AEI technology :: Essays Papers

AEI technology Who is Amtech? Amtech is a pioneer in electronics transportation systems. The company began in 1983 when the US Department of Agriculture released the patent for an 11-year old radio beam system. The first use of this technology was in the field of livestock monitoring. This later evolved into traffic and inventory management. Today, Amtech focuses its research and technology development on two market segments: Automatic Equipment Identification (AEI) and Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS). AEI uses radio beams to track inventory by scanning an electronic tag that is attached to the car or cargo unit. IVHS was a by-product of AEI, in that it uses tags to automatically deduct toll payment as vehicles pass through a tollbooth. Amtech has established itself as the AEI industry leader by becoming the American Association of Railroad’s mandated standard. On the other hand, the IVHS market is filled with competitors competing for electronic toll contracts throughout the United States. AEI and IVHS are in place in both domestic and foreign markets. In the domestic market, Amtech is partnering with Motorola. It’s pursuing the foreign markets through alliances with Alcatel Amtech in Europe, Mitsubishi in Asia, and Sino-Amtech in China. What’s the Problem? Amtech has almost completed delivery of AEI system tags to the railroad companies, and the market isn’t showing much growth potential. Also, they have been unsuccessful in securing future contracts. Their stock price has witnessed a decrease from $33 to 10 in a span of three months due to the anticipation of decreased cash flow. Pressure has been mounting from the shareholders for management to take action to boost the stock price back to levels of expected growth. Amtech has the unique predicament of being caught in markets that are neither growing nor mature enough to provide a steady or growing revenue stream. Aspects of the problem: Â § Have yet to determine proper allocation of resources for best possible return. Â § Strong competitive forces in the IVHS market. Â § Maturing market for AEI. Â § Reliance on one product for critical revenue stream. Â § Product portfolio not diversified. SWOT Analysis Company Strengths: Â § Opportunity to broaden market in AEI because of their market dominance. Â § Strong brand equity as the leader in transportation electronics. Â § Ability to tap into the IVHS market potential. Â § Foreign market presence through alliances in AEI and IVHS product lines. Â § Established distribution channels in foreign markets. Â § High debt capacity to finance future growth. Â § $50 million in cash and marketable securities.

Henrik Ibsens A Doll’s House :: A Dolls House Essays

Henrik Ibsen's A Doll’s House In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen reveals how society and authority hinders the development of individuality. By examining how Nora’s father treated her, the way Nora’s husband talked to her, a woman’s social expectations, and the social status of women, Ibsen sets forth the image of a stiffed woman, trapped in an unhappy marriage. Nora’s father treated her as if she was just a little play doll. He belittled her and treated Nora like a baby. Referencing to her father, Nora illustrates this by saying, â€Å" . . . He called me his little doll, and he played with me just the way I played with my dolls. Then I came to live in your house . . . I was passed from Papa’s hands to yours,†(Act III 1120). The way Torvald, Nora’s husband, talked to her showed how he degraded and belittled Nora. He talked to Nora as if she was inferior to him. He implied that he was a better person due to his social status. In Act III of A Doll’s House, Torvald shows his vulgar and subservient manner towards Nora by saying, â€Å"Oh, you think and talk like a stupid child,†(Act III 1123). A woman’s social expectations were to stay at home, and conceive the offspring. It was thought that women had to depend on men for everything. What ever the woman wanted to do, had to be approved by the male spouse. â€Å"Oh, I wish I’d inherited more of Papa’s qualities,† exemplifies Nora’s urge to become more powerful (Act I 1074). At that time, women’s status in society was a step below those of men. Women could not vote, open their own bank account, or have a management position. In some extreme cases of the women’s low status, they were told to marry the man whom their parents told them to marry. Torvald depicts how men were thought to be higher than women are by claiming, â€Å" . . . but no man can be expected to sacrifice his honor, even for the person he loves,†(Act III 1123).

Population Explosion

Before the end of the year 2011 the world can expect the population to hit an historic accomplishment of reaching seven billion people. The birth of this seven billionth baby will happen sometime in â€Å"October or November† (Nagarajan). This baby will most likely be born in India due to India having the highest fertility rate of â€Å"fifty one babies every minute† (Nagarajan). So is this an accomplishment for humans beating nature by populating the Earth? Or on the other hand will humans soon have to come to grips with their careless actions of destroying all resources, killing thousands of other species and eventually see the end of the human race at the hands of overpopulation? According to the author of Population 7 Billion, Robert Kunzig, â€Å"people shouldn’t panic- at least not yet† (1). A fair and stable amount of people is needed to keep the human species from dying off. Overpopulation, though, could deplete or destroy Earth’s resources such as food, water, and eventually lead to the breakdown of the ecosystem. With these resources being affected by the human population, the resulting consequences of plagues, wars, and famines could cause one of the few times for the global population to decrease. A global plan of action is needed, but policies such as China’s one-child policy is not even going to be considered by the U. S and many other countries to lower their population. The populations of humans on planet Earth have to face the challenge of providing food, water, and face the accountability for ecosystem breakdown. One famous book, The Population Bomb, a best seller in 1968 written by Paul R. Ehrlich, warned about overpopulation and advocated immediate action to limit population growth. He predicted famines that would follow the revelation of the world but thanks to the â€Å"Green Revolution of the 1970s, an increase in the world harvest averted the famines predicted by Ehrlich† (Zeaman 63). Although disaster was averted â€Å"decades from now there will be likely two billion more mouths to feed, mostly in poor countries† (Kunzig 43). Producing enough food as populations grow is possible but doing so will exhaust finite resources, and especially water will be a challenge. If the world population, which is expected to be eight billion by 2025, continues to be so high, â€Å"forty eight countries containing three billion people will face water shortages† (Hinrichsen). We do have the technology to desalinate ocean water, but this process is several times the costs as getting fresh water. Areas suffering from shortages of water can increase their share of water by capturing rain water and storing it. Finding enough arable land that is not already being occupied by humans will have to be dealt with future populations. China feeds its billion- plus people on less than ten percent of Earth’s arable land† (Kunzig 56). At least space to put all these people is not one of the most pressing issues, as the â€Å"world population could fit in the size of Texas, if it were as densely populated as New York† (Kunzig 48). Though we might have just enough livable land for future populations and land for crops and livestock, plants and animals will have to find space off of what is not already being used by humans. Earth’s biodiversity and ecosystems are in jeopardy, â€Å"with two out of every three species to be in decline† (Hinrichsen). Trees provide habitats for more than â€Å"fifty percent of plants and animal species† (Zeaman 73). Forests lost range from â€Å"twenty percent to fifty percent† (Zeaman 73). In the fourteenth century Europe experienced one of the worst plagues in human history, the bubonic plague. The bubonic plague killed over â€Å"half of the people of western Europe† (Dawling). The development of better transportation routes between Asia and Europe, which allowed rats carrying infected fleas to reach European cities, coinciding with the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions within these cities created an ideal condition for the disease to spread. In Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb similar occurrences were supposed to happen but thanks to institutions like â€Å"the World Health Organization and UNICEF† (Kunzig 45), and also with the development of â€Å"penicillin and smallpox vaccines after World War II† (Kunzig 45), plagues which were expected to be some of the worst humans have experienced, were practically eliminated with the exception of the AIDs virus. Plagues are not as threatening as they were to older cultures as they are today, but wars threaten people of all cultures and time periods. Wars do not only come from â€Å"religious differences, political beliefs, and ambitious rulers, but also population pressures will play a big role in wars of the future† (Zeaman 37). A country with a swelling population might try to take land from a neighboring country, or an overpopulated country, overwhelmed by poverty and social problems, breaks out into internal problems. Psychologists that have studied animals discovered the more crowded animals are together, the more aggressive they are and more prone to attack one another. Could such a mechanism operate in humans as well? Another risk for future humans is the utbreak of famines. Agriculture created civilization, but could dependence put an entire civilization at risk? In undeveloped nations where population growth is the highest, crop failures due to drought, excessive rains, or soil erosion can cause people to starve. Scientist who studied the Earth’s core found evidence of an ancient drought that led them to predict â€Å"that one region of Equatorial East Africa will suffer a mega drought, possibly lasting decades, in the next fifty to one hundred years† (Zeaman 62). This would be a drought of un-parallel