The Low-cost Orange Flying Machine: The Case of easyJet Essay

The colour orange is increasingly becoming synonymous with the firm easyJet as it has become one of the world’s most profitable low-cost airlines (Alamdari and Fagan, 2005). This paper examines the basis of their success and argues firstly, that easyJet from its inception essentially adopted and stayed with the original low-cost model that was pioneered by Southwest airlines in the USA. Moreover, this is a model that has served them well, resulting in sustained business performance and growth over a decade. However, our second point is that with this growth, and increased competition, there are signs of the need for a change. Accordingly, in what follows, we examine in turn: the historical origins of easyJet, emphasizing its values and the influence of the Southwest airlines model; the essential features of its business model; and some indication of its business performance over time. Historical Origins: Personality, Values and the Southwest Way EasyJet was conceived in 1995, with its first flight occurring in November of that year. There are numerous descriptions of the early start-up days, but one of the most vivid is surely the following (Calder 2006: 113): The entrance to the average airline’s headquarters is an impressive affair, intended to impress visitors. But the HQ of Britain’s most successful low-cost airline is far from average. For a while, the modest foyer of easyland – the huddle of temporary buildings from which one of Europe’s leading airlines is run – was adorned by a tent. It was a small, two-person job, strung from the roof†¦ Take one shipping millionaire, two Boeing 737s normally used for British Airways flights and several dozen gallons of orange paint, and you have a revolution in the skies. But industry watchers like myself were slow to realise the scale of the upheaval signified by the first flight of easyJet. The picture conveyed above stands in marked contrast to the subsequent growth and current performance of easyJet. Indeed as we were preparing the first draft of this paper easyJet announced that pre-tax profits were up by 55 percent to a record  £129 million in the year to September 2006. Turnover was up 21 percent, passenger numbers by 11.5 percent (to 33 million), the share price hit an all time high, and 52 new Airbus jets were to be ordered (Financial Times 2006). The contents of Figure 1 below lists some of the key milestones in the evolution of easyJet. Much of the early discussion of easyJet pivoted around its founder, Stelios Hajin Ioaanou (‘Stelios’). His personality, background, ‘entrepreneurial approach’ (Rae 2001) and ‘managerial style’ were all much discussed: the ‘no frills’ working environment (e.g. no private offices) and the ‘orange culture’ (i.e. ‘being up for it’; ‘passionate’ and ‘shar’p) were held to be important legacies following his stepping down as Chairman in 2002. In what was initially seen as very much a ‘personality-driven’ organization it is important to emphasise the place and role of Southwest airlines in influencing the personality of the Chairman. As one study stated: ‘It was not until he flew on Southwest airlines that Stelios felt he had found the right concept for a European airline. Stelios intensively researched Southwest, meeting with founder and CEO Herb Kellacher and buying 250 copies of Nuts – a book documenting Southwest’s success – for distribution to potential employees and customers. (Sull 1999: 22) Southwest airlines is very much an organization in which a high level of ‘selective perception’ is apparent among observers and emulators; you can see what you want to see in it (Pate and Beaumont 2006) To easyJet the key message received, accepted and followed faithfully, was to adopt and stick to the original low-cost model pioneered by Southwest. The Basic Low-Cost Business Model The key features of this model are outlined below in Figure 2 below. Product Features 1. Fares/ network Low, simple and unrestricted fares, high frequencies, point to point, no interlining 2. Distribution Travel agents and call centres (today internet sales), ticketless 3. Inflight Single class, high density seating, no meals or free alcoholic drinks, snacks and light beverages for purchase, no seat assignment Operating Features 1. Fleet Single type, Boeing 737, high utilisation, 11-12 hours per day 2. Airport Secondary or uncongested, 20—30 minute turnarounds 3. Sector length Short, average 400 nautical miles 4. Staff Competitive wages, profit sharing, high productivity (Source: Alamdari and Fagan 2005: 378) Figure 2: The original Southwest Airlines low-cost business model Indeed, if anything easyJet appears to have achieved further leverage along the ‘no frills’ dimension of this basic model: travel agents were completely avoided (direct sales only) and passengers had to pay even for soft drinks and snacks (Sull 1999, 23). Such features of the easyJet low-cost model were held to be acceptable, or indeed attractive, to ‘people who pay for travel from their own pockets’ (Sull 1999:23). Specifically easyJet targeted three cost-conscious and price-sensitive customer segments: (1) the traveller visiting relatives; (2) leisure travellers working brief trips; and (3) entrepreneurs and managers from small firms. At this stage we need briefly to comment on staff conditions (competitive wages, profit sharing, high productivity) in Figure 2. First, in a general sense, it is remarkable how little human resources and staffing matters figure in discussions of the easyJet strategy (Sull 1999; Jones, 2005); they are essentially conspicuous in their absence. Secondly, if one turns to more specific matters there are grounds to question the reality of the staffing approach in Figure 2. For example, on the competitive salary front, it has been estimated that pilots at easyJet earn around 25% less than pilots working for traditional carriers (Jones 2005: 151). This differential was a considerable source of tension and difficulty when easyJet took over the airline GO in August, 2002, with calls for strike action occurring at the time (Jones 2005:91). In the latter part of this paper we turn to look at these sorts of human resources and employment related matters in more detail. The Basic Business Model and the Bottom Line Earlier we made reference to the impressive performance figures of easyJet for the year to September 2006. This has not been an isolated success story. For example, easyJet pre-tax profit figures rose from  £5.9 million in 1998 to  £40 million in 2001, and now to the current all time high of  £129 million. At least one major study has attributed this success to easyJet sticking very closely to the original features of the low-cost model outlined in Figure 2. In essence this research (Alamdari and Fagan 2005), which involved 10 low-cost carriers in Europe and the USA, reported that, firstly, easyJet adhered very closely (74% compatible) to the original model, a figure only exceeded by that for Ryanair (85%) (Alamdari and Fagan 2005: 388). Moreover their second key result was that the closer one adhered to this model, the higher was profitability. The success of easyJet (and Ryanair) in this regard has been noted in other studies. For instance, the McKinsey Quarterly (2005) reported that easyJet and Ryanair account for about 50 percent of seat capacity in Europe’s low-cost market, with between 2004 and 2006 only easyJet (8.9%) and Ryanair (29.4%) having positive average operation margins. Although both easyJet and Ryanair are always hailed as the two financial success stories of the European low-cost sector, with both adhering most closely to the original low-cost model (Figure 2), it is important to recognise important differences between them. For example, easyJet’s unit costs are reported to be double those of Ryanair, with the former break-even point (76% of capacity) being higher than that of Ryanair (63%) (McKinsey Quarterly 2005). Other differences between the two, which have been noted, are that easyJet has more head –to-head competition with the conventional carriers because it uses more established airports than Ryanair (Jones 2005: 211). Much of the bottom line success of easyJet has been attributed to its yield management system which seeks to extract the maximum revenue per flight (Jones 2005: 212). It is these sorts of sentiments which underpin their micro-type targets. For example, the aim is to grow the current profit per seat figure of some  £2.50 to  £5 by the end of 2008. Are there Signs of Changes in easyJet’s Business Strategy? Current profits are good and the emphasis on yield measurement and tough targets will still remain. This said, there are signs of some actual or proposed changes in the business model. These have arisen because of the rise of new low-cost competition, changes in the conventional carriers (limited frills), and external pressures such as oil price rise. The changes are designed to address some concerns of existing customer segments and to attract new customers. For example, in April 2003 easyJet launched a dedicated website for business travel arrangements which allows corporate customers to access monthly management information so that they can track travel spend. In June 2005 it introduced easyJet lounges, which passengers had to pay for, but which were viewed as attractive to business travellers. Figures released in The Times (11th November, 2006) suggest that they have been relatively successful in capturing the business market: Stansted and Luton (easyJet’s London bases) have the highest proportion of frequent flyers among major airports at over 50 percent as compared to 39 percent of passengers at Heathrow. Measures have also been taken in recent years to address customer concerns regarding the lack of clarity of the full fare until the last stage of booking, through an upgraded software system. A key question remains; can easyJet consistently capture the business traveller sector, with their considerable expectations of ‘added extras’ while remaining true to their winning formula of cost leadership? Only time will tell. References Alamdari, F. and Fagan, S. (2005) Impact of the adherence to the original low-cost model on profitability of low-cost airlines, Transport Reviews 25, 3: 377-392. Calder, S. (2006) No Frills. London: Virgin Books. Financial Times (2006) 15th November, p24. Jones, L. (2005) easyJet, the Story of Britain’s Biggest Low-Cost Airline. London: Aurum. McKinsey Quarterly (2005) August edition. Pate, J. and Beaumont, P. (2006) The European low-cost airline industry: the interplay of business strategy and human resources, European Management Journal 24, 5: 322-329. Rae, D. (2001) easyJet: a case of entrepreneurial management, Strategic Change 10, 6: 325-336. Sull, D. (1999) easyJet’s $500 Million Gamble, European Management Journal 17, 1: 20-38. The Times (2006), 11th and 15th November. View as multi-pages

Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy Essay

â€Å"Balanced Scorecard† is the tool for motivating and measuring business unit performance with four perspectives – financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth. These days, it becomes so complicated and complex to navigate competitive environment, thus some people figured out that balanced scorecard could be used as the tool for linking multiple strategies. It contains both financial and non-financial measures. It was revealed that the measure should include both outcome measures and the performance drivers of those outcomes. It turns out that there are strategic measures for the four perspectives each. First of all, Financial performance measures define the long-run objectives of the business unit. Business units can be categorized into three different stages simply – rapid growth, sustain, and harvest. During rapid growth stage, businesses make rational amount of investments to develop and enhance new products and services. During sustain stage, they still attract investment and reinvestment, furthermore they are demanded to earn magnificent returns on their invested capital. During harvest stage, they only focus on maximizing cash flow back to the corporation rather than investment. Moreover, there are financial themes that can be linked to the strategies – revenue growth and mix, cost reduction/productivity improvement, and asset utilization/investment strategy. Secondly, in the Customer perspective, managers identify the customer and market segments. It includes customer satisfaction, customer retention, new customer acquisition, customer profitability, and market and account share in targeted segments. Customer retention defines that retaining existing customers in the segment is the way for maintaining or increasing market share in targeted segments. Customer acquisition identifies acquiring new customers as the way. Customer satisfaction is the matter of meeting customers’ needs and it is the measurement of the feedback. Customer profitability means that businesses want to measure not only the satisfaction of the customer, but also the profitability that customers can evoke. Thirdly, in Internal Business Process perspective, executives identify the critical internal processes in which the organization must excel. It enables business unit to deliver on the value propositions of customers in targeted market segments, and to satisfy shareholder expectations of excellent financial returns. On the other hand, it means there are the process that customer need turned into customer need satisfaction through innovation cycle, operations cycle, and post-sale service cycle. Fourthly, in Learning & Growth perspective, it identifies the infra-structure that the organization has to build to create long-term growth and improvement. It comes from three sources that people, systems, and organizational procedures. As I mentioned above, it has been the trend to link and mix multiple scorecard measures into a single strategy. The multiple measures on a properly constructed balanced scorecard should consist of a linked series of objectives and measures that are both consistent and mutually reinforcing. The scorecard should incorporate the complex set of cause-and-effect relationships, outcomes & performance drivers and linked to financial. Cause and effect relationships can be expressed by a sequence of if-then statements and pervade all four perspectives of balanced scoreboard. It can be described as the process â€Å"employee skills(learning & growth)→process quality/process cycle time(internal) →on-time delivery→customer loyalty(customer) →ROCE(financial)†. Outcomes and performance drivers reflect the common goals of many strategies, as well as similar structures across industries and companies. Therefore, a good balanced scoreboard should have a mix of core outcome measures and performance drivers, that’s why businesses care both outcomes and performance drivers. Even though the strategy should have to emphasize both financial and non-financial measures, in the sense of improving business unit performance, we have to consider financial measures little bit more. Ultimately, causal paths from all the measures on a scorecard should be linked to financial objectives. In conclusion, the balanced scorecard is more than a collection of financial and non-financial measurements. It is the translation of the business unit’s strategy into a linked set of measures that identify both the long-term strategic objectives, as well as the mechanisms for achieving and obtaining feedback on those objectives. This thesis could be applied on the Metro Bank case and National Insurance Company case.

Arranged Marriages

Arranged marriages: the issues that arise from arranged marriages Arranged marriages. It has been a controversial topic throughout time but many are not aware of the issues that can arise from them, but also the advantages that arranged marriages can bring. Firstly, I would like to stress that many people do not actually understand the difference between forced marriages and arranged marriages, but they are in fact, two very different things. A forced marriage is when (usually) a girl is forced to marry another man, even if she does not want to, and often with a man she has not met with before.An arranged marriage is when a marriage partner is decided many years before the actual marriage, but often the pair have met several times before and most girls are allowed to ‘pick’ their partner. In this sense, arranged marriages are a lot more liberal than forced marriage, and we are going to be focusing on these today. According to statistics, the average percentage of arrange d marriages in the UK is around 5%, which is actually a large number if you think about it, but why?Many people actually think arranged marriages are more successful than regular marriages- as everything is carefully planned out before hand, the relationship is supposed to be ‘more stable’. Divorce rates within arranged marriages are also many times lower than regular marriages. One particular news article suggests this is the case because of the many factors that the parents have considered, for example, life goals, common interests, etc. Because the relationship is not fully fuelled by love and passion, arranged marriage relationships are often more stable, and often better long-term.Many parents (not necessarily in the UK) feel that arranged marriages are ‘safer’, as the parents know the partner better, and this helps to be able to choose the most compatible partner for their child. Observing these many benefits, personally I think that this practice sho uld be allowed to continue in the 21st century. The evidence is clear that arranged marriages do not actually all result to domestic violence, no chemistry or love between the husband and wife, etc. but actually, can be a safer and more logical choice to marriage than regular marriages.Although this path is not definitely for everyone, I think arranged marriages will definitely work for others, and actually result in lower divorce rates, etc. But what exactly are the disadvantages and advantages of arranged marriages? As mentioned before, the advantages of arranged marriages include a more stable relationship (leading to lower divorce rates), the risk of incompatible relationships are completely reduced, and the parents on either side both know each spouse better, which has many benefits.Although there are many advantages, there are also a few disadvantages, actually including incompatibility! Because the marriage is not necessarily a love marriage, it is easy to lack the love that might keep a marriage going! Also, many partners within an arranged marriage may actually be more tempted to cheat on their spouses, as there is no love or chemistry within the marriage! An arranged marriage may also mean more interference from the family of the partner, which could cause discomfort and reluctance.Also, because the general public do not have a very good opinion about arranged marriages, this could cause harm and low-self confidence of the person, as they could be looked down upon, and demoralised, through no fault of their own. Now we have all the advantages and disadvantages of arranged marriages, it is time to find out the actual opinions and thoughts of someone who is in an arranged marriage. For this purpose, we have interviewed someone who is actually in an arranged marriage, Aishwarya Dutta, 45, and who had an arranged marriage in the UK.US: So you have had an arranged marriage? AD: yes, I have in fact been married, by an arranged marriage. US: were you quite against the idea at first? AD: well, I was actually not too enthusiastic about the idea at first, but gradually, I realised that arranged marriages were just more logical and simple- you know the person that you are going to stay with for the rest of your life, you know their parents, and I thought it would be a lot more comfortable for me than if I had a normal marriage? US: what do you think about your relationship?AD: I think our relationship is pretty sturdy, it is certainly not all about love and passion, but that does not mean we are in a loveless relationship! I feel very comfortable with my husband, and I certainly have known him now, for a very long time. I think an arranged marriage certainly has many long-term benefits, such as a more stable relationship, and a relationship that is a lot more secure. Now that we know the feelings of someone who is actually in an arranged marriage, it is time for someone who is anticipating an arranged marriage to be interviewed.We are goi ng to interview Heera Ahuja, 21 and shortly married in 3 months. US: hello Heera, so what age did you find out you were going to have an arranged marriage? HA: so I find out I was going to have an arrange marriage at 18, as I was leaving high school. US: what were your initial thoughts when you found out you were going to have an arranged marriage? HA: Honestly, when I first found out I was going to have an arranged marriage, I was not exactly very excited.I felt a little shocked, and I felt disappointed, almost, because I had always imagined marrying the love of my life, instead of someone who I already know, and don’t exactly have feelings for. US: have your thoughts changed in any way since then? HA: yes, they have definitely changed. I no longer feel unhappy about this marriage, I think there will be some definite long-term benefits, although I don’t feel the most excited for my marriage, I have no idea what it will be like yet, so I will just have to wait and see! Arranged marriages in the UK seem a lot more liberal and relaxed, but we will have a look at the arranged marriages around the world, and how they differ. Firstly in India, most people follow the arranged marriage system, because they believe it protects the family, social status, etc. Although child marriages used to be common, they are now abolished by law. Also, up until the 1950s, arranged marriages were the norm in most Asian countries, however, during the recent 40 years, they have rapidly decreased and love-marriages have increased.There are many arranged marriages within Jewish religions, Islamic religions, etc. and most involve meeting the partner beforehand, meetings with potential partners, etc. These marriages are often actually successful, and have many happy endings. Overall, I think arranged marriages are not necessary a bad thing. Personally, I prefer the idea of love-marriage just because it seems more traditional and right for me, but I do think there are many adva ntages to arranged marriages that were mentioned before. I am not against arranged marriages, but not necessarily in favour of it. Arranged Marriages Arranged marriages: the issues that arise from arranged marriages Arranged marriages. It has been a controversial topic throughout time but many are not aware of the issues that can arise from them, but also the advantages that arranged marriages can bring. Firstly, I would like to stress that many people do not actually understand the difference between forced marriages and arranged marriages, but they are in fact, two very different things. A forced marriage is when (usually) a girl is forced to marry another man, even if she does not want to, and often with a man she has not met with before.An arranged marriage is when a marriage partner is decided many years before the actual marriage, but often the pair have met several times before and most girls are allowed to ‘pick’ their partner. In this sense, arranged marriages are a lot more liberal than forced marriage, and we are going to be focusing on these today. According to statistics, the average percentage of arrange d marriages in the UK is around 5%, which is actually a large number if you think about it, but why?Many people actually think arranged marriages are more successful than regular marriages- as everything is carefully planned out before hand, the relationship is supposed to be ‘more stable’. Divorce rates within arranged marriages are also many times lower than regular marriages. One particular news article suggests this is the case because of the many factors that the parents have considered, for example, life goals, common interests, etc. Because the relationship is not fully fuelled by love and passion, arranged marriage relationships are often more stable, and often better long-term.Many parents (not necessarily in the UK) feel that arranged marriages are ‘safer’, as the parents know the partner better, and this helps to be able to choose the most compatible partner for their child. Observing these many benefits, personally I think that this practice sho uld be allowed to continue in the 21st century. The evidence is clear that arranged marriages do not actually all result to domestic violence, no chemistry or love between the husband and wife, etc. but actually, can be a safer and more logical choice to marriage than regular marriages.Although this path is not definitely for everyone, I think arranged marriages will definitely work for others, and actually result in lower divorce rates, etc. But what exactly are the disadvantages and advantages of arranged marriages? As mentioned before, the advantages of arranged marriages include a more stable relationship (leading to lower divorce rates), the risk of incompatible relationships are completely reduced, and the parents on either side both know each spouse better, which has many benefits.Although there are many advantages, there are also a few disadvantages, actually including incompatibility! Because the marriage is not necessarily a love marriage, it is easy to lack the love that might keep a marriage going! Also, many partners within an arranged marriage may actually be more tempted to cheat on their spouses, as there is no love or chemistry within the marriage! An arranged marriage may also mean more interference from the family of the partner, which could cause discomfort and reluctance.Also, because the general public do not have a very good opinion about arranged marriages, this could cause harm and low-self confidence of the person, as they could be looked down upon, and demoralised, through no fault of their own. Now we have all the advantages and disadvantages of arranged marriages, it is time to find out the actual opinions and thoughts of someone who is in an arranged marriage. For this purpose, we have interviewed someone who is actually in an arranged marriage, Aishwarya Dutta, 45, and who had an arranged marriage in the UK.US: So you have had an arranged marriage? AD: yes, I have in fact been married, by an arranged marriage. US: were you quite against the idea at first? AD: well, I was actually not too enthusiastic about the idea at first, but gradually, I realised that arranged marriages were just more logical and simple- you know the person that you are going to stay with for the rest of your life, you know their parents, and I thought it would be a lot more comfortable for me than if I had a normal marriage? US: what do you think about your relationship?AD: I think our relationship is pretty sturdy, it is certainly not all about love and passion, but that does not mean we are in a loveless relationship! I feel very comfortable with my husband, and I certainly have known him now, for a very long time. I think an arranged marriage certainly has many long-term benefits, such as a more stable relationship, and a relationship that is a lot more secure. Now that we know the feelings of someone who is actually in an arranged marriage, it is time for someone who is anticipating an arranged marriage to be interviewed.We are goi ng to interview Heera Ahuja, 21 and shortly married in 3 months. US: hello Heera, so what age did you find out you were going to have an arranged marriage? HA: so I find out I was going to have an arrange marriage at 18, as I was leaving high school. US: what were your initial thoughts when you found out you were going to have an arranged marriage? HA: Honestly, when I first found out I was going to have an arranged marriage, I was not exactly very excited.I felt a little shocked, and I felt disappointed, almost, because I had always imagined marrying the love of my life, instead of someone who I already know, and don’t exactly have feelings for. US: have your thoughts changed in any way since then? HA: yes, they have definitely changed. I no longer feel unhappy about this marriage, I think there will be some definite long-term benefits, although I don’t feel the most excited for my marriage, I have no idea what it will be like yet, so I will just have to wait and see! Arranged marriages in the UK seem a lot more liberal and relaxed, but we will have a look at the arranged marriages around the world, and how they differ. Firstly in India, most people follow the arranged marriage system, because they believe it protects the family, social status, etc. Although child marriages used to be common, they are now abolished by law. Also, up until the 1950s, arranged marriages were the norm in most Asian countries, however, during the recent 40 years, they have rapidly decreased and love-marriages have increased.There are many arranged marriages within Jewish religions, Islamic religions, etc. and most involve meeting the partner beforehand, meetings with potential partners, etc. These marriages are often actually successful, and have many happy endings. Overall, I think arranged marriages are not necessary a bad thing. Personally, I prefer the idea of love-marriage just because it seems more traditional and right for me, but I do think there are many adva ntages to arranged marriages that were mentioned before. I am not against arranged marriages, but not necessarily in favour of it.

