Autocallable Structured Notes - involving the knowledge of exotic Essay

Autocallable Structured Notes - involving the knowledge of exotic options and portfolio replicating skills - Essay Example With reference to the term sheet, the issued autocallable structured notes however are principal protected which is a significant deviation in the structure of the security since it was originally issued. One issue which is more prominent since the launch of this type of security is its pricing. Pricing models have now proposed a new approach to the pricing of autocallable structured note by incorporating stochastic volatility by taking on the correlation between the interest and equity. Due to the high return offered by these structured notes owing to their inherent structure as they tend to increase in value when markets go down as well as when markets are rising. The reason for the issuance of these investment securities during Oct/November 2007 was because of the fact that due to credit crunch in the financial sector at International Level and resulting volatility in the equity markets resulted in creating opportunities for the investors to engineer instruments which provide a confirmed high return coupled with principal protection. This fact can also be corroborated in the sense that the overall credit crunch in western financial institutions resulted in upward surge in the interest rates hence necessitating a raise in the required rate of return by the investors in the equity markets also. Since these structured notes are structured in a way that they either go in tandem with some benchmarking rates like LIBOR thus any fluctuation in benchmarking rates also pu sh the returns on these instruments in more favorable position for the investors. Apart from that autocallables are considered as yield enhancement strategies. Trading units and size of the issue do not seem to be having any implications on the risk return profile of the investor however it must also be noted that the underlying currency of the asset may have some implications on the value since any changes in the interest rates will have impact on the exchange rates and this may

Hewlett-Packard Case Study Essay Example for Free

Hewlett-Packard Case Study Essay Carly Fiorina was hired in Hewlett-Packard as Chairwoman, CEO and President of Hewlett-Packard in 1999 but before that, she earned recognition being one of the most powerful women in America.   Her career in H-P was a combination of ups and down leaving the company with a lot more controversy. Carly Fiorina’s performance at HP caught the attentions of the people in America and the world. Was CEO Carly Fiorina an example of internal or external succession at H-P and why? Carly Fiorina’s appointment in Hewlett-Packard is an example of external succession because she was not a former H-P employee or member of the board; her expertise and renowned popularity made the H-P Board to hire her service.   Specifically, her achievements at Lucent and ATT impressed the executives of H-P, which at that time was at a point of â€Å"downslide† (Boldman Deal, p. 111), who thought that Fiorina could bring â€Å"drastic action and new leadership to shake things up† (ibid). Describe the changes made at Hewlett-Packard under CEO Fiorina. Carly Fiorina obviously was really smart and an innovator as evident in her achievements in her former companies.   However, her true ability was tested in Hewlett-Packard that left her torn-apart caused by the consequences of the massive scale she imposed on H-P.   She succeeded in some ways and failed in some aspects. Nevertheless, Fiorina made three changes in HP in her six-year term that greatly affected the HP culture according to Craig (2008).   First, she redirected the spending of the company from â€Å"nurturing employees to financial performance† (Craig) that resulted to growth in earnings and revenues during her term.   Secondly, she changed the reward system given to employees from profit-sharing to an incentive program.   The last change she made was restructuring the whole company by merging similar units to one resulting to having only four units from the original 84 units.   Reduction of smaller independent businesses of HP resulted to job losses of many employees but improved the communication and internal transaction of the company. Likewise, the merging of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq caused Fiorina’s strategy brought more negative consequences than positive ones.   Though she got what she expected, but the fact that people were hurt by her aggressive action they all retaliated against her.   Unbelievably, only during her term that HP experienced so many job losses and employee apprehensions. These changes damaged the company as employee dissatisfaction grew further until 2005 and the stock reduced by half while its competitors such as Dell and IBM continued soaring high. What is your opinion of what ultimately happened to her at HP, as illustrated by the second article? Fiorina lost her credibility at HP which was contrary to her previous achievements she made prior to her appointment at HP.   I think she was overwhelmed by the shining glory of her achievements during that time that she promoted herself rather than the company’s future.   She failed to understand what the company really needed; instead she went on her way without fully analyzing what correct actions to take. Basically, she relied to herself totally that she never noticed the cultural forces that raged against her.   She lost her focus as many turned into opposition to her plans; in the first place, she never got to the heart of the problem of HP that she misunderstood many of the remarks and words of expectation she received at the time she was appointed at HP. How would you describe the most recent succession that occurred at H-P? External succession with Fiorina was the first attempt made by the company and I think that experience gave them a great lesson to ponder on because the succession brought chaos to the company, which was opposite to what they expected.   HP was quite stable though some downslides occurred already when Fiorina was hired in 1999.   Fiorina was appointed as chairwoman in order to enhance further its competitiveness in the market but her leadership style did not meet the expected changes that she promised to them. In the first place, HP became irrational by associating the success of Fiorina at ATT and Lucent to Hewlett-Packard.   It failed to see competent and able leaders within the company who could replace the parting person.   Getting the right person for a very sensitive position must be done with care. Monk and Wagner suggested that in line with succession, it is important that a company create a succession plan that â€Å"incorporates every level of the organization† (2008, p. 174). The succession plan will guide the company in cases like Fiorina. Conclusion In the case of Carly Fiorina in HP, it is appropriate to assume that succession must be according to the plan and besides the company must set a ruling regarding succession.   Fiorina could be the right person in HP but the lack of clear vision and orientation of the culture and expectation of the company; she developed her own approaches that only harmed the people in the company.

A Tale Of Two Cities :: essays research papers

Foreshadowing is used in many of Charles Dickens' novels. It can bring about a sense of wonder and imagination of what might occur later in the novel. The conceopt of foreshadowing means to present a warning sign, or hint beforehand. Dickens is able to use this concept in three examples. The threatening footsteps in the Manette home, Gaspard's illustration of "blood," and Mr. Lorry's dream of brinnging a man back to life, are all examples of warning or foreshadowing. that Dickens' uses in his novel A Tale of Two Cities. Lucie Manette hears uncomforing footsteps in her home in Soho, which is the first example of foreshadowing. The steps that she ususually heard always represented people who came in and out of her life. Yet, the night before the French Revolution began she heard "Headlong, mad, and dangerous footsteps" (198). These noises which she heard made her uneasy and she questioned her guests "They are veyr numetrous, and very loud, though, are tthey not?" (197). Lucie had been fearful of the safety of her guests on such a cautious night "I am quite glad you are at home, for these hurries and forebodings by which I haveen surrounded all day long have made me nervous without reason? (197). The fear within Lucie Manette on that tevening foreshadowed the threat of aa revolution. The footsteps are the first example of foreshadowing. Gaspard wrote outside of the winehsop with the spilled wine "blood," which is the second example of foreshadowing. " The fellow pointed to his joke with immense significacance" (27). Defarge quickly took mud and smeared it over, for the idea of revolution was fresh

