Icici Bank Report

ICICI BANK ABOUT ICICI BANK: ICICI Bank is India's second-largest bank with total assets of Rs. 4,736. 47 billion (US$ 93 billion) at March 31, 2012 and profit after tax Rs. 64. 65 billion (US$ 1,271 million) for the year ended March 31, 2012. The Bank has a network of 2,766 branches and 9,363 ATMs in India, and has a presence in 19 countries, including India.ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management. ICICI Bank started as a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Limited, an Indian financial institution, in 1994. Four years later, when the company offered ICICI Bank's shares to the public, ICICI's shareholding was reduced to 46%.In the year 2000, ICICI Bank offered made an equity offering in the form of ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), thereby becoming the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE. In the next year, it acquired the Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock amalgamation. Later in the year and the next fiscal year, the bank made secondary market sales to institutional investors.With a change in the corporate structure and the budding competition in the Indian Banking industry, the management of both ICICI and ICICI Bank were of the opinion that a merger between the two entities would prove to be an essential step. It was in 2001 that the Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank sanctioned the amalgamation of ICICI and two of its wholly-owned retail finance subsidiaries, ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, with ICICI Bank.In the following year, the merger was approved by its shareholders, the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad as well as the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India. ICICI Bank has its equity shares listed in India on Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited. Overseas, its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). As of December 31, 2008, ICICI is India's second-largest bank, boasting an asset value of Rs. 3,744. 10 billion and profit after tax Rs. 30. 14 billion, for the nine months, that ended on December 31, 2008. BRANCHESOFATMS:ICICI Bank has a wide network both in Indian and abroad. In India alone, the bank has 1,420 branches and about 4,644 ATMs. Talking about foreign countries, ICICI Bank has made its presence felt in 18 countries – United States, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai International Finance Centre and representative offices in United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Bank proudly holds its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada out of which, the UK subsidiary has established branches in Belgium and Germany. Products Personal Banking * Deposits * Loans Cards * Investments * Insurance * Demat Services * Wealth Management NRI Banking * Money Transfer * Bank Accounts * Investments * Property Solutions * Insurance * Loans Business Banking * Corporate Net Banking * Cash Management * Trade Services * FXOnline * SME Services * Online Taxes * Custodial Services Board Members * Mr. K. V. Kamath,- Chairman * Mr. Sridar Iyengar * Dr. Swati Piramal * Mr. Homi R. Khusrokhan * Mr. Arvind Kumar * Mr. M. S. Ramachandran Dr. Tushaar Shah Mr. V. Sridar Ms. Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director & CEO Mr. N. S. Kannan, Executive Director & CFO Mr. K. Ramkumar, Executive Director Mr. Rajiv Sabharwal,Executive Director Head Office ICICI Bank 9th Floor, South Towers ICICI Towers Bandra Kurla Complex Bandra (E) Mumbai Phone: 91-022-653 7914 Website: www. icicibank. com SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths of ICICI Bank * ICICI is the second largest bank in ter ms of total assets and market share * Total assets of ICICI is Rs. 4062. 34 Billion and recorded a maximum profit after tax of Rs. 51. 51 billion and located in 19 countries * One of the major strength of ICICI bank according to financial analysts is its strong and transparent balance sheet * ICICI bank has first mover advantage in many of the banking and financial services.ICICI bank is the first bank in India to introduce complete mobile banking solutions and   jewelry card * The bank has PAN India presence of around 2,567 branches and 8003 ATM’s * ICICI bank is the first bank in India to attach life style benefits to banking services for exclusive purchases and tie-ups with best brands in the industry such as Nakshatra, Asmi, D’damas etc * ICICI bank has the longest working hours and additional services offering at ATM’s which attracts customers * Marketing and advertising strategies of ICICI have good reach compared to other banks in India Weaknesses of  ICICI Bank Customer support of ICICI section is not performing well in terms of resolving complaints * There are lot of consumer complaints filed against ICICI * The ICICI bank has the most stringent policies in terms of recovering the debts and loans, and credit payments. They employ third party agency to handle recovery management * There are also complaints of customer assault and abuse while recovering and the credit payment reminders are sent even before the deadlines which annoys the customers * The bank service charges are comparatively higher The employees of ICICI are bank in maximum stress because of the aggressive policies of the management to win ahead in the race. This may result in less productivity in future years Opportunities of  ICICI Bank * Banking sector is expected to grow at a rate of 17% in the next three years * The concept of saving in banks and investing in financial products is increasing in rural areas as more than 62% percentage of India’s popu lation is still in rural areas. As per 2010 data in TOI, the total number b-schools in India are more than 1500. This can ensure regular supply of trained human power in financial products and banking services * Within next four years ICICI bank is planning to open 1500 new branches * Small and non performing banks can be acquired by ICICI because of its financial strength * ICICI bank is expected to have 20% credit growth in the coming years. * ICICI bank has the minimum amount of non performing assets Threats of  ICICI Bank RBI allowed foreign banks to invest up to 74% in Indian banking * Government sector banks are in urge of modernizing the capacities to ensure the customers switching to new age banks are minimized * HDFC is the major competitor for ICICI, and other upcoming banks like AXIS, HSBC impose a major threat * In rural areas the micro financing groups hold a major share * Though customer acquisition is high on one side, the unsatisfied customers are increasing and ma ke them to switch to other banks. PORTER’S FIVE FORCE ANALYSIS: Bargaining Power of Suppliers: * Inputs have little impact on costs When inputs are not a big component of costs, suppliers of those inputs have less bargaining power. Low cost inputs positively affect  ICICI Bank. Bargaining Power of Customers * Large number of customers * When there are large numbers of customers, no one customer tends to have bargaining leverage. Limited bargaining leverage helps  ICICI Bank. Intensity of Existing Rivalry * Low storage costs (ICICI Bank) * Government limits competition (ICICI Bank) * Large industry size (ICICI Bank) Threat of Substitutes New Aspirants in Banking sector like AV Birla, Tata Group,  IFCI etc. Threat of New Competitors * Strong distribution network required (ICICI Bank) * High capital requirements (ICICI Bank) * High sunk costs limit competition (ICICI Bank) * Industry requires economies of scale (ICICI Bank) * Geographic factors limit competition (ICICI Ba nk) * High learning curve (ICICI Bank) SUBSIDIARIES COMPANIES: At March 31, 2012, ICICI Bank had 17 subsidiaries as listed in the following table: DOMESTIC SUBSIDIARIES * ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Limited * ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited ICICI Prudential Trust Limited * ICICI securities Ltd. * ICICI Venture Funds Management Company Limited * ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited * ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Company Limited * ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited * ICICI Home Finance Company Limited * ICICI Investment Management Company Limited * ICICI Trusteeship Service Limited INTERNATIONAL SUBSIDIARIES: * ICICI Bank UK PLC * ICICI Securities Inc. * ICICI International Ltd. * ICICI Bank Eurasis Ltd. Liability Company. * ICICI Securities Holdings, Inc * ICICI Bank Canada FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:As required by United States securities regulations, ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE: IBN) filed its annual report in Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2012 (FY2012) on July 31, 2012. The Form 20-F annual report includes the Bank’s consolidated financial statements under Indian GAAP and a reconciliation of consolidated profit after tax and net worth under Indian GAAP to net income and stockholders’ equity under US GAAP, approved by the Audit Committee of the Board. The consolidated profit after tax for FY2012 under Indian GAAP was Rs. 7,643 crore (US$ 1,502 million) and the net income under US GAAP was Rs. ,998 crore (US$ 1,375 million). Stockholders’ equity as per US GAAP was ` 63,872 crore (US$ 12. 55 billion) at March 31, 2012 compared to the consolidated net worth as per Indian GAAP of ` 61,277 crore (US$ 12. 04 billion) ICICI BANK Key Financial Ratios of ICICI Bank Mar’12 | Mar’11| Mar '10| Mar '09| Mar '08| investment Valuation Ratios| | | | | Face Value| 10. 00| 10. 00| 10. 00| 10. 00| 10. 00| Dividend Per Share| 16. 50| 14. 00| 12. 00| 11. 00| 11. 00| Operating Profit Per Share (Rs)| 76. 15| 64. 08| 49. 80| 48. 58| 51. 29| Net Operating Profit Per Share (Rs)| 346. 19| 281. 04| 293. 74| 343. 9| 354. 71| Free Reserves Per Share (Rs)| 376. 49| 358. 12| 356. 94| 351. 04| 346. 21| Bonus in Equity Capital| –| –| –| –| –| Profitability Ratios| | | | | Interest Spread| 4. 44| 4. 01| 5. 66| 3. 66| 3. 51| Adjusted Cash Margin(%)| 17. 45| 17. 52| 13. 64| 11. 45| 11. 81| Net Profit Margin| 16. 14| 15. 91| 12. 17| 9. 74| 10. 51| Return on Long Term Fund(%)| 52. 09| 42. 97| 44. 72| 56. 72| 62. 34| Return on Net Worth(%)| 10. 70| 9. 35| 7. 79| 7. 58| 8. 94| Adjusted Return on Net Worth(%)| 10. 70| 9. 27| 7. 53| 7. 55| 8. 80| Return on Assets Excluding Revaluations| 524. 01| 478. 31| 463. 01| 444. 94| 417. 4| Return on Assets Including Revaluations| 524. 01| 478. 31| 463. 01| 444. 94| 417. 64| Management Efficiency Ratios| | | | | Interest Income / Total Funds| 9. 07| 8. 41| 8. 82| 9. 82| 10. 60| Net Interest Income / Total Fun ds| 3. 89| 4. 01| 4. 08| 3. 99| 4. 29| Non Interest Income / Total Funds| 0. 03| –| 0. 08| 0. 08| 0. 02| Interest Expended / Total Funds| 5. 18| 4. 41| 4. 74| 5. 83| 6. 31| Operating Expense / Total Funds| 1. 89| 2. 09| 2. 59| 2. 60| 2. 76| Profit Before Provisions / Total Funds| 1. 91| 1. 77| 1. 41| 1. 30| 1. 40| Net Profit / Total Funds| 1. 47| 1. 34| 1. 08| 0. 96| 1. 12| Loans Turnover| 0. 8| 0. 17| 0. 17| 0. 18| 0. 20| Total Income / Capital Employed(%)| 9. 10| 8. 41| 8. 90| 9. 90| 10. 62| Interest Expended / Capital Employed(%)| 5. 18| 4. 41| 4. 74| 5. 83| 6. 31| Total Assets Turnover Ratios| 0. 09| 0. 08| 0. 09| 0. 10| 0. 11| Asset Turnover Ratio| 0. 09| 3. 55| 4. 60| 5. 14| 5. 61| Profit And Loss Account Ratios| | | | | Interest Expended / Interest Earned| 68. 00| 65. 29| 68. 44| 73. 09| 76. 28| Other Income / Total Income| 0. 37| 0. 02| 0. 92| 0. 86| 0. 17| Operating Expense / Total Income| 20. 77| 24. 81| 29. 05| 26. 22| 26. 00| Selling Distribution Cost Composition| 0. 73| 0. 94| 0. 72| 1. 4| 4. 43| Balance Sheet Ratios| | | | | Capital Adequacy Ratio| 18. 52| 19. 54| 19. 41| 15. 53| 13. 97| Advances / Loans Funds(%)| 65. 30| 64. 96| 58. 57| 69. 86| 72. 67| Debt Coverage Ratios| | | | | Credit Deposit Ratio| 92. 23| 87. 81| 90. 04| 91. 44| 84. 99| Investment Deposit Ratio| 61. 16| 59. 77| 53. 28| 46. 35| 42. 68| Cash Deposit Ratio| 8. 60| 11. 32| 10. 72| 10. 14| 10. 12| Total Debt to Owners Fund| 4. 23| 4. 10| 3. 91| 4. 42| 5. 27| Financial Charges Coverage Ratio| 0. 39| 0. 44| 0. 33| 0. 25| 1. 25| Financial Charges Coverage Ratio Post Tax| 1. 31| 1. 34| 1. 26| 1. 20| 1. 20| Leverage Ratios| | | | |Current Ratio| 0. 13| 0. 11| 0. 14| 0. 13| 0. 11| Quick Ratio| 16. 71| 15. 86| 14. 70| 5. 94| 6. 42| Cash Flow Indicator Ratios| | | | | Dividend Payout Ratio Net Profit| 32. 82| 35. 23| 37. 31| 36. 60| 33. 12| Dividend Payout Ratio Cash Profit| 30. 36| 31. 76| 32. 33| 31. 00| 29. 08| Earning Retention Ratio| 67. 19| 64. 49| 61. 40| 63. 23| 66. 35| Cash Earning Retention Ratio| 69. 65| 68. 01| 66. 70| 68. 87| 70. 51| AdjustedCash Flow Times| 36. 54| 39. 77| 44. 79| 49. 41| 52. 34| | | | Mar '12| Mar '11| Mar '10| Mar '09| Mar '08| | | | | | | Earnings Per Share| 56. 09| 44. 73| 36. 10| 33. 76| 37. 7| | | | | | Book Value| 524. 01| 478. 31| 463. 01| 444. 94| 417. 64| | | | | | Source:Moneycontrol. com ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION: CURRENT RATIO: STUDY OF PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT: Meaning: It is a financial statement, which shows net profit & loss of a company for a specified period. The accounting year means calendar year 12 months or less or more then 12 months. Parts of the Profit and Loss Account The Profit & Loss Account aims to monitor profit. It has three parts. 1) The Trading Account. This records the money in (revenue) and out (costs) of the business as a result of the business †trading† ie buying and selling.This might be buying raw materials and selling finished goods; it might be buying goods wholesale and selling them retail. The figure at the end of this section is the Gross Profit . 2) The Profit and Loss Account. This starts with the Gross Profit and adds to it any further costs and revenues, including overheads. These further costs and revenues are from any other activities not directly related to trading. An example is income received from investments. 