Human Development By Jared Diamond - 1887 Words

As a biologist, Jared Diamond ventures to New Guinea to study bird evolution, where he fortuitously meets the local politician, Yali who asks how Diamond’s people were able to colonize New Guinea and attain more resources within the last 200 years than Yali’s New Guinean ancestors. Diamond did not have a simple answer to this question, as he would have to probe deeper into accounts of many different factors. He rephrases the question, asking why human development ensued at different rate in different continents. He theorizes that racial differences played no part in causing the differences that occurred, eliminating the immoral and erroneous perspective. He then juxtaposes the current lifestyles of children in America and New Guinea, and shows how westerners spend more time with electronics and other forms of entertainment whereas the children of New Guinea engage in more proactive tasks. Diamond also remarks how the indigenous societies are arguably more intelligent, b ut their circumstances are limited. The superiority in technology, agriculture, immunity to diseases and manufactured goods are capacitated by environment, not genetics. Jared Diamond begins his treatise from the very beginning. The primitive origins of human development started in Africa seven million years ago. Human development was bound within Africa until six million years later, when the Homo erectus migrated from Africa. After which, what Diamond coins â€Å"The Great Leap Forward†, occurs 50,000 yearsShow MoreRelatedGuns, Germs And Steel By Jared Diamond1402 Words   |  6 PagesIn the book, â€Å"Guns, Germs and Steel† by Jared Diamond, Part Two talks about the roots of guns, germs, and steel, geographical differences relating to food production, causes of the spread of food production, development of ancient crops that are still used today, and domestication. Jared Diamond mostly likes to talk about the development of the Eurasian society and why they are more powerful. Instead of proximate causes that get straight to the point, he takes a different route that leads to ultimateRead More Gus germs and steel Essay1742 Words   |  7 PagesGus germs and steel 1. Yali asks Diamond, â€Å"Why is it that you white people developed sp much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own.† 2. Jared Diamond’s thesis seems to be that external factors such as geography can affect the fate of human societies. In other words, what separates the winners from the losers is geography. Chapter 1 1. â€Å"The Great Leap Forward† is when human history developed about 50,000 years ago. 2. The giant moasRead MoreEssay on History of Disparity in Development650 Words   |  3 PagesDisparity in Development Human is one of few creatures of mother earth that can think and decide what is right or wrong. Due to that special characteristic, people are always curious about something and try to find the reason about it. In 1974, Jared Diamond was staying in Papua New Guinea, and one day, a local named Yali asked Diamond a deceptively simple question â€Å"Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?† (NGO, 2005) Jared thought itRead MoreHuman Expansion through Environmental Interaction Essay682 Words   |  3 Pagesrelating to the interaction between humans and the environment relating to demography and disease, and technology. The theme relating to the formation of political entities is important in history because a political entity shows ideological and technological innovation. Political entities form various political structures and forms of governance that led to conflicts that illustrated the human capacity for viole nce. Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel details the human interaction with the environmentRead More In Praise of Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay1013 Words   |  5 PagesIn Praise of Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamonds bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel (GGS) is an attempt to explain why some parts of the world are currently powerful and prosperous while others are poor. Diamond is both a physiologist and a linguist who spends a good deal of his time living with hunter gathers in Papua New Guinea. As a researcher and as a human being, he is convinced that all people have the same potential. Hunter gatherers are just as intelligent, resourcefulRead MoreGuns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond951 Words   |  4 Pagesand Steel, by Jared Diamond. The book was very interesting but a lot of the information could have been cut because it’s a bit too long. Jared Diamond is a scientist, not a historian and he’s American. He upset many historians around the world by the way he bashes Europeans. However, he did win a Pulitzer Prize for the book so that says something. Jared Diamond is a professor of Geography at UCLA and a world traveler. He believes that in the past 13,000 years of human history, agricultureRead MoreGuns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond1213 Words   |  5 Pagesand Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond is an outstanding book about how different societies changed developmentally through time. Diamond tells readers about how many societies developed faster than others and how wealth and power spread throughout different regions of the continents. Wealth was spread unevenly because many societies had less technological advances or developed after another society. Diamond uses a question and answerRead MoreGuns, Germs, And Steel Essay1174 Words   |  5 Pages and Steel written by Jared Diamond explains a variety of different themes as to why the world came to be as it is today. The differences in technology and advances differing between other countries. Why is Eurasia more advanced and innovated than other continents like, the Americas? Why didn’t every country develop to an equal pace in advancement? Diamond’s major theme is that environmental differences influenced the differences in the world†™s society’s not different human intellectuals. He illustratesRead MoreGuns Germs And Steel Summary955 Words   |  4 PagesJared Diamond’s theory of global differences in his book entitled â€Å"Guns, Germs, and Steel† is the result of geography and climate and not human differences such as race and culture. Jared Diamond is a biology professor at the University of California. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. While studying birds in Papua New Guinea he was asked the question of â€Å"Why you white men have so much cargoRead MoreGuns, Germs, And Steel1127 Words   |  5 PagesGuns, Germs, and Steel In his work, â€Å"Guns, Germs, and Steel† (W. W. Norton, New York, NY, 1997) Jared Diamond attempts to explain why human history has carried out the way it has, he often refers to accounts from history to support his argument. Accounts that will be deemed adequate will discuss specific groups of people, at a specified period of time. Diamond suggests that guns, germs, and steel are three contributing factors for why the world is in its current state. It is not difficult to recognize

Hobbes And Malcolm X s Views On Political Legitimacy Essay

I attended a dinner party with an upper class, white 17th century philosopher and a Muslim black nationalist from the 1960’s – hypothetically of course. One might think that they would have absolutely nothing in common; however, Thomas Hobbes and Malcolm X have more in common than it appears. While the two theorists are very different, they share several common ideas about political legitimacy. In this paper, I will argue that although both Hobbes and Malcolm X would agree that a government must provide protection for its citizens to be considered legitimate, Malcolm X extends that criteria to include provision of equal representation and benefits, as well as the ability for citizens to change or abolish government. First, I will discuss each of Hobbes and Malcolm X’s understandings of political legitimacy. Second, I will deduce how each theorist would interpret and address the other’s ideas. Finally, I will present my own interpretation and position on po litical legitimacy. While enjoying hors d’oeuvres, the topic of discussion centered around criteria for political legitimacy. Thomas Hobbes led the discussion, outlining what he believes to be legitimate government. While American politics were founded on strict theories of consent, Hobbes is less concerned with the method by which a government is formed. In Leviathan, Hobbes mentions two paths for a sovereign to acquire power, a â€Å"Commonwealth by acquisition†¦[and] a Commonwealth by institution† (Hobbes, p. 110). ThomasShow MoreRelatedPolitical Legitimacy As Viewed By Thomas Hobbes Vs. Malcolm X1586 Words   |  7 PagesPolitical Legitimacy as viewed by Thomas Hobbes vs Malcolm X In â€Å"Leviathan,† Thomas Hobbes believes that citizens choose to obey a sovereign leader in return for security and protection to from violence, chaos and bloodshed that is mankind’s â€Å"state of nature.† In a Commonwealth, the body of people agree to submit to a sovereign head of state to rule with absolute power, for the common good of survival and protection, be it given willingly by compact, or by force through acquisition, as outlined inRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake S treet, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers

Living in a Dormitory or Living in an Apartment Free Essays

Living in a dormitory or living in an apartment Education plays an importan role in students’ life. That is, the future success of individuals is based on the type and quality of education they receive. Especially, university education determines one’ s future and quality of life. We will write a custom essay sample on Living in a Dormitory or Living in an Apartment or any similar topic only for you Order Now For this reason, students try to seek better education opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills. While some students attend universities in the city they live in, others may have to move to other cities and live in a dormitory or an apartment. Although living on campus in a dormitory and living off campus in an apartment resemble each other in terms of school work, they have major differences when it comes to freedom and transportation. Living in a dormitory and living in an apartment are alike in one important respect, which is school work. Not only the students living in a dormitory but also those living in an apartment have classes to attend an exams to take. Furthermore, both the students living in a dormitory and those living in an apartment need to study hard, do homework and hand in their assignments. Therefore, students living in a dormitory and those living in an apartment are similar to each other because they both share similar responsibilities related to school work. Despite being alike in school work, the students living in a dormitory and those living in an apartment have to significant differences as far as freedom and transportation are concerned. One important difference is freedom. The students living on campus in a dormitory have to follow dormitory rules. For example, they have to sign-in and sign-out when leaving and returning to the dormitory. Also, they cannot leave the dorm; tory after a certain hour at night. Furthermore, over- night leave is only permitted with parents’ approval. As a result, the students living in a dormitory have limited freedom. In comparison, the students living in an apartmant do not have any rules to follow. Indeed, they are free to leave or come back to their apartment whenever they want. They may ever choose to stay overnight at their friend’ s house. Another different between students living on campus in a dormitory and those living off campus in an apartment is transportation. The students living in a dormitory do not need to use any means of transport simply because they live on campus. This because the school is usually within walking distance of their dormitory. By comparison, the students living in an apartment may have to use public transport such as buses and the subway or drive their own car in order to commute to school. It is clear that although living in a dormitory and living in an apartment are similar to each other in terms of school work, these two types of accomodation differ greatly in terms of freedom and transportation. While the former seems to offer a limited freedom, the latter provides greater freedom to students. However, when it comes to transportation, the students living in a dormitory seem to have the upper hand. That is why students should think very carefully before choosing which type of accomodation to prefer. How to cite Living in a Dormitory or Living in an Apartment, Papers

How to Love Yourself free essay sample

Learning to love yourself isnt easy especially if youre a survivor of childhood abuse or neglect. But there are things you can do to boost your self-love. Ask for a list of things people Like about you. Sometimes it can be hard to find things we like or love about ourselves. So ask other people to tell you all the things they like about you. Ask a friend, a lover, a therapist. This isnt a replacement for your own love; its a first step in learning to love yourself. You may need to hear the things other people like about before you an value them In housefly.If hearing what people like about is hard, ask your friends to write it down for you, or leave it on your voice mail, so you can read/listen to it over and over. Go back to it as many times as you can. Even if you dont believe that someone can like a particular thing about you, or you dont believe it exists, trust that your friend does see It and value it. When you start to hear critical voices inside your head, go back to those things your friend said/wrote about you, and remember that you are loved.Make a list of the things you like about yourself. Make a list of all the things you Like about yourself. Be as honest as you can. Modesty doesnt help you here; neither do old critical messages. If youre having trouble finding things you value about yourself, think about the things you value and love in your friends, then see if those things exist inside you, too. Most often, they do. Fill a special notebook with your list, or create a set of cards. Make the notebook as beautiful as you can make It something that makes you feel good when you look at It. Then open It up and look at It any time youre feeling down or critical about ourselves, or any time anyone says anything that triggers your criticalness of yourself. Look at this good-things-about-yourself book as frequently as you can. It may seem silly, but repetition really does make a difference. Oust think of the impact one critical phrase said by a parent over and over to a child can have. It really does have an effect! Now try to give that child Inside you at least one truly loving phrase about yourself that he can hold on to. Make it part of your daily routine to praise something in yourself or think about meeting you like about yourself. In this society, were taught that praising ourselves Is selfish and wrong. But praising ourselves for things that are good about ourselves only helps us. It Is a healing thing happier and more true to our own selves And that happiness and ability to be free spreads to others. So.. . Try to think of something that you like about yourself, or something that you did today that made you or someone else feel good no matter how small it may seem.Give yourself the kind of warm praise that you would a friend. Love yourself like a friend lose your eyes and think of a person you deeply love and trust, and who you know loves you a friend, a lover. Think about all the things you love and appreciate about them. Notice how that love feels inside you, how it makes you feel good. Now turn it around the other way be your friend, feeling that same deep love for you. Trust in their love for you, and Just feel it. Let yourself see your self through gentle eyes, with compassion and love the way your friend does, even if you can only do it for a moment.Now let yourself receive that love, the love you have as a friend to ourselves. Feel the warmth move through you. Remember how it feels, and come back to that love another time. Make a note every time someone says something nice about you. Every time someone tells you something about yourself that makes you feel good, write it down or make a mental note and Jot it down later. When you get home, put that note in a container of good things about me. Decorate the container however you like. Keep on adding notes, and read them over every time you need a little boost and even when you dont feel like you do.Have compassion for yourself. If youre feeling really Judgmental about something youve done or said, try to understand where the Judgment is coming from. Not the immediate, surface answer, but an answer deep down inside you. Are you afraid of something, or are you feeling insecure? Do you think you did something wrong, or are you hearing the judgment of a voice from your past? Try to connect to that little kid inside of you whos feeling that way, and really listen to how hes feeling. Hug and reassure that kid, and let him know that he didnt do anything wrong, and that you love him.You can also think of a friend having acted as you did. Imagine how youd feel towards them how youd still love them and readily forgive them if there was anything to forgive. You probably wouldnt even find it bothersome! Try to feel that same love and compassion for yourself. Recognize that the love has to come from you. Be waiting for a parent to give you the love and acceptance you never got as a child. But the kind of love you need (or needed as a child) probably isnt going to come from a parent who abused you or who looked the other way while you were being abused. But it can come from yourself. It can be hard to give it to yourself at first after all, if you didnt receive love as a child, or if some of that love was torn away from you by violence, self-hate may have built up inside you. But you have the courage and strength to love yourself, if youve survived this long. And you do deserve it! So try to connect to that little child inside, that child who deserves all of your love and acceptance. Use Affirmations I know, I know, this sounds corny. But if you hear good things about yourself over and over, you cant help but have some of it sink in.Write out strong, loving things to say to yourself, even if you dont fully believe them. Some examples are: l utterly and completely deserve love and kindness, l am a very lovable person, l am kind, compassionate, intelligent, and wise. (or substitute the words for loving words that you feel best suit you. Now put up those affirmations in places youll see them every day on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, on your bedside table, next to your favorite chair, on the kitchen wall next to where you cook your food or eat a meal. Dont forget to read them.If youre not comfortable having them up in such public places, then write out a bunch of them (or copies of a few) and put them in places youll find them in your jacket or Jeans pocket, in a book youre reading or a favorite book, in your desk drawer, in with your clothes. Theyre little love notes to yourself. In fact, you may want to do both things have them up and also hidden in places where youll find them. When you read an affirmation, read it slowly, and really let yourself feel it. Dont Just say it by rote. Try to let yourself be there as fully as you can. Recognize Self-critical Messages and Talk to ThemIts easy to let old, critical voices and messages that we heard as a child play over and over in our minds, without stopping them. Often we may barely recognize that they continue to impact how we feel and think about ourselves. Try noticing next time you hear a small (or very loud) voice inside your head criticize you. Be aware of what it is saying to you, and try to talk to it. Ask it why it feels it needs to say those things. Is that part of you trying to protect you, in some child-like logic? Or perhaps that part of you felt it had to take on the messages you heard as a kid.Remind that part of you that you no longer need to do that to survive. You are free to make up your own mind about yourself. Counteract Negative or Critical Thoughts About Yourself Write down all the negative or critical thoughts and messages you hear inside your head. See if you can figure out who first said them to you (or said something of that nature). Then write out a response that counteracts each of those messages, one by one. Make the counter messages as strong and loving as you can. If youre having trouble writing out counter messages, see if you can connect to a deep, wise part inside of you.Or write out what you would say to a friend if a friend said those things about her/himself. Do Comforting and Nurturing Things For Yourself Allow yourself to do comforting and nurturing things for yourself. Let yourself feel how good you feel when you do those things and tell yourself that you deserve to feel that way, to feel good. Gradually youll find that the more nurturing and comforting times you have, the more youll seek them out and they will help build a good feeling inside you. Ask Yourself What You Need to Do Some of these things will work really well for you, while others may not quite fit you. So try taking a moment to get quiet, and ask yourself, What can I do to help myself feel more compassion and love toward myself? Dont force an answer Just let the answer bubble up from inside you. If you find it hard to hear the answer that way, try writing out your question, and then your answer. See what you come up with. You know best what works for you and you have great wisdom inside you. Above all have compassion for yourself and for where youre at. Remember that you are a truly lovable person and that you deserve only kind treatment, especially from yourself.