proportions that could deteriorate an already unstable region. For the human race to become stable to a degree that does not deplenish the Earth’s resources, while having a population large enough to live through any global catastrophes, is needed for continuing existence. Is a world controversial population control policy that mimics China’s coercive one-child policy the solution? In â€Å"1965 Chinese women were having six children, now it is down to around one and a half† (Kunzig 48). Though the Chinese will continue this policy, the answer for other nations, especially the United States is a clear no. A much less controversial and beneficial policy to not only the country of India but becoming a beneficial program to its people is voluntary sterilization. The procedures which are mostly done to women are being changed to be done on the male population. The scalpel vasectomy costs less and is easier on the man than a tubal ligation on a woman. In less than seven minutes, male patients are walking out of the clinics without even a Band- Aid. An incentive fee of a week’s wage for a laborer would be more acceptably viewed by the global population then having your child taken away from you, like in China. Another way to fight overpopulation in the world’s undeveloped nations where populations incur the most growth is fighting poverty that feeds the world population. Fighting poverty through better education or providing clean water and nutritious food is a step in the right direction. Karl Marx, a nineteenth century communist revolutionary, is another world doom prophesier like Ehrlich that believed â€Å"capitalism creates overpopulation† (Gee). Marx has a right to his own views but his predictions seem to show that capitalism is the problem of over population. The U. S and almost all of Europe is close to or under the world average population growth of one hundred and thirty three percent between 1960 and 2011. In fact the â€Å"less developed world will account for more than ninety five percent of the future population growth† (Kunzig 50-51). In a study on 41,554 households in India, small but growing groups of one-child families appeared due to â€Å"education costs for children attending public or private school. With emphasis these parents have to give their children better opportunities to be successful through a higher education† (Kunzig 36). Will humans become extinct at the hands of overpopulation? The death of the human race will likely not be because of over population. An asteroid or environmental disaster is a bigger threat and less controllable than overpopulation. A country like America will only be affected by â€Å"the population group of fifteen to twenty four being affected by unemployment† (Countries 9) due to the economy suffering from the retirement of so many people at once. Men before the world even hit a billion which happened around the 1800s, were predicting populations of twenty billion people and plagues that would put a dent in the growing global population. Men such as William Petty, a seventeenth century economist, and Thomas Malthus, an eighteen century priest and economist predicted such events that have not and will not occur. Even predictions from a more modern writer, Paul Ehrlich, did not calculate the innovations of the future to be able to adapt for an ever growing population. Population growth is on the decline but will take a generation before stability can be reached. Even just a little education on the issue can make a difference. If women were to have one less child now, then by 2050 that could have the difference of eight billion rather than ten and a half billion.

Effects of Equality in “Harrison Bergeron”

Kyle Chandler Professor T. Payne English 1102 4 February 2013 Effects of equality in â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† written by Kurt Vonnegut focuses on the idea of physical and mental equality, which is controlled by the government in the year 2081; the strong are forced to wear handicaps which hinder their abilities, the intellectual are forced to be unintelligent due to a radio transmitter that won’t allow the individual to think. Vonnegut uses satirical tone and places this story in the future, to show how total equality would not work.Not only does total equality sound absurd it removes the ability for individuals to be different. Individuality means having a quality that separates one individual from another. This means that by having total equality, there is a loss of individuality. In Kurt Vonnegut’s story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, Vonnegut’s satirical, dystopian society in which everyone is average, presents the id ea that handicaps that constitute equality also eliminates individuality, along with self-worth. Throughout â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† every member of society is equal. With the use of handicaps no person can be above average intellect, strength or even appeal.Vonnegut uses word choice that promotes this society is a satire creation early in the story. â€Å"The Year Was 2081, and everybody was finally equal† (Vonnegut 7). By throwing in the adjective ‘finally’, Vonnegut claims that it should have happened sooner, yet as the story goes on it becomes obvious that nothing is attractive about total equality. He opens the second paragraph by introducing the two main characters, George and Hazel. Vonnegut also promotes his satire when the main characters keep losing train of thought due to the fact that George has a handicap that keeps him from thinking too much and Hazel is of average intelligence. There were tears on Hazel’s cheeks, but she’d forg otten for the moment what they were about† (Vonnegut 7). Having the ability to cry and then no longer remembering the reasoning for it is not only below average intelligence, but also inhumane. By showing that the Hazel does not even have the intelligence to remember something that brings enough emotion to produce tears, Vonnegut presents how these handicaps could not possibly be an improvement to the future because to be truly equal you have to be the same as the least intelligent, least strong, and least attractive.He also uses a mocking tone when referring to George’s son Harrison. In the story George starts to think â€Å"about his abnormal son who [is] in jail† but cannot think about it long due to the mental handicap (9). The author uses the word ‘abnormal’ satirically because Harrison â€Å"is a genius and an athlete† and way above average in every manner(10). The use of satire in Vonnegut’s story promotes that handicaps eliminat e individuality by making each character the same. By creating total equality in this society, it abolishes the self-worth of the individuals.People gain self-worth by having a quality about them that makes them superior to others, whether it is their intelligence, a hobby they are good at, or a skill they have acquired. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† it is no longer possible to have superior qualities and Vonnegut shows this when the main characters are watching a dance recital on television. Hazel states that the dance was â€Å"nice† yet in reality â€Å"they weren’t really very good – no better than anyone else would have been, anyway† (8). This shows that even if the dancers were talented they could not be proud of their talents or display it due to the handicaps.With no reason for individuals to be proud of themselves there is no longer a need for humans to grow. This normality not only ruins dancing as an art but also ruins all other forms of a rt too. When the musicians play in â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† it is average until the protagonist Harrison, comes in and â€Å"strip[s] them of their handicaps† for a short amount of time (12). The ability to be expressive and different is one of the sole reasons behind art when it comes to musicians and dancers. Artists lose all self-worth that comes with their talent when they can no longer express it.What is the point in developing a skill, if the handicap on it is just going to be increased? Similarly the individual’s absence of self-worth is mainly due to the vacancy of individuality. Handicaps controlling peoples mental and physical ability removes individuality for every human being. With individuality being a character quality that distinguishes them from others, people no longer have the any qualities that separate them from others. Vonnegut shows this with the main character George, even though â€Å"his intelligence [is] way above normal,† George has â€Å"a little mental handicap in his ear† (7).Instead of having his intelligence which sets him apart from the normal members of society, the oppressive society that yearns for equality has diminished his individuality. Throughout the whole story there is only one hopeful scene in which individuality is achieved. Harrison Bergeron, the outcast who breaks the law by not using handicaps when he is incredibly intelligent, strong, and good looking, breaks out of jail and gives the audience a small glimpse of hope. He goes on public television and exclaims that he is â€Å"the new emperor† and that he is â€Å"a greater ruler than any man who ever lived† (12).Even though Harrison is a bad guy towards other characters, he stands for good in the story because he is the only character with individuality and the ability to remove equality. This glimpse of hope does not last long though because the Handicapper General, the head of the police force, comes in and kill s George. The satirical tone in Kurt Vonnegut’s story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† demonstrates that handicaps throughout the story are not actually an improvement, because they remove the individual’s ability to distinguish themselves from others.The restrictions that are placed on people hinder their intellect, strength, and appeal, keeping everyone equal but at the same time, displaying a lack of freedom, self-worth, and individuality. Vonnegut’s satire tone also exaggerates the idea of equality being a good thing, showing that total equality violates human rights. By setting â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† in the future, Vonnegut shows how total equality would be undesirable to the audience. Works Cited Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† 1961. Welcome to the Monkey House. New York: Dial Trade Paper Backs, 2010. 7-14. Print.

