Islamic Unit Study Guide Essay

In Arabic, the word â€Å"Islam† means submission or surrender, it is derived from the root word â€Å"salam† in which you can also derive the root words peace and safety. 2. What is Zamzam? The name of the holy well located in Mecca believed to be revealed when Abraham’s infant son Ishmael kicked the ground desperate for water. Millions of Muslims today drink from the well while performing their pilgrimage to Mecca 3. What is the Ka’bah? One of the most sacred sites in Islam, it is a large marble structure located in the middle of al Masjid al Haram (Sacred Mosque). It’s said to be built by Abraham and his son Ishmael to dedicate to Allah, and also houses the sacred Black Stone. No matter where you are, Muslims supposed to be facing the direction of Kaaba when in prayer. 4. Fully describe the role Abraham played in Islam. Ibrahim is considered to be the father of both Arabs and of Jews according to Muslims. It’s also believed that he is neither a Jew nor a Muslim, but somebody who is a hernif – somebody who essentially and intrinsically knows that there is really only one God. Much of what Islamic tradition is about, along with rituals such as the Hajj – stem from the pre-Islamic era and are translated into Islamic rituals through Ibrahim. The Kaaba was built because God spoke to Ibrahim about constructing a sacred house for God. 5. When was Muhammad born? 570 AD, Mecca 6. What did Muhammad dislike about his birthplace, Mecca? It was filled with idol worship and when he was assigned by God to call people to Islam per God revelation of Quran to him, the disbelievers disliked his views against discrimination. The people of Mecca were steeped in their ways and opposed Muhammad and his small group of followers in every way. 7. Describe the â€Å"Night of Power† and how Muhammad became the Messenger of God. The Lailat ul-Qadr or â€Å"Night of Power† is the night in which the Holy Quran is revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. At the age of 40, while engaged in a meditative retreat, Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad began to recite the words he heard from Gabriel and to preach the truth which God had revealed to him. . What is the â€Å"Night Journey? † Be sure to include in your answer a discussion of Isra and Miraj. The Night Journey starts out with the Isra, where Gabriel presents to Muhammad the heavenly winged steed called the Buraq. With the Buraq, he then journeys to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem where he met and prayed with Prophets Moses, Abraham, Jesus, and John. Gabriel then gives Muhammad the decision to dri nk the wine or milk, Muhammad chooses the milk which fulfills the prophecy. After this, is the Miraj, where Muhammad is ascended into heaven and passes the seven heavenly realms, where he meets God. 9. What is the significance of Medina? It’s considered the first Islamic Republic and is the location of the first Mosque built 10. Describe in detail the Five Pillars of Islam:  · Shahada : It is the declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God’s prophet.  · Salat : The practice of formal worship to Allah  · Zawat :  · Sawm : Arabic word for fasting regulated by Islamic jurisprudence. In the terminology of Islamic law, the observance of sawm during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.  · Hajj : the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is required to make at least once in his life, provided he has enough money and the health to do so 11. Briefly describe the conflict between the Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims. The schism occurred when the Islamic prophet Muhammad died in the year 632, leading to a dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community spread across various parts of the world which led to the Battle of Siffin. Sectarian violence persists to this day from Pakistan to Yemen and is a major element of friction throughout the Middle East. 12. What does â€Å"caliph† mean? The chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of Muhammad. 13. What is an â€Å"Imam? † The title of a Muslim leader or chief 14. Describe in detail the holy writings of Islam:  · Qur’an : the sacred text of Islam, divided into 114 chapters, or suras: revered as the word of God, dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel, and accepted as the foundation of Islamic law, religion, culture, and politics. Hadith : Hadith is the collection of the Prophet Muhammad’s statements and actions coupled with the statements and actions of his companions believed to have been collected 150 years after Muhammad’s death, and it is the basis of jurisprudence for Islamic or Sharia law. Muslims classify hadith in four different categories. The first three categories refer specifically to Muhammad. Awl are the transmissions of Muhammad’s statements, fi’liare the transmission of Muhammad’s deeds or actions, and taqrir are the actions or deeds of the Prophet’s companions or others that Muhammad has approved of. The fourth category of classification is qudsi, which are the Prophet’s words, inspired by Allah, that are not recorded in the Qur’an.  · Sharia : the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia deals with many topics addressed by secular law, including crime, politics, and economics, as well as personal matters such as sexual intercourse, hygiene, diet, prayer, and fasting. Though interpretations of sharia vary between cultures, in its strictest definition it is considered the infallible law of God—as opposed to the human interpretation of the laws 15. Describe in detail the Aqida. Be sure to include the six articles of the faith. 16. Explain the concept of Jihad. Be sure to include the meaning of the word â€Å"Jihad,† and the distinction between â€Å"Lesser Jihad† and â€Å"Greater Jihad. † 17. What is the meaning of the Star and Crescent Moon, the symbol of Islam? The crescent moon and star symbol pre-dates Islam by several thousand years when polytheism was the majority in the Middle East. The crescent and star are often said to be Islamic symbols, but historians say that they were the insignia of the Ottoman Empire, not of Islam as a whole. 8. What is the Aqiqa? Islamic practice of shaving the head of the newborn male and contributing the weight in silver for charity as well as 2 lambs. One lamb is slaughtered for a baby girl. 19. Briefly define the following groups:  · Nation of Islam : an organization composed chiefly of American blacks, advocating the teachings of Islam and originally favoring the se paration of races: members are known as Black Muslims.  · Wahabi : a follower of ? Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792), who stringently opposed all practices not sanctioned by the Koran. The Wahhabis, founded in the 18th century, are the most conservative Muslim group and are today found mainly in Saudi Arabia.   The Twelvers : the largest branch of Shi’ite Islam. Adherents of Twelver Shi’ism are commonly referred to as Twelvers, which is derived from their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the Mahdi will be none other than the returned Twelfth Imam who disappeared and is believed by Twelvers to be in occultation. 20. Define the following terms:  · Arabia Peninsula of southwest Asia between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Politically, it includes Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Arabia has an estimated one third of the world’s oil reserves.  · Allah Islamic word for God  · Ishmael Son of Abraham  · Muslim A believer and follower of the teachings by the Prophet Muhammad  · Mecca City is Saudi Arabia, the religious centre for one of the five pillars of pilgrimage (hajj)  · Abu Bakr One of the close companions of Prophet Muhammad and the first caliph  · Khailifahs Muslim religion leaders or chiefs Mosque Muslim house of worship  · Ramadan The ninth month of the year in the Islamic calendar, a time of fasting.  · Hajj The religious pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam  · Sufism Islamic mysticism  · Ali Cousin and son in law of Prophet Muhammad, a caliph  ·  · Hidden Imam Twelver Shii doctrine holds that the twelfth imam did not die but went into a spiritual form of existence known as occultation, and will retur n at the end of time as a messianic Mahdi to restore justice and equity on earth. The sacred dress of Muslim pilgrims, consisting of two lengths of white cotton, one wrapped around the loins, the other thrown over the left shoulder.  · Kafir Infidel or pagan  · Id Al-Fitr A festival that ends the fast of Ramadan  · Id Al-Adha Commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael  · Sunnah The way of life prescribed by the normative of Islam  · Tawhid Asserting and maintaining the divine unity, Islam’s central doctrine.  · Ummah Means â€Å"the people† in Arabic, it refers to collective community of Islam peoples

Is It Better to Be a Member of a Group Than to Be the Leader?

ESSAY Do you agree with the following statement? It is better to be a member of a group than to be the leader of a group. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. I personally disagree with the statement that it is better to be a member of a group than a leader. It is true that being a member is certainly much more comfortable, as you have less responsibility, and you are not the one who makes the final decisions.Also, some people may be too shy, too reserved or not charismatic enough to become a leader. However, in my opinion, a leader is a member too, but a leader does more. First of all, a leader takes responsibility for making decisions and guiding the others in a certain direction. The second reason is that if you take the responsibility of being the leader, you are more active. Thus, your participation in the group is much more interesting and exciting.You are more concerned about what is happening around you, and you do not just wait for other people to do eve rything. In other words, you are not passive, and you get involved. Finally, if you are a good leader, then the others will respect you, and gaining people’s respect is important if you want to have a good place in society. As a conclusion, I would say that, to me, it is more interesting to be a leader than to be only a member, as it can be so much more stimulating and enriching for your personal and professional life.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham Chapter Sixteen

