The Murder Farm At The End Of Mcclung Rd - 1634 Words

â€Å"Come prepared to stay forever.† Belle Gunness was a serial killer, between the years 1884-1908, that killed more than 40 people, men, women, and children, on her farm in La Porte, ID. She was known as The La Porte Black Widow, or The Mistress of Murder Farm. Many people in La Porte, ID grew up hearing the horror story of the Murder Farm at the end of McClung Rd. and its killer mistress. Belle Gunness was labeled â€Å"one of America’s most prolific serial killers†. A serial killer is a person who kills three or more people within a month. Born Brynhild Paulsdatter Stà ¸rseth in Selbu, Norway on November 22, 1859, Gunness was the daughter of a stonemason and the youngest of eight. The family was poor, so Belle had to work as a servant for three†¦show more content†¦She was probably so brutal with her murders because she stilled harnessed a deep-sated anger to the people that harmed her, and the poisoning may be mimicked the pain she felt during her miscarriage. Did Belle Gunness have a conscious? Belle appeared to be a â€Å"cold† woman who was indifferent to taking the money and lives of suitor, children, and others. Belle immigrated to Chicago, IL in 1881 (age 21) â€Å"in search of wealth†. As an adult, she was described as a large woman who stood at six feet tall and 200 pounds. Three years later, 1884, she married Mads Albert Sorenson. Belle and Mads owned an unsuccessful candy shop and home that mysteriously burned down a year later, on which they collected the insurance money from. The couple had five children before Mads died on July 30, 1900. Of the five children that Belle and Mads had four were their biological children (Myrtle, Lucy, Caroline, and Axel) and a foster child, Jennie Olsen. Caroline and Axel died in infancy of what was allegedly acute colitis, the symptoms of which are associated with many forms of poisoning. Both of the children had life insurance that company payed to the family. Coincidentally, on the same day that Mads died, his two life policies overlapped. The doctor that examined Mads’s body and his family believed the cause of death being strychnine p oisoning, but the Sorensons’ family doctor said that he had been treating Mads for an enlarged heart and declared the cause of

The Effects Of Violent Media On Individuals - 3350 Words

The current study is a replication attempt to test the hypothesis that listening to music with violent lyrics would cause aggressive thoughts and feelings. Previous research showed that violent media influences thoughts and feelings in participants, causing increased feelings of aggression. Within this study, 80 participants were collected, 40 were female and 40 were male, with an average age of 21.29. Forty-five percent of the participants self-identified as Caucasian. Participants were exposed to either a song with violent lyrics or a song with non-violent lyrics. Participants were then asked to provide ratings of state hostility. The results indicated that participants who listened to songs with violent or non-violent lyrics reported similar ratings of hostility. This implies that further research should be done on the effects of violent media on individuals. Violent Song Lyrics Affect Aggressive Thoughts Feelings â€Å"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent† (Victor Hugo). Victor Hugo was right in the sense that when listening to music, humans may develop specific thoughts or feelings. All types of media have the power to control thoughts and emotions. Listening to songs with violent lyrics has the potential of making a person extremely upset, uncomfortable, or aggressive. How does listening to a song have the power to control a person’s mind and change the way one thinks and feels? This is the bigShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Violent Media On Aggressive Behavior1590 Words   |  7 Pagescorrlation between violent media and aggressive behaviors in individuals. This paper represents an effort to provide a source for individuals who are interested to gain information on the effect of violent media on aggressive behaviors. Most of the peer-reviewed and scholary articles used in this paper provided conclusions that violent media have multiply harmful affects on individuals especially children. Krahà © and Mà ¶ller (2011) discussed the relationship between usage of violent media and aggressiveRead MoreThe Effects Of Violent Media On Children And Youth990 Words   |  4 PagesEssentially since media is more violent than ever, and children and youth are getting more attracted to violent media. Studies on violent media shows a clear evidence that violence on media rises the possibility of aggressive behaviors in both short-term and long-term situations (Rowell Huesmann, Moise, Podolski, Eron, 2003). Most researchers agree that aggressive behaviors are more disposed to the harmful impact of violence on media. The negative effect is much larger for younger children becauseRead MoreMedia Violence May Increase Behavioral Violence923 Words   |  4 PagesMedia Violence May Increase Behavioral Violence The Virginia Tech School Shooting in 2007 resulted in thirty-two fatalities and seventeen injuries. During the event’s aftermath, a video of Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter, was released to the public. In the video, Cho discusses a previous school shooting at Columbine High School. His reference to another school shooting led the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to conclude that media coverage of the Columbine shooting could have influenced Cho toRead MoreViolent Behavior : The Contributors1706 Words   |  7 PagesTriggering Violent Behavior: the Contributors Violence can be everywhere but what may actually trigger violent behaviors is difficult to figure out. Many believe violent behavior is triggered by a certain outcome. Although this may be true, violent behavior can be triggered by a combination of factors. Media, Chemicals, and even society are all known as factors that can influence one to become violent. Forms of violent behavior include aggression, aggravation, and/or frustration. Aggression isRead MoreMedia Violence And The Effect It Has On Actual Behavior1500 Words   |  6 Pagesessay Title: Media Violence And The Effect It Has On Actual Behaviour. While many argue that film violence has little or no influence on actual behaviour, this essay will argue that media violence has a direct influence on actual behaviour in adolescence and adults. The main ideas I will put forward are. How Media Violence Increases Children’s tolerance of Real-Life Aggression, Violence Exposure in real-life, Violent Film Characters and their portrayal of violent acts, the effects of violence inRead MoreAggressive Behavior And Video Games860 Words   |  4 Pageschanges among individuals. It is being demonstrated by research that violent television and media have a cause and effect on children and youth that watch them. Because video games use the same repetitiveness mechanism as television and media it is expected by social science professionals that video games cause an even greater impact. Many factors have been cases of study for researchers to support the thesis of behavioral changes as a consequence of exposure to violent video games and media. Among theseRead MoreThe Influence of Exposure to Violence627 Words   |  3 Pagescommitted, violent acts from individuals whom are motivated by influence lead us to question western culture’s addiction to violent coverage and its enablers. Exposure to violence is not only limited to real-life experience, exposure can be extended through media outlets, enablers, who may increase the harmful effects of exposure to such violent acts. The media exploits society’s increasing dependence on technology to further supply western culture’s lust for violence. Violence in the media and itsRead MoreMedia s Influence On The Youth Of America1454 Words   |  6 PagesMedia in the United States has a prominent role on the youth of America. A majority of children and young adults have access to internet, television, rad io, newspapers, and video games practically any time they want. The violence in media, along with the availability of media are increasing, however the most predominant form of media for children is video games. Because of this, many are concerned with the effects on the youth. The violence in video games is a cause for aggressive emotions, thoughtsRead MoreIs Media Violence Pernicious?983 Words   |  4 PagesIs Media Violence Pernicious? In recent decades, the emergence of television and the internet have made information and entertainment alike more accessible than ever before. By extension, this increased availability encompasses violent entertainment as well. As access has risen, media violence has become a rather contentious issue. There is currently a stark division surrounding the topic between those who believe that violent media is pernicious, and those who believe it is harmless, or even catharticRead MoreGeneral Aggression Model Of Human Aggression1280 Words   |  6 Pagesbehavior, aggressive effect (i.e., physiological stimulation), aggressive cognition, (i.e., thoughts), reduced pro-social behavior, and reduced empathy (i.e., emotional facets) (Anderson and Bushman, 2001; Barlett and Anderson 2013). As a process model, GAM can be divided into two explanatory mechanisms; a) proximate and distal GAM (Anderson Carnagey, 2004) or b) proximate GAM as single-episode GAM and multiple-episode GAM (see. Anders on Bushman, 2001) as (long-term) effects of repetitive violence

NEA announces new slate of grants Essay Example For Students

NEA announces new slate of grants Essay The National Endowment for the arts announced in July a total of $7.2 million in grants to 231 professional theatre companies for the 1993-94 performance season. The grants, awarded under the Theater Programs Professional Theater Companies category, represent a decrease from the previous year, when 236 grants totaling $7.5 million were awarded. The grants, ranging in size from $5,000 to $268,000, include first-time or reinstated support to 26 theatres and increases to 84 theatres who received support last year. A $268,000 grant to the Guthrie Theater of Minneapolis was the largest grant awarded, and the average was $31,050. In comparison, in 1986 the top grant reached a high of $315,000 and the average was $40,962, reflecting a nearly 25 percent drop in average support to professional theatre companies in the past eight years, without taking inflation into account. The NEA Theater Overview Panel convened June 23-24 in Washington for the yearly review of guidelines and funding categories. Program director Keryl McCord opened the meeting by underscoring the need for panelists to reconcile how to support bold new thinking in the face of diminishing funds. She urged the panel to think about the full spectrum of theatre, including movement theatres, childrens theatres and culturally specific theatres. During the course of the two-day meeting, the panel recommended no major changes, but they discussed a number of issues, including the possibility of reducing slightly the percentage of the budget presently allocated to the Professional Theater Companies category to create a pool of funds that could be rechanneled to playwright fellowships or solo artists. Also discussed was the question of changing the grant cycle to biennial funding, which has been under consideration for several years. Although the 1992 panel had pressed for a staff study of multi-year funding to be presented to his years panel for a final recommendation, the study had not yet taken place and the issue of biennial funding was tabled once again. The panel followed by several weeks the first in a series of special think-tank meetings, convened by the Theater Program with a separate group of participants, but the results of the first meeting were not discussed by the Overview Panel. Panelists attending this years Overview meeting were John Paul Batiste, executive director, Texas Commission on the Arts; Eve Brune, managing director, INTAR, New York; Carol North Evans, producing director, Metro Theater Company, St. Louis, Mo.; Tom Hall, managing director, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego (chairman); Paul Carter Harrison, playwright; Gregory Hicks, board member, Intiman Theatre, Seattle. Also, Jim Lewis, dramaturg, Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis; Susan Medak, managing director, Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Jon Nakagawa, managing director, Vineyard Theatre, New York; Mary Robinson, artistic director, Philadelphia Drama Guild; Starling Sutton, real estate developer, Atlanta, Ga.; Lynette Turner, producing director, Perseverance Theatre, Douglas, Alaska; and Roberta Uno, artistic director, New World Theatre, Amherst, Mass. The NEA also announced the latest Advancement Grant recipients in Julyarts 42 groups that will participate in the first phase of the program, designed to provide technical assistance and develop long-term strategic plans. The 1994 Advancement participants include the Alice B. Theatre of Seattle, Philadelphias Arden Theatre Company, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, En Garde Arts in New York City, Horse Cave Theatre of Horse Cave, Ky., Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Detroits Theatre Grottesco North America, Underground Railway Theater of Arlington, Mass., Washington, D.C.s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the Zachary Scott Theatre Center of Austin, Tex.