Segmentation of Mercedes

Table of Contents 1. 0 Situation Analysis/Current Marketing Mix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 1. 1 Current Product†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 1. 2 Current Pricing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 1. 3 Current Distribution†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 1. 4 Current Promotion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2. 0 Segmentation Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 2. 1 Defining and Explaining Segmentation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 2. 2 Explaining Three Benefits of Mercedes-Benz Brand from using Segmentation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 3. Target Market Identification†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 3. 1 Geographic Segmentation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 3. 2 Demographic Segmentation†¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 3. 3 Psychographic Segmentation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 3. 4 Behavioral Segmentation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 4. 0 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 Surname 3 1. 0 Situation Analysis/Current Marketing Mix 1. 1 Current Product Being a highly reputable brand globally, Mercedes-Benz has successfully penetrated in Singapore market.Presently, Mercedes-Benz C class has swiftly penetrated in the Singaporean luxury car market due to the prestige associated with the brand. Being a consumer product, Mercedes Class C has been characterized by high performance that accurately meets personal needs for active individuals through the superior brand name. Over the years, Mercedes Benz brand name has won global recognition, contributing to its popularity in Singaporean market. The various sub-models of Mercedes Benz Class C including C230, C240, C320 and C350 among others offer consumers with various luxurious services, besides mere travelling.It is important to note that, the ability of a core product to offer credible and other beneficial characteristics besides the core product utility enhances its propensity to acquire popularity among consumers1. In this regard, Mercedes Class C has been considered as of high quality level, having sophisticated features to enhance driving experiences, stylish in nature and having strong brand name. In Singapore luxury car market, it has been rep orted that 70% of customers enquiring about car are much interested in Mercedes Benz Class C. This is an indication that, much of their time is spent looking on the stylish nature of the product2.It has been observed that, most of these consumers looking for Mercedes Benz Class C don’t easily opt for other brands until they get it some other times when it is available. This is evidenced by the selling slogan of the product â€Å"Drive and Seek,† which aims at assuring the consumers ultimate performance of the product. More so, the prestigious nature of Mercedes Class C can be considered as a unique feature that has contributed to its popularity in Singapore. It has been observed that, Mercedes Benz Class C is multi-purpose, since it is still used in sports as well as for private outdoor traveling.It is vital to note that, the ability of a product to offer consumers with additional benefits besides the basic uses contributes to its popularity among consumers. By having more additional benefits than its 1 Richard, Semenik and Gary, Bamossy, Principles of Marketing: A Global Perspective (New York: Prentice Hall, 2005), 68. 2 Beng, Chua. Life is not Complete without Shopping: Consumption Culture in Singapore, (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2003), 72. Surname 4 core competitors like BMW, Mercedes Benz Class C has penetrated well in Singaporean markets. 1. 2 Current PricingThe luxury car market in Singapore is an oligopoly competitive market, since there are few luxury car brands in the market. Being a superior brand in the market, Mercedes-Benz C-Class has efficiently penetrated in the Singapore market. This has been observed in the way this brand highly demanded, despite its high prices. Particularly, Mercedes Benz Class C pricing strategy is valuebased, considering the way consumers of this product have not been sensitive to the high prices for this product. It has also been observed that, increase in prices for Mercedes Benz Class C does n ot affect consumer demand.This is evidenced when prices for Mercedes Benz Class C 350 increased from ? 32580 in the year 2006 to ? 33130 in the year 2007, the total demand for the product remained undisturbed, constituting of about 30% of luxury demand in Singapore3. This shows how the superiority of the brand is not affected by price changes, since consumers have are highly loyal to the brand, despite competitors using various tactics to market their products. Customer loyalty for Mercedes Benz Class C is demonstrated in the way consumers in Singapore maintain the demand for the brand, despite its competitors lowering their prices.For instance, BMW is one of the core rivals of Mercedes Benz, whose tendency of reducing prices has not affected the demand for Mercedes Benz Class C. Particularly, the year 2007 saw BMW lower the prices of its luxury car models in Singapore in order to win more customers, a strategy which did not affect the demand for Mercedes Benz Class C4. This is an i ndication that, consumers tend to perceive the value of Mercedes Benz as being far much higher than the money they pay for.As a result, high level of customer loyalty has been prevalent for Mercedes Benz Class C in Singapore as a result of the outstanding features and prestigious nature of the luxury car brand. Considering that Mercedes Benz Class C is sophistically manufactured using highly costly resources, the strategy adopted by the brand in pricing the product is effective. Though Mercedes-Benz C-Class is an expensive car, its value among the consumers has made it acquire loyalty among the customers. 1. 3 Current Distribution 3 Leslie, Butterfield, Enduring Passion: Story of the Mercedes Benz Brand, (New York: Wiley Publishers, 2005), 36. Dennis, Adler, Mercedes Benz: First Gear, (London: Motorbooks, 2008), 46. Surname 5 Mercedes C-Class has been distributed using a variety of channels in Singapore. With some buyers opting for online orders, there are various selling points of the luxury car in Singapore. Among the various destination points for Mercedes Benz Class C includes the major attraction points in the island like Ion Sky, and Marina Bay Sand among others. More so, Mercedes Benz Class C has been distributed in Singapore through major exhibitions in the island like the Singapore Showroom, Titanic exhibition, MBS Countdown, and Elephant Parade among others.This has facilitated the distribution of the luxury cars to the people where they can view it and make purchases5. By having various points of sale for this product, high volume of sales has been experienced in this brand, since consumers find it easier to contact the sellers directly. Since customers are able to visit the show rooms and explore the vehicles directly, direct interactions between the brand’s representatives have facilitated brand popularity among the people of Singapore.Since Mercedes Benz Class C products are produced in Singapore, most of the sellers are company’s r epresentatives who act as sales agents. This makes the customers lack the opportunity of interacting directly with the manufacturers of the brand. With the advancement of e-commerce, many customers in Singapore have adopted online purchasing strategy for the Mercedes Benz Class C cars. Through online stores, Mercedes Company has been able to substantial customer base in Singapore6. Being a well developed country, many people use computers, making it easier for them to make most of their purchases online.Through the adoption of web video with interactive agent thriller as well as the company’s website, consumers have been able to know the products. After making online purchases the cars are shipped to the customers through the port of Singapore which handles various products from Europe and other parts of the world. Through the use of a blend of physical selling points and online marketing strategy, Mercedes Company has been able to distribute Mercedes Benz Class C cars to man y consumers in Singapore. 1. 4 Current PromotionCurrently, Mercedes Company adopts a variety of promotional platforms for Mercedes Benz Class C in Singapore. These platforms include internet portfolio, traditional print and cinema, which are 5 Paul, Leppert, Doing Business with Singapore: Global Business Series, (Washington, DC: Jain Pub Co. , 2000), 21. 6 Dennis, Adler, Mercedes Benz: First Gear, (London: Motorbooks, 2008), 41. Surname 6 reinforced with corporate social responsibility through integrated marketing communications. There various messages displayed on the promotional platforms for Mercedes Benz Class C which includes â€Å"Drive and Seek†, and â€Å"More Style per Hour†.All these promotional messages are available at the Mercedes Company’s website as core messages of persuading the customers to purchase the product. The message â€Å"Drive & Seek† has been passed on through this media, thus helping in marketing Mercedes Benz Class C. By adop ting this message, the company is guaranteeing its customers about the performance of the product. Online advertisement has been considered as key promotional platform adopted by the Mercedes Company in the sale of Mercedes Benz Class C in Singapore.With about 80 percent of Singapore’s society being able to access the internet at least daily, the use of web video advertisement by Mercedes-Benz has been found quite efficient7. Further, â€Å"More style per hour† is another promotional message adopted in the marketing of Mercedes Benz Class C in Singapore. This message has been widely available in the company’s marketing pamphlets, television ads and company’s websites. This message seeks to convince buyers that they will definitely experience outstanding prestige and stylish drive every time they use the product.With most of the consumers in Singapore being luxurious and prestigious in nature, this message has been found quite useful and accurate in meetin g the psychological needs of Singaporeans. The combination of these promotional messages has enhanced successful penetration of Mercedes Benz Class C in Singapore consumer market, while many consumers who have the product remaining very loyal to it8. 2. 0 Segmentation Theory 2. 1 Defining and Explaining Segmentation Segmentation is basically the identification and establishment of buyer/consumer subsets within a market.Notably, these groups of buyers demonstrate similar behaviors and needs. Despite the extensive and diverse nature of the global market, it should be noted that buyers have different behaviors and needs. With this in mind, marketers or businesses have to match groups of customers who have similar needs and behaviors. A point worthy of consideration is that each segment has 7 Leslie, Butterfield, Enduring Passion: Story of the Mercedes Benz Brand, (New York: Wiley Publishers, 2005), 33. 8 Philip Kotler, Marketing Places, (New York: McGraw Hill Press, 2001), 231. Surname 7 distinct needs and homogeneous characteristics.With this in mind, market stimulus and market intervention are used to address each segment9. Through segmentation, marketers are able to meet the specific needs of the particular customer base, by tailoring the products to meet the needs of such customers. 2. 2 Segmentation in Singapore for Mercedes-Benz Class C The market segmentation in the Singapore consumer market for Mercedes Benz Class C has been very useful in the way the company has been able to position the product more appropriately. The market segment aimed by this product is the middle age-group working class people who are educated.Particularly, Mercedes Benz Class C is meant for individuals who have achieved success in their early live and are having many ambitions in their endeavors. This is evidenced in their marketing messages which seem to concern active and well-up people seeking success in their various endeavors. For instance, ‘Drive & Seek’ is mean t to persuade active and successful individuals to seek more success through driving Mercedes Benz Class C10. With about 80% of the population aging between 18-49 years working, this segment has the potential to offer substantial market opportunity for Mercedes Benz Class C.More so, Mercedes Company targets young and well-up families. This is shown in the way Mercedes Benz Class C is specially tailored to accommodate a family while at various luxurious trips or excursions. As evidenced in the promotional message ‘more style per hour’ it is explicit that the company aims at meeting the needs of a family while traveling. Quite importantly, this segment comprises of large proportion in Singapore with about 48% of the population married, while the rest are children and youths11. As a result, there seems a potential market for this product in Singapore market. . 0 Target Market Identification 3. 1 Geographic Segmentation Singapore is a highly strategic and potential country for luxurious products like Mercedes- Benz C-Class. Precisely, Singapore is a small country which is highly urbanized. Since Mercedes Benz Class C requires flat and smooth terrain for outstanding performance, Singapore can be 9 Johan Arndt, Market Segmentation: Theoretical and Empirical Dimensions (New York: London, 2001), 38. 10 Dennis Adler, Mercedes Benz: First Gear, (London: Motorbooks, 2008), 38. 1 Paul Leppert, Doing Business with Singapore: Global Business Series, (Washington, DC: Jain Pub Co. , 2000), 43. Surname 8 considered as an ultimate geographical region for this product. Precisely, the urbanized nature of Singapore positions it adequately in terms of market for the Mercedes C-Class. Majority of the population being urban dwellers, they have found Mercedes-Benz C-Class very useful in meeting their needs12. It is also important to note that, Singapore is experiences tropical climate; rainy, humid and hot, which makes the country to remain ever green and agriculturally p otential.Though commercial farming is not commonly practiced, the people in Singapore have food security. These are key aspects with reference to the economic stability of the region, makes the region to offer potential purchasing power for luxury products like Mercedes Benz Class C. Besides the ability to buy, the physical environment has made the people of Singapore to associate themselves with superior products like Mercedes Benz Class C to match their conducive geographical features.The gently undulating and lowland terrain of Singapore enhances the need for Mercedes-Benz C-Class which has a high sense of comfort. 3. 2 Demographic Segmentation The demographics of Singapore can be considered as having the potential to offer potential market for luxury products like Mercedes Benz Class C. The population structure constituting many middle-aged people whom most of them are working offers potential market for luxurious cars like Mercedes Benz Class C. More so, about 40% of people liv ing in Singapore city are foreigners who have come to do business and white collar jobs.With about 76% of the people living in Singaporeans aging between 15-64 years, it is evident that most of the population is active, making it efficient for Mercedes Benz Class C which aims at active individuals and young families. Many of these people engage in economic activities which are industrial in nature like financial services provision, chemicals, electronics, construction and entrepot trade. With the population growth rate being estimated to be 1. 56 percent, there seems to be potential market for luxury products like Mercedes Benz Class C in Singapore throughout.It has also been observed that, high level of literacy in the country, which is about 90%, has played significant role in boosting the purchasing power of many Singaporeans. On this basis, it is evident that there is potential market for various segments aimed by Mercedes-Benz C-Class13 in Singapore. 12 Richard Vasil, Governing Singapore: Democracy and National Development (New York: Allen & Unwin, 2000), 96. 13 Leslie Butterfield, Enduring Passion: Story of the Mercedes Benz Brand, (New York: Wiley Publishers, 2005), 41 Surname 9 3. Psychographic Segmentation One of the target segment markets for Mercedes Benz Class C is highly ambitious middleaged working class. The luxurious lifestyle upheld by this group has been found effective when coupled with Mercedes-Benz C-Class as one of their luxury products. With most Singaporeans being active in their lives, they have been found quite suitable for being targeted as ultimate consumers for Mercedes-Benz C-Class. With this group being working, its purchasing power for luxury products like Mercedes-Benz C-Class has been guaranteed.It is also important to note that, the socio-economic status of the target market for Mercedes-Benz C-Class is high income earners who seek performance as their core values. As a result, such individuals would go for outstandingly perf orming products like Mercedes-Benz C-Class in their lives. In Singapore, the largest population consists of middle-aged people with modal age of 37 years. In this regard, it is evident that there is potential market for Mercedes-Benz C-Class for this market segment. The urban lifestyles of the population of Singapore also demonstrate the socioeconomic potential of the Singapore market14.As a result, it has been evident that Singapore population has potential market for the market segment with the psychographics associated with Mercedes Benz Class C luxury cars. 3. 4 Behavioral Segmentation The consumer behavior in Singapore has been demonstrated to be very admirable for the marketing processes of Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Since the brand name itself is globally acknowledged, it has been difficult for individuals who are used to the brand to switch to other luxury cars. Majority of the population are urban dwellers who are characterized with high sense of purchasing foreign and sophisti cated products15.Statistics have shown that, about 80% of Mercedes Benz Class C consumers are loyal to the brand in Singapore. This is evidenced in the way many golf playgrounds, which are associated with high class people, are associated with Mercedes Brand Name. This has been due to the sophistication and prestige associated with the product. Since the target market for this brand are also prestigious and luxuries, it has been hard for them to give up products which seems to embrace their core values like Mercedes Benz Class C16. This has 14 Paul Leppert, Doing Business with Singapore: Global Business Series, (Washington, DC: Jain Pub Co. 2000), 52 15 Richard Vasil, Governing Singapore: Democracy and National Development (New York: Allen & Unwin, 2000), 97. 16 Leslie Butterfield, Enduring Passion: Story of the Mercedes Benz Brand, (New York: Wiley Publishers, 2005), 55 Surname 10 adequately enhanced the potential of the population in purchasing the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Generally , the high purchasing power of the target market for Mercedes Benz Class C in Singapore has facilitated high degree of loyalty to the product, since this product has been observed to embrace their personal and lifestyle needs.