Jack did not sleep well that night, which left him irritable and out of sorts, so he dispensed with breakfast, where he was sure to run into persons with whom he might be expected to converse, and instead went directly outside for his now customary morning ride. It was one of the finest things about horses – they never expected conversation. He had no idea what he was meant to say to Grace once he saw her again. Lovely kissing you. Wish we'd done more. It was the truth, even if he'd been the one to cut them off. He'd been aching for her all night. He might have to marry this one. Jack stopped cold. Where had that come from? From your conscience, a niggling little voice – probably his conscience – told him. Damn. He really needed to get a better night's sleep. His conscience was never this loud. But could he? Marry her? It was certainly the only way he'd ever be able to bed her. Grace was not the sort of woman one dallied with. It wasn't a question of her birth, although that certainly was a factor. It was just†¦ her. The way she was. Her uncommon dignity, her quiet and sly humor. Marriage. What a curious notion. It wasn't that he'd been avoiding it. It was just that he'd never considered it. He was rarely in one place for long enough to form a lasting attachment. And his income was, by nature of his profession, sporadic. He wouldn't have dreamed of asking a woman to make a life with a highwayman. Except he wasn't a highwayman. Not any longer. The dowager had seen to that. â€Å"Lovely Lucy,† Jack murmured, patting his gelding on the neck before dismounting at the stables. He supposed he ought to give the poor thing a man's name. They'd been together for so long, though. It'd be hard to make the change. â€Å"My longest lasting attachment,† Jack murmured to himself as he walked back to the house. â€Å"Now that's pathetic.† Lucy was a prince, as far as horses went, but still, he was a horse. What did he have to offer Grace? He looked up at Belgrave, looming over him like a stone monster, and almost laughed. A dukedom, possibly. Good Lord, but he didn't want the thing. It was too much. And what if he wasn't the duke? He knew that he was, of course. His parents had been married; he was quite certain of that. But what if there was no proof? What if there had been a church fire? Or a flood? Or mice? Didn't mice nibble at paper? What if a mouse – no, what if an entire legion of mice had chewed through the vicarage register? It could happen. But what did he have to offer her if he was not the duke? Nothing. Nothing at all. A horse named Lucy, and a grandmother who, he was growing increasingly convinced, was the spawn of Satan. He had no skills to speak of – it was difficult to imagine parlaying his talents at highway thievery into any sort of honest employment. And he would not go back into the army. Even if it was respectable, it would take him away from his wife, and wasn't that the entire point? He supposed that Wyndham would pension him off with some cozy little rural property, as far away from Belgrave as possible. He would take it, of course; he'd never been one for misplaced pride. But what did he know about cozy little rural properties? He'd grown up in one but never bothered to pay attention to how it was run. He knew how to muck out a stall and flirt with the maids, but he was quite certain there was more to it than that, if one wanted to make a decent go of it. And then there was Belgrave, still looming over him, still blotting out the sun. Good Lord, if he did not think he could properly manage a small rural property, what the devil would he do with this? Not to mention the dozen or so other holdings in the Wyndham portfolio. The dowager had listed them one night at supper. He couldn't begin to imagine the paperwork he'd be required to review. Mounds of contracts, and ledgers, and proposals, and letters – his brain hurt just thinking of it. And yet, if he did not take the dukedom, if he somehow found a way to stop it all before it engulfed him – what would he have to offer Grace? His stomach was protesting his skipped breakfast, so he made haste up the steps to the castle's entrance and went inside. The hall was quite busy, with servants moving through, carrying out their myriad tasks, and his entrance went mostly unnoticed, which he did not mind. He pulled off his gloves and was rubbing his hands together to warm them back up when he glimpsed Grace at the other end of the hall. He did not think she'd seen him, and he started to go to her, but as he passed one of the drawing rooms, he heard an odd collection of voices and could not contain his curiosity. Pausing, he peeked in. â€Å"Lady Amelia,† he said with surprise. She was standing rather stiffly, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. He could not blame her. He was sure he'd feel tense and pinched if he were engaged to marry Wyndham. He entered the room to greet her. â€Å"I did not realize you had graced us with your lovely presence.† It was then that he noticed Wyndham. He couldn't not, really. The duke was emitting a rather macabre sound. Almost like laughter. Standing next to him was an older gentleman of middling height and paunch. He looked every inch the aristocrat, but his complexion was tanned and wind-worn, hinting at time spent out of doors. Lady Amelia coughed and swallowed, looking rather queasy. â€Å"Er, Father,† she said to the older man, â€Å"may I present Mr. Audley? He is a houseguest at Belgrave. I made his acquaintance the other day when I was here visiting Grace.† â€Å"Where is Grace?† Wyndham said. Something about his tone struck Jack as off, but nonetheless he said, â€Å"Just down the hall, actually. I was walking – â€Å" â€Å"I'm sure you were,† Wyndham snapped, not even looking at him. Then, to Lord Crowland: â€Å"Right. You wished to know my intentions.† Intentions? Jack stepped farther into the room. This could be nothing but interesting. â€Å"This might not be the best time,† Lady Amelia said. â€Å"No,† said Wyndham, his manner uncharacteristically grand. â€Å"This might be our only time.† While Jack was deciding what to make of that, Grace arrived. â€Å"You wished to see me, your grace?† For a moment Wyndham was nonplussed. â€Å"Was I that loud?† Graced motioned back toward the hall. â€Å"The footman heard you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ah yes, footmen abounded at Belgrave. It did make one wonder why the dowager thought she might actually be able to keep the journey to Ireland a secret. But if Wyndham minded, he did not show it. â€Å"Do come in, Miss Eversleigh,† he said, sweeping his arm in welcome. â€Å"You might as well have a seat at this farce.† Jack began to feel uneasy. He did not know his newfound cousin well, nor did he wish to, but this was not his customary behavior. Wyndham was too dramatic, too grand. He was a man pushed to the edge and teetering badly. Jack recognized the signs. He had been there himself. Should he intercede? He could make some sort of inane comment to pierce the tension. It might help, and it would certainly affirm what Wyndham already thought of him – rootless joker, not to be taken seriously. Jack decided to hold his tongue. He watched as Grace entered the room, taking a spot near the window. He was able to catch her eye, but only briefly. She looked just as puzzled as he, and a good deal more concerned. â€Å"I demand to know what is going on,† Lord Crowland said. â€Å"Of course,† Wyndham said. â€Å"How rude of me. Where are my manners?† Jack looked over at Grace. She had her hand over her mouth. â€Å"We've had quite an exciting week at Belgrave,† Wyndham continued. â€Å"Quite beyond my wildest imaginings.† â€Å"Your meaning?† Lord Crowland said curtly. â€Å"Ah, yes. You probably should know – this man, right here† – Thomas flicked a wrist toward Jack – â€Å"is my cousin. He might even be the duke.† He looked at Lord Crowland and shrugged. â€Å"We're not sure.† Silence. And then: â€Å"Oh dear God.† Jack looked sharply over to Lady Amelia. She'd gone white. He could not imagine what she must be thinking. â€Å"The trip to Ireland†¦Ã¢â‚¬  her father was saying. â€Å"Is to determine his legitimacy,† Wyndham confirmed. And then, with a morbidly jolly expression, he continued, â€Å"It's going to be quite a party. Even my grandmother is going.† Jack fought to keep the shock off his face, then looked over at Grace. She, too, was staring at the duke in horror. Lord Crowland's countenance, on the other hand, was nothing but grim. â€Å"We will join you,† he said. Lady Amelia lurched forward. â€Å"Father?† Her father didn't even turn around. â€Å"Stay out of this, Amelia.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"I assure you,† Wyndham cut in, â€Å"we will make our determinations with all possible haste and report back to you immediately.† â€Å"My daughter's future hangs in the balance,† Crowland returned hotly. â€Å"I will be there to examine the papers.† Wyndham's expression grew lethal, and his voice dangerously low. â€Å"Do you think we try to deceive you?† â€Å"I only look out for my daughter's rights.† â€Å"Father, please.† Amelia had come up to Crowland and placed her hand on his sleeve. â€Å"Please, just a moment.† â€Å"I said stay out of this!† her father yelled, and he shook her from his arm with enough force to cause her to stumble. Jack stepped forward to aid her, but Wyndham was there before he could blink. â€Å"Apologize to your daughter,† Wyndham said. Crowland sputtered in confusion. â€Å"What the devil are you talking about?† â€Å"Apologize to her!† Wyndham roared. â€Å"Your grace,† Amelia said, trying to insinuate herself between the two men. â€Å"Please, do not judge my father too harshly. These are exceptional circumstances.† â€Å"No one knows that more clearly than I.† But Wyndham wasn't looking at her as he said it, nor did he remove his eyes from her father's face when he added, â€Å"Apologize to Amelia or I will have you removed from the estate.† And for the first time, Jack admired him. He had already realized that he respected him, but that was not the same thing. Wyndham was a bore, in his humble opinion, but everything he did, every last decision and action – they were for others. It was all for Wyndham – the heritage, not the person. It was impossible not to respect such a man. But this was different. The duke wasn't standing up for his people, he was standing up for one person. It was a far more difficult thing to do. And yet, looking at Wyndham now, he would say that it had come as naturally as breathing. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Lord Crowland finally said, looking as if he was not quite certain what had just happened. â€Å"Amelia, you know I – â€Å" â€Å"I know,† she said, cutting him off. And then finally Jack found himself at center stage. â€Å"Who is this man?† Lord Crowland asked, thrusting an arm in his direction. Jack turned to Wyndham and quirked a brow, allowing him to answer. â€Å"He is the son of my father's elder brother,† Wyndham told Lord Crowland. â€Å"Charles?† Amelia asked. â€Å"John.† Lord Crowland nodded, still directing his questions to Wyndham. â€Å"Are you certain of this?† Thomas only shrugged. â€Å"You may look at the portrait yourself.† â€Å"But his name – â€Å" â€Å"Was Cavendish at birth,† Jack cut in. If he was going to be the subject of the discussion, he would bloody well be given a place in it. â€Å"I went by Cavendish-Audley at school. You may check the records, should you wish.† â€Å"Here?† Crowland asked. â€Å"In Enniskillen. I only came to England after serving in the army.† â€Å"I am satisfied that he is a blood relation,† Wyndham said quietly. â€Å"All that remains is to determine whether he is also one by law.† Jack looked to him in surprise. It was the first time he had publicly acknowledged him aloud as a relative. The earl did not comment. Not directly, at least. He just muttered, â€Å"This is a disaster,† and walked over to the window. And said nothing. Nor did anyone else. And then, in a voice low and furious, came the earl's comment. â€Å"I signed the contract in good faith,† he said, still staring out over the lawn. â€Å"Twenty years ago, I signed the contract.† Still no one spoke. Abruptly, he turned around. â€Å"Do you understand?† he demanded, glaring at Wyndham. â€Å"Your father came to me with his plans, and I agreed to them, believing you to be the rightful heir to the dukedom. She was to be a duchess. A duchess! Do you think I would have signed away my daughter had I known you were nothing but†¦but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But one such as me, Jack wanted to say. But for once it did not seem the time or the place for a light, sly quip. And then Wyndham – Thomas, Jack suddenly decided he wished to call him – stared the earl down and said, â€Å"You may call me Mr. Cavendish, if you so desire. If you think it might help you to accustom yourself to the idea.† It was exactly what Jack would have wanted to say. If he'd been in Thomas's shoes. If he'd thought of it. But the earl was not cowed by the sarcastic rebuke. He glared at Thomas, practically shaking as he hissed, â€Å"I will not allow my daughter to be cheated. If you do not prove to be the right and lawful Duke of Wyndham, you may consider the betrothal null and void.† â€Å"As you wish,† Thomas said curtly. He made no argument, no indication that he might wish to fight for his betrothed. Jack looked over at Lady Amelia, then looked away. There were some things, some emotions, a gentleman could not watch. But when he turned back, he found himself face-to-face with the earl. Her father. And the man's finger was pointed at his chest. â€Å"If that is the case,† he said, â€Å"if you are the Duke of Wyndham, then you will marry her.† It took a great deal to render Jack Audley speechless. This, however, had done it. When he regained his voice, after a rather unattractive choking sound he assumed had come from his throat, he managed the following: â€Å"Oh. No.† â€Å"Oh, you will,† Crowland warned him. â€Å"You will marry her if I have to march you to the altar with my blunderbuss at your back.† â€Å"Father,† Lady Amelia cried out, â€Å"you cannot do this.† Crowland ignored his daughter completely. â€Å"My daughter is betrothed to the Duke of Wyndham, and the Duke of Wyndham she will marry.† â€Å"I am not the Duke of Wyndham,† Jack said, recovering some of his composure. â€Å"Not yet. Perhaps not ever. But I will be present when the truth comes out. And I will make sure she marries the right man.† Jack took his measure. Lord Crowland was not a feeble man, and although he did not exude quite the same haughty power as Wyndham, he clearly knew his worth and his place in society. He would not allow his daughter to be wronged. Jack respected that. If he had a daughter, he supposed he'd do the same. But not, he hoped, at the expense of an innocent man. He looked at Grace. Just for a moment. Fleeting, but he caught the expression in her eyes, the subdued horror at the unfolding scene. He would not give her up. Not for any bloody title, and certainly not to honor someone else's betrothal contract. â€Å"This is madness,† Jack said, looking around the room, unable to believe that he was the only one speaking in his defense. â€Å"I do not even know her.† â€Å"That is hardly a concern,† Crowland said gruffly. â€Å"You are mad,† Jack exclaimed. â€Å"I am not going to marry her.† He looked quickly at Amelia, then wished he hadn't. â€Å"My pardons, my lady,† he practically mumbled. â€Å"It is not personal.† Her head jerked a bit, fast and pained. It wasn't a yes, or a no, but more of a stricken acknowledgment, the sort of motion one made when it was all one was capable of. It ripped Jack straight through his gut. No, he told himself. This is not your responsibility. You do not have to make it right. And all around him, no one said a word in his defense. Grace, he understood, since it was not her position to do so, but by God, what about Wyndham? Didn't he care that Crowland was trying to give his fiancee away? But the duke just stood there, still as a stone, his eyes burning with something Jack could not identify. â€Å"I did not agree to this,† Jack said. â€Å"I signed no contract.† Surely that had to mean something. â€Å"Neither did he,† Crowland responded, with a shrug in Wyndham's direction. â€Å"His father did it.† â€Å"In his name,† Jack fairly yelled. â€Å"That is where you are wrong, Mr. Audley. It did not specify his name at all. My daughter, Amelia Honoria Rose, was to marry the seventh Duke of Wyndham.† â€Å"Really?† This, finally, from Thomas. â€Å"Have you not looked at the papers?† Jack demanded. â€Å"No,† Thomas said simply. â€Å"I never saw the need.† â€Å"Good God,† Jack swore, â€Å"I have fallen in with a band of bloody idiots.† No one contradicted him, he noticed. He looked desperately to Grace, who had to be the one sane member of humanity left in the building. But she would not meet his eyes. That was enough. He had to put an end to this. He stood straight and looked hard into Lord Crowland's face. â€Å"Sir,† he said, â€Å"I will not marry your daughter.† â€Å"Oh, you will.† But this was not said by Crowland. It was Thomas, stalking across the room, his eyes burning with barely contained rage. He did not stop until they were nearly nose-to-nose. â€Å"What did you say?† Jack asked, certain he'd heard incorrectly. From all he had seen, which, admittedly, wasn't much, Thomas rather liked his little fiancee. â€Å"This woman,† Thomas said, motioning back to Amelia, â€Å"has spent her entire life preparing to be the Duchess of Wyndham. I will not permit you to leave her life in shambles.† Around them the room went utterly still. Except for Amelia, who looked ready to crumble. â€Å"Do you understand me?† And Jack†¦Well, he was Jack, and so he simply lifted his brows, and he didn't quite smirk, but he was quite certain that his smile clearly lacked sincerity. He looked Thomas in the eye. â€Å"No.† Thomas said nothing. â€Å"No, I don't understand.† Jack shrugged. â€Å"Sorry.† Thomas looked at him. And then: â€Å"I believe I will kill you.† Lady Amelia let out a shriek and leapt forward, grabbing onto Thomas seconds before he could attack Jack. â€Å"You may steal my life away,† Thomas growled, just barely allowing her to subdue him. â€Å"You may steal my very name, but by God you will not steal hers.† â€Å"She has a name,† Jack said. â€Å"It's Willoughby. And for the love of God, she's the daughter of an earl. She'll find someone else.† â€Å"If you are the Duke of Wyndham,† Thomas said furiously, â€Å"you will honor your commitments.† â€Å"If I'm the Duke of Wyndham, then you can't tell me what to do.† â€Å"Amelia,† Thomas said with deadly calm, â€Å"release my arm.† If anything, she pulled him back. â€Å"I don't think that's a good idea.† Lord Crowland chose that moment to step between them. â€Å"Er, gentlemen, this is all hypothetical at this point. Perhaps we should wait until – â€Å" And then Jack saw his escape. â€Å"I wouldn't be the seventh duke, anyway,† he said. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† Crowland said, as if Jack were some irritant and not the man he was attempting to bludgeon into marrying his daughter. â€Å"I wouldn't.† Jack thought furiously, trying to put together all the details of the family history he'd learned in the past few days. He looked at Thomas. â€Å"Would I? Because your father was the sixth duke. Except he wasn't. Would he have been? If I was?† â€Å"What the devil are you talking about?† Crowland demanded. But Jack saw that Thomas understood his point precisely. And indeed, he said, â€Å"Your father died before his own father. If your parents were married, then you would have inherited upon the fifth duke's death, eliminating my father – and myself – from the succession entirely.† â€Å"Which makes me number six,† Jack said quietly. â€Å"Indeed.† â€Å"Then I am not bound to honor the contract,† Jack declared. â€Å"No court in the land would hold me to it. I doubt they'd do so even if I were the seventh duke.† â€Å"It is not to a legal court you must appeal,† Thomas said, â€Å"but to the court of your own moral responsibility.† â€Å"I did not ask for this,† Jack said. â€Å"Neither,† Thomas said softly, â€Å"did I.† Jack said nothing. His voice felt like it was trapped in his chest, pounding and rumbling and squeezing out the air. The room was growing hot, and his cravat felt tight, and in that moment, as his life was flipping and spiraling out of his control, he knew only one thing for certain. He had to get out. He looked over for Grace, but she'd moved. She was standing now by Amelia, holding her hand. He would not give her up. He could not. For the first time in his life he'd found someone who filled all the empty spaces in his heart. He did not know who he would be, once they went to Ireland and found whatever it was they all thought they were looking for. But whoever he was – duke, highwayman, soldier, rogue – he wanted her by his side. He loved her. He loved her. There were a million reasons he did not deserve her, but he loved her. And he was a selfish bastard, but he was going to marry her. He'd find a way. No matter who he was or what he owned. Maybe he was engaged to Amelia. He probably wasn't smart enough to understand the legalities of it all – certainly not without the contract in hand and someone to translate the legalspeak for him. He would marry Grace. He would. But first he had to go to Ireland. He couldn't marry Grace until he knew what he was, but more than that – he could not marry her until he'd atoned for his sins. And that could only be done in Ireland.

