Msc. Management (FT) Essays

Msc. Management (FT) Essays Msc. Management (FT) Essay Msc. Management (FT) Essay Q1. Based on your own experience of traditional bookselling and your exploration of online bookselling, compare willingness-to-pay for books supplied by these two business models. In the US, the traditional bookselling had a market of about 26 million dollars in the year 1996 and had grown to about 33 million dollars in the year 2001.   It is growing at the rate of about 4.8 % per annum.   An average American citizen buys about 10 books a year in 1996.   Book buying usually increases during the weekends and during the fourth quarter of the year.   Usually individuals between the ages of 35 to 75, buy books. In the US, more than 50, 000 new titles are published every year.   However, people read both old and new releases.   When considering traditional bookstalls, it is important to take into consideration the publishers, wholesalers and the retailers.   One of the most popular publishers in the US is Simon Schuster (which hold a 11 % share of the market).   In recent years, many of the small publishers have been taken over by the larger ones as they were facing loses and it was increasingly becoming difficult to maintain relationships with writers and retailers.   In the traditional system of book vending, the publishers for bulk purchasers offer huge amounts of discounts to retailers and wholesalers.   Retailers are offered a discount of about 55 %, whereas wholesalers are offered a margin slightly above that.   However, there has been a lot of controversy in this regard, due to apparent favoritism.   Hence, many of tee publishers are now made to sign agreements with t he retailers and the wholesalers, regarding the amount of discounts that could be offered.   In the traditional system, the retailers and the wholesalers can return books to the publisher and they would get a full refund of the money.   However, it may be difficult to return the soft copies such as CD’s to get a credit on the amount.   The practice of returning the books to the publisher has developed as early as the depression period, in which retailers were guaranteed return of the unsold copies so that only the popular books could be kept on the shelves.   The number of return of books is rising gradually, as people want to read the new books and the best sellers.   In the year 1986, returns of the books were in the range of 15 to 25 % and in 1996 it rose to 30 %.   These books have to be recycled or sold through alternative ways with discounts. Baker and Taylor were one of the major wholesalers in the US and Ingram Books was another major wholesaler.   These wholesalers provided the retailers with discounts and volume-based purchases.   They acted as middlemen between the publisher and the retailer.   Although, the costs of services were slightly higher, they performed many functions for the convenience of the retailer and the publisher including speedy delivery, after sales services, free-services, cutting the gaps between the manufacturer and retailer, accepting feedback, etc. Retailers on the other hand have increasingly beginning to gain an important share in the market since the 1970’s.   The two largest chain stores in the US included Dalton and Waldenbooks.   There were several developments at the retail end of the book stores which really improved production of books and several other aspects including author profiles, wholesales, etc.   Supermarkets, malls and libraries began to be developed so that retailing could pick up.   One of the largest book chains stores in the US has been Barnes and Noble.   It employees about 20, 000 staff and had made sales of about 2.45 million dollars in the year 1996.   Barnes and Nobles remained as two separate store chains and were actually combined by Leonard Riggio in the year 1971.   The company has several stores in New York, Manhattan and Boston.   Barnes and Noble acquired Dalton chain of stores in 1985 for about 300 million dollars.   Barnes and Noble have also started with other busi nesses in the field of books.   They also have mail order book services and book clubs.   Barnes and Noble also set up shop in Canada, but it has major operations in the US.   The procurement of books for the malls and superstores of Barnes and Nobles has been centralized. Jeff Bezos had founded Amazon.com in the year 1995 and it reached sales of about 16 million dollars in the year 1996.   About 7600 employees were present in the organization in that year.   Amazon.com can reach much more people compared to Barnes and Noble, but it can sell only online, unlike Barnes and Noble.   Online booking selling seems to have one disadvantage over store book selling.   The customers in the stores are able to feel the book and read excerpts of the book.   In such a circumstance, they would be more interested in buying the book and would find the book its money’s worth.   With time, the internet is beginning to change, and many of the manufacturers are beginning to show case the product and actually permit the customer to sample it using the internet.   With the bookshelf model, it does seem that it would be costly to get the investment to setup the place, build shelves and get the logistics.   In comparison, an online store does not requir e much of investment and infrastructure.   The customer can access the online bookstore from almost any part of the world and can select the book.   The user would need only a computer, an Internet connection, and a membership username and within a short period of time the product would be delivered to the house. Willingness to pay is the maximum money the customer would be willing to pay for a product and it would demonstrate that the customer is concerned about the quality of the product; costs spend on the production and the good name of the product.   This characteristic varies from one individual to another and from one company to another.   Several characteristics play a major role including the quality, brand name, reputation, equity, etc.   Studies have shown that when the price of a product was lowered, below the willingness to pay, the customer is more likely to obtain the product.   The customer would obtain the product satisfactorily, if the price equals the willingness to pay.   The customer would not be happy if the price of the product is higher than the willingness to pay.   Barnes and Noble has a good reputation and has it stores located in various parts of the US.   The customers have a high willingness to pay for their products.   On the other hand, the will ingness to pay is lower for Amazon.com as the reputation and quality anticipated is not as high compared to Barnes and Noble.   