Differences Between a Normative and Empirical Theory

There are various theories that attempted to explain and understand various social events and social issues. Two of these theories include the normative and the empirical theories. In order to understand these concepts, it may be best to know their definitions. The normative theory involves the evaluation of things based on the labels of what is good and what is bad. The desirability then of an approach is determined by the observable judgments on its implications.On the other hand, empirical theory involves the use of observations according to concrete evidence so that things can be explained with accuracy and precision. One of the most important applications of the normative and empirical theory is on the rule making aspect of a democracy. According to Craig, there â€Å"may be different models of democracy†. However, in our society, we are often confused with the normative and empirical aspects of democracy.As regards democracy, one can still say that in order to achieve th e true essence of a democratic community, the empirical approach is at most desirable. It is not enough that the precepts proposed by the concept of democracy dictates how and to what extent we achieve democracy. Rather, it is important that we also rely on empirical data and concrete evidence to determine how and to what extent the proposed democratic policies can affect the lives of the people who believe in the concept of democracy.Historical data proves that mistakes as regards democracy involved the normative theory of democracy wherein our leaders tend to have been swayed and decided only in accordance with what democracy should and ought to be rather on what the community actually needs and the state of things. In the normative theory, it is often the aim to evaluate things rather than explain things. In this regard, it is often the case that under the normative theory, concrete actions are not determined in order to resolve issues.This is not true in case of the empirical th eory because by more than just evaluating things, explaining the various social phenomenons enables our leaders to create deeper understanding of things so that it can be resolved according to democratic principles. Democratic theory is empirically desirable as much as it allows the people to explain things so that they can freely act on it. The democratic set up is best for the community because it allows people to, individually create an evaluation and understanding of things by trying to explain the root causes of the problems.In addition, under the concept of democracy, it is best that decisions be based not only on the basis of what is best for a certain group but for the whole community. The practice of democracy should not cause to undermine other democratic rights of others. This is commonly what is reflected in the United States politics because specific policies especially on wars are now reflections of the voice of the people, or a product of free deliberations to determi ne their applicability and reasonableness.It is unfortunate to think that the democratic principles are now tainted with the long stretch of power of politics and officialdom. Many our seemingly democratic leaders, neglect democratic end in exchange of their personal intentions. We should not forget that a true democratic government is a government for the people, by the people and of the people. The centralization of government especially of decision making does not reflect the true nature of a democratic state.

The Best Way to Write a Creative Brief (Includes Templates)

The Best Way to Write a Creative Brief (Includes Templates) Marketing projects can sometimes be a challenge to get off the ground. Everyone has a different vision for what the campaign should be, what the creative will look like and what the objectives are. Not doing your prep work on the front-end can mean you might go too far down the wrong path, which means†¦ Wasted time†¦ Lost money†¦ And disgruntled clients. So what’s a marketer to do? Create a clear creative brief before the work begins, of course. If this leaves you scratching your head, have no fear. You’ll find everything you need in this post, including how to create an effective creative brief, nine examples to model after, and free templates to get your project off the ground. Three Creative Brief Templates + Your Projects = Success Start off by downloading our free creative brief templates. This kit includes three different templates you can use to write effective creative briefs the easy way (in Word, Excel, and Powerpoint format). Grab ’em free below. Then, keep reading to learn how to use them effectively.Why You Need a Creative Brief A creative brief helps clarify expectations between your team and the project’s stakeholders. Not having one increases the likelihood of missed deadlines and means a heck of a lot more time wasted on making sure everyone is on the right track. The creative brief serves as the documentation for the project’s objectives and how you’re going to achieve success- the â€Å"what† and â€Å"how†, essentially. Marketing teams need to focus carefully on ROI to prove our worth. Creativity is often overlooked in this equation. As evidenced by the thrown together creative briefs copied and pasted from old campaigns. Doesn’t it seem odd that you’re willing to spending a bunch of money on a project, but not spend more than 5 minutes making sure your project is set up for success? Reason 1: Define the Scope and Help Avoid Scope-creep The creative brief says a lot about what the project is, but it also provides insight into what the project isn’t. For example, let’s say your creative brief outlines a project to redesign your website’s blog.   The scope of this project is clear- you’re not setting out to re-design any other area of the site. This avoids what we call scope-creep. Scope-creep can be compared to the â€Å"might as-wells†. â€Å"If we’re redesigning the blog, we ‘might as-well’ redesign the about us pages, too.† This can be especially difficult if your project is on behalf of a client. You, as the Project Manager, need to make hard decisions about whether you need to adjust the cost and risk the client getting upset, or eat the cost and hurt your profitability. Your creative brief can help you avoid this conundrum. Collaborating with your client or team at the beginning helps prevent misunderstandings about deliverables and gives you a document to reference if scope-creep arises. Reason 2: Clarify the Project’s Timeline Most projects have a definitive delivery date, so it’s a good idea to include a timeline in your creative brief. Marketing teams juggle multiple projects at once, which means it can be a challenge for individuals to manage everything on their plate. It’s important for Marketing Managers to value their team member’s opinions regarding realistic timelines and workloads. Gain input while formulating the creative brief or use something like ’s Team Management Dashboard to make sure timelines are realistic. Use ’s Team Management Dashboard to Set Realistic Timelines There’s nothing more frustrating as a Marketing Manager than (unsuccessfully) trying to stay on top of what everyone on your team is working on. Our Team Management Dashboard replaces lengthy meetings and email chains required to chase down updates. Use the dashboard when outlining your creative brief to visualize realistic timelines based on everyone’s *actual* workload. Need to re-prioritize? No Sweat. Simply reshuffle workloads with the drag and drop functionality. Everyone will be able to see their updated tasks in real-time. Sayonara, spreadsheets. What Can the Team Management Dashboard Do For Your Team? What to see how the Team Management Dashboard can get your team organized and never miss a deadline? Schedule a demo with our team to find out more. Reason 3: Mitigate Confusion and Answer Questions Have you ever been pulled into a project and felt confused about the who, what, where, when, and why? Or maybe those questions have lingered in your mind throughout the duration of the project? (Let’s be honest, we’ve all been a part of a marketing project that has felt a little half-baked.) The process of writing the creative brief itself helps you work through strategic questions that may otherwise go unanswered. Likewise, everyone involved in the project will have a clear idea of what’s going on and can understand the project’s reason for existence. Which makes your job as the de facto Project Manager a lot easier. Questions about timeline? Check out the creative brief. Questions about target audience? Creative brief. Questions about process? You guessed it... creative brief. BOOM. You’ve just saved some time by not having to re-answer the same questions over and over again. Elements of a Great Creative Brief Creative briefs can vary slightly in what they actually contain. Some opt for more information; others are more condensed. Here’s a running list of items you may consider including in your brief. Project Summary Describe the project in one or two sentences. Boil it down to the basics. This gives everyone who might come into the project (at any point in time) a high-level understanding of what the project is. It also makes it easier to iterate on the project down the road. â€Å"E-commerce research project intended to attract small business owners wanting to launch their own e-shop.† Target audience Outline who you’re trying to reach with the campaign. This can be simply a certain user persona or it can be a demographic outline. This is important as it gives the project member an idea of who they’re talking to/ designing for. â€Å"Small business owners and ‘makers’ that are currently selling on Etsy, farmer’s markets, etc.† Problem What problem is the project trying to solve? Why do you need to do *this* project? This narrows down why the project exists and why the company needs to do this particular project. â€Å"{Insert company name} is finding it difficult to convince designers, makers, small business owners etc. of the benefits of creating their own webshops rather than selling via Etsy. This report will provide {the company} with original data to use throughout the year and will highlight the benefits of setting up an e-commerce site.† Goal   Why are we doing this project? Make sure your goals are measurable and avoid setting too many. Stick to your one metric that matters. â€Å"The primary goal is to increase interest in using {company platform} as the go-to e-commerce platform. This will help position {company name}   as the best solution for setting up an e-commerce website. We will create a comprehensive research report that aims to convert 5,000 new paid users by the end of 2019.† KPI How will success be measured? This sets the stage for how you will know if your project was successful or not. It also helps you understand if the project should be repeated. â€Å"This report will be measured based on the number of new accounts generated from gated downloads.† Process What are the general steps we must follow to finish the project? This is a good outline that can become a task template once the project kicks off. It also is a good way for each team member to visualize where they fit into the project. Write survey questions Distribute survey Analyze data Write content for the report Design PDF Prepare promotion strategy Measure Individuals/Teams Involved Who do you need to get this project done? This serves as a reminder to everyone that they need to be involved in order for the project to get off the ground. â€Å"PR, Graphic Design, Social Media, Analytics, Content Marketing, Email Marketing† Timeline What is the due date for this project? Every project needs to have a start and end date†¦ they can’t drag on in perpetuity. This makes it easier for people to plan their workloads and get things finished on time. â€Å"End of Q2 2019† Budget How much can you spend on this project? This can either be a client’s budget or internal resources that are dedicated. You can also think of this in terms of hours devoted to this project. $25,000 How to Write a Great Creative Brief Aside from including the right information, there are a couple things you should also think about when compiling a creative brief. Be Specific You want your creative brief to clear enough that anyone can understand the project. A vague creative brief will often produce results that fall far short of expectations. When a creative brief misses the necessary specifics, significant revisions often arise which makes for a frustrating process for all involved. Set S.M.A.R.T Goals Setting S.M.A.R.T goals help put your project on the fast track to success. An example of a S.M.A.R.T goal might be: â€Å"We will create a comprehensive research report that aims to convert 5,000 new paid users by the end of 2019.† The goal is specific by identifying that you want to help drive new paid users. It’s measurable because your team will be able to tell if you hit your 5,000 increase paid users or not. It’s attainable based on previous benchmarking for similar campaigns. The task is relevant because it’s contributing to the company’s bottom line. Finally, the task has a time limit to see if the project was successful or not. The Operative Word is Brief The creative brief is exactly what it says†¦ brief. It doesn’t need everything and the kitchen sink. Offer an abridged summary that can be easily digested. It shouldn’t be TL;DR. You don’t need to link to a dozen planning spreadsheets, email chains, and related documents.   Chances are those supporting documents won’t even be looked at, so don’t waste your time.

