De-icing operations at Minnesota Saint Paul

Executive SummaryThis study explains the consequences of research into how de-icing operations at Minnesota Saint Paul could be improved. The findings were that this airdrome should utilize a combination of infrared warming and antifreeze crop-dusting in order to defrost aircraft in a fast, safe, cost effectual and environmentally friendly manner. The de-icing procedure is called the â€Å" thrust through method † and this study has backed up its probe through elaborate computations and the usage of a determination matrix to compare the benefits of the thrust through method against utilizing others. Although there are some jobs such as its comparatively long payback clip of 2.5 old ages, plus risk the airdrome may hold to pay license fees due to patents on the engineering, the benefits of the thrust through method outweigh these drawbacks. One ground for this is that after the payback period the airdrome will do an one-year economy of about $ 7,080,000IntroductionRationale for the research The procedure of taking ice, hoar or snow from the surface of an aircraft is known as aircraft de-icing. This is an indispensable process because if these substances accumulate on an aeroplane they will magnify the retarding force force that the plane experiences. This will cut down the ability of its wings to bring forth adequate lift force to let it to take-off or tactic whilst in flight. Besides, harm could be caused if a big piece of ice dislodges from the plane and hits sensitive constituents like its engine. This could take to riders losing their lives in a clang and others losing their belongingss. The Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, modulate all major civil air power operations in America. One of their regulations is that aircraft must be free of ice before takeoff and during flight. Background This study uses Minneapolis Saint Paul ( MSP ) airdrome, Minnesota, as its primary instance survey. This is because aircraft at this airdrome often needs to undergo make up one's minding as a consequence of the cold clime before, during and after winter in that part. MSP airdrome spans 3,400 estates, has five tracks, five de-icing tablets and â€Å" served more than 32 million travelers in 2009 doing it 15th in the United States andA 30th in the universe in footings of figure of riders served yearly. † ( MSP Airport, 2010 ) De-icing is presently carried out at MSP airdrome by operators who spray an ethylene-glycol based aircraft de-icing fluid onto planes. Storm H2O drains to roll up the waste fluid, before it is transported by a truck to a recycling installation to be treated. It needs intervention because its high Biochemical Oxygen Demand ( BOD ) makes it harmful to the environment. Research Aims and Aims This probe aims to happen a method and chemical to utilize for de-icing planes which is more environmentally friendly, cheaper and faster than that which is presently used in MSP airdrome. It should be a â€Å" entire solution engineering † which eliminates/reduces all the jobs that the current de-icing method causes without bring forthing damaging side effects. These purposes will be achieved by finishing the undermentioned aims: Identify a replacement de-icing fluid which has the same/better de-icing functionality but costs less and is safer than the one presently used in MSP airdrome. Find a better manner to recycle the waste de-icing fluid Ensure that the new utility chemical allow de-icing fluid to be recycled Find another manner to take snow from aircraftGENERIC DESIGN PROCESSAdministrations frequently use a generic design procedure as they turn a merchandise thought into a manufactured point. Using a systematic, good organised designed procedure helps to cut down the research and development clip that a fresh merchandise experiences. The design squad for this undertaking used a generic design procedure and the actions that they took at each phase are detailed below: Merchandise Planning – First the squad used merchandise planning to assist do that dependable and valid research was carried out directly off. This started this by keep backing a treatment in which they clarified the purpose and aims of the undertaking. Then they identified their strengths and failings in relation to these aims to assist them take which responsibilities they were responsible for. Finally they agreed upon timescales in which to accomplish each aim. Designation of Customer Needs – Customers demands guided the squad ‘s merchandise inventions that were found. The squad held interviews with a representative from each major stakeholder group in the air hose industry, such as the air hose director and spray operator, to let them to voice their demands. This made it easier for the squad to put merchandise specifications and design a merchandise that they would O.K. . Constitution of Product Specifications – The client demands were ranked in order of their importance. The rank of each demand was relative to a weighting, tungsten, which was later used in a determination matrix. This information was used to bring forth merchandise specifications which were further defined utilizing prosodies. Coevals of merchandise thoughts – A insight was held to bring forth merchandise thoughts. This was utile because it encouraged the squad to construct thoughts on top of one another. From this they saw similarities between thoughts and linked some of them to specify a entire solution engineering. Choice of merchandise thoughts – A determination matrix was used to quantitatively compare the importance of each client demand in relation to the merchandise thoughts. The merchandise with the highest mark was selected for proving. Testing – The entire solution engineering was further evaluated in footings of its public presentation and economic viability. Because it was really good its specifications were was sent to industries so that they could construct a paradigm. Figure 1 – An illustration of the generic design procedure Figure 1 illustrates the merchandise design methodological analysis which begins with merchandise planning and ends with proving and industry. The flecked lines show that if one phase of the design procedure did non give advantageous consequences the squad would travel one or multiple phases back in order to polish their old purposes. Then they would progress through each phase of the procedure once more until they reached the concluding testing and fabrication phase. This process of measuring and re-assessing merchandise developments ensured that hapless designs were eliminated or improved before they reached the testing and industries phase.NeedAssorted clients have an involvement in aircraft de-icing operations ; these persons are referred to as stakeholders. The success of this venture will depend on how good it meets the demands of these persons. Hence, the squad evaluated each stakeholder ‘s demand utilizing an interview and ranked it harmonizing to its importance.Informa tion GatheringThe stakeholders were identified on the footing on who will pay for, sell, usage and run the de-icing engineering, these included air hose pilots and riders etc. They were interviewed and their responses are summarised below.Spray operatorQ1: How do you defrost a plane? â€Å" A container on a truck is filled with de-icing fluid which is assorted with H2O to a 50 % concentration by volume. I sit in an enclosed cabin and heat the fluid onboard the truck to 70oC before I spray it onto the plane until all the ice thaws. †Airport directorQ2: How of import is the BOD of a de-icing fluid? â€Å" Very of import, we pay the intervention works about $ 0.35 per US gallon and the monetary value goes up if the BOD additions. Our airdrome is fined if the BOD5 discharged to the environment exceeds 900 metric tons per twelvemonth. Q3: How long would you anticipate to wait for a return on your investing? â€Å" 1.5-2 old ages † Q4: How much does ethylene glycol cost? â€Å" The norm is $ 5-7 per gallon. † Q5: What safeguards were taken since your last incident? â€Å" We thought of retraining staff, but now operations are run by an outsourced concern. De-icing tablets and a drainage system were installed. †Aircraft directorQ6: What do you believe of incorporating a warming system onto aircraft? â€Å" Not ideal for commercial planes because it ‘s expensive †Air traffic accountantQ7: How severe is the break caused by aircraft de-icing? â€Å" During the extremum of the winter season there are regular holds. Aircraft must be de-iced once more if they exceed a holdover clip of 5 proceedingss. †Ranking of demands and ‘sanity check ‘The squad identified the most of import stakeholder demands and ranked them as listed below. Each demand was given a weighting, tungsten, harmonizing to its rank as portion of a ‘sanity cheque ‘ . Table 1 – The rank of each stakeholder demand and its weightingNeedWeight-ing, tungstenReasons1 ) Safety4 Safety was the top concern of every stakeholder. Aircraft at MSP airdrome can merely transport riders if they obey safety ordinances set by the FAA.2 ) LifeCost3 Some stakeholders disagreed on fiscal issues sing how much hard currency should be spent on certain points. e.g most spray operators would wish luxury de-icing cabins whereas airdrome directors would instead put the money. However, all stakeholders agreed that no de-icer with a high life-time cost would be acceptable.3 ) Speed2 Slow de-icing can do net income losingss due to detain flights.4 )Environmental impact1 Although the airdrome will be fined for doing inordinate pollution these costs are usually absorbed by clients.Constitution OF PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONSMost of the demands highlighted by stakeholders were expressed in a qualitative mode. They needed to be converted into specifications in order to avoid fiddling yet expensive betterments being made to MSP airdrome. To make this the worst instance de-icing conditions that could potentially take topographic point at MSP airdrome were defined and as portion of saneness cheque. Following prosodies were used set up specifications for merchandise and procedure design methods that could get by with the worst instance de-icing scenarios at the airdrome. Specification 1 – Annual length of operation The day of the months in which the planes will necessitate to be de-iced scopes from November to early April because on these day of the months the temperature in Minneapolis Saint Paul is below stop deading. Therefore, any new de-icing method must be able to run through this period of 5 months and 1 hebdomad ( 157 yearss ) every twelvemonth. ( Figure 2 ) Figure 2- The mean last temperature in MSP every twelvemonth from 1971-2000 Specifications 2 – The instance survey aircraft and its ice coverage The mass of ice on a plane was calculated utilizing a worst instance scenario, which was that one of the biggest commercial rider planes ; the Boeing-747 ( BBC, 2007 ) needed to be de-iced. It was assumed that the top country of