Lessons of Valujet 592 Essay Example

Lessons of Valujet 592 Essay The Lessons of ValuJet 592 1. Identify one or two risks your project is encountering and strategies that might mitigate them †¢Risk 1: Due to time constraints and meeting deadlines, our group may be forced into a position that does not allow us to fully research the most effective means of developing a functional lighting system to prevent future runway incursions. †¢Mitigation: The deadline cannot be pushed back, so we need to collectively get together to ensure we are up-to-date on the current research in this area †¢Risk 2: Another risk we may encounter is â€Å"reinventing the wheel. With all the research and designs that are presently being tested, it will be difficult to create a system unique to those that are currently being investigated. †¢Mitigation: Since we determined our population (airports with ATC towers), we need to focus on research for lighting systems in same/similar airports. Gathering data from a defined sample population should make researc h more condensed. 2. Coordination and process breakdowns are described in the ValuJet article. How might these system vulnerabilities have been discovered and addressed prior to serious incident or failure? What risk management approach might you take if you were responsible for the system? *Paper attached The catastrophic ValuJet 592 plane crash shocked the world. With over 100 people killed, the impact on the airline industry and its customers were far reaching. The investigation unveiled breakdowns in the coordination and the processes involved prior to its final departure. If these system vulnerabilities were discovered and addressed prior to their ultimate epic failure, this incident may have been avoided altogether. Plan risk management, analyzing the potential risks, and ensuring proper documentation are some examples of items that could have implemented prior to this devastating disaster. Theoretically, one can assume the airline industry’s top priority it safety, but that is sadly a false assumption. Cutting costs and providing a cheap means of air transportation seems to be the main concern of airline executives. The adage â€Å"you get what you pay for† seems fittingly appropriate for the ValuJet crash. To reduce expenses, temporary outside orkers did seventy-five percent of the aircraft maintenance, mainly from the company SabreTech. Wageworkers feared losing their jobs, so they performed maintenance on ValuJet 592 on day and night shifts, and sometimes even on the weekends to meet deadlines (Langewiesche, 1998). This led to documentation that inaccurately reflected the work completed on aircraft 592. Due to these time constraints, the work cards were not followed and jobs we re certified as being properly performed and completed by mechanics that were unaware of the actual procedures followed. We will write a custom essay sample on Lessons of Valujet 592 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lessons of Valujet 592 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lessons of Valujet 592 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Personally, I worked in aircraft maintenance and witnessed this myself. When performing routine procedures, work cards are not followed exactly, and many times are not even out for reference. The majority of instances this occurs there is no adverse impact on the system or mission. I am confident the mechanics who performed the maintenance on this aircraft felt the same way. Another pitfall was the packaging, labeling, and placement of the cardboard boxes (that were packed full of oxygen generators), which was later discovered to be the fatal flaw that caused the explosive fire on board the flight. Trying to rid of these boxes for an inspection seemed like a decision that would have a positive impact on SabreTech’s reputation, but instead showed the miscommunication and complacency of its workers. In hindsight, it seems simple to prevent mishaps similar to this from happening. Unfortunately, defining procedures and assuming risks are sometimes not as easy to predict. Until events actually occur, it is difficult to determine specific and unique risks associated with any tasks. Although guidelines were in place to define and enforce proper procedures, it ultimately comes down to the person executing the task. However, in this case there are certainly things that could have been done differently. First, during process activities developing a plan for risk management, which defines and documents a strategy, should have been done. Once this was completed, the next step would be to manage the risk profile to determine thresholds and identify both the acceptable and unacceptable risks involved (Haskins et al. , 2010, p 216). The workers should have been trained to understand the risks involved with handling, dismantling, and packaging the oxygen generators. If this was done correctly, the lanyards would not have been removed and the caps that cover the firing pins would have been in place. Mechanics would have understood that surrounding these canisters with consumables, such as the cardboard boxes and tires, is unthinkable and highly hazardous. Another risk management strategy that is important in the ValuJet case study is documentation. The downfall to this is ensuring the documentation is not falsified. Documenting everything is crucial and something that was accomplished, but did not reflect the job performance accurately. By avoiding costs and schedule risks, SabreTech employees increased the technical risks associated with maintenance of the jet and hangar. Similarly, the paperwork insisting ValuJet get â€Å"re-certified† was completed and submitted for evaluation, but no one evaluated it! Documentation is important, but not if it is not accurate and assessed. The crash and burn (or vice-versa) of ValuJet 592 changed the standards and procedures of the airline industry. Sadly, it took the lives of over a hundred people to show the discrepancies in how ValuJet did business. Prior to its final departure, numerous failures in the organization, management, and various systems that were looked over, and in some cases, went completely unnoticed. This incident could have been avoided if proper risk management techniques were followed. A lack of a plan for risk management, the need for an analysis of the possible risks, and falsified documentation played a crucial role in the demise of ValuJet flight 592. In the future, using these techniques can prevent tragic events like this from reoccurring. ? References Haskins, C, Forsberg, K. , Krueger, M. , Walden, D. , Hamelin, R. D. (2010). INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook, version 3. 2 (Report No. INCOSE-TP-2003-002-03. 2). Retrieved from INCOSE website: SE Handbook 2010-0201 v3. 2 Updated Final 8. 511. pdf Langewiesche, W. (March 1998). The lessons of ValuJet 592. The Atlantic Monthly Online. Retrieved 17 Oct 2010 from http://www. theatlantic. com.

Longevity essays

Longevity essays Almost everyone dreams of living forever. It seems so appealing to be able to live life for a very long time, happily and healthily, and going out and enjoying everything that life has to offer once or twice. A lot of people think that its a gift from God to live a long time. But what happens when you have to watch all of your friends and family and all of those who are dear to you are dying all around you. Then it becomes a curse. Some may argue that everyone close to them can live long with them, but what about their family and friends? Realistically speaking, is everyone on the planet going to be able to get his or her hands on a longevity supplement so that everyone can live forever? Unfortunately, the answer to that is no. Many scientists, researchers, and even authors are trying to learn more about longevity and ways to live longer. Author Ben Bova has a new book, Immortality, which is one of the many recent volumes that explain how science is beginning to discover more about aging and death and how to prolong life. "Biologists are learning what causes aging in the cells of your body," he says. He reminds us that the human body has about 100 trillion cells and when they cease to function and reproduce, we do as well. Biologists have learned that each cell has a biological clock that tells the cell when to stop dividing and reproducing and when to die. In 1961, California's Leonard Hayflick discovered that most cells in our bodies divide and reproduce themselves about 50 times before slowing down and dying. It's called the Hayflick Limit. Hayflick insists that despite science's best efforts, humans will only live to be 120, which is the longest a human being has ever lived. "When you drive your brand new automobile off of the automobile showroom floor, you have a clear understanding of the potential of that automobile to live for a certain number of years before you have to buy a new one. That's longevity determination...

