Soft Drink Industry Essay Example for Free

Soft Drink Industry Essay The global soft drink industry is currently expanding quite rapidly. This is due to two major factors. First, markets are expanding rapidly in developing countries and second people are turning toward natural, healthy, and low-calorie drinks. This so called â€Å"new-age† beverages, such as tea-based beverages, is considerably stimulating the development of the soft drink industry and also creating a major challenge to the carbonated beverage market. In part to address this trend, big soft drink companies, like Pepsi and Coke, are striving to become a â€Å"total beverage company† (Seet and Yoffie 95), in which they will serve the comprehensive soft drink market. Generally speaking, the soft drink off-trade value worldwide is gradually rising ever year, from $231,401 in 2001 to $323,031 in 2006 (Global Market Information Database 2007). The biggest market for soft drinks is still North America and Western Europe, which together consumed 43% of gross soft drink volume worldwide in 2006 (Global Market Information Database ‘07). However, the general developing trend for the North America and Western European market is now shrinking in terms of the global market while the Asian market is expanding very rapidly in recent years to now account for 22% of the global market (Global Market Information Database ‘07). The market volumes of Africa, the Middle East, and Australia are comparatively smaller. However, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia-pacific markets are â€Å"emerging markets† and attract many companies, ranging from multinationals to niche specialists, who continue to see volume growth well in excess of the market average (Robinson ‘04). With the growth in volume, the average level of profitability of the soft drink industry remains quite high. First, the concentrate producers (CP’s) have become integrated with bottling companies, thereby reducing production costs. The CP’s and bottlers remain profitable through interdependence, sharing promotional and advertising and marketing costs (Seet and Yoffie 95). For example, Coca-Cola has many bottlers in different regions; therefore, their distribution cost is not as high. Furthermore, the CP’s directly negotiate with the suppliers to efficiently manage qualities for their products. In addition, their product line and distribution chain is now more systemic and integrated. Big soft drink producers increasingly franchise bottlers or buy a share from them rather than controlling bottling totally by themselves. This has activated and developed the capital-intensive bottling business. In spite of these trends competition remains intense, such as between distributors and also between new local labels and international drink corporations. Thirdly, the soft drink industry has several channels to sell to consumers such as vending machines, convenience stores, food stores (supermarkets), and national warehouses. For example after a long work-out, one quenches one’s thirst by going to a soft drink vending machine for a Cola. With this distribution channel, soft drinks are sold directly to consumers without bargaining. In 1993, Coca-Cola sold approximately 45% of their soft drinks through vending machine in the Japanese market (Seet and Yoffie 95). Another reason for the level of profitability of the soft drink industry remaining quite high is because this industry has a nearly 47% market share of the non-alcoholic beverages industry (Deichert ‘06). It is also to be noted that some of the soft drink vendors like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have gotten their logos printed on cups at fast food restaurants so that customers are readily reminded of their brands. Big name soft drinks also promote their brands by getting them placed in the middle shelves of stores to attract customers. With the constant expansion of Pepsi products into foreign countries, it may seem challenging for Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) to sustain their status in the soft drink industry. The soft drink industry is one of the industries that we consider mild on the degree spectrum of Michael Porter’s five competitive forces. As we look at the first competitive force, the threats of new entrants, we cannot help but consider the high capital investment in building simply a minimum bottling plant – a good amount of $20 million to $30 million is needed (Seet and Yoffie 95). This means that in the category of the threats of new entrants, bottling plant yields a low to medium degree of intensiveness. Also, a Seet and Yoffie states that in 1980, government policy intervened and established the Soft Drink Inter-brand Competition Act to help preserve the right of CP’s to include certain geographical territories (95). Meanwhile, concentrate businesses, a medium to high intensive business, involve very little capital of machinery, overhead and labor (Seet and Yoffie 95). However, it does required some advertising, promotion, market research and advertising (Seet and Yoffie 95) Another factor is that the bargaining power of suppliers of concentrate business is low. When asked, â€Å"Are they easy to be replaced? † The answer is, â€Å"Yes. † The bottling business, on the other hand, has a high bargaining power of suppliers because it is difficult to replace these businesses since they are one of a kind. There is only one Coca-Cola brand, or one Pepsi or one Seven-Up in this world. It would take years to replace these well known and well established products. On the contrary, the bargaining power of buyers of concentrate business is high while for bottling business is medium. For instance, when a concentrate company bargains with a Seven-Up company regarding their supply of recipe, Seven-Up can decide who they choose to supply their recipe to since currently there is only one Seven-Up recipe in the soft drink market. Therefore, the concentrate business has a low bargaining power of buyers. In terms of fear of threat of substitute products, the bottling business is medium. Coke and Pepsi’s franchise agreement â€Å"allowed bottlers to handle the non-cola brands of other concentrate producers (CP’s)† (Seet and Yoffie 95). The bottling companies seem to be submissive to Coke and Pepsi. Lastly, rivalry among competing firms for concentrate business seems to be quite high. There seems to exist quite a few international brands such as RC Cola, Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up, and Cadburry Schweppes, who produce only concentrate. As for the bottling business, the rivalry among competing firms is low because of certain franchise agreement such as one Coca-Cola and Pepsi presented. Seet and Yoffie reports that with the agreement a coke bottler cannot sell RC