both its wings was covered by a 1cm thick bed of ice. Flying country ( Boeing-747 ) = 541.2 M2 ( Airliners, 2010 ) Ice Thickness = 0.01m Ice Coverage 100 % i Volume of ice on wings, Volice = 5.412 M3 ( App. 1, Eqn 1 ) Density of ice, I?ice = 917kg/m3 ( Kotz, 2009 ) i Mass of ice, = 4962.8 kilogram ( App. 1, Eqn 2 ) Specifications 3- Heating Duty Latent heat of merger of ice= 333 kJ/Kg ( Bird, 2003 ) i Minimum warming responsibility = 1652.6 MJ ( App 1, Eqn 3 ) Specifications 4 – The utility de-icing fluid The atmospheric temperature in MSP airdrome during the de-icing season is 20oF ( -29oC ) therefore the replacement ADF stop deading point must be less than 20oC in order to keep its functionality. Additionally it must supply a freezing point depression of more than 20oC as a consequence of this ambient temperature. All the stakeholders agreed that merchandise safety is of topmost importance, so the replacement ADF should be less toxic than ethylene-glycol. Additionally they agree that the one-year natural stuff costs of the new cubing method should be less than that of the current method. Two ways to make this are to utilize less cubing fluid per plane in the first case ; this should be less than the 408 gallons per aircraft required by the current de-icing method ( App. 1, Eqn. 9 ) , or to recycle the de-icing fluid.GENERATION AND SCREENING OF IDEASThe squad worked separately and brainstormed together to assist maximize the figure of good thoughts that were generated. Whilst making so they reflected upon the merchandise specifications to and stakeholder demands to assist test thoughts.De-icing IdeasDe-icing boots – Rubber boots are attached to the front borders of wings on the plane. The aircraft inflates these boots with air to do ice that take ice that has accumulated on them. An unacceptable hazard of utilizing this method in MSP is that the system must be activated every bit shortly as a before an big ice bed can organize and hit other parts of the plane when it dislodges. Bleed air- In this method hot air from the aircraft engines is blasted on to the ice to run it. Although this could run ice really rapidly the airdrome director at MSP airdromes commented that incorporating heating systems on to aircraft is â€Å" non ideal for commercial planes because it ‘s expensive † . Mechanical Scraping/Blowing Employees use coppices, or fabrics to physically force ice off the aircraft. This method would be really easy to set into pattern at MSP because the equipment the required is really inexpensive. But it is more likely that harm will be done to aeroplanes as the employees scrape ice so the resulting aircraft care cost is could be really high. A propene ethanediol based de-icing fluid – Propylene ethanediol is a popular de-icing fluid and is regarded as non-toxic, hence it was chosen for farther probe.Decision MatrixThe interviews that were conducted with the stakeholders highlighted that some client demands are more of import than others. Although the importance of some specific demands differed in each stakeholder group four demands were systematically rated as indispensable. These standards were analysed in a determination matrix with weighing Markss taken from Table 1 Table 2- Decision Matrix which focuses on the alternate deinking methodsOptionEthylene Glycol( Benchmark ) APropylene GlycolInfrared + Propylene-glycolStandardsBurdeningtungstenRatingMarkRatingMarkRatingMarkSafetyA 5 2 10 4 20 7 35Life CostA 4 5 20 5 20 6 24SpeedA 3 A 5 15 A 4 16 6 18Environmental impactA 2 A 1 2 A 5 10 6 14EntireA 14 A 13 47 A 18 66 A 25 91 Harmonizing to this determination matrix the best de-icing solution should be based on a combination of infrared and propylene ethanediol de-icers is the best as this option has the highest sore. The 2nd best method would be to utilize an ADF which is based on propene ethanediol instead than ethylene ethanediol.SELECTION OF IDEASA comparing of ethylene-glycol and propylene ethanediols based de-icing fluidsThe most freezing point sedatives in aircraft de-icing fluids in the US are ethylene ethanediol ( EG ) and propylene ethanediol ( PG ) . Because PG and EG have a similar life-time cost, in this chapter the chemicals will be compared at a 50 % concentration by volume in footings of their safety, de-icing velocity and environmental impact because these are three of the most of import needs the stakeholders. Safety Ethylene ethanediol has a comparatively high toxicity when compared to Propylene-Glycol. It has been classed by the US Congress as a risky air pollutant ( HAP ) , if 2268 kilogram or more flights into the environment within 24 hours users are obligated to describe the event under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act ( CERCL ) . However propylene ethanediol is non classified as a HAP, and users are non required to inform CERCL if it is released. Both chemicals are said to be non-lethal if worlds if they are breathed in with air or adsorbed through tegument. However, unlike PG, EG is toxic to worlds and mammals if it is ingested straight. Even though PG it is regarded as non-toxic it is still a wellness jeopardy because it uses O as it biodegrades which could do some beings to smother. De-icing Speed The freezing point of Propylene-glycol is -34oC which is somewhat higher than ethylene-glycol which freezes at -37oC. This is one of the grounds why MSP airdrome still uses EG. Another is that a lower volume of antifreeze is required for EG to accomplish the same freeze point depression as PG. MSP airdrome suffers severe conditions extremes so it needs to utilize an ADF which is dependable, particularly in highly cold conditions as this is by and large when it takes longer to defrost aircraft Propylene-glycol ‘s boiling point is 106oC whereas ethene ethanediol has a boiling point of 102.2oC for ethene ethanediol. In this instance Propylene-glycol is the better pick because it can reassign heat to frost at a higher temperature than ethylene ethanediol. Discussion There are some drawbacks with respect to utilizing ethylene ethanediol as a de-icing fluid, particularly refering its environmental impact. But, overall EG and PG have a similar de-icing public presentation degree.The Rate of Melting due to Heat Conduction EntirelyThe ADF is heated to 70oC before it is sprayed onto the plane, this heat entirely will do the ice to run through heat conductivity. The rate of this warming was calculated utilizing equation 1a, 1a ) Where Q= is the heat flow rate in the X-direction in kJ/s, A is the country normal to the way of heat flow in M2, dT/dx is the temperature gradient and K is the thermic conduction of ice The thermic conduction of ice at -20oC is 2.39 W/mK, the country normal to the way of heat flow is equal to the flying country of the Boeing 747 =541.2m2, the temperature alteration that occurs is ( 70oC- -20oc ) =90oC and the thickness of the ice x is 0.01m. Therefore the rate of heat transportation by the temperature of the de-icing fluid alone is 2a ) The reasonable heat is kJ ( App. 1, Eqn 12 ) The latent heat of merger is 1652612.4 kJ, ( App.1, Eqn 3 ) Summarizing the above gives the sum of het required to run the ice on a Boeing 747 from a starting temperature of -20oC which is Hence minimal clip that it would take to run the ice on the plane by heat conductivity entirely is This is a really fast clip, particularly as harmonizing to the undertaking brief, de-icing at MSP airdrome usually takes 10 proceedingss per plane. One ground ground for this difference is due to the fact that the ADF fluid is non ever in full contact with ice, merely its bottom surface is. Additionally these computations assume that heat transportation occurs over the whole of each flying equally, which is non the instance in existent life because de-icing fluid is sprayed onto the wing in different locations consistently. A concluding cause of this difference could be due to the fact that snow has a lower heat conduction, K, than ice and so any snow on a plane would take down the rate of heat transportation from the ADF.Entire SOLUTION TECHNOLOGYDrive-Through De-icingFigure 3 – An illustration of the thrust through de-icing engineering The concluding design construct was to carry on de-icing operations as a thrust through system. First the aircraft enters the Infrared airdock where and warm air blows snow of its wings whilst they are heated by infrared radiation for a typical continuance of 5-10 proceedingss. Ice on the plane thaws onto an inclined incline and the effluent is channelled into the waste aggregation zone. Water is channelled through bing storm H2O pipes into substructure to the located under the floor of the crop-dusting and waste aggregation country. The effluent is pumped out and transferred by a truck into the airdrome ‘s detainment pools. When the effluent has been removed compaction stoppers are removed and the plane moves into the spraying country. Here it is sprayed with propene ethanediol for up to 5 proceedingss to assist forestall any ice forming on it before takeoff. The propene ethanediol drains into a separate country of the aggregation chamber and is pumped to a detainment pool until it is due to be recycled. Finally the compaction plus are reinstalled so the system is ready to defrost another plane. Recycling Solution Minneapolis presently uses three Glycol Recovery Vehicles to roll up effluent. Using the IR installation eliminates the demand to defrost aircraft utilizing ethanediol by around 90 % , so no more of these vehicles will necessitate to be bought if the new engineering is adopted. Besides the airdrome has saved capital costs by utilizing their bing storm H2O drains to roll up both ethanediol and storm H2O. These storm drains can and should go on to be used if MSP airdrome adopts the Drive-Through De-icing system to salvage hard currency and clip during the installing of the new system. Harmonizing to ( Big book ) â€Å" Careful direction of the keeping systems enables the airdrome to roll up adequate effluent with high ethanediol concentrations to do glycol recycling/recovery economically feasible. † The bulk of ethanediol which is recycled is sold to makers who use it in other glycol-based merchandises. Analysis OF ECONOMIC VIABLITY Rate of return on investing ( ROI ) 3a ) Payback Time 3b )=2.5 old agesUnfortunately the payback clip on the thrust through de-icing method is non fast plenty to fulfill the Airport Directors at MSP who expect a payback clip of â€Å" 1.5-2 old ages † . A higher rate of return on investing would cut down the payback clip so it would be wise to look into extra ways to cut down the cost of de-icing utilizing this engineering, and ways to better its efficiency. Patent issues Because this entire solution engineering uses de-icing methods which have been used in industry antecedently, but it combines them in a alone manner it is hard to measure whether or non it can be patented. Furthermore, it is expected that it would take a long clip to patent the merchandise even if it were