Innovation Problem in Organization-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Describe what the innovation problem is that you are faced with in your Chosen company. Answer Introduction The report is prepared to assess the innovation problem faced within the business organization in Saudi Arabia and how it has managed to deal with that for ensuring successful business functioning. The innovation problem faced within Carrefour, which is selected as the case study here can create an impact on the establishment of a good culture as well. Due to innovation problem, the business performance may deteriorate as well as hinder the successful accomplishment of business objectives. The report will discuss about the innovation problem that Carrefour Saudi Arabia is facing and ways to resolve those issues too. Carrefour has 12 franchise-operated hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia, with five of those being in the capital Riyadh itself (carrefouruae.com, 2018). The innovation of the company includes opening a new store that provides digital solutions including m-commerce services to make the shopping experiences of the customers more convenient and flexible. Innovation problem faced with in the company There are various problems faced while enabling innovation within the business organization and due to this the organizational structure and way of managing the business operations also change. Due to this the workers of the company find it difficult to adapt to the changes and the business functioning also deteriorates. Few problems related to the innovation include lack of ability of employees to innovate due to improper leadership skills and poor support by the managers of the organization. The leaders also fail to keep the staffs motivated, because of which, the innovation outcomes may be inappropriate as well. With the innovation, changes were made and this had resulted in developing an app to make customers purchase products and services online (Katzy et al., 2013). One of the major problems was that the app was not working properly sometime, which not only created difficulties to purchase the products and the online app does not show all the available products that could be fo und at the stores of Carrefour. Another problem with innovation is that innovation is centralized to a particular functional group only, and due to this, the innovation procedures are time consuming. Having more functional groups can prevent any hindrance to the innovation pace and provide unique solutions to the problems faced by the customers. Lack of coordination and diversity also creates innovation problem and this can make the organization face risks while offering the new and innovative products in the market (Subramaniam, 2012). Innovation, if not measured or benchmarked could create difficulty to evaluate the key performable indicators and even generate new ideas required to generate greater value of innovation related approaches. With the appointment of a new CEO, certain approaches were undertaken to innovate the business operations and processes, though it brought some major problems for Carrefour. The new CEO tried to innovate by converting some of the hypermarkets of the company into franchises and even introducing some of the Sunday openings as well. The shares of the company reduced to more than thirty percent due to lesser revenue generation as well (Lorenz, 2015). Due to lack of leadership skills, the staffs were not empowered and kept motivated to perform efficiently by embracing the changes achieved through innovation within the organization. The employees were not motivated and encouraged properly to adapt to the changes, because of which they felt less motivated to innovate. Though innovation has been done like changes in organizational structure and culture, still the employees have been unable to access the necessary resources and even faced issues to cooperate with others within the workplace. The staffs were not trained, because of which, they were unable to create an app that could provide all the necessary services properly for improving the shopping experience of the clients. Carrefour operates over 12 franchise hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia and five of these are located at Riyadh (Kang, 2016). Innovation is something not similar to the invention and creativity; because the creativity and inventions are focused are solution centric whereas he innovations managed within the organization are considered as problem centric. Same has happened for Carrefour, where a new CEO is appointed who can enable changes and mange innovation with the focus on solving problems (carrefouruae.com, 2018). The innovators are focused on the issue with the own proposed solutions, because of which they may not create own ideas and concepts. Due to lack of proper leadership and managerial skills, there were conflicts and misunderstandings, which reduced the group thinking abilities and skills as well (Sloep, Berlanga Retalis, 2014). There was not a proper working condition as well, which created difficulties for the individuals to express themselves and deliver their ideas and opinions too. The innovation at Carrefour changed the organizational structure and a different culture was created, which ma ny of the staffs felt quite difficult to cope up with. The organizational policies were not in place too, which further resulted in forming an inappropriate culture where people could work. Innovation at Carrefour was managed by undertaking sustainable approaches, which increased the prices of certain products and services and left the customers unsatisfied (Urbancova, 2013). Relation between organizational culture and innovation Carrefour experienced a significant loss in business due to the recent changes made through innovation. Due to the innovation, a different organizational culture and structure was enabled, which created difficulties for many of the staffs to adjust with. Carrefour decided to create a diverse workforce consisting of people from different backgrounds and cultures, which resulted in improper communication process, which was furthermore facilitated by change in leadership and strategies. Many of the staffs even failed to accept the need for changes, which created insecurity and varied ambitions of people within the workplace (Lorenz, 2013). Due to the implementation of a new organizational structure, other problems faced were lack of communication, poor organizational hierarchy, due to which, the managers, employers and employees were confused regarding their new roles and responsibilities. The roles and responsibilities were not delegated properly to certain staffs and the cost incurred due to the innovation of organizational structure was huge as well. The company faced innovation problem because the shopping app developed to improve the online shopping experiences of the customers was not always working properly. It was due to the lack of skills and knowledge of the workers, due to which, they failed to cooperate with each other (OSullivan Dooley, 2012). Due to this, the organizational culture was not effective, which hindered the successful management of innovation at Carrefour. By maintaining a good culture within the organization, it could have been easier to OCAI instrument The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument or OCAI is utilized by Carrefour, Saudi Arabia to assess the organizational culture and make sure that the staffs perform to their potential for enabling innovation all throughout. This would not only make them adjust with the changes but would also allow them to work in coordination and as an unit through the establishment of a good culture within the workplace. The OCAI tool is used as an effective assessment tool for evaluating the organizational culture and desire for changes implemented through the various innovation procedures. The Competing Values framework and different culture types are used as important aspects related to the OCAI assessment tool (Camisn Villar-Lpez, 2014). Competing values framework The competing values framework consists of the four major quadrants including the collaborate, create, control and compete. The assessment tool is used for enabling flexibility and adaptability and furthermore allows the employees to consider the innovation as a positive outcome. The Collaborate quadrant could enable the staffs and employees of Carrefour to work in coordination and prioritize on the shared values. This would promote good communication between the workers and develop a positive work culture within the workplace. The Create quadrant would allow them to show their creative skills and foster innovation by aligning with the vision and objectives of Carrefour. The individuals working for Carrefour must be flexible to consider the changes and this could be supported by a positive culture for moving towards the future (Eeckelaert et al., 2012). The create quadrant would also allow the staffs to become creative and emphasize on the accomplishment of outcomes with ease. This c ould have facilitated the development of the online shopping app through the development of a compelling vision and generating new ideas for the future as well. The Compete quadrant focuses on the individuals who are concerned with the competition and achievement of goals and objectives by competing against each other (Ikramullah et al., 2016). The Compete quadrant would allow the individuals to speed up the management of business processes and obtain higher market share and ensure brand equity too. The control quadrant could enable clarification of roles and responsibilities of the worker at Carrefour, furthermore conduct researches and feasibility study to understand whether the innovation procedures would be beneficial or not (Vila, Perez Morillas, 2012). To improve the organizational effectiveness, the competing values framework helped in providing better stability, control and flexibility. It was also ensured that the employees work together in coordination to create a good culture and at the same time, achieved the positive results within quick time. There are different organizational culture types that are adopted by different organizations to create good working conditions and communication between the staffs to improve the business operations efficiency. Four quadrants are associated with the different cultures and values needed to be maintained within the organization (Vila, Prez Coll-Serrano, 2014). Figure: OCAI framework values related to culture (Vila, Prez Coll-Serrano, 2014) Organizational culture Because there were problems related to the innovation, so, the company wanted to focus on the major values including the flexibility, discretion, stability and control for assisting the employees to embrace the changes with ease. This could make the employees perform their roles and responsibilities together and furthermore discuss about the issues faced by communicating with each other. The organization desired for flexibility, better stability and control and to maintain these values, Carrefour should create a market culture or clan culture (Ovseiko Buchan, 2012). The clan culture was absent previously and if the company wants to maintain the values, then the development of a clan culture can create a good working environment and address the needs of the clients by promoting participation of employees, team working and consensus. The market culture should be created for gaining reputation and success by reaching the objectives fruitfully. Market penetration and stock management could be important aspects managed through the setting of proper prices and understanding how to make the online shopping experience more convenient and easy for the customers. However, for that, a proper app should be developed that could be assessed through revaluation of requirements of the customers and creating a platform where the employees could discuss about these matters properly (Belasen Rufer, 2013). This would overcome the innovation problems as well as make Carrefour less susceptible to changes, furthermore maintain flexibility, stability and control all t hroughout. Recommendations It is recommended conduct a feasibility study of the innovation procedures at first, because innovation itself is an effective way to overcome issues with ease. Carrefour should maintain a positive culture to create good working conditions and at the same time, facilitate team working and communication between the employees. Assessment of the performances of the workers is recommended for evaluating the areas of weaknesses and trains them to improve their skills, knowledge and expertise. To deal with the innovation problems, it would be important for the leaders and manager of Carrefour to keep the employees motivated by providing them with benefits and rewards It is also recommended to create a proper organizational structure where decentralization is possible for enhancing the efficiency of the business operations and ensure gaining the best outcomes from the innovation procedures. Conclusion The report explained the innovation issue faced by Carrefour in Saudi Arabia due to the lack of proper culture, poor communication and team working between the employees. The problem analyzed here was the implementation of the online shopping app to provide the customers with a better shopping experience. It was a major step to innovation undertaken by the organization, though the app was found to be not working at certain situations along with unavailability of all the products and services that were actually available at the stores. This was due to the lack of communication between the staffs and poor coordination among them, which deteriorated the culture and even hindered the successful management of business operations. This affected the innovation negatively, due to which, the OCAI framework was utilized to determine the culture that should be the most suitable for ensuring flexibility, stability and control at the company. The market and clan cultures were found to be effectiv e and it was also recommended to provide the organizational staffs with proper training sessions so that they could understand the importance of teamwork and create new ideas for innovating the products and services of Carrefour. References Belasen, A., Rufer, R. (2013). Innovation communication and inter-functional collaboration: a view from the competing values framework for corporate communication. InStrategy and Communication for Innovation(pp. 227-240). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. Camisn, C., Villar-Lpez, A. (2014). Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance.Journal of business research,67(1), 2891-2902. carrefouruae.com. (2018). Carrefouruae.com. Retrieved 28 February 2018, from https://www.carrefouruae.com/ Eeckelaert, L., Dhondt, S., Oeij, P., Pot, F. D., Nicolescu, G. I., Webster, J., Elsler, D. (2012).Review of workplace innovation and its relation with occupational safety and health. Bilbao: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Ikramullah, M., Van Prooijen, J. W., Iqbal, M. Z., Ul-Hassan, F. S. (2016). Effectiveness of performance appraisal: Developing a conceptual framework using competing values approach.Personnel Review,45(2), 334-352. Kang, S. W. (2016). Knowledge withholding: psychological hindrance to the innovation diffusion within an organisation.Knowledge Management Research Practice,14(1), 144-149. Katzy, B., Turgut, E., Holzmann, T., Sailer, K. (2013). Innovation intermediaries: a process view on open innovation coordination.Technology Analysis Strategic Management,25(3), 295-309. Lorenz, E. (2013). Innovation, work organisation and systems of social protection. Lorenz, E. (2015). Work organisation, forms of employee learning and labour market structure: accounting for international differences in workplace innovation.Journal of the Knowledge Economy,6(2), 437-466. OSullivan, D., Dooley, L. (2012). Collaborative innovation for the management of information technology resources. InProfessional Advancements and Management Trends in the IT Sector(pp. 207-222). IGI Global. Ovseiko, P. V., Buchan, A. M. (2012). Organizational culture in an academic health center: an exploratory study using a Competing Values Framework.Academic Medicine,87(6), 709-718. Sloep, P., Berlanga, A., Retalis, S. (2014). Introduction to the special issue on Web-2.0 technologies in support of team-based learning for innovation. Subramaniam, I. D. (2012). Determinant of innovative behavior in the workplace: A case study of a Malaysian public sector organisation.American Journal of Social Issues and Humanities,2(6). Urbancova, H. (2013). Competitive advantage achievement through innovation and knowledge.Journal of Competitiveness,5(1). Vila, L. E., Prez, P. J., Coll-Serrano, V. (2014). Innovation at the workplace: Do professional competencies matter?.Journal of Business Research,67(5), 752-757. Vila, L. E., Perez, P. J., Morillas, F. G. (2012). Higher education and the development of competencies for innovation in the workplace.Management Decision,50(9), 1634-1648.

