Crowdfunding: Revolutionizing the Investment Essay

In April 2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into legislation, (potentially) allowing small startup companies to gain investment from private individuals through crowdfunding. This case study explores the viability of crowdfunding as a means of investment, its advantages and disadvantages, its utilization thus far, and its potential success going forward. Features and benefits * MarketLine Case Studies describe topics such as innovative products, business models, and significant company acquisitions. * Fact-based and presented in an accessible style, they explain the rationale of commercial decisions and illustrate wider market and economic trends. Highlights In recent years, crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter have seen a dramatic increase in activity as the trend has gained momentum. As a result, the number of crowdfunding platforms is on the rise, and such enterprises are beginning to see their business models change in accordance with the future direction of this burgeoning new industry. Advantages of crowdfunding include the fact that it offers a much larger pool of investors from which startups and entrepreneurs are able to raise capital. Additionally, crowdfunding lessens the risk of bringing a new product to market, and enables startups to benefit from large-scale brand and product exposure. Crowdfunding ventures, such as the Pebble Watch, which launched on Kickstarter, have shown the potential rewards of a successful crowdfunding campaign, although this example also serves to exemplify the drawbacks of such a means of raising capital. Your key questions answered * What are the potential implications of the JOBS Act? * What are the advantages and disadvantages of crowdfunding initiatives? * How successful have crowdfunding initiatives been thus far? * What impact is crowdfunding likely to have on the traditional investment landscape