Lets Save Our Tropical Forest Essays - Habitats, Ecosystems, Forest

Do you know that tropical forests are in trouble now? Since the beginning of time, tropical forest have been a peaceful paradise of huge trees, leafy plants, animals, birds, insects more than you can imagine. But, tragically these forest are disappearing at an alarming rate, about 30 hectares a minute. In fact, 32 million hectares of tropical forests are destroyed each year in a small country like Malaysia. How about Indonesia which has larger number of tropical forests than Malaysia? We should all be concerned about it. This time I?d like to talk about the importance of tropical forests as the lungs of the earth and the impact of tropical forests? destruction for our life viability. My discussion will be in 3 main points: ?First, I?ll give you the importance of tropical forests. ?Secondly, I?ll give you the reasons why people cut down these forests. ?Lastly, I?ll give you the reasons why we must save tropical forests. Tropical forests are often called the lungs of the earth because they help keeping oxygen in the air that we need to live. While it?s true that the most of the world?s tropical forests are in South America, especially Brazil, tropical forests influence the weather everywhere on the earth. That?s because the trees absorb a heavy gas called carbon dioxide from the air around us. As a result, the weather cycle change regularly each year and people can predict what will happen with the weather. However, there are some dilemmatic problems with the tropical forests. People often cut down these forests for a lot of reasons. They cut it down to grow food and raise cattle. They also need the woods for the forest to build houses for their shelter. This condition becomes worse when big companies open the forest in order to find cheap sources of wood and beef. They also drill the land for oil and mine it for gold. These conditions make the forest lose its function because when the trees are burned, CO2 in the leaves is released back into the air and built up in the air. It traps heat close to the earth instead of letting the heat go out into space. So when there is too much CO2, the earth?s temperature rises. This is what we call global warming. It causes strange weather pattern. Although tropical forest offers some benefits to us, such as producing a lot of goods that we need in our life, but it can also threaten us if we don?t keep the balance. Now, tens of thousands of different kinds of animals disappear each year. About 200 million people live in tropical forests also. Their lives are threatened because of irresponsible men. Because of this, we need to be responsible to preserve our tropical forest. Due to these conditions, we propose that you pay attention to keep an eye on tropical forest?s destruction such as illegal logging and clearing. To solve these problems, we have looked at three different options: First, the government has to stop the illegal logging which is done by big companies. This option gives us benefits such as reducing the damage and preventing natural disaster. Besides, the government can also save the national properties. But, there are however, some practical problems in field. Some of the government staff sometimes commit in corruption. They cooperate with brokers who give them money. So the second option we considered is to make restricted area in all part of tropical forests by cover it with wire fence. This gives us benefits like people cannot enter these forests because it was protected by the law. There is problem here too. If the forests are covered, the people who live near tropical forests would be lost their job. So, now let?s look at the third option. To save the forest we don?t have to prevent people in cutting down the tree. What we need is just doing sustainable harvesting. It means replacing what we take from the forest, such as planting tree for every tree we cut down. Though it?s like trivial, but if all of us do this program, we will be out of danger.

Wetware

Wetware Wetware Wetware By Maeve Maddox Computer-age coinages don’t usually strike me as â€Å"creepy,† but this one does. Formed on the model of software and hardware, wetware begins to soar into prominence on the Ngram Viewer in 1979. Both the OED and Merriam-Webster provide definitions of this new term. OED wetware noun: Chemical materials organized so as to perform arithmetic or logical operations; brain substance, as having this ability. M-W wetware noun: The human brain or a human being considered especially with respect to human logical and computational capabilities. Apparently the invention and continuing development of artificial intelligence (AI) has created the need for a retronym for human. In I, Robot, written between 1940 and 1950, Asimov referred to the brain of a robot as a â€Å"positronic brain.† In the dystopia of Terminator (1984), an intelligent computer is called â€Å"Neural Net CPU.† In the 2015 film Ex Machina, a substance made of a gel that causes artificial neural connections to form is called wetware. Here are examples of the usage of wetware I found on the Web: [Marleen Stikker] was director of multimedia art festival Zomerfestijn Amsterdam in 1990 and 1991 and organiser of the Wetware Conference (on hardware, software and physical interaction). Integrated IT Wetware/Software Solutions [headline on site of company offering digital services] Many, many teams just abandon this impossible wetware task and use each solution in isolation. [This is a consultant’s website. In the context, wetware seems to mean the aspect of online selling that involves human beings called â€Å"web customers† and â€Å"mobile customers† who are part of the â€Å"wetware task.†] The term wetware in its turn is spawning new meanings for the adjective wet. Dean Koontz uses (and defines) the expression wet intelligence in the following exchange between characters who are examining an alien creature: Linked up, maybe these hundreds of millions of nanocomputers functioned as this creatures brain or at least as the largest part of its brain, assuming there was also some wet intelligence in it. Wet intelligence? Biological brain matter. At first I thought that the term wet signature had a similar meaning, but several readers have informed me that the wetness of this term refers to ink and not to gray matter. For example: DocuSign is capable of keeping the entire transaction in the cloud. There are, however, rare occasions when a wet signature is necessary. Related post: What’s a Retronym? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:5 Uses of InfinitivesWhat is the Difference Between Metaphor and Simile?50 Tips on How to Write Good

Cog. Psyc wk2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cog. Psyc wk2 - Essay Example List the factors that influence attention when performing this task and why they are of influence. There will be several factors which will influence an individual undertaking writing and reading at the same time. The first of these is how effectively an individual can divide his conscious attention between these two demanding tasks (Spelke, Hirst & Neisser, 1976). This factor greatly influences the multitasking ability of an individual as it is central to his ability to perform. Another factor in terms of dual-task interference results because of the presence of a single channel bottleneck which will frequently cause a delay in the response. This influences the individuals’ performance because supposing we ask them a question while they are performing it will lead to a possible pause, delay or error in their work as they strive to respond to your question (Mei-Ching, Ruthruff, and Johnston). In terms of attention the locus of this bottleneck (asking a question) in a personâ⠂¬â„¢s information processing system can either translate into a perceptual limitation ( it takes them time to formulate a response) or response limitation ( it delays the time it takes for them to respond or they respond in a limited way by nodding or shaking their head). Then, describe three things that can be done to increase attention when engaged in the situation. The first thing that can be done to increase attention when engaged in multi tasking is by practicing the tasks in a routine. Because the brain cannot fully focus when multitasking, people take longer to complete tasks and are predisposed to error. The essence of multi tasking through practice hence unconsciously induces an element of becoming automatized in their behavior. That is, when people attempt to complete many tasks at one time they are in fact rapidly going between them (Meyer 2003). Second by extensive undertaking of the task one can bypass the central bottleneck (distracters). Studies by Spelke, Hirst, and Neisser (1976) prove that due to the formulation of a pattern in their reading while accurately transcribing spoken words subjects were able to clump the activity as if it were a single unit. Take driving for example; by the formulation of a pattern (driving the car) the individual reaches a level of automatization which enables him to multi task (drive as well at perhaps talk on the phone). Initially for a new driver the aspect of driving itself was the combination of a number of processes (shifting gears, using the brakes etc) (like a conjunctive search) until through practice he was able to see it as one unit ( kind of like a feature search). This brings us to the third aspect of the visual-search ?ndings which aim to increase attention by suggesting that certain perceptual processes can operate in parallel after practice (Spelke et al, 1976). An implantation of this visual search aspect strives to improve our ability to multitask by utilizing the aspect of task familiarity. Ref erences Mei-Ching, Ruthruff, and Johnston. Attentional Limitations in Doing Two Tasks at Once. Oregon State University, University of New Mexico, and NASA Ames Research Centre. Retrieved form: http://www.unm.edu/~ruthruff/Lien%20Ruthruff%20Johnston%20CDPS%202006.pdf Spelke, Hirst & Neisser. 1976. Learning to Multitask. Retrieved from:

Writing Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Writing Report - Essay Example As an accounts executive of a PR consultancy, I would like to stress upon the fact that Public Relation trends have been experiencing serious changes and technological advancements. ICT has grown inevitably throughout the past few years. It has seeped into other industries other than the field of information technology. ICT is one of the sectors driving the new economy and also the public relations sector. It is also one of the sectors most directly affected by the recent trends in globalization. The rapid growth in Internet usage and rapid growth of mobile usage with broadband networks all point towards the fact that this technology is impacting every moment of our day to day lives and businesses. But how precisely does ICT affect economic growth and the efficiency of firms? In many studies and recent surveys it has been proved that even in this recession, ICT has kept a steady growth and has no doubt contributed to the GDP and economic growth. The introduction ICT to small medium enterprises has allowed them to compete with larger competitors. ICT is a very dynamic area. The tools and frameworks of ICT expand and advance continuously; these expansions demonstrate the usage and improvements. If we take a broader look at advanced technologies, satellites, mobile phones video news releases etc are the latest tools of ICT that are used by PR agencies and influence public relations policies and practices. Twitter, mash-up media and blogging are the publics eyes and ears nowadays, this latest trend has created more implications and has definitely raised the bar for public relations. In other words, it has raised the bar for public relation practitioners. The Internet and World Wide Web have created mediums for the public to accesses information, whether in the form of blogs, podcasts or videos from YouTube. The traditional role of media is constantly changing with regular upgrading. If we take a quick briefing of

Economics essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economics - Essay Example Fortunately, Economists are getting their due importance in policy making. It's economists who shout both in praise and against all policy decisions of different countries. And at least in a few cases, they themselves get divided in ideas and concepts. Regarding certain policies a group of economists come up with words and swords against another group of economists. Each group depends upon different theories at different times. Basically they keep in mind their own basic view and proceed. For giving stress to their views, depend on theories according to their convenience, that's all. Economics is supposed to act in such a way to wipe out tear from all the human eyes in the world. It should address the issues of poverty, famine and basic needs. All the theories may be different in ways of action but aim the same target: bring prosperity to human race. From theories to application - here starts the real game. Economists have made so many jargons familiar to the common man. But what's the end result Did it take us anywhere they planned or predicted This question stands as a very big unanswered question before mankind, especially these days. In the initial years of the new millennium what the Economic World has been experiencing was boom, boom and boom. The IT boom, banking boom, insurance boom, etc. could be cited as shining examples. Predictions also were aplenty. It was pointed out that the IT boom will stand for many more years. According to economists, banking and insurance were also going to record a trajectory of growth. Many reasons were given numbered one by one to substantiate their point of view. Banking habit is not developed among a large number of people. And an attempt was started by governments of various countries to bring more citizens of theirs to banks. Different packages were announced including zero balance accounts and any time money withdrawal facility. Similarly, it was observed that major chunk of the population remain outside insurance net. Studies were conducted which revealed that there are countries which have only upto a mere 10% of their population keeping insurance policies. Based on the se sorts of observations and statistics, so many new economic concepts were introduced by economists. Since the economists were having crucial role in policy making, their views and beliefs turned out to be policies. Political leaderships were depending much on economists in planning future. Since they themselves were ignorant of economic concepts, believed blindly what was advised. There are cases where enough studies were not conducted or even common sense was applied before reaching in far reaching policy decisions. And such policies affected the concerned economy very badly also. Offshoring of jobs is a typical example. Kathy Sanborn writes: In an article by Paul Craig Roberts ("How the Economy Was Lost"), he explains how the offshoring of jobs helped to create a lower tax base for American communities. Because US workers could no longer keep their IT and software engineering jobs due to 1) offshoring and 2) foreign workers coming in on H-1b work visas, our highly trained technical workers' salaries plunged. In addition, corporations began a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs

