Thursday, October 31, 2019

Why are great Italian Renaissance architects more famous than their Essay - 1

Why are great Italian Renaissance architects more famous than their great gothic predecessors Discuss how and why the role and image of the architect changed during the Italian Renaissance - Essay Example European Renaissance is a period of history when a great deal of cultural change was noted. Among different expressions of the Renaissance period, Italian Renaissance remains the most widely known of all because they have distinctive styles to approach design and reality. Other than being the most well-known manifestation of European Renaissance, Italian Renaissance remains the oldest in terms of cultural change. It should be noted that the Italian Renaissance began by the end of thirteenth century as cultural shift became a part of European society. The transition in this era was particularly noted or observed within medieval and early modern ideology. Most of the historians claim that Renaissance itself is a symbol of modernity that took the cultural shift to a complete different level in terms of societal outlook. Among various contributors of Italian Renaissance, Jacob Burckhardt is the most well-known. A number of contributors other than Jacob Burckhardt tried to bring cultural change to a full swing. The fact remains that the change in culture or cultural shift did not attain its finest form until 19th century. Herein, it can be marked that the changes which were noted in the context of architecture during Italian Renaissance was increase theoretical practices. In simpler words, it can be said that the Italian Renaissance architects made use of roman theories for practice. A similar pattern was observed within the field of literature where roman influence was evident in different readings. Therefore, Roman theories were generally accepted which led Italian arts to feel confident about Roman theories in their practices. On evaluation of the classical Italian Renaissance architecture, it comes to understanding that Roman detailing was greatly used and practices such as columns, pilasters, pediments, domes etc. Also,

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Macbeth Analysis Essay Example for Free

Macbeth Analysis Essay In the beginning Macbeth starts out as a successful and respected warrior, who leads King Duncans army. Then his life starts to go downhill for him when he decides to follow to a witches prophecy. His wife Lady Macbeth pressures him to kill Duncan while he is staying at the Macbeths castle. At first, Macbeths ambitions overcome his doubts and hesitations, but later both he and his wife are driven to insanity by their guilt. Macbeth then goes on to kill suspicious Banquo, and he also plans to kill Macduff, who too has his own suspicions about Macbeth. Macbeth is not in the right state of mind to grieve when his wife dies from her mental anguish. Finally, Macduff kills Macbeth in battle, and Malcolm becomes the new king. The context of our key scene (Act 2, Scene 3) is about Duncans murder by Macbeth. Macbeth has his own strong motivations not to kill Duncan, but is pushed and pressurised into it by the witches and Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth gives her husband advice to look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it, which means he must be vicious inside but appear innocent on the outside to the rest of the characters, which they have to do even after the murder. There is a sense of suspense, such as, how will the thanes react to the murder? Will Macbeth get away with it forever? And will his plan be successful? Act 2, Scene 3 is about the aftermath of King Duncans murder by Macbeth. It begins with a rather comic interlude, where a drunken Porter is roaming about in Macbeths castle and is speaking nonsense, with ironic mentions about hell. He opens the door to Macbeth and Lennox, and they go to the quarters where they find that Duncan is dead. Lennox and others are genuinely shocked, whilst guilty Macbeth babbles too much about the situation, and even his wife makes it slightly look as if she is more concerned about her house than the kings death. Sly Lady Macbeth turns the attention and suspicion away from her husband by fainting. Duncans sons Malcolm and Donaldbain fear for their lives and run away to neighbouring countries. Both our main characters develop in similar and different ways. Macbeth has constant doubts about the murder, then immediately feels shameful after he commits it. Both he and his wife struggle to talk without dropping small suspicious clues, but lady Macbeth mainly manages to keep them out of suspicion. Macbeths sense of guilt leads to panic, as he is forced to be deceptive to cover up his crime. There is hesitation in his speech, and guilty remorse is revealed through his actions. Although he was pushed by his wife to kill Duncan, he wasnt inspired by anyone to kill the guards. He is forced to take action to control the situation, and feels he has to keep killing because there is no going back. He is starting to experience with the consequences, like the poison chalice. Up until now, Lady Macbeth has been the prime mover, but is now beginning to crumble and is no longer the strong person that she was. She does show some human sensitivity in her, even if she is evil. She has a genuine wifely devotion and loyalty to her husband. Also, she knows that she cant go very far in the world of that era because she is a woman, so she is getting close to somewhere high through Macbeth. Lady Macbeth may be sad and evil partly due to losing her child, compared to Lady Macduff, who has children and seems to be a nicer, calmer person. In this play, we can see the theme of appearance vs. reality, as the Macbeth couple are forced to conceal the guilty reality of their crime by putting on innocent appearances. It was Lady Macbeth who quoted the image of appearing like the innocent flower, but being the serpent under it, by which she meant to be brutal but act innocent. There are images with references to heaven and hell, such as when the drunken porter appears to be talking nonsense, but his words actually make some sense. Some of his quotes include if a man were a porter of hell-gate and whos there in the name of Beelzebub?, which seems to link in with the evil deed that Macbeth has just committed. Macbeths act of killing the king is called regicide, which leads to confused events. To kill a king was seen as damnable because it was removing Gods representative on earth. Macbeths image of the fountain being stopped (by him, which he doesnt make obvious) shows an interference with the Divine Right of Kings, a belief that royalty is passed down in the family. As with most tragedies, betrayal is very prominent in this play. He betrays his guest and king Duncan by killing him instead of protecting him. We see the use of iambic pentameter, and this is when a line follows a certain rhythmic pattern, such as confusion now hath made his masterpiece. We can see a tragic structure in the play of Macbeth. Firstly, as with most tragedies, he falls from an elevated position to a tragic demise. At the beginning of the play he is a war hero, but after some bad influences and wrong choices, becomes disgraced, isolated, and finally killed. Macbeths fall is seen in this scene when he kills innocent people to cover up his first murder; he declines into insanity and loses control of the situation. He has an internal conflict between the benign and malign sides to his characters. His benign side is telling him not to do the murder, then after it happens he thinks if I could turn back time, wishing he had not done it after all. Then there is his malign ambition to be king and become powerful no matter what, and to listen to the bad advice of Lady Macbeth and the witches. There is the prominent theme of betrayal, which Arthur Miller of A View from the Bridge