The Coca-Cola Company Marketing R

The Coca-Cola Company| | | | | An Analysis of The Coca-Cola Company| 6/13/2010| | Table of Contents Title Page1 Table of Contents2 Introduction3 5C’s Analysis4-10 4P’s Analysis11-14 SWOT Analysis & Final Remarks15-17 Introduction In May 1886, John Pemberton, who was a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia was the first founder of coca cola. He concocted the coca cola formula in kin three legged brass kettle which the suggestion was given by bookkeeper Frank Robinson. Coke was fist sold at the pharmacy as a non alcoholic version of French wine coca.However, the sales were loss due to over expansion and health problems such as, disease, morphine, addictive, and headache. Because â€Å"Coca-cola† belonged to Charley, it was named coca-cola. Afterwards, Asa Candler, the Atlanta pharmacist/businessman bought the formula from John. His marketing skills were a huge success to the company during the 50th anniversary. His best skills were his promotion ideas. He gave away coup ons for complimentary first takes of coca-cola, gave calendar, urns and clocks to pharmacist. These promotions increased the sales by over 4000% during 1890-1900.Also, he gave minor changes in the ingredient and sold it in bottle, which was first sold in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Because the company was not too happy about the proliferation of copycat beverages and to safeguard the brand, they advertised that focused the authenticity of coca-cola. Later in 1923, Robert Woodruff brought the company from Asa Candler. He was a marketing genius because he observed potential overseas opportunities. He would capitalize on these opportunities by introducing Coke products in the 1928 Olympic Games.Woodruff made innovation by making distribution of 6 packs, open top cooler that was easier for people to drink at home or away, which was a huge success. Coca-Cola would reiterate its dedication towards the globalizing Coca-cola by initiating a series of advertisements linking Coca-Cola to the worl d. A specific advertisement that helped Coca-Cola shine its international appeal occurred in 1970 where Coca-Cola made young people from all over the world sing a song called â€Å"I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke†.Coca-Cola continually succeeded even amid protests of Coca-Cola’s changing of its formula. After protests, Coke Company returned to its old formula. This helped regain its market share over competition and led to the Coca-Cola Company’s introduction of a diet coke product that used Splenda sugar, which was its trademark. In the 21st century, in 2007 it came up with diet coke that contained vitamin B6, B12, magnesium, niacin, and zinc. Diet coke plus was made to be considered as a healthier soda. Coca-cola stopped printing the word â€Å"Classic† on the labels of 16 oz bottles.Coca-cola is committed to local markets and has bottling partners. Currently it is ubiquitous brand, every single time, it is known as â€Å"the most exciting and satisfying beverage. † This report will analyze why and how The Coca-Cola Company was able to achieve its title as the number one soft-drink company in the world. Beginning with an analysis of the 5C’s regarding the company, followed by a 4P’s analysis, and ending with a SWOT analysis, will highlight what factors drove towards Coca-Cola’s dominance in the soft-drink market. 5 C’s AnalysisHaving been in the soft-drink industry for over 100 years says a lot about their experience in the soft-drink industry. Coca-Cola’s long endeavored success has led to their ability to sustain a high market share in the non-alcoholic drink market with their driving force product in Coca-Cola but also in its other products as well. According to their website, Coca-Cola serves up to 1. 6Billion servings a day of their products, which poses the question on how they are able to keep up with such a high demand? An answer lies in their company mission statement, whi ch is to: * To refresh the world†¦ To inspire moments of optimism and happiness†¦ * To create value and make a difference. (Source: http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com) It is this making Coca-Cola a â€Å"part of one’s lifestyle† mentality that has allowed Coca-Cola to expand its brand image from a national level to a global level, which has fueled their dedication to keep up with these mind-boggling demand figures ever since the year of the inception of the Coca-Cola company. Their global image has reached the point where global sales have triumphed over the once dominant national U. S. market.For example, Coca-Cola’s 2008 revenue levels indicated that 75% of its revenues came from global sales, whereas only 25% came from North America. This statistical figure indicates that the Coca-Cola is indeed a global brand. In fact, according to a 2006 study done by Businessweek and Interbrand, Coca-Cola was rated the world’s number one brand: (http://w ww. interbrand. com/images/studies/BGB06Report_072706. pdf) Coca Cola’s ability to recognize the global market size and actually capitalize on it represents a huge part of why Coca-Cola has attained this sort of recognition.Although Coca-cola represents the biggest company in the world, it surprisingly doesn’t bottle and distributes its own products. Instead, franchises of different bottling collaborating companies represent the bulk of the bottling and distribution of Coca-Cola’s products. Coca-Cola does maintain a high amount of market shares in most of these bottling companies, ensuring that heavy demand goals can be met for the Company. Coca-Cola’s biggest collaborators represent Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Femsa, and Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co.The Coca-Cola Company owns 31. 