Impacts of Sun Damage and Benefits of Sunscreen

Impacts of Sun Damage and Benefits of Sunscreen Abstract Sun damage is a cumulative process, meaning that every moment of exposure has a long-term impact. Overexposure to the suns harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause burns, diseases, and cancers-substantially contributing to mortality rates in fair-skinned populations. The severity of skin cancer is real; there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined figures for lung, breast, prostate, and colon cancers each year (Bell, 97). Helping to protect against sunburn and skin cancer, sunscreen is a topical product that absorbs or reflects the suns UV light. This article will address the global impact of sunscreens, while focusing on the scientific/engineering principles of the sun-care product and its effects. It will review some of the recent advances in photoprotection, including the development of broad-spectrum sunscreen and the sun protection factor. Although sunscreens have been around for over 70 years, its health applications are still being explored. Author Biography: Hieu Nguyen is a junior studying Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California. After receiving his B.S. degree, he hopes to continue his education in graduate school-in pursuit of a challenging engineering career. From Hawaii, he enjoys riding the oceans waves and basking in sunny, tropical climate. Keywords: sunscreen, sunblock, ultraviolet, radiation, sunburn Rubbing It In: Modern sun-protection Introduction Our sun-the most powerful entity in our corner of the universe-is dangerous. Just about everyone comes into contact with its rays every day. Whether youre outside walking your dog or in a sports arena watching a 3-hour college football game, your skin is at risk. It is well-known that solar radiation is harmful; youve probably taken a few precautions in the past to protect yourself from the suns intensity by wearing brimmed hats, polarized sunglasses, or high-SPF sunscreens (Figure 2). For many, lathering on sunscreen lotion may seem like a chore. But what exactly are you applying liberally to your body? How much protection does sunscreen really have to offer against sunburn and skin cancer, and how long will these safeguards last? The answers to these questions can be understood when you consider the scientific/engineering aspects behind the $1.9 billion industry skin-care product: Sunscreen. A Harmful Sun Natural sunlight contains, among other things, ultraviolet photon particles of light. These photons are shorter in wavelength and have a much higher energy than visible light, giving it the ability to directly cause DNA damage in skin cells. Ultraviolet radiation is broken down into the following three types of wavelengths: Ultraviolet, Type A (UVA) Ultraviolet, Type C (UVC) UVC (wavelength 100-280 nm) rays are completely absorbed by the atmosphere and never reach us on the Earths surface. The UV rays that we are exposed to consist of UVB (280-315 nm) and UVA (315-400 nm) photons. The shorter wavelength UVB rays cause significant damage to DNA and are the primary cause of sunburn and skin cancer. The longer wavelength UVA rays cause tanning and penetrate the deeper layers of skin. Because UV light falls outside of the visible spectrum (400-700 nm), the human eye cannot perceive them. Humans are also unable to feel UV radiation, and thus, your body has no mechanism to warn itself against overexposure. The Suns Effects on Our Skin Our skin is highly susceptible to critical damage from the suns ultraviolet rays. Any exposure to UVA or UVB light can alter or damage the skin. Without protection, long-term exposure to natural sunlight inflicts the skin cells, causing them to tan, burn, and peel. Although a suntan is often considered an emblem of good health, tanning for its own sake has no health benefit and is actually a health hazard (MacNeal). Tanning is your skins defense mechanism against the sun, and any change to your natural skin color is a sign of skin damage. When exposed to moderate levels of radiation, a chemical reaction in your skins cell system occurs. Your skin protects its complex structure of sensitive cells by producing a brownish pigment, melanin, which absorbs and reflects UV rays, dissipating the energy as harmless heat. This is one of the reasons you heat up in the sun. Special pigment-producing cells called melanocytes (depicted in Figure 3) manufacture color capsules and send them to the surface of your skin, thus acquiring a tanned color. Dark-skinned people tan quicker because they already have more melanin in their skin. Fair-skinned people burn easier because they have less melanin in their skin to protect against the burning rays of the sun (Kuhta, 6). Although tanning triggers your bodys manufacture of melanin, this process takes time-days to weeks-for your body to build up its supply, and if you are in the sun for an extended period of time, burning may occur. As anyone who has had sunburn knows, this localized skin injury leaves your skin red and extremely painful. When you get sunburn, what you are really getting is cellular damage caused by overexposure to the suns ultraviolet rays. When you stay out too long, you get burned and your skin gets damaged. To attempt to cool the heated skin area, your blood flow increases. The body sends blood to the surface of the skin so that it can be cooled by evaporation and returned to cool the organs-similar to the way a car radiator system works. Sometimes so much blood is pumped to the surface of the skin that it pushes right through the thin walls of your blood vessels to permeate the other tissues and your skin takes on a reddish color. Your skins immune system then releases chemicals like histamine and serotonin, which trigger inflammation and additional chemical production. And within twelve hours, skin cells begin to die, and inflammation turns the skin a darker red (Readers Digest). Peeling after sunburn is your bodys way of getting rid of damaged cells. This abrupt acceleration of the natural cycle of cell replacement causes gobs of dry skin to curl up and flake off (as shown in Figure 4). This process is necessary because the damaged skin cells are at risk of losing control and becoming cancerous. Due to this danger, all damaged cells are instructed to commit cell-suicide. This mass suicide of skin cells results in whole layers of damaged skin peeling off, to be replaced by other cells underneath those layers. Sometimes, the repair mechanisms themselves may be damaged by the UV rays, which prevent the cells from committing suicide in the future and allowing cancerous cells to replicate. Cancer Risks Skin cancer, the uncontrolled growth of skin cells, is the most common cancer in the world today, and the number of cases worldwide is growing each year. This year alone, over 1.3 million Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer, and one of every five Americans will be afflicted with skin cancer at least once during their lifetime (Bell, 97). Repeated exposure to UV rays can cause cancerous mutations such as malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Some parent cells replicate through cell division repeatedly and the inordinate mass they produce is called a tumor. Once started, tumors keep growing in an irregular, shapeless way (Kuhta, 30). Melanoma is a skin tumor that develops in the melanocytes- pigment producing cells in the skin-and has a very high tendency to spread to other parts of the body. A study at the Anerson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas concluded that about one in 105 Americans will develop melanoma, and 20 percent of them will die from it (T. Adler). Interestingly, malignant melanoma has been found more frequently in sunscreen users than in non-users in some studies. This is because some sunscreens block the natural warnings and adaptations mediated by UVB, but allow damage from UVA to go unchecked. By preventing the pain and redness of sunburn, sunscreen may enable people to stay longer in skin-scorching sunlight, putting them at higher risk for developing melanoma. Prevention: How Sunscreen Works Sunscreens with broad-spectrum protection are most effective to protect against sunburn and skin cancer. Many of the sunscreens available in the U.S. today combine several different active chemical sunscreen ingredients in order to provide broad-spectrum protection, which block both UVA and UVB rays. Sunscreens work by absorbing the UV radiation in the chemical bonds of their ingredients. Different brands of sunscreen contain different combinations of active ingredients that work together to minimize the impact of harmful rays of light from the sun. Some of these ingredients will deflect the UV light while others will absorb it. Most sunscreens work by containing either an organic chemical compound that absorbs ultraviolet light (such as oxybenzone) or an opaque material that reflects light (such as zinc oxide), or a combination of both. This general structure of the principal ingredients allows the molecules to absorb high-energy ultraviolet rays and release the energy as lower-energy rays, thereby preventing the skin-damaging radiation from reaching the skin (Zenitech, 46). Like a screen door, sunscreen filters the light from the sun so that less of it reaches the deeper layers of your skin. The principal ingredients in sunscreens are usually aromatic molecules conjugated with carbonyl groups, which prevent significant chemical change and allow the ingredients to retain their UV-absorbing potency without significant photo-degradation (Zenitech, 48). As its ingredients absorb UV energy, sunscreens begin to deteriorate and lose effectiveness. Sunscreen must be applied early enough before sun exposure to bind to the skin. In order to be effective in preventing skin cancer and sunburn, sunscreen must be reapplied every two hours regardless of their assigned SPF (PrincetonOL). Sunblock, on the other hand, remains on the surface of the skin to reflect the UV radiation. Its sunblock agents-titanium oxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) -reflect the light away so that it doesnt reach the skin at all. Since they do not need time to bind to the skin, they are very effective in blocking all types of UV immediately upon application. However, because they remain on the surface, they are subject to removal by perspiration and friction from towels, clothing, or usual daily activities. The term SPF that appears on sunscreen labels stands for Sun Protection Factor, and is a worldwide standard for measuring the effectiveness of a sunscreens ability to prevent UVB radiation from damaging the skin. The higher the SPF, the more protection a sunscreen will provide against UVB radiation and sunburn. For example, if it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to start turning red, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer-about five hours. SPF 15 blocks 93% of all incoming UVB rays, SPF 30 blocks 97% and SPF 50 blocks 99% (The Skin Cancer Foundation). As you can see, no sunscreen can block all UV rays. Because the SPF only accounts for UVB rays, certain sunscreens may not protect against UVA rays which are known to cause photoaging, wrinkles, brownspots, and melanoma. This curtailed protection is why protecting against sunburn does not necessarily protect against skin cancer. To deliver true broad-spectrum protection, products must also protect against UVA radiation in addition to UVB radiation. Conclusion Despite its dangers to skin cells, the sun is an important ally when it comes to good health. Optimal physical and mental wellbeing requires some exposure to the sun. Ultraviolet light enables the body to produce Vitamin D, a vital substance that works against the formation of tumors and aids in the absorption of calcium. Some scientists have suggested that short periods of unprotected sun exposure are beneficial, as they will enhance the bodys Vitamin-D-production capabilities (Kuhta, 40). Not only does sunlight strengthen our physical defenses against disease, but it also enhances our mental/emotional defenses against depression and fatigue. Bell Labs, Inc. has demonstrated sunlight to be a significant factor in maintaining a healthy mood and energy level (Bell, 101). The scientific/engineering aspects of sunscreen illustrate an impactful solution on a global scale, prolonging the lives of many by rejuvenating dead skin cells to deter skin cancer development. Utilizing chemical properties, sunscreen protects the skin by absorbing harmful UV radiation, effectively screening out the suns rays. And with new, emerging sun-care technologies such as the Sun Pillà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, a convenient daily-dose tablet that has been developed to offer medicinal protection from the sun, we can minimize the suns harmful effects easily. By practicing routine skin protection, one can aim for a healthy level of sun exposure. Because like most things in life, sunlight is best enjoyed in moderation.

coraline :: essays research papers

Coraline Have you ever wanted to read a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat and at the same time you will be scared of what’s going to happen next? Well if the answer is yes then Coraline is the right book for you. This wonderful book was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean. I chose this book because I had never read a good scary story in my entire life. This book is supernatural fiction. This story mainly takes place in another world that looks exactly the same as Coraline’s home. Although it looks the same, to Coraline it feels much different. The love and happiness from her real home is missing. This other world is not a bright and happy place like Coraline expected. It is gray and boring. In fact, not only is this unknown world dull and unhappy, it is also full of scary creatures. Coraline is very sad in this strange, horrible world. Although the the author did not give a detailed description of what Coraline looks like, I imagined that she was about my size, but thinner, with dark brown hair, beaming black eyes and a narrow face. I thought Coraline was a very brave girl. She showed her courage in the story when she went down into a dark cellar and found herself being chased by a frightening, button-eyed creation of the â€Å"other† mother. I liked the fact that even though she was scared, Coraline never stopped trying. She believed in herself and knew that some day she was going to get out of this miserable place. The story begins with Coraline finding the door to another world. Ready for adventure she goes inside, and what she finds amazes her at first but after a while things start falling apart and everything turns into a total and complete nightmare. Her real parents are missing and she is trapped inside this other place. Coraline must find her parents and her way out before the â€Å"other† mother changes her. During her adventure she finds many lost souls that she also must save. They were once children like her but never escaped. My favorite part in the story was in the beginning when Coraline found the door and went right through into the other world.

