Holly Farms

Holly farms strategy Introduction In order to revive profits and save themselves from bearing heavy losses, Fred and Gillian Giles had opened a two purposed farm for the general public in 1993. Their ambitious goals had let them to put in all their savings to establish facilities on the farm which would entertain the tourists. This side of the business was apart from the usual farming being carried out which included the distribution of ice cream which was manufactured behind the farm in a small factory, a milking parlor to see the latest technology being used to milk the cows and an additional guided tour of the farm.Even though the business is currently running reasonably well, the owners are facing some serious issues related capacity constraints and competition. Answers Answer 1: There is a no. of issues which Gillian Gales is facing in her side of the business. These issues include the fact that in order to grow the Holly Farm's business, it is not possible for the owners to add additional capital. They have already invested a lot of money and any additional capital available to them will be in terms of a loan.However, the interest rate on the loan is expected to be above ten percent which would not make it feasible since the owners are not expecting to earn that high a return on their investment in order to pay the interest and the principal amount. Other issues which Gillian needs to take notice of include the fact that the ice-cream factory is not operating at full capacity, the freezer which has a capacity to hold 10,000 units is operated at 7000 units' storage to allow for stick rotation.The lack of preservatives used in the ice-cream would also be a factor in this regard where the inventory needs to move out of the factory within 6-12 weeks. This factor would be driving down retail sales to shops and hotels which might be interested in stockpiling the ice-cream for their peak periods (since Gillian is not in a position to increase production for them at that time). Gillian also needs to decide whether to promote coach firms or market to families and schools for trips to their farm.Gillian mentions that on average one out of two coach customers' buys one liter box of ice-cream while a four occupant car buys the same amount. This data, though a good starting point, would not allow for proper decision making since data on how many a coach normally holds. Also the use of averaged data is not advisable when making decisions as to who the target market would be for the coming year.There is also a need for extra staff by the farm, currently the ice-cream manufacturing employs farm workers' wives (three) and a maximum of four flavor can be produced given the time constraints and the set up time (to change flavors). Since capital investment is not possible at this time, Gillian would need to hire more staff for ice-cream manufacturing if she plans to increase the number of flavors to ten, analysis and accurate forecasting of what quanti ties of flavors to produce would also be required if the number of flavors is to be increased.Market researches as to which flavors are being demanded by the customers would also be required and could help eliminate the need to expand to ten flavors outright, but this is currently not being undertaken by Gillian. The lack of promotional activities by Gillian has seen the number of arrivals to the farm cap at 15000 a year; this situation is being ignored as Gillian is concentrating more on expanding the manufacturing side, now she needs to take a more active approach to increasing the traffic at the farm.The issue of farm timings not being conducive to picnics and factory visits (20% of the customers leave before the milking process) and this very fact that many visitors are unable to see the milking process is also one which would be driving lower ice-cream sales and needs to be looked into by Gillian. Answer 2: To increase the number of farm visitors by 50% in a single year is a al most unachievable goal that Gillian has set for herself. Although it is possible that the number be increased, but going from 15000 visitors to 22500 visitors is not a small task which can be achieved in the duration of a single year.This is due to a number of factors which, for Gillian, would be constraints in achieving this growth target. These factors include: 1. The fact that the farm is open to visitors for 7 months in a year, during the remaining months the animals are kept inside and the rides etc available to customers are not safe due to the weather situation. This is a limit which Gillian would be unable to surmount in a single years time without capital investment into building sheds and indoor facilities etc at the Holly Farm. 2.Another time constraint is the fact that Gillian and Fred found that keeping the farm open for more than the four days it is already open (Friday to Monday) is not feasible due to the low traffic during the remaining days. Also the farm workers w ould not be free during the three days of the week (they would be involved in the â€Å"real† farm work), so the only way to keep the farm open the entire week is through hiring extra staff which could only be justified and feasible if Gillian were able to confirm attendance/traffic at the farm during these days via school trips etc.The weekend is the peak period for Holly Farm and it is unlikely that working individuals would be willing to take farm trips during work days. The sales forecast for 1999 shows that Gillian has prepared is highly presumptuous given that she has yet to decide how she would be increasing the number of customers on the farm. Whether she wishes to bring in more customers through coach firms or target the family and recreational travelers (who come by car).With coach firms Gillian would most likely have to offer discounts on the farm visits to the coaching firms to plan trips or revert to her old marketing tactics of giving lectures at schools and ins titutes and market her farm herself. The decision on whether or not to engage with coaching firms is not possible at this time because the number of passengers on each coach has not been identified, thus one cannot calculate the profits to be had from the sales of ice-cream and other produce along with the admission fees (with or without the discounts).Even if the averaged figure of one-liter ice-cream sale per two coach passengers is taken to be reliably accurate without the number of potential customers coming through the coach trips, and via cars for that matter (one liter per four passengers), choice between the options would be more moot point than proper decision making on the part of Gillian. If we were to assume that half the customers come by car and half come via coach trips than promoting coach trips would yield more benefits in terms of ice-cream sales as * 7400 coach trips/2 = 3700 liters of sales & * 7400 car travelers/4 = 1850 liters of salesGiven that 13500 liters we re sold through the retail shop ($27000/$2(selling price)) this would mean that close to 41% of the sales comes through the customers on the farm. A 50% increase in the number of customers on the farm would lead to sales of $40,000 only if the number of customers at the farm window also increased by 50% which is a market not being targeted by Gillian, thus the following calculation leading to a figure of $40,000 would be incorrect as the sales would be lower (higher from the customers on the farm but when including the trend based sales through the farm window the total sales would be lower). 148001. 5=22200 customers * 11100 coach trips/2$2=$11100 * 11100 car travelers/4$2= $5550 * $16650/0. 41 = $40,610 in sales. School parties and trips could be a good tactic on the part of Gillian as they would ensure higher number of visitors and a larger sale of ice-cream and other products which could be made on the farm. Charging a lower admission fees for parties and retaining the catering of the party would be a good source of income for the farm and has the potential of increasing the traffic at the farm by opening a whole new target market for Holly Farms i. e. party venue.Gillian should invest some time and effort into undertaking market research into how many schools would be willing to have parties or field trips on the farm (before offering party packages), also information on the customer tolerance for queuing (to watch the milking process) would be beneficial to Gillian in analyzing how to increase the number of customers on the farm because if the customers are not able to watch the milking process and view this as a deal breaker, they might seek out other sources of recreation and by increasing customers in the short run, Gillian might lose customers in the long run.Information on the actual number of car visitors vs. those coming through coach trips should be sought before Gillian decides on a course of action. Answer 3: Before undertaking a decision to in crease the number of ice-cream flavors from 4 to 10 Gillian should weight the advantages and the disadvantages of this venture. The first factor which Gillian needs to consider is whether a market exists for ten flavors of ice-cream or not, and whether it is feasible for the farm to be producing ten flavors.The fact that capital investment is not possible for Holly Farms means that the additional production would be through an increase in the labor force but the overall quantity of the ice-cream produced would still be limited to an inventory level of 7000 liters (which can be held by the freezer). This would mean that the new flavors would be introduced at the expense of the old flavors. This can be an advantage if the customers of Holly Farm are seeking one or two flavors other than those eing offered (market research would be required to confirm this) and that the quantity demanded would allow for greater turnover through either farm or retail sales. Alternatively this venture co uld lead to unsatisfied customers in cases where the farm could experience stock outs of certain flavors due to the fact that many flavors would be under production. A move to directly offering ten flavors would also create logistical problems as the machines available for production and storing are limited.The fact that more staff would have to be hired would also increase the cost of production of all ice-creams and that would affect the profits of the ice-cream venture and Gillian would be forced to make another key decision on whether to pass on the increased cost to the customers in the form of higher prices, and risk losing some business, or decrease the profit margins of the same.Since an increase in volume is only possible if the inventory turnover is greatly enhanced by the introduction of new flavors (which is not certain) the profits for the farm would be on a downward trend if all other factors remain constant and flavors are added to the product offerings.Since there is no research to suggest that there would be a greater uptake of ice-cream (at retail or farm level) with more flavors, a jump to 10 flavors would be rash and create more problems for Gillian in terms of resource management, forecasting the demand for individual products and overlooking the manufacturing of the same, rather than the advantages Gillian seeks.Undertaking some degree of market research and exploring one or two additional flavors (based on research findings) whilst maintaining the same level of staff could be more beneficial for Holly Farms and they could expand their flavor offerings over the long run when they have the capacity to increase production or maintain higher levels of inventory. ConclusionThe case under review explores the capacity and resource constraints being faced by a small business which was able to attract customers and diversify into other forms of complementary businesses i. e. tours and ice-cream retailing. What we find in this case is that Gillian , the partner in charge of the complementary businesses is facing two critical decisions (a) how to increase the number of customers visiting the farm and (b) how to increase the retail sales of the ice-cream.Since capital investment is not a viable option for the business the means of increasing customer traffic are limited to promotional activities and attracting the right customers for both tours and ice-cream sales. We find that such decisions are not possible with the data available to Gillian at the present time and that the option to increase the number of ice-cream flavors to ten (from four) is also not viable given the manufacturing and storage constraints.Gillian should therefore seek additional data on the target audience for promotional activities and if she plans to increase the number of ice-cream flavors she should start on a smaller scale after conducting proper market demand research. References [Author of Book] (1999), â€Å"Case Study: Holly Farms†, [Name o f Book], Pp 244-248 Read more:  http://www. ukessays. com/essays/business-strategy/holly-farms-strategy. php#ixzz2DakGnUSm