Although people are paying more money for Barnes and Noble products, they feel they are obtaining more value for their money compared to Amazon.com.   Barnes and Noble is an older product and has a better reputation than Amazon.com.   People are more likely to trust Barnes and Noble.   In the US, Barnes and noble is a household name with several local stores.   On the other hand, Amazon.com is an online store. Q2. Assess Barnes Nobles response to the substitution threat from Amazon. How did Amazon respond and to what effect? When Amazon was launched in the year 1995, it was termed as the ‘Earths biggest river-Earths biggest bookstore’.   In the year 1995, the company ran it sales up to 0.5 million dollars, 16 million dollars in 1997 and 82 million dollars in the year 1997.   Amazon.com was eating into the sustainability of Barnes and Noble.   Substitution threat is a situation in which one player would be using an opportunity created by the vacuum left by the shortcomings or the deficiency of the other player.   The extent to which the opportunity exists depends on the characteristics of either player.   Amazon was using the deficiencies of Barnes and Noble to a great extent.   They were exploiting the limitations to store shopping and using the benefits of online business.   They were many ways in which Amazon were using the substitution threat such recombining, straddling, fighting, harvesting, etc.   However, Barnes and Noble began to attack Amazon’s online strategy in January 1997.   The company went online and offered the customers huge discounts for online hardcover and paperback versions (up to 30 %).   At the same time it also filed a litigation against Amazon.com for having the slogan â€Å"Earth’s biggest bookstore’, when it was actually not.   It wanted to launch an all-round offensive against Amazon.   Barnes and Noble felt that Amazon was not a bookseller but a book broker.   Using the substitution threat again, Barnes and Noble wanted to dominate the online book market.   Barnes and Noble wanted to become the leader in online bookselling by displacing Amazon within a period of two years.   They felt that online business offered much greater opportunities, as people could not find a bookstore with a variety. People from even other countries could do online shopping and improve the sales of the company.   The investment over infrastructure and setting up a shop was much higher compared to a bookstore compared to online shopping.   People, who did not have the time to search for a bookstore, could now do it setting in the comfort of their homes.   This seemed to be one of the greatest advantages of online shopping.   Through online shopping, the books could be advertised and marketed and this could really boost sales.   Barnes and Noble operated a sorting facility in Jamesburg, and slowly this facility began to expand.   They developed a very efficient strategy in comparison to Amazon, and claimed to bring the book to the customer much faster than what Amazon actually did.   However, the operations of both, Barnes and Noble and Amazon were similar.   Barnes and Noble also created better web features compared to Amazon.   They also separated out the online operations from the bookstore in order to evade tax.   At the back end of the operations, Barnes and Noble also tried to establish relations with the publishers and the wholesalers.   One advantage the company had observed was that the operations were much lesser compared to a standard bookstore as infrastructure costs were saved.   Barnes and Noble soon began to offer to the online customers, books at the wholesale or warehouse rates.   The company also offered several services.   Many people felt that the services offered by Barnes and Noble were much similar to that offered by Amazon.   The software tool of Barnes and Noble was much superior to that of Amazon.   The company permitted the customers to store personal data and also buy the books very easily.   They also signed up with several Internet organizations such as AOL and the New York Times to provide extra services.   AOL provided software and news services. Once Barnes and Noble actually entered into the online market, Amazon began to feel the heat and suggested breakthrough measures for the customers in order to increase their sales.   They offered higher discounts to the customers (up to 40 %) and added more than a million titles to the online book collections.   They also offered personalized services so that the customer could use the software and select books according to their personal preferences.   They also developed ties with several software giants such as Yahoo, Excite and AOL.com.   The company developed a very strong advisement and publicity strategy so that the public could select its products compared to that of Barnes and Noble. The services provided by Barnes and Noble were much similar to that of Amazon but some of these services were different in nature.   Barnes and Noble were also trying to imitate the business of Amazon by using a successful business model.   By collaborating with some of the website with which Barnes and Noble also had combined.   As Barnes and Noble offered personalized services, it could be combined to the Harvesting model of substitution. Barnes and Noble also tried develop a website much richer than that of Amazon.   Barnes and Noble also began to involve the operations of the book supply system so as to improve the online strategy.   The software technology utilized by Barnes and Noble was also much superior to that of Amazon.   During the initial period Barnes and Noble failed to draw in huge customers. I do feel that the marketing strategy played by Barnes and Noble to launch its product was not very effective.   It was able to achieve its objectives only to some extent.   Amazon had its name already established in the online book market.   They were seeking to make relationships with the customers and improve their business further.  Ã‚   Although Amazon had already established itself in the market, Barnes and Noble were eating up its share. Q3. Considering both Barnes Nobel and Amazon, how sustainable will their respective business models be in the future? Who will be the online leader? Give reasons. Sustainability of a business is threatened by imitation, substitution, holdup and slack.   The added value of the business is threatened by imitation and substitution.   The added values cannot be used to obtain the benefits if holdup and slack threats are present.   In fact holdup may divert the benefits to the suppliers and the customers.   Several factors are present in the market, which would help to determine the ability to attract.   