Hybrid Cars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hybrid Cars - Essay Example These hybrid cars can prove to be useful in many different ways which include the environmental factors along with the factors of scarce resources. Hybrid cars have features which help reduce pollution from the environment and are also economically feasible as compared to the conventional cars. With the increase in the prices of fuel as well as the reduction in the amount of natural resources, the popularity of these hybrid cars is increasing every day. As compared to traditional cars there are two main advantages of hybrid cars. One is that it emits less carbon dioxide which makes it an environmental friendly car. The second advantage is that it has higher fuel efficiency that can help people save sufficient amount of money and thus it can be counted as an economic advantage of these cars. In present times when world’s economy is in crucial state, every dollar matters and this has become the most important benefit of these vehicles (Hantula 2009). Some of the other benefits o f these cars are their smart styling, their well equipped interiors and their up to date safety features. In the long run hybrid cars are more of a practical choice to opt for because of low fuel cost and low emissions. Hybrid cars are more competent because of their light weight due to the usage of light weight materials in its structure. Hybrid cars capture, accumulate and recycle the kinetic energy that is produced from the car’s brakes (Congress House 2010). Hybrid cars have the ability to save energy in a very efficient way. They can switch their power on and off according to the usage of the car. If the car is standing in an area full of traffic, the car automatically turns off its power and saves energy. When the accelerator is pressed the engine automatically starts again and thus this saves energy. These cars can be said to be energy efficient considering these factors. These cars also have batteries which have a long life. The tires which are used in these cars have low resistance which reduces energy loss. All this helps this car to accelerate and drive up on higher plains easily. In this way these cars can achieve greater speed which decreases the fuel consumption and also less energy is wasted. There are also certain disadvantages attached to hybrid cars. The major drawback of hybrid vehicles is that they are still quite expensive. This is because of the fact that its production costs are very high due to using uncommon equipment for example dysprosium which is used in the manufacturing of highly developed electric motors and many more. The maintenance of hybrid cars can be very expensive as well. As for now these cars are not that common so it is difficult to find garages which have necessary materials to service them. Hence taking them to the producer can be very expensive. Even though these cars are gradually gaining popularity but there are still factors that make traditional cars more feasible as compared to them. Hence, because of the se reasons hybrid cars cannot fully compete with gasoline powered cars. When the cost of production of these vehicles would be lowered as compared to other cars the production would also rise. Once the supply rises the price would go down and the demand would rise. The exact time of this happening cannot be told but when this happens new mode of researches to

Formation and retention of nutrients Essay Example for Free

Formation and retention of nutrients Essay The world is ridden with many resources that are often taken for granted. Some of these resources have to be dug up or mined, but many are spread out all over the land for the taking. One of these natural gifts that has found indispensable use in our society is peat. Peat is a combination of various things, mostly vegetable and plant matter that has decayed over millions of years. (Smith) The proper term for this process is carbonization, and while peat has yet to completely carbonize into coal, this can take thousands of years more. (Smith) Although peat is composed of many other vegetation decaying over the years, most of it is moss. (Smith) The decay of these materials occurs â€Å"mostly under anaerobic (oxygen-deficient) conditions†. (LMU) Peat in its raw form contains 96% water (LMU) and is harvested primarily for fuel and agricultural (fertilizer) purposes. (Smith) The process of peat decay causes the material to â€Å"store organic carbon which is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane, greenhouse gasses that affect global climate. † (LMU) The gases released by peat as it decomposes are highly flammable. However, peat, in its natural form is totally harmless because it is â€Å"too wet to burn†. (LMU) In certain cases where the natural state of peat is disturbed it becomes vulnerable to fire, which is often the cause of forest fires or fires commonly occurring in wetlands. This can be very dangerous because burning peat can release smoke that contains aerosols and toxic gases, which can result to respiratory diseases and problems. (LMU) Peat is best harvested, obviously, after hundreds of thousands of years, or the time it takes for the materials to totally decompose. Peat bogs have a surface living layer that gets destroyed when mature peat, beneath the living layer is harvested. (LMU) Of the many uses of peat, fuel is the most common. In remote areas where there are no other resources, peat is used for energy production. (LMU) Peat is â€Å"shown to be an economical alternative to oil or coal-fired electric-power generating stations in some circumstances† (LMU) and it is also used to produce methanol. Peat can also be used as garden fertilizer as it is an efficient moisture retainer. Using it in gardens can promote the formation and retention of nutrients. Some companies also use peat as a raw material in producing biodegradable planters. (Smith) â€Å"Peat can also be used to make paper, pad livestock beds, or pack products for shipment. † (LMU) Peat is also a decorative implement in creating handicraft and artwork. Many handmade crafts and arts use peat as an aesthetically pleasing accent. Peat is an irreplaceable resource, if not for eternity, for this generation at least, because it will take hundreds of thousands of years in the future for other peat layers to form. However, peat is abundant nowadays in many countries all over the world, but the indiscriminate harvesting of this resource can lead to ecological imbalance and eventually, its irreversible depletion. Like any other natural resource, peat should be harvested reasonably to preserve existing peat bogs and ensure that plenty will be available for future generations to use. Like oil, which is a fossil fuel, peat has to be harvested with much discretion because once all of it is gone, we will all have to wait for hundreds of thousands of years to harvest it again – surely, none of us can live that long.