3) The Appropriation Account. This shows how the profit is â€Å"appropriated† or divided between the three uses mentioned above. HORIZONTAL ANALYSIS:When an analyst compares financial information for two or more years for a single company, the process is referred to as horizontal analysis, since the analyst is reading across the page to compare any single line item, such assales revenues. In addition to comparing dollar amounts, the analyst computes percentage changes from year to year for all financial statement balances, such as cash and inventory. Alternatively, in comparing financial statements for a number of years, t he analyst may prefer to use a variation of horizontal analysis called trend analysis. VERTICAL ANALYSIS:When using vertical analysis, the analyst calculates each item on a single financial statement as a percentage of a total. The term vertical analysis applies because each year's figures are listed vertically on a financial statement. The total used by the analyst on the income statement is net sales revenue, while on the balance sheet it is total assets. This approach to financial statement analysis, also known as component percentages, produces common-size financial statements. Price/sale ratio: About Price to Sales Ratio(P/S) The price to sales ratio (PS ratio) is calculated by dividing stock price by the revenue per share.It is most useful for comparing companies within a sector or industry because â€Å"normal† values for this ratio vary from industry to industry. In general, low price to sales ratios are more appealing because they suggest that a company is undervalue d. P/E ratio: About Price to Earnings Ratio The price to earnings ratio (PE Ratio) is the measure of the share price relative to the annual net income earned by the firm per share. PE ratio shows current investor demand for a company share. A high PE ratio generally indicates increased demand because investors anticipate earnings growth in the future.The PE ratio has units of years, which can be interpreted as the number of years of earnings to pay back purchase price. PRICE/BOOK VALUE RATIO: About Price to Book Ratio The price to book value is a financial ratio used to compare a company's book value to its current market price. Book value is an accounting term denoting the portion of the company held by the shareholders at accounting value (not market value). In other words, book value is the company's total tangible assets less its total liabilities. DCF METHOD: Beta(? ) The Beta (? of a stock or portfolio is a number describing the correlated volatility of an asset in relation to the volatility of the benchmark that said asset is being compared to. This benchmark is generally the overall financial market and is often estimated via the use of representative indices, such as the S;P 500. An asset has a beta of zero if its moves are not correlated with the benchmark's moves. A positive beta means that the asset generally follows the benchmark, in the sense that the asset tends to move up when the benchmark moves up, and the asset tends to move down when the benchmark moves down.A negative beta means that the asset generally moves opposite the benchmark: the asset tends to move up when the benchmark moves down, and the asset tends to move down when the benchmark moves up. It measures the part of the asset's statistical variance that cannot be removed by the diversification provided by the portfolio of many risky assets, because of the correlation of its returns with the returns of the other assets that are in the portfolio. Beta can be estimated for individual companies using regression analysis against a stock market index. The formula for the beta of an asset within a portfolio is here ra measures the rate of return of the asset, rp measures the rate of return of the portfolio, cov(ra,rp) is the covariance between the rates of return. The portfolio of interest in the CAPM formulation is the market portfolio that contains all risky assets, and so the rp terms in the formula are replaced by rm, the rate of return of the market. Beta is also referred to as financial elasticity or correlated relative volatility, and can be referred to as a measure of the sensitivity of the asset's returns to market returns, its non-diversifiable risk, its systematic risk, or market risk.The market itself is considered to have a Beta of 1. Using regression analysis, the beta of the stock is calculated. If the beta of the stock is greater than 1, this means the stock’s prices are more volatile than the market, and vice verse. For example, if a stock ha s a beta of 1. 2, this means that a 1% change in the market index will bring about a 1. 2% change in the stock’s price. Stocks with high beta are considered to be more risky compared to the ones with low beta. Bollinger Bands: Bollinger Bands  is a  technical analysis  tool invented byJohn Bollinger in the 1980s, and a term  trademarked   by him in 2011.Having evolved from the concept of trading bands, Bollinger Bands and the related indicators  %b  and bandwidth  can be used to measure the highness or lowness of the price relative to previous trades. Bollinger Bands consist of: * an  N-period  moving average (MA) * an upper band at  K  times an  N-period  standard deviation  above the moving average (MA  +  K? ) * a lower band at  K  times an  N-period  standard deviation below the moving average (MA  ? K? ) Typical values for  N  and  K  are 20 and 2, respectively.The default choice for the average is a simple  moving av erage, but other types of averages can be employed as needed. Exponential moving averages  are a common second choice. Usually the same period is used for both the middle band and the calculation of standard deviation. INTERPRETATION: The use of Bollinger Bands varies widely among traders. Some traders buy when price touches the lower Bollinger Band and exit when price touches the moving average in the center of the bands. Other traders buy when price breaks above the upper Bollinger Band or sell when price falls below the lower Bollinger Band.Moreover, the use of Bollinger Bands is not confined to stock traders;  options  traders, most notably  implied volatility traders, often sell options when Bollinger Bands are historically far apart or buy options when the Bollinger Bands are historically close together, in both instances, expecting volatility to revert back towards the average historical volatility level for the stock. When the bands lie close together a period of low   volatility  in stock price is indicated. When they are far apart a period of high volatility in price is indicated.When the bands have only a slight slope and lie approximately parallel for an extended time the price of a stock will be found to oscillate up and down between the bands as though in a channel. Traders are often inclined to use Bollinger Bands with other indicators to see if there is confirmation. In particular, the use of an oscillator like Bollinger Bands will often be coupled with a non-oscillator indicator like  chart patterns  or a  trendline; if these indicators confirm the recommendation of the Bollinger Bands, the trader will have greater evidence that what the bands forecast is correct.Monte carlo simulation: Risk analysis is part of every decision we make. We are constantly faced with uncertainty, ambiguity, and variability. And even though we have unprecedented access to information, we can’t accurately predict the future. Monte Carlo simul ation (also known as the Monte Carlo Method) lets you see all the possible outcomes of your decisions and assess the impact of risk, allowing for better decision making under uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulation is a computerized mathematical technique that allows people to account for risk in quantitative analysis and decision making.The technique is used by professionals in such widely disparate fields as finance, project management, energy, manufacturing, engineering, research and development, insurance, oil & gas, transportation, and the environment. Monte Carlo simulation furnishes the decision-maker with a range of possible outcomes and the probabilities they will occur for any choice of action.. It shows the extreme possibilities—the outcomes of going for broke and for the most conservative decision—along with all possible consequences for middle-of-the-road decisions.The technique was first used by scientists working on the atom bomb; it was named for Monte Carl o, the Monaco resort town renowned for its casinos. Since its introduction in World War II, Monte Carlo simulation has been used to model a variety of physical and conceptual systems. ICICI BANK CHARTS The annotated chart above shows a stock that opened with a gap up. Before the open, the number of buy orders exceeded the number of sell orders and the price was raised to attract more sellers. Demand was brisk from the start. The intraday high reflects the strength of demand (buyers). The intraday low reflects the availability of supply (sellers).The close represents the final price agreed upon by the buyers and the sellers. In this case, the close is well below the high and much closer to the low. This tells that even though demand (buyers) was strong during the day, supply (sellers) ultimately prevailed and forced the price back down. Even after this selling pressure, the close remained above the open. By looking at price action over an extended period of time, we can see the battl e between supply and demand unfold. In its most basic form, higher prices reflect increased demand and lower prices reflect increased supply. Interpretation:The Rate-of-Change (ROC) indicator, which is also referred to as simply Momentum, is a pure  momentum oscillator  that measures the percent change in price from one period to the next. The ROC calculation compares the current price with the price â€Å"n† periods ago. The plot forms an oscillator that fluctuates above and below the zero line as the Rate-of-Change moves from positive to negative. As a momentum oscillator, ROC signals include centerline crossovers, divergences and overbought-oversold readings. Divergences fail to foreshadow reversals more often than not so this article will forgo a discussion on divergences.Even though centerline crossovers are prone to whipsaw, especially short-term, these crossovers can be used to identify the overall trend. Identifying overbought or oversold extremes comes natural to the Rate-of-Change oscillator. Standard deviation chart that measures the amount of variability or dispersion around an average. Standard deviation is also a measure of volatility. Generally speaking, dispersion is the difference between the actual value and the average value. The larger this dispersion or variability is, the higher the standard deviation. The smaller this dispersion or variability is, the lower the standard deviation.Chartists can use the Standard Deviation to measure expected risk and determine the significance of certain price movements. BRIEF ABOUT PORTFOLIO Annexure: News Analysis Regarding Portfolio * Bajaj Corp Nirmal Bang is bullish on Bajaj Corp and has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 228 in its October 9, 2012 research report. â€Å"We have upgraded our FY13E and FY14E earnings estimates for Bajaj Corp (BCL) by 6. 4% and 3. 7%, respectively, factoring in higher gross margins. Consequently, we have increased our target price on the stock to Rs228 (from Rs220 earlier) and retained Buy rating on it. † * DABUR INDIA LTD..AnandRathi has come out with its report on consumer sector. The research firm recommend`s buy on ITC, Nestle India, Colgate, GSK Consumer, Emami, Pidilite, Agro Tech Foods, Bajaj Corp. , Lovable Lingerie, Zydus Wellness, and Tilaknagar Industries. Dabur, Marico as Hold, and have Sell on HUL, Asian Paints, Britannia, and VST Industries. Consumer companies are expected to report 17% revenue growth, led by higher volumes and prices. We expect stable EBITDA margins, despite rise in raw material costs (up 7-8%) and reduced weights. With tax rates likely to rise 50-150bps, we expect net profit to increase only 15% yoy.Revenues on the rise:  We expect sector revenues to grow 17%, led by volume and price. Offtake from the Canteen Stores Department, comprising 8% of sales, would be subdued. However, rupee depreciation of 10-12% will benefit companies with more than 15% in exports (Asian Paints, M arico, Dabur). * Bharti Airtel Top telecom carrier  Bharti Airtel  Ã‚  will bid in an upcoming auction of mobile phone airwaves, said a company source, who declined to be named as the matter is not public yet. The airwaves auction is the result of a Supreme Court order to revoke permits issued in a scandal-tainted sale in 2008.Bharti Airtel is not affected by that court order but it could be looking to buy additional spectrum. Friday is the deadline for companies to submit their application to participate in the auction, which is scheduled to start on November 12. ICICI BANK: SBI  Ã‚  ,  HDFC Bank  Ã‚  and  ICICI Bank  Ã‚  are the best bets, says Sudarshan Sukhani, s2analytics. com. Jaiprakash Associates  Ã‚  , they had set a target of about Rs 100, much lower when it was Rs 80-81. It is almost there. So now for people who hold positions there are the potential of more gains, but at Rs 95 I do not know if a trader can actually buy. The targets are just in front of us .Perhaps the stocks will consolidate. Perhaps it could go up and it may not. † He further added, â€Å"The risk-reward is no longer in favor of a short-term trader. For actually people who still hold them I think there is more upside. † â€Å"The Bank  Nifty  itself becomes a buying opportunity as we just entered the last half an hour of trading. The Nifty is clearly above the 5700 level. I had explained earlier that we do not need a level on the Bank Nifty. If the Nifty is trading above 5700 we can buy the Nifty as well as the Bank Nifty and we should, at least the aggressive traders should. The CNX-IT can be left alone.Which are the best stocks in the Bank Nifty to go along with? It is State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. OBSERVATION: ICICI Bank- Key Fundamentals Market Cap (Rs Cr. ): 118,375 EPS – TTM (Rs):64. 19 P/E Ratio (x):15. 91 Face Value (Rs):10. 00 Latest Div. (%):165. 00 Div. Yield (%):1. 60 Book Value / sh. (Rs) :523. 79 P/B Ratio (x): 1. 96 CONCLUSION: There are many online services which offer tools that enable us to choose investments plus those which offer relatively affordable trade margins. These options are basically for everyone though experienced traders could be well versed with them.To evaluate a good online trading service we need to look at the several factors. Issues to do with fees plus commissions for doing business can quickly rise up. Comprehensive services should be able to provide extended markets in addition to investment services including other retirement options. Since purchasing and selling at online stock trading is nerve racking, overall best services provide instant messaging as well as phone support. Bibliography: www. Moneycontrol. com www. Bseindia. com www. Nseindia. com www. Wikipedia. com ANNEXURE :- As per 1st NOV 2012:-

