Investment Portfolio Management - 6559 Words

|IPM Project Report | | | | | |Investment Portfolio Creation | |using | |†¦show more content†¦It’s actually a very simple quantitative stock ranking scheme. It uses return on capital and earnings yield as inputs. Return on capital is the metric that shows whether a business is a good one or not. Earnings yield is the metric that shows whether a company is cheap or not. Greenblatt suggests using these measures to identify good but cheap businesses, and buy them. That’s the secret behind the ‘magic formula’. In â€Å"The Little Book That Beats The Market,† Greenblatt calculated hypothetical returns for the 1988-2004 period. The magic formula returned an average 30.8% per year, while the market return was 12.3% and the SP 500 returned an average 12.4%. So this formula beats the market by 18% per year. The two things he looks at are earnings yield, which is how cheap the company is. A simple earnings yield would be the inverse of the P/E ratio or earnings to price. So, in other words, if something earned $2 and it cost you $10 a share, you’d have a 20% earnings yield. It uses a more sophisticated metric than just earnings, than just price. But the concept is the same. It uses EBIT–earnings before interest and taxes and compares that to enterprise value, which is the market value of a company’s stock plus the long-term debt that a company has. That adjusts for companies that haveShow MoreRelatedInvestment Analysis Portfolio Management1583 Words   |  7 PagesHere is the term paper on investment analysis portfolio management from 31st may to 1st august. Now you will see that we have collected stock information and calculate relative things to evaluate our performance. We think that if anybody want to invest in the DSE , this term paper can help them to make decision whether or not they will invest or not and what strategy should they follow. Finally, we are also very much satisfied to have the scope of doing this investment which gave us the practicalRead MoreInvestment Strategy and Portfolio Management2408 Words   |  10 Pages Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management - Case of study: Kaplan Capital Introduction For organisations operating in unpredictable and competitive markets, it becomes a challenge for fund managers to create an optimal investment portfolio for their companies and their clients. Fund managers are presented with various prospects in emerging markets, equities, real estate, corporate bonds, government bonds, hedge funds, financial derivatives, and other alternative investments optionsRead MoreInvestment Analysis and Portfolio Management10645 Words   |  43 Pagesanticipation of future returns. Investments could be made into financial assets, like stocks, bonds, and similar instruments or into real assets, like houses, land, or commodities. The aim of Portfolio Manager is to provide a brief overview of three aspects of investment: * The various options available to an investor in financial instruments. * The tools used in modern finance to optimally manage the financial portfolio. * Lastly the professional asset management industry as it exists todayRead MoreInvestment Analysis And Portfolio Management1453 Words   |  6 PagesMA930 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management December 2014 Assessment a) Summary of assumptions on the outlook for the UK economy and government policy. †¢ GDP is forecasted to be between 3.0%-4.0% in 2015. This is supported by the revision of the GDP in 2014 from 2.5% to 3.0% by Office for Budget Responsibility(OBR) in the Autumn Statement. (Office for Budget Responsibility, 2014). This is also supported by the reduction in unemployment rate by 7.2% in the fourth quarter which would increaseRead MoreMoney Management: Investing in Portfolio Investments1815 Words   |  7 PagesMoney Management Introduction It is the wish and hope of every person that when they age they will have a sustainable source of income to live on until they pass. In view of this objective of every average working person, the process of managing a persons income becomes a crucial practice. The aspect that the source of income may be regular or irregular, consistent or inconsistent makes it challenging to determine and decide on a particulate portfolio for investment. Thus, the business world,Read MoreInvestment Analysis and Portfolio Management Essay2226 Words   |  9 PagesInvestment Analysis and Portfolio Management Date: May 18, 2011 | 1. Impact of various causative factors on the three indicators: According to the observation of the past one-month, it infers that DJIA and NASDAQ Index fluctuate to grow, and 10-year Treasury Note Yield fell down. After analyze the daily causative factors, I find several parts influence the indicators. Most of all, the whole economic trend is the most important impact of various causative factors. The three indicators are allRead MoreBenefits of Risk Management on Investments and Portfolio Assets2700 Words   |  11 PagesAcknowledgement Benefits of Risk Management on Investments and Portfolio Assets The report on the above subject/topic is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of MBA Program of AICISM AMITY, Noida. The report has been prepared based on information/data collected through primary survey and published information available from various sources. The data and the statistical ingredients, including the contents of the report, are either drafted/ authored by me or copied from specific authorizedRead MoreSwot Analysis Of Brown s Investments And Portfolio Management851 Words   |  4 PagesStrengths related to Brown’s Investments and Portfolio Management Our team has carefully reviewed your portfolio and have identified areas of strength and areas that need improvement. The term portfolio includes all your investment accounts except the 529 Plan which we analyzed separately. One strength in regards to your portfolio is that it has outperformed the market over the last ten years. This means that on average your returns were greater than the returns of the market. Outperforming theRead MorePrioritizing It Project Management Portfolio1390 Words   |  6 PagesPrioritizing IT Project Management Portfolio Prioritizing IT Project Management Portfolio The realities of shrinking IT budgets and increasing dependence on IT in organizations in recent years has resulted in a situation in which there is an intense competition for resources needed to execute and complete IT projects. According to Ross (2007), the shrinking IT budget in the face of increasing demand has brought new pressures to the IT function. To gain approval and funding for projects, IT departmentsRead MoreCase Study : Crescent Wealth Sdn Ltd Essay864 Words   |  4 PagesPROFILE Ahmed is a financial markets expert specialized in stock markets and forex trading managed discretionary, non-discretionary portfolios and business development. He is MBA in finance and accounting a motivated, team player and performance focused professional with thirteen years of middle management experience. Successfully dealt with regulatory authorities, auditors and skilled in collaborating with different functional groups such as treasury, compliance, finance and settlement departments

My Statement of Purpose for a Masters Course in Management...