The Sand Mining In Kalu Ganga Environmental Sciences Essay

The Sand Mining In Kalu Ganga Environmental Sciences Essay 01. Kalu Ganga considered as one of the major river in Sri Lanka. It started from Idikatupana in Samanala Mountain and discharged at Kalutara. It is 126 Km long and covered Sbaragamuwa and Western Providences including Ratnapura, Horana and Kalutara. 02. Kalu Ganga is one of the most important Rivers in Sri Lanka which receives very high rainfalls and has higher discharges. Due to its hydrological and topographical characteristics, the lower flood plain suffers from frequent floods and it affects socio-economic profile greatly. 03. Kalu Ganga basin is the second largest river basin in Sri Lanka covering 2766 km2 and much of the catchment is located in the highest rainfall area of the country, which reflects the high annual rainfall. The annual rainfall in the basin is averaged to 4000 mm and leads to 4000 million m3 of annual flow. 04. Indiscriminate river sand mining in Sri Lanka has caused a number of environmental problems such as erosion of river banks, destruction of bridges and roads, sea water intrusion to the coconut and paddy lands, and deterioration of river water quality used for drinking and bathing. However, despite the concerns of authorities and environmental groups, sand mining is continuing at an alarming rate as miners and other beneficiaries still appreciate the private profitability at the expense of long-term environmental costs. 05. On the other hand, blanket recommendations to banning of river sand mining lead to loss of income opportunities of the people, who involved in various activities related to sand mining, and increase the construction costs. CHAPTER 2 AIM 01. The aim of this paper is to convince the reader to impact of sand mining affect on the Kalu River and problems occurred due to sand mining activities. Statement OF PROBLEM 02. With the incensement of the constriction works in Western and Sbaragamuwa provinces annual requirement of sand is increased. In order to fulfill the required demand, sand mining activities also increased in Kalu River. These sand mining activities are caused number of environmental and social problems. Some of these problems are erosion of river bank, sea water intrusion to the agriculture lands and loss of habitant, problem and destruction of road and bridges, and deteriorations of quality of drinking water. Due to excessive sand mining activities this problem also increases rapidly. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 03. By reducing sand mining activities can be reducing the damage to the environment, save capital for repairing and construction of new road net work and brigs. It is also can up lift social condition of the people who living in these areas. METHODOLOGY 04. This study will be based on data collection form government organization and, people who presently living affected areas and documentary sources. 05. Primary source of collection of information was based on documentary sources including publications, Newspaper articles and information were taken by surfing through the Internet. 06. Secondary source Data obtained from Ministry of Environmental and Geological Survey and Mining Bureau, Visiting to people living in kalu River area. Data obtained from irrigation department. SCOPE OF THE STUDY 07. The scope of the study covers the affect of environment and social problem, because of sand mining activities in Kalu River. STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER 08. The paper will be structured as follows: a. Chapter I. The first chapter will contain the introduction to the paper. b. Chapter II. The second chapter will contain the Methodology of the study and will comprise of the following: (1) Aim (2) Statement of the Problem (3) Research hypothesis (4) Scope of the study (5) Method of data collection (6) Structure of the paper c. Chapter III. Back ground d. Chapter IV. Data e. Chapter V. Analysis f. Chapter VI. Conclusion and recommendation OBJECTIVES 09. General Objectives: To analyze the social and environmental affect and by introducing alternative methods to minimize sand mining activities, to reduce social and environmental are issues. 10. Specific Objectives To analyze what are the problem mainly affected because of sand mining. To analyze how these problems effected to people in this areas. To analyze how these problems effected to government. To introduce suitable solution for the reduce sand mining activities in Kalu River. DATA COLLECTION METHODS 11. Visiting sand mining site (licensed and illegal) in Kalutara and Ratnapura district. 12. Data obtained from Ministry of Environmental and Geological Survey and Mining Bureau. 13. Visiting to people living in kalu River area. 14. Books, News papers, Internet, etc. LIMITATIONS 15. The time available to conduct this research will be only 3 months. The length of the paper will be limited to 5000 words, and it will not be possible to collect data from all the reliable sources. Area of research 16. This research was conducted in Kalutara district covering mast of the areas of sand mining taking palace in Kalu River. The area included Kalutara to Ingiriya along the Kalu River. CHAPTER 3 BACK GROUND 01. The demand required for sand construction works within the country is more than five million cubic meters or eight million ton of sand mine and sold per year. This sand quantity values nearly 16 billion. This high demanding for market of sand led to mining the sand significantly in most of the areas of Kalu River. Not only the deposited sand mining, river bed sand mining as well as river bank sand removal also increased. The river sand mining highly affect to the natural equilibrium of the Kalu River. 02. There are some other important rivers in Sri Lanka also facing to this environmental and social problem in various scales. It is estimated that sand mining in Kalu River has increased by three times in last few years. Over mining in the river causes many problems like deteriorations of quality of drinking water supply due to sea water intrusion to the Kalu River, collapse of river bank and loss of river land. Considering the importance factors of scientific assessment on the environmental degradation consequent to unsystematic sand mining, an effort has made in this research study to recognize remedial and environmental impacts in Kalu River basin due to sand mining. 