6%, 32%, and 23% respectively of each of these bottling companies. Coca-Cola Enterprises represents the biggest franchisee bottling and distributing company. It bottles a nd distributes for 80% of U. S sales and bottles and distributes for 18% of worldwide sales. Here is a diagram that explains the logistics behind Coca-Cola Enterprises’ operations: Coca-Cola Femsa is heavily focused in Central and South-America, and the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co is heavily focused within regions spanning from Africa, Europe, and Asia.It is this collaboration methodology that has allowed Coca-Cola to focus more on the development and maintaining of its products and brands. The number of shares that the Coca-Cola invests in most of these bottling companies ensures the alliance will be strong between the two, because they do represent the main driving force behind the bottling and distribution of Coca-Cola’s products. There is recent speculation though that Coca-Cola may indeed fully acquire its biggest collaborator in Coca-Cola Enterprises in wake of Pepsi’s Co. ’s acquisitions of some of their bottling collaborators.Another set of col laborators are represented in its relationships with other companies. As a prominent brand image, many companies have worked with Coca-Cola to help further advertise their own company. These companies can be directly related to Coca-Cola in that Coca-Cola might represent a compliment with their product. These industries include restaurants of all sorts, movie theaters, convenient stores, supermarkets etc. Coca-Cola has usually teamed up with all these type of venues to ensure that its brand gets spread throughout all kinds of settings.This usually results in promotions associated only with Coca-Cola products, the selling of only coca-cola products, or special promotions that include receiving Coca-Cola product if a certain product of the company’s is purchased. A notable relationship in this regard was the deal between McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. In 2009, Coca-Cola and McDonalds continued its over 50 year relationship with each other by reworking a deal where McDonalds w ould feature not only Coke, but many of Coca-Cola’s newer brands as well. This includes Coke-Zero, PowerAde, Fanta, and now even Vitamin Water.Their good relationship with each other helps benefits both companies in that people will link the quality of both brands with each other. It is these direct companies that represent the bulk of Coca-Cola’s sales, since most of Coca-Cola’s products are distributed at these venues. It is up to Coca-Cola to maintain good relations and a strong brand image in order for these direct companies to collaborate with Coca-Cola. Also there are indirectly related company collaborators with Coca-Cola. For example, in 2006 Coca-Cola launched MyCokeRewards.This promotional project allowed users to reap points for the purchasing of any of Coca-Cola’s products. These points could then be redeemed for various prizes, towards a contest, or towards the entering of a sweepstakes. Partnered relationships included in this rewards progra m included: Holiday Inn, Nike, Block Buster, Delta, and Six Flags. Another notable indirect collaborator with Coca-Cola is Apple. In 2006, Apple and Coca-Cola agreed to a collaboration in which a Coca-Cola themed music site was created to promote bands all across Europe with the integration of Apple’s ITunes system.These examples of indirect company collaborators show that though they don’t distribute Coca-Cola’s products, these indirect collaborators help promote their own product along with products of Coca-Cola. Beginning with a smaller form of competition, local drink brands represent the bulk of these competitors. Their only strength is their prevalence in their local location but they have a huge list of weaknesses when compared to the Coca Cola Company. These weaknesses include small amount of assets, lack of product extension, and prevalence outside of their local location.With most of these competitors, the Coca-Cola can simply acquire them through paym ent, or drive them out through a bunch of schemes. These schemes include price gauging or high amounts of advertisements. Since Coca-Cola produces so many types of non-alcoholic drink products, Coca-Cola can easily enter all sects of the drink market in most countries of the world. However it is no doubt that Pepsi Co. represents the biggest competitor of the Coca-Cola Company. Pepsi Co. began in a similar fashion of the Coca-Cola in that