done on the internet is endless. First of all, the young adults most of who comprise of students normally surf the internet for educational information, corresponding via electronic mails, chatting with their distant friends and downloading music and applications among other uses (Himanshu 1). Through surfing the internet, the young adults/ students have been able to share information with their colleagues by creating their own websites that show their interests. Internet surfing has also made it possible for people to share memories via videos and pictures. Students have also had the privilege of attending online classes through internet surfing without having to physically move from their homes. This has had the benefit of helping students overcome geographical boundaries and be able to study at educational institutions of their choice. The other reason that the young adults and students surf the internet is to reconnect with their old and current friends through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace just to mention a few (Himanshu 1). The adults surf the internet for various reasons, which include online shopping instead of having to literally move from one shopping mall to another. This way, they manage to save much time that could be utilized in other important matters. The internet has also made it possible for people to make online payments for instance, using PayPal. This has made it easy for people to carry out transactions faster, without delay of payments as witnessed in most of the cheque system. Surfing the internet also helps in giving information regarding places that people would like to visit for holidays.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Travellers are able to gather informat ion regarding different places and have the option to choosing the best without having to waste time and money travelling to the physical places. In addition to this, children also surf the internet or games, which they play online during holidays. People at work can also surf the internet for games and other leisure materials as they take a break from the busy schedule. In fact, a study conducted in 2009, indicated that surfing the internet by workers increases their productivity (Cheng 1). From the aforementioned reasons of surfing the internet, it can be clearly depicted that internet surfing has been of significant help to the lives of almost people in the society regardless of age. The only problem that could arise due to internet surfing is internet addiction that could compromise the roles and obligations of an individual such as studying for the students, working for the employees and even feeding for the young children. As such, it is important that internet surfing is done with limitations to avoid chances of being addicted. Cheng, Jacqui. Study: surfing the internet at work boosts productivity. 2009. Web. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2009/04/study-surfing-the-internet-at-work-boosts-productivity/ Himanshu, Sheth. 10 reasons why people use internet. 2011. Web. blogtechnika.com/10-reasons-why-people-use-internet/

5 Ways to Tell if Your College Crush Likes You

5 Ways to Tell if Your College Crush Likes You Have your eye on someone as a potential date? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Or, at the least, someone to ask out for coffee or a drink, away from the college crowd? Trying to see if he or she likes you or not can be maddening. These five situations can help you gauge the other persons feelings- as well as your own- about possibly taking things to another level. 1. Go Out in a Group Is this person by you the whole night? Are you by them? Are they interested in what you have to say? Do they laugh at your jokes, wait for you when the group moves around, and pay attention when you talk? Are you frequently making eye contact? If you close your eyes and imagined the person not with the group, would your experience change? Answering yes to any of these questions might indicate an interest in you in particular instead of just common group dynamics. 2. Do Something Together Off Campus If you have to visit a local museum for your art history paper, see if this potential-date wants to come along. Their eagerness at doing so, and the chemistry that happens while you guys are out, can be a great way to see whats going on between the two of you. Of course, if youre heading off campus, make sure youre safe about it. 3. Grab a Meal Together If youre interested in someone, chances are that you have things in common and have done things together, or with a group, already. If so, try to carry that momentum into a seemingly-friendly meal together. Did you work together on a class project, seek his or her advice on your computer science program, or research similar paper topics in the library? If so, say you want to celebrate finishing by grabbing a quick meal off campus. Keeping it really casual can be the key to seeing what your dynamics are when youre alone. Running off campus for a quick lunch of a burger or dim sum has a much different feel than a nice, sit-down evening meal thats been planned two weeks in advance. 4. Ask for Help With Something If you like someone and he or she is really smart in a certain subject or has some experience in a research topic youre working on, see if they are interested in helping you. You can have a great discussion that will help expand your understanding of something you already find interesting, and you can see what this person is like on a more personal level. Have they had a lot of classes with a new professor of yours, and if so, can they talk to you about how that person grades? Are they majoring in a discipline youre taking your first class in? Can they give you some feedback on a survey you want to pass out to people in your residence hall? Then, of course, see how the conversation goes. Are they willing to help? Friendly? Interesting and engaging? Supportive? Someone youd want to have more conversations with...say, over a real college dinner date that isnt made of food you both sneaked into the library? 5. Share Some Exciting News Did you just hear that you were accepted into your summer internship program? Get an A on that project you asked for help with? Get happy news from one of your friends or family members? Share it with your potential crush and see how he or she reacts. If they are supportive, interested, and want to celebrate with you one-on-one, it might be a sign that the friendship could develop into more. A Note If You Feel Self-Conscious Around Your Crush Remember that having a crush on someone, and even putting it totally in the open, is something that should be very flattering. Anyone worth dating in the first place should be touched by your sentiments and handle them with respect, no matter what their feelings are in return. Put yourself out thereotherwise, youll never know!

The Best AP Style Cheat Sheet Every Writer Needs (Free Download)