possible because of its complexness and usage of old de-icing thoughts. The writer has recommended that MSP airdrome consults a attorney sing these affairs if they do non necessitate to utilize the de-icing solution instantly. If MSP airdrome do necessitate to utilize the engineering instantly they might hold to pay licence fees to one or more patent proprietors. Decision The findings from this probe have shown that the solution engineering that MSP airdrome should utilize to better its aircraft de-icing solution involves utilizing infrared warming and a propene ethanediol as a utility chemical for ethylene-glycol. The procedure is called the â€Å" thrust through method † and the major advantages of this intercrossed solution are that it meets the demands of its stakeholders by being safe, holding a low life-time cost, fast aircraft de-icing rate and low environmental impact. Evidence of this has been provided through a determination matrix and several mathematical ratings. Unfortunately this solution has a payback clip of 2.5 old ages, so research should be carried out to uncover how to do the one-year rate of return on the investing higher. Finally, this intercrossed system uses patented engineering so MSP airdrome might hold to pay license fees for a figure of old ages if it used the thrust through method. However, after the payback period the one-year economy of $ 70,844,300 per twelvemonth outweighs any of these drawbacks. Further Recommendations Find ways to cut the operating cost of the Drive-Through De-icing system as this will raise the one-year rate of return that this engineering provides. If the rate of return is high plenty the payback clip will drop below 2 old ages and the airdrome directors in MSP will hold this demand fulfilled. Use hot air to blow snow off the aircraft in the IR airdock. This will assist to run the snow and ice excessively, nevertheless the cost of warmin+ 3.0g air may countervail the benefit of a faster de-icing clip. Nb, as shown by the weightings, tungsten, in Table 1, the life-time cost of the engineering is more of import that the de-icing velocity that it provides.MentionsBooks and DiariesBird J.O. , 2003, Science for technology, pp. 205, Newnes, 2003, UK Ketler P. , Mosher M. , Scott A. , 2008, Chemistry: The Practical Science, media enhanced edition, Cengage Learning, pp. 478, UK Kotz J.C. , Paul T. , Townsend R.J. , 2009, Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity, Cengage Learning, pp. 15, USA Tsokos K.A. , 2010, Cambridge Physics for the IB Diploma, pp. 172, Cambridge University Press, UK Sinnot R.K. , 2005, Coulson and Richardson ‘s Chemical Engineering Series: Chemical Engineering Design, pp. 439, Butterworth-Heinmann, UKOnline ResourcesMSP Airport, 2010, About Us, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mspairport.com/about-msp.aspx, 24/10/2010 RSS Weather, 2003, Minneapolis-St. Paul, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rssweather.com/climate/Minnesota/Minneapolis-St.Paul, 23/10/10 Airliners.Net, 2010, The Boeing 747-400, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main? id=100, 20/10/2010 BBC, 25/10/2007, A380 superjumbo lands in Sydney, hypertext transfer protocol: //news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7061164.stm, 19/10/2010 Energy Information Administration, October 2010, Electric Power Monthly, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm.pdf, 15/10/2010 Wingss Magazine, 2007, Infrared De-icing: Giving glycol a tally for its money, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.wingsmagazine.com/content/view/1325/38/ , 23/10/10APPENDICIESAppendix 1Specifications 2 -The instance survey aircraft and its ice coverageThe mass of ice on a plane was calculated utilizing a worst instance scenario, which was that one of the biggest commercial rider planes ; the Boeing-747 ( BBC, 2007 ) needed to be de-iced. It was assumed that the top country of both its wings was covered by a 1cm thick bed of ice. Flying country ( Boeing-747 ) = 541.2 M2 Ice Thickness = 0.01m Ice Coverage 100 % of flying country ( 1 ) Density of ice, I?ice = 917kg/m3 ( Kotz, 2009 ) ( 2 )Specifications 3 -Heating DutyThe ice on the aircraft needed to be provided with adequate energy to get the better of its 333kJ/Kglatent heat of merger, L, to run. The sum of heat energy, Q, required to accomplish this was calculated utilizing Equation 3 ( 3 ) ( Bird, 2003 )Specifications 4 – The utility de-icing fluidIn this subdivision the volume of ethene ethanediol and propene ethanediol needed to defrost a individual Boeing-747 will be calculated and compared. The prosodies are based upon a 50 % by volume solution of each chemical. Volume of Ethylene Glycol Required The freeze point depression of an ideal solution is given by the expression ( 5 ) Where a?† Tf represents the freeze point depression, m, is the solute concentration and Kf represents the freeze point depression invariable of H2O which is 1.86A °KA ·kg/mol ( Kilter P. , Mosher M. and Scott A. Andrew Scott, 2008 ) The coveted freeze point depression, a?† Tf is 20oC because winter temperatures in MSP autumn to that temperature, harmonizing to the undertaking brief. ( 6 ) The figure of moles of ethanediol required to accomplish the freeze point depression: ( 7 ) The chemical expression of ethylene-glycol is CH2OHCH2OH Mr Carbon = 12, Oxygen=16, Hydrogen=1 iMr ethene ethanediol = 2*16+2*12 + 1*6= 62 g/mol Therefore the mass of ethylene-glycol required per plane is: ( 8 ) The denseness of UCAR ADF at 20oC is 8.9 lb/gal ( US ) ( 1.07 kg/L ) ( SAE AMS 1424 Ethylene Glycol-Based Type I Fluids page 8 ) Therefore the volume of ethylene-glycol required is at least 408 US gallons ( 9 ) Because the de-icing fluid used in MSP airdrome is 50 % ethylene-glycol and about 50 % H2O, defrosting a individual plane would necessitate duplicate the sum of ADF which works out at 6,184 liters.The cost of ethene ethanediol per aircraftIn general the chemical constituents in de-icing fluids, such as H2O, have a sum cost which is well less than that of ethylene-glycol. Hence the cost of these constituents in de-icing unstable solutions as deemed insignificant and ignored. Harmonizing to the airdrome director that was interviewed the minimal cost of a gallon of ethene ethanediol is $ 5 per US gallon ( 10 ) In MSP airdrome there is an norm of 293 takeoffs per twenty-four hours from 5 de-icing tablets ( MSP Airport, 2010 ) Assuming that during the de-icing season in MSP lasts 157 yearss and every plane needs to be de-iced the one-year cost of ADF is about ( 11 ) Reasonable heat required Harmonizing to the undertaking brief winter temperatures in Minneapolis Saint Paul autumn to-20oC. Ice must be brought to its runing point of 0oC before it can undergo a stage alteration from solid to liquid. Where Cp is the specific heat capacity of ice at -20oC which is 2 kJ/kg/K, ( Tsokos KA, 2010 ) , m is the mass of ice and a?† T is the temperature difference ( 12 ) Harmonizing to Wingsmagazine ( 2010 ) Ian Sharkey, the manager of de-icing services, with Radiant Aviation Services stated that during an ice storm on March 15-16, 2007 his squad had an â€Å" norm aircraft â€Å" block † clip ( aircraft brakes on to brakes off ) of less than 43 proceedingss for big aircraft † hence it was assumed that the Boeing 747 could be de-iced in this timeframe every bit good. This information was used to gauge the power that the IR deice would necessitate to convey the ice on an aircraft from -15oC to 0oC in 43 proceedingss, ( 13 ) Latent heat required Next was calculated which is the power needed to run the ice on the aircraft at 0oC in 47 proceedingss. ( 14 ) Therefore the entire power needed to run ice on the aircraft in 43 proceedingss by utilizing infrared deink engineering, QIR is ( 15 ) To do the value of QIR more realistic some premises refering the sum of energy loss, between the heat beginning and the wing were added. From this the excess power that the optical maser will necessitate to give out in order to get the better of the inferred energy lost as between the beginning and its finish ( transport efficiency ) and the energy lost due to contemplation by the ice on the surface of the wing ( absorption efficiency ) was calculated. Laser device efficiency, I ·laser=0.33, Transport efficiency, I ·transport = 0.75 Absorption efficiency, I ·absorbtion =0.75 The optical maser device, conveyance and soaking up efficiencies cut down the sum of energy that heats the ice. This is called the efficiency loss, 1-I ·i, and it was calculated as follows,( 16 ) Hence, ( 17 ) Similarly, ( 18 ) Hence, the per centum excess energy, , required to cover for these energy losingss is ( 19 ) In existent footings ( 20 ) From this the entire IR power required to run ice from ice from its initial temperature of -20oC ( 21 ) = 586kW+227.9kW +1090.5kW= 1904.4 kilowattCost of de-icing utilizing IR energyConvert to kWh, The entire IR energy demand was converted into kWh as the de-icing clip of about 43 proceedingss for a Boeing 747 in highly rough conditions ( wingsmagazine, 2010 ) ( 22 ) In Minnesota during 2010 the â€Å" Average Retail Monetary value of Electricity to Ultimate clients † within was $ 0.068 per kWh ( Electric power monthly, 2010 ) Therefore the estimated the cost of defrosting a Boeing 747, by IR radiation in 43 proceedingss is: ( 23 ) We must account for the cost of anti-icing fluid ; this 10 % of the normal sum of ethanediol ( 24 ) Hence, ( 25 ) This system runs for 157days, with 293 takeoffs per twenty-four hours which gives an one-year running cost of approximately $ 26.8 million per tablet. ( 26 ) The capital cost of the IR de-icing tablets The JFK airdrome is a hub airdrome runs commercial rider flights in a similar manner to the the MSP airdrome. The JFK airdrome cost â€Å" $ 9.5-million † and can keep big aircraft such as the Boeing 747, which this study focuses on. Due to these similarities it can be assumed that the cost of the IR installation in 2010 will be around US $ 9.5 million every bit good. However a cost index should be used because the IR installation in JFK airdrome was commissioned in 2006 ( Wingsmagazine, 2010 ) The cost of the hanger was scaled up utilizing the CEPCI, so that it would be accurate for 2010. The latest information available to us was the CEPCI for 2008, it was 575.4 so and as of April 2010 it is 55.3 ( Access Intelligence, LLC 2010 ) . Taking this into history an estimation of the cost of the hanger in 2010 was made. ( Eqn 27 ) ( 27 ) There are five IR de-icing tablets so the entire capital cost is $ 49,219,345 Fixed cost – Staff fees The IR airdock, spray country and aggregation country will each hold a supervisor and operator, working an 8 hr, 9AM-5PM displacement for 5 yearss per hebdomad. Their wages will be ?18,000 ( technician ) and ?24,000 ( supervisor ) . The senior director for each de-icing tablet will hold a wage of $ 30,000. MSP will necessitate 5 new IR de-icing tablets to replace the 5 EG de-icing tablets that they presently use.