03. Sand mining is continuing to be a major environment hazard in many parts of Sri Lanka especially due to the unprecedented increase in demand to the civil contraction activities in the infrastructure and housing sector. 04. Substitute for river sand is sea sand which available in the market. However industry prefers river sand due to problems of salinity and the need to dry sea sand to reduce deleterious material. Anther substitute is crashed quartzite rock (impure are from silica) available in form of ridges especially in the hill country as well as Polonnaruwa and Dambulla area. 05. This issue as highlighted in this paragraph is the question of who is legislatively authorized to regulate the mining of river sand. In this content I shall quote from the cost conservation Act No 57 of 1991. Costal zone is defined as the area lying with in a limited of three hundred meters land wards of mean high water line and limit of two kilo Meters seaward from the mean low water line. 06. In cause of river, streams, or any other body of water connected to the sea either permanently or periodically the landward boundary extended to limit of two kilo Meters measured perpendicular to the straight base line drown between natural entrance point and includes water of such river, streams and lagoons or any other body of water so connected to the sea. 07. Under mines and mineral Act NO 33 of 1992 the Geological survey and mines bureau (GSMB) could also issue sand mining permits in the foreshore or sea bed with in the sand mining with in the meaning of crown land ordinance (chapter 454) with the approval of the minister of cost conservation. This act was amended by Act NO 66 Geological survey and mines bureau in 2009. 08. There are some ambiguities related to the regulation of activities in the costal zone and river bank as well as beds. However it must be stressed that all mining activities should be under the Mines Bureau administration by the mines and mineral Act. CHAPTER 4 DATA PRESENT SITUATION Method of sand mining 01. There are three method used for sand mining. Sand mining near to river bank Sand mining in depth water (5 ft to 10 ft)using sand mining bucket with rod (Bonderi method) Sand mining in river bed using boats 02. Considering these there methods, sand mining using boats was prominent in Kalu River. This method was mostly affected for the mining sand in Kalu River. This was done by following sequence. Bring the boat to places were sand are collected. Look for suitable place and place bamboo rod in that place. Take the basket and dive to the water and find were sand available. Takes sand and fill in to the boat. Take down to the river bank and down load to the Lorries or places were sand selling. Sand mining quantities 03. There are different between sand mining quantities and location and people are used for sand mining in place to place and it is generally. 1 Â ½ 2 Volume of cub boat 6 men involued. 1 or less Volume of cub small boat 4 men involved. Most of the boats mining sand about 4 -6 cub of sand per day 04. Considering Kalutara district there are 471 licensed sand mining places according to the GSMB. These places are in Kalutara, MIllaniya, Dodangoda, Madurawala, Bulathsinhala and Ingiriya. GA divisions. Sand mining places in Kalu River in Kalutara district 05. These are the licensed sand mining places in Kalutara district Millaniya 150 Dodangoda 138 Kalutara 061 Madurawala 075 Walalavita 040 Palindanuwara 068 Pandura 007 Ingiriya 037 Bulathsighala 076 06. During year 2010 GSMB was carried out survey on volume of deposited sand in Kalu River. This was carried out two Engineers of GSMB Mr Rgive and Mr Janaka (Mining Engineers). According to there observation this was the result Quantity of sand deposits in Kalu River in a year 120,000 Cub Quantity that mining at kalu River 178,000 Cub 07. According to there are results more than 78,000 Cub of sand adequately mining in Kalu River in yearly? Other livelihoods from depend on sand mining 08. There are few people who depend on sand mining on Kalu River they are sand transporters, small hotels poor people who and supply sand buckets, Environmental Damage due to sand mining 09. River sand is mined for used in the building industry. In a few location it can be even be beneficial by lowering the river bed and reducing flooding. Because of mining of Sand, River bed is lowering and it increases the volume of the water it can hold. Because of that during heavy rain this can be prevent form food. In 2003 food in Ratnapura is about 33 ft but in Tebuwana area it was only 15 ft. 10. Current level of extraction in inappropriate location such as Millaniya, Aguruwathota, Tebuwana and Kalutara has however led to serious environmental impacts. Sand mining has damaged river banks deepened the river and increased costal erosion. Costal erosion arises because river sand replaces sand lost from the beach by reducing wave reaction. 11. Because of the people near river bank are already lost there soil to kalu river and they not allow to mind sand near there lands. From there social problem will occurred and some incident went up to lost of lives. 12. Sand mining by lowering the river bed facilitates intrusion of sea water. Salt water intrusion up stream during the dry season long Kalu River in Kalutara district, intruding salt water enters irrigation system destroying vegetation. In addition, the water table can become saline and affected wells. 13. In dry season people living in this are facing anther problem lowering of water level in there wells. Because of sand mining Kalu River bed lowering in dry season level of water also lower then years a go. Some places people are facing in difficulty to get water for there day today requirement. 