Plato vs. Aristotle Essay

Numerous experts in modern time regard Plato as the first genuine political philosopher and Aristotle as the first political scientist. They were both great thinkers in regards to, in part with Socrates, being the foundation of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to proceed with improving the society in which they were part of during their existence. It is necessary therefore to analyze their different theoretical approaches regarding their philosophical perspectives, such as ethics and psychology. This paper however will mainly concentrate on Aristotle’s views on friendship and how it impacts today’s society. The main objective in Plato’s philosophy is a creation of a perfect society. He constructs a foundation for a utopian society in his book â€Å"The Republic†. The purpose of his thought process was to cleanse his society of the woes he felt plagued it and construct a new one. Plato lived during the Peloponnesian War, which consequently lead to the end of the Athenian democracy. He had eyewitness account of his mentor’s (Socrates) trial and execution. Bitter and angered by the political corruption that gripped the Athenian democratic government, he disengaged from participating in politics. He strongly felt that neither a moral individual nor a state that is rational could be established in a democratic environment. Plato felt that the common man wasn’t intelligent or capable of dealing with concepts that influence the state such as economics, policy of foreign affairs and other relative matters. He viewed political incumbents in Athens government as being elected for matters that were irrelevant to main factors that affected the state. Another danger was that excessive liberty for the people of the democratic society could potentially lead to anarchy. In Plato’s perfect society, he forged ahead to eliminate the disease (pluralism of friendship) that plagued the human character and society (Class Notes). Essentially, Plato wanted to establish the perfect form of society, linked by one single entity. Aristotle, unlike Plato, was not focused or concerned about the idea of a perfect society, instead he wanted to improve upon the one that he was part of during his existence. Rather than develop a framework for a society that is perfect, he suggested that society should, in it self, strive to utilize the best system it can attain. He felt that utopia was abstract and superficial. It wouldn’t allow for realistic problem solving solutions. He felt that Plato’s view of a strict overhaul of society in general wasn’t necessary. He believed that society was at its optimum and you can only improve upon the existing one. Plato’s perfect society would consist of three basic groups, which are Guardians (Gold), Auxiliaries (Silver), and the Artisan (Bronze). The highest of these classes are the gold people, which consist of rulers and non-rulers. Those that are rulers are society’s decision & policy makers and non-rulers occupy levels of civil servants. The fundamental prerequisite to becoming a genuine philosopher is to have knowledge of forms, thus enabling you to know the truth. Plato’s theory of the forms is partly logical and part metaphysical. Armed with the truth, he believed that philosophical ruler will always make the right decision, and rule with total wisdom, justice and virtue. The rulers, he felt, wouldn’t posses any money or property, they would be free of desires, excesses, and vices. The Auxiliaries (Silver) are people of strength, courage, and military capacity; they occupy a small sector of society. All auxiliaries would be subjected to a series of tests, which will check their powers of resistance to self-interest, pleasure and other temptations. The last level, Artisan (Bronze), are the workers which might be composed of farmers and artist, essentially non-skilled workers. They would produce all the consumable and non-consumable goods deemed necessary for consumption and the continued economic viability of the society. Plato whole-heartedly felt that if ever the bronze or iron people rule the state would collapse (Class Notes). He sought to establish the concept of the gold class having wisdom, thus they should be wise and good rulers. It was imperative that those who rule be philosophers and skilled in areas that pertained to the interest of the state. Aristotle’s disagreed with Plato in regards to allowing one particular class to govern the state politically for indefinite period of time. He felt that to not allow interaction among the various classes would inhibit those who posses the ability to engage in political life, an injustice. He feels Plato’s structure of classes is politically incorrect for the state. He quotes â€Å"It is a further objection that he deprives his Guardians even of happiness, maintaining that happiness of the whole state which should be the object of legislation†, ultimately he is stating that those who rule (Guardians), sacrifice their happiness for control and absolute power. Those who are of the gold class, lead such a rigid life, that it will become necessary to impose the same strict way of life on those being governed. He places the idea of moderation on a high pedestal. Many individuals come to favor the concept of moderation because it is flexible, part liberal and part conservative. Plato’s ideal society is so difficult to conceive that Aristotle believes that no human being can achieve its rudimentary requirements. He decided to express in the â€Å"Republic† how men should conduct it self in a perfect society and what attitude they should posses. In retrospect, Aristotle felt by using real world experience along with real people, he can see first hand how and what way can he improve society. Plato and Aristotle both agreed on justice and viewed it objectively; that is it controls the belief a life of good nature would be provided for all people no matter their ranking in society. Aristotle’s states † In democracies, for example, justice is considered to mean equality, no oligarchies, again inequality in the distribution of office to considered just†. Plato views the idea of law and justice as what sets the standard for society’s behavior in a state. Aristotle puts emphasis on the institution of the polis or civilized community. The polis was structured to allow the average individual in society to participate in political matters. This institutional forum is not the city-state or the community, but merely the larger of the two entities. It is rather a partnership between households, clans, and villages for the sake of a fully developed and self-sufficient life. The polis enables those individuals who naturally posses moral intellect and wisdom an opportunity to rise to higher positions (Class Notes). Justice is the political good within the polis, and it must promote the common interest of the people of the state. What is seen as good must be distributed and regulated through out the state. The law is also the regulating factor that arises from equal and free people in civil institution. The well being of a society is solely based upon the connection between the effort in which the citizens of the state adhere to the law of the land. A good citizen of the state will posses prudence, moderation, and justice, and above all to rule and be ruled. His belief contradicts Plato theory of one controlling class, governing the political matters and decisions that effect the state. The Theory of Democracy that Aristotle states is that democracy is a â€Å"perversion† form of government of â€Å"polity† (Class Notes). He clearly states â€Å"The people at large should be sovereign rather than the few best†. Plato on the other hand, wouldn’t permit citizens to engage in public participation concerning governmental issues, as Aristotle would have enjoyed. Plato also felt that public judgments of disapproval and approval were based on emotional belief, instead of factual knowledge. He believes that if a revolution occurred it would happened within the corridors of the palace, hence palace revolution. This type of revolution happens when there is a transmission of power from one holder of power to another. Aristotle perceives such an event occurring between the wealthy and less fortunate in society. He feels to prevent such actions, one must participate in them. Plato thinks that in a utopia a disgruntled group of Guardians will emerge and disengage themselves from the ruling law of the state. He feels that an oligarchy two things may initiate a possible revolution: the first one is the ruler and their offspring would grow to be weak, sympathetic, and second is that the number of poor individuals will grow larger and there for be taken advantage of by the ruling class. Aristotle states that to know the factors that caused the revolution, which destroys the constitution, is to also know the principal of effect, which in turn ensure its preservation. Aristotle and Plato also have contrasting views on ethics, psychology and metaphysics. In regards to ethics, Aristotle believes that virtue is necessary for happiness, while Plato says virtue is enough for happiness. The psychological difference between the two is that Plato feels the body is a prison for the soul; body and soul are two different entities, capable of maintaining independence from one another. As for Aristotle, he claims that the body and soul are two different things, one consisting of matter the other form. He sees everything in the universe being composed of matter and form, so its not surprising that he perceives human being are too. To him form is simply the way matter is arranged. For example, a cat is composed in a feline way; that’s what makes a cat. Human being for that matter, have a unique method of structure, too; that’s their form. In fact, Aristotle strongly feels that nothing in existence can be without form and matter. If you eliminate its structure and form you have nothing left. So for Aristotle, the concept of soul without body or body without soul is incoherent. In regards to form, Plato expressed how things should be through utilizing vague language and poetry. In respect to friendship, I firmly believe that Aristotle’s views on friendship holds value in today’s society. First we will touch on the various points that Aristotle makes regarding friendship, then expand on his main principle in connection to modern time, if possible. Aristotle distinguishes between three types of friendship: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure and friendships of virtue. The idea behind friendship of utility is that it is founded on the idea of usefulness. The interaction among friends is only valued if there is usefulness between the two individuals. An example of this would be any automobile dealer and car buyer. Factoring in that they know each other, both need what the other can provide. The bond that unites the two people is based on usefulness. As long as they each can provide what the other needs, it satisfies the friendship. The second concept would be friendship of pleasure, which is basically the amount of pleasure generated between the participants. An example of this would be two people engaging in a social event, such as an outdoor festival. Each of the participant’s enjoys the others company. They are friends because of the pleasure they bring to themselves. The last kind of friendship is the friendship of virtue. This friendship is special and unique, such that it can only be between two people. Rather than utility and pleasure, where it can establish a group of people, this type of friendship is connected solely between two people. This type of friendship is also unique based on the fact that it can only hold any true value if both individuals are of the same virtue. People in general might regard these definitions of friend objective. Some believe that doing something for someone is solely based on the act of self ? fulfillment. Aristotle, I believe is not incorrect in stating that the idea in friendship in utility and pleasure is for our own sake, and the concept behind friendship of virtue is for the sake of the friend. These three categories are arranged in a certain format that there are influenced by the next level. These bonds of friendship can arise from various forms of potential fraternal groupings. Present day possibilities can include: various college organizations, union members, national communities and any other form of group’s that people find a common denominator. For Aristotle Aristotle is more philosophically inclined than Plato; he tends to get rid of ideas that are irrelevant, and he believes that the concept of forms existing separate from matter is somewhat superfluous. He dives right into the heart of the matter. You can see Aristotle as someone who believes the world in which he occupies very satisfying just the way it is. His main focus is always connected with things that are consistent with ideal experience, without introducing unnecessary notions of concepts that can’t be proven. Plato’s vague, poetic language in metaphysics and physics didn’t stimulate inspiration; it made him uncomfortable. Both Plato and Aristotle were two men who envisioned methods on ways to improve their existing society. Plato, the political philosopher, was basically in pursuit of philosophical truth. Aristotle was more concerned with citizenship and institutional politics. They both had developed ideas and concepts to improve society as a whole. Aristotle and Plato have had a tremendous impact on political scientists of today. In Aristotle case, he was responsible for developing various democratic ideas. Even in modern democracies like our own Aristotle’s ideas hold true. When we vote in the election of the ruler of our country we, theoretically, are voting for the single most â€Å"excellent† citizen of our nation. That is we are voting for that citizen who can do the best job of working toward our common interest. The citizen of a state who has the greatest ability to work towards the salvation of the constitution has a great gift that can benefit all citizens. It only makes sense to allow that particular individual to lead the rest of the citizens in working towards the common interests of the state. In conclusion, these men were great thinkers. Their opinions on society and its function were quite different, but they both had the same concern, to build a better way of life for their societies they in lived in and for the societies that would come to be in the future.