The Best AP Style Cheat Sheet Every Writer Needs (Free Download) Clarity and consistency are building blocks of great content. When your writing is crisp, clear, and easy to understand, audiences are more likely to leave your site with a positive impression. Unfortunately, many brands forego style guides, and choose to wing it instead. This isn’t necessarily a fatal mistake by any means. However, it does often lead to content that looks sloppy. Without guidelines to enforce consistency, it’s easy to allow your content to become a formatting free-for-all where commas roam free and nothing follows a  clear logic. The results leave your blog or website looking the Wild West of basic grammatical conventions. If this sounds hyperbolic, consider this: newspapers are written to be as effortless to read as possible. Concise writing and consistent style go a long way toward achieving this goal. There’s a reason why your daily paper sounds how it does. It isn’t just a stubborn commitment to rules for their own sake. Does your content need to be perfect to be effective? Not nearly, no. But, everything you can do to enforce consistency and clarity will help your cause. The Best AP Style Cheat Sheet Every Writer Needs (Free Download) Table of Contents: Free Download What is AP Style? Who Uses AP Style? Ages Abbreviations and Acronyms Cities States Dates, Days, Months, Times, and Years Datelines Numbers Sizes, Dimensions, and Distances Punctuation Peoples Names Hyphens Quotes and Quotations Technology Terms Book, Movie, and Song Titles AP Style Checking Tools, Plugins, and Apps Bonus InfographicDownload Your Free AP Style Guide Cheat Sheet If you’d prefer to keep this guide handy in a portable format, you can download the entire thing as a PDF below. This is a good option for reading on tablets, e-readers, or simply keeping on file on your computer.What is AP Style? The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law  official style guide of the Associated Press, a not-for-profit news agency that’s been around since 1846. It’s often used by news organizations, magazines, and web publications, but brands often use it to form the basis of their own style guides, too. The official Associated Press style guide gets updated year to year. Here’s a look at some changes from back in 2016: Arguably, these changes have led to bloat. Detractors say the guide is excessively detailed, beyond the point of being necessary, or even useful. This author doesn’t disagree with this criticism (hence the creation of this simplified blog post). If following this specific style is important for your situation, though, consider buying the official version. It’s available in both digital and hard copies. NOTE: It’s important not to confuse AP style with APA style. Who Uses AP Style? Associated Press style is generally used by journalists, but they aren’t alone in using it. Here’s a short list of folks who might need to get familiar with it: Journalists Editors PR Professionals Marketers How Do You Denote Ages? A person’s age should always use numerals. When using age as an adjective (using their age to describe an individual), then use hyphens. Examples: The 20-year-old was arrested for underage consumption of an alcoholic beverage. At 34-years-old, Larry Fitzgerald remains impressively athletic. The five-year-old dog greets its owner every morning. Abbreviations and Acronyms Use abbreviations for well-known organizations. Acronyms for Organizations Ex: FBI, NASA, IRS, NFL, MLB, NHL, FIFA. For other organizations, spell it out on first mention, then use abbreviations for subsequent mentions. Use your best judgment. If people are unlikely to understand an abbreviation, then don’t use it. Examples: The FBI agent was assigned the case.NASA announced plans to visit Mars. The MLB has not announced hot dog price restrictions for this year. Abbreviations for Formal Titles Make sure your writing respects people’s formal titles. Some examples include political and medical titles. Follow these guidelines: Political titles should be abbreviated before full names outside of direct quotes. Examples: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rep. John Lewis. Medical titles follow similar format: Example: Dr. Michaela Quinn. Which Cities Stand Alone in AP Style? Some American cities are considered well-known enough they don’t need a state abbreviation. This makes sense, since most people know where they’re located. Here’s the full list of U.S. cities that fall under this criteria: Atlanta Baltimore Boston Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh St. Louis Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco Seattle Washington The same goes for the following international cities and country abbreviations: Amsterdam Baghdad Bangkok Beijing Beirut Berlin Brussels Cairo Djibouti Dublin Geneva Gibraltar Guatemala City Havana Helsinki Hong Kong Islamabad Mexico City Milan Monaco Montreal Moscow Munich New Delhi Panama City Paris Prague Quebec City Rio De Janeiro Rome San Marino Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Istanbul Jerusalem Johannesburg Kuwait City London Luxembourg Macau Madrid Stockholm Sydney Tokyo Toronto Vatican City Vienna ZurichHow to Format State Abbreviations Every state in the United States has a specific abbreviation. Some of these may not seem obvious. Follow this list to get them right. Alabama: Ala. Arizona: Ariz. Arkansas: Ark. California: Calif. Colorado: Colo. Connecticut: Conn. Delaware: Del. Florida: Fla. Georgia: Ga. Illinois: Ill. Indiana: Ind. Kansas: Kan. Kentucky: Ky. Louisiana: La. Maryland: Md. Massachusetts: Mass. Michigan: Mich. Minnesota: Minn. Mississippi: Miss. Missouri: Mo. Montana: Mont. Nebraska: Neb. Nevada: Nev. New Hampshire: N.H. New Jersey: N.J. New Mexico: N.M. New York: N.Y. North Carolina: N.C. North Dakota: N.D. Oklahoma: Okla. Oregon: Ore. Pennsylvania: Pa. Rhode Island: R.I. South Carolina: S.C. South Dakota: S.D. Tennessee: Tenn. Virginia: Va. Vermont: Vt. Washington: Wash. West Virginia: W. Va. Wisconsin: Wis. Wyoming: Wyo.Formatting Dates, Days, Months, Times, and Years in AP Style Dates and times have a number of formatting considerations. Dates: Follow this format: Monday (day), July 1 (month + date), 2018 (year). Times: Don’t use colons for times on the hour. Ex: 3 p.m., 8:30 a.m. Days: Omit st., th., rd., and th. Ex: July 1, not July 1st. Months: Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. when writing out a specific date. Spell out names of months when not used to indicate a specific date. Ex: Aug. 3, 2018. Years: Use numerals rather than spelling them out. Ex: 2018, not twenty-eighteen. Other Considerations For Dates and Times a.m. and p.m. should use periods and lower case letters. Never say â€Å"yesterday.† Use the day of the week instead. Formatting Datelines News articles often start with a dateline indicating the location, month, date, and year a story took place. Include city (and state if necessary in the U.S.). Examples: FARGO, N.D. (July, 1, 2018) MILWAUKEE (July 1, 2018) LONDON (July 1, 2018) Numbers Spell out numbers one through nine, and use digits for numbers 10 and higher. The following exceptions, however, should always use digits: Addresses Ages Monetary values. Dates and times. Sizes and dimensions. Percents. Speeds. Temperatures. When Should Numerals Be Used? Use numerals when referring to a sequence of events or people. Examples: Super Bowl XLV Queen Elizabeth II World War I What About Percentages? Always use the full word â€Å"percent.† The % sign shouldn’t be used. That key might feel neglected, but it’s okay. Example: The analyst predicted a 100 percent increase in site traffic. Sentences Starting With Years Avoid starting sentences with a number, unless referencing a year. Example: 1977 was the last year the Minnesota Vikings went to the Super Bowl. Sizes, Dimensions, and Distances Sizes and dimensions should use numerals and spell out units of measurement. The same goes for distances. Examples: The party sandwich was 10 feet long. The delivery driver traveled 12 miles during harsh weather. Bill Smith is 6-foot-5 and plays basketball in his spare time. Punctuation in AP Style You learned everything you needed to know about punctuation in high school English class, right? Well, maybe or maybe not, but this style has quirks of its own to consider. General Punctuation Here are some general punctuation guidelines: Use a single space after a period. Commas should go inside quotation marks. Serial Commas In AP style, commas are not included before conjunctions. However, they should be used to separate each item in a list. Example: I ate a hot dog, pizza slice, burger, and an entire pie. Using Periods Lean toward using periods in abbreviations where applicable. Example: Examples: U.N., M.A., U.S.A. Singular Nouns Ending in S When proper nouns end in an S, add an apostrophe at the end. Example: Sally Jones’ red stapler has been stolen. People’s Names Use their first and last name on first mention. Then, use only their last name on subsequent mentions. Example: David Johnson is a professional running back. Johnson plays for the Arizona Cardinals. Using Hyphens Correctly Use hyphens to connect words in compound adjectives. Example: The larger-than-life performer juggled seven swords. Formatting Quotes and Quotations Here are two points about quotation marks: Periods and commas always go within quotation marks. Use single quotations for quotes within quotes. Example: â€Å"The candy truck spilled all over the highway,† said the driver. â€Å"It’s a real ‘sticky situation’ on I-94.† Technology Terms There are more tech terms and brand names to consider coming out every day. Here’s a list of some common ones you may encounter. Google hashtag Internet Apple â€Å"i† products: iPad, iPod, iPhone, iMac, unless the word starts a sentence. Then, capitalize the I. e-book email Facebook LinkedIn Twitter tweet website Web page YouTube social media cellphone World Wide Web Android AppleUsing Correct AP Style for Book, Movie, and Song Titles Your favorite author, director, or musician isn’t likely to write you an angry letter over incorrect style usage when it comes to their art. An editor probably will, though. Here’s how to get it right every time. Books, Movies, and Song Titles Use quotation marks rather than italics. This goes against what likely feels right, and how you’d normally format them, but those are the rules. Examples: J.K. Rowling is the author of â€Å"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.† â€Å"Party in the USA† does not make me feel like partying. It turns out that â€Å"Total Recall† was not a documentary. Newspaper, Magazine, and Website Names Use capitalization but no quotation marks nor italics. This blog post uses italics to highlight examples, so the publication names below have been rendered in normal paragraph text. Examples: The Guardian is a well-respected newspaper. Wired is a popular magazine for tech enthusiasts. Bob Jones is unsure where his Cat Fancy subscription came from. Other Considerations Capitalize formal titles before people’s names. Do not capitalize job titles before names. Use quotation marks for titles of books, movies, albums, and TV shows. AP Style Checking Tools, Plugins, and Apps Keeping all of this information straight can be a hassle (and this post only covers the majority of the most important elements to consider). Fortunately, there are several tools and plugins on the market that can help. Here are some worth checking out: AP Style Dates and Times (WordPress Plugin) AP Lingofy (Browser Extension) AP Style Guard (Desktop App) Bonus: AP Style Infographic That’s a Wrap Are there any details we missed? Drop a comment below and share with other readers.

