A Salty High Essay Example for Free

A Salty High Essay I gazed there, looking among the horizon, a dawn sky brightened with the rising sun; waiting for the most unique peeler to form my way. Sitting on my 62 fiberglass surfboard, i was in awe at the beautiful lively nature that surrounded me. The ocean breeze sprayed against my face and the salty moisture in the air plastered to my dry lips. I noticed the seagulls in the distance, were soaring around a gigantic school of flounder, among the shallow waters of the sandbar. The tide was  demanding and it pulled me along south as I watched my towel on the beach, diminish. Surfing- its more than a weekend activity with the kids, or a successful football game; its a way of life, a lifestyle. Being encompassed by the most natural environment, can be so unwinding. Successfully maneuvering a wave takes concentration, superior balance, and no fear to a new rank. The natural high of surfing is as good a feeling as making an A on an exam [if not better]. The white water was breaking behind me and I was forced to move beyond it. I paddled as hard as I could, but progressed nowhere. Why, I pondered to myself, Why am I so weak? I slowly pushed to the furthest sandbar, where the waves were less trifling. Surfers: the tan, salt induced bodies of them all were in harmony with natures sea of sodium. The hard-core wave riders were off in the distance waiting for the sets, as I rode over the falls at the shallow cold sandbar. Becoming one with nature is the most rewarding feeling someone can experience. People have become so caught up in their daily routines, they dont allow themselves the good points in life. In the cool waters of the ocean are the people enjoying the high, the Salty High.

E Business Analysis In Retail Industry

E Business Analysis In Retail Industry E-Business has brought revolution in the traditional value chain structure of the firms. Intermediaries are changing, not disappearing. Companies are found reluctant to bypass their traditional intermediaries. Instead, companies are searching for new ways of working with the middleman. For example, some companies are attempting to turn their retailers into customer-service agents. For online distribution, companies are developing a portfolio of options rather than drive customers to a single sales channel. The main obstacles to e-business are internal. The greatest barriers to e-business lie within the corporation: a need to re-engineer business processes, a lack of e-business skills and a lack of integration between front- and back-end systems (KPMG, 2005). Companies are using e-business to expand products and services to meet escalating customer demands and to keep products and services from becoming commodities. Companies are using the Internet to provide value-added products and services. The Internet is turning out to be an effective way of reaching new customers beyond geographic boundaries. E-BUSINESS IN RETAIL SECTOR Retail industry, on a global scenario, has become highly competitive due to increasing consumer preferences and the growing need of differentiation in terms of product with respect to the diverse markets across the globe. Introduction of E-business in retail sector has helped in creating new activities and features for retailing. It includes shopping 247, seven days a week, from the comfort of your home; gathering information to be a more informed consumer; creating the appearance of a relationship with the customer; and stream lining business to business ordering to reduce prices for the consumer. This focus on cost reduction throughout the value chain has become the prime element for gaining competitive advantage in this business landscape. This is due to accelerating pace with which new products have been introduced in the market day after day, which put tremendous pressure on firms to optimise their value chains. In the retail sector, companies use Information and Communications Technology to facilitate e-business processes for a broad range of applications along the value chain including procurement, warehouse management and logistics, and for marketing, sales and customer services activities. The basic goals of e-business identified are highly relevant in this sector: reducing costs by increasing the efficiency of processes, optimally serving customer by innovative means of information provision and communication and enabling growth by increasing market reach. As competition in the retail industry is strong and barriers to entry are low, ebusiness can take important roles in this industry. Retail firms trade goods and service and retail customers are end-consumers of the goods and services. Hence, while the retail industry is not a goods-producing industry, opportunities for improving business processes through e-business are numerous (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). In retail sector, Focus on companies supply chain management is of imminent importance to realize above mentioned e-business goals. Following are some of the vital elements of supply chain: E-procurement: It improves performance of routine tasks like transaction processing, monitoring and enforcement of regulatory compliance. It increases transparency, eliminates middlemen overhead cost, improves competition amongst suppliers and eases management reporting (Vivekanand B Khanapuri et al., March 2011). With the implementation of e-procurement solutions, automation of buying and selling over the internet has been accomplished There are many types of e-procurement: Web-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): In this type they can generate recommended purchasing schedules in order to achieve an ideal just in time production cycle. E-MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operating Supplies) E-sourcing: This is used to identify new suppliers for a specific category of purchasing requirements using Internet technology E-informing: this is used to gather and exchange purchasing information between buyer and seller (BPC, Article and glossary; 2012) E-procurement also has some disadvantages. There are financial costs, from computers to extra phone lines to learning the technology. Privacy of the information is one critical issue. Another disadvantage is that e-procurement is often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, so as a result very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. If e-procurement system is implemented appropriately, it will benefit both buyer and seller. The in-house supply chain: As retailers do not transform goods, operation is not concerned with organising a production process but with arranging the in-house processes of receiving, distributing, and selling goods. Computerised systems that mainly serve processes inside a company are considered as internal electronic operations. These are valuable for making internal business processes more effective. (Abend, J. Penny, G, 2000) An e-business allows manufacturers and other members of the supply chain that do not have direct contact with customers in traditional channels to enhance revenues by bypassing intermediaries and selling directly to customers. SCM systems: These are the software systems specifically developed for supply chain management. SCM systems provide an overview of the flows of products/materials, information and finances (Claudia-Maria Wagner et al, 2010). In the most advanced form, they cover the whole process and value chain from suppliers/manufacturers to wholesalers, retailers and to consumer. In an effective e-business, the following SCM independent processes must be highly integrated. Demand management: These are shared functions including demand planning, supply planning, manufacturing planning, and sales and operations planning. Supply management: These include products and services for customer order fulfilment. Inbound/outbound logistics: These include transportation management, distribution management and warehouse management Success of the firm highly depends upon to what extent it has successfully integrated above processes using SCM systems. ERP (Enterprise resource planning: It helps to integrate and cover all major business activities within a company, including product planning, parts purchasing, inventory management, order tracking, human resources and finance.