Impacts of tourism in Thailand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Impacts of tourism in Thailand - Essay Example Most of Southeast Asian countries have been promoting tourism as a major component of their development strategies for a few decades. The efforts are supported by beliefs that tourism generates considerable sources of employment for locals; economic growth; income distribution; foreign exchange earnings; and export receipts. Just like Thai trademark rice export, tourism has become a key contributor to the Thai economy. Importance of tourism for Thai economy can be accessed with the help of data provided by national accounts data and Thailand’s Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) (Wattanakuljarus, 2005, p.3). Wattanakuljarus (2005) states that, â€Å"On average during 1998-2005, Thai tourism directly and indirectly accounts for 13 % of GDP (665 billion baht), 10 % of employment (3 million jobs), 13 % of exports (417 billion baht), 12 % investment (117 billion baht) and 3%of government budget (13 billion baht)† (p.3).Such huge incorporation of tourism related activities cert ainly has impact on Thai society in general and some areas in particular. This paper studies the impact of tourism on Thai economy, environment, agriculture, society, culture, and tradition. The information used throughout the paper is generalisable. All of the information used is taken from authentic sources, such as, journals, academic reports, and books. Most of the data is obtained from libraries, either local or digital. Impacts of Tourism in Thailand Thailand has long pursued its goal of tourism related marketing strategy. The strategy is to boost economy, encourage low, medium, and high cost tourism in all the potential regions of the country. From â€Å"Land of Smiles† promotion slogan and other extensive promotional strategies, Thailand has become the more popular and south-after tourist destination from all over the world (Pfotenhauer and Mingsarn, 1994, p.23).Tourist visit Thailand for variety of reasons, the reasons may not be mutually exclusive because they often combine them when planning for the visit. Some of the most common types of tourism in Thailand include: adventure tourism, cultural tourism, disaster tourism, drug tourism, Eco-tourism, family tourism, food tourism, sex tourism, medical tourism, and sports tourism. Adventure Tourism Traditionally, adventure tourists explore Thailand in search of adventure by climbing mountains; trekking for longer time periods; kayaking; and visiting off-beat places far from conventional areas to visit. A comparatively mild form of adventure tourism is â€Å"soft adventure tourism† that caters people who want to combine some rough experiences but lesser than regular adventure tourists. They prefer to combine visits to important cities and beautiful beaches. Bird watching is also a kind of adventure tourism (Berger, 2007, p.11). Cultural Tourism Cultural tourists are keen to investigate and get information about the cultures, importance, and history of the places they visit. They usually focus on famous cathedrals; historical museum; symphony halls; opera houses; and similar attractions (Berger, 2007, p.11). Disaster Tourism Some tourists prefer visiting the places of disaster of a kind or another. They observe places for knowing what happened; how it affected people and environment there; and how people there are coping with the disaster. They â€Å"participate in history† by experiencing such places throu gh visit. For instance, after December 2004’ tsunami, some tourists packed bags for visiting affected places (Berger, 2007, pp.11-12). Drug Tourism The tourists visit places where they can access drugs easily and without any restriction. They visit Thailand because they can’

Advertising and Globalization in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Advertising and Globalization in India - Essay Example This paper illustrates that every country or region presents unique opportunities and has strategic challenges to multinational businesses about the most effective advertising strategy. Advertising campaigns that work best in a country in Asia such as India may not necessarily have a  similar impact to that in the west such as the U.K. or the U.S. Furthermore, social, economic, and legal factors have a central role as determinant factors of advertisement. This concept forms the basis of a study conducted by Ciochetto in India. Ciochetto investigated the dynamics of advertising development in India in the wake of globalization trend and expanding operations of multinational companies and business. The study focuses on the development of television and satellite advertisement in India as used by multinational companies and businesses. Advertising in contemporary India has experienced notable advancements prompted by trends that emanate from the influence of globalization. Ciochetto e xplores contemporary trends in advertising as related to globalization, with reference to India. It is noteworthy that India has experienced massive developments in the advertising sector since the 1990s. Among the great developments is the expansion in satellite and television as the greatest media of advertising in India. Tabassum discusses the positive implications of the advent of satellite technology to globalization in India. Among the key importance highlighted are the advancements in advertisements through high technology. The advertising sector is subject to notable improvements in the use of technology. Ciochetto outlines the reforms in international advertising in India under the current trends of globalization. Advertising involves diverse aspects of idea presentation, mainly to the target market. Ciochetto also addresses the influence of reforms in the Indian society and culture. The study outlines various environmental factors that affect international advertising in I ndia. The factors include the economy and culture. In addition, the legal and political systems are also considerable factors that influence international advertising in India.