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 20

â€Å"My apologies for the abrupt transport,† Carter continued. â€Å"Jerome started freaking out that I'd left you alone for so long.† â€Å"I've never ‘freaked out' in my life – er, existence, er whatever,† mused Jerome, strolling into the room. Studying him, I could believe his words. Dressed immaculately as ever, he held a martini in one hand and looked utterly at ease amid the disarray. â€Å"Nice place,† I told him, still aghast at the damage done to such beauty. â€Å"Fixer-upper?† The demon's eyes flashed with amusement at my joke. â€Å"I do so love having you around, Georgie.† He sipped his drink. â€Å"Yes, it is a little rough around the edges right now, but no worries. It'll clean up. Besides, I have other domiciles.† Jerome had always been very tight-lipped about where he lived, and I suspected it was only Carter's intervention that allowed us to even remain here right now. The demon would have never invited us. Walking over to a large bay window, I beheld a magnificent view of Lake Washington, the Seattle skyline glittering beyond it. Based on the angle of my view, I would have wagered money we were in Medina, one of the more elite Eastside suburbs. Only the best for Jerome. â€Å"So what happened?† I finally asked when it became apparent no one else intended to broach the subject. â€Å"Was this a nephilim attack, or did you just throw a party that got out of hand? Because honestly, if it's the last one, I'm going to be really pissed we weren't invited.† â€Å"No such fears,† Carter told me, smiling. â€Å"Our friend the nephilim did a little redecorating, kindly flashing us when it was over. That's why I abandoned you at Erik's. I would have given you some warning, but when I felt it over here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked meaningfully at Jerome. The demon scoffed in response. â€Å"You what? Thought I was in danger? You know that's not possible.† Carter made a nondescript noise of disagreement. â€Å"Yeah? What do you call that?† He inclined his head toward the spray-painted symbol. â€Å"Graffiti,† responded Jerome disinterestedly. â€Å"It means nothing.† I walked away from the breathtaking window and its pricey view, looking the symbol up and down. I'd never seen anything like it, and I was familiar with a lot of characters and markings from all types of places and times. â€Å"It must mean something,† I countered. â€Å"Seems like a lot of trouble for nothing. Otherwise, he could have just written ‘you suck' or something like that.† â€Å"Maybe that's in one of the other rooms,† suggested Cody. â€Å"A punch line worthy of Georgie. You're learning more than dancing.† Ignoring the demon's attempt to change the subject, I turned to Carter for answers. â€Å"What is it? You must know what it means.† The angel studied me speculatively a moment, and I realized I'd never appealed to him before for serious help. Until our recent roommate stint, most of our interactions had been downright antagonistic. â€Å"It's a warning,† he said slowly, not looking at his demonic counterpart. â€Å"A warning of impending disaster. The real phase of a battle about to begin.† Jerome's finely suppressed control snapped. He slammed the glass down on an off-kilter table, face flushing. â€Å"Christ, Carter! Are you insane?† â€Å"It doesn't matter, and you know it. Everything's going to come out anyway.† â€Å"No,† hissed the demon icily, â€Å"not everything.† â€Å"Then you tell them.† Carter made a grandiose gesture toward the symbol. â€Å"You explain and make sure I don't say too much.† Jerome glared at him, and they locked eyes in their usual way. I'd seen it happen countless times, but upon reflection, I felt pretty sure I'd never actually seen them at such odds with each other before. â€Å"It might have meant those things at one time,† Jerome admitted at last, exhaling in an effort to calm himself. â€Å"But not anymore. As I said, it's meaningless now. An archaic scrawl. A charm which, without anyone to believe in it anymore, holds no power.† â€Å"Then why use it at all?† I wondered aloud. â€Å"More of the nephilim's bizarre sense of humor?† â€Å"Something like that. It's to remind me who we're dealing with – as if there was any possible way I could forget.† Picking up his sloshed martini, Jerome finished it in one gulp. Sighing, suddenly looking tired, he glanced at Carter. â€Å"You can tell them about the other ones if you want.† The angel's face registered mild surprise at the concession. He looked back up at the marred wall. â€Å"This symbol is the second in a set of three. The first is the declaration of battle – a way to sort of psyche out your enemy with what's to come. It looks just like this but with no diagonal. The last symbol marks victory. It has two diagonals and is displayed after the enemy is defeated.† I followed his gaze. â€Å"So, wait†¦ if this is the second, does that mean you've seen the first already?† Jerome walked out of the room and returned a moment later, handing me a piece of paper. â€Å"You're not the only one who gets love notes, Georgie.† I opened it up. The paper was the same kind used for my notes. Displayed on it, in heavy black ink, was a copy of the symbol on Jerome's wall without the diagonal. The first symbol, the declaration, according to Carter. â€Å"When did you get this?† â€Å"Just before Duane died.† I thought back through the weeks. â€Å"That's why you didn't push me too hard when he died. You already had a good idea who was responsible.† The demon shrugged by way of answer. â€Å"Wait a minute then,† exclaimed Cody, coming to look over my shoulder at the note. â€Å"If this is the first warning†¦ are you saying that everything that's happened – Duane, Hugh, Lucinda, Georgina – has been part of the ‘psyching out'?† The vampire grew incredulous when neither of the higher immortals responded. â€Å"What more can there be? What is this ‘real phase'? I mean, he's already attacked or killed, what, four immortals?† â€Å"Four lesser immortals,† I supplied, suddenly catching on. I looked back and forth between Jerome and Carter. â€Å"Right?† The angel gave me a tight-lipped smile. â€Å"Right. You guys have been the practice round before the big hit.† He gave Jerome another pointed look. â€Å"Stop it,† the demon snapped back. â€Å"I'm not a target here.† â€Å"Aren't you? No one spray-painted this on my wall.† â€Å"No one knows where you live.† â€Å"You're not exactly in the yellow pages yourself. You're the mark here.† â€Å"It's a moot point. It can't touch me.† â€Å"You don't know that – â€Å" â€Å"I do know that, and you know it too. There is absolutely no way it can be stronger than me.† â€Å"We need backup after all. Call Nanette – â€Å" â€Å"Oh yes,† laughed Jerome harshly. â€Å"No one would notice if I pulled her from Portland. Do you have any idea what a red flag that would throw up? People would start noticing, start asking questions – â€Å" â€Å"So what if they do? It's no big deal – â€Å" â€Å"Easy for you to say. What would you know about – â€Å" â€Å"Please. I know enough to know that you're being overly paranoid about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The two went back and forth at each other, Jerome adamantly denying there was any problem, Carter maintaining that they needed to take appropriate precautions. As noted earlier, I had never seen the two of them in such open disagreement. I didn't like it, especially as their voices began to rise in volume. I didn't want to be around if they came to blows or displays of power, having already seen too much of their strength in the last few weeks. Slowly, I backed up out of the living room toward a nearby hallway. Cody, catching my mood, followed. â€Å"I hate it when Mom and Dad fight,† I commented as we retreated away from the divine bickering, seeking a safer locale. Looking in doorways, I saw a bathroom, a bedroom, and a guest room. Somehow I didn't imagine the demon hosted too many overnight guests. â€Å"This looks promising,† observed Cody as we turned in to an entertainment room. More leather seating surrounded a massive, absurdly thin plasma screen hanging on the wall. Sleek, beautiful speakers stood in strategic spots around us, and a substantial glass case displayed hundreds of DVDs. This room, like the others, had been sacked. Sighing, I threw myself on to one of the ripped chairs while Cody checked out the sound system. â€Å"What do you think of all this?† I asked him. â€Å"The new developments, I mean, not the entertainment setup.† â€Å"What's to think? It seems straightforward to me. This nephilim character warms up with lesser immortals and now decides to take on the higher ones. Sick and twisted, but well, that's the way it is. On the bright side, maybe we're out of danger now – no offense to Jerome or Carter.† â€Å"I don't know.† I tipped my head back, thinking. â€Å"Something still isn't right to me. There's something we're missing. Listen to them in there. Why is Jerome being such an idiot about all of this? Why won't he listen to Carter?† The young vampire glanced up from his perusal of the movies and gave me a sly smile. â€Å"I never thought I'd see the day when you advocated for Carter. You must have gotten really chummy this last week.† â€Å"Don't get any romantic delusions,† I warned him. â€Å"God knows I have enough of that on my plate already. It's just that, I don't know. Carter's not as bad as I used to think.† â€Å"He's an angel. He's not bad at all.† â€Å"You know what I mean, and you've got to admit, he has a point. Jerome should be taking appropriate measures. This thing trashed his place and left warnings – even if they're obsolete charms or whatever. Why is Jerome so convinced he's safe?† â€Å"Because he thinks he's stronger than it is.† â€Å"How would he know though? Neither of them have gotten a good feel for it – even Carter didn't the night he saved me.† â€Å"Jerome doesn't seem like the type to dismiss things without a reason. If he says he's stronger, then I'd – holy shit. Check this out.† His serious spiel melted into laughter. Getting up, I walked over and knelt beside him. â€Å"What?† He pointed to the bottom row of DVDs. I read the titles. High Fidelity. Better Off Dead. Say Anything. Grosse Pointe Blank. All John Cusack movies. â€Å"I knew it,† I breathed, thinking of the demon's coincidental resemblance to the actor. â€Å"I knew he was a fan. He's always denied it.† † Wait'll we tell Peter and Hugh,† crowed Cody. He pulled Better Off Dead off the shelf. â€Å"This one's his best.† I pulled out Being John Malkovich, my tense mood momentarily relaxed. â€Å"No way. This one is.† â€Å"That one's too weird.† I glanced up at the plasma screen, a huge gash slashing across its surface. â€Å"Normally I'd suggest we have a showdown to settle the point, but somehow I don't think there'll be any viewings for a while here.† Cody followed my gaze and grimaced at the massacre. â€Å"What a waste. This nephilim's a real bastard.† â€Å"No doubt,† I agreed, standing up. â€Å"It's no wonder – â€Å" I froze. Everything froze. A real bastard. â€Å"Georgina?† asked Cody curiously. â€Å"You all right?† I closed my eyes, reeling. â€Å"Oh my God.† A real bastard. I thought then about the entire trail of nephilim events, how from the very beginning Jerome had been warning us away. Ostensibly, his actions had been to keep us safe, but there had been no reason not to explain nephilim to us, no real danger to us in understanding the nature of our adversary. Yet Jerome had stayed tight-lipped about it, growing irrationally angry when any of us got too close. When Cody had first posited the â€Å"rogue angel† theory, I had written the secrecy off to embarrassment from the other side. Yet, it wasn't their side that had something to hide. It was ours. Click, click. Once started, the dominoes in my head tumbled forward in a rush. I thought about Harrington's book: the corrupted angels taught â€Å"charms and enchantments† to their wives while their offspring ran wild†¦ Charms. Like the obsolete one on Jerome's wall. It's to remind me who we're dealing with – as if there was any possible way I could forget, he had explained offhandedly. Carter had told me demons generally get into hunting down nephilim. Nanette had wanted to come and help with this one, but Jerome wouldn't let her, thus minimizing those involved. Carter he had kept on hand for the kill, however. Wouldn't Jerome want to do it himself? I had wondered, but the angel had evaded answering. Still the dominoes fell. Nephilim inherit a lot more than half their parent's power, though they can never exceed it. Jerome's words to us last week, again spoken casually, just after my attack. Only minutes ago, I had wondered at his confidence at being stronger than the nephilim, questioning how he could be so certain. But of course he could be. Divine genetics had already dictated the parameters. â€Å"Georgina? Where are you going?† Cody exclaimed as I strode out of the room, back toward the still-roaring argument down the hallway. â€Å"Look,† Carter was saying, â€Å"it won't hurt anything to just – â€Å" â€Å"It's yours,† I cried to Jerome, attempting to stare him down – difficult, since he was taller than me. â€Å"The nephilim is yours.† â€Å"My problem?† â€Å"No! You know what I mean. Your child. Your son†¦ or daughter†¦ or whatever.† Silence descended, and Jerome stared at me with those piercing black eyes, boring right into my soul. I expected at any moment to be blasted across the room. Instead, all he asked was, â€Å"So?† Startled at his mild response, I swallowed. â€Å"So†¦ so†¦ why didn't you just tell us? From the beginning? Why such secrecy?† â€Å"As you can perhaps imagine, this is not a topic I enjoy bringing up. And contrary to popular belief, I do feel entitled to some privacy.† â€Å"Yes, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Now that it was out, I didn't know what to say or think or do. â€Å"What will happen? What are you going to do?† â€Å"The same thing I've been planning on doing. We will find this creature and destroy it.† â€Å"But it†¦ he or she†¦ is yours†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I, who had so jealously and longingly watched Paige's growing pregnancy and Seth's bevy of nieces, could not even begin to fathom calmly announcing the murder of one's offspring. â€Å"It doesn't matter,† the demon said simply. â€Å"It's a liability, a danger to the rest of us. My connection to it is irrelevant.† â€Å"You†¦ you keep saying ‘it.' Are you so detached that you can't even†¦ you know, call it by name or gender? What is it anyway? A son or a daughter?† He hesitated a moment, and I detected a faint trace of unease in that cool mask. â€Å"I don't know.† I stared. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I wasn't there when it was born. When I found out she†¦ my wife†¦ was pregnant, I left. I knew what would happen. I was neither the first – nor the last – to take a mortal wife. Plenty of nephilim had been born and destroyed by that point. We all knew what they were capable of. The right thing to do when it was born would have been to destroy it right then.† He paused, once more perfectly expressionless. â€Å"I couldn't do it. I left, so I wouldn't have to deal with it, so I wouldn't have to make that choice. It was a coward's way out.† â€Å"Did you†¦ ever see her again? Your wife?† â€Å"No.† Speechless, I wondered what she must have been like. I barely understood Jerome now as a demon, let alone before he fell. He hardly ever showed any sort of emotion or affection for anyone; I couldn't imagine what kind of a woman would have so overcome him that he would turn his back on all he held sacred. And yet, despite that love, he had still left, never to see her again. She would have been dead for millennia by now. He had left to save their child, only to once again be faced with holding its life in his hands. The whole thing was heartbreaking, and I wanted to do something – hug the demon, maybe – but I knew he wouldn't thank me for my sympathy. He was already too embarrassed at us finding out about all of this. â€Å"So you've never seen it? How do you know for sure this one is yours?† â€Å"The signature. When I feel it, I feel half of my own aura and half of†¦ hers. No other creature could have that combination.† â€Å"And you've felt that every time?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Wow. Yet you know nothing else about it.† â€Å"Correct. As I said, I was gone long before it was born.† â€Å"Then†¦ then it would make sense that you really are a target,† I told him, gesturing to the wall. â€Å"Even independent of all this. The nephilim has especial reason to be pissed off at you.† â€Å"Thanks for the unconditional support.† â€Å"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant†¦ the nephilim already have good cause to be angry. Everybody hates them and tries to kill them. And this one†¦ well, people spend thousands of dollars on therapy to get over bad experiences with their fathers. Imagine what kind of neuroses would develop after several thousand years.† â€Å"Are you suggesting a family counseling session, Georgie ?† â€Å"No†¦ no, of course not. Although†¦ I don't know. Have you tried talking to it? Reasoning with it?† I remembered Erik's comment about nephilim just wanting to be left alone. â€Å"Maybe you could work something out.† â€Å"All right, this conversation is growing more absurd, if that's possible.† Jerome turned to Carter. â€Å"You want to take them home now?† â€Å"I'm staying with you,† the angel stated flatly. â€Å"Oh, for Christ's sake, I thought we settled this – â€Å" â€Å"He's right,† I piped up. â€Å"The warning phase is over. I'm safe now.† â€Å"We don't know – â€Å" â€Å"And besides, this wasn't so much about my safety anyway as having Carter keep me from finding out the truth about your family problems. It's too late now, and I'm tired of having a shadow. You keep him, and we'll all sleep easy, even if it is overkill.† â€Å"Eloquently put,† chuckled Carter. Jerome still protested, and we bickered a bit more about it, but in the end, the decision rested in Carter's hands. Jerome had no power to order him around; indeed, if Carter wanted to follow the demon indefinitely, there was nothing Jerome could do, not really. They weren't going to wage any epic battles with each other, no matter how annoyed they currently seemed. Carter did agree to teleport us back, though I suspected it was more of a kind gesture to make sure Cody and I could never find Jerome's place again. After he'd taken the vampire home, Carter transported me to my living room, hesitating before he disappeared again. â€Å"It is better this way, I think,† he told me. â€Å"Me staying with Jerome. I know the nephilim can't be stronger than him†¦ but there's still something weird going on. I'm not convinced you're out of danger either, but whatever's going on with you is something entirely different.† He shrugged. â€Å"I don't know. There are a lot of hard calls here; I wish Jerome would let us get a little outside help. Not too much, of course. Just something. Anything.† â€Å"Don't worry,† I assured him. â€Å"I'll manage. You can't be everywhere at once.† â€Å"Isn't that the truth. I'll have to ask this nephilim how it does it when this is over.† â€Å"You can't question the dead.† â€Å"No,† he agreed grimly. â€Å"You can't.† He turned as if to depart. â€Å"It's weird†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I began slowly. â€Å"The whole idea of Jerome loving someone. And falling because of it.† He gave me one of those canny, creepy smiles. â€Å"Love doesn't make angels fall, Georgina. If anything, love can have quite the opposite effect.† â€Å"So, what? If Jerome fell in love again, he could turn back into an angel?† â€Å"No, no. It's not quite that simple.† Seeing my baffled look, he chuckled and gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. â€Å"Watch out for yourself, Daughter of Lilith. Call if you need help.† â€Å"I will,† I assured him as he blinked out, not that ever actually getting a hold of higher immortals was easy. Jerome could sense if I was hurt, but he was a lot harder to call for a casual chat. I went to bed shortly thereafter, fatigued by everything that had happened, too tired to worry about nephilim attacking me in my sleep. I worked the closing shift tomorrow, and it was my last day before another two days off. I needed the break. I woke up later the next morning, still alive. While walking into the bookstore, I ran into Seth, armed with his laptop, ready for another day of writing. Recalling the dance lesson with him put my nephilim concerns temporarily at bay. â€Å"Got my book?† I asked as he held the door open for me. â€Å"Nope. Got my shirt?† â€Å"Nope. I like the one you're wearing, though.† His themed T-shirt today displayed the logo for the musical Les Miserables. â€Å"My all-time favorite song comes from that.† â€Å"Really?† he asked. â€Å"Which one?† â€Å"‘I Dreamed a Dream.'† â€Å"That's a really depressing song. No wonder you don't want to date.† â€Å"So what's your favorite then?† I had asked Roman my stock question, but not Seth. † ‘Ultraviolet' by U2. You know it?† We approached the espresso counter. Bruce was there, and he started making my mocha before I even ordered. â€Å"I know some of their other stuff, but not that one. What's it about?† â€Å"Love, of course. Like all good songs. The pain of love juxtaposed with its redemptive power. A bit more optimistic than yours.† I remembered Carter's comment from last night. Love doesn't make angels fall. Seth and I sat down to talk, conversation now flowing smoothly between us. Hard to believe there had ever been any awkwardness, I thought. He was so comfortable. Finally, knowing I had to work sometime, I dragged myself away to check on the rest of the staff and then retreat to my office. I only intended to check my e-mail, however; I felt sociable today and wanted to work the floor. Tossing my purse on the desk, I started to sit in my chair when I saw a too-familiar white envelope with my name on it. My breath caught. So much for being off the nephilim's radar. Trembling, I lifted the envelope up, opening it with clumsy fingers. Miss me? I imagine you've been kept pretty busy with your immortal friends, making sure everyone is safe and accounted for. I imagine you've been just as busy with your oh-so-fascinating personal life, barely sparing a thought for me. Cruel, considering all I've done for you. I wonder, though, do you worry just as much about the mortals in your life as you do the immortals? Admittedly, mortal deaths are so much less meaningful. After all, what's fifty less years compared to the centuries of an immortal? Mortals hardly seem worth the fuss, yet you put on a good face of caring for them. But do you really? Or are they just a diversion for the long stretch of your own centuries? What about your boyfriend? Is he another toy, another hobby to pass the time? Does he really mean anything to you? Let's find out. Convince me he does today. You have until the end of your shift to ascertain his safety. You know the rules – keep him in safe places, keep others around him, etc., etc. I'll be with you, watching. Convince me you really care, and I'll spare him. Make me believe. Fail – or involve any of your immortal contacts – and no amount of â€Å"safekeeping† will do him any good. I dropped the note, hands cold. What kind of fucked-up game was this? It made no sense. The nephilim told me in one breath to keep someone safe, yet implied in the next that it didn't matter, that there was no safety. It was stupid, another stirring of the waters, shaking up the status quo just to watch what I'd do. Looking around uneasily, I wondered: Was the nephilim here now? Was Jerome's disgruntled offspring lurking invisibly beside me, smirking at my distress? What should I do? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, just who the hell was my boyfriend anyway?