These five factors that may be present include: threat from several new comers, rivalry between the competitors, ability of the buyers to bargain or demand more, strength of the suppliers in the market, and the substitution threat (such as changes in technology).   Porter, an American Aeronautical engineer to determine the competitive strength of a business and to evaluate its market position, framed these factors or forces.   The Porters five-force analysis is frequently utilized with other management tools such as SWOT analysis and PEST analysis to determine the strategy a company should be following.   Companies can also develop business decisions and plan investment according to the Porters analysis (Chapman, 2005). The new entrant in the field on online bookselling was Amazon.com.   It began to be functional in the year 1996.   It had sales of about 150 million dollars in the year 1997.   It had also developed huge amount of losses in the year 1996 and 1997.   Bezos had actually developed Amazon.com keeping in mind the potential of the Internet.   Jeff Bezos was also found of the bookselling business, and seeking the huge potential of the Internet.   He founded the Amazon.com Inc, and had a stake of about 41 %.   He was much fascinated with online trading in other fields and soon began to employ it for book selling.   He developed the slogan Earths biggest river-Earths biggest bookstore to describe his bookstore.   Amazon developed a virtual storehouse, which was catering to its online operations.   This was located in Seattle. The company on purpose did not offer huge amount of graphics to the users on its website as it felt that the speed of downloading would be reduced. The competitors of Amazon.com in the field of online bookselling were Barnes and Noble.   This was basically following the slogan â€Å"Earths biggest bookstore, which it strongly opposed and brought about a lawsuit.   The first thing that Barnes and noble did was to have litigation against Amazon.com for using this slogan.   Barnes and Noble claimed that Amazon was a mere agent that was passing on the books to the public.   The company began to offer huge amounts of discounts that bought books from them online.   About 20 % discount was offered for the paperback versions and 30 % for the hardbound versions.   The company initially planned to become the top online bookseller within a period of two years.   Barnes and Noble developed its own sorting out facility for Internet orders at Jamesburg.   They started to compete with Amazon.com in beating them out in promptly serving the customers with the orders.   They were able to delivery the orders faster to the custom ers, but their charges were similar to that of Amazon.com.   The graphics of the website that belonged to Barnes and Noble was much more esthetically pleasing compared to Amazon.com.   The site began to provide with personalized services.   The company claimed that it did not have to pay much for initiating online operations.   Barnes and Noble worked in collaboration with AOL.com.   This company was providing several online services to its customers.   It had provided great software support to Barnes and Noble.   It also collaborated with The New York Times in providing a book review. The buyers are the people who actually purchase the books from the booksellers. They would be looking at several benefits they would be having from the company which include the costs of the books, marketing, advertisement, brand name, services provided, reputation, delivery time, discounts provided, range of after sales services, etc.   The education level, nationality and intelligence of the buyers play a major role in determining the book company they would be selecting.   Even Bill Gates was one of Amazon’s customers, and it felt that the website offered a huge collection within a very short period of time.   The online services offered by Amazon were very user friendly.   The company also provided several online services to the buyers such as information of the books, interview with the writers, etc.   Barnes and Noble went to provide a discount for the buyers.   The felt that the customers ha a huge benefit over Internet shopping.   They could save time and also access the Internet as per their time of convenience.   Even international customers were benefited through the online business model.   Amazon was able to offer greater amount of discounts to the customer and also seemed to have a larger online collection compared to Barnes and Noble. The fourth factor is the suppliers that provide the books to the online booksellers.   Ingram and Doubleday supply Amazon and Barnes and Noble has its own warehouse for supplies.   The booksellers should be able to obtain the logistics within a very short period and should be able to supply the customer immediately.   In an online shopping model, it is very important to answer to the demands of the customer immediately. The fifth factor is the substitution threat.   According to this threat one player would be filling up the deficiency created by another.   In this case, Amazon had left a very small gap, and Barnes and Noble were effective in filling this gap.   It provided the customers with discounts, and faster delivery times.   Besides, it was able to provide the customers with a more appealing website and personalized services. With relation to the online leader, I do feel that Amazon.com is more likely to be an online leader in book sales.   Amazon.com was the first to start with the concept of online book selling.   It was able to setup global or international customers much earlier than Barnes and Noble.   Although, they cannot be termed has having a bookstore, they are turning out to be good agents, providing highly specialized services to the customers.   The online collection and options that Amazon.com is providing is much larger as that compared to Barnes and Noble.   It is also providing greater amount of discounts compared to Barnes and Noble.   Amazon.com is exclusively an online vendor but Barnes and Noble is a bookstore vendor, which has recently extended its services online.   As Amazon provides its customers with other online services (shopping of other products), it could provide several other benefits to its customers.   The customers could also buy other products from its w ebsite.   Hence, on the whole, Amazon.com is more likely to provide a greater range of services compared to Barnes and Noble.   As Amazon does not have any offline trading, it is more flexible to incorporate changes than Barnes and Noble.   Hence, they are more likely to adapt to changes in the market.   Amazon would also be spending less money on infrastructure and hence is in a better position to offer discounts to the customers and at the same time make profits.