Personal Development Plans Teamwork and Culture Shock

Pregnancy and Harden Brady

Pregnancy and Harden Brady Pregnancy and Harden Brady- Crite Essay Nick Harden Brady- Crite English 900 6 November 2012 Free Will Hilary Clinton Once said, "I have met thousands and thousands of pro-choice men and women. I have never met anyone who is pro-abortion.† Abortion has always been an extremely controversial topic between pro-life and pro-choice groups. Pro-choice advocates believe that abortion should remain legal, while pro-life groups believe that abortion is murder and should be outlawed. One has his or her own views and opinions; despite what several people may believe, abortion should remain legal and the choice of the mother. Abortion should be legal because of the issues women face when making the decision to give birth to a child. These issues include financial instability, health concerns and, social problems within family and friends. Financial problems can play a big role on whether a woman decides to have an abortion. Women that face these issues have a better chance to have an abortion if they become pregnant. If society makes women reproduce, then these women must feed, provide clothing, and educate these children to make them productive members of society. For instance, if a woman has an unplanned pregnancy, she may not be able to afford raising a child. This can later lead to a child growing up in poverty. Another problem pregnant women may face is raising children alone. â€Å"Today, 19 million children live in single-mother families.† Women raising children alone are more susceptible to having financial problems because they do not have that extra support to take care of a child. One who is opposed the legalization of abortion might believe that the solution to these problems would be receiving help from family and friends, or having the father of the newborn pay child support, but sometimes they can have their own financial problems to take care of. Illegalizing abortion can affect many women who suffer from financial issues. Another reason abortion should remain legal is the fact that child birth can have serious effects on either the mother or child. The mother can have different conditions that can risk her life if she goes into labor. Millions of women are diagnosed and informed that they have a life threatening condition that could mean life or death if they have a child; making these women go through with pregnancy is almost like making her commit suicide. A woman's life should be considered a more valuable life than the life of the fetus. One feels this way because if something were to happen to the woman the potential life of the fetus would not even exist. There are also many conditions that can endanger the fetus. According to a September of 2005 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, three percent of women who have abortions, do so because of a health issue or abnormality with the baby. A woman should not be expected to bring a child into this world if there is somethin g seriously wrong with them, such as paralysis, or being severely, mentally challenged. A pro-life supporter may believe there are different alternatives such as putting an innocent, unborn child’s life before the mothers or giving the baby a chance to live, but a very unhealthy baby would most likely die before the parents, causing the parents sadness and sorrow. Health issues on either the mother or child can really affect one’s decision on having an abortion or not. The final reason women should have the right to an abortion is the many social issues a woman can face if she becomes pregnant. In

Modernist artist Man Ray and the Dada movement Research Paper

Modernist artist Man Ray and the Dada movement - Research Paper Example Man Ray and Dada Movement Biography Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), born in August 27, 1890 was of an immigrant Russian-Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Melach Radnitzky and Manya Radnitzky. In 1897, Melach and his family moved to Brooklyn, New York. As he familiarized with Brooklyn, Emmanuel developed greater curiosity towards his surroundings. His interest widened to include ballistics, male and female anatomy, as well as mathematics (Baldwin 34).2 At the age of seven, Man Ray received first, as a birthday gift, a box of crayons from one of his cousins. He from then spent much of his time creating and drawing colorful pictures. At his early age of 14, Emmanuel Radniztky's high school equipped him with free hand and mechanical drawing. He gained much perspective of art and impressive fame through his studies and devotion to drawing. In his second year, his classmates frequently taunted him because of his name. This led to his adoption of the pseudonym Man Ray (Baldwin 48).2 Man Ray and the formal world of art The movement by Man Ray led to his joining Marcel Duchamp’s revolt towards aesthetic tradition. ... Independent men living beyond nationalism and war lived for other ideals. In his multiplicity nature, Man Ray needed escape from the insularity caused by his ethnicity. His emergence responded to the anti-individual and the collective experience of the First World War. Dada allowed Man Ray practice his art in enhancing acceptance and independence of his framework. Dada failed in sustaining itself within New York. Man Ray wrote a letter to the Dadaist Tristan Tzara before entry into Paris. This nihilist Tristan Tzara was of an avant-garde Romanian performance artist, journalist, playwright, film director, art critic and poet (Dachy & Michael 14).4 His heated personality, as well as the uncompromising activism, caused many conflicts in the Dada movement, in France 3and Romania. Despite of him not leaving Dada, Tristan Tzara took up Surrealism eventually (Masters 14).5 He developed his painting career as an apprentice in an engraving studio after completing his studies. He also served a s an illustrator and a draftsman in an advertising agency. Man Ray started taking drawing classes in Manhattan’s Ferrer Modern School where he learnt the world of photography and Alfred Stieglitz. The artist's creation by Pablo Picasso and Paul Cezanne tremendously inspired him. Dada and Surrealism encouraged Ray’s artistic work. Artistic ideas motivated him more than the artistic work itself. Despite his abstract paintings, Man Ray disregarded traditional superiority on photography. He used photography in documenting sculptures with no independent life and capturing activities by the avant-garde friends (Bardis 215).6 In 1915, his first solo exhibition happened at the Daniel Gallery.

COMPUTER RESEARCH PAPER (YOU PICK TOPIC) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

COMPUTER (YOU PICK TOPIC) - Research Paper Example Our way of life, due to the technology provided by this advancement, will never be the same. It is fascinating that although a majority of people are familiar with computers, the concepts behind how they actually work have not been duly given emphasis, especially on how computer memory works. According to Hamacher, et.al. (1990), â€Å"memory is the part of the computer that holds data and instructions for processing. Although closely associated with the central processing unit, memory is separate from it. Memory stores program instructions or data for only as long as the program they pertain to is in operation.† Most people have interchangeably used memory with other terms such as primary storage, primary memory, main storage, internal storage, main memory, and RAM (Random Access Memory) (Pfleeger 2000). However, it is important to note that memory has many classifications or types, of which RAM, falls under it. Hard disks provide large quantities of inexpensive, permanent storage. Because storage space on a hard disk is so cheap and plentiful, it forms the final stage of a CPUs memory hierarchy, called virtual memory. The next level of the hierarchy is RAM. Accordingly, Tyson emphasized that â€Å"a computers system RAM alone is not fast enough to match the speed of the CPU that is why you need a cache. Caches are designed to alleviate this bottleneck by making the data used most often by the CPU instantly available. This is accomplished by building a small amount of memory, known as primary or level 1 cache, right into the CPU.† CPUs with diverse features differ in speed and accessibility of containing a specific amount of data or information. Those CPUs which are faster and more powerful need quick and easy access to large amounts of data in order to maximize their performance. Frenzel (2004) averred that â€Å"if the CPU cannot get to

