Consuming and Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Consuming and Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Consuming and Fashion" discusses the fashion and consuming. The ever increasing tastes and preferences alongside the increased product differentiation and the global practice of trade have meant that the role of marketing within any business entity is very integral; certainly the most crucial. Marketing encompasses the processes of analysis of the target population (market segmentation) to identify trends in consumer needs and wants; new product research and development; product distribution and promotion effort; and the feedback mechanism. The changes in consumers’ tastes and preferences mean that there is a trend in which products and services are in demand at a given time and which are not. This has a direct relation to the sales volume and profitability of an organization. Therefore, fashion in this regard, refers to the popularity in demand for a given product or service at a given point in time i.e. trends in consumption behavior. Fashion styles differ between individuals, and can be reflected in a large group at any given point in time as a measure of both social identification, and distinction (Illomen, 2011). However, this definition has devolved into a limited sense to mean exclusively trendy clothing and other body accessories such as jewelry. Perhaps this is attributable to the huge marketing efforts that are visibly expended into this particular segment of the economy. The mechanics of such a transfer of meaning is a subject not addressed by this report.

Career as a Fire Fighter or EMT Essay Example for Free

Career as a Fire Fighter or EMT Essay Saving ives and helping people in trouble is very rewarding career. A fire fighter is a first responder to natural disasters, fires, and vehicle wrecks. A firefighter fights fires to prevent loss of life, and/or destruction of property and the environment. Firefighting is a highly technical skill that requires professionals who have had extinctive training in both general firefighting techniques and specialized areas of expertise. Fires can rapidly spread and endanger many lives; however, with modern firefighting techniques, catastrophe is usually, but not always, avoided. Fire ighters goals are to save lives, property and the environment. The rewarding Job of saving a life ofa civilian is an important part of this career. Not one individual can fully extend their thanks to an individual that saves them at least another day alive. Work involves responsibility for the protection of life and property through firefighting and rescue operations, usually under close supervision. In large cities, firefighters may work on special squads that require advanced training. Firefighting and emergency rescue work, including the administration of first aid and emergency medical treatment. Employees are also required to learn and participate in the operation of firefighting equipment and apparatus. A major portion of time is spent on pre-flre surveys; training, studying methods, techniques and organization of firefighting and on routine duties in the care and maintenance of Fire ; Rescue Department property and equipment. Shifts involve an element of personal danger and require working on extended shifts. Highly organized and extinctive training makes the proses of this Job preform smoothly. Employment of firefighters is expected to grow by nine percent, slower than the ostsecondary firefighter education and paramedic training should have the best prospects. Emergency rescue teams will undoubtable be necessary in the future for any growing town or city. The need for fire rescue will always increase on account of natural disasters and disasters caused by men. Prospective firefighters must be at least eighteen years old and high school graduates to take the fire exam. In recent years, most applicants have had a few years of college or completed two- or four-year programs in fire science at community colleges or universities. Experienced firefighters sometimes take these courses to prepare for promotion. These courses are also useful for those preparing for Jobs as fire-science specialists. The firefighter exam includes a written section; tests of strength, physical stamina, and agility; and a medical examination, including a drug screening. Applicants with the highest scores undergo several weeks of formal training at an academy. Some fire departments offer apprenticeship programs that last three or four years. Experienced firefighters go on practice drills to maintain their skills. I plan on attending the University of South Alabama to receive my four- year degree and EMT training. The University of South Alabamas Center for Emergency