Kant vs. Singer

November 29, 2012 Singer VS. Kant Duty can be defined in numerous ways but what is difficult to know is what our moral obligations are? Immanuel Kant and Peter Singer have attempted to find a more simple, rational, and supreme rule for what our duty is. Singer makes the distinction between charity and duty. He attempts to show that we, in affluent countries such as the United States, have a moral obligation to give far more than we actually do in international aid for famine relief, disaster relief and much more.According to the reading, Singer believes we need to drastically change our way of life in order to help others. He is making the argument that â€Å"if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything morally significant, we ought, morally, to do it (231). † And he defines â€Å"bad† as â€Å"suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care (231). † The example he offers is a situation in wh ich a little girl is drowning in a shallow pond. One can easily rescue her, but doing so would wreck one’s new fifty-dollar shoes.Singer believes that morally, one needs to go in and save the girl. Anybody who would walk by and refuse to save her would be considered a horrible person. Then, he continues and introduces a different moral situation. A little girl is starving in a poor country. One can easily spend fifty dollars to save her life, but then one cannot use that money to purchase a new pair of shoes. Again, one is faced with a choice; do you save the little girl or buy new shoes? He believes that there is no moral difference between these two cases.In conclusion, he is saying that as a moral obligation, you should save the little girl in Africa instead of buying the new pair of shoes. People in affluent countries can prevent people dying from starvation by giving more money to famine relief without sacrificing anything morally significant. Therefore, they should. He believes that no matter how close or how far someone is, if you know you can prevent bad without sacrifice, it is your moral obligation to do so. Sometimes, the excuse people use for not donating to charity is that they don’t have much money right now but when they do, they will.Plus, they acknowledge the fact that there are other people who do have extra money at the time, so it is their responsibility. On the other hand, they also know that a lot of these people have the money but choose not to help. And the fact that they don’t help does not justify a person with less means not to help. In the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant is looking to find an understanding of morality that can be drawn from first principles rather than from empirical experience, which is knowledge that we gain from experiences.Morality needs to be established in pure reason and not gained form human experiences, but applicable to any and all rational beings. He is attempting to com e up with a rational supreme principle of morality. He begins by addressing the idea of duty. Kant says that the only quality that is actually good is good will. Any other quality can be accompanied by bad will. And good will is not good because of what it achieves, it is good for the reason to do it. He argues that reason must be meant to help us develop a good will.The purpose of having a good will is not to do good things, it is good in itself. And a person’s will is only good if they are motivated by duty, not any selfish wants. The idea of a good will is supposed to be the idea of one who only makes decisions that she holds to be morally worthy, taking moral considerations to guide their behavior. Kant believes that the fundamental principle of our moral duties is a categorical imperative. A categorical imperative is a command that expresses a general, unavoidable requirement of the moral law.Its three forms have universalizability, respect, and autonomy. Together they e stablish an action that would be considered â€Å"good† only if we can will everyone to do it, it enables us to treat other people as ends and not as the means to our own selfish ends, and it allows us to see other persons as mutual law-makers in an ideal ‘realm of ends. ’Kant believes that the difference between being motivated by a sense of duty in the ordinary sense and being motivated in his sense was that he thinks that motivation by duty is motivation by our respect for whatever law it is that makes our action a duty.Our respect for the laws that guide is qualified in the sense that we pick which is more or less important and which has more value. In contrasting and comparing Kant’s and Singer’s argument, I have come to the conclusion that Kant’s argument is more realistic than Singer’s. Singer is expecting everyone to accept the fact that helping others, whether they are close or far, is one’s duty and one must act upon i t. He is being too optimistic to think that humans will give away what is not necessary and help the people who are starving instead. His argument is weak because it achievable. Singer is asking us to sacrifice too uch and this makes it unattainable. Kant on the other hand is acknowledging that the human species is rational and is always progressing towards the good. He believes that it is one’s duty to raise ourselves from the unpolished state of our nature and move forward towards humanity. He also knows that our actions will be based on pure reason. And he knows that the motivation for duty consists on the bare respect for lawfulness. These laws he speaks about are established by the city or the state and they’re a guide for our moral compass. His expectation of us is much more attainable and real.

Nathans Famous Company Analysis

Nathans Famous Company Analysis Introduction This report focuses on historical background of the fast food restaurant â€Å"Nathan’s Famous†, structure and ownership pattern, mission and vision of the company, SWOT analysis, list of strategies, financial position, and so on.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Nathans Famous: Company Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More History of Company In 1916, Nathan Handwerker established â€Å"Nathan’s Famous† as a fast food stand on Coney Island, New York where he served special hot dogs prepared with the recipe of his wife; however, the company gained global reputation within a short time for the special taste and quality (Morningstar 1). This restaurant really became famous worldwide while its hot dogs had served to the historical icons like Soviet iron man Joseph Stalin and to the English Monarchy and 32nd president of the United States Roosevelt visited the restaurant to enjo y the Nathan’s hot dogs (Morningstar 1; NATH 4; and Basham 2). Most legends politicians, celebrities, and sports celebrities of twenties in the United States like Performer and comedian Eddie Cantor, Jimmy Durante and Cary Grant and even the Chicago gangster of twenties Al Capone were the regular customers of Nathan’s Famous. During thirties, the company started to get orders from overseas market, for instance, London and other cities; in addition, it has enjoyed to monopoly market for its hot dogs supplies in the White House (Nathans Famous 1; and Basham 2). Key facts 2012 (thousand) 2011 (thousand) Total Sales revenue $52,369 $44,634 Cost of sales $42,106 $34,567 Gross profit $66,222 $57,255 Total Assets $44,520 $52,958 Net income $ 6,158 $2,213 Total costs and expenses $56,215 $53,935 Total current liabilities $13,561 $12,965 Total liabilities $15,683 $14,880 Working capital $21,989 $31,454 Total shareholders’ equity $28,837 $38,078 E arnings per share: Basic $ 1.26 $ 0.41 Number of Employees 219 (it recruited from 100 to 125 seasonal employees) Table 1: Overview of the key facts about NATH Source: Self generated from NATH (43)Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Company Structure and Ownership Pattern: Nathan Handwerker established this company as a family business with his wife; after death of the owner, his son Murray Handwerker became the president of the company in 1959 and explored its expansion strategy by opening several branches all over the USA. Moreover, this company lunched new strategy to open a number of franchises (Morningstar 1; NATH 4; and Basham 2). During nineties, the son of Murray has taken the leadership of the company; Bill failed to show high performance and he sold out the company to a private group; subsequently, this company incorporated and listed in the New York Sto ck Exchange for public trade in 1993 (Handwerker 1; Yahoo Finance 1; Morningstar 1; and NATH 5). Mission and Vision of the Company The Mission of the Nathan’s Famous Inc. is to provide unparalleled delicious and high quality fast food to the customers in order to strengthen its position and create a base of satisfied customers worldwide; The vision of the company is to improve the number of it outlets and franchisees at home and abroad with the aim to maximize its shareholders value by becoming market leader in the traditional and captive-market restaurant environments within next 10 years. Product and Services Although the NATH is a legendary in the global market for its hot dogs from the historic perspectives, the company also deals with a variety of fast foods like hamburgers, breakfast sandwiches, and crinkle-cut fries along with some restaurant tools and equipment like vending machines and Subway units and so on. According to the annual report, the majority of the fast food retailers like Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Restaurant Depot, Sams Club Cafes, Regal Theatres, Sunoco, Yankee Stadium, and Cowboy Stadium are randomly selling the products of the Nathan’s hot dogs at 1000 outlets in 50 states and accounted sales of 435 million hot dogs in the previous year. Demographics The major operation of the Nathan’s Famous Inc. is in the United States where the demography consists with population of 313,847,465 estimated in July 2012 with a growth rate 0.9%, birth rate 13.7 births/1,000, death rate 8.4 deaths/1,000 and net migration rate 3.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (Indexmundi 1). Major cities for population density, the position of New York is at the top with 19.3 million population; Los Angeles in the second position with 12.675 million population; Chicago in third position with 9.134 million; Miami is the fourth with 5.699 million, and the lowest population in the capital city Washington, DC with 4.421 million population. Among th e total population, male female ratio is 97: 100; the life expectancy for male is 76.05 years and for female is 81.05 years and at least 1.2 million people live with HIV / AIDS and 17,000 people die from this disease in 2009.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Nathans Famous: Company Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In accordance with the data provided by the US Census Bureau, in 2007, there are several ethical groups live in the US where Native Americans are only 0.97%, whites are 79.96%, blacks are 12.85%, Asians are 4.43%, Hawaiians are 0.18%, and the others are 1.61%. At the same time, the Literacy rate of the country is 99% and the expenditure for education is 5.5% of GDP and the per capita income is US$ 27100; however, the unemployment rate was 8.15% while the health care expenditure was 16.2% of GDP in 2009. Strategic Analysis List of Strategies Implemented Branding Expansion Strategy NATH has aimed to put into practice of brand expansion strategy primarily by the marketing of the â€Å"Nathan’s Famous† brand and sales of goods with the â€Å"Nathan’s Famous† trademarks that carries historical dignity of the company. From its long practice, the brand has gained strong confidence of its customers in an extent where the company engaged to boost its sales of non-branded products converting in to own branded products while the concept of co-branding restaurant provided further opportunity to explore its brand (NATH 18); Distribution Strategy This company has engaged to expand its distribution channels by increasing addition of new points of sale and distribution along with various retail chain and supermarkets including the company owned restaurants; however, the combined practice of franchising and distribution agreements with different business and individuals is the traditional practice of exploring distribution channels; Overseas Entry Strategy This Com pany has decided to continue its international expansion through its traditional franchising scheme along with its co-branding restaurant concept that would tremendously assist for overseas entry while the company would also engage with sub-franchising and licensing for manufacturing. International distribution contracts have already given the opportunity to establish 98 restaurants along with 100 co-branded illustration worldwide;Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Operation Strategy NATH has emerged to continue its harmonized architectural design at every operational points for which it provides training and operation manuals for all the stores, no matter whether it is a company owned or franchised entry; in addition, it has provided fees for particular tasks and signed agreement for 10 years (don’t ask for any profit sharing). Both for local international operation the raw materials of the branded product must be purchased from Nathan’s or from its recommended suppliers; Nathan’s operational strategy always look for new prospects both in traditional as well as captive markets; Marketing Promotion and Advertising Strategies The company has considered marketing strategy as an integral part of brand awareness development in the course of its fortunate points of distribution channels by selling its branded menu through advertising in the supermarkets, club stores along with television advertising that boosts its reputation f or quality and value for which the company is striving. In the promotion purpose, the company frequently arranges eating contests of Hot Dogs in different states and the champions are gathered in main restaurant of Coney Island for national competition, all of these competitions get huge media coverage that greatly promotes Nathan’s brand. On the other hand, under the Nathan’s franchising agreement, the local restaurants are obliged to spend 2% of their annual sales for advertising and promotion; moreover, the local restaurants would conduct local marketing campaigns pointing to the value-oriented strategies for promotion announcing special discount offers. HR Strategies and Corporate Governance According to the annual report 2012 of this company, it has already incorporated a Financial Officer Code of Ethics to control CEO, CFO and other employees of finance department; in addition, it posted Code of Ethics on the Company’s website with intent to comply the dis closure requirement under Item 10 of Form 8-K. Moreover, NATH arranges training programs for managers and co-workers of new Company-owned and franchised restaurants because they are the key asset of the company to create brand image in the fast food industry; furthermore, it has already designed operating manuals with practices and procedures to train the employees and operate the business. Analysis of the Strategies Business Level Strategy: Cost leadership: The US fast food restaurant competitive market, the competitors mainly consider cost leadership strategy and ask comparatively lower price for the commodity and service; however, NATH offers lower price, but it is not offering the lowest price for all food item. In addition, it has a lot of loyal customers and they purchase hot dogs considering taste and quality; therefore, NATH has not used this strategy since price is not a prime concern to the customers; Differentiation: From the very beginning of the operation of NATH, it o ffers unique hot dogs. However, product differentiation is key strategy of this company, for instance, Beef Hot Dogs, Crinkle-Cut French Fries, Hamburgers, Philly Cheesesteaks, Chicken Classics Menu (Krispy Chicken Tenders and Sandwich, Chargrilled Chicken) Salads (Caesar and Krispy Chicken Club), Famous Favorites, and so on; Cost focus: According to the annual report 2012 of NATH, it designs own pricing strategy known as â€Å"value pricing†. According to this strategy, individual food items price is higher than the price of combination of several items; however, NATH purchases raw materials from the suppliers at competitive price with intent to focus on this strategy by producing goods at lower price and offer competitive price as well; Differentiation focus: It has already captured the market of NATH concentrates on this issue because clients have distinctive preferences, taste with special requirements; therefore, the decision makers focus on this factor, but cautiously i t is not introducing new items in the regular basis; SWOT Analysis of NATH: Strengths NATH has a long experience to operate fast food restaurants as it established in 1916; According to the annual report 2012 of NATH, it achieved numerous awards for the world famous beef hot dogs; In addition, quality and taste of the food items help the company increasing market demand (Basham 3); Brand image, reputation, loyal customer base, and leadership quality are the key factors of success (Nathans Famous 1); At the same time, it has qualified and financially capable franchisees; It has 40 corporate management employees, 154 full-time employees, 25 restaurant managers; Distribution strategy, pricing strategy, supply chain management, other marketing strategies are the main strengths; Financial position At present, it has strong financial position to invest more for the new outlets and change the external business environment; however, the following table shows ratio analysis for this compa ny. Nathans Famous 2009 (US$) 2010 (US$) 2011 (US$) 2012 (US$) Net profit margin 15.20 10.95 3.87 9.30 Return on Assets (%) 14.81 10.79 4.16 12.63 Return on Equity (%) 17.72 12.93 5.37 18.41 Return on Invested Capital (%) 17.72 12.93 5.27 17.53 Current Ratio 6.12 6.12 3.43 2.62 Table 2: Key ratio of Nathans Famous Source: Self generated from Morningstar (1) Weakness The management of this company has not concentrated on the global market expansion while many companies open new outlets in the emerging market, like Brazil, Bangladesh, India, and China; however, this company has a problem in the decision-making process to develop business and compete with other competitors. the corporate governance system is ineffective to meet the challenge of competitive industry It has only 219 employees to control all the distribution channels (NATH 12) Profit margin is decreasing due to high operating costs in the recessionary economy (Morningstar 1); On the other hand, less inter est to develop new products and expand business in new business zone; Needs to take appropriate measure considering the pricing or other marketing strategies of the competitors; Opportunities NATH has already opened a new outlet in different States of the US market, but it has opportunity to expand more outlet in the high populated market; It can create large customer base in the new areas to maximize profits At the same time, it should open new branch in emerging Asian market, for example, Bangladesh; It has opportunity to increase share capital and earning per share using appropriate strategy in the stock market It has scope to increase market share in the first food industry; Threats According to the annual report 2012 of this company, the fast food restaurant industry is extremely competitive because many factors influence the business, for instance, economic condition, purchasing power of the customers, changes in consumer tastes, awareness about the nutritional quality and increase number of competitors. There are many other risk factors, such as, the loss of major suppliers, the impact of agreement with SMG, high competition in the quick-service restaurant segment; however, the following table provides competitive position of NATH. NATH MCD YUM Market Situation 225.93 million 100.55 billion 31.13 billion Employees: 219 440,000 78,450 Sales Revenue 70.55 million 27.63 billion 13.42 billion Gross profit Margin 0.32 0.39 0.27 EBITDA 12.54 million 9.84 billion 46.37 million Operating Profit Margin 0.16% 0.30% 0.16% Net Income 6.99 million 5.47 billion 1.48 million EPS 1.52 5.39 3.14 Table 3: Direct Competitor Comparison Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Present Market Shares of the Company The position of this company in the stock market is comparatively better because the basic chart shows that share price is increasing over time. The following chart compares share price between NATH and McDonalds to show that the investors are now relyin g on the NATH considering overall position of this company in the recessionary and post recessionary economy. However, the management of this company should use the share capital to expand business in the global market and the investors will gain confidence to purchase the share of this company considering the position in the fast food industry. Figure 1: Basic chart for 2009 to 2013 (comparison between NATH and McDonalds) Source: Yahoo Finance (1) The next basic chart demonstrates that the position of YUM is strong in the stock market, but share price of NATH is higher than the share price of YUM. Figure 2: Basic chart for 2009 to 2013 (comparison between NATH and Yum! Brands) Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Share in international market NATH has business operation in eight countries with only 30 outlets all over the world whereas MCD has over 31000 outlets and Burger King has about 13200 restaurants all over the world. Therefore, the business reports on the fast food industry had not addressed significantly the market share of this company considering the number of outlets; however, the next table gives information about the presence of NATH in foreign market. Figure 3: NATH in international market Source: NATH (16) Share in local market NATH (16) reported that it has not outstanding market share in the local market in terms of the number of Company-owned and franchised units, for instance, it has 274 outlets (highest 66 franchised units in the New Works and 40 franchised units in the New Jersey). Recommendation Based on above analysis, this study will suggest two strategies for its further market growth, such as- New Product Development Although Nathan’s restaurant deals with a variety of product line, but the hot dog is globally famous and unparalleled for its taste and quality; at this stage, the company required to innovate some new products with unbeaten quality and taste. In its hamburger menu, there are grilled bacon cheeseburgers, special burgers along with super cheeseburgers; however, the company conducts further research to develop these products by maintaining same quality standards of its hot dogs; however, such innovative idea will assist the company to explore its growth quickly. Vertical Expansion Strategy The future growth of the company strongly aligned with its vertical expansion strategy; besides franchising, NATH has the opportunity to consider prospective merger and acquisition, joint venture, and strategic alliances with the local districts food stores in the US market and the international market. The ongoing licensing programs for packaged foods can also enhance through geographic integration outside the US market, but before introducing any vertical expansion strategy, the company required to have some risk assessment. However, this report suggests that the management of NATH to arrange meeting with board members to receive proposal to expand business vertically; in addition, it should prepare a timetable in order to implement new strategic alternatives. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be said that Nathan’s creative approaches will assist to establish strong base of satisfied customers, and the focused strategies will ensure continuous expanding opportunities for the company; in addition, it will ultimately support revenue generation program in order to maximize the shareholders value creation. Basham, Mark. Nathans Famous. 2010. Web. www2.hmc.edu/~evans/NathansSP.pdf. Handwerker, Murray. Nathans Famous owner expanded nationwide. 2011. Web. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/22/local/la-me-passings-20110522 Indexmundi. United States Demographics Profile. 2013. Web. indexmundi.com/united_states/demographics_profile.html. Morningstar. Nathans Famous NATH. 2013. Web. http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=NATHregion=USAculture=en-us. Nathans Famous. Nathans Famous History. 2013. Web. nathansfamous.com/index.php/history NATH. FORM 10-K: Annual report 201 2 Nathan’s Famous, Inc.. 2012. Web. http://216.139.227.101/interactive/nath2012/.. Yahoo Finance. Direct Competitor Comparison. 2013. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=NATH+Competitors.