NCSOFT Corporation Essay

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NCsoft had achieved massive success and brand recognition after it had launched its initial games like Lineage 1, Lineage 2 and Guild Wars. But since then the tastes of its customers had been gaining diversity, therefore, the company needed to look out for ways to fulfill the demand for its products. The company later also developed other products within its simple product portfolio to increase its customer base and also to expand its company to acquire chunks of market share. Play NC was also one of the products it had launched which gained little success, almost negligible. Since then, the company has been focusing on its key issues which were also considered by its CEO. The first issue related to maintain the top position of the company in the leading game market. For this, the company needs to expand, especially by acquiring new subsidiaries in other parts of the world where it had not previously marketed its products. The company’s second most important issue is to counterattack the global competition coming from the gaming industry and also other related industries, which might threaten NCsoft indirectly. The company needs to create customer oriented products that feature their personal lives, so that they are attached to the product and to the company itself. The company needs to formulate a globalization strategy. They need to increase its customer base. They also need to  diversify to increase the range of its offerings and by including elements that emotionally attach the customers to its products, NCsoft could fulfill its long term dream of becoming a leading player. CASE OVERVIEW NCSOFT, founded in March 1997, launched its first game with the name of Lineage in September 1998. Lineage, was Korea’s first role playing game. Although, NCsoft, began as a systems integration business, but soon it was transformed into a full game company. After the release of the first game, it gained a lot of success and was soon listed on the Korean Stock Exchange. Just after its creating in 1997, NCsoft was earning about KRW5.5 billion. It was only in 2007 that its revenues increased by 170 times and its people increase from just 17 to 16,000. This case presents us with a contribution of NCsoft in the Korean Gaming market. NCsoft had faced many challenges and was yet to face. Since the year 2000, the PC game market has declined by over 30%. Also the mobile game market began to experience declining growth rates. Apart from this the video game market experienced negative growth in the year 2004, due to economic stagnation. Nevertheless, the Korean game market started to show high annual growth rate of around 50%. By 2006, NCsoft had earned its 43% of its revenue from its overseas market. The company had an advantage of a first mover in the initial years of its operations in the gaming industry. However, this was no longer its first mover advantage. With the advent of new technologies, development of various profit models, diversification of accounting methods and building an online platform for online games, the company is now forced to reinvent new ways to reach the market. CASE QUESTIONS NCSOFT has a great growth potential both inside and outside of Korea. The president of the company is facing a number of issues. As the founder of the company, he wants to maintain a strong position in the Korean market. He wants to find out how to diversify into the global market in the area of, for example, casual games. He wants to deal with the negative perceptions that have been developed in the minds of many people regarding the side effects of playing online games. Also the company wants to formulate strategies to counter attack the competition that is coming from competitors developing digital-content online games. 1. MAINTAING ITS TOP POSITION NCsoft has achieved success in the gaming industry and maintained its number 1 position in the Korean market for a long period. It has released a variety of gaming services such as, Lineage 1 and 2, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, blade and sword and also other casual games. The company has developed globally and has grown in diversity within its customer base. The company had so far maintained its top position in the Korean gaming industry. However, it was still needed to raise the quality of its gaming services to meet the changing expectations of its people and also mitigate the competition coming from the global market. – value drivers? One of the ways for the company to maintain its top position was to occupy the niches in the game industry. For this, the organization needs to focus on its core capabilities and capitalize on them. So far the company had achieved success in the area of digital content company. The company needed to grow its business through the integration of wired and wireless networks to become a global online development and publishing company. Since its inception, NCsoft was differentiated in the perception of its games. They focused on, to make the lives of the customers more joyful and make them a part of their entertainment culture. The company needs to introduce new games into the market to further increase its market share. It is known that online games were going to create a nearly infinite potential because they were internet based. The company needs to further expand in this area by targeting niche markets. NCsoft also had the dream of becoming the worlds’ best digital content company and had three major mottos, â€Å"Fun, Creativity and Quality.† The company needs to expand but it also needs to formulate such strategies and positioning plans that prevent cannibalization of the company’s other successful products. It has been seen that a new market within the gaming industry has been emerging. This was the development of game portals for the people of 30 or above and also some other casual games which were very popular with the people from all the ages, including the  elders and the children. NCsoft can also target this area to maintain its brand image and top position not only in Korea but in the global market too. 2. MITIGATING THE WORLD COMPETITION NCsoft was now giving considerable attention to the emerging competition that was going to increase in the distant future. It was known that the future competition in the gaming industry, especially in the online games area would not be just dependent upon the games of other competitors. The competition was about providing the entertainment. People are beginning to search for games on the internet. Therefore, NCsoft needs to prepare itself for competition with other online companies, such as portals, communities and shopping malls. The online service of the company will not help the company survive in the future environment of the competition. The company needs to introduce more and more games to survive in the online environment, where users have a limited time to use the internet. The online games on the internet can be described in various forms. These will include all such content which provides entertainment to the customers. Most important along with this is that the company needs to launch such new games that will provide its customers the true perceived value. It could launch other products just like Lineage 1, Lineage 2 and the Guild Wars because of online games the customer was not just a customer but it is now considered as an asset. Therefore, the company needs to apply the Porter’s Five forces model to look at the emerging competition and analyze its position. The company should conduct this analysis when entering new markets. The company needs to examine the micro-environment as well as its macro-environment, before entering new markets. When the company has analyzed the new markets, especially the niche markets where it is planning to penetrate, they should expand on their core competencies and expertise and the areas where the company has achieved proficiency to create a competitive advantage and sustain it for the long term. NCsoft has always ruled the online game market in Korea, but since the Internet had appeared, most of the companies were transformed, to online gaming companies and first movers appeared in different fields. Everyone was looking for fully realizing the new market potential coming out of the online games. NCsoft  was also one of them. From all of this, NCsoft came to enjoy brand recognition in the year 2007. 3. DIVERSIFICATION OF ITS GAME OFFERINGS The company began in 1997 and since then the company has focused on adding new elements and updated when it first launched Lineage in 1998. The company has focused emphasis on the games as a work of art which was completed over several sessions of trimming and molding done through many hands. The main motive of NCsoft was not just to invest its capital in the business and generate a required rate of return on that investment, but the company always wanted to and had examined it’s all new games to identify what areas were falling short of the highest standard of quality. Since the beginning, the company has always been criticized for its dependence on the success of Lineage alone. Looking at its simple product portfolio, the goal of the company of becoming a global company in the game industry it does not match. Therefore, later NCsoft had diversified and had increased, a new product to its simple product portfolio. The name of this product was play NC. This product provided a number of games, but its performance was not good. But still NCsoft has been focusing on developing new products through most of its subsidiaries. Garret brothers have given NCsoft the title of becoming the next-generation online game. NCsoft needs to focus on diversifying its portfolio further. It needs to identify niche markets and penetrate its products in those markets. This would not only increase the market share of the company, but it would also give the company opportunity to become the most leading players in the game industry. The CEO of the company, T. J. Kim himself enjoyed playing games and he had also spent sleepless nights playing these games just like his own customers. This was all due to the hard work of developers of NCsoft. They always tried to put their complete efforts and souls into the development of the games which always was a NCsoft’s advantage. The company needs to use these elements and the element of aiming for perfection to leave its competitors behind and diversify into new overseas markets. NCsoft needs to now look further than just generating revenues. It should search for new avenues to diversify its games in order to cut the completion  and better monetize its products throughout the world. NCsoft needs to formulate a monetization strategy to create a new strategic advantage. It needs to create games that are more addictive. People should feel that the games have been developed keeping in mind their personal lives. The unpredictability of the gaming industry is the only reason why diversification should be on high on the game developer’s side. The company on the other hand needs to also search areas where its business has grown to the maximum potential. These are the areas from where the company can think of further diversification into different areas. Diversifying into new areas does not simply mean increasing the revenue for the whole business. It also means reducing costs by achieving economies of scale in the business. NCsoft can acquire new subsidiaries in different parts of the world where it wants to promote its most successful games. This could be done for all online games or internet based games. The company has a very good opportunity to diversify into the area of casual games. Casual games are basically a type of video games which could be played by a huge audience at the same time. The rules required to play these games are simple and are different from one another which distinguish these games from one another. These are simple games and not so much tough like the other hardcore games. These types of games normally play on the personal computers that have internet on them. But now these types of games are becoming popular on mobile phones and game consoles as well. 4. GLOBALIZATION OF NCSOFT’S PRODUCTS If we look at the gaming industry in Korea, it is always seen that active marketing of the online games in overseas country has always contributed to the development of the online game industry. This was also proved by the fact that a forecast showed that the export market share of online games would exceed 82% among all other export games that are sold overseas. This online game industry was further expected to develop in the areas of various profit models and diversification and accounting methods. These online games were then beginning to be exported to Japan. These online games occupied 80% of Korean game exports. So on with the use of its superior technology and wide range of offerings, NCsoft had grown into a global online game company. It had entered countries such as China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Europe and the United States. The most important thing to note about NCsoft’s globalization strategy is its speed. The company should adopt a different payment policy with regard to country to country, despite its domestic payment policy based on monthly charging fee scheme. NCsoft had promoted its first role playing game, Lineage, in the world market. It had signed a licensing contract with a Taiwanese based company names as Gamania. This game was then launched in Taiwan with the name of Tiantang. The company needs to also develop new product offerings and promote those products through other licensing contracts with other companies including Japan, China and America. It has been seen that the major contributor in the success of NCsoft, so far in its profitability is through its game Lineage 1 and Lineage 2. The company has other games that are not much successful in these markets. Therefore the company has the opportunity to win its foreign users’ hearts by differentiating its other games and updating their previous versions in these markets to win margins and create brand recognition. A large portion of the world market today is occupied by the arcade games industry, video games industry and also the console games industry. Although these industries, except the video games industry, are not a direct threat to the online games industry, but still they could become a very credible threat in the future when the console gets connected to the online games. Therefore, it is becoming more and more important for the online games industries to prepare strategies against the console game makers for the future and to also develop such content in their games so that they have a very strong hold of their future. Apart from this, Microsoft has established a center known as an online game innovation center in Korea. It has also announced that soon it would be investing in it about 100 million dollars and will be going to put extra efforts in the online game related  technologies. Therefore, the company needs to develop strategies for its future so that it could remedy its over-dependence on the heavy user based MMORPGs and also to pursue its globalization industry. The task of the personnel involved in the manufacturing of console games is ended when a game has been purchased and installed. The transaction ends here. However, the task of the personnel involved in the online game industry starts right here and this stage provides an opportunity for online game companies, like NCsoft, to provide customer oriented services with respect to each individual country and market characteristics. 5. DEALING WITH NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS & SIDE EFFECTS OF PLAYING ONLINE GAMES. The negative perceptions regarding playing games online could be dealt by counseling the parents of young children. They should be motivated by telling them about the positive effects that online games could bring to children, such as problem solving skills, logic, hand-eye coordination, spatial and fine motor skills, resource management, planning, logistics, multitasking and managing multiple objectives. Given all of these benefits the parents could be motivated and their wrong perceptions regarding playing online games could be easily removed. Also, they should be guided that excessive use of anything would surely be harmful, therefore, children as well as the adults should divide their time between leisure and other activities. CASE SUMMARY/CONCLUSION This case study presents us with the success story of NCsoft as the leading game company in the online game industry. The case focuses on how it emerged from Korea, as a systems integration business and becoming a full gaming company. It diversified its simple product line into a number of successful products after the release of Lineage 1 & Lineage 2. The company now wants to diversify its products further in other overseas markets. It is looking for niche markets to target them with its those games that have not gained much popularity in other markets. The company also will have to formulate a new globalization strategy to meet its long term goal of becoming the world’s leading game player and promote its brand. The company also needs to  formulate strategies to overcome the competition coming from other online game players. It will also need to deal with competition coming from console game and video game developers. Ncsoft needs to develop strategies and perform detailed five forces analysis before entering the new world markets. One of the areas where the company had the opportunity to develop and create its market is the area of digital media gaming. The company could occupy this segment of the market also. It could develop a variety of product offerings in this area and capture the sales of this segment to churn a bigger market share of the global gaming industry. The company also needs strategies and their immediate implementation to maintain its top position in the world market. The company can do so by making its games more thrilling, joyful and reality based. They should include such elements in their games that reflect the personal lives of the people. Finally, they should also give people complete guidance regarding the positivity created by playing these internet based games.

Casablanca analysis

Lund and Captain Renault arriving at the airport to supposedly send Victor Laszlo off to Lisbon, Portugal. Rick Blaine meanwhile plans to send ‘Sis off with her husband. The night before alls had c unfrosted Rick In his deserted cafe about the letters of transit and tries to force him at gunpoint to give them to her, but gives up saying she's unable to due to her still loving him.She explain ins why she oft him without explanation which was because she felt she had to tend to her Ill huh spans who she had believed to have died escaping trot a concentration camp. Rick agrees to h alp leading her believe she will stay with him when Laszlo leaves. Laszlo shows up after narrowing escaping a police raid, and tries to persuade Rick to use the letters to take alls to safe TTY. When Renault arrives with an arrest warrant, Rick convinces him to release Laszlo by promo sing to set him up for the more serious crime of being in possession of the letters of transit.Rick then forces him at g unpoint to assist in their escape. Upon arrival to the airport, Rick does NT give alls much of a choice to either board the plane with Laszlo or stay with him believing that she would regret it and that she needs to help Laszlo with his work. This choice is set up as her either sacrificing her love with Rick & leaving to be honorable for staying in her marriage or staying with him for uncertain future. The former option is emotionally satisfying as an end to thee r relationship s It's filled with honor, grace and dignity.It's the ultimate resolution to their dilemma after having the perfect affair in Pans and then their bad timed reunion. Alga's â€Å"choice† at the end of the film Is not a matter of right or wrong. Whether or not alls chooses to stay In her marriage SSH old not be a matter of It being the right or wrong choice, rather It's her own personal decision w nether or not to choose to be happy and that would not have affected future events In a general SE nose.