Pepsi Co. s most popular product in Pepsi was developed by a pharmacist in 1903. Like the Coca-Cola Company, Pepsi Co. has variations on Pepsi and has a huge product listing of different drinks encompassing the non-alcoholic drink spectrum as well. Pepsi Co. also follows a horizontal integration system with the merger and acquisition of other similar drink products. Some Pepsi Co. ’s other popular drinks besides Pepsi include, Diet Pepsi, 7-Up, Tropicana, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Aquafina and a bunch of other products.These companies are inde ed direct competitors because they both represent the two biggest drink companies in the world and each one wants to make sure it has the vast majority market shares. The two companies aren’t entirely the same though. Merging with Frito Lay in 1965, Pepsi Co. enjoys the strength benefit of advertising its products along side Frito Lay’s products. This food/drink combination allows both Frito Lay and Pepsi to benefit, since both can make promotions for each of its products. Nevertheless, this can also be induced as a weakness of the company as well.This is because Pepsi has to allocate some resources to the development and production of Frito Lay products, which allows The Coca-Cola Company the ability to slowly take control of the drink market since that is its only focus. Also any negativity with any Frito-Lay products could be linked to Pepsi products if both products are too frequently marketed together. It is these two ideas that could prompt why The Coca-Cola stil l enjoys a higher level of market shares on Pepsi. It’s not entirely because of these two ideas that Coca-Cola still enjoys a higher market share; there are many other factors as well.One specific advantage that Coca-Cola had over Pepsi was that The Coca-Cola Company owned Columbia Pictures from 1982-1989. Between this time, Coca-Cola easily advertised their products indirectly by including it in a multitude of films. Both companies employ similar marketing tactics, in that both try to popularize its main product in Pepsi and Coke respectively. Both companies have used celebrities, sponsorships, multitudes of TV ads, appearances in TV shows/movies, and all kinds of advertisement strategies. However these marketing schemes have caused the two companies to engage in what many call the â€Å"Cola Wars†.Since the 1970’s both companies had countless of ads trying to devalue the other company’s main product: Pepsi initiated this by starting a set of commercials of having Blind Tastes. Deemed as the â€Å"Pepsi Challenge†, these types of ads would extenuate Coca-Cola refuted to some of these ads by producing similar ads and also by producing a new recipe of coke in the 1980’s. It slowly reverted back to its classic formula later on but despite these devaluation schemes, both companies seem to employ the same advertising schemes by portraying their product as a something that should be a part of one’s lifestyle.It has come to a point where whenever Coca-Cola has an advertisement, you’ll most likely see a similar Pepsi advertisement as well. At this point, both companies have become so prevalent in the global market that people usually don’t differentiate between the two main products in Coke and Pepsi. Sure some diehard fans of each company will disagree, but there are plenty of examples where this idea can be seen. For example, you go to a restaurant and you ask for a Coke.When the waitress responds, â₠¬Å"Oh sorry we only have Pepsi†, you’ll most likely respond with â€Å"oh that’s fine. † It has come to this point where both companies can benefit from the competition aspect, but at the same time if one company drops the ball or messes up badly, the other company can easily capitalize on the market since both companies represent the top 2 drink companies in the world. When evaluating the customer of Coca-Cola, it practically has no limits. Besides the alcoholic customer, the Coca-Cola Company has products that encompass all parts of the drink market.The market size of the drink market practically covers the vast majority of the world since it compliments a biological function in replenishing thirst. However it depends on the motive and likes of the customer that will dictate which product he/she will buy. With a huge 3300 different kinds of beverages, Coca-Cola does a great job of not devaluing its most successful Coke brand with its other brands that ta rget different parts of the non-alcoholic drink market. There are examples of devaluation may have occurred, such as in the production of Diet-Coke and Coke-Zero.In the 1980’s was labeled as a time where individuals wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, so Coca-Cola had no choice but to develop a healthier version of its product in Diet Coke since its competitors were following suit. This theme again was reintroduced in the late 2000’s when health issues re-sparked. However realizing certain customer trends and behaviors, The Coca-Cola Company made a separate healthy drink in Coke Zero in hopes of targeting the male population. That’s because trends showed that males didn’t drink Diet-Coke due to the nature of its name