Cola, but they can distribute Seven-Up as long as they do not carry Sprite (95) Nevertheless the concentrate producers (CP’s) want to vertically integrate into bottling for two main reasons: to make their operation system more efficiency and to cut costs. These factors are interrelated. First, CP’s can make their operating system more efficient through vertical integration. For instance, if two different sectors, such as bottling business or concentration business, are following the same rules, having the same operating system then it is easier for them to work together. Second, CP’s can reduce some costs by vertically integrating. One example is transaction costs. According to Seet and Yoffie, concentrate producers’ most significant costs include advertising, promotion, market research, and bottler relations (95). For example, if CP’s were to cut down their costs from one of these significant costs, they would earn more profits. Moreover, CP’s are usually in charge of market research, product planning and advertising while bottlers play an important role in developing trade and consumer promotions. In order to have a reliable supply, CP’s have to be in direct contact with the bottlers and monitor them, therefore, CP’s need to employ more staff to work on this part. If CP’s can vertically integrate into bottling, they could save more money and in the same time provide quality with quantity. In recent years, the CCE’s sales volume in China has been growing with rates of averaging at 16 to 17 percent annually. At the same time, China’s retail environment has been changing rapidly. According to president of CCE China division, Paul Etchells, although small retail outlets are still prevalent in China, the number of hyper-marts (larger retail outlets) and supermarkets is rocketing. In China, CCE has to keep up with the rising demand for their brands. They have to continuously increase their production plants, employees, and distribution channels. CCE’s market in the US, however, has been slowing down because US consumers are becoming more health-conscious (Stanford ‘07). They are now consuming less carbonated beverages preferring diet sodas (but these are carbonated), coffee, teas, bottled water, and energy drinks. This is a problem for CCE because the majority of CCE’s products are carbonated drinks (Stanford ‘07). Another factor that slows CCE is the rising commodity cost in the US. This cost then will be passed to US consumers. Historically, the Chinese government wanted to protect the domestic soft drink industry by setting up strict regulations on foreign soft drinks companies (Seet and Yoffie 95). Today, the government is more lenient to foreign businesses (Stanford ‘07). Building new manufacturing plants and selling CCE’s products to Chinese consumers is not as hard as it was in the past. However, doing business in China requires CCE to build a relationship with the government. The concept of Guanxi is an important factor that determines the success of a company (Seet and Yoffie 95). CCE’s managers in China spent a lot of time building relationships with the Chinese officials. Since corruption is common in China and CCE is a US based company, the CCE has a disadvantage doing business in China. In the US, on the other hand, business is done more formally. There is not an urgent need to build a relationship with the government. However, an increasing number of consumers in US is concerned with issues relating to sustainability. Therefore, CCE needs to address issues such as water scarcity and pollution. In other words, China’s growing demand and US’ decreasing demand for Coca-Cola products accounted for CCE’s heavy investment in the Chinese market. Coca-cola was introduced to China in the early 1920s and came back after the declaration of the People Republic of China in 1949 through stiff negotiation with the Chinese officials (Seet and Yoffie 95). Since the 1940s, Coca-Cola dominated the U. S. market, which provided the company with financial leverage to expand into internationally and set the tone and the pricing strategy for Pepsi. At that time Pepsi did not have the matching financial power and resources to face any challenges Coca-Cola could introduce in the beverage market (Seet and Yoffie 95). Therefore, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been fierce rivals in both domestic and international markets. Each company is using a different strategy to remain in control while increasing their net revenue. Coca-Cola entered China before Pepsi did. However, the soft drink market in China can absorb both products due to the fact that China has one fourth of the world’s population, which provides a great deal of demand for both companies to generate profit. Looking at both company’s strategies, one can see that both companies are aiming to become established in the beverage market in China. Moreover, Pepsi seems to be making better acquisition decisions than Coca-Cola; however, the financial figures reveal the victor. The purchases that Pepsi has recently made will take their toll in the form of long term debt, while Coke can concentrate more on increasing market share, as they are much less leveraged than their largest competitor. Coca-cola and Pepsi control 19% and 9% of the Chinese soft-drink market respectively. Coca-Cola operates in 23 bottling plants with total investment of $500 million, while Pepsi operates on 18 plants with total investment of $ 600 million (Seet and Yoffie 95). Coca-Cola is buying their own assets or entering in a joint venture with the Chinese government. For example in China the government owns plants and distribution centers, while Pepsi is pursuing joint ventures and mergers with local companies. The battle for the soft drink industry in China will require a great deal of financial and marketing resources to cover all aspects of competition in local industry. For example, Coca-cola officials are heavily involved with the government, where they spend almost 50% of their time catering and entertaining the government officials to gain more influence in their operation (since the corruption rate in China is high) (Seet and Yoffie 95). Doing so will provide an advantage over Pepsi because the distribution plants need to be close to the local market to be able to provide the market with competitive products that are cheap and of high quality. In comparison with Coke, Pepsi’s strategy of joint ventures with local industry helps them cut costs and pass the savings to the Chinese consumers (Seet and Yoffie 95). Finally, both companies are investing heavily and using their equity to expand and generate revenue in China, which financial figures show that they will not have any financial liquidity in the near future if they continue at the same rate of investment.