(Simchi-Levi,et al. 2003). The ability to access information from various parts of the organization has helped  ¬Ã‚ rms to streamline their business processes and reduce in ef ¬Ã‚ ciencies. Although ERP systems were implemented before the boom in e-business, their potential could not be explored and expanded due to lack of common standards and cost of access. The growth of e-business allows and requires that the information made available from the ERP systems be shared with other  ¬Ã‚ rms in the extended supply chain through the Internet. Advantages of such real time information sharing system are as follows: Inventory requirements for buffer stocks are likely to be lower, because the uncertainty in forecasts and demand can be reduced across the supply chain. As more supply chain execution information becomes available, firms can plan for future operations using advanced planning and optimization tools. The ability to share information creates an opportunity for firms to have collaborative planning and design, which removes the inefficiencies in these processes. CRM (Customer relationship management): It is a concept that enables an organization to tailor specific products or services to each individual customer. In the most advanced scenario, CRM may be used to create a personalized, one-to-one experience that will give the individual customer a sense of being cared for, thus opening up new marketing opportunities based on the preferences and history of the customer (Wilson et al., 2002). It seeks to maximise competitiveness, revenues, and customer satisfaction. These are the very same areas on which most e-business firms concentrate heavily (Tim Coltman et al., 2010). Reasons for CRM e-Business growing to such enormous heights are many. Some of the important points are: Traditional business methods have proved tiresome, costly and very time consuming due to lack of integration across supply chain elements. CRM e-Business increases the chances of building sales and increasing the sales revenue by increasing the area of operation, reducing operating costs, increasing productivity and thereby improving the efficiency of the supply chain. CRM solutions give companies a well-planned and easily integrated e-Business strategy that caters to both the customer needs as well as the corporate needs. Both these need to be appropriately catered to in order that company objectives be fulfilled. E-selling and e-marketing: Sales side business activities consist of three aspects. The first focus is on actual sales, i.e. transactions, and on related customer support activities, a second one on marketing activities. The diffusion of internet technologies among consumers enables retailers to sell their products via the internet to consumers. Online sales are normally done through an own company or through a portal hosted by a different company (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). Also, e-selling enables retailers to go beyond geographic boundaries as far as customer base is concerned. it appears that online sales helps to extend the geographic focus slightly from regional to national sales while the international focus remains on the same low level. Because of the low barriers to entry of competitors, the perceived first mover advantage and the feeling that any competitor was only a click away from your customers, the internet generated an intense need for marketing and brand awareness. Internet changes the way of mixing 4Ps of Marketing- Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Requisite actions for e-business firm include creating awareness of their website, engaging customers through the same and effectively closing the sale by consistent follow up with the customer. Viral Marketing is one of the powerful forces extensively used by e-business. The product is spread by word of mouth or by passing on a copy or a URL to friends and colleagues. Success in e-business depends upon first mover advantage, obtaining customer lock-in, and network externalities. Barriers to entry by competitors are low. Brand recognition is important. These have combined to create a sense of desperation for new dot-com companies as they enter markets crowde d with competitors. This has also generated a surge in print, billboard, and media advertising to establish brand awareness (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). E-support for Logistics and Distribution: logistics are a core issue for mail order retailers and for retailers selling goods online that need to be shipped to customers. Efficient customer-facing logistics are crucially important to lower the costs of goods sold in the internet and to satisfy customers who want to receive their orders swiftly, safely and at low shipping costs (Virpi Kristiina et al., 2005).Logistics management in e-business is mostly driven by e-logistics. E-logistics is the mechanism of automating logistics processes and providing an integrated, end-to-end fulfilment and supply chain management services to the players of logistics processes. Those logistics processes that are automated by e-logistics provide supply chain visibility. A particular challenge in logistics is to manage fluctuations in demand which may be considerable. Further challenges are reverse logistics. Current Scenario: Some Transport service providers give retailers the opportunity to check the current status of shipping on the internet. Online shops themselves may offer their customers the opportunity to check the delivery status online. Another trend is an increase in outsourcing of services to specialised logistics providers to benefit from their specialised services. CASE: AMAZON.COM; THE PIONEER OF E-BUSINESS IN RETAIL (Pankaj Ghemawat, 1998) Amazon.com is an American multinational electronic commerce company. It is worlds largest online retailer. Jeff Bezos incorporated the company (as Cadabra) in July 1994, and the site went online as amazon.com in 1995.Amazon began by selling books online through a bulletin board service in 1992 and now offers a huge variety of books and other merchandise through their own website, mostly to members. Following is the analysis of its value chain on the basis of three aspects: Procurement and Logistics: While Amazon offers more than million titles to its customers, it carries only fraction of it t its own warehouse. Amazon depended more on wholesalers than publishers, to stock its books. This helps Amazon to ship the book within 4 to 7 business days resulting in faster deliveries and cost reductions. Advantages: multiplied inventory turns and reduced working capital requirements and risk of obsolescence. Store Operations: Amazon.coms business model revolved around virtual storefront. But Amazon had its office located in Seattle, Washington. Choosing this location had four advantages: Close to the largest book distribution warehouse in the world, owned by Ingram Large pool of high tech talent Relatively relaxed tax system, allowing Amazon to provide customers from other states, tax free purchase of books. West Coast location permitted more (in-stock) books to be shipped the same day to the East Coast than would have been possible the other way around (Bacheldor, Beth; 2004). Amazon had a cost reduction approach while setting up its offices. Half of the manpower was involved in packing, shipping, customer service and other half in computer programming, marketing, accounting, and management. Top managers background was mostly computer related. Amazons investment in computer technology was focused on software rather than hardware. Marketing: By 1995, for Amazon, repeat customers accounted for more than 50% of orders. Amazon was the largest discounter in the world market. Some of the features of Amazon: Customers were able to shop at Amazon any time of the day, any day of the week Catalogue, with