said is the key to many tragedies. Macbeth betrays many people such as Duncan, by not protecting him as his host, Banquo, by also killing him, Macduff, by giving orders for his family to be killed, God, by removing his designated representative on earth, Scotland, by leaving it in a political vacuum, and even himself, for sinking so low. He lies a lot to conceal his guilt and murder. There is an overwhelming sense of wasted potential. Many characters such as Duncan, Banquo, and even Macbeth himself should all have lived peaceful, happy, contented lives, but Macbeth spoils it for all of them. There is also the chance that Macbeth could have become king honourably without the need to kill. Also, Malcolm could have become king earlier without the chaos which leaves Scotland unsettled, and the political vacuum. In this scene we see Macbeth become an independent murderer without influence from anyone. He is visibly a deceitful liar, and there are many beginnings of chaos. The events of our key scene (Act 2, Scene 3) leave us questioning what will happen next and wanting to know more. This is how Shakespeare evokes suspense in the play of Macbeth. After Macbeth commits the terrible murder, we are left wondering what will happen to the state of Macbeths mind, as we later find out that his increasing insanity finally finishes him off. We wonder if the Macbeth couple will ever be found out of their wicked conspiracy. Although they do not get caught by country officials, they see the suspicions from Banquo and Macduff. We could even say that the Macbeths punish themselves in a way, by having to face the guilt-ridden consequences of their actions. From the beginning, Lady Macbeth has been the more prominent partner in the relationship, but her mental decline seems to affect her quicker than Macbeth, even to the point that she dies and he does not seem to care much. Going back to the murders aftermath, there is the question of who will be the new king, and what will happen to Scotland from this point. We, as the audience, are waiting to find out what happens next, and see that some of our questions are answered, and some are not, (like, what exactly happened to Lady Macbeths child that she had vaguely mentioned?).

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Survey Of Data Mining Techniques On Crime Data Criminology Essay

Survey Of Data Mining Techniques On Crime Data Criminology Essay Data mining is a process of extracting knowledge from huge amount of data stored in databases, data warehouse and data repositories. Crime is an interesting application where data mining plays an important role in terms of crime prediction and analysis. This paper presents detailed study on clustering techniques and its role on crime applications. This also helps the law enforcers in better investigation and crime prediction. Key words: Crime data mining, crime data analysis, clustering. Introduction In recent years, volume of crimes lead to serious problems throughout the world. Now-a- days criminals have maximum use of modern technologies and hi-tech methods which serve up criminals to commit crimes at an immense measure. The law enforcers have to effectively meet out challenges of crime control and maintain public law and order. Hence, creation of a data base for crimes and criminals is required. Data mining techniques have higher influence in the fields such as law-and-enforcement, narcotics, cyber crime, human trafficking and high-tech crimes. Crime data mining has been applied in the law and enforcement to retrieve the criminal details and useful information automatically, using named entity-extraction method. In this method, each word is compared with the noun phrases and the binary value either zero or one will be generated which indicates the match or mismatch of the name. Intelligence agencies and university of Arizona collaborated COPLINK project and applied crime data mining in two-dimensions as crime types and security concerns to analyses crime and criminals and face challenges of law-enforcement problems of massive data bases from police narrative records [9]. Suspects give details to police investigations in order to confuse and spoil the proceedings of the investigation. During the time of investigation, comparison is needed to find the differences between real entities and deceptive entities. One of the distance measurement methods is Euclidean distance method which is applied to calculate the distance between pairs of the real and deceptive entity and this distance gives the deceptions accurately at the time of detection [10]. Hence, data mining techniques and clustering algorithms have been developed for better crime analysis which leads to the prediction of crimes in future. The organization of the paper is as follows. Section II discusses some researches and applications on crime data analysis. Section III defines the role of data preprocessing in crime data mining. Section IV presents various clustering methods on crime domain and Section V discusses the conclusion and future work. II Related work Recent developments in crime control applications aim at adopting data mining techniques to aid the process of crime investigation. One of the earlier projects COPLINK, was teamed with Artificial Intelligence Lab of Arizona University, the police departments of Tuscon , Phonix solving crime and criminal network analysis [8]. Brown et al. proposed a framework for regional crime analysis (ReCAP), which was built to provide crime analysis with both data fusion and data mining techniques[2]. Data mining steps involved in crime investigations are: collection of crime data from multiple data sources such as police narrative records, criminal background information which consists of previous investigation files and police arrest records are used to diagnose whether a suspect was involved in any earlier cases. If it so, verdict clues from past annals featuring the suspect and it avails the investigators to preside in the case. Using crime data mining techniques, most required information has been extracted from the vast crime databases which are maintained by NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau) for locating à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crime hot-spotsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . This helps the law enforcers to predict the crimes and to prevent in the near-future. Nath et al. has proposed k-means clustering technique with some enhancements to aid the process of identification of crime patterns. Semi-supervised learning technique for knowledge discovery has also been further developed which helps to increase the predictive accuracy [6]. J.S. de Bruin, K.Cocx and Kosters et al. have applied clustering techniques for the analysis of crimes and criminal carriers based on four salient factors such as crime nature, frequency, duration and severity of crime[3]. Binary (BCS) and transformed (TCS) categorical methods are similarity based methods used to find the similarity of corresponding attributes between real and deceptive entities from the crime records[13]. Ozgul et al. recently suggested a crime prediction model on crime details like location, date of the incident and mode-of-operandi of events against terrorists which have not been solved[20]. An enhanced Ak-mode algorithm called a weighted clustering algorithm which consists of two-phases to extract similar case subsets from large number of crime datasets[16]. III. Role of data preprocessing in crime data mining Data preprocessing techniques are mainly used for producing high-quality mining results. Raw data are being preprocessed before mining because data are in different format, collected from various sources and stored in the data base and data warehouses. Major steps involved in crime data mining are data cleaning, data integration, data transformation and data reduction. Data Cleaning Fill in missing crime