Real world negotiation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Real world negotiation - Assignment Example At the same time, he walked towards the exit threatening to leave. Afraid to lose a sale, Chris called him back and requested him to be patient. Josh offered Chris R.200 for the shoes. However, after much bargaining, the two were approaching an agreement at R.300 for the black shoes. Josh changed his mind almost immediately, claiming that he liked the grey shoes more and would buy them if Chris offered him a free water-bottle. Chris sold him the grey pair of shoes along with the water-bottle for R.300. The â€Å"lowball/ highball† tactic is used to make the other party move towards the resistance point. The tactic is used majorly in business negotiations, where the purchasing party quotes an extremely low price to induce the seller to lower the opening offer. In the above situation, Josh’s asking price was R.200, which was much lower than the seller’s price of R.500. Eventually, the tactic paid off since Josh eventually convinced Chris to sell the shoes to him at R.300.Therefore, this situation fulfills the lowball/highball tactic of negotiation. In this case, an emotional ploy is used to force the other party into bending their will towards the intimidator’s likeness (Ghauri, Pervez and Usunier 90).When used in any negotiation, the intimidator will feign an emotion such as anger to make the other party do what they want out of fear/panic. In this situation, Josh dropped the shoes and threatened to leave the store. The act of anger intimidated Chris, forcing him to call Josh back for a better negotiation. The intimidation tactic worked perfectly for Josh. The â€Å"aggressive behaviour† tactic is used to force the other party to make concessions to reach an agreement (Ghauri, Pervez and Usunier 91). Josh uses this tactic when he notifies Chris that he does not want to waste time, and also when he asks him to explain the high price of R. 500. In this case, the tactic was not helpful as Chris does not bother explaining how he obtained his