Development Of An Irrigation System In Thailand Environmental Sciences Essay

Subsistence husbandmans in semi waterless parts of Northeastern Thailand face many hazards. Anything from personal unwellness to inclement conditions can direct the husbandmans into debt. This undertaking will measure the H2O demands for farming in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and develop a suited program for an irrigation system to run into those demands, therefore enabling the husbandmans to increase their harvest outputs. An irrigation system could increase harvest outputs, cut down the hazard of harvest failure, and perchance let for the add-on of a 2nd crop each twelvemonth. The excess income generated by irrigation to their harvests would assist the husbandmans rise above subsistence agriculture by supplying economic stableness. Our squad will analyse the conditions in the small towns, including field conditions and harvests to measure the state of affairs and find which irrigation system best suits the demands of the villagers. We will besides supply recommendations for a pr ogram for reasonably administering H2O from the system, every bit good as keeping it, both to be overseen by an organisation hand in glove run by the husbandmans. Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai are located in Ubon Ratchathani state, within the sub-district of Nam Khun in Northeastern Thailand. They are 98 kilometres from Ubon City and 600 km nor'-east of Bangkok. Slightly more than half their populations are Catholic, while the remainder are Buddhists. Since Catholics are seen as foreigners in Thailand, a Catholic bulk is highly uncommon in Thailand. There is presently a church in the small towns, which sponsors the Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai Rural Development Program, which attempts to help the villagers in assorted ways. Ubon Ratchathani is both Thailand ‘s easternmost state and the Northeast ‘s most populated state, with a population transcending 1.5 million ( Cummings 554 ) . It covers 15 thousand square kilometres and has a great trade of cultivable land. Though Ubon is located on the Khorat Plateau, which is prone to utmost rhythms of waterlessness and implosion therapy, doing conditions similar to the â€Å" African Savannah † ( Fukui 19 ) , it is still an of import beginning of nutrient for the people of the Northeast. The part ‘s importance as a major provider of nutrient does non insulate them for the tendencies of the national economic system. The recent downswing of the Thai economic system has affected the husbandmans even though they are located in a distant portion of the state. The devaluation of the Baht has made it progressively hard for husbandmans to turn a net income. This is merely one of the many jobs the husbandmans of Nong Dim Dam and Charoen Chai face everyday. The husbandmans are covering with a broad assortment of other jobs including: inconsistent rainfall during the turning season, hapless dirt that lacks H2O and alimentary keeping capablenesss due to its flaxen composing, low H2O tabular array, and diminishing income due to utmost beads in the monetary value of rice ( Lutzky 21 ) . As there is deficient rain during the dry season, from November to April, they are presently limited to turning during the rainy season that extends from May to October. They grow gluey rice for personal ingestion, and sell manioc, maize and jute to gain money for necessities they can non bring forth themselves. This pattern earns the villagers an mean 10,000 Baht per twelvemonth, or $ 253 a twelvemonth. There are a figure of different irrigation systems. The determination of which system to utilize will depend on a figure of factors including: the demands of the husbandmans, harvests grown, field size, capacity, H2O demands for specific harvests, the handiness of H2O, the terrain environing Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and the budget and organisation of the villagers. The paper will measure these factors and the effects they will hold on both the feasibleness and creative activity of the chosen irrigation system. To carry through our undertaking, our group will foremost place a beginning of H2O for the irrigation system. No irrigation system can be effectual with out an equal beginning of H2O. We are non likely to happen accessible land H2O, such as lakes streams or pools, due to the geographic location of the small town. Likewise, the small towns ‘ locations atop a tableland well decrease the chance of big organic structures of H2O of course happening within a sensible propinquity of the small towns. Alternate methods to roll up H2O may necessitate to be devised to supply H2O to the irrigation system. Our group will besides measure the H2O demands for each type of harvest to find H2O demands for each field. With GIS function, we will build a elaborate map of field locations, lift and H2O demand. Possibly utilizing H2O shortage planning, our group will reexamine the critical volume of H2O required to do the system cost effectual, and find the feasibleness of an irrigation system. If we determine an irrigation system is executable for the small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, our group will do recommendations for an irrigation system and develop a system for care and H2O distribution. It is our hope that, one time this irrigation system is implemented, it will be a major measure for the villagers in their pursuit to travel beyond subsistence agriculture. Table of Contentss Executive Summary I 1 Introduction 1 2 Background 3 2.1 The Ubon Villages 4 2.1.1 Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai 4 2.1.2 Subsistence Farming 5 2.1.3 Catholicity in Thailand 5 2.2 Ubon Ratchathani 6 2.3 Agricultural Economy of Thailand 8 2.4 Agribusiness in Ubon Ratchathani 9 2.5 Irrigation 11 2.5.1 Types of Irrigation Systems 11 2.5.1.1 Sprinkler Irrigation 11 2.5.1.2 Drip Irrigation 12 2.5.1.3 Gravity Irrigation 13 2.5.2 Water Deficit Irrigation 14 2.5.3 Water Sources 14 2.5.4 Cost 15 2.5.5 Factors Affecting the Choice of an Irrigation System 15 2.5.6 Planing for Farmer Control and Maintenance 17 2.6 Concerted Principles 19 3 Methodology 21 3.1 Identify Water Requirements 22 3.2 Identify Water Sources 23 3.3 Develop a Plan for an Irrigation System 23 3.3.1 Assess Terrain Impact 24 3.4 Develop a Cooperative Water Management Plan 24 4 Bibliography 26 Appendix A. Annotated Bibliography 29 Appendix B. Traditional Northeastern Thai Villages 34 Appendix C. Cooperative Agencies in Thailand 35 Cooperatives Promotion Department 35 Cooperative Audit Department 35 Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives 36 Cooperative League of Thailand 37 Appendix D. Cooperatives in Thailand 38 Appendix E. Economic Issues of Cooperatives 39 List of Figures Figure 1. Map of Thailand ( Central Intelligence Agency ) 7 Figure 2. Map of Ubon Ratchathani Province ( MSN Learning & A ; Research ) 8 Figure 3. Sprinkler Irrigation System ( CA Dept. of Water Resources ) 12 Figure 4. Drip Irrigation System ( USDA ) 13 Figure 5. Gravity Irrigation ( San Joaquin Geological Society ) 14IntroductionDespite the recent displacement in the universe ‘s economic system towards industrialisation, agribusiness remains an economic basic in many states. Farmers constitute a important per centum of the population of many developing states, and of these, many are subsistence husbandmans, turning merely plenty to feed themselves and their households, with small or no excess. The dangers of farming at this degree are instantly evident. Give a hapless growth season, husbandmans may happen themselves unable feed their households without buying nutrient they can non afford, therefore traveling into debt. They operate at the subsistence degree because of scarceness of cultivable land, hapless dirt quality, or deficient entree to H2O and fertilisers. Among the states in Southeast Asia, Thailand has really experienced an encouraging growing rate in agricultural end product, increasing about 2 % per twelvemonth during the 1950s, 5.4 % per twelvemonth from 1958 to 1973, and 3.9 % per twelvemonth from 1973 to 1984 ( Heenan 199 ) . This growing was mostly due to the addition in the sum of cultivable land, which increased from 10 million estates in 1850 to about 150 million estates in the 1980s ( Phongpaichit 3 ) . Despite this growing in national farm end product and agricultural land, most farms in the nor'-east received few benefits, due largely to hapless dirt quality and fickle rainfall. The small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, located