data value. Smoothing crime data Removing outliers of crime data. Resolve inconsistent crime data. Data integration Merging of crime data from multiple data storages. Data Transformation Crime data normalization. Attribute construction Data Reduction Crime Attribute subset selection. Dimensionality reduction of crime attributes Data mining process Raw data Analysis Mining results Fig. Data Preprocessing steps in crime data mining Crime data have been collected from different sources such as police narrative records, criminal profiles, case histories and log files. In the data cleaning step, missing values are filled, noisy data are smoothened ,outliers data are removed and inconsistent data are resolved. Data integration step undergoes merging of crime data. Data normalization and attribution construction are done in the data transformation for standardizing data. When standardization of crime data, the data range falls under 0.0 to 1.0. Attribute subsets are selected from crime dataset and dimensionality has reduced. After preprocessing, finally standard data underwent the process of mining and hence better results are obtained. IV. Application of clustering methods in Crime The Clustering methods play an important role on crime applications. Some of the clustering techniques highlighted are k-means clustering, Ak-mode algorithm and other similarity methods. After preprocessing, the operational crime data are undergoing the clustering techniques for grouping the nature of crimes as different clusters. In this process, lots of unsolved crimes are also grouped together. The next step of clustering is to identify the significant or decisive attribute. This may from case to case.ie. one of the cases may need the age group of victim as decisive attribute and it is very important in a murder cases. The k-means clustering is one of the basic partition clustering techniques. The objects of similar crime cases are grouped together and are very dissimilar when compare to other groups. This algorithm mainly used to partition the clusters based on their means. Initially number of crime cases are grouped and specified as k clusters. The mean value is calculated as the mean distance between the objects. Then number of iteration are done until the convergence occur. The iterative process of weighing attributes and crime types, future crime patterns can be detected by the detectives or analysts. Unsolved crimes are clustered based on decisive attribute and the results are given to the investigators to proceed the case further. This k-mean is applicable only for numerical attributes and it is not applicable to categorical attributes. Ak- mode clustering technique is used for categorical attributes. In this technique there are two steps such as attribute weighting phase and clustering phase. Weights of the attributes are computed using Information Gain Ratio (IGR) value for each attribute. The greatest value of weight is taken as decisive attribute. The distance between two categorical attributes are computed by finding the differences between two cases give the similarity measures. The analyst has set the threshold value ÃŽÂ ± with the help of the computation result of similarity measures. Finally binary and transformed categorical similarity methods are discussed for finding similarity measures. In the data bases, attribute values are either numerical or categorical i.e. either quantitative or qualitative. In the quantitative (numerical), the difference between two attributes are calculated as the direct difference between those two values of attributes. In the case of qualitative(categorical), the difference between two attributes are calculated as binary values as 0 or 1. If there is a match than attribute value will be 1 or 0 if it is not. This method is named as binary categorical method (BCS). In the transformed categorical similarly (TCS) method, the similarity table has created for all the attributes and the differences between those attributes value will be calculated. This difference gives the similarity measures. Hence various clustering techniques are used to identify the crime patterns which helps the crime analysts to proceed the cases further. V. Conclusion and future work Crime data were under various data preparing steps i.e cleaned the data, resolved inconsistent data and outliers are removed. Grouping crime data objects of clustering was needed to identify crime patterns which support crime analysts and law-enforcers to proceed the case in the investigation and help solving unsolved crimes faster. Similarity measures is an important factor which helps to find unsolved crimes in crime pattern. K-means, Ak-mode and other similarity methods such as binary categorical and transformed categorical methods were used to find the similarity measures of attributes which are very much needed to the crime analysts and police enforcers to solve unsolved crimes. In future, some of the enhancements should be done in the existing algorithms to get an accurate results. There should be some improvement in finding similar case subsets that will be a good direction for solving crimes easily. Finally, challenge of setting threshold value without crime analyst may be an important task in future.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Freud’s Perspective of an Advertisement for Clinique :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Freud’s Perspective of an Advertisement for Clinique Although Freud's theories of psychoanalysis tended to deal exclusively with dreams, his understanding of the unconscious proves to be entirely useful in deconstructing popular culture. We can take, for example, the Clinique advertisement into consideration by viewing the image itself as a public (perhaps collective) and published dream. Freud may not have been particularly interested in the visual features or compostion of the image, yet these components are vital to the translation from conscious to unconscious thoughts. First, we can examine the bar of soap itself, as depicted in the scene. We are at once struck by the grotesque and commanding zie (certainly unrealistic) of the bar; yet it also appears insolated - from a consumer, from production, etc. The bar is shown in another (unusual) manner: its yellow-green colour portrays a "clean" and "natural" product, but also conveys an immaculate, medicalized one. The bubbles surrounding the bar also carry stylistic features; they appear as perfectly "round", "firm", "gentle" and "clean" (although we can see a lather/suds, the bubbles remain completely "pure" in themselves.) Finally, the pouring water re-iteratres this sense of purity and nature; the waterfall-like motion generates feelings of tranquility and harmony. (The text found in the advertisement supports these sentiments of purity, carlessness ["allergy tested" = worry free] and nature, and for the purpose of my examination require no further mention.) At this point we are able to undertake a Freudian analysis of the image. While the components mentioned can be understood as the visual, manifest content, we can attempt to translate their hidden, subverted, latent thoughts. According to Freud, all manifest content is subject to distortion by the "dream-work" (the mechanism by which such thoughts are altered, and thus we must decode the image by paying particular attention to the hidden elements (the ones that resist our analysis most). If all thoughts are generated in the unconscious, as Freud believes, then we must center our analysis on these hidden or latent components. One can see how, in this Clinique advertisement, Freud's theory of the dream-work is logical; both dream-distortion and dream-censorship are evident. An initial psychoanalysis of the image reveals an inherent desire to be "wholesome" (or "moral", as depicted by the rounded bubbles), "clean" (or "moral", as depicted by the medicalized soap) and "pure" (or "moral", as