Statement of Purpose Introduction The remarkable success of Kalpana Chawla is an inspiration to all Indian women, with special meaning to those involved in the study of math and science. Kalpanas untimely passing as part of the Challenger crew is a paradox for the world to understand, yet for her, a woman of remarkable intellect and clarity of vision, she passed doing what she loved: exploring, pushing the boundaries of space and furthering scientific discoveries. She is an inspiration and force in my life, and serves to show that with enough intensity and focused effort, remarkable accomplishments can be attained quickly throughout ones life. Growth In Engineering Years My passion for engineering and electronics began prior to beginning my undergraduate major in Electronics and Telecommunication. During those years prior to beginning my undergraduate major, I was fascinated with how mechanical, electro-mechanical and electronic devices worked. Those years were invaluable from a learning standpoint, as I was able to develop analytical and engineering skills I would use throughout my academic career. During this time period I initiated many projects, the majority of which included mechanical inventions, electromechanical devices and explorations of electronics. During this time I also began to develop an interest in computer networking and the study of the TCP/IP command set. Specifically I became fascinated with how the Blackberry could simultaneously send andShow MoreRelatedWhy I Learned Technical Management1100 Words   |  5 PagesStatement of Purpose Introduction Information is important. It is essential. Club it with technology and it becomes vital. Now, add management to the mix and we have a modern, futuristic way of life. Technology and management, both have been around for years now, but individually. While they are solid on their own, when we bring them together we have a true game changer. My enthusiasm for information technology developed around the time I started studying engineering. My fundamentals were rock solidRead MoreLogistics And Supply Chain Management1379 Words   |  6 PagesStatement of Purpose With global operations, becoming more complex, companies in manufacturing, retail and technology and the consulting firms that service them, they are scrambling to hire people with Supply Chain expertise, but these experts are hard to come by. Supply Chain Management has moved from a necessary evil to a core competency at companies across industries. I am applying for admission to the Master of Logistics and Supply Chain Management because I want a career in theRead MoreComputer Science As A Science1021 Words   |  5 PagesSTATEMENT OF PURPOSE Computer science spans the range from theory through programming to cutting-edge development of computing solutions. Computer science offers a foundation to adapt new technologies and new ideas. It has become one of the booming fields in the world. So this inspired me to pursue computer science as major field. Many individuals have an aspiration to be a part of this highly coveted field and I am one of those. My passion in the Computer Science developed ever since I was in schoolRead MoreWhy I Chose Sullivan University For My Masters813 Words   |  4 PagesStatement of Purpose After working for a few years in the IT industry, it was time when I took a step further to improve my skills. I really enjoy working with computers and now I want to add a touch of management to skills. MS in Managing Information Technology will help me attain the skill set I am looking for to help my career reach new heights. I understood the real essence of this field during my work experience at Cerner Corporation where we had to deal with huge amount of data and informationRead MoreMba Program At Mumbai University1250 Words   |  5 Pages STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Purusing MBA requires determination and strength of character. In recent years, the growth of the business world has become so huge that now there are no restricting borders and one can open up his/her business anywhere he/she wants to. With the increase in the demand for business executives, it has become a must to obtain a degree in management. As a native Asian, I am well aware of this growth, and thus want to gain as much knowledge as I can, so that I could achieve my dreamsRead MoreSwot Analysis on My Preparation for Phd in Managment1332 Words   |  6 Pages PhD in Management Leadership and Organizational Change SWOT ANALYSIS Introduction In general, SWOT Analysis is applied to strategic planning for a firm of some kind. 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Not only have I gained valuable academic knowledge, but I have also learnt communication skills and how to apply them for the best outcomes in group settings. In fact, I already understand that hard work and optimism (qualities that did me well in my eleven years as a health care assistant in nursing homes for theRead MoreThe Importance Of Making Valid Decision And Strategizing On Business, Polity And Market Front Essay1271 Words   |  6 Pages1 I still remember the days in my universities as if it were yesterday. In those days I worked with lot of national and international organizations, which are working in varied sectors and bringing change by modern methodologies. In second year of my under-graduate, I founded a Non-Governmental Organization named Fep-Si (Forum for Empowering people through Social Innovation and Entertainment) and worked with another organization named Alexis Foundation as research associate for designing public policy

The Louisiana Purchase Free Essays

Describe the events leading to the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803. Discuss the terms of the treaty and how Jefferson reconciled his strict interpretation of the Constitution with the acquisition of the territory. Before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the entire Louisiana territory covered what is today known as the Midwest. We will write a custom essay sample on The Louisiana Purchase or any similar topic only for you Order Now The purchase of the land was a monumental step in the expansion of the United States. Thomas Jefferson became the 2nd president of the United States in 1800 and assumed control in 1801.He envisioned a society of independent farmers that were free from the restraints of industrial towns and the mobs of European cities (Brinkley p. 181). In 1763, France lost control of the Louisiana Territory to Great Britain. Under the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1800, France regained control of Louisiana in an