Impacts of Credit Crunch on Ryanair Research Proposal

Impacts of Credit Crunch on Ryanair - Research Proposal Example In February 2008 Reuters reported that global inflation was at historic levels (Reuters 12 02 2008) Ryanair, the first Low Cost Carrier in Europe, it was founded in 1985 (Ryanair.com History 2008). Ryanair began operations with a staff of twenty-five and a single 15-seat airplane flying connecting Waterford and London. In 1986 Ryanair got authorization to begin flying four flights a day on the Dublin-London route. Utilizing the opportunity, they broke the monopoly of British Airways and Aer Lingus with fares that were much lower. Ryanair's strategy (initially) was to offer simple, low-cost fairs and exemplary customer service. During the later part of the 80s Ryanair continued to compete vigorously with British Airways and Aer Lingus while adding additional routes and airplanes (Creaton 2004). In 1990 Ryanair suffered a 20 million loss and was forced to completely restructure. A new CEO - Michael O'Leary - was charged with making the airline profitable. O'Leary visited the USA to study the 'low fares/no frills' model being used by Southwest Airlines. O'Leary promptly determined th at the key to low fares was to implement quick turn-around times for aircraft, "no frills", and no business class, as well as operating a particular model of aircraft (Ryanair About Us n.d.). Regardless of the decline in overall airline traffic, Ryanair made a profit of 293,000 for the year and carried 651,000 passengers. In 2000, they announced the launch of 10 new European routes for the summer and the company launched their new online booking site and in just 3 months the site was taking over 50,000 bookings a week (Ryanair About Us n.d.). After the tragedy of 9/11, the whole air transportation industry suffered a drawback and airline companies had to modify their strategies in order to adapt to the new situation that led to an increase in oil prices and a downturn in traffic (Gloomy Ryanair 2008). Ryanair, instead of cancelling thousands of flights, adapted the opposite strategy (DG TREN - ANALYSIS OF THE EUROPEAN AIR 2001). The company took advantage of empty slots in the airports, which were until the date the biggest constraint in European airports. In 2008 Ryanair is the 3rd largest airline in Europe; it has 31 bases and carries 50.9 million passengers annually (Ryanair Annual Results 2008). The firm's whole story is built on ambitious growth targets.

Success in Social Commerce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Success in Social Commerce - Research Paper Example As the result, Google Analytics and Facebook Connect (Tonkin, Whitmore, & Cutroni, 2011) have now come up with tools and strategies that are showing positive ROI to marketers. In addition, a number of market research companies have carried out researches to understand the relationship of social media experience with consumers’ purchasing decisions. The results indicated that ‘like’ button acts as a significant factor that influences users to purchase a product/service from a specific retailer. In this regard, marketers are now looking at different ways of transforming experiences into measurable returns that will allow a rapid evolution of social commerce (Blanchard, 2011).While the paper is focusing primarily on ‘return on investment’, it is imperative to understand that ‘return on investment’ is usually considered as metrics that is not the case. ROI itself requires metrics for measurement of its business value, and business experts hav e come up with the following equation to calculate return on investment of something:ROI = Benefits - Costs x 100 = Percentage Return on the InvestmentThe equation of ROI is self-explanatory; however, the paper will now include an example that will clarify the applicability of ROI in social commerce largely. Sea World San Antonio is a venture of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (2013). The company created different content based on interests and attitudes of these roller coaster fans.... This paper is an attempt to understand different aspects of social commerce that will allow a comprehensive understanding of complexities that revolve around success of the notion. Discussion While social commerce presents an interactive shopping platform to consumers, it is imperative to see the potential of social commerce from businesses’ perspective. From retailers’ point of view, it has been an understanding that the social commerce has been successful in providing opportunities to retailers to engage people in exploration of their products by creating viral experiences (Ickler, Schulke, Wilfling, & Baumol, 2009). In addition, social commerce enables retailers to bring their products to a place where people interact with each other that is contrary to traditional shopping trend where people have to reach to the place to buy something. Another distinction from traditional commerce is that social commerce focuses on socially enriched relationships rather than one-to- one relationships that usually exist in traditional commerce settings. Rather, social commerce promotes dependence on interaction and experience of users with users; in other words, consumer-to-consumer communication that results in buying or selling of any product or service. The reason this paper is including detailed discussion on distinction of social commerce from other traditional types of commerce is the need for realizing the complexity that exist in social commerce, which will only enable its critical understanding that is essential for understanding different aspects of its success. For instance, as discussed earlier, ‘return on investment’ (Marsden, 2010) is the metric that business organizations usually use in traditional commerce setting, and