depicted by the clear, natural water). It is my understanding then, that this advertisement appeals to the viewer as a "sinner", or flawed individual, and aims to reconcile this deficiency through morality. Freud’s Perspective of an Advertisement for Clinique :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers Freud’s Perspective of an Advertisement for Clinique Although Freud's theories of psychoanalysis tended to deal exclusively with dreams, his understanding of the unconscious proves to be entirely useful in deconstructing popular culture. We can take, for example, the Clinique advertisement into consideration by viewing the image itself as a public (perhaps collective) and published dream. Freud may not have been particularly interested in the visual features or compostion of the image, yet these components are vital to the translation from conscious to unconscious thoughts. First, we can examine the bar of soap itself, as depicted in the scene. We are at once struck by the grotesque and commanding zie (certainly unrealistic) of the bar; yet it also appears insolated - from a consumer, from production, etc. The bar is shown in another (unusual) manner: its yellow-green colour portrays a "clean" and "natural" product, but also conveys an immaculate, medicalized one. The bubbles surrounding the bar also carry stylistic features; they appear as perfectly "round", "firm", "gentle" and "clean" (although we can see a lather/suds, the bubbles remain completely "pure" in themselves.) Finally, the pouring water re-iteratres this sense of purity and nature; the waterfall-like motion generates feelings of tranquility and harmony. (The text found in the advertisement supports these sentiments of purity, carlessness ["allergy tested" = worry free] and nature, and for the purpose of my examination require no further mention.) At this point we are able to undertake a Freudian analysis of the image. While the components mentioned can be understood as the visual, manifest content, we can attempt to translate their hidden, subverted, latent thoughts. According to Freud, all manifest content is subject to distortion by the "dream-work" (the mechanism by which such thoughts are altered, and thus we must decode the image by paying particular attention to the hidden elements (the ones that resist our analysis most). If all thoughts are generated in the unconscious, as Freud believes, then we must center our analysis on these hidden or latent components. One can see how, in this Clinique advertisement, Freud's theory of the dream-work is logical; both dream-distortion and dream-censorship are evident. An initial psychoanalysis of the image reveals an inherent desire to be "wholesome" (or "moral", as depicted by the rounded bubbles), "clean" (or "moral", as depicted by the medicalized soap) and "pure" (or "moral", as depicted by the clear, natural water). It is my understanding then, that this advertisement appeals to the viewer as a "sinner", or flawed individual, and aims to reconcile this deficiency through morality.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Chinese firework industry Essay

1. Introduction—Objective and structure of this report The Chinese fireworks industry has experienced significant change since China adopted â€Å"open door policy†, moreover, it has huge market share in the world’s fireworks market. But on the other hand, the Chinese fireworks industry also has fatal weaknesses. Therefore, whether to invest in this industry is still a considerable challenge to most investors. The objective of this report is to give some suggestions to Jerry Yu on his decision of the investment on Liuyang fireworks industry. Furthermore, some proposals on how to improve the attractiveness and the competitiveness of Chinese fireworks industry at a long-run level are worked out; from personal level, there are some strategic options to Jerry Yu in terms of handling an individual fireworks firm. To achieve this objective, an industry analysis and a market audit are carried out and a gross conclusion is drawn based on the analyses and suggestions. 2. Industrial analysis The aim of this industrial analysis is to outline the situation of the Chinese fireworks industry in conjunction with analyzing the rivalry within this industry through Porter’s five forces model (please refer to Appendix). 2.1 The Chinese fireworks industry overview The general belief was that China-made fireworks actually made up about 80% to 90% of the world’s fireworks market. But although Chinese fireworks account for most of the world’s market, it can be said as a relatively messy industry in terms of its quality, packaging and timing control and distribution channels. As the most popular form in Chinese fireworks industry is family-run workshop, which is usually poorly funded and lacking of R&D and managerial input, the whole industry is basically labor-intensive and the technological innovations are also restricted. The competition is intensified by the emergence of small companies. These private workshops are flexible and quick in responding to market demand. They would copy any popular product design and sell it for much less prices than  government-owned or some collectively owned factories. This fact results in price drop which has become a serious problem for the whole industry. Besides, foreign competitors such as Japanese and Korea companies also threaten the Chinese fireworks industry. 2.2 Market trend The fireworks’ market can be divided into domestic and export market. In the past years, the demand of domestic market is declining while export sales is rising. Since China opened its door in 1979, export market has become a major market of Chinese fireworks. Figure 1 indicates the growth of export market during the period of 1994-1998. Figure 1: Export sales of Chinese fireworks industry in 1994-1998 From Figure 1, it’s clear that the demand of export market is increasing stably. Undoubtedly it’s a beneficial factor for Chinese fireworks industry. Another market trend is that the demand for display fireworks is increasing at a fast speed due to the increase of public fireworks shows, whereas the demand for consumer fireworks is expected to decline owing to the more restricted regulations. 2.3 Porter’s Five Forces Model (Appendix). Porter’s five forces model aims at examining the competitive status of the whole industry. 2.3.1 Potential entrants (High) The opportunity for potential entrants of fireworks industry is high. The capital requirement for establishing a fireworks firm is very low; the economy of scale is high and the brand identification within this industry is relatively low. All these facts provide good opportunities for firms to enter this industry. 2.3.2 Bargaining power of suppliers (Low) Because of the huge number of suppliers of fireworks and little product differentiation among fireworks products, the bargaining power of suppliers is low. 2.3.3. Bargaining power of buyers (High) Owing to the large number of choices and low even zero switching costs, the fireworks buyers have high bargaining power. 2.3.4 Substitutes (Low) The threat of substitutes of fireworks is relatively low. Although there are substitutes such as make-believe â€Å"firecrackers†, due to the heritage of tradition and culture, real fireworks are still irresistible to most consumers. 2.3.5 Rivalry (High) Rivalry of fireworks industry is high. The possibility for new entrants is high, while exit barrier is low; a bulk of existing firms that have little diversity and product differentiation are competing in this industry; buyers are more powerful than suppliers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ All these forces shape the fierce competition in fireworks industry. What is indicated through the analysis of Porter’s five forces model is that the rivalry of fireworks industry is high. Therefore, if firms were to survive in competition, they should make great effort to differentiate their strategies to achieve sustainable competitive advantages over competitors. 