being associated with a diet.It was due to immense popularity and recognition of the Coca-Cola brand name and a culmination of systematic advertisements highlighting the healthiness of these diet Cokes that led most of its customer base to not deter away from the original product in Coca-Cola. A following section will dive into the marketing aspects that drive this popularity in its original product of Coke. According to this graph: carbonated soft-drinks represent the higher amount of gallons consumer per capital from 1991-2008.It is because of this staggering trend that Coca-Cola’s most popular products are in its carbonated drinks. This trend has also transcended to the global level because of course Coca-Cola wanted to popularize its main product in Coca-Cola. Here are some statistical figures of per-capita consumption of Coca-Cola throughout the world: Coca-Cola knows the initial popularization of its Coke product will eventually help the sales of its other products. All labels of Coca-Cola’s products in some sort of form state it was manufactured by â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company. Since people can relate to the high brand quality of Coca-Cola, it will interest individuals to try out The Coca-Cola Com pany’s other products. And since the Coca-Cola Company has a product that covers every part of the soft-drink spectrum, customers will soon discovered that the Coca-Cola Company has a product that meets all its non-alcoholic drink needs. This is reflected in recent a sales figure which lists all of The Coca-Cola Company’s products that have garnered over $1billion in sales: The Coca-Cola Company has always strived to respond according to its context.There weren’t many complications in the first half of the company’s history so it was easy for Coca-Cola to flow in into the drink environment and promote itself. But soon after the start of the 1980’s to 2000’s, complications behind the ingredients of Coca-Cola started to arise. This was because health officials noted that Coke could have potential health effects with its high content in sugar and caffeine. More specifically health and government officials noted that Coca-Cola utilized a cheap f orm of sugar called High Fructose Corn Syrup.Developed from corn, this sugar is definitely considered an alternative to natural cane sugar due to its increased availability and its cheap cost. However it does pose a higher health risk since it has been linked to cause obesity and type-2 diabetes at a faster rate than cane sugar. In response to this, Coca-Cola developed product extension lines initially with Diet-Coke and Coke-Zero following suit in 2004. These two products responded well to these health-conscious environments. These types of examples show how the Coca-Cola Company stands behind its mission statement.In no matter what shape or form, the Coca-Cola Company does its best to accommodate towards the current environment of the market. 4P Analysis Product: Coca-Cola offers a portfolio of more than 3,300 products in over 200 countries. Major Brands of Coca-Cola are: Coca-Cola sodas/soft drinks that generate > $1billion in annual sales (http://www. wikinvest. com/stock/Coca-C ola_Company_(KO)) Coca-Cola Dasani Diet Coca-Cola Vitamin Water Fanta Powerade Sprite Minute-Maid Coke Zero Aquarius Barq’s Rootbeer Nestea Odwalla SokenbichaCoca-Cola classic is the most popular and biggest selling soft-drink in history. Coca-Cola Classic is the best-known product in the world and was created in Atlanta, Georgia, by Dr. John S. Pemberton. By 1895 Coca-Cola Classic was being sold in every state and territory in the United States. As stated the driving force of The Coca-Cola company is in its original product of Coca-Cola, but they have slowly evolved their company to not only encompass the soda part of the soft-drink market, but literally of all of the other parts representing the non-alcoholic soft drink market as well.It boasts a total of 3300 different beverages, with some of these beverages having high market share in the soda market as well as the other segments of the non-alcoholic soft drink market. However it can’t be overlooked that the Coca-C ola has participated in Product-Line extensions with the creation of alternative Coca-Cola brands, such as Diet-Coke, Coke-Zero, Vanilla Coke, Green Tea, Cola Lemon, Cola Lemon Lime, Cola Lime, Cola Orange, and even Cola Raspberry, and Cherry-Coke.In a sense, The Coca-Cola’s company approach throughout the years can be seen as a form of Horizontal Integration in that Coca-Cola has expanded internally, with its external growth following suit. This external expansion is reflected by all the mergers and acquisitions of companies that offered similar products. All these factors show why the Coca-Cola Company has evolved to become biggest leader of the soft drink market. Another very popular Coca-Cola soft drink is Sprite. Sprite was introduced in 1961 and is the world leading lemon-lime flavored soft drink.Sprite is sold in more than 190 countries and is ranked Number four in the soft drink worldwide industry because of its crisp, clean taste that really quenches your thirst. Spr ite has