Mechanics of money

Introduction Barter system of trade was convenient in the primitive society because production was diversified and subsistence. Only the few commodities that one lacked could be obtained through exchange. However, as time progressed, the society shifted to specialization in the production process.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mechanics of money specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This necessitated for the need for an accepted medium of exchange to use for purchasing needed product and services. Anything commonly used as a medium of exchange is called money (Ashby 1). Money is a sensitive item in the economy and should therefore be controlled. If its supply is increased, people will buy in large amounts. During these conditions, orders will surpass the production leading to increased prices. As a result, there will be a sustained raise in the average level of prices, a condition termed as inflation. If the supply of money is low, people will not buy much. As a result, there will be more inventories. This condition will force some business to lay off some workers leading to unemployment. To encourage sales, some business will lower prices of their commodities leading to deflation. As a result, there will be a sustained drop in the total output of the nation’s producers, which is a condition called recession (Ashby 2). The Kinds of Money Anything can be used as money. Notes and coins are the currency that has been authorized by the government to be used as money. Another kind of money is the checking account balances. Checking account balances involves the use of checks, which are not money. If check were to be counted as money, it will mean that the balance portion not written on the face of the check is forgotten.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Debit cards, stored-value cards , smart cards, electronic funds transfer, web-based payment system, and credit cards cannot be considered as money and neither can they substitute money. Instead, they used in place of checks (Ashby 4). Coins, notes, and checking accounts balances are considered as money only if they are included in the measured money supply. If payments for the products and services are substituted with direct transfer of ownership of savings certificates, the saving certificates will be considered as money. The US Money Supply The money supply of the United States includes the coins and paper currency apart from the amounts in the vaults in the banks, Federal Reserve banks, and the treasury. It also includes the checking account balances for the USA dollar apart from those owned by United States treasury and domestic banks. This can be represented by an equation bellow M = CC + CA Where M is the money supply, CA the checking account component, and CC the coins and currency. From the equation, any activity that increases CC and CA increase the money supply and vice versa. The Federal Reserve banks, banks, and the treasure of US are the only entities with legal powers to create money.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mechanics of money specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The money they create and release are the only money accepted as money. This implies that dollars owed by the bank, Federal Reserve System, and the US treasury are not money. The supply of money can only be useful if it rises when there is a lot of money available for public spending and when it falls when there is little money for the public to spend. This scenario implies that a deposit of $2000 into an account will increase CA by $2000 and at the same time reduce the CC leaving M unchanged. This implies that the bank is a store that sells cash and checking account balances. On top of that, the bank also sells financial assets such as, certi ficate of deposits and loan checking account balance. Velocity of Money (V) Velocity of money refers to the average number of times a similar dollar is spent in a year for purchasing domestic output only. This velocity is determined by the people through the spending, earning, and saving behaviors. If money spenders spend it quickly, the velocity is increased and vice versa. On average, the Velocity of the US dollar is about 7.25. However, this figure seems less because of some factors such dollarization, limitation of V to domestic purchase, and little amount of money circulating in domestic market (Ashby 11). The velocity of money is allowed by the Federal Reserve System because it aids in determine the amount of money the economy needs. The total expenditure on the current domestic output cannot exceed the quantity of money multiplied by its velocity in one year. Money Producers and Regulators The money creation system of the United States is a three-tier system consisting of the treasury department, the Federal Reserve System, and the banking system. They are explored bellow.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More US Treasury Department The treasury is a department within the executive branch of the federal government concerned with the management of the financial affairs of the government. This department has an internal revenue service responsible for the collection of taxes and borrowed funds from treasury bills, which is used for settling its bills. The treasury is also responsible for the operation of the mint and the bureau of engraving and printing the US’s currency. The coins and notes mint by these agencies are not yet money and thus cannot be spend by the federal government. They are instead sold to the Federal Reserve banks for purchase by US’s banks. The whole process leads to a modest increase in the supply of money. The Federal Reserve System This is a specialized institution mandated with the task of stabilizing and controlling the money and banking system of the United States. Its operation is independent of the congress. This system was created following the fin ancial crisis of early 1990s (Ashby 18). It has twelve Federal Reserve banks that are owned as private corporations whose stock is owned by banks in their region. Functions The federal system regulates the size of the supply of money through manipulation of data on the same. It also serves as banks for the federal government whereby it maintains the checking accounts for the federal government. The Federal Reserve Bank further acts as a banker for foreign government and international agencies. This bank further works in conjunction with other regulatory agencies that are actively involved in the currency regulation, so as to ensure that all players within this industry operates within the required regulations. Banks Banks are institutions which offer transaction accounts whereby check or related instruments can be drawn to make payments. Traditional institutions subsuming commercial banks, savings associations, and credits unions are regarded as banks. The establishment of banks is ascertained by a charter after certify that the need for the same and the qualification of the institution. Since money is created through the banking system, the Federal Reserve System has to regulate the banking activities within the State. The depository institutions deregulation and monetary control act of 1980 streamlined the banking system by giving the federal government full control over all banks Banking Supervision and Deregulation Although banks are business entitled for profit making through their own goals, they are carefully regulated. The regulation is for several reasons. They include protecting depositors, stabilizing the monetary system, for protecting the consumer, and to check on the efficiency and competitiveness. They are discussed in details bellow. Depositor Protection Majority of the banking services are accessed through an account. When one opens an account with the bank, he deposits some money into the same and thereby becoming a creditor to the bank. Howe ver, the customer is exposed to default risk because the bank may fail to honor withdrawal request. This may happen when the banks become insolvent. Thus supervision guards the customer from the same. Monetary System Stability Financial transactions involve different instruments like checks, credit cards, cash machines among many. For effective functioning of the same, they need to be accurate, efficient, and fast (Ashby 22). Given the bulky nature of the transactions, supervision is done to enable their smooth operations. Efficient and Competitive Banking System Efficient operation of banks is aided by healthy competitions. Banks compete on various fronts such as interest on loans and efficiency of the services offered. In a market where banks are too many, it may not be possible for some banks to realize economies of large scale. This calls for regulation to check on the same. Also, regulation is extended on the competition between banks and institutions offering loan-able funds t o ensure that the competition is smooth and healthy. Consumer Protection Regulation and supervision is done on banks to ensure that they do not discriminate the public and at the same time to ensure that the public is protected from unscrupulous traders. Principle Regulators There are some agencies that have been given powers to regulate and supervise all banks. They bear the ability to levy fines, suspend or remove bank officials, issue cease-and-desist orders, and revoke charters. In order for uniform regulations, Federal Financial Institution Examination Council was created by the Congress in 1978 for these purposes. This council draws its membership from the following organs: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Thrift Supervision, National Credit Union Administration, and State Banking Agency. The Treasury and the Money Supply Taxes and Loans from the Public The management of the money of the nation is under the professional hands of the Federal Reserve System. This means that the treasury performs its activities with minimal effects on the credit market and money supply. Therefore it (the treasury) has created tax and loans accounts in all banks. In the event of paying government bills, the treasury transfers some of the money from the loans account to the nearby Federal Reserve Bank. This mean that banks loses similar amount of money hence reducing their loaning kitty. However, this is restoring by making a bill of payment. The treasury writes a check that is taken by the banks, which in turn demands for compensation for the face value from the Federal Reserve Bank. In this way, the banks would have restored their loanable amount. This process can be illustrated bellow. BANK FEDERALRESERVE Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities Treasury gets revenue from taxes or bonds Checking account balances reduces by $2000 Treasury tax and loan account increases by $2000 Tre asury transfers funds to the federal reserve bank Bankreserve account reduces by $2000 Treasury tax and loan account reduces by $2000 Bank reserve account reduces by $2000 Treasury checking account increases by $2000 Treasury spends the funds Bank reserve account increases by $2000 Checking account balances increases by $2000 Bank reserve account increases by $2000] Treasury checking account reduces by $2000 From the table, it can be seen that the government receives money for the tax or sale of bonds and spends them without a tilt on the bank reserve or money supply. It should be noted that if the dates for tax receipt and floating of bonds doe not coincides, the nation will suffer a credit crunch. However, the utilization of tax and loan accounts avoids such happening. The expenditure by the federal government, which is drawn for tax and bonds, does not affect the supply of money in the bank’s reserves because the same is replenished by sell of bonds and payment made by the government. Coins and Currency Creation The treasury is in charge of the US mint, which is used for manufacturing the US coins. It is headquartered in Washington DC. The treasury is also in control of the Bureau of engraving and printing, which prints the paper currency. The notes are sold for a cost while the coins are sold for their face value to the 12 Federal Reserve banks. The printed notes and coins are not yet money until they go into circulation. They can only go into circulation after the reserves in the banks runs low, prompting purchase of new ones. The process is illustrated in the table below. BANK FEDERAL RESERVE Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities Treasury sells cash to the federal reserve system Cash increases by $5000 Treasury checking account increases by $5000 Federal reserve sell cash to the bank Cash increases by $5000 Bank reserve account reduces by $5000 Cash decreases by $5000 Bank reserve account reduces by $5000 Customer withdraws the cash Cash decreases by $5000 Customer Checking account balances decreases by $5000 Treasury spends revenue from sale of cash to the federal reserve Bank reserve account increases by $5000 Customer Checking account balances increases by $5000 Bank reserve account increases by $5000 Treasury checking account decreases by $5000 For the case of torn or deformed coins and notes, replacement is done without increasing or decreasing the amount. If the bank lends to the treasury, the following table illustrates the situation BANK FEDERAL RESERVE Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities Treasury borrows Treasury bonds increases by $5000 Treasury tax and loan account increases by $5000 Cash increases by $5000 Treasury checking account increases by $5000 Treasury transfers funds Bank reserve account reduces by $5000 Treasury tax and loan account decreases by $5000 Cash decreases by $5000 Bank reserve account reduces by $5000 Treasury checking account increases by $5000 Tr easury spends funds Bank reserve account increases by $5000 Customer Checking account balances increases by $5000 Bank reserve account increases by $5000 Treasury checking account decreases by $5000 If the Federal Reserve lends o the treasury, the following scenario will arise BANK FEDERAL RESERVE Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities Treasury borrows Treasury bonds increases by $5000 Treasury checking account increases by $5000 Treasury spends funds Bank reserve account increases by $5000 Customer Checking account balances increases by $5000 Cash decreases by $5000 Bank reserve account increases by $5000 Treasury checking account decreases by $5000 Work Cited Ashby, David. Mechanics of Money. Monmouth: Western Oregon University Press, 1996.Print. This essay on Mechanics of money was written and submitted by user Guillermo Y. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How Income Taxes Affect Economic Growth