How have existing fiscal mechanisms (rules and practices) tried to Essay

How have existing fiscal mechanisms (rules and practices) tried to overcome or alleviate a "tragedy of the commons" dilemma - Essay Example Practically, though, it is not easy to ascertain whether the most favorable size of government has been achieved. Although, the provision of services and public goods can promote growth, revenue-raising mechanisms and inefficient provision of services and goods can impede growth (Schick 1998, p18). Evidence from Central Asia and Europe lists factors such as fiscal consolidation and budget deficits, size of government, quality governance, and composition of taxes and expenditure as some factors that affect fiscal growth. In this regard, public fiscal systems play a huge role in economic growth of any country. Enacting a stable fiscal position need a sustainable fiscal consolidation. In most cases, these have to be recurrent. Indeed, they are largely considered as a basic characteristic of the evolution of the market. Such consolidations are undertaken across Central Asia and Europe, albeit with relative degrees of success (Berthà ©lemy & Varoudakis 1996, p72). Fiscal growth for any country would require successful financial adjustment. On the other hand, unsustainable financial consolidation is counterproductive and can sometimes discourage investor confidence since they fail to establish sound financial position for the government (Scartascini 2004, P37). Sustainable government adjustments are required to create long-lasting financial space for expenses that propagate growth. Indeed, evidence from financial bodies such as the Organization of Economic Co-operation and development suggest that make-up of financial adjustment is paramount for fiscal sustainability (Berthà ©lemy & Varoudakis 1996, p12). Consolidations, which heavily rely on, tax cuts and increases in public ventures have been unsustainable while consolidations with structural reforms in their public expenditure reforms have lasting effects and financial growth by extension. Perhaps this is

Hypertension Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hypertension - Research Paper Example Alternatively, there are anti-hypertensive’s drugs to normalize blood pressure levels. It’s very important for individuals to go for a regular medical check up to avoid damage of blood vessels by hypertension. Hypertension Introduction Hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure has affected a majority of individuals across the globe. It is the principal cause of kidney and cardiovascular diseases and in combination with diabetes; it has been associated with more than half of all deaths in the world (Hypertension often ignored, 1997). Despite its severity and prevalence, if left untreated, high blood pressure is a disease that is extremely unpredictable. Of those suffering hypertension, it is only seventy percent (70%) who are aware of their condition. Accordingly, 59% seeks treatment and 34% have been perceived to have the condition under some control. The major problem being experienced is that, hypertension’s specific linking factors to heart and kid ney diseases are not fully discovered. Hypertension has no clearly defined symptoms, which makes many people to continue leading risky lifestyles even after developing the condition. It can only be detected when it has damaged the blood vessels to the extent of producing devastating symptoms. For this reason, individuals are advised to check their blood pressure regularly. Life style changes with interventional approaches such as exercise, salt restriction, relaxation and the utilization of pharmaceutical products will help in increasing life expectancy of those individuals affected with the condition (Hansson, 1996). These interventions are significant as they help in dilating the artery to decrease blood pressure. The purpose of this paper is to document current statistics of individuals affected with the condition, document how different body systems are affected by the condition and illustrate any treatment/ medications available for dealing with the condition. Statistics of Ind ividuals Affected With Hypertension According to the world Health Statistic (2012), there is a growing concern across the globe on the spread of communicable diseases. This report notes that one in three grownups in the world views hypertension as the principle cause of deaths resulting from heart failure or stroke. Widespread treatment and diagnosis with low cost medication in high-income countries have resulted to the reduction of mean high blood pressure across populations. Furthermore, this has significantly reduced the number of deaths as a result of heart diseases. However, in Africa, more than forty percent (40%) of adults in numerous countries are approximated to have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. A majority of these individuals remain undiagnosed even though the condition can be treated with low-cost medications. Given the fact that the average prevalence of hypertension in the world is approximately 10%, about one third of pacific Island countries population has been diagnosed with this condition. Left untreated, hypertension can damage the body severely and result in certain death. In the United States, about 76.4 million people aged twenty and above suffer from hypertension. According to the High Blood Pressure 2012 Statistical Fact Sheet, high blood pressure is the principal cause of death among the American populace. For instance, in 2008, 61,005 Americans died from the disease. As from 1998-2008, individuals

Internship course (report) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Internship course (report) - Essay Example I learnt about the Murabaha where the bank sells an asset at a pre agreed cost and profit after purchasing an item either will full payment or on a deferred basis. The bank benefits from the profit earned and the seller of the property also benefits since the selling takes place in a shorter time. Another product of the bank is the good Murabaha and the vehicle Murabaha whereby the bank takes responsibility of selling goods or a vehicle at an agreed cost with the seller who is a client of the bank. Immediately after the sale takes place, the bank deducts their agreed profit% and gives the rest amount to the seller(Hammonds, 2007). I learnt about the letter of credit (L/C) which is a method of payment whereby the two parties have ample protection. The bank writes to an exporter on behalf of an importer who is their client and it verifies and guarantees payment. The bank also offers financial protection to its customers through construction surety bonds such as bid bonds and performance bonds. Through these finical protections, the client of the bank is able to evaluate a construction company. Surety and bid bonds have a slight difference but in both, the construction company agrees to pay the bank a certain amount which the client is given in case the contractor fails to complete the project. The bank also offers payment guarantee as a service to their customers and return they charge a pre-agreed % on the recovered debt. The client of the bank, who in such a case is the person demanding payment, approaches the bank and provides details of the debt agreement with the debtor and leaves the task of demanding the payment to the bank. The bank also offers a service called Mudaraba which is basically an agreement between the bank and their client. In this service, the bank provides finance for a certain project which is proposed by the client who in turn provides the technical knowhow of carrying out the venture. The venture must be

Large Female Nude by Pablo Picasso Research Paper

Large Female Nude by Pablo Picasso - Research Paper Example The paper "Large Female Nude by Pablo Picasso" analyzes one of the most important artworks of the cubist Pablo Picasso. The picture this artwork shows is the outline of an overweight woman. The outline is filled with smaller lines that follow the lines of her muscles except in the area of her stomach. In this area, the lines move horizontal across her middle. The way these lines are drawn makes it look like the woman is moving and add energy to the art. The lines on the right side of the painting are light-colored and the lines on the left side of the painting are darker which makes the woman seem like she is not so flat, because the light is shading her. It looks like the woman is dancing because she has her hands held up on top of her head and one leg is positioned behind her with the knee bent. The other leg is straight, but it looks like it is facing me because the toes are in front. This makes me think I can see her from the front and from the side at the same time. The woman's face is turned toward the darker side of the painting and she has long, dark hair that falls over her shoulder and between her breasts. One of her breasts is straight toward me but the other is seen from the side but the one that is straight toward me is not on the side with the leg that is straight toward me. There is a light area of brown around the body of the woman, but it is wider along her dark side. This same solid brown color fills the area between her legs and the space between her face and her dark arm. There is a floor under her feet which is a wavy light line, but the rest of the artwork space is black. This artwork is described as a reduction linocut, which means that it was made in a special way. Instead of painting like most of his work, Picasso cut the image into a block and then paint was put on the block and a piece of paper was put on top of that and rubbed until the design moved onto the paper. To make this have more than one color, Picasso had to cut the block t o make the background brown color of the woman and print it. The black parts would be the part of the block that he cut away and the brown part that outlines the woman would be the parts that stayed. Then he would need to cut out more of the block to show more details of the woman like the lighter color lines. If you look carefully, you can see that some of these lines go over the darker brown lines which means that they were printed after the darker lines. It is called reduction linocut because the artist has to keep reducing, or cutting away, the block in order to make the print. Even though these lines were already there in the darker brown, having to pull the block away in order to cut more of the lines away would have meant that it wouldn't be put in exactly the same place the next time when the lighter lines were being made. There is another tricky thing about this way of making art. Even though the woman is facing one way when I look at her, Picasso had to cut her like a mirr or image in order to make her look the direction he wanted her to look. One of the reasons artists might use this way of making art is that they can make more than one copy of an image quickly, but they can still limit the number of artworks they print. Once the block has been carved the second time, no more new prints can be made. The style of the artwork that Picasso uses for this woman is the primitive style, which was a style that he made popular. In his work, Picasso wanted to show emotions without

The Existence Of Computerized Databases Essay Example for Free

The Existence Of Computerized Databases Essay When should patient be advised of the existence of computerized databases containing medical information about the patient? On AMA the patient and physician should be advised about the existence of computerized data both before and information is store http://patient.ezinemark.com/data-collection-in-a-computer-7d2eae229a7f.html website below Data collection in a computer Computerized database collection is commonly known as collection of large amount of data in a computer. The information collected can be organized to enable expansion, updating and retrieving for different uses. The collection of this information is organized in such a way that it can be retrieved in pieces form the organized automated system. In the medical field, the information collected concerning patients, process of treatment and other medical activities that are happening in a given medical facility. 1. Should corrections be dated and time-stamped? Collections are any amendments done on any filed record. In any medical activity, the alteration of any filed procedure may cause severe consequences, therefore, any collection made should be dated and time stamped. This will help in understanding the procedure that was initially followed and the preferred procedure which in turn will even show the time and the date the amendments were done. The dating and stamping time is therefore required incase of any collections. 2. When should the patient be advised of the existence of computerized databases containing medical information about the patient? The patient should be informed of the existence of a computerized database containing their information as soon as possible.his will help the patient in making decision as to whether his information should be disclosed or should remain anonymous. Informing the patient of existence of computerized database will help in safe guarding the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Informing the patients about the existence of the system will avoid any conflict of interest between the patients and the medical practitioners in future. 3. When should the patient be notified of purging of archaic or inaccurate information? Purging[-0] is referred to as clearing of any unwanted information. When such information is noticed in the database, the patient and the medical practitioners should be notified before any action is taken. After their notification, the information should be replaced with accurate information and again they should be notified of the action taken. This will helps in safe guard the right of information in regard to their medical process. 4. When should the computerized medical database be online to the computer terminal? Online information is the information that can accessed through internet regardless of location and the necessity of information to the reader. The patient’s information should only be available online with the consent of the patient and full information has been fully credited by the patient and the concerned physicians. The information should be clear and should not violate any right. This will help in conveying any intended information to any interested party. (Jaeho Barley 2003) 5. When the computer service bureau destroys or erases records, should the erasure be verified by the bureau to the physician? Should the computer service bureau erase any stored record, the information deleted should be verified by the bureau to the physician. The patient and the physician have the right to know any little alteration on any record. This will help in knowing what information has been erased and what significance it has as far as patient’s medical process is concerned. Verification of the erased data will help in fixing or replacing the data with appropriate information. 6. Should individuals and organizations with access to the databases be identified to the patient? The patient has all the rights to know who have an access to his/her information and why. This will for the respect of the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality. The patient has the right to restrict or allow his/her information disclosed to the third party or a court order may all ow or restrict if the patient is not in a position to act. The respect of personal information should be practiced and thus only the involved party has the authority over the information. 7. Does the AMA ethics opinion mention encryption as a technique for security? The computerized data systems have a compromising information security. The AMA opinion is that â€Å"there should be controlled access to the computerized database via security procedures such as encoding, passwords, and other user identification including scan able badges†. Confidentiality agreements should be made with other health-care professionals whom the office networks with. Encryption is recommended if the network entails public channels of communication such as radio waves, telephone wires, and microwaves. This will increase the chances of information confidentiality. (Jerome, 2001), 8. What does the ethics opinion say about disclosure by recipients of authorized data to third parties? According to the ethics opinion, disclosure of confidential medical information from the data base should be limited to the particular purpose for which the information is demanded. Nevertheless, authorized release of medical information to them does not warrant their further disclosure of the data to other individuals or organizations, or consequent use of the data for other reasons. Any person or organization found guilt of this offence; it may be obscured from accessing any further information and could be charged in court for violation of patient’s right to privacy. Reference: Jaeho, L. Barley, M. (2003),Intelligent Agents and Multi-agent Systems: 6th Pacific Rim International Workshop on Multi-Agents, PRIMA, Seoul, Korea, Jerome, C. (2001), Electronic Medical Records: A Guide for Clinicians and Administrators. American College of PhysiciansAmerican Society of Internal Medicine. ACP Press, [-0] http://ezinemark.com/goto.php?url=http://www.uktopessays.com