Alcan Case Four Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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The Developing Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

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Assignment #5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

On Miracles by David Hume - Essay Example Hence Hume dismisses outright any kind of revelatory recounting of miracles. Take say, the example of the resurrection of Christ three days after his death. Though it is an important miracle in Christian theology, it fails the rigorous standards of empiricism that Hume mandates. We only have references to the event in the scriptures, the writing of which happened much later than the event – sometimes centuries later. On top of this, those who witnessed Christ’s resurrection were invariably the faithful, who wished that it were so. A major thrust of Hume’s thesis is that the burden of proof lies heavily upon those claiming miracles. Hume defines a miracle as that event which has defined laws of nature. As a consequence witnesses of miracles are required to bring high credibility to their evidence. But this is easier said than done, as there are inherent mitigating factors. Firstly, since an overwhelming majority of people are religiously inclined and have accepted miracles as acts of God, their psyche would lack the requisite skepticism and objectivity in evaluating a claimed miracle. Individuals do not merely perceive events through their senses but through the lens of their cognitive faculties. Our cognitive faculties are trained and cultivated through our education and exposure to various life experiences. Since there is a great deal of variability among humans in this regard, no two individuals would perceive an event in the same way. Hume also articulates the ‘argument from miracles’.

Location, location, location Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Location, location, location - Essay Example are universal factors that influence the location of a business, including availability of raw materials, transportation costs, land, labor, safety, waste disposal, government regulation, and proximity to market (Pellebarg and Wever, 2008). However, technological developments have made some of these factors less significant in determining the location. For a company that specializes in software, the choice of location would largely depend upon the availability of a skilled labor force, educational resources, and connectivity to the global network, recreational opportunities, and proximity to computer-manufacturing industries, government regulations, and communication system. In North America, the three strategic locations would be the United States (California, Texas, or New York), Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, or Vancouver), and Mexico (Mexico City, Acapulco, or Monterrey). These three locations meet the ideal conditions that a software company requires to operate optimally and become successful (Brun, 2007). The three locations seem to fulfill requirements that make a software company, including close proximity to computer-manufacturing industries and their subsidiaries, available and sound connectivity to the global network, vast educational resources, and a well-endowed communication system that encompasses the globe. The US has numerous educational resources that specialize on software development, include excellent institutions and research centers such as the Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo laboratories. Additionally, the US has a large high-skill labor force that the software company needs. Furthermore, the US is home to the largest computer-manufacturing industries, including Dell Inc headquartered in Texas, Apple Inc headquartered in California, Hewlett-Packard Company subsidiary, and Toshiba America Inc subsidiary, among others (Pellebarg and Wever, 2008). The technological advancement in the country will also be an added advantage for the company. Canada

What were the key issues in India's identity at the end of the Essay

What were the key issues in India's identity at the end of the twentieth century How did they compare with the key issues a century before - Essay Example What is also significant to note that there are other smaller and fragmented groups within the majority population of the country thus making it more difficult to carve out a different and unique identity for all? During last century, India witnessed significant conflict between different groups and identity crisis was one of the main elements of concern for the country. Religious and ethnic conflicts, Hindu caste system as well as developing a unique cultural identity were some of the issues which India dealt with during last century and will probably continue to deal with in future also. This paper will therefore discuss some of the key issues faced by India during last century and how they were different from the India of 19th Century. In a sense this paper will provide a comprehensive analysis of how India dealt with some of its critical issues during twentieth century. Though on paper India is a secular country with no official religion however, almost every area of life is dominated by Hindus as they are in the majority there. India has been ruled by Muslims for hundred of years and it’s because of this reason that the Indian Muslims have a very strong inclination and tendency towards maintaining their separate identity. Over the period of time, different religious and ethnic groups such as Sikhs have been merged with the Hindu majority however, Muslims have probably struggled hard to keep their separate identity. It is because of this reason that the India has remained a religiously volatile country as religious conflicts were common during last century. The ethnic violence in Mumbai during 1990s and the Babri Mosque incidents were some of the glaring examples of India’s fragility in terms of achieving religious harmony and peace. (Mahurkar). Similarly, Hindu majority was at odds with Sikhs and Christian minorities also and there w ere

Close reading and analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Close reading and analyze - Essay Example He tries to equate his love for him with the divine angle, Platonic love as per Greek philosophy, but lacks the support of the prerequisite of that ideal relationship as he not the boy’s mentor. Considering from the point of view of the boy also the love relationship does not pass the test. His attitude negates the practice of Platonic love. His meaningful smile is not the smile of Narcissus. Narcissus of the Greek mythology falls in love with his own image, intently stares his reflection, dies in the process and is reborn as a flower. Aschenbach’s wants to defend his position from the philosophical angle, but in the process reveals the struggle of his inner world. He tries his best to suppress his true feeling of love for Tadzio but his final submission indicates the victory of the Dionysian forces (debauchery, joy and abandon) in his mind. He is vocal about his love for Tadzio and pronounces the words â€Å"I love you† by himself, and not in the presence of Tadzio. Evil can overpower an individual at the most unsuspected moment and one’s spiritual pursuit needs to be ever vigilant. What is to be noted in this chapter is the ironic tone of narration. W ith the mention of the mythical characters, an atmosphere is created pointing towards universality of characters. Finally, Thomas Mann hints at the ill-fated love of

Discussion Board Reply Apple Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Board Reply Apple - Assignment Example Competitor organisations have gained significantly from focusing their production and selling products to these markets (Sher & Ramstad, 2013). Apple continues to limit its operations to the developed countries, but focusing on the other regions would also provide a platform for increasing the market share for the company (Reeves & Deimler, 2011). The company needs to develop a long term plan for enhancing competition and ensuring continued success of the company products. With many competitors emerging within the market, the industry boundaries continue to blur, necessitating development of effective strategies to maintain Apple’s competitive advantage. While maintaining its differentiated, premium price strategy, Apple should also consider low-price, low margin approach for the emerging markets for sustainable competition (Reeves & Deimler, 2011). Despite the supply chain management approach for the company having ensured the effectiveness in maintaining a competitive advantage, there is need to integrate all the processes within the company to ensure the smooth operations in the supply of raw materials (Keller & Price, 2011). Reeves, M., & Deimler, M. (2011). Adaptability: The new competitive advantage. , 2011. Harvard Business Review2, 135–141. Retrieved from