How Income Taxes Affect Economic Growth One of the most commonly discussed issues in economics is how tax rates relate to economic growth. Advocates of tax cuts claim that a reduction in the tax rate will lead to increased economic growth and prosperity. Others claim that if we reduce taxes, almost all of the benefits will go to the rich, as those are the ones who pay the most taxes. What does economic theory suggest about the relationship between economic growth and taxation? Income Taxes and Extreme Cases In studying economic policies, it is always useful to study extreme cases. Extreme cases are situations such as What if we had a 100% income tax rate?, or What if we raised the minimum wage to $50.00 an hour?. While wholly unrealistic, they do give very stark examples of what direction key economic variables will move when we change a government policy. First, suppose that we lived in a society without taxation. Well worry about how the government finances its programs later on, but for now, well assume that they have enough money to finance all the programs we have today. If there are no taxes, then the government does not earn any income from taxation and citizens do not spend any time worrying about how to evade taxes. If someone has a wage of $10.00 an hour, then they get to keep that $10.00. If such a society were possible, we can see that people would be quite productive as any income they earn, they keep. Now consider the opposing case. Taxes are now set to be 100% of income. Any cent you earn goes to the government. It may seem that the government would earn a lot of money this way, but thats not likely to happen. If you dont get to keep anything out of what you earn, why would you go to work? Most people would rather spend their time doing something they enjoy. Simply, put, you wouldnt spend any time working for a company if you didnt get anything out of it. Society as a whole wouldnt be very productive if everybody spent a large portion of their time trying to evade taxes. The government would earn very little income from taxation, as very few people would go to work if they did not earn an income from it. While these are extreme cases, they do illustrate the effect of taxes and they are useful guides of what happens at other tax rates. A 99% tax rate is awfully like a 100% tax rate, and if you ignore collection costs, having a 2% tax rate is not much different from having no taxes at all. Go back to the person earning $10.00 an hour. Do you think hell spend more time at work or less if his take-home pay is $8.00 rather than $2.00? Its a pretty safe bet that at $2.00 hes going to spend less time at work and much more time trying to earn a living away from the prying eyes of the government. Taxes and Other Ways of Financing Government In the case where the government can finance spending outside of taxation, we see the following: Productivity declines as the tax rate increases, as people choose to work less. The higher the tax rate, the more time people spend evading taxes and the less time they spend on the more productive activity. So the lower the tax rate, the higher the value of all the goods and services produced.Government tax revenue does not necessarily increase as the tax rate increases. The government will earn more tax income at 1% rate than at 0%, but they will not earn more at 100% than they will at 10%, due to the disincentives high tax rates cause. Thus there is a peak tax rate where government revenue is highest. The relationship between income tax rates and government revenue can be graphed on something called a Laffer Curve. Of course, government programs are not self-financing. Well examine the effect of government spending in the next section. Even an ardent supporter of unrestricted capitalism realizes that there are necessary functions for the government to perform.  The Capitalism Site  lists three necessary things a government must provide: An Army: To protect against foreign invaders.A Police Force: To protect against domestic criminals.A Court System: To settle honest disputes that arise, and to punish criminals according to objectively predefined laws. Government Spending and the Economy Without the last two functions of government, it is easy to see that there would be little economic activity. Without a police force, it would be difficult to protect anything that youve earned. If people could just come by and take anything you owned, wed see three things happen: People would spend a lot more time trying to steal what they need and a lot less time trying to produce what they need, as stealing something is often easier than producing it yourself. This leads to a reduction in economic growth.People who have produced valuable goods would spend more time and money trying to protect what theyve earned. This is not a productive activity; society would be much better off if citizens would spend more time producing  productive goods.There would likely be a lot more murders, so the society would lose a lot of productive people prematurely. This cost and the costs people incur in trying to prevent their own murder greatly diminish economic activity. A police force which protects the basic human rights of citizens is absolutely necessary to ensure economic growth. A court system also promotes economic growth. A large portion of economic activity depends on the use of contracts. When you start a new job, normally you have a contract specifying what your rights and responsibilities are and how much you will be compensated for your labor. If theres no way to enforce a contract like that, then there is no way to ensure that you will end up getting compensated for your labor. Without that guarantee, many would decide it is not worth the risk to work for someone else. Most contracts involve an element of do X now, and get paid Y later or get paid Y now, do X later. If these contracts are not enforceable, the party who is obligated to do something in the future might decide then that he doesnt feel like it. Since both parties know this, they would decide not to enter into such an agreement and the economy as a whole would suffer. Having a working court system, military, and police force provides a large economic benefit to a society. However it is expensive for a government to provide such services, so theyll have to collect money from the citizens of the country to finance such programs. The financing for those systems comes through taxation. So we see that a society with some taxation that provides these services will have a much higher level of economic growth than a society with no taxation but no police force or the court system. So an increase in taxes  can  lead to larger economic growth if it is used to pay for one of these services. I use the term  can  because it is not necessarily the case that expanding the police force or hiring more judges will lead to greater economic activity. An area which already has many police officers and little crime will gain almost no benefit from hiring another officer. Society would be better off not hiring her and instead of lowering taxes. If your armed for ces are already large enough to deter any potential invaders, then any additional military spending drags down economic growth. Spending money on these three areas is  not necessarily  productive, but having at least a minimal amount of all three will lead to an economy with higher economic growth than none at all. In most Western democracies the majority of government spending goes towards social programs. While there are literally thousands of government-funded social programs the two largest are generally health care and education. These two do not fall into the category of infrastructure. While it is true that schools and hospitals must be built, it is possible for the private sector to profitably do so. Schools and healthcare facilities have been built by non-government groups all over the world, even in countries that already have extensive government programs in this area. Since it is possible to cheaply collect funds from those who use the facility and to ensure those who do use the facilities cannot easily evade paying for those services, these do not fall into the category of infrastructure. Can these programs still provide a net economic benefit? Being in good health will improve your productivity. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce, so spending on health care is a boon to the economy. However, there is no reason the private sector cannot adequately provide health care or why people will not invest in their own health. Its tough to earn an income when youre too sick to go to work, so individuals will be willing to pay for health insurance that will help them get better if they are ill. Since people would be willing to buy health coverage and the private sector can provide it, there is no market failure here. To purchase such health insurance you must be able to afford it. We could get into a situation where society would be better off if the poor got proper medical treatment, but they do not because they cannot afford it. Then there would be a benefit to giving  health care  coverage to the poor. But we can get the same benefit by simply giving the poor cash and letting them spend it on whatever they want, including health care. However, it could be that people, even when they have enough money, will buy an inadequate amount of health care. Many conservatives argue that this is the basis of many social programs; government officials do not believe that citizens buy enough of the right things, so government programs are necessary to ensure people get what they need but wont buy.   The same situation occurs with educational expenditures. People with more education tend to be on average more productive than people with less education. Society is better off by having a highly educated population. Since people with higher productivity tend to get paid more, if parents care about the future welfare of their children, they will have an incentive to seek an education for their children. There are no technical reasons why private sector companies cannot provide educational services, so those who can afford it will get an adequate amount of education. As before, there will be low-income families who cannot afford a proper education although they (and society as a whole) are better off by having well-educated children. It would seem that having programs which focus their energies on poorer families will have a greater economic benefit than those which are universal in nature. There seems to be a benefit to the economy (and society) by providing an education to a family with limited opportunities. There is little point in providing an education or health insurance to a wealthy family, as they will likely buy as much as they need. On the whole, if you believe that those who can afford it will buy an efficient amount of health care and education,  social programs  tend to be a deterrent to economic growth. Programs which focus on agents who are unable to afford these items have a greater benefit to the economy than those that are universal in nature. We saw in the previous section that higher taxes can lead to higher economic growth  if  those taxes are efficiently spent on three areas which protect the rights of citizens. A military and a police force ensure that people do not have to spend a great deal of time and money on personal security, allowing them to engage in more productive activities. A court system allows individuals and organizations to enter into contracts with one another which create opportunities for growth through collaboration motivated by rational  self-interest. Roads and Highways Cannot  Be Paid by Individuals There are other government programs, which bring a net benefit to the economy when fully paid for by taxes. There are certain goods that society finds desirable but individuals or corporations cannot supply. Consider the problem of roads and highways. Having an extensive system of roads on which people and goods can freely travel greatly adds to the prosperity of a nation. If a private citizen wanted to build a road for profit, they would run into two major difficulties: The cost of collection.  If the road was a useful one, people would gladly pay for its benefits. In order to collect fees for the use of the road, a toll would have to be set up at every exit and entry to the road; many  interstate highways  work this way. However, for most local roads the amount of money obtained through these tolls would be dwarfed by the extreme costs of setting up these tolls. Because of the collection problem, a lot of useful infrastructures would not be built, although there is a net benefit to its existence.Monitoring who uses the road.  Suppose you were able to set up a system of tolls at all the entrances and exits. It may still be possible for people to enter or leave the road at points other than the official exit and entrance. If people can evade paying the toll, they will. Governments provide a solution to this problem by constructing the roads and recouping the expenses through taxes such as the income tax and the gasoline tax. Other pieces of infrastructure such as the sewage and water system work on the same principle. The idea of government activity in these areas is not new; it goes at least as far back as  Adam Smith. In his 1776 masterpiece,  The Wealth of Nations  Smith wrote: The third and last duty of the sovereign or commonwealth is that of erecting and maintaining those public institutions and those public works, which, though they may be in the highest degree advantageous to a great society, are, however, of such a nature that the profit could never repay the expense to any individual or small number of individuals, and which it, therefore, cannot be expected that any individual or small number of individuals should erect or maintain. Higher taxes which lead to improvements in infrastructure  can  lead to higher economic growth. Once again, it depends on the usefulness of the infrastructure being created. A six-lane highway between two small towns in upstate New York is not likely to be worth the tax dollars spent on it. An improvement to the safety of the water supply in an impoverished area might be worth its weight in gold if it leads to reduced illness and suffering for the users of the system. Higher Taxes Are Used to Finance Social Programs A tax cut does not necessarily help or hurt an economy. You  must  consider what the revenue from those taxes is being spent on before you can determine the effect the cut will have on the economy. From this discussion, though, we see the following general trends: Cutting taxes and wasteful spending will help an economy because of the disincentive effect caused by taxation. Cutting taxes and useful programs may or may not benefit the economy.A certain amount of government spending is required in the military, the police, and the court system. A country which does not spend an adequate amount of money in these areas will have a depressed economy. Too much spending in these areas is wasteful.A country also needs infrastructure  to have a high level of economic activity. Much of this infrastructure cannot be adequately provided by the private sector, so governments must spend money in this area to ensure economic growth. However, too much spending or spending on the wrong infrastructure can be wasteful and slow  economic growth.If people are naturally inclined to spend their own money on education and healthcare, then taxation used for social programs is likely to  slow economic growth. Social spending which targets low-income families is m uch better for the economy than universal programs. If people are not inclined to spend towards their own education and healthcare, then there can be a benefit to supplying these goods, as society as a whole benefit from a healthy and educated workforce. The government ending all social programs is not a solution to these issues. There can be many benefits to these programs which are not measured in economic growth. A slowdown in economic growth is likely to occur as these programs are expanded, however, so that should always be kept in mind. If the program has enough other benefits, society as a whole may wish to have lower economic growth in return for more social programs. Source:   The Capitalism Site - FAQ - Government