Business Plan. Hotel le Bonheur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Plan. Hotel le Bonheur - Essay Example Despite emerging strong on both economic times, liberality has posed several challenges on its policies. One incidence was in the 60s when the cause of disagreement was based on unmarried couples sharing a room, which was not allowed before the challenge. Another challenge that has been faced by Hotel le Bonheur is on payment issues. The Hotel has had customers failing to pay for accommodation while others literally sneaking out of the hotel in the night. Such challenges affected operation hence making the Hotel to collapse in the 80’s. (Cesim n.d). However, that was not the end of Hotel le Bonheur. In the 90’s, the hotel was given out to Ronald Bump, a successful real estate developer. Ronald’s investment in restoring the hotel was successful though he did not run it for long before the wife took over after divorce. Mrs. Bump, the new owner of the business, does not appreciate unprofessional practices hence the reason why there is need for a business plan. Having a plan will allow the management team to be aware of the hotel objectives hence facilitating a smooth running of the business as they encounter the challenge of expanding the business. The Hotel targets to grow its capacity by 120 percent through establishing new operations abroad to be able to accommodate more clients. The hotel will not only go back to the days when it was called Happiness Hotel but will be able to offer the happiness required by clients to be able to come back for more services. (Cesim n.d). Contents Objectives 4 Mission 4 Keys to Success 4 Hotel summary 4 Products and Services 5 Market Analysis Summary 5 Target Market segment strategy 5 Service business analysis 6 Competition and buying patterns 6 Strategy and Implementation Summary 7 Competitive edge 7 Marketing Strategy 8 Sales Strategy 8 Sales forecast 8 Milestones 9 Management Summary 9 Personnel Plan 9 Financial Plan 10 Projected profit and loss 10 References 11 Objectives Hotel le Bonheur has the following objectives in the first three years of operations: 1. Renovate and upgrade the rooms through installing latest interior designs. 2. Increase the capacity of the facility by 120% by the third year. 3. Get a facility manager as a permanent employee to run the logistics of the revived business. 4. Increase the sales returns by provide quality services that will earn referral business on top of the acquired businesses. 5. Venture into international market through channel sales. Mission Hotel le Bonheur will work to ensure clients satisfaction in the most conducive and friendly most environment. Keys to Success 1. Managing and surpassing customer expectation 2. Considering customer’s preferences despite opinions from experts 3. Running everything professionally for customer satisfaction 4. Protecting the client’s welfare at all times Hotel le Bonheur upholds all the keys and will always uphold them in every service they offer both locally and abroad. Hotel summary Hotel le Bonheur is still a local Hotel serving both leisure and business travelers (Casapart 2013). Established in the 20’s, the hotel has had both its good moments and worst moments. The worst moments of all was majorly due to poor operation procedures that made clients fail to pay for services hence making the Hotel to collapse in the 80s. Mrs. Bump, a former wife to Mr. Ronald Bump, bought it out in the 90 owns the Hotel. The Hotel specializes in accommodation and catering. It has a base of permanently employ ees and the rest are temporary. Hotel le Bonheur shares are traded at a small over the counter market price. The business is planning to venture into the international market as well as increase its market shares through the new management team. Products and Serv

Business Analytics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Analytics - Coursework Example From SPSS’s output on table 1 under Appendix A, the number of respondents that took part in the survey are 332 using varying scales to code their responses. For the word of mouth (WOM), the minimum and maximum values for testing included 1 and 7 respectively while that of trust and attitude was 1 & 7 and 1 & 9 respectively. However, for the age and monthly income, it shows that the minimum age of the participants was 18 years and the maximum was 72 years while the minimum and maximum monthly income was 400 and 10000 respectively. The mean for word of mouth, trust, and attitude is 3.34, 3.35, and 5.12 respectively indicating that the responses were not skewed to the left or the right. This situation shows that respondents showed almost equal distribution around very high and very low account of WOM, trust, and attitudes. The mean age for the respondents was 35.10 year coupled with a standard deviation from the mean of  ±13.898 (14 years). Lastly, the mean and standard deviati on from the mean for monthly income for the respondents is $1893.07 and $1355.696 respectively. With relation to regression analysis, table 3 under Appendix B shows the r-squared value of 0.183 with an adjusted value of 0.170. This means that monthly income, trust, age, attitude, and word of mouth have a low correlation of 18.3% with an adjusted correlation of 17%. Under R-Squared, this values show that the benchmark expectation and the output do not correlate effectively and therefore, the tested variables do not move in the same direction do not respond to the benchmark values (see full SPSS output under Appendix B). The interpretation of the output considered the regressions predictor which shows the differences in response per unit. The total responses and the respondents are 332 which in relation to the output, the constant shows the valid number of responses. This, in addition,

Supplier Evaluation Processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Supplier Evaluation Processes - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that in order to improve the management of wider supply chains, academic writers have suggested a number of new and modified managerial practices and tools, which a multitude of practitioners are implementing. Further suggestions by numerous authors point out that previous performance measurements which solely focused on internal factors now need broad and drastic changes otherwise they might limit the possibility of optimizing dyadic relations or rather the supply chain of every organization. Ideally, investigating how performance information travels between the evaluating supplier and the evaluated buyer and how the shaping, as well as reshaping of information in the evaluation process, is imperative. Relying on longitudinal and multiple case researches as the methodology to obtain findings, this essay will bring out the practical implications, originality, and value of evaluation of performance measurement in a supply chain. Several studie s brought forward that studies based on the development of systems aimed at addressing performance measurement outside legal company boundaries are three in classification. They are supply chain evaluation, buyer-supplier relationship evaluation, and supplier evaluation. Technical rationale particularly applied by econometrics tends to dominate in cases where improved systems and measures align with the strategies set by an organization. Additionally, this dominance goes ahead to appear in other areas where the set systems align strategically with optimum performance measurement as well as in areas where it results in improved performance especially in the activities measured.

SWOT Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SWOT - Term Paper Example These propel its service provisions to its customers. 2) It lacks of diversification and product differentiation. The company operates mostly in the United States where it is majorly based. Local retailers acquired its stores both in Europe and in the Middle East including Australia. 1) The company has greater prospects of growth since customers are highly willing to make online orders and purchases. The company is among the first to install online operation programs for its customers hence prospects of growth since they offer this opportunity to a wide client base. 3) The ever-increasing expenditure on general consumer products and services. BBB operates many retail outlets and the revenue from the outlets summed up contributes significantly to the firm’s total revenue. 1) The constantly increasing attention of the government toward the environmental practices and issues of companies and how they handle such issues. One should bear in mind that BBB Corporation already had trouble with watchdog because of its poor waste management procedures. 4) The constant and consistent technological improvement in the management of business operations where tasks are to a very small extent handled manually, most operations are mechanized hence efficiency and effectiveness. Internal analysis involves a keen analysis of the major functions of the organization, its abilities as compared to those of the competitors. In its efforts to achieve competitive edge and marketability of its operations, BBB has decided to modernize its operations (www.newyork.bbb.org/). These are conducted in its efforts to encourage and support best market practices while celebrating being a model given it is one among the few to initiate online transactions. BBB operates its internal operations based on trust and this has enabled it earn accreditations, awards which not any other company is eligible for in the United States. The internal cores and operations of BBB are

Internet, software piracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internet, software piracy - Essay Example He has been induced to look at the ad offering instead of carrying on his normal surfing activity. The normal trajectory of events has been affected. THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS There are many ethical dilemmas associated with advertising on the Web. One group of advocates wanted to keep the Web free of advertising, but it’s too late for that now. Secondly, you will notice that most if not all activity on the web is about selling products and services anyway (www.ehow.com). As to whether or not it would be a correct practice to use an ad on a page to index that page in a search, I think that it would be very unethical especially if the ad pertained to one of your clients who had agreed to advertise on that page. Proper permission needs to be taken from clients before using their ads in such a manner. The client would not think of you very highly because he has paid you to put his ad on that page in the hopes of generating business for him, not you. It shows lack o f professionalism on your part. In any case, if the client removed the ad from the web page at some later date, it would mean that the link would have to go too. Now about web page authors who add invisible tags to increase the visibility of their page in search results, you can do this be inputting the following code in HTML: TextHere. There is a debate going on as to whether this is a good practice or whether it can be harmful for PR and Google rankings, SEO etc. Some say it causes no harm while others opine it can affect your ranking adversely. One example I have found on the Internet is at the site http://stommepoes.jobva.nl/guis2.html. One way to hide the link is to give it the same color as the background. References Torrie, C. How to Advertise on the Internet successfully. Accessed on 21 April 2011 at