Corporate financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate financial management - Essay Example n.d.). Lloyds has strengths as well as products, which are from both the companies that include Lloyds TSB’s approach towards risk and HBOS’s leading bancassurance businesses. The company’s multiple brands provide service to the customers regarding pricing as well as positioning in order to cover and attract more of the market. The two main brands of the company in England are Lloyds TSB as well as Halifax while in Scotland the company’s main brand is Bank of Scotland. The company tries to keep its cost down and improve its services to customers as the company can deliver effectiveness through shared services (Lloyds Banking Group, n.d.). Investigation on Rights Issue of Lloyds Banking Group There are several means of raising capital in an organisation. One such means applied by Lloyds Banking Group has been right issue. The company sold its new shares at discount. It was found that the existing shareholders of the company were offered new shares in ratio to their holdings. The left out shares that were not sold were bought by other investors as well as investment banks underwriting the process that has promised to swab up the unwanted shares in order to ensure that Lloyds gets its money. The reason behind Lloyds raising the fund has been that the bank wanted to evade from being involved in the Government’s toxic Assets Protection Scheme (APS). The bank had 43pc owned by their taxpayers. Originally, in order to insure ?260 billion in loans from the scheme, Lloyds Was expected to pay ?15.6 billion and thus increasing the taxpayer stake to 62pc. Royal Bank of Scotland that took part in the APS ended up being 84pc which were owned by the Government after putting its risky loans for insurance. However, Lloyds has to pay the Government a fee of ?2.5 billion in response for the protection that was by now offered by the taxpayers since the declaration of the scheme in 2009 (Telegraph, 2009) ‘The offer on the table for the share holders’ was that Lloyds, for every current share owned offered 1.34 new shares at a deep discount of around 37p each. The most important consideration has been the cost associated to the average shareholders. The typical investors who owned 740 shares were provided the opportunity to retain their stake in the company by buying around 991 new shares at a price of ?366.67 (Telegraph, 2009). It can be analysed that the fees that Lloyds had to pay was huge. The company planned to spend ?500m on all its cost out of the ?13.5billion raised by them (Daily Mail Reporter, 2009). It was further proposed that if the shareholders of Lloyds don’t do not take any measure at all then Lloyds is going to sell the shareholders allocation of shares on its behalf and send them the profit by cheque (MoneyHighStreet Staff, 2009). For the 2.8 million private shareholders the average holding was 740 shares, which denotes that if they assume their rights in full, they would have had to pay al most ?370. Small investors were involved in right issue of Lloyds. Some were the institutions such as pension funds and investment firms along with the taxpayers. However, for those investors who didn’t take up the offer had to receive a cheque from the bank for the sale of their nil-paid rights. Moreover, the underwriters had guaranteed to buy the shares that was not subscribed for by

Management- Data for Sale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management- Data for Sale - Essay Example (Rugge & Glossbrenner, 1997) 1. Most data brokers do not fully investigate the client that they are selling information to. This results in impersonation being used as a primary tool by hackers to acquire personal information from data brokers. There is a high probability that this information can be misused and incidents in the past have proven that such information is misused. (Baynes, 2011) Not only is the information provided by data brokers subject to misuse intentionally, there are other instances where the information has been abused unintentionally. There are myriad cases of personal information being lost from the laptops and other resources of data mining companies and data brokers. This poses another serious question as to the security methods employed by data brokers. Again this signals towards an unethical method of dealing with security because there is as yet little legislation to push data brokers to ensure that all information is retained safely. (Whiting, 2006) 2. T he unrestrained proliferation of data brokers has a straight negative consequence. The increasing numbers of data brokers are facing tough competition in an unregulated market so they are forced to use any means to reach greater profitability.

A reflective report based upon the considerations of career direction Essay

A reflective report based upon the considerations of career direction - Essay Example It is worth mentioning that a better career plan might support individuals in managing along with organising their respective learning and development procedures (Department of Training and Workforce Development, 2011). With this concern, the essay intends to produce a reflective report based upon the considerations of career direction. Various aspects, such as an outline of a relevant structure for developing a career plan, identification of career goals and recognition of strengths along with weaknesses will also be discussed in the following discussion. An Outline of an Appropriate Structure for Developing a Career Plan Knowing Yourself Prior to forming and developing an appropriate structure for developing a career plan, I would like to share my education qualifications and the capabilities that would help me to attain my career goal. I am an undergraduate in the field of business management, having specialisation in Finance. I successfully studied from York St. John University, wherein I creatively developed my capabilities towards new and diverse environments. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the undergraduate program was segregated into dissimilar modules comprising marketing, globalisation, finance and financial management dimensions among others. As the undergraduate program encompassed the aforementioned modules, it made me possible to obtain an in-depth understanding about the conditions prevailing in the modern day business scenario. Apart from these educational qualifications and the capabilities that I possess, I believe my linguistic skills can assist me to attain my predetermined career goal i.e. to become a hotel manager. For instance, my fluency in English language and breakthrough Japanese language would provide active support towards the accomplishment of my career objective. Specially mentioning, I had taken an initiative of self-funding an evening course in language, which I had completed during my first and second yea rs of the program. This initiative eventually raised my capability in planning ahead towards the attainment of my career objective. Understanding the Job Market Prior to provide a brief understanding about the job market, it is quite indispensable to identify my career goal. In this similar concern, my career goal is to become a hotel manager in the UK. It can be apparently observed in this context that the job market in the UK is quite promising and the job opportunity relating to the position of a hotel manager in the region is also likely to be rising in future. With regard to acquire an in-depth understanding about the job market of a hotel manager in the UK, it can be viewed that there prevails nearly 12,000 hotel establishments, engaging a substantial proportion of the entire labour force. The presence of wider range of hotel establishments in the UK can also be observed, ranging from smaller to bigger multinational chains that are engaged in offering quality along with soothi ng services to the guests or the visitors. As

Business strategy in financila services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business strategy in financila services - Essay Example A host of modern pharmaceutical companies all started out as Rhine-based family dyestuff and chemical companies e.g. Hoffman-La Roche, Sandoz, Ciba-Geigy (the product of a merger between Ciba and Geigy), and Novartis1 etc. Most are still going strong today2. Over time many of these chemical companies moved into the production of pharmaceuticals and other synthetic chemicals and they gradually evolved into global players. There are certain factors like the introduction of the penicillin during the late 1940s, its success and relative success of many other innovative drugs which actually institutionalized the efforts of research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical industry. The industry expanded rapidly in the sixties, benefiting from new discoveries and a lax regulatory environment. During this period healthcare spending boomed as global economies prospered. The industry witnessed major developments in the seventies with the introduction of tighter regulatory controls, especially with the introduction of regulations governing the manufacture of 'generics'3. The new regulations revoked permanent patents and established fixed periods on patent protection for branded products, a result of which the market for 'branded generics'4 emerged. PESTLE Analysis PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding the "big picture" of the environment, in which you are operating, and the opportunities and threats that lie within it. By understanding the environment in which you operate (external to your company or department), you can take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats (RAPIDBI). Specifically the PEST or PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding risks associated with market growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for a business or organization. Technological advancements, tighter regulatory-compliance overheads, rafts of patent expiries and volatile investor confidence have made the modern pharmaceutical industry an increasingly tough and competitive environment. An analysis of the structure of the pharmaceutical industry using the PEST (political, economic, social and technological) model (Susanne, 2004) is given below. Increasing Political Attention Over the years, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed increased political attention due to the increased recognition of the economic importance of healthcare as a component of social welfare. Political interest has also been generated because of the increasing social and financial burden of healthcare. Examples are the UK's National Health Service debate and Medicare in the US. Increased Economic Value During the year 2003, there were many high value mergers and acquisitions which were witnessed by the global pharmaceutical industry. With a projected stock value growth rate of 10.5% (2003-2010) and Health Care growth rate of 12.5% (2003-2010), the audited value of the global pharmaceutical market is estimated to reach a huge 500 billion dollars by 2004. Only information technology has a higher expected growth rate of 12.6%. Majority of

Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study - Essay Example However, small businesses are an asset to any country and really enhance the overall GDP. Limited funds are a challenge as they have a direct effect on the growth of the business because there is pressure to pay off debts and concentration on growth is low. Even once the initial investment is made, there might not be enough cash to carry on with the daily operations, and hence, capital is always the main concern. The location is of utmost importance especially in the case of the retailer. In the case study Urban Outfitters decided to focus their store openings near colleges so that the students seeking for funky designs and used clothes can easily purchase in close proximity. Location in terms of clusters and target market are factors to be considered. The proximity and unique distribution creates exclusivity and helps companies with their niche marketing tactics. Employing efficient human resource is vital for creating an impact on consumers. In the case study, Richard and Belair, h ad entrepreuniral skills and a genuine interest in running their business, therefore they did a good job. Q2) Define what a "niche" product is. Give at least three examples of niche products.   A) A niche product is the one made and marketed for a small but profitable market. It is made for a high potential market which is small in size but profitable to cater. The specific product features designed are aimed to satisfy a specific market (Advantages of Niche Marketing 2009). In order to tap this sort of a potential market, the gap in the market has to be identified. These can be customized items too for example a cake shop customizing cakes for every individual according to their choice. Occasions are always brightened with some delicacy and catering to a customized market can be profitable. Catering to the elite by exclusively creating something can also be called a niche product for example a Rolls Royce. Catering to a particular demographics, class and personality all create ni ches. A case in point can be websites that provide services for specific categories for example finding your perfect match online, relationships and dating. Such services fulfill the needs of thousands of people but are very limited in its service and not mass marketed. Q3) Explain why a niche company might have an advantage in a market. Would price necessarily be an advantage? Explain why or why not.   A) Customization and exclusivity creates the importance of a niche market. Besides these factors, satisfying the needs of specific demographics in itself is an advantage because the customer feels his/her specific wants are been catered too. In the case study, the stores were located near colleges and the college students were being targeted, therefore, the sale of used clothes was identified as the missing gap for college students that have an economical budget. Therefore, the niche market allows the company to exert out energy on reaching out to the right people. resources are no t wasted in mass marketing but are instead focused on serving the small segment of loyal customers. Price may not necessarily be an advantage as seen clearly in this case study. Richard and Belair identified the needs of college students and then further increased their product line in order to synchronize the unique feel and look of each store. Many businesses in the world that operate in niche markets do have an advantage over price such as Lexus that produces limited cars and earns