3. Market Audit of Liuyang fireworks industry The market audit focuses on the Liuyang fireworks market’s position through the identification of its domestic and foreign competitors and a SWOT  analysis. The goal of this market audit is to assist Jerry Yu to determine whether to invest in Liuyang fireworks industry or not. 3.1 Competitor analysis The competitors of Liuyang fireworks industry include both domestic and foreign ones. The competitors and their main competitive aspects of Liuyang fireworks industry are delivered in Table 1. Table 1: The competitors of Liuyang fireworks industry Competitors Domestic Foreign Liling Pingxiang, Wanzai Dongguan Other small establishments Japan, Korea and Spain Competitive Aspects Price competition Both price and quality, especially in low- and medium-priced markets More sophisticated management and marketing practices Copy popular design and sell much less Better quality and timing control, better packaging. From Table 1, it’s clear that the Liuyang fireworks industry has been facing fierce competition from both domestic and foreign competitors though it’s still the largest and most well known place for making fireworks in China. All of them have their own competitiveness versus Liuyang fireworks. Thus, if Liuyang fireworks industry were to sustain in the intense competition and â€Å"beat† these competitors, it’s necessary for it to modify strategy to increase its competitiveness relative to its competitors. Figure 2 shows the competitive position between Liuyang fireworks industry and its competitors on a positioning map. Figure 2: Competitive positioning map of Liuyang fireworks industry and its competitors From the positioning map, it can be demonstrated that although Liuyang fireworks industry has strong competitiveness in terms of reputation, it is seriously lacking of management capabilities compared with Dongguan and foreign competitors, which could be a disastrous factor in the future. Therefore, to improve the management of Liuyang fireworks industry is crucial for each individual investor’s success as well as the whole industry’s sustainability. 3.2 SWOT analysis of Liuyang fireworks industry Liuyang fireworks industry does share certain similar characteristics in terms of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats with other Chinese fireworks manufacturers, but it also has its own features. 3.2.1 Strengths * Long reputation and product variety Liuyang has been the most well known place for making fireworks in China for a long time. It has the strongest reputation in China and even in the world market it also occupies an influential position in terms of product variety and reputation. * Huge market share As the largest manufacture community of fireworks in China, Liuyang has been enjoying huge market share in both domestic and export market. * Liuyang government’s offensive strategy In 1997, Liuyang government adopted offensive strategy responding to the  decline of its fireworks sales. This has been proven to be very useful—one year later, Liuyang fireworks sales increased. * Low labor cost Located in Hunan province, Liuyang is a relatively small and less developed city. Furthermore, most of the manufacture factories are located in rural places, where the labor cost is very low. This is a beneficial factor for manufacturers because with low cost, they could gain more profit. 3.2.2 Weaknesses * Poor management input and capabilities As identified in competitor analysis, Liuyang fireworks industry has little management input and poor management capabilities. Since most of them are family-run workshops, they have no capital to fund management. What’s more, as most workers are farmers who are not well educated, they have no intellectual resource for marketing capabilities. * Messy distribution channels The overall distribution system of fireworks industry is rather fragmented and messy. Neither the old government-run channels nor the new distribution channels are efficient and effective. On the contrary, they are rather chaotic. 3.2.3 Opportunities * Increasing revenue and demand As shown in Figure 3, the total revenue of Liuyang fireworks industry increased substantially in 1992-1996. Now the demand is still increasing especially in display fireworks category. This represents an opportunity to investors. Figure 3: The total revenue of Liuyang fireworks industry in 1992-1996 Source: Liuyang Firecrackers and Fireworks Exhibition (refer to Exhibit 1 in this case) * Technological innovation appealing to consumers Technology development triggers the technological innovations. Fireworks can be combined with modern technologies like laser beams, computerized firing and musical accompaniment to cater for customers. * Increased safety of fireworks Actually, the fireworks are not as dangerous as usually perceived by people. Technological innovation such as smokeless fireworks makes fireworks safer and as long as people can use fireworks properly, it’s not so dangerous. This can be demonstrated from Figure 4. Figure 4: The increased consumption(millions of pounds) versus decreased injuries(per 100,000 pounds) of fireworks in 1990-98 Source: American Pyrotechnics Association (please refer to Exhibit 2 in this case) What is indicated in this chart is that within 1990-98, the consumption of fireworks increased whereas the injuries decreased. The increased safety can help to build consumers’ confidence toward fireworks. 3.2.4 Threats * Intensified competition and local protectionism As illustrated in competitor analysis, more and more competitors including existing firms and new entrants are competing with Liuyang fireworks  industry. The direct consequence is the price drop which leads to the deduction of profit margin. Some small manufacturers even copy designs and purchase inferior raw materials to gain profit in competition, which worsens the quality and reputation of Liuyang fireworks industry. In addition, some local Chinese governments tend to protect local manufacturers when purchasing fireworks. * Legal restriction As fireworks has made some tragedies among users, most countries and Chinese cities more or less inhibit the sell and use of fireworks. Some places even banned the use of fireworks. This fact is undermining the fireworks industry. * Credit crisis Due to the bad debt control and lacking of respect for business contracts in China, the transaction costs are increased while cash flow are slowed down, which is a serious issue for fireworks industry. * Poor profit margin and loss of brand identities This threat exists especially in export market. The importers buy the fireworks at very low price from Chinese manufacturers and then resell at much higher prices. This is indicated in Figure 5: the comparison between FOB import prices from China and wholesale prices of four types of Chinese display fireworks in US. There is a huge gap between them. The American importers enjoy huge profit whilst Chinese manufacturers suffer from low profit margin. Furthermore, some large western fireworks manufacturers and dealers started to outsource the making of their brand-name fireworks. The Chinese fireworks manufacturers are facing the problem of losing their brand identities. Figure 5: The comparison between FOB import prices from China and wholesale prices of four types of Chinese display fireworks in US Source: China Sunsong Fireworks Corp. and Websites of fireworks wholesalers in U.S. 4. Suggestions for Jerry Yu Chinese fireworks industry is a highly competitive industry, however, it still presents opportunities for investors. Based on the analysis of Liuyang fireworks industry, the suggestion for Jerry Yu is to take the opportunities–to invest in Liuyang fireworks industry. Nonetheless, to win in the fierce competition, it’s also recommended that Jerry Yu should integrate the advantages he has into the opportunities to create competitive advantages versus his competitors. Therefore, there are some strategic options proposed for him. Furthermore, some recommendations for Chinese fireworks industry as a whole are also worked out in order to increase its competitiveness and attractiveness. 