Pope Urban II Odo of Lagny

Pope Urban II Odo of Lagny Pope Urban II was known for beginning the Crusade Movement, instigating with his call to arms at the Council of Clermont. Urban also continued and expanded on the reforms of Gregory VII, and helped the papacy become a stronger political unit. Urban studied at Soissons and then at Reims, where he became archdeacon, before becoming a monk and retiring to Cluny. There he became prior, and after only a few years was sent to Rome to assist Pope Gregory VII in his attempts at reform. He proved invaluable to the pope, and was made a Cardinal and served as a papal legate. Upon Gregorys death in 1085 he served his successor, Victor II ​until Victor died. He was then elected pope in March 1088, and influenced affairs throughout France, Italy, Europe, and the Holy Land. Also known as:  Odo of Chà ¢tillon-sur-Marne, Odon of Chà ¢tillon-sur-Marne, Eudes of Chà ¢tillon-sur-Marne, Odo of Lagery, Otho of Lagery, Odo of Lagny Important Dates Born: c. 1035Elected Pope: March 12, 1088Speech at Council of Clermont: Nov. 27, 1095Died: July 29, 1099 The Pontificate of Urban II As pope, Urban had to deal with the antipope Clement III and the ongoing Investiture Controversy. He was successful in asserting his legitimacy as pope, but his reform policies did not take thorough hold throughout Europe. He did, however, establish a softer stance on the Investiture Controversy that would later make a resolution possible. Long aware of the difficulties pilgrims had been having in the Holy Land, Urban used Emperor Alexius Comnenos call for help as the basis for calling Christian knights to arms in the First Crusade. Urban also called together several important church councils, including those at Piacenza, Clermont, Bari, and Rome, passing notable reform legislation. Sources Butler, Richard U.  Pope Bl. Urban II.  The Catholic Encyclopedia.  Vol. 15.  New York: Robert Appleton Company,  1912. Halsall, Paul. â€Å"Medieval Sourcebook: Urban II (1088-1099): Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095, Five Versions of the Speech.†Ã‚  Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University, Dec. 1997.

Writing Skills are learned, not inherited Research Paper

Writing Skills are learned, not inherited - Research Paper Example The organization through the relevant departments must therefore find out the ways of integrating this seamless workforce as this is a formidable and very important assignment. If such diversity is managed well and through proper strategies, the company is likely to soar higher and higher in terms of productivity and even growth. This is because the management of the resources of the company will be efficiently conducted and the efficiency in terms of operations will also go high. Competition on the global scale will also be enhanced as a result of proper management of such workforce (Graff & Birkenstein, 2006). Such management is much more than just the pay slip, it spills over to the general welfare management of such varied groups of people. It all depends on how the management bestowed with such a responsibility is able to bring together such a workforce in a manner that they are so much able to work together. First, the values of the differences must be well understood as this has the impact of improving innovation and creativity as opposed to sameness which does not provide an avenue for critical thinking. An avenue must be created where the varied groups of people are in the position of seeing different perspectives of doing the normal business of the company (Marzano & Paynter, 2004). The company must always ensure that its workforce is up-to-date with the current technology through constant training. These can be conducted by involving the employees in awareness sessions encouraging them to spend time reading and learning about diversity. These should be done in relation to how it would be helpful to the organization. Thirdly, the culture of the organization is particularly important as it has the ability of defining the direction of the company’s action plans (Graff & Birkenstein, 2006). The employees must always be made to think like the organization from the onset. Culture is meant to help success in a given environment. It is through

Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Criminal Law - Essay Example Finally, there is the possibility that the actions of the doctor in giving the wrong blood transfusion and taking Alan off of life support would break the chain of causation so that Derek would not be liable for homicide after all. Therefore there a number of possible offenses and a number of possible defenses here for Derek and the Doctor. What homicidal offences might Derek have committed? What are the potential difficulties with regards to mens rea and actus reas? First, did Derek cause death or great bodily harm to Alan? The answer to this is yes, so the actus reus for homicide has been established. Second, can we establish that Derek aimed to cause death or great bodily harm to Alan? If so, then the mens rea for homicide has been established.1 While, in this case, it would be a stretch to state that Derek aimed to kill Alan, it may be shown that he, in fact, did intend great bodily harm to Alan when he set fire to Alan’s flat. What is not known is whether Derek was aware that Alan was inside the flat or not. If Derek had thought that Alan was not in his flat, then it could conceivably be said that Derek did not form the proper mens rea for homicide, because, in that case, Derek would have only had the mens rea for arson and not homicide. On the other hand, if it could be shown that Derek was affirmatively aware that Alan was asleep in the flat, then it could be said that