Biography of Alfred Wegener, German Scientist

Biography of Alfred Wegener, German Scientist Alfred Wegener (November 1, 1880–November 1930) was a German meteorologist and geophysicist who developed the first theory of continental drift and formulated the idea that a supercontinent known as Pangaea existed on the Earth millions of years ago. His ideas were largely ignored at the time they were developed, but today they are widely accepted by the scientific community. As part of his research, Wegener also took part in several journeys to Greenland, where he studied the atmosphere and ice conditions. Fast Facts: Alfred Wegener Known For: Wegener was a German scientist who developed the idea of continental drift and Pangaea.Born: November 1, 1880 in Berlin, GermanyDied: November 1930 in Clarinetania,  GreenlandEducation: University of Berlin (Ph.D.)Published Works: Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere (1911), The Origin of Continents and Oceans (1922)Spouse: Else Koppen Wegener  (m. 1913-1930)Children: Hilde, Hanna, Sophie Early Life Alfred Lothar Wegener was born on November 1, 1880, in Berlin, Germany. During his childhood, Wegeners father ran an orphanage. Wegener took an interest in physical and earth sciences and studied these subjects at universities in both Germany and Austria. He graduated with a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Berlin in 1905. He briefly served as an assistant at the Urania Observatory in Berlin. While earning his Ph.D. in astronomy, Wegener also took an interest in meteorology and paleoclimatology (the study of changes in the Earths climate throughout its history). From 1906 to 1908 he went on an expedition to Greenland to study polar weather. In Greenland, Wegener established a research station where he could take meteorological measurements. This expedition was the first of four dangerous trips that Wegener would take to the icy island. The others occurred from 1912 to 1913 and in 1929 and 1930. Continental Drift Shortly after receiving his Ph.D., Wegener began teaching at the University of Marburg in Germany, and in 1910 he drafted his Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere, which would later become an important meteorological textbook. During his time at the university, Wegener developed an interest in the ancient history of the Earths continents and their placement. He had noticed, in 1910, that the eastern coast of South America and the northwestern coast of Africa looked as if they were once connected. In 1911, Wegener also came across several scientific documents stating there were identical fossils of plants and animals on each of these continents. He eventually articulated the idea that all of the Earths continents were at one time connected into one large supercontinent. In 1912, he presented the idea of continental displacement- which would later become known as continental drift- to explain how the continents moved toward and away from one another throughout the Earths history. In 1914, Wegener was drafted into the German Army during World War I. He was wounded twice and was eventually placed in the Armys weather forecasting service for the duration of the war. In 1915, Wegener published his most famous work, The Origin of Continents and Oceans, as an extension of his 1912 lecture. In that work, he presented extensive evidence to support his claim that all of the Earths continents were at one time connected. Despite the evidence, however, most of the scientific community ignored his ideas at the time. Later Life From 1924 to 1930, Wegener was a professor of meteorology and geophysics at the University of Graz in Austria. At a 1927 symposium, he introduced the idea of Pangaea, a Greek term meaning all lands, to describe the supercontinent that he believed existed on the Earth millions of years ago. Scientists now believe that such a continent did exist- it probably formed about 335 million years ago and began to split apart 175 million years ago. The strongest evidence of this is- as Wegener suspected- the distribution of similar fossils throughout continental borders that are now many miles apart. Death In 1930, Wegener took part in his last expedition to Greenland to set up a winter weather station that would monitor the jet stream in the upper atmosphere over the North Pole. Severe weather delayed the start of the trip and made it extremely difficult for Wegener and the 14 other explorers and scientists with him to reach the weather station. Eventually, 12 of these men would turn around and return to the groups base camp near the coast. Wegener and two others continued on, reaching the final destination of Eismitte (Mid-Ice, a site near the center of Greenland) five weeks after the start of the expedition. On the return trip to the base camp, Wegener became lost and is believed to have died sometime in November 1930 at the age of 50. Legacy For most of his life, Wegener remained dedicated to his theory of continental drift and Pangaea despite receiving harsh criticism from other scientists, many of whom believed the oceanic crust was too rigid to permit the movement of tectonic plates. By the time of his death in 1930, his ideas were almost entirely rejected by the scientific community. It was not until the 1960s that they gained credibility as scientists began studying seafloor spreading and plate tectonics. Wegeners ideas served as a framework for those studies, which produced evidence that supported his theories. The development of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in 1978 eliminated any residual doubt there may have been by providing direct evidence of continental movements. Today, Wegeners ideas are highly regarded by the scientific community as an early attempt at explaining why the Earths landscape is the way it is. His polar expeditions are also highly admired and today the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research is known for its high-quality research in the Arctic and the Antarctic. A crater on the Moon and a crater on Mars are both named in Wegeners honor. Sources Bressan, David. â€Å"May 12, 1931: Alfred Wegeners Last Journey.† Scientific American Blog Network, 12 May 2013.Oreskes, Naomi, and Homer E. LeGrand.  Plate Tectonics: An Insiders History of the Modern Theory of the Earth. Westview, 2003.Wegener, Alfred.  The Origin of Continents and Oceans. Dover Publications, 1992.Yount, Lisa.  Alfred Wegener: Creator of the Continental Drift Theory. Chelsea House Publishers, 2009.

Meeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Meeting - Essay Example Conduct Meetings, what do you do if one of the people in the meeting started to talk about things which are not related to the purpose of the meeting? The â€Å"tangentially inclined individuals† are people who take off on unrelated subjects, thereby derailing the conversation and interfering with the pace of the meeting. This may happen if meeting goals/outcomes are not clearly defined, or if the level of detail or the meeting roles are not understood. To handle this scenario, the facilitator must stop and clarify the desired outcome for this particular topic. If possible, he/she must help the group agree on level of detail to discuss before the meeting even gets started. He/she can use a parking lot to record issues to be worked outside the meeting. Finally, he/she should make sure that people feel heard. The most appropriate meeting chairperson is somebody who is (1) level-headed, because meetings can get heated up sometimes, so someone who can keep the harmony in the proceeding is vital; (2) objective, because opposing views are inevitable in meetings, so someone who can weigh the pros and cons can keep things in proper perspective; (3) intelligent enough to understand everything that transpires in the meeting; and (4) sensitive to the fact that everyone’s ideas and personality differences are recognized. b.  How will you ensure that the meeting is time efficient and desired outcomes can be achieved efficiently? E.g. what may be an appropriate time limit on each speaker and how will you try to restricting discussion to agenda items? For the meeting to be time-efficient, certain guidelines must be made clear to all attendees, especially on the issue/s to be discussed so as to avoid veering away from what is relevant. Also, limits to the duration that each speaker can talk must be set, i.e., 2 minutes to present his/her main idea/concern, then ask for extension if necessary. c.  Give at least 2 examples of ethical and legal requirements for a public

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

Technology - Essay Example Then, interestingly enough, those units quadruple (increase by 400%) over the next 10 years. After that, over the next ten years, the figure doubles. So, it would be very interesting to know that the types of units the x-axis is measuring are actually years, as we are very sure at this point—which of course does help us in analyzing what the figures are trying to tell us. In fact, these numbers tell a curious story. The results on the y-axis show—unlike the x-axis, not the units of years—but rather the references (as benchmarks) staggered out. Every ten years marks a benchmark in references, because within that time frame is when a new dot is placed on the chart. Now, for the first three decades on the chart starting in the 1940s, there was absolutely no growth. Then, we see in the decade 1970-1980 there is a slight uptick in activity, with activity shooting up in exponential increments in the two decades to follow. It would be interesting to any reader to know that the kind of units on the x-axis were actually measured in years if they hadn’t already figured it out by mere deduction, so much so that there were two decades of exceedingly rapid growth of references being bought, sold, or produced, etc., in technology. The possibilities of how we could analyze all these data are really endless, but the most interesting part yet remains to be seen: the analysis of the results, which will be discussed in the following section. The analysis of the results are basically as follows. The references to technology that were being sold, bought, or traded dramatically increased within the last two decades, but which had only started an uptick about three decades ago. Unfortunately, at this time it’s not completely sure what the units of the x-axis were supposed to be designated to be if anything other than just years. Luckily, however, that is not necessarily needful for us to know