Marketing Strategy TOTAL INTEGRATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Strategy TOTAL INTEGRATION - Essay Example Piercy places great emphasis on the brand identity of the company in integrating marketing and communication campaigns. Total integration involves; Today Primark has established itself as one of the competitive retail store chain in UK, Ireland and Spain with a total of 173 retail outlets at strategic locations. Employing more than 25000 people the company has been in value clothing for well over 35 years and has also been voted as 'Best Value High Street Fashion' by GMTV and ITV viewers1. This study is an effort to look into the practical implementation of the theoretical aspects relating to marketing strategies, HR support, marketing communication, brand equity proposition, strategic alliance etc. which have been instrumental in the success of Primark. To evaluate the strategies adopted by Primark, while using various tools like Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT, PEST, Ansoff Matrix etc. an effort would also be made to compare the performance of Primark with some other retail companies like Topshop, Prada, Asda, Tesco etc. and how Primark has been able to beat the competition. One of the key weapons in the armoury of Primar k has been its ability to come out with items at rates cheaper than the rivals. It will be quite interesting to learn how the company has been able to come out with such lower prices. ... and how Primark has been able to beat the competition. One of the key weapons in the armoury of Primark has been its ability to come out with items at rates cheaper than the rivals. It will be quite interesting to learn how the company has been able to come out with such lower prices. Retail business is at the base of running a retail store, trying to earn the loyalty of customers, while at the same time trying to grab attention of newer customers. Piercy (2001) has also pointed out the desires of many company executives some of the issues as prerequisite towards being more customer friendly. The issues pointed out are like; Value of the product or service in achieving a successful strategy in taking on the competition. This is also concerned with customer relationship management. Mele and Colurci (2006) provide distinctive paradigms for value as such. It is stated that the term 'value' can be defined in different ways according to the adopted perspective of analysis; it is possible to determine a 'customer value', a 'firm value' and a 'stakeholder value'. Online presence of the companies to cater to customers spread across a larger area and keeping in mind the convenience of the customer Total integration of company's resources and capabilities to deliver a product which is able to fulfil the needs of customer. Consideration of effective planning, strategizing and creativity as the key to come out with effective performance. From the strategic planning point of view, competitor analysis is very important for any company's long-term survival (Kotler, 1972). The first step towards such an analysis begins by identifying the strengths and

Karen Head and Thomas Friedman on the topic of MOOCs and their ability Essay

Karen Head and Thomas Friedman on the topic of MOOCs and their ability to deliver writing instruction online - Essay Example Usually, participants of a MOOC can be learners who are enrolled at a particular institution or any individual with internet access. Dr. Karen Head, an assistant professor at the School of Literature, Media and Communication in Georgia Institute of Technology, and a New York Times OP-ED Columnist Thomas Friedman seem to agree and disagree on a number of aspects that concern the MOOCs. While the former presents an objective look at the subject, the latter is quite optimistic about the whole idea surrounding the MOOCs. Both authors seem to agree to the fact that MOOCs are a noble idea that can revolutionize the education sector in terms of expanded access and reduced costs. For example, in her article â€Å"Lessons Learned from a Freshman-Composition MOOC†, Head (2013) observes that about 21,934 students enrolled for the freshman composition course. This is quite a huge number of students receiving the course, which would have otherwise been restricted to few tens of students if it was to be offered in a traditional classroom setting. In Inside a MOOC in Progress, Head (2013) observes that with the application of tools such as Google Maps, students can be reached on every continent. Friedman refers to MOOCs as a revolution. In his article Revolution hits the Universities, Friedman (2013) notes that MOOCs have a huge potential in unlocking many more brains in solving the world’s pressing problems. However, the two authors seem to present different views on the effectiveness and practi cability of MOOCs on the ground. First, Dr. Head observes that while many students enroll for the MOOCs, the retention rates are terrible. For example, out of the 21,934 students who had enrolled for the freshman composition course, about 14,771 of them were active in the course, but only 238 students managed to receive a completion certificate, (Head, 2013). Receiving the completion

The History of surgical Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The History of surgical Technology - Essay Example On the other hand, cutting of the stone refers to perineal lithotomy, suprapubic lithotomy, and transurethral lithotomy. Hippocrates laid the foundation for the practice of modern medicine. His work On Injuries of the Head organized medical and surgical knowledge during the fifth century BC with his original observations and served as a significant guide to surgeons for two millennia. Hence, Hippocrates was revered as the â€Å"Father of Medicine†. Another ancient surgeon, Galen, extensively wrote about surgery during the first century BC, particularly in Tumors Against Nature, regarded as his most significant treatise (Wilkins, 1992; Zimmerman & Veith, 1993) Lambert (n. d.) and , however, revealed there were some serious errors in Galen’s works. During the middle ages, barber-surgeons flourished as a barbers were trained to make salves (i. e., medical ointment), dress wounds and bleed, although Wadd (1827) argued that these surgeons pushed themselves forward much into the practice of surgery. In the mid-fourteenth century, some medical schools were given permission to perform dissections of the human body (Lambert, n. d.). Da Vinci (1982) performed both animal and human dissections around the 16th century and made detailed sketches in his famed notebooks. Meanwhile, Andreas Vesalius distinguished himself in the study of human anatomy, dissection, and as professor of anatomy. His masterpeice De Humani Corporis Fabrica disproved and corrected many of Galen’s theories (Rutkow, 2008). Another Renaissance surgeon, acclaimed as the most celebrated of his time as Ambroise Pare. Pare, himself a barber-surgeon, was also regarded as the â€Å"Father of Modern Surgery†, although the 18th century surgeon John Hunter is also being given the accolate. Among his notable achievements were: the invention of surgical instruments such the hemostat clamp; artificial limbs and eyes; and the truss for use in hernia patients (Zimmerman & Veith, 1993; Lamb ert, n. d.; Kelly, 2009). Nineteenth century surgery experienced much welcome improvements with the discovery of anesthetics with the combined efforts of Humphry Davy, Henry H. Morgan, and James Simpson. Cocaine (1884) and novocaine (1905) were also used for their anesthetic properties. Joseph Lister introduced antiseptic surgery. Robert Lawson Tait successfully saved a women suffering from ectopic pregnancy by surgically removing the fallopian tube. The century ended with another significant discovery by Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, the X-ray (Lambert, n. d.). More strides in surgery were made in the 20th century with the identification of the different blood types; the invention of the pacemaker and laser; and a series of firsts in surgical history: heart transplant, artificial heart heart and lung transplant, eye surgery, reattachment surgery (Lambert, n. d.). The surgical technologist: a newer addition to the surgical team Ryan-Flynn (2009) described surgical technologists as  "health professionals who work in the surgical suite with surgeons, anesthesiologists, registered nurses and other surgical personnel delivering surgical patient care† (p. 352). The scope of work of a surgical technologist spans three areas: preoperative (before surgery), intraoperative (during surgery) and postoperative (after