in Ubon Ratchathani state, approximately 98 kilometres from Ubon City in Northeast Thailand, rely on subsistence agriculture. The mean income in the small towns is a paltry 10,000 tical ( about U.S. $ 253 ) per twelvemonth. The â€Å" Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai Rural Development Program, † established by the Mother of Peace Parish, has attempted to augment the villagers ‘ income by learning the adult females baking, run uping, handcraft, needlework, and through a â€Å" savings mobilisation undertaking, † leting villagers to gain involvement on their nest eggs, by assisting the villagers to raise cattles. Though these attempts are well-meaning, they do non turn to the major jobs of hapless dirt quality and unpredictable rainfall, which are maintaining the harvest outputs at a subsistence degree. Without a dependable beginning of H2O, there is no manner that the husbandmans can progress to profitable agriculture position. The deficiency of cooperation and trust nowadays in the small towns, every bit good as their limited economic resources, has antecedently prevented an irrigation system from being developed. This undertaking will measure the H2O demands for farming in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and develop a suited program for an irrigation system to run into those demands, therefore enabling the husbandmans to increase their harvest outputs. We will besides supply recommendations for a program for reasonably administering H2O from the system, every bit good as keeping it, both to be overseen by an organisation hand in glove run by the husbandmans. This irrigation system will supply the husbandmans with a dependable beginning of H2O, enabling them to increase their harvest outputs through a 2nd growth season, and therefore leting them to lift above the degree of subsistence agriculture.BackgroundAgribusiness has long been a basic of Thailand ‘s economic system. Specifically, much of the state must trust on subsistence agriculture, or turning merely plenty to feed one ‘s household. A deficiency of a dependable H2O beginning is forestalling the villagers in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai from traveling beyond the subsistence degree. This subdivision will first present information sing the two small towns, including plans that our patron has started. Since the big Catholic population of these two small towns may besides hold a significant impact on our undertaking, we present information on Catholicity in Thailand and, more specifically, how Catholics are perceived by other Thais. Since we do hold such limited information on the two small towns, we must utilize information on the general country, Ubon Ratchathani, to extrapolate to Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. After appraising the state of affairs Ubon Ratchathani, we so travel on to the national agricultural economic system of Thailand, which has a important impact on the villagers ‘ lives. After diging into the broader national issue, we so concentrate on the agribusiness in Ubon Ratchathani, including turning season, common harvests, and jobs confronting the husbandmans. Our undertaking addresses possibly the most critical job of a deficiency of a dependable H2O beginning through the execution of an irrigation system in the small towns. Since urging a system requires a thorough apprehension of assorted aspects of irrigation, we so present background on different types of irrigation systems, factors associating to the pick of such a system, and issues of farmer direction of the system. Finally, since the building and care of an irrigation system is such a big undertaking, an irrigation co-op may be appropriate and, to this terminal, we present some basic concerted rules. This information should supply a solid footing for doing a recommendation to the villagers of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai.The Ubon VillagesThe civilization and demographic make-up of the small towns we will be working with are really of import factors in determining this undertaking. The undermentioned subdivision will show background on Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, every bit good as information on how spiritual differences may impact our undertaking.Nong Din Dam and Charoen ChaiThe small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai are located in the state of Ubon Ratchathani ( in the subdistrict of Nam Khun ) , about 98 kilometres from Ubon City. The bulk of villagers are subsistence husbandmans, concentrating largely on gluey rice, while turning a little sum of jute and manioc. Steeped in poorness, the mean per capita income in the two small towns is a paltry 10,000 tical ( $ 253 U.S. ) . The small towns make up the Mother of Peace Parish, and somewhat more than half the dwellers are Catholic. The church has formed the â€Å" Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai Rural Development Program, † which has implemented several plans to supplement the villagers ‘ agrarian income. In a savings mobilisation plan started by one of the sisters in the parish, husbandmans pool their income and let others to take loans from the pool, to be paid back with involvement. In add-on, the church has begun to learn the adult females of the small towns run uping, handcraft, and needlework, which produces goods to be sold at market for extra income. With the aid of the plan, many of the villagers are now besides raising cattles. Since these plans are run by the Catholic Church, it is ill-defined to what degree, if any, the Buddhists in the small town are involved.Subsistence FarmingThe husbandmans in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai can be described as subsistence husbandmans, intending they turn merely plenty nutrient to feed themselves and their households. In old ages where there is a excess it is normally traded or sold for a net income. There are restricting factors that keep them at the subsistence degree including deficiency of engineering such as irrigation and tractors, and the hapless quality of the dirt which limits the types and outputs of their harvests ( Wikipedia ) . We must earnestly see that we are covering with subsistence husbandmans when measuring any recommendation for alteration of traditional methods. There is a significant hazard associated with a bad twelvemonth. In the instance of a calamity such as a harvest failure or a natural catastrophe the husbandman will non be able to feed his or her household, and may hold to sell assets including land to make so ( Scott 2 ) . An irrigation system in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai would be an indispensable constituent to extenuation of these hazards and the first measure in a move off from subsistence agriculture.Catholicity in ThailandThe ample Catholic population in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai is untypical of most Thai small towns. It is necessary to analyze the function of Catholic Church in Thailand, every bit good as the general attitude of Thais toward the Catholic religion to find the consequence this spiritual difference will hold on our undertaking. Thailand ‘s population is preponderantly Buddhist, about 95 per centum. Of the staying five per centum, Muslims make up the largest minority ( Niphon ) . There are merely an estimated 250,000 Catholics in the state ( about 0.4 % of the entire population ) , which is little even compared to the other minorities. In Ubon Ratchathani state, there are 24,967 Catholics, doing up merely 0.32 % of the population, despite the presence of a Catholic Diocese ( Cheney ) . Although the people of Thailand are by and large accepting, the Catholics in Thailand are still seen as aliens for several grounds. One of these is due to their obvious minority. Most of the Catholic parishioners in Thailand are non by and large native Thais. The bulk come to Thailand from neighbouring states, preponderantly Laos, which is a close neighbour to the Ubon part. Thai people besides see Catholicism as foreign because many Catholics came to Thailand from antecedently colonized states, adding to the stigma of Catholicism ( Niphon ) . Although these are general tendencies of the relationship between Catholics and Thais, the nature of the relationship between the Catholics and the Buddhists in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai is still ill-defined to us.Ubon RatchathaniThe small towns of concern in this undertaking are located in the state of Ubon Ratchathani. Situated along the boundary lines of Laos and Cambodia, and with a population