Indian Creation Stories Essay Example for Free

Indian Creation Stories Essay After reading the Iroquois and Pima creation myths in the book, I have been very intrigued by the Native American beliefs of the creation of the earth. It seems that nearly every tribe has a different belief of how it happened, though some are very similar. The Huron tribe, originally from the St. Lawrence Valley, have a very similar belief of creation as the Iroquois, where the Cherokee tribe had a totally different view than the Pima. The Iroquois and the Huron myths are both in the Earth-Diver category. In this type of myth, animals swim deep to the bottom of the water and bring up dirt in their mouth, forming the earth. Just like the Iroquois, in the Huron myth, a divine woman falls out the sky and is swept up just before hitting water by a hawk. The hawk then calls down in the water for help, for she is too heavy for it to hold by itself. First, a turtle comes out the sea for her to sit on, and then he instructs other animals such as ducks, beavers, and even a muskrat. After the earth is built, the woman gives birth to twins, but soon dies after giving birth to her two sons. The sons in both myths represent good and evil on earth. They were to prepare the earth so that humans could live on it, but they found out that they could not live together. So, they separated, with each one taking their own portion of the earth to prepare. Once older, the good son creates a sun and moon out of the remains of its mother’s body. It continues to create the world, forming vegetation and other useful tools to help humans survive. Meanwhile, the evil brother made outrageous animals, violent and disturbing. He made wolves, bears, venomous snakes, and panthers of giant size. He made massive mosquitos, the size of wild turkeys, and he made an enormous toad, it drank up the fresh water that was on the earth. The good brother then had to kill the toad to bring water back to the land. In the end, the good brother defeated the evil brother in a fight, sending the evil brother’s soul to the center of the earth. Pima creation myth is similar to the Iroquois and Huron myths in that there are both animals that help build the earth, except in the Pima myth, they are land animals instead of sea animals. Also, there are two main characters that represent good and evil. The Cherokee creation myth starts as the world being completely covered in water and earth merely being an island floating bove the seas suspended by four rawhide ropes. There were no people, and the animals lived above the rainbow. The animals sent the water beetle under the seas to search for more room, and it brought up mud that spread quickly, turning into land. Although at first the land was to soft and flat, Godfather buzzard went to check on the land and the wind from his wings created mountains and valleys, thus why the Cherokee territory has many mountains. As the new ground stiffened, the pulled the sun from behind the rainbow and raised it higher in the sky. The next thing created was the plants, and view animals were given the privilege to see at night. People were created last, with the women being able to have babies every seven days, the Creator feared that the world would soon become crowed and made it so women could only have one child a year. The Native American creation stories of the Iroquois and Huron are almost identical where the Pima and Cherokee are completely opposite of each other. This goes to show just how different the beliefs of different Indian tribes are, and how this holds true to how there are different beliefs across the United States still today.

Symbolic Characters in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Symbolic Characters in The Scarlet Letter Symbolic characters are very important in most powerful novels. One classic that uses characters as symbols is The Scarlet Letter. This novel is about a woman in Puritan society, Hester, who commits adultery with her minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. She has a daughter, Pearl, and is forced to wear a scarlet letter the rest of her life. Arthur hides his sin and becomes extremely troubled. Hester's husband, Roger, takes it upon himself to judge and punish Arthur for his sin and becomes like the devil. Three characters in the novel are symbolic; Roger Chillingworth, the young woman, and Pearl. One character in the story that is symbolic is Roger, Hester's husband. He is the symbol of a life consumed with revenge. When the reader first meets Roger, he is a mostly normal man. He was small in stature, with a furrowed visage, which, as yet, could hardly be termed aged. There was a remarkable intelligence in his features... (p. 56) The only unusual trait of his is a slight deformity of the shoulder. He is an intelligent man who spends most of his time reading. When Roger finds out that Hester has been unfaithful to him, he vows to take revenge on the man who sinned with her. Later he finds out that the man is Minister Arthur Dimmesdale and meticulously plots revenge. His life becomes consumed with the carrying out of his revenge. He himself sins as he tries to destroy Arthur's soul. Roger soon comes to resemble the devil. He even notices this similarity in himself. He says, "I have already told thee what I am! A fiend!" (p. 158) Hester also says that she pities him, "...for the hatred that has transformed a wise and just man to a fiend." (p. 159) Each of them recognize that Roger's life centered around hatred and revenge have made him like the devil. The symbol working in Roger, living to destroy, shows that tearing down another person causes as much damage to one's own life. Roger is the symbol of a life consu med by desire for revenge. Another symbolic character is the kind young woman. She is symbolic of hope in the story. Surrounded by people criticizing and being self-righteous the young woman alone has kind words to say to and about Hester Prynne.