Population Geography Essay

Population Geography Essay Understanding Population Geography Crystal Mullen What did you learn this week that you did not know before or that you found interesting? What outside resources did you use this week? I remember growing up in the 70s and 80s the term â€Å"Zero Population†. At the time, I didn’t really know what it meant except a term to encourage teenagers to use birth control and thereby avoid having children while they’re still a child as well. As it turns out I wasn’t that far off from my view of the concept. It actually originated by the prime minister of Singapore in 1972. He was concerned that his island country was facing overpopulation with its current count of 1 million people. So he legalized abortion and sterilization and banned maternity care and benefits for women who have more than two children. However by the mid-1980s, the Singapore’s birthrates plummeted to below the levels that are necessary to replenish the population. The prime minister’s plan to reduce his country’s population backfired because the abortions performed in the country were terminated more than one-third of all the country’s pregnancies. Th is lead the prime minister to reverse his policy in 1990 to encourage multiple births for mothers under 28 by offering long term tax rebates and thereby restore population loss suffered in Singapore (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). This reversal of policy is an example of an unbending population reality: how a country’s infrastructure is controlled today will determine how it is controlled in the future. This means the size, characteristics, migrations and even growth trends are what determines the overall health of those yet to be born. This information is necessary when considering the locations and numbers of people as it relates to the necessary background to all of the aspects of population geography (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). Population geography is an aspect of human geography. This branch of geography focuses scientifically studies people in their spatial distributions and the density (Briney, 2014). Population geography provides geographers and scientists with the theories and concepts need to better comprehend and thereby forecast the composition, size, and the distribution of human population (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). In order for population geographers to study this factors, they review the data that documents the increase and decrease in an area of population, general settlement patterns, peoples movements over time, and even topics like occupation. This is what develops the geographic character of a particular region (Briney, 2014). Population geography is closely related and yet differs from demography. Demography statistically studies human population as well, however, demography is more concerned with spatial analysis – pattern, location, and density. Instead, population g eography studies a region’s resources such as standard of living, economic development, and food supply as they affect a population’s health and well-being. These characteristics are the essential ingredients for human population geography (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). Population geography is a large branch in the geography tree. It contains quite a few different topics that relate to the worlds population issues. The first of these topics is called population distribution. Population distribution is described as the study of where people are choosing (or not choosing) to live. Our world’s population tends to be quite uneven. Some regions are considered to be rural and are thereby sparsely populated. Meanwhile, other locations that are more urban are consequently more densely populated. In order to learn more about population distribution population geographers often study past population distributions of that region’s people so that they can understand how and why certain spatial locations areas have blossomed into major urban centers we have today. Sparsely populated areas are usually harsh places to live such as areas in Alaska, Siberia, and Canadas northern territories. On the other hand, densely populated areas like Hong Kong, or cities such as New York City or Los Angeles, California are far more hospitable. A second topic in population geography is population density. While closely related to population distribution, population density however studies a region to determine the average number of people that live in an area. This is done by dividing the number of people that currently live that area by total area available. These numbers usually are noted as persons per square mile or persons per square kilometer. Population density are often affected by several factors which, coincidentally, are often subjects of population geographers study. These factors tend to relate to the population’s physical environment such as topography and climate. For example, regions with harsh climates such as Californias Death Valley are thereby sparsely populated. Other factors that affect population density can also be related to the region’s political environments as well as the social, economic culture of an area. For example, Singapore and Tokyo have mild climates with healthy political, social, and economic and are thereby densely populated. Another area of study for population geographers consists of overall population growth as well as changes in population. This topic is of great interest to population geographers because the population of the world has grown so dramatically since the 1800s. In order to properly study overall population growth, population geographers study the population’s areas natural increase birth rates as well as death rates. The number of infants born per 1000 people in the area’s population every year is considered the birth rate. Likewise the number of deaths per 1000 individuals every year is considered the death rate. Historically speaking, the increase rate of population used to naturally be near zero. This didn’t mean that no one being born nor that no one was dying. Actually, this meant that the area’s births roughly equaled the area’s deaths. However, many regions now host populations with that are living much longer because of access to better health care as well as higher standards of living. These factors have reduced the overall death rate. Birth rates are now known to either increase or decrease based on the wealth of the nation. For example, birth rates are actually lower in developed nations. However, in developing nations, the birth rate is still high. Therefore, the population of the world has grown tremendously. Along the same lines of natural increase, population geographers study population changes as it relates to a population’s net migration for an area (Briney, 2014). They compare and contrast data found in a population’s in-migration and out-migration patterns. Therefore, a region’s overall rate of growth or population change is the result of a population’s natural increase as well as their net migration. Finally, though certainly not exhaustively, an essential tool in population geography that is essential to the study of growth rates around the world as well as changes in population is called the demographic transition model. This model looks at the four stages of a country’s development and considers how population changes are thereby affected. The first stage of a country’s development takes place when the new country’s birth rates and death rates are both high, resulting in a small amount of natural increase and an equally small population. The second stage of a country’s development reveals an increase in birth rates and a decrease in death rates resulting in a high growth period in the population (surprisingly, this is normally the stage where least developed countries actually fail). The third stage of a country’s development show a change in trends with a decrease in birth rate as well as a decreasing death rate, thereby once again slowing d own the growth of that country’s population growth. The fourth and final stage of a country’s development shows a balance in birth and death rates both being low, resulting in a low natural increase (Briney, 2014). I can see how using a demographic transition model enables population geographers forecast the future health and wellbeing of a nation by studying the four stages of development that nation experienced. Conclusion: After reviewing the concepts of population geography, I have a better understanding of the actions of the Singapore’s prime minister in 1972. While I don’t agree with his extreme measures of limiting care for more than two children per family and legalizing abortions and sterilizations, I can see how charting a country’s birth and death rates and considering how those numbers affect his nation’s resources could lead him to believe his nation would be picked clean by an over-abundance of his own people and for the good of his nation, At the same time, I can see how population geography was at the heart of prime minister’s reversal of policy because he can now see how his policies were leaving his country vulnerable to constant poverty because there simply were not enough citizens avail to care for and protect their land. Therefore, I have a better appreciation of how population geography is used to study health and well-being of a population anywhere in the world. References Briney, A. (2014). Population Geography An Overview of Population Geography. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from Geography.About.com: http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/populationgeography.htm Getis, A., Bjelland, M., Getis, V. (2014). Chapter 5, Population Geography. In A. Getis, M. Bjelland, V. Getis, Introduction to Geography 14th Edition (p. 111). New York: McGraw Hil.