wide range of variety of items Easy process for membership and secure payment transfers Customers were instantly informed of the prices and inventory status of the items they had ordered. Customers were informed in timely manner, when their order was shipped from Amazons warehouse. Range of value added customer services like- Interviews with book authors Book reviews and recommendations by other customers and media Links to other sites, new release data Two personalized services, Eyes and Editors, which helped build traffic by emailing customers when books by selected authors, on selected subjects in selected categories became available. INDIAN E-RETAIL SCENARIO Indian online retail market, also known as e-tail market, is one of the fastest growing in the world. according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAIMA), the Indian online retail market has grown from US$250 million in 2008 to US$300 million in 2009, US$400 million in 2010 and US$600 million in 2011. In 2012 it is expected to more than double to US$1.3 billion and by 2015 to US$6.7 billion (Have Global E-tailers Missed the Bus in India?, 2012). Some of the prominent players in Indian market right now are Flipkart.com and Infibeam.com. Several new players with ambitious growth targets Firstandsecond, Librarywala and Tradusbooks, to name a few are also hoping to gain a foothold in the market. Growing evidence suggests that book e-tailing will eventually surpass retailing. The many advantages are seen: Potentially infinite shelf space: can post number of listings online for sale No real estate costs: firm need not invest in physical shop. As for the stocking inventory, maximum inventory can be managed at vendors location itself minimising the cost incurred in warehousing locations. An absence of the personnel and infrastructure expenses involved with running a physical store Lower prices and no inter-state taxes Global players entering Indian market: Many e-tail global players are gearing up to enter this growing market with future profit prospects. Some have already started making their moves despite the restrictions. Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer, entered the India market through Junglee.com which is a comparison site it bought more than a decade ago. eBay also entered India in a small way in 2004 with the acquisition of Baazee.com. eBay does not stock the products, but provides a platform for third-party merchants to sell to registered users. The firm recently also launched its own shipping service, PowerShip, which enables sellers to deliver their products to the buyers. Another foreign firm that has entered India is LuxeYard from the U.S. known for flash sale i.e. heavy discounts on items that are available for limited periods (Have Global E-tailers Missed the Bus in India?, 2012). LuxeYard has partnered with serial entrepreneur Sashi Chimala, who will launch a local venture that LuxeYard plans to buy after two years. ISSUES FACED AND CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR INDIAN E-RETAIL LANDSCAPE: Low levels of Internet penetration: According to an I-Cube (Internet in India) study conducted annually by IMRB International and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), India had 52 million active internet users as of September 2009. But only 10% of those users indulge in e-commerce (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). But recently the government has shown keen interest in developing an IT mandate for India, the reflections of which we find in the actions of regulators and policy making bodies. Examples: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ TRAI Recommendations on a National Broadband Plan-December, 2010 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Budget 2011-12, Ministry of Finance Delivery Delays: Locally available books take three to five days to arrive, and those that have to be ordered from international suppliers can take anywhere from two to six weeks (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). Factors causing this are mostly beyond companies control, since they deal with poor technological infrastructure at airports, inefficient transport connectivity.Global players typically use third-party logistics. But in India, this sector is not adequately developed. Another reason for concern is many of the companies are offering their own branded delivery. These companies have been investing heavily in creating their own delivery networks for a country like India, which has poor infrastructure and high diversity. Thus it also failed to achieve economies of scale. Supplier Relations: This is directly related to the inventory management. The amount of inventory the companies carry is dependent on supplier lead times. If the lead time is 24 hours, the business will carry only one days worth of inventory in its warehouse. That makes optimization of the existing supplier-inventory-shipping network a priority. These Retailers are always dependent on third-party information about the availability of products, which at very best is modest. Global players tend to deal with a few large suppliers (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). In India, e-retail firms have relationships with thousands of suppliers of all sizes. Psychological barriers: Indians are reluctant to use their credit cards online, and Indias banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, only recently introduced fraud checks on credit card misuse. More than 80% of payments are made as cash-on-delivery, in line with the traditional Indian consumer behavior of paying for goods only after receiving them (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). Cash-on-delivery model has its own issues: cash gets blocked, inventories are high and returns have to be managed. This model is contrary to the typical e-commerce model, and global players will find it challenging. Difficulties in e-procurement: Companys faces lot of issues in e-procurement process due to following reasons: High initial investment: E-procurement requires new IT systems that are often a significant financial investment. Also problems like technical issues hinder implementation for both buyer and supplier Suppliers Resistance to Changes: Buyers have to deal with the technological immaturity and unpreparedness from the suppliers side during the course of implementing e-purchasing initiatives (Rebecca Angeles and Ravi Nath, 2007). Limited Knowledge Pool: The consultant expertise on e-procurement initiatives is still not at par with global standards because of typical differences among industries in its procurement strategies. Weakness of IT Act: The present IT Act in India is weak and a sound legal framework is vital for the success of e-retailing in India. Hence, there is a strong need to introduce separate law for e-retailing in India as the existing laws are incapable to deal with the various issues that are emerging with the increasing implementation of e-retailing in India. CONCLUSION E-Business has indeed brought revolution in the traditional value chain structure of the firms. An e-retailer can gain a competitive advantage if they implement IT that enables them to have more effective and efficient supply chains. But to sustain that in ever increasing competition e-retailer has to implement innovative solution for continuous improvement of its value chain. Indian retail sector is growing fast. The retail scene is changing really fast. But still Indian consumers feel more secure transacting with a retailer who is present in online as well as physical format, so a clicks-and-bricks hybrid model can be a way forward for Indian e-retailers. India needs to invest in infrastructure to improve transportation and distribution capabilities of e-retailers. As more and more firms begin to integrate their online and traditional operations and share more information over the Internet, real-time supply chain management and ability to create value for customers using e-value ch ain on consistent basis are going to become all the more important.