Encroachment in the North East Region of Nigeria

Encroachment in the North East Region of Nigeria DESERTIFICATION OR DESERT ENCROACHMENT can result from a change in climate or from human action, and it is often difficult to distinguish between the two. This has commonly led to confusion and misconceptions. A temporary or long-continued deterioration of climate may accentuate the harmful consequences of human occupation of the land and vice versa. It has often been suggested that mans activities have resulted in climatic deterioration, but this is difficult to substantiate. In any case it is important to attempt to assess the relative contribution of climate and man in the process of desertification in order to decide on the ameliorative measures that can best be taken and to estimate the likelihood of their success. Deserts are not expanding everywhere in Africa. Irrigation has converted what had been desert into highly productive cropland; afforestation has at least locally reclaimed the waste. However it is widely thought that the Sahara, the Kalahari and other desert and semi-desert regions are expanding. Why should this assumption be made? It has not always been based, I would suggest, on sound evidence. Students of classical writings in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were led to conclude that North Africa had been much more highly productive in Roman times. Many of them were inclined to explain the deterioration in terms of desiccation, though as early as 1828 the Copenhagen botanist Schow showed that it was unlikely that the temperature and rainfall of the region were very different in classical times from his own. Colonial administrators in the early twentieth century, comparing conditions at the tropical desert margins with those described by late nineteenth century explorers and seeing the ruins of ancient imperial capitals in the Western Sudan, also convinced themselves that the rainfall was diminishing Foresters and agriculturalists dismayed by the destructive land use practices of cultivators and graziers, so different from those they knew in north-west Europe, warned the governments of the African colonies of the dangers that threatened. As a result the idea of desert expansion, of an advancing Sahara, became firmly rooted  in the minds of the public at large. At the present day we find popular works on environmental deterioration conveying the same messages. Thus the Ehrlichs write the vast Sahara desert itself is largely man-made, the result of overgrazing, faulty irrigation, deforestation, perhaps combined with a shift in the course of a jet stream. Today the Sahara is advancing southward on a broad front at a rate of several miles per year. The recent dry years and their consequences may seem to substantiate such crude assessments of the situation. The African deserts are not man-made dustbowls; they are to be ascribed primarily to the continents geographical position. Africa lies almost entirely within 30 ° of the equator and a large part of its total area is occupied by dry descending air and receives little rain. Furthermore, the temperatures at low altitudes are generally high throughout most of the year so that water losses from land and water surfaces are high, especially in the tropical regions of low rainfall and relative humidity. The Sahara and the Kalahari are to be explained primarily in these terms. The Namib desert is associated with the cold Benguela current offshore, and in East Africa locally dry and semi-desert areas lie in the lee of highlands which have already drained the moist air masses from the oceans. Nevertheless, there are very extensive marginal areas where land use practices determine whether they shall be productive or unproductive in the long term. A great deal has been learned about African deserts in the last few decades. Aerial and space photography and the work of scientists in a number of fields have greatly extended our ability to appreciate the nature of the desert lands and the processes at work on their margins. We have the long series of publications of UNESCOs Arid Zone Research Symposia; there have been WMO and FAO studies of semi-arid regions; the University of Arizona has published Deserts of the World, an appraisal of research into their physical and biological environments (1968) and Arid Lands in Perspective (1969). The publications of the Pan-African Congresses on Prehistory and the Quaternary, of ASEQUA (Association Senegalaise pour lEtude du Quaternaire de lOuest Africain), and of Dr van Zinderen Bakker in his series on the Palaeoecology of Africa have  brought together the results of the investigations of a host of geologists, geographers,  archaeologists, botanists and other specialists, all of whose w ork has a bearing on the subject we are considering. Soil scientists and hydrologists, foresters and agriculturalists, anthropologists and historians have all made their contributions to our pool of information and we should now be in a much better position to view the whole question of desertification in its true perspective than were our predecessors a generation ago. Let us try to do this, by examining first the question of changing climates, then the nature of human interference, and finally the ways of measuring desert encroachment and the possible means of taking action against it. It has not been found possible to distinguish clearly any simple long term trends or regular periodicities in the climate, though many attempts have been made to do so, and it is necessary to adopt an empirical historical approach to the subject. In tracing what is known of the history of Africas climate it is useful to gain perspective by looking at the changes over the last century against the background of the last several thousand years. As pointed out by R. O. Whyte, we should distinguish major changes in climate, in or out of pluvial lasting thousands of years, from minor changes lasting hundreds of years, and from variations or trends which are experienced for 10 to 50 years.1 Each time-scale has its own biological significance. The shorter period variations are superimposed on the longer period fluctuations, and we must recognize  that as we attempt to penetrate further into the past, so our ability to distinguish minor oscillations diminishes and only the major changes can be detected. The role of man:- Mans role in desert encroachment is a very ancient one. He has known how to make fire since late Acheulian times; for almost 10,000 years he has herded his animak at the desert margins and grown his crops in the more favoured areas. He has established large settlements and cut wood for fuel and buildings over a similar period. Burning of the vegetation is possibly not a very important agency in the process of desertification; grass and trees in vulnerable areas are generally too sparse to burn readily. An exception to this general rule might be woodland alongside watercourses which has probably been largely eliminated in many semi-arid regions of Africa, possibly by fire. Gallery forest is a prominent feature of the savanna lands, and the concentration of what vegetation