Derek did, indeed, intend to cause great bodily harm to Alan, and the mens rea would be established. At any rate, even if Derek is not responsible for homicide, he would probably be responsible for manslaughter, as one only has to prove, as the actus reus for manslaughter that a person intended an unlawful act to another person for manslaughter to be established. As Derek intended arson on Alan’s home, this could be said that Derek intended an unlawful act on Alan, so he would be guilty of manslaughter even if there is no mens rea for homicide.2 Moreover, the mens rea might b e negated by Derek’s intoxication.3 The test here is whether Derek was so intoxicated that he could not form the mens rea that is necessary to commit the homicide. The facts stated that Derek had quickly downed four vodkas. This would certainly make a person drunk, however, the actual crime occurred four hours after Derek drank these vodkas, so Derek was probably not still so intoxicated by vodkas that he could not form the mens rea for the act. That said, the facts also said that Derek was suffering blackouts before the incident, although it is unclear what is causing these blackouts. Therefore, this might be a case of diminished responsibility. The rule on that is there must be present an abnormality of the mind that substantially impairs his mental responsibility.4 This is a possibility – perhaps Derek is suffering from an abnormality that would cause him to perform criminal acts of which he was somehow unaware. If this is the case, then he would have a defence unde r this. What defences might Derek have to homicide? The first defence will be that of provocation. The elements of provocation are as follows 1) the loss of self-control must coincide with the killing;5 2) a reasonable person would react in the same manner.6 We also have to look at the reasonable person in

Asbestos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Asbestos - Essay Example An estimated 1.3 million employees in the construction and general industry are at risk. No doubt, we are exposed to a certain level of asbestos material all the time. Asbestos, in the finished form, does not pose any health hazard. Remodelling, repair, maintenance, demolition, sale and transport combined with rough handling all can release these deadly fibres into water or air2. Inhalation of these fibres for a continuous period could be extremely dangerous. . Chrysotile, a fibrous mineral which neither burns nor rots, flexible with maximum tensile strength, extremely useful, lightweight, can create a formidable surface mixed with cementing materials, could be used as high temperature seals and gaskets, known over 2000 years, first mined in Russia, Italy and Canada. Old products, unlike today's improved technological ones, crumbled easily under pressure and released more harmful fibres. All these fibres are non-inflammable Asbestos is a highly emotive topic with two shrill schools of thought, one saying that asbestos should be banned; another arguing that asbestos of today would not be a killer. European Union (EU)3 and the United Kingdom (UK)4 both argue that asbestos is carcinogenic and targets multiple organs of the dust inhaler. According to their rules all types of asbestos are harmful and there is no safe level of exposure and the weight of evidence to support this is incontrovertible and historical. It is impossible to control the exposure to asbestos in workplace and hence, alternative products must be used. Asbestos should be discarded as a harmful object and should be banned, to protect public health. This risk-based approach depends on the fact that there is no identified lower exposure limit to which workers can be safely exposed.5 In spite of the overwhelming medical reports, there is little scientific research evidence to back this viewpoint and the entire exercise seems to be more of a public emotional grandstand. Asbestos is heat resistant and is used in a wide variety of industrial and domestic appliances and this makes it particularly difficult to avoid it completely. It is a mineral fibre used in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and it is also a fire-retardant. The necessity of completely stopping the usage too is questioned by many scientists. The Canadian Chrysotile Institute

The course of Civil War Essay Example for Free

The course of Civil War Essay To what extent did the military strategies and tactics of the armies of North and South change during the course of Civil War? Strategies and tactics did not change drastically in the South. The Strategies used by South were constant. At the beginning of the war, both side had the impression that the war would be short but this was not the case the war lasted for 4 years. During the war, the North was more offensive to the South. On the other hand, the South was always on the defensive side, they were trying to gain more sympathy. The evolution of weapons and communication improved a lot and changed the nature of the warfare. Furthermore, both sides reduced the amount of cavalry that they used in the civil war. Both sides also limited the amount of artillery that they used. In fact, the rifles were more useful than the artillery. The South also used the Guerrilla warfare against the North during the Civil War. Additionally, the influence of the naval war increased as the war went on. Overall, both sides did change their military strategies during the Civil War. But it was hard to argue that both sides had an enormous change in their military strategies and tactics. At the beginning of the war, 1861, both sides were not prepared for the war. At the beginning of the Civil War, the Union had only 16,000 men in the army, and only 90 of them were in