The Impact Of Oil Spills Biology Essay

The Impact Of Oil Spills Biology Essay An oil spill can be defined as the accidental release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the surroundings or the environment due to human activity. An oil spill is a form of pollution that has devastating effects on the environment. The term oil spill is sometimes used to refer to marine oil spills where there is a release of oil into the ocean, coastal waters or any other water body. On the land the oil spills are usually restricted and their impact can be eliminated quite easily compared to marine oil spills. The main cause of marine oil spills is associated with the oil transportation by tankers and oil pipes which makes up of about 70 percent of all the oil spills. The remaining percent of oil spills comes from offshore drilling, wells and spills of refined petroleum products such as petrol and diesel and also their by products. The occurrence of large and catastrophic spills that can release up to 30,000 tons of oil or even more is relatively rare. The frequency of such events in recent times had gone down perceptibly. But this took a different turn when we experienced the worse and largest oil spill ever recorded in history, the deep water horizon oil spill also known as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or the BP oil spill. Though some oil spills may not be as extensive or worse like the BP oil spill they still possess the capability to cause serious ecological risks to sea birds and mammals. The result is the long term environmental disturbances that occur in coastal zones. Oil spills also have an impact on the economic activities of the people that depend on the sea for a livelihood. Public outcry over oil spills has led to the coming up of impressive technical, political and also legal experiences in managing oil spills. Causes There are various factors that can lead to oil spills which range from accidents, carelessness to deliberate dumping. Tanker accidents are one of the popular causes of oil spills. Tankers can sometimes crash or run into un- expected land causing a crack or hole that allows oil to escape. They are highly publicized by the media and they release large volumes of oil into the oceans. Globally only a small percentage of oil spills occur as a result of tanker accidents such as explosions, hull failure, running aground or even collisions. Tanker accidents result in oil spills that are very harmful because of the large volumes of oil released at once. This poses a serious threat to the lives of marine animals and also sea birds. The spillage of oil due to a loading or unloading problem is another category of tanker accidents. This kind of spillage is the most frequent of the oil spills. Statistics show that between 1974 and 1998 there were 3,000 such accidents. However in comparison to acci dents caused by collisions or groundings, their destruction is relatively minor. Another cause of oil spills that is very common is known as runoff from the land. Engines that are land based e.g. car engines function on petroleum fuel and also petroleum based lubricants. The engines slowly release these substances leading to their accumulation on roads and in the ground. These minor everyday spills and leaks of oil from automobiles end up poisoning the soil. The motor oil can also find its way down through storm drains into sewers which drain into rivers and eventually out into the sea. Natural seepage is another cause of oil spills especially in the oceans. When the earthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s tectonic plates move sometimes they release oil from the reserves trapped deep within the ocean floor. Human activities in the ocean such as drilling can also accelerate natural seepage. Natural seepage rarely happens on land and when it does ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not much of a concern. The reason why natural seepage is disastrous to the ocean is because of the fact that oil is less dense than water, thus when released by the undersea tectonic disturbances it will always float leading to major oil spills. Oil extraction is another cause of oil spill. As oil is extracted from underground reserves it is often spilled in land and also in the sea depending on where it is been extracted from. To test a newly tapped oil well, the oil is allowed to flow out forming a geyser of oil spewing into the sky and all of that oil is allowed to spill. Accidents also do occur regularly in the oil extraction wells resulting in spillage (Stille 7) Oil shipping trucks and pipelines are another cause for oil spills. Pipelines that transport oil underground can develop cracks and leaks over a period of time which allows oil to flow into the environment. These leaks can be as a result of natural catastrophes such as hurricanes and earthquakes. They can also result from poor maintenance resulting in structural failure or from deliberate vandalism and attacks. Tanks or oil shipping trucks can be involved in road accidents thereby instigating an oil spill. Majority of this causes are as a result of human error or carelessness which fall under controlled factors. Oil spills may also occur due to machinery breakdowns, illegal dumping of oil and also intentional spillages. Effects Oil spills can have an impact on the environment, the economy, health and also the society as a whole. These effects can be long lasting and hard to get away with. Many oil spills have been documented in the scientific and technical literature though not all of the effects of oil pollution are completely understood and documented, an indication of the possible scale duration of damage can usually be found in the information available. However it can also be difficult to present a balanced view of the realities of oil spills given the fact that they are highly charged. Also the emotional nature of a spill and its aftermath can bring difficulties. Oil spills result in both immediate and long term damage to the environment. Some of the damages that oil spills cause on the environment can last for decades after the spill occurs. There are various notable effects caused by oil spills on the environment. Harsh effects that oil has on the coastline or shoreline are the highly visible parts of an oil spill. Unless a concerted effort to clean up the shoreline is made the oil basically stays on the shore until the weather and time breaks it down a process that is extremely slow. The gooey mass that makes up an oil slick will litter the shoreline with an ugly black tar making it very dangerous since the shoreline is where much marine life is concentrated. Shorelines provide nurseries for fish and marine life, by contaminating the shoreline the oil possess a threat and are dangerous to the marine life in the area (walker 20). Marine mammals such as dolphins, seals, whales and sea otters are killed by oil spills. The damage done to these animals can take different forms. The blow holes of whales of dolphins and whales are sometimes blocked by the oil making it hard for these animals to breathe properly and also to communicate effectively. Oil also coats the fur of otters and seals leaving them vulnerable to hypothermia. If the animals are able to escape these immediate effects the oil spill causes damage to their food supply by contaminating it. When the animals eat fish that has been poisoned by the oil spill they die or experience other problems. Oil spills take a deadly blow on the fish, shellfish and any other marine life. Sea birds are largely affected by oil spills and are seen as among some of the most vulnerable animals of open seas. Any oil spill in the ocean offers a death sentence to the sea birds. Some may relocate if they sense danger on time. However birds that dive into the waters for their food or gather on the sea surface are faced with the danger of being covered with oil. Most of the sea birds die from drowning, starvation and also from loss of body heat due to the destruction of the birdà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s feathers by oil. Some birds also die after ingesting oil during attempts to clean themselves. Oil spills leave long term damage to animal species, their habitats, nesting and breeding grounds that these animals need for their survival. This is one of the most far devastating environmental effects of oil spills. Though some species spend their lives at sea such as turtles they always come ashore to lay their eggs. Oil can harm these creatures if they encounter it either on the beaches where they nest or at sea. The eggs will be destroyed by the oil and fail to develop properly. Oil spill will have an effect on the economy in a negative way. The impact can range from loosing oil through the cost of cleaning and also the cost incurred due to lost productivity in certain industries due to the damage of shorelines and beaches. Direct economic costs brought about by oil spills can include the actual loss of oil from the spill. These direct costs will be small if the spill is small. In the case of a larger spill the costs will be much higher. The damage to the wildlife brought about by the oil spill will bring about costs incurred while cleaning the birds. The cost in lost fisheries will be another cost brought about by oil spills. Oil spills destroy beaches leading to a loss in tourism in areas where beaches and nearby oceans cannot be accessed. This leads to lower tourist revenues. Cleaning an oil spill is an expensive job and will take