Southwest Airlines Essay Example for Free

Southwest Airlines Essay Southwest Airlines (SA) was founded in 1971 after a careful market analysis. Its founders believed in a low cost strategy. Through the Wright Amendment, which not only prohibited any air carrier from offering direct service into Love Field from any place beyond Texas and the four contiguous states of Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico, but also made more difficult the life of passengers coming from outside theses states and forbid the advertising to flights coming from Love Field, the competition made SA adopt a differentiation strategy. Which factors became crucial to the success of this company since its beginning? SA chose airports that were underutilized but were close to metropolitan areas. There was a main reason for the Aircraft choice, and its entire fleet of Boeing 737’s. It was a fuel-efficient fleet, and standardized, making the maintenance easier. Low cost fares, frequent and on-time flights, 15-minute gate turnarounds, high aircraft use and point-to-point routes gave them great advantage over their direct competitors (Continental Airlines, American or United Airlines). SA also chose to fly to secondary airports and not to have connections with other airline companies. With the increasing success of SA, its competitors started to try to replicate SA’s strategy. But the cost structure was not what gave SA the main competitive advantage in the market. The most important attribute was the human capital and the work environment where workers performed their tasks. SA’s Human Resources Department, called â€Å"The People Department†, had a huge impact on employees and on their way of working. â€Å"Employees are the Customer† of the Department. The following statement explains what the company’s philosophy was: â€Å"By recognizing that our people are the competitive advantage, we deliver resources and services to prepare our people to be winners, to support the growth and profitability of the company, while preserving the values and special culture of SA†. To provide work quality, employees had to be satisfied and happy with their jobs. Thus, the image and attitude that the crew showed to passengers would be welcomed. They would be more attentive to the passengers’ needs and consequently increasing their confidence to continue to choose SA as their preferred airline. Consequently, the corporation recorded a low number of complaints showing its notable performance. All employees were aware of their importance within the company to achieve the main objective, which was customer orientation/satisfaction. But they had other functions inside the company. Employees were also called for decision-making process, for the recruitment process, to give opinions about SA’s strategy. As such, not everyone entered SA’s workforce. After a long and complex process of selection and interviews, those chosen had the characteristics that would fit SA’s culture better. Once inside the company, they turned into company’s real assets, they became part of SA family. It was the main objective for each employee to make SA a successful company over time. Once SAs success was achieved rapidly, the major competitors implemented the same strategy, adapting it to their business environment. However, they noticed that they did not achieve the outlined goals. The most obvious explanation was the existence of cultural differences within each company. Their employees, the way they were organized and the vision that each one had was also different. Here SA had full advantage. It was not only the first move advantage in its strategy but also the fact that its employees found themselves working on and to their family. As I believe the main competitive advantage of SA relies on its unique organizational competence, I do not consider any of the above reasons a serious competitive threat for SA. However, SA should not rely on past successes and ignore its competitors. SA should always be looking back to its history and business lessons in order to remain an industry leader through supporting its culture and maintaining the focus on the people, even when and after Kelleher leaves the company.