14. The biggest environment issue in Kalu River is river bank erosion. Because of sand mining activities, river bed was deepened. This will create unstable river bank. The bank collapsed in to the river. This happen most of the places in Kalu River, this cant be stopped by planting bamboo trees after flood bamboo trees also collapsed in to the river because of it roots are insufficient to take the strength. 15. The damage to the National infrastructure such as road net work and bridges are prominent in Kalu River. Due to collapse of river bank total loss of national infrastructure due to sand mining has never been comprehensively assessed. An estimate of replacement of endangered bridge would cost millions. In Kalu river between Tebuwana and Narthupana there are three endanger bridges. In one place contraction of damaged road was presently going on according to there view this damage cost mare than 10 Million. 16. Indiscriminate river sand mining in Kalu River has caused anther environmental problems deterioration of river water quality used for drinking and bathing because of mixing of sea water. Sand mining is continuing at an alarming rate as miners and other beneficiaries still appreciate the private profitability at the expense of long-term Research done by Open University biology student Mr Chirath Bratha regarding animal and plant volume in a sand mining place and non sand mining place and other details are as follows. The research was done for 1000 ml of water Sand mining place Non sand mining place Water 290 ml 100 ml Find sand 260 ml 250 ml Core sand 260 ml 200 ml Gravel 190 ml 180 ml Other partials 270 ml Species Sand mining place Non sand mining place Puntiours Nigrofaciatus (Bulath hapaya ) 03 Puntious titteya (Le tittaya) 02 10 Puntious Cumigii(Pottaya) 01 03 Darra Ceylonensis (Patirana salaya) 08 Danio pathirama (cheep) 01 Oryzias Melastigma (Hada tittaya) 02 08 Horadania Atokorali (Hora Dandiya) 01 07 This was done by duration one hour Feather he measured Oxysigen percentages in these two places, were sand mining and not mining places. Percentage of Oxygen Places of Sand minims activities took placed for 100 ml 21 mg Percentage of Oxygen places were sand not mining placed .81 mg CHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS 01. According to the dates from and mining places, they will mine sand on about six month per year but according to the people living in this are it was Eight to Nine months. This is an indication of sand mining owners are mining sand excessively. 02. The data will be analyzed using simple descriptive statistics to get a general picture to generate realistic implications.

Brennaghs Hamlet Essay -- essays research papers

Often when a movie is adapted from a play, there are several aspects which are adjusted or completely lost. This often depends on the directors point of view as well as the casting director. In Kenneth Branagh’s movie “Hamlet'; only a small number of aspects were lost from the movement of the play to the movie. The movie was ‘word for word’ of the play with the exception of a few moved silique. Therefore, the plot or order did not change. The scene where Hamlet meets his father, 1.5, was very well done; conjuring great emotions of fear and suspense. In addition, the final scene was adequately performed evoking anxiety and thrill for the viewer. The ghost of Hamlet was very disappointing at first but later developed into and excellent portrayal. The characters who played Marcellus, the first Grave digger and Oris, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, and Robin Williams respectively, were fairly poor selections by the casting director. They lacked a certain Shakespearian character as famous comedians. It could not be forgotten making the choices dispiriting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  “You tremble and look pale'; (1.1.53). The first viewing of the ghost causes the guards great fear. They are unsure if what they have seen is “something more than just fantasy'; (1.1.54). It appears to be the body of the late King Hamlet but perhaps it could be their boggled minds. When the ghost enter a second time, they confirm that it was in fact the ghost of Hamlet. This terrifies and mystifies Bernard, Heratio, and Marcellus. The reader feels all of the emotions along with these characters, as it is expressed through the dialogue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Act 1 Scene 4 and 5, when Hamlet meets and speaks with the ghost of his father, the fear increases. You begin reading faster and feel like you are running after the spirit with Hamlet. The actual conversation between the two is very fast and flows very nicely. Once agin making the scene more intense. Throughout the scene the dramatic effects are heighten by the ghost’s long lamented speeches to his son. The entire scene is one of climactic drama.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie, the ghost first appears to be a statue. He brings about no feelings of horror in the viewer. This sets the viewer up for grave disappointment as in the play it is s... ...p;  Ã‚  Perhaps Branagh used these actors for their names to help pull in the ratings. If this is the case, the ratings would have been high without them. Perhaps, he used them to get the image of them as “uneducated stars'; out of peoples’ minds. Or perhaps they used him for the dame reason. Either way, their parts do not fit the roles they played. Regardless the movie was excellent and it was immensely enjoyed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie kept you at the edge of your seat from the ‘ghost scene’ on. Although it was four hours, it seemed to go by much faster. It is always interesting to see a director’s interpretation or portrayal of the play. Kenneth Branagh did an excellent job. “2 thumbs up!';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As an amazing play is moved to a movie, it is very sad to see characters or scenes lost. In Branagh’s “Hamlet'; very little is lost in his adaptation. This is very pleasing as the play is sensational The only problem faced is that of the comedic actors. This did not effect the outcome of the movie and many are looking forward to more of Branagh’s work.