Impacts Of Food Miles On Climate Change

Impacts Of Food Miles On Climate Change Todays food is well travelled. A pack of green beans in an European supermarket may have journeyed 6000 miles, or 60. While food miles loom large in our carbon-aware times, transporting it counts for less than you might think. This paper investigates the effectiveness of initiatives to reduce the number of food miles by their impact on climate change. The paper comes to the conclusion that food miles, the distance that food has travelled from farm to fork, indeed reduces the amount of greenhouse gas released. However, this does not imply that less food miles are a more sustainable way of producing. Moreover, the concept might be a justification for protectionist purposes and has significant negative side effects. Introduction Climate change is one of the greatest environmental threats of our time. The cause of climate change is mainly the emission of greenhouse gas as a result of human activity, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. A significant reduction of greenhouse gas emission is needed in order to the mitigate the effects on the climate. To accomplish this, two international treaties have been adopted: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The countries that ratified the Kyoto protocol committed to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gas by a given percent compared to their emission level in 1990 (Pinkse and Kolk, 2009). To achieve this, the EU has set the following targets: reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, improve energy efficiency by 20%, raise the share of renewable energies to 20% and raise the share of bio-fuels in road transport to 10%. These targets should all be achieved by the year 2020 (Confederation of Food and Drink Industries, 2008). Many industries have taken activities to cut energy use and emissions, in particular carbon dioxide (CO2), due to stricter legislative requirements and rising energy prices. Also the food industry is actively taking part in reducing energy and emissions, especially carbon dioxide. Example of such activities are the investment in energy efficient technologies, by voluntarily cutting energy use and even by participating in national energy efficiency schemes (Confederation of Food and Drink Industries, 2008). In household consumption, food has one of the highest impact on the environment. According to a study on the environmental impact of products, food and drinks cause 20 to 30% of the environmental impacts of private consumption (Tukker et al., 2006). In this study the food production and distribution chain has been fully analyzed and identifies products that are most greenhouse gas intensive. According to this study, meat, dairy, fats and oils are the most greenhouse gas intensive products. The estimated meats global warming potential ranges from about 4 to 12% of all products studied across the EU. Milk and dairy products are responsible for 2 to 4%, f ruits and vegetables for approximately 2%. The food chain consists of many different stages with many different players, like farmers, suppliers, transport companies, producers, retailers, consumers and waste management companies. At all stages of foods product life cycle there are activities that may have an impact on climate change. These include farming, manufacturing, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, consumption and disposal (Carlsson-Kanyama et al., 1997). It is estimated that the food industry accounts for about 1.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Within the whole food chain, agriculture accounts for 49% of greenhouse gas emissions, followed by the consumption (18%) and manufacturing (11%) (Confederation of Food and Drink Industry, 2008). Transportation is also an important contributor to greenhouse gas emission, because of the consumption of fuel and energy. Transport is estimated to account for 21 % of the greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, but it is unclear how much of these emissions sh ould be allocated specifically to food transportation (Confederation of Food and Drink Industry, 2008). Other impact on climate change in food production also depends on other factors, like the agricultural soil, the countrys climate, the intensity of use of fertilizers and chemicals, and the amount of energy and fuels used at different stages of the distribution chain. It is essential to take all these factors into account when estimating the impact of food products on climate change. However, this is not always possible or feasible, because of the complexity of the supply chain and the lack of available data. Food Miles Food miles, which accounts for the distance products have been travelling to reach the end consumer, has increased awareness recently. Nowadays many food products travel long distances before their final consumption. In the USA, for example, the food for one typical meal has travelled more than 2000 kilometers. And, if that meal contains any off-season fruit or vegetable the total distance is much more (Oxfam, 2009). It is commonly for food to be transported great distances to be packaged and processed, and then sent back in order to be sold near the place where it was produced. An example of this kind of practice is the shrimp industry in the Netherlands. There are several factors that have led to the increase in the distances food travels. These include: trade liberalization, sourcing from around the world, geographical centralization to achieve economies of scale, increased market share of retailers located out of the town of consumers, and finally, lower transportation costs of air freight, which relatively cheap compared to some other supply chain costs (Smith et al, 2005). As a result of the miles that food makes, emissions like CO2 are increasingly released, which contribute to climate change. The term food miles was introduced by the British non-governmental organization Sustainable Agriculture, Food and the Environment (SAFE) in 1994. They were the first to address the danger of long distances in food transportation. The concept implies that the lower the food miles, the less impact a product has on climate change. Therefore, consumers should be encouraged to buy locally produced food. Some retailers in Europe and North Americ a started promoting food miles initiative in order to address the problem of the long distances that food travels. These initiatives are often focused on promoting localism or regionalism in food sourcing. A few examples of these kind of initiatives will be discussed later. Food Miles Calculation Complexity In order to calculate the distance that food has travelled, the commonly used formula is the Weighted Average Source Distance. This formula combines information of the distances from production to point of sale (kilometers) and the amount of food product transported (Carlsson-Kanyama, 1997). The formula for the Weighted Average Source Distance is: ÃŽÂ £ (m(k) x d(k)) / ÃŽÂ £ m(k). Where k stand for the different location points of the production, m stand for the weight from each point of production, and d stand for distance from each point of production or sale. Although this formula looks quite simple, the application is rather difficult, because many food consist of multiple ingredients. Due to a lack of precise data about the exact distance of all ingredients, the calculation is often based on approximations. The formula does also not take into account how the food is transported (by marine, road, rail or air). This transport mode is important, because different transport mo des have different emissions per product unit. Drivers for Food Miles Initiatives There are five main drivers for initiatives to reduce food miles: NGO pressure, government support, consumer demand, food miles as a marketing concept and the potential reduction of costs. In the early 1990s British NGOs addressed the social and the environmental impacts caused by food miles. The main argument to support the food miles concept was the concern for climate change. It was implied that the longer the distance food travels, the more energy is consumed, the more fossil fuels are burned, and consequently the more greenhouse gases are released. Therefore the solution proposed was to source food from as close as possible to where it will be finally consumed (Saunders et al., 2006). Other arguments used included the concern that food that could be produced in the home country was imported instead, which causes a loss of income to local production, and also the concern that workers overseas might not be treated fairly (Oxfam, 2009). Some NGOs were specifically against air freig hting of food because this kind of transport is very energy intensive and causes the most negative externalities to the environment. They also addressed multilateral international trade, this is when a product was imported in the UK while the national production of that same product was exported from the country. As the solution to these problems, the British NGOs promoted to consume food that was locally produced (Saunders et al, 2006). Many EU countries support the concept of local food production and local food consumption. For example, the Italian government forces local authorities to include organic and local food in the school catering. The EU itself, although not directly supporting the concept of food miles, provides funding to support local food initiatives to develop farmers markets and local food brands (Euractiv, 2011). Food miles is seen as a possibility to improve environmental sustainability, because the distance and transport mode are important elements within the food chain as well as being associated with pollution from vehicle emissions (Saunders et al, 2006). Also the consumer awareness has raised the concern about the impact that food transportation has both environmentally and socially. This awareness has increased due to a few major food issues of the last decade (e.g. mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease, Q-fever, swine flu and the discussion about producing genetically modified food). These events have raised consumer interest about the origin and traceability of their food. Nowadays, many consumers and restaurant owners have a strong preference for local food product. An important reason why they choose local foods is because consumers have more trust in locally produced food since they know where it comes from. The concept of food miles has become familiar topic to the public, which lead to the consumers believe that food travelling a shorter distance is better for the environment. Consumers also argue that local food is more fresh and even tastes better than when it travelled long distances (Pirog and Benjamin, 2003). As already mentioned, consumers are interested in having the opportunity to purchase products that was produced and processed within their own region. These customers might be specifically interested in buying low food miles products due to their perceived freshness and quality (Pirog and Benjamin, 2003). Food retailers and food producers anticipate on this demand and use the food miles concept as a marketing tool. These marketing messages support the consumers perception that locally produced food is better. Therefore the food miles concept helps to differentiate products from the competition. Because climate change aspects are increasingly being included in business strategies, the concept of food miles is sometimes used by producers in marketing strategies to differentiate products from the international competition. An example of this is Friesland Campina, who only source from Dutch dairy farmers, and this actively promotes in advertisement. Campina customers also have the opport unity to trace their milk via an unique code on the milk cartons. The last driver is the potential cost reduction of transportation. The costs for food transportation is relatively cheap compared to other supply chain costs. The cost of shipping containers around the world is relatively low and fuel for aviation is not taxed. Also, for a long time air freight and shipment were included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, but this has been included in the ETS from 2011 onwards (Euractiv, 2007). Airlines will therefore have to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or buy some sort of pollution credits on the carbon market. However, the EU recently initiated the first key measure to reduce the impact of air travel on global warming. The European Commission set an emissions cap for the aviation sector. Emissions trading for the aviation sector will start in January 2012 with a yearly allowance of 213 million tons of CO2 (Euractiv, 2011). This will increase the costs of transportation, including of food products. Therefore, it is interesting to integrat e the food miles concept in the procurement policy of a policy, because it might bring potential cost savings on airline freighting. Examples of Food Miles Initiatives As it was mentioned earlier, food quality, support of local community, food freshness and concern about the impact of transport on climate change have increased consumers interest in the origin and traceability of food, including a strong preference for locally produced food. Therefore, driven by consumer demand and with the objective to reduce food mileages of the products they distribute, big retailers made local sourcing initiatives a core aspect of their sustainable policies. The food miles concept can be used in two ways to reduce the environmental impact of food transport, the so called fewer miles and friendlier miles notions. Fewer miles means that companies and retailers are trying to reduce the overall distance that food travels. Such initiatives include local sourcing and greater capacity vehicles that carry more products in one trip. Friendlier miles are achieved when the environmental impact of the distance travelled is reduced by using