The difference between school and life

Often times, the really tools that we provide kids with, in order to heighten their educational experience, turn out to be barriers that they must suppress foremost. American writer Tom Bodett one time said, â€Å" the difference between school and life? In school, you ‘re learning a lesson and so given a trial. In life, you ‘re given a trial that teaches you a lesson. † This is the attack we must utilize when analyzing the effeteness of computing machines of computing machines on our pupils. Modern society faces the hard undertaking of supplying the following coevals with all of the technological tools necessary to derive a comprehensive instruction, even while it struggles to get the hang the implements provided. As modern society sees a displacement into digital age, schools were non left unaffected. Get downing in the early computing machines and related engineering were topographic point into school scenes. The major statement was that computing machines would supply kids with research possibilities that extended beyond the walls of a library or schoolroom. The cause of presenting engineering into the schoolroom was spear-headed by, Massachusetts Institute of Technology mathematician, Seymour Papert. Papert sought, at first, to alter the job work outing method kids used by leting them to be to the full submerged in the experience. His thoughts warranted a trail, and led 100s of schoolrooms, across the state to have computing machines. As with all enterprises, if non implemented, supported, nurtured, and tested with the uttermost attention, it will fall far short of outlooks ; this is exactly the scenario that played out in these 100s of schoolrooms across the state. Old ages after the first personal computing machines were introduced to these oasiss of cognition, bookmans set out to mensurate the betterments that were promised. their findings were less than satisfactory. Yet it was a clear defect in their execution that led computing machines to be such a dearly-won failure. With bookmans and instructors left disgruntled ; it is of import to detect why this failure happened and how to forestall it from go oning once more. A expression into the background and inspiration for presenting such engineering to schools will supply at least, a basic hypothesis for why the computing machines failed to make its expected betterment consequences. In the 1960ss Seymour Papert was laughed at when he talked about kids being able to utilize computing machines as learning instruments and sweetening of their creativeness. So who is this adult male, Professor Seymour Papert who said that utilizing computing machines could assist kids larn and socialise more amongst each other. Born February 29, 1928 in Pretoria, South Africa, Professor Seymour Papert is an MIT mathematician, computing machine scientist, and pedagogue. He is besides considered one of the innovators of unreal intelligence, every bit good as being an discoverer of the Logo scheduling linguistic communication. Papert worked as a research worker at St. John ‘s College, Cambridge, the Henri Poincare Institute at the University of Paris, the University of Geneva and the National Physical Laboratory in London before he became a research associate at MIT in 1963 where he held this place until 1967, when he so became a professor of applied math and the manager of the MI T Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, until 1981 ; he besides served as Cecil & A ; Ida Green professor of instruction at MIT from 1974-1981. [ 1 ] In 1964 Papert was asked to fall in the module at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he helped to establish the Artificial Intelligence Lab with Marvin Minsky. He so besides developed the construct for computing machine linguistic communication, LOGO, and several new thoughts for computing machines and instruction with the aid of major grants from the National Science Foundation. The LOGO linguistic communication is adopted global and has been adapted for the usage of new engineerings in Africa, Latin America, Europe and the USA. Along with Alan Kay, Papert pioneered early thoughts in the usage of computing machines by kids that would take to the development of the first construct for a laptop computing machine. In the past few old ages Papert concentrated to a great extent on working with pedagogues in Iowa, where he has sh own how to accommodate the educational usage of robotic building for immature kids and across gender lines. He became the primary influence in converting Maine Governor Angus King to boldly set up the province of Maine as the first province in the universe to encompass the one-to-one computer science with the arrangement of laptops in all 7th and eight class schoolrooms in 2002-2003. [ 2 ] With the support of President Clinton, the â€Å" Lunch Box to Laptops † provided a great chance to put Maine and its immature citizens in the place of national leading. Some believe that it is an indispensable constituent of Maine ‘s ongoing attempts to construct on a hi-tech economic system whilst others argued that the benefits of increased technological influence will non merely make kids but besides their parents. In the early 1990 ‘s President Bill Clinton had proposed a $ 2 billion plan to assist increase the entree to computing machines and the Internet in low-income vicinities and schools.2 With that being said, the President ‘s Panel on Educational engineering had argued that the federal authorities should pass at least between $ 6 billion and $ 28 billion each twelvemonth on an ambitious plan of computing machine substructure development ( for both hardware and package ) , teacher preparation, and research.5 A research was performed on pupils who used the computing machines in the schoolroom one time a hebdomad and were so given a trial by the National Assessment of Educational Progress ( NAEP ) to find if the usage of computing machines in the schoolroom had both a positive and direct accomplishment on faculty members. Now the analysis provided that the pupils did non accomplish a higher mark on the NAEP reading trial versus those pupils who did non utilize the computing mac hines in schoolrooms at all. Now one major consideration was that instructors were non decently trained nor prepared to utilize the computing machines, since those pupils of instructors who are non adequately trained to utilize them in reading direction may non execute every bit good on the NAEP reading trial as pupils whose instructors are adequately trained. Now such disbursement would assist to supplement the $ 1.25 billion in federal money that was already spent between two financial old ages ( FY ) 1997 and FY 2000 on the engineering Literacy Challenge Fund,6 which helps to supply support for new computing machines, package, and teacher preparation. Although it seemed that politicians were speedy to name for the authorities subsidies to increase the figure of computing machines in schoolrooms, there was old research on the effectivity of computing machines in bettering a kid ‘s academic accomplishment which resulted to be inconclusive at best.7 In other words, it was non clear that passing more and more revenue enhancement dollars on computing machines would hike trial tonss. The usage of computing machines in schoolrooms may non play a large adequate function in explicating reading ability. Therefore, giving big sums of federal revenue enhancement dollars to the purchases of computing machine hardware, package plans, and infinite hours of preparation for instructors, it could herd out other worthwhile educational outgos, for illustration, new text editions, the humanistic disciplines and music plans, and vocational instruction. There have been no studies that do non propose that there is no topographic point for computing machines in the schoolrooms. It does, nevertheless, demonstrate that computing machines may non hold the consequence on academic accomplishment in reading that some might anticipate, even when they are used by well-trained teachers. So was n't Papert ‘s nonsubjective carried out to the fullest? Why was the proving non relevant to computing machine? It is non surprising that people are rooted in a school ‘s construct of how learning should take topographic point resist such restructuring. What is surprising though is the logical deformation they resort to in order to carry themselves, every bit good as others, that there are more powerful nonsubjective grounds that make the transmutation about impossible. There are three major issues that were brought by, surprisingly by the schools themselves. What was stated was that the computing machine was intensive and far excessively dearly-won to give every kid in a schoolroom, when in world schools place computing machines on a little based budget, for illustration authorship utensils. In world the existent cost of buying computing machines for each kid would be between $ 200 and $ 500 and they would transcend their estimated life-time of five old ages. Secon d, it was stated that instructors would non be capable of supplying the proper cognition when it is needed to the pupils. Now if you allow pupils, of all ages, to work together so it would demo them a beginning of cognition in which if free networked computing machines fundamentally provide limitless beginnings of cognition. Last, it was said that this sort of â€Å" work † is contrary to the credence that leting computing machine usage in school would be balked at by both instructors and parents. This is merely an premise that it would be imposed on everyone else the â€Å" right manner † and it continue to be a job unless one chooses to accept this new alteration. Papert ‘s aim is merely ill-conceived and certain groups of people feel it is a waste of clip and money when it should n't be looked that manner. The computing machines that will be the polar force for alteration, will be of those outside the control of schools and outside the schools ‘ inclinat ion as to change over new thoughts into old ways. We are already hearing narratives about the influence in schoolrooms of kids whose entree to at-home computing machines and to a place acquisition civilization has given them a high degree of non merely computing machine expertness but besides of seeking cognition and criterions in what constitutes a serious rational undertaking. The figure of these kids are expected and will turn exponentially in the following few old ages. A countrywide study of instructors in classs 4 through 12 who are experienced and accomplished at incorporating computing machines into their instruction. Of 1200 instructors who were sent the 16-page questionnaire, merely 608 returned the completed studies. Now the intent of analyzing these instructors was to seek and detect the ways in which they can utilize computing machines in their schoolrooms, and how they believe their instruction has changed as a consequence of the usage of computing machines, and the sorts of barriers and inducements that are of import to them. Major findings show that these instructors: ( 1 ) are comfy with computing machine engineering, give their ain clip to larn how to utilize computing machines, and have local support for utilizing them ; ( 2 ) work in schools averaging more than twice the figure of computing machines than other schools ; ( 3 ) usage computing machines for many intents including showing an thought, direction, word processing, and advan cing student-generated merchandises ; and ( 4 ) expect more from their pupils, are able to show more complex stuffs to their pupils, and foster more independency in the schoolroom. You can merely reason that similar achievements on a wider graduated table can be achieved if ample engineering, support, and clip for instructors to larn and be trained in the engineering is provided to them, and if an academic and cultural construction exists to promote instructors to take an experimental attack to their work. Harmonizing to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, pupils should be engineering literate by the clip they complete 8th class. However non every kid has equal entree to engineering. Often, schools in flush vicinities offer pupils a richer and better engineering experience than schools in poorer territories. Furthermore, there is a engineering spread that does be and some say it merely continues to turn, chiefly between America ‘s center and lower categories. Many perceivers and research workers believe that engineering can assist better larning but merely if it is right deployed and exhaustively understood. â€Å" Technology in schoolrooms has to be distinguished from engineering in schools, † said Howie Schaffer, public outreach manager at the Public Education Network, an organisation working to reform public schools in low-income communities. For Papert ‘s aim to go effectual, engineering in schools must travel beyond holding a computing machine lab that pupils merely visit a few times hebdomadally for 20 or 30 proceedingss. A successful, technology-rich school must incorporate engineering into their course of study, and instructors should be trained to utilize the engineering to maximise its possible. In 2004 the mean American public school instructor merely had a lurid sum of eight hours of development on things that were determined classified engineering. In order for engineering to do any difference in the schoolrooms, is if the computing machines equipment is working decently, the instructors are good trained and it is integrated into the schools or instructors curriculum. Computer engineering is used in math, scientific discipline, the humanistic disciplines and in natural philosophies. The construct is non lost on federal functionaries. Tim Magner, deputy manager for the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, understands that a good designed engineering program can better academic public presentation. The impact of engineering in the schoolroom depends to a great extent on its execution, he said. â€Å" Technology, when thoughtfully applied in the context of an overall instructional plan, can hold some pretty important effects. † Now Microsoft Technologies has agreed to assist develop instructors at schools that are willing and ready to accept the usage of computing machines in the schoolroom course of study, which is a large success even though some may see it as a immense hazard but that is non the instance. Equally good as assisting pedagogues improve their cognition of engineering and their method of fixing pupils, engineering can prosecute kids in the course of study when they may otherwise be disinterested.