Congress Failed Reconstruction essays

Congress' Failed Reconstruction essays Immediately following the Civil War President Lincoln created a working Reconstruction plan. In Howard Zinns renowned book, he tells of how blacks were allowed to vote, elect other blacks to political offices and receive an education. Unfortunately, this didnt last. After both Lincolns and President Johnsons reconstruction plans failed to actually reconstruct the US after the Civil War, Congress felt as though they should step in. The plan they had included protecting the rights of the freedmen, ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment, and separating the former Confederacy into five military districts. While the basis of these was set, Congress reconstruction efforts failed because the southerners didnt want to return to the Union, the freedmen werent actually free, and groups like the Ku Klux Klan were unable to be stopped from persecuting the blacks. The central idea of Reconstruction was to reinstate the southerners into the Union. But how do you make men who left want to return after years of despising the North? Lincoln was faced with this very dilemma and thus set his own reconstruction plan that required just 10% of the southerners in any certain state to swear loyalty to the Union in order to be reinstated. But as mentioned before, Lincolns Ten Percent Plan didnt work. The hate for the North was stronger than he expected. A confederate song popularized during the post-war era, which included lyrics that proclaimed, ...For this Fair Land of Freedom, I do not give a dam... It continued on stating how they only wished theyd won. The military districts set up in the South didnt help the situation as southerners felt as though they were being spied on. Without a want to return to the Union, Congress own efforts came short of successful. Oddly enough, the reluctance of the southerners to accept reconstruction was the ...

489 lesson #8 part #2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

489 lesson #8 part #2 - Assignment Example A major reason why it is believed one would learn better using this strategy is that it is friendly, especially to people with memory problems. The ability to think about one’s own thinking process gives them an opportunity to retrieve the important information they learnt from memory. Learning using this strategy also facilitates independence from teacher support. This way, one can be in the best position to learn, with, or without the direct help of the teacher (Hartman, 2001, p. 8). I believe that the best learning strategy is one that facilitates a continuous learning process, even where there is minimal support from teachers. Hartman (2001) establishes that there are three basic kinds of awareness that have a correlation with metacognitive learning strategy; the first is knowledge awareness which refers to what a person knows, wants to know or does not know; the second is awareness thinking which requires one to know well the cognitive tasks and what is expected; thirdly, there is the thinking strategy awareness which is different from the second mentioned above. It refers to understanding the approaches that are directed to learning. The results of all these prompts the students to ask the following questions; â€Å"what do I need to know?†, â€Å"what don’t I know?† and â€Å"what do I know?† These kind of reflective questions enable students to be more self-aware thereby helping them connect to the kind of information that they may be learning (Hartman, 2001, p. 16). I have realized that learning on my own may not be very helpful since consulting from teachers is quite crit ical for purposes of

Mass media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mass media - Essay Example In many cases it is the mass media which has represented the drugs in a pleasurable way. First of all, it is important to analyze why the mass media is so influential nowadays. A group of sociological researches investigated that how important is the role of mass media in the modern society and how it is inducing human intellectual and psychological development. In the book â€Å"One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the ideology of Advanced Industrial Society† Herbert Marcuse claims that in modern society people are determined by the information that comes from mass media and technologies (13). This information creates the perceptions people keep in their minds to evaluate situations their face in their lives. The idea is that people have become addicted and are astounded by the images and concepts that mass media have thrust in them. In some cases, concerning drugs, mass media shows people who have used some medical drugs to become healthy and happy, we undoubtedly believe that we will get the same effect if we start using the drugs as well. The reason behind the bli nd trust on mass media is idiom frequently used by media â€Å"Seeing is believing†. We forget the fact that everything is about business which is shown on media even the media itself is the part of the business. It is the biggest tool of manipulation used on the society. Niklas Luhman, in his book Social Systems, explains that communication is the basis of society. Our modern society and social system are highly dependent on mass media; it works throughout all the aspects of society (25). Initially public opinions are formed through advertisement, programs or shows, which are evidently one of the most manipulative effects against personality. In simple context people tend to learn a lot from media in term of what to wear, how to behave, what to look like etc. Luhmann claims that the messages we receive from media can describe the current developmental level the society is

Comparitive Studies of Enviormental Policies in China & USA Essay

Comparitive Studies of Enviormental Policies in China & USA - Essay Example These policies have become necessary because of increasing population growth rates in both countries. Presently, the population of the United States is estimated as 311, 591, 917 people whiles that of China is given as 1,344,130,000; the highest in the world (FAO, 1986). Looking at the difference, there is every justification in the fact that China would have a stricter population control policy and that is exactly what the case is. Presently, there are policies such as one-child policy, which has an aim of providing better health care to mothers and the general population by reducing the number of children each woman bears to one. There have also been birth control policies in China. In the United States however, birth control campaigns have been the major policies whiles excluding a restrictive policy like one-child per family. Consequently, China has a firmer population control policy than the United States and the understanding is in the difference in population between the two c ountries. On pollution control, analysts argue that the United States is far advanced and ahead than China. What has perhaps created the difference in significance towards the policy approaches has to do with the ideologies that both countries have in terms of modern development (Asian Development Bank, 2002). it would be observed perhaps that whereas the United States sees herself as a nation who has achieved so much in terms of development and does not have to be very pragmatic towards national development to the detriment of the environment, China sees herself as a new global perspective for development, who must take advantage of all forms of industrialization to complete her development dreams. For this reason, there are more freedoms on the use of pollutants that may eventually result in pollution in China in the name of industrialization than there is in the United States. There could therefore be very tangible policies such as air pollution regulations, US pollution control laws and regulation, and nonpoint source water pollution regulation all in the United States. Just as with pollution, the United States presents its industries and the general public with stricter policies that guide against global warming. It would be noted that some key components of pollution such as air pollution that is related to the emission of harmful carbon chemicals is directly related to global warming (Bockstael et al, 2000). This means that policies in both countries that are used to cater for air pollution could directly be related and liked to the control of global warming (Dyson, Bergkamp and Scanlon, 2004). From this direction, it could clearly be said that the United States with the Environmental Protection Agency fully in force to clamp down on all forms of air pollution and carbon emission also caters for global warming in a much vehement way than it is done in China. A clear justification of this could be seen with the liberty given to Chinese industries to buil d chimneys as precautious measures whereas in the United States it is an enforcement to do so. Both the United States and China are fast growing on the need to preserve the environment through the promotion of the use environmentally friendly energy supply. It would be seen for instance that in the United States, there is presently a policy that is fading the era of use of non-renewable energy such as gas. The use of hydropower is also being minimized as the

Produce a report describing, comparing and evaluating 2 types of documents Essay Example for Free

Produce a report describing, comparing and evaluating 2 types of documents Essay The first group of documents are payslips and were collected from the following banks: Barclays, Lloyds TSB and HSBC. Barclays Payslip: The Barclays payslip I collected is a strip of paper about 15cm by 6cm. This document contains all the relevant information for its purpose. The layout of this document is very neat and professional. The payslip contains tables, numbers, text and a logo. The documents readability is simple but is aimed at people who have a reasonable knowledge about banking, i. e. not aimed at children. The document is very bland, and only uses black and white. The justification on this document is very central and organised. Lloyds TSB: The 2nd document I collected was a Lloyds TSB payslip, roughly the same size as the Barclays payslip except it is slightly wider. The layout is very spacious and clear. It contains similar contents to the Barclays payslip, including tables, text, logo, numbers and a receipt. The documents can easily be read and would not be so confusing to people who do not have such a wide knowledge on backing. Different use of colour creates a more pleasurable sight. The tables are either justified to the right or the left hand side. Jonathan Fraser-Gadd Report Unit 1 Task 2: HSBC: The 3rd and final Payslip I have is from HSBC. This payslip is very similar to the Barclays payslip in terms of layout and positioning; however the HSBC payslip is 1cm wider and has an extra 3. 5cm in length. This creates more space whilst holding the same amount of information. The payslip contains a number of tables. The HSBC payslip is the only company that does not display their logo on the payslip. This document is printed in black and white. Brochure: The second group of documents I have collected are brochures all from the same organisations. The brochures I have collected are used by each company to show, what they have to offer the customers. Barclays Brochure: The brochure I have collected from Barclays bank shows the insurance plans that they have to offer a client. The document is a bout 16cm by 11cm. The front page of this brochure has two 3 different shades of blue and a hint of orange. It also contains a logo on the front page so the consistency is at a good standard. The layout of the brochure is very well structured, neat and spacious. The writing is written in columns and its readability is easy and quick to the point, however on the back page the writing is very small and people with bad eye sight may struggle. This document does not contain any images, tables or charts. Lloyds TSB Brochure: Lloyds TSB have a brochure concerning all those wanting to take out a loan. This documentation is the same width as the Barclays brochure but is a 1cm shorter in length. Lloyds TSB have tried a different approach too Barclays because they have decided to use their images to a maximum to create an emotion amongst the readers. Lloyds have consistency used their logo on the brochure and the payslip. The layout is very basic but effective. The layout contains a contents page, images and lots of information on loans, however like in the Barclays brochure on the back page there is a lot of writing which uses a very small font. The style is very interesting and attractive. HSBC Brochure: HSBC have a brochure for clients wanting to take out insurance. This document size is very different to the other brochures which were similar to each other. Instead the size of this document is 5cm by 16cm, making it very narrow. It uses many images of happy people. It contains a contents page to make the document very organised. HSBC do not use a lot of small font writing on the back of the page unlike Lloyds and Barclays, however it does contain a free post envelope attached to the back. It has headings for each topic and the writing is neatly presented. Jonathan Fraser-Gadd Report Unit 1 Task 2: Good and bad points: In this part of my report I shall point out the good and bad parts on each of the above documents. Barclays Payslip: The Barclays payslip is very professional and contains the information required. The good attributes are clear on this document, these are: 1. Use of logo: they have decided to use their logo on the payslip for recognition and to make it more professional. 2. Size: the size of the paper is good because its not big and this creates a more attractive look. 3. Organised neatly in boxes: this makes the documentations readability easier and helps guide the client to where they should write. 4. The information: this information is relevant to the document improving the document.

Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure

Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Abstract Historically, rail transport systems in Europe have been running as per national standards through the monopolistic and vertically integrated state owned operators. Most of the railway network in Europe is designed for different technical and operational standards of the member states, which makes it impossible or expensive for rail transport across borders. With a vision of achieving a single European railway network, in 1991, the European commission adopted a policy of revitalizing the railway sector to harmonize the technical and operational standards across the member states. This policy promotes a single set of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs)todefine common railway system architectureanda common approach to railway safety management. The long-term objective of such a policy is to open up the rail passenger and freight market for competition and promote the rail transport as sustainable means of transportation. The future of the rail supply industry in Europe is linked to the creation of sustainable transport system, which can only be achieved by increasing the competition in the industry to provide cost effective solutions. Harmonization of the railway networks in Europe will be one of the important driving forces in shaping the rail supply industry in Europe. This paper analyses the current structure of the German rail supply industry and how the industry may evolve given the current drive for interoperability through harmonization of standards and technologies. The policies of interoperability were conceived during the early 90s, but the impact of such policies are yet to be seen due to the lack of co-ordination between the manufactures, the regulatory mechanism, insufficient funding and the political will. Though the rail supply industry of Europe is in favour of achieving the common technical standards, the resulting market dynamics due to the common European market remains unanswered. 1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of harmonization of railway infrastructure in Europe on the rail supply industry in Europe with focus on Germany. Various directives and regulations of European commission have set off a series of dramatic changes in the European railway sector. The liberalization process has seen unbundling of the vertically integrated state owned operators. The directive of interoperability is enforcing the member states to transition from the existing signalling systems to common rail traffic management systems across Europe. Besides the control systems, there is significant thrust by the European commission to harmonize the technical and operational standards of the other components of the railway infrastructure like the tracks, electrification, power supply substations etc. These would render common product characteristics across the infrastructure segments with some exceptions in the stations and tunnel construction as the nature of these requ irements varies depending on the local needs and resource restrictions and also these components doesnt contribute to the desired interoperability. Thus the harmonization process would increase the size of the accessible market for companies in rail supply industry. Hence harmonization is bound to have a significant effect on how the industry is structured and the competition within the industry. The German railway infrastructure is the key component of the entire railway transport industry, where in the state owned operator and Logistics Company, Deutsche Bahn AG owns the entire infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) has a monopoly on the upstream of the value chain of German railway industry and at the same time DB exists as a monopsony at the downstream of the value chain. Thus, DB is a single buyer of the infrastructure services and products with very high bargaining power over their suppliers. The processes of harmonization and liberalization in the European railway sector have been shaping the complete value chain of industry. The increasing competition among the railway operator has brought in many benefits to the consumers and also to all other stakeholders involved in the industry. The German rail supply industry is highly fragmented with small to large companies involved in different segments of infrastructure services. The Fragmented nature of the industry has given rise to aggressive competition in the industry with many large players trying to claim their stakes in the market. The presence of only a single buyer, Deutsche Bahn, has defined the competition as price oriented, with many infrastructure companies trying to innovate on the technology and process to provide the infrastructure as per the national standards and at lower costs. This paper will discuss the benefits of the standardization in the industry and would also discuss how the rail supply industry in Germany may restructure to the changing market dynamics once the single European market is in place for the railway sector. Chapter 2 of this paper presents entire value chain of the German railway transport industry. This will be followed by the description of the key stake holders of the industry and the interaction mechanism between them. Further the analysis will focus on the railway infrastructure part of the value chain. The analysis in this section will try to evaluate the forces that drive the industry and the bargaining power of the decision makers. Chapter 3 of the document discusses process of harmonization through the EU directives of interoperability and safety. The analysis here will try to explain the various regulation, time frames and governing bodies involved in the process. The discussion will also highlight the progress of harmonization and the issues and obstacles to achieving the desired targets of interoperability. Chapter 4 will discuss the benefits of harmonization to the industry and chart out the current strategic environment of the German rail supply industry. This section will include a note on the key causal factors and actors influencing harmonization and will develop and discuss few scenarios as to how the industry may evolve post harmonization of the railway infrastructure in Europe in general and Germany in particular. The analysis in this section will draw inferences from the views of some opinion leaders and academics who are involved with the industry. Finally the conclusions of the study will be presented in the chapter 5 which will summarize the findings and hypothesis of chapters 3 and 4 respectively. The conclusion will highlight the limitations of this research paper and will also suggest further research options concerning the rail supply industry. 2. The Value chain of German Railway Industry 2.1. Over view of value chain The German railway industry is composed of various players along the value chain. A brief overview of the Railway industry value chain is as shown the figure1. The first link in the value chain of German railway industry is the infrastructure construction, which includes the building and maintaining various infrastructure components that support the railway network. The infrastructure components can be track, electrification, power supply substation, electro mechanical works, signalling and command control, railway stations, maintenance and upgrade of tracks and public announcement, displays, ticketing devices etc. Many private companies as well as the subsidiaries of DB are active in this part of the value chain. The second component of the value chain is the infrastructure management, which is driven by many stake holders, but is controlled mainly by DB Netze, which owns the complete mainline and high speed railway network in Germany. The infrastructure for the urban transport is usually owned by the urban transport operators. The governing bodies like Federal Railway Authority of Germany and the Public Transport Authorities of the various states are the key decision makers for infrastructure management. The most important component of the value chain is the network operation and logistics. This segment of the industry caters to the rail transport market, by providing services to the end customers. The main players in this segment are the Deutsche Bahn, which is a monopoly with around 85% of market share in Germany. The liberalization process has led to the advent of few private operators, who lease the infrastructure from the DB Netze. The urban transport operators are active players in the metro/ tram segment of the railway transport market. The last link of the value chain includes the end customers, which is constituted of both the passenger and freight transport market. Customers are the central focus for the various reforms in the industry as the growth is dependent on the ability of the industry to provide the transport services at affordable prices in comparison with other alternatives like road and air transport. The details of different segments of the rail transport market and the related statistics are provided in Appendix 1. As seen from the figure 1, the intensity of the competition increases as we move up the value chain from the network operators to the infrastructure suppliers. The process of liberalization has induced competition amongst the operators, but the very high sunk costs involved, have erected a strong barrier for new entrants. Further up the value chain, there are many players involved in infrastructure management and infrastructure construction due to the attractive market size. Though the liberalization process has contributed to the opening up of this market, historically many small and big players are involved in this part of the value chain leading to an increased competition. 2.2. Key players of German railway infrastructure management To understand the rail infrastructure industry in Germany, It is essential to understand the various stakeholders in the industry and their contribution and importance in driving the market dynamics. Figure 2 is a schematic of the industry structure with a focus on infrastructure management. 2.2.1. European Commission European Commission is a governing body which is one of the important demand drivers for the infrastructure market. The federal and local governments of the member states in the European Union are obligated to adhere to the regulations and policies devised by European Commission. European commission reviews and responds to the transportation needs of the member states of EU, which has the construction of modern, safe and integrated railway network in Europe as priority to fuel the growth of intra and international trade among the EU members. Hence, the reformatory regulations and their periodic reviews lie within the gamut of European commissions functions. European Commission has set up the European Railway Agency (ERA) to oversee the creation of integrated European railway network by enforcing and implementing safety and interoperability through standardizations and harmonization. ERA works as a coordinating body between the railway sector companies, national authorities, European Commission and other concerned parties. ERAs main task is to develop common technical standards and approaches for the European railway systems and infrastructure. ERA is also the system authority for the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS) project. Source: Adapted from the article separation of operators from infrastructure 2.2.2. Governments The German government oversees the overall transport sector through the Federal ministry for Transport, Building and Urban affairs. The Federal Railway Authority (Eisenbahn Bundesamt: EBA) is the supervisory authority for 30 railroad traffic operators and for 5 infrastructure companies mainly for the Deutsche Bahn AG. The functions of EBA include issuing licenses for infrastructure companies, providing investments and funding for infrastructure projects, making railroad access discrimination free, facilitates innovation within the accepted safety standards, ensures value creation for customers and also checks for unfair competitive practices. The supervisory authority of the urban transport lies with the 31 Public Transport Authorities (PTA) in the different federal states of Germany. The duties of the PTA are similar to those of EBA, but within the context of urban transport. PTAs work in conjunction with EBA for the infrastructure planning and funding activities at the local level. The political decision makers own the responsibility to define the legislative framework to fully integrate the European railways, in terms of enhanced market access, interoperability and safety rules. A sound legislative framework that works in tandem with the EU commission is expected to accelerate the harmonization process. 2.2.3. Network Operators/ Owners In Germany most of the mainline and regional rail networks infrastructure are owned and operated by the DB Netze AG , DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH, DB Station Service AG, DB Railionand the DB reise und touristik , who are all directly owned by the Federal Government. The DB Netze AG is responsible for track installations, coordination of network usage time tables and pricing. The DB Station Service AG operates, maintains and develops the passenger stations and also ensures the provision of services to travellers and railway undertakings. The DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH is responsible for local and regional traffic operation and infrastructure management. DB Railion is responsible for operation of freight traffic and DB Reise und touristik is responsible for long distance traffic operation. Besides these many new private traffic operators like Veolia Transportation, TX logistics, AKN Eisenbahn AG, Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH, S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, etc have entered the German railway market. Railway operators are responsible for improving the quality of services in terms of information accessibility, customer comfort, reservation and ticketing, network accessibility, availability of services, punctuality and reliability. The infrastructure managers or the network owners are responsible for optimising the capacity utilization of the available network infrastructure; ensure fair and non discriminatory access to network for all railway undertakings and also to ensure operational efficiency and safety. 2.2.4. Infrastructure providers Infrastructure providers are the companies that supply the railway transport industry with various infrastructure services like the rolling stock, track, electrification, maintenance etc. The infrastructure providers can also be termed as rail supply industry focused on the infrastructure development as per the standards and regulations set by the other stakeholders listed above. The rail supply industry is responsible for organising themselves to provide the ready to use equipment and infrastructure needed by the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The research and development of new products to promote the process of harmonization depends on the capabilities of rail supply industry. 2.2.5. Associations and Organizations Many organizations and agencies of the railway industry in Europe work closely with the EU and the national governments of the member states to support and promote the rail transport by setting technical standards and promoting fair competitive practices in the industry. Some of the important associations and agencies that are relevant to the rail supply industry are UNIFE, ERRAC, UITP, UIC, CER, EFRTC etc. Details of these associations are provided in the Appendix 2. 2.3. Overview of German rail supply market Worldwide, total rail supply market volume exceeds â‚ ¬ 120 bn. Of which, the size of the rail supply market in Germany is estimated to be around â‚ ¬ 6.3 bn. Based on the railway network type and usage characteristics, the rail supply markets can be further classified as High speed and very high-speed lines, conventional and regional rail lines and the urban rail transport networks. While Deutsche Bahn is the single customer in the high speed and very high speed lines and the conventional and regional lines segments, the different public transport authorities are the customers in the urban rail infrastructure market. High speed and very high-speed lines: These are usually the rail networks that spans across the borders to enable faster connectivity across Europe. The high speed lines between the important cities within the country also fall into this category, as they have the future potential to be integrated with cross border traffic. In Germany, this segment is currently small in size and is expected to grow especially due to the increasing need of cross border traffic. Conventional and regional lines: These are usually referred to as main lines and consist of the rail networks that connect the different regions with in a country. So, the entire regional rail transport networks that support the intra train transport with in a country and the freight transport networks can be grouped into this category. Currently this segment is built and operated as per the national standards set by the Federal railway authority and the volume of this network is very huge and is highly heterogeneous and is also operationally underutilised. Urban rail networks: This market segment consists of metros and the commuter/sub urban rail networks which support the public transport with in a city. The product requirements within this segment can vary depending on the local geographical characteristics and funds availability. This segment is mostly independent of and incompatible with the other segments and so provides many avenues of differentiation for the companies that are active in this segment. As of now there are no regulations enforcing harmonization of these networks. 2.4. Structure of rail supply industry in Germany The rail supply industry in Germany is classified into four segments namely; Rolling stock, Infrastructure, Signalling and control system and services. Figure 3 represents a schematic of the different segments of the German rail supply industry. Rolling stock: The products in this segment are characterized by all the vehicles that run on the railways like locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons. Due to the high capital investments, this segment usually consists of large companies like Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom. Infrastructure: This segment is characterized by the infrastructure components like tracks, electrification and stations. Many companies with diversified products serve in one or more of the components of this segment. Signalling and control systems: The infrastructure components like the track side signal installations, on board control equipment, control stations etc are grouped as signalling and control systems. Services: This segment includes the service and maintenance for all the other segments. This segment also comprises the project management and turnkey solutions. In Germany most of the maintenance and project management is carried out by the subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn. 2.5. Segmentation of the German rail supply market Putting the rail supply market and the rail supply industry segmentation together will provide a complete segmentation matrix, which will help in the better understanding and analysis of the market. The segmentation matrix is provided in figure 4. Figure 4: German rail supply Market Segmentation matrix In the above matrix, the shaded regions indicate an overlap of product and service similarities in the different infrastructure components and the market segments of the railway industry. 3. Harmonization For a successful, larger and integrated Europe, the availability of efficient transport systems is essential for supporting sustainable economic growth and social development. Passenger and freight transportation by rail is a potentially effective instrument to combat congestion, pollution, global warming and traffic accidents. These negative externalities undermine the capability and efficiency of European economy and the health of future generations. The growing European Union and the globalization of the world economy have necessitated an international transport market, to support the outpacing economic growth. Today, the rail sector faces an ever increasing demand of accommodating higher transport volumes, a result of transport growth, and of policies favouring competition in the sector. Rail transport in Europe is a future-oriented industry, striving to offer attractive, affordable, safe, clean, competitive and reliable transport mode. Harmonization is the process of standardization of infrastructure components like types of track gauges, different types of power supply, speed control systems, train safety systems and technologies as well as the job profiles of drivers. The objective of harmonization is to achieve interoperability between the heterogeneous railway networks of the member states with in EU. Harmonizing products and technologies through innovation is a necessity for the rail supply industry to deploy its potential, and for its stakeholders to deliver cost-effective services for intermediate and final clients. 