acquisition that Napoleon Bonaparte hoped would become the heart of the great French empire in America (Brinkley p. 200). Napoleon envision a French empire that would control much of the trade and establish French dominance in the New World.All was not well within the French empire though; African slaves in San Domingo would revolt under the leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture in the West Indies. Napoleon would have to send an army to restore order in the Indies. This revolt was but the start of the problems of Napoleon realizing his ambitions in America (Brinkley p. 200). Thomas Jefferson had begun to reconsider his association with France after he learned of the secret treaty in which France regained Louisiana.Jefferson had become even more alarmed in the fall of 1802 when he learned that the Spanish intendant who controlled the Louisiana Territory had announced a new regulation (Brinkley p. 200). American vessels had long used the Mississippi River as a supply route to get cargo to New Orleans in order to load ocean bound ships for export. The new regulation revealed by the Spanish forbade the use of the route effectively shutting down the lower Mississippi. Upon learning of the new regulation, Jefferson sent his French ambassador to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans (Brinkley p. 00). His ambassador, Robert Livingston, took it upon himself to try and purchase the majority of western Louisiana as well. While Livingston was trying to acquire Louisiana, Jefferson had persuaded Congress to appropriate funds to expand the army and the construction of a river fleet (Brinkley p. 200). Jefferson wanted to give the illusion that the US had partnered with the British if the problems with France were not resolved soon. Shortly afterward, Napoleon decided to accept the United States offer to purchase Louisiana. On April 30, 1803, James Monroe and Richard Livingston signed the agreement with France for the purchase. The United States purchased Louisiana from the French for $80,000,000 francs ($15mil US. ). The US also had to promise certain exclusive commercial privileges to France and to incorporate its residents into the Union (Brinkley p. 201). The agreement stated that Louisiana would occupy the â€Å"same extent† as it had when France and Spain had controlled it (Brinkley p. 202). Thomas Jefferson was pleased with the acquisition of Louisiana but was unsure if he possessed the authority to accept the agreement terms. He was convinced by his advisors that with this treaty making power under the Constitution, that his acceptance of the agreement was justified. In 1803, the French assumed control of Louisiana from Spain and immediately transferred the rights to the territory to the United States. Louisiana was admitted into the Union as a recognized state in 1812. Brinkley p. 202) The purchase of Louisiana was a major step in the development of the Midwestern United States. Gaining control of the territory from France helped the United States regain the power to transport goods down the Mississippi River to get to the port of New Orleans. This was a big deal to the United States as New Orleans was the focal point of moving goods across the ocean for export.Bibliography †¢ Brinkley, A. (2007). American History: A Survey. Boston: McGraw Hill. How to cite The Louisiana Purchase, Papers

Cloud Computing Technology Cloud Computing Service Models

Question: Discuss about the Cloud Computing Technology for Cloud Computing Service Models. Answer: Introduction London Bikes Ltd. is a small and medium sized enterprise, also known as an SME, which is located in the heart of London. The company is into selling of high end bicycles that are specifically meant for city riding and also takes custom orders from customer. The company hosts a website internally and has a full-fledged database management system, which the company uses for customer accounts, orders and billing. The IT capabilities of the company are also used to manage the pay role of their workforce. The company has recently gained knowledge about cloud computing and it is planning to implement cloud storage in their business so that they could increase the level of customer services and satisfaction. The first priority of the company is to create a backup of all its confidential information on a cloud server so that it could be saved from any man-made or natural disaster. Therefore, this report is aimed at providing an introduction of cloud computing to the company and discussing it s benefits, along with some success stories and deployment recommendations. Cloud Computing In the past few years, we have seen some of the best innovations that the technology could have ever made possible. From virtual reality to robots and artificial intelligence, technology has shocked us in a great way and has also made out life simpler. One such innovation of technology has been cloud computing that has actually helped millions of small, medium and large business organisations in increasing the efficiency of their business operations. Cloud computing, in simple words, is an internet service that hosts and delivers online storage services [1]. It provides shared computer processing resources and data to information technology devices on demand. The concept of cloud computing has evolved in the past few years as companies have been able to save a lot of their operational costs by eliminating the need to maintain huge and costly data banks and shifting all their information and data on to cloud storage servers. Cloud computing was coined to denote computer infrastructure as a cloud from where business owners and individuals could extract data on demand from anywhere in the world [10]. Characteristics Of Cloud Computing Let us now discuss some characteristic features of cloud computing: Self-service Per-Usage Metering and Billing Multiple Backend Hypervisors Storage virtualization Interface to public clouds Virtual clusters Reservation and negotiation mechanism [10] Benefits Of Cloud Computing Let us now discuss some advantages of cloud computing, which can be enjoyed by the organisation once it implements cloud computing in the company: Cost Savings one of the main benefits of cloud computing is that it helps companies in saving a lot IT costs. Businesses, no matter small, medium or large, work in order to earn money, which can be done only when the operational costs and expenses can be reduced. With cloud computing sever in place, business organisations can save a lot of their expenses by eliminating the costs related to in-house server storage and application requirements [2]. Reliability Cloud computing is managed by service provides and hence, it is much more reliable and consistent that a companys in-house infrastructure. Cloud computing service providers provide uninterrupted services and also prevent business organisations from the loss of important information or data as the data stored on the cloud servers can be easily retrieved at any point of time. Cloud service providers provide 24/7/365 availability and in case of failure, the applications being hosted on the server can be quickly transferred to any available server [2]. Improved collaboration one of the most amazing benefits of cloud computing is that it provides improved collaboration amongst all the operational units of an organisation [3]. By implementing a cloud computing server in the organisation, London Bikes Ltd. will be able to create, view, edit and share information and data amongst all the operational units of the company without any hassle. With improved collaboration, the company will be able to provide better products and services to the customers [4]. Scalability/Flexibility another major benefit of cloud computing is its scalability or flexibility. London Bikes Ltd. would be able to easily scale up or scale down its operations and storage needs according to the demand of the situation. Rather than investing into the acquisition of new infrastructure, software or hardware [4]. Some cloud service providers have made their services highly flexible so that it can be tailored according to the needs of the customers. Service Models And Available Real-World Services Cloud computing is becoming increasingly famous in the modern day world as it is convenient, cost-effective, all time available and provides on demand network access to information and data whenever required. Cloud computing comes with three service models: Software as a Service (SaaS) In this service model, the customers are allowed to use the application of the provider that is running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are made accessible to the customer through a thin client interface or through a program interface [5]. Platform as a Service (PaaS) in this service model, the customers are provided with the capability to deploy a cloud infrastructure, which is acquired by the customer, but is developed using applications, languages, services, etc. that are supported by the provider [5]. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in this service model, the customers are given the opportunity to gain access to processing, storage, networks and other fundamental computing resources. The customer is also allowed to run the arbitrary software that can consist of operating system and applications. The only thing that the consumer is not allowed to control is the cloud infrastructure [5]. Cloud computing is being considered as the next big thing and beyond doubt, sooner or later, it will eliminate the need of using large storage devices and heavy investments to extend storage spaces. As a result, there are a number of companies that have started providing cloud computing services to business organisations and individuals. Some of these service providers are: Amazon web services Amazon is one of the best cloud computing service in the market that provides a combination of IaaS and PaaS cloud services [7]. Amazon Web Services has a huge list of almost 70 services that span across a wide range including compute, storage, networking, application services, etc. Google Cloud Service Google too has been providing cloud services since quite a long time now. Googles Drive cloud storage has been providing storage solutions to millions of customers. Google also offers cloud computing services that are related to IaaS model. Googles platform includes a wide variety of hosted servers that allow computing, storage and application development that are run on the hardware of the company itself [8]. Cloud Computing And Virtualization Virtualization refers to the creation of a virtual version of something, such as a virtual version of a storage device, operating system, etc. Virtualization can be of many types, such as network virtualization, storage virtualization, server virtualization, etc. Virtualization can help in increasing the processing power of the information system by centralizing the administrative tasks and improving scalability of workloads. Network virtualization, storage visualization and server virtualization can be together used to make the concept of cloud computing better and more secure than ever before. [9]. The concept of storage virtualization helps service providers in extending the storage capacities of the cloud by allocating more memory. Further, the concept of software virtualization allows business organisations to use the same software on a large number of information systems by creating a virtual layer. Virtualization in cloud technology aims at managing the workload by making the traditional form of computing more scalable, efficient and economical. When cloud computing is related to virtual technology, it makes it possible for the organisation to run multiple operating systems and multiple applications on the same server at the same time. Thus, the concept of cloud computing still has to reach its pinnacle and would change the entire IT infrastructure once it does [13]. Deployment Recommendations The company, as stated in the case study, is a small and medium sized company that operates in London. Therefore, it is obvious that the company would not be eager enough to invest its important resources in acquiring costly cloud computing services. Cloud computing comes in different service models, such as IaaS, SaaS or PaaS, etc. and each of the models can have different cost structure for the investor. The service models and the cost structure would depend upon the companys requirements for access and its ability to handle the operations of cloud computing itself. The company should, first of all, prepare a list of cloud computing service providers and shortlist the ones which have simpler service models, provide cheaper services and offer very less maintenance on the customers part. Cloud computing service providers, such as amazon web services, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. can be included in the list as they are some of the most cost effective cloud services. Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud are two of the few best cloud computing service providers in the market and the rivalry between the two is a common topic in the market. Where Google has a huge platform and numbers attached to it, Amazon too is a tough competitor with more services to offer. AWS also offers a wider variety of services and has higher quality. Therefore, AWS is a clear winner when it comes to quantity and quality. On the other hand, Google is no less. Google has an advantage of Big Data with it and in a number of cases Google Cloud scores higher than AWS. Therefore, it is clear that both the platforms have some competitive advantages over the other and it would totally rely upon the preference of the company whether it would go with AWS or Google Cloud. Overall, London Bikes Ltd. should clearly weigh the advantages of the two, relate them with their business operations and acquire the one which would best serve their purpose. Migration Strategies Migrating to new software altogether is not an easy task for any company. It requires a lot of confidence and professional guidance to accurately set up the whole system on a new software, hardware or technology. Similarly, it would not be easy for London Bikes Ltd. to migrate to cloud computing altogether and leave all its traditional forms of computing. The company will have to work patiently and at a steady pace, it should slowly shift all its computing or information technology related work to cloud computing. Initially, the company will have to implement cloud computing in the workplace at a very small scale. By acquiring a simpler and a less complicated service application, the company would be able to pilot test the benefits of the cloud computing software and would be able to predict the future prospects of the same. The company should go for either SaaS or IaaS service models as they are less complicated and do not require the customer to take care of a lot of things or maintain them from time to time. Once the company is able to decide and implement a cloud computing platform, it should start to shift its customer information on to it. The company should ensure that it has a safe backup of all its files that are being transferred on to the cloud server as some things might go wrong in the first attempt. Once the company has all its customer information saved on the cloud, it can allow all the operational units of the organisation to use the cloud server and gain access to the informa tion stored on it for serving the customers when they come. If the company finds the cloud server to be useful and secure enough, it can then start to transfer its classified or confidential information on the cloud. Another major concern in cloud computing is related to security. As it is evident that the company will shift to cloud computing and would allow access of data to different users from multiple devices, security issues will definitely occur. If the management or the IT staff is unable to track the cloud server properly, it can be easily breached by outside entities and a lot of harm can be caused to the information or data stored on the cloud server. London Bikes Ltd. should also ensure that there are different levels of authentication in the organisation as all the information cannot be made available to all the people. Therefore, using unique ID passwords, the management can restrict the level of access that the employees will have to the cloud server. Once the company starts using the cloud server properly, it can contact the service provider for extra storage space whenever required, any security modifications, special customizations, etc. Conclusion London Bikes Ltd. has an exceptional business model and its unique idea will definitely bring a lot of business opportunities in the future if the company continues to perform well. To perform well in the market and to gain market competencies, it is must that the company should implement cloud computing as soon as possible as it would make it easier for the management to manage all the work operations and serve the customers in the best possible manner. Therefore, the company should take its time, conduct a detailed analysis on the cloud service providers, chose the one which suits their business purpose and should quickly migrate to cloud computing. References [3]"11 Advantages of Cloud Computing | Skyhigh Networks", Skyhigh Networks, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.skyhighnetworks.com/cloud-security-blog/11-advantages-of-cloud-computing-and-how-your-business-can-benefit-from-them/. [Accessed: 13- Aug- 2016]. [2]"Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing | LevelCloud", LevelCloud, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.levelcloud.net/why-levelcloud/cloud-education-center/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud-computing/. [Accessed: 13- Aug- 2016]. [4]"Benefits of cloud computing | Queensland Government", Business.qld.gov.au, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/technology-for-business/cloud-computing-business/cloud-computing-benefits. [Accessed: 14- Aug- 2016]. [10]R. Buyya, J. Broberg and A. Gos cin ski, Cloud computing. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2011. [5]Q. Devery, "The three types of Cloud Computing Service Models", Paranet.com, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.paranet.com/blog/bid/128267/The-three-types-of-Cloud-Computing-Service-Models. [Accessed: 14- Aug- 2016]. [11]T. Erl, R. Puttini and Z. Mahmood, Cloud computing. . [14]R. Krutz and R. Vines, Cloud security. Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley Pub., 2010. [13]L. Malhotra, D. Agarwal and A. Jaiswal, Virtualization in Cloud Computing, 1st ed. 2014. [12]S. Smoot and N. Tan, Private cloud computing. Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2012. [6]D. Sullivan, "Cloud Computing Solutions: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS", Tom's IT Pro, 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/cloud-computing-solutions,1-1755.html. [Accessed: 14- Aug- 2016]. [7]D. Sullivan, "PaaS Provider Comparison Guide: Amazon AWS as a PaaS - IaaS PaaS in One", Tom's IT Pro, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/amazon-aws-paas-iaas-cloud-computing,2-608.html. [Accessed: 14- Aug- 2016]. [1]"What is cloud computing? - Definition from WhatIs.com", SearchCloudComputing, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-computing. [Accessed: 13- Aug- 2016]. [8]"What is Google Cloud Platform? - Definition from WhatIs.com", SearchCloudComputing, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/Google-Cloud-Platform. [Accessed: 14- Aug- 2016]. [9]"What is virtualization? - Definition from WhatIs.com", SearchServerVirtualization, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/definition/virtualization. [Accessed: 14- Aug- 2016].