Impact Of Social Networking On Tertiary Students

Impact Of Social Networking On Tertiary Students This paper examines the impacts of social networking through a multi-layered study of the benefits, positive and negative effects they have on people more especially tertiary students in Botswana. It states what social networking is, as well as explaining what tertiary students are. It goes on to define the analysis of social networking trend as well as assessing the impacts of it towards the productivity of tertiary students. Data has been collected from interviews, questionnaires and published reports from the internet. This paper challenges the argument that social networks dont impact the lives and productivity of tertiary students in Botswana. 1.0 INTRODUCTION The rapid growth of social networking that has been observed over the last two to three years is indicative of its entry into mainstream culture and its integration into the daily lives of many people, Ofcomm (2008). In parallel with this, there has also been considerable media coverage of the growth of social networking in tertiary institutions, its potential positive outcomes and concerns about the way that some students engage with it. Social networking sites offer people new and varied ways to communicate via the internet, whether through their PC or their mobile phone. They allow people to easily and simply create their own online pages or profile and to construct and display an online network of contacts. Users of these sites can communicate via their profile both with their friends and with people outside their list of contacts. This can be on a one-to-one basis, or in a more public way such as a comment post for all to see Social networking has a major impact on universities and colleges in Botswana as a lot of students are now using sites like myspace, twitter and facebook to communicate search and share data and even to socialise through them. These sites are attracting a huge number of people as they use them to establish links between friends even publishing and maintaining their profiles, (Subrahmanyam K 2008). The impact of social networks on productivity of tertiary students is an important issue that has caught both educators and practitioners attention in recent years. Social networking also has great effect to the industry since sites like facebook are of importance to students as they are able to express themselves but the main problem is that students stop working and spend much time to navigate through it. The measurement of student productivity is certainly open to many definitions. So to address the issue of learning effectiveness, it is better to design a field experiment comparing stud ent performance when they combine social networking with school work. Questions raised in this study are: Is an individuals position in a social network related to his or her performance in school? What kind of social relations are linked with students academic performance? The main purpose of this study is to explore the impact of interpersonal relationship networks on students academic performance online and offline and to find out the key human relationship determinants for students performance. 2.0 ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL NETWORKS 2.1 What is social networking? Social network can be said to be a group of socially related nodes linked by means of one or more relationships. A set of connections (members), are those nodes connected by the relations whose patterns can be studied. The units are commonly known as organizations or persons, thus the connected units can be studied as the principle says, (Marin A. and Wellman B. 2009). At the most basic level social networking sites allow users to set up online profiles or personal homepages, and develop an online social network. The profile page functions as the users own webpage and includes profile information ranging from their date of birth, gender, religion, politics and hometown etc. In addition to profile information, users can design the appearance of their page, and add content such as photos, video clips and music files. In addition to this, users can also build a network connection that they can build as friends. It is important to note that the term friend in this context does not refer to the traditional friend. Therefore it means anyone who has been invited or been invited by the other user. 2.2 History of social networking History of networking sites started first by the launch of SixDegrees.com in 1997. Users were permitted to list friends after making profiles. By 1998, they were able to view friends lists and profiles existed on community and dating sites. Classmates.com permitted persons to connect with friends from different institutions and search the network for any other person they would have known before even though they were not able create profiles even listing their friends. The combination of these features was then made through SixDegrees couple of years later on, (Boyd et al 2007). This clearly indicates that the first social networking site to be used was Six Degrees. It emerged in 1997 and users were allowed to register and edit their profiles in 1998. Everything in life has start time and the end time therefore SixDegrees did not do well as may be people were not able to access this site or they did not know the usage of it. Even though SixDegrees attracted a lot of people as users, it was unsuccessful to become a sustained business and this made the business to close its operations in the year 2000, (Boyd et al 2007). The downfall of this business was that, large number of people was taking the use of Internet seriously but most did not have the potential to connect with their friends who were online. After the close of this networking site, some other networking sites emerged. 2.3 Engaging in social networking sites and reasons why students engage in social networking Research by Boyd (2008) showed that tertiary students were more likely to access social networking sites on the internet at their schools than anywhere else. Media reports have suggested that some tertiary schools in Botswana have banned access to these sites. If these reports reflect widespread practice, it is likely that access to the internet at home will become an increasingly important factor in use of social networking sites. There are a number of ways why tertiary students use social networking sites. At the point when fears and anxieties diminish, tertiary leaders may start to appreciate that social networking tool and technologies can be utilized to: Find and meet new friends. One can find people of every kind from all over the world. Or you can just focus on meeting certain types of new friends Help one find old friends which were last seen many years ago. enable speedier location, access and sharing of information; enable