Trans Pacific Partnership Intellectual Property...

My research question is how does the newly-released Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Intellectual Property provisions affect the privacy of the internet. For those who do not know what the Trans-Pacific Partnership is, tppinfo.org defines it as â€Å"a free trade agreement currently being negotiated by nine countries: The United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. [1] While my question focuses the intellectual property portions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (henceforth TPP), it is good to understand what many believe are the pros and cons of the agreement as a whole. Proponents of the TPP believe the deal will boost exports and economic growth, remove trade tariffs on imports and†¦show more content†¦While it is vital to understand the TPP from a larger perspective, it is equally important to understand what exactly an ‘intellectual property’ is. According to wipo.int (which stands for World Int ellectual Property Organization), â€Å"intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.† (World Intellectual Property Organization, â€Å"What is Intellectual Property?†) Some examples of intellectual properties are slogans, such as McDonald’s â€Å"I’m lovin’ it†, or are rights to movies and/or books such as Star Wars. Owning the intellectual property rights to something such as Star Wars means that only the owner is allowed to make the movies or books, or even create new material. Knowing now what an intellectual property is, it is appropriate to understand the definition of the TPP as it relates to IP. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) defines the TPP as â€Å"a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property laws across the globe and rewrite international rules o n its enforcement.† (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Electronic Frontier Foundation) Throughout the rest of this essay I will try to explain this definition using research that I did and why I believe that the internet and intellectual properties be minimally regulated at all costs. Many proponents of an open and free internet are against

Conformity And Normative Social Psychology - 1538 Words

Social Psychology has always been a key element in our understanding of human behaviour. Conformity plays a big part in the history of social psychology; conformity (also known as Majority Influence) is a type of social influence that involves a person changing their thoughts and beliefs in order to fit into a group. An example of this is during WW2, in which Hitler used his dominating opinions and authority to influence the Nazis and obscure their views, which lead them to conform to the horrendous orders that were given during the war. Therefore social psychology can help us understand how a certain phrase, appearance, status, or opinion can influence different behaviours in different cultures. However, certain cultures are more susceptible to conform. This links to the idea of Gerard’s (1955) development of social theory, normative social influence, this consists of the desire to ‘fit in’ and obtain social approval, which results in avoiding punishment, exclusi on and ridicule. Two important studies that have been conducted by Asch and Milgram are great examples of how conformity and normative social influence can affect people’s behaviours. Asch (1956) conducted a line judgment task in response to Sherif’s (1937) ‘Auto-kinetic effect’. The aim of his experiment was to show that people conform to group norms when put in an ambiguous situation. From this study Sherif concluded that when in an ambiguous situation people look to others for help and guidance, this isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Conformity and Political Control1353 Words   |  6 Pagesto others. Although there are many explicit forms of conformity, there are also implicit forms of conformity that affect the attitudes and behavior of people on a subconscious level. The major problem with the modern bi-partisan political system is that it is fundamentally built on the idea that people will conform to others that are associated with them socially. 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I have also made an assumption that that they are in a loveRead MoreConformity And Its Effect On Society Essay1436 Words   |  6 Pagesfrom home for the first time, take on many obstacles. Along with the difficulties of balancing academics, self care and missing home, students face immense pressures from their peers. Conformity is the alteration of a behavior due to the influence of others, regardless of if their presence is real or imagined. Conformity often occurs in groups, and because groups are a very common and important in college, it becomes a time in one’s l ife when pressure is extremely high. My group of girls are tightly

Professional and Legal Responsibilities of the Nurses †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Professional and Legal Responsibilities of the Nurses. Answer: Nurses are considered as large group of health service providers who are responsible for early interference and health promotion in their work with a view to improve the health status of the society. The nurses are obliged to respect the dignity, ethnicity, culture, beliefs and value of people who are receiving care and undergoing treatment. The patients share their personal information, which sometimes is not restricted to their health issues, with the belief that such information shall be treated as confidential and that their privacy shall be respected. Nurses are expected to preserve and promote the privilege and trust that forms the basis of the relationship between the nurses and the patients receiving care (Schneider and Whitehead 2013). This essay discusses about the professional and legal responsibilities of the nurses while they treat patients such as the aged, children and the women who have been subjected to various forms of violence or maltreatment. It