less damaging forms of transport (such as rail or water compared to road or air) or by technological improvements in vehicle and fuel technologies to reduce the impact of any given mile (DEFRA Annual Report, 2007). The air-freighted labels, for consumers to identify products having been transported by plane, can be an example of friendlier miles initiatives as its final goal is to promote more sustainable transport modes. Ahold Ahold takes initiatives for fewer food miles. The supermarkets in the Ahold group are encouraged to source in a sustainable way and reduce their environmental footprint by buying local. In the United States, a product is considered local if it is sourced from the state or municipality in which the supermarkets operates. Many of the US stores operate in rich agricultural areas, so they are able to source many products locally. However, there are government regulations that restrict the use of the term local (especially when applied to dairy products), and this varies by state, region or municipality. In the United States, a local product program is executed during the local growing seasons. During 2010, Giant Food Stores and Martins Food Markets encouraged customers to follow the so called Local Route in stores that pointed the way to fresh products grown locally by farmers within their own communities. A second initiative is at Rimi Supermarket in Estonia. This initiative raises cons umer awareness about Estonian products by adding an Estonian flag label to products of Estonian origin. At some stores in Lithuania, local farm shops known as vikis have opened within the stores. Local farm produce in Rimi hypermarkets, where customers can buy high-quality products grown or produced by small- and medium-scale Lithuanian farmers. The shop-within-a-shop concept supports the idea of local sourcing and production, meeting the demands of customers and suppliers (Ahold, Corporate Responsibility Report 2010). Hellmanns Hellmanns has been taking another initiative to support fewer food miles. In 2009, the Unilever mayonnaise brand Hellmanns, campaigned for the consumption of local food in Canada. As part of its Eat real. Eat local campaign it was running a commercials that makes the Canadians wonder how far their food travels to get to their dinner tables. The campaign highlights the increasing tendency of food importation, and how this phenomenon influences the Canadian economy, the environment and communities. Food like cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers, which Canadians can grow in their own backyards, actually travel many miles and are hardly fresh by the time they are eaten. The message is mainly meant for Canadians, but could certainly be applied elsewhere. Although the climate change is mentioned the commercial, the main emphasis is on the threats to the domestic economy and not so much on the environmental consequences of food miles (Unilevers Sustainable Development Overview 2009). Heineken Heineken Netherlands recently took an initiative for friendlier miles. The beer and soda manufacturer, bottles more than 70% of its export beer in the brewery of Zoeterwoude. This means that large volumes of beer have to be transported via the highly populated roads of South Holland. In order to relieve the traffic around the brewery and to reduce the companys carbon footprint, it decided to build the a large container terminal along the channel. Since October 2010, Heineken transports all its export products by boat to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. By this initiative, Heineken transports three-quarters of its the total transport over water instead, which is taken off the road. The initiative is expected to reduce the number of trucks on the road with 100.000 per years, who account for 6 million kilometers. Heineken reduces its emission of carbon dioxide with 35% (Heineken Sustainability Report, 2010). Marks and Spencer To address the problem of climate change caused by air traffic and to meet the customers interest in knowing how food is transported, the UK retailer Marks Spencer, started an initiative under the concept of friendlier food miles. Since 2007, they label the food that has been imported by air. Marks Spencer prints a small airplane symbol and the words air freighted (see Figure 1) on over 150 different food products, including beans and strawberries. Marks and Spencer has created this label for all of their air-freighted food to enable customers to identify products which have been transported by air and to help the company to ensure that this form of transport is used only where local alternatives are not available (Marks and Spencer, How We Do Business Report, 2010). Figure 1. Air freighted label. Strengths and limitations In this section, the main strengths and limitations of the food miles initiatives will be presented. It can be said that one of the main advantages of initiatives promoting local food, is that they can lead to a reduction of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions because food does not travel as far as if imported from other countries. Buying local food also has the advantage of promoting local farming, which, in turn, supports the local economy and the creation of new employment opportunities. It is also believed that local food is fresher and tastes better than food shipped long distances. However, it is questionable to what extent food miles really guarantees that a product sourced locally generates lower greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore whether implementing the food miles concept actually results in a lower climate change impact. An important limitation for the food miles concept is that it might is used as a justification for protectionism of the local economy. Therefore, the food miles concept has been criticized (Wilson, 2007). Since the main principle of food miles is to promote fewer miles and the consumption of local products, this might create unofficial import barriers for some countries to export their products because they travel long distances. Another limitation that can be used against the food miles concept is the fact that a single indicator based on the total distance food is transported, cannot be an adequate indicator of sustainability (Smith et al, 2005). A study carried out Smith et al for DEFRA came to the conclusion that a range of factors have an effect on the overall impacts of food transport, not only the miles travelled. The concept of food miles is therefore inadequate, since it excludes the climate impact of other aspects than transportation (DEFRA, 2005). Food transportation represents just one of many components of the total environmental impact of food production and consumption. When assessing the environmental impact of food, it is essential to take into account all those different factors, including how food was produced, packed, stored, as well, how and how far it was transported. As an example, Smith et al. found out that importing tomatoes from Spain during the winter generates less CO2 emissions than growing tomatoes in greenhouses in the UK (Figure 2). Local produced tomatoes in the UK (high emissions, low miles): Imported tomatoes from Spain (lower emissions, more miles): Figure 2. Represenation of CO2 emission, UK vs. Spain (Smith et al, 2005). Another example is from the horticulture industry, which coulis similar to many food products. Williams (2007) carried out a comparative study of the carbon impact of growing 12,000 quality cut stem roses in Kenya and air-freighting them, with growing them in the Netherlands and driving them to the UK. The results of the study are presented in the table below. It shows that the production and following export and delivery of Kenyan roses generates less greenhouse gas than the production and delivery of Dutch roses. This is mainly due to the fact that Kenyan production uses substantially less primary and fossil energy than the Dutch production (Williams, 2007). The results are presented in table 1 below. Kenyan Dutch Climate impact 2400 kgCO2e (without altitude impact) and 6200 kgCO2e (with altitude impact). 37 000 kgCO2e. Most carbon intensive stages Air freight (73-89% of climate impact). Heating and lighting of greenhouses (99% of climate impact). Other key differences Geothermal source for energy use and almost double the yield per unit area. Fossil intensive heating and lighting, and just over half the Kenyan yield rate. Table 1: Comparison of impacts for the production of 12,000 roses from Kenyan and The Netherlands (Williams, 2007) Pirog and Benjamin (2003) also showed that food miles might only represent a small percentage of the total energy inputs in a products life cycle. According to their study, transportation accounts for 11% of the energy use within the total food system, this is considerably less than agricultural production (17.5%) and processing (28.1%) (see Figure 3). To quantify the climate impact of a product, it is essential to consider all greenhouse gas emissions through the whole life cycle of the product and not only the ones related to transportation, or just looking at the distance in miles or kilometers. Figure 3. Energy use in the US food system (Pirog and Benjamin, 2003) Another problem with the food miles concept is that it does not take into account the mode of transport (Saunders et al, 2006). Air freight has by far the highest global warming potential of all transport modes. It is also important to note that there is also a significant difference between road and rail an boat transportation, the latter appears to be more climate-friendly transport modes than road. Transport efficiency also makes a difference. According to Smith et al (2005), there is also a concern that moving to lower food miles (e.g. local sourcing) can have a negative impact on overall transport and energy efficiency. They explain it by the fact that if there is a growth in business for smaller producers and retailers, there could be an increase in energy consumption as smaller vehicles are used and economies of scale in production are lost (Smith et al., 2005). There is also a concern that a reduction of food miles, in particular prohibiting air freighted products, could have an adverse impact on imports from developing countries. This concern is motivated by the fact that farmers in developing country are heavily dependent on exports to developed country markets (Oxfam, 2009). Therefore, restricting air freighted products on a large scale have high impact on farmers of Africa. In this way climate change is going to affect the poor in Africa harder than anyone else, which are the people who have done least to cause the problem. Some business therefore disapprove the use of an airplane symbol such as Marks and Spencers logo. Oxfam for example, supports the initiative for fair miles, one that also takes the fairness of trade with developing countries into consideration. Finally, there is discussion whether policies based on food miles could lead to an increase of food prices. On the one hand, reducing food miles might lead to reduced transportation costs, which, could reduce food prices. On the other hand, locally sourced food can be more expensive than globally sourced food, because economies of scale are lost or due to differences in labor costs (Smith et al, 2005). Conclusion It has been shown that food miles, although initially believed to be a potential good indicator of climate sustainability, has just limited benefits in terms of mitigating climate change. Food transportation represent one of many components of the total environmental impact of food production and consumption. When assessing the environmental impact of food, it is essential to take into account all those different factors, including how food was produced, packed, stored, as well as but not only, how and how far it was transported. The concept can be used for protectionist purposes, but has significant negative side effects. First of all, it is unclear what the impact is for product-related costs and food prices. The implementation of food miles can force companies to put particular attention to the efficiency of the food distribution system beyond their own operations. This leads in particular to a reduction of companies transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. From a cost perspect ive, the implementation of the food miles concept can potentially both reduce and increase companies costs, leading to an increase or decrease of food prices. On the one hand, reducing food miles might lead to reduced transportation costs. On another hand, locally sourced food can be more expensive than globally sourced food, because economies of scale are lost or due to higher labor costs. Secondly, a reduction of food miles, in particular prohibiting air freighted products, could have an adverse impact on imports from developing countries. To conclude, if food producers and retailers want to operate more sustainable ways and mitigate their impact on climate change, they should not only focus on food miles. While increased food transport obviously has an environmental impact, the kilometers that food travels do not per se serve as a valid indicator. The evidence is relatively weak in terms of local sourcing leading to lower impact as a general rule. In addition to environmental considerations, transport has to be seen in a wider context, taking account of the social and economic dimensions of sustainability, both in the EU and globally. Trade and transport is an inherent component of EU policy and it is essential to provide appropriate food supplies throughout the EU market and sufficient consumer choice. Moreover, sourcing products from non-EU countries, in particular developing countries, contributes to the development and wealth of those economies. A transport concept focusing on transport distances alone would there fore seriously undermine a number of key EU policy objectives in terms of social and economic sustainability.