more efficient leverage of contacts and knowledge; help retain key employees by improving satisfaction in the workplace; break down time and geographical boundaries to improve communication between widely dispersed personnel; reduce expenses because one can chat with a friend very far for free 2.4.0 How people use social networking sites The building blocks of social networking sites are the individual members profiles. No two profiles are identical, but they typically contain basic information about the user such as name, sex, home town/country and contact details as well as other information such as race, religion and politics. Alongside this basic information, most social networking sites also allow users to write potted biographies about themselves and to go into great detail about their likes and dislikes. For example, on MySpace these are termed blurbs. An important feature of social networking sites for most tertiary students in Botswana is the ability to contact others in a playful way, using pokes or similar gestures. These gestures are a feature of most social networking sites and, depending on the site are called names like Pokes, Fives, Love or something similar. They are a way of gesturing to other users and getting their attention. These gestures, or symbolic cues, are fun for many users and provide a level of excitement as people log on to see what messages they have. They can also provide social status or reassurance, depending on the number received and who they were received from. Students can post photos and videos on their social networking sites, in addition to their profile photo. Photos are important both for constructing and revealing ones identity, and for sharing important events and moments with a wide group of people (especially family and friends). Some students and less confident ones reported that the virtual nature of the communication they had through these sites had allowed them to express themselves more confidently. These students also reported using MSN and texting in a similar way. Social networking sites appeared to allow less confident individuals, particularly teenage boys and girls and older single women, to express themselves in new ways and to talk confidently to people they knew, and also to contact people they didnt know. Some teenagers and adults in their early twenties reported feeling addicted to social networking sites and were aware that their use was squeezing their study time. Many students had experienced this drawback, although to differing degrees. Some students described how they might go onto their site just to check for messages and then emerge a few hours later having been drawn into commenting, searching and generally having fun. 2.4.1 Case 1 Kabo Magowe (22) is a young man who schools in Botswana Accountancy College and while I was on the internet doing my online research I asked him if he knows anyone who has a problem with Fece Book. He said to me, yes I do. I know this other guy who had to re-take three courses after he failed them because he used to spend much time on Face Book. 2.4.2Case 2 Alice is a Humanities student at the University of Botswana, aged 23, living in a rented apartment in an urban/suburban area. She depends mainly on her allowance and she doesnt receive extra money from parents. She spends much of her time in the evening at school chatting to people she has met in chat rooms in Face Book. She has had an affair with one guy she met online which lasted eight months. They would talk to each other daily and their avatars would go and get a room at Planet Lodge. After eight months they met in public and she learnt that he was married, so she finished the online relationship, although she really felt they had something special. Despite her experience, she still feels that social networking sites are a much easier way for single women to meet people, especially as they are not able to go out very much and it gives them a chance to talk to lots of people and feel less isolated. 2.5 Positive impacts of social networking on students There are a number of ways in which social networks impact the lives of students and people. Some of the positive ways are: They help in education by allowing teachers and coaches to post club meeting times, school projects, and even homework on these sites. Social networking Web sites are helping businesses advertise, thus social networking Web sites are benefiting businesses therefore the U.S. economically. They help them meet others who share the same interest Social networking can be used by individuals as a way of looking for a job or job hunting Social networking can be used as a positive cause/awareness, i.e, money raising benefits for someone who was in a car crash, house burnt down, or also raise funds for the people involved in natural catastrophes like the Haiti earth quake etc (these are actual events) They help people to stay in touch with friends long distance They can be used to renewed friendships high school/college friends Keep track of community service 2.5 Negative impacts of social networking on students Social networks also have negative impacts on the lives of students or people in general. Some of them are: Students are waste precious time that could be spent doing homework, thus social networking websites are encouraging the creation of a lazy generation. Users of social networking websites are extremely vulnerable to fraud, and can have money stolen from their bank accounts just because of signing up for these sites. Users of social networking websites are extremely vulnerable to sexual abuse or harassment. In the case of computer labs, social networks use up most of the bandwidth in them. They are so interesting that one will want to open a lot of web pages at the same time and imagine if 50 students do that at the same time. 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0.1 Social networking: qualitative research into attitudes, behaviours users and how tertiary students in Botswana use social networking sites Methodology- questionnaires were issued to different students from different tertiary institutions in Botswana. Questionnaires were used because they are easy to analyze and also written questionnaires become even more cost effective as the number of research questions increases. Questionnaires are familiar to most people (Berdie, Anderson, and Niebuhr, 1986). Nearly everyone has had some experience completing questionnaires and they generally do not make people apprehensive. They are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys. When respondents receive a questionnaire in the mail, they are free to complete it on their own time-table (Cahalan, 1951; Jahoda, et al., 1962). Unlike other research methods, the respondent is not interrupted by the research instrument. Core Objectives- To identify, explore and understand the behaviours, attitudes and barriers to tertiary students use of social networking sites Sample Size- 25 students Field Work Period- 8 March to 12 March 2010 (5 days) Sample Definition- Social networking student users aged 19+. The sample included 5 students from University of Limkokwing, 5 from the University of Botswana, 5 from Botswana Accountancy College, 5 from Gaborone Institute of Professional Studies and the last batch of 5 from NIIT. The sample also comprised of students who have internet connection from their homes and those who used the one at school. 