Magazine ad analysis 1-1.5 page Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Magazine ad analysis 1-1.5 page - Essay Example The other half of the ad features a large picture of the product and three small close-ups of portions of Parker’s face on a black background and explained with a good deal of text. As a result, the ad is presented in a split vertical panel allowing one side to ‘speak’ to the consumer on an emotional level while the other side ‘speaks’ on a more scientific level to try to convince customers to purchase this product. This presentation makes it clear that the Elaboration Likelihood Model is being used to persuade customers to purchase the product. The Elaboration Likelihood Model consists of two routes of thinking. The first of these is the central route. The central route uses high elaboration to encourage extensive issue-relevant thinking. This route is taken on the right side of the advertisement in the black panel. Here, the consumer is shown close-up specific areas of the face that the product is intended to improve. While the text promises that with use of the product â€Å"skin looks dramatically younger†, the close-up pictures illustrate where it improves appearance by plumping the skin such as around the mouth area, how it improves appearance by filling in lines such as those usually found on the forehead and how it smoothes skin with a close-up of Parker smoothing the product over her cheek with a carefully manicured hand. The final piece of information provided in this panel is a circle divided into three equal parts, each of which is filled with a symbol or segment of a main ingredient used in the product. This suggests that the product is all-natural and thus presumably healthier than other products that are built with more chemicals. This high degree of information forces the intended consumer to consider the various issues involved in her choices for skin care products, promising desired results in a healthy, all-natural material. The second route of thinking used in the Elaboration Likelihood Model is the

Proposal Outline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal Outline - Assignment Example No profits arise, as any surplus income over expenditure is paid as extra rebate to the Department of Defense, normally to service central funds. DEFCO is monetarily self-sufficient, has no assets or shareholders and provides no personal interests. No one has taken any stake in the organization [1]. DEFCO has self-service shops in all the military camps. In total, it has 29 shops, which provide services to Military Personnel. Initially it was created solely for service provision regardless of whether a branch was making profit or not. Over the years, it managed to adopt profit motives and achieve growth in both sales and profitability. It has also managed to expand its branch network to a maximum of 29 shops. The Managing Director of DEFCO working in collaboration with various Chief Officers is responsible for managing the organization. The DEFCO Board of Management exercises the daily operation of DEFCO through the Managing Director who is appointed by this board. The policy of DEFCO is in the hands of Council of Members who comprise the Chief of General staff as chairman, the Army, Commanders and the Managing Director of DEFCO act as members. The ICT department uses the centralized management technique. This makes is difficult to be able to sort a problem that arises in those shops that are located in distant places. This resulted to many problems being presented to the Help Desk, hence becoming difficult to tackle the problems all at once. Therefore, this technique is not efficient in solving of problems. The E-Business Suite is a new system, and a good number of the employees have the proper expertise of how to go about it. As a result, many mistakes are made and it takes time for those mistakes to be

The Role of Information Systems to Support an Organization Essay

The Role of Information Systems to Support an Organization - Essay Example These management systems are also termed as collaboration systems. In the days of the past, collaboration among peers or colleagues was not as easy as it has been made by the aid of collaboration systems. The well-known quote â€Å"Two heads are better than one† can be used to define the concept of collaboration systems. It is a common practice in organizations for people to work together and this collaboration usually achieves better results than working in isolation. Pinnadyne (2009) stated that collaboration might involve the activity of generation of an idea, creation of a new concept or implementation of a common goal. Therefore it can be defined as the joint venture to achieve a common goal with a shared direction. Collaboration Systems have the following tools: Content management involves the process of storing information for retrieval by users whenever the need arises. Hartland (2009) explained that it facilitates the workflow of a group of peers or colleagues that would be involved in accessing or adding content in the repository. It can be considered as a collection of processes that provide management of the workflows involved in the system. There might be many users involved in the process of adding data to the repositories therefore there needs to be a mechanism to handle such activities. The data in the content management systems might be of different types for example, documents, video clips, images, personal information etc. Content management system in an enterprise is considered to be their vital asset nowadays as it gives a structured look to their unstructured data, while catering to all the diversity of formats that might exist in the data. Another critical aspect of content management is the ability to keep versions of data as it evolves. The version number is a well-known mechanism to keep track of old and new data. Some organizations do not value older versions of data but it also has a

Personal Views regarding Socializing with Superiors and with Essay

Personal Views regarding Socializing with Superiors and with Subordinates - Essay Example This will translate to less efficiency by the superiors in running of the organization. This is evident where a subordinate to whom there is a close relationship with a superior cannot be terminated from employment, given a pay cut or reduced responsibilities for whatever reason, as this will negatively affect the social relationship (Rue et al, 2013). The other disadvantage of subordinate-superior social relationship is that it results in a loss of respect for the manager, as they will treat each other as friends affecting the ability for quality job performance. Socializing will not allow for constructive judgment and performance appraisal that is required of each employee by the superiors leading to unfairness and injustice in job performance (Rue et al, 2013). However, there is a need for some social interaction between subordinates and superiors and between subordinates their selves. These include taking drinks together and parties but there has to be professionalism where the superior leaves first and the conversations based on non-work issues. Subordinates can have social relationships at the work place as they have the same characteristics including having the same experience, same level of skills and education, and the performance of duties at the same level. These social relations aid in the development of teamwork, development of trust between employees, and the creation of a bond between the