a heavy economic toll on the company spilling the oil and also its insurers (Nardo 33). During an oil spill the clean up the workers come into contact with chemicals that are hazardous to human health. Research has shown an increase in respiratory symptoms, headaches, eye irritation and skin problems among the clean up workers. Mental studies done to people exposed to oil spills reveal that these individuals are likely to suffer from anxiety, post traumatic stress and also depression. Studies reveal an increase in DNA damage in people exposed to oil spills. Other potential long term risks to human health as a result of oil spills include lung, kidney and liver damage. The society will also suffer from an oil spill in that they will be loss of jobs due to the destruction of various industries by the oil spill. This leads to many families going without food and also some people may be mentally affected by the sudden loss of job. Due to the health issues that arise due to oil spills, families may find themselves with sick people to cater for which they had not expected (Al azraki). Solutions Solutions are needed on ways in which we can deal with the devastating effects of oil spills. As we have seen oil spills do much damage to the environment, Human health and also the economy. Some of the ways to deal with an oil spill include skimming which happens to be a popular method. It involves cleaning oil spills by skimming the oil from the water using skimming equipment with fine filtering instruments. The oil spill will first be contained using booms, after which the oil that has collected into a slick is skimmed from the surface. Another method that offers solution to the problem is natural degradation. If oil does not pose a threat to the shoreline or the marine life the best way to deal with the spill is to allow the oil to break on its own. The use of dispersants is another method that can offer solutions. These are chemicals (dispersants) that break down the tension that keeps water and oil separated. The oil will collect in smaller droplets and sink allowing greater na tural breakdown. Another method that can be of help is to release biological agents into the water to help bring about breakdown. These agents include nitrogen and phosphorous which promote bacteria in the water helping the oil to disperse and breakdown naturally. Measures taken Oil spill prevention can pose a challenge, but there are measures that can be adopted that can either prevent oil spills from happening altogether or they can provide a degree of damage control. These will require preparedness and also continuous improvement in each and every phase of operation where oil is produced, transported, stored or even marketed. Oil exploration and production facilities should adopt advanced technologies, materials and also practices. They should also ensure that they have multi backup systems for support in case of anything. Oil pipelines will employ computers, electromagnetic tools and also ultrasonic devices that will help in detecting weak spots on the pipe so that they can be repaired before a leak develops. Compared to years before marine vessels and terminals are being designed differently compared, tankers now are being built with double hulls. The storage tanks are being constructed with special materials so as to avoid corrosion. These prevention m easures are not only in the oil industry but consumers also play an important role in ensuring that oils and other fuels are out of the environment. They are expected to observe proper handling methods and disposal practices (zdrazil) Conclusion In conclusion we know that oil plays a vital role in our lives which means that life as we know it would be hard without oil. Despite this oil spills have devastating effects on our environment, health and also economy leading to many of us calling for an alternative source of energy that can replace oil. Before a replacement for oil is discovered, human beings will have to continue to enjoy the benefits offered by oil and also suffer from the effects of oil such oil spills.

Voltaires Affect on Modern Western Society Essay -- Fracois Marie Aro

â€Å"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to death your right to say it,† were the famous words of Fracois Marie Arouet, more commonly known under the pen name of Voltaire. He was known for being very outspoken and rebellious, which got him into trouble with the authorities for most of his life. Voltaire advocated the French bourgeoisie as being ineffective, the aristocracy as being corrupt, and the commoners as being too superstitious. Voltaire’s beliefs on freedom and reason is what ultimately led to the French Revolution, the United States Bill of Rights, and the decrease in the power of the Catholic Church, which have all affected modern western society. The French Revolution was a period of upheaval in France, during which the French governmental structure and Catholic clergy underwent a large change due to Enlightenment ideas. The commoners of France began to revolt after hearing the ideas of famous philosophes like Voltaire. Voltaire was a deist who believed that the Catholic Church and its doctrines were not to be trusted since they used propoganda to get followers rather than the actual religion. He believed it was unfair that there wasn’t any religious freedom since you were expected to be a Catholic. He spoke openly about this, which of course got him into a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, the French commoners took his word into thought and decided to act upon what he said by revolting against the church. Voltaire’s ideas also critized royal absolutism because they had, in his opinion, too much power. He favored an elightened absolutist, which is an absolutist who adopts Enlightenment ideas. Once again, the French commoners took this to heart and agreed with Voltaire that the French government was too ... ... to make you commit injustices.† Voltaire studied natural sciences and reason because he was against supestition. Although he advocated religious tolerance, he believed that any one church should not have absolute power. By the time he was executed, he had already brought about the end of the power and right of the church to torture France. People in France still are not as faithful to the Catholic Church as they had been before Voltaire had introduced them to the idea of â€Å"reasoning†. The Enlightenment is held to be the source of many modern ideas, such as the primary values of freedom and reason. The views of philosophers such as Voltaire are considered to be the source of many essential changes in countries such as America and France. His views on religion, government, and freedom are what people remember most because they have not died out in today’s society. Voltaire's Affect on Modern Western Society Essay -- Fracois Marie Aro â€Å"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to death your right to say it,† were the famous words of Fracois Marie Arouet, more commonly known under the pen name of Voltaire. He was known for being very outspoken and rebellious, which got him into trouble with the authorities for most of his life. Voltaire advocated the French bourgeoisie as being ineffective, the aristocracy as being corrupt, and the commoners as being too superstitious. Voltaire’s beliefs on freedom and reason is what ultimately led to the French Revolution, the United States Bill of Rights, and the decrease in the power of the Catholic Church, which have all affected modern western society. The French Revolution was a period of upheaval in France, during which the French governmental structure and Catholic clergy underwent a large change due to Enlightenment ideas. The commoners of France began to revolt after hearing the ideas of famous philosophes like Voltaire. Voltaire was a deist who believed that the Catholic Church and its doctrines were not to be trusted since they used propoganda to get followers rather than the actual religion. He believed it was unfair that there wasn’t any religious freedom since you were expected to be a Catholic. He spoke openly about this, which of course got him into a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, the French commoners took his word into thought and decided to act upon what he said by revolting against the church. Voltaire’s ideas also critized royal absolutism because they had, in his opinion, too much power. He favored an elightened absolutist, which is an absolutist who adopts Enlightenment ideas. Once again, the French commoners took this to heart and agreed with Voltaire that the French government was too ... ... to make you commit injustices.† Voltaire studied natural sciences and reason because he was against supestition. Although he advocated religious tolerance, he believed that any one church should not have absolute power. By the time he was executed, he had already brought about the end of the power and right of the church to torture France. People in France still are not as faithful to the Catholic Church as they had been before Voltaire had introduced them to the idea of â€Å"reasoning†. The Enlightenment is held to be the source of many modern ideas, such as the primary values of freedom and reason. The views of philosophers such as Voltaire are considered to be the source of many essential changes in countries such as America and France. His views on religion, government, and freedom are what people remember most because they have not died out in today’s society.