JAM session topics Essay

Audio-Video mixing is an important aspect of cinematography.Most videos such as movies and sitcoms have several segments devoid of any speech.Adding carefully chosen music to such segments conveys emotions such as joy,tension or melancholy. In a typically professional video production,skilled audio-mixing artists aesthetically add appropriate audio to the given video shot. This process is tedious, time-consuming and expensive. The PIVOT VECTOR SPACE APPROACH in audio mixing is a novel technique that automatically picks the best audio clip (from the available database) to mix with the given video shot.This technique uses a pivot vector space mixing framework to incorporate the artistic heuristics for mixing audio with video. This technique eliminates the need for professional audio mixing artists and hence it is not expensive.It also saves time and is very convenient. In today’s era, significant advances are happening constantly in the field of Information Technology. The development in the IT related fields such as multimedia is extremely vast. This is evident with the release of a variety of multimedia products such as mobile handsets, portable MP3 players, digital video camcorders, handicams etc. Hence, certain activities such as production of home videos is easy due to products such as handicams, digital video camcorders etc. Such a scenario was not there a decade ago ,since no such products were available in the market. As a result production of home videos is not possible since it was reserved completely for professional video artists. So in today’s world, a large  amount of home videos are being made and the number of amateur and home video enthusiasts is very large.A home video artist can never match the aesthetic capabilities of a professional audio mixing artist. However employing a professional mixing artist to develop home video is not feasible as it is expensive, tedious and time consuming. Introduction The PIVOT VECTOR SPACE APPROACH is a novel technique of audio-video mixing which automatically selects the best audio clip from the available database, to be mixed with the given video shot. Till the development of this technique, audio-video mixing is a process that could be done only by professional audio-mixing artists. However employing these artists is very expensive and is not feasible for home video mixing. Besides, the process is  time-consuming and tedious.In today’s era, significant advances are happening constantly in the field of Information Technology. The development in the IT related fields such as multimedia is extremely vast. This is evident with the release of a variety of multimedia products such as mobile handsets, portable MP3 players, digital video camcorders, handicams etc. Hence, certain activities such as production of home videos is easy due to products such as handicams, digital video camcorders etc. Such a scenario was not there a decade ago ,since no such products were available in the market. As a result production of home videos is not possible since it was reserved completely for professional video artists.So in today’s world, a large amount of home videos are being made and the number of amateur and home video enthusiasts is very large.A home video artist can never match the aesthetic capabilities of a professional audio mixing artist. However employing a professional mixing artist to develop home video is not feasible as it is expensive, tedious and time consuming. Fig(1) PivotVectorRepresentation AESTHETIC ASPECTS Movies comprise images (still or moving) ;graphic traces(texts and signs);recorded speech, music, and noises; and sound effects. The different roles of music in movies can be categorized into :– Setting the scene(create atmosphere of time and place) Adding emotional meaning , Serving as a background filler, Creating continuity across shots or scenes, and  Emphasizing climaxes(alert the viewer to climaxes and emotional points of scenes).  The links between music and moving images are extremely important, and the juxtaposition of such elements must be carried out according to some aesthetic rules. The scientist Zettl explicitly defined such rules in the form of a table, presenting the features of moving images that match the features of music. Zettl based these proposed mixing rules on the following aspects:– Tonal matching(related to the emotional meaning defined by  Copland) Structural matching(related to emotional meaning and emphasizing climaxes defined by Copland) Thematic matching(related to setting the scene as defined by Copland) Historical-geographical matching(related to setting the scene as defined by Copland) In the following TABLE ,we summarize the work of Zettl by presenting aesthetic features that correspond in video and music. The table also indicates extractable features because many video and audio features defined by Zettl are high level perceptual features and can’t be extracted by the state of the art in computational media aesthetics. VIDEO AESTHETIC FEATURES The table shows, from the cinematic point of view,a set of attributed features(such as color and motion) required to describe videos.The computations for extracting aesthetic attributed features from low-level video features occur at the video shot granularity. Because some attributed features are based on still images(such as high light falloff),we compute them on the key frame of a video shot. We try to optimize the trade-off in accuracy and computational efficiency among the competing extraction methods. Also, even though we assume that the videos considered come in the MPEG format(widely used by several home video camcorders),the features exist independently of a particular representation format. The important video aesthetic features are as follows:– LIGHT FALLOFF : Light falloff refers to the brightness contrast between the light and shadow sides of an object and the rate of change from light to shadow. If the brightness contrast between the lighted side of an object and the attached shadow is high, the frame has fast falloff. This means the illuminated side  is relatively bright and the attached shadow is quite dense and dark. If the contrast is low, the resulting falloff is considered slow. No falloff(or extremely low falloff) means that the object is lighted equally on all sides. COLOR FEATURES The color features extracted from a video shot consists of four features:- Saturation Hue Brightness Energy MOTION VECTORS To measure the video segment’s motion intensity, we use descriptors. They describe a set of automatically extractable descriptors of motion activities, which are computed from the MPEG motion vectors and can capture the intensity of a video shot’s motion activity. Here we use the max2 descriptor, which discards 10 percent of the motion vectors to filter out spurious vectors or very small objects AUDIO AESTHETIC FEATURES Music perception is an extremely complex psycho-acoustical phenomenon that is not well understood. So instead of directly extracting the music’s perceptual features, we can use the low-level signal features of audio clips, which can provide clues on how to estimate the numerous perceptual features. LOW-LEVEL FEATURES We described here the required basic features that are extracted from an audio excerpt. Spectral centroid The spectral centroid is commonly associated with the measure of a sound’s brightness.We obtain this measure by evaluating the center of gravity using the frequency and magnitude information of Fourier transforms.The individual centroid C(n) of a spectral frame is the average frequency weighted by the  amplitude ,divided by the sum of the amplitude. Zerocrossing In the context of discrete-time signals, a zero crossing is said to occur if two successive samples have opposite signs. The rate at which Zero crossings occur is a simple measure of the frequency content of the signal.This is particularly true of the narrowband signals. Because audio signals might include both narrowband and broadband signals, the interpretation of the average zero-crossing rate is less precise. However, we can still obtain rough estimates of the spectral properties using a representation on the short-time average zero-crossing rate. Volume The volume distribution of audio clips reveals the signal magnitude’s temporal variation. It represents the subjective measure, which depends on the human listener’s frequency response. Normally volume is approximated by the root mean square value of the signal magnitude within each frame. VDR(v)=[max(V)-min(v)]/max(V) PERCEPTUAL FEATURES EXTRACTION Dynamics Dynamics refers to the volume of musical sound related to the music’s loudness or softness, which is always a relative indication, dependent on the context. Tempo features One of the most important features that makes the music flow unique and differentiates it from other types of audio signal is temporal organization(beat rate) Perceptual pitch feature Pitch perception plays an important role in human hearing, and the auditory system apparently assigns a pitch to anything that comes to its attention. ADVANTAGES Before the development of the PIVOT VECTOR SPACE APPROACH IN AUDIO-VIDEO MIXING process can be carried out only by professional mixing artists. In today’s era the development in the field of MULTIMEDIA technology is so vast as this can be seen with the releases of a number of multimedia products in the market. Products such as Digital video camcorders, Handicams greatly helped even normal home users to produce their own video. However, employing professional audio-mixing artists is not feasible since it is expensive, time-consuming and tedious. The Pivot vector space approach enables all the home video users and amateur video enthusiasts to give a professional look and feel to their videos. This technique also eliminates the need for professional mixing artists and hence saves cost. Besides, it is not time-consuming. Since this approach is fully automatic as it automatically selects the best audio clip (available from the given database) to be mixed with the given video shot ,the user need not worry about his aesthetic capabilities in selecting the audio clip. The Pivot vector space approach enables all the home video users and amateur video enthusiasts to give a professional look and feel to their videos. This technique also eliminates the need for professional mixing artists and hence saves cost. Besides, it is not time-consuming. Since this approach is fully automatic as it automatically selects the best audio clip (available from the given database) to be mixed with the given video shot ,the user need not worry about his aesthetic capabilities in selecting the audio clip. Fig(4): Application of Audio Video Mixing. APPLICATIONS In today’s INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY era ,the advances in the various IT fields such as MULTIMEDIA,NETWORKING etc is very fast.Newer and better technologies arise as each day passes. This is evident with the release of a number of Technology packed products such as portable MP3 players,digital cameras,digital video camcorders,Handicams,Mobile handsets etc. Before the advent of such technologies, activities such as Production of videos etc could be done only by professional video artists. However in today’s era,with the releases of products such as Handicams,Digital video camcorders;production of videos is easy for all the home video users and amateur video enthusiasts.As a result, a large amount of home video footage is being produced now. The PIVOT VECTOR SPACE APPROACH is a novel technique for these users since it is able to provide a professional look and feel to these videos.It eliminates the need for professional mixing artists and hence cuts down the cost ,time and labour involved.Hence,the demand for such a technique will be only increasing in the coming years .This technique will definitely have a great impact on the IT market today. CONCLUSION The PIVOT VECTOR SPACE APPROACH is a new dimension in the field of AUDIO-VIDEO mixing. Before the advent of this technology, audio-video mixing was a process carried out only by professional mixing artists. However, this process is expensive, tedious and time-consuming. This entire scenario changed with the emergence of the PIVOT VECTOR SPACE approach. Since this technique is fully Automatic, it enabled a home video user to provide a professional look and feel to his video. This technique also eliminates the need for professional mixing artists, thereby significantly reducing the cost, time and labour involved. In today’s era,a large amount of home video footage is being produced due to products such as Digital video camcorders, Handicams etc.Hence,this technique will be of great use to all the amateur video enthusiasts and home video users. REFERENCES IEEE Multimedia journal (Computational Media Aesthetics) CHIP magazine DIGIT magazine http://computer.org/multimedia/mu2003/u2toc.htm http://www.pcmag.com