The Role of Information Systems to Support an Organization Essay

The Role of Information Systems to Support an Organization - Essay Example These management systems are also termed as collaboration systems. In the days of the past, collaboration among peers or colleagues was not as easy as it has been made by the aid of collaboration systems. The well-known quote â€Å"Two heads are better than one† can be used to define the concept of collaboration systems. It is a common practice in organizations for people to work together and this collaboration usually achieves better results than working in isolation. Pinnadyne (2009) stated that collaboration might involve the activity of generation of an idea, creation of a new concept or implementation of a common goal. Therefore it can be defined as the joint venture to achieve a common goal with a shared direction. Collaboration Systems have the following tools: Content management involves the process of storing information for retrieval by users whenever the need arises. Hartland (2009) explained that it facilitates the workflow of a group of peers or colleagues that would be involved in accessing or adding content in the repository. It can be considered as a collection of processes that provide management of the workflows involved in the system. There might be many users involved in the process of adding data to the repositories therefore there needs to be a mechanism to handle such activities. The data in the content management systems might be of different types for example, documents, video clips, images, personal information etc. Content management system in an enterprise is considered to be their vital asset nowadays as it gives a structured look to their unstructured data, while catering to all the diversity of formats that might exist in the data. Another critical aspect of content management is the ability to keep versions of data as it evolves. The version number is a well-known mechanism to keep track of old and new data. Some organizations do not value older versions of data but it also has a

Milk Powder Essay Example for Free

Milk Powder Essay Why joint venture? Highest market share in milk powder, can provide technology and reputable brand name. Already brand recognition in Pakistan, thus familiar with market. Drawbacks? High royalties to established brand. Large multinational venture might dominate Milkpak. Pro’s Nestle Base in dairy products. Started out with infant formula. Plants in 60 countries, already business in Pakistan. Looking to fulfill long-term goals. Want decentralization, give JV own identity and responsibility. This was can better adapt to foreign market. Provide RD and technical assistance to subs. Growing interest in Pakistan market. Informal channel of communication. Con’s Nestle Want majority ownership in JV and want royalties. How to make cons pros? Majority ownership Nestle means that MP bears the least risk. Because MP has technical difficulties in setting up a Greenfield MP needs Nestle and Nestle needs royalties for its technology. But this is one of the few requirements. The JV will get its own management and gets a lot of responsibility. This makes it easier to adapt to the Pakistan market. This is also the trust Nestle puts in MP, since Nestle will bear most of the risk due to the majority ownership. Nestle also has the highest market share for milk powder, which can be used to gain a good reputation. In short Nestle bears risk, puts MP in charge of the subsidiary, gives technological and RD support, which is what MP is looking for, but needs royalties in return. Familiar with milk powder and infant formula.