discusses how the nurses and the midwives are required to exercise due care and diligence while dealing with the health issues of the patients but also exhibit sufficient ethical skills and knowledge to deal with any ethical issues that arises within their profession. In regards to elderly patients who are subjected to abuse in the aged care settings, such abuse includes any conduct that takes place within a relationship that had inherent trust or power imbalance that caused the harm to the aged person. The elderly are often subjected to abuse when there is lack of appropriate action or any repeated action that takes place regularly in a relationship where trust was expected which becomes the main reason for the harm caused to the elderly. Elder abuse may take place in the form of sexual, physical and financial abuse or it may result from unintentional or intentional neglect on part of the care providers (Foureur et al. 2013). The negligence that takes place within the aged care settings results from excessive workloads, inadequate number of care providers such as registered nurses, assistant nurses and enrolled nurses who are responsible for providing care to the aged persons. The nurses and the midwives are required to report about abuse of people in the aged care settings is stipulated under section 63-1AA of the Aged care Act 2007 which was introduced by the Australian Government. According to section 63-1AA, elderly abuse may be defined as unlawful sexual conduct with any resident residing in an aged care home. Any form of unreasonable use of force applied on a resident of an aged care home shall also refer to an abuse caused against an elderly person. The statute requires that the approved care providers such as the registered, enrolled nurses of the residential aged care must report about any form of suspicion or allegation of a reportable assault to both the department and the police. The report should be made within 24 hours when the allegation was made or from the time when the care provider begins to suspect the assault or is of the opinion that some assault has taken place (Foureur et al. 2013). The residential aged care providers must ensure that the identity of the person reporting of the assault is concealed to safeguard them from being victimized. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) stipulates that all registered and enrolled nurses are bound by their code of professional and ethical conduct to ensure that the aged persons are no subjected to any form of abuses or maltreatment. The Australian Government authority shall fund the authority before which reports of abusive conduct is made for enabling the authority to conduct immediate and effective investigation (Nursing and Federation 2014). The nurses and the midwives in Australia encounter children who are subjected to abuse and neglect as well as other forms of ill-treatment that affects the health of the children and its development. The children may be subjected to physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, negligent and exploitation. According to section, 356 of the Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT) a child or young person who has experienced sexual abuse or any physical injury that has not resulted from any accident must notify about the same to a nurse or a midwife. It is essential for the nurses and the midwives to recognize the vulnerable position of the children and ensure to safeguard their position. This is because, the nurses and the midwives owe a duty of care towards the children, young adults and the adolescents and their families for reporting about any suspected neglect or abuse. They are also under statutory obligation for making mandatory reporting under the relevant Territory or state law s regarding any suspected child neglect or abuse. The nurses and midwives are required to monitor any form of child neglect or abuse, in the hospitals and the health care facilities, where children are kept or assisted. The state government is required to keep the hospitals and the healthcare facilities under strict surveillance to inspect whether the children and the young persons are being subjected to any form of abuse or neglect or whether the nurses and the midwives are complying with the mandatory reporting provisions with respect to the children (Nursing and Federation 2015). The territory and the state legislations must incorporate statutory provisions that require the proper checking of the history of the nurses, midwives, the care providers who work for the children and the expenses incurred for implementing such checks, and control shall be borne by the employer of the organizations. Nurses and midwives are responsible for ensuring that the patients receiving care are provided with appropriate care necessary for them. Despite the responsibility of the nurses to provide care to the patients and given the level of trust that, the patients expect from the nurses, most of the nurses hesitate to deal with patient who have been subjected to domestic violence. Nurses play a significant role to play in community and hospital settings, which is to provide necessary assistance to women and children who are victims of domestic violence. It is evident that domestic violence have an adverse impact upon the health of the women and the children and that women and their children seek health related services from nurses regarding health concerns with respect to the violence or abuse faced by them. Since violence is a serious aspect of the intimate relationship of women and their children suffer the health consequences, hence, the nurses are required to play an important role to make an early intervention in the domestic violence to prevent further occurrence of domestic violence (Verrall et al. 2015). The term domestic violence is interchangeably used with the term intimate partner violence and such violence can take place in the form of psychological, emotional, physical, sexual and economic abuse. Majority of women do not