Valley of the Kings essays

Valley of the Kings essays For the Ancient Egyptians the west was the way to the kingdom where the death could enter. This place was for them the Valley of the Kings. It was the place where the royal people wanted to be. The Valley of the Kings is a wonderful world to be discovered. The Valley of the Kings was a burial place. It was used by Egyptian rulers of the New Kingdom period. It was where the kings were buried. The Egyptians buried the kings along with their most important things. The objects were jewelry, pots and lots of more The Valley of the Kings is located on the West bank of the Nile opposite to the northern town of Luxor. Although only a few kms. West of the River bank. High cliffs and a long narrow entrance hide the Valley of the Kings. It is south of Thebas. It now has ways of communication which it didnt have before. The mountain of Thebas, at the far end of the Valley forms a natural pyramid both in shape and in use. It contains sixty or more tombs. Many tombs had to be changed of place several times because they used to be robbed. Egyptians would change their places The Valley of the Kings also recieved in ancient times the name of the Place of the Truth and the Valley of the Kings Biban el-Muluk.The first tomb discovered was the one of Seti the 1st. The Italian discoverer G. B. Belzoni found it in 1817. It has a very complicated construction. It has a lot of stairs and galleries as well as pillars. In one there was a sarcophagus of the pharaos without the mummy. The last tomb discovered in 1922 was the one of Tutankhamon. Howard Carter found it on Nov. 4, 1922. Great amounts of treasures were found. There were so well hidden that thieves couldn't find them. It's not a luxory tomb. The sarcophagus is one of the prettiest. ...

Finding the Gaps Online Writer vs a Vis-a-Vis Partnership

Finding the Gaps Online Writer vs a Vis-a-Vis Partnership Finding the Gaps: Online Writer vs a Vis-a-Vis Partnership When hiring a writer, it can be tough to choose between picking someone online or choosing a person that you can meet in person. Both options carry unique advantages and disadvantages, making it important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each variant. This article will help you assess which type of writers is the best for you. Communication If you have any issues with your project, you need to resolve them as soon as possible. Moreover, it is obvious that you want the person, you have hired, to clearly understand what is needed to be done. In this case, working with someone face-to-face is a great option. You can sit down, have a personal conversation, and make sure that the person, you are interviewing, fully understands your requirements. Moreover, you can set up the next meeting if it is need. An online writer does not have such an advantage. You have to communicate through email or Internet messenger, which makes it tougher to interact. There might be longer response time, and you will have to be very detailed in your project instructions. Convenience While vis-a-vis meetings may offer better communication, but hiring a writer online is less time consuming. Face-to-face meeting requires planning and preparation; you have to dedicate some time for it as well as find a place where to meet with the person. Even more, this requires you to adjust your schedule. Working with someone via the Internet eliminates these problems. You can send messages via messaging apps or services, like Skype or FaceTime. Writing Samples Writing samples are a great way to judge the quality of the writer’s work, before you hire him/her. You simply ask the writer to bring you some examples of his/her works. In this case, you can review them to see if they fit the tone and style that your assignment needs. The offline writer can only show you few of his/her works, since he/she has to bring paper copies of projects, and it is obvious that he/she will not be able to carry a lot of examples with them. The writer, you hire online, does not suffer from this problem. He/she can send you as many samples as you would like, since his/her copies will be entirely digital. Thus, online writers get one more benefit. Online as well as offline writers have their own unique advantages as well as disadvantages. However, hiring the offline writers has a few major benefits than hiring the face-to-face ones. While face-to-face writers are sometimes easier to communicate with, they lack many of other benefits that are more important. Cooperating with the writers online is more convenient, as well as it is easier to transfer work samples and documents between the two of you. This makes hiring Internet-based writers an overall better option.

Family Own Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Family Own Business - Essay Example However, the prime objective of the paper is to generate a transition plan for the company with an aim to increase its business’ success rate. Torrini: A Family Owned Business Torrini is remarked to be a dignified name in the family business sector of Europe and is based in Italy. It is one of the ancient family business firms in the county which has flourished for a period of six centuries. The firm produces various kinds of fashionable, high priced jewelleries ranging from rings and precious stones to luxurious watches and even perfumes (Torrini, n.d.). History of Torrini The establishment of Torrini as a jewellery designing, producing and marketing firm can be recognised during the 16th century. However, its roots lay in the 14th century, in 1369, when Jacopus Torrini the founder of the firm settled in Florence as a forger of armour. With the growth of the economy and also due to the transformation in the lifestyle preferences of the county people, Jacopus Torrini initiated to diversify his business in the production of unique and luxurious fine jewelleries (Torrini, n.d.). Since 600 years, the firm has provided a few noteworthy contributions to the creative industry in Italy and other economies of European region. Presently, it is categorised as one of the most prestigious and successful family owned businesses in the region. Subsequently, the management responsibilities have been solely on the family heirs. In other words, the skills, knowledge and creativity were handed down hereditarily to design Torrini products. The firm in the present context is supervised under the leadership traits of Frabrizio Torrini. The other family members having a... This essya stresses that while executing the transition plan the leaders should provide extensive consideration to the conflicts likely to arise among the family members including the potential heirs of the business. In this regard, the leaders need to depend entirely on their conscience and knowledge due to the fact that there are no specific theories prescribed to manage a family business and the conflicts arising during transitions. Torrini, as a brand holds remarkable potential to create strong impulse on the targeted customers. This paper makes a conclusion that family business groups have gained considerable significance in the modern era due to their remarkable inclusion in the economic growth. After the recent economic downturn, the western economies including the European economies have started considering family business units as a crucial element to stimulate their growth providing wider scope to the family business entities. However, the leaders of family business entities are often recognised as reluctant to adopt change due to the fear of losing control and/or disturbing the values preserved in the business’ operations. This can also be identified in the case of Torrini. On the contrary, in the case of Swarovski the business has adopted a modern and strategic technique to ensure the growth of the brand without disturbing the interests of the family leaders and the heritage of the brand providing its wider scope to prosper.

Family Culture and Tradition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Family Culture and Tradition - Essay Example Like in any other family, this is the time when everyone is in a hurry as we race around the house to get what we need for school. Our parents, on the other hand, prepare for work. Our father drops us off in school before going to the office. Mother is left at home as she cleans up the mess we have left behind before she herself goes to work. We all have our own different schedules during the day. After school, my siblings and I proceed to our own activities – ballet, art class, violin lesson and karate class. We all have a full day before assembling back home when we arrive at different times. We children rest in front of the television or take a nap in our rooms, then do our chores and homework. We take turns helping out in the kitchen as our parents prepare dinner. Even they, take turns cooking dinner with Mom cooking on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Dad cooking on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On weekends, we all pitch in cooking our meals or eat out. We have usually have dinner together at 7:30. At the dinner table, everyone shares what happened to them during the day. We make it a point to balance our Up times and our Down times referring to the g ood and bad things that happened to us. Sometimes, our talks are serious, but most of the time, we laugh and have fun with each other’s company. The dinner conversations we have keep us all updated with each other’s lives. I remember regarding dinner time with my family as the highlight of my day. After dinner, my siblings and I clean up and do the dishes before going back to our homework or whatever activity we choose. Before going to sleep, we make it a point to kiss and hug our parents good night and exchange â€Å"I love you’s†. We each have mom-and-me as well as dad-and-me one-on-one dates at least once a month apart from the times we go out as a family. We either have lunch or dinner, shop, go bowling, watch a show or anything

Google, decribe organization's approach to leading, planning and Essay

Google, decribe organization's approach to leading, planning and controlling, is it right do I haveany recommended changes - Essay Example o overcome as well with fears that Google could possibly become a monopoly which could ultimately lead to the demise of such an influential corporation. Google Inc. is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google maintains an index of websites and other content which allows anyone with an internet connection to access this information freely. Their revenues are over 16 billion per year and they employ over 16,000 people. Their growth in revenue each year is mainly due to an increase in advertising revenues for Google web sites and as well as their network. They are one of the largest companies in America based on their market share value. The influence of this company was exemplified when â€Å"Google† was added to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary in 2006. According to Webster it is defined as the way â€Å"to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the internet†. [1] The development of Google’s search engine technology began in January 1996 in a garage. Stanford University’s computer science graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin got together to develop a new search engine technology. They named their new product â€Å"Backrub† because of its ability to rate websites. This was done when viewing the number of reverences by examining the number of back links pointing to the web sites. This was a new way to rate web sites. The competitors had a way to assess the revelency of web sites to a particular search query based on counting metatags or â€Å"key words† included in web sites. By 1997 â€Å"Backrub† had a number of followers in the internet world in the Silicon Valley. One of these followers was Yahoo co-founder, David Filo. In 1998 David Filo convinced Larry Page and Sergey Brin to leave Stanford Graduate School and focus full time on making their search technology the basis of a new internet company. Backrub was renamed Google, or Googol, which is a mathematical term that