3.1. Need for harmonization Prior to the formation of European Union, the railway systems in Europe were run at the national level and were managed and operated by vertically integrated state owned companies. These railway systems were designed under different national operational rules, policies and standards. This resulted in the lack of interoperability in the railway transport sector which hampered the goal of growth in European economy through increased trade activities amongst the member states. The EU thus envisaged a goal of unified railway transport network across the EU member states to promote the trade and thus foster the economy. This goal transformed into a number of directives and regulations to achieve a Trans European network. 3.2. Components of harmonization To transition from the heterogeneous railway networks to a homogenised railway transport infrastructure across Europe, different components of harmonisations were evaluated by the European commission. European commission defined the homologation process in terms of interoperability, safety and signalling systems. 3.2.1. Interoperability Interoperability of the rail systems renders a safe and uninterrupted movement of trains, while accomplishing the required and specified levels of performance. Interoperability rests on all the technical, operational and regulatory conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the essential requirements. Interoperability has been mandated by several EU directives. The first one is the Directive 96/48/EC, which was passed in 1996 and is only concerned with the interoperability of the Trans- European high speed rail system. The second one is the Directive 2001/16/EC, which applies interoperability to lines within the trans-European transport network and other infrastructure facilities. Both these directives were later modified by the directive 2004/50/EC along with the corrigendum for the former directives. Most recently the directive 2008/57/EC was passed to include the community railway systems within the scope of interoperability. A consolidated history of regulatory framework evolution concerning interoperability in European railways is provided as Appendix 3. To overcome the technical fragmentation of rail networks, the interoperability directives provided that the Community legislation is gradually establishing mandatory so called Technical Specifications for Interoperability, commonly referred to as TSIs. The European Railway Agency owns the responsibility to draw up and revise the TSIs, on the basis of inputs provided by the member states and other stakeholders of the railway sector. Several subsystem constituents of interoperability of railway transport for both conventional and high speed lines are as below: Infrastructure( track works, tunnels, bridges and stations) and energy (electrification system) Operation and telematic application for passengers: related equipment and procedures to enable a coherent operation of different subsystems and also the requirements of professional qualification for the skilled labour involved in operations. Rolling stock: vehicle dynamics, superstructure, on board command and control system equipment, current-collection devices, traction units, energy conversion units, braking, coupling and running gear and suspension, doors, man/machine interfaces, passive or active safety devices. Maintenance: procedures and processes, technical documentation, related equipments, logistics centres for maintenance work. 3.2.2. Safety Safety is one of the important components of the railway systems which is highly regulated at both national and EU level. Safety is one of the prime concerns of the customers of rail transport and hence there is a special focus on the safety standards which have to be designed in line with the interoperability directives. Hence common safety standards, practices and targets have to complement interoperability to successfully achieve the desired homologation of the trans-European railway network. The European commission issued many directives to mandate the safety methods to support the harmonization process. These directives include Directive 2004/49/EC, Directive 2007/59/EC, the directive on certification of train drivers and other relevant EU legislation. ERA acts as a supporting organization to the European commission to develop the further implementation plans for the EU directives by networking with the national bodies of the member states. ERA has structured four different business sectors concerning railway safety and provides central support to the stakeholders involved in the complete process from formulation of regulation to implementation and periodic reviews. The four different segments are: Safety Assessment: developing common safety methods for risk evaluation and assessment and common safety targets according to articles 6 and 7 of the Directive 2004/49/EC. This unit assists each member state to define their safety targets and develop a methodology for calculating and assessing the achievement of those targets. This unit also collaborates to define safety requirements for TSIs and to support technical opinions to be given to European commission. Safety Certification: define, develop and evaluate implementation of common safety methods for certification of railway undertakings as well as certification for train drivers and authorization of infrastructure managers. The objective of this unit includes proposing a migration strategy towards a single Community Safety certificate. Safety Reporting: Monitors and analyzes the development of safety on Europes railways and disseminates information, reports biennially on the safety performance of railways within the European Union. Functions also include developing and maintaining public databases of safety related documents such as safety certificates, licenses, national safety rules, investigation reports and indicators. Responsibility of coordinating with the national investigation bodies concerning safety and facilitating information exchange between them lies with this unit Safety Regulation: Functions include, validating the notification of national safety rules, register and notify the national safety rules accepted by the commission, analyze the way in which the national safety rules are published, maintain the communication protocol between the member states and the responsible organizations for railway regulation. 3.2.3. ERTMS The command control and signalling systems is an important instrument that should also be harmonised to support the much required interoperability of the trans-European railway network. ERTMS is considered to be a first major step in fostering the creation of single European railway market. ERTMS would also address the increasing costs of operation due to the incompatible and obsolete signalling systems across Europe. Currently around 20 signalling systems are in place across Europe, most of which are adopted by the network operators of the member countries as stipulated by national standards. These different signal systems impose a restriction on the rail transport across the borders of the member states of EU, as the costs of incorporating compatibility with the international networks increases. A common standards and systems for intra as well as international rail traffic management in the EU member countries would enhance the attractiveness of rail transport making it affordable and environment friendly. The idea of common traffic management systems for European railways was conceived during the late 1980s, but the process of drawing up technical specification was started during 1998, following the interoperability directive of 1996. The ERTMS specification was approved by EU in 2000, followed by which, between 2005 and 2008, the implementations plans were charted out for the six freight corridors across Europe and the memorandum of understanding was signed between the EU, member states and the other railway stakeholders. The implementation plan was devised considering the national implementation plans of the member states, which was then consolidated taking into consideration the priority for the freight corridors connecting different member states. The proposed completion of implementation of ERTMS across Europe is by the end of 2020. UNIFE and a consortium of railway signal equipment manufacturers are working closely with the European commission and the infrastructure managers of member companies for the development and implementation of cost effective technical solutions concerning ERTMS implementation. 3.3. Process of Harmonization For successful harmonization of European railways, close cooperation of the institutional bodies, political representations and also commitment of the railway operators and rail supply industry are required. The harmonization and standardization process to achieve European railway interoperability can be grouped into two stages: 3.3.1. Directives to Standards The directives of the European Commission are transformed into the TSIs by ERA, which are then validated against the standards requirement at the national and the EU level by relevant standardization organization like CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. At the end of this stage a detailed documentation of the standards, while adopting the TSIs are produced. Figure 5 provides and illustration of this process. Source: Dealing with standardization in liberalized network industries by Dr Marc Laperrouza 3.3.2. Standards to Products Once the directives are turned into standards, the next challenge is to transform the standards into the products. The standards are again reviewed by the ERA and then passed over to the European Union for the legal process. Once the compliance with legal process is established, the standar Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Effects of Harmonization of Railway Infrastructure Abstract Historically, rail transport systems in Europe have been running as per national standards through the monopolistic and vertically integrated state owned operators. Most of the railway network in Europe is designed for different technical and operational standards of the member states, which makes it impossible or expensive for rail transport across borders. With a vision of achieving a single European railway network, in 1991, the European commission adopted a policy of revitalizing the railway sector to harmonize the technical and operational standards across the member states. This policy promotes a single set of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs)todefine common railway system architectureanda common approach to railway safety management. The long-term objective of such a policy is to open up the rail passenger and freight market for competition and promote the rail transport as sustainable means of transportation. The future of the rail supply industry in Europe is linked to the creation of sustainable transport system, which can only be achieved by increasing the competition in the industry to provide cost effective solutions. Harmonization of the railway networks in Europe will be one of the important driving forces in shaping the rail supply industry in Europe. This paper analyses the current structure of the German rail supply industry and how the industry may evolve given the current drive for interoperability through harmonization of standards and technologies. The policies of interoperability were conceived during the early 90s, but the impact of such policies are yet to be seen due to the lack of co-ordination between the manufactures, the regulatory mechanism, insufficient funding and the political will. Though the rail supply industry of Europe is in favour of achieving the common technical standards, the resulting market dynamics due to the common European market remains unanswered. 1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of harmonization of railway infrastructure in Europe on the rail supply industry in Europe with focus on Germany. Various directives and regulations of European commission have set off a series of dramatic changes in the European railway sector. The liberalization process has seen unbundling of the vertically integrated state owned operators. The directive of interoperability is enforcing the member states to transition from the existing signalling systems to common rail traffic management systems across Europe. Besides the control systems, there is significant thrust by the European commission to harmonize the technical and operational standards of the other components of the railway infrastructure like the tracks, electrification, power supply substations etc. These would render common product characteristics across the infrastructure segments with some exceptions in the stations and tunnel construction as the nature of these requ irements varies depending on the local needs and resource restrictions and also these components doesnt contribute to the desired interoperability. Thus the harmonization process would increase the size of the accessible market for companies in rail supply industry. Hence harmonization is bound to have a significant effect on how the industry is structured and the competition within the industry. The German railway infrastructure is the key component of the entire railway transport industry, where in the state owned operator and Logistics Company, Deutsche Bahn AG owns the entire infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) has a monopoly on the upstream of the value chain of German railway industry and at the same time DB exists as a monopsony at the downstream of the value chain. Thus, DB is a single buyer of the infrastructure services and products with very high bargaining power over their suppliers. The processes of harmonization and liberalization in the European railway sector have been shaping the complete value chain of industry. The increasing competition among the railway operator has brought in many benefits to the consumers and also to all other stakeholders involved in the industry. The German rail supply industry is highly fragmented with small to large companies involved in different segments of infrastructure services. The Fragmented nature of the industry has given rise to aggressive competition in the industry with many large players trying to claim their stakes in the market. The presence of only a single buyer, Deutsche Bahn, has defined the competition as price oriented, with many infrastructure companies trying to innovate on the technology and process to provide the infrastructure as per the national standards and at lower costs. This paper will discuss the benefits of the standardization in the industry and would also discuss how the rail supply industry in Germany may restructure to the changing market dynamics once the single European market is in place for the railway sector. Chapter 2 of this paper presents entire value chain of the German railway transport industry. This will be followed by the description of the key stake holders of the industry and the interaction mechanism between them. Further the analysis will focus on the railway infrastructure part of the value chain. The analysis in this section will try to evaluate the forces that drive the industry and the bargaining power of the decision makers. Chapter 3 of the document discusses process of harmonization through the EU directives of interoperability and safety. The analysis here will try to explain the various regulation, time frames and governing bodies involved in the process. The discussion will also highlight the progress of harmonization and the issues and obstacles to achieving the desired targets of interoperability. Chapter 4 will discuss the benefits of harmonization to the industry and chart out the current strategic environment of the German rail supply industry. This section will include a note on the key causal factors and actors influencing harmonization and will develop and discuss few scenarios as to how the industry may evolve post harmonization of the railway infrastructure in Europe in general and Germany in particular. The analysis in this section will draw inferences from the views of some opinion leaders and academics who are involved with the industry. Finally the conclusions of the study will be presented in the chapter 5 which will summarize the findings and hypothesis of chapters 3 and 4 respectively. The conclusion will highlight the limitations of this research paper and will also suggest further research options concerning the rail supply industry. 2. The Value chain of German Railway Industry 2.1. Over view of value chain The German railway industry is composed of various players along the value chain. A brief overview of the Railway industry value chain is as shown the figure1. The first link in the value chain of German railway industry is the infrastructure construction, which includes the building and maintaining various infrastructure components that support the railway network. The infrastructure components can be track, electrification, power supply substation, electro mechanical works, signalling and command control, railway stations, maintenance and upgrade of tracks and public announcement, displays, ticketing devices etc. Many private companies as well as the subsidiaries of DB are active in this part of the value chain. The second component of the value chain is the infrastructure management, which is driven by many stake holders, but is controlled mainly by DB Netze, which owns the complete mainline and high speed railway network in Germany. The infrastructure for the urban transport is usually owned by the urban transport operators. The governing bodies like Federal Railway Authority of Germany and the Public Transport Authorities of the various states are the key decision makers for infrastructure management. The most important component of the value chain is the network operation and logistics. This segment of the industry caters to the rail transport market, by providing services to the end customers. The main players in this segment are the Deutsche Bahn, which is a monopoly with around 85% of market share in Germany. The liberalization process has led to the advent of few private operators, who lease the infrastructure from the DB Netze. The urban transport operators are active players in the metro/ tram segment of the railway transport market. The last link of the value chain includes the end customers, which is constituted of both the passenger and freight transport market. Customers are the central focus for the various reforms in the industry as the growth is dependent on the ability of the industry to provide the transport services at affordable prices in comparison with other alternatives like road and air transport. The details of different segments of the rail transport market and the related statistics are provided in Appendix 1. As seen from the figure 1, the intensity of the competition increases as we move up the value chain from the network operators to the infrastructure suppliers. The process of liberalization has induced competition amongst the operators, but the very high sunk costs involved, have erected a strong barrier for new entrants. Further up the value chain, there are many players involved in infrastructure management and infrastructure construction due to the attractive market size. Though the liberalization process has contributed to the opening up of this market, historically many small and big players are involved in this part of the value chain leading to an increased competition. 2.2. Key players of German railway infrastructure management To understand the rail infrastructure industry in Germany, It is essential to understand the various stakeholders in the industry and their contribution and importance in driving the market dynamics. Figure 2 is a schematic of the industry structure with a focus on infrastructure management. 