5. Proposed strategic options 5.1 Options for Chinese fireworks industry (Options 1-4) 5.1.1 Strategic option 1: Launch an industry-wide advertising campaign to change consumers’ perception and attitude toward fireworks. As interpreted before, most consumers regard fireworks as a very dangerous product, especially for youth. But in fact, it’s not as dangerous as consumers’ perception. Figure 6 shows the comparison of the dangerousness between fireworks and other products. From the treatment quantities it’s rather manifest that the treatment for youth caused by fireworks is the least among these eleven consumer products. Furthermore, as the technology of fireworks is improving, the dangerousness will be less than before. Therefore, it’s necessary for the manufacturers within this industry to launch an advertising campaign to change consumers’ perception, attitude and to build consumers’ positive belief–fireworks is much safer than what they think. Figure 6: Estimated emergency room treatment per 100,000 youth (ages 5 to 14) Source: American Pyrotechnics Association (refer to Exhibition 3 in this case) Advantages: ââ€" º To build consumers’ confidence toward fireworks can somehow prevent the decline of demand of consumer fireworks from consumers’ perspective. If consumers know fireworks are virtually much safer than their perception, probably they will purchase fireworks more actively than before in spite of the restriction of government regulations. Disadvantages: ââ€" ª To launch an industry-wide advertising campaign requires sufficient capital. But as most fireworks manufacturers are family-run small workshop, it’s hard for them to afford the cost for this advertising campaign. 5.1.2 Strategic option 2: Build TQM at an industry-wide level. Lacking of quality control is a serious weakness of Chinese fireworks industry. Therefore, it’s necessary to build TQM (Total Quality Management) industry-wide to regulate and guarantee the quality of Chinese fireworks to compete with foreign competitors and to attain trust from consumers. Advantage: ââ€" ºThe advantage is obvious–increase Chinese fireworks industry’s competitiveness with foreign competitors and in doing so, to maintain and even increase its market share in the world’s market. Disadvantage: ââ€" ª The only problem TQM might face is the messiness of Chinese fireworks manufacturers. TQM requires fund as well as regulations, but for small  workshops, it’s difficult to achieve. 5.1.3 Strategic option 3: To absorb foreign investments actively to improve both hardware (equipment, capital, etc) and software (management capabilities, etc) of Chinese fireworks industry. Advantages: ââ€" ºForeign investment can compensate one weakness of Chinese fireworks industry—lack of capital. If Chinese manufacturers have sufficient fund, they can improve their equipment, the products’ quality and packaging and their management resource such as R&D, etc. No doubt that these facets can greatly promote Chinese fireworks competitive position, through which, Chinese fireworks industry could prosper. Disadvantages: ââ€" ª There is a latent possibility that these foreign investments might finally control the Chinese fireworks industry. If this happens, Chinese fireworks industry would lose its identity. 5.1.4 Strategic option 4: Build strong brand awareness and image of Chinese fireworks industry. This can be implemented by advertising campaign or aggressive promotional activities.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Significance and implication of the pursuit of sustainability in the context of global airlines and airports The WritePass Journal

Significance and implication of the pursuit of sustainability in the context of global airlines and airports Introduction Significance and implication of the pursuit of sustainability in the context of global airlines and airports ). This paper explores the significance and implication of the pursuit of sustainability in the context of global airlines and airports. Issues of unconstrained aviation growth versus the call for global constraints of aviation for environmental reasons as well as challenges faced by management in the maintenance of corporate goals involving the sustainable development of aviation operations are evaluated. Towards this goal, the benefits and drawbacks of the pursuit of sustainability from a management perspective are explored evaluating practical environmental activities that now encompass the management of airlines and airports. Finally, this paper assesses the capacity of the aviation industry to achieve dramatic improvements required to enhance environmental performance through innovations in aircraft design and in airline and airport operations. Following is an overview of the industry in light of environmental concerns. Industry overview In the modern global society, air transport has become essential and has significantly changed how people travel, interact with others and do business. Aviation has become a driver of economic, social and cultural development (ICAO, 2012). The democratization of international air travel has led to the reduction in the cost of flying and with real cost falling 60% over the last 40 years (Deloitte, 2013). This has made aviation more accessible to a greater number of people. Alongside this, developments in technologies and designs over the same period have enhanced energy efficiency of aircraft and achieved noise reductions of 70% and 75% respectively (Deloitte, 2013). Such positive developments are nonetheless inadequate in the face of significant growth projections. It is estimated that passengers will reach six billion requiring 50 million flights (ICAO, 2012; Welsh, 2010). This is roughly double the current capacity. Statistics from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UK’s Stern Report present the following grim picture regarding the environmental impact of the aviation industry. They advance the view that aviation contributes around 6% of greenhouse gases (GHG) further exacerbated by the high altitudes of flights which limits the effectiveness of nature’s carbon ‘scrubbers’- the trees and plants which absorb greenhouse gas (Carbon dioxide) to undo these emissions. Emission of GHG in aviation is estimated to cause as much as 9% of the greenhouse effect (COM, 2012; ICAO, 2012; Deloitte, 2013; Friends of Earth, 2013). Concern over these estimated adverse effects is heightened by expert forecasts of growth in passenger numbers and therefore a doubling of global commercial jet fleet to over 35,000 by 2025. This heightens scepticism about reduction in aviation emissions with analysts forecasting that by 2050, current emission figures could quadruple (Welsh, 2010; Friends of Earth, 2013). In the view of IPCC, industry and stakeholder initiatives are and will not be adequate to achieve true sustainability and in its opinion, uncontrolled growth of the industry should be constrained given the challenges in mitigation of impact (Friends of Earth, 2013; ICAO, 2012; Seabury, 2012). Demand and growth of the aviation industry though important for society and the economy is however a significant contributor to global climate change. Constraint of growth is however not feasible given the growing demand and import of the industry globally. In this regard, a lot needs to be done by industry players and various stakeholders to ensure safety, security and environmental conservation.   