Team-work Homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team-work Homework - Assignment Example When the two companies do not advertise, both King and Babil Company will have a payoff of 150. This payoff is beneficial to the two companies compared to adverting process. In the domain strategy, the two companies that is King firm and Babil firm have a dominating choice of not advertising. Irrespective of the Babil decision, the King company will not take the risk of advertisement, lest King know the secret of the competitor. From the outcomes stipulated on the table, it is evident that high outcomes arise when the two companies decide not to advertise, independently. The two companies felt that rather than getting a payoff of 300 and 80 for their strategy, they feel it better to win 150 rather than making their products available to their public and their competitors. The best outcome for the dominant strategy is when King fails to advertisement, as well as Babil. In Nash equilibrium the two companies use the methods to predict the outcome of another company in the social arts. The payoff functions represent the firm’s preferences over the action profile of the company where the action profile of King and Babil will portray the list of actions. In this strategy, king will have an incentive in shying away from the advertisement after considering Babil options. Neither Babil not King shall have an incremental benefit of changing their motives. Under this strategy, just like other strategies discussed above, the nash equilibrium will be attained when the companies choose not to advertise their products. The outcome is illustrated as shown in the matrix

How has America's foreign policy changed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How has America's foreign policy changed - Essay Example That is a foreign policy which determinedly aims towards the isolation of a country’s national and international interests from world events. It is, to a large extent, an unrealistic foreign policy insofar as it ignores the extent to which national interests are ultimately intermingled with both international ones and those of other nations. World War I, according to this interpretation, exposed the extent to which the United States’ foreign policy had oversimplified the extent to which national interests, largely economic ones, were predicated on the well-being and stability of other nations, specifically the European ones. Realization of the aforementioned, therefore, forced the United States, largely out of concern for its own national interests and welfare, to break with its non-interventionist foreign policy and embrace a more interventionist one in which the US engaged in the affairs of other nations for the promotion and protection of its own interests. The United States refusal to sign the Versailles Treaty was consistent with its pre-World War I foreign policy. Quite simply stated, prior to World War I, the United States had pursued a non interventionist foreign policy and had, upon the outbreak and prolongation of the aforementioned event, only temporarily broken with that policy. It broke with it in order to restore stability to Europe and, by association, the United States’ economic interests in the continent. As is evident from Wilson’s Fourteen Points, the United States had assumed that following the conclusion of World War I and the subsequent restoration of stability to Europe, it would be able to revert to its earlier foreign policy strategy. Accordingly, the very last thing that it wanted was another European war. The terms of the Versailles Treaty, however, appeared to threaten just that. Certainly, it should have included

Team-work Homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team-work Homework - Assignment Example When the two companies do not advertise, both King and Babil Company will have a payoff of 150. This payoff is beneficial to the two companies compared to adverting process. In the domain strategy, the two companies that is King firm and Babil firm have a dominating choice of not advertising. Irrespective of the Babil decision, the King company will not take the risk of advertisement, lest King know the secret of the competitor. From the outcomes stipulated on the table, it is evident that high outcomes arise when the two companies decide not to advertise, independently. The two companies felt that rather than getting a payoff of 300 and 80 for their strategy, they feel it better to win 150 rather than making their products available to their public and their competitors. The best outcome for the dominant strategy is when King fails to advertisement, as well as Babil. In Nash equilibrium the two companies use the methods to predict the outcome of another company in the social arts. The payoff functions represent the firm’s preferences over the action profile of the company where the action profile of King and Babil will portray the list of actions. In this strategy, king will have an incentive in shying away from the advertisement after considering Babil options. Neither Babil not King shall have an incremental benefit of changing their motives. Under this strategy, just like other strategies discussed above, the nash equilibrium will be attained when the companies choose not to advertise their products. The outcome is illustrated as shown in the matrix

Exemplification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exemplification - Essay Example My employer was exceptionally helpful in providing the conducive working environment; reasonable targets, deadlines and achievable goals. For instance, I was provided with the resources and given the chance to get on the job training. In my first day of employment, during the company meeting I was introduced as the new IT department rookie’. In my second week, I had just delivered the weekly System Maintenance report to the Managing Director when he requested me to see him. I worried about my performance and thought I was going to be fired. What followed left me dumbstruck. The manager told me that my potential could not be fully utilized within his firm. He shared with me the idea of building an independent venture. Listening to his advice, given that he could have retained me as an employee for as long as he wished was unbelievable. He stated his intention to work with me for a maximum of one year, during which I would learn the ropes and be business oriented. Well, in my own capacity I felt comfortable in having a job that is secure and was not willing to venture into business. Deep down I knew that I had the potential, though I was not willing to bring it out. In the months that followed, I reported directly to the manager who engaged me in all forms of learning. One of my colleagues called it ‘street learning’. I climbed the ranks through hard work, dedication and expert advice from the manager. After 1 year, my contract ended. The time to start my business had come. In my experience, I had identified several avenues to pursue. However, I had no idea which was best. I approached my employer with my options, looking for help on how to arrive at a decision. I received expert advice on starting a business venture and the preparations required. In my preparation, my mentor created the working environment and guided me on business development. In the startup, the idea I adapted was to open a high street store

Factors affecting intellectual development Essay Example for Free

Factors affecting intellectual development Essay -Whichever has a bigger influence remains a debate until now because some studies proved that heredity has a bigger influence on intelligence while some studies showed the opposite. The important point is that the interplay of both heredity and environment is essential for maximum development of the intellectual abilities of the individual. Other factors affecting Intelligence: 1. Culture Different cultures foster different patterns of ability. For instance, students from Sri Lanka showed higher score in verbal ability than the Americans. -This can be explained by the fact that in Sri Lanka, the philosophers and the poets were admired rather than the scientists or engineers. 2. Sex It is not true that males are more intelligent than females. However, studies show that boys excel girls in spatial ability, in problem solving, and numerical ability whereas girls excel boys in memory, reasoning, and fluency. -The difference is not due to solve problems since they will be the heads of the families. Girls have been trained to do light work since they will be the homemakers, anyway. 3. Health Studies have shown that high IQ goes with healthy condition of the body. -In school; healthy children have better chances of learning, they can concentrate better in their studies and they are often active and enthusiastic about classroom activities. 4. Race No one race is endowed with better intelligence than others. -Differences in achievement of races are due to better opportunities and facilities found in developed countries. 5. Socio-economic status Studies have shown that children from higher socio-economic scored higher in  intelligence tests. -Again, greater opportunities and money account for this. The rich can send their children to better schools and can provide stimulating environment to their children. However, there are geniuses and idiots among them as there are among the poor.