Myanmars Challenges Essay -- Burma

State building and the implementation of policy is a central process to the legitimacy of government worldwide. These critical facets of government institutions have been thoroughly challenged throughout Myanmar’s history, a country with an awful human rights record. In this essay I will focus on the last decade in particular, where Myanmar’s state capacity and political institutions have been challenged immeasurably. This essay will focus on the implications that pose a challenge to Myanmar’s state capacity and development. First, I will discuss the military coup d’Ã ©tat, which was followed by military junta heading the Burmese state for several decades. I will then examine the issue of internally displaced people and the resulting ethnic and religious conflict. Lastly, I will investigate the issue of drug trafficking and slave labour in Myanmar. State capacity is an enduring and central process for state autonomy. The state is famously defined by Sociologist Max Weber as the ’human community that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.’ Therefore, state capacity is the rule of enforcement: ‘the ability of states to plan and execute policies, therefore being able to enforce laws cleanly and transparently.’ The capacity of the state is central to the legitimacy of the state, which can be challenged and measured by a countries internal coherence, stability, collection of tax, and security of the state of the enforcement law. O’Neil continues to say a state is weakly institutionalised if it must exercise force in order to ensure compliance. A military junta has been in power in Myanmar since the coup d’Ã ©tat in 1962, which overthrew the government and opened the ‘Burmese road to Soci... ...: Routledge, 2008. Miller, Rebecca. Human Trafficking in South East Asia. in South East Asian Development Routledge, London, 2008. 126. The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) on Media Press on ‘ Saffron Revolution’. Accessed April 5, 2012 http://www.ncgub.net/NCGUB/staticpages/index2fad.html?page=announcements Pedersen, Morten (2008): Burma’s Ethnic Minorities. Critical Asian Studies, 40:1, 45-65. O’Neil, Patrick. Essentials of Comparative Politics. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. Smith, Martin. State of strife: the dynamics of ethnic conflict in Burma Singapore: Institue for Southeast Asian Studies. 2007. Smith, Martin. Burma's Ethnic Diversity Anti-Slavery International 1994. 35-44. U.S. Department of State "Burma." International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. 2010. Academic OneFile. 5 Apr. 2012. P.170.

Plato and Lockes Views on an Innate Idea Essay -- Philosophy essays

Plato and Locke's Views on an Innate Idea      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is an innate idea?   This can be defined as some idea or mental representation that is produced by outside perception or created anew by our imagination. It exists in the mind in virtue of the nature of the human mind.   According to Plato most if not all of our knowledge is innate. However, John Locke feels that we do not have any innate ideas.   Then the question arises of who is right or are they both wrong.   In this paper I will attempt to examine the conflicting views of Plato and Locke.    The problem that I will be dealing with involves the different views of Locke and Plato.   The main focus of the paper will be to deal with both sides of the view on innate ideas and determine which is plausible. I will be looking particularly at Plato's treatment of the concepts in the Meno and Locke's treatment in certain parts of the essay on human understanding.    It is very hard to determine what if anything the mind possesses.   It could possess everything we will ever know, as Plato seems to think, or the mind could possess nothing.   Both of these views will be discussed in the following paper. Plato's view on knowledge stems from Socrates and his teachings.   Socrates claimed to not know what virtues were or if they existed.   However, he develops a peculiar view of ideas and knowledge acquisition. [Meno 70-100b].   First, I will begin by setting up the background of the Meno.   Socrates has been on a quest to find if anyone knows what virtues are and who has the virtues.   While in the process of this Socrates makes many enemies.   At the beginning of the d... ...the experience at hand.   When we learn from this experience it is engraved on our minds or slates. Locke is a model empiricist.   But I also feel he should compromise on the issue of innate capacities.   This would allow for all the knowledge we gain from experience to be filtered and classified to further our learning.   Therefore, we would have no innate ideas but we would gain our knowledge from experiences.   However, we would have the innate capacities to filter our knowledge. Works Cited Brown, M. (1971). Plato's Meno. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc Chappell, V. (1994). The Cambridge Companion to Locke. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chappell, V. (1998). Locke. New York: Oxford University Press. Cooper, J.M.,(1997). Plato: Complete Works. Indianapolis, IN : Hackett Publishing Company.

Desegregation, Busing, and Schools Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive T

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The issue of desegregation has been a very controversial issue since it was first legally introduced by the Supreme Court in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS. Favoring or not favoring desegregation has not been the issue; almost everyone says they are for it on the surface. The controversy arises when it comes to how to implement desegregation. Immediately following the Brown decision, which advocated school assignment regardless of race, many school districts adopted a geographic school assignment policy. This plan, especially in the 1950's, did very little to do away with segregated schools even though it was a race-neutral policy for integration. From that rocky beginning to desegregation, to the current battles over how best to implement desegregation through mandatory (or voluntary) busing of minorities and whites, this issue has been in the forefront of discussions about race and education. This paper will attempt to give a brief hist ory of desegregation in the United States, followed by a discussion of the current events which surround this issue (with balance given to the viewpoints of both sides), and then offer advice on solutions which most benefit everyone involved.       Brown v. Board of the Education in 1954 was a landmark decision in the education arena. The decision maintained that schools that separated students by the color of their skin could no longer be maintained. The court saw this as necessary, since in their mind schools for black students would always be inferior. This inferiority would not be caused by lack of resources, although that usually was a contributing factor to the poor quality of the school, physically and performance-wise. As the Supreme Court saw it, s... ...yllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Bankston III, Carl and Stephen J. Caldas. "Majority African American schools and social injustice: the influence of de facto segregation on academic achievement." Social Forces, Dec. 1996, v75 n2 pp535-556. Bobo, Lawrence. "Whites' Opposition to Busing: Symbolic Racism or Realistic Group Conflict?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1983, v45 n6 pp. 1196-1210. Hacker, Andrew. Two Nations. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992. Katz, Phyllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Massey, Douglas A. and Nancy A. Denton. American Apartheid. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. Rivkin, Steven G. "Residential Segregation and School Integration." Sociology of Education, Oct. 1994, v67 pp. 279-292.    Desegregation, Busing, and Schools Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive T   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The issue of desegregation has been a very controversial issue since it was first legally introduced by the Supreme Court in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS. Favoring or not favoring desegregation has not been the issue; almost everyone says they are for it on the surface. The controversy arises when it comes to how to implement desegregation. Immediately following the Brown decision, which advocated school assignment regardless of race, many school districts adopted a geographic school assignment policy. This plan, especially in the 1950's, did very little to do away with segregated schools even though it was a race-neutral policy for integration. From that rocky beginning to desegregation, to the current battles over how best to implement desegregation through mandatory (or voluntary) busing of minorities and whites, this issue has been in the forefront of discussions about race and education. This paper will attempt to give a brief hist ory of desegregation in the United States, followed by a discussion of the current events which surround this issue (with balance given to the viewpoints of both sides), and then offer advice on solutions which most benefit everyone involved.       Brown v. Board of the Education in 1954 was a landmark decision in the education arena. The decision maintained that schools that separated students by the color of their skin could no longer be maintained. The court saw this as necessary, since in their mind schools for black students would always be inferior. This inferiority would not be caused by lack of resources, although that usually was a contributing factor to the poor quality of the school, physically and performance-wise. As the Supreme Court saw it, s... ...yllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Bankston III, Carl and Stephen J. Caldas. "Majority African American schools and social injustice: the influence of de facto segregation on academic achievement." Social Forces, Dec. 1996, v75 n2 pp535-556. Bobo, Lawrence. "Whites' Opposition to Busing: Symbolic Racism or Realistic Group Conflict?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1983, v45 n6 pp. 1196-1210. Hacker, Andrew. Two Nations. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992. Katz, Phyllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Massey, Douglas A. and Nancy A. Denton. American Apartheid. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. Rivkin, Steven G. "Residential Segregation and School Integration." Sociology of Education, Oct. 1994, v67 pp. 279-292.   