4.0 FINDINGS Question 1 Name of tertiary institution Botswana Accountancy College 5 University of Botswana 5 University of Limkokwing 5 Gaborone Institute of Professional Studies 5 NIIT 5 Total 25 students Question 2 Do you have a social network you are involved in? Yes 23 No 2 Total 25 students Question 3 If your answer is yes on the above question, which social networks are you part of? Face Book 22 MySpace Tagged Hi5 1 Other Total 23 students Question 4 When do you usually surf your social network sites? During class hours 14 Lunch time 6 After hours 1 weekends 2 Total 23 students Question 5 How many friends do you have on your friend list that you dont know or talk to? 10% 30% 11 40% 60% 2 70%+ 10 Total 23 students Question 6 When do you find it necessary for you to log onto your favorite social network chosen at number three above? Anytime I get access to an Internet connection, whether its during a lesson or not. Sometimes, I would go out and find an Internet connection and if it means going to the internet cafà © I would do it. 16 When Im bored and have nothing else to do 2 Sometimes, when I want to catch up with friends 5 Total 23 students Question 7 How long do you take surfing your social network? 1hr 2hrs 6 2hrs 3hrs 12 4hrs+ 5 Total 23 students Question 8 Has social networking negatively affected your studies? Yes 20 No 3 Total 23 students Question 9 Give reasons for the answer provided above Relevant to decline in school work 20 Nothing to do with school 3 Total 23 students Question 10 Which internet connection do you use? Home 5 School 18 Total 23 students 5.0 RESULTS The questionnaires handed out to students in different institutions were all returned fully and accurately answered with no faults or damages what so ever. The results are as follows: From the 25 sampled students, 92% of students have a social network account from different web sites and only 8% of students dont have any. The 8% is the 2 students school at Gaborone Institute of Professional Studies. This result leaves us with only 23 questionnaires to analyze. From the 23 students with social network accounts 91% of students have Face Book accounts and 8% of students are not on face book but rather on Hi5. When it comes to the times at which the students surf their social web sites, 61% students have stated that they do it during class hours, while 26% students surf during lunch time, 4% surf during after hours and 2 students do it during weekends. Again, when it comes to a portion of friends that particular student has, but never talks to or dont know, 11 students say they dont know or talk to 10 30% of their total friends, while 2 student doesnt know or talk to 40 60% of his total friends. 10 students dont talk or even know 70%+ of their total friends. 16 students say they surf the social network sites anytime they get access to an Internet connection, whether its during lessons or not. They say sometimes, they would go out and find an Internet connection even if it means going to an internet cafà ©. 2 students surf the web sites only when they are bored and 5 students surf when they want to catch up with their friends 6 students say that they spend an hour to 2 hours on their particular web sites, 12 students spend 2hours to 3 hours on their particular sites and 5 students spend 4 hours+ on their particular web sites. From the overall 23 students, 87% say social network sites have impacted them negatively on their academic work and this has caused them to fall gradually from their high marks to low marks. 13% students say they are still doing well in school and social networking hasnt impacted them negatively on their school work because they dont mix school with pleasure. 78% of the 23 students have got no internet connection at their homes which means they use the connection at school and 22% students have got internet connection at home 6.0 DISCUSSION The results above have made it clear that social networking is common among many tertiary students in Botswana. The results also show that it (social networking) impacts the way students perform in school negatively. From the sample of students selected from different tertiary institutions in Botswana, one would say in every 5 students, 4 students have accounts on different social networking sites. The most common social web site used or visited from the sample is Face Book which of cause was developed by a tertiary student. With Face Book being common this means that the majority of the world population is on Face Book therefore there are many people to stay in touch with. Even though there is a big dish full of friends to socialize with, there are people who request friends and yet they dont know them and they and dont even talk to them or chat with them. Friends are just added to increase the list of friends; its like a competition among tertiary students. More friends mean more profiles to check out. For example if a student has 200 friends on face book and yet he/she does not have internet connection at home but rather uses the connection at school, this means that he/she will have to spend more hours at school being unproductive viewing friends profiles. The results have highlighted 16 students from a total of 23 students who visit social networking sites during class hours and mostly during lab sessions. This is very bad because there is lack of concentration during classes and therefore students fail. Lastly, from the 23 students sampled, 87% of them have shown that social networking has affected the way they perform academically. 7.0 CONCLUSION In a few years time the chances are that social networking will be part of almost everyones life are very high. Most people will take advantage of the fact that they have accounts on social network web sites and erasing or deactivating them will be impossible because of the fact that they have many friends around the world and losing touch with them will be a disadvantage. With the majority of tertiary institutions in Botswana having social networking sites blocked from their computer labs, most households will have internet connections in the near future, many of which will be high speed. Accessing the Net wherever and whenever one chooses will be commonplace thanks to both the small wireless devices most people carry and the variety of alternate points of access. All of these modern upgrades mentioned above will make social networking for tertiary institution students to even surf them more and frequently. I have a great believe that the number of students without internet connecti ons at their households will gradually reduce in great numbers. Social network web sites have negative impacts on the lives of tertiary students in Botswana. They affect the way they perform at their different institutions. Social networking has become a habit on tertiary students, they cannot live without them. Even when they are disabled from their schools, one will go to thee extend of finding an internet connection in order to go online. 