Bermuda Triangle Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Bermuda Triangle - Research Paper Example In this essay, we shall explain the mystery by examining the theories that have been postulated then give a conclusion. The Bermuda Triangle, also popularly referred to as the Devil’s Triangle, is an area in the Atlantic Ocean where it is believed several airplanes, ships, and other vessels have vanished without probable cause or explanation. Therefore, the disappearances are believed to be mysterious. The Bermuda Triangle’s specific location is the North western part of the vast Atlantic Ocean (Gibbs, 3). The area covering the triangle is a large area which is between the Puerto Rico, Florida, and Bermuda. It is one of the busiest sea routes frequently used by fishing vessels, cruise ships and other freight vessels destined to sea ports in Europe, North America, South America and the Caribbean Islands. Besides being a busy shipping lane, the triangle is also a busy route for both private and commercial airplanes. In a study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature whose main objective was to identify areas at sea that were most dangerous for shipping crew, the Bermuda Triangle was n ot included in the top ten list (McKinnon and Scott-Ireton, 193). The United States Coast Guard also has also distanced itself from the claims and theories offered to explain its mystery. It is prudent that to examine the theories that have been advanced to explain the mystery surrounding the Bermuda Triangle. There are several theories that have been suggested. However, there exist three major ones. The first theory is that the area in the Bermuda Triangle has magnetic properties which deviate from the norm and are thus unusual. This theory claims that compasses in ships plying the shipping lane across the Bermuda fail to indicate the true north and actually go off while within the triangle. This causes the ships to lose direction and disappear. However, the US Coast Guard, while indicating that it is

Health maintenance organizations Essay Example for Free

Health maintenance organizations Essay There are nine private payer plans which include preferred provider organizations (PPO), health maintenance organizations (HMO), point of service (POS). Indemnity plans cost the most for employees and they usually have to choose a PPO plan. The new consumer driven health plan (CDHP) which a lot of people are picking, it has a high deductible combined with a funding option of some type. All of the plans have unique features for coverage of services and financial responsibility. PPO plans are the most popular plan that doctors, clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies contract with. One of the reasons that the PPO plans are so popular is because they pay the doctors a discounted fee for service based on their fee schedule. PPO plans offer a low premium that has a higher deductible or the other option is a high premium with a lower deductible. The patients are responsible to pay a copayment, and there is also a yearly deductible that the patient has to pay out of pocket. If a patient sees a doctor outside of the network without a referral, the plan will pay less and the patient is responsible for the remainder of the fee. Patients have their choice of providers, but if the patient goes to a out-of-network provider it will cost more. One thing to remember though is that all non-emergency services require pre-authorization. With HMO plans there is a list of providers that the patient can only go to, if they go to a doctor that is not in the list of providers they will have to pay extra. The only way that a patient should see a provider out of the network is if it is an emergency. HMO’s have an annual premium and a copayment that is due at the time of service. The main services the HMO’s cover is preventive and wellness checks and disease management. However, in order for complete coverage the enrollees must see a doctor that offers an HMO plan. The providers manage the care and referrals are required, low payments, ad this plan does cover preventative care. The indemnity plan allows the patient to see any physician but there are preauthorization’s required for some of the procedures. Their features are higher costs, there are deductibles, coinsurance payments, and preventative care is not usually covered. Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHP) has two elements that are included in this plan. One being a health plan, which is normally a PPO. This plan has a higher deductible and lower premium. Second is the special savings account which is used to pay medical bills before deductible is met. Point of service (POS) is similar to an HMO plan; specifically called an open HMO. This plan reduces restrictions, allowing members to choose providers outside of the HMO. However, a penalty fee is charged.