Alternative Sources of Energy as a Replacement of Oil

Alternative Sources of Energy as a Replacement of Oil Alternative Sources of Energy as a Replacement of Oil Modern society depends on electricity, which is the main type of available energy. Most of the electricity is generated using nonrenewable resources. Accessible oil and gas reserves are slightly higher than their current annual extraction. However, when comparing the figures related to the assessment of known reserves of most available fuels with the numbers of their current consumption, humanity can estimate the maximum time, for which these reserves may be sufficient. For oil, time is 65 years; for gas, it is 44 years; for coal, it is 320 years. In order to solve the energy problems by technical means, specialists offer two contrasting scenarios: the development of new techniques of energy production and the development of technology for energy efficiency. Thus, the development of new techniques of energy production using alternative sources of energy and the ability to replace oil and gas by them should be considered. Solar Energy Today, for the conversion of solar radiation into electrical energy, people have two possibilities: to use solar energy as a heat source to generate electricity by conventional means (for instance, using turbo) or directly convert solar energy into electricity in solar cells. The implementation of both options is still undeveloped. Solar energy is used for melting substances, heating, distillation of water, as well as heating after concentration by mirrors. As solar energy is distributed over a large area (in other words, has a low density), any system for the direct use of solar energy should have a collecting device (collector) with a sufficient surface. The simplest device of this kind is the flat-plate collector, a black stove, well insulated from the bottom. It is covered with glass or plastic that transmits light, but does not allow the infrared heat radiation. In the space, between the plate and black glass tube, through which water, oil, mercury, air, sulfur dioxide flow, are placed. Solar radiation penetrating through glass or plastic in the collector pipe is absorbed by the black stove and heat the working medium in the tubes. Thermal radiation cannot escape from the reservoir; therefore, the temperature in it is much higher (200-500 C pa) than the ambient air temperature. This reflects the so-called greenhouse effect. Ordinary garden greenhouses, in fact, are simple solar collectors. However, the farther away the equipment is from the tropics, the less effective the horizontal collector is, since turning it after the sun is too difficult and expensive. Therefore, these collectors are usually set at a certain optimum angle to the south. More difficult and expensive collector is a concave mirror, which focuses the incident radiation in a small volume around a certain geometric point - focus. The reflective surface of the mirror is made of metallized plastic or made up of many small plane mirrors attached to a large parabolic base. Due to the special mechanisms, this type of collector is constantly turned to the sun; thus, it can collect the largest possible amount of solar radiation. The temperature in the working space of mirror reaches 3000 C (Orloff, 2008). Arguments against the Use of Solar Energy Solar energy refers to the type of energy, which consumes a lot of material resources for production. Large-scale use of solar energy results in a substantial increase of demand of materials and, consequently, the labor force for the production of raw materials, enrichment, obtaining materials, manufacturing heliostats, collectors, other equipment, transportation. Calculations show that the production of 1 MWh of electricity per year would cost between 10 000 and 40 000 hours of human labor, comparing with the figure 200-500 000 hours in traditional energy sphere. Electricity produced by of the solar rays is much more expensive than the energy obtained by conventional methods. Biofuels Bioethanol is, in fact, a normal ethanol, which is produced by hydrolysis or fermentation of sugar-containing plants or straw and husks with subsequent distillation or purification. Biodiesel is a type of biofuel on the basis of vegetable or animal fats (oils), as well as the products of esterification, which are used in pure form or as various blends with diesel fuel. Any type of vegetable oil can be used for the production of biodiesel, but, as a rule, for these purposes specific oils are used such as canola (84%), sunflower (13%) and soybean (2%) oils. The main advantages of biodiesel are: Renewable energy sources; Preservation of natural resources; Can be used in conventional, unmodified diesel engines; Storage conditions are similar to conventional diesel fuel; The possibility of extending the life of diesel engines is higher than of fuel oil; The production and use of biodiesel have about 80% less carbon dioxide emissions, and almost 100% - sulfur dioxide (reducing pollution) (Brown, 2007). Moreover, the use of 5% bioethanol results in reduced carbon emissions by 3.5% and E85 (85% alcohol fuel) by 50%. In the biofuels, the presence of 15% ethanol reduces CO2 in the exhaust gas by 25%, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides - by 5-15%. In addition to the environmental benefits, the use of biofuels makes a considerable commercial value; General Motors, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler created hundreds of thousands vehicles, operating on a conventional gasoline, as well as on a gasoline mixed with ethanol. Oil companies are also looking for an alternative and increasingly conceive projects for the production of biofuels. Thus, this year known oil company Shell will produce ethanol with Brazil's Cosan, the largest exporter of sugar cane, and will invest in the project hundreds of millions of dollars (Brown, 2007). Wind Energy Resources of wind energy are more than a hundred times higher than the water energy of all the rivers of the world. Total wind energy potential of the Earth is 1200 TW. The average wind speed at a height of 20-30 m above the surface of the Earth should be large enough that the power of the air flow, passing through the properly oriented vertical section, reaches a value that is acceptable for conversion. Wind power stations are built mostly DC. Fantail drives the dynamo-electric generator, which also charges the parallel connected batteries. The battery pack is automatically connected to the generator at a time, when the voltage at its output terminals is greater than on the battery terminals and is also automatically turned off. Theoretically, coefficient of the efficiency of energy use of the air flow can be equal to 59.3%. In practice, the maximum coefficient of beneficial use of wind energy in the real wind turbine is about 50%. In addition, some of the energy of the air flow is lost in the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy, which is carried out with an efficiency of typically 75-95%. Taking into account all these factors, the specific electric power supplied by real wind power units, apparently, is 30-40% of the capacity of the air flow (Melis, 2001). The most crucial argument against this type of alternative energy is the high cost of a wind machine. Geothermal Energy Energy land or geothermal energy is based on the use of the natural heat of the earth. The upper part of the earth's crust is the thermal gradient, equal to 20-30 C per 1 km depth, and, according to White (1965), the amount of heat contained in the earth's crust to a depth of 10 km (excluding the surface temperature), is about 12,6*10 26 J. These resources are equivalent to the heat content of 4,6 1016 tons of coal, which is more than 70 thousand times greater than the heat content of technically and economically recoverable coal resources of the world. For electricity production in the fields of hot water, a method based on the use of the vapor formed by evaporation of hot liquid on the surface is used. This method uses the phenomenon that when the hot water under high pressure in wells goes from the pool to the surface, its pressure falls, and about 20% of the liquid boils and turns to steam. This vapor is