Banking Concept of Education Paulo Freire Essay

Banking Concept of Education Paulo Freire - Essay Example Freire demonstrates that the banking concept is considered by oppressors to be the most suitable method of imparting knowledge on learners. The banking concept is where knowledge is deposited the same as how money is deposited in a bank. Therefore the application of the banking system of education makes students to be treated as if they are empty vessels which need to be filled with knowledge (Paulo 319). The teacher is the subject in the banking method of education while the student is the subject. This shows a relationship between the teacher and the student where the teacher narrates knowledge with the student being expected to be the listening objects. Paul Freire is opposed to the banking education because it is makes education petrifying and lifeless due to the narration process through which students are expected to learn (Mejia 63). The narration which characterizes the banking education involves teachers filling information or content to students. In this method of education , students are disconnected and detached from reality because they may not find the narrated content to be significant. The students are thus made to memorize content without attaching any importance to it. On the other hand, the problem posing method of education involves both the teacher and the student in solving problems during learning. The teacher and the student therefore work together and hence both play equal roles in the process of knowledge acquisition without the student being the object into which information is filled. The student is enabled to engage in the learning process and thus making the problem posing method of education realistic because students are able to engage with the reality of the content being learned. Unlike the oppressive banking method of education, the problem posing approach enables learners to act as thinking beings

The Stone Age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Stone Age - Essay Example During this time, people made their tools and weapons mainly with the help of stones when metal working had not taken place yet. Geographically primeval culture has spread to all continents except Antarctica. The Stone Age is divided into three eras, which differ from each other with own peculiarities and conditions. The Stone Age brought humans to a totally new stage of their development. When climate drastically changed and glaciers melted, nomadic people reached the territory between Israel and Iraq, which hills were full of verdurous trees and wild animals. The Middle East became very attractive to humans who found favorable conditions for living here. Ancient people discovered that grain could give a lot of harvest, so eventually they found a way to gather crop with the help of appropriate stone tools. According to the archaeobotanist, George Willcox (2003), it had been noticed that during three-week period of time one person could gather enough grains for being able to feed fou r people for the entire year (Stories from the Stone Age). In additional, ancient people realized the efficiency of grain that could be stored for a long period of time without decay in case it was kept in a dry place. Consequently, discovering a very profitable place full of potential food, people at last found a reason to stop their nomadic life and settle down. Moreover, their decision to stay on chosen territory was also influenced with the fact that all tools made of stones and intended for gathering harvest were quite heavy, therefore people’s inability and lack of desire to carry their burdens eventually managed to change their lives irrevocably. Settling down in the Middle East made ancient people to face several challenges, one of which was finding ways to produce food out of plants. Also humans managed to develop and widen variety of tools for hunting realizing how precarious this activity was. Hence, people started to use stones connected by cords for catching wild animals and double-bladed sickles for cutting grass. In addition, people discovered usage of grains and began to produce so-called ancestor of bread. Gathering harvest and sharing tools helped people to unite their strength in a way when priority moved from individual prosperity to community’s wellbeing. People of that era had a special ritual for burial. They put dead person into the hole, placed a big stone on a chest and laid some personal possessions and various offerings. As archeologists found out, with the lapse of time this funeral rite faced some changes, like later n people started to took the scalp of the dead person out of a hole and bring it back into the world. Stones which had been found on the mentioned territories contained some scratches, which nowadays archeologists interpret as a first attempt to represent numbers. This fact has a great importance in a formation of ancient culture. Despite the fact that ancient people at last found an ideal place to stay on, they again were forced to return to their former nomadic lifestyle later on. Hence, the climate change brought draught which in its turn caused a dreadful shortage of food. So this was another challenge which ancient people were forced to overcome. All population split for small groups and began searching for food. One part of people finally settled down in Jordan near the

The Poetry of T.S. Eliot Essay Example for Free

The Poetry of T.S. Eliot Essay The poetry of T.S. Eliot is of such greatness that it will be read and analyzed by future generations of students and critics as long as there is poetry. Eliot received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 and his work spanned a period of time from 1910 until his death in 1965. The period 1914—1922 was very significant for Eliot for obvious as well as personal reasons and events. He was living in England and Europe was witnessing the end of the First World War and realizing the devastation caused. Personally he was having marital difficulties as well as emotional and psychological problems. (Eliot xv—xviii) His work from this period is very dark and obviously influenced by the â€Å"wasteland† of Europe as well as his marital and personal issues. The poems are compelling and in their unique way stand to illustrate the beauty that can be created in the dismal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† was first published in 1915. It opens with Italian verse from â€Å"Dante’s Inferno†, seemingly trying to set a tone of death and damnation. There are no bright spots or happiness in the poem; instead there is a sense of anxiety, uncertainty and sadness. He walks â€Å"streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent to lead you to an overwhelming question† (9). The women seem out of reach, â€Å"in the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo† (10). It is not a pleasant scene. Eliot appears to want to escape it, to be â€Å"a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas† (11).   His language in Prufrock is full of allusions and very difficult to read and interpret, and it is almost as if he has sympathy for the reader. He shows his frustration at miscommunication in several lines, some repeated. â€Å"That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all† is followed by later by â€Å"it is impossible to say just what I mean† (12). Later this thought is inverted and repeated, â€Å"that is not it at all, that is not what I meant, at all† (13). Towards the end he becomes melancholy and thinks of his old age and death: â€Å"I grow old†¦I grow old†¦I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me†¦we have lingered by the chambers of the sea by sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown till human voices wake us and we drown† (13). The reader is left to wonder if Prufrock was drowning in a sea of human voices. This conflict and miscommunication is symbolic of both Eliot’s marital and personal difficulties. The poem is depressing and full of darkness, conflict and anxiety. It is only the beginning of his bleak viewpoint.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This theme of darkness and miscommunication continues to be reflected in his poetry. In â€Å"Morning at the Window†. Eliot is â€Å"aware of the damp souls of housemaid sprouting despondently at area gates†¦waves of fog toss up to me twisted faces†¦and tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts an aimless smile that hovers in the air and vanishes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (24). He writes of his â€Å"Aunt Helen† not in reflection of her life, but upon her death, focusing on silence and the task of the undertaker: †¦the undertaker wiped his feet—he was aware this sort of thing had occurred before† (26). There is a gloominess that seems to be everywhere Eliot looks. His theme of miscommunication is in his very words, often bizarre and difficult to interpret. In â€Å"Mr. Apollinax† Mr. Apollinax â€Å"laughed like an irresponsible foetus ‘he is a charming man’—but after all what did he mean† (28).   Ã‚  If the words are difficult enough to understand, the final verse is all but impossible to comprehend. â€Å"I remember a slice of lemon, and a bitter macaroon† (29).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through these unsettling works Eliot shows himself to be a master at portraying a side of the human condition no one really likes to see, yet invariably at sometime everyone does. Often he points out the contrary view as he does in â€Å"The Wasteland†. Springtime is a timeless topic for countless poets expressing the wonder and beauty of nature coming alive after a winter asleep. Not so for Eliot. â€Å"April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain† (65). Not surprisingly he seems to prefer winter. â€Å"Winter kept us warm, covering earth with a forgetful snow, feeding a little life with dried tubers† (65). The theme of miscommunication continues to either cause or accompany the darkness. â€Å"Speak to me. Speak. Why do you never speak. Speak. What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? I never know what you are thinking† (69).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eliot revisits his earlier theme of death as sea in the â€Å"Death by Water† section of â€Å"Wasteland†, advising Gentile or Jew â€Å"entering the whirlpool†Ã‚   to remember â€Å"Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead† (77). In the final section â€Å"What the Thunder Said† his depression seems to come to triumph. Eliot emphasizes â€Å"after the agony in stony places the shouting and the crying†¦he who was living is now dead, we who were living are now dying† (78). His landscape has been ruined: â€Å"falling towers Jerusalem Athens Alexandria Vienna London Unreal† (79). Despite his viewpoint and topics his work is beautiful as it moves the â€Å"unreal† of his imagination to our â€Å"reality† in such a unique and personal way; overall he has in fact communicated his reality in a masterful and compelling fashion. Eliot has proved that good things can arise from, if not be inspired by terrible situations. Works Cited   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land and Other Poems. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2004.

Colonization of Mexico Essay Example for Free

Colonization of Mexico Essay The main purpose of this chapter is to explain the process of the Mexican northern states conquest. It addresses the events that occurred since the Mexican independence from Spain to the annexation of Texas to the United States and the loss of the Mexican more than half territory. 2. The key question(s) that the author is addressing is: What were the facts that led to the conquest of Mexican territories by the United States? What led to the legacy of hate? 3. The most important information in this article/chapter is: The chapter give us the causes of why the hate of legacy started and why it is still impacting. 4.The main inferences /conclusions in this article/chapter are: Mexico did not just lose over half of its territory, but also dignity. The wars brought losses that impacted the lives of Mexicans. Mexico didn’t just loss part of its land that would make it a major powe, but also its population, which day by day migrate in search of survival. 5.The key concept(s) we need to understand in this article is (are): * September 16, 1810 Mexico won independence from Spain (Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Jose Maria Morelos, and Guadalupe Victoria). * Mexico was on bankrupt, with low stability. Wanted to form a nation state and create an overriding identity. * Texas and Mexican war interrupted the process of state formation. * 1800-1819 United States expanded through a series of purchases and aggressions dramatically, bordering Texas, New Mexico and some other Mexican territories. * United States started thinking Texas once belonged to them and started the process of annexation and invaded Mexico which led to a bankruptcy to the country. * The United States believed in the manifest destiny. They said God had chosen them to expand trough out the continent and spread democracy. * President Adams offered to by Texas for $1 million, Mexican officials refused the offer; United States started an aggressive diplomatic campaign. * On May 13, 1846 congress declared war. * February 2, 1848 the Mexican congress ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico accepting the Rio Grande as the Texas border and ceding almost half of its territory in return of 15 million. * By these concepts the author means: By those concepts the author addresses the facts that led to the Conquest of most of half of Mexican Territory. After Mexico gained independence from Spain, Mexico wanted to become a nation sate, but the process was interrupted when the Texas war begun. United States believed in manifest destiny and started expanding trough out its south. They tried to purchase Texas for 1 million but Mexico refused, war was declared and Mexico accepted lost Texas and some other territories on the northwest trough the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 8.The main point(s) of view presented in this article is (are) The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo has not been clear and its interpreted in favor of special interests. It is said that it continues to be violated and that it has led to a legacy of hate that has impact our lives.