1. The different forms of currency regimes and their impact on Essay

1. The different forms of currency regimes and their impact on economic activity - Essay Example The currency regime that a country adopts may have an effect on its economic growth; this is collaborated by the breakdown of Breton Woods’s countries, which adopted different types of regimes after the collapse of their union. The different types of regime that countries adopt have, largely affect their economic performance depending on their magnitude of their external trade or liberalization of their economy. Initially, there were two widely accepted currency regimes, which included floating and fixed exchange rates. However due to the dynamics in the international economic system and the desire of states to balance between independent monetary policy, rigidly fixed exchange rates and completely fixed capital mobility, several other monetary regimes have cropped up, these include float, dollarization, pegged float, currency boards and fixed currency regimes. In this paper, I am interested to study the different kinds of currency regimes and their impact on economic activity . In the next section, I will discuss the different forms of currency regimes and their use; in section three, I will analyse how these currency regimes have influenced economic activities of countries. This type of currency regime allows a currency’s value to fluctuate depending on the exchange rate market; in the current economic system, most of the currencies such as the United States dollar, the Japanese yen and the euro are floating currencies. However, in some instances, central banks of the respective countries enter the market in order to influence the exchange rates. The use of floating currency regime enables a country to be able to mitigate the effects of shocks in the international economic system (Miles, 2006, p91). Dollarization can be viewed as currency substitution where another country uses dollar as its only currency or alongside another currency. The United States dollar is the currency that is most used as a substitute

Marbury vs Madison Case Summary

Marbury vs Madison Case Summary Brandon Huff This case took place on February twenty fourth, 1803. It was the first case in which an act of Congress was declared unconstitutional. That being said it was the first time, and the means by which judicial review was used. As the case name suggests the disagreement was between James Madison and William Marbury. It took place a couple of weeks before president Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801. Because of the Judiciary Act of 1801, and the Organic Act there was a multitude of courtship places open. President John Adams tried to fill as many as he could with Federalist party members as to oppose Jeffersons Democratic-Republican party. He wanted to make it hard for him to pass anything while he was in office. But since William Marbury was one of the last ones to have an appointment, the so called midnight appointments, he did not receive their commission. This happened because Jefferson took office and instructed his secretary of state James Madison to withhold the remaining commissions. When Marbury found out he wrote a writ of mandamus to the Supreme Court. He did this in the hope Madison would act and hand out the rest of the commissions. Marbury and his lawyer, former attorney general Charles Lee, went before the courts and stated that the signing and sealing of the commission completed the transaction and that delivering them was only formal. Even though Jefferson was very upset stating that he could not serve without the document. Despite this plea, however, the court agreed to hear their case Marbury vs Madison in February of 1803. This case was underway, but was quickly resolved. After hearing the case most people from both the Republicans and the Federalists agreed that it was a very insignificant case. By the time the case took place the people were agreeing the Jeffersons decision to reduce the amount of justices of the peace, and the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed. Also, Marburys term was already half over with by the time the case made it to the courts. In other words it seemed that there was no way Marbury would win this case. However, Marshall, the chief justice saw the problem facing him and came up with a brilliant solution. The solution he found the named a tour de force, and is still used today. He managed to establish all power to the court s the final arbiter of the Constitution. By doing this, he could effectively chastise the Jefferson administration for not following the law, while also protecting the courts authority on the matter. He reduced the case to three basic problems and questions. First, did Marbury have the right to the commission? Second, if he did, and his right had been violated, did the law provide him with a remedy? Third, if it did, would the proper remedy be a writ of mandamus to the Supreme Court? With these three questions Marshall effectively broke down the case to its simplest form. The result of the first two had the desired effect. He explained that by failing to deliver the commission the Marbury, the secretary failed in his duties and violated the law. Having established that Marbury was entitled to receive the commission he turned to the next question. Marbury had a right to the commission, and therefore by not receiving it was denied right. Because of this violation he could have argued that a writ of mandamus would be the right course of action, since the Judiciary Act of 1789 was still in effect, therefore he declared the the court had no jurisdiction to issue such a thing. He continued that it was inconsistent with Article 3 of the Constitution. With this statement, he surrendered the power derived from the 1798 statute which would have given Jefferson a technical victory in the case. By pointing this out he gained a very important power, judicial review. Through his masterful ideas and use the the Constitution through the law Marshall won the case. Even though Marbury only served half his term it had a much greater impact throughout history. We use judicial review to this day and it has been the cornerstone for a lot of cases since this one. Even though this decision has been very controversial it is a part of our system and we are used to it by now. It also fits well with our system of checks and balances run by the government. Through this very small incident in history it impacted the whole country. This case revolutionized our way of thinking in the courts. The courts have more power in this process and have been able to hear and change the outcome of many cases. This has helped shape our country into hat it is today and although it was been surrounded in controversy it is an undeniable fact of our life.

Hop Frog Essay -- essays papers

Hop Frog Slavery was definitely one of the major causes that led to the Civil War, the most dramatic event in the American history. Numerous masterpieces were written to criticize slavery. Among them, we count Poe’s Hop-Frog, also known as Eight Chained Ourang-Outans. Written in 1849, Hop-Frog delivers the message to the Southern States about inevitable tragedy that awaits the Americans as a result of slavery & the slave trade. Each element of the Poe’s story, including character, settings & the plot is somehow related to the historical background of the United States before 1865. In the first place, Poe connects his story to the notion of serfdom by careful selection of characters & the description of relation between them. In fact, from the first reading there is not much of abnormal to remark in the characters’ relation: a simple relation between a king & his â€Å"multi-functional† jester. But after an attentive analysis of the story, it becomes obvious that the characters are allegorical. They, in fact, represent the relation between a master & a slave, a possession. This kind of relation characterizes slavery, where one human being â€Å"possesses† another one & does with him whatever is desired. Poe gives us some hints to come to this given conclusion:† Our king, as a matter of cause, retained his own fool†. The author uses the word â€Å"retained† to describe king’s possession of the jester, which is the key element in bondage, rather than any form of employment. As we find out later, this kind of custody leaves Hop-Frog with practically no freedom, whether it is freedom to chose or freedom to act:† Come here Hop-Frog, †¦ swallow this bumper†¦It happened to be poor dwarf’s birthday, and the command to drink†¦ forced tears to his eye... ...n the North & the South, which finally brought United States to the Civil War. Finally, as we reach the end of the story, we witness Hop-Frog’s fierce revenge. In fact, there is something particular in the way how Hop-Frog takes revenge on king & his seven ministers: he burnt them. It is closely related to the image that the Southern States had after the loss in the Civil War. Everything from plantations to natural resources were put to fire by the Northern armies, as they were making their way to the Confederate’s capital, Richmond. Hop-frog’s escape symbolizes the massive migration of slaves from the South after the end of the war. Although the serfdom was officially abolished in 1863 in the North & by the end of the war in the South, it took many more years before an Afro-American could be treated the same way as every citizen in the United States of America.