open up about the domestic violence they are subjected to due to the fear of their safety or for the sake of safety of their children and family. The other factors include their love for their partners, shame and embarrassment, fear of isolation, societal stress, dependence on the ability of other people to help them. While examining any women patient who refuses to disclose about the domestic violence that they have been subjected to, the nurses must be careful about the physical signs of injuries, which might indicate that the women had been subjected to domestic violence. These injuries include bruising in the abdomen and chest; minor lacerations, signs of repeated injury. The patient may also say that she is experiencing anxiety, depressions, abdominal pain, vaginal discharge, joint and muscle pain, etc. The response of the nurses and the midwives to these women under such circumstance may have a profound effect on the readiness of the women to talk about the domestic violence that she is subjected to by her partner or any other family member (Verrall et al. 2015).. Under such circumstances, the nurses and the midwives must patiently listen to them and support her assuring that she does not deserve this kind of behavior. They must emphasize on the fact that such domestic violence is completely unacceptable. According to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, domestic violence is considered as a criminal conduct that damages the psychological and physical health, future and well-being of the victims. The nurses and the midwives are required to be provided with adequate trainings regarding domestic violence and the ways of dealing with the patients who have been subjected to domestic violence. An empowerment intervention model is necessary under such circumstances that would focus mainly on the fundamental need for preventing domestic violence and ensuring safety and protection of the victim of domestic violence. Such intervention includes legal intervention, medical interventions that not only prevents further occurrence of domestic violence but also aims at addressing the ethical and cultural issues that arises from the circumstances. They must engage themselves. The nurses and the midwives are required to be engaged in development and implementation of protocols and policies that develops strategies for people suffering from domestic violence (Foureur et al. 2013). In order to ensure safety of the women and her children, the nurses and midwives must converse with them separately about whether they need a safety place to reside; whether she requires future safety, etc. It is important to make an emergency plan regarding the safety of the women and her children. From the above discussion, it can be inferred that nurses play a significant role in treating the patients that have been subjected to harms, neglect or abuse. In order to deal with such patients, it is important that the nurses and the midwives are provided with adequate training and knowledge about the various forms of violence and harms that are caused to the victims. The nurses and the midwives are under statutory obligation to provide honest, impartial, accurate and honest information with respect to the nursing and health care services and product. They are responsible for maintaining and building communitys trust and confidence within the nursing profession. Since they are responsible for providing healthcare care services to the community, they must ensure that the safety of the people who are under their care. The nurses are not only required to exercise care for the patients but also extend their care towards their children and their families (Foureur et al. 2013). They are required to comply with the professional standard of practice relating to the quality and safety in health care and their accountability for a safe health system. These include health documentation, incident reporting and participation in adverse event analysis and in the formal open disclosure. The nurses are conferred with the primary responsibility to provide safe and appropriate nursing care be it for the aged persons, children and patients being subjected to domestic violence. They must exercise such care in compliance with their professional standard and any circumstances that hinder their compliance shall be informed to an appropriate person or authority. In case the matter remains unsolved and compromised with the health of the patient, the nurses must make necessary interventions to safeguard the patients owing to the trust that is inherent in the relationship between the nurses and the patients receiving care under them. References Foureur, M., Besley, K., Burton, G., Yu, N. and Crisp, J., 2013. Enhancing the resilience of nurses and midwives: Pilot of a mindfulnessbased program for increased health, sense of coherence and decreased depression, anxiety and stress.Contemporary nurse,45(1), pp.114-125. https://anf.org.au/documents/policies/PS_Compulsory_reporting.pdf https://anf.org.au/documents/policies/PS_Domestic_violence.pdf https://anmf.org.au/documents/policies/PS_Child_abuse_and_neglect.pdf Nursing, A. and Federation, M., 2014.National Practice Standards for Nurses in General Practice: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Standards Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. Australian Nursing Midwifery Federation. Nursing, A. and Federation, M., 2015. National informatics standards for nurses and midwives.Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Federal Office. Schneider, Z. and Whitehead, D., 2013.Nursing and midwifery research: methods and appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Australia. section 63-1AA of the Aged care Act 2007 section, 356 of the Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT) Verrall, C., Abery, E., Harvey, C., Henderson, J., Willis, E., Hamilton, P., Toffoli, L. and Blackman, I., 2015. Nurses and midwives perceptions of missed nursing careA South Australian study.Collegian,22(4), pp.413-420.