a strong appeal to the â€Å"young† generation because of its honest and straightforward attitude that sets it apart from other soft drinks. Sprite encourages you to be true to whom you are and obey your thirst. Product packaging includes products of sparkling drinks and still beverages (water, juices, juice drinks, teas, coffees, sports drinks, energy drinks).Through innovative fountain distribution, Coke-Cola is able to be more flexible and reliable towards consumer satisfaction. Packaging beverages where through plastic bottles and aluminum cans. The Coca-Cola Company is recognized by 94% of the world’s population. According to Coca-Cola product packaging strategy their approach is to identify and utilize the most compelling combination of packaging elements that best communicates what Coca-Cola stands for around the world – Unique taste, great refreshment and authenticity. PLACE: The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company.Be verages are sold in over 200+ locations throughout the world. The Coca-Cola headquarters is located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Coca-Cola has an employee net force of approximately 92,400 members. The operating groups are division as: –Eurasia & Africa Group –Europe Group –North America Group –Pacific Group –Bottling Investments Group –McDonald’s Group The Coca-Cola system is a global business that operates on a local scale (community business) that allows Coca-Cola to create a global reach with local focuses because of the strengths of the Coca-Cola system which involves their 300+ bottling partners worldwide.Coca-Cola and their 92,000+ associates around the world live and work in the markets that serve more than 87 percent of outside markets in the U. S. This geographically diverse environment helps Coca-Cola learn from each market and share those learning’s to develop collaborative company culture. PRICE: Pricing varies accord ing to brand and size. Approximately Coca-Cola 2L costs about $1. 68 and a pack of 375mL x 18 cans of Coca-Cola is approximately $9. 98. Studies show that instead of pricing a pack of Coca-Cola as $10. 00, pricing a price even one cent cheaper as $9. 9 is due to the psychological perception of cost strategy that makes the product of the price seem much cheaper even if it is just one or two cents cheaper from the nearest whole number. Coca-Cola’s pricing influences are contributed to Coca-Cola’s products that are sold and distributed to retail stores and set by their pricing strategies. Convenient stores and petrol stations usually sell Coca-Cola products at a fixed price. Discount prices are often set and marked down during sale periods and special occasions to increase sales and profits.Prices are set around competitors and seasons also have an influence in pricing. PROMOTION: Coca-Cola cares about the welfare of animals and supports their proper treatment. Coca-Cola and their U. S. bottling partners will not sponsor events or attractions that feature animals unless the event organizers have policies and procedures in place to support the humane treatment of animals and provide ready access to quality veterinary care to protect the animals' health and safety.For more than 50 years, Coca-Cola has had a policy not to advertise full-calorie, sparkling soft drinks on TV programming that targets children under 12. The Coca-Cola Company believes that children under 12 should not be the audience of Coca-Colas advertising and marketing practices because of the nutritional contents in the beverages that may not be suitable for children under the age of 12. The Coca-Cola Company may have more than one promotion running at any given time and may use many different types and strategies to promote their products.Coca-Cola uses shelving strategy that is the positioning of their products in stores, eye catching position strategy that is the attraction of custo mer attention to Coca-Colas products, sale promotions through sponsorship with schools and sport events ex. FIA World Cup, and UTC (Under the Crown) offering prizes to promote Coca-Cola products. Coca-Cola uses advertising as its main source of increasing consumer awareness. Television is their main advertising source. The music used in advertising is often an original recording produced by agencies specifically for that commercial.Coca-Cola also uses POS (Point Of Sale) that is used through posters and stickers of Coca-Cola and billboards to promote products and the Coca-Cola Company at different site locations. The following amounts reflect the total worldwide amounts spent on print, radio, internet, and television advertising. Advertising expenses included in selling, administrative and general expenses that were approximately: 2006: $2. 6 billion 2005: $2. 5 billion 2004: $2. 2 billion 2003: $1. 8 billion 2002: $1. 7 billion 2001: $2. 0 billion 2000: $1. 7 billion 1999: $1. bill ion 1998: $1. 6 billion 1997: $1. 6 billion 1996: $1. 4 billion 1995: $1. 3 billion 1994: $1. 1 billion 1993: $1. 0 billion SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis was done on the Coca-Cola Company to pinpoint key factors that led to Coca-Cola’s past and current success in the soft drink market. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, so to begin with the analysis, the strengths sector will be looked at first. Coca-Cola’s strengths include; strong market strategies, product diversification, and many distribution channels.Coca-Cola uses a mix of great advertisements which include catchy slogans, a strong family-brand image, and also sponsors sporting events. A prime example of one of their successful advertisements was seen with their launch of Coke Zero. Coke Zero is a dietary substitute to the original Coke, like Diet Coke, but claims to have the same flavor as the original Coke. Their slogan that was used was, â€Å"A clear case of taste infringemen t. † Advertisements were run on television of lawyers from Coca-Cola trying to â€Å"sue† Coke Zero for copying their flavor, even though Coca-Cola obviously made Coke Zero.In the end Coke Zero proved to be a big hit for Coca-Cola and continues to be a success. As for their family-brand image, Coke has always been seen as family friendly in the United States of America for a very long time. To illustrate this image, Coca-Cola has utilized a general heuristic marketing, generally aimed at making people link fun and family friendly with the Coca-Cola Company. Some examples include; Coca-Cola’s holiday campaigning, partnerships with â€Å"family-friendly† venues, and prizes that appeal to a typical American family.Santa is seen as the biggest icon and representative of the holiday season. Coca-Cola is the reason for the present-day image of Santa. â€Å"Coca-Cola ® advertising actually helped shape this modern-day image of Santa. † As for their partn erships, Coca-Cola has been a long-time partner with McDonalds. Along with McDonalds, Coca-Cola teamed up with Regal Theaters and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). McDonalds and Regal Entertainment Group provide family friendly venues targeted for dining and entertainment purposes, respectively. The WWF is a charitable worldwide wildlife and agricultural conservation organization.They teamed up with Coca-Cola to help regulate Coke’s water usage and its effect on the world’s agriculture. All three mentioned companies are seen as family friendly or have a mission statement that is family-approved. Coca-Cola expands their brand awareness by constantly being associated with worldwide sporting events. Coca-Cola is sponsoring the FIFA World Cup, which is the biggest sporting event in the world, the NBA, the NCAA, and NASCAR. Many commercials and billboards can be seen during these sporting events, as they are all advertisements of Coca-Cola. Product Diversification is a valuabl e piece to Coca-Cola’s success.Along with the original Coke line, Coca-Cola also produces various sports drinks, bottled water, energy drinks, and also clothing and merchandise. Coca-Cola is the owner of PowerAde, Dasani, and Full Throttle. Currently, these three brands have a significant presence in the U. S. market that can’t be ignored. Coca-Cola’s many distribution channels may be what makes Coca-Cola so dominant. Coca-Cola created the contour bottle in 1916, and they own shares of major bottling factories around the world. This has led Coca-Cola to be one of the world’s most recognized brands, being recognized by 94% of the whole world.The main weakness that has been found with Coca-Cola is their poor nutritional content. Although Coca-Cola is enjoyed by many different age groups worldwide, Coke is high in sugar and calories, has caffeine, and is associated with many fast foods. This is a problem with Coca-Cola as they have many different partnership s and distribution channels. The fact that Coke is so widely distributed and known gives them a larger opportunity to affect a large number of people. Coca-Cola has been linked with many different diseases and health issues which include; tooth decay, obesity, and diabetes.Although Coca-Cola is the current leading company in the soft drink market, there are still many new opportunities that exist to further strengthen their market share and keep other competitors at bay. Some opportunities that exist include, more sponsorships and diversifying into other segments. As mentioned before, Coca-Cola is currently involved with various sports sponsorships. However, Coca-Cola could broaden their sports sponsorships and gain more visibility. For the events that Coca-Cola is sponsoring, they have little visibility, as they are briefly mentioned in a name or seen on small billboards across the television screen.A suggestion that was thought of was the endorsement of a soccer team. It is a comm on practice for a corporation to endorse a team, and in return, have that corporation’s name and logo printed all over the uniform. An example of this that may be popular in Korea would be the player Park Ji-Sung. Park Ji-Sung plays for Manchester United and they are currently sponsored by AIG. The justification in this form of advertising would the fact that soccer is the world’s most watched sport, and there is no better way than to get a company’s name out to sports fans.Another solution that was taken into consideration is the expansion to different sectors in the food industry. Following the examples of A;W Root Beer and Baskin Robbins, if a Coca-Cola cafe opened up, the results could be great financially. The original idea for a Baskin Robbins Cafe to open up was part of a plan to revitalize the company after years of falling sales. Although Coca-Cola doesn’t have a failing company, this could still boost sales and increase Coca-Cola’s domina nce in the soft-drink industry, while boosting brand awareness among consumers. The last part of the SWOT analysis is threats.When Coca-Cola is thought of, Pepsi is almost always mentioned in the same sentence. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been battling for the top position in the soft-drink market for years. Although Coca-Cola sits at the top spot for now, Pepsi has and always will be threatening Coke for soft-drink supremacy. From the infamous â€Å"Cola Wars† in the 1980’s-1990’s to the present day market situation, there is always a sense of insecurity and uncertainty of who will be the next #1. Different marketing schemes and ploys have been taken in the past to outdo one another. Starting with clever advertising, blind taste tests, rewards rograms, and partnerships with other members of the food and beverage industry, every new project fuels a constant battle between the two companies. As explained before, Pepsi can be seen as a direct competitor to Coke in a very direct and narrow perspective. However, if the soft drink industry is seen as whole, or rather the beverage industry, any drink offered in the market can be seen as a potential competitor of Coca-Cola. Healthier alternatives include; tea, water, and coffee. Tea and coffee can be seen as a healthier source of caffeine, while water can be seen as a healthier drink alternative in general.Overall, this SWOT analysis was done to see the present issues and potential problems in Coca-Cola’s current market, as well as to find solutions to these issues. Coca-Cola is mainly a provider of their staple drink, Coca-Cola Classic, but they also produce different products within the soft-drink industry. Although there is no correct answer to any current and potential issues, diversification into other food segments and new venues seem like a profitable venture for Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company’s has been on path towards dominance since its inception.Initially popularizing itse lf nationally then capitalizing on global opportunities has led to the major expansion of the Company, which originally started off as a single-product drink company to now a company that boasts a very solid single-product in Coca-Cola with alternatives in all aspects of the non-alcoholic drink market. It’s popularization of Coca-Cola through its schemes of labeling it as fun and family friendly has helped the company strive towards is goals as a company highlighted in its mission of making its products widely available and refreshing the world.Coca-Cola’s current state has shown that it can continue to utilize the same strategies explained towards its success in the future. The Coca-Cola Company has already shown that it can succeed at all types of time periods since the company is well over 100 years old. It’s experience and its smart and effective strategies will be key towards its positive future. ———————†”——————– [ 1 ]. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/heritage/cokelore_santa. html

Determinants of Dividend Policy of Cement Industy of Pakistan

RESEARCH PROPOSAL DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND POLICY OF CEMENT INDUSTY OF PAKISTAN Submitted To: Dr. Ahmed Faisal Imtiaz Siddiqi Submitted By: Muhammad Waqar Akram ID # 12002096-010 Programme: MS-Finance Batch-02 INTRODUCTION Dividend Policy refers to the explicit or implicit decision of the Board of Directors regarding the amount of residual earnings (past or present) that should be distributed to the shareholders of the corporation This decision is considered a financing decision because the profits of the corporation are an important source of financing available to the firm.Dividend policy is a one of the most debated topics and a core theory of corporate finance which still keeps its prominent place. Many researchers presented various theories and uncountable empirical evidences, but the issue is still unresolved and open for further discussion. It is among top ten unresolved problems in the finance literature and we have not an adequate explanation for the observed dividend behavi or of the firms There are several reasons whether firms should pay dividends or not. The â€Å"dividend puzzle† why firms pay dividends and stock holders pay attention to dividends and still unresolved.Many hypotheses have been drawn to shed some light on this puzzle but the problem still exists. Normally a firm faces the problem of allocation of earnings, whether to distribute among shareholders or retaining for reinvestment and promote the firm growth. Retained earnings are a main internal source of financing, but higher retained earning mean fewer dividends and vice versa. The cement sector is a prominent sector of Pakistan and works as an engine of