the War Department. The Union was not ready for the war was due to the leadership problem. General Winfield Scott, the Union general had no idea about any strategic plan and no programme for mobilisation. Moreover, the President of the Union, Abraham Lincoln had no military experience at all. On the other hand, the Confederate had a little advantage of its military organization. The President of the Confederate, Jefferson Davis at least had some military experience. Under Davis control, there were 300 officers resigned from the Union and who joined the Confederate. Moreover, there were also state militias in the South that prepared for the war. In the early of 1852, both sides suffered number of men in the army, there were not enough soldiers for both sides. In March 1862, Davis introduced conscription that every white man, age between 18-35 had to server in the military service due to the end of the war. Davis believed the conscription act would help to increase the number of men in the army. On the other hand, the North also had the Carrot and stick approach to try to increase the number of men in their army. The stick approach was a Militia Law which was similar to a conscription act which forced people to serve in the military service. By 1865, both sides raised enormous armies, and there were 900,000 men in the Confederate and there were 2. 1 million men in the Union side. The North increased its number of men in army from 16,000 in 1861 men to 2. 1 million in 1865. On the other hand, the south increased its number of men in the army from 160,000 in 1861 to 900,000 men in 1865. Statistically, both sides had increased their number of men 10 times or even 20 times more in 5 years. Both sides have also changed their tactics on offensive and defensive. Once the rifle-musket was used by both sides, the defending force always had a great advantage. This was because most of the soldiers were in trenches when they were defending. However, the attacking force had to move forward to be able to captured enemy’s flank. The Consequence was that casualties would be heavier on the attacking side. It was hard for the attacking side to win the battle. In large scale battle, attacking force formed 2 lines. First line was working forward to try to kill as many enemies as they could. Second line would be fed in to restore the attacks momentum. Each line had about 1000 men. Again, casualties would be heavier on the attacking side because while they were attacking, they were in open ground without any protection. In May 1864, 19 millions bullets were fired in a single week in North Virginia. As the number of bullets that were fired in a week, it is easy to imagine the amount of soldiers who died on the battle field. Moreover, the Confederate used Guerrilla warfare during the war. There were guerrilla dimension in Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee. The guerrilla warfare helped the confederate but this help was very limited, because guerrilla warfare was not popular at that time. Overall, the new tactics on offensive and defensive leads to huge amount of casualties on the battle field, and there was a significant change in the tactics of offensive and defensive during the Civil War. The evolution of weapons and communications has changed the nature of the warfare. In previous wars, both sides were still using the smoothbore musket which only had about 100 yards range. But in 1855, both sides were using rifled weapons instead of smoothbore musket. Those rifled weapon with the adoption of the minie ball have the shooting range up to 600 yards. In fact, it was more accurate. These improvements of the weapons made a huge impact on the battle field. Of course, the consequence was more casualties in both sides. The communication in both sides has also improved a great deal. Both sides had developed more railway tracks, so men and resource could travel around and supplied more efficiently. There were also steamboats in both sides that played an important supply role on the Mississippi and its tributaries. Moreover, there was telegraph that enabled the commanders to communicate with his units even if there were far away from each other. Both North and South strategy and tactics were affected by improvements in communication. The use of cavalry and artillery did not play an important role in the Civil War. The cavalry was not involved in any direct attack in the civil war. The cavalry was used to guard an army’s flanks, obtain supplies and cover retreats. The accuracy of rifle-fire meant that cavalry were no longer a major force on the battlefield. About 20 per cent of the confederate and 15 per cent of the Union troops were cavalry. At the beginning of the Civil War, the confederate cavalry was better than Union. This was because the good morale and good leaders like Jeb Stuart. However, by 1863, the Union cavalry was just as good as the confederate cavalry. Even though, there were not a lot of cavalry troops in both sides, it still gave out certain help like giving out supply. Moreover, the use of artillery did not play an important part in the Civil war as well. This was because the use of artillery could not be well used in the areas that took place in the Civil War. Moreover, riled-musket was more useful compare to the cannon. Furthermore, the north had better potential to produce more and better guns because of their strong industrial support. Moreover, the confederate manufactured some of its own gun, but it was not as good as the Unions. Overall, the use of cavalry and artillery did not have a significant role in the Civil War, but in fact it did affect both sides in some aspects. Both sides show a significant change on their naval warfare. In April 1861, the