Sunshine center Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sunshine center - Case Study Example Under the church’s control, the Sunshine is under the management of Barb who had no prior experience as a teacher, childcare provider or manager. The resignation of the first Sunshine Center committee led to the formation of a two person committee comprising of Olivia as the secretary and Sarah as the chair of the committee with the Rev. Andrew as an ex-officio member. The new committee has noticed some inconsistencies in the running of the center especially its finances. The Sunshine center need a radical overhaul inn terms of its financial management and its overall operating protocols and procedures. This paper aims to provide an outline of the organizational structure and specific internal control activities that must be in place for Sunshine Center Committee and the church to consider keeping the Sunshine Center open. The Sunshine Center lacks a clear organizational structure as Barb carrying out all the organizational duties all on her own exemplifies it. This puts her i n a position of stress because she handles every issue concerned with running the organization. Barb is responsible for both the human resource and financial management of the organization, which diminishes the effectiveness, and efficiency of the organization’s management. ... The development of a monetary or financial policy to govern how the organization’s funds will be managed is dependent on competent governance. Administration is another arm of an organization’s internal structure that is concerned with the execution of policy recommendations. Olivia who can coordinate staff duties in achieving the goals of the organization should handle this task. The primary program that is the concern of Sunshine Center is to deliver affordable childcare to the community served by the church. This endeavor should be handled like a program with its head being responsible for spearheading the goals and objectives of the center in delivering quality child care to the community. To achieve internal control according to Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission  (COSO), Sunshine Center Committee must institute changes at all levels of management and their standard operational procedures. Internal control is described as a process t hat is affected by an organization’s board of directors and management that is meant to provide reasonable assurance in the attainment of objectives and goals. Internal control ensures that there is effective and efficient operational management and reliable financial reporting. Internal controls will ensure that Sunshine center is compliant with applicable and necessary laws and regulations like the filing of tax returns with the IRS. The institution of appropriate internal controls will see Sarah and Olivia safeguard the Sunshine center’s assets. Financial reporting is the key weakness at Sunshine Center, which exposes the organization to risks of litigation from the IRS and their creditors. Instituting an internal control at the Sunshine center will ensure that the execution

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example Both learning organizations and complex adaptive systems could be used as frameworks for change in your organization. For instance, creating a culture that encourages support, learning, and critical thinking characteristic of the learning organization model could help employees understand and comprehend the need for respecting the chain of command in your organization (Nesse et-al, 2010). Elizabeth Harrell, I concur with your statement that the way an organization is structured will depict the overall culture of the organization. In this regard, the ways in which communication is conducted within your organization also portrays the culture of the organization (Geller, 2006). Your example of formal communication within your organization is also spot on. The regular meeting you hold every morning to discuss patients issues is an example of formal communication. In my current organization, any form of communication conducted through the official channels such as meetings, memos, and letters is considered formal. Any form of communication conducted through unauthorized means is considered informal. For instance, employees discussions during lunch time breaks on issues pertaining the patients is unauthorized as such informal may easily fall into the wrong hands hence breaching patients confidentiality. This is therefore an example of informal

TARGET MARKET & COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

TARGET MARKET & COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS - Essay Example A diverse set of customers visit the Geary St. Part of the reason is that there are many upscale shops like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Michael Kor and Apple Store as well as many outlets like Forever 21, H&M, Zara, Gap, and Guess that keep medium ranged apparel and stocks. As a result of this people with high incomes, middle income groups as well as a lot of students visit this area. Since these people belong to different economic and psychographic groups, they want different food items and at different price points. The Cheesecake Factory has a numerous menu options including burgers, sandwiches, pastas, salads, side dishes, cheesecakes, specialty desserts, ice creams and creamy milkshakes. The restaurant also offers hot drinks, iced and frozen drinks and specialty drinks. Blended cocktails, bottled bears, champagne and sparkling wine are also served at the restaurant. This vast array of menu options has the potency to satiate the taste buds of a diverse guest base. With close to 200 items on its menu ranging from $11 to $30, the restaurant chain can cater to all shoppers across all income groups. The second value that shoppers seek is convenience. People who have been on a shopping spree are likely to seek convenient seating arrangement. Couples and families will like to spend quality time together. On the other hand, there would be some shoppers who are running against time. They want to have a quick snack and move on. The quick service and take-out facility available at The Cheesecake Factory will appeal to such customers. The choice of food may also vary depending on what time shoppers visit The Cheesecake Factory. The restaurant is open from 11: 00 am to 11: 00 pm from Monday through Thursday. It is also open from 10: 00 am to 11: 00 pm on Sunday. Thus shoppers can visit the restaurant anytime during these hours. They have the option of eating lunch or

Testosterone's direct effect on adult males diagnosed with depression Research Paper

Testosterone's direct effect on adult males diagnosed with depression - Research Paper Example Almost all vital organ systems in the human body need testosterone to work efficiently hence their functioning is also affected by a decrease in testosterone levels. The overall health of men, especially their psychological or emotional wellbeing, largely depends on testosterone levels. Because testosterone’s serum level lowers as men become older, sexual fervor and strength also lowers, resulting in a higher risk for depressive symptoms. Decrease in testosterone levels can also cause impotence in mean, and this is usually another cause of depression (Grant & Potenza, 2007). Luckily testosterone levels can be diagnosed and treated. Relationship between Testosterone Levels and Depression in Men Some empirical findings substantiate the assumption that testosterone is related to depression. Primarily, cross-sectional research has studied the connection between testosterone levels and development of depressive symptoms. In addition, the levels of gonadotropin in non-depressed and depressed groups have been studied. Moreover, there are quite a few longitudinal studies looking at the testosterone levels throughout occurrences of depression in men (Kaplan, 2012). Basically, one way to understand the effect of testosterone levels on male depression is to study the correlation between testosterone levels and depression in elderly males. Sternbach (1998) examined empirical studies on the natural decrease of testosterone in adult males and discovered an apparent correlation between low testosterone levels and different symptoms of mood disorders, such as bad temper, sexual problems, anxiety, and depression. These natural outcomes of the decrease of testosterone may resemble a mood disturbance in elderly males. This correlation offers indirect substantiation for a relationship between testosterone levels and male depression (Heidelbaugh, 2007). Studies that focus on the effect of testosterone levels on the development of depressive symptoms among adult males have pr oduced varied findings. Yesavage and colleagues (1985) studied levels of testosterone in depressed males and discovered a moderate inverse correlation between levels of testosterone and the degree of depression when the latter was controlled. The hypothesized correlation between degree of depression and testosterone levels was discovered. Another set of studies that substantiates the effect of testosterone on male depression is derived from the application of the testosterone replacement therapy in the treatment of depressive symptoms in men. A number of studies have supported the effectiveness of testosterone replacement therapy in the treatment of depressive symptoms in men with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Heidelbaugh, 2007). Wagner and colleagues (1996) reported that testosterone replacement therapy had a greater positive outcome compared to standard antidepressant treatments in treating depressive symptoms in males with HIV. Even though it may be tempting to search for a hormone-based biological substrate to demonstrate the severity and prevalence of male depression, there are no sufficient or strong indications that testosterone affects the prevalence and degree of depression in males. Treatment research supporting this is carried out with clinically vulnerable males, several of whom also display acute depressive sympto