there is in deserts like the Sahara alongside watercourses is very striking. In the intermediate zones, streamside vegetation is sometimes less evident than one might expect it to be. Burning might possibly be the ex planation. A careful study of ERTS imagery would throw much light on the timing and areal incidence of burning. Heavy grazing by wild animals cannot be entirely ruled out as a cause of desert encroachment in the past. Certainly the eighteenth and early nineteenth century accounts of the enormous herds of antelope at the margins of the Kalahari and in the arid parts of Kenya, for example, suggest that their effect on the vegetation must have been very great. Animal populations increase and decrease in waves and the peak populations may not coincide with the maximum availability of food. However, the balance between available food and the bio-mass is probably better kept by wild animal species with varied food preferences than by man and his livestock. It seems likely that browsing and grazing by wild animals may maintain grassland conditions and that with their replacement by domestic animals woodland made up of thorny species of shrubs and trees may replace the grass. This seems to have occurred notably in the Karoo of southern Africa in recent decades. Bush has moved east and north replacing sweet grass veld, while extensive areas in the west are said to have become virtual desert. The nomads and their herds of cattle, roaming the margins of the Sahara, resemble game animals on Serengeti in adjusting their movements to the availability of water and pasture. However their movements have been increasingly restricted by political frontiers, taxation arrangements, and the occupation of grazing land by agriculturalists. Particularly important in this respect are the dry seasons grazing lands that have been taken over for irrigation. At the margins of the Kalahari, the pastoralists of eastern Botswana live in large villages and take their herds out over the extensive gracing land to the west in the dry season. This seems to be a sensible response to the natural conditions. However, there is always a tendency for the herds to build up in good years and then the numbers are kept high in dry years so that the pastures are eaten out. In recent years the risks of desertification as a result of overgrazing has increased as a result of three factors: The increase in numbers of livestock in many areas, e.g., north-east Nigeria. It would be useful to have more information about this. Doubling of numbers in a decade seems to have occurred in some areas, although livestock numbers are notoriously inaccurate. The increasing proportion of cattle in small herds often belonging to sedentary cultivators and herded by small boys, who cannot wander far, resulting in local overgrazing while other areas with pasture -main ungrazed. The provision of water in certain areas, such as parts of the artesian basin near Lake Chad, resulting in cattle remaining near wells and eating out the grazing round about instead of moving off to the rivers and other areas with dry season water and grass. The risks of serious deterioration are greatest when a succession of good years is followed by a period of long-continued drought. Woodcutting is a serious matter in many areas. Pastoralists are partly to blame. In places like Tibesti they cut foliage to feed their camels and use branches to build enclosures for their goats. However it might be noted that a considerable part of the woody growth in some areas springs from posts that were used for the enclosures and have taken root. Another threat comes from the demand for fuel in towns. The people in the surrounding countryside find the sale of wood to the townpeople a useful supplement to their meager cash incomes. K. J. Mortimore and J. Wilson have estimated that nearly three-quarters of Kano citys firewood consumption of some 75,000 tons per year for its population of 300,000, is brought in by donkeys mainly from within a radius of about 20 km. Although there is a return cargo of manure (over 10 per cent of the total applied to the intensely cultivated fields around the city), this trade represents the felling of thousands of trees every year. As Kano and simi lar towns grow at rates of 5-10 per cent annually, one can expect the woodland around to become very sparse. Alongside roads, at a distance from the larger settlements, wide areas are also being cleared by people who add to their income by making charcoal which is then carried into town by passing lorries. When the woodland has disappeared from such areas only animal dung remains for fuel for local consumption, and all the sylvan produce, honey, fruits and beans, medicaments and so on, are lost. Woodland in agricultural areas, as in the Sudan zone and the Sahel, is particularly important. It provides foodstuff for animals and man; it brings up nutrients from below that are released to the base-poor sandy soils from the decaying leaves and from the substances washed off the leaves; it brakes the speed of the wind, reduces the rate of evaporation at the end of the rains and the risk of soil blowing away towards the end of the dry season, and it provides shade for man and beast. Not least, it has an aesthetic value in improving the appearance of the landscape. Particularly important is the Winterthorn, Acacia albida, which is in leaf during the dry season and yields beans from great woody pods before the rains come. Multiplication of this tree should be  encouraged throughout the Sudan and Sahel. Cultivation in marginal areas during periods of higher than normal rainfall is especially dangerous, and is perhaps the main cause of desertification against which it may be necessary to take preventive action. When dry years follow years of relative plenty, ploughed soil-or soil from which the sparse cover of natural plants has been eliminated by cultivation-is at the mercy of the winds. The fine clays and silts are carried away as dust, and the sand drifts into dunes.The effect is likely to be irreversible except at great cost. Measuring the rate of desert encroachment In 1882 land classified as either desert or wasteland amounted to 9-4 percent of the total land on Earth. In 1952 it had risen to 23-3 percent. I give this quotation not because it is true but because it is meaningless. No definitions are given and it is not dear whether the difference between the figures is the result of the spread of desert conditions or, much more likely, whether definitions of desert and availabi lity of knowledge were different on the two occasions. However, it does bring out the point that it is extremely difficult to measure and state in numerical terms the rate of desert encroachment-though less difficult now than it was in the past. In the past there has been a good deal of reliance on such indicators as the  movement of towns and tribes, and on the chance observations of travelers and the tales they were told. Writing in 1921, F. Migeod noted that the capital of Kanem was shifted to positions successively further south; Bovill brought together additional historical evidence of the encroachment