Union only had 8800 men in the navy. They only had 90 ships and only few of them were in action. However, the confederate was even worst. They did not have any navy at all in 1861. As soon as the war started, the North sent the merchant marine to blockade the South. And the amount of the ships in December 1861 increased to 260 warships on duty and 100 more were under construction. Blockading the South gave huge advantages to the North. This was because the Confederate could sell cotton in Europe in order to manufacture more new technology. However, with the blockade, they could not trade with any other countries. So the South would not be able to get money and manufacture any goods. The number of ship that increased by North between April 1861 to December 1861 was enormous. The result was that the South could not rely on its trade with other countries and lead to poor economic. The Union had an enormous change on their naval warfare but the Confederate did not. The military strategies and tactics of the armies of North and South did in fact have changed during the Civil War. Both sides did have changed on their offensive and defensive tactics, new weapons and communication. But on the other hand, both sides did not change on their cavalry and artillery. So it was hard to argue that both sides have enormous change in all aspects.

Factors Increasing Extinction Rates in Giant Panda Populations

Factors Increasing Extinction Rates in Giant Panda Populations Ailuropoda melanoleuca otherwise known as the Giant Panda is categorised as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2007a). This means that this is an animal which is at a very high risk of facing extinction, i.e. the species will die off. This has been a main concern for conservation since the 1950s, as at present there are approximately one thousand and six hundred giant pandas living on earth today (Yiming et. al, 2002). There are many reasons which have caused a such decline in populations of Giant panda such as their reliance on mainly bamboo, low reproduction rates, hunting and most importantly habitat destruction. All of these factors have played a key part in pushing our much loved animals to smaller and smaller numbers. WWF, (2011a) states that 30,000 sq km of forest in China is solely protected for pandas. This means that 80% of wild panda are highly protected by the Chinese government (WWF, 2011a), but why are numbers still decreasing? This essay will discuss what these factors are and how they are affecting the populations and communities of A. melanoleuca. Currently there are programmes being carried out to help conserve this species and increase numbers but are these really working? Why are there still so many few Giant pandas living on earth today? And can our conservation efforts help prevent this species from going in to extinction? To answer these questions we must look at each factor and how these are being dealt with. The Giant Panda inhabits South Central China and ranges from six isolated mountains in the Gansu, Sichuan and Shaanxi Provinces (IUCN, 2007b). Currently, this species is on the Appendix 1 CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) List (CITES, 2011a). This means that giant pandas cannot be traded internationally except in circumstances in which the reason for trading is for scientific research (CITES, 2011b). This is because this species is critically endangered and is at a high risk of extinction. The prohibition of trade will prevent giant pandas being removed from their natural habitats and reduce extinction rates in this species. Despite being biologically carnivorous, A. melanoleuca has an herbivorous diet consisting primarily of bamboo (Dierenfield et. al, 1982). In fact it is estimated that 99% of the Giant Pandas diet comprises of this food source (Schaller et. al, 1985, cited in Carter et. al, 1999). Therefore, habitat locations are very dependent on the distribution and availability of bamboo (Xuezhi et. al, 2008). There is a wide variety of bamboo which is consumed by the giant panda which consists of sixty different types with thirty-five of those containing their primary food sources (Hu, Wei, 2004, cited in IUCN, 2007b). By limiting their diet to mainly bamboo, the giant panda is at risk of eventual starvation. This is because in every fifteen to one hundred and twenty years, there is a bamboo die-off cycle which naturally occurs (Calhoun, 2005). Once this die-off occurs in the bamboo (depending on which species), the time it takes to grow to a level which can feed a full population of giant panda can be up to twenty years, thus many pandas are starved and may die due to this (Calhoun, 2005). Examples of this would be two of the main species of bamboo which are eaten by the giant panda; Arrow and Umbrella. It takes on average between forty and fifty years for Arrow bamboo to flower and for Umbrella bamboo this process takes approximately one hundred years (Franzen, 2003). Once these species and others eventually die off, giant pandas will need to search for a replacement and if unsuccessful, will starve to death and may face extinction. In the event of certain types of bamboo species dying off, conservation plans must be in place. In recent years, conservationists have been putting in place corridors between panda populations and areas which have bamboo which is not being fed on which can be suitable for feeding (Carter et. al, 1999). This type of programme is also being done to create corridors between different populations of panda also (Carter et. al, 1999). It was also suggested by Carter et. al, 1999, that these corridors should be a long term solution as the carrying capacity (the maximum population size a species can reach) of