Frog Atlas

MACROSCOPIC ANATOMY r——– Snout – – – – – External naris Brows pot Upper eyelid Nictitating membrane ~)f~~~~=:::::::::::::=;E;::: Lower eyelid †¢ Digits of Fingers .. J. —â€Å"‘1~-:S:r– Tympanic membrane Carpus or wrist †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ,~†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ~'l. ldOr— Forearm Upper arm r – – – – – – Median dorsal line . . . – – – – – – Hump (~ fl Cf TID~~ ~N. ir——– Anus WJirfi1il m i T – – – – Thigh ~l-~b~l,~lu,'1: ‘v~Arftb~t. n4 C q ~  ·, -A IV† ID ,- G t>h~ ·LW  ·Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ (M()n:Wq . Olrcl-tv-  ·. A l-y-r; F ctf,,,b ·Ã‚ · Ru'idc r – – – – Shank G(Jil'S.  ·. 91 t1 C ~pt. d :~ ‘. v lll,. g~. rt ,W). tJf!. †¦ ~. ~~ oF. ~::— Prehallux – ! â€Å"V,A(lu:il:l ~ f cJi:h~.! :,;:::>– Dig its of toes J Web –  · Tarsus or ankle _ . ,.. :† M ·)v EXTERNAL ANATOMY OF THE FROG ~——–Darkly are~ pigmented of the skin SwoJ. _J.. en thumb A MALE FROG Ventral view Diffused skin pigmentation †¢-~~–Thumb not swollen A FEMALE FROG Ventral view Met atarsals Astragalus]Tarsals Calcaneum Ischium SKELETAL SYSTEM Dorsal View Transverse process Neural spine Postzygapophysis 2nd to 8th vertebrae (Typical vertebrae) Sacral vertebra 9th vertebra) VERTEBRAL COLUMN Dorsal view ISOLATED VERTEBRAE Neural spine Neural arch Postzygapophysis Neural canal Concavity for articulation with occipital condyle Centrun ATLAS Antero-dorsal view .——–Neural spine ~—–Postzygapophysis Transverse process ~~~~——-Prezygapophysis †¦.. __ _ _ Neural canal ~~——-Centrum TYPICAL VETEBRA Antero-dorsal view centrum SACRAL VERTEBRA Postern-dorsal view Neural canal of the lOth Concavities for articulation lvi th sacral vertebra UROSTYLE Antero-latera! view Exoccipital Occipital condyle SKULL Dorsal view ~————Premaxillae orbit SKULL Ventral view LOWER JAW Dorsal view Anterior cornu Alary process Body Posterior cor-nu Thyroid process HYOID APPARATUS Ventral view ———————- Episternum Clavicle Omosternum Scapula Suprascapula Glenoid fossa. r——-. ::.. ::: PECTORAL GIRDLE Dorsal view Fenestra coracoid Epicoracoid Mesosternum Xiphistermn PELVIC GIRDLE, 1/2 (INNOMINATE BONE) Lateral view Head Deltoid ridge/'~ · Condyle Radio-ulna Longitudinal groove Centrale Ordinary carpals Metacarpals Radiale Ulnare -â€Å"†Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœo'! ;I'J !l:i(tl. =- Phalanges FOREUMB, R1ght Lataral Vtt1111 Tibio-fibula ~- Calcaneum or fib111are Astragalus or tibiale ~–~-AA~.. ,. ,'Hf– Ordinary tarsals Calcar Metatarsals ‘~~~~~~Phalanges HINDLIMB, RIGHT Ventral view ~~~——~-rr—–Temporalis ~~:. ——nm-;. ;y— Depressor mandibula ~~~~~~~~~~~~= =Dorsal1s scapula ~ ~rj;;,r–Cucullaris ~~~? // IH/IJ/II~r-†¦ ;::~=——- External Latissimus dorsi oblique m. mmr————Longiss imus dorsi llfi~~———–Ilio-lumbaris ~~~~~———-Coccygeo-sacralis ~~~~i—==========Coccygeo-iliacus ~ femoris anticus ~~~~wBwm~~———–Gluteus :f'(U~~~ ~::m. ::rn. ———— Vastus externus ~———Triceps n~~~~— femoris Semimembranosus Gracilis minor J:..!!. -.!. —- fi——–Tibialis anticus Tendon of Achilles MUSCULAR SYSTEM Dorsal view Suanentalis is 0tC r. :. ( ·s cutaneous~~~~tfl1 pectoralis Scapulo-humeralis or deltoid s epicoracofaaa– (Anterior pectoralis) –‘†Ã¢â‚¬â€-Pectoralis sternalis AU~——–PeCtoralis ~is (Posterior pectoralis) Linea alba—-~~~~1:~~~——~Rectus abdominis Inscriptiones tend inae tt,_,ie;r vn:;b? ~ .  ·~~i† n;(~~ ~. (. i d

Case Note on Fletcher Essay

The facts of this case were that the taxpayer (and three others in partnership) entered a complex scheme, which involved the partnership, and annuity and loan arrangements. The scheme was financed through a series of â€Å"round robin† cheques and promised substantial deductions in the first five years of the 15-year plan. A number of documents were exchanged but no cash payments were made. This was calculated to return neutral cash flows with high tax deductions initially and high assessable income, especially in the last five years. A feature of the scheme was that there was an opportunity to terminate it in the last five years. In the relevant year the partnership derived assessable income of $170,000 and claimed deductions of $360,000. The issue before the court was whether the taxpayers were entitled to a deduction for interest. A lot of matters were argued before the case reached the High Court but before the Full Court the Commissioner’s contention was that the interest deduction should apportioned and disallowed under s 51(1) to the extent that it exceeded the partnership income. Their Honours indicated that if a taxpayer’s costs in deriving income were less than the actual income, the deductions would be allowable. However, if the costs exceed the income derived, the taxpayer’s purpose for making the expenditure may be relevant in characterizing and apportioning the expenditure for the purpose of the general deduction provision. This may include the taxpayer’s purpose for incurring the expenditure. Manson CJ, Brennan, Deane, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ said (at ATR 622-3): â€Å"†¦The position may, however, well be different in the case where no relevant assessable income can be identified or where the relevant assessable income is less than the amount of the outgoing†¦the disproportion between outgoing and income, the whole outgoing is properly to be characterized as genuinely and not colourably incurred in gaining or producing assessable income, the entire outgoing will fall within the first limb of s 51(1) unless it is somehow excluded by the exception of†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Their Honours concluded that the issue of whether the taxpayers’ interest deduction would be allowable depended on the determination of whether the 15-year annuity plan would in fact runs its full course. The matter was  remitted to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to determine, as a matter of fact, whether the scheme would run its full 15 years or whether it would be terminated before the last five years. In the former situation, the assessable income would exceed deductions and the interest would be an allowable deduction unde r s 51(1). In the latter situation, an explanation must be sought for the excess of deductions of some $2.7m over assessable income and to the extent that the explanation lay in substantial tax advantages, the outlays were not incurred in gaining assessable income. On the issue of whose purpose must be considered, the court made the following comments: â€Å"In the circumstances of the present case, its determination involves consideration not only of the purposes of the taxpayers but also of the purposes of those who advised them and acted on their behalf and whose ‘acts (and intentions)’ as agents must, as the Second Tribunal expressly pointed out, ‘be imputed to the principals’.† Reduced to its essential elements, if income exceeds outgoings, the taxpayer’s motives are largely irrelevant. If there is no assessable income or outgoings exceed income, a practical and common sense weighing up of all factors is warranted, including the taxpayer’s motive. As was anticipated in Phillip’s case, a disparity between outlay and income may trigger a more rigorous examination of a contract or arrangement. As was suggested in Ure’s case, the absence of a commercial quid pro quo will raise questions about the purpose of the expenditure. Where there is a dual purpose, or a purpose other than income production, expenditure is to be apportioned and there will be circumstances where purpose may mean subjective purpose or motive.