Online courses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Online courses - Essay Example not hold the same value as traditional degrees do, but this thesis will try to look at the other side of online degrees as having the same value as the conventional degrees. Online colleges, just like their conventional classroom colleges have to follow the laid down guidelines in offering their degree, online colleges just like conventional ones. They have to teach the mandatory units and subjects in a certain degree program, they have to follow the stipulated timelines and grading of the students must be done at regular intervals in a similar way the conventional colleges do (Koontz, Li and Compora 38). In online degree programs, the subjects are taught by a teacher and not a programmed robot as some think, class notes are sent by the teacher to the students through email. The teacher interact with his students online through various ways such as online video chats and message boards, the tests are done online and they are graded by an actual teacher. In a survey conducted to determine the perception of employers toward online degrees, in 2001 only twenty-nine per cent of employers said they would not hire students with online degrees. The rest seventy-one percent said they did not mind the whether the degree was conventional or online as long it was from an accredited institution of learning and the employee had acquired the relevant skills. Some employers are now preferring online degree holder to the conventional degree holders as the online degree holders are perceived to have certain characteristics such self starters, they have self discipline and are able to meet deadlines. In the workforce, online degrees are valued as a great asset since they show the holder was creative enough to be able to complete the programme online successfully (Palloff, Pratt and Palloff 18). A research conducted by the United States department of education in 2009 found that the students who did online degrees performed much better than those who went to the conventional

Debate] about should voters approve some particular measure that Essay

Debate] about should voters approve some particular measure that allows some state or county to regulate legalized prostitution - Essay Example The first group is represented by proponents of the so-called proposition K (a measure to decriminalize prostitution) who also agree on the necessity of legalization and subsequent regulation. The members of this group suggest a variety of measures that would help regulate prostitution as a legalized business in the United States. The second group is represented by the opponents to the Proposition K and to legalization of prostitution in the United States. For this group, the question of the prostitution regulation by law does not exist as they oppose the very idea of its decriminalization and legalization of â€Å"the world’s oldest profession† (Armentano, â€Å"The Case for Legalized Prostitution†). This paper explores the arguments of both groups using the Toulmin model and provides a justified perspective on the issue. Firstly, the rhetorical situation is considered as the phenomenon of prostitution is discussed in the context of modern American society and i ts status. Next, the arguments of each side are analyzed with the help of the Toulmin model, which will help to reveal the common backing. Further, the author’s perspective on the issue will be discussed. ... In addition, it is alleged that the illegal status of prostitution has prevented women from working in safe conditions and urged them to work in the streets. Also, illegal prostitution, which is deemed a misdemeanor, incurs millions of tax dollars to be spent on investigation and prosecution of this criminal offense. To illustrate, statistic data show that Los Angeles spends around 100 million dollars a year to deal with prostitution (Armentano, â€Å"The Case for Legalized Prostitution†). Besides, it was estimated that nearly a half of illegal prostitutes in New York City and Washington D.C. were HIV-positive back in the 1990s (Armentano, â€Å"The Case for Legalized Prostitution†). Proponents of prostitution legalization and regulation warrant that legalization and regulation of prostitution is beneficial in many ways. They back their statement by saying that legalized brothels, with strict regulation by the state, in combination with severe penalties for the so-calle d johns that seek sex in the streets, will prevent human trafficking, spread of infections, and victimization of prostitutes (Lee & Persson 1). While it can be said that prostitution is a morally challenging occupation that promotes the decay of norms and values in the society and does not deserve decriminalization and legalization, it remains a fact that to use the services of sex workers or not is a personal choice of each of us. In addition, some people oppose the idea that legalized and regulated prostitution will help reduce victimization of prostitutes pointing out that the black market will still exist and keep recruiting girls from poor nations, the fraction of involuntary prostitutes as