Elemica Global Expansion Strategy Business Information Technology Essay

Elemica Global Expansion Strategy Business Information Technology Essay Elemica is a global e-commerce company in the chemical industry which provides web-based order management and supply chain applications and services. This report aims at outlining the strategy for Elemicas e-business trading hub global expansion. First, the environmental analysis of Elemica has been discussed. The SWOT analysis of Elemicas current business is discussed, followed by evaluation of elemicas online B2B industry using Porters five forces model. The various ICT challenges which will be faced by Elemica during global expansion have been identified. The various risks, opportunities available, associated costs and critical success factors for the global expansion have been discussed. A strategy map has been defined along with a balanced score card which measures the effectiveness of the B2B expansion strategy. After exploring all the opportunities and risks involved and evaluating the effectiveness of the strategy, the following recommendations have been made: Switch to cloud computing in order to easily expand into international market and be updated with the latest technology. Follow all the regulatory compliances in its e-business initiative and apply business ethics to be followed in different countries. Ensure that all the cross-border transactions follow security protocols and are safe and secure. Being sensitive to cultural differences in expanding countries and making the change management process smooth. These recommendations will thus help Elemica to successfully expand its B2B e-business strategy and establish a dominant position in the world market. Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 Table of Contents 3 1.INTRODUCTION 4 2. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 5 2.1 COMPANY ANALYSIS 5 2.3 CORE COMPETENCIES 8 2.4 MAJOR COMPETITOR 8 2.5 CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL 8 2.6 MARKET ANALYSIS AND TRENDS 9 2.8 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES 11 3. BUSINESS CASE FOR ELEMICA 13 4.PROPOSED PROJECT PLAN 19 4.1 PROJECT PLANNING AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT 19 5.ASSESSING ONLINE B2B INDUSTRY TRADING HUB 21 5.2STRATEGY MAP 24 6.RECOMMENDATIONS 26 6.4 BUSINESS PROCESS REDESIGN AND SYSTEMS INTEGRATION 28 6.7 SUPPORT SERVICES 29 CONCLUSION 30 LIST OF REFERENCES 31 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 33 1.INTRODUCTION This report aims at understanding the business of Elemica and hence, develops a strategic plan for the global expansion of e-business at Elemica. As the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Elemica, an in-depth analysis of the company is presented in the report. It includes environmental analysis of Elemicas online B2B trading industry hub and also identifies the potential for global expansion of e-business. The report will assist the company to expand its core activities in the international market. It also highlights the risks associated with expanding the e-business globally. It identifies the target groups, the characterization of target groups, and how to build value into Elemicas services as desired by its customers, which are essential for the success of e-commerce (Fellenstein Wood 2000). Many inhibiting factors related to culture, security, language, legal rules, cross-border data flow, ethical regulations etc. which are present in global systems (Laudon Laudon 2006), have also been discussed. It also evaluates the entire plan by providing a Balanced Score Card to measure its effectiveness and a strategy map that will ensure the integration of strategy with implementation. The basic purpose of this project is to determine whether Elemica should go ahead with the global expansion of its online B2B trading hub or not. . 2. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Elemica is a global e-commerce company founded by 22 leading corporations in the chemical industry which provides web-based order management and supply chain applications and services. It provides a single hub which provides companies with a one-stop solution through which companies can buy and sell chemicals to one another through their ERP systems or web alternative. It enables companies to link their internal IT systems through a neutral platform. Elemica is the first e-commerce company in the chemical industry which has successfully commercialized its ERP-to-ERP connectivity. It provides a modular, hosted solution that simplifies sales, procurement and financial processes; integrate supply chain partners in order to diminish communication barriers; and reduce overhead and errors. 2.1 COMPANY ANALYSIS Elemica is a privately held company with 150 employees. It has 2500 partners in its supply chain network and $60 billion in annual transactions. It is headquartered at Pennsylvania with offices in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Seoul, London, Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo. VISION: To be the leading provider of supply chain integration and optimization services to the industries we serve; tire and rubber, chemical, energy and selected manufacturing industries. Clients rely on Elemica solutions and services to deliver Bottom Line Results, Enhanced Supply Chain Reliability, Quick and Easy Implementation, and Deep Industry Expertise. (Source: www.elemica.com) SWOT ANALYSIS: It is necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis of Elemica in order to develop a competitive advantage by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Friend, 2009). It will enable Elemica to build on its strengths, overcome its weaknesses, identify the opportunities available and reduce its exposure to threats. STRENGTHS: One of the most sophisticated technology platforms in B2B space A single hub for all transactions One stop solution to its clients Addresses e-commerce needs of companies of all sizes Helps companies automate their businesses Creates efficiencies and economies of scale Reduces clients overhead and errors WEAKNESSES: Does not buy, sell or own a product Highly fragmented chemical industry with large number of companies Internet is required for the service OPPORTUNITIES: Expansion into international markets Diversifying its industry such as the rubber and tire industry, etc. where B2B e-business is possible Including reviews and feedback from long term customers so that new companies get attracted Facility of online auctions Providing for private collaborative hubs THREATS: Non-acceptance of business model in international markets Outdated technology in some time Emergence of new competitors with better technology 2.2 VALUE PROPOSITION OF ELEMICA Value proposition is the benefit that a companys products or services provide to its customers. (Turban et al, 2010, p. 591). The value proposition offered by Elemica is as follows: A single hub for all the companies to do all their transactions. Only one connection needed for all transactions unlike some other companies offering similar services. A super platform which connects the ERP systems of all participating companies which allows the companies to electronically communicate with each other and to conduct the transactions. Acts as an intermediary which only links all the companies together and then they can conduct confidential transactions electronically. Enables a company that signs up for its services to conduct business with all the other buyers as well as suppliers which are linked through Elemica. It offers four modules: procurement, logistics, and customer replenishment (automate inventory replenishment and ordering), and order management. Provides support of Elemicas Professional Services and Implementation Team to its new clients. This ensures that the on-boarding process is successful and increases acceptance of the business value with its major trading partners. Addresses e-commerce needs of chemical companies which are of all sizes. Results in improved operational efficiency, reduced costs and a higher percentage of safe and reliable deliveries 2.3 CORE COMPETENCIES The core competency of Elemica is to provide web based order management and supply chain applications and services. It delivers this by: Providing four modules: procurement, logistics, and customer replenishment (automate inventory replenishment and ordering), and order management. Single hub for all transactions. 2.4 MAJOR COMPETITOR The major competitor of Elemica in this space is ChemConnect, which was founded in 1995. It offers services similar to Elemica, but it does not connect the ERP systems of the participants. It has 9000 customers and is spread out in around 150 countries. (Figures as in 2009). 2.5 CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL Elemica provides a one-stop solution to all its customers to carry out transactions. It integrates the flow of information among the trading partners by using a Business Process Network (BPN). Once a client is connected to Elemica, it gets access to thousands of buyers and suppliers. The clients are charged for the service on the basis of volume of usage. The business model works in the following way: When a client is in need of some material, it puts up a message on its ERP system. This message goes to Elemicas platform asking its members for the availability of the material. Several of Elemicas members respond to the message by responding with quotations. At this point, both the purchaser as well as the seller is anonymous. The client decides from whom to purchase based on the quoted prices. When the shipping is arranged, the identity of the parties is revealed. When the order is confirmed, the platform is used to paln and co-ordinate delivery, automate invoice and pay one another. Elemicas revenues are generated by charging transaction fees from its clients on a per-transaction basis. Elemicas business model is sustainable because it integrates all the supply chain partners, thus reducing the communication and transaction time. The customers are able to connect to a large number of buyers and suppliers on a single platform, without having to purchase any internal system for themselves. Also, since they are charged on a transaction basis, the revenues are continuous and sustainable and are more efficient than older EDI based solutions which charged on the basis of inter-company transactions. Also, it addresses the needs of chemical companies of all sizes. It thus results in increased operational efficiency, lowering of costs, less inventory, and safe and speedy deliveries. These results in customer satisfaction and thus result in attracting more new customers. 