transcending 1.5 million, Ubon Ratchathani is both Thailand ‘s easternmost state and the Northeast ‘s most populated state ( Cummings 554 ) . Covering 15 thousand square kilometres, much of which is cultivable land, the country of Ubon is an of import provider of nutrient for the Northeast ‘s big population ( Lutzky 15 ) . Associating Ubon Ratchathani to Bangkok, the Mittaphap Highway, or Friendship Highway, runs 629 kilometer. Any goods that flow out of Ubon travel along this main road or through Thailand ‘s complex rail system to Bangkok. Figure 1. Map of Thailand ( Central Intelligence Agency ) Unlike most other parts of Thailand, the Khorat Plateau, upon which Ubon is located, rhythms through extremes of waterlessness and implosion therapy, bring forthing waterless conditions similar to the â€Å" African Savannah † ( Fukui 19 ) . This has badly hindered the agricultural development in the part. Figure 2. Map of Ubon Ratchathani Province ( MSN Learning & A ; Research )Agricultural Economy of ThailandIt is of import to understand that, while the husbandmans in Ubon Ratchathani are mostly isolated from the remainder of the state, they are still affected by the larger national economic system. Bordered by Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia, the Kingdom of Thailand covers 514,000 square kilometres and consists of four distinguishable parts: the North, the Northeast, the Central, and the South, each with distinguishable demographics, clime, and geology. As of July 2003, Thailand had a population of 64 million ( est. ) , doing it one of the universe ‘s 20 most thickly settled states, despite its modest size ( Cardinal Intelligence Agency ) . In the decennary before 1995, Thailand enjoyed its greatest productiveness and growing. In the undermentioned old ages at that place was a terrible economic downswing taking to the devaluation of the Baht and a national recession. The downswing resulted from substructure jobs, banking jobs, deficiency of skilled labour, and mounting jobs with economic inequality. In response, the Thai authorities enacted strong steps to assist reconstruct the economic system to its old province ( Fryer 1 ) . Despite industrialisation in recent old ages, Thailand remains a to a great extent agricultural state. However, while agribusiness histories for 40 % of Thailand ‘s work force ( Fryer 1 ) , it makes up merely 8 % of all exports ( US 2003 Economic Summary ) . Because of this disparity, nutrient excesss, which are by and large a rareness in developing states, are a common happening in Thailand. Thailand ‘s high proportion of land proprietors to non-land proprietors is besides uncommon in the underdeveloped universe. This low rate of occupancy, combined with Thailand ‘s by and large big farms ( by Asian criterions ) has led to a higher criterion of life in Thailand than in other developing states. For case, the authorities privatized many concerns that were once government-owned. In add-on, the banking and fiscal systems were restructured ( Fryer 1 ) . The Thai small town economic system has existed for 100s of old ages and, like the national economic system, relies to a great extent on agribusiness, and is frequently referred to as an â€Å" arm ‘s length economic system, † which reflects the little graduated table of farming in Northeast Thailand. Most husbandmans in the part sell their goods to middle work forces, who are in bend sell to jobbers or other types of markets. This system implies an unfastened market where purchasers and Sellerss can exchange to whoever gives them the best monetary value, frequently in an informal auction format ( Warr 81 ) .Agribusiness in Ubon RatchathaniUnderstanding some rudimentss behind the agribusiness in northeast Thailand and some of the jobs blighting the husbandmans will be critical to the success of our undertaking. There are two distinguishable seasons, a rainy season that extends from May to October and a dry season from November to April, with a average one-year rainfall i n the part of 1600 millimeter ( Lutzky 17 ) . Crops are planted around the 3rd hebdomad of July, and are harvested in November. The chief harvests in the small towns include rice, maize, jute, and manioc. The small towns grow two types of rice: gluey ( gluey ) and non-glutinous ( non-sticky ) rice. The gluey assortment is grown for personal ingestion, while non-sticky rice is chiefly produced for sale ( Lutzky 18 ) . Chemical fertiliser is applied to over 90 % of the rice grown in the country, while manure is applied to approximately 85 % . Some husbandmans do utilize irrigation ; nevertheless, this is limited due to technological and fiscal limitations ( Lutzky 19 ) . Most northeasterly Thai husbandmans lack machinery, and by and large engage others with machinery to assist them with convulsing and milling, though they usually harvest by manus ( Lutzky 20 ) . The husbandmans in the country environing Ubon are covering with a broad assortment of jobs: hapless dirt that lacks H2O and alimentary keeping capablenesss due to its overly flaxen composing low H2O tabular array environmental harm due to improper fertiliser usage, and insects and disease inconsistent rainfall during the turning season ( Lutzky 21 )IrrigationAn irrigation system has been identified as a agency for the husbandmans of Nom Ding Dam and Chaoren Chai to extenuate many of the hazards associated with subsistence agriculture, and possibly to travel beyond subsistence farming wholly. To successfully do recommendations for an irrigation system, nevertheless, the group must foremost derive a through apprehension of many different aspects of irrigation. The undermentioned subdivisions detail the different types of irrigation systems, factors that go into taking them, information sing H2O beginnings and cost, the construct of H2O shortage irrigation, and constructs for farmer-managed irrigation systems.Types of Irrigation SystemsThere are several available systems of irrigation to be considered for usage in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. We must analyze these different types to organize a footing for our recommendation. The undermentioned subdivision examines three major types of irrigation systems: sprinkler i rrigation, drip irrigation and gravitation irrigation.Sprinkler IrrigationThis system, an illustration of which can be seen below, has gained popularity over the old ages due to it ease in operation and its usage of visible radiation and cheap aluminium piping. The chief elements of a sprinkler system are the beginning of H2O, the chief grapevine, the bomber chief grapevines, the sprinkler laterals, and the sprinklers. Gravity fed lines or a pumping system force H2O through the system and onto the Fieldss. The chief grapevine of this system brings H2O from the beginning to the Fieldss ; these pipes are by and large made of either PVC or aluminium. The bomber chief pipes branch off the chief pipe and present the H2O to the single Fieldss, frequently running along the boundaries of the Fieldss providing the H2O to the sprinkler laterals. The sprinkler laterals supply the H2O from the pipes to the existent sprinklers, which spray the irrigated H2O over the coveted country. As pumps are frequently expensive, there is important cost associated with the equipment used in this type of operation. Construction of this system is reasonably simple, nevertheless ( Finkel 193 ) . Figure 3. Sprinkler Irrigation System ( CA Dept. of Water Resources )Drip IrrigationDrip irrigation is similar to sprinkler irrigation in that pumps or gravitation deliver H2O to the Fieldss in the same manner. When the H2O reaches the Fieldss, nevertheless, it is non sprinkled over the harvests, but a system of porous pipes is used. The pipes rest on the land, as seen below, and supply H2O to the dirt at a slower rate than that of sprinklers. The porous pipes deliver H2O straight to the base of the workss, cut downing the losingss to evaporation, and therefore doing this system more efficient. The pumping equipment that may be necessary to travel the H2O in this system is besides expensive but, once more, building is non hard ( Finkel 247 ) . Figure 4. Drip Irrigation System ( USDA )Gravity IrrigationGravity irrigation is another major type of H2O bringing. This system besides uses a chief H2O beginning but uses gravitation instead so a pump to travel the H2O. Furrows or canals, similar to the 1 seen below, are frequently used as a manner of presenting H2O to the Fieldss, but husbandmans can utilize different types of piping as an option. This system is labour intensive because