Aviation Maintenance and Engineering Research Paper

Aviation Maintenance and Engineering - Research Paper Example All of the maintenance savvy institutions were established in the 1960’s with a sole goal, to increase safety and life of their equipment and aircrafts. The first institution that was built was known as RCM (reliability-Catered maintenance) but united airlines engineers. This was followed by Boeing’s MSG which till present is known as the standard which has to be followed (Kinnison, 2004). All the details of such practices are highlighted in this report and will try to cover the modern aspects of aviation maintenance and engineering as well. Current Issues In the modern era, the aviation industry is faced with a constant threat that is known as human error. Although a lot of research work has been carried out to pin point the loop holes in human psyche, even then there is an alarming rate of accidents caused by the negligence of the human hand and mind. The maintenance of aircrafts includes fast turnaround time, high pressure and a high number of tasks being performed a t the same time. All these factors ca n lead to the lowering of human work manners while working on an aircraft or its components. Although, the advancement of technology has taken aircraft systems to a level which were un-imagined at the time when write brothers being laughed at, for having a dream that was never dreamt before. Powered flight was a dream, let alone sophisticated systems full of avionics loaded navigation systems and flight controls. All these innovations made sure that the systems improve but made the human rely more on technology and become complacent on his routine inspections and maintenance duties. The headings are bolded and centered. You should start off the paragraph with a simple left indent and start the discussion of the assignment. There is no gap between paragraphs. The aircraft incidents in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s made the research and development teams of different aerospace companies think about different factors leading to these crashes. The most compelling factor that came out from the research was the human factor. Majority of the crashes were due to wither the pilot error or technician error caused by negligence in the filed-line. After this astonishing discovery many agencies were constituted and the silence system was bought in to action. This was the biggest factor involved in incidents when it was an unknown phenomenon, but still takes the lives of thousand as the human falters the moment checks and balances allow him some leverage. Therefore, strict rules have been enforced to eradicate this menace from the aviation industry (Adrian, 2005). A lot of training funds and seminars are being conducted over a period of time in all the aviation related agencies so that maintenance practices can be safe form such an issue, which can hamper the safety of operations of an airline. Current Practices The recent problems and practices in an airline company were easily pointed out by an internal study in an airl ine covering the local region as a part of its internal- research department project. This report was focused mainly upon some key factors like unplanned and unscheduled maintenance, spare parts and component maintenance. Some of the common factors that were noted in the process are explained in detail in the following part of the report. Un-planned

Pleas rewrite this essay about political economic

Pleas rewrite this about political economic - Essay Example In regards to the authors, their argument logic exemplifies that there is a link between colonialism and development (historical determinant), that areas where settlers from Europe have reached are prospectively to have potential for enhanced institutions. The authors had stated a theory that different kinds of policies of colonialism resulted to diverse kinds of institutions from settling states and extractive states, settlement feasibility influenced the theory of colonization in regards to the extractive state having unlivable environment, and colonial states and institutions continued after attaining independence. They supposed that the manifestation of settlers from Europe during the colonialism era led to a considerable influence on the development in the areas of their settlement. The authors also avail evidence regarding their argument concerning economic growth and historical determinants. For instance, Canada, the united States, as well as, Australia where Europeans immensely settled have representative and protective institutions. Thus, they argue that colonization or the European settlement served as a foundation for sturdy institutions and future growth, as well. Additionally, they demonstrated that minimal distortionary policies and enhanced secure property rights would aid in investing more in human and physical capital that will be greatly utilized to attain an advanced income level. Further, they also possess check and balances systems to make certain equal power among government branches. On the contrary, an extractive state such as Congo that has extracted from Belgium is characterized by the absence of check and balances and property rights to impose exploitation from the government, and their key aim emphasizing on transferring resources to Belg ium. This discourages opportunity from the development of the economy. Nonetheless, the argument by Glasser was a counter argument. Glasser posit

Teamwork And Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Teamwork And Motivation - Essay Example The employers therefore face the uphill task that needs them to preserve the productivity and profitability that they have while trying their best to keep the employees that they have engaged and satisfied with their jobs. Researchers have been able to find that the social or cognitive construction view of job satisfaction deals with the effects of emotions on behavior of various kinds where the attitude that people have toward work can be associated with other perceptions about jobs such as the variety of tasks that constitute that job and the level of skills that are needed for one to be able to do that particular job. Therefore, it can be said that emotional responses may be of assistance in the determination of the reactions that the employees will have to the jobs that they are doing and the general theories of emotion might become useful in the effort to understand the attitudes that people have towards jobs (Furnham, 1992). Creating job satisfaction is therefore an endeavor that entails several steps so that in the end it can be achieved to make sure that the employees are motivated and this will be the first step in increasing the productivity. To start with, the working environment should be made to be positive where the factors that motivate the employees will be identified so that the working environment will cater for the needs of the workers. The employees of WooWoo will be entitled to discounts in the case that they need to purchase any thing that the company makes provided that they get it directly from the company. The company will also make sure that it organizes get-togethers were the management and the other employees can have the chance to interact and the views of the employees can be listened to and adjustments made if possible. The employees that have an exemplary performance at work and those that beat the deadlines that are set will be recognized through a program that will be aimed at identifying the employee of the

Stem Cell Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Stem Cell Research - Essay Example It is nobody's case that stem cell research is a bad thing. Each one of us hopes for a day when no disease will be categorized as incurable', and the potential in this line of work to realize that dream is plain for all to see. The controversy that stem cell research has provoked - sharply dividing public opinion and placing the government and President Bush in a quandary -- has to do with an ethical concern over the use of embryos. Why must embryos be utilized Why not depend on adult stem cells instead and get on with the research without causing any harm to the subject Scientists have good reason for this. Stem cell research has at its core a kind of cell called pluripotent' -- essentially an innocent' cell which has not begun to develop into any specific tissue - such as blood or brain or heart cells. But this state of innocence lasts only three to five days, and if scientists can seize on this small window of opportunity, they can isolate and coax it to develop into any of the 220 types of human cell lines. Which in turn can be used to repair or replace specific tissue and treat any disease that involves tissue degeneration - such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, afflictions in the central nervous system, Type 1 diabetes, liver malfunctions etc. Adult stem cells do have some relevance in this research, but they are not so pliant and therefore they cannot be programmed to differentiate into more than a few of the necessary 220 cell lines. Scientifically, an airtight argument in support of the use of embryos - which, alas, does nothing to address the moral and ethical concerns. What right do we have to play God, snuff out a life and willfully deny it of its potential to grow into a healthy human being Life, according to Christian belief, begins at conception, and no matter whether that life is sparked off in a womb or in a Petri dish, its destruction amounts to murder. So, are we willing to commit murder in the name of science And if we are, then where does it end By pushing the limits of morality, we are only helping to create a society where life is so cheap that one person can use another without compunction or accountability. As the late Pope John Paul II pointed out to President Bush (2001), "In defending the right to life . America can show the world the path to a truly humane future in which man remains the master, not the product, of his technology." Scientists counter this charge by pulling cold facts out of the trash can. Stem cells, they reiterate, can be extracted from the surplus frozen embryos left over at fertility clinics. Typically, these embryos - numbering in hundreds of thousands -- are discarded as medical waste after an infertile couple's desire for a child has been fulfilled. So where's the sense in arguing on behalf of an embryo which is destined to perish anyway It must come as a relief to stem cell researchers that more and more people are shaking off their knee-jerk response to the emotionally-loaded issue and finally buying into this view: the results of a Harris Poll (2004) showed that 73 per cent of the people interviewed approved of the research, compared to 61 per cent in 2001. Celebrities too - a major voice in these media-driven times - have mostly come out in support of stem cell research, and the involvement of actors such as the late Christopher Reeve, Michael J. Fox,