Literature Review Of Load Shedding Methods

Literature Review Of Load Shedding Methods In chapter 1, a brief discussion about active distribution networks was presented. The importance of operation of islanded distribution networks was discussed. This chapter is intended to give the reader a better understanding of the load shedding methods currently applied and proposed over the years. However, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with basic power system engineering. In section 2.2, the area of probability of islanding and the need for load shedding is discussed. To achieve this objective, existing load shedding methods are reviewed to understand their working principle, requirements, advantages and limitations. The main categories identified are the following (i) Manual / SCADA Load Shedding (ii) Load Shedding using thresholds, (iii) Adaptive Load Shedding, (iv) Intelligent Load Shedding and (v) Load Shedding Based on Static Optimisation which are described and discussed in sections 2.2 through 2.7 respectively. Finally a summary is given in section 2.8 from which a new load shedding method for an islanded distribution network able to address the limitations of existing methods will be proposed. probability of islanding There is by now a considerable amount of literature on load shedding. That most of the literature however deals with large interconnected systems. For smaller systems when a loss of mains / grid event occurs the islanded distribution network have different operating characteristics and restrictions that require different load shedding guidelines. These are due to the low inertia of the distributed generators, the limited spinning reserve and limited communication systems [0] [0]. Load shedding is a practice used power system and serves as a function to try to arrest any frequency or voltage drop when a fault isolating part of the distribution network occurs. Faults in power systems are inevitable, for various reasons such as adverse weather conditions, ageing and failure of equipment, accident, and animal contact. In general, faults happen when an abnormal physical contact occurs between lines or on lines to earth that create a short-circuit path. If the system is not well protected, the high fault current due to the short-circuit path can cause damage to the equipment in the system. Faults also affect the reliability and quality of the power supply, leading to power interruption by frequency and voltage collapse and voltage sag events. Regardless of the interruption period, the losses are often enormous both to the customers and power utility companies. There are two types of fault, determined by the physical nature of the short-circuit path: temporary or permanent. Common causes of temporary faults on overhead lines are lightning strike resulting in a flashover of the insulator; bird or animal contact; and momentary contact due to wind or trees. Faults caused by these events exist for a very short period of time. On the other hand, a permanent fault remains in the system until the short-circuit path is removed. Common causes of permanent faults in power system networks are cable insulation failure, objects falling on the overhead lines, dirt on insulators and lines falling to the ground. When faults occur, a protection device operates to isolate the faulty line from the rest of the system (loss of mains / grid). The generators designated to provide voltage and frequency control will respond to control the island voltage and frequency. In order to achieve smooth transition to island operation, the generators must firstly ride through the fault or failure and secondly act to balance the active and reactive power in the islanded network. With a carefully designed load shedding method the operation of the islanded distribution network might be possible. It is important however that the design of the load shedding method is designed on the understanding of the characteristics of the system involved, including system topology and dynamic characteristics of its generation and load. A poorly design method may be ineffective and eventually lead to total customer interruption. Over the years, however, utility experience and extensive studies on a number of systems have resulted in different methods guidelines. In the following section, principles and guidelines for load shedding methods are reviewed. manual / SCada Load Shedding Manual or operator initiated load shedding [0] is not a reliable method to be used to avoid frequency deviation. However it can be used by some utilities to manually shed load or open ties (interconnectors) with adjacent areas at a frequencies below automatic underfrequency thresholds. This type of action might be necessary to prevent any further frequency deviation and to recover the frequency back to the nominal value. This load shedding scheme cannot be used for the islanded distribution network as it will be very slow as the frequency and voltage in the network will collapse within few seconds making it impossible for the operator to decide the correct defence action required for safe operation. automatic Load Shedding using thresholds An automatic load shedding for transmission system using different schemes such as underfrequency, undervoltage and combinations of the two can be employed to avoid frequency or voltage collapse during a significant imbalance between generation and load. These types of load shedding methods are very dependant on off line studies of the systems dynamic performance and only consider the greatest probable imbalance between generation and load. These methods have to be coordinated with the protections of the generating units, shunt capacitors and other automatic actions that occur in the system during frequency and voltage variations. Underfrequency load Shedding The underfrequency load shedding scheme as explained in the following papers [0] [0] uses relays detecting the systems frequency. These are designed to operate on the instantaneous frequency value where they trip when the frequency drops below the set point of the relay. The shedding is accomplished in the systems distribution or transmission stations where major load feeders can be controlled by tripping of the circuit breakers (CB) automatically. Different settings can be applied in these load shedding schemes. Multiple stages can be used in the scheme [0]. The substation loads can prioritised and grouped according to the importance of the load. The relays can be set to control one or more groups of loads and when there is a frequency drop these can be disconnected sequentially where the group with the highest probability being disconnected the last. Each group disconnected should contribute to the system rate of change of frequency decline. If the load to be disconnected is small compared to the overall imbalance then the contribution will be insignificant and would cause further problems to the systems frequency decline. Another setting usual for this type of scheme is the time delay [0]. The time may can be required and used usually to avoid any frequency transient dips that could arise in the system. The time delay also avoids unnecessary load shedding by allowing the load / frequency controls in the system to respond to the frequency deviation. However load shedding performed with long time delays should be set appropriately as it will make the system more vulnerable to system stability if eventually load shedding is required. This method will work adequate in a situation where the system frequency decline is slow. For example, as discussed in [0], in the UK as stated in the NationalGrids GridCode each transmission area has to disconnect a defined percentage of the peak Demand that each Network Operator whose system is connected to the GB Transmission System shall disconnect by low frequency relays at a range of frequencies. The defined frequencies and the amount of loads are given in Table 1 -1. Table 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1: Load Shedding Scheme employed in the UK Frequency (Hz) % Demand disconnection for each Network Operator in Transmission Area NGET SPT SHETL 48.8 5 48.75 5 48.7 10 48.6 7.5 10 48.5 7.5 10 48.4 7.5 10 10 48.3 48.2 7.5 10 10 48.0 5 10 10 47.8 5 Total % Demand 60 40 40 The percentages in Table 1 -1 are cumulative such that, for example, should the frequency fall to 48.6 Hz in the NGET Transmission Area, 27.5% of the total Demand connected to the GB Transmission System in the NGET Transmission Area shall be disconnected by the action of low frequency relays. A significant drawback of this method is that the systems frequency must be already be low before the relay can operate which can delay the load shedding action and the frequency recovery of the system. Additionally these types of schemes usually shed more than the required amount of load. Undervoltage load Shedding Undrevoltage load shedding method has been successfully deployed in transmission systems to protect them from voltage collapse [0] [0]. System studies are required to determine which systems are potential candidates for suitable the undervoltage load shedding method. This method is most useful in slow decaying systems where the undervoltage load shedding relay time relays can coordinated accordingly and operate to alleviate the system from overload conditions and low voltages. Voltage collapse can be studied using steady state simulations for the identified areas using a power flow analysis. System planning engineers conduct numerous studies using P-V and Q-V as well as other analytical methods to determine the amount of load required to be shed to preserve voltage stability under different disturbances. Dynamic simulations can then determine the speed of the collapse and load shedding settings. An example as discussed in [0] in the US in the Puget Sound area, which is prone to voltage collapse has been studied. The voltage trip thresholds were determined from the results of steady state simulations of worst contingencies. The time delays for the relays were coordinated to address control actions of the automatic capacitor switching, generator limits, on load tap changing transformer using dynamic simulations. Table 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2: Load Shedding Scheme employed in the US Voltage (pu) Time delay (s) % Demand disconnection for Network Operator in Transmission Area 0.90 3.5 5 0.92 5.0 5 0.92 8.0 5 When the monitored bus voltages fall to 0.90 pu or lower for a minimum of 3.5 s then 5% of the load is disconnected. Additionally another 5% of load disconnection should occur when the voltage falls to 0.92 pu or lower for 5.0 s. There limitation associated with proper application of undervoltage load shedding is the location of its application.to where the relaying may be appropriately applied. If it is placed on a distribution line the effects of auto tap changers mask a system overload condition from the relay, or alternatively a line switching operation or the startup of a large industrial plant on one feeder could fool the relay. The relay would not be appropriate at locations directly adjacent to generation powerful enough to control bus voltages even during severe overloads. The relay is best applied to locations with fairly stiff voltages under all normal conditions, so a low voltage condition will reliably indicate a severe overload condition, as may be assumed to be the case at large substations associated with bulk power transmission lines and therefore this method cannot be effectively applied in islanded distribution networks where DG unit power and load demand varies. combination load Shedding In order to increase the security of the above discussed methods for underfrequency load shedding the relay could be set up to supervise the voltage, the current or the rate of change of frequency. According to their combined settings, the relay could either be blocked or initiate tripping of the CB to avoid any misoperations. One combination load shedding scheme is to use an underfrequency load shedding relay with voltage supervision. Basically the operation procedure of load shedding is blocked from operating unless the voltage is below a given threshold. The underfrequency relay will be able to trip the CB as long as the bus voltage it is monitoring is lower than a set point. Another combination is to use current supervision instead of the voltage. The purpose of the current supervision is to select which feeders to trip. This can achieved by monitoring which feeders are loaded above a certain point and then the relay will initiate the load shedding signal. An alternative is to use the rate of change of frequency for supervision [0] [0]. During a disturbance the supervision of the rate of change of frequency can block the tripping for very fast frequency changes but would allow for typical frequency decay rates. Also instead of measuring the instantaneous rate of change of frequency supervision is to use the frequency change trend. In other words by monitoring the average rate of frequency change will provide a more secure decision for tripping during disturbances. The load shedding decision of the scheme is made by monitoring the frequency change over a specified amount of time usually few hundred milli seconds. Therefore making the operation of the relay slower than the ones employing the rate of change of frequency. automatic ADAPTIve Load Shedding Adaptive control involves updating the amount of load to shed used by the method to cope with the fact that the conditions such as the power imbalance between generation and load of the system are time-varying or uncertain. It is important in these circumstances to minimise consumer disruption through proper design of the load shedding arrangements. An adaptive load shedding, is based on the relays reacting to a disturbance either by being instructed the amount to shed or by having certain defined criteria based on the rate of change of frequency. Anderson and Mirteydar in [0] present an adaptive methodology for setting of underfrequency relays that is based on the initial rate of change of frequency at the relay. The frequency performance of the islanded is represented by a linear system frequency response as shown in Figure 1 -1 and presented in more detail in the literature in [0]. Figure 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1: Simplified frequency response with disturbance input where: H = inertia constant (s) FH = fraction of total power generated by HP turbine TR = reheat time constant (s) Km = mechanical power gain factor R = droop characteristic (pu) D = damping factor Clearly the only observed quantity that gives any clue as to the size of the disturbance is the initial slope of frequency decline. The use of the initial slope to estimate the magnitude of the disturbance requires that every substation in the island will observe slightly different slopes and will therefore shed load based on different estimates of the disturbance. However on average the system as a whole will shed approximately the correct amount of load. To set the parameters for the relays as explained they are based on a simulation of the frequency response for the system. In the example given (H = 3.5 s, FH = 0.3, TR = 8.0 s, Km = 0.85, R = 0.06 and D = 1) the evaluation of the frequency and its slope against different amounts of disturbances are given in Table 1 -3. Table 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ3: Initial Slope and Maximum Deviation vs Upset (frequency nominal 60 Hz) Pstep df/df ΆÃƒ Ã¢â‚¬ °max fmin pu pu/s Hz/s Hz Hz -0.2 -0.0286 -1.7143 -1.6438 58.356 -0.3648 -0.0521 -3.1260 -3.0000 57.000 -0.4 -0.0571 -3.4286 -3.2876 56.712 -0.6 -0.0857 -5.1429 -4.9313 55.069 -0.8 -0.1143 -6.8571 -6.5751 53.425 -1.0 -0.1429 -8.5714 -8.2189 51.781 The lowest frequency permitted in the system is 57 Hz from the nominal 60 Hz. Therefore when a magnitude greater than -0.0521 pu/s is observed load shedding must be triggered. This method relies on the fact that the amount of load shedding is a function of only the inertia constant and the observed slope. The inertia constant is the rotating kinetic energy of all units in the island divided by the total connected volt ampere rating of the units. This parameter has to be estimated. Therefore, the initial slope is the only unknown. The load shedding amount is computed in per unit, which makes it easy to apply to every load and to every load shedding relay. A positive is that communication is not required between relays and the boundaries of the island are not required to be known. However the drawbacks are that if it is applied for the islanding application of islanded networks this might not be possible as the method needs good estimates of the inertia of the system D, R, TR, Km and FH. This can significantly change with the varying DG units and loads in the distribution network. Another adaptive load shedding method presented by Terzija in [0] uses similarly as the previous method a variation of the typical swing equation. Due to the dynamic responses of turbines, governors, other control actions, spinning reserve, loads are not taken in account in the calculation of the required amount of load to be shed as given in . Where H is the inertia constants and assumed to be known in advance to the disturbance. The adaptive approach is based on real time estimation of fc (frequency of equivalent inertial centre) which is proposed to be calculated centrally by measuring the local frequencies at each generator. The proposed method assumes that the time constants in the power system are large and with modern communication this method would be possible for big power systems. However in distribution networks communication is believed not to change drastically in the near future making this application difficult to implement. This is because the estimation and control information are evaluated after the disturbance occurred. Van Cutsem and Otomega proposed a method in [0] which relies on a set of load shedding controllers distributed over the region susceptible to voltage instability. Each controller monitors the bus voltage and act on a set of loads located at that bus. Each controller acts when its monitored voltage falls below some threshold and trips at different time according the severity of the drop. The action can be repeated until the voltage is above the threshold voltage. The principle of operation of the controller is described as follows. The delay à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ depends on the time evolution of V as follows. A block of load is shed at a time t0 + à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ such that: where C is a constant to be adjusted. This control law yields an inverse-time characteristic: the deeper the voltage drops, the less time it takes to reach the value C and, hence, the faster the shedding. The larger C, the more time it takes for the integral to reach this value and hence, the slower the action. Furthermore, the delay is lower bounded: to prevent the controller from reacting on a nearby fault. Indeed, in normal situations time must be left for the protections to clear the fault and the voltage to recover to normal values. Similarly, the amount ΆPsh of power shed at time t0 + à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ depends on the time evolution of V through where K is another constant to be adjusted, and ΆVav is the average voltage drop over the [t0, t0 + à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾]interval, i.e., Moreover, the whole system will tend to shed first where voltages drop the most. This location changes with the disturbance. Hence, the proposed scheme automatically adjusts the shedding location to the disturbance it faces. Note that the above features are achieved without resorting to a dedicated communication network. The controllers do not exchange information, but are rather informed of their respective actions through the power system itself. The drawback for this method for distribution network is that the tuning which consists of choosing the best values for Vth, C and K. A C and K combination suitable can be identified by minimising the total load shedding over all disturbance scenarios. Clearly this method would shed more loads for some scenarios. An additional concern is that the dynamic performance of the DG units and loads is not taken in account when performing load shedding if applied to the islanded distribution network and by trying to shed in steps the frequency drop in the network might drop significantly. automatic Intelligent Load Shedding Applications of intelligent load shedding in power system engineering (e.g. genetic algorithms, artificial neural networks, MonteCarlo etc.) have been demonstrated in [0] [0]. The characteristics which are inherent to intelligent methods, such as the ability to learn and generalization make it feasible for applications such as load shedding. You et al. in [0] discuss of a method that uses the rate of change of frequency to load shed. The method uses the same approach to calculate the required amount of load as in [0] and at the same time, the conventional load shedding method with undefrequency thresholds is incorporated to form a new two level load shedding method. The conventional load shedding method has longer time delays and lower frequency thresholds which can be used to prevent unnecessary load shedding in response to small disturbances. If the disturbance is large, the second layer will be activated and a block signal to the first layer is enabled. The second layer based on the rate of change of frequency load shedding will shed more load quickly at the early stage of the disturbance. Similarly as to paper [0], this method will have the same limitations when applied to the islanded distribution network. In the paper [0] which follows this study, the explanation of the selection of the settings for the relays is discussed. Agent technology is to try to assure that the method will withstand all possible disturbances. Traditionally after a major disturbance, the system is revisited and settings of devices and control actions are changed so that the system will withstand the same disturbance in the future. This however due to analysis of the system significant time and cost will be required. For the autonomous and adaptive learning capability for the agents, the reinforcement learning technique is used. Reinforcement learning is learning by interaction. The agent tries actions on its environment and then, the tendencies of taking particular actions are reinforced by receiving scalar evaluations of its actions. Thus determining the amount of load to be shed required to avoid collapse. The paper does not discuss whether the technique is applied online or offline through simulation. Clearly for the online this would not be ideal as it will take a lot of number of failures until the agents are properly set for that particular disturbance. For the offline simulation a concern is that for islanded distribution networks the topology, DG unit power and load demand will change thus making the decision of the action of the agents is difficult to train. Another concern is communication between agents. Fast communication would be required for coordinated decisions. Another approach to load shedding is the use of fuzzy expert system and is described in [0]. In this paper Sallam and Khafaga described a method to control the voltage instability by load shedding using fuzzy technique as fuzzy controller. The operation of the method relies on the experts knowledge which is expressed by language containing ambiguous or fuzzy description. The aim of this study is to design and analyse a fuzzy controller for the study to control against load and voltage instability by calculating the optimum load shedding as output. Similarly in [0] the authors propose genetic algorithms for the optimum selection of load shedding. These techniques search and optimise the amount of load shedding using objectives and constrains required for a practical load shedding method. Also in [0] the authors introduce another technique using the artificial neural networks is presented. To prepare the training data set for the artificial neural network, transient stability analysis of the power system is required and to find the minimum load shedding for various scenarios. By selecting the total power generation, total load demand and frequency decay rate as the input neurons for the method, the minimum of load shedding is determined to maintain the stability of the power system. In paper [0] Thalassinakis and Dialynas introduce a computational method using MonteCarlo simulation approach for the calculation of the settings of the underfrequency load shedding relays is discussed. The frequency performance as previously discussed in section 1.5 is used here as well. The strategy for the relay settings will be determined against amount of load to shed, time delay, rate of change of frequency and underfrequency level. A new strategy is developed by changing these settings. The MonteCarlo then computes the system through reliability indices of generating units, the system frequency and load shedding indices. load shedding based on static optimisation The first theory of applying load shedding using an on line dynamic simulation of the power system network was introduced by La Scala et al. [0]. Followed by an improvement of the method combing a control action to ensure angle and voltage stability enhancement in [0]. The first paper that introduced the same concept applied for large power systems to the smaller distribution network is described in [0] by Nelson and Aponte. A more recent study using similar technique is also presented in [0]. The paper presented in [0] describes the philosophy and the implementation of a preventive load shedding control algorithm for the application in dynamic security assessment. The methodology is based on nonlinear programming techniques, for assessing control actions to guarantee the dynamic security of power systems. The basic idea is that the online dynamic preventive control can be seen as a static optimisation problem with minimising function and equality and inequality constrains. The equality constrains consist in the discretisation at each time step of the differential algebraic set of equations representing the power system. The inequality constrains define a domain where the system trajectories should be contained in order to satisfy the requirements for the system performance stability and steady state voltage dips. In [0] the formulation includes corrective actions based on load shedding. The proposed method assumes that the analysis is performed to detect particular disturbances threatening the dynamic security of the system. The analysis is based suing the n-1 rule which is performed in advanced and applying the results immediately after the detected contingency. Each analysis has its associated strategies consisting with the corresponding amount of load to be shed at a fixed number of controlled nodes. The optimisation however is evaluated based on the steady state values of angle, voltage and active power (generator and load). Load shedding based on static optimisation performs load flow to calculate the initial P, V for all the nodes in the system. Then the method performs a transient simulation assessment to ensure the system is stable against angle and voltage. Followed by an approach to the minimisation of a function in presence of equality and inequality constrains consist in incorpora ting the inequalities in the cost function by adopting the penalty factor method and treating the whole problem as a minimisation in presence of the sole equality constrains by the use of Lagrange multipliers. This method has been used for synchronous generators in transmission systems. However in distribution networks because of the diversity of the generators and their ride through capability this approach could result in conditions where optimised solutions do not meet the requirements as shown in Figure 1 -2 [0]. Figure 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2: Ride through capability of Generating Unit, DC Converter or Power Park Modules. Explanation of graph required. Each Generating Unit, DC Converter or Power Park Module shall remain transiently stable and connected to the system without tripping. However for small generating units connected in the distribution network their transient behaviour could be as shown in Figure 1 -2 b and c where local protection and circuit breaker operation of generators or sensitive equipment will be disconnected after such a response. Similar to the voltage is for the frequency range. Therefore the load flow with corrective control for angle and voltage stability approach for the load shedding optimisation is not appropriate for distribution networks. In [0] and [0] describe of a method implemented in distribution networks where not only the amount of load shedding is optimised but also the time for the disconnection. The current trend is to apply the corrective measures as soon as possible or delayed for the sake of event discrimination. The study and results however show that when the corrective action is applied at the optimal time increased damping and enhanced response are observed. summary The use of load shedding as a tool to keep the network stable has been constantly evolving, and different approaches have been formulated. Relaying schemes like underfrequency and ROCOF [0] [0] are some examples of the mechanisms implemented to trigger a load shedding event. Typical load shedding schemes based on predefined threshold set points is quick, simple and reliable measure against system disturbance. When the frequency of the system reaches a specified threshold value, a time delay is inserted prior to the shedding action in order to avoid overshedding and assist the coordination of the next stage of load shedding action. This technique however when adopted for the islanded operation of small distribution networks would have several disadvantages. Too few frequency levels could lead to overshedding, but on the other hand, time delays between stages could add up and may not allow for enough load to be shed in time to re-establish nominal frequency. The implementation of ROCOF techniques mitigates some of these problems. The ROCOF value calculation is an immediate indicator of the power imbalance; but for the distribution network the variation of the DG units operation would make this measurement unreliable. Also the average ROCOF calculation may take too long and eventually make the load shedding method slow in operation. Even if accurate measure of the islanded distribution network ROCOF valu