Impact of Composition on Pore Throat Size in Mature Shales

Impact of Composition on Pore Throat Size in Mature Shales The impact of composition on pore throat size and permeability in mature shales: an example in Middle and Upper Devonian Horn River Group shale, northeastern British Columbia, Canada Tian Donga, Nicholas B. Harrisa, Korhan Ayrancia, Cory E. Twemlowb, Brent R. Nassichukb a Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada, b Trican Geological Solutions Ltd., Calgary, AB T2E 2M1, Canada, Abstract Shale reservoirs of the Middle and Upper Devonian Horn River Group provide an opportunity to study the influence of rock composition on permeability and pore throat size distribution in mature formation. Sedimentological, geochemical and petrophysical analyses reveal relationships between rock composition, pore throat size and matrix permeability. In our sample set, measured matrix permeability ranges between 1.69 and 42.81 nanodarcies and increases with increasing porosity. Total organic carbon (TOC) content positively correlates to permeability and exerts a stronger control on permeability than inorganic composition. A positive correlation between silica content and permeability, and the abundant presence of interparticle pores between quartz crystals, suggest that quartz content may be another factor enhancing the permeability. Pore throat size distributions are strongly related to TOC content. In organic rich samples, the dominant pore throat size is less than 10 nm, whereas in organic lean samples, pore throat size distribution is dominantly greater than 20 nm. SEM images suggest that in organic rich samples, organic matter pores are the dominant pore type, whereas in quartz rich samples, the dominant type is interparticle pores between quartz grains. In clay rich and carbonate rich samples, the dominant pore type is intr aparticle pores, which are fewer and smaller in size. High permeability shales are associated with specific depositional facies. Massive and pyritic mudstones, rich in TOC and quartz, have relatively high permeability. Laminated mudstone, bioturbated mudstone and carbonate facies, which are relatively enriched in clay or carbonate, have relatively low permeability. Key words: Pore throat size; Permeability; shale composition; Horn River Group shale; Western Canada Sedimentary Basin 1. Introduction Typical shales or mudstones are sedimentary rocks with a dominant grain size less than 63 ÃŽÂ ¼m, serving as source rocks if organic matter is rich and as seals preventing hydrocarbon migration because of fine-grained nature (Schieber, 1998). Permeability is a fundamental property in conventional reservoirs that strongly influences hydrocarbon production rate. Permeability is presumably also important in shale reservoirs for long term flow rates, although initial production rates are also influenced by natural and artificial fracture systems (Jarvie et al., 2007; Rickman et al., 2008). Permeabilities in mudstones are typically several orders of magnitude lower than in coarser grained lithologies, such as siltstones and sandstones (Dewhurst et al., 1999; Nelson, 2009; Yang and Aplin, 2010). Published absolute permeabilities, measured on a variety of shales and by different analytical methods, typically fall in the nano-darcy range (Kwon et al., 2004). Because of the extremely low p ermeability, accurate measurements of permeability in shale samples are challenging (Sakhaee-Pour and Bryant, 2011; Tinni et al., 2012; Moghadam and Chalaturnyk, 2015). Steady-state flow techniques are impractical because it is difficult to achieve flow through shale plugs in a period of time short enough to permit analysis of large numbers of samples (Mallon and Swarbrick, 2008; Sakhaee-Pour and Bryant, 2011). Consequently, transient pulse decay methods, which require much less time, are generally employed to measure shale permeability on both plugs and crushed particles (Cui et al., 2009). One potential problem in using core plugs for pulse-decay measurements is that induced fractures may influence the measurements (Ghanizadeh et al., 2015); therefore, a crushed rock technique (the GRI method) may be a favorable method to measure the matrix permeability (Cui et al., 2009). On the other hand, where microfractures exist naturally in a shale, the GRI method might not be appropriate. In mudstones, permeability primarily depends on the abundance and size of pores and pore throats (Yang and Aplin, 1998; Dewhurst et al., 1999); under reservoir conditions, pore throats and consequently permeabilities may be substantial lower than measured under ambient conditions due to compression of pore throats. Permeability under in-situ conditions is difficult to measure, but it can be estimated from more easily determined petrophysical properties such as pore size and pore throat size distribution as well as surface area (Yang and Aplin, 1998). Mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) measurements provide a qualitative understanding of permeability by giving useful information about the pore throat size and connectivity. MICP data suggest that pore throat size distributions in mudstones are influenced by porosity, grain size and clay content (Dewhurst et al., 1999; Yang and Aplin, 2007). Previously published data indicate that pore throat sizes in shales ranges from 5 nm to more than 100 nm (Nelson, 2009). Reported permeabilities in mudstones vary by ten orders of magnitude, primarily controlled by the presence of clay minerals, which decreases permeability by clogging mineral associated pores (Neuzil, 1994; Yang and Aplin, 1998, 2007, 2010; Dewhurst et al., 1998; Dewhurst et al., 1999). Permeabilities are also impacted by diagenetic processes such as destruction of porosity by mechanical compaction and cementation, and enhancement of pore throats by mineral dissolution (Pommer and Milliken, 2015). Most samples in these studies are either organic lean mudstones or low maturity, and the dominant pores exist between particles. Recently, high resolution scanning electron microscopy combined with ion milling techniques applied to mudstone samples has documented another important set of pores, i.e. those developed within organic matter (Loucks et al., 2009; Loucks et al., 2012; Nelson, 2009; Slatt and OBrien, 2011; Chalmers et al., 2012a; Curtis et al., 2012a; Curtis et al., 2012b; Dong and Harris, 2013; Dong et al., 2015; Mastalerz et al., 2013; Klaver et al., 2015; Tian et al., 2015). However, little work has been done on the control exerted by organic matter and other compositional variables on pore throat size distribution and permeability . Some studies have described pore features and factors controlling the matrix permeability in the Horn River Group shale (Ross and Bustin, 2009; Chalmers et al., 2012b), but none have been sufficiently detailed to determine the compositional factors influencing pore throat size distribution and permeability. In this study, we present a large dataset of permeability measurements on crushed samples and pore throat structure determined by MICP data By integrating geochemical data and petrophysical data for the Horn River Group shale, we investigate the potential effects of shale composition and organic matter on pore geometry, pore throat size distribution and permeability. We then link permeability to lithofacies, which can be used to predict spatial variation in permeability. 2. Geological setting The Horn River Basin, an area of nearly 12,000 km2, is situated in the deep northwest portion of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern British Columbia, Canada (Fig. 1) (Oldale and Munday, 1994). It is bounded to the south and east by carbonate barrier reefs (Presquile barrier) and to the west by the Bovie Fault, a Cretaceous structure associated with Laramide tectonism (Ross and Bustin, 2008). During the Middle and Late Devonian, the southern part was proximal to the paleo-shoreline and received more siliclastic input than the more distal northern part of the Horn River Basin (Fig. 1) (OConnell, 1994; Dong et al., 2016). The Horn River Group shale includes the Evie and Otter Park Members of Horn River Formation and the Muskwa Formation (Fig. 2), all deposited within a roughly 8 m.y. interval spanning the Givetian to early Frasnian Stages (~ 392 to 384 Ma) (Oldale and Munday, 1994). In the Horn River Basin, most of the Horn River Group shale is within the dry gas windo w with a vitrinite reflectance (Ro) ranging between 1.6 and 2.5% (Ross and Bustin, 2008, 2009; Rivard et al., 2014). The Evie Member is a dark grey, organic rich, variably calcareous mudstone that overlies the shallow marine carbonates of the Lower Keg River Formation (McPhail et al., 2008; Hulsy, 2011). The Evie Member is up to 75 meters thick near the Presquile barrier, thinning to less than 40 meters to the west (McPhail et al., 2008). The average TOC content for the Evie Member is 3.7 wt.% (Dong et al., 2015). The Otter Park Member is typically a grey, pyritic, argillaceous to calcareous mudstone. It is much thicker than the underlying Evie Member and the overlying Muskwa Formation, as much as 270 meters in the southeast Horn River Basin (McPhail et al., 2008). The Otter Park shale generally has lower organic content than either the Evie or the Muskwa, averaging 2.4 wt.% TOC (Dong et al., 2015). Portions of the Otter Park Member are rich in organic carbon with up to 7.09 wt.% TOC (Dong et al., 2015). The Otter Park shale varies geographically in composition, becoming argillaceous in distal part s of the basin to the north and west. The Muskwa shale is a gray to black siliceous, pyritic, organic-rich shale that overlies the Otter Park Member. The Muskwa Formation varies in thickness from 50 to 90 meters (Oldale and Munday, 1994). Organic carbon enrichment in the Muskwa Formation is generally higher than in the Otter Park Member but slightly lower than in the Evie Member, averaging 3.41wt.% TOC (Dong et al., 2015). The Muskwa Formation is overlain by the Fort Simpson Formation which is poor in organic matter. 3. Methodology We obtained core samples from four wells drilled in the Horn River Basin distributed from the northern distal part of the basin to southern proximal part: EOG Maxhamish D-012-L/094-O-15, Nexen Gote A-27-I/094-O-8, ConocoPhillips McAdam C-87-K/094-O-7 and Imperial Komie D-069-K/094-O-02 (Fig. 1). All samples were slabs cut from a 10 cm diameter core and were, on average, approximately 10 cm long and 6 cm wide. Splits were cut vertically along the sides of the core samples for geochemical analysis, permeability measurements, MICP analysis and SEM image analysis, so that the different analyses were performed on the same interval of rock. Before sampling, these four cores were stratigraphically logged in order to identify the sedimentological and ichnological characteristics and define lithofacies (see Dong et al., 2015, 2016 for methods on sedimentological analysis). Weatherford Laboratories analyzed total organic carbon (TOC) content using LECO combustion. Acme Analytical Laboratories determined the major element concentrations, including SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, TiO2, P2O5, MnO and Cr2O3 by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Detailed information on analytical procedures for TOC and major oxides was provided in Dong et al. (2015). We selected ten samples (Table 1) for bulk mineralogical analysis and Based on the lithofacies classification, we selected five samples (Table 2) representing different lithofacies for QEMSCAN analysis, carried out by Whiting Petroleum Corporation, Denver. QEMSCAN is an automated SEM-based mineralogical analysis tool, and can be used for the quantitative determination of mineral abundance and identification of micro-texture (Ahmad and Haghighi, 2012). Permeability and porosity were measured on one hundred samples (Table 3) by Trican Well Service Ltd., Calgary, Alberta. Samples were crushed, sieved with a 10 mesh screen and dried in an oven at 105ËÅ ¡C to remove any existing fluids. Matrix permeability was measured on the crushed and sieved samples using the GRI method (Luffel et al., 1993). Helium pycnometry was used to measure the grain densities of each crushed sample. Ultra-high purity helium was used to maximize penetration of pore space and minimize potential reactions with the samples (Cui et al., 2009). Permeability was calculated at ambient conditions based on a method refined from ResTech (1996) and Luffel et al. (1993), and was not calibrated to insitu conditions. Pore throat size distributions were measured by mercury porosimeter on shale chips. We selected thirty-six samples (Table 4) from the four wells representing a wide range of TOC contents and mineralogical compositions to do the mercury injection analysis (Klaver et al., 2015). Mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) analyses force mercury into pore throats and pores under increasing applied pressure. Pore throat diameters, not pore diameters, are then interpreted from the MICP measurements. The samples were dried in a vacuum oven over 12 hours and then intruded with mercury from 2 to 60000 psi using Micromeritics AutoPore IV 9500 V1.09 apparatus at the Department of Physics, University of Alberta. The minimal pore throat diameter can be measured by this instrument is 3 nm. Scanning electron microscopy enabled visualization of pores on samples polished with ion milling, which produces extremely smooth surfaces (Loucks et al., 2009). Eleven shale samples (Table 5) from core plugs were first mechanically polished and then further polished using ion milling (Fischione Model 1060 SEM Mill at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta). Composition of the 11 samples is provided in Table 5. Ion milled samples were mounted to SEM stubs using carbon paste and coated with carbon to provide conductive surfaces. The prepared samples were imaged with two different field-emission SEMs. One was a JEOL 6301 F field-emission scanning electron microscope at the Scanning Electron Microscope Facility at the University of Alberta. We performed the FE-SEM analysis using an accelerating voltage of 5.0 kV and working distance range from 10-15 mm. The other was a Zeiss Sigma field-emission scanning electron microscope coupled with an EDX EBSD at t he nanoFAB facility, University of Alberta. The FE-SEM was performed using an accelerating voltage of 10.0 kV and working distance around 8.5 mm. Secondary electron (SE) images document the pore systems and topographic variation. Backscatter Electron Detector (BSE) and Oxford Instruments 150mm X-Max Energy Dispersive X-Ray Detector (EDX) provided the compositional and mineralogical variation. 4. Results 4.1 Lithofacies classification We identified five lithofacies based on thin section analysis and core observation from the four cores within Horn River Basin: massive mudstone, massive mudstone with abundant pyrite lenses and laminae (pyritic mudstone), laminated to heterolithic bedded mudstone (laminated mudstone), bioturbated mudstone, and carbonates. More detailed descriptions and photographs of the lithofacies are presented in Dong et al. (2015). Massive mudstone, lacking physical sedimentary structures and primarily comprising quartz (Figs. 3A and 4A), dominates the Muskwa Formation and the Evie Member (Figs. 5 and 6). Pyritic mudstone is characterized by pyrite-rich laminae and pyrite nodules (Figs. 3B and 4B), and dominates the Muskwa Formation in all four cores, and also dominates the Otter Park Member in the EOG Maxhamish core (Figs. 5 and 6). This lithofacies has less quartz but more clay than massive mudstone. Laminated mudstone is common in the Otter Park Member (Figs. 5 and 6) and consists of millimeter scale clay-rich mudstone laminae with quartz- and calcite-rich silt laminae (Figs. 3C and 4C). Bioturbated mudstone is characterized by moderate to intensely bioturbation and weak lamination (Figs. 3D and 4D) and primarily occurs in the lower part of the Otter Park Member (Figs. 5 and 6). Compared to the massive and pyritic mudstones, the laminated and bioturbated mudstones are relatively rich in clay (Figs. 4C and D) . The carbonate lithofacies, rich in calcite (Figs. 3E and 4E), is restricted to the lower part of the Evie Member (Figs. 5 and 6). 