A Comparison and Contrast between the Theme of Revenge in The Visit Essay

A Comparison and Contrast between the Theme of Revenge in The Visit and Death and the Maiden - Essay Example The story goes on to show how the people of this village are gearing up to present a great pomp and show of a welcome for Claire Zachanassian - a lady who had left the village for more prosperous shores years ago; a lady the villagers hardly remember. Claire was now believed to be returning to make a million pound donation to a village hungry for any kind of monetary gain. What the villagers do not know is that the person behind their state is Claire herself, who had actually left the village upon being betrayed and left with a ruined reputation by her lover, Ill. Claire then went onto marrying and widowing exceptionally well before she used her multimillions to ruin the village. Among an eerily commanding disposition, a misshapen entourage and several artificial body parts among other eccentricities in her general demeanour, Claire was remembered for a long time afterwards by the villagers for a chilling offer. Upon reaching her old home town, Claire the multimillionaire, agreed to part with a small fraction of her fortune at the condition that someone should first murder Ill, now a happily married shopkeeper. Revenge 2 The story then goes onto explore the shades of the vehement refusal to this offer by the mayor and the villagers alike, as well as the elements revolving around the fact that they are, at the end of the day, a very desperate lot, who begin to consider the proposition before them that can very well better their lives. This creates an air of 'will they, won't they', as a highlight in the plotline as it progresses from that point onwards. It makes for a fascinating portrayal of the internal struggle of the people of Guellen as they live their desperate lives and consider what it would take to improve their condition as Durrenmatt proceeds to demonstrate the changing emotions of Ill's family, friends and acquaintances with surprising insight and in frightening detail. This brings us to the next piece of work - Death and the Maiden, by Ariel Dorfman. More on the lines of a thriller, this story is one full of dramatic shades and a very strong moral element. The central character, Paulina Escobar is the wife of a prominent lawyer in an unnamed third World country. Paulina lives with Gerardo (her husband) in a desolate coastal setting. At the very onset, readers note Paulina's agitation concerning a news bulletin about the presidential appointment of a human rights commission charged with investigating abuses by the previous regime. According to the report, her lawyer husband has been appointed committee chair. The remainder of the story concerns victim, physician, and husband of that oppressive period who through strange circumstances are brought together during the night. The turn of events leading to this is such. One day a storm forces her husband to ride home with a neighbour - only to kick up an inner storm of sorts. That chance encounter brings up demons from her past, as Paulina is convinced that the neighbour Revenge 3 (Dr. Miranda) was part of the old fascist regime that tortured and raped her, while she had been mercilessly blindfolded. The story essentially centers on Paulina Escobar, who had been a political prisoner during the oppressive period, only to be tortured by her captors. After gaining her trust by treating her kindly and playing a tape of Schubert's Death and the Maiden, Dr. Miranda, a physician cruelly participated in the abusive treatment of his powerless

School Lunches Essay Example for Free

School Lunches Essay School lunches today are not as hearty and delicious as they were back in the day. When I was a child my lunches were prepared at school by the cafeteria workers. Today, the cafeteria workers heat up the already prepared food. Todays food is prepared by means of nuking it in the microwave, or heated up in the oven. This could maybe be the cause of obesity with the unhealthy choices at lunchtime in the dining halls. When I was a child the mashed potatoes and turkey dinner were on of the best foods. I remembered all of my friends and I being so excited when turkey dinner day was approaching. The mashed potatoes were real with potatoes mashed not that power that you put milk in. The turkey was a real turkey, not fake or processed. That is not the case today. Just the about the weekend before Thanksgiving, I saw that turkey dinner was on the menu for school lunch. I thought yummy! I went down to the Miller Dining Hall for the turkey Dinner. I went to the front desk and the lady scanned my card. When this person started to tell me about the dreadful turkey dinner. She said, â€Å"This is not the Turkey Dinner that we had as kids. I just laughed at her thoughts and went in to try for myself. The turkey was a processed chunk of whitish colored meat. This meat was floating in brownish colored gravy. This gravy tasted like it was mostly water with maybe brown food coloring added in. Potatoes are not what this white fluffy stuff tasted like. The food tasted horrible, and the portions were limited. I can remember when I was a young boy in school; I never was hungry at any point throughout the day. The portions were healthy portions. You were given healthy portions of all the food that was offered for lunch. There was more variety in our choices. We had a choice of two vegetables and two of something else. I can remember when chicken nuggets were served we received six nuggets. The nuggets were along the size of the nuggets served at McDonalds. Today, the portions are more of micro baby sized portions. The portions are extremely small and college students are not satisfied throughout the day. Students today are allowed four mini nuggets with a choice of corn or carrots or soup. That is all good for students that eat salads. Not all students are salad eaters, and those kids are the ones that suffer throughout the day. Not only the non-salad eaters but students that are picky with there eating habits. Good reasons about school lunches is that who is vegan has their own little food bar with goodies that mare made just for them. You can make special orders about what food you can and cannot eat. If your allergic or you can’t have gluten in your meals. When you usually judge food on the smell and looks of the meal. But Miller Dining Hall that doesn’t work;(7) you just have to hope to God that it turns out good. Most of the food is fattening also. So let’s say you’re on a diet or a body builder, it’s really hard to maintain your fat in take at the dining hall because or the deep fried food already pre-made (6) food. I am fully aware that the schools are tying to cut down on obesity. The school is trying to cut the portions to not promote obesity. If I don’t have much for lunch or some days I say that lunch is nasty and I refuses to eat, I still have food at my dorm waiting. I would imagine that there are a few kids that have nothing waiting for them. These are the kids that I want to help. School lunches today will never be as good as they were. I think that the school could work a little harder to purchase food that tastes better, fixing homemade food, instead of preparing express food for the students. I feel that school lunch of the past would make a better alternative to the school lunch of today.