the furrows and canals need to be built and maintained, but is cheap due to the deficiency of pumping equipment. An added consideration with gravitation irrigation, nevertheless, is the topography of the land due, to its trust on gravitation. This system works best on degree or moderate inclines ( Finkel 349 ) . Figure 5. Gravity Irrigation ( San Joaquin Geological Society )Water Deficit IrrigationMost irrigation systems assume a close infinite H2O beginning. When watering in semi-arid parts, this is non a feasible premise. A H2O shortage theoretical account recognizes a limited H2O supply and adjusts to run into those considerations. Water shortage irrigation, merely set, is under-watering a works to maximise H2O dispersion among a larger figure of workss ( Gorantiwar ) . Gorantiwar and Smout define the intent of under-irrigation as â€Å" to distribute available H2O over a big country, thereby increasing the entire usage of H2O or energy per unit irrigated. † Both energy and H2O usage will necessitate to be minimized for an irrigation system in Charoen Chai and Nong Din Dam, due to a deficiency of financess and the scarceness of H2O. Under-irrigating harvests will non give crops of a superior quality ; in fact, the harvested fruits will be little and developing. By tight direction o f H2O, nevertheless, the procedure can increase the volume/mass of a crop by up to 40 % ( Gorantiwar ) .Water BeginningsFarmers can utilize a figure of H2O beginnings to obtain H2O for irrigation. These beginnings include the ocean, rivers, watercourses, springs, lakes, purchased H2O, Wellss, and rainfall ( Hackelman 1-7 ) . Unfortunately, due to the limited budgets of the husbandmans and the geographic location and terrain, the bulk of these beginnings will non be executable. We are non likely to happen accessible land H2O, such as lakes, watercourses or pools, due to the geographic location of the small town. Farmers could buy H2O, but its cost is prohibitory. There is a important sum of precipitation. Eighty-eight per centum of the mean rainfall, nevertheless, occurs between May and October ( Lutzky 17 ) . To use this beginning of H2O we would hold to invent a system to roll up and hive away excess rain during the rainy season for usage during the remainder of the twelvemonth.Cos tTo measure and compare the costs associated with each irrigation system we must take both the initial investing and the long term costs into consideration. The initial investing is comparatively easy to measure. All outgo associated with the purchase of constituents, stuffs, and the building of the system make up the initial investing. Long-run costs can be broken up in to two groupings, â€Å" fixed † and â€Å" variable † costs ( Roth 103 ) . Fixed costs accumulate irrespective of whether or non the system is in usage. Depreciation, revenue enhancements and insurance are illustrations of these. They are besides known as â€Å" the cost of having a system † ( Roth 104 ) . â€Å" Variable or operating † costs are disbursals that occur due to the usage of the system, and include repairs/maintenance, fuel, oil, and labour ( Roth 105 ) .Factors Affecting the Choice of an Irrigation SystemWhen be aftering the execution of an irrigation system it is necessary to see many factors. Several of these include the H2O beginning, topography, clime, dirt types and harvests. Several factors affect the effectivity of a H2O beginning, including: lift size acceptable flow rate distance from Fieldss ( affects the demand for a pump ) , and H2O quality ( presence of chemical deposits ) . The topography of the part ( the incline of the terrain ) can be a confining factor in taking an irrigation system. Farmers can utilize all systems on minimum to chair inclines, but can merely utilize drip irrigation on steep inclines. The uniformity of the incline can impact the flow of H2O in all types of systems but is by and large non a job for the three prevailing irrigation systems discussed before ( Finkel 37 ) . We must besides see the clime of the irrigated part when measuring the pick of an irrigation system. Sprinkler systems are non suited for blowy conditions, as air current can greatly interrupt the uniformity of the system and increase vaporization well. The temperature and humidness greatly affect the efficiency of a sprinkler system by helping vaporization. In the instance of high temperatures and low humidness, it is best to utilize trickle or gravitation irrigation ( Finkel 39 ) . Dirt in the irrigated part is besides an of import consideration, as it can impact the lacrimation method. Soils with high wet capacity require H2O less frequently but necessitate more H2O each person lacrimation. Dirts with low wet capacity need H2O more often and do increased losingss due to runoff ( Finkel 39 ) . The type of harvest being grown besides has important importance when sing an irrigation system. All types of irrigation are suited for row harvests. Gravity irrigation is best for closely separated harvests and groves ( Finkel 42 ) .Planing for Farmer Control and MaintenanceHarmonizing to Yoder and Thurston, when planing an irrigation system to be run and maintained by husbandmans, there are five chief elements of a successful design procedure. The design procedure should: â€Å" 1 ) : be policy-driven, 2 ) be field-based, 3 ) have farmer engagement, 4 ) include processs for larning from experience, and 5 ) integrate local logic, cognition, and experience † ( Yoder 10 ) . Any successful irrigation design undertaking must province clear policies that should back up husbandman direction and engagement. Though these policies must be clear, they must besides be flexible and able to accommodate to the husbandmans ‘ demands. This frequently causes jobs when authorities organisations are involved, as their budgeting regulations are frequently really rigorous, and can do important holds. Government policy should besides back up farmer ownership of H2O supplies and the irrigation substructure ( Yoder 10 ) . To decently ease the design of a system, applied scientists of the system must pass important clip in the field. This is indispensable to guarantee the proper sum of husbandman engagement in the design. Engineers in the field can really see the physical location where their system will be implemented, every bit good as interact with the husbandmans to integrate suggestions. Though elaborate designs are frequently hard to do in the field, many irrigation undertakings do non necessitate such item. These frequently must be adjusted during the concluding building stage anyways, and really are non required for all but the most complex systems ( Yoder 10-11 ) . If the system is to be owned and operated by husbandmans, their engagement in the full design procedure is important to the success of the undertaking. Engineers must show a positive attitude toward and keep healthy relationships with the husbandmans. In add-on, it is critical that they meet with husbandmans frequently to maintain them informed of the advancement of the undertaking and any holds or alterations. They must stay informed of the costs of the undertaking and understand what they will be responsible for. In big undertakings such as irrigation building, it is common for husbandmans to organize husbandman groups, either officially or informally, to promote engagement in the design procedure ( Yoder 11 ) . While it is evident that the applied scientists planing a system must supply preparation to the husbandmans responsible for pull offing it, husbandmans besides play a cardinal function in supplying information to the applied scientists. The husbandmans have the advantage of holding observed the Fieldss for many old old ages, while the applied scientists can merely detect them for a short clip. To derive as thorough an apprehension as possible of the Fieldss, applied scientists must see the field on multiple occasions, and pass on openly with the husbandmans to place issues they may meet ( Yoder 12 ) . An facet of the design procedure that applied scientists frequently overlook is to place the aims of the husbandmans. The applied scientists ‘ standards for a good design may non ever fit up with the husbandmans ‘ , and this must be determined at an early phase. In add-on, applied scientists should set up a simple and effectual forum to pass on design thoughts to the husbandmans. Yoder and Thurston suggest conveying husbandmans onsite and taging off countries with bets and strings, alternatively of discoursing abstract design thoughts in a big meeting. Another effectual agencies of pass oning design programs