4.2 TOC content, major oxides concentration and mineralogy TOC content for all samples in our data set ranges from 0.04 to 8.25 wt.%, with a mean value of 3.09% (Dong et al., 2015). Lithofacies vary systematically in TOC content (Fig. 7A). Massive mudstone samples are richest in TOC, ranging from 0.82 to 8.25%, averaging 4.23 wt.%. Pyritic mudstone samples have TOC values ranging from 0.3 to 6.81 %, averaging 3.44 wt.%. Laminated mudstone samples have relatively low TOC, between 0.24 and 7.09 % (mean TOC = 2.02 wt.%). Bioturbated mudstone and carbonate mudstone samples have the lowest TOC values, between 0.04 and 3.05 % (mean TOC = 1.11 wt.%). TOC content is highest in Evie Member, moderate in Muskwa Formation and lowest in Otter Park Member (Dong et al., 2015). The oxides SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO represent the major components of quartz, clay and carbonate minerals, indicated by the strong correlation coefficient between major oxides and quantitative mineralogy from XRD analysis (Fig. 8). Thus concentrations of these oxides can be used as proxies for quartz, clay and carbonates. Oxide compositions differ greatly among lithofacies (Figs. 7B-D). The massive mudstone and pyritic mudstone lithofacies are relatively rich in SiO2, ranging from 9.9-80.1% and 12.3-89.4% with average values of 56.3 and 66.5%, respectively. The laminated mudstone and bioturbated mudstone lithofacies are richer in Al2O3, with concentrations of Al2O3 ranging from 2.0-17.0% and 9.1-19.7% with average values of 9.2 and 17.1%, respectively. The carbonate lithofacies is richest in CaO, ranging from 43.8-52.6% with an average of 47.6%. SiO2 concentration is highest in Muskwa Formation, Al2O3 concentration is highest in Otter Park Member, whereas CaO concentration is highest in E vie Member (Dong et al., 2016). Mineral components identified by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) are presented in Table 1 and include quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, calcite, dolomite, pyrite and clay minerals (Dong et al., 2016). The clay fraction is dominated by illite and mixed-layer illite/smectite, plus a trace of chlorite in some samples. 4.3 Permeability Matrix permeability profiles from the EOG Maxhamish, Imperial Komie, Nexen Gote and ConocoPhillips McAdam cores are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The average permeability for all samples is 15.6 nD, ranging from 1.69 to 42.81 nD (Table 3 and Fig. 9). Permeability is highest in the Evie Member (average permeability = 17.15 nD), moderate in Muskwa Formation (average permeability = 15.18 nD), and lowest in the Otter Park Member (average permeability = 14.44 nD). 4.4 Pore systems Porosity measured on core samples ranges from 0.62% to 12.04%, averaging 5.1% (Dong et al., 2015). Pores are categorized as micropores (pore diameter 50 nm) by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (Sing, 1985). Loucks et al. (2012) recognized three general types of pores in shales: organic matter pores, interparticle pores developed between grains and crystals, and intraparticle pores contained with a particle boundary. All three pore types were observed in our shale samples (Figs. 10, 11 and 12). In our Horn River Group shale samples, mesopores and macropores were observed in the high resolution SEM images (Figs. 10, 11 and 12). Micropores are smaller, below the limit of the SEM images resolution (Dong and Harris, 2013). Pores are common in organic matter and are predominately round or elliptical in cross-section with a wide size range from a few nanometers (Figs. 10B, D and E) to greater than 1 micron (Fig. 10C). Pore abundance within organic matter is strongly heterogeneous, with both non-porous solid organic matter and porous organic matter commonly observed (Figs. 10A and F). Even within the same patch of organic matter, we observed dense area and porous area (Fig. 10B). The size of organic matter pores is also highly variable; for example, mesopores dominate the pore system in sample IK4 (Fig. 10E), whereas macropores dominate sample M2(Figs. 10A and C). Interparticle pores are observed between quartz crystals, calcite crystals and other detrital particles, such as feldspar (Fig. 11). These pores display triangular and elongated shapes (Fig. 11), substantially different in morphology and size from organic matter-hosted pores which are typically ovoid and elliptical in shape. The pore size and morphology of interparticle pores depends on the surrounding minerals, geometry and arrangement of adjacent particles. Most interparticle pores are much larger than organic matter pores, typically greater than 100nm. Interparticle pores are also present between fine-grained phyllosilicate particles that occupy primary pores between carbonate particles (Fig. 12F), displaying smaller size. Intraparticle pores are found within particles or mineral grains, such as clay minerals, carbonate grains, pyrite framboids and apatite. They include primary pores preserved during burial and diagenetic processes and secondary pores generated by dissolution of feldspar and carbonate. Pore spaces within clay flocculates are common in clay rich samples (Fig. 12A). Pyrite framboids, aggregates of submicron pyrite crystals, are relatively common in Horn River Group shale and contain mesopores developed between the submicron pyrite crystals (Fig. 12B). Apatite also provides sites for porosity development (Fig. 12E). Numerous intraparticle pores are present within carbonate grains due to carbonate dissolution (Figs. 12D and E). All fractures observed in the Horn River Group shale are completely open and lack cement filling (Figs. 12C and D). In clay rich samples, the fractures are probably artificial shrinkage cracks produced as the clays dehydrated (Fig. 12C). In the carbonate rich samples (Fig. 12D), fractures surrounding calcite grains are narrower and shorter than fractures in clay rich samples and are interpreted to be natural. 4.5 Pore throat size distributions Porosity and pore size distributions, calculated from nitrogen adsorption analyses, were presented in Dong et al. (2015). These date show that the Horn River Group shale samples contain mixtures of macropores, mesopores and micropores. Pore throat size distributions are more critical than pore size distributions to permeability (Nelson, 2009). Sample preparation and applied injection pressure of up to 60000 psi may either cause artificial fractures in our samples or results in collapse of large pores (Yang and Aplin, 2007; Chalmers et al., 2012a). In this study, pore throats related to artificial fractures were removed from the distributions (Fig. 13). Samples in Figs. 13 are grouped by increasing TOC content. Pore throat diameter distributions are increasingly skewed towards smaller values with increasing TOC content. Samples with low TOC content (Figs. 13A, B and C) are characterized by asymmetric distributions with dominant pore throat radii greater than 20 nm. Pore throat diameters less than 10nm dominate in the organic rich samples (Figs. 13D, E and F). Median pore throat diameter is thus negatively correlated to TOC content (Fig. 14A), but no association with major inorganic components is evident (Figs. 14B, C and D). Mercury intrusion porosimetry also can be used to calculate effective porosity. Porosity calculated from mercury injection ranges from 0.6% to 2.9%, averaging 1.5%, which is much lower than total porosity measured by helium pycnometer. There is a positive correlation between TOC content and effective porosity, yielding a correlation coefficient of 0.44 (Fig. 15). 5. Discussion 5.1 Relationship between porosity and permeability Previous studies have shown that the relationship between porosity and permeability in mudstones is primarily controlled by the clay content (Yang and Aplin, 2007; 2010). At a given porosity, Dewhurst et al. (1998, 1999) found that clay poor mudstones are much more permeable than clay rich mudstones. The samples in the Dewhurst et al. (1998, 1999) studies were shallowly buried London clay, with a TOC content between 0.2 and 0.9 wt.%. The samples in the study of Yang and Aplin (2007) are core samples from North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, with a range of TOC from 0.1 to 2.4 wt.%. Samples in those studies are organic lean mudstones and no organic matter pores were reported in their studies. The loss of porosity and permeability is largely driven by the preferential collapse of large primary pores. The wide range of permeability (3 orders of magnitude) likely can be explained by the variation in grain size, which is in turn affected by the clay content (Dewhurst et al., 1998, 1999; Yang and Aplin, 2007). In our Horn River Group shale dataset, however, the relationship between porosity and permeability do not vary systematically with the concentration of Al2O3 (Fig. 9B), which is an approximation for clay content. Unlike the studies cited above, samples with high clay content does not show lower permeability at a given porosity than samples with low clay content. The primary reasons for the contrast between our results and those of Dewhurst et al. (1998, 1999) and Yang and Aplin (2007) are probably the high organic content and the high maturity of the Horn River samples and the definition of clay content. In their studies, clay content is defined as particles less than 2 ÃŽÂ ¼m regardless of mineralogy, whereas we defined the clay content as the abundance of clay minerals including smectite, illite, mixed layer of smectite+illite and chlorite. The samples in this study have a TOC content range of 0.04-8.25 wt.%, with a mean value of 3.09%, approximately 3 to 10 times higher than in the Dewhurst et al. (1998, 1999) and Yang and Aplin (2007) data sets. Ross and Bustin (2008, 2009) showed that Horn River Group shale is highly mature, with vitrinite reflectance from approximately 1.6 to 2.5% in contrast to the low maturities in Dewhurst et al. (1998, 1999) and Yang and Aplin (2007). Dong et al. (2015) reported that hydrogen index (HI) and oxygen index (OI) are very low in Horn River Group shale, indicative of dry gas window. Compared to economically successful shale gas plays in North American such as Barnett Shale (Jarvie et al., 2007) and Eagle Ford Shale (Pommer and Milliken, 2015), Horn River Group shale is more mature, although it is less mature than the gas-productive Silurian black shales in Sichuan Basin, southwestern China, which have an equivalent vitrinite reflectance (%Ro) range of 2.84 3.54 (Tian et al., 2013). We propose that the extensive development of organic matter pores in mature shales impacts the relationship between clay content and porosit y-permeability behavior. Porosity-permeability relationships are shown in Fig. 9. Our permeability data show a positive correlation with porosity, yielding a correlation coefficient of 0.72 for all the samples (Fig. 9A). Porosity is the strongest individual predictor of matrix permeability, stronger than any correlation between any compositional parameter and permeability. 5.2 Relationship between shale composition and pore throat size distribution TOC and median pore throat size calculated from mercury injection capillary pressure data (Fig. 14A) are negatively correlated, suggesting that smaller median pore throat size occurs in organic rich samples than in organic lean samples. The smaller pore throat size in organic carbon rich samples (predominantly less than 10 nm) is also evident in histograms of pore throat size distribution (Figs. 13D, E and F). This relationship is consistent with observations from scanning electron microscopy (Fig. 10), where most of the organic matter pores are less than 100 nm. Similar phenomenon have been observed in Devonian shales, Appalachian Basin, where pore throat size is much smaller in organic rich samples (averaging 8 nm) than in organic poor samples (averaging 22 nm) (Nelson, 2009). Bernard et al. (2012) suggest that in the Barnett Shale, organic pores formed not in kerogen, but rather in bitumen which derived from thermally degraded kerogen in the oil window and in pyrobitumen, which resulted from secondary cracking of bitumen in the gas window. In this study, bitumen, solid bitumen and pyrobitumen are defined as secondary organic matter, following terminology in Pommer and Milliken (2015). Although it is operationally challenging to distinguish bitumen or pyrobitumen from kerogen on SEM images, organic matter in the Horn River Group shale probably consists of mixtures of kerogen, bitumen and pyrobitumen (Fig. 10), as all the stratigraphic units are currently in the dry gas window. A certain fraction of the buried detrital and marine kerogen apparently has been converted to hydrocarbon and secondary organic matter, generating the numerous bubble-like pores (Fig. 10). Pommer and Milliken (2015) identified similar processes in the Eagle Ford Shale, where, over a range of thermal maturities from oil window to gas window, original primary mineral-associated pores are largely infilled by secondary organic matter, in which much smaller organic matter pores (median size 13.2 nm) later develop. Primary intergranular pores between rigid grains such as quartz, calcite were clogged by kerogen, bitumen and pyrobitumen, where small organic matter pores were generated because of the thermal conversion from kerogen to hydrocarbon (Figs. 10B and E). Clay content does not appear to be significantly related to pore throat size in the Horn River Group shale, in contrast to some previous studies (Yang and Aplin, 2007; 2010) (Fig. 14C). At deposition, pore throat size and connectivity is a function of the shape, size and packing pattern of the constituent clasts. Clay-sized particles damage matrix permeability by clogging pores and throats (Yang and Aplin, 2007, 2010). Large primary pores may have been present in the Horn River Group shale at low maturities and relatively shallow burial depths, but at its present-day high thermal maturity (gas window), primary pores have been largely lost due to compaction, suggested by the twisted clay flakes (Fig. 12A). In clay rich samples, only a minor amount of secondary organic matter pores are present (Fig. 12B). Any correlation between clay content and pore throat size that may have existed at low maturity was effectively erased by diagenesis. 5.3 Shale composition and permeability Organic matter pores, which generally are interpreted to be generated during burial and maturation (Jarvie et al., 2007; Zargari et al., 2015), have been well documented in organic rich shales such as the Barnett Shale, Woodford Shale, Marcellus Shale and the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Loucks et al., 2009; Passey et al., 2010; Curtis et al., 2012a; Fishman et al., 2012