Disruptive Innovation

1 Introduction This assignment provides the study on Disruptive Innovation using Clayton Christensen’s framework. Apart from this, this assignment also tells how the companies should react to the upcoming technologies and what should be the course of action for the same. 1. 1 Innovation There is no specific definition for innovation as such. But, according to me, innovation is creating something new or changing the old to achieve the competitive advantage and meet the increasing customer demands.This is achieved either by introducing new products, new ideas, and processes or just by changing the design of the product or the processes as per the customer demands. Innovating and creating new products and services has become very important topic of concern for all the organizations in today’s rapidly changing world. If you are not innovative, you may never know when your products become obsolete. 1. 2 Types of Innovation There are three main types of Innovations: Sustainin g innovation: This type of innovation needs to be developed to ensure that the customers are satisfied with the products and services and to stay in the game.For example upgrading the processor from dual core to Intel core i3 to i5 and enhancing the performance of computers. Breakthrough Innovations: These innovations upgrade the level of existing category of products or services. For example I phone was a breakthrough innovation in the world of mobile market. It changed the perspective of the customers and eventually other companies started following the trend. Disruptive Innovation: In this type of innovation a new product or a sevice is introduced that creates a new market or massively alters an old one so that old players cannot compete.They are called disruptive because they disrupt the current behavior of the market. For example Introduction of computers was a disruptive innovation for companies who manufactured typewriters. According to Clayton Christensen Disruptive innovati on offers lower performance initially as per the current market demand. But, at the same time it provides some new attributes which prosper in some different market. After conquering different markets, it eventually displaces the former market. Here we will talk about the hydrogen fuel Cell vehicle a disruptive innovation.How the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will disrupt the market for oil industry, current internal combustion engine manufacturers and many others. At the same time we shall talk about how the companies are responding to this upcoming technology and how are they coping up with the new technology. Before going into the statistic part let us know in brief how the hydrogen fuel cell works, how it is different from internal combustion engine and what the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell are. 2 Hydrogen Fuel Cell a disruptive InnovationA fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts chemical energy into electrical energy. It uses hydrogen and oxygen fro m air to produce electricity. Since no combustion is involved, it does not emit harmful gases and the efficiency of such device is much higher than an internal combustion engine. Apart from this it does not involve any moving part hence making it more silent and reliable source of energy. 2. 1 Working Hydrogen fuel cell consists of two catalysts anode and cathode, and an electrolyte. Hydrogen is fed to anode and oxygen from air is fed to cathode.At anode, catalyst causes hydrogen to split into positively charged ions protons and negatively charged ions electrons. The electrolyte, that is polymer electrolyte membrane allows only positive ion to flow through it. So the protons pass through membrane towards cathode and electrons pass through the external circuit towards the cathode. The flow of electron from the external circuit causes the current and eventually it goes to cathode and combines with positive ion and oxygen to emit water or water vapor. Hydrogen is is a fuel of great pot ential.Thought it is not an energy source, but it is an energy carrier. Hydrogen can be manufactured using renewable energy resources such as wind, solar etc. the research is still on on how to produce hydrogen on a larger scale. Following Figure show the working of a hydrogen Fuel Cell. Figure 1: Working of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell 2. 2 Benefits of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Following are the benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell Zero green house gas Emissions: As water is the byproduct of the fuel cell, the emissions of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur monoxide, etc is not there.Hence, it is a zero emission product. Though some amount of carbon dioxide is produced during manufacturing hydrogen, but research is on to manufacture hydrogen using renewable energy resources. Reduced Air Pollution: As there are no harmful gases emission involved in fuel cell, air pollution will be reduced considerably. Improved efficiency: Fuel cells are more efficient than internal combustion engine. A c onventional combustion egine generates efficiency up to 40% whereas a fuel cell generates efficiency more than 50% and has the potential to reach 85%.Other Benefits: the transportation will be oil independent, since there are no moving part, it is more reliable. 2. 3 Applications Fuel cells have wide range of applications. Following are the applications of a fuel cell: Transportation system: currently oil industry and internal combustion engine dominates the transportation system. But keeping environment and diminishing resources of fuel in mind it is predicted that by 2025 – 2030, hydrogen fuel cell will dominate the transportation sector. Power Generation: Fuel cell can also be used to generate power.It can be stationary power or a portable power. 2. 4 Challenges Following are the challenges that a fuel cell faces today: Cost: Cost of a fuel cell is a major concern right now. Due to expensive materials like platinum is used as a catalyst, the cost of fuel cell shoots up. bu t the research is on and it is most likely that the cost of a fuel cell will come down to $30 – $50/KW for transportation and $1500/KW for stationery power. Storage: Storage of hydrogen is again another concern especially for the transportation system since it has very low density in terms of volume.Research in this area is also going on to store the hydrogen fuel at high pressure. Infrastructure: Again to develop infrastructure for hydrogen is a big challenge cost wise. To develop infrastructure a collaboration will be required between automotive and energy companies. Other challenges include the safety issues to carry hydrogen, Durability of the fuel cell and public acceptance. But research I going on in all the areas and there will definitely be a solution to all the challenges. 3 Clayton Christensen’s Theory of disruptive technologyChristensen developed a framework that could be applied to any market at any point of time so long as the attributes to be measured qua lify for the characteristics presented in his framework. According to Christensen, companies fail because of the following reasons: Companies depend on customers and investors for resources: if the company doesn’t satisfy the customers or the shareholders, it will be difficult for the company to survive Small market cannot provide the growth needed by large companies: Large companies concentrate their efforts where the returns are high and often concentrate where the cost of sales is high.Technology supply exceeds the demand: Rapidly developing technology may often outpace the customer’s needs. When such thing happens opportunity for new entrants develop to enter into the market and come with a new product. Companies with best technology tend to improve the existing product often incrementally. And while focusing on the top end customers, a lower end market remains unserved until a new entrant comes with a potentially disruptive technology. And eventually new market be gins to grow. And once this new market starts gaining the footage, it causes the existing technology to become obsolete.Following graph will help us understand Christensens framework more clearly. Figure 2: Clayton Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology The market is always divided into tiers the higher end market that represents the main customers who buy the product and the lower end market represents the customers who are least to buy the products. And performance is the main criteria by which customers buy the product. Sustaining innovation: As explained earlier, it could be incremental or radical that improves product performance for the main customers.The focus is mainly on improving the performance of the existing products and satisfying the main customers. Disruptive Innovation: It enters in the lower tier of the market with lower cost and attractive value for the lower market customers. Following are the charecteristics of a disruptive technology. * Offers low performance * Targets small market * It is tied with uncertainties * It introduces a new performance criteria in a new dimension * Generally non market leaders introduce such new products in a lower tier market with attributes to benefit lower end market.Moving back to the graph on Christensen’s framework for disruptive innovation, disruptive technology with an innovation enters at point ‘a’ with a lower rate for lower end market. At the same time market leaders are improvising their product using sustaining technologies and satisfying the mainline customers. And when the sustaining technology reaches point ‘b’, it is the peak time for the sustaining technology and after that the market gets saturated. This is the time when the market leaders need to innovate something new and create the new market. After point ‘b’, supply crosses demand.On the other hand, disruptive innovation enters at point ‘a’ satisfies the lower end customers and after improvising it reaches point ‘c’ the main stream customers. At point ‘c’ now, it is very late for sustaining technology to develop a new product for the main stream customers. Here it is very important to distinguish between different types of innovation. Incremental innovation occurs when small improvements are made to products/services. These, basically strengthens the market position of the firm and entrenches the industry. Radical Innovation occurs when major improvements are made to the products/services.These changes require new marketing channels and often put other firms out of competition and at the same time make old technologies obsolete. Transformational innovation occurs when the innovation is of such a nature that it destroys whole industry and changes the nature of the market. So if we have to summarize Christensen’s framework it would be, as the sustaining technology improves along the mainstream customer, disrupt ive technology enters at the lower end market, improvises along the existing dimensions and enters the main stream market.It eventually changes the basis of the competition from functionality to reliability and from reliability to convenience and eventually to price. Now, let’s apply this Christensen’s framework to today’s automotive world that is internal combustion engine as the sustaining technology and the hydrogen fuel cell as the disruptive technology. 3. 1 Comparison of Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology with the Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology Let us compare the performance of fuel economy and green house gas emissions of internal combustion engine and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.From the graph, we can agree that internal combustion engine is a sustaining technology incrementally improving its performance. Initially let’s say in 1980’s the fuel economy of a vehicle was around 4-6 km/l of gasoline and now it is around 12-1 5 km/l. green house gas emissions have also reduced by introducing hybrid option. But it is predicted that internal combustion engine will reach the point ‘b’ somewhere by 2015. That is it will reach the saturation level of innovation. Further development in internal combustion engine will result in more of supply than demand.This is the time when people will anticipate the change, and the change of disruptive technology in our case it is hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Initially it keeps emerging and improves the performance in new dimension and tries to attract the main market stream. During the time emergence hydrogen fuel cell through experimentation seeks commercialization. And it is predicted by 2020 it will seek commercialization. Meanwhile, the internal combustion engine will steadily grow beyond the customer demand and will start losing its hold in the main market.In 2020, at point ‘c’, the market is ready to accept high performance vehicle, in terms o f fuel economy. And beyond this point, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle keeps on improving rapidly. This will eventually bring the phase out of an internal combustion engine and forcing it out of the market by 2030 – 2040 completely and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle becoming the base technology. Beyond this it will improve incrementally until the new disruptive comes and phase out the hydrogen fuel cell technology. Green House Gas EmissionGlobal warming is one of the prime reasons fro shifting the paradigm from internal combustion engine to hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Following graph shows the global warming potential of gasoline, flex fuels and hydrogen fuel cell in various stages from manufacturing to the end of life of a vehicle. Figure 3: Global Warming potential comparison of 3 different types of Engine. It is clear from the graph global warming potential that is emission of harmful gases from a fuel cell vehicle is less than a gasoline and the flex fuel vehicle.From the grap h, it is seen that only while production for the fuel of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the emission of harmful gases is high, but it is very less compared to the gasoline and flex fuels. Apart from that, research is also going on for producing hydrogen using renewably resources such as wind, solar and nuclear. 3. 2 Conclusion It is evident that hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is a disruptive technology and will cause a phase out for the internal combustion engine. But when we compare it to the Christensen’s framework, it slightly contradicts.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in literal sense are not targeting the lower market initially. The cost of the product is not low. But all other parameters remain the same. It is focusing on the new dimension and at the same time it is threat to the internal combustion engine world. Apart from this slight difference, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is definitely a disruptive innovation, and will definitely lead to transformation of technologies and will change the basis of competition from fuel economy to green house gas reductions with the environmental pressure. 