Individual And Situational Factors On Workplace Deviance Psychology Essay

Individual And Situational Factors On Workplace Deviance Psychology Essay Workplace deviance has emerged as a major area of attention among human resource management and organizational behavior researchers (Bennett Robinson, 2000, 2003; Griffin, OLeary-Kelly Collins). It is regularly performed in the workplace by a spectrum of employees ranging from blue collar employees, in both profit and non-profit organisation to white collar employees (Giacalone and Greenberg, 1997). In the perspective of Bennett and Robinsons (2003), organizational deviance research contends a broader conceptualization of deviance which has occurred over the last ten years and an agreement on a definition has been difficult (Kidwell et al, 2005). It has spawned a variety of concepts and related definitions. For example, in Robinson and Bennett (1995), they defined workplace deviance as voluntary behavior of organizational members that violates significant organizational norms, and in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization and/or its members (p. 556), and this definition has been adopted by other organizational research too such as Lee Allen, 2002; Martinko, Gundlach and Douglas, 2002; and Sackett, 2002; Mount, Ilies and Johnson, 2006). Other researchers studied workplace deviance also use different distinct terminology such as retaliation (Skarlicki and Foldger, 1997), aggression (Douglas and Martinko, 2001; Fox Spector, 1999; Neuman Baron, 1997; OLeary-Kelly, Griffin, Glew, 1996), revenge (Bies, Tripp, Kramer, 1997), counterproductive behavior (Spector et al, 2005 and Sackett, 2002), antisocial behaviour (Giacolone Greenberg 1997), dysfunctional behaviour and organizational misbehaviour (Vardi Weitz, 2003). Conceptually, workplace deviance is generally used to describe specific incidences of deviant behaviour in the workplace; therefore, the actions of individual employees serve as the basic unit of analysis (Robinson Greenberg, 1998). For this research the term workplace deviance by Robinson and Bennet (1995) will be use because it appears as one of the popular terms among researchers nowadays in this area. This includes local researcher for example Faridahwati (2003), Samsuddin and Rahman (2006) and Abdul Rahman (2008) who used this terminology. Behaviors labeled deviant include unsafe work practices, drug abuse, stealing, dishonesty, volitional absenteeism, alcohol abuse, destruction of an organizations property (Griffin OLeary-Kelly, 2004), employee theft, withholding effort, violence, insubordination, sabotage, whistle-blowing, poor attendance, misuse of information, alcohol use and abuse, gambling, inappropriate internet use, littering (Mount, Ilies and Johnson, 2006) and harassment (Jixia Yang, 2008). In addition, with technology advancement and internet in the workplaces, browsing the web and checking personal emails are some of the diversity of workplace deviance acts (Nguyen, 2008). Scholars have estimated that up to 75 percent (Harper, 1990), 85 percent (Harris and Ogbonna, 2002), and 95 percent (Slora, 1991) of employee routinely behave in a manner that can be described as deviance (cited in Harris and Ogbonna, 2006). Over the past decade, there has been an increase in attention to workplace deviance including violence, stealing, dishonesty, volitional absenteeism, drug and alcohol abuse many of which have been addressed in this special issue. In Malaysia, the evidence of workplace deviance had begin to soar. KPMG Fraud Survey 2004 (Ngui, 2005) shows 83% of Malaysian public and private limited companies have experienced fraud which is also a form of workplace deviance. This is an increase of 33% from 2002 survey. Another survey by Pricewaterhouse Coopers Global Economic Crime Survey 2005 (Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2006) reveals that 23% out of 100 Malaysian large companies surveyed have been subjected to fraud, and 70% of the cases reported was committed by employees (Zauwiyah and Mariati, 2008). Other evidence in Malaysia from the public media involve dishonesty and poor work attitude cases (New Strait Times, 2005), fraudulence, (Utusan Malaysia, 2004), underperformed and lazy (Star, October 2009) and the issue of fake medical certificate which these behaviors are labeled under forms of workplace deviance (Utusan Malaysia, 2003 cited from Abdul Rahman and Aizat, 2008). Other forms of deviance including corruption (New Stra its Times, 2009) which is also a growing problem in Malaysia that highly involves employees in the public sector. For example base on a research done by Global Corruption Barometer which was announced by the Transparency International indicates that corruption percentage is high among employees in the public sectors (Berita Harian, June 2009). Deviance act was also reported to the police and 27 disciplinary cases involving the public sector were reported by the Public Service Department (Abdul Rahman, 2008). In the Malaysian Current Law journal from 2000 until 2005 also reported a review of dismissal cases from the Malaysian Industrial Relations Department (Abdul Rahman, 2008). Samsuddin and Rahman (2006) also had highlighted the presence of workplace deviance in Malaysia. Substance abuse for example also becomes a significant problem among public and private organizations in Malaysia. The National Drug Agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Internal Affairs registered a total of 250,045 drug addicts in government and private sectors between January 1995 and February 2005 (Abdul Rahman, 2008). Other forms of deviance behavior including sabotage, threatening a pay cut, antagonising and showing disrespect of an employees religious belief was also reported to the Labour Deparment (Faridahwati, 2004). Whether the deviance is explicit or subconscious, it has negative consequences for the entity and affiliates. It affect organizational performance, safety and health of the employees (Kidwell and Kochanowski, 2005) and enormous costs associated with such behavior (Peterson, 2002). For example, nearly 95 percent of all companies in United States reported some deviance-related experience within their respective organizations (Henle et al., 2005) and the estimated impact of widespread workplace deviance has also been reported to be $50 billion annually on the United States economy (Henle et al., 2005b). It is continue to soar out of control with nearly 95 percent of all companies reporting some deviance-related experience within their respective organizations (Case, 2000; Henle et al., 2005). Infact, employee theft and fraud is the fastest growing type of crime in the United States (Coffin, 2003) Researchers have addressed the consequences of deviant behaviours in some detail. It is reported that workplace deviance gives a financial impact on the organizations and victims of workplace deviance are more likely to suffer from stress-related problems and show a relatively decreased productivity, lost work time and a relatively high turnover rate (Henle et al., 2005). The impact of workplace deviance can also be translated into turnover, lower productivity, employee morale, higher rates of absenteeism and turnover (Hoel, Einarsen, and Cooper, 2003; Keashly and Jagatic, 2003). Therefore, given the growing prevalence of detrimental behaviors and the associated costs, it is beneficial to organizations and researchers to determine which variables contribute to such behavior, or identify potential factors that can predict the occurrence of various types of workplace deviance. Thus, there is great incentive, financial and otherwise, for organizations to prevent and discourage any negative workplace deviance within their walls. For these reasons, it is a great interest in understanding the antecedents of workplace deviance (Hogan and Hogan, 1989; Robinson and Greenberg, 1998; Henle, 2005; Mount 2006). Base on the findings of past empirical research it shows that certain factors are vulnerable to deviant behaviors by employees such as job stressors (e.g.. Fox et al, 2001), organizational frustration, (e.g., Spector, 1975), lack of control, over the work environment (e.g., Bennett, 1998), weak sanctions for rule violations (e.g., Hollinger and Cjiark, 1983), and organizational changes such as downsizing (e.g.Baron and Neuman, 1996). Some researchers had suggested that situational or organizational factors might be responsible for workplace deviance. Appelbaum et al. (2005) suggested that operational environment rather than individual personality characteristics is a good predictor of employees engaging in negative deviant workplace behavior. This is opined by Henle (2005) that employees will commit deviant behavior in the organization depending on the situational environment in workplace regardless of their individual characteristics. However, Martinko (2002) suggested that individu al difference variables is an important antecedent to workplace deviance because of the influence these individual differences are likely to have on attribution process. Previous research also has demonstrated that there are meaningful linkages between employees individual characteristics and deviant behavior at work (e.g., BennettRobinson, 2003; Dalal, 2005; Douglas Martinko, 2001; Salgado, 2002). However, Robinson and Greenberg (1998) point out that no clear picture emerges of a deviant personality type and that personality traits seem to only account for a small percentage of the variance in predicting deviant behaviour (Browing, 2008). Previous empirical research however did demonstrated that certain organizational factors also make companies more vulnerable to deviant behaviors by employees such as joh stressors (e.g.. Fox et al, 2001), organizational frustration (e.g., Spector, 1975), lack of control over the work environment (e.g., Bennett, 1998), weak sanctions for rule violations (e.g., Hollinger and C;iark, 1983), and organizational chauges such as downsizing (e.g.Baron and Neuman, 1996). Thus, base on this perspective, only indicates that deviant acts at work depending on the work environment regardless of their individual characteristics. Base on various researchers perspective, there has been a controversial either individual characteristics or situational environment of the organization contributes to workplace deviance. In fact, there are also other researchers that suggested that various antecedents of workplace deviance from situational and individual difference. There are findings indicated that there are meaningful linkage between personality characteristics and workplace deviance (e.g., Bennett and Robinson, 2003; Dalal, 2005; Douglas and Martinko, 2001; Salgado, 2002). This issue had been continue to be controversial and there had been little disagreement on the antecedent correlated to workplace deviance and consensus regarding which situational and individual differences correlated to workplace deviance. However, Colbert et al. (2004); Henle (2005) suggested that future research should identify both situation and person-based explanations of workplace deviance so that organizations could predict and ultimately, minimize the occurrence of workplace deviance. Even, more than a decade, apparently still very few studies have assessed both personal and organizational correlates (actual or self-reported) workplace deviance (Lefkowitz, 2009). In Malaysia itself, studies on workplace deviance had been done previously by Shamsudin (2003), Faridahwati (2004), Razali (2005), Radzi and Din (2005), Sien (2006) and Abdul Rahman (2008). Various studies had been done using various units of analysis, for example, studies on workplace deviance done by Faridahwati (2004), Samsuddin (2003) and Sien use hotel employees as sample, Radzi and Din (2005) in a high technology multinational companies in the northern region, Razali (2005) focus on production workers in Penang and Abdul Rahman (2008) use production employees in manufacturing companies in various states in Malaysia. Base on this comparison, the existing local studies however fall short using public sector employees as unit of analysis. 2.0 Problem Statement There is a growing problem of workplace deviance in the workplace that should not be ignored. Evidence from newspapers and other public media indicates various forms of workplace deviance exists in Malaysia such cases of dishonesty, poor work attitudes, fraudulence, and the issue of fake medical certificate (Abdul Rahman, 2008). A number of regional Labour Department in Malaysia also had indicated that at least twenty to 30 cases in a month have been reported by employees and employers. Findings from Faridahwati (2003) revealed that saying hurtful things and making fun of someone at work stands out to be common forms of deviance act in workplace. In addition, the acts of deviance behavior at workplace had been documented increase in the number of reported incidents in workplace (Faridahwati, 2004). For example, corruption (Utusan online, October, 2009), theft, sabotage, harassment, cursed someone at work and publicly being embarrassed at workplace (Kosmo, October 2009), putting little effort at work (Utusan, August 2009), taking breaks during office hours which had become a culture among public sector employees (Arkib, 2008). All these behaviors are various forms of deviant behavior that had been reported by published media in public sectors. Apparently, there are proofs of problems rooted in the poor performance among the public sector employees (Johari et al., 2009). This is supported by Siddique (2006), who claimed that public service agencies in Malaysia has long been criticized for its inflexibility, ineffective accountability, and poor performance among the officials. The bleak picture is evident when the Malaysian Public Service has recorded 58 percent increase in formal complaints from the public (Siddique, 2006). In 2005, a total of 2,707 complaints were received with regard to the public service poor performance, such as delays in service provision, unfair actions/decisions of the administrators, abuse of power, misconduct of the officials, and failure to enforce rules which all these are forms of deviant behaviors.. Added to this, the chief secretary of the Malaysian government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan (2009) mentioned that the number of disciplinary cases against civil servants is on the rise. For example, there were 3,383 such cases last year compared with 2,159 in year 2007. Such form of deviant cases being reported are absenteeism, tardiness and sexual harassment. This is also opined by Abdul Rahman (2008) that disciplinary cases involving employees in the public sector had been highly reported. Absenteeism which also a form of workplace deviance had become a significant issue where there are cases of employees in public sectors did not turn up for work for almost three months without the knowledge of their supervisors and employers (Ministry of Human Resource, 2009). A report from January till September 2009 indicated that 129 public employees in Selangor were absent without reason or permission and 49% of the 129 public sector employees are from the support staff level (Bernama, 13 Septe mber, 2009). This was also supported by Cuepecs Secretary, Ahmad Shah (2009) that most of them are in the category of supporting staff and is station outside the office. It also had been reported that absenteeism had been the four highest principal of offense cases which 7,688 cases or 55 percent, followed by code of conduct and prohibition case, court cases and abuse or dangerous drug ownership (Utusan, June 2007). Apart from the above, there has been an increase of 36.2% offense cases from public sector employees at various levels in year 2009 and 3,383 offense cases are committed compared to 2,159 cases in year 2007 (Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, Utusan dated October, 2009). Added to this, rules violation cases involve officers from the public service were reported to be increasing each year and as many as 2,955 in year 2006 compared to 1,943 at 2002 (Utusan, June 2008). Vardi and Weitz (2004) stated that there are two major costs that come with workplace deviance , financial costs (e.g., destruction of organizational property, violation of laws, codes and regulations, etc.) and social costs (e.g., destructive political behaviors, harassment, and sustained suboptimal performance) (Griffin OLeary-Kelly, 2004). Thus, the pervasiveness of workplace deviance in public sector made it an important area to study. Apart from the above, despite the increasing forms of workplace deviance reported in the public sector, there had been little studies or no attention to investigate workplace deviance in the perspective of public sector employees. In fact, workplace deviance had been received less attention among organizational scholars (Vardi and Weist, 2004; Abdul Rahim and Abdul Rahman, 2008). 