Water Contamination Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Water Contamination - Assignment Example Farms do two things to chicken manure: dump it in any available water resource or use it on the fields. Pohlmann decided to 14.1 tons of land-applied manure to one acre. This was done despite the recommendation limiting manure to six tons per acre (Rish). According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio has no Clean Water Act permits that specify control over livestock operations like Buckeye’s chicken farm. Also, Ohio’s Trade Secrecy act permits factories like the Buckeye farm to dump their manure in an off-site location without revealing the area. However, it is not the manure spill alone that affects the poison content of the water. The intensive confinement of thousands of chickens can result in manure that is far beyond the soil’s absorption rate. The runoff that results from this heavy manure can cause not only water pollution but also affect the land. In the water, it causes eutrophication which makes the soil so rich in organic and mineral content that the amount of oxygen in the water is depleted (HSUS 2005). The difference is that while the plants in the water thrive, the animal life in the water body suffers. This contamination is not a problem for the land and animals alone. The polluted water that drains into the rivers is a percentage of the drinking water for the humans in that area. Grant claims that 60% of the water dumped into these rivers is used as drinking water by the locals of Ohio (1998). Thus, Buckeye farm profited from a number of loopholes in Ohio’s state program. The farm was not forced to reveal the places it dumped the manure preventing the citizens from knowing if the manure is not being properly disposed of in streams or wells. Ohio’s environmental body also has the permission to ask for the management of livestock manure if any farm has more than 1000 livestock units: like the Buckeye Farm.

Criminal Justice 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminal Justice 2 - Essay Example   The elite in the society are treated well despite their involvement in crimes this because they have money and hence can afford good lawyers who will defend them. The police will not tort the elite, in the fear of law, but the non-elite are treated unfair and nobody worries about them because they do not have the capability. In Texas, crimes are classified into felonies and misdemeanors. According to the Texas penal code-section 12.03 misdeamor are classified into three categories  in relation to their seriousness. While felonies are classified into   five categories, capital felonies, felonies of first degree, of the second degree, felonies of the third degree and lastly the state jail felonies. An individual found guilty of a class A misdemeanor is fined not more than $4000, confinement in jail not for more than a year or both. A person guilty of class B misdemeanor is fined not to beyond $2000, confinement in jail for not more than 180 days or both. While class C misdemeanor, can be fined but not to exceed $500. A person found guilty of capital felony is punished by life imprisonment without parole or death. First degree felony one is subjected to life imprisonment or a jail term not less than 5years and not more than 99years. In addition, he can be fined not to exceed $10000. Second degree felonies can be imprisoned for not more than 20years or less than 2 years. In addition a fine not to exceed $10000. A third degree felony is imprisoned for not more than 10 years and a minimum of 2 years and an addition fine of not more than $10000. A state jail felony   can be punished by a jail sentence of approximately two years and not less than 180 days. A juvenile gang is an association of peers that has a name, recognizable symbols, identifiable leadership, a territory, a regular meeting pattern and collective actions of illegal activities. Mainly the gangs are youths aged 12 to 24. Many of the youths may involve in aging when they are

Goose-loose Blues for the Melting Pot by Stanley Crouch essay

Goose-loose Blues for the Melting Pot by Stanley Crouch - Essay Example Stanley Crouch, who is a black writer, in his Essay- ‘Goose-loose Blues for the Melting Pot’ is of the opinion that intermingling of different cultures can solve the problem of racial difference. Crouch pointed out that: â€Å"blacks would have made it all the way into American society once a Negro could be shown in a deodorant commercial.† (Crouch para17) the age of racial segregation and the practice of color-bound evaluating a person is history and gone forever. The civil liberties, which are included in the US constitution is the paramount example for personal freedom and sovereignty. First of all, activism of African Americans (Negroes/black minority) in US was on the issue of slavery. Later, it turned towards active participation in politics. In the political scenario, the main issue is the unity of country, not narrow minded racial feeling. So, in the initial stages, it was hard for an African American to attain leadership. Majority of African Americans were not ready to support party labels or candidates. But African Americans were ready to support those who helped them. This narrow feeling on racial identity hindered their growth as a powerful minority group. Earlier, prejudice against Negroes in the society was so rigid that they were not measured as suitable to use in a commercial advertisement. In 1960s, there prevailed high racial tension in the society. The Negro population in US felt restriction on their civil rights and liberties, and the agitated through the civil rights movement in1963. Their main agenda was the fight against slavery and racial discrimination. But now, the situation is different. The attitude of Negroes in US had undergone a deep change. When one tries to find out the reason behind the restriction felt by Negroes in certain fields, it is evident that their attitude towards other communities donated a lot to their pathetic situation. For instance, there prevailed less

Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free

Assisted Suicide Essay If you’re suffering from excruciating pain and there’s no hope you will recover and doctors are keeping you alive for as long as you can take for no reason, would you want them to pull the plug? Assisted suicide is mostly legal in 16 countries. In the U.S. assisted suicide is legal in Washington, Oregon, Vermont and Montana does not specifically address physician-assisted suicide but have no laws against it and physicians who practice it are shielded from prosecution. Assisted suicide is a controversy because too many people it’s against their religion. Assisted suicide is considered to be inhumane to some people because some people say that animals are put down, not human beings. Also some believe that some people might take advantage of assisted suicide. It’s a choice that some people might want to take if they’re suffering. Most of the people that are against assisted suicide say it’s because it’s against their religion. Others believe it is inhumane and say it violates a fundamental tenet of medicine by contradicting the doctors role as a healer to end a person’s life (murder) even if they are suffering. Assisted suicide should be legal everywhere because if you do not believe in it then you don’t have to choose that option, but people that believe in it should be able to choose. Many physicians believe assisted suicide should be legal and terminally ill patients should have the choice to end their suffering. If you have the right to live, shouldnt you have the right to die? If you have the right to live, shouldnt you have the right to die? When such people ask for assistance in exercising their right to die, their wishes should be respected† This quote from Claire Andre (page 1) is stating that someone who is asking to end their suffering from a terminal illness/disease that their wish should be honored and respected. Claire is trying to prove that assisted suicide should be respected if one has the desires to end their  life but only from a terminally illness/disease. She is stating that it’s actually inhumane to keep someone alive as long as possible through medical treatment. If the doctors know that a patient wont recover they should be able to ask the patient if they want the option of getting a high dose of medicine that will end their s uffering. Most people who are against assisted suicide have no reason besides that it’s against their religion because it’s technically suicide. Others say that it’s inhumane and it’s technically murder because you’re taking someone’s life. Also some people think that some people that are having family issues or people who are in debt might try to take advantage of assisted suicide. Dr. Ann McPherson, a 64-year-old GP from Oxford, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. After 14 years of being diagnosed she now has terminal pancreatic cancer and secondary cancer in her lungs. She is only taking her morphine and she does not receive cancer treatment anymore. Assisted dying is something I have considered. I have no idea if I want it, that depends on how my dying goes. But I want it to be there. I feel very strongly that palliative care should include assisted dying, I call it assisted dying, not assisted suicide, because suicide has connotations of someth ing bad, running away. I think the law is inhuman as it stands and I think the  ­public is ahead of the lawmakers on this. (Page 1) she believes that making it illegal to have a physician end ones suffering is inhumane and should be reconsidered. Also no one would be able to take advantage of assisted suicide because there are protocols and you have to be terminally ill. To those who believe that assisted suicide technically suicide and against their religion are wrong. How can it be inhumane if it’s their choice to end their own suffering? If God loved you he wouldnt want you to suffer through terminally illnesses/ diseases he would want you to be able to end your suffering. Dr. Ann McPherson calls it assisted dying because she believes that suicide is just as excuse to end your problems or run away. Maybe some people are just against assisted suicide because of the name and havent looked into it. Maybe if they used the name Euthanasia or Assisted dying more often people might look at it different. Dr. Ann McPherson also has a husband, children, and grandchildren. She states that she wants her family to be there for her and she said I dont want to go to  Zurich, to some anonymous facility; I would want to do it in my own bed. I have a husband, three children and five grandchildren and I would like them to be there if that is the route I go down, though I dont want them to be directly involved. A professional should be able to do that. (Page 2). She doesnt want her family to take part in her death but if she was able to choose that path she would want her family to be there. Also if someone asked a physician to help them assist suicide and they were not terminally ill but they had life problems, they should and would be turned away. Assisted suicide is a way out of suffering from illness and diseases not life issues. There have been only 5 countries to fully legalize assisted suicide and only 3 states (soon to be 4) in the United States. The other 11 countries have no law against suicide/ assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is starting to appear in many court cases around the world and is starting to be considered worldwide. Some countries have no laws about assisting a suicide or suicide itself but do have laws like failure to assist a person in danger, an assisted with manslaughter, accessory to murder, and even murder is brought up in cases that involves someone assisting someone in suicide. While Oregon, Washington State, Vermont and Montana permit physician-assisted suicide, Montanas Supreme Court determined that assisted suicide is a medical treatment. We find no indication in Montana laws that physician aid in dying provided to terminally ill, mentally competent adult patients is against public policy and therefore, the physician who assists is shielded from criminal liability by the patien t’s consent.†(Page 1) The Montana Supreme Court states that physicians may assist patients in ending their lives with a high dosage of legal drugs. The states living-will law provides the basis for the practice said by the Montana Supreme Court (page 1). Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, and the United States (Washington, Oregon, Vermont, and Montana) have legalized assisted suicide. More countries are starting to move toward legalizing assisted suicide/ euthanasia. In 1997 Colombias Supreme Court ruled that penalties/ criminal offenses for mercy killing should be removed. They havent legalized assisted suicide but are leading towards it. In the United Kingdom a man named Martin who is 46 years old suffered from a brainstem stroke. He is completely paralyzed everywhere except for his eyelids. He has a computer in which he stares at 24/7, that recognizes one letter at a time as Martin blinks and stares at it. He uses his eyes to spell out his desires, frustrations and anger on his computer. He wants to go to court for an assurance that any professional person/ physician who helps him to die/pull the plug will not be prosecuted. The doctors said that he could live for years in his state and even his wife is trying to help him fight for the right to die. He describes his life as S-H-I-T and he just wants to die (page 1). The United Kingdom’s laws are suicide is not a crime but assisting a suicide is. Martin is fighting for his right to die and the United Kingdom is debating it. This shows that more and more countries are starting to consider legalizing assisted suicide and they are realizing that in some situation s it should be allowed. Assisted suicide should be legalized, allowed, and accepted everywhere .More and more countries are legalizing assisted suicide every year. There should be a choice for someone who is terminally ill and suffering to end their life without anyone being prosecuted. If you dont believe in assisted suicide then you dont have to choose that option. A person who is suffering from a terminal illness/disease should have the right to die, no doubt. If you believe its inhumane to end ones suffering how is it not inhumane to keep someone who is suffering alive by a machine keeping them alive. If suicide is against your religion then you dont have to choose assisted suicide, but would God really want you to suffer, no. Also if the name â€Å"assisted suicide is the reason youre against it, call it euthanasia. If you believe that it violates a fundamental tenet of medicine by contradicting the doctors role as a healer to end a person’s life (murder) even if they are suffering, you are mos t definitely wrong. It’s inhumane to keep someone alive who is suffering and have asked you to end their suffering by using an overdose of medicine to make their passing painless and quick. If you have the right to live, shouldnt you have the right to die? The answer is yes because why/how can it be a crime to commit suicide or assist suicide by a physician? How can you possibly be punished and also why should a Judge be able decide whether you live or not? Assisted suicide  should be legal and not have to have a Judge decide your life. Some people might say its technically suicide and some people might say its technically murder. How on earth is it either of those? First off you are just trying to end your suffering if you choose assisted suicide and a physician assisting a patients suicide/death isnt (should not be considered) murder. The physician is just helping them ease away their suffering. All around the world countries are debating whether or not to legalize assisted suicide. More coun tries every year are legalizing it and already 4 states of the United States have approved it. In some countries if you assist a suicide you could be charged from failure to assist someone in danger to murder. Most people who have been charged with assisting a suicide were let off. The charges were acquitted but not after fighting them in court. Learning more about assisted suicide and suicide in general would give more people more knowledge about assisted suicide and why it should be legalized. Most people were taught very young that killing yourself/someone is very bad so every time the topic about assisted suicide by physician comes up they say it’s wrong to kill yourself and it’s wrong to kill someone. They do not have the slightest clue that assisted suicide is helping suffering people and their families watch them suffer. It would bring peace to the person who is suffering and to their family to know that their suffering has ended. So shouldnt we have the right to die, if we also have the right to live? If you are suffering from a terminally illness/disease or terrible accident where you can no longer eat, clean, use the bathroom, change clothes, and even adjust yoursel f wouldnt you want the option of assisted suicide.