separated from the water and sent to the turbine. Water coming out of the separator can be subjected to further processing, depending on its mineral composition. This water can be pumped back into the rocks at once, or if it is economically justified, with a preliminary extraction of its minerals (Orloff, 2008). Arguments against the Use of Geothermal Energy High prime cost, high cost of facilities for producing energy from geysers are the principal arguments against this type of alternative energy. Furthermore, obtaining geothermal energy directly from magma is not technically feasible. However, geothermal heat in the upper part of the crust (to a depth of 10 km) is too scattered to solve world's energy problems. Resources suitable for industrial use are separate fields of geothermal energy, focusing on accessible depth. They have a certain amount of heat, sufficient for their use for the production of electricity or heat. Technologies, needed to use energy of the hot dry rock, just begin to develop. Ocean Thermal Energy Last decade is characterized by certain success in the use of ocean thermal energy. Thus, stations for mini-OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) are created. For the first time in the history of technology, mini-OTEC system could give the external load utility power, at the same time covering its own needs. Experience gained in the operation of mini-OTEC, will faster enable to build a more powerful OTEC-1 and begin to design more powerful systems of this type. Arguments against are the technological complexity of implementing and high cost of the construction of such a facility (Horton, 2008). The Energy of the Tides For centuries, people have speculated on the cause of tides. Today, it is reliably known that this powerful natural phenomenon, a rhythmic movement of sea water, is caused by gravity of the Moon and the Sun. The maximum possible power from one tide to another can be expressed by the equation W=p*g*S*R2,where p is the density of water, g is the acceleration due to gravity, S is the area of the Tidal Basin, R is the difference in level at high tide. As it can be seen from the formula for tidal energy, some places are the most suitable on the coast, where the tides have large amplitude, while contour and coastal features can make a big closed "basins". Capacity of plants in some areas can reach 2-20 MW. First maritime tidal power station with capacity of 635 kW was built in 1913 in the Bay of Dee near Liverpool. In 1935, the building of a tidal power plant in the U.S. was begun. Americans dammed part of Passamakvodi Bay on the East Coast, spent $ 7 million, but the work was stopped. Argentine experts offered to use substantially high tidal waves in the Strait of Magellan, but the government did not approve the expensive project. Since 1967, at the mouth of the Rance River in France, at high tide of 13 meters, a tidal power station with the capacity of 240 thousand kW with an annual return 540 thousand kW has been working. Soviet engineer Bernstein developed a convenient way of blocks building on TPS, hauled afloat to the right places, and calculated the cost-effective procedure for the inclusion of TPS in the grid in the hours of their peak load by consumers (Horton, 2008). Arguments against this kind of alternative energy are inconvenience for the construction due to the lack of conditions (mismatch in seabed, etc.) and high cost of installation. The Energy of Sea Currents Inexhaustible supplies of the kinetic energy of ocean currents, accumulated in the oceans and seas, can be converted into the mechanical energy and electricity using turbines, immersed in water (like windmills, "immersed" in the atmosphere). One of the projects of waves using is based on the principle of an oscillating water column. In the gigantic "boxes" without a bottom and with holes at the top, water level rises and falls down under the influence of waves. The water column in the box acts like a piston: sucks air and forces it into the turbine blades. Currently, in some countries, and especially in England, an intensive work in terms of using of waves energy is being carried out. The British Isles have a very long coastline; in many places, the sea is stormy for a long time. Scientists estimate that 120 GW can be obtained up by the energy of the waves of the British territorial waters, which is twice more than the capacity of all power plants owned by the British Central Electri city Authority. Argument against this type of alternative energy is its low efficiency. One can expect to use only about 10% of the energy flow. There are also the technical difficulties of tools development: harmonization of inertia of turbine wheels with the amount of air in ducts in such a way that inertia keeps constant speed of turbine shafts in a wide range of conditions on the sea surface. Different types of alternative energy sources, their description "for" and arguments "against" their replacement of oil were considered. Nonetheless, it is also necessary to consider the reality (Zehner, 2012). The thing is that the current global financial system is totally dependent on the ever-increasing supply of oil and natural gas. Global financial and economic systems are built on the aspiration of the sustainable economic "growth". This growth of economic activity increases the amount of spent energy. At the moment, the global economy is able to perceive only fossil fuels (primarily oil and natural gas) as the form of energy, reserves of which are rapidly running out. A barrel of oil contains the energy equivalent of almost 25 thousand hours of human labor. Moreover, just one gallon of gasoline is the equivalent of 200-500 hours of human labor. Almost all of the work done in the world economy, such as all manufacturing, construction and transport, is done with energy, which is derived from fuel. In 2012, the production of one calorie of food, consumed in the United States, required ten calories of fossil fuel. 20% of the use of fuel resources in the U.S. is in the food chain, which means that their consumption of the food industry can compete with cars. Modern medicine, water and maintenance of the army are entirely based on oil and its chemical derivatives. In the U.S., the infrastructure of Internet supporting takes 10% of the produced energy. The dynamics of oil production is described by a Gaussian curve. An ever-increasing abundance of oil is on the upward slope of the curve; its increasing scarcity and high cost are on the downward. Conclusion Summarizing the above, alternative energy sources are a great option for development. However, the reality is that any source of alternative energy is able to cover the world's energy needs as it is 31 billion barrels a year, and it continues to grow. No source of alternative energy can produce energy without the cost of oil and gas for its production. None of them is cheap enough, clean (do not pollute the environment) and available in quantities of at least close to the immense volume of everyday consumption of oil and natural gas in the world. Discovering and extracting raw materials, such as silver, copper, platinum, uranium, which is necessary for the construction of solar panels and wind turbines, requires a huge amount of oil and other scarce resources. Oil is also needed for the development of alternative energy installations, distribution, support and their adaptation to the currently existing infrastructure. The reality is that it is preferred to invest world financial capi tal in military technology instead of investments in alternative energy sources, foreseeing future energy conflicts, namely the war for the remaining resources. The current system of market economy, the main purpose of which is to make more money and use more energy, will not allow the implementation of alternative energy sources, until reserves of oil and gas will end. As the exhaustion of oil and gas in the world's current economic model is inevitable, reserves of other forms of energy are not enough for a full-scale commercial operation, humanity is constrained to await for several depressive decades as long as the energy deficit will not be filled, and the world economic system will not be radically restructured.