The Kung, Shoshone, and Mbuti Tribes Hunting and Essay Example For Students

The Kung, Shoshone, and Mbuti Tribes: Hunting and Essay Gathering SocietiesThe Kung, Shoshone, and Mbuti Tribes: Hunting and Gathering SocietiesAs in many societies different groups of people are connected by similartraits. People of hunting and gathering societies also share similar qualities. Although the Kung, Shoshone, and Mbuti live in unique environments they stillshare numerous common characteristics because of there life styles. The Kung San and Shoshone make critical decisions in similar ways. Thepeople of the Shoshone and Kung are much like a modern community in that theylive together but for the most part live separate lives. They come together tohunt, like we to work, but when the hunt is over they get paid, in the form ofmeat, and go home to their families. If they should choose to any group mayleave the whole at anytime. The Mbuti choose to live as a whole. They act asone family. All decisions are made by the community as a whole. If the groupcannot reach consensus on a problem then the group may split for that time butwill rejoin once the projects are completed. Unlike the Kung and Shoshone theMbuti stay together, for the most part, throughout the year and do not diffusewhen supplies become more plentiful. We will write a custom essay on The Kung, Shoshone, and Mbuti Tribes: Hunting and specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The two most important things a person needs is food and water. Manydifferent foods are consumed by the Mbuti. There diet consists of meats, fruits,berries, roots, fungus and insects. The Mbutis food supply is always plentiful,this is due to the habitat they live in and the small number of people livingoff of any given area. The Shoshone on the other hand live more like ascavengers because of their environment. Meat is rare, they tend to live offthe plant life in the forest. A large portion of the Shoshones diet is plantlife. The Kung have a fairly balanced diet of plants and animals but water is alimited resource. For the Kung the reason for moving is to stay where the wateris. In the dry season the Kung will all live in close quarters near thepermanent water holes. But as the rainy season comes they will be able tospread throughout the region. Foraging societies share three major traits. All of these societies sharethe work that must be done in the camp. They all live in camps, meaning theynever stay in an area for an extended amount of time. The Kung come back to thesame places but they dont stay there for very long periods of time. Finally,the people of these groups do not echo technologically driven societies, ratherthey depend upon the land and its many attributes. Although these societies have many differences they are connected by acommon trait. They are able to live off of themselves and the land. They donot need to trade with anyone for what they need. Foraging societies are theonly people alive that are truly independent. Social Issues

Marketing Mix Tesco Poland Case Study Essays

Marketing Mix Tesco Poland Case Study Essays Marketing Mix Tesco Poland Case Study Essay Marketing Mix Tesco Poland Case Study Essay In this report I will discuss the marketing mix for Tesco Poland and also the current and potential treats in the marketing/competition environment and suggested some recommendations. Tesco started its activity in Poland in November 1995 with a strategic investment in the Savia supermarket chain. The first store with Tesco’s logo was opened in 1998. From 1995 Tesco made many mergers and acquisitions (table one p. 13) and this was the first stage in the development of Tescos Poland network, which in the past two years has developed a chain of small size shops in whole country (Figure 1) (Tesco, 2010). Tesco apparently has ambitions to take over the Netto and Billa chains, amounting to 183 retail outlets in total (IFO, 2010). The main strategy of Tesco Poland is to taker over weaker, competing networks and engaging fierce, competitive struggle with others. The strongest Tesco’s competitors currently are Carrefour and Biedronka which use the same methods of competition (table one p. 13). To increase turnover and profits Tesco operates as a limited liability company under the name of TESCO Polska Sp. z o. o.. Figure1. Reflected location of Tesco’s stores across the Republic of Poland Marketing mix using Tesco Poland as an example Marketing mix takes a systematic approach to an analysis of the market and outputs of which enable Tesco to maximise customer satisfaction. Each of the marketing mix factors should not only be internally integrated, but also should have a high degree of efficiency and effectiveness. Traditionally the marketing mix consisted of just 4 Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) but has been extended to 7 Ps (People, Process, Physical evidence) (Dibb Simkin, 2001). 1. 