JFK: The Death of a Conspiracy Essay -- History

JFK: The Death of a Conspiracy There is a plethora of conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. They range from the incumbent of the former Soviet Union to organized crime. Pro-conspiracy groups are in agreement with one theory; the United States government covered up the truth of the assassination. The premise of a government conspiracy to cover up of the assassination is laden with insufficient evidence and unproved theories. The truth of the matter is President Kennedy was assassinated by the lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald. On November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m., President Kennedy was shot as his motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. He was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital and arrived at 12:35 p.m.. The awaiting medical team rushed the President into one of the trauma rooms. According to Artwohl, â€Å"the doctors were not aware of the massive head damage because the huge flap of frontal scalp that was loosened from the head was held in place by the clotting of the blood on the scalp. This concealed the degree of the wound. They were desperate to save the life of the President and examined him quickly without taking the time...to wash off the blood and debris† (1542). The doctors removed the President’s clothing to check the body for other wounds. While Dr. Perry began the tracheostomy, Dr. Jenkins recalled, that Mrs. Kennedy was circling the room with something â€Å"cupped† in her hands. As Mrs. Kennedy passed by, she nudged Jenkins with her elbow and handed him â€Å"a large chunk o!f her husband's brain.† Dr. Jenkins took the brain matter and handed it to a nurse (Breo 2806). The Parkland Hospital staff worked for twenty-five minutes on the President to no avail. Dr. Clark, who arrived in the trauma room at 12:50 p.m., pronounced the President dead at 1:00 p.m. (2804,6). The President’s body was then wrapped in sheets, placed in a casket, loaded onto a waiting hearse, and transported to the airport. The body was then placed on board Air Force One, the presidential plane, where Mrs. Kennedy and the newly sworn in President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, departed for Washington D.C. While the body of the President was on its way to Washington, Bethesda Naval Hospital made preparations to receive it. The three doctors chosen to do the autopsy were Commander James Humes, M.D., director of labs at the Naval ... ... condition. â€Å"...it was flattened towards its base† (1552). It is not unusual for this type of bullet to incur little or no damage when entering a body. One reason is, this high velocity, heavy-metal-jacket bullet loses very little velocity and does not, usually, tumble or deform when passing through a body (Artwohl 1542). Conspiracy theorists believe that the burning of Dr. Humes autopsy notes constitutes a cover-up by the government. This is not true. The reason he burned the notes was two-fold. One reason was he had stained the notes with the blood of the President, and two, the notes were to be submitted as part of the autopsy report. To have had blood on the notes, would have not been acceptable. Dr. Humes makes the point that he burned his notes only after he transcribed them â€Å"verbatim† to another autopsy form (Breo 2799). Many conspiracy theorists are unanimous in believing that the assassination was a cover-up concocted by the military, the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.), the F.B.I., the Secret Service, and other government agencies to disguise medical evidence that the President was â€Å"publicly executed† in Dealey Plaza by more than one gunman (Artwohl 1540).

Egypt Art History Essay

The materials used to create these sculptures symbolized the pharaoh’s timelessness and eternal life, the body of the pharaohs symbolized the power given to them by God, and the formal design qualities showed the religious and political qualities in the statues. The statue of Khafre and Akhenaton reflects the political and religious climates of their time through the use of medium which symbolized the pharaoh’s eternal life and timelessness, and through formal qualities which symbolized the hidden religious meanings inside the sculpture. The seated statue of Khafre reflects the political and religious climates of his time through the statue’s medium, function, formal qualities of design, and iconography. The statue is made of diorite, an extremely valuable, un-breakable stone, which symbolizes Khafre’s unwavering power as pharaoh. Khafre’s body shows that this was how a king was supposed to be portrayed, a perfect divine being that is flawless. The intertwined lotus and papyrus plants symbolize the unification of Egypt. Horus the sky god is shown extending his protective wings to shelter the pharaoh’s head. The statue plays an important role in the afterlife, it served as a resting place for the pharaoh’s ka, his life force that accompanied him even in the afterlife. The Statue of Akhenaton showed the political and religious climate that he ruled in through the use of formal qualities, and iconography. Akhenaton’s statue was made of sandstone, different than the un-breakable stone that Khafre’s statue was made of that symbolized his divine power as king. The use of sandstone here shows the abandonment of old kingdom practices. Akhenaton’s body is extremely different and shows him as an androgynous figure attempting to portray as Aton, the sexless sun disk. This statue symbolizes the change in religion, from a polytheistic based belief, to a monotheistic religion centered on the worship of Aten, or Aton, the sun god. The statues of Khafre enthroned, and Akhenaton from the temple of Aton, reflect the political and religious climates of their time. The formal qualities of both statues represent their political stand and their religious views. Although they are very different, they are also very similar at the same time. Enthroned Khafre shows him as an idealized being with a perfect body that portrays him as a deity and shows his power as pharaoh. The statue of Akhenaton on the other hand, shows himself as a realistic being with curved hips and female like figures. Although he does not look like an idealized being like in the old kingdom, he is still portrayed as a deity trying to imitate the sexless sun God Aton. Akhenaton was able to be portrayed as a deity despite his realistic form due to his political power and his ability to change the country’s religion. The statue of Khafre and Akhenaton both reflected their political and religious climates through the statue’s medium, formal qualities, and iconography. These statues although very different, are very similar in portraying how a king was portrayed in different times and yet still looked like a deity.