Great Barrier Reef :: essays research papers

One topic that came to mind while researching this paper was the Great Barrier Reef, which I had wanted to research for my presentation, but information was more abundant for the topic I did choose. The size of the reef and its tourist potential are great in their respective ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reef is the largest of its kind extending 2300 km along the North East Coast of Australia from Cape York to the northern part of South Queensland. Most may believe that the reef alone is one large organism, but is amazingly a network of roughly 2900 individual reefs to form one large reef that is roughly the size of the U.K.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The remains of what are called polyps form the reef. New polyps grow everyday, which means that the reef is growing still today. The dead polyps form the white structures of the reef while the live polyps give it its color. For the reef to survive, the waters around it must be greater than 18 degrees Centigrade, the sunlight must be able to penetrate the water, and the water must be clean and salty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I stated previously, this is the most extensive reef system anywhere in the world. It is also the largest structure that is made completely of living organisms. It is the breeding area of a number of marine life and endangered species. The humpback whale travels here from the Antarctic to give birth to their young. Also, six of the seven species of sea turtle travel here to breed on the reef.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The entire ref is a marine park with zones that have different uses of water activities with the exception of fishing or collecting. These activities extend to the actual life in the reef. The corals are an animal in the jellyfish family, but they contain a solid limestone skeleton. During the day, the coral put themselves into the form of the skeleton to camouflage as a rock to hide from their predators.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plants of the reef are not very visible, but are important food to the life that lives on and around the reef. They produce sugars through photosynthesis, which the coral absorb for up to 90% of their food. The corals provide shelter for the plants and are a good source of carbon dioxide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are also over 1500 different kinds of fish that call the reef home, and each had their own job to keep the reef healthy.