of the Sahara on the Sudan. Both were writing soon after the dry period of the early twentieth century. In 1935 E. T. Stebbing produced a map of West Africa showing the present advance of sand and attempted to estimate its rate of progress. The basis for all such calculations was very flimsy, but figures of 200 km. in 200 years were commonly given. The rainfall gradient from south to north in West Africa is remarkably regular and mean values diminish northwards by about 100 mm. per 100 km. in the Sahelian zone, so that the kinds of changes in the precipitation that are likely to have taken place cannot alone explain suc h a shift. All the writers pointed to the depredations of nomads, firing of forest lands and so on. Similar alarm bells were rung in East and South Africa and in all these areas government commissions were appointed to investigate. They confirmed that rainfall was not progressively decreasing, but agreed that the vegetation cover was deteriorating and in some areas water-tables were falling and rivers drying up. There is an interesting exception to the usual story of Hearing of the vegetation  being followed by a fall in the water-table. It was found in northern Nigeria in the 1950s that in spite of the spread of cultivation and the destruction of woodland in western Bornu, in the preceding 25 years the water-table had risen phenomenally, levels rising in some wells by more than 100 feet and perennial springs breaking out to feed small lakes.84 It was postulated that the destruction of woodland, by reducing the loss by transpiration of water brought up from depth by the tree roots, had increased the volume left to percolate deeply into the pervious sedimentary rocks. Similar reports come from West Australia and East Africa, and it seems that we may not be able to use the height of the water table by itself as a sound indicator of desertification. On the whole we are concerned with the vegetation cover, its completeness or  otherwise, its composition and its productivity. In assessing the rate of change in any or all of these we are faced with the difficulties of very great variability over short distances according to soil, slope, availability of water and, above all, intensity and manner of land use. Quantitative assessments of the plant cover at a particular place and at a particular time can now be made by using suitable sampling and statistical procedures, and extrapolating from the sample areas by using aerial photographs and other methods of remote sensing. It may be possible to monitor changes in the situation from season to season by satellite observations. Changes over a long period of time can now be assessed by comparing air photographs taken at intervals of 25 years in many of the  desert marginal areas. The Trimetrigon photography taken by the US Air Force of much of Africa during the Second World War could b e particularly useful in this respect (consisting of strips of vertical photos with obliques on either side). In some areas, such as Morocco and parts of southern Africa, photographic cover is available spanning an even longer interval of time. Opportunities for comparative studies of this kind do not seem to have been widely exploited and might be encouraged. One of the more interesting attempts to use air photographs to trace the shifting of the edge of the desert  is that of M. Clos-Arceduc who, from a study of the nature of the vegetation patterns in the Sahelian zone known as brousse tigree has come to the conclusion that they indicate a shift south of the vegetation zones through 150 km. in the Niamey region over 2 centuries or less. Combating Desert Encroachment Except for arid areas that yield oil, and the limited irrigated areas near the Nile, Niger, Senegal and Lake Chad, the lands at the margins of African deserts are poor and not likely to be highly productive. There is little to be said in favour of great schemes for climatic amelioration involving, for example, the diversion of great rivers such as the Zambesi and the creation (or reconstitution) of great lakes like those that existed in the humid periods of the Pleistocene. Such lakes would be extremely expensive to make, they would flood land which is now productive, and it is unlikely that they would lead to an increase of rainfall that would yield returns in any way commensurate with the costs involved. It is conceivable that the destruction of rain forest in the Congo basin, for  example, may have reduced the rainfall of areas further from the equator; by how much it is impossible to say. There is no question of afforestation in such a region on a scale sufficient to restore th e situation. In special circumstances cloud-seeding may be found to be rewarding, and it is possible that in the future ways will be found of modifying the general circulation advantageously. I would not regard any of these as being of much concern to us at present. At present, populations in the semi-arid lands of the continent are increasing at rates of about 3 per cent annually, as they are elsewhere in Africa. In the near future, however, it is possible that the rural population, especially the pastoral population, may decline. This has already happened in parts of the Sahara and Libya affected by oil production. There are three trends that are more generally effective. Firstly, young people going to school are becoming literate and have greater expectations than their parents had; secondly, people are consuming more and have the desire to consume more than they did; thirdly, people are congregating more near roads and in large towns. It is just as important to keep track of these changes in the human geography of the desert margins as it is to monitor changes in the vegetation cover and to calculate trends in precipitation. If effective measures are to be taken against desertification, the people involved must be persuaded of the advantages to themselves. Wherever possible measures should be of a positive rather than of a restrictive character. Thus, if it is inevitable that people are going to concentrate in large settlements in sensitive areas, then as well as attempting to regulate the felling of trees for fuel and timber, authorities may be able to cheapen alternative supplies of fuel and construction materials, provide young fruit trees at low cost, and so on. Perhaps the main problems are presented by pastoralists, whose traditional  systems do not fit neatly into the framework of a modern state. Nomadic flexibility is an advantage to people living in fluctuating, marginal environmental conditions, and nomadic mobility allows good use to be made of variable grazing. Settlement of pastoralists is expedient politically and has some economic advantages, but the greater rigidity seems to involve considerable risks of disaster when the drought years come again, as they will. In UNESCOs Use and Conservation of the Biosphere, it is noted that nomadism as a careful pastoral continuum is the least traumatic of human influences and as a form of husbandry utilizes areas which could not be utilized by man in any other way. I think we have yet to find a better alternative.