Detergent Powder

Introduction Detergent is a material intended to assist cleaning. The term is sometimes used to differentiate between soap and other surfactants used for cleaning. The term detergent by itself is sometimes used to refer specifically to clothing detergent, as opposed to hand soap or other types of cleaning agents. Bangladesh has a detergent market of about 8. 8 billion taka of which Unilever occupies a share of 48% making it the market leader. The major competitor brands in the detergent market for RIN are Keya, Chaka and Jet, Surf Excel.To fight this steep competition the above mentioned companies constantly run consumer promotion in hope to sell more than the respective competitors. Although this strategy worked well at first but with the passage of time, the intense consumer promotions have done little to prevent Unilever from loosing shares to its competitors. In 2004, Wheel (which is now RIN), Unilever’s largest detergent brand ran about nine consumer promotions where as i n 2005 it ran no consumer promotions at all. Consumer promotion over all is a very expensive affair.Unilever has the largest brands of detergent and so the cost of providing a consumer promotion offers is also large by the same proportion. Besides the competitor brands are known to involve in some unfair practices. They pay a very low wage rate to their labors so overhead costs are low, they under invoice their imported raw materials so that they can evade import taxes and other duties, so they save a lot of money in the process. They can then utilize this money for consumer promotion and other competitive activities that can earn them a higher share of the market.Therefore it is imperative that consumer promotions and other dependant elements have to be studied, to make sure that if a consumer promotion activity is implemented it is a highly effective one. This way, precious monetary resources have the minimum chances of being wasted. To understand the competition in the detergent market better price perceptions and product quality perceptions about the brands of detergent on promotion are also considered being worth studying. To look at market share issues, the brand loyalty element should also be explored. 1. 1 Brief Overview about the Detergent MarketThe use of washing powder started rising from late nineties after Unilever Bangladesh entered the market with its ‘Wheel' brand washing powder. Local brand Jet was the lone player in the washing power segment prior to Unilever's entry. Wheel Washing Powder (WWP) was launched in August of 1997 by leveraging the equity of the Wheel laundry soap. Wheel laundry soap was considered the best soap and stood for quality and care. The brand was initially launched and replaced the NSD powder brands of Unilever. WWP was launched with two stock keeping units (SKUs), 500g and 1 KG and achieved a volume of 2,280 tons in 5 months.Despite a price increase from beginning of the following year the brand showed a strong gr owth achieving the total annual volume of 12,700 tons; a third SKU of 40g was added to the brand during the year. 1999 a second price increase was taken for the larger two SKUs but the brand continued to show good growth, ending the year with a volume of 22,800 tons. A major re-launch was rolled out in beginning of 2000 for the brand, during the re-launch the packaging was significantly improved, the perfume was also improved and the proposition changed from lemon to Powerons.The innovation was a response to the launch of the competition Aromatic Washing powder. Prior to the re-launch, the competition was aggressively blocked with continuous promotion behind the brand. After the re-launch the brand grew and countered the competition in 2000, achieving a volume of 29,500 tons. In order to get an even faster growth in 2001 vs. 2000; the brand was aggressively promoted- which yielded in a growth of 43%; ending the year with a volume of 42,200 tons. With the explosive growth of WWP in 2 001, it attracted competition like Chaka and Keya, both of which entered the segment in beginning 2002.In order to contain competition and continue the growth of 2001, WWP maintained the high degree of promotions (free volume promotions) it failed to deliver any considerable growth as expected, however the volume sales increased to 46,500 tons. During the year WWP was re-staged with the ingredients changing from â€Å"Powerons† to â€Å"Powerfoam†. In 2003, WWP promotions were predominately cross-brand promos, with the cost born by the other brand. This resulted in good growth for WWP in 2003, ending the year with 48,000 tons.During the period of 2002 onward, the brand has been losing shares to competition and in order to differentiate the brand further a relaunch was planned in 2004 Q1. The RL involved incorporation of coloured granules to the powder and increase in incorporation of perfume by 25%. However there was no change in the formulation of the powder. Post the re-launch the share decline has not stopped, despite heavy support behind the brand. Unilever is now the leader in the market controlling half of the total washing powder market, the size of which was nearly Tk 450 crore in 2007, up from about Tk 360 a year ago. 1. 2 Market trendsToday’s consumer-oriented marketplace is characterized by a countless number of products and brands. Globalization causes increased competition, national borders disappear, consumers demand more and more, and the pressure on producers to efficiently and effectively live up to consumer’s expectations keeps increasing. For companies to survive these difficult circumstances and to secure their growth and market share figures, proper marketing techniques are of utmost importance. Besides printed and non-printed advertising techniques (such as TV and radio commercials, public relations and sponsorships), sales promotions try to attract consumers.Sales promotions can take many different forms and a distinction can be made between price and non-price sales promotions. 1. 3 Background Sales promotions have been studied very extensively over the past decades. The research findings from Blattberg, Briesch and Fox (1995) provide a perfect base to a short overview of promotional topics and generalizations regarding sales promotions. Nine generalizations regarding sales promotions are made that summarize sales promotion literature so far: – â€Å"Price promotions significantly increase sales – Brands with higher market share are less deal elastic Consumers’ reference prices are influenced by the frequency of deals – The more often a promotion occurs; the lower is the respective sales increase – Cross-promotional effects are asymmetric – The pass-through rate of retailers to consumers is less than 100% – Support promotions like displays and advertising that accompany a price promotion have a great impact on sales – Advertised p romotion can increase store traffic – Promotions affect sales in complementary and competitive categories† (Blattberg, Briesch ; Fox, 1995) Statement of the ProblemThere are many companies that are operating to serve the detergent markets; as a result the competition has heightened. Consumer promotions are being heavily used in the detergent markets to increase sales of each available brand. Consumer promotions, when implemented use up a lot monetary resources. Failure to implement the consumer promotion activity effectively may result in major loss of money. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between consumer promotions, price perceptions with product quality perceptions and brand loyalty in the detergent market of Bangladesh. LimitationsThere are vast amounts of information and write-ups relating to the topics of this research that are present in the internet and various other sources, but it were not possible to gain acce ss to many such information. So missing out some important aspect of the discussed topics can be a possibility. There is a major time constraint in doing the research work and preparing the report, a much larger pool of information could have been dealt with if there was more time to analyze them. A minimal sample size will be used for this research; if a larger sample was taken into consideration the research would have been more accurate.The survey will be conducted in Dhaka city which could be a possible reason for the people’s mind set to be similar and survey results not being very different from each other, the results could be different if people from outside metropolitan cities were brought under consideration. Literature Review Consumer Promotion Consumer promotion is thought to be a tool that helps manufacturers and retailers to achieve their objectives of generating sales (Alvarez and Casielles, 2004). Consumer promotion (e. g. oupons, samples, contests, sweepstake s, and price packs) is a part of sales promotion that is targeted towards the final buyers of consumer products (Kotler and Armstrong, 2002). There can be various types of consumer sales promotion some are incentive based while others are communicative in nature (Kotler et al. , 1999; Tellis, 1998). The incentive based promotions can be price – oriented promotion or non price-oriented promotion. According to Britannica (article 21279) advertising presents a reason to buy a product but consumer promotion offers a short-term incentive to purchase.Consumer promotions often attract brand switchers (those who are not loyal to a specific brand) who are looking primarily for low price and good value. Abraham and Lodish (1987) stated that many consumer goods categories sold 90% of their volume on special deals which is a result of consumer promotion. They also stated that the influence of sales promotions on the consumer will also depend on the consumer’s characteristics. Prom otions Price PromotionNon-price Promotion Promotion Packs Sampling POS Advertising Loyalty Discount Premiums DisplaysCoupons Sweeptakes Promotion Packaging Rebates Events Others From Sales Promotion by Gedenk; K. Neilson, Page- 34. Consumer benefits of sales promotions Benefits of sales promotions to consumers are numerous. Chandon, Wansink and Laurent (2000) for example distinguish six different types of consumer benefits regarding sales promotions: monetary savings, quality, convenience, value expression, exploration and entertainment. The first and most obvious benefit a consumer might encounter from a sales promotion is the monetary saving they provide.Second, consumers consider normally unaffordable products now to be in their choice set and therefore encounter the quality benefit. The convenience benefit, thirdly, is achieved by reduced search and decision efforts since sales promotions’ promotional status is advertised. Fourth, â€Å"sales promotions can enhance consu mers' self-perception of being smart or good shoppers and provide an opportunity to reaffirm their personal values† (Chandon, Wansink & Laurent, 2000) which is translated into the value expression benefit.The exploration benefit is achieved by the ever-changing shopping environment that provides stimulation for consumers’ information need. Last but not least, the sixth benefit consumers might encounter from sales promotions is the entertainment benefit. Sales promotions are often simply fun to see or to participate in (Chandon et al. ). Interesting to see is that consumers experience (either conscious or unconscious) more benefits from sales promotions than are often thought of. Price Perceptions According to Schiffman and Kanuk (2004) price perception is about how customers see a product’s price, as high, low or fair.They also stated that perception of price unfairness affect consumers’ perceptions of value and ultimately their willingness to buy a produc t. According to Moore et al. (2003) years of research concerned with price show both positive and negative perceptions serve as marketplace cues. Several studies have also portrayed the role of price perceptions as an attribute to success (Jiang and Rosenbloom, 2004). When the price perceptions are high this is a sign of positive quality, prestige and status (Moore et al. , 2003). The concept of reference price is related to price perceptions.Schiffman and Kanuk (2004) stated that reference price is the price the consumers use as a basis for comparison in judging another price. It is through reference price that the price perception of a brand of product is formed. When the consumer plans to buy a product, he or she will judge prices comparatively with the reference prices in order to determine whether the price is acceptable or not (Alvarez and Casielles, 2004). They also stated that, a result of consumers’ comparison between the prices and the reference price, potential los ses and gains emerge.The consumer perceives a gain when the reference price is higher than the observed price. If the observed price is higher than the reference price, the consumer experiences a loss. Product Quality Perceptions Product quality perceptions represent consumer judgment about the superiority of a product, which the user-based approaches think is essential in describing quality (Forker et al. , 1996). Bundles of attributes together represent a certain level of quality, which therefore provide utility to the customer (Snoj et al. 2004). The benefits are measured through a perceived level of quality (level of working superiority), a bundle of attributes in comparison with the consumer’s expectations. Schiffman and Kanuk (2004) stated consumers often judge the quality of a product on the basis of a variety of informational cues that they associate with the product. They also stated that the cues can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic cues are related to th e physical characteristics of the product itself, like size, colour, flavour, aroma etc.The extrinsic cues on the other hand are related to elements that are put together with the actual product like packaging, pricing, advertising