Realizing Mistakes in James Joyces Araby Essay -- Araby Essays

Many times in life, people set unrealistic expectations for themselves or for other people. This is not a very wise thing to do because people often feel disappointed and embarrassed for getting their hopes up so high. One good example of this is the narrator in the short story, Araby, by James Joyce. In the story Araby, a young man develops an infatuation with his friend, Magan’s, sister. Because his infatuation is so strong, he fears he will be unable to express his feelings to her, so when she mentions she cannot go to the local bazaar she has wanted to attend, he seizes this as a perfect opportunity and volunteers to buy her a gift. In the characters mind, giving Magan’s sister a gift will help him earn her attention and maybe in the long run, her affection. With this in mind, the character gets so excited, that he sets his hopes unrealistically high. When he finally arrives at the bazaar, it is then that he realizes his foolishness and decides not to buy her a gift . The narrator feels â€Å"driven and derided by vanity† (128) because he has set his expectations unrealistically high a...

Farewell To Arms :: essays research papers

The novel A Farewell to Arms, (1929) by Ernest Hemingway, takes place on the Italian front of World War I. Fredrick Henry is an American Lieutenant who drives an ambulance for the Italian army. On his leave time he often visits whorehouses and gets drunk. While fighting in the war, his knee gets injured and he has to go to the hospital in Milan where he meets a British nurse named Catherine Barkley and falls in love with her. During one of their many sexual affairs, Catherine gets pregnant. Fredrick greatly wants to desert the war because he is tired of seeing Italian solders killing each other. Fredrick and Catherine then escape to Switzerland by rowing across a lake. After they escape to Switzerland, Catherine has the baby, but during labor there are complications and she must deliver by having cesarean section. Other problems arise, she begins hemorrhaging, and dies. The baby also dies from the birth. Although this novel is not perfect, he uses very elaborate writing, and also sho ws how important it is to have good morals. “I loved to take her hair down and she sat on the bed and kept very still, except suddenly she would dip down to kiss me while I was doing it...inside a tent or behind a falls.'; This novel is very graphic when it comes to them having sex or while he is at the whorehouses during his leave time. Many things in this novel are inappropriate for children and adults. In more ways then one, Hemingway didn’t like women very much, one example is in chapter nine where he takes page and a half to describe how a solder dies who is not a main character in the book. But in chapter forty-one, he only uses approximately three lines to tell that Catharine dies, and she is a main character. In this novel there are a few things wrong. “The plain was rich with crops; there were many orchards of fruit trees...but the nights were cool and there was not the feeling of a storm coming.'; The elaboration and choice of diction in this book is extraordinary. Hemingway uses so many words to describe the little things in this book. “There was a great splashing and I saw the starshells go up and burst...biting his arm, the stump of his leg twitching,'; is another great example of how he uses much elaboration in the novel.

Understanding Electric Motors :: physics motor electricity

MOTOR BASICS BASIC COMPONENTS * Armature - Sometimes called a rotor. This is the part that spins. The armature can be either a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. * Stator - This is the part that doesn't move. The rotor spins in the magnetic field contained in the stator. HOW WORKS A MOTOR? The force that that turns the armature comes from the magnetic field of the armature trying to line up with the external magnetic field of the stator. This force is called torque. This torque will cause the armature to turn until its magnetic field is aligned with the external field, but no further. How does the armature continue to spin? One of the magnetic fields must be changed so that the armature has to turn again. The armature will spin so long as there is always a torque acting on it. How this is accomplished is what sets each type of electric motor apart. DIRECT CURRENT MOTORS SIMPLE DIRECT CURRENT MOTOR In a DC motor, the armature consists of any number of windings, each one an electromagnet. The armature is immersed in a directional external magnetic field. This external field does not move, and can come from permanent magnets or electromagnets. A direct current in a set of windings creates a polar magnetic field. A torque acts on the rotor due to its relation to the external magnetic field. Just as the magnetic field of the rotor becomes fully aligned with the external magnetic field, the direction of the current in the windings on the armature reverses, thereby reversing the polarity of the rotor's electromagnetic field. A torque is once again exerted on the rotor, and it continues spinning. The change in direction of current is facilitated by the split ring commutator. The brushes remain stationary, but they are in contact with the armature at the commutator, which rotates with the armature such that at every 180Â ° of rotation, the current in the armature is reversed. BRUSHLESS DIRECT CURRENT MOTOR A brushless DC motor has a permanent magnet or magnets for the armature. The external magnetic field comes from any number of electromagnets that are turned on and off at the correct times by a timing device. The exact workings of different brushless DC motors depend on the type of timing device used. This example uses a Reed switch.