Drag in aircrafts

There are four forces that act on an aircraft in flight: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Aircraft’s motion in air is dependent on the relative magnitude and direction of these forces. Fig -1 below shows the direction of these forces. Fig 1 (Benson, 2006) The weight of an airplane is always directed towards the center of the earth. The thrust is normally directed forward along the center-line of the aircraft. Lift and drag are aerodynamic forces on the airplane.Drag acts in a direction opposite to the motion of the aircraft and hence is sometimes referred to as the aerodynamic friction, while lift force acts perpendicular to the motion. An aircraft is in a state of equilibrium when the thrust and drag are equal and opposite. It will continue to move forward at the same uniform speed. If thrust or drag becomes greater than the opposite force, the aircraft loses its state of equilibrium. If thrust is greater than drag, the aircraft will accelerate. If drag is greater than thrust, the aircraft will lose speed and eventually descend.When lift and weight are equal and opposite, the airplane is in a state of equilibrium. If lift is greater than weight, the aircraft will climb. If weight is greater than lift, the airplane will descend. Drag is the aerodynamic force encountered as an airplane pushes through the air, which tends to slow the airplane down. Drag is generated by the contact of a solid body with a fluid, in this case due to the interaction between the plane body and air. Drag force, which is a mechanical force, is generated by every part of the airplane including the engines.It is a vector quantity i. e. has both magnitude and direction. Drag must be overcome by thrust in order to achieve forward motion. Drag is generated by nine conditions associated with the motion of air particles over the aircraft. Although prediction of drag and wind tunnel drag measurements of models yield good results, final drag evaluation must be obtained by flight tests. Sou rces of Drag in aircrafts Drag can be thought of as aerodynamic friction, and one of the sources of drag is the skin friction between the molecules of the air and the solid surface of the aircraft.Drag can also be thought of as aerodynamic resistance to the motion of the object through the fluid. This source of drag depends on the shape of the aircraft and is called form drag. As air flows around a body, the local velocity and pressure are changed. Since pressure is a measure of the momentum of the gas molecules and a change in momentum produces a force, a varying pressure distribution will produce a force on the body. This causes pressure drag. As an aircraft approaches the speed of sound, shock waves are generated along the surface.There is a drag penalty, known as wave drag that is associated with the formation of the shock waves. The magnitude of the wave drag depends on the Mach number of the flow. Ram drag is associated with slowing down the free stream air as air is brought i nside the aircraft. Jet engines and cooling inlets on the aircraft are sources of ram drag. (Benson, 2006) There is an additional drag component caused by the generation of lift, known as induced drag, is the drag due to lift. It is also called â€Å"drag due to lift† because it only occurs on finite, lifting wings.This drag occurs because the flow near the wing tips is distorted span wise as a result of the pressure difference from the top to the bottom of the wing. Swirling vortices are formed at the wing tips, which produce a downwash of air behind the wing which is very strong near the wing tips and decreases toward the wing root. The local angle of attack of the wing is increased by the induced flow of the down wash, giving this, downstream-facing, component to the aerodynamic force acting over the entire wing. Types of Drag in aircrafts There are several types of drag: form, pressure, skin friction, parasite, induced, wave and ram.However, form, pressure, skin friction, wave and ram drags are collectively known as parasite drag. Hence, there are only two types of drag: parasite and induced Parasite drag – Profile or parasite drag is caused by the airplane pushing the air out of the way as it moves forward. The parasite drag of a typical airplane consists primarily of the skin friction, roughness, and pressure drag of the major components. Some additional parasite drag is also due to things like fuselage upsweep, control surface gaps, base areas, and other extraneous items.The basic parasite drag area for airfoil and body shapes can be computed from the following expression: f = k cf Swet, where the skin friction coefficient, cf , which is based on the exposed wetted area includes the effects of roughness, and the form factor, k, accounts for the effects of both super-velocities and pressure drag. Swet is the total wetted area of the body or surface. Computation of the overall parasite drag requires that we compute the drag area of each of t he major components (fuselage, wing, nacelles and pylons, and tail surfaces) and then evaluate the additional parasite drag components described above.Hence it is written as: CDp = S ki cfi Sweti / Sref + CDupsweep + CDgap+ CDnac_base + CDmisc, where the first term includes skin friction, and pressure drag at zero lift of the major components. cfi is the average skin friction coefficient for a rough plate with transition at flight Reynolds number. Equivalent roughness is determined from flight test data. (http://adg. stanford. edu/aa241/drag/parasitedrag. html) Induced drag – Induced drag is the part of the force produced by the wing that is parallel to the relative wind, i. e. the lift.As it is a consequence of the vortices it is sometimes called vortex drag. Induced drag is least at minimum AOA and is greatest at the maximum AOA i. e. angle of attack. Induced drag = (k ? CL? / A) ? Q ? S where A is the wing aspect ratio. (Preston, R) The magnitude of induced drag depends on the amount of lift being generated by the wing and on the wing geometry Long, thin (chord wise) wings have low induced drag; short wings with a large chord have high induced drag. An airplane must fight its way through both kinds of drag in order to maintain steady flight.. Total drag is a sum of Parasite and Induced drag. Total Drag = Parasite drag + Induced drag However, the total drag of an aircraft is not simply the sum of the drag of its components. When the components are combined into a complete aircraft, one component can affect the air flowing around and over the airplane, and hence, the drag of one component can affect the drag associated with another component. These effects are called interference effects, and the change in the sum of the component drags is called interference drag. Thus, (Drag)1+2 = (Drag)1 + (Drag)2 + (Drag)interference (Johnston, D)Generally, interference drag will add to the component drags but in a few cases, for example, adding tip tanks to a wing , total drag will be less than the sum of the two component drags because of the reduction of induced drag. Total drag and its variation with altitude The equation for total drag is: D = CD x S x ? rV2 (Preston, R) where, CD is the coefficient of drag. It must be subdivided into two parts, the Cdi (Coefficient of induced drag) and CDp (Coefficient of parasite drag. ). Therefore it can be written as: D = (Cdi + Cdp) x S x ? rV2 (Preston, R)The airplane's total drag determines the amount of thrust required at a given airspeed. Thrust must equal drag in steady flight. Lift and drag vary directly with the density of the air. As air density increases, lift and drag increase and as air density decreases, lift and drag decrease. Thus, both lift and drag will decrease at higher altitudes. Fig 1 shows the total drag curve which represents drag against velocity of the object. The fuel-flow versus velocity graph for an air graph is derived from this graph, and generally looks as shown in Fig 2 Fig – 1 (Preston, R) Fig – 2 (Preston, R) From the above drag it is seen that the total drag is minimum at a certain velocity. This occurs when the parasitic drag is equal to the induced drag. Below this speed induced drag dominates, and above this speed parasite drag dominates. Design engineers are interested in minimizing the total drag. Unfortunately many factors may conflict. For example, longer wing span reduces induced drag, but the larger frontal area usually means a higher coefficient of parasite drag. Conversely, a high wing loading (i. e.a small wing) with a small aspect ratio produces the lowest possible parasite drag but unfortunately is the produces for a lot of induced drag. In recent time it is seen that jet airliners have longer wings, to reduce induced drag, and then fly at higher altitudes to reduce the parasite drag. This causes no improvement in aerodynamic efficiency, but the higher altitudes do result in more efficient engine operation. (Preston, R) Angle of Attack (AOA), is the angle between the wing and the relative wind. Everything else being costant, an increase in AOA results in an increase in lift.This increase continues until the stall AOA is reached then the trend reverses itself and an increase in AOA results in decreased lift. The pilot uses the elevators to change the angle of attack until the wings produce the lift necessary for the desired maneuver. Besides AOA other factors also contribute to the production of lift, like relative wind velocity and air density i. e. temperature and altitude. Changing the size or shape of the wing (lowering the flaps) will also change the production of lift. Airspeed is absolutely necessary to produce lift.If there is no airflow past the wing, no air can be diverted downward. At low airspeed, the wing must fly at a high AOA to divert enough air downward to produce adequate lift. As airspeed increases, the wing can fly at lower AOAs to produce the needed lift. This is why airplane s flying relatively slow must be nose high (like an airliner just before landing or just as it takes off) but at high airspeeds fly with the fuselage fairly level. The key is that the wings don't have to divert fast moving air down nearly as much as they do to slow moving air.Air density also contributes to the wing's ability to produce lift. This is manifested primarily in an increase in altitude, which decreases air density. As the density decreases, the wing must push a greater volume of air downward by flying faster or push it down harder by increasing the angle of attack. This is why aircraft that fly very high must either go very fast e. g. Mach 3, or must have a very large wing for its weight. This is why the large passenger airplanes cruise at higher altitude to reduce drag, and hence save on the furl costs.(â€Å"Aircraft for Amateurs†, 1999) Small sized aircrafts have lower than normal Reynolds number. The drag coefficient attributable to skin friction is hence high er for the small aircraft. For this reason, the maximum lift-drag ratios characteristic of business jet aircraft tend to be lower than those of the large transports. Hence, the smaller flights can fly at relatively lower altitudes. References Books John A. Roberson & Clayton T. Crowe, 1997, Engineering fluid Mechanics, 6th ed. , John Weily & Sons Inc. , ISBN 0-471-14735-4.Clement Klienstreuer, 1997, Engineering Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-49670-5 Websites â€Å"Aircraft for Amateurs†, 11th Jan. 1999 http://www. fas. org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/intro. htm Benson, T. , â€Å"The Beginner’s guide to Aeronautics†. , 14th March 2006 http://www. grc. nasa. gov/WWW/K-12/////airplane/ Johnston, D. , â€Å"Drag†, http://www. centennialofflight. gov/essay/Theories_of_Flight/drag/TH4. htm â€Å"Parasitic Drag†, http://adg. stanford. edu/aa241/drag/parasitedrag. html Preston, R. , â€Å"Total Drag† and â€Å"Flight Controls† , http://selair. selkirk. bc. ca/aerodynamics1/