Black Children in the Child Protection System

Black Children in the Child Protection System INTRODUCTION In recent years, child abuse among black African families has attracted a lot of attention, academically and politically in British social work practice following the tragic death of Victoria Climbie (Laming, 2003) and Adam (Sale, 2005). Many of the research and literature on child abuse since the 1989 Children Act have not extensively discussed the aspect of poverty and child abuse. For many years social work interventions with black African families and children alleged of cases of child abuse have been a controversial topic. The difficulties black African families experience are not limited only to the foreign culture they find themselves in, but other issues may be significant, such as cultural differences in child-rearing, poverty, government policy and the intervention tools and processes. Research evidence suggests that black African children in the UK are over-represented in the child protection system for a variety of reasons such as physical and sexual abuse or neglect. Chand (1999) research on black African families and the child protection system highlights the over-representation of black families (58%) compared to white families (42%) on referrals involving physical injury. Another research shows that referrals involving inadequate supervision of children are disproportionately higher among black African families than white families. Some black African children are involved in the child protection system because their families are unable to provide adequate care for them. Bernard Gupta (2008) study also found that black African children and families are more likely than white families to be drawn into the child protection system on the basis of inherent differences in beliefs and child-rearing practices. The aim of this work is to suggest that black African children and families, due to a number of reasons, are more or less likely to be investigated of child abuse by social workers and other professions. The possible implications for black families being more or less likely to be investigated are either black African children will become over-represented in local authority care under the child protection system or they will not receive the appropriate intervention by social workers under the child welfare system and make children to be subjected to further abuse or neglect by their parents (Chand, 1999). According to Chand (1999) even when abuse among black families is identified, the service provision for the abused children are hampered by lack of resources and this cause delays in assessment and the provision of treatment where specialized services are required. The 1989 Children Act may classify many African children on the child protection register in the UK as children in need as their parents are more likely to live below the poverty line (DoH, 1989). Poverty is linked with reports of abuse and neglect and African families are proportionately more likely to live in poverty than many of the other communities in the UK (Bernard Gupta, 2008). According to Fontes (2006) people who are affected by child abuse are nestled by a variety of social and material domains that are highly interconnected and interactive. Therefore the poverty status of African families living in the UK is an important factor to be considered by social workers working with African families alleged of child abuse. Many African families have negative perception about social workers who work on cases of alleged child abuse, as they employ an assessment and intervention process that is based on euro-centric child protection procedures and as such view black families, their culture and lifestyle as inherently problematic and need correcting (Chand, 1999). This negative perception of social work practice by African families and children living in the UK breed grounds for mistrust and apprehension and make working with such families a major challenge for social workers. Bernard Gupta (2008) argued that black African children and their families are more likely than white families to be investigated of child abuse and therefore are over-represented on the child protection register under the category of poor parenting behaviours. However, black African families are also under-represented in receiving preventative supports such as housing needs, financial benefits that is required to address any family needs and to improve children welfare. Singh (2006) findings show that African families and their entrenched cultural and social perceptions of parenting behaviours are difficult to understand in the context of contemporary social work practice and therefore social workers may be quick to intervene in such families. Bernard Gupta (2008) also found in their research work that the majority of black African families who have migrated to the UK because of war, poverty, and tribal anarchies in their home countries, also have difficulty not only how to adapt to the western culture in which they find themselves but how they may be viewed by social workers involved in child care. Most social work professionals working with black African families do not appreciate the poverty background of such families and would feel justified to make judgements resulting into mistrust and disengagement from both parties. However, according to Bernard Gupta (2008) the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families places a requirement on social workers to consider families backgrounds and cultural perspectives when dealing with cases of child abuse. Korbin (2004) argues that social workers face difficulties in employing appropriate intervention in child abuse cases as the processes involved in chi ld abuse assessment may be complex and parental behaviours may not be the same in different cultures and socio-economic settings. In view of this perception, Bernard Gupta (2008) states that a focus on maltreatment or dysfunction within African families can risk stereotyping this ethnic minority as deficient, thus fostering pathological viewpoint of African family relationships'(p 478 ). This raises the question of what type of social work intervention is needed to be used by social workers working with black African families living in economic poverty so that vulnerable children are fully supported and protected, and not just drawing these children into the child protection system. This professional dilemma in social work practice presents a major challenge and therefore, calls for a new perspective in work ideologies and practices, the way information is disseminated on how the child protection system works, training on child-rearing differences in black African culture, social work values and enhancing collaboration with other professions. With a change in social work practice, social workers will develop the skills to distinguish between the styles of parenting inherent in African families which is not necessarily harmful to children and those parenting behaviours that are harmful. This point will be further discussed in chapter two. The dissertation will draw on social work theories, policies and practice, key models and literature search from electronic journals to web search on child abuse, social work intervention and child protection system. The main emphasis of this dissertation looks at the available literature on black African families involved in the child protection system, focusing on specific poverty-related parenting practices that give rise to issues of child abuse. The methodology for this work is mainly qualitative and the literature obtained from both primary and secondary sources. The dissertation examines various issues such as how social work professionals should perceive and manage child abuse among black African families living below the poverty-line, what interventions social workers need to employ that would support these families to provide adequate child-care for their children and the possible reasons why black African children and their families may be over-represented in the child pro tection systems. The first chapter examines the literature on black African children and the child protection system. Chapter two provides a discussion on the increased complexity of social work intervention in child abuse cases involving black African families living in poverty. It also analyse how poverty could complicate parenting behaviours that impact on child-rearing which, tends to draw black African children living in the UK into the child protection arena. Then chapter three draws on legislations and policies regulating social work practices in the UK. It also examines contemporary social work practice in child abuse cases among African families. Chapter four critically analyses the various methods of interventions available to social workers when working with black African families. Finally chapter five discusses the implications of social work intervention among African families living in poverty. CHAPTER ONE BLACK AFRICAN CHILDREN AND CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEMS The prevalence of Black children in the child protection system Many children are drawn into the child protection system for many different reasons. The majority of these children go through distressing and damaging experiences, which may include physical, emotional, sexual abuse and neglect. Some children living with poor families come under the child protection system as result of families parenting behaviours and practices, oppression, discriminations and cultural values. Considering the child protection system and black African families, Bernard Gupta (2006) have critically analysed the evidence on the disproportionate representation of black African families on the child protection register. Brophy et al (2003) study highlights the proportion of minority ethnic families and their children represented on the child protection register involve several allegations about parental behaviours and practices. Chand (1999) states that different child-rearing methods used in different cultures mean that as an outsider, understanding what is the norm a nd what is deviant is problematicand trying to distinguish the risks in one family from the another, social workers may fall back on moral judgements'(p.72). In contemporary social work practice many social workers are faced with difficulty situations when assessing and making decisions on child care issues among African children and their families who are living in poverty. It is paramount in view of available literature to say that when social workers acknowledge and understands these families financial backgrounds and their cultural identity through effective communications, it is possible they will come to terms with some of their parenting behaviours and practices. However, where families go over the boundaries of child-rearing to inflict physical and emotional harm on their children, which is evident in Victoria Climbie inquiry, it should be understood that such families have gone beyond what is acceptable not only within the western culture but in their own culture (Chand, 1999). Therefore, if social workers understand the causes of parental behavioural patterns of African families, they will be well-informed to determine whether a particular parenting behaviours should be considered within the protection process or to provide advice and support for such families under children in need (Chand, 1999). The challenges social work practitioners experience when using the assessment processes as detailed in the Climbie Inquiry (Laming, 2003) is crucial to the safety and protection of black children whose families have immigrated into the UK. Sometimes social workers may be stereotyped as racist and ethnocentric, as they do not acknowledge and address issues of poverty-related parental behaviours of African families in the assessment process of a child abuse case (Chand, 1999). Under the Governments Every Child Matters policy, social workers first priority is to ensure children live with their families if it is best to do so. In addition to this policy, it is the responsibility of the social services or local authorities to create the enabling environment for the provision of preventative services to families so that these families can provide appropriate care for their children. According to the Department for Education and Skills (2006b) statistical data a significant proportion of bl ack African children are on the child protection register. A number of studies tend to support the view that families of these children lives in poverty and struggle to raise their children to the standard set up by government legislation. Therefore it is difficult to say whether social services are meeting the agenda detailed in the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (Department of Health, 2000) which places on social workers the responsibility to consider families backgrounds and cultural values when dealing with child care issues. Thoburn et al.s (2005) review of the nature and outcomes of child welfare services for black children concluded that African children are almost twice as likely to be looked after than the white majority children in the population as a whole, which then suggest, that some of these children will be accommodated under section 20 of the 1989 Children Act, by virtue of being raised by families living in poverty. However, there are a number of contributory factors which could be perceived as important in understanding the involvement of black African families with social work agencies and the resultant over-representation of their children in the child protection system. Child abuse and neglects may be linked to poor parental practices and poverty by families who are supposed to be responsible for looking after these children. Therefore the poverty experienced by many African families and children may be resolved through a more preventative welfare services rather than child protection se rvices. Platt (2006) study on the refocusing initiative on social work practices from the child protection orientation to a child welfare orientation underpins government legislation, policies and procedures and management efforts to redirect social work interventions more towards welfare services. Also through child welfare practices social workers may appreciate the difficulties that families experience and may endeavour to meet children and their family financial and social needs through a range of social and preventative services. The government legislations and policies The most relevant legislation in the UK that aims to protect children from abuse and harm is the Children Act (1989), of which Section 47 expects local authorities to make enquiries into cases where they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm and Section 17 makes provision for a child to be assessed with a view to the provision of services to children in need (Platt, 2006). Therefore there are two definitive objectives of the Children Act (1989), the child protection focus and the child welfare focus. Many black African children referred to social services under the child protection system may not necessarily be suffering from any harm or neglect if the situation is considered in the context of parenting behaviours and practices (Chand, 1999). According to Platt (2006), the Audit Commission recommendation to shift from the popular investigational work use by social workers to a family support services, was a result of many fail ings identified by many other government bodies. This wind of change for social work practice was accepted by the Department of Health, after examining the publication, Child Protection: Messages from Research (Department of Health, 1995). Chand (1999) argues that the child protection system tends to draw too many cases inappropriately onto the child protection register, of which many may be classified as border-line cases, that could have being managed under the children welfare services. Whilst other