The Canterbury Tales :: Essays Papers

The Canterbury Tales Historical Background The Canterbury Tales were written in 1386 by Geoffrey Chaucer. In "The General Prologue," Chaucer introduces the Monk as a rebellious person who does what he wants and does not follow the rules of the monastery. However, in the Middle Ages, monks could not behave this way. They had to follow the rules of the monastery which were written by St. Benedict. They took vows as proof that they would follow these rules. In the Middle Ages, monks had to follow rules and be divided. The rules for the monasteries were written in 520 by St. Benedict. He was the leader of a monastery and wanted to write a set of rules "that were not so strict that monks would abandon their vocations"(Americana, p. 542). They were simple and allowed monks to exercise their minds and live stress-free lives. The rules said that monks had to pray, perform manual labor, and study. The studying was beneficial to the monks since they were able to become well educated. The knowledge gained from studying led many monks to write books. As part of their manual labor, they hand copied books because xerox machines were not invented yet. According to the Encyclopedia Americana, in the Middle Ages, monks in monasteries were divided into choir monks and lay brothers. This was a way of dividing the work because choir monks had to recite the prayer, the Divine Office, which was a requirement in the rules. The lay brothers did the manual labor. Hand copying books probably took a long time and they had a lot of other work to do, like studying and praying. Monks in the Middle Ages had to follow the rules and be divided. It was advantageous to be a monk because all they did was devote their lives to studying and praying. Since they led stress free lives, they were able to concentrate on their studies. The division of monks into lay brothers and choir monks seemed like an adjustment to the rule because the work was divided whereas before, all the monks had to recite prayers and do manual labor.

Mckinsey’s Knowledge Management

Competitive Advantage over other firms – Unique Resources and Capabilities Bower’s Vision – Development of Unique Organizational Culture First Mover Advantage Between Marvin Bower, Ron Daniel, and Fred Gluck, who was the most effective strategic leader? Why do you think so? Upon evaluating each individual’s strategic leadership ability based upon the six elements of effective strategic leadership, we concluded that Fred Gluck was indeed the most effective of the three individuals. The six attributes which a strategic leader can be compared against are listed below. We found that Fred Gluck’s contributions were more pronounced in elements 1 through 4, and where there was not enough material in the case to support any arguments for or against Gluck’s superiority in elements 5 and 6 (Establishing Ethincal Practices, and Establishing Balanced Organizational Controls) we can assume that the contributions of all leaders were similar, or differences were not significant. Determining Strategic Direction Exploiting and Maintaining Core Competencies Developing Human Capital Sustaining an Effective Organizational Culture Emphasizing Ethical Practices Establishing Balanced Organizational Controls {draw:frame} Determining Strategic Direction Exploiting and Maintaining Core Competencies At one time, Daniel realized that most of McKinsey’s knowledge was spread all over the company, and was not codified. Apart from a few publications (Peter’s and Waterman’s In Search of Excellence and Kenichi Ohame’s The Mind of the Strategist), there was no way of tracking what breakthroughs might have been achieved in certain projects, or what might have been some of the creative solutions that had been applied to other client projects. Here too, the most concrete efforts to consolidate company knowledge were undoubtedly those of Fred Gluck: Gluck introduced the idea of â€Å"Practice bulletins† which were short two page summaries published and distributed company wide, which highlighting some of the new emerging ideas regarding how to tackle new projects. It was under Gluck’s instruction that the Knowledge Management Project was initiated in 1987, even a year before he became Managing Director. The recommendations of the Knowledge Management Project led to the creation of the Firm Pratice Information System (FPIS), and the Practice Development Network (PDNet). These Databases eventually became the backbone of â€Å"knowledge Management† per se – a place to electronically store written reports and documents so that they would be accessible to the entire company, therefore enabling the easier spread of ideas, knowhow, and previous knowledge implementations among consultants. The Knowledge Resource Directory (KRD) – popularly known as the â€Å"Mckinsey Yellow Pages† – was a small portable pocket sized consultants’ manual was also a breakthrough introduction that took place under Gluck’s supervision. Development of Human Capital – See â€Å"Consultant Development† above. Sustaining an Effective Organizational Culture An effective organizational culture for McKinsey would have been (or would still be) one which creates a strong synergy in employee interaction within the company, especially when its core competencies are â€Å"Human Capital† and â€Å"Knowledge†. Gluck promoted this synergy, by putting in place a structure that allow those synergies to grow. The FPIS and PDNet were important elements of that, as were the â€Å"Super Group† discussions which generated great new ideas for the company to build upon. In essence, Gluck as the leader kept encouraging and coaxing consultants to expand the company’s capabilities â€Å"mentally† also – within the minds of its employees. 3) Through application of the Balanced Scorecard and the evidence in the three mini-cases of front-line activities in the mid-1990’s, how effective was the firm in the 1990’s? As evident in the mini-cases, McKinsey was highly effective throughout the 1990’s in regards to the firm’s Balanced Scorecard. Financial Perspective McKinsey was highly effective during the 1990’s in respect to financial performance. After Fred Gluck’s change in strategic direction, McKinsey was able to double revenues to an estimated $1. 5 billion during his six year term as Managing Director. This type of sizeable growth had not been seen since the early years of the firm when it was under direction of Marvin Bower. McKinsey was able to compete with BCG through Gluck’s change in strategy and win back clients and skilled recruits. Customer Perspective With respect to the Balanced Scorecards customer perspective, McKinsey was performing extremely well. This was evident in the Jeff Peters case where his three person team was able to work with a highly respected financial services company in Sydney, Australia. They were able to have a strong client impact and added value to their client because of their access to knowledge, intellectual rigor and their ability to build understanding and consensus among a diverse management. Their client was extremely satisfied with their recommendations and believed that any failures would be due to the client’s own fault. By adding more value to their clients and increasing client satisfaction with the work McKinsey consultants provided, the client base grew thus leading to better financial performance. Internal Business Processes In each of the three mini-cases, McKinsey effectively used internal business processes to grow as a firm. In the Jeff Peters case, the knowledge necessary to provide quality recommendations to the client was accessed easily by scanning the Knowledge Resource Directory, the FPIS and the PDNet. This knowledge sharing is key in providing clients with specialized solutions and helping build the individuals. Also the constant flow of consultants across offices contributed to the transfer of knowledge. The end result of the case was the development of John and Patty, two of the team members, making them ready to take on a management role in their next assignment while still providing quality recommendations that the client was completely satisfied with. In the Warwick Bray case, the specialist promotion track and practice development was exemplified. Warwick was able to leverage his technological experience and become