Calveta Dining Services Essay

Calveta Dining Services, Inc.: Case Analysis Abstract Calveta Dining Services, Inc. was a $2 billion, privately held firm that managed food service operations for nearly 1,000 senior living facilities (SLFs) in the United States. It was built on Antonio Calveta’s passion for food and traditional family values. It made better food that was more nutritious for the residents of the SLFs whose current food budgets did not exceed. It also provided with not only higher-quality food but also more personalized service. Presently, Calveta Dining Services ran food services for 976 SLFs and employed 15,000 people. When Antonio retired from his 35 years of leadership, he named his eldest son, Frank, as the new CEO and was asked to double the company’s revenues within five years, of which 2 years have passed without any credible strategy adopted yet. He did not want to disturb the special company culture or risk their reputation for quality food services on the race to double the re venue. Now he finds it difficult to carry out his father’s directives. The humanistic and emphatically pro-employee company culture should not be disturbed while the growth strategy takes place. Currently, he is in a dilemma whether to expand beyond the SLF market and he is worried if he could continue to maintain the quality level, for which Calveta is renowned, in this process. Analysis In order to increase the revenue as promised to his father, Frank has to consider growth strategies for his organization. He has around three strategies in his mind and has to work on them to see which one brings the maximum benefit and fulfils his needs aptly. The strategies that he has in mind are either to continue in the existing situation itself or introduce it to the hospital segment. He also has thought of taking up Great Southwest Dining Service