Factors that affect enzyme activity

Since the active site for all molecules of one enzyme will be made up of the same arrangement of amino acids, It has a highly specific shape. Generally, there is only one active site on each enzyme molecule and only one type of substrate molecule will fit into it. This specificity leads to the lock and key hypothesis, Source 1: http:/twwa. s-cool. co. uk/a-level/blology/ biological-molecules-and-enzymes/revise-it/enzymes Source 2: http://cllck4blology. lnfo/c4b?/chem3. 6. htm#one a) Large globular protein enzyme b) Active Site where the substrate combines to the enzyme ) Substrate which fits the active site d) Activated complex.The substrate is weakened to allow the reaction. e) Unchanged enzyme/ re-used at low concentration f) Product of the reaction In my investigation, I will be using the enzyme catalase, which is found in most living organisms. It catalyses the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide Into water and oxygen. 2H202 + catalase > 2820 + 02 Catalase dramatically reduces the activation energy needed for the reaction. Without catalase the decomposition would take much longer, and would not be fast enough to sustain human life.Hydrogen peroxide is also a dangerous, very potent by-product of metabolism, so it is essential that it is broken down quickly, otherwise it would cause damage to cells. The activity of an enzyme is affected by its environmental conditions. Changing these will alter the rate of reaction caused by the enzyme. In nature, organisms adjust the conditions of their enzymes to produce an optimum rate of reaction, where necessary, or they may have enzymes which are adapted to function well In extreme conditions where they live.Enzyme Concentration: at low enzyme concentration there is great competition for he active sites and the rate of reaction is low. As the enzyme concentration increases, there are more active sites and the reaction can proceed at a faster rate, for more enzymes will be colliding with substrate molecules. Eventually, i ncreasing tne enzyme concentratlon Deyona a certain polnt nas no erect Decause tne suDstrate concentration becomes the limiting factor.Inquiring upon this factor, it is obvious to anticipate increasing enzyme concentration will also increase rate of reaction based upon contextual knowledge and after casting a certain amount of enzyme oncentration, it will no longer be the limiting factor. If I experiment on this factor, I would perceive my data to resemble the graph below, as it exemplifies how increasing enzyme concentration increases rate of reaction(shown through line climbing) until it becomes the limiting factor and the rate of reaction does not increase(shown through line not climbing).Source 3 :http://alevelnotes. com/Factors- affecting-Enzyme-Activity/146 Substrate Concentration: similar to the enzyme concentration, at low concentrations of substrate there is a low rate of reaction. This is because there are few substrate molecules to react with active sites and therefore li miting the number of reactions happening. Henceforth, increasing the substrate concentration will increase the rate of reaction. This is because more substrate molecules will be colliding with enzyme molecules, so more product will be formed.However, after a certain concentration, any increase will have no effect on the rate of reaction, since Substrate Concentration will no longer be the limiting factor. The enzymes will effectively become saturated, and will be working at their maximum possible rate. If I was to investigate this factor, I would predict the rate of reaction will increase as substrate concentration increases, until a certain concentration is added when the substrate molecules are in excess resulting in enzyme saturation.The graph (below) demonstrates my prediction. Source 3 :http://alevelnotes. com/Factors-affecting-Enzyme-Activity/146 enzyme and substrate Simple image portraying proposed image for concentration (discussed in according factors). Mentioned as â€Å" picture of proposed investigation below' Temperature: All enzymes ave optimal temperatures, the temperature at which an enzyme produces the highest reaction rate for a specific reaction. The majority of enzymes in the human body works best at 37 Celsius degrees.This is because 37 degrees Celsius is the bodys internal temperature and enzymes such as catalase, have been adapted to work best at that certain temperature. Below the optimum temperature, substrates have little kinetic energy and fewer enter the active site to be catalyzed. However, as temperature increases towards the optimum, the substrates and enzymes gain more inetic energy and collide more often leading to a chemical reaction. When the temperature goes above the optimum, the bonds holding enzymes together also gain kinetic energy, increasing the speed at which they vibrate.This leads to the bonds breaking within the enzyme, making it change shape. This change in shape means that the active site is less complementary to the shape of the substrate, so that it is less likely to catalyse the reaction. Eventually, the enzyme will Decome denatured ana will no longer Tunctlon. I nen as temperature Increases more nzymes' molecules' active sites will become less complementary for the substrate molecules and then more enzymes will be denatured.This will decrease the rate of reaction. If I examined this factor, I would predict that the rate of reaction will peak at 37 degrees Celsius, as that is the optimum temperature of catalase. Also, as stated in the latter paragraph, increasing or decreasing the temperature from its optimum will lower the rate of reaction. Therefore, I should expect the data I collected to be similar of the graph below. Source 4: http://www. rsc. rg/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/ enzymes. tm PH: pH measures the acidity and basicity ofa solution. It is a measure of the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration, and therefore a good indicator of the hydroxide ion (OH-) concentration. It ranges from PHI to pH14. Lower pH values mean higher H + concentrations and lower OH- concentrations. Unlike the same optimal temperature for all enzymes that dwell in the human body (370c); the optimum pH varies for the enzymes. For example, the enzyme pepsin has an optimum pH of 2. 0 whereas catalase has an optimum of 7. 6.Enzymes in different locations have different Optimum pH values since their environmental conditions may be different. In this instance, pepsin operates most competently at pH 2 because it is commonly found in the stomach, where pH is low due to the presence of hydrochloric acid. Enzymes work in small ranges of pH values, so any change above or below the optimum will cause a sudden decrease in rate of reaction, since more of the enzyme molecules will have active sites whose shapes are not (or at least are less) complementary to the shape of their substrate.Small changes below or above the optimum, does not cause a permanent change to the enzymes since the bonds can be reformed. However, extreme changes in pH can cause enzymes to denature and permanently loose their function. When the pH is changed from the optimal of the certain enzyme, the H+ and OH- interfere with hydrogen and ionic bonds that hold together an enzyme, since they will be attracted or repelled by the charges created by the bonds. This interference causes a change in the shape of the enzyme and most importantly, the active site.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Book review of The Hunger Games – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a â€Å"Victor's Tour† of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever.I enjoyed this book as it kept me reading on and wanting to know what's going to happen next ecause the story line and the descriptive detail on each page. I didn't really dislike any parts of the book as it kept me reading on and I wanted to read more of what going to happen. Katniss Everdeen – is Just trying to get her life back to normal. But people of District 12 look at her differently now, and she's always on the radar in the Capitol. Now that she's won the Hunger Games, Katniss' family gets to live in a nice house and will never go hungry.Her role as the family's breadwinner is no longer needed. The others in her district also get more food and will be better off for at least a year, hanks to Katniss and Peeta's win in the arena. To them, she's a hero, but to herself, she's anything but. It seems pretty obvious what the most dangerous option of these is. It's harder to tell what was really going on in her mind, though. Most of the time, Katniss is full of self-loathing, especially when she must decide whether to run away or stick it out in District 12 and try to fght the Capitol.She wants her old life back as she knew where she stood in life; ‘l mourn my old life here. We barely scraped by, but I knew where I fit in, I knew what my place was in the tightly interwoven fabric hat was our life. I wish I could go back to it because, in retrospect, it seems so secure compared with n ow, when I am so rich and so famous and so hated by the authorities in the Capitol. ‘ Peeta Mellark – Throughout the book, Katniss admires Peeta's ability to make speeches: and then I think of it, what Peeta can do much better than the rest of us.He can use words. He obliterated the rest of the field at both interviews. And maybe it's because of that underlying goodness that he can move a crowd – no, a country – to his side with the turn of a simple sentence. ‘ Peeta speaks as naturally as Katniss hunts, but his skill isn't called for in the arena like hers is. It's the luck of the draw that she ends up as the face of the revolution, all the while thinking that Peeta would be much better suited for the task.Peeta is a bit of a contradiction: he's one of the kindest and least selfish characters in the book, but he's also one of the best liars. When the tributes have their final televised interviews before the Quarter Quell, Peeta steals the show by pr oducing not Just one but two excellent lies. These lies, pregnant, are so effective that the audience seems likely to explode. Gale Hawthorne – He and Katniss understand each other because they're both from the poorest part of town. He's a great hunter and a responsible provider for his family.And he and Katniss have a long history together. Gale and Peeta are also very different guys. Where Peeta is selfless, Gale is selfish. He wants Katniss all to himself; while Peeta is prepared to let her go if it will save her life. Consider how Katniss approaches both guys with her plan of running away. Gale is all into it until he learns that Katniss expects Peeta to go, too. In contrast, Peeta expects that Katniss would ant to bring Gale along, and he's still willing to follow her. But Just because Gale is selfish doesn't mean he's bad.It's kind of flattering to Katniss that he wants her all to himself, although she wouldn't be able to live with herself if they left Peeta behind. Eve n though Gale hasn't suffered like Katniss has at the hands of the Capitol, he's more than ready to rebel. Whereas Katniss is usually wishy-washy and cautious about the opposing the Capitol, Gale is certain. He's sick of the rules, sick of watching his family go hungry, and sick of having no choice about his future. He's so firmly against the Capitol that he won't even accept a gift Katniss brings him from the region.Gale has always been one for breaking the law. Like Katniss, he's had to poach to find food for his family, so obeying the law wasn't really an option. Unlike Katniss, though, Gale gets caught and is whipped within an inch of his life. Rather than scare him into submission, though, Gale Just becomes even more anti-Capitol. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action and romance books as this has both, action from the games and rebellion and the romance from Peeta and Katniss.