The Importance Of Water Recycling Environmental Sciences Essay

The Importance Of Water Recycling Environmental Sciences Essay The aim is to review the importance of water recycling and the unending effects of hard water all round us. Objective is to achieve a clear understanding of the present and future benefits of water recycling and why it is still practised today. A number of up-to-date water recycling tehnologies are studied to an extent. The perpetual need for the various solutions in softening hard water is looked into retrospectively carefully highlighting typical problems likely to occur. Water is a common substance that is essential to all forms of life. A massive 75 percent of planet earth is covered in water and is mostly found in oceans and large water bodies. Of this total volume of water, 97 percent is saltwater and 3 percent is freshwater. 69 percent of this freshwater is glacial and 31 percent is groundwater. For billions of years, earth has been reusing water over and over again in a natural process called the hydrologic cycle (BENEFITS OF RECYCLING., 2010). This cycle is the path water takes as it circulates from the land to the sky and back again. 1.1 Water Recycling Water recycling is a natural process which relies on technology to speed up such projects. It is sometimes described as unplanned and planned (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). By unplanned, this means for example, when cities draw their water supplies from rivers that receive waste water upstream from these cities. Water from these rivers has been reused, treated and piped into the water supply a number of times before the last downstream use withdraws the water (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). However, that of planned water recycling projects is developed with the aim of reusing a recycled water supply. Recycled water is waste water that has been treated and processed for useful nonpotable purposes such as agricultural, landscape, public parks, and golf course irrigation (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). Other nonpotable applications include cooling water for power plants and oil refineries, industrial process water for facilities such as paper mills and carpet dyers, toilet flushing, dust control, construction activities, concrete mixing, and artificial lakes (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). In an industrial facility, water is recycled and reused onsite used in cooling processes for example (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). Although most water recycling projects have been developed to meet the demands of nonpotable water, a number of them use recycled water indirectly for potable purposes (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). These projects include recharging ground water aquifers and augmenting surface water reservoirs with recycled water (OASIS DESIGN., 2009). Recycled water can be spread or even injected into ground water aquifers to augment ground water supplies, and to prevent salt water intrusion in coastal areas. Environmentally, water recycling provides tremendous benefits. Water recycling can help us find ways to reduce the diversion of water from sensitive ecosystems by providing a supplementary source of water. The lack of sufficient water flow, as a result of diversion for agricultural, urban, and industrial purposes, can cause impairment of water quality and ecosystem health for plants, wildlife, and fish which depend on adequate water flow to their habitat for sustenance and reproduction ( OASIS DESIGN., 2009). For streams that have been dried from water diversion, recycled water may be used to build these habitats (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). Water flow can be augmented with recycled water to develop and sustain the aquatic and wildlife habitats (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). 1.2 GreyWater Greywater is water that has been used domestically (from baths, showers, clothes washers, and wash-hand basins) except for water from toilets (GREYWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS., 2010). Greywater takes up 50 80% of household wastewater (OASIS DESIGN., 2009). Wastewater produced by toilets is called black water (OASIS DESIGN., 2009). However wastewater from kitchen sinks and dish-washers is also considered to be black water as well due to the presence of organic contents (OASIS DESIGN., 2009). The clearest purpose of recycling domestic grey water is that it replaces potable water use (OASIS DESIGN., 2009). 2 BUILD-UP OF TOXIC ORGANIC POLLUTANTS FROM RECYCLING In water treatment, a wide range of chemicals are added in excess due to poor operation or accidents (GRAY N. F., 2005). However, most of these chemicals are discharged with the finished water product due to the nature of the processes themselves. These include iron, aluminium, and organic compounds used as coagulates, such as polycrylamide (GRAY N. F., 2005). These chemicals result in odour and discolouration in the water as well as poor taste. Furthermore, the new Drinking Water Directive sets limit values for all these compounds. Chemicals such as chlorine and fluorine are added intentionally to protect the public from pathogens and teeth decay respectively (GRAY N. F., 2005). 3 THE NEGATIVE PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF DRINKING SEWAGE WATER The increasing concern of the public is reflected by a large rise in the sales of bottled water and home treatment systems (GRAY N.F., 2008). The view of reusing sewage water for the purpose of drinking water ignorantly puts people off now and again. However, the knowledge of water recycling plays a big role here so educating the consumer about water quality and the regulatory functions of water undertakers is mandatory (GRAY N.F., 2008). All water is reused and with the system of treatment in place, sewage water can be drinkable. The use of chlorine in water treatment is a major source of complaint with consumers (GRAY N.F., 2008). The prevailing reasons for boiling water, buying bottled water or the use of home treatment systems are over an improvement in taste and health concerns. There is a strong belief that bottled water is safer and purer to drink which unfortunately is not always true. The media also plays a role in the influence of attitudes towards water and the assessment risk (GRAY N.F., 2008). 4 REGULATIONS In protecting public health, conditions and regulations have been made to allow for the safe use of reclaimed water. Reclaimed water often provides a vital water supply and fertilizer source (METCALF EDDY., 2003). For most developing countries, the greatest concern with the use of wastewater for irrigation is that untreated or treated wastewater can possess quite a number of intestinal nematodes (e.g., Ascaris and Trichuris species and hookworms) and bacterial pathogens which are often difficult to control (METCALF EDDY., 2003). The health of the general public consuming farm produce that have been contaminated by the wastewater infected by these viral and bacterial agents can deteriorate over time. The world health organisation suggest that irrigation of farm produce prone to be eaten uncooked, sports fields, and public parks should be irrigated with wastewater dealt with stabilization ponds (METCALF EDDY., 2003). From country to country, regulations in reusing water and wastewat er vary. In England and Wales, Drinking Water Inspectorate control the standard of drinking water provided (GRAY N. F., 2005). However, the quality of the water is the privatised water companies responsibility (GRAY N. F., 2005).These responsibilities are regulated by the Office of Water Services and it also controls the price of water before hitting the market. The Environment Agency for England and Wales is responsible for controlling water pollution, regulating waste and manage integrated pollution control (IPC) licensing (GRAY N. F., 2005). It also has the duty to issue licenses for water control functions, promote the conservation and enhancements of freshwater to promote the recreational use of freshwater, to improve and develop fisheries and regulate them, to issue flood warnings and the provision of defences to reduce the risk of sea and river flooding, the issuing of land drainage consents and many other tasks (GRAY N. F., 2005). The Agency points out water protection zones , protects groundwater and sets the objectives for water quality (GRAY N. F., 2005). 5 PRECAUTIONS Dont store grey water Grey water should be used within 24 hours before the build up of bacteria develops. After this period, it is on its way to becoming septic, that is, black water (LETS GO GREEN., 2009). Avoid contamination and contact Identify grey water plumbing by labelling it. The use of gloves is vital when in contact with grey water filters or anything that has come in contact with it (LETS GO GREEN., 2009). Use only grey water that is fairly clean to start with. If otherwise, it should be diverted to a sewer or septic system (LETS GO GREEN., 2009). Microorganisms on consumable goods Untreated grey water possesses some microorganisms which affect lawns, or fruits and vegetables that are eaten raw (e.g., strawberries, lettuce, carrots) to an extent (LETS GO GREEN., 2009). Contamination of surface water Grey water should be disposed of properly either underground or in a mulch (a mulch is a covering made up of rotten vegetable matter which prevents evaporation and soil erosion). The addition of grey water to an already soaked soil should be avoided (LETS GO GREEN., 2009). 6 DESALINATION Desalination involves removing dissolved minerals from aquatic bodies to create drinking water (CITY OF RYDE, 2009). 15-50% of water is recovered with the other portion being brine (CITY OF RYDE, 2009). A few technologies have been produced for the execution of this process, including the best known and common membrane process is the reverse osmosis (CITY OF RYDE, 2009). http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/98-9/offshore/ro.gif Figure 2: Diagram showing osmotic and reverse osmotic flow (Source: Courtesy of FWPBDP., 2010) Countries which do not have the advantage of continual fresh water supplies, competition for fresh water continually soars (TENE A. 2010). Israel is regarded pioneer in the area of desalination (TENE A. 2010). Following the water crisis in Israel, the state of water economy improved to an extent that even during harsh drought years, the water economy will continue to flourish since the water in the sea would not be running out anytime soon (TENE A. 2010). This sea water is pumped to as much volume is required and the final desalinated water is supplied as necessary. Another type of separation technique is the evaporation process (PEREIRA H.C. 1973). Developing economies such as California have warm climates of high evaporation rates (PEREIRA H.C. 1973). Its primary water resource is the sea where the evaporation process is practised. It is an effective alternative to water recycling in water poor regions (PEREIRA H.C. 1973). 