The Tesco store Essay Example

The Tesco store Essay Example The Tesco store Essay The Tesco store Essay As we have chosen to report on Tesco Plc as our main company to research and advise after comparison with competition. We will compare Tesco with one of its closest market rivals; Sainsburys, to provide a analysis of what they are doing better and can learn from in order to compete as well as learn from the others mistakes, and also to consider the direction the company is heading as well as highlight the characteristics Tesco has as a company which makes it the UKs number one retailer. Tesco is a very large company in a very competitive sector. The aim of this report is to advise a shareholder on the performance of the chosen company; Tesco Plc, in order to inform them of the health of the company and advise what action they should take in relation to the companys shares. Many issues will be considered that are internal issues of the company such as its own activities as well as external issues such as competition (Sainsburys) in the market as this will obviously affect share value. We will provide in our report a portfolio of various relevant financial ratios that will help us to analyse the profit and loss accounts, and balance sheets of both companies to understand better which companies shares would be a better investment. We will use the current annual reports of both companies to make comparisons of the performance of both companies, given that the latest annual reports are already out of date by the time they are printed we will also look at other up to date sources of information on the performance of both companies such as news reports, press releases and expert analysis already in existence in order to explain our view of the present position of the company and future trading environment it will operate in. In this report we are aiming to explain why there is such a major difference between these two companies even though they operate in the same industry; using this information in the report we will present our findings and recommendations. We will also include in the appendices of the report additional information such as minutes of our team meetings and financial data. We will also provide with the report the latest annual reports of both companies as they will help the reader to further understand our findings that we base our advise upon. Tesco was founded in 1924 by Sir Jack Cohen. Using his gratuity from his Army service in the Great War he started selling groceries in the markets of Londons East End markets in 1919. The brand name of Tesco made its first appearance on tea packets in the 1920s. The name was based on the initials of T. E. Stockwell who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers, and the first two letters of Cohen. They opened the first Tesco store in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware. Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd was floated on the Stock Exchange in 1947, with a share price of 25p. The price at the beginning of February 2002 was around 2. 42p. modify! By the early 1960s, Tesco had become a household name. Along with groceries they also sold fresh food, household goods and clothing in their stores. Tesco stores were located in the high streets of towns and cities up and down the country. In 1961 Tesco opened the largest store in Europe at the time at 16,500 square feet of shop floor. Given the size of Tesco during the 1960s they should have been able to use their economies of scale such as bulk buying power to reduce costs in order to be able to sell goods at lower prices in order to be more competitive than their competition (especially independent stores) as they do now, but they were restricted up until 1964 when laws that allowed suppliers to insist stores sell their goods at a price set by them (Resale price maintenance) were removed. These laws made it difficult for Tesco to reduce price as the whole purpose of these laws were to protect small stores from being heavily undercut by large chains such as Tesco. A earlier version of the current reward card systems in place at all major chains of supermarkets were trading stamps introduced by Tesco to build a reward system for customers in order to build customer loyalty and entice customers through the ability to make savings. Customers received stamps when they made purchases. Once they had collected enough stamps to complete a book, they had the choice to exchange the book for cash or other gifts. The reward system was later taken up by other companies and still exists now in a more sophisticated form. As well as expanding its chain by opening new stores; Tesco also bought existing chains of stores. In 1960 it bought out a chain of 212 stores in the north of England, then another 144 stores in 1964 and 1965. In 1968 it took over the Victor Value chain of stores. Tesco was first to introduce the concept of a superstore in 1967 by opening a 90,000 square feet store in Westbury, Wiltshire. In retailing the superstore was a new concept; a very large unit on the outskirts of a town, which is designed to provide easy access to customers coming by car or public transport. The term superstore was first used in relation to the Tesco store opened in Crawley, West Sussex, in 1968. Tesco has grown at great speed in size, value and profit since its formation. In 1979, its annual turnover reached i 1. It went on to in 1987 to announce a i 500 million program to build another 29 stores. By 1991, the popularity of Tesco petrol stations at its superstores had made Tesco Britains largest independent petrol retailer. In September of 2002 Tesco launched its own exclusive clothing brand Cherokee in many of its UK stores. The Cherokee brand, along with Florence Fred and Tesco own brand clothing went on to see sales increase by 6 times the market rate. The stores have a diverse range of goods beyond just food and household goods such as clothing, electronics, financial services and petrol to name a few. It has tried to target important niche markets such as organic food that are growing in size.