2.6 MARKET ANALYSIS AND TRENDS With the advent of internet, there has been a major shift in the way companies do business. There has been a high visibility of B2C e-commerce, whereas it is the B2B e-commerce which provides a large amount of marketplace spending ( Pierfrancesco Manenti, 2010). The total spending by B2B e-commerce is more than 85% of the total spending of B2X e-commerce all over the world (according to IDC estimate). Research has shown that B2B e-commerce is more used by the firms in U.S. However, it is growing at a fast pace in Europe as well because the manufactures are becoming more acceptable to this concept. It has been found that only 4% of the total turnover in manufacturing sector is generated through B2B e-commerce sales (data from Eurostat). Hence, there is a great scope for e-commerce to expand in new countries as well as expand their business domain, which provides Elemica with a great business opportunity. 2.7 EVALUATION OF ELEMICAS ONLINE B2B INDUSTRY TRADING HUB The best way to evaluate Elemicas online B2B industry is by using Porters five forces model. According to the model, there are 5 forces which affect the industry and the economic value that gets divided among the industry players (Turban, 2007). Threat of new entrants: Due to continuous advances in technology, there is always a threat of a new company coming up with a latest technology and dominating the market scenario. This might make Elemica outdated. Hence, there is a high risk of new entrants coming into the market which makes it inevitable for Elemica to continuously improvce it systems and be updated with the latest techniques. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers is limited for Elemica because Elemica just provides a platform for them to make transactions. Also, the suppliers in the chemical industry are also buyers themselves, and hence are dependent on each other. Also, Elemica provides them with a neutral platform where they can easily transact with intermediate costs and time wastage removed. Threat of substitute products or services: Threat of substitute products/services entering the market is high because e-commerce is a very dynamic business. Any new technology or concept can easily replace it. Also, physical transactions can also easily act as a substitute to online services. Bargaining Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is again limited because of the interdependence of buyers and suppliers on each other. But since they have a large number of options available, they can easily choose from among them and get the best deals. Rivalry among Existing Competitors: There is a large scope for e-commerce online industry to grow as a whole. Also, with limited competitors in this space, there is less of a rivalry and majorly the company providing easy and better services will dominate the market. 2.8 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES With Elemica planning to expand globally, there are several ICT challenges that will be faced by Elemica: As the customers will become increasingly global, a major chaleenge for Elemica is to manage the relationship between buyers and suppliers who may belong to different countries and cultures. Hence, Elemica must develop a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in order to ensure that the customer relationships are long term, sustainable and add value. It will also need to be considered as to how Elemica will integrate the legacy systems that the companies currently use. Instead of connecting the ERP systems of the companies to the hub, Elemica can switch to cloud computing which will eliminate the need for integration. In order to keep up with the latest technology, Elemica can switch to cloud computing which will provide all the network facilities over the network without any need for connecting the ERP systems of the clients. The companies will then be able to access their account at any computer with internet access. This will reduce the costs incurred as well as attract more number of customers globally. While handling cross-border transactions, Elemica needs to be extra careful about the security issues and the data transfer protocols and standards to be followed. It needs to be in compliance with the international copyright laws and security standards. 3. BUSINESS CASE FOR ELEMICA 3.1 OPPORTUNITIES AND OBJECTIVES The opportunities available with Elemica are as follows: Expand its business to other countries and thus provide online supply chain integration by acting as a neutral platform for all the transactions. The challenge is to expand the system into other countries and also take care of the logistics for distribution. Adopting latest technologies so that the existing technology does not become obsolete. This will add more customers to the e-business and also make the business model more sustainable. For global expansion, Elemica can shift to cloud computing. This will save the companies from connecting their ERP systems to central software. The applications needed to run the business could be stored on servers. This will save the company costs and companies across the globe can easily do business just by logging into the internet. It will help them connect to anybody and anywhere in the world. Also, the customers can easily collaborate and work on big projects in real time. Another opportunity in the area of expansion for Elemica is that it can allow buyers to compare products from different vendors and customize their product requirements from a variety of vendors. Elemica must also start interaction among the vendors wherein they can post their comments and reviews about its services. This will help attract new customers and also enhance the credibility of the company. 3.2 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS Critical success factors (CSFs) are a few key activities that can determine the success or failure for any type of organization (McLeod Schell, 2001). By identifying the critical success factors, companies can develop strategies and also prioritize their activities for future business (Ward Peppard, 2002). The critical success factors for Elemica to go in for a global expansion are: Need to be more customer oriented in order to be sensitive to cultural differences and be responsive to their varying needs. The web interface must also be in the local language of the countries where Elemica plans to expand. Deliver secure and reliable connection to its users. Ensure that all the transactions and data transfers remain confidential and privacy policy is adequate. Compliancy with international standards must be maintained before entering into expansion into international markets. The tax implications must be kept in mind for the success of a business in other countries. It needs to be ensured that the company is in compliance with the local tax rules. Need to be up-to-date with the latest technology so that the business model does not become obsolete and also to prevent competition. 3.3 COSTS AND BENEFITS (ROI) It is essential to calculate the return on investment before taking any business decision to ensure that the returns will be favorable for the business. It is a tool which helps in evaluating information technology and electronic commerce investments (Turban, 2008). The ROI formula divides the total net benefits (revenues less costs, for each Year) by the initial cost, resulting in a ratio that measures the ROI for each year or an entire period (Turban 2010). The various costs involved in the expansion of Elemica globally will be: Marketing costs: A marketing strategy needs to be developed in order to attract customers all across the globe. Also, advertising costs will be incurred to establish the brand image of Elemica in new countries. This will be a significant cost because the marketing campaigns need to be customized according to different locations and local markets. Operating costs: Operating costs will differ for each country. This will include the training assistance program costs and other support costs to its customers. These costs will vary because the currency values in each country will vary and the exchange rates also need to be taken into account. Also, operating costs will increase because now the hub needs to be customized for local markets and more number of customers means higher maintenance costs. Employee costs: More number of employees will be needed to handle the expanding business. Local people will have to be recruited in order to understand the local needs and be responsive to them accordingly. Administrative costs: Administrative costs will go up with an increasing number of customers. Opportunity costs: It is the cost associated with not taking an electronic commerce initiative (Schneider, 2007). If Elemica does not go ahead with the expansion, some costs will be incurred for not going with this plan, called as opportunity costs. The revenue will be generated through: Transaction fees: The clients are charged on a per transaction basis. With increased number of customers, the number of transactions will increase and hence the revenue. Training fees: The training fees charged for increasing acceptance and making the on-boarding smooth will also increase with increasing number of members. 