8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS Since social networking is a habit among tertiary students in Botswana, I would recommend that they should balance them, use them equally. They should give their school work more priority because school is the key to success and not Face Book friends. 10.0 REFERENCES What is social networking (2010), what is social networking, http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/ [accessed 19 Feb 2010] Wikipedia (2010), social network service, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_network_service/ [accessed 21 Feb 2010] About.com (2010), reasons to join a social network, http://personalweb.about.com/od/easyblogsandwebpages/a/whatsocialnetwo.htm [accessed 21 Feb 2010] Yahoo (2010) social networking websites have positive impact? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?/ Boyd, D and Ellison, N, Social Network Sites, Definition, History and Scholarship, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication (October, 2007), http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html. K. Subrahmanyam Online and offline social networks: Use of social networking sites by emerging adults, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 200811/12. D.M. Boyd and N.B (2007) Ellison Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship (2007). Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. [Online] [21 September 2009).

Too close for comfort :: essays research papers

Too close for comfort Yet the similarity between these two stories raises some interesting questions about how we read Carver. That he is adored as few late-century American writers are is not news -- as Bloom points out there's almost a cult of Carver. Readers treasure not only his taut, bleak, deeply moving short stories but the legend of his life, as well: unhappy, alcoholic, stifled by frustrating poverty and saddled with the overwhelming responsibilities of teenage parenthood ("[My wife and I] didn't have any youth" he told Simpson), Carver's singular talent didn't have room to develop until relatively late. His eventual triumph over adversity, a story of late, spectacular blooming against all odds, has given him a rare hold on his readers' affection. Carver chronicled the lives of the lumpen proletariat and the demoralized white working class with a sensitivity and eye for detail unmatched in his contemporaries and, many would argue, his followers. He is commonly thought of as a truly Amer ican writer, perhaps stylistically indebted to Sherwood Anderson, Stephen Crane and Ernest Hemingway (he himself suggested the link to Hemingway in his book "Fires"), but in a sense sui generis -- a talented, sensitive soul who rose up out of the deadening laundromats and strip malls of the great, dreary American suburban wastelands and wrote beautiful, sad stories in clipped, stripped prose. The minimalism and domestic realism of his short stories made his work read very differently from the cerebral literary styling of his contemporaries, the university-ensnared postmodernists. But perhaps Carver's work wasn't as unfettered or as American (in his literary influences, at least) as all that. It seems that he read (and taught) the European modernists very carefully. Bloom says that, "Carver was a very literary writer and his work is full of echoes of other writers, some of them unintentional. He's a derivative writer -- vastly overrated." Or, as Tobias Wolff wrote , admiringly, in the introduction to "The Best American Short Stories of 1994:" The picture of Gabriel Conroy [in James Joyce's' "The Dead"] watching his wife Gretta on the staircase above him as she listens to a tragic ballad ... has become for me ... the very emblem of that final distance which a lifetime of domestic partnership can never overcome. I wonder if there isn't an echo of this image in Raymond Carver's "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" when Ralph, returning from a walk on his honeymoon, sees his bride, Marian, "leaning motionless on her arms over the ironwork balustrade of their rented casita .

Chinesse Education :: essays research papers

China has a long and rich cultural tradition in which education has played a major role. In 124 BC the first university was established for training prospective bureaucrats in Confucian learning and the Chinese classics. Only members of the upper class could attend school. Peasants and factory workers did not have the time to attend school; therefore as of 1949 only 20% of China was literate. The Communists who controlled China considered illiteracy a major stumbling block in their promotion of political programs. They then combined political propaganda with educational development. During the first few years (1949-51) of this push on education, over 60 million peasants enrolled in winter schools, or sessions, established to take advantage of the slack season for agricultural workers. Mao, the Communist leader of China, felt that the ultimate goal of education was to eliminate class distinction. After Mao’s death in 1976 a review of government policies concerning education was started. Out of this review came standardized testing and the reinstitution of entrance exams to get into schools and these exams were also used to get in the civil service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chinese children entered school at age six and stayed for six years. They would study the Chinese language, math and other basic subjects. After going to an elementary school children would enter a middle school. The subjects the Chinese taught were particularly important for the advancement of the country. During the Ming dynasty Chinese novels became very popular. There were many poems and collections of short stories. The Ming also established free schools for the public hoping to expand education in china.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gifted students were selected for studying abroad especially in the United States. As these students finished their education and returned to China some of them teaching at Chinese Universities a major political unrest began to place.