etc. The perceived quality of products and services is central to the theory that strong brands add value to consumers' purchase evaluations (Low and Lamb, 2000). Brand Loyalty Brand loyalty is the ultimate desired outcome of consumer learning (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2004). According to Rawly and Dawes (1999) brand loyalty is the likelihood of positive attitudes and behaviors of consumers towards a particular brand, this could amount to repeat purchase and positive word of mouth.They also stated that a loyal customer base is an asset for a company and it reduces the need for seeking new customers. It is also a known fact that retaining current customers requires less money and effort than getting new ones. The strongest measure of brand value is the loyalty a company produces among customers (Aaker, 1996). Rowley and Dawes (1999) stated that to understand brand loyalty better the following components of attitude model should be considered: 1. Cognitive component – associated with a â€Å"rational† decision making based on informational determinants. 2.Affective component – associated with emotions and feelings about the product or service. 3. Co native components – associated with a behavioral disposition. Research Questions The following questions have to be addressed for the study: 1. Is there any significant relationship between consumer promotion and product quality perception in the detergent market of Bangladesh? 2. Is there any significant relationship between price perception and product quality perception in the detergent market of Bangladesh? 3. Is there any significant relationship between consumer promotion and brand loyalty in the detergent market of Bangladesh? . Is there any significant relat ionship between price perception and brand loyalty in the detergent market of Bangladesh? 5. Is there any significant relationship between product quality perception and brand loyalty in the detergent market of Bangladesh? Hypothesis The hypothesis that can be derived from the research questions are: 1. There is significant relationship between consumer promotion and product quality perception in the detergent market of Bangladesh. 2. There is significant relationship between price perception and product quality perception in the detergent market of Bangladesh. . There is significant relationship between consumer promotion and brand loyalty in the detergent market of Bangladesh. 4. There is significant relationship between price perception and brand loyalty in the detergent market of Bangladesh. 5. There is significant relationship between product quality perception and brand loyalty in the detergent market of Bangladesh. Development of Conceptual Framework * Consumer Promotion * Pr ice perception Product Quality Perception Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of research variables * Consumer Promotion * Price Perception Product Quality Perception Brand Loyalty Figure 2: Conceptual Framework of research variables Methodology Research design The illustrations of the conceptual framework Figure 1 and 2 above give a visual idea of the relationship and structure that exists among the study variables. The main purpose of the research is to assess the existing correlation among the variables. This research is about exploring and understanding the relationship that exists between consumer promotion, price perception with product quality perceptions and brand loyalty in the detergent market.Here in the figure 1the independent variables are assigned to be consumer promotions and price perceptions. The dependant variable on the other hand is product quality perception. In the second figure 2 the independent variables are consumer promotions, price perceptions and product quali ty perceptions, in this case the dependant variable is brand loyalty. So the researcher is attempting to find out, if any changes in the independent variable have a changing effect on the dependant ones as well, thereby proving that a relationship exists.The researcher also tried to find out the degree to which a change in the dependant variables has an impact on the independent ones, in other words the degree of relation is also explored here. Therefore the correlation study was chosen for this research. Sampling method The required data for this research was collected from the regular customers of detergents. There was no particular sample frame available for this research so convenience sampling was used, as it is also the cheapest and the easiest methods of sampling.The sample frame for this research consisted of shoppers (mainly house wives) at different shopping centers and stores etc, and also the parents of school children were included. In the shopping centers the researche r surveyed the people who seemed to be the most appropriate respondent for this kind of survey. The parents of kindergarten students, who spend time waiting for their kids outside the schools, were also surveyed, because they usually have a lot of time to spare and can give valuable inputs. Due to time constraints the survey was conducted in Dhaka city only. Over all there were about a 240 people who participated in the survey.Survey instrument A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire consists of different parts to gather information on the different variables under considerations. With questionnaires, no responses of the respondents can be missed out. It gives more time to the respondents to think and then give the answers. And it is a quicker and cheaper way to conduct the survey. Questionnaires can be conducted in any environment, with minimum influence of the outside environment. Questionnaires also have the advantage of keeping the personal details of the respondents confidential.MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS In which respondents have to choose one answer from many options. These questions gives a wide choice to the respondents so that they can give the most accurate and reliable answer. LIKERT SCALE Where the respondents are provided with a scale that has a number or brief description associated with each category. This scale is useful as respondents readily understand how to use the scale, making it suitable for almost all kind of surveys. Data Collection The data collection was done through both primary and secondary sources.The primary data was collected through questionnaire surveys and the secondary data was collected from the available archives of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, for addressing the research questions. Data Analysis This is a study of relationship of various variables. So after the data collection a correlation analysis was performed using the acquired data, to ascertain if relationship between the variables exist or not. For doing the data analysis SPSS 12 was used, because it is a very systematic computer program that can deal with a large amount of data and can give out accurate results.