4 Current ScenarioIf we talk about hydrogen fuel cell in today’s world, it is still an emerging technology which looks solid and promising in terms of fuel economy and reduction in green house gas emission. Research in this particular area is going on all around the world since the global warming level is increasing and the environmental pressure is acting on all the governments. In this scenario, the companies who are already into research in this area will survive and the companies that are still not doing any kind of research or innovation and still trying to improve the sustaining technology might just phase out of the competition.Further we will see cases and findings of various companies in this area including oil industry, automotive industry and the industries related to this huge sector of industries. 4. 1 Oil Industry: Today, the energy sector is run majo rly by oil industry. And majorly oil after refining is consumed by transportation industry. Around 90%of the oil is consumed by the transportation industry, and out of that around 50% of the industry consumes gasoline and the rest is diesel, LPG, Naphtha etc. Major players in this oil industry today are Saudi aramco, shell, BP, Exxon Mobil and chevron.Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)is the major producer of the oil today and has the maximum exports all over the world, then it is followed by other companies. Apart from green house gas emissions and environmental pressure, the increasing rate of oil so frequently gives us an idea that even the oil reserves are diminishing day by day. Now increasing research and development in this area poses threat on oil industry as well. Even the oil industries have started doing research in this area. Basically these companies are doing research on how to produce hydrogen using the existing technologies in large scale.Following are some of the findings of the oil companies in this area. 4. 1. 1 Saudi Aramco (Source: http://www. keei. re. kr/keei/download/seminar/101117/II101118_b02. pdf, www. saudiaramco. com, www. mbifoundation. com/media/18961/final%20bpr. pdf) Following are some of the conclusion made by research and development department of Saudi Aramco. : * H2 production using existing petroleum infrastructure will be a potential economical option compared to other technologies. * Need to integrate the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies along with hydrogen production for efficient carbon management. Alternate hydrogen production technologies, such as electrolysis and renewable sources, have significant technical and economical challenges (energy intensive and high capital). * Significant progress made in the demonstration of liquid hydrocarbons to hydrogen. Apart from this, Saudi Aramco has also filed a patent in US office for the naphtha based fuels which can also be used for vehicular purpose. 4. 1. 2 Shell ( So urce: http://www. shell. com/home/content/environment_society/environment/climate_change/biofuels_alternative_energies_transport/hydrogen/, http://articles. atimes. com and http://www. thelivingmoon. com/41pegasus/02files/Alternate_Fuel_Shell_Oil_Hydrogen. html) Shell had started its research on this topic since 1999 and had anticipated the change in the world of automotive industry and power sector long back. Shell has joined hands with the leading car making companies and power companies and working on this project. Shell is already working in collaboration with Siemens, Toyota, Daimler Chrysler and has reached a long way in this area. It has also opened various hydrogen fuel stations in United States of America, Europe and Asia.And it is offering free fillips at various fueling station just to promote the upcoming technology. Following picture is one of the fueling station in United States of America where hydrogen fueling is provided. Figure 4: Hydrogen fuel Station by Shell 4. 1. 3 BP: (Source: http://www. bp. com) Like Shell, BP is also one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy.In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing. As one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy. In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing.Apart from this BP has joined hands with the leading companies like Daimler Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Solarex and working on various projects like fuel efficiency, CO2 management, Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Apar t from the companies all these companies also join their hands with various Universities who help the in doing their research. 4. 1. 4 Exxon Mobil: (Source: http://www. exxonmobil. com, http://www. dutchdailynews. com/air-products-and-exxonmobil-start-up-new-world-scale-hydrogen-production-plant-in-rotterdam/) Exxon Mobil again is not left ehind in the research of hydrogen fuel cell and the production of hydrogen on a large scale. Following are some of the research that Exxon Mobil is working on * It is conducting breakthrough research on Hydrogen Production Technology * It is also trying to improve its existing technology at the same time by continuously improving the efficiency of internal combustion engine and reducing the emission of harmful gases. * On 10th Feb 2012 Air products and Exxon Mobil started a large scale Hydrogen Production Plant in Rotterdam. Apart from this, ExxonMobil is also developing an innovative on-board hydrogen-powered fuel cell system that converts conven tional hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline or diesel into hydrogen for a fuel cell right under a vehicle’s hood. Apart from this there are various other small industries that are into this hydrogen fuel cell research for example Reliance from India is also doing its bit in this area. 4. 2 Automotive Industry We have seen the response and reaction of oil Industry so far, Now let us see the response of automotive industry worldwide.We shall go country wise in this case to know the response of various industries and development in various countries in this specific area. 4. 2. 1 United States Of America: United States of America is spending millions of dollars every year in the research of hydrogen fuel Cell. They have demonstrations with many private companies. Daimler Chrysler Company developed its first fuel cell truck in 2000. The main aim of USA is to make Fuel Cell Vehicle available at an affordable cost. General Motors: General motors one of the oldest companies of USA is planning to get 1000 fuel cell vehicles on road by 2013-2015.Ford Motor Company: Ford is also planning to launch its commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2015. 4. 2. 2 Japan: One can say Japan is the very first to start the research in this area and it is since 1981. It was in Japan in Tokyo electric Company, Toshiba and an American based company fuel cell company manufactured and installed an 11 MW power plant (Source: www. platinummetalsreview. com/pdf/pmr-v33-i1-010-012. pdf). Apart from this the major Japanese automotive companies look promising in terms of Hydrogen uel cell vehicle compared to other companies in the world. Toyota: Toyota has promised in its recent Autocar show that it will start selling the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in USA specifically in California, since by 2015 it is predicted that there will be 68 hydrogen fueling stations in California. (Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-c ar-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Honda: CEO Takanobu Ito just announced that Honda will launch a new fuel-cell electric car in the U.S. and Europe starting in 2015. It will â€Å"showcase further technological advancement and significant cost reduction. † Honda has already been letting consumers test its fleet of FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell cars for a couple of years (Source: http://www. firstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) Nissan: Nissan has also announced its interest in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and has declared that it is ready to mass produce hydrogen fuel cell cars by 2015 (Source: http://www. irstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) 4. 2. 3 Europe: Europe is not left behind in this research. All the major brands BMW, Mercedes Volkswagen etc have shown interest in hydrogen fuel cell, but at the same time have said hydrogen fuel cell will take at least 10 more year s to commercialize. 4. 2. 4 India: India is the place where we can say Christensen’s framework is applicable perfectly. Here the auto rickshaw for the lower end market has been made using hydrogen fuel cell. t was displayed at pragati maidan in January 2012 and is expected to hit the road by 2015. Source: http://www. nytimes. com/2012/10/02/business/energy-environment/hydrogen-fuels-autorickshaws-and-dreams-of-cleaner-air. html? pagewanted=all&_r=0) Apart from this biggies like TATA Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra have shown interest in this area. Tata Motors have manufactured the bus based on hydrogen fuel cell technology known as starbus. Following figure shows the Auto Rickshaw and the Hydrogen fuel cell BusFigure 5: Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in india Following are some of the comments from various high profile executives from various companies: * Executives from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Volkswagen see fuel-cell vehicles as being further out, and most have not said when they'll have vehicles on the market. * â€Å"We don't see it as early as Toyota does,† said Oliver Schmidt, general manager of engineering with the VW Group. â€Å"We see it in the 2020 time frame. * Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of powertrain engineering, said, â€Å"The question is when (will) fuel-cell vehicles become affordable to customers,† specifically when the fuel-cell stack competes with the battery pack on cost. * â€Å"Within 10 years, I think they will be as affordable as full battery vehicles, and the fuel cell will have a big advantage in range,† Bakaj said. â€Å"We think it will happen in the next 10 years. † * Gary Smyth, GM executive director working on global research and development, said he sees little commitment in the U. S. to the necessary infrastructure by 2015. Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Part from all this various other countries and companies have shown immense amount of interest in hydrogen fuel cell Recently Korea and Korean company Hyundai has also announced an hydrogen fuel cell vehicle launch by 2015. So the major companies all around the world and the allied companies are responding really well to the upcoming technology of hydrogen fuel cell and all of them are doing their bit to save the environment. 5 Conclusion:It is very clear from the above assignment that hydrogen fuel cell is the future of the world. It is definitely one of the biggest disruptive technologies of all time. Biggest because, once the technology is commercialized, many big players all around the world will have to change their base of technology. Technology innovation and upcoming technologies are posing threat on the current industry and are eventually forcing companies out of business. New technologies are exerting power to shape the market and change the basis of the competition. Hence, it is import ant for the companies to continuously assess the technologies and capabilities. Disruptive Innovation In order to remain afloat in this ever changing market, companies must have a sound proof strategy. According to Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble and Strickland, a company’s strategy is its action plan for outperforming its competitors and achieving superior profitability. (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble and Strickland p. 4) One well known strategy or theory of many companies is a term called disruptive innovation. Disruptive innovation was coined by Clayton Christensen.It explains the process of a product or service preliminary application initiating from the bottom of the market that replaces an already established product or service. This theory has created a significant impact on management practices in all types of industries. It has created debates of how â€Å"executives and managers are in need of research that will elevate the pursuit of successful innovations from a gut-level, intuition-driven art to something more closely resembling a science based on repeatable processes with predictable results.† (Raynor, p. 27)In doing so, it has also created a sense of conflict between entrants, incumbents and disrupters to see which organization will remain the top supplier. Innovation is always on the top mind for all CEOs. Understanding how to identify disruptive innovations before they become mainstream and take advantage of the ‘†white space† is a skill to cultivate. Disruptive Innovation patterns are always changing and sometimes are very difficult to see because of it’s rapid growth. Similarities; Raynor:Disruption theory can be used to shape existing innovation ideas in ways consistent with the theory's prescriptions. As of now the disruption theory of innovation is the only one with evidence to support the assertion that it can improve predictive accuracy. 