Boeing 7 Essay

A reverse of this trend is crucial to reach some of the projected sales numbers that Boeing is counting on. There are several factors to these lower numbers. A decrease in business travel has occurred due to cost and the advance of conferencing technologies. And lastly, the weak economy has vacationers thinking of local destinations instead of traveling abroad. Market Share Boeing’s fiercest competitor is Airbus. It is crucial that the new 7E7 delivers on its promise of lower operating cost. This will help command a larger share of the market. This becomes even more important if the economy doesn’t recover as quickly as we hope. The other aspect of the 7E7’s success is the engineering of an expandable wing. Adding this versatility will give the 7E7 owner more options for travel routes. Sensitivity Analysis The following is the sensitivity analysis of the Boeing project which gives optimistic and pessimistic estimates for the underlying variables of volume and cost of sales. The purpose of the sensitivity analysis is to express cash flows in terms of the variables of this project. Boeing had to determine what the decide what the underlying variables were which in this case happen to be development costs and the per-copy costs to build the 7E7. For the project to increase shareholder wealth, Boeing would have to sell at least 2,500 aircraft over a 20-year period. Airbus is a close competitor. They will be coming to market with a new A380. If Boeing falls behind regarding innovation, they may lose their market share. For Boeing to have a future in the aviation industry, they must take the risk to develop this new place. With the economy so volatile, airlines will be looking for options that reduce their operational costs. The 7E7 will do this. The success of the expandable wing will give the plane attractive versatility. Fuel prices are also on the rise, this is yet another reason why a plane with a lower operating cost will succeed in the future The equity market risk premium should equal the excess return expected by investors on the market portfolio. In this case it was calculated to be 7. 14%. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) was calculated to be 15. 443%. For the project to increase shareholder wealth, the IRR of the project should at least equal the WACC. For this to happen Boeing would have to sell at least 2500 airliners in a 20-year period.

One word that has changed the world

Do you love apples? Well, Ido love apples! However, it is not because it's nutritious, instead, it haschanged world. Why? You may ask, or you may come to realize that Job's productsof apple brand have indeed brought us dramatic changes. You're partially right! Actually, in the longprocess of history, there are three apples that have exerted significant impacton us. One was bitten by Eva, one fell on Newton's head, and another on is inthe hand of Steven Jobs. The three great apples have shaped a brand-new worldwith a fire-new outlook.The three great apples have signified a usion of curiosity,intelligence, innovation and technology. The three great apples have endowed uswith a window to look through an unknown world, to explore, to innovate, toprogress and to advance. Eva's apple is a metaphor of human's curiosity. Curiosity is a child-like sense of wonder, making usquestion things that others do not even notice. Einstein once put it â€Å"I'mneither especially clever nor especially g ifted, I'm only very, very curious. † Hewent on to say that, â€Å"the important thing is not to stop questioning. Withthis regard, he proposed the relativity theory, a milestone in hysics, aleapfrog of human development. Stories like this happen all the time. Becauseof curiosity, we have been eager to explore the outer space, is there anyliving creature in outer space, is there any possibility to live on otherplanets so that helping release huge burden of congestion, climate variationand other knotty issues. Curiosity drives us to the Journey of exploration ofthis mysterious and unfathomable world. Curiosity propels us to fgure out allthe truths and facts.Newton's apple is amanifestation of human's intelligence. We can speak, we can create, we can makea ifference. All these features have distinguished us as a unique creature, Justa saying goes† there's nothing as precious as humans in the world†. Thanks tointelligence, our ancient ancestors have created a brillia nt civilization thatinspired the world for centuries. Due to their intelligence and endeavor, wehave transferred from a primitive society to a modern one. Intelligence is thesource of our development. Apple intelligence leads us to advance. Jobs' apple is a symbol of dailyupgrading technology.In retrospect, we'll fgure out that we have been livingin a orld tightly connected with technology, particularly, after the 1990s. Becauseof technology, our life now is strikingly different. With TV, we are immersedin extensive entertainment and relaxation, with telephones, we are delighted inconvenient and efficient contact with families and friends, with MP3, we areenchanted in melodic music at anytime anywhere, with internet, we are involvedin a wide range of activities—chatting online, sending mails, shopping,getting information and so forth. Every day, we're marveled at fabulous giftsfavored by technology.Apple technology akes us to innovation andtransformation. Whether you're holdi ng anipod 4 or you're holding 4 packs of apples. World is waiting for us to make a differenceand the three great apples have spured the most unparalleled and tremendouschanges for the world. The great apples, namely, curiosity, intelligence andtechnology are the source of strength of enterprising, pioneering andprogressing. Apple, is more than anapple. It is a word that has changed the world and it's my solid convictionthat another apple is to change the world! One word that has changed the world By gluttonysJt