Drug Abuse in America

? Literatue Review 3 Section 1: Introduction One of the major problem in modern society is the abuise of drugs. Some use illegal â€Å"street† drugs that have no medical use while others abuse prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes. Either way, it is dangerous can lead to serious consquences, including death. In my paper i will answer two main questions; Why and how are drugs available for the general public to use? What are the mental,physical,and financial consquences of abusing drugs(prescprition or â€Å"street†)? My main source for answering these questions was the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) website. It is a federal angency that is responsible for enforcing the medical laws established by the justice department. This includes regulating laws regarding pharmacies, physcians, and drugs. Mr. Michael Martin, the manager of Walgreen's Pharmacy was also a credible source as he provided clear explanations if i had any questions. I chose these questions because these are two very important question because they not just impact the abuser but society as well. However, my focus in this paper will be the consquences because they are a serious threat. Section 2: Summary In order to understand the consquences of drug abuse, one must know why drugs are abused. There are many reasons for drugs abuse, â€Å"The reason for taking the drug depends on the type of drug. Often times the main cause is to escape from their problems or from peer pressure. After some time, the reasons change. They become dependent on the drug and they feel sick or cannot function properly without it. † (Martin) Often times the cause for using a drug is because the brain has a sort of reward center. It creates a pleasurable sensation when a certain action occurs. For example, for a stressed employee drinking after work helps him relax. It causes his mind, mainly his central nervous system to slow down and all the worries in the world are gone for the emploee. This provides an instance of pleasure as the brain feels good, it is able to â€Å"relax'. The four type of drugs are â€Å"depressants, stimulants, sedatives, and hallucionogens† (Martin). Depressants such as alcohol and sleeping pills make a person feel more relaxed. Stimulants like Ecstacy, amphetamines, nicotine and caffeine keep a person energetic and awake. However, once the effects are over, hunger and tiredness will set in. Sedatives such as heroine, morphine and codeine offer relief from pain but cause sleepiness. Hallucinogens, for instance, Ecstacy and LSD, may give strange sensations, causing some to see, feel or hear things that are not there. Each drug provides a relative pleasurable sensation for the user. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) nearly 35 million individuals used illicit drugs or abused prescription drugs in 2007. The federal government â€Å"has allocated more than $14 billion dollars for drug treatment and prevention, counterdrug law enforcement, drug interdiction, and international counterdrug assistance† (NDIC). As stated earlier there are illict â€Å"street† drugs and then there are prescription drugs, both with the potential to be abused. The first focus will be the origin of illict, or â€Å"street† drugs. Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the main cause for the production and trafficking of â€Å"street† drugs. â€Å"Mexican and Columbian DTOs generate, remove, and launder between $18 to $39 billion in wholesale drug proceeds annually. Mexican DTOs are the greatest threat to the United States. Mexcian DTOs are responsible for a â€Å"majority of the cocaine available in the U. S. market† (NDIC). DTOs are responsible for the production of drugs and for trafficking it into U. S. cities. Urban gangs are involved in the sales of these drugs, â€Å"aided by their connections with Mexican and Asian DTOs. Currently Mexcian DTOs continue to â€Å"establish new markets for mexican heroin in northeastern states while gangs relocate from inner cities to suburban and rural areas. However, a threat bigger than the illict â€Å"street† drug problem is the abuse of prescription drugs. Nearly 7 million Americans abuse prescription drugs-more than the number who abuse cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and inhalants combined† (DEA). According to the DEA, prescription pain relievers are new drug users' drug of choice vs. marijuana or cocaine. Unlike illicit drugs, prescription drugs are not synthesized by DTOs in some lab. Prescription drugs are obtained through decieving various medical professionals, theft, or from the internet. Decieving medical professionals is a technique known as â€Å"doctor shopping†. This involves a patient going to a doctor for a prescription drug. Then the same patient will go to a different doctor, reveal the same symptons without acknowledging the previous doctor visit, and get another prescription for the same drug. Then the patient will go to more doctors and repeat the steps. In the end, the patient will have numerous prescriptions for the same drug each from a different doctor. The patient will have each prescription filled, most likely at various pharmacies and will have a high quantity of one drug. Now the patient may use the drug or maybe even sell the drug to others who will also misuse it. Some other method of obtaining prescrition include theft from pharmacies or homes, and from traditional drug dealing. Another relatively new method obtaining prescription drugs is through cyber pharmacies. There are many illegal internet pharmacies, that take a prescription, fake or real, and fill it for a patient without any knowledge of the patient or anything else. These pharmacies may also â€Å"check† patients, write them a prescription, and then fill it for them, all without a single face to face with the patient. The consquences of using these illicit drugs is very serious. According to the DEA, nearly one in ten high school seniors admit to abusing prescription painkillers. â€Å"A shocking 40% of teens and adults think prescription drug abuse is safer than abusing â€Å"street† drug because prescription drugs have a medical purpose. â€Å"The diversion of prescription drugs cost insurance companies up to $72. 5 billion dollars annually† (NDIC). Almost $48 billion dollars of the $72. 5 billion are paid by public, governement funded insurance companies. The threat level of drug abuse depends on the dosage of the drug. For example, Dextromethorphan (street name: DXM, Skittles, Robo) is â€Å"an over the counter cough suppresent commonly found in cold medications. DXM is abused in higher than recommended dosages, mainly by adolescents, to create visual and auditory hallucinations. The recommended dosage of DXm is 15-30mg. Taking a dosage of 100-200mg results in mild stimulation, whereas taking a 200-400mg dosage results in euphoria and hallucinations. A 300-600 dosgae results in distorted visual perceptions and loss of motor cordinations. A 500-1500 dosgae may result in dissociative sedation. Any higher dosage will lead to death. As indicated above, the dosage of the abused drug affect the consquences. The higher the dosage than recommended, the more dangerous and serious the consquences. The most abused substance is hydrocodone, which is a depressant. It is a pain reliever that calms the body. â€Å"There are many indications of drug abuse. The symptons witnessed depend on the type of drug being abused† (MayoClinic). Depression and low blood pressure are indicaters of opioid painkillers abuse; drowsiness and impaired judgement indicate sedatives abuse. Stimulants abuse is indicated by insomnia and irregular heartbeat. Section 3: Analysis The research was very helpful in providing answers for the questions. I learned that there are many ways to obtain illict â€Å"street† drugs and prescription drugs. The street drugs are produced by DTOs and even trafficked by DTOs. However, they are sold by local gangs in various environements, mainly in inner cities. I learned that prescription drugs are obtained through decieving and fradulant online transactions. The most suprising fact was that drug abuse has a big affect on society. The cost for counterdrug enforcement and diversion of drugs is very costly and the money could be diverted to something more useful. The research has thought me alot about drug abuse and why avoiding it is the best option. It was helpful to learn these facts and learning the dangers of falling into the viscious drug abuse cycle. Works Cited â€Å"DEA Briefs & Background, Drugs and Drug Abuse, Prescription Drug Fact Sheet. † PE Html PUBLIC â€Å"-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1. 0 Transitional//EN† â€Å"http://www. w3. org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional. dtdhttp://www. w3. org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional. dtd † Welcome to the United States Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration. Web. 13 Mar. 2010. .