the giant panda can take up to two hundred years! Another factor which has had a negative impact on the population sizes of pandas is their vulnerability to poaching. This is when they are hunted (by humans) in the wild for their skins and skulls (Yiming et. al, 2002). To assess what effect poaching is having on the giant panda; population viability analysis (PVA) is required. PVA takes into account a range of ecological and environmental factors to evaluate the risks and threats to particular species. This allows planning for conservation and allows us to identify levels of threats to a given species (Yiming, et. al, 2002). By using PVA, Yiming et. al, 2002, found that even without the effects of poaching to giant pandas, population numbers were still very low. This is quite worrying as this means that although poaching is highly threatening, other factors are still pushing the species towards extinction. Results from Yiming et. al, 2002, experiments found that with the increase of poaching of the giant panda, a large decrease in p opulation size and a higher extinction rate was the result. Their experiments also compared poaching between the two sexes. They found that poaching in females was found to have a more negative impact on the extinction rate as they would appear to have a higher extinction rate than males, despite the intensity of poaching being the exact same. This comparison was mirrored in the analysis comparing adult and young pandas (i.e. Adults had a higher extinction rate). Therefore, Yiming et. al, 2002, highlighted that although the giant panda is naturally facing extinction due to many factors, poaching can significantly increase the extinction rate in populations. However, in recent years, the market for panda skins and incidents of poaching has began to decrease and is now no longer a key threat to the population of the giant panda (IUCN, 2007b). Reducing illegal capture and killing of the giant panda has been very successful due to training conservationists to patrol areas in which pandas are at risk (WWF, 2011b). The WWF began this training in 1996 and had more than three hundred people trained within four years. Above this, cameras have been installed on sites in which the giant panda inhabits. This allows trained staff to see how the pandas live naturally and can plan ahead on useful conservation programmes to prevent extinction occurring (WWF, 2011b). A. melanoleuca have a k-strategy approach when it comes to reproduction (Linderman et. al, 2004). This is because females do not begin to mate until they are approximately four or five years old and will only give birth to a small number of cubs (this can be as little as one or two young) (WWF China, 2011). If food is scarce (i.e. due to bamboo die-off) then the chance of the survival of cubs is very slim. Another factor which affects the reproductivity in the giant panda population is pandas in captivity. It has been found that giant pandas in captivity are not breeding well and it has been suggested that they find it difficult to mate in the presence of humans. This is because they are not in their natural environment (WWF China, 2011). The major threat to giant panda communities which is increasing extinction rates is habitat loss. Habitat loss is due to human impacts in which the giant pandas habitats have been destroyed by logging, agriculture and the development of hydropower amongst many other things (WWF, 2011c). Research published in 2008 by Xeuzhi et. al stated that agriculture was the most threatening human impact on reducing habitat sizes in panda populations. This is because farmland is usually located near human settlements which affect pandas directly. Also, as pandas are required to consume clean drinking water every day to survive, they tend to avoid large rivers. This is because large rivers are usually nearby to human settlements, in which the water will be highly polluted (Xuezhi et. al, 2008). Therefore, human impacts are limiting where panda communities can live. Fragmentation of the giant pandas habitat is also a factor contributing towards increasing the extinction rate. This has been due to ag ain, human impact as the Chinese economy has being growing exponentially (WWF China, 2009). As habitat destruction and fragmentation are the major issues impacting the giant panda population it is highly important that we try to reverse these effects as human activity is responsible for this. An example of an area which has been badly affected is Jiuzhai ring road in the Minshan Reserve Region (Xuezhi et. al, 2008). This has a high number of traffic daily and has caused the nearby community of pandas to become remote (Xuezhi et. al, 2008). It was suggested by Xuezhi et. al, 2008 that in order to prevent further damage to panda communities, the amount of human activity had to be reduced. This same idea was suggested for the Jiuzhai ring road by reducing traffic daily. In conclusion, it is clear to see that the future of giant panda populations and communities is critical and will remain so unless great changes are made. This is mainly down to human impacts which have negatively affected population numbers by destroying habitats, removing this species from its natural environment (captive breeding) and poaching. However, the giant pandas specialised diet is also pushing this species towards extinction as they are at risk of starvation. Despite this, programmes are in place to help restore habitats by creating corridors to new sources of bamboo and monitoring to prevent poaching. However, at the moment it is very difficult to determine whether or not the extinction of A. melanoleuca will be sooner rather than later. In short, the future of the giant panda is uncertain.