rattlebone essays

rattlebone essays A novel or a collection of short stories? may be a question that a critic asks about Rattlebone. Maxine Clair portrays both arguments with her energetic writing style. A blend of random comments and many unique phrases intermix with the intense plot. Writing like this gives the reader a more relaxed state and the book seems more alive and real. In answer to the critique question, Maxine Clair is writing a novel because of an abundant supply of foreshadowing, a collection of narrators, a recurrence of characters, and a process commonly known to man as aging. Suggesting that Rattlebone is in fact a novel, foreshadowing occurred in several places during the book. Clair uses this writing method by mentioning the name October Brown, partly because Brown is involved at the beginning and towards the end of the book. Ms. Brown became an important part of Irenes life, not only by being one of the main reasons for her parents divorce, but also by helping Irene accomplish one of her goals. The time that occurred between these two events in the book connects Rattlebone and is a very good use of foreshadowing. Another example of Clairs use of this writing method is the experience of the divorce between Irenes parents. This long-term process displayed Irenes parents as being unforgiving. At first his wife forgives James Wilson for the affair that he enjoyed with October Brown, but after a period of time, Pearl also had her share of the fall in their relationship. At this time, neither one of Irenes parents would forgive the other nor make up with the other. This example again shows the use of foreshadowing by Clair by evolving the event over several chapters with different narrators. Irene, the narrator in several different stages of the divorce between her parents, speaks her feelings of disgust and always tries to keep her parents relationship together. Another side of the sto...

Training Programme for Production Manager Assignment

Training Programme for Production Manager - Assignment Example Top-Toy AS is a multinational company headquartered in Denmark with offices and outlets in Finland. This company produces and markets toys in many countries. In order to reduce manufacturing/production costs Top-Toy AS has moved its production of some toys to China. Top-Toy AS has also begun a new policy of shipping its products directly to its distributors in various countries rather than to Denmark to eliminate some of the costs of getting the product to market. Top-Toy has positioned a manager in China to facilitate communication between its headquarters and the manufacturing plant in China. One of the tasks of the China based manager is to help establish Top-Toy's global organizational culture that has made Top-Toy so successful in other markets. The managerial position in China is a three-year posting of an employee from either the Denmark headquarters or their Finland branch. This is a highly sought after post because it increases the value of the employee to Top-Toy AS and alm ost assures that employee a promotion upon their return to Europe. Top-Toy AS's challenge has been to set up an appropriate training programme for prospective managers. The prospective manager chosen for the next three year rotation is Finland native Frans Gustafsson (hypothetical character). Frans is a thirty-five year old married man with two young sons. Frans attended university in the United Kingdom and holds an MA degree. His native language is Finnish and he also has a good command of the English language. Frans' wife Hanna and his two sons Bo and Luukas will accompany him on his rotation. He has one year before his rotation begins and must use that time wisely to prepare. Frans is in luck! Top-Toy AS has developed a training programme for its managers. Frans will complete the training programme with an alternate candidate (chosen in case Frans can't go) who is first in line for the following rotation. The men's wives have been invited to attend various portions of the training programme as well. The first issue to be addressed are the language skills the Fran's will need to communicate with his Chinese counter parts. Both couples were provided with a programme called "RosettaStone level one Chinese that claims that you can "Learn a language naturally with Dynamic Immersion" (Rosetta Stone website). Both couples were also enrolled in an intensive Chinese language and culture course at the University of Helsinki. A very important part of the course at the university is a study in the cultural differences that exist when conducting business. Frans, and the others, were encouraged to focus on the cultural differences that exist between Chinese workers and Scandinavian workers. In China, managerial relationships with workers have traditionally focused on relationships and family backgrounds. The factory took care of your family while you worked hard for the factory (Su Yi, pg 1.). In contrast, western European managerial/worker relationships are based upon qualifications, compete ncy, and performance. Fran's, and the others, have to learn how to effectively manage in the Chinese workplace. Frans, and his alternate, will communicate frequently with the current manager in China to get a feel for the managerial style that is currently being used at the factory. Both