2.2.1. European Commission European Commission is a governing body which is one of the important demand drivers for the infrastructure market. The federal and local governments of the member states in the European Union are obligated to adhere to the regulations and policies devised by European Commission. European commission reviews and responds to the transportation needs of the member states of EU, which has the construction of modern, safe and integrated railway network in Europe as priority to fuel the growth of intra and international trade among the EU members. Hence, the reformatory regulations and their periodic reviews lie within the gamut of European commissions functions. European Commission has set up the European Railway Agency (ERA) to oversee the creation of integrated European railway network by enforcing and implementing safety and interoperability through standardizations and harmonization. ERA works as a coordinating body between the railway sector companies, national authorities, European Commission and other concerned parties. ERAs main task is to develop common technical standards and approaches for the European railway systems and infrastructure. ERA is also the system authority for the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS) project. Source: Adapted from the article separation of operators from infrastructure 2.2.2. Governments The German government oversees the overall transport sector through the Federal ministry for Transport, Building and Urban affairs. The Federal Railway Authority (Eisenbahn Bundesamt: EBA) is the supervisory authority for 30 railroad traffic operators and for 5 infrastructure companies mainly for the Deutsche Bahn AG. The functions of EBA include issuing licenses for infrastructure companies, providing investments and funding for infrastructure projects, making railroad access discrimination free, facilitates innovation within the accepted safety standards, ensures value creation for customers and also checks for unfair competitive practices. The supervisory authority of the urban transport lies with the 31 Public Transport Authorities (PTA) in the different federal states of Germany. The duties of the PTA are similar to those of EBA, but within the context of urban transport. PTAs work in conjunction with EBA for the infrastructure planning and funding activities at the local level. The political decision makers own the responsibility to define the legislative framework to fully integrate the European railways, in terms of enhanced market access, interoperability and safety rules. A sound legislative framework that works in tandem with the EU commission is expected to accelerate the harmonization process. 2.2.3. Network Operators/ Owners In Germany most of the mainline and regional rail networks infrastructure are owned and operated by the DB Netze AG , DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH, DB Station Service AG, DB Railionand the DB reise und touristik , who are all directly owned by the Federal Government. The DB Netze AG is responsible for track installations, coordination of network usage time tables and pricing. The DB Station Service AG operates, maintains and develops the passenger stations and also ensures the provision of services to travellers and railway undertakings. The DB Regio Netz Infrastruktur GmbH is responsible for local and regional traffic operation and infrastructure management. DB Railion is responsible for operation of freight traffic and DB Reise und touristik is responsible for long distance traffic operation. Besides these many new private traffic operators like Veolia Transportation, TX logistics, AKN Eisenbahn AG, Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH, S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, etc have entered the German railway market. Railway operators are responsible for improving the quality of services in terms of information accessibility, customer comfort, reservation and ticketing, network accessibility, availability of services, punctuality and reliability. The infrastructure managers or the network owners are responsible for optimising the capacity utilization of the available network infrastructure; ensure fair and non discriminatory access to network for all railway undertakings and also to ensure operational efficiency and safety. 2.2.4. Infrastructure providers Infrastructure providers are the companies that supply the railway transport industry with various infrastructure services like the rolling stock, track, electrification, maintenance etc. The infrastructure providers can also be termed as rail supply industry focused on the infrastructure development as per the standards and regulations set by the other stakeholders listed above. The rail supply industry is responsible for organising themselves to provide the ready to use equipment and infrastructure needed by the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The research and development of new products to promote the process of harmonization depends on the capabilities of rail supply industry. 2.2.5. Associations and Organizations Many organizations and agencies of the railway industry in Europe work closely with the EU and the national governments of the member states to support and promote the rail transport by setting technical standards and promoting fair competitive practices in the industry. Some of the important associations and agencies that are relevant to the rail supply industry are UNIFE, ERRAC, UITP, UIC, CER, EFRTC etc. Details of these associations are provided in the Appendix 2. 2.3. Overview of German rail supply market Worldwide, total rail supply market volume exceeds â‚ ¬ 120 bn. Of which, the size of the rail supply market in Germany is estimated to be around â‚ ¬ 6.3 bn. Based on the railway network type and usage characteristics, the rail supply markets can be further classified as High speed and very high-speed lines, conventional and regional rail lines and the urban rail transport networks. While Deutsche Bahn is the single customer in the high speed and very high speed lines and the conventional and regional lines segments, the different public transport authorities are the customers in the urban rail infrastructure market. High speed and very high-speed lines: These are usually the rail networks that spans across the borders to enable faster connectivity across Europe. The high speed lines between the important cities within the country also fall into this category, as they have the future potential to be integrated with cross border traffic. In Germany, this segment is currently small in size and is expected to grow especially due to the increasing need of cross border traffic. Conventional and regional lines: These are usually referred to as main lines and consist of the rail networks that connect the different regions with in a country. So, the entire regional rail transport networks that support the intra train transport with in a country and the freight transport networks can be grouped into this category. Currently this segment is built and operated as per the national standards set by the Federal railway authority and the volume of this network is very huge and is highly heterogeneous and is also operationally underutilised. Urban rail networks: This market segment consists of metros and the commuter/sub urban rail networks which support the public transport with in a city. The product requirements within this segment can vary depending on the local geographical characteristics and funds availability. This segment is mostly independent of and incompatible with the other segments and so provides many avenues of differentiation for the companies that are active in this segment. As of now there are no regulations enforcing harmonization of these networks. 2.4. Structure of rail supply industry in Germany The rail supply industry in Germany is classified into four segments namely; Rolling stock, Infrastructure, Signalling and control system and services. Figure 3 represents a schematic of the different segments of the German rail supply industry. Rolling stock: The products in this segment are characterized by all the vehicles that run on the railways like locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons. Due to the high capital investments, this segment usually consists of large companies like Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom. Infrastructure: This segment is characterized by the infrastructure components like tracks, electrification and stations. Many companies with diversified products serve in one or more of the components of this segment. Signalling and control systems: The infrastructure components like the track side signal installations, on board control equipment, control stations etc are grouped as signalling and control systems. Services: This segment includes the service and maintenance for all the other segments. This segment also comprises the project management and turnkey solutions. In Germany most of the maintenance and project management is carried out by the subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn. 2.5. Segmentation of the German rail supply market Putting the rail supply market and the rail supply industry segmentation together will provide a complete segmentation matrix, which will help in the better understanding and analysis of the market. The segmentation matrix is provided in figure 4. Figure 4: German rail supply Market Segmentation matrix In the above matrix, the shaded regions indicate an overlap of product and service similarities in the different infrastructure components and the market segments of the railway industry. 3. Harmonization For a successful, larger and integrated Europe, the availability of efficient transport systems is essential for supporting sustainable economic growth and social development. Passenger and freight transportation by rail is a potentially effective instrument to combat congestion, pollution, global warming and traffic accidents. These negative externalities undermine the capability and efficiency of European economy and the health of future generations. The growing European Union and the globalization of the world economy have necessitated an international transport market, to support the outpacing economic growth. Today, the rail sector faces an ever increasing demand of accommodating higher transport volumes, a result of transport growth, and of policies favouring competition in the sector. Rail transport in Europe is a future-oriented industry, striving to offer attractive, affordable, safe, clean, competitive and reliable transport mode. Harmonization is the process of standardization of infrastructure components like types of track gauges, different types of power supply, speed control systems, train safety systems and technologies as well as the job profiles of drivers. The objective of harmonization is to achieve interoperability between the heterogeneous railway networks of the member states with in EU. Harmonizing products and technologies through innovation is a necessity for the rail supply industry to deploy its potential, and for its stakeholders to deliver cost-effective services for intermediate and final clients. 3.1. Need for harmonization Prior to the formation of European Union, the railway systems in Europe were run at the national level and were managed and operated by vertically integrated state owned companies. These railway systems were designed under different national operational rules, policies and standards. This resulted in the lack of interoperability in the railway transport sector which hampered the goal of growth in European economy through increased trade activities amongst the member states. The EU thus envisaged a goal of unified railway transport network across the EU member states to promote the trade and thus foster the economy. This goal transformed into a number of directives and regulations to achieve a Trans European network. 3.2. Components of harmonization To transition from the heterogeneous railway networks to a homogenised railway transport infrastructure across Europe, different components of harmonisations were evaluated by the European commission. European commission defined the homologation process in terms of interoperability, safety and signalling systems. 3.2.1. Interoperability Interoperability of the rail systems renders a safe and uninterrupted movement of trains, while accomplishing the required and specified levels of performance. Interoperability rests on all the technical, operational and regulatory conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the essential requirements. Interoperability has been mandated by several EU directives. The first one is the Directive 96/48/EC, which was passed in 1996 and is only concerned with the interoperability of the Trans- European high speed rail system. The second one is the Directive 2001/16/EC, which applies interoperability to lines within the trans-European transport network and other infrastructure facilities. Both these directives were later modified by the directive 2004/50/EC along with the corrigendum for the former directives. Most recently the directive 2008/57/EC was passed to include the community railway systems within the scope of interoperability. A consolidated history of regulatory framework evolution concerning interoperability in European railways is provided as Appendix 3. To overcome the technical fragmentation of rail networks, the interoperability directives provided that the Community legislation is gradually establishing mandatory so called Technical Specifications for Interoperability, commonly referred to as TSIs. The European Railway Agency owns the responsibility to draw up and revise the TSIs, on the basis of inputs provided by the member states and other stakeholders of the railway sector. Several subsystem constituents of interoperability of railway transport for both conventional and high speed lines are as below: Infrastructure( track works, tunnels, bridges and stations) and energy (electrification system) Operation and telematic application for passengers: related equipment and procedures to enable a coherent operation of different subsystems and also the requirements of professional qualification for the skilled labour involved in operations. Rolling stock: vehicle dynamics, superstructure, on board command and control system equipment, current-collection devices, traction units, energy conversion units, braking, coupling and running gear and suspension, doors, man/machine interfaces, passive or active safety devices. Maintenance: procedures and processes, technical documentation, related equipments, logistics centres for maintenance work. 3.2.2. Safety Safety is one of the important components of the railway systems which is highly regulated at both national and EU level. Safety is one of the prime concerns of the customers of rail transport and hence there is a special focus on the safety standards which have to be designed in line with the interoperability directives. Hence common safety standards, practices and targets have to complement interoperability to successfully achieve the desired homologation of the trans-European railway network. The European commission issued many directives to mandate the safety methods to support the harmonization process. These directives include Directive 2004/49/EC, Directive 2007/59/EC, the directive on certification of train drivers and other relevant EU legislation. ERA acts as a supporting organization to the European commission to develop the further implementation plans for the EU directives by networking with the national bodies of the member states. ERA has structured four different business sectors concerning railway safety and provides central support to the stakeholders involved in the complete process from formulation of regulation to implementation and periodic reviews. The four different segments are: Safety Assessment: developing common safety methods for risk evaluation and assessment and common safety targets according to articles 6 and 7 of the Directive 2004/49/EC. This unit assists each member state to define their safety targets and develop a methodology for calculating and assessing the achievement of those targets. This unit also collaborates to define safety requirements for TSIs and to support technical opinions to be given to European commission. Safety Certification: define, develop and evaluate implementation of common safety methods for certification of railway undertakings as well as certification for train drivers and authorization of infrastructure managers. The objective of this unit includes proposing a migration strategy towards a single Community Safety certificate. Safety Reporting: Monitors and analyzes the development of safety on Europes railways and disseminates information, reports biennially on the safety performance of railways within the European Union. Functions also include developing and maintaining public databases of safety related documents such as safety certificates, licenses, national safety rules, investigation reports and indicators. Responsibility of coordinating with the national investigation bodies concerning safety and facilitating information exchange between them lies with this unit Safety Regulation: Functions include, validating the notification of national safety rules, register and notify the national safety rules accepted by the commission, analyze the way in which the national safety rules are published, maintain the communication protocol between the member states and the responsible organizations for railway regulation. 3.2.3. ERTMS The command control and signalling systems is an important instrument that should also be harmonised to support the much required interoperability of the trans-European railway network. ERTMS is considered to be a first major step in fostering the creation of single European railway market. ERTMS would also address the increasing costs of operation due to the incompatible and obsolete signalling systems across Europe. Currently around 20 signalling systems are in place across Europe, most of which are adopted by the network operators of the member countries as stipulated by national standards. These different signal systems impose a restriction on the rail transport across the borders of the member states of EU, as the costs of incorporating compatibility with the international networks increases. A common standards and systems for intra as well as international rail traffic management in the EU member countries would enhance the attractiveness of rail transport making it affordable and environment friendly. The idea of common traffic management systems for European railways was conceived during the late 1980s, but the process of drawing up technical specification was started during 1998, following the interoperability directive of 1996. The ERTMS specification was approved by EU in 2000, followed by which, between 2005 and 2008, the implementations plans were charted out for the six freight corridors across Europe and the memorandum of understanding was signed between the EU, member states and the other railway stakeholders. The implementation plan was devised considering the national implementation plans of the member states, which was then consolidated taking into consideration the priority for the freight corridors connecting different member states. The proposed completion of implementation of ERTMS across Europe is by the end of 2020. UNIFE and a consortium of railway signal equipment manufacturers are working closely with the European commission and the infrastructure managers of member companies for the development and implementation of cost effective technical solutions concerning ERTMS implementation. 3.3. Process of Harmonization For successful harmonization of European railways, close cooperation of the institutional bodies, political representations and also commitment of the railway operators and rail supply industry are required. The harmonization and standardization process to achieve European railway interoperability can be grouped into two stages: 3.3.1. Directives to Standards The directives of the European Commission are transformed into the TSIs by ERA, which are then validated against the standards requirement at the national and the EU level by relevant standardization organization like CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. At the end of this stage a detailed documentation of the standards, while adopting the TSIs are produced. Figure 5 provides and illustration of this process. Source: Dealing with standardization in liberalized network industries by Dr Marc Laperrouza 3.3.2. Standards to Products Once the directives are turned into standards, the next challenge is to transform the standards into the products. The standards are again reviewed by the ERA and then passed over to the European Union for the legal process. Once the compliance with legal process is established, the standar