1. Used to shape existing innovation ideas in ways consistent with the theory’s prescriptions 2. a particular perspective on innovation – is based on its superi or explanatory and predictive power 3. entrants attacked successful incumbents by adopting the incumbents' models and technological solutions – what he called a â€Å"sustaining† strategy-they tended to fail.However, driven by their desire to grow, the upstart entrants were strongly motivated to improve their initial offerings in ways that would allow them to compete effectively for the larger, more lucrative mainstream markets. This was the entrants' â€Å"upmarket march,† and entrants that marched upmarket successfully eventually captured the customers that had been the incumbents' mainstay. Differences: Whatever ambiguities might remain in making the relevant categorizations (incumbent vs. entrant; sustaining vs. disruptive) the data reveal that overall; disruption theory makes better prediction possible.In contrast, entrants tended to succeed by combining a business model tailored to the needs of a relatively less attractive market – the entrants' foo thold – with an ability to improve their original solutions in ways that allowed them to provide superior performance that incumbents were unable to replicate – the upmarket march In contrast, I make a more limited and modest claim: disruption theory can deliver statistically significant and practically material improvement in the ability to innovate successfully.Christensen and Overdorf 1. ? Difference – Managers lack thinking about their organizations capapbilities as they think about individual peoples capabilities. Pg 68 2. Our research suggests that three factors affect what an organization can and cannot do; its resources, its processes and its values pg 68 3. Differences;or similarities . As companies become large, they lose the ability to enter small emerging markets. Cause by an evolution of values. Pg 70 4.Disruptive innovation can create an entirely new market through the introduction of a new kind of product or service, one that is actually worst. Pg 72 5. Differences: Sustaining innovation are nearly always developed and introduced by established industry leaders. But do not cope well with disruptive innovations. Pg 72 6. Similarity: DI occurs so intermittently that no company has a routine process for handling them. Inconsistent with the company’s value. Disruptive Innovation (1) Catalytic innovation involves the process wherein companies and industries take actions within a particular society to create and enhance social changes on certain issues. It is said that â€Å"catalytic innovations can surpass the status quo by providing good enough solutions to inadequately address social problems. † (Christensen et. al. , 2006, p. 96) (2) One important difference and distinction between disruptive innovation and catalytic innovation is its scope.It has been mentioned that catalytic innovation mainly focuses on the issue of creating societal change. On the other hand, disruptive innovation caters to the creation of alternatives of goods and services. The two are similar due to its efforts to create changes in the status quo and market. â€Å"Catalytic innovations are a subset of disruptive innovations, distinguished by their primary focus on social change, often on a national scale. † (Christensen et. al. , 2006, p. 96)(3)There had been efforts in the health care sector to improve the services they give to ordinary people. This has been manifested by the creation of cutting-edge care facilities, insurance and walk-in clinics that offer cheaper and convenient opportunities for sick individuals. The success has been described by the article in the overall satisfaction gained by such walk-in clinics and the other two facets. One vital component of such success is the degree of patronage by the locals on such ideas.Patronage is one clear indicator of preference and satisfaction compared to the original practices. (4) Microlending involves the process of giving capital to small and medium enterprises to start up their own businesses. Since the creation of microlending facilities, it has spurred growth and development among members of the middle strata of several societies. â€Å"In turn, microlending helps sustain borrowers who are paying back loans and creates an economic environment that attracts other lenders looking to start a new business.† (Christensen et. al. , 2006, p. 96)Such benefits have paved the way for the development of social and economic status. (5) Microlending had a positive impact on KickStart because the initiative provided means and capital for small African farmers to acquire technological innovation and create better lives. By providing capital to these farmers, KickStart products somehow alleviated the way labor and work is done in the farms.In addition, due to microlending mechanisms, KickStart was able to expand its market and continued to target small scale farmers with the pursuit of improving their harvests. (6) Analyzing the article, it can be argued that catalytic innovations fall under the bottom of the technology S-curve due to its capability to create changes in society and alter the status quo. Seeing this, it can be surmised they also have the possibility and potential of ‘segment-zero’ products due to its relative ease and capability to access a mark et not envisioned by the normal competitors. References Christensen, C.M., Bauman, H., Ruggles, R. and Sadtler, T.M. (December 2006) Disruptive Innovation for Social Change in Harvard Business Review. pp. 94 – 101. Disruptive Innovation 1 Introduction This assignment provides the study on Disruptive Innovation using Clayton Christensen’s framework. Apart from this, this assignment also tells how the companies should react to the upcoming technologies and what should be the course of action for the same. 1. 1 Innovation There is no specific definition for innovation as such. But, according to me, innovation is creating something new or changing the old to achieve the competitive advantage and meet the increasing customer demands.This is achieved either by introducing new products, new ideas, and processes or just by changing the design of the product or the processes as per the customer demands. Innovating and creating new products and services has become very important topic of concern for all the organizations in today’s rapidly changing world. If you are not innovative, you may never know when your products become obsolete. 1. 2 Types of Innovation There are three main types of Innovations: Sustainin g innovation: This type of innovation needs to be developed to ensure that the customers are satisfied with the products and services and to stay in the game.For example upgrading the processor from dual core to Intel core i3 to i5 and enhancing the performance of computers. Breakthrough Innovations: These innovations upgrade the level of existing category of products or services. For example I phone was a breakthrough innovation in the world of mobile market. It changed the perspective of the customers and eventually other companies started following the trend. Disruptive Innovation: In this type of innovation a new product or a sevice is introduced that creates a new market or massively alters an old one so that old players cannot compete.They are called disruptive because they disrupt the current behavior of the market. For example Introduction of computers was a disruptive innovation for companies who manufactured typewriters. According to Clayton Christensen Disruptive innovati on offers lower performance initially as per the current market demand. But, at the same time it provides some new attributes which prosper in some different market. After conquering different markets, it eventually displaces the former market. Here we will talk about the hydrogen fuel Cell vehicle a disruptive innovation.How the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will disrupt the market for oil industry, current internal combustion engine manufacturers and many others. At the same time we shall talk about how the companies are responding to this upcoming technology and how are they coping up with the new technology. Before going into the statistic part let us know in brief how the hydrogen fuel cell works, how it is different from internal combustion engine and what the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell are. 2 Hydrogen Fuel Cell a disruptive InnovationA fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts chemical energy into electrical energy. It uses hydrogen and oxygen fro m air to produce electricity. Since no combustion is involved, it does not emit harmful gases and the efficiency of such device is much higher than an internal combustion engine. Apart from this it does not involve any moving part hence making it more silent and reliable source of energy. 2. 1 Working Hydrogen fuel cell consists of two catalysts anode and cathode, and an electrolyte. Hydrogen is fed to anode and oxygen from air is fed to cathode.At anode, catalyst causes hydrogen to split into positively charged ions protons and negatively charged ions electrons. The electrolyte, that is polymer electrolyte membrane allows only positive ion to flow through it. So the protons pass through membrane towards cathode and electrons pass through the external circuit towards the cathode. The flow of electron from the external circuit causes the current and eventually it goes to cathode and combines with positive ion and oxygen to emit water or water vapor. Hydrogen is is a fuel of great pot ential.Thought it is not an energy source, but it is an energy carrier. Hydrogen can be manufactured using renewable energy resources such as wind, solar etc. the research is still on on how to produce hydrogen on a larger scale. Following Figure show the working of a hydrogen Fuel Cell. Figure 1: Working of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell 2. 2 Benefits of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Following are the benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell Zero green house gas Emissions: As water is the byproduct of the fuel cell, the emissions of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur monoxide, etc is not there.Hence, it is a zero emission product. Though some amount of carbon dioxide is produced during manufacturing hydrogen, but research is on to manufacture hydrogen using renewable energy resources. Reduced Air Pollution: As there are no harmful gases emission involved in fuel cell, air pollution will be reduced considerably. Improved efficiency: Fuel cells are more efficient than internal combustion engine. A c onventional combustion egine generates efficiency up to 40% whereas a fuel cell generates efficiency more than 50% and has the potential to reach 85%.Other Benefits: the transportation will be oil independent, since there are no moving part, it is more reliable. 2. 3 Applications Fuel cells have wide range of applications. Following are the applications of a fuel cell: Transportation system: currently oil industry and internal combustion engine dominates the transportation system. But keeping environment and diminishing resources of fuel in mind it is predicted that by 2025 – 2030, hydrogen fuel cell will dominate the transportation sector. Power Generation: Fuel cell can also be used to generate power.It can be stationary power or a portable power. 2. 4 Challenges Following are the challenges that a fuel cell faces today: Cost: Cost of a fuel cell is a major concern right now. Due to expensive materials like platinum is used as a catalyst, the cost of fuel cell shoots up. bu t the research is on and it is most likely that the cost of a fuel cell will come down to $30 – $50/KW for transportation and $1500/KW for stationery power. Storage: Storage of hydrogen is again another concern especially for the transportation system since it has very low density in terms of volume.Research in this area is also going on to store the hydrogen fuel at high pressure. Infrastructure: Again to develop infrastructure for hydrogen is a big challenge cost wise. To develop infrastructure a collaboration will be required between automotive and energy companies. Other challenges include the safety issues to carry hydrogen, Durability of the fuel cell and public acceptance. But research I going on in all the areas and there will definitely be a solution to all the challenges. 3 Clayton Christensen’s Theory of disruptive technologyChristensen developed a framework that could be applied to any market at any point of time so long as the attributes to be measured qua lify for the characteristics presented in his framework. According to Christensen, companies fail because of the following reasons: Companies depend on customers and investors for resources: if the company doesn’t satisfy the customers or the shareholders, it will be difficult for the company to survive Small market cannot provide the growth needed by large companies: Large companies concentrate their efforts where the returns are high and often concentrate where the cost of sales is high.Technology supply exceeds the demand: Rapidly developing technology may often outpace the customer’s needs. When such thing happens opportunity for new entrants develop to enter into the market and come with a new product. Companies with best technology tend to improve the existing product often incrementally. And while focusing on the top end customers, a lower end market remains unserved until a new entrant comes with a potentially disruptive technology. And eventually new market be gins to grow. And once this new market starts gaining the footage, it causes the existing technology to become obsolete.Following graph will help us understand Christensens framework more clearly. Figure 2: Clayton Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology The market is always divided into tiers the higher end market that represents the main customers who buy the product and the lower end market represents the customers who are least to buy the products. And performance is the main criteria by which customers buy the product. Sustaining innovation: As explained earlier, it could be incremental or radical that improves product performance for the main customers.The focus is mainly on improving the performance of the existing products and satisfying the main customers. Disruptive Innovation: It enters in the lower tier of the market with lower cost and attractive value for the lower market customers. Following are the charecteristics of a disruptive technology. * Offers low performance * Targets small market * It is tied with uncertainties * It introduces a new performance criteria in a new dimension * Generally non market leaders introduce such new products in a lower tier market with attributes to benefit lower end market.Moving back to the graph on Christensen’s framework for disruptive innovation, disruptive technology with an innovation enters at point ‘a’ with a lower rate for lower end market. At the same time market leaders are improvising their product using sustaining technologies and satisfying the mainline customers. And when the sustaining technology reaches point ‘b’, it is the peak time for the sustaining technology and after that the market gets saturated. This is the time when the market leaders need to innovate something new and create the new market. After point ‘b’, supply crosses demand.On the other hand, disruptive innovation enters at point ‘a’ satisfies the lower end customers and after improvising it reaches point ‘c’ the main stream customers. At point ‘c’ now, it is very late for sustaining technology to develop a new product for the main stream customers. Here it is very important to distinguish between different types of innovation. Incremental innovation occurs when small improvements are made to products/services. These, basically strengthens the market position of the firm and entrenches the industry. Radical Innovation occurs when major improvements are made to the products/services.These changes require new marketing channels and often put other firms out of competition and at the same time make old technologies obsolete. Transformational innovation occurs when the innovation is of such a nature that it destroys whole industry and changes the nature of the market. So if we have to summarize Christensen’s framework it would be, as the sustaining technology improves along the mainstream customer, disrupt ive technology enters at the lower end market, improvises along the existing dimensions and enters the main stream market.It eventually changes the basis of the competition from functionality to reliability and from reliability to convenience and eventually to price. Now, let’s apply this Christensen’s framework to today’s automotive world that is internal combustion engine as the sustaining technology and the hydrogen fuel cell as the disruptive technology. 3. 