3.0 Research Objectives The purpose of this study is to contributed to the workplace deviance literature by adopting an interaction approach to empirically examine how both person- and situation-based variables interact to explain workplace deviance. The research objectives are as follows: i) To identify typical forms of workplace deviance that exists in the public sector. ii) To investigate the determinants of workplace deviance that exists in the public sector. iii) To measure workplace deviance behavior in the public sector. iv) To determine whether individual variables (gender, negative affectivity, trait anger) influence workplace deviance in the public sector. v) To determine whether situational variables (job sastisfaction, work group norms and organizational justice) influence workplace deviance in the public sectors. 4.0 Significance contribution This research makes contributions to both the theory and practice of management. Although scholars have recognized that deviance can be socially constructed, there has been a death of research that has specifically addressed this issue especially in the perspective of public sector employees. Further to this, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the workplace deviance literature by adopting an interactional approach to empirically examine how both individual-and situation-based variables interact to explain workplace deviance. On the implication, it benefits the superiors and managers. This study will contribute to a better understanding on deviant behaviors in the workplace and contributed to the literature examining complex antecedents of workplace deviance. Furthermore, there is paucity for empirical study of workplace deviance especially in the context of public sector in Malaysia. Also, looking at the perspective of academic level, the result of this study will give more insight in the contribution and development of knowledge in the areas of human resource management and public administration concerning workplace deviance. It is also expected that the result from this proposed study will assist policy makers and practitioners to reduce the occurrences of workplace deviance issues related to organizational and individual factors. By understanding, the factors that influence workplace deviance, the government would also in a better position to plan and implement complementary and an integrated of publi c administration policies and practices to enhance the effectiveness of the employees in the public sector thus reduce the existence of workplace deviance. The result of the study is also expected to assist government sectors to use the information from the study to implement training and development related to this issue. It will also contribute to all fields which in turn enhance the theoretical and academic integration of several branches (organization behavior and human resource management) and their mother field of public administration. Finally, the most ultimate objective is to reduce workplace deviance which contributes tangible and intangible costs to the victims and organization. 5.0 Scope of study This study is an explanatory in nature and adopts a cross-sectional design. This study will targeted the support staff as sample. Support staff was chosen as it had been reported in the media that 10,438 civil servants had been given disciplinary action from year 2003 till 2006 and 92 percent are from the support staff (Utusan, June 2007). Moreover, it has been suggested that those who have the lower status may be the most prone to exhibiting deviant behavior (e.g., Gilligan, 1996; Wicklund Gollwitzer, 1982). Employees from the Royal Malaysian Custom department will be chosen as sample as this department interact and liaise widely with various customers. The study will fill the gap in terms of providing research findings that integrate the respondents perception on situation variables (job satisfaction, workgroup norms and organizational justice) and individual variables (Gender, trait anger and negative affectivity) which all were conceptualize as independent variables. The focus of this study is to determine the individual and situational factors of workplace deviance in a public organization. 6.0 Operational Definition: Workplace Deviance: Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and in so doing threatens the well-being of an organization, its members, or both. This definition includes non serious (e.g. tardiness) as well as more serious types of workpalce deviance (e.g. theft of cash and harassment) (Robinson and Bennet, 1995). Trait Anger: Trait anger is described as a disposition to experience state anger overtime and context overtime (Speilberger, 1996). Negative affectivity: Negative affectivity reflects the extent to which individuals experience distressing emotions such as hostility, fear, and anxiety (Watson Clark, 1984). Job satisfaction: Job satisfaction reveals the degree to which an employee is content with their job as a whole and encompasses multiple aspects of ones job ranging from the work itself, the quality of interpersonal relationships, compensation and career advancement opportunities (Bruck, Allen Spector, 2002). Work Group Norms: Group Norms are informal rules that group adopts to regulate and regularize group members behavior (Fieldman, 1984). Organizational injustice: Three types of fairness perceptions: distributive, procedural, and interactional injustice. Judgements concerning distributive revolve around the employees evaluations of outcome fairness, that is, whether the individual has received a fair share of rewards given his or her relative contribution to a societal exchange (Adam, 1965). Distributive injustice typically refers to fairness evaluations regarding work outcomes such as pay, benefits, promotions, and so on. Procedural injustice includes judgments about the processes and procedures used to make decisions and to determine ones outcome (Greenberg, 1990, Lind Tyler, 1988). Chapter 2 Review of Literature 2.0 Introduction A large body of literature on the topics of workplace deviance and its antecedents provides will be reviewed in this chapter. An extensive search process was conducted by utilizing numerous database. This chapter will provide contemporary literature regarding workplace deviance as discussed in the previous chapter. 2.1 Workplace deviance Researchers have given these behaviors many different names including workplace deviance (Bennett and Robinson, 2003), counterproductive behavior (Mangione and Quinn, 1975), and antisocial behavior (Giacolone and Greenberg, 1997). In essence, behavior is deemed deviant when an organizations customs, policies, or internal regulations are violated by an individual or a group that may jeopardize the well-being of the organization or its citizens (Robinson and Bennett, 1995). This proposed study will used the definition of workplace deviance by Robinson and Bennett (1995) as voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and in so doing threatens the well-being of an organization, its members, or both. Organizational norms in this definition assume a managerial orientation about expectations of employee behaviors without excluding adoption of this perspective by other employees. This definition also focuses on violations of norms that apply across a broad spectrum of employees, rather than violations of norms around specific duties. Employee deviance, then, consists of acts that violate norms encouraging respect for organizational property and norms that encourage respect for other individuals. Workplace deviance ranges from a milder forms, such as rudeness and tardiness, to more extreme forms, such as theft, workplace deviance is considered part of the performance domain (Rotundo Sackett, 2002; Sackett, 2002; Viswesvaran Ones, 2000). .Behaviors that have been identified as deviant in previous research include subtle expressions of rebellion (e.g., gossiping, taking unapproved breaks), as well as more aggressive actions (e.g., theft, verbal abuse; Robinson Bennett, 1995). Keashly, Trott, and MacLean (1994), in their study of abusive behavior in the workplace which is also a form of workplace deviance found that, found that all participants had experienced at least one incident of nonsexual, nonphysical abusive behavior. Relatedly, 32% of participants in Bjorkqvist, Osterman, and Hjelt-Backs (1994) study of harassment (also one of the forms of deviance) at work reported that they had observed others being mistreated. Workplace deviance can be divided further into two subcategories (Bennett Robinson, 2000; Robinson Bennett, 1995). The first category, referred to as interpersonal deviance, consists of acts that inflict harm upon individuals (e.g., verbal harassment, assault, spreading rumors). Organizational deviance is defined as acts directed against the company or its systems (e.g., sabotaging equipment, theft, wasting resources). The prevalence and costs of deviance in the workplace make its study imperative (Robinson and Lawrence, 2007). Psychological reactions to workplace deviance include feelings of depression and anxiety (Bjorkvist et al., 1994). Psychosocial problems (Kaukiainen, Salmivalli, Bjorkqvist, Osterman, Lahtinen, Kostamo, Lagerspetz, 2001); emotional exhaustion (OBrien Vandello, 2005; Tepper, 2000); life dissatisfaction (Tepper, 2000); and decrements in emotional well-being (LeBlanc Kelloway, 2002; Schat Kelloway, 2000), self-esteem, and self-confidence (Price Spratlen, 1995) are other psychological strains. Work-related psychological reactions are job dissatisfaction, work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict (Tepper, 2000), and decrements. in job-related affect (Schat Kelloway, 2003), normative commitment, and affective commitment (Tepper, 2000). Physical reactions include physical symptoms (Kaukiainen et al., 2001) and decrements in psychosomatic well-being (LeBlanc Kelloway, 2 002; Schat Kelloway, 2003). Due to the impact, workplace deviance has increasingly received researchers attention, in part because of the alarming statistics indicating its pervasiveness in the workplace. The financial and non financial costs associated with workplace deviance warrant attention from both researchers and practitioners. Much research attention has been given to the damaging effects of workplace deviance within organizations. However, as yet, little research has been conducted to try to understand whether and how the presence of workplace deviance is associated with a deterioration in public administration. Research regarding workplace deviance often investigates personality (e.g., Douglas and Martinko, 2001; Salgado, 2002) or situational (e.g. Greenhcrg, 1990; Skarlicki and Folger, 1997) predictors while neglecting the interaction between the personality and situational variables. Consistent with other research areas and calls to examine the joint influences of situational and individual variables on deviant workplace behavior (Sackett DeVore, 2001), some researchers have begun to empirically investigate interactionist hypotheses in the deviance literature (e.g., Colbert, Mount, Harter, Witt, Barrick; 2004, Henle, 2005). Colbert et al. (2004) noted that future research should examine the joint relationship of perceptions of the work situation and personality with both organizational and interpersonal deviance. As suggested by Mickaulay (2001) that understanding the independent effects of situational and individual variables may lead to more effective control of workplace deviance. Th erefore, this proposed research will look into the situation and personality as well as the interaction between the two as empirical research on this dynamic between the individual and situation has been limited (Mickaulay, 2001). 2.2 Individual and situational factors of workplace deviance Workplace deviance is influenced by situational as well as individual factors (Colbert et al., 2004; Douglas Martinko, 2001; Marcus Schuler, 2004). Individual factors may have a direct effect on workplace deviance. For example, Douglas and Martinko found that a combination of individual difference measures (e.g., trait anger, attribution style, and self-control) accounted for 62% of variance in self-reported workplace aggression which is also a form of workplace deviance (Tang et al., 2008). Other individual characteristics are related to workplace deviance (e.g., conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability; Colbert et al., 2004). Workplace deviance is also influenced by situational as well as individual factors (Colbert et al., 2004; Douglas Martinko, 2001; Marcus Schuler, 2004). Individual factors may have a direct effect on workplace deviance. .For example, Skarlicki et al. (1999) found that negative affectivity interacted with perceptions of distributive and interactional justice in the prediction of retaliatory behaviors. When situational factors investigate deviant behaviors, individual factors may amplify this effect (as in the case of trait anger; Hepworth Towler, 2004) (as in the case of self-control; Brown et al., 2005). Base on the above perspective on individual and situational variables towards workplace deviance, this study contributed to the workplace deviance literature by examining the importance of situation- and person-based explanations in addition to their interactions. Although many have advocated for an interactional approach to studying deviant work behaviors, few studies have done so (Henle, 2005). The organizational and social psychology literature demonstrate that individual differences constitute an important explanation for workplace deviance. However, it appears that workplace deviance cannot be attributed to individual traits alone. Langton et al. (2006) also assert that no single factor or theory that can account for each and every occurrence. For example, even an employee working in the same company and having the same demographic characteristics, are not both necessarily going to commit workplace deviants act. As such, Langton (2006) opined that there must be internal traits that predispose a worker to workplace deviance. It is also more likely that deviant behavior may be best predicted based on a combination of individual variables and the situational nature of the workplace situation (Peterson, 2002). For this research, individual variables (gender, trait anger and self control) and situational variables (job satisfaction, stress (work stress and general life stress ), work group norms and perceive justice) will be used as independent variables for this study. 2.3 Individual variables 2.3.1 Gender Various researchers had indicated that male tend to be more deviant behavior at work (Baron et al., 1999), absenteeism (Johns, 1997), theft (Hollinger and Clark, 1983), substance abuse (Hollinger, 1988), and vandalism (DeMore et al., 1988). Researchers also