Industry players face myriad challenges in the pursuit of sustainability. Dilemma of sustainability in the aviation sector The aviation industry is increasingly portrayed and perceived as a villain in the pursuit of sustainability around the world. This stems from the fact that they are untaxed and are unaffected by any current agreements on emissions (Welsh, 2010). Global initiatives aimed at limiting carbon emissions, and therefore global warming, are centred around the Kyoto agreement negotiated in 1997 and coming into force in 2005. The aviation industry is specifically excluded in this agreement and its negotiations despite it being a major contributor to global warming (COM, 2012; Welsh, 2010). The ‘well-intentioned’ executives and organizations in the industry are often hindered in the green pursuits by the business risk of being the ‘first mover’ in this pursuit (Deloitte, 2013). The deregulation and democratization of the aviation industry has resulted in intense competition among airlines which has led to significant reductions in air fares which have consistently declined over time (ICAO, 2012; Driver, 2006). Living standards and wages have inversely increased overall increasing the number of people accessing air travel (ICAO, 2012; Hill, 2006). This, in addition to substantial taxes by states, as well as fees, charges and surcharges on many international routes often surpass the ticket price impacting net profit margins which are at levels less than 2% on global scheduled airlines and are falling (AAG, 2012; Deloitte, 2013). Additional levies such as ‘green tax’ and climate finance if not applied across the entire industry creates a ‘first mover’ disadvantage which discourages governments and airlines from unilateral action, as well as impeding the pace of established mechanisms for resolution such as the United Nations programs. National and/or regional emissions initiatives impose a competitive disadvantage on the industry tying the hands of airline executives until governments can agree on common and equitable solutions covering the entire industry (ICAO, 2012; Zakhem, et al, 2007). Good intention and regard for the environment is hindered by intense competition and the slim margins characteristic of the industry. There is therefore need for greater concerted effort so as to undo the ‘first mover’ disadvantage which hinders the competitiveness of players that pursue sustainability. Such efforts are considered in the proceeding section. Way forward for sustainable development in the industry What is required is an agreement on intergovernmental and industry-wide global solutions, a top-down regulatory approach, which are however hard to reach and are at best, advisory guidelines. The consequent result would be slow and insignificant given that airlines are governed by nations and/or agencies (Seabury, 2012). In spite of these cumbersome regulations and ‘first mover’ disadvantage, there is genuine desire among executives and across the industry for the pursuit of sustainable development and reduction of environmental impact, particularly the reduction of the industry’s contribution to climate change (ICAO, 2012). The options available for this endeavour, characterized as bottom-up solutions undertaken by industry, fall into three categories: operational, tactical, and strategic initiatives. Bottom-up solutions Operational initiatives Operational approaches involve short-term actions which despite their limitation in overall effect are better than no initiatives at all. In an attempt to enhance its contribution overall, these approaches are well known and openly shared across the industry. They comprise the following steps aimed at reducing fuel consumption: single-engine taxiing; engine shutdowns during delays; better measurement and reduction of weight; distribution and balancing of belly cargo; higher cruising and shorter/steeper approaches; as well as ticket premium options for investment in carbon offset schemes; and tankering-carrying enough fuel for return trip. These initiatives are immediately deployable (Welsh, 2010; AAG, 2012). Other operational initiatives that need planning consist of: better routes and altitudes; better enroute fuel reserve; reduction in airborne holding (stacking); installation of winglets at wing tips to reduce drag; redesign of hubs/schedules for greater efficiency; improved/expanded airfield capacity; low drag paint schemes; as well as improved fuel purchasing and supplies (Welsh, 2010; AAG, 2012). Tactical initiatives These are generally medium term approaches covering 5 to 10 years which have greater impact than operational initiatives though still limited in overall effect. The involve fuel and engine modifications. Aircraft fuel is a controversial component of business mired by complexity and a difficult price-based history. Swings in commodity prices impact airlines’ operating costs running from 15% to as much as 60% of costs (Deloitte, 2013). Quality is also a significant concern with regard to jet fuel as it is directly linked to flight safety. Whole consignments of jet fuel can be rejected on grounds of quality such as the finding of bacteria in tankers (Welsh, 2010). Though there is some activity in the area of sustainable versions of jet fuel (Bio jet) with isolated pockets of interest, there is yet to be success and may not be in the short term. Faster pace of progress would require greater support from the industry and government. This approach is also challenged by commercial, regulatory and technical hurdles governing fuel specifications (ICAO, 2012; Seabury, 2012). Commercial hurdles include long and expensive laboratory stage processes without demand and/or regulatory support and subsequent lengthy processes of developing production capacity for industrial volumes. Changes in fuel specifications may also require engine modifications which would need to pass the long and expensive design/build/test production cycle dwarfing that of the fuel cycle. In addition to these hurdles, Bio jet is considerably more corrosive than conventional jet fuel and may increase maintenance, repair and overhaul costs (MRO) (Welsh, 2010; ICAO, 2012). Regulatory hurdles comprise the very strict aviation regulators which is appropriate for the industry. Change in specifications of fuel and engines would necessitate a major review of the regulatory framework around the world (ICAO, 2012). Technical hurdles encompass the drawn out periods of uptake of modifications and new specifications with customers (major airlines) typically renewing their fleet about every 15 years. After the extensive research, design, build, test, production cycle, and regulatory approval, this additional period need be factored as well. In addition to these 15 years, major airlines would sell their airplanes into the second hand market which would also last a further 15 years of flight (ICAO, 2012). This makes the adoption of new engine/modifications and fuel technologies may take upwards of three to five decades to achieve a complete shift and transformation. Strategic initiatives Initiatives in this category require new generation technologies to enable pursuit of strategic options towards the reduction of emissions. In addition to the pockets of interest in fuel and engine programs in the short term, there are also other isolated pockets of interest exploring more fundamental technological developments such as how to influence the environmental impact of aviation. This involves a think tank composed of many and varied stakeholders in the industry including airlines and airports, manufacturers, governments, passenger groups, among several other interest groups (ICAO, 2012). There are many new technological propositions that require leaps in technology far greater than the modification examples cited above. They include the integrated-wing silent aircraft with top-mounted engines and a moulded aerodynamic shape. This is a possible major step towards lower or zero aviation emissions which has been the aspiration of the industry in light of environmental