1 Comparison of Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology with the Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Technology Let us compare the performance of fuel economy and green house gas emissions of internal combustion engine and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.From the graph, we can agree that internal combustion engine is a sustaining technology incrementally improving its performance. Initially let’s say in 1980’s the fuel economy of a vehicle was around 4-6 km/l of gasoline and now it is around 12-1 5 km/l. green house gas emissions have also reduced by introducing hybrid option. But it is predicted that internal combustion engine will reach the point ‘b’ somewhere by 2015. That is it will reach the saturation level of innovation. Further development in internal combustion engine will result in more of supply than demand.This is the time when people will anticipate the change, and the change of disruptive technology in our case it is hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Initially it keeps emerging and improves the performance in new dimension and tries to attract the main market stream. During the time emergence hydrogen fuel cell through experimentation seeks commercialization. And it is predicted by 2020 it will seek commercialization. Meanwhile, the internal combustion engine will steadily grow beyond the customer demand and will start losing its hold in the main market.In 2020, at point ‘c’, the market is ready to accept high performance vehicle, in terms o f fuel economy. And beyond this point, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle keeps on improving rapidly. This will eventually bring the phase out of an internal combustion engine and forcing it out of the market by 2030 – 2040 completely and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle becoming the base technology. Beyond this it will improve incrementally until the new disruptive comes and phase out the hydrogen fuel cell technology. Green House Gas EmissionGlobal warming is one of the prime reasons fro shifting the paradigm from internal combustion engine to hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Following graph shows the global warming potential of gasoline, flex fuels and hydrogen fuel cell in various stages from manufacturing to the end of life of a vehicle. Figure 3: Global Warming potential comparison of 3 different types of Engine. It is clear from the graph global warming potential that is emission of harmful gases from a fuel cell vehicle is less than a gasoline and the flex fuel vehicle.From the grap h, it is seen that only while production for the fuel of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the emission of harmful gases is high, but it is very less compared to the gasoline and flex fuels. Apart from that, research is also going on for producing hydrogen using renewably resources such as wind, solar and nuclear. 3. 2 Conclusion It is evident that hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is a disruptive technology and will cause a phase out for the internal combustion engine. But when we compare it to the Christensen’s framework, it slightly contradicts.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in literal sense are not targeting the lower market initially. The cost of the product is not low. But all other parameters remain the same. It is focusing on the new dimension and at the same time it is threat to the internal combustion engine world. Apart from this slight difference, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is definitely a disruptive innovation, and will definitely lead to transformation of technologies and will change the basis of competition from fuel economy to green house gas reductions with the environmental pressure. 4 Current ScenarioIf we talk about hydrogen fuel cell in today’s world, it is still an emerging technology which looks solid and promising in terms of fuel economy and reduction in green house gas emission. Research in this particular area is going on all around the world since the global warming level is increasing and the environmental pressure is acting on all the governments. In this scenario, the companies who are already into research in this area will survive and the companies that are still not doing any kind of research or innovation and still trying to improve the sustaining technology might just phase out of the competition.Further we will see cases and findings of various companies in this area including oil industry, automotive industry and the industries related to this huge sector of industries. 4. 1 Oil Industry: Today, the energy sector is run majo rly by oil industry. And majorly oil after refining is consumed by transportation industry. Around 90%of the oil is consumed by the transportation industry, and out of that around 50% of the industry consumes gasoline and the rest is diesel, LPG, Naphtha etc. Major players in this oil industry today are Saudi aramco, shell, BP, Exxon Mobil and chevron.Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)is the major producer of the oil today and has the maximum exports all over the world, then it is followed by other companies. Apart from green house gas emissions and environmental pressure, the increasing rate of oil so frequently gives us an idea that even the oil reserves are diminishing day by day. Now increasing research and development in this area poses threat on oil industry as well. Even the oil industries have started doing research in this area. Basically these companies are doing research on how to produce hydrogen using the existing technologies in large scale.Following are some of the findings of the oil companies in this area. 4. 1. 1 Saudi Aramco (Source: http://www. keei. re. kr/keei/download/seminar/101117/II101118_b02. pdf, www. saudiaramco. com, www. mbifoundation. com/media/18961/final%20bpr. pdf) Following are some of the conclusion made by research and development department of Saudi Aramco. : * H2 production using existing petroleum infrastructure will be a potential economical option compared to other technologies. * Need to integrate the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies along with hydrogen production for efficient carbon management. Alternate hydrogen production technologies, such as electrolysis and renewable sources, have significant technical and economical challenges (energy intensive and high capital). * Significant progress made in the demonstration of liquid hydrocarbons to hydrogen. Apart from this, Saudi Aramco has also filed a patent in US office for the naphtha based fuels which can also be used for vehicular purpose. 4. 1. 2 Shell ( So urce: http://www. shell. com/home/content/environment_society/environment/climate_change/biofuels_alternative_energies_transport/hydrogen/, http://articles. atimes. com and http://www. thelivingmoon. com/41pegasus/02files/Alternate_Fuel_Shell_Oil_Hydrogen. html) Shell had started its research on this topic since 1999 and had anticipated the change in the world of automotive industry and power sector long back. Shell has joined hands with the leading car making companies and power companies and working on this project. Shell is already working in collaboration with Siemens, Toyota, Daimler Chrysler and has reached a long way in this area. It has also opened various hydrogen fuel stations in United States of America, Europe and Asia.And it is offering free fillips at various fueling station just to promote the upcoming technology. Following picture is one of the fueling station in United States of America where hydrogen fueling is provided. Figure 4: Hydrogen fuel Station by Shell 4. 1. 3 BP: (Source: http://www. bp. com) Like Shell, BP is also one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy.In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing. As one of the world's largest energy enterprises, BP has been extensively involved in hydrogen energy demonstration projects around the world to explore feasible solutions to hydrogen economy. In China, BP and PRC Ministry of Science ; Technology have been co-working on a hydrogen energy project to set up China's first hydrogen fueling station in Beijing.Apart from this BP has joined hands with the leading companies like Daimler Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Solarex and working on various projects like fuel efficiency, CO2 management, Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Apar t from the companies all these companies also join their hands with various Universities who help the in doing their research. 4. 1. 4 Exxon Mobil: (Source: http://www. exxonmobil. com, http://www. dutchdailynews. com/air-products-and-exxonmobil-start-up-new-world-scale-hydrogen-production-plant-in-rotterdam/) Exxon Mobil again is not left ehind in the research of hydrogen fuel cell and the production of hydrogen on a large scale. Following are some of the research that Exxon Mobil is working on * It is conducting breakthrough research on Hydrogen Production Technology * It is also trying to improve its existing technology at the same time by continuously improving the efficiency of internal combustion engine and reducing the emission of harmful gases. * On 10th Feb 2012 Air products and Exxon Mobil started a large scale Hydrogen Production Plant in Rotterdam. Apart from this, ExxonMobil is also developing an innovative on-board hydrogen-powered fuel cell system that converts conven tional hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline or diesel into hydrogen for a fuel cell right under a vehicle’s hood. Apart from this there are various other small industries that are into this hydrogen fuel cell research for example Reliance from India is also doing its bit in this area. 4. 2 Automotive Industry We have seen the response and reaction of oil Industry so far, Now let us see the response of automotive industry worldwide.We shall go country wise in this case to know the response of various industries and development in various countries in this specific area. 4. 2. 1 United States Of America: United States of America is spending millions of dollars every year in the research of hydrogen fuel Cell. They have demonstrations with many private companies. Daimler Chrysler Company developed its first fuel cell truck in 2000. The main aim of USA is to make Fuel Cell Vehicle available at an affordable cost. General Motors: General motors one of the oldest companies of USA is planning to get 1000 fuel cell vehicles on road by 2013-2015.Ford Motor Company: Ford is also planning to launch its commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2015. 4. 2. 2 Japan: One can say Japan is the very first to start the research in this area and it is since 1981. It was in Japan in Tokyo electric Company, Toshiba and an American based company fuel cell company manufactured and installed an 11 MW power plant (Source: www. platinummetalsreview. com/pdf/pmr-v33-i1-010-012. pdf). Apart from this the major Japanese automotive companies look promising in terms of Hydrogen uel cell vehicle compared to other companies in the world. Toyota: Toyota has promised in its recent Autocar show that it will start selling the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in USA specifically in California, since by 2015 it is predicted that there will be 68 hydrogen fueling stations in California. (Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-c ar-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Honda: CEO Takanobu Ito just announced that Honda will launch a new fuel-cell electric car in the U.S. and Europe starting in 2015. It will â€Å"showcase further technological advancement and significant cost reduction. † Honda has already been letting consumers test its fleet of FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell cars for a couple of years (Source: http://www. firstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) Nissan: Nissan has also announced its interest in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and has declared that it is ready to mass produce hydrogen fuel cell cars by 2015 (Source: http://www. irstcoastnews. com/news/article/276774/11/Automakers-take-fresh-look-at-hydrogen-fuel-cells) 4. 2. 3 Europe: Europe is not left behind in this research. All the major brands BMW, Mercedes Volkswagen etc have shown interest in hydrogen fuel cell, but at the same time have said hydrogen fuel cell will take at least 10 more year s to commercialize. 4. 2. 4 India: India is the place where we can say Christensen’s framework is applicable perfectly. Here the auto rickshaw for the lower end market has been made using hydrogen fuel cell. t was displayed at pragati maidan in January 2012 and is expected to hit the road by 2015. Source: http://www. nytimes. com/2012/10/02/business/energy-environment/hydrogen-fuels-autorickshaws-and-dreams-of-cleaner-air. html? pagewanted=all&_r=0) Apart from this biggies like TATA Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra have shown interest in this area. Tata Motors have manufactured the bus based on hydrogen fuel cell technology known as starbus. Following figure shows the Auto Rickshaw and the Hydrogen fuel cell BusFigure 5: Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in india Following are some of the comments from various high profile executives from various companies: * Executives from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Volkswagen see fuel-cell vehicles as being further out, and most have not said when they'll have vehicles on the market. * â€Å"We don't see it as early as Toyota does,† said Oliver Schmidt, general manager of engineering with the VW Group. â€Å"We see it in the 2020 time frame. * Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of powertrain engineering, said, â€Å"The question is when (will) fuel-cell vehicles become affordable to customers,† specifically when the fuel-cell stack competes with the battery pack on cost. * â€Å"Within 10 years, I think they will be as affordable as full battery vehicles, and the fuel cell will have a big advantage in range,† Bakaj said. â€Å"We think it will happen in the next 10 years. † * Gary Smyth, GM executive director working on global research and development, said he sees little commitment in the U. S. to the necessary infrastructure by 2015. Source: http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-in-2015/1#. UHFOcE3Mj38) Part from all this various other countries and companies have shown immense amount of interest in hydrogen fuel cell Recently Korea and Korean company Hyundai has also announced an hydrogen fuel cell vehicle launch by 2015. So the major companies all around the world and the allied companies are responding really well to the upcoming technology of hydrogen fuel cell and all of them are doing their bit to save the environment. 5 Conclusion:It is very clear from the above assignment that hydrogen fuel cell is the future of the world. It is definitely one of the biggest disruptive technologies of all time. Biggest because, once the technology is commercialized, many big players all around the world will have to change their base of technology. Technology innovation and upcoming technologies are posing threat on the current industry and are eventually forcing companies out of business. New technologies are exerting power to shape the market and change the basis of the competition. Hence, it is import ant for the companies to continuously assess the technologies and capabilities.