an expert on deregulation. Warwick was able to be promoted to a co-leadership role in the practice because he established credibility with clients and not because he had a broad-based problem solving skills. At the same time, Michael Patsalos-Fox, with the help of Warwick and Sulu Soderstom, was able to develop the practice. His first goal was to make the practice interesting to attract the best associates. Patsalos-Fox also created a practice-specific intranet link designed to spread knowledge that was more focused than the firm-wide systems like PDNet. Also in the Stephen Dull case, the B to B nitiative was established because Stephen had focused on becoming an expert in this area and developing the practice. He was able to establish credibility with his colleagues and with clients which led to more client impact. Although he was still uncertain about his promotion prospects, he was reassured that 15-20% of the firm’s partners would be functional experts within the next five to seven years. By effecti vely using its internal business process, McKinsey was able to have more client impact and customer satisfaction. Learning and Growth Perspective In the Jeff Peters case, the firm actually didn’t perform well in respect to learning and growth. The team had utilized the knowledge databases to create a recommendation that satisfied the client but they were disappointed that they had not come up with anything radical and innovative. The team was afraid that it had fallen into the trap of becoming too introverted and satisfied with their own view of the world. The best examples of learning and growth were demonstrated in the Warwick Bray and Stephen Dull cases. Warwick Bray is an example of the creation of an I-shaped consultant. He had specific knowledge of deregulation and spread his knowledge with executive clients and consultant teams. In Stephan Dull’s case, he provided an excellent example of the â€Å"stewardship model† the firm want to put in place. He had taken it upon himself to increase his knowledge of B to B and ended up helping create a new Center of Competence that provided more value to clients and increased knowledge of the consultants. What is your evaluation of Rajat Gupta’s â€Å"four-pronged† approach to knowledge development and application within McKinsey? What specific risks and benefits do you see for each of the four prongs? What specific advice would you give him to address the risks and leverage the benefits? Emphasis 1 â€Å"Capitalize on the firm’s long term investment in practice development driven by the Clientele Industry Sectors and Functional Capability Groups†¦ †¦Creating some new channels, forums and mechanisms for knowledge development and organizational learning† {draw:frame} Evaluation – NOT RECOMMENDED Emphasis 2 â€Å"Grass Roots knowledge-development approach called Practice Olympics†¦ â€Å" {draw:frame} Emphasis 3 â€Å"Six special initiatives multi year assignments focusing on issues important to CEOs.. † {draw:frame} Evaluation – NOT RECOMMENDED Adding another six dedicated centers over the already numerous pre-existing Clientele Industry Sectors and Functional Capability Groups will only add to the confusion. As it is, McKinsey is having trouble with the promotion criterion of its â€Å"Specailist â€Å"I† Consultants† where they are mostly left on their own, and it is hard to measure a specailist’s performance in his area when he is, infact, the only specialist of that area in the company. While it is getting difficult to measure contribution in these â€Å"tangible† specialist areas, it makes no sense to put in place another 6 departments focusing on â€Å"emerging issues of importance to CEO’s†. Given the changing dymanic of the consulting industry – or the entire economy given its jerks and bends, it is very likely that the issues too would change over the span of years that each of these â€Å"dedicated centres† plans to spend studying each issue. Already, Gluck’s emphasis on specialization led to the creation of â€Å"72 islands of isolated activity† which had to be trimmed down by the CPDC, this is similar to such â€Å"diversification†. Emphasis 4 â€Å"Expand on the model of McKinsey global institute†¦. † {draw:frame} Creating pools of dedicated resources that study economic trends, and are free from pressures of delivering results to clients, will definitely boost the self reliance of McKinsey on its own knowledge. By studying global and local trends – such as the present economic downturn situation or the effects on the environment, McKinsey will be able to pre-empt the kinds of problems that are likely to emerge in business today, and be prepared with a solution that is more fundamentally tied into, for example, an actually prevalent or emerging economic phenomenon or trend. Having its own â€Å"high-end economic research unit† for example, will definitely be a confidence booster for the firm consultants – they will always have an avenue to turn to if they need to validate any of their recommendations on a more fundamental level.

Report on the Condition of Psychological Pressure of College Students

Title page Resisting Pressure: Survey on Chongqing University's Students' Psychological Pressure Group6 Supervisor: Wang Xu Chongqing University May 7, 2012 Abstract page Abstract This survey examined the condition of Chongqing university's students' psychological health. Our main aim is to find ways to deal with the pressure we students face. 100 Chongqing university's students were surveyed on both pressure they face and ways they use to deal with that. We predicted that academic pressure,emotional pressure and the pressure of employment can be huge to our students and it's hard for them to deal with that.Actually,pressure from the above three aspects was not that huge for our students,no matter they are science students or arts students,girls or boys. Also,it seems like that our students have their own set of ways to handle these pressure. Still,there are a certain number of students find they struggle to handle pressure from the three aspects,suggesting that Chongqing university 's students mainly stay a healthy psychological condition,but there are still things we can do to improve that. Body Resisting Pressure: Survey on Chongqing University's Students' Psychological PressureNowadays,with the rapid development of China's economy,psychological pressure more and more appear in newspaper,TV,or someone's life,especially,a university student's life. Many factors can be pressure for a university student. For example,academic grade point(GPA),emotional problems or job-hunting difficulties. After summarizing most pressure factors, we classified them to three aspects:academic pressure,emotional pressure and pressure of the employment. So,how the three pressure source affect university students and how the students deal with that?As to psychological sources of stress for college students, foreign research results are generally believed to include academic factors, social factors, life and economic factors, career factors. [i] For example, Misra's research shows tha t the Students' largest source of stress are factors that directly related to learning , such as test scores and test results, the burden of learning;The second largest source of pressure are social environment-related factors such as economic problems, lack of time to communicate with parents and friends. ii]The Armeli group's study shows that students's anxiety caused by the pressure of two aspects;on the one hand, it's high academic expectations that caused them anxious;on the other hand, it is the will of self-development and maintaining good interpersonal relationships contributes to that anxiety. [iii]Domestic scholars found that the pressure sense of college students mostly come from life events when thay are trying to adapt to college life. Severe psychological problems are caused especially by life events which are linked to their personal lives, their parents and family, learning progress , and most of them are negative events. iv]Li Lun and Wang Qian, according to whose r esearch,they pointed out that the psychological pressure of college students can be summarized into the three categories: pressure from family, work , learning problems ,love and interpersonal problems. [v]Li Hong and Mei JinRong's study indicates that college students' main pressure source including:study,job-hunting,interpersonal relationships,life problems,romance,economy,society,tests,family,life and study environment,future,competence,personal affairs(development,outlook,confidence),health,competitiveness. 