3.4 BENEFITS OF EXPANDING GLOBALLY The benefits associated with expanding globally are: It will offset sales decline in the domestic market, if any. Even if there is not much decline in revenues in the domestic market, having a global network will act as a safeguard for future. It will increase the life cycle of our services because it may be possible that this technology gets outdated in the domestic market, but in new markets this might still be new. If Elemica goes into cloud computing, it will attract a large set of new clients, both in the domestic as well as international market, thus leading to increased revenues and higher market share. It will improve its competitive position and help in establishing itself as a global brand. 3.5 RISKS ASSOCIATED Having a web based platform makes the system susceptible to risks associated with the internet. Hence, it is important that the problems which will most likely cause damage is addressed (Van der Walt, 2002). Hence, the risks associated with global expansion of Elemicas e-business are as follows: Security issues: With data and transactions scanning across the globe, there might be security concerns and different protocols to be followed in different countries. Also, there might be concerns regarding the misuse of information that is transferred over the internet. Payment issues: With difference in currencies and exchange rates, it might become difficult to make payments among the collaborating parties, which might result in loss of cross border transactions. Threat of Frauds: Proper mechanism would have to be in place to prevent any fraudulent customers to join the network and take undue advantage. Server crashes: There might be server crashes due to expansion into remote areas which might cause the entire system to fail and thus result in huge losses. Improper integration: Risk of improper integration of the hub with ERP systems in remote locations. Violation of laws: There might be systems which may violate the home country laws, thus creating troubles for Elemica in future. Cultural differences: The local people in target countries might not be comfortable with the concept of online buying and selling of stock. This may lead to a failure of the entire business model in that country. Hence, a proper understanding of the local culture needs to be developed before entering into expansion. Changing technology: Elemica needs to be up to date with the latest technology so that their services do not become obsolete. Lack of IT infrastructure: It might be possible that some countries might not have appropriate internet infrastructure. This will hamper the expansion of e-business in that country. 4.PROPOSED PROJECT PLAN 4.1 PROJECT PLANNING AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT Elemica needs to develop a detailed project plan to carry out all the planned projects, evaluate the various options available, identify specific milestones, allocate requisite resources, and manage the projects (Turban et al. 2010). There are five basic stages in developing a project (Haughey, 2010): Initiation Planning and project design Execution Monitoring and controlling systems Completion Elemica will first need to identify a project champion who will ensure that proper time, resources, and attention is given to the project throughout its initiation to implementation (Turban, 2008). Then a project team needs to be established who will develop a detailed project implementation plan. For expansion strategy, Elemica can pilot test it in some other country, which will help identify the problems and successes, thus helping in modifying the strategy accordingly (Turban, 2008). Accordingly, staff requirements are identified and fulfilled; and training given to them for the latest technology. After the completion of the proposed plan, it should be reviewed at each stage in order to overcome the inefficiencies and loopholes which were identified and then constant monitoring of the project needs to be done. Change management is a major issue which needs to be handled by Elemica during its global expansion because people will resist change. An appropriate communication strategy needs to be developed which will aim at keeping all the employees as well as Elemicas clients up-to-date with the companys strategy and latest happenings. This will help them cope with the changes (Schneider, 2007) and also help them adopt the new changing culture easily. Confidence and buy-in needs to be inculcated within the employees so that their support can be garnered for the project, which will be essential for the success of the business. 4.2 RESOURCE ALLOCATION The various resources which need to be allocated during Elemicas expansion will be human resources and IT resources. Human resources will include business managers, project managers, web designers, graohic designers, system operators and administrators (Schneider, 2007). IT resources which will be needed are the hardware and software development and its maintenance. 5.ASSESSING ONLINE B2B INDUSTRY TRADING HUB 5.1BALANCED SCORE CARD The most popular system for performance management is the use of a balanced scorecard (Turban, 2007). It was designed by Kaplan and Norton in 1996 and it describes a holistic measurement system which flows from the overall strategy of the organization and crystallizes into measureable indicators (Kaplan Norton, 1996). A balanced score card evaluates the effectiveness from the following 4 perspectives: Financial Customer Internal Business Processes Learning and Growth PERSPECTIVE OBJECTIVE METRIC RATIONALE 1) Financial Increased market share 1) Increase in the number of clients 2) Increase in the revenues 3) Increase in the number of locations where Elemica provides services Increase in market share is an important metric in determining whether the global expansion of the business has been successful or not. Only if there is an increase in the market share, it will indicate that the business is successful and is gaining more customers. Increased ROI 1) Increase in the number of transactions between clients, hence resulting in increased revenues. 2) Increase in the number of customers. It is important to measure the revenues earned in order to ensure that even if market share might have increased, the revenues have also increased along with it. Also, it is important to know that the returns are increasing on the money invested. 2) Customer Increased customer satisfaction 1) Increase in the number of repeat transactions 2) Decrease in the number of customer complaints 3) Increase in the number of positive customer reviews 4) Reduction in the response time for resolving customer complaints. Customer satisfaction is a top priority for the success of any business. Customer satisfaction ratings will indicate whether the existing customers are satisfied with the services and this in turn will determine the new customers getting added to the network. Increased visibility of Elemica 1) Increase in the number of transactions on Elemica. 2) Increase in the number of new subscribers. 3) Increased visibility among other chemical companies. This will determine whether the new marketing campaigns and expansion strategy has worked or not. Whether it will be able to generate more revenues or not. 3)Internal business processes Increase in efficiency 1) Increase in the quality of service 2) Decrease in the lag time between a complaint and resolving that complaint. 3) Increase in the number of transactions that can be handled at a particular time. 4) Increase in the speed of transactions This will help in delivering best service to the customers and will help in continuously improving upon the existing services. Better technology and transaction security 1) Increase in the transaction security even while cross-border transactions take place. 2) Adopting the latest technology and making the hub more user friendly and easy to implement. This will take of the security concerns which may arise during the expansion process in different countries. Also, the latest technology will keep Elemica inline with the competitors and help in dominating the market share. 4) Learning Growth Better skilled staff competent to handle latest techniques and varying cultures 1) Increase in % of employees who are highly skilled. 2) Develop the competencies in the staff to work in a dynamic and competitive environment. A highly skilled and competent staff will ensure that the company progresses and delivers the best to its customers all across the globe. This will also help in identifying the gaps in the skills of employees and work upon them. Increased organizational learning 1) Increase spending on RD to improve the technology used, hence delivering better services. This ensures that the latest and the best technology is used and the organization is ready to respond to the changing environment all across the globe. 5.2STRATEGY MAP The strategy map below shows the linkages between the four perspectives of Balanced Score Card and how they result in achieving the overall business strategy. INCREASED SHAREHOLDER VALUE HIGH ROI MORE MARKET SHARE FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE LEARNING GROWTH PERSPECTIVE HIGH EFFICIENCY CUSTOMER SATISFCATION INCREASED VISIBILITY SECURITY COMPLIANCE LATEST TEHCNOLOGY MORE CUSTOMERS MORE CITIES MORE TRANSACTIONS SKILL DEVELOPMENT INCREASE IN RD COMPETENCIES HIGHLY SKILLED AND COMPETENT WORKFORCE INTERNAL PROCESS PERSPECTIVE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE 6.RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations are in order of their priority. Each one will be needing 5-6 months to implement and can be started concurrently. 6.1 OUTSOURCING OF ICT INFRASTRUCTURE In order to strengthen the ICT infrastructure of Elemica, it should adopt cloud computing. It will hence result in business process automation. All the facilities will then be available over the network without any need for connecting the ERP systems of the clients. This will help in reducing the costs of setting up hardware or software and its maintenance. Clouds are a pool of easily usable as well as accessible virtualized resources such as hardware, development, platforms and/or services (Vaquero et al. 2009, p. 51). Shown below is how cloud c