1Products Tesco Poland has a wide range of products designed for different consumer segments: grocery, medication, food supplements and hygiene articles, household goods, toys and gifts, bicycles and scooters, clothing, shoes, entertainment and books, PC, photo, games, home electrical, sound and vision, phones, sports and leisure, furniture and kitchen, baby and toddler, gardening (seasonal outdoor of stores), alcohols and tobaccos, banking, petrol and others. Sir Terry Leahy in 1993 in his National Business Awards was asked: â€Å"What’s your secret for making Tesco, Britain’s number one retailer? and his answer was: â€Å"We sell what people want† (Seth Randall, 2005). And that is a key to the success in Poland as well. Products in Polish branches are split into good quality such as brand products, Polish products and regional products and inferior quality such as discount price, Tesco value and other Tesco products. Figure2. Types of food products in Tesco Poland 1. 2Price Since the expansion in Poland, Tesco has competed over price with its biggest competitors such as Real, Carrefour, Biedronka and Lidl. From the beginning March 2009 Tesco introduced products at discount prices in Poland as well as iscounts of 30 to 88 percent on selected articles (WP, 2010). Through cutting prices offering their own payment cards, vouchers and temporary promotions Tesco became attractive to customers. Price cuts were possible because of the pressure exerted by Tesco on their suppliers (Appendix 1). However not everything is cheap in Tesco. Regional managers usually cut prices of the most popular goods in each store, because in that way Tesco is attractive for potential customers. Of course the customers are buying other, more expensive goods too, so the overall margins are maintained. 1. 3Place The principle of Tesco’s distribution is: â€Å"the right product in the right place, at the right position, at the right time and at the right cost† (Tesco, 2010). Tesco applied composite distributions, which consists of a smaller number of composite warehouses. Warehouses can store a lot of products at different temperatures, and thus provide more efficiency in terms of cost in relation to daily deliveries to all stores. Warehouses operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Delivery vehicles for wholesale composite have trailers, divided into chambers, so they can keep three different temperature levels at the same time. There are three main distribution centres in Poland (Tesco, 2010): Teresin near Warsaw – 55 000 m2 (fresh and dry food) and 30 000 m2 (manufacturers), Strykowo – 18 000 m2 (ensures delivery to the smaller shops) Legionowo – 17 000 m2 (ensures delivery to the smaller shops). Overview of the relations between Tesco and its suppliers is given in Appendix 2. Figure3. The biggest logistics base and the main distribution center of Tesco Poland. Teresin near Warsaw. 9 Promotion Promotion is based on informing consumers about products or services, and the company itself in order to create preferences for them on the market. Tesco Poland uses most of the available means of communication/promotions to gain customers: sales promotion (offer of the week, special offer, hit of the month, buy now pay later, discount price, buy one get one free/half price – rarely used) advertising (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, internet, adverts on public transport vehicles and Tesco’s transport, adverts in own stores, shopping centres and parking) personal selling (cashiers, shop assistants, call centre consultants etc) direct marketing (correspondence with coupons, monthly newspapers and quarterly catalogues delivered to homes of all inhabitants of town/city) public relations (social campaigns: Tesco for Schools, Clean Up the World with Tesco. Be beautiful with Tesco, Ekstraklasa (graduate scheme), Tesco for you and your family). An overview of the promotion instruments along with examples used by Tesco Poland is in Appendix 2. 10 People Tesco currently employs almost 27 000 people (Tesco, 2010) and offers: Professional training regardless of employees’ positions. A program for graduates (EKSTRAKLASA launched in 2008). A bonus scheme (demanding standards) Employee discounts on goods purchased (after one year of employment). Despite this, Tesco does not belong to the popular employers. Forced overtime together with long hours, minimum wage payments, adverse employees’ contracts and generally poor conditions of work produced weakly motivated and frustrated employees (Macalister, 2008; just-food, 2008; JS, 2009). Also Tesco has a serious problem with mobbing in the workplace. In late April and early May 2009 Tesco was visited by inspectors of the National Labour Inspectorate. As a result of control at one store inspectors issued 50 negative opinion and decisions. That illustrates the scale of the phenomenon – said Michal Olesiak from National Labour Inspectorate (Piatek, 2009). This treatment of employees is not good for the image of Tesco and the average consumer quite often chooses alternatives to Tesco because of his reputation. Figure4. â€Å"Too much, too hard, Tesco† – strikes of the Tesco’s employees in Poland 2008 – 2009 (photos from the private collections of protesting staff). 11 Process In Poland due to the dissatisfaction of workers and the creation of an unpleasant atmosphere around Tesco stores a hotline was created to facilitate customers in making decisions about shopping at Tesco and in dispelling doubt (Tesco, 2010). Consultants of the hotline take over some of responsibility from shop assistants and assistants in customer services. Currently customer service in Tesco looks much better, however there still are problems with dissatisfied staff. Tesco Poland needs accomplish profound changes in personnel policy because weakly motivated and appreciated employees who do not provide customer service in the relevant standard. 