Proctor and Gamble Success, Failures, Key Players and Projected Outcomes Essay

Answer 1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Just like any other ordinary multinational company in the market, Proctor & Gamble has been able to use innovation as one of their tools in order to achieve market competitiveness. By knowing the tastes and preferences of their target market, Proctor & Gamble has been utilizing every single opportunity available to improve their market sales and profitability. At the end of the day, the entire company will benefit from the innovative actions of the management of Proctor & Gamble. Through the aid of advanced technology available in the production line, Proctor & Gamble was able to produce Tide, Crest, Pampers etc in a more efficient manner (Bruner, 2001). The eagerness of the members of the top management to pursue innovative processes in the operational line of the company will be later on become part of the core traits of the entire organization, thus, boosting employees morale, efficiency and productivity. With this success of Proctor & Gamble in penetrating their target market through the aid of innovation, there would be no doubt that this company will eventually enjoy impressive growth for the next coming periods. In order to prepare the company from the said growth, Proctor & Gamble increased the volume of their fiscal budget and sales making the shares to the company to rise (Businessweek.com, 2001). This increase in the shares of stocks of Proctor & Gamble means that investors wanted to invest or invest more on the stocks of the latter. On the other hand, one failure that could be considered on the part of the management of the said company would be the resignation of their CEO, Durk Jager, in 2000 as well as the failing profitability of the company during the fourth quarter of the same year (Businessweek.com, 2000). Durk Jager made a lot of contributions in P&G for he is the one who made initial steps in innovating the products and production line of the company as well as credited for his successful marketing strategies that made P&G become one of the leading multinational companies in the country. Profitability on the fourth quarter during that time was the consequence of the tight market competition that exists in the industry. Answer 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the factors that made a major impact on the company’s success and failures would be their leaders or the top level management. These members of the top management team of P&G serves to be the â€Å"asset† of the entire organization for the former exhibit impressive skills and talents in handling the operation of the company as well as in predicting the behavior of their target market to gain comparative advantage over their competitors. With these superb managerial skills of the top managers of P&G, the said company was able to overcome their obstacles such as the declining profitability during the late period of 2000. Furthermore, another factor that can be raised here is the various economic factors such as competition, stability of the finance sector of the company and the economic stability of the country in terms of trading with other countries since it affects the international operation of P&G. Like for instance, the rapid fluctuation of exchange rates in the financial market could threaten the return on investment of the foreign investors in the country causing major draw back in the condition of the stocks of multinational firms such as P&G. It is also included here in the list of economic factors that affects the success and failure of the P&G would be the labor market. Proctor & Gamble employs around 130,000 workers in United States alone and any distortion in the labor market, like increase in the wage rate of the workers, could affect the performance of the company in terms of financial stability and production continuity. Answer 3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the resignation of Jager in 2000, another persona was born in order to assume the position of CEO in Proctor & Gamble and he is none other than A.G. Lafley. Lafley used to run a U.S. Navy retail store before he assumed the position of CEO in P&G (Martin, 2008). In order to boost the profitability of P&G which was negatively affected by tight market competition, Lafley decided to know more regarding the behavior of the consumers to anticipate their current needs and preferences which Jager seems to overlook when he was in the position of the CEO. From knowing more on the consumption behavior of their target market plus the innovation of their products, Lafley was able to regain the lost profits of the company as well as the sales and market shares in the industry. In short, the problem regarding the lowering down of P&G’s profit boils down to the saturation of consumers on the old reliable products of the company. What the consumers want to see, as Lafley discovered, is the innovation on the product line of the company, what is new and what the improvements are. Lafley was able to answer these questions and execute the necessary actions to remedy the failing market status of P&G. True enough, P&G now ranked on the 10th place of the worlds top multinational companies in terms of profitability and this is a manifestation of the good leadership and at the same time critical thinking of Lafley regarding the finding of ways to suffice the needs and preferences of their target consumers. References Bruner, G. F. (2001). The Tao of Innovation. Retrieved January 29, 2008, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=66774845&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientid=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD Businessweek.com (2001). Lehman Upgrades Proctor & Gamble. Retrieved January 29, 2008, from http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/dec2001/pi20011212_0523.htm?chan=search Businessweek.com (2000). Why the Tide Turned Against P&G. Retrieved January 29, 2008, from http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/eemi/emi0609b.html?chan=search Martin, R. L. (2008). P&G: Using the Past to Invent the Future. Retrieved January 30, 2008, from http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2008/id20080122_229434.htm?chan=search   

mass customization essays

mass customization essays Customization means manufacturing a product or delivering a service in response to a particular customers needs, and mass customization means doing it in a cost- effective way. The concept can be customized either very broadly as a business strategy for profitably providing customers with anything they want, anytime, anywhere, in any way; or narrowly as the use of flexible processes and organizational structures to produce varied and often individually customized products and services at the price of standardized mass produced alternatives (1). The concept of a mass customization strategy in today's business environment has great appeal especially as the driving force in the marketplace is the customer. Increasingly, customers expect delivery of high-quality, customized products and services at affordable prices. Which means that firms must be competent to quickly respond to changing customer desires, keep pace with innovation and at the same time operate at a low cost to make the products or services affordable. It calls for a customer-centered orientation in production and delivery processes requiring the company to gather information about every customer and collaborate with each individual to design the desired product or service. Achieving this customer focus can be quite a massive undertaking since firms may require new organizational structures, values, management roles and systems, learning methods and ways of relating to customers. It may require company wide technology that uses specifically computerized programs that synchronize the supply chain, allowing manufacturers to input supplier information, raw material availability, engineers' CAD drawings, production schedules, costs and distribution data, which will enhance communication between salespeople, customers, suppliers, distributors, engineers and the factory floor (2). The cost of such a technology driven system is not only expensive but can be difficult to...