research findings support the view that the child protection system seems to have achieved as much as could be expected in terms of preventing further abuse of vulnerable children. Hayes and Spratt (2008) argue that such achievement is not in ways most readily understood by those who legislate, set policy and measure performance. Bernard Gupta (2008) highlights in their study that, in situations in which there is a risk of abuse or neglect of African children, as with other minority ethnic children, the literature suggests that fear of difference, combined with racist stereotypes, may both exacerbate defensive practice, leading to avoidance that can leave children unprotected (p486). The Department of Health (1995) emphasises that social work professionals need to rely on various policies and measures since child abuse is not an absolute concept and most family behaviours have to be seen in context before decisions of abuse are made (Chand 1999, p. 70). Although child protection social workers in the UK are trained to follow the official guidance as set out in the Department of Health (1988) Protecting Children: A guide for Social Workers undertaking a Comprehensive Assessment, this guidance in the context of black African children and their families, fall short in addressing their basic needs (Chand, 1999). Against this background, the quality of social work assessment and, hence intervention process used by social workers may stereotype black African families, their parenting behaviours and practice and culture as inherent indicators of child abuse and need correcting (Chand, 1999). The fundamental dilemma facing contemporary social work practice is the manner and extent social workers should engage in social welfare services rather than in investigational procedures and processes, so as to redirect its efforts primarily to the poor and needy in society (Karger Hernandez, 2004). From the 1990s there have been proactive and sustai ned efforts on behalf of the UK government to develop and promote legislation and policies, which challenge the influence of a child protection culture on management and social work practice, which notably are perceived as distorting the balance of service provision to children and families (Spratt Callan, 2004). Pringle (1998) argued that the family support strategies may focus on the generalization of responses compared with child protection procedures that target actual nature of the alleged abuse. Cleaver Walker (2004) argued in their research, that the implementation of this switch from child protection to child welfare services by social work agencies can have negative and difficult impact on the government Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. According to Hayes Spratt (2008) the government has seen a remarkable reduction in the number of children drawn into the child protection system, which commends local authorities effort to help achieve performance targets. Spratt Callan (2004) criticized the reductions in number of children on the child protection register, as being achieved largely due to modern governance and measures to promote compliance with performance targets. However, following Baby P report childrens services watchdog, Ofsted, reported t hat a review of 173 serious cases in April 2009, found that social workers and other agencies, failed to act swiftly to put children suffering from physical and neglect abuse onto the child protection register (www.ofstednews.ofsted.gov.uk/article). Ofsted also identified certain poor social work practices such as the failure of social services workers to identify and report signs of abuse, poor recording and communication, and limited knowledge and application of basic policies and procedures (www.ofstednews.ofsted.gov.uk/article).This report has since seen an increase in the number of children drawn into the child protection system. According to Chand (1999), the UK government reiterated that the primary and official duties of local authorities within the context of the 1989 Children Act is to focus more on safeguarding children through the provision of advice and support services under children in need. In Spratt Callan (2004) study the Department of Health estimates four million children living in England are vulnerable to harm or neglect, due to their families living far below the poverty line, yet only 300-400,000 of these children are known to social services at any given time. Thoburn et al (2000) study on families, whose children were at risk of suffering emotional abuse and neglect, shows that 98% of the children brought to the attention of child protection system, their families live in poverty. Parton (1997) argued that due to the correlation between poverty and the need for provision of public services, only the very small number of vulnerable children who are designated as children in need receive s ervices under the welfare service. Spratt Callan (2004) suggest that a more effective way social work can help such vulnerable children, particularly black African children, who may be over-represented on the child protection register, is the government increasing resources to local authorities, increasing the number of social workers and reshaping the social services system. Therefore, with regard to the governments provision of resources, legislation and policies, the model or intervention approach social workers may employ when working with black African families living in extreme poverty, will determine whether a family receives a child protection service or a child welfare service. CHAPTER TWO POVERTY AND BLACK AFRICAN FAMILIES Poverty and Child Protection The area of poverty and child protection with black African families has been the source of controversy in British social work research for many decades. Many researchers find a correlation between economic deprivation such as poverty and social exclusion and parenting behaviour and practice, child-rearing capabilities and skills which are a prerequisite for proper child development anywhere in the world. Moreover, according to Jordan (2001) poverty is correlated with reports of abuse and neglect. For instance, the National Centre for Children in Poverty found in 1990 that the incidence of child abuse and neglect, as well as the severity of the maltreatment reported, is much greater for children from low-income families than for others (Jordan, 2001 p.1). As a large number of Africans in the UK live below the poverty line, it may be reckoned that most black African children on the child protection register live below the poverty line. Brophy et al (2003) argue that many families brought to the attention of the child protection system lives in extreme poverty and may experience social exclusion. Black African children living in the UK may be over-represented in the child protection system for reasons such as physical abuse or neglect; therefore it is understandable to say that there is a correlation between abuse and parenting behaviours and practices. The question is why African families and their children living in poverty, who are alleged of child abuse, are over-represented in the child protection system? Sossou Yogtiba (2008) noted in their study that a child is the most valuable asset of any traditional African family, as children symbolise status, respect and completeness of the nuclear family, if that is the case, then it is ironical to see African families and their children to be over-represented in the child protection system. Many black African families in the UK still lives below the poverty-line though they undertake different types of unskilled or skilled jobs, as they support large families in their countries of origin (Anane-Agyei, 2002). It may be reckon that poverty is linked with other social disadvantages such as poor education, limited employment opportunities, and poor health and may have devastating consequences for childrens development and life chances. Research shows that many African families and their children may have insecure immigration status and their existing financial predicaments only help to complicate their parenting behaviours and practices. Penrose (2002) study shows that African families seeking asylum are often forced to live at level of poverty that is just unacceptable, and this puts financial constraint on them to provide adequate childcare for their children. Unemployment levels are known to be very high among African families, and they are also subject of stigmatization and prejudice by the larger community that are suppose to accept them. According to Bernard Gupta (2008) immigration and asylum status determines income, employment opportunities and access to support services for many African people in the UK and these issues of entitlement to services only complicate their cases. Some African families living in the UK may be without jobs and may not also be entitled to social and economic benefit and therefore may find it difficult to care for their children. Children growing up with parents living in poverty may be deprived of proper childhood development ( Montith Eithne, 2005). African families living in poverty and failing to provide good care for their children may be perceived by social work professionals as failing in their parental responsibilities (Chand, 1999). For this reason, social workers may intervene in such families and often than not they are drawn into the child protection system. Amin Oppenheim (2002) argue that the unfamiliar cultural expectation of black African families living in the UK somehow contribute to the high level of poverty they experience. Research shows that many African families suffer from institutional oppression including housing, employment, education and health which not only means that they are more likely to experience poverty and deprivation, but also more susceptible to social work interventions in child abuse or maltreatment allegations. Corby (1993) noted that it may be expected that black African children are over-represented in child abuse cases because their families are more open to surveillance as they show high levels of poverty that complicate their parenting behaviours (Chand, 1999 p73). In a broader perspective, Pearce Bozalek (2004) emphasise that the child protection system that exist in Britain will be unfamiliar to many African families, especially those more recently arrived, as similar state systems do not exist in most African countries, particularly where socio-economic factors, political instability and violence overshadow intra-familial child maltreatment and effective intervention into child abuse and neglect (Bernard Gupta, 2006 p481). Brophy et al (2003) study supports the above assertion that African families experience discrimination and insecurity in child abuse cases, as the tools for assessing abuse are often euro-centric bias and prejudice the families. Chand (1999) study expresses the awareness that black African families are disadvantaged through oppression in all areas of society and this should not reflect in social work practice. Gibbon et al (2003) findings show that the child protection system was picking up more alleged child abuse cases inappropriately and putting more families and children on the child protection register than children who are subject to social welfare procedures. Therefore the over-representation of African families on the child protection register somehow, undermines the government aim of keeping children with families and reducing the number of children that are drawn onto the child protection register. The Department of Health (1995) document on child protection identified some pertinent shortcomings with the child protection system, as it seems to encourage unnecessary child protection interventions in border-line child abuse cases. Bernard Gupta (2008) in their study of black African children and the child protection system suggest that there are a series of interactions between environmental factors such as poverty, immigration status and social exclusion that affect the life cha nces of many African children and the capacity of their parents to provide adequate care. Dowling (1999) realise that social work practice in the UK focus less on poverty-alleviating strategies but throw more resources behind safeguarding and protecting vulnerable children from abuse or maltreatment. Social workers need to understand the context in which abuse occurs, irrespective of race and culture, to develop an assessment and intervention process that is fairer for black families as they are more likely to suffer racism and oppression. In view of the above argument, it is pertinent that social workers know when to employ preventative measures to support black African families who have financial needs and when to take such families through the child protection system in the quest for safeguarding children. All these factors together create complex needs for many African children living in the UK, and, in many circumstances increase their vulnerabilities which draw them into the child protection arena. Bernard Gupta (2008) argued that only by developing effective relationships with African families can social work professionals can begin to understand their parenting behaviours and practices. Poverty and Child Welfare Services Current literature shows that poverty experience by most black African families living in the UK could be alleviated by social work services that offer a pragmatic welfare services rather than drawing these families and children into the child protection system. Brophy et al (2003) study suggests that immigration and asylum issues, combined with poverty, are likely to be some of the reasons for the increased complexity for social work professionals assessing and intervening child abuse cases involving black African children. The Department of Health challenges social workers with the responsibility to work with Section 17 of the Children Act 1995, so as to provide adequate social support for children in need via the child welfare services (Platt, 2006). However, social work agencies have not fully achieved the government agenda of alleviating poverty experience by many families and children due to inadequate resources at all levels of social work practice. The Department of Health have indicated that most families, struggle to bring up their children in conditions of material and emotional adversity (DoH, 2001). For instance black African families experiencing poverty may fail in their responsibility to provide proper care for their children as they spent almost all their time working to make ends meet. Such children hardly experience family treats such as going on a family holiday trip, having birthday parties and they are deprived of having basic playing toys and games that help children to learn and grow into adulthood. The lack of affordable basic needs for children of poor families complicated with other social adversities may contribute to poor children developing aggressive behaviours, low self-esteem, picking up awkward attitudes, and may to suffer from social deprivation. Fontes (2005) realises that many traditional immigrant families, where black Africans are part of, may use an authoritative style of parenting, demanding tot al obedience and respect from their children. Although these parental practices may not necessarily constitute child abuse, it may clash with the child-rearing norms, and thus seems to bring African children and families to the attention of the child protection system (Fontes, 2005). When social workers start acknowledging borderline child abuse cases and understand the difficulties families living in poverty experience in raising their children, they would be able to strike a good balance between when to employ a child protection intervention and a child welfare intervention (Spratt Callan, 2004). It is evident that children living in poverty may benefit from the child welfare services as stipulated in section 17 of the 1989 Children Act, as it aims at alleviating poverty in families