is for applied scientists to construct 3-dimensional theoretical accounts of the proposed constructions. If executable, it is besides recommended to take the husbandmans off-site to locations where similar systems have been implemented. This accomplishes two of import undertakings. It allows the husbandmans to really see a system in operation. More significantly, thou gh, they can discourse the direction issues of the system with other husbandmans ( Yoder 12 ) .Concerted PrinciplesDue to the significant cost of set abouting an irrigation undertaking, it will be necessary for the small towns to move hand in glove by pooling resources and sharing the duties for care of the system. Harmonizing to the International Co-operative Alliance ( ICA ) , a co-op is â€Å" an independent association of individuals united voluntarily to run into their common economic, societal and cultural demands and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled endeavor † ( p. 2 ) . The organisation besides identified seven rules which embody the spirit of co-ops. Any organisation, whether formal or informal, that is formed in relation to this irrigation undertaking, should adhere to these rules: Membership in a co-op should be voluntary and unfastened to anybody willing to utilize its services. Cooperatives must be democratically controlled by their members, and those functioning every bit elected representatives of the co-op are accountable to its members. Members must make concern with the co-op in order for it to be successful, and may be rewarded in assorted signifiers for the sum of such concern. Cooperatives must stay independent, and any understandings they enter into must retain that liberty. Cooperatives should supply instruction and preparation to members, representatives, and employees. Cooperation among co-ops is encouraged to function the concerted motion. The concluding rule reads: â€Å" Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members † ( International Co-operative Alliance 2-3 ) . By adhering to these rules in the formation of a co-op for direction of the irrigation system, we will guarantee equity and equity to all who choose to take part.MethodologyThis undertaking will measure the H2O demands for farming in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and develop a suited program for an irrigation system to run into those demands, therefore enabling the husbandmans to increase their harvest outputs. The undertaking will take topographic point between January 9, 2004, and March 5, 2004, though we expect that the concluding building of our recommended irrigation system will take well longer. It is of import to concentrate the undertaking to a specific location and therefore, we will include merely the Fieldss in the small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. The squad plans to carry through the end of the undertaking by transporting out the undermentioned stairss: place the H2O demands of the villagers identify beginnings of H2O for the irrigation system design a program for a suited irrigation system assess the impact of the terrain on the irrigation system develop a concerted H2O direction program.Identify Water RequirementsTo find the feasibleness and complexness of the proposed irrigation system, we will foremost necessitate to place the H2O demands of the villagers. This will affect taking elaborate measurings of the Fieldss of the husbandmans who wish to take part in the undertaking. We will necessitate to find the entire land country we will necessitate to water. In add-on to this, we will map out the harvests that are grown on each field, and the typical H2O demands for each harvest. The H2O demands for each harvest will be determined through mention beginnings and interviews with the villagers. With this combined information, we can find the entire sum of H2O required for harvests for the small town. We will so find the minimal rainfall the husbandmans can anticipate in a given twelvemonth, by looking at rainfall informations for the country, and besides from the husbandman ‘s cognition of annually rainfall. Subtracting th is figure from the entire H2O demands of the villagers will give the sum of H2O the irrigation system must supply in a twelvemonth. At this phase, if maps of the small towns are unavailable ( which we expect they wo n't be ) , we plan to map the Fieldss ourselves utilizing a GPS system along with field observations and measurings. While the GPS engineering is inexact, it is cheap and we expect that the mistake will non throw off our informations significantly. To bring forth these maps, we will utilize GIS mapping engineering with MapInfo package. This phase of our undertaking will probably affect interviews with the husbandmans, which brings the communicating issue into drama. We are unsure how we will pass on with the villagers. At this point, we plan on the handiness of one of our patrons, either Sr. Lita or Ms. Cipriano, to construe for us. As these informations are important for our undertaking to continue, it should be gathered every bit shortly as possible. We plan to hold it completed within the first two hebdomads of the undertaking period.Identify Water BeginningsAnother measure in finding the feasibleness of the undertaking overall is placing beginnings of H2O for the irrigation system. We will turn up beginnings of H2O through interviews with the villagers and through analysis of maps of the country, if available. Along with consideration of inactive H2O beginnings such as pools and reservoirs, we must besides see the sum of rainfall the country receives. It may be possible to integrate a rain aggregation system into the irrigation system, to salvage rain for later usage. Indeed, if there are no surface organic structures of H2O in the country, the system may necessitate to trust wholly on this rainfall aggregation system. These informations are besides important to our undertaking, and should be collected at the same time with the informations from Objective # 1. This should besides be completed within the first two hebdomads of the undertaking period.Develop a Plan for an Irrigation SystemAfter roll uping the antecedently mentioned informations, we will be in a place to analyse this information and utilize it to urge a suited irrigation method to run into the demands of the husbandmans. In add-on to confer withing our ain information, it will be of import to garner sentiments and position from the villagers at this phase. Since they will be responsible for keeping the system, it is of import that we take their input into consideration when doing our proposal.Assess Terrain ImpactAs par of developing a program for an irrigation system, we will measure the impact of the terrain on a possible irrigation system. This is necessary to find which types of irrigation systems, if any, would be appropriate, as comparative lift can hold a important impact on the public presentation of the system. To carry through this, we will seek for lift maps of the country. If we are unable to turn up these, we will map the country ourselves, utilizing either a GPS system, an altimeter, or an oculus degree. This will be the concluding stage of information-gathering before the existent design procedure begins because it plays such an of import function in the design of the system. This information should be collected by the terminal of the 3rd hebdomad of the undertaking period.Develop a Concerted Water Management PlanFinally, after carefully analysing our informations and urging an irrigation system, we will urge a system for administering the H2O and keeping the system, utilizing recognized concerted rules. We will roll up informations from other small towns with community-managed irrigation systems to find common and acceptable methods for such direction. In add-on, we will interview husbandmans in the small towns to garner their positions and suggestions on this direction system. Again, this presents us with a communicating issue. It will be imperative that we are able to pass on with husbandmans in other irrigation co-ops every bit good as those in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. While we hope to trust on Sr. Lita and Ms. Cipriano to construe in the two small towns, we may necessitate to engage a third-party translator for communicating when we visit other irrigation co-ops. We plan for this work to be ongoing throught the term. We will interview the villagers within the first few hebdomads but the visits to other farms and adept interviews could take topographic point at anytime during the undertaking period.