Bloomingdales international customer service

Bloomingdales international customer service "AT BLOOMINGDALE'S, WE'RE ALWAYS AT YOUR SERVICE" Bloomingdale's is successful because they have positioned themselves in the retailing market, by offering unique merchandise from around the world, targeting a affluent, educated group of patrons aged between 35-55 years, and focusing on "Customer Service". This marketing strategy has been the back bone of their success.Advertisement campaigns of Bloomingdale's has portrayed the focus of "Customer Service", with slogans such as "At Bloomingdale's, we're always at your service" and "You are like no one else in the world, Bloomingdale's is like no other store in the world.  ¢Ã‚„ ¢." Bloomingdale's is like no other store in the world, offering a unique retailing experience. It has been referred to as the "retailing theatre" in some of the worlds most influential magazines. Thus Bloomingdale's has gathered a international reputation for their unique merchandise and services; becoming a hot tourist destination.English: Bloomingdale's department store at Lexing...The International Customer will have unique needs, that will have to be catered too in order to achieve return business and new clientele.LANGUAGE BARRIER World wide there is over 200 different languages spoken. Thus, there are vast differences among nations as to the languages commonly spoken. Even within nations, there is often diversity as to the languages spoken. For example, Canada (English and French), India ( Hindi and English) Japan ( Japanese, English and Korean) have two or more official languages. However , the obvious language barrier, is not the only concern. Words have a variety of meaning within diverse countries.To overcome this issue, Bloomingdale's has available "Personal Shopping Assistant" Service. This is can be obtained at the International Service Desk, here they arrange for Associate that speaks the clients native language to assist. The signs in the store a mainly written in English, however there is a...

Explain the role and significance of sponsorship in marketing an event Essay

Explain the role and significance of sponsorship in marketing an event and identify the positive and negative impacts associated - Essay Example The events provide the company with an opportunity of face-to-face interaction with the target customers who have grown and have become significant contributor towards the marketing communication program. Research studies have shown that about 22 percent of the total marketing budget is dedicated towards the sponsorship of events and activities (O'Connor, 2004). Sponsorship is defined as â€Å"the alignment of a brand with an activity in order to exploit the commercial potential created by the association, thereby positively impacting the brand image and/or sales amongst the sponsor’s target market, in order to attain marketing and corporate objectives† (Koekemoer, 2004, p. 456). In simple terms sponsorship can be defined as the provision of resources like equipment, people and money by an organization who acts as the sponsor, to the sponsoree or the beneficiary. As compared to the traditional advertising sponsorship acts as an alternative that provides opportunity for selling the product and services of the marketer and building brand image for the organizations. Sponsorship is a very powerful marketing tool. It has the capability to cut through the clutter, provide a unique opportunity to create relationship with the customers by producing emotional bondage with them and speak something rare as far as the business is concerned. This study focuses on gaining an in-depth knowledge regarding the role and importance of sponsorship and the negative and positive impacts it creates. Roles of Sponsorship The role that sponsorship plays can be understood from the objectives that the companies look for achieving through sponsorship. The success of sponsoring an event by the company is well defined by the objectives, evaluation of the end results and benefits that the organization enjoys. As per Andreff & Szymanski (2006), there are two types of objectives that can be classified as indirect and direct objectives. A dramatic change in the behavior of the ex isting and the new customers due to sponsorship is signified as direct objective. On the other hand indirect objective is signified by the increased visibility of the product and the brand, enhancement in the brand image and contact with the target segment. By accomplishing the indirect objectives the organization look for attaining growth in sales as the long term goal of the organization. Five significant principles of sponsorship objectives have been proposed by Jobber (2007). The objectives include gaining publicity, creating opportunities for entertainment, nurturing favorable company and brand association, enhancing the community relations and generating opportunities for promotion. Sponsorship provides an effective way to the organizations to promote their products, logos and brands; thus, providing opportunities for promotion. The company can use products like pens, sweatshirts and bags with their logos on them to create a wider recognition and retention among the audiences. Social responsibility is another reason that drives the company towards going for sponsorship. Companies engaged in sponsoring schools can create a socially responsible and caring image of the organizatio

Business Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Law - Assignment Example In such a way, fair use doctrine allows for copyrighted material oftentimes displayed for specific purposes without the necessity of acquiring permission from the right holder. 3. trade secret Trade secret necessarily first you process, practice, formula, design, or other instrument or pattern which can be understood to be directly related to the means by which an economic advantage is leveraged within the company. Oftentimes, such trade secrets or confidential; however, they are protected under a different type of United States law as compared to classified information. 4. easement An easement refers to a specific right to utilize the property of another without ultimately having ownership. In this way, it can best be defined as a right of way. 5. adverse possession Adverse possession be understood as the process by which a given property changes ownership. In such a manner, the title to another individual’s property can oftentimes be seen without direct compensation. In such a way, the growth and development of squatter’s rights have, to be evidenced. 6. bailment Bailment is a defined as a type of transfer of personal property with one individual to another. Most commonly, the surprises when property is given to another individual process of safekeeping it is born out of an independent contract. 7. intestacy Intestacy is designed as situation in which individual passes away only more property than the sum of all their debts and/work funeral expenses and without making it will provide the declaration of what should be done with their belongings when they pass. 8. insurable interest Insurable interest in defined as an interest in which the insurer has a specific level of interest or other type of benefit with existence of such an object. In this way individual has insurable interest in something as long as loss or damage of this particular good would consequently serve type of financial loss stop 9. security interest Security interest can ultimate ly be understood as a type of agreement for cooperation of law over assets that help to ensure that the security of an obligation will ultimately be performed. 10. perfection (Article 9) Article 9 of the uniform code governs the way in which interests may be obtained on certain types personal property as a means of securing debt. Ultimately, this particular article defines the way in which the owner of the collateral is responsible for interacting with the holder of the collateral that is ultimately paid off. 11. commercial paper This ultimately refers to the type of unsecured promissory note with a fixed maturity date. In this way, commercial paper is often a type of non-monetized security that is sold by corporations in order to rapidly create short-term debt in order to meet current needs. 12. holder in due course Holder in due course is with reference to a commercial law that seeks to provide a level of protection to the purchaser of debt. The doctrine helps to insulate the purc haser against charges that the other party in the transaction may hold against the purchaser. 13. accommodation party An accommodation party is a type of surety bond or other type of guarantee that serves as a promise between one party and another that debt collection will be assured in the event that the borrower defaults. 14. presentment warranty The present but warranty refers to an implied promise with regards to the