Cause And Effects Of Soil Erosion

Cause And Effects Of Soil Erosion The Latin word erodere,meaning to gnaw away is the origin of the word erosion (Roose, 1996). Soil Erosion is the physical removal of topsoil by various agents, including falling raindrops, water flowing over the soil profile and gravitational pull (Lal 1990). The Soil Science Society of America defines erosion as the wearing away of the land surface by running water, wind, ice or other geological agents, including such processes as gravitational creep (SCSA, 1982). Physical erosion involves the detachment and transportation of insoluble soil particles (sand, silt and organic matter). Removal of soluble material as dissolved substances is called chemical erosion and this maybe caused by surface runoff or subsurface flow where the water moves from one layer to another within the soil profile (Lal 1990). According to ASCE, 1975, the physical processes in soil erosion include detachment of soil particles, their transportation and subsequent deposition of soil sediments downslope by raindrop impact and runoff over the soil surface. Rainfall is the most important detaching agent (Morgan and Davidson 1986; Lal, 1990) followed by overland flow in entraining soil particles (Lal 1990). The process of soil erosion occurs in three main steps, detachment of soil particles, transportation and deposition of soil particles downslope by raindrop impact and runoff over the soil surface (ASCE 1975; Morgan and Davidson, 1986, Lal 1990) followed by overland flow in entraining soil particles (Lal, 1990). Soil erosion reduces soil productivity by physical loss of topsoil, reduction in rooting depth and loss of water. In contrast soil, soil depletion means loss or decline of soil fertility due to crop removal or removal of nutrients by eluviations from water passing through the soil profile (Lal, 1990). Sedimentation however, causes off site effects like degradation of basins, accumulation of silts in water reservoirs and burial of low-lying productive areas and other problems (Lal, 1990). Sediments is the main cause of pollution and eutrophication (Lal, 1990). According to Lal 1990, soil degradation may be caused by accelerated soil erosion, depletion through intensive land use , deterioration in soil structure, changes in soil pH, leaching, salt accumulation, build up of toxic elelments such as aluminum or zinc, excessive inundation leading to reduced soil conditions and poor aeration. Soil Erosion is the most serious and least reversible form of land degradation (Lal, 1977; El-Swaify, Dangler and Amstrong, 1982). Soil erosion and soil loss , according to Lal (1990) have adverse effects on agriculture because they deplete the soils productivity and diminish the resourse base. 2.2 Soil Erosion Process Geologic erosion can be caused by a number of natural agents including rainfall, flowing water and ice, wind and the the mass movement of soil bodies under the action of gravity which cause the loosened or dissolved earthy and rock materials to be removed from a place and eventually deposited to a new location (Lal,1990; Morgan and Davidson, 1986). The Soil Science Society of America (SCSA, 1982) described geologic erosion as the normal or natural erosion caused by geologic processes acting over long periods and resulting in the wearing away of mountains, the building up of flood plains, coastal plains. Etc. The slow and constructive natural soil erosion process has been significantly accelerated by human activities of poor farming practices, overgrazing, ground clearing for construction, logging and mining (Lo, 1990). Accelerated erosion not only affects the soil but also the environment and is the primary cause of soil degradation (Lal, 1990). Agriculture has been identified as th e primary cause of accelerated soil erosion (Pimentel, 1976). 2.3 Soil Characteristics in the Tropics Extremes of climate and wide variety of parent materials cause great contrast of soil properties in the tropics from soils in other temperate regions. In the tropics soils are highly variable and diverse like the vegetation (Sanchez and Buoi, 1975; Van Wambeke, 1992). The main soil types are alfisols, oxisols, ultisols and inceptisols (El-Swaify, 1990). Tropical soils low in weatherable minerals and basic cations (sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium) resulted from continuous weathering of parent materials (Lo, 1990). The ability of these soils to keep plant nutrients is largely dependent on the humus content found in plant biomass and the organic matter (Rose,1993). The inactivity of soil mineral constituents (kaolin and sesquioxides) in these soils, causes deficiency in crop nutrients, lowers the capacity to retain basic cations, limits active relationship with organic matter and excessively immobilizes phosphates and related anions, a condition which are highly toxic to plant roots (Lo, 1990). Crop production in tropical soils are constrained by primarily aluminum- derived soil acidity and infertility but generally their physical properties are favourable (El-Swaify, 1990). Tropic soils have moderate to high permeability under natural conditions, but susceptible to slaking and development of impermeable crust upon action of raindrops and as a result runoff increases with continuous cultivation (Lal, 1982). This crusting cause insignificant reduction of filtration rate, increasing water runoff which leads to acceleration of soil erosion (Falayl and Lal, 1979). It is important to note however that heavy and intense rains cause severe erosion in the tropics (Morgan, 1974; Wilkinson 1975; Amezquita and Forsythe, 1975; Lal 1976; Aina, Lal and Taylor, 1977; Bois, 1978; Sheng 1982). 2.4 Soil Erosion on Steep Slope According to Lal 1990, Steeplands refer to lands with a slope gradient greater than 20%. It is important to note however that flat undulating lands have a great potential for crop production and agricultural development. Due to the possibility of soil erosion and the problem of mechanization, the steep areas are considered marginal for agriculture production (Lal, 1990). The difficult topography in steepland agriculture restricts mechanizations of operations thus, reducing all agricultural activities (land preparation, cultivation and harvesting), limiting the farmer in scale and efficiency. Inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides have to be carried manually by the farmer. As a resulted they are used scarcely. Observably any increase in the use of these agricultural inputs will result in decline in he farmers profits from the generally lower agricultural field (Benvenuti, 1988). For all these reasons steepland farmers tend to concentrate in high value crop production of limited scale (Ahmad, 1987; Ahmad 1990). It is important to note however that farmers prefer steepslopes due to cultural hand cultivation, planting and harvesting can be done in an upright fashion (Williams and Walter, 1988). Futher more subsistence farmers are found on steep slopes because of more favourable environmental conditions such as lower temperatures, reduced diseases and h igher reliability of rainfall. (Hurni, 1988). In the tropics, removal of forest vegetation causes excessive leaching and accelerated soil nutrient loss. Being highly weathered soil types , their contained minerals generally have poor ability to retain sorbed nutrients against leaching. Clay soils with high residualmiron contents are considered superior in resistance to runoff caused soil erosion; thus, soils emanated from basic igneous rocks and red soils developed from calcareous rocks are strongly aggregated due to the cementing property of iron oxides, hence, soil erosion is expected to be less than for most other soils. Also soils developed from fragmentary volcanic materials with andic properties are resistant to soil erosion (Sheng, 1986; Ahmad, 1987; Ahmad, 1990; Lal, 1990). Soils formed from shales, schists, phyillites and sandstones are considered highly erodible. Soils produced from these rocks are high in both sand or silt fraction, and clay minerals and iron oxides are generally insufficient as cementing agents for a stable-structured soil. These parent materials are generally rich in muscovite occurring in all soil particle-size fractions. Micah-rich soils are weak-structured, and thus raindrops can easily dislodged the weak aggregates, while the clay fraction dispersed in water. The resulting mica flakes settling on their flat axes in the water film on the soil surface causes soil crusting. The formation of soil crusts further restricts water entry into the soil (Ahmad and Robin, 1971; Sumner, 1995), resulting to disposal of a much greater volume of runoff water, a condition which leads to further disintegration of soil aggregates and transport of colloidal soil material (Ahmad, 1987; Ahmad 1990). Soil crust restricts gaseous exchange leading to anaerobic soil conditions, denitrification, toxic effects due to ethylene production, and mechanical impedance to seedling emergence (Ahmad 1987; Ahmad, 1990). Steep slope cultivation can cause certain instability in the ecological system with both onsite and offsite detrimental impacts (El-Swaify, Garnier and Lo, 1987). Soil, climate, land use and farming systems affect the extent and the degree of severity of soil erosion. However, regardless of soil and climatic conditions, intensively used steeplands in densely populated regions experience severe soil erosion problem. Land use influences the degree of severity of soil erosion on steeplands. Uncontrollable grazing or over grazing, exensive and abusive cultivation, diversified cropping are responsible for severe soil erosion in unprotected arable lands (Roose, 1988; Liao et al 1988). Ahmad (1987;1990) reportd soil loss of approximately 120 t0 180 tonnes per hectare in Tobago Trinidad. In Australia, annual soil loss of 200 t/ha to 328 t/ha has ben reported from sloping sugar cane plantations in central and north Queensland (Sallaway, 1979; Mathews and Makepeace 1981). There are two types of soil erosion associated with the Caribbean region, land slipping and gullying. Land slipping is a manifestation of mass movement associated with steepland agriculture and the severity being strongly influenced by the parent materials. Land clearing (example deforestation) and crop production can influence land slipping particularly in the early portion of the wet season when the cleared soil wets faster due to saturation of the soil above rock. Serious dislocations, crop loss and destruction of any mechanical anti erosion devices can result from this form of mass movements. Due to drastic changes in hydrological conditions experienced by land naturally prone already to slipping and cleared for agriculture for the first time land slippage would be of common experience (Ahmad 1987; Ahmad 1990). Gullying is another common form of soil erosion that occurs on steep land bcause of the terrain involved. This is more common on sandy soils, volcanic soils and vertisols, which are all porous materials. Soils easily attain saturated conditions upon the rapid entry of water, consequently breaking the material and ultimately, leading to the formation of gullies. Agricultural activities enables this soil erosion in steeplands by allowing rapid soil wetting upon the start of the wet season. Farming activities though unsuitably oriented field boundaries, foot tracks and the lack of provision for disposal of surface water are some main causes of gullying, even on soils not prone to this tpe of steepland soil erosion (Ahmad 1987;Ahmad 1990). Since steeplands are traditionally considered marginal for agricultural crop production, most research on soil erosion and soil conservation has been done on either flat land or rolling land with a maximum slope of about 20%'(Lal, 1988). 