Fun Family History Activities for Family Reunions

Fun Family History Activities for Family Reunions Like many families, you and your relatives may have made plans to get together this summer. What a great opportunity for sharing stories and family history.  Give one of these 10 fun family history activities a try at your next family reunion to get people talking, sharing and having fun. Memory T-Shirts If you have more than one branch of an extended family attending your reunion, consider identifying each branch with a different colored shirt. To further incorporate the family history theme, scan in a photo of the branchs progenitor and print it out on an iron-on transfer with identifiers such as Joes Kid or Joes Grandkid. These color-coded photo t-shirts make it easy to tell at a glance who is related to who. Color-coded family tree name tags offer a more inexpensive variation. Photo Swap Invite attendees to bring their old, historic family photos to the reunion, including pictures of people (great, great-grandpa), places (churches, cemetery, the old homestead) and even previous reunions. Encourage everyone to label their photos with the names of the people in the photograph, the date of the photo, and their own name and an ID number (a different number to identify each photo). If you can get a volunteer to bring a scanner and laptop computer with a CD burner, then set up a scanning table and create a CD of everyones photos. You can even encourage people to bring more photos by offering a free CD for every 10 photos contributed. The rest of the CDs you can sell to interested family members to help defray costs of the scanning and CD burning. If your family isnt very tech-savvy, then set up a table with the photos and include signup sheets where people can order copies of their favorites (by name and ID number). Family Scavenger Hunt Fun for all ages, but an especially good way to get the kids involved, a family scavenger hunt ensures plenty of interaction between different generations. Create a form or booklet with family-related questions such as: What was great-grandfather Powell’s first name? Which Aunt had twins? Where and when were Grandma and Grandpa Bishop married? Is there someone born in the same state as you? Set a deadline, and then gather the family together to judge the results. If you wish, you can award prizes to the people who get the most answers correct, and the booklets themselves make nice reunion souvenirs. Family Tree Wall Chart Create a large family tree chart to display on a wall, including as many generations of the family as possible. Family members can use it to fill in the blanks and correct any inaccurate information. Wall charts are popular with reunion attendees as they help people visualize their place within the family. The finished product also provides a great source of genealogical information. Heritage Cookbook Invite attendees to submit favorite family recipes- from their own family or one passed down from a distant ancestor. Ask them to include details on, memories of and a photo (when available) of the family member best known for the dish. The collected recipes can then be turned into a wonderful family cookbook. This also makes a great fundraising project for the following years reunion. Memory Lane Storytime A rare opportunity to hear interesting and funny stories about your family, a storytelling hour can really encourage family memories. If everyone agrees, have someone audiotape or videotape this session. Tour of the Past If your family reunion is held near where the family originated, then schedule a trip to the old family homestead, church or cemetery. You can use this as an opportunity to share family memories, or go a step further and recruit the clan to clean up the ancestral cemetery plots or research the family in old church records (be sure to schedule with the pastor in advance). This is a particularly special activity when many members are attending from out-of-town. Family History Skits and Reenactments Using stories from your own family history, have groups of attendees develop skits or plays that will retell the tales at your family reunion. You can even stage these reenactments at places that are of importance to your family such as homes, schools, churches, and parks (see Tour into the Past above). Non-actors can get into the fun by modeling vintage clothing or ancestral outfits. Oral History Odyssey Find someone with a video camera who is willing to interview members of the family. If the reunion is in honor of a special event (such as Grandma and Grandpas 50th Anniversary), ask people to talk about the guest(s) of honor. Or, ask questions on other select memories, such as growing up on the old homestead. Youll be surprised how differently people remember the same place or event. Memorabilia Table Set up a table for attendees to bring and display treasured family memorabilia- historic photos, military medals, old jewelry, family bibles, etc. Be sure all items are carefully labeled and the table is always hosted.