5 categories in total. [vi] However,it's not hard to see that the studies which have been done mostly are qualitative analysis . Most researches focused on frequency and type of event that caused pressure,but lack the discovery of the psychological experience of degree research. Therefore, we want to use the college students' psychological pressure gauge as a theoretical basis to provide a scientific analysis of mental health status of college students so to put forward some constructive ideas for college students to stay psychological health. . Method ParticipantsParticipants included 100 Chongqing university students (56 females, 44males;61 majoring in science,19 majoring in arts),most of them are in their freshman year,the other are junior students. Materials Stress in college students is texted by 25 questions listed in each of 100 questionnaires. We tested it in three different aspects–academic pressure,emotional pressure and the pressure of employment. participants are requested to make multiple-choice or single choice so let us know the degree of their psychological pressure. Pressure degree is measured on the basis of Students pressure measure table. vii]And ways to handle pressure are concluded from these analysis . Procedure As our first step,we gave away 100 questionnaires ,then we collected the data and made an analysis of it using the Students Pressure Measure Table,at last,we put forward our view and suggestions. Note:M–male( 44); F–female(56);ST–science students(61);AT–arts students(39) Academic pressure group Emotional pressure group I. [pic] [pic] Unexpectedly,a significant difference between science students and arts students was found. However,there was no obvious difference between boys and girls was indicated.We deduced that the former phenomenon was due to the following reasons:For one thing,science students are busy doing their homework or experiments ,when compared with arts students,they have less time to experience loneness and their life maybe much simpler. This point of view was supported by Figure 2—Academic performance was more important for science students than arts students. As the saying goes:Simple is beautiful. Simple life lead to a higher happiness level. For another,it's a new trend which was observed by many sociologists that boys majoring in science are more appealing for girls than boys majoring in arts.Combining with the fact that Chongqing Universi ty's Male to Female ratio is 7 to 1. It's no surprise that boys majoring in science are less pressed by factors like romance but money is a problem. Also unexpectedly,we found that girls we surveyed put more attention the academic factors,Perhaps that's why girls feel more happy than boys–girlfriends' mood may always changing but your GPA is always there. Is that a reason why girls are always studying hard than boys in college? II. [pic] [pic] [pic] We predicted that girls are more easy to feel lonely and have a stronger urge of taking with others.Moreover,they might be more good at dealing with their psychological pressure. Our survey results partly support our idea:most girls are not always troubled with the feeling of loneliness and girls do know how to deal with own pressure—they write letters or diaries;they can cry out or go shopping with friends.. Unexpectedly,compared with boys,they are less likely to talk about their problems than boys. So,why? After looking t hrough our data collecting results,here is the reason:among the 54 girls we surveyed,39 are majoring in science.As we all know,in some science majors,girls are rare,say,The Civil Engineering,so it's no wonder they don't like to talk about it:female friends around them,especially in a same class are are. So,how about build a relationship with boys,treat them as their â€Å"girlfriends†? III. [pic] [pic] [pic] Unexpectedly,it seems like that most students who received our survey all have a familiar results according to the figure1,2,3. Half students will be pressed by others' views ,pressed by the mainstream definition of success,and pressed by dealing interpersonal relationships no matter he or she,science or arts.This phenomenon can be explained by the theory of Group Psychological Effects. ,which says because of the need of seeking belonging sense,individuals will obey the norms and standards of a certain group. However,Group Psychological Effects are not equivalent to each member,that's why the other choose an opposite choice. Also unexpectedly,girls are more pressured by â€Å"success† though we traditionally thought that boy was the one who shouldered too heavy an expectation. All in all,we found that students in Chongqing University generally stay in a healthy emotional pressure level,and the existence of there pressure sources might be a good thing.Because it can help college students mature both physically and mentally thus they will learn to understand others and get along well with themselves. We always believe that EQ is more important than IQ,so the pressure can increase their EQ,even stimulate them to rebuild a better self. Job-hunting pressure group Discussion The purpose of this study was to find how different levels of pressure college students bear and put forward constructive methods to deal with that.We predicted that a large number of college students are experiencing or have experienced different levels of depression caused by pressure. In this study,those students that we tested mostly showed healthy psychological condition and a good knowledge of ways to let out pressure. Thus,our hypothesis was not supported by this study. But,how and why? Is it true that college students are living happily and without pressure given by society. We postulate that this result can be explained by the following reasons:First of all,the concept of â€Å"vanity† may explain this unusual phenomenon.Fear of being other people see themselves vulnerable and the trend to pretend optimism as all people like optimistic make them choose some options which are not true. Secondly,our participants mainly are freshmen,in their first year in university,the impact of pressure from the three sources are small as everything is new which attract their most attention. Last but not least,it's maybe cultural background that affects our students choice. For example,most westerners are used to express theirs feelings directly,however,we Chinese are more familiar with words like†just so-so†,†not bad†,which are not clear to escribe our feelings. And that may make an effect on our survey. In conclusion, the results of this study provide some fascinating insights into the pressure level Chongqing University students feel. Contrary to what we predicted, most students may indeed always stay in a good psychological condition and know a lot to get alone with their emotion. This research and other research to follow will contribute to knowledge of the main condition of Chongqing University students and good ways to deal with pressure. —and possible advantages—of skipping meals.The mixed results of this study suggest that we have much more to learn about resisting pressure in college. ———————– [i] Rawson H E,Bloomer K,Kendall A. Stress,anxiety,depression and physical illness in college students. [J]. The Journal of Genetic Psycholog y,1999,155(3);321-330. [ii] Misra R,Mc Kean M. College students' academic stress and its relation to their anxiety,time management and leisure satisfaction[J]. American of Health Studies,2000,16(1);41-51. [iii] Armeli S,Gunthert K C,Cohen L H.Stressor appraisals,coping,and post-event outcomes:The dimensionality and antecedents of stress-related growth[J]. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology,2001,20(3);366-395. [iv] Guo JinWu,She ShuangYu. A Preliminary Study of College Students' Sense of Life Stress. [J]Psychological Science,1996,19(2),;123-124. [v] Li Lun,Wang Qian. University Students' Mental Stress: Life Events And Coping Style Characteristics[J],Medicine And Society. 2002,8(1);27-31. [vi] Li Hong,Mei JinRong. Development of Stress Scale for College Students. [J]. Applied Psychology,2002,8(1),:27-31.