12 Physical evidence Tesco is not just a shop but is also a commercial space. Tesco stores are a developed infrastructure with specific interior and surroundings: 1. 7. 1 Parking Inseparable from every Tesco hypermarket is parking (sometimes multilevel). Before Christmas some parts of the parking are turned into marketplace and in spring and summer parts of the parking are turned into space for selling plants and accessories for the garden. [pic] Figure5. Tesco car parks – Poland (psboy, 2010) 1. 7. 2 Buildings Tesco hypermarkets are usually built outside the town/city center. Tesco and unlike the other chains do not form part of a larger shopping complex. This is one of the weak points of Tesco, because when customers choose other supermarkets they have the option to visit shops, restaurants, cafes and even a cinema or bowling. Currently Tesco is changing its strategy and has started building whole commercial complexes. Figure6. Modern Tesco in Krosno with large shopping galleries (Krzanowski, 2010) 1. 7. 3 Stores/decor/furnishings The interior of commercial establishments is designed in the same style for the whole network. Dominant colours are yellow, red and blue and have importance in relation to the psychology of colour: Yellow – associated with the sun, inspires sympathy, improves mood Red – attracts the eye, stimulates the action, energises Blue – the shade used in Tesco is strengthens feeling of security, reliability, honesty and trust. Figure7. Tesco Poland – interior of store (Tesco,2010) Keeping the store clean, regular shelf re-stocking, disposal of empty packaging and the regular cleaning of floors, windows and furniture is the foundation of any Tesco store. Micro environment competition â€Å"The marketing environment is defined as those external trading forces that directly or indirectly influence an organisation’s acquisitions of inputs and generation of outputs† (Dibb Simkin, 2001). [pic] Figure8. Factors impacting on a firm (Loh, 2009) One of the important factors of a micro environment is competition. Giant hypermarket networks on the Polish market suddenly appeared and immediately became a serious threat to local small and medium-sized companies. The real competition takes place between international networks such as Tesco, Carrefour and Biedronka (Ladybird). In estimates of Grupa Muszkieterow the top ten largest retail networks in terms of value sales in Poland are: Biedronka, Tesco, Carrefour, Real, Auchan, Lidl, Intermarche, E. Leclerc, Polomarket and Kaufland (PB, 2010). Figure9. Top 10 retail chains in Poland – turnover in 2008 and 2009 (ITM Pl, 2010) Figure10. Percent market shares retail chains in Poland in 2009 (top five)(PMR, 2010) 2. 1Tesco vs. Biedronka (Ladybird) Signs of rivalry between the two networks can be seen in their advertising campaigns. Biedronka attracts customers mainly by offering low prices. Tesco announce in their advertisements that it holds cut prices for a long time and that shoppers cannot buy cheaper anywhere else. At the same time Biedronka’s advertisement answered: â€Å"Simulate the Ladybird and being Ladybird – that is a big difference! †. While other supermarket chains put on loyalty programs for clients, Tesco mainly lowers prices but also competes by investing in small local shops in areas dominated by Biedronka.

The History of Chemical Explosives

The History of Chemical Explosives An explosion can be defined as the rapid expansion of a material or device that exerts a sudden pressure on its surroundings. It can be caused by one of three things: a chemical reaction that occurs during conversion of elemental compounds, a mechanical or physical impact, or a nuclear reaction on the atomic/subatomic level. Gasoline exploding when ignited is a chemical explosion brought about by the sudden conversion of a hydrocarbon to carbon dioxide and water. The explosion that occurs when meteor strikes the earth is a mechanical explosion. And a nuclear warhead explosion is the result of the nucleus of a radioactive substance, like plutonium, suddenly splitting apart in an uncontrolled fashion. But it is chemical explosives that are the most common form of explosives in human history, used both for creative/commercial and destructive effect. The strength of a given explosive is measured that the rate of expansion it exhibits during detonation. Lets look briefly at some common chemical explosives. Black Powder It is unknown who invented the first explosive black powder. Black powder, also known as gunpowder, is a mixture of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), sulfur, and charcoal (carbon). It originated in China around in the ninth century and was in wide use throughout Asia and Europe by the end of the 13th century. It was commonly used in fireworks and signals, as well as in mining and building operations. Black powder is the oldest form of ballistic propellant and it was used with early muzzle-type firearms and other artillery uses. In 1831, William Bickford an English leather merchant invented the first safety fuse. Using a safety fuse made black powder explosives more practical and safer. But because black powder is messy explosive, by the end of the 18th century it was replaced by high explosives and by cleaner smokeless powder explosives, such as what is currently