economic growth in the economy. It provides employment to a large number of people (directly & indirectly).Cement production capacity in Pakistan is 44 million tons annually while local demand is only 24 million tons, leaving a surplus of 20 million tons. Cement manufactured in Pakistan is being exported to Afghanistan and Cent ral Asian States below cost. During FY-11 cement industry exported over 4 million tons to these markets and the industry is optimistic that exports to Afghanistan and Central Asian States shall increase further since these countries are landlocked and Pakistan is the only country which is able to supply cement at competitive rates.So, it is important to find the factors that determine and affecting the dividend payout policy of this sector. LITERTURE REVIEW Over the past 50 years a great attention was given to determine the factors influencing dividend payout policy. A vast literature is available in this regard, however, the puzzle is still unresolved and open for further discussion. â€Å"Why do firms pay dividends? † further he raises a second question, â€Å"Why do investors pay attention to dividends? † although, the answers may appear clear, (Black 1998)but Black concludes that they are not.As we try to explain the fact, the more it seems like a puzzle, with piec es that just do not fit together. Various factors can be considered as the determinants of dividend payout policy and a number of logics for dividend payout policy have been declared in the literature, however, the researchers are not agreed on a single point. In developed economies, the decision whether paying dividends or keep as retained earnings has been taken very carefully by both investors and the management of the firm. (Adaoglu 2000) By paying a sufficient amount of dividend firms can prevent from the agency problem.The dividend payouts are helpful to keep firms in the market, where monitoring of managers is available at low cost. The managers make financial policy trade-offs to control agency cost in an effective way(Amidu and Abor 2006) A free cash flow is helpful for a firm to share it with stockholders as dividends and pay the debt in order to reduce the possibility of these funds being wasted on unprofitable projects(Pettit 1972) Firms’ investment policies have a significant impact on its dividend payout policy; the firms with less investment plans has greater amount to distribute as dividends.Due to the higher investment opportunities firms deprive from higher dividends to lower. So the investment opportunities has a negative relationship to the dividend payouts(Farinha 2003) Another factor affecting the dividend policy is the ownership of firm; state owned firms follow a smooth dividend pattern as compare to family owned firms. The family owned firms are uneager to pay dividends, whereas the state owned firms are more reluctant to diminish the dividend amount.The insider ownership also play a significant role in dividend policy(Imran 1997; Okpara 2010) The dividend policy is quite different in emerging markets as compare to developed economies, and seems to be affected by a number of factors(Al-Kuwari 2009) Due to several reasons like taxes pay procedure, stock market volatility and certain asymmetryinformation the dividend payout patter n is different in emerging markets as compare to developed nations.Another reason is that in emerging markets the firms focus on dividend payout ratios as compare to the level of dividends paid(Al-Kuwari 2009; Terra 2011) Higher the earnings of a firm, greater the size and firms with foreign ownership prefer to distribute a higher and constant amount in dividend payouts according to their earnings and size(Eriotis 2011) The liquidity of the firm leaves a negative impact on the firms dividend payout decision.The stock market liquidity and dividend are substitutes in the sight of investors, so the firm’s dividend policy is associated to the liquidity of its common stock. As a result firms with more liquid common stock, distribute less cash dividend(Amidu 2007) The more profitable firms are willing to distribute a higher amount of dividend payouts. The greater profitability not only positively affects the firms’ current dividend but dividend yield also. Whereas, the riski er firms distribute lower dividends and hence lower dividend yields.The firms which can easily fulfill their short term needs and want to improve their current payouts than last year are more willing to pay dividend(Fama and French 2002) OBJECTIVE †¢Companies pays dividend smoothly on regular basis †¢Dividend payout policy depend on size of firm †¢Profitability(Net Profit) of company effect dividend policy †¢Growing companies (Growth in sale) pays dividend on regular basis †¢Investment opportunity (Retained earnings) effect the dividend policy †¢Impact of liquidity (cash flows) on dividend policy †¢Impact of leverage (Debt to Equity ratio) on dividend policyTHEORITICAL FRAM WORK DATA COLLECTION & PROPOSED METHODOLOGY Investigates the factors determine the dividend payout policy of Pakistani cement companies listed on KSE. The data employed is derived from Balance Sheet Analysis of KSE listed companies