Graduation Speech: The Future is Now :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Good evening parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and friends. I would like to thank you all for coming to this very special day. I know how proud you must be. As we have grown over the years, there are many stages we all have gone through. From learning our shapes and colors, to getting our first kiss in middle school, or how about explaining to our parents why we skipped school because the principal called home. As we remember these days, things that we've done will be with us forever. But this is only the start of our journey. The day has come where we say goodbye to the big yellow buses, assemblies, assigned seating, and attendance policies. Are you really gonna miss it? For some of us maybe not right away. But eventually we will so for us to be here it is not necessarily an achievement, but a privilege. All of us have been in school over half our lives. To graduate is one more step we've taken in our lives. Now I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has helped me get this far. First of all, thank you to all the teachers. None of us would be here without you always pushing our academic abilities to the fullest. Jessica Parker a.k.a. my partner in crime as Mr. Tri would refer to us. You made everyday coming to school worthwhile. Hillary Laswell, who would leave third period to go steal flowers from horticulture and give them to Mrs. Granillo with me. My brother Jeramie who always said, "If anyone is mean to you, I'll take care of it." My Mom, thank you for always believing in me and putting up with me when I was a real jerk.

Science and My Daily Life

Science and My Daily life Brenda Durbin Kaplan University Science and I Science has and always will play a constant important role in my daily life, maybe more so than others. Science for me has not always been my strong subject in school and I very easily tend to get intimidated. But when I look at my daily life and realize how much science plays a role in it, I cannot help but smile. Science is not at all bad, it has allowed me to do many things every day, even if I do not take the time to stop and think about it, it is there.From the way the microwave heats up the water for my coffee every morning or the way my body digests the food I eat every meal and makes it into energy or even a trip to the doctor’s office with my son, science is a constant companion and without it, my life would have turned out very different indeed. If I arrived home late one night and after unlocking the front door, I tried to turn on a light and it did not respond I would begin a process of elimina tion, or in other words, using the scientific method to find out the problem.First I would check the light bulb, to see if it had blown, once replacing the bulb if I still did not have light I would then go to my back porch and to the fuse box. I would then check the fuses to see if maybe a breaker was tripped or I had a blown fuse. If even after doing this I still have no power I would then call my electric company, asking them if someone had hit a power pole, or if they were conducting some kind of random test(s) or even making repair(s) to the line. Once finding out some information from the company I would then know whether to light some candles and to be patient or if I would have to call an electrician.For scenario number two I will use the situation of my car not starting. First I would check the level of gas in my vehicle, if that was found to be not the problem I would then check the battery and the terminals making sure they are all clean and connected. I would then check the spark plugs to see if they were misfiring, dirty or corroded. If after checking these items I still would be finding no solution, I would do my best to get a jump start from a passing motorist. If the jumps start did not elp to start my car I would then have to call a tow truck to bring my car to a garage where a mechanic would be able to research the problem better with his/her equipment and tools. While waiting for the answer and the problem to be fixed from the mechanic I would have to plan to either take a cab or find a ride with my friend(s) and/or co-workers to work, appointments and any place I need to go for my routine errands. Every day I get up at 5:30am. Without science (to tell the time of day) and the technology that goes into my alarm clock chances are 5:30am would not be the time I would be getting up.I then go upstairs and wake up my sons Warren and Ryely to get ready for school. When Warren comes down stairs I help him get his morning treatment machines ready. W arren was born with Cystic Fibrosis and relies on science and the continuing scientific advances of treatments, medicines and therapies to continue living. Warren’s first treatment is called a nebulizer, this lasts about 15 minutes. The nebulizer loosens the thick mucus on the walls of Warren’s lungs. Then his next treatment is done with what is called â€Å"the vest airway clearance system† (Hill-Rom Services, 2011).This vest gently compresses and releases the chest wall up to 25 times per second (Hill-Rom Services, 2011). In other words it basically pounds the loosened mucus (from his first treatment, â€Å"the neb† as we call it) off and out of Warren’s lungs so that he may cough it up. This vest treatment last for thirty minutes. After his treatments are finished, I then help Warren break down the machines, clean them and put them away until they are needed again in the evening. Warren does both of these treatments twice a day. Without science I would not have had Warren in my life for so long.He is nineteen and each day he does these treatments is another day I get to have my son in my life. Next, I prepare breakfast for both Warren and Ryely. We have a gas stove in our kitchen so the use of science plays a big role in the cooking of the food for all our meals. After dinner I then lay out all of Warren’s many medications they he needs to take. The absolute most important of all the medication is what is called Creon. Creon â€Å"contains pancrelipase – a combination of three enzymes: lipase, protease, and amylase† (Drugs. com, 2011).These enzymes are produced in the pancreas of people without CF. In people who do have CF however, the thick sticky mucus plugs the ducts in the pancreas so that the enzymes cannot reach the food to help break down and digest what food is eaten. So every time Warren eats he needs to take these, five capsules for snacks and seven with meals. Without science, everything War ren eats would pass right through his system and no nutrition would be absorbed by his body. After breakfast it is usually time for the boys to leave so that they can go to their bus stops.When they leave I will usually either start getting ready for any appointments that are scheduled or start cleaning the house. I must also admit there are some days that I do in fact go back to bed to catch an hour or two of more sleep. Science plays a huge role in the cleaning of my house also. From the hot water I use to mop the floors to the cleaners I use to disinfect and make my home smell clean science is there. Science has improved the quality of my life so very much. In explaining how I will get very emotional and I hope you understand.Without science Warren would not have lived, therefore I would not have become a mother. Without the scientific understanding of genetics and genetic diseases not only would I have lost Warren but I could have very well ended up in jail for child abuse. Befo re a doctor thought of giving Warren a sweat test (a test which measures the amount of salt in sweat) I was being investigated by the state of Maine for suspicion of child abuse. Warren was only 3 months old at the time and got down to 2 pounds 1. 3 ounces.The doctors and nurses immediately thought where I was a young mother I must have not been feeding him. This hung over my head the whole time Warren was being tested and in the neonatal critical care unit. Only when a CF specialist visiting Mid Maine Medical Center from the Children’s Hospital of Boston, after examining my son decided that a sweat test was needed, and done did this allegation clear up. Removing all doubt from the doctors and nurses of my mothering skills and love toward my son. The sweat test came back positive that Warren had CF. It was right then my life changed.Not only did my life change due to the treatments, medications and care Warren needed daily but also I was taught a most valuable lesson, never t ake anyone (who is in your life), no matter how small they are for granted. Every smile, laugh and memory with and from both my children have become even more precious to me now knowing that without the help of science Warren would not be a part of the family. Warren fought so hard to live (and continues to fight) so that I could be a mother, his mother. That in itself changes a person. To be perfectly honest, there has been only one negative impact that science has had on my life.I have always wanted to have at least two children. I underwent genetic testing soon after Warren was diagnosed with CF and the results that came in were scary. Warren’s father was found to have passed a gene unto him that is very common in about 80% of CF cases, while I had passed on to him a much rarer gene that was only evident in 2% of CF cases. The guilt was unbelievable and very painful to work through. And if that was not enough we were also told that with every child I would have with Warren ’s father the chances it would be born with CF were 1 in 4.I do not believe that I could live without science and I sincerely do not think anyone else could either. As people, we get sick, have headaches, toothaches and need surgeries for a multitude of reasons and without science we simply could not and would not be here. From a small aspirin someone takes for pain, to the food we eat or the healthcare we need and receive science is all around us every day! Science has made it possible for people such as me to live longer, be cared for, and to eat a variety of foods no matter if it is in a box or can and to live.To be honest I have always been too busy with my daily life that I have never stopped to think about how much science was in my life and the ways it presents itself. But through this course I have found a definite respect for science. I will look at things differently now and probably always will since taking this course. Science has been around me long before Warren was born but it was when he came into my life that I began to appreciate science and all the possibilities it holds for the future.One of the biggest possibilities that my family and I are hoping for is one day when CF will stand for cure found. Through the length of this course I have shared many of my own opinions and life experiences. Reflecting on them all I cannot help but smile, I should never be intimidated by science, because it is through science I have the life I live now. References Drugs. com, (2011). Creon, Retrieved on November 12, 2011 from http://www. drugs. com/creon. html Hill-Rom Services, (2011). The Vest Airway Clearance System, Retrieved on November 12, 2011 from http://www. thevest. com/products/