used in firearm ammunition. Black powder is categorized as a low explosive because it expands and subsonic speeds when it detonates. High explosives, by contract, expand as supersonic speeds, thereby creating much more force. Nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin is a chemical explosive that was discovered by Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero in 1846. It was the first explosive developed that was more powerful than black powder, Nitroglycerin is a mix of nitric acid, sulphuric acid, and glycerol, and it is highly volatile. Its inventor, Sobrero, warned against its potential dangers, but Alfred Nobel adopted it as a commercial explosive in 1864. Several serious accidents, however, caused pure liquid nitroglycerin to be widely banned, leading to Nobels eventual invention of dynamite. Nitrocellulose In 1846, Chemist Christian Schonbein discovered nitrocellulose, also called guncotton, when he accidentally spilled a mixture of potent nitric acid on a cotton apron and the apron exploded as it dried. Experiments by Schonbein and others quickly established a means of manufacturing guncotton safely, and because it had a clean, explosive power almost six times greater than black powder, it quickly was adopted for use as means for propelling projectiles in weapons.   TNT In 1863, TNT or Trinitrotoluene was invented by German chemist Joseph Wilbrand. Originally formulated as a yellow dye, its explosive properties were not immediately evident. Its stablity was such that it could be safely poured into shell casings, and in the early 20th century it came into standard usage for German and British military munitions. Considered a high explosive, TNT is still in common use by the U.S. military and by construction companies around the world.   Blasting Cap In 1865, Alfred Nobel invented the blasting cap. The blasting cap provided a safer and dependable means of detonating nitroglycerin. Dynamite In 1867, Alfred Nobel patented dynamite, a high explosive that consisted of a mixture of three parts nitroglycerine, one part diatomaceous earth (ground silica rock) as an absorbent, and a small amount of sodium carbonate antacid as a stabilizer. The resultant mixture was considerably safer than pure nitroglycerine, as well as being much more powerful than black powder. Other materials are now used as the absorbent and stabilizing agents, but dynamite remains the premier explosive for use in commercial mining and construction demolition. Smokeless Powders In 1888, Alfred Nobel invented a dense smokeless powder explosive called ballistite. In 1889, Sir James Dewar and Sir Frederick Abel invented another smokeless gunpowder called cordite. Cordite was made of  nitroglycerin, guncotton, and a petroleum substance gelatinized by addition of acetone. Later variations of these smokeless powders form the propellant for most modern firearms and artillery. Modern Explosives Since 1955, a variety of additional high explosives has been developed. Created mostly for military use, they also have commercial applications, such as in deep drilling operations.  Explosives such as nitrate-fuel oil mixtures or ANFO and ammonium nitrate-base water gels now account for seventy percent of the explosives market. These explosives come in various types including: HMXRDXHNIWONC

Define Groupthink Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Define Groupthink - Essay Example In groupthink consensus overrides common sense and inhibits the urge to present critique, unpopular opinion or alternatives to whatever is viewed as the commonly agreed ground (Wikipedia, 2013). In groupthink the urge to remain loyal to the team and maintain cohesion makes the team members to desist from raising alternative solutions or controversial issues. As a result, independent thinking, uniqueness in thought and individual creativity are lost at the expense of cohesion and loyalty to the group. The eventual outcome is poor problem solving and decision-making. The failed team dynamics of the â€Å"in-group† presents illusions that the appropriate decisions have been attained. Therefore the ‘in-group’ greatly overrates their decision-making abilities, and excessively downplays the decision-making ability of the ‘out-group’ or opponents. As such, team members tend to think or feel that they are more inclined to making the right decisions and offer better ideas and solutions than people from without the group. This happening often hinders the reception of contribution of ideas from non-group members or other groups (Wikipedia, 2013). This source uses the Swissair collapse and the Bay of Pigs Invasion as examples of events in which groupthink was at play when they took place. In the corporate sector suboptimal and ineffective decision-making may negatively impact on the good performance of any company and cause significant losses. Swissair had been a successful airline to the extent that at times it was referred to as the ‘Flying Bank (Hermann & Rammal, 2010).’ However, during this period of success the airline had two symptoms of groupthink (Wikipedia, 2013). These symptoms included the belief in group morality and invulnerability. Additionally, before the collapse fiasco the airline’s board was significantly reduced and people with expertise were eliminated. The board reduction action contributed to groupthink by leaving behind only