Gerry Conway – American Entrepreneur

Gerry Conway was the classic American entrepreneur – visionary, charismatic, driven, impatient, and impending. Born in Cleveland in 1931, Conway was the ninth of 13 children. His love of the retail environment, his strong interdependence, and his deep appreciation of people appreciation of people stemmed from his childhood experience: claiming that he has been in retail for over 60 years, working at some of his fathers 200 food stores. After college, Conway and his wife, Marty, returned to Cleveland. He began working for an industrial firm and quickly learned that, while sales attracted him, working in a large corporation did not.After working at some small firms, Conway decided to found his own company, Gerald A. Conway & Associates, being display-printing broker. One day, a colleague suggested that he sell the plastic parts that retailers used to display signs as part of his printing broker business. The advantage of selling accessories was that he could sell the same produc t to many companies simultaneously, which was not possible in display printing, for which each printing job was customized. An early product idea was the Arrowhead fastener, which was designed to hold coupons and signs on store shelves.It was a best seller from the start. During this time though, Conway had struggles with alcohol, stating that it was a problem, but through a self-help program he chose sobriety and regained focus in his life. The following year, his first year sober, his income shot up by about 35 percent-a direct correlation. He celebrated the event saying that was a significant event in the business and for his family. In the mid 1970s, now sober, Gerald Conway and Associates was renamed Fasteners for Retail (FFr) to acknowledge its exclusive focus on display accessories and fasteners within the point-of-purchase industry.The P-O-P product includes signs, displays, devices, and structures that are used to merchandise services or products in retail stores. The acces sory hardware segment was highly fragmented. No single supplier had more than 10 percent of the sub supplier market, and many competed in only a few product categories. FFr was the largest company in this niche, with a market share of approximately 7. 5 percent. The company distinguished itself from its competitors in several important ways. It offered a broad and innovative product line, free samples, quick turnaround on orders, and a liberal sales return policy.The willingness to emphasize new products also became a defining characteristic for the business. While the company’s early expansion began with imported Swedish design accessories, the product line grew because of Conway’s creativity and dissatisfaction with status quo. Two products in particular, the Shipflat literature holder and SuperGrip sign holders, were critical to FFr’s success in the early 1980’s. In the 1980s, FFr grew consistently and at a steady pace, having five employees and sales of $3 million. As stated above, business began to boom as a result of a expanding product line and larger sales force.The company grew steadily, adding employees in accounting, customer service, product design, and marketing. Its opportunistic philosophy supported the company’s growth. The business was always profitable, there was no debt, and the company never got tied up in long-term commitments. Production and most warehousing were subcontracted, and office space was leased. The company made quick decisions, and arrangements with vendors were frequently based on handshakes. The flipside of FFr’s opportunism and speed was that it lacked a business plan and strategic discipline.To keep the company growing, Conway realized that he needed to hire a president with managerial expertise. Although he understood the value of management, he was an entrepreneur, not a traditional manager. The company went through several presidents. FFr, for a time, was a company with an organ izational chart but not a lot of organization. That changed in the late 1990’s. In the early 1990’s, Conway and his wife, Marty, joined Case Western Reserve University’s Partnership for Family Business. This led to Conway realizing the importance for such things as an advisory board, which was made up of four independent current and former company CEOs.It also led Conway to begin thinking of the furture of the company, and the possibility of passing it down to one of his sons. Family involvement in the company began in the 1970s, when the Conway children earned extra money by putting adhesive on the back of Arrowhead fasteners. They had all done odd jobs for FFr, but of the seven children only three worked in the business as adults. Kevin, the eldest, joined in the early 1980s and became an outstanding salesman, Paul, the youngest, eventually became the international sales manager, and Neil, the fourth son, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in college and found w ork in the warehouse.Out of the three sons, Paul was seen as the most serious contender, but after some time in the company and deliberation, he decided that being CEO was not for him and went on to become a teacher. Now Gerry was left with a huge predicament. Kevin was out of the picture, his son Stuart had, long ago; decided that he didn’t want the responsibility. None of the kids were interested. Gerry’s problem was not only his lack of succession planning, but also his lack of retirement planning. He had done some retirement planning but the demands of running a business didn’t leave him time to establish an actual plan.So where does this leave Gerry, his company, and his family’s future? (Source: Poza PG 141-155) My first step of advice for Mr. Conway would be to take step a back. Even though he is experiencing a very rough time right now with his succession planning, it is very important to note what he has done for the company and his family. He ha s managed to start up a successful business in which his family is involved and with net sales in the millions. He also made sure that he set up certain things like an advisory board for the company, which was made up of his son, brother, and two independent CEO owners.He and his wife also made family meetings a regular event for everyone to gather at. They even went so far to go over their estate plan to make sure that their children gained a substantial amount of value from FFr over their lifetime. These are all great things that Gerry and Marty did for the family business and they should be recognized. After taking some time to admire their contributions to the company, its time to move on to the next step and tackle the problems head on. Gerry needs someone to take over the company, and his kids were not an option.After reading the case several times though, I determined that there was someone that Gerry could entrust with the company, his chief advisor and wife Marty. Marty pla yed a very pivotal role in the company, being a person who signed the checks and overlooked the company’s finances. She also had a public role at company functions and was a people booster. She played a more significant role behind the scenes, supporting Gerry as he considered important business changes, such as handling over administrative reins or making personal changes.Both family members and outsiders described Marty as the glue that worked behind the scenes to hold the family together through the predictable challenges that families who work together faced. (Source Poza PG 154) Marty seems more than qualified to take control of business, which would also give Gerry time to iron out his retirement plan. This would also give Gerry the opportunity to have another talk with his son Paul about running the company. The text states that Gerry was a loner in the way that he ran his business.Paul may not have realized that he could do the job differently- probably in a more dece ntralized and collaborative way. (Source: Poza PG 154) I feel that it is crucial that Gerry makes Paul realize that if he decided to be CEO he can take a different approach to running the company, his own. He could run the company and instill the values that he thinks is important into it. After realizing this and the possible opportunity that he his passing up, not only for himself but also his future family, he will have to at least reconsider his father’s offer and most likely come back to work for the company.If this still does not work, Gerry is left with the option of finding someone else in the family to run the company, find a trusted family friend to run the company, or sell it all together. In conclusion, Gerry Conway has managed to take his company Fasteners for Retail and turn it into a huge family company. He had been with so much with the company and realized that it was coming to the time to pass it on. He tried passing it on to his children, but he failed in a ll his attempts. Now left with little time and money, Gerry needed someone to run his company. I felt that the answer came in his wife, Marty.She was his chief advisor at the company and new how to read all the financial data associated with it. Family members and outsiders alike referred to her as the glue that held the company together. With her running the company, it would allow for Gerry to manage all his retirement issues and give his talk with son Paul another shot. After making Paul realize the opportunities that he is passing up, I am sure he will come back to the company and began work. References Poza, Ernesto J. , 2007. Famly Business Third Edition. South Western Cengage Learning 5191 Natorp Boulevard. Mason, Ohio 45040, USA.

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 32

Management - Essay Example For exmaple: the goods are passed on by the manufacturer to the wholeseller in bluk form, the goods are then broken down into units by the wholeseller and passed on to the retailer, the retailer further breaks down the units opf products and sells them to the customer. A manufacturer needs to consider various factors while deciding about the channel of distribution through which the product will reach the customer. These factors include the price, technicality, size and shape of the product. The manufacturer even pays emphasis to the channel of distribution selected by the competitors and other factors include size of the customer, production channel expenditure and the setting where the manufacturing outlet is located. While selecting the channel of distribution, managers have to ensure that the goods are easily accesible and always available to the customers disposle. This factor needs to be given importance because if a good or service is not easily acceible, custonmers tend to lo ok for other alternatives and close substitute. One of the main element within the process of marketing is advertising, advertising is just an element and can not be replaced with the marketing process, but it is a key element and impacts other parts of the marketing process. Advertising is used by marketers to create an image which is favorable and which the marketers want to create in the eyes of the customer (Plessis 93). Advertising is used in various stages of the marketing process in order to shape a favorable image. Marketers use advertsiing of price to create an image of the product, prices are set high to create an image of product which is of high quality and prices are set low to create an image of an inexpensive but high quality product. Low pricing can back fire as low prices create an image of a low quality product. Makrters even use the place of advertising to create an image of the product, if the product is not easily avilable and is availble in specific