2.5 Factors Affecting Soil Erosion The causes of soil erosion have been intensively discussed during the past 40 years. Soil erosion is a natural process that is enhanced by human activity (Richter, 1998) and occurs in all landscapes and under different land uses. In addition to human activities, soil erosion processes are also caused by morphometric characteristics of the land surface, the erosive forces of rainfall and the erodibility of soils and soil surfaces. When rainwater reaches the soil surface it will either enter the soil or run off. Runoff occurs when the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity of the soil. Water erosion is the result of the dispersion action of rain drops, the transporting power of water and also the vulnerability of the soil to dispersion and movement (Baver and Gardner, 1972). The effects of soil erosion is also classified: definition of gullies and explanation of gully development is given by Morgan (1996), as well as Hudson (1995) who additionally focuses on individual cases of the development of gullies. Toy et al (2002) give detailed definitions of soil erosion features and processes such as sheet erosion and inter-rill erosion, rill erosion, as well as ephemeral and permanent gully erosion. Rill erodibility depends both directly and indirectly on soil properties such as bulk density, organic carbon and clay content, clay mineralogy, cations in the exchange complex, soil pH and experimental conditions such as moisture content, aging of prewetted soil and quality of eroding water (Rapp,1998). Govers (1990) found that runoff erosion resisitance of a loamy material was extremely sensitive to variation in the initial moisture content and to a lesser extent to changes in bulk density. The process of water erosion can be separated into two components, rill and interrill erosion (Young and Onstad, 1978). Interrill erosion (sheet erosion) is mainly caused by raindrop impact and removes soil in a thin almost imperceptible layer (Foster, 1989). In interril erosion the flow of water is generally unconfined, except between soil clods and covers much of the soil surface. As the velocity of flow increases the water incises into the soil and rills forms (Evans,1980). Rill erosion begins when the eroding capacity of the flow at some point exceeds the ability of the soil particles to resistant detachment by flow (Meyer cited by Rapp, 1998). Soil is detached by headcut advance from knickpoints (De Ploey, 1989; Bryan, 1990), rill slide sloughing and hydraulic shear stress (Foster cited by Rapp, 1998) as well as by slumping by undercutting of side walls and scour hole formation (Van Liew and Saxton, 1983). These processes are usually combined into a detachment prediction equation as a function of average shear stress (Foster cited by Rapp, 1998). When the rills develop in the landscape, a three to five fold increase in the soil loss commonly occurs (Moss, Green and Hutka 1982 and Meyer and Harmon 1984). 2.5.1 Vegetative Factors The effects of vegetation can be classified into three catergories: The interception of raindrops by the canopy (DHuyvetter, 1985). Two effects are associated with this. Firstly, part of the intercepted water will evaporate from the leaves and stems and thus reduce runoff. Secondly, when raindrops strike the vegetation, the energy of the drops is dissipated and there is no direct impact on the soil surface. The interception percentage depends on the type of crop, the growth stage and the number of plants per unit area. A well distributed, close growing surface vegetative cover will slow down the rate at which water flows down the slope and will also reduce concentration of water (DHuyvetter, 1985). As a result, it will decrease the erosive action of running water. There is also the effect of roots and biological activity on the formation of stable aggregrates, which results in a stable soil structure and increased infiltration that reduces runoff and decreases erosion (DHuyvetter, 1985). Increased permeability also reduces erosion as a result of in increased water percolation due to better drainage. Stables aggregrates in the topsoil also counteract crusting. 2.5.2 Rainfall Factors Raindrop size, shape, duration of a storm and wind speed interactions controls the erosive power of rainfall (DHuyvetter, 1985). The erosivity of rainfall is expressed in terms of kinetic energy and is affected by various factors. According to Wischmeier and Smith (1965), the intensity of rainfall is closely related tot e kinetic energy, according to the regression equation E = 1.213 + 0.890 log I Where E = the kinetic energy (kg.m/m2.mm) I = rainfall intensity (mm/h) Raindrop size, distribution and shape all influence the energy momentum of a rainstorm. Laws and Parson (1943) reported an increase in median drop size with increase in rain intensity. The relationship between mean drop size (D50) and rainfall is given by: D50:2.23 I 0.182 (inch per hour). The median size of rain drops increases with low and medium intensity fall, but declines slightly for high intensity rainfall (Gerrard, 1981). The kinetic energy of an rainfall event is also related to the velocity of the raindrops at the time of impact with the soil (DHuyvetter, 1985). The distance through which the rain drop must fall to maintain terminal velocity is a function of drop size. The kinetic energy of a rainstorm is related to the terminal velocity according to the equation: Ek = IV2/2 Where Ek = energy of the rain storm I = Intensity V= Velocity of raindrop before impact Ellison (1945) developed an equation showing that the relationship between the soil detached, terminal velocity, drop diameter and rainfall intensity: E = KV4.33 d1.07 I0.63 Where E = relative amount of soil detached K = soil constant V = velocity of raindrops (ft/sec) d = diameter of raindrops (mm) I = rainfall intensity 2.5.2.1 Effect of rainfall intensity on runoff and soil loss According to Morgan (1995), soil loss is closely related to rainfall partly through the detaching power of raindrops striking the soil surface and the contribution of rain to runoff. If rainfall intensity is less than the infiltration capacity of the soil, no surface runoff occurs and the infiltration rate would equal the rainfall intensity (Horton, 1945) as sited by Morgan (1995). If the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity, the infiltration rate equals the infiltration capacity and the excess rainfall forms surface runoff. According to Morgan (1995), when the soil is unsaturated, the soil matric potential is negative and water is held in the capillaries due to matrics suction. For this reason, under saturated conditions sands may produce runoff very quickly although their infiltration capacity is not exceeded by the rainfall intensity. Intensity partially controls hydraulic conductivity, increasing the rainfall intensity may cause conductivity to rise so that although runoff may have formed rapidly at relatively low rainfall intensity, higher rainfall intensities do not always produce greater runoff (Morgan, 1995). This mechanism explains the reason why infiltration rates sometimes increase with rainfall intensities (Nassif and Wilson, 1975). 2.5.3 Soil Factors According to Baver et al, (1972), the effect of soil properties on water erosion can be in two ways : Firstly, certain properties determine the rate at which rainfall enters the soil. Secondly, some properties affect the resistance of the soil against dispersion and erosion during rainfall and runoff. The particle size distribution is an important soil property with regards to erodibility. Generally it is found that erodible soils have a low clay content (DHuyvetter, 1985). Soils with more than 35% clay are often regarded as being cohesive and having stable aggregates which are resistant to dispersion by raindrops (Evans, 1980). Evans also stated that sands and coarse loamy sands are not easily eroded by water due to its high infiltration rate. In contrast soils with a high silt or fine sand fraction are very erodible. Erodibility of soil increases with the proportion of aggregates less than 0.5mm (Bryan, 1974). Factors which contribute to aggregate stability include organic matter content, root secretions, mucilaginous gels formed by break down of organic matter, the binding of particles by sesquioxides and the presence of a high Ca concentration on the exchange sites of the colloids instead of a high sodium content (DHuyvetter, 1985). The depth of erosion is determined by the soil profile (Evans, 1980). According to Evans soil horizons below the A horizon or plough layer are often more compact and less erodible. The texture and chemical composition of the sub surface horizon can also have an adverse effect. Normally deep gullies can be cut if the parent material is unconsolidated. If resistant bedrock is near the surface only rills will develop. Soil rich in surface stones are less susceptible to erosion (Lamb, 1950 and Evans, 1980). Stones protect the soil against erosion and also increase the infiltration of the flowing water into the soil. The antecedent soil moisture and the surface roughness are both regarded by Evans (1980) as important soil factors affecting erosion. The ability of a soil to accept rainfall depends on the moisture content at the time of the rainfall event. 