7 FUTURE OF WATER RECYCLING Recycling is generally vital to our planets future. The rate at which the earths highly valued resources are been consumed is taking a rapid turn and many of these resources are not renewable (U.S. EPA., 2009). Recycling as a process takes considerably less energy to reuse an existing product than to source and make one from scratch (U.S. EPA., 2009). Water recycling has certainly established beyond doubt to be effective and resourceful in developing a new and reliable water supply. Nonpotable reuse is a widely accepted practise that will continue to expand (YOSHIKAWA N., 2006). Advances in wastewater treatment technology and health studies of indirect potable reuse will become common soon (YOSHIKAWA N., 2006). As water and environmental needs becomes urgent, water recycling would play a greater role in our long-term water supply (U.S. EPA., 2009). 8 WATER RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY The type of wastewater is essential for determining the kind of treatment plant and technologies to employ. Wastewater primarily arises from water usage by residential, commercial and industrial institutions including groundwater, surface water and storm water as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: Sources of Wastewater (Source: Courtesy of ESCWA., 2003). Typical examples of water recycling systems in the domestic or industrial field are flotation and sedimentation, of which both are relevant to the chemical industry. 8.1 Flotation Flotation is a unit process used to remove solid or liquid from any form of liquid by releasing fine gas, usually air bubbles into it (ESCWA., 2003). The gas bubbles would stick to the liquid or would get trapped in the particle structure of the suspended solids, raising the floaty force of the particle and gas bubbles put together (ESCWA., 2003). Particles having a higher density than the liquid would be able rise. Flotation is used to remove suspended matter and to concentrate biological sludge in wastewater treatment (ESCWA., 2003). Flotation has an advantage over the sedimentation process in that; very minute and light particles are easily removed in a quicker time frame (ESCWA., 2003). Table 1: Data of Flotation Methods Process Brief Descriptions Dissolved Air Flotation Wastewater is subjected to the pressure of several atmospheres while air is introduced into it. The pressure then returns to atmospheric level, allowing the air to be released as small bubbles after a short time. These bubbles which stick to the suspended matter where it is removed by a skimming device. Air Flotation By the application of a revolving impellers or through diffusers, gas is passed into the liquid directly at atmospheric pressure Vacuum Flotation Wastewater is saturated with air. With the application of a partial vacuum, the dissolved air results in escaping as minute bubbles where they form a scam blanket. This blanket is removed by a skimming device. Source: Courtesy of ESCWA., 2003. Figure 4: A typical Flotation unit (ESCWA., 2003). 8.2 Sedimentation Sedimentation is a widely used unit operation in water and wastewater treatment (ESCWA., 2003). It involves the gravitational settling of suspended solids in a mixture usually water (ESCWA., 2003). These suspended solids are removed from suspensions by allowing it gravitate to the floor of a tank to form a sludge under near still conditions (ESCWA., 2003). This tank is referred to as a clarifier (ESCWA., 2003). It comprises of three main designs. They are; Horizontal flow clarifiers They can either be rectangular, square or circular in shape. The flow in rectangular clarifiers is rectilinear and parallel to the long axis of the basin. Furthermore, the water flows radially from the centre towards the outer edges in circular clarifiers. The clarifiers are usually made up of steel or reinforced concrete (ESCWA., 2003). Solid contact clarifiers They get solids into contact with a suspended layer of sludge near the bottom that acts as a blanket. The solids put in cumulate and remain trapped within the sludge blanket. As the solids remain below, the liquid is able to rise upwards (ESCWA., 2003). Inclined surface basins The flow here is laminar and there is little or no wind effect. Inclined trays are used to divide the depth into shallower sections, reducing the settling times in the process (ESCWA., 2003). Figure 5: Parts of a circular clarifier (Source: Courtesy of ESCWA., 2003). 9 HARD WATER Hard water is simply referred to as water that contains more minerals than ordinary water (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). Water that is said to be hard possesses minerals made up of calcium and magnesium compounds (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). This water usually comes from aquifers and other underground sources that collect dissolved minerals from rocks (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). Minerals of these sought reduces the ability of soap to lather and the ease of rinsing anything being washed made difficult. On the other hand, soft water is treated water that contains only sodium ion (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). Figure 6: Diagram showing hard and soft water processes (Source: Courtesy of LENNTECH., 2009). 9.1 PROBLEMS WITH HARD WATER Every cleaning task from laundering and dish washing to bathing and personal care is made unreasonably difficult taking up time and energy. The quantity of hardness minerals in water would determine the soap and detergent level required for cleaning. Additional detergent would have to be added to achieve the desired goal. Dishes and glasses washed using hard water may not be totally clean possessing certain spots when dry. The same goes with clothes which may feel harsh and scratchy when worn. Furthermore, skin was led with hard water may leave the skin feeling itchy and dry certainly not a remedy for skins with conditions such as eczema (HEIDEKAMP A. J., 2005). A number of detergents have ingredients that would mix with hard water minerals leaving a white deposit on clothing, making it look faded and worn out. Heated hard water affects water-using appliances (HEIDEKAMP A. J., 2005). It forms a scale of calcium and magnesium minerals which contributes to the inefficient and costly of these appliances (HEIDEKAMP A. J., 2005). Pipes become clogged with scale that impedes water flow and would in no time require pipe replacement. When hard water is heated, calcium ions react with bicarbonate ions to form an insoluble compound called calcium carbonate which is responsible for the scaling in pipes (HEIDEKAMP A. J., 2005). This is depicted in the equation below; 9.2 SOFTEN WATER TECHNIQUES 9.2.1 Lime-Soda Ash Technique It is the most common water softening method which involves the addition of slaked lime to hard water in water plants (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). Lime and soda ash are used because they are readily accessible and cost effective for softening water (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). Non-carbonate hardness is in turn reduced by the addition of soda ash to form insoluble precipitate which is also removed by filtration. Slaked lime is used to remove calcium bicarbonate from water (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). In this method, the slaked lime ions react with the calcium bicarbonate to form a slightly soluble calcium carbonate. This precipitate is usually removed by allowing it settle and then filtering (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). Additional lime is used in removing magnesium (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). This treatment becomes more costly as the hardness level has to be reduced to less than 5 grains. The use of the lime-soda ash treatment in homes was farfetched because of the equipment siz e and high cost involved in running one and even owning one (FREE DRINKING WATER., 2009). 9.2.2 Ion Exchange Columns Technique Ions could either be positively or negatively charged. A positive charge ion is called a cation while a negatively charged ion is an anion. The minerals, calcium and magnesium, that result in hardness are positively charged cations (NORDEN R. L., 2010). An ion exchange water softener has three main parts; A resin tank containing small beads of synthetic resin, A brine tank, The control valve (NORDEN R. L., 2010). When using ion exchange equipment, calcium and magnesium are exchanged for sodium from the brine tank (NORDEN R. L., 2010). As water passes through the resin tank, the sodium ions are exchanged with calcium and magnesium ions (NORDEN R. L., 2010). This is because the calcium and magnesium ions have a higher positive charge than the sodium ions. As the calcium and magnesium attach themselves to the resin beads is released simultaneously into the water. After the sodium in the resin, medium is exhausted, the medium can be regenerated by the sodium from the brine tank (NORDEN R. L., 2010). People with health problems such as heart or circulation problems, or are on low sodium diets may need to avoid using the ion exchange because of the high sodium content (NORDEN R. L., 2010). It is not even recommended for watering lawns or plants due to the sodium content present. However, potassium can be used in replacing sodium but it costs more. It is highly recommended that only hot water in a h ome be softened because the hot water line and heater benefits and the rate of soap consumptions are reduced (NORDEN R. L., 2010). Another importance in using the ion exchange equipment is that, it removes traces of iron as well to an extent because it is a positively charged ion (NORDEN R. L., 2010). 9.2.3 Chemical Conditioners/Suppressants Technique Chemical conditioning involves the addition of polyphosphates (SOUTHERN WATER., 2005). This reduces the availability of calcium in the formation of deposits. This would result in the water behaving as though softening although this would be false regarding the removal of calcium. A measure of this supposed softening is that such water would need less soap or detergent to lather. The polyphosphates can easily be set up by installing a relatively cheap dispenser in the pipework that could easily treat all the water going into the property (SOUTHERN WATER., 2005). When exhausted in the dispenser, the polyphosphates usually in solid glass-like balls are added at any appropriate time frame (SOUTHERN WATER., 2005). Alternatively, using polyphosphates helps to reduce traces of lead from any lead pipework but this should not be a guaranteed reason for using this technique (SOUTHERN WATER., 2005). HARD WATER CONTAINING CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM ENTERING SOFTNER SOFTEN WATER CONTAINING SODIUM CONCLUSION Water is reusable. A high percentage of our water is recycled and the same water has been around for a long time. In this effect, water technologies have been cleverly developed in keeping this natural tradition alive. Hard water is water that contains calcium and magnesium ions, and can be reversed by softening it thereby leaving it usable in homes and industries. It has a costly effect on most equipment in our homes and a health risk in humans. In softening hard water, the rate at which all these negative effects take its course would be minimised.