Chris Farley Overdose on Cocaine essays

Chris Farley Overdose on Cocaine essays Chris Farley, a very popular actor to men, women, boys and girls died of an overdose of cocaine. He was very funny for his over-reacting and his physical comedy. He was on SNL (Saturday Night Live) for five years, then left to pursue a movie career. His movies include, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Beverly Hills Ninja. Christopher Crosby Farley was born on February 15 1964, in Madison, Wisconsin. He studied theatre and communications at Marquette University. After finishing College Chris was in the cast of the Second City Theatre, where the producer of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels, discovered him. After he was on SNL for 5 years he started to work on some movies, like Waynes World in 1992 and Coneheads in 1993. In 1995 he had a small but comedic cameo in Billy Madison. When he was in Tommy Boy in 1995, he had finally gotten very popular. Him and his comedic partner David Spade later made another movie together called Black Sheep in 1996. In 1997 he made his final popular movie called Beverly Hills Ninja. He then died later in 1997 due to an accidental cocaine overdose. Although he died in 1997 he had another movie that was released in 1998 called Almost Heroes. Chris Farley lived a very active and bad lifestyle. He had abused drugs and alcohol for many years. He also had another very bad problem. He had very much trouble stopping eating. He was just like his father. He has said that his father was over 500 pounds. He just could not stop eating, although he was ridiculed and laughed at for being obese. Chris Farley and his life idol, John Belushi, both lived very similar lives. Almost identical lives to be exact. They were both on SNL and both used physical comedy to be funny. They both lived short but fast lives. They both abused drugs and alcohol and both had problems with obesity. Even more identical was their age and cause of death. Chris Farley died of a cocaine ove ...

Case study of starbucks attraction strategies

Case study of starbucks attraction strategies Starbuck coffees want to lead for their best coffee in the world. Starbucks always believe in serving best coffee to their customer. Buying, roasting, and serving are the highest quality of starbucks. Starbucks also give there coffe to farmers who help to clean the environment. The knowledge we got from our farmers are helping us to use that same information in our other areas. Environmental Stewardship Starbucks is particular about the cleanliness. Coffee is an agricultural product. Starbucks is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. We are keeping in mind about the high standard quality product which will help us reduce our environmental impact. And for future generation we are taking actions like building up tree watering the plants saving energy. Theseare some factor that we should focus on. Recycling the cups Starbucks introduced a new disposable cup. Starbucks are introducing disposable cups was the only option that contain 10% post consumer recycled fibre. other stakeho lders are also helping starbucks to make there cups recycle and practising Starbucks, cup manufacturers, recyclers, and other stakeholders to jointly identify the steps required to make our cups recyclable in form and in practice. We planned to take a survey test to know what people think about the recycling cups in markets and it will be a good impact on teenagers. 100% recycling in stores Starbucks white cup has been main part of the coffee house . At the same time, it has become a major concern among our customers how are we recycling the cups and that to we can use it afterward. starbucks are aiming that they will make it 100% reusable cups within next five years. Starbucks are working on this works from a long time. And they assured that they will do whatever thay can to make this happen. MARKETING STARBUCKS IS A GREAT COMPANY FOR MARKETING Starbucks have a good name in market .starbucks do a lot of thing to promote their brand like advertising making website and opening there branches in all over the country. Starbuck have a good customer care service. They customers never complaint to them about the service which they provide. Starbucks have an advantage that the have a huge marketing online program so everyone can know about it. And it should also change the website design after few months so people should like it and for that they need to hire a professional manager. Marketing Mix When Starbucks marketing their products firms need to create a successful mix of: Product – to choose the right product for customers. Place – to choose the right place to sell the coffee Price – to choose reasonable price for customer satisfaction. Promotion – ways to promote the brand Starbucks marketing mix PRODUCT Starbucks have huge varieties of food material. it offers some special pastries, coffee and smoothes to satisfy customer demands.Starbucks also launched cappuccino for the people who love to have coffee at home. they can simple buy t he product from market and have the same taste while sitting at home. The Instant via Ready is an instant coffee that colourless taste from its regular brewed coffee.starbucks are offering new varieties in tea- a Full Leaf Tazo Tea Lattes and Tazo Tea Infusions which will attract tea drinkers.

UK laser printer market analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UK laser printer market analysis - Essay Example This paper analyses the UK’s laser printing industry trends in recent times. HP is the major player in the UK laser printing industry with a market share of 39% in 2011, followed by Canon 19%, Epson 12% and Samsung 5% (Doidge, 2011). Even though Samsung’s market share is the lowest, statistics show that the growth rate of Samsung in UK laser industry is more than that of other companies. HP, Canon and Epson have suffered major setbacks in recent times while Samsung was able to maintain steady progress. The printing industry trends in UK are fluctuating rapidly in recent times. Fleur Doidge (2011) pointed out that â€Å"UK printer sales slid 15 per cent in unit terms during the second quarter of 2011, compared with the same period a year ago – with lasers the only segment to post growth†. Inkjet sales in the UK have been decreased substantially in 2011. Inkjet printer industry has lost 17 per cent market share by volume in 2011 (Doidge 2011) even though this loss was lesser compared to the loss suffered by other printing industry. In other words, laser printing industry was the only printing industry that was able to grow in 2011. However, the trend has been changed in 2012. In 2012, the inkjet printing industry in the UK has grown by 12.1% whereas the laser printer sales have only slightly increased, but overall inkjet sales have gone up a full 15%. (The European Printer Market Is Growing, 2012). The arrival of touchscreen mobile devices helped the printing industry in the UK to grow substantially in 2012. It should be noted that touchscreen mobile devices are mostly used by teenagers who are interested in using cheap printing machineries. Since laser printers are expensive than inkjet printers, teenagers usually prefer inkjet printers rather than laser printers. That is why the inkjet printing industry has grown more than laser printing industry in 2012 in the UK. Sam