2.5.3.1 Factors affecting aggregate stability Soil structure is determined by the shape and size distribution of aggregates. Aggregrate size and strengthe determine the physical properties of a soil and its susceptibility to breakdown due to water forces. Their stability will have a decisive effect on soil physical properties (Lynch and Bragg, 1985). The main binding materials giving stable aggregates in air dry state are the glueing agents in organic matter (Chaney and Swift, 1984; Tisdale and Oades, 1982) and sesquioxides (Goldberg and Glaubic, 1987). 2.5.3.1.1 Aluminium and Iron Oxides The soil used by Kemper and Koch (1966) contained relatively little free iron, although it did contribute to aggregrate stability. Their data show a sharp increase of free iron from 1 to 3%. Goldberg and Glaubic (1987) concluded that Al-oxides were more effective than Fe-oxides in stabilizing soil structure. Al-oxides have a greater proportion of sub-micrometer size particles in a sheet form as opposed to the spherical form of Fe-particles. Shainberg, Singer and Janitzky (1987) compared the effect of aluminium and iron oxides on the hydraulic conductivity of a sandy soil. 2.5.3.1.2 Organic Matter Organic matter can bind soil particles together into stable soil aggregates. The stabilizing effect of organic matter is well documented. Little detailed information is available on the organic matter content required to sufficiently strengthen aggregates with ESP values greater than 5 or 7, and containing illite or montmorrillionite, so as to prevent their dispersion in water (Smith, 1990). High humus content makes the soil less susceptible to the unfavourable influence of sodium (Van den Berg, De Boer, Van der Malen, Verhoeven, Westerhof and Zuur, 1953). Kemper and Koch (1966) also found that aggregate stability increased with an increase in the organic matter content of soils. A maximum increase of aggregate stability was found with up to 2% organic matter, after which aggregate stability increased very little with further increases in organic matter content. 2.5.3 Slope Factors Slope characteristics are important in determining the amount of runoff and erosion ( DHuyvetter, 1985). As slope gradient increases, runoff and erosion usually increases (Stern, 1990). At low slopes due to the low overland flow velocities, detachment of soil particles from the soil surface into the water layer is due to detachment alone (Stern, 1990). Additionally, at low slope gradients, particles are splashed into the air in random directions unlike the case with steeply sloping land where down slope splash occurs (Watson and Laflen, 1985). As slope gradient increases, the ability for surface runoff to entrain and transport sediments increases rapidly until the entrainment by the surface runoff becomes dominant contributing to sediment transport (Stern, 1990). Foster , Meyer and Onstad (1976) presented a conceptual model that showed that at lower slopes, interill transport determined erosion, while at steeper slopes, raindrop detachment determined it. Th uniform bed characteristics of sheet flow transport tend to be replaced by channels because of instability and turbulent flow effects (Moss, Green and Hutka, 1982). There are many empirical relationships relating soil transport by surface wash to slope length and slope gradient. Zingg (1940) showed that erosion varied according to the equation: S = X1.6 tanB1.4 Where S = soil transport cm/yr X = slope length (m) B = slope gradient (%) Studies conducted by Gerrard (1981), showed that plane and convex slopes did not differ significantly in the amount of soil lost by surface runoff, but concave slopes were less eroded. Some researchers such as Zingg (1940) and Mc Cool et al (1987) indicated that soil erosion increases exponentially with increase in slope gradient. The relationship is indicated after Zing (1940) by: E = aSb where E is the soil erosion, S is the slope gradient (%) and a and b are empirical constants. The value of b ranges from 1.35 to 2.0. The other relationship between erosion and slope gradient for inter-rill erosion is given by Mc Cool et al (1987) E = a sin b Q+C Q is the slope angle in degrees A,b and C are empirical constants. However, even if the effect of slope gradient on erosion is well recognized, several studies indicate that the power relationship between slope gradient and soil loss over predicts interrill erosion rate by as much as two or more times (Torri, 1996;Fox and Bryan, 1999), and the relationship is better described as linear. 2.8 Soil Erosion Impacts 2.8.1 Soil Physical Properties Progressive soil erosion increases the magnitude of soil related constraints for crop production. These constraints can be physical, chemical and biological. The important physical constraints caused by erosion are reduced rooting depth, loss of soil water storing capacity (Schertz et al 1984; Sertsu, 2000), crusting and soil compaction and hardening of plinthite (Lal, 1988). Erosion also results in the loss of clay colloids due to preferential removal of fine particles from the soil surface (Fullen and Brandsma, 1995). The loss of clay influences soil tilth and consistency. Exposed subsoil is often of massive structure and harder consistency than the aggregated surface soil (Lal, 1988). Development of rills and gullies may change the micro-relief that may make use of farming machinery difficult. Another effect of erosion is that the manangement and timing of farm operations. 2.8.2 Soil Chemical Properties Soil erosion reduces the fertility status of soils (Morgan, 1986; Williams et al., 1990). Soil chemical constraints and nutritional problems related to soil erosion include low CEC, low plant nutrients (NPK) and trace elements (Lal, 1988; Fullen and Brandsma, 1995). Massy et al (1953) reported an average loss of 192 kg of organic matter, 10.6 kg of N and 1.8kg per ha on a Winsconsin soils with 11% slope. Sharpley and Smith (1990) reported that the mean annual loss of total P in runoff from P fertilized watersheds is equivalent to an average of 15%, 12% and 32% of the annual fertilizer P applied to wheat, mixed crop grass and peanut sorghum rotation practices respectively. Researchers (Massy et al 1953; Lal, 1975) have also reported extensive loss of N in eroded sediments. 2.8.3 Productivity Quantifying the effects on crop yields is a difficult task. It involves the evaluation of interactions between soil properties, crop characteristics and climate. The effects are also cumulative and not observed until long after accelerated erosion begins. The degree of soil erosions effects on crop yield depends on soil profile characteristics and management systems. It is difficult to establish a direct relationship between rates of soil erosion and erosion induced soil degradation on the one hand and crop yield on the other (Lal, 1988). It is well known that soil erosion can reduce crop yields through loss of nutrients, structural degradation and reduce of depth and water holding capacity (Timilin et al, 1986; Lal,1988). Loss of production in eroded soil further degrades its productivity which in turn accelerates soil erosion. The cumulative effect observed over a long period of time may lead to irreversible loss of productivity in shallow soils with hardened plinthite or in soils that respond to expensive management and additional inputs (Lal,1988). 2.8.4 Off Site Effects of Soil Erosion. Effects of erosion include siltation of rivers, crop failure at low lying areas due to flooding, pollution of waterbodies due to the various chemicals brought by the runoff from different areas. Several studies reported the significance of the off site effects of soil erosion on land degradation (eg. Wall and ven Den,1987; Lo, 1990; Robertson and Colletti, 1994; Petkovic et al, 1999) Rainwater washes away materials that originate from fertilizers and various biocides (fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and pesticides) which are applied in large concentrations. They reappear in greatr quantities in the hydrosphere polluting and contaminating the water environment (Zachar,1982;Withers, and Lord, 2002; Verstraeten and Poesen, 2002). Chemical pollution of water mainly by organic matter from farm fields causes rapid eutrophication in waterways (Zachar, 1982;Zakova et al, 1993; Lijklema, 1995). 2.8.5 Soil Erosion Models Modelling soil erosion is the process of mathematically describing soil particle detachment, transport and deposition on land surfaces (Nearing et al, 1994). Erosion models are used as predictive tools for assessing soil loss and project planning. They can also be used for understanding erosion processes and their impacts (Nearing et al 1994). There are three main types of models, empirical or statistical models, conceptual models and physically based models (Morgan 1995, Nearing et al 1994, Merritt et al 2003). It is important to note however that there is no sharp difference among them. 2.8.5.1 Physically Based Models These models are based on solving fundamental physical equations describing stream flow and sediment and associated nutrient generations in a specific catchment (Merritt et al ., 2003). They are developed to predict the spatial distribution of runoff and sediment over land surfaces during individual storms in addition to total runoff and soil loss (Morgan, 1995). Physically based models are also called process based models (Morgan, 1995) as they rely on empirical equations to determine erosion processes. These models use a particular differential equation known as the continuity equation which is a statement of conservation of matter as it moves through space over time. The common physically based models used in water quality studies and erosion include : The Areal Non-Point Source Watershed Environment Response Simulation (ANSWERS) (Beasley et al., 1980), Chemical Runoff and Erosion from Agricultural Management Systems (CREAMS) (Knisel, 1980), Griffith University Erosion System Temp late (GUEST) (Misra and Rose, 1996), European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM) (Morgan, 1998), Productivity, Erosion and Runoff, Functions to Evaluate Conservation Techniques (PERFECT) (Littleboy et al., 1992) and Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) (Laflen et al., 1991). 2.8.5.2 Empirical Mode