Microbial Contamination on Toothbrush Storage

Microbial Contamination on Toothbrush Storage The study of microbial contamination on storing a toothbrush in a bathroom with a toilet Abstract Aims: To examine the microbial contamination of storing a toothbrush in the bathroom with a toilet among the Colony Forming Unit (CFU) of microbial groups. Methods and Results: The results are analyzed by the counting of CFU of agar plates Conclusion: The toothbrush storing in a bathroom with a toilet or without toilet is being contaminated and it is a bad place for storage Introduction Escherichia coli (E.coli) is recognized as a coliform bacterium which is gram negative, anaerobically developed and shaped like a rod. It is generally found in the intestine of warm-blooded animals such as humans. In addition, E.coli is able to discharge into the environment with fecal substance under airborne condition especially by the flushing of toilet and the bacteria can grow numerously in fresh fecal substances aerobically for short periods of time. The bacterial aerosols by the flushing can move as far as six to eight feet away from the toilet. A humid, warm surface permit more bacteria to grow and the bristles of the toothbrush would increase the surface area for microbial adhesion, hence, the fecal-oral transmission can be used as a major route via which pathogenic strain of bacteria to bring into oral diseases. Apparently, the occurrence of fecal coliforms in water is not straightforwardly harmful and does not essentially express the presence of feces (Doyle, M. P., and M. C. Erickson. 2006). Five types of plates were used with the microbial groups in this experiment. Chocolate blood agar, CBA, is an unselective and a medium with enriched development used for fastidious bacterial isolation.[1][2][3] It is a alternative of the blood agar plate which contains red blood cells lysed by moderate heating to 80  °C. Reasoners 2A agar, R2A, is used for the isolation of heterotrophic bacteria from treated drinkable water (Sandle, T, 2004). These bacteria is likely to grow slowly and would rapidly be restrained by speedy-growing species on a rich medium. Diagnostics Pseudomonas Isolation Agar, PYO, is used for the isolation and differentiation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa selectively by raising the pyocyanin production. Pyocyanin production is indicated as a bluish-green, water-soluble pigment that gives a greenish color into the media (Bodey, G.D., et al., 1989). Malt Extract Agar, ME, is used for the cultivation and isolation of yeasts and molds by suitable nutrient supply (7). The pH is modified to nearly 5.5 for upgrading the fungi growth and to lightly hinder bacterial growth which usually determined as environmental contaminants.(6) Lauryl Sulfate Broth, LTA, is used for the isolation of coliforms in water and foods. The coliform groups involves aerobic and facultative anaerobic, gram-negative and the bacilli without spores which is able to progress the fermentation of lactose and generate acid and gas at 35 °C. Additionally the LTA44 °C makes faecal coliforms to be enumerated and the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate demonstrates excelle nt inhibition of organisms except the coliforms. The technique of spreading plates is used for the isolation and enumeration of microorganisms in a mixed culture by even allocation. This method can measure the bacteria easier by using a sterilized spreader and applying a small quantity of bacteria suspension on the surface of plate. The plate is required to be dry before incubation so the bacteria can be absorbed into the agar rapidly. The plate counting approximate the amount of cells depend on the capability to produce colonies under particular states of nutrient medium, temperature and time. The counting of CFU believes that every colonies is aggregate and observed by a single viable cell.[1] Moreover, CFU/mL of the original suspension is figured out mathematically and then factored in the quantity plated and the dilution factor. This study aims to examine the microbiological contamination of toothbrush to prove whether a bathroom with a toilet is a good place to store a toothbrush or not. Material and methods Sample collections and suspensions preparation of samples Group 1, Stored normally at the sink in a bathroom which contained a toilet situated 0.5 2 m away from the sink. Group 2, not stored near a toilet. Brush either stored in bedroom or in bathroom devoid of toilet. The samples of plaque, toothbrush, sink and tap water were collected by respective sterile method. The plaque sample was put into a 2.5ml Ringers solution and sonicated for 10 minutes. Then the weight of plaque sample is determined by weighing the bijou bottle and the toothpick is removed by aseptic techniques. The toothbrush sample is put into the 10ml Ringers solution into a Universal bottle and the toothbrush head is cut and removed aseptically. The swab originated from 2 x 2 cm square of the sink sample is put into 2.5 Ringers solution of the bijou bottle and is vortexed for approximately 3 minutes. Then the swab is taken out by sterile techniques and the suspension is ensured to squeeze out of the swab. The sample of tap water is put into the 15ml of sterile tube. 10-fold dilutions and plates spreading Each of the samples were processed with orders of plaque, toothbrush, sink and tap water. Different dilutions of samples are prepared by the 10-fold dilutions expect the tap water samples. 0.5ml of undiluted original suspension (100) is removed and inoculated into 4.5 ml of another Ringers solution aseptically and mixed well to be a 10-1 dilution. All the samples are prepared down to 10-5dilution. Four plates of CBA, R2A, ME and two plates of PYO, LTA37 and LTA44 of each samples were collected and labelled. For the plaque sample, 2 PYO, 2 LTA37 and 2 LTA44 plates with 100, 2ME plates with 10-1, 2ME plates with 10-2, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-4, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-5 were inoculated. For the toothbrush sample, 2 PYO, 2 ME, 2 LTA37 and 2 LTA44 with 100, 2 ME plates with 10-1, 2 R2A with 10-2, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-3, 2 CBA plates with 10-4 were inoculated. For the sink sample, 2 PYO, 2 LTA37 and 2 LTA44 plates with 100, 2 ME plates with 10-1, 2 ME and 2 R2A plates with 10-2, 2 CBA and 2 R2A plates with 10-3, 2 CBA plates with 10-4 were inoculated. For the tap water sample, all 18 plates were inoculated with 100 undilutedsuspension. 0.2ml of relative dilutions were spread across the surface of the agar plates with aseptic methods. All the plates were allowed to dry before inoculation. 2 LTA44 plates were put in the incubator with 44„ƒ, 2 PYO pla tes, 2 LTA37 and 4 CBA plates were put in the incubator with 37„ƒ, 4 R2A and 4 ME plates were put in the incubator with 25„ƒ (United States Pharmacopeia, 2015). Data collection The inoculated plates were collected and colonies were counted to determine the Colony Forming Units (CFU) by multiplying the average number of colonies by 5 to convert from 0.2ml to 1ml and is multiplied by the dilution factor. The best number of colonies (30-60 colonies) were counted for the plates which have two dilutions plated onto them. The CFU was calculated as the CFU ml-1 100 suspension and needed subsequent conversions except for the tap water sample. For the plaque, CFU ml-1 100 suspension was multiplied by 2.5 and divided by the weight of plaque to determine the CFU g-1 in 2.5ml bijou bottle. For the toothbrush, CFU ml-1 100 suspension was multiplied by 10 to determine the CFU head-1 in the 10ml Universal bottle. For the sink surface, CFU ml-1 100 suspension was multiplied by 2.5 and divided by 4 to determine the CFU cm-2 in the 2.5ml bijou bottle from a 4cm2 square. Results Mean CFUs per unit with SD : a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values.[1] A low standard deviation indicates that the data points tend to be close to the mean (also called the expected value) of the set, while a high standard deviation indicates that the data points are spread out over a wider range of values. Average with SD (Plaque CFUs per gram) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 4.16+ 12 x 108 4.71 + 16 x 108 R2A 1.2 + 3.41 x 108 1.96 + 3.55 x 108 PYO 8.34+ 23.5 x 102 7.41 + 38.5 x 107 LTA37 4.7 + 23.4 x 102 8.49 + 4.33 x 103 LTA44 0 2.55 + 13.2 x 102 ME(yeasts) 3.35 + 8.78 x 104 9.51 + 49.2 x 105 ME (fil fungi) 1.72 + 6.2 x 104 2.95 + 5.71 x 103 Average with SD (toothbrush CFUs per head) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 1.92 +3.52 x 106 1.51 +5.76 x 107 R2A 2.35 +5.71 x 106 1.12 +4.60 x 107 PYO 1.27 +4.07 x104 2.78 +14.4 x 108 LTA37 1.84 +5.94 x104 2.54 +12.9 x 106 LTA44 1.18 +5.88 x 104 4.85 +24 x 104 ME(yeasts) 2.10 +9.78 x 104 3 +13.6 x 105 ME (fil fungi) 2.59 +11.8 x 104 1.34 +2.26 x 102 Average with SD (sink per square cm) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 8.91 +22.7 x 104 6.33 +24.7 x105 R2A 2.56 +11.5 x 105 7.82 +36.7 x105 PYO 1.22 +2.98 x 102 4.65 +16 x103 LTA37 4.55 +12.4 x102 5.73 +16.9 x103 LTA44 4.24 +14.5 x10 1.54 +6.19 x102 ME(yeasts) 4.84 +1.57 x 102 3.13 +7.55 x103 ME (fil fungi) 1.40 +1.76 x 102 4.71 +18.5 x102 Average with SD (tap water CFU per mL) Group 1 (with toilet) Group 2 (without toilet) CBA 1.53 +2.14 x 10 1.5 +7.69 x104 R2A 9.04 +21.6 10 3.49 +14.4 x104 PYO 8.46 +30.7 10-1 1.85 +9.62 x10-1 LTA37 0 3.7 +19.2 x10-2 LTA44 1.15 +5.88 10-1 0 ME(yeasts) 7.12 +19.5 9.7 +22.1 ME (fil fungi) 5.85 +19.5 4.44 +7.85 p-value. Two-tailed independent samples t-test (Group 1 vs Group 2) 95% = P plaque toothbrush sink Tap water CBA 0.891 0.251 0.269 0.325 R2A 0.437 0.336 0.488 0.234 PYO 0.341 0.331 0.155 0.291 LTA37 0.334 0.324 0.118 0.331 LTA44 0.341 0.453 0.375 0.313 ME(yeasts) 0.356 0.300 0.086 0.654 ME (fil fungi) 0.241 0.283 0.370 0.731 From the table, the CFU in the plaque sample collected from storing the toothbrush with and without toilet are observed. For the CBA and R2A, the CFU in group 1(with toilet) is counted as 4.16+ 12 x 108 CFU g-1 and 1.2 + 3.41 x 108 respectively, and the CFU in group2 (without toilet) is marginally greater than group1 which resulted as 4.71 + 16 x 108 and 1.96 + 3.55 x 108 respectively. For the PYO, LTA37, LTA44 and ME (yeasts), The CFU of group 2 are slightly more than the group 1 except the fewer CFU (2.95 + 5.71 x 103) without toilet than in which with toilet (1.72 + 6.2 x 104) observed in ME (fil fungi). It is found that the fewest CFU is on LTA44 or even observed as 0 CFU per unit since 44„ƒis over the optimal temperature and the bacteria can be inactive. Besides, for the other microbial groups, toothbrush, sink and the tap water samples, they showed the similar results as the plaque sample that the average CFUs per unit of the without toilet sets were slightly more tha n the sets with toilet on the CBA, R2A, PYP, LTA37, LTA44 and ME (yeasts) and the CFUs per unit of the without toilet sets were slightly less than the toilets sets. However, the samples in the tap water evaluated some differences from the other groups was that the small quantity of average CFUs per ml within each samples were indicated since the presence of fecal coliforms in water might not be directly harmful and did not necessarily indicate the presence of feces. Overall, the CFU of the plaque sample collected without toilet is slightly greater than which with toilet but probably there is no obvious difference between two groups by the examination of p value. P value is used to compare the significance of the tests. Significant difference between two groups can be determined if the p value is smaller than 0.05 and the null hypothesis is not be supported. From the table of two-tailed independent sample t-test, it indicated that all p values among the different agar plates of the 4 microbial groups are greater than 0.05 which showed that the difference between 2 groups for any sample type (with toilets and without toilets) or medium types are not significant. Although the tables showed large variability within a given sample, this is common for environmental samples and hence the null hypothesis is supported. Discussion The toothbrush, the plaque and the sink samples collected with or without the toilet sets, except the tap-water, were observed to contain large quantity of coliforms and it proved the presence of pathogenic bacteria, E.coli. The toothbrushes contamination acts as a crucial role in the expansion of various diseases such as respiratory infection and oral diseases (M. B. Dayoub, D. Rusilko, and A. Gross, 1977). Toothbrushes are often stored in the toilets and disclosed to contamination as it is a microbial atmosphere with the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria which is spread by aerosols and the flushing of toilets (Taji SS, Rogers AH, 1998). Moreover, the presence of the E.coli is correlated with the uncleaned bristles or the storage of brushes with high humidity (the sink) and warm environment which are near to the bristles and this can effectively enhance the spread and growth of bacteria than those stored in aerated conditions by 70%. (R. T. Glass, 1992). However, the experimental results showed the colony forming units in the bathroom without toilets sets were greater than the sets with toilets which is apparently difference from the hypothesis. P-values of Two-tailed independent samples t-test can evaluate the situation. Although the large variability within a given sample was observed, this is common for environmental samples. Because of the large variability, there is no significant difference between the two groups for any sample type or medium type. The p values is greater than 0.05 which showed 95% level of confidence that the two parameters are not the same and there is no enough difference within the samples to conclude a difference so the null hypothesis is accepted. It is conclude that toothbrush would get contaminated regardless of storing near or far from the toilet. There are some limitations existed in this experiment. Firstly, there is manageable amount of data for the analysis which can affect the precision of the results. In this experiment, only 26 samples and 27 samples for each groups were examined which were not excessive enough to evaluate the hypothesis. More sample sizes are suggested and hence sufficient statistical power to the final results can be determined. Another error would be the dilution error since the pipetting for 10- fold dilutions could lead to a considerable departure from the expected identity and inaccurate results. It is suggested that the precise pipetting from 10-1 down to 10-5 and proper vortex with vibration of suspension within each dilutions is required. Additionally, more time allowed for the first lab practical and appropriate aseptic techniques could be suggested to ensure the accuracy of results. References M. B. Dayoub, D. Rusilko, and A. Gross, Microbial contamination of toothbrushes, Journal of Dental Research, vol. 56, no. 6, article 706, 1977. View at Google Scholar R. T. Glass, Toothbrush types and retention of microorganisms: how to choose a biologically sound toothbrush, Journal-Oklahoma Dental Association, vol. 82, no. 3, pp. 26-28, 1992. View at Google Scholar Taji SS, Rogers AH. The microbial contamination of toothbrushes. A pilot study. Aust Dent J. 1998 Apr;43(2):128-30 USP 61: Microbial Enumeration Tests (PDF). United States Pharmacopeia. Retrieved 24 March 2015. Sandle, T. (July 2004). An approach for the reporting of microbiological results from water systems. PDA J Pharm Sci Technol. 58 (4): 231-7. Doyle, M. P., and M. C. Erickson. 2006. Closing the door on the fecal coliform assay. Microbe 1:162-163. Sammons RL, Kaur D, Neal P. Bacterial survival and biofilm formation on conventional and antibacterial toothbrushes. Biofilms. 2004;1: 123-30. Bodey, G.D., et al. 1989. Infections caused by P. aeruginosa. Rev. Infect. Dis.; 5:279-313.