concerns and climate change. IATAs proposal is projected to within the next 50 years which is not definitive yet. This is also challenged by a lack in demand and regulatory support (ICAO, 2012; Seabury, 2012). Regulatory support (Top-Down approach) Critical to the development and adoption of emission solutions in the aviation industry is regulatory support including simple models like deadlines for action with consequences for non-compliance such as fines and grounding of fleet. Such actions and approaches help to enhance and to justify focus on sustainability initiatives creating demand for worthwhile ventures like Bio jet as well as engine and design reworks or modifications intended at lower emissions. This approach would also enhance the focus of governments and industry in the support of companies investing in the research/design/build/test/production cycle (ICAO, 2012; Seabury, 2012). From a management perspective, despite the willingness and enthusiasm to ‘go green’ focusing on sustainable development, the pursuit of high impact initiatives is impeded by the myriad hurdles and challenges in design and output of new technologies. There are several advantages that can be derived from the pursuit of sustainability and as well there are drawbacks and dis-benefits that generally impact the entire industry. However, there are substantial gains in bold pursuits individual airlines and players giving credence to the potential in industry sustainability. The following section explores these advantages and dis-benefits employing Alaska Air Group’s environmental protection and efficiency initiatives to highlight these points and to show actions taken in this regard. Alaska Air Group’s practical environmental activities Alaska Air Group is the holding company for two Seattle-based subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air which provide passenger and cargo transportation   across 90 destinations in the United States (USA), Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines flies 117 Boeing 737s to 62 of these destinations while Horizon Air operates a fleet of 48 Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft to 39 destinations (AAG, 2012). The company has been a recipient of recognition and awards on several fronts for outstanding performance including the Worlds top-performing airline in 2010, Airline Technology Leadership Award in 2011, as well as industry service accolades from its customer satisfaction, on-time performance, maintenance training and public and community service. As of 2012, the group has 12,806 employees and an asset base of 5.2 billion dollars. Their carriers serve 25 million passengers a year on 30 million seat miles and carry 114 million cargo pounds accruing cargo revenue of 108 million. The Groups adjusted net income stands at 287.4 million dollars. Even though Air Group flies 3% of domestic airline capacity, it has a daily consumption of a million gallons of jet fuel for its flight operations (AAG, 2012). To the group, sustainability efforts are crucial to reductions in waste and energy costs, as well as innovation, factors which enhance value, competitiveness and overall bottom line. Air Group has a strategic commitment to reduce environmental impact through four core elements: reducing emissions from consumption of fossil fuels; reducing emissions from ground operations such as electricity and heating; reducing consumption of non-sustainable resources; and recycling of inflight and operational wastes (COM, 2012; Werbach, 2009). The Group has admirable fuel-efficiency ratings but it continues to pursue more conservation opportunities such as fleet upgrades and modifications which have led to significant cost savings for the company; removal of unneeded weight; optimal routes, speeds and engine maintenance to ensure performance. Its practical initiatives for enhanced fuel efficiencies consist of: fleet efficiencies and transformation which lowers fuel bills, emissions and costs associated with complexities of a mixed fleet; reduction of weight of carpets and seats; better airspace efficiency through satellite navigation performance systems and streamlined landing approaches (pioneered by Alaska Airlines); use of ground power rather than the aircrafts auxiliary power units to provide heating, cooling and electricity when planes are parked at gates; robust flight planning for optimal fuel loads; as well as a bold pursuit of sustainable fuel alternatives. In November 2011, Alaska airlines launched pioneer multip le commercial flights powered by 20% aviation biofuel blends on more than 75 flights. The biofuel blend reduced GHG emissions by 134 metric tonnes and demonstrated feasibility of biofuels (AAG, 2012; Driver, 2006; Cornelissen and Clarke, 2010). On the ground efficiency front, the company has instituted a switch in ground support equipment from fossil-powered to electric options where feasible. This move is anticipated to eliminate 3000 metric tonnes of CO2 output per year when completed. This is done alongside upgrades of ground facilities such as terminals and offices to enhance energy efficiency, as well as wind and solar projects for alternative power. The company is also pursuing ambitious recycling of inflight waste and ground waste which is standard in its Flight Attendant Manual. This program diverts an estimated 800 tonnes of waste from landfills (AAG, 2012; Welsh, 2010). These audacious initiatives however result in a significant dis-benefit of sustainable development which is the high cost of transformation and uptake of new technologies. This impacts industry players’ financial positions, a challenge exacerbated by the industry’s slim margins which hinder their economic capacity. Alaska Air Group however prides itself in its year-over-year load factors (percentage of seats filled) which has helped improve its efficiency. As of 2012, Alaska Airlines had achieved reductions in carbon emission intensity per revenue passenger mile 7.8% since 2009 and 29.8% since 2004. Its total carbon emissions have decreased 3.2% in 8 years despite a 27% growth in business. Its sustainability initiatives have significantly contributed to the creation of direct economic value benefiting employees and investors with the company achieving record full-year adjusted net income of 287.4 million dollars, leading in profitability in spite of global economic challenges impacting aviation (AAG, 2012; Cornelissen and Clarke, 2010). Conclusion Grim statistics of the impact of aviation on environmental impact and contribution to climate change paint a gloomy picture of the sustainability of the industry’s anticipated growth. IPCC and experts even propose the constraint of the growth of aviation to stem this impact. Nevertheless, there is potential in innovation and technological advancements leading to reduction in emissions and progress is being made to realize these gains. This progress is hindered by ‘first mover’ competitive disadvantage as well as various hurdles to the success of initiatives brought about significantly by the fragmentation in the industry with the lack of a comprehensive and unilateral framework governing progress. This frustrates enthusiasm of executives and the industry and hinders progress to sustainable development. The example of Alaska Air Group, however, clearly demonstrates that aviation can achieve dramatic improvements required to in environmental performance. Innovations in aircraft and fuel designs, as well as airline and airport operations can have significant positive effects for sustainability in the aviation industry in the short and longer term. Sustainable development requires the participation of all stakeholders in the industry for success of initiatives. Stakeholders encompass governments, regulatory and advisory organizations, industry players, employees, interest groups, and customers. 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