Opportunities for Women-Owned Businesses

IntroductionWomen business owners are crucially vital to the American economy.   Women are establishing businesses at twice the pace of all businesses and remaining in business longer. In fact, America's approximately 9.1 million women-owned businesses provide work for about 27.5 million individuals and put in around $3.6 trillion to the economy (Page, 2006).   Nevertheless, women persist to confront rare and distinctive barriers and challenges in the world of business.   This paper will establish that in spite of present global turndown, there are now tremendous opportunities for women owned businesses both domestically and in the international market place.The total number of women owned companies throughout the world provides considerable business-to-business (B2B) opportunities. Actually, US women owned companies spent around $48 billion on technology equipment alone (Page, 2006). This just proves that women can definitely respond in this 21st century by their numbers to th e â€Å"ole boy's network† of old. These women business owners are a primary force in the global economy with considerable spending powers.The major  obstacles to trading internationally  are frequently the time and costs concerned with getting it done.   The costs of marketing to a number of different countries at the same time can be unusual. It takes  some time  to go into new markets,  it takes considerable time to build new business relationships and it takes a lot of  time to create the right contracts.   A number of the conventional methods of entering new markets  have been participation at international conferences or trade fairs.   These  can  be time consuming, expensive, and,  unluckily,  not at all times productive.Some time ago,   globalization has been set aside for the elite corporate, with their  Ã‚   huge budgets and  Ã‚  Ã‚  massive  resources. For a lot of small businesses turning out to be a player on the world market w as  Ã‚  Ã‚  just  basically further than their expectations. For women business owners, there's often double whammies,  since  women are  frequently declined the essential capital for starting up in business and then often declined capital for growth and expansion.  Ã‚  Women business owners frequently lack access to information and easy access to a recognized trade network.In the year 2000, President Bill Clinton initiated Executive Order 13157 reiterating his administration's pledge to boosting opportunities for women-owned businesses (Office of the Press Secretary, May 29, 2000).   The E.O. required agencies and departments to formulate long-term comprehensive strategies to develop and increase opportunities for women-owned businesses. The Executive Order also obliged federal agencies to â€Å"meet or exceed† the five percent government-contracting objective that now subsist for women-owned businesses.At present, there are various supports being offered to cr eate opportunities for women-owned businesses and help these women entrepreneurs succeed in their businesses.   First, there is the growing popularity of certification among women-owned businesses; next, there is increasing federal procurement opportunities for women-owned businesses; and third, a web site was created to assist women business owners obtain federal contracts.Certification Growing in Popularity Among Women-Owned BusinessesNowadays, certification to qualify for government contracts is becoming more popular among women-owned businesses (Page, 2006). Specifically, a lot of women-owned businesses in Oklahoma are obtaining or securing certification to meet the criteria or qualify for government contracts.Moreover, certification likewise offers firms owned by women an advantage in securing contracts from big corporations, as mentioned by Debbie Hurst, president of the Women's Business Council-Southwest. According to Hurst, she informs women that certification can be a sig nificant part of their marketing tool case. Hurst added that with merely 5 percent of women business enterprises obtaining government and corporate contracts yearly, there is still a need to bridge the gap between the opportunities for business and the capability of women-owned businesses (Page, 2006).The group Women's Business Council-Southwest (WBCS), with headquarters in Arlington, Texas, stands for women-owned businesses located in Oklahoma, north Texas, New Mexico, and Arkansas. The association operates in coordination with the Women's Business Enterprise National Council to endorse and certify members.As asserted by Hurst, the number of Oklahoma companies securing certification has increased 60 percent ever since the year 2004, the year the Oklahoma Leadership Forum was created by the regional group (Page, 2006).As maintained by Tamara Walden, president of Walden Energy (a certified women-owned business) based in Tulsa and a council member The Oklahoma Leadership Forum was con ceived to assist women capitalists boost business and gain access to more contracts (Page, 2006).Walden added that certification is a vital marketing tool for increasing a women-owned business' visibility between procurement decision makers and corporate supplier. Several companies necessitate that a firm be licensed or certified before they will offer a contract as a women's business enterprise. The WBCS is striving to create consciousness of that fact to local businesses, as well as offering educational opportunities and fun networking that help support that.There is promise and potential for growing certifications in Oklahoma for the reason that the state has a projected 77,000 women-owned companies (Page, 2006). Moreover, there is an enormous market of women-owned businesses that are not availing of certification programs like that being offered by WBCS that can help them access diversity and government programs.Growing Federal Procurement Opportunities for Women-Owned Businesse s Although Federal procurement might not sound like a significant issue to the general public, or even a term that a lot of people is aware of, it is considered one of the most profitable, yet complicated and difficult, markets for small businesses to access, specifically those owned by under-represented minorities and women. According to the Office of the Press Secretary (May 29, 20000), in the year 1999, women-owned businesses composed 38 percent of all businesses but obtained merely 2.4 percent of the $189 billion in Federal prime contracts.Certain Federal agencies have taken the lead in operating with women owned businesses, and must be applauded. As indicated by the Federal Procurement Data System, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Small Business Administration have all not just met the five percent objective, but have come in at approximately fifteen percent or better (Office of the Press Secretary, May 29, 2000).These Federal agencies recognize that coordinating and operating with women-owned businesses is not merely a philanthropic exercise. These businesses owned by women are dependable, strong, and do good work. Furthermore, these companies offer a solid service to their clients, and the Federal contracting officers are aware of it. Altogether, about 20 Federal agencies either fulfilled or exceeded the five percent objective.Thus, this just proves that it is certainly possible for government agencies to accomplish the five percent goal. Nevertheless, it is anticipated that agencies will work harder, adhering to the examples of the agencies mentioned above, to contract with women-owned businesses.  Ã‚   Over the years, government officials are supportive of numerous initiatives to boost resources and opportunities for women-owned businesses. For instance, several senators have passed legislation to re- authorize the National Women's Business Council for a period of three (3) years, and to raise the annual appropriation from $600,000 to a total of $1 million. Part of that amount will be utilized to help Federal agencies satisfy the five-percent procurement objective for businesses owned by women (Seck, May 23, 2000). The National Women's Business Council has offered magnificent leadership in this field, making bigger contracting opportunities a main concern since it was established in the year 1988, and merited praise from Republicans and Democrats for two general and extensive procurement studies it published in the years 1998 and 1999.Besides sustaining reauthorization of the National Women's Business Council, Senator Kerry initiated the Women's Business Centers Sustainability Act of 1999 (Seck, May 23, 2000). Proclaimed a public law, that Act is assisting Centers deal with the funding limitations that have been making it more and more hard for them to maintain the level of servi ces they offer after they graduate from the Women's Business Centers program and no longer be given federal matching finances.Hence, it is certain that President Clinton’s Executive Order creates a strong system within the Federal Government for raising the number of contracts that can be obtained by women-owned businesses.SBA Creates Web Site to Help Women Business Owners Obtain Federal ContractsIn the year 2000, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched a new web site, which aimed to boost procurement and networking opportunities to women-owned businesses by means of putting all contracting assistance information at a single on-line site.The web site called WomenBiz.gov is a joint venture of SBA's Office of Federal Contract Assistance for Women Business Owners, National Women's Business Council, the Interagency Committee for Women's Business Enterprise, and the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership (Comtex News Network, 2000).WomenBiz.gov offers women-owned businesses direct access to the government networks and the federal acquisition tools to draw on the $200 billion federal marketplace. Furthermore, the web site functions as the official gateway to over 100 procurement and acquisition sites hosted by a variety of federal agencies.Furthermore, the web site likewise incorporates connections to Electronic Posting System, PRO-Net, the GSA Federal Supply Schedule Program, DefenseLINK, CBDNet, and SBA's Government Contracting page (Comtex News Network, 2000). When President Clinton asked the SBA to lead the efforts to make sure that women-owned businesses be given their fair share of federal contracts, SBA answered that call and reiterated its promise to the President Clinton’s initiative though endorsing the launch of its web site and establishing the office. These are two vital instruments for offering procurement opportunities to women-owned businesses.Generally, the web site contains information pages specially developed to he lp women entrepreneurs who want to take part in government procurement.Meanwhile, the women's contracting office is one of numerous initiatives the White House has instigated to encourage procurement opportunities for women-owned businesses.ConclusionAll of the initiatives discussed in this paper show that there are several complementary national policies to increase procurement opportunities for businesses owned by women.The phenomenal growth and success of women-owned businesses was primarily due to the development of a national network of women's business centers and organizations. As an outcome of lobbying by women business owners and the establishment of the SBA’s Office of Women's Business Ownership, various women's business centers have offered would-be entrepreneurs with adequate and necessary knowledge, information, training, skills, loans, and technical assistance.Nowadays, the Federal agencies have started to make progress from the time when Congress implemented th e five-percent procurement goal, but the contracting managers should keep in mind that this goal is just a minimum, not a maximum. Out of the over 9 million women-owned businesses in the United States, the Federal Government can find ones that are reliable and qualified, with good products and services to boost, to fulfil their contracts if they make it a main concern or top priority.ReferencesComtex News Network.   SBA Unveils New Web Site to Help Women Business Owners Get Federal Contracts.   U.S. Newswire, September 12, 2000.Office of the Press Secretary.   Executive Order 13157-Increasing Opportunities for Women-Owned Small Businesses.   Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 29, 2000.Page, David.   Certification growing in popularity among women-owned businesses.   Dolan Media Newswires.   March 18, 2006.Seck, Kathyrn. Kerry Floor Statement on Increasing Federal Procurement Opportunities for Women-Owned Businesses.   U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business a nd Entrepreneurship.   May 23, 2000.