Essay --

Gasoline and diesel fuels form the back bone of the present road transport. The internal combustion engine is being used in vehicles for the past 100 years approximately. But the problem with the engines is the limitation of fossil fuel reserves and the emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. These fossil fuels generate emissions of pollutants such as PM, Nox and CO which are hazardous to the human being. It is the need of the hour to vouch for other renewable energy sources to overcome the energy crisis and to achieve decarburisation, energy security and cleaner air to breathe. Fuel cells are the devices that convert chemical energy to electrical energy without the emissions of harmful exhaust gases.. This paper summarizes the configuration of the fuel cell hybrid vehicle. It briefly describes the function of each component and the losses occuring in each component. Fuel cells are the most quiet and reliable as they have no moving parts. The efficiency is about twice that of the internal combustion engine. [2]. There is no Carnot limitation as in case of IC engine. The most commonly used fuel cell is hydrogen fuel cell in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Hydrogen is a clean burning fuel. The exhaust is pure water. The combination of a fuel cell with a battery is studied in this paper. The hybridization of the fuel cell helps in reducing the size of the fuel cell and its initial cost but it increases the vehicle complexity, weight and the battery cost. At higher loads and greater acceleration, the battery provides surplus power and increases the fuel cell efficiency. At low loads the fuel cell is used to provide the required power. The battery is also used for the start up of the vehicle ... ...es by 2030. The cost of FCHEVs and BEVs are not largely affected by the changes in electricity costs, but the ICE and FCEV costs are greatly affected by the fuel cost. This occurs partially due to the different powertrain efficiencies. Comparing the overall lifecycle costs, it can be observed that FCHEVs and BEVs are cheaper as compared to FCEVs and ICEs. But the FCHEVs and BEVs are sensitive to the overall capital and running costs. For instance, the BEVs in particular are sensitive to battery size. The lifecycle costs of ICEs and BEVs are about 1.75 times higher than that of the FCHEVs and the BEVs. There are several challenges that are to be met in the near future for the FCHEVs to achieve commercialization, reliability, cost effectiveness and performance. Fuel cell hybrid vehicles can definitely be the clean technology used in the future of automotive engines.

Essay --

â€Å"Learning is a treasure which accompanies its owner everywhere†. I have always kept in mind this Chinese adage that emphasizes the very importance and advantage of learning. Learning, the very step of success as well as failure has given me enough experience and strength to access challenges as they come. In this technological age, everything’s changes rapidly. We need to constantly streamline and upgrade our tools and resources in order to make our worked worth living in. A deep fascination for technology coupled with a love for learning and exploring have inspired me to pursue and excel in graduate studies. It has been a blessing to have parents who have instilled in me good values and principles and also who gave me the freedom to choose whatever fields I want to excel in. The desire to learn how things work and my natural inclination towards Mathematics and Physics, gave me the impetus to become an engineer. That fascination towards science and technology helped me to excel in the entrance examination and thus ensured myself an admission in VIF College of Engineering and Technology, which is affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. I have always given more importance to gaining knowledge rather than gaining marks. Engineering is one field where practical know-how is more important than acquiring a degree for name sake. Thus my true ability stands above my marks and marks are not a reflection of my potential in Electronics and Communication. I have always cherished all my dreams and at the same time decided definite paths to follow in order to realize them. In my undergraduate studies, I have benefited from the breadth of Jawaharlal Nehru’s University’s syllabi content that has given me a comprehe... ...nues in my chosen field and create excellent opportunities to prove my mettle. I am confident that, the facilities, guidance and inspiration your University provides combined with the excellent faculty and research opportunities makes it the ideal place for me to embark upon my graduate studies. I can assure you that, in me you will find a responsible, committed and talented student, who will bring laurels to her alma mater. In firmly believing that the essence of a University education lies in the synergetic relationship between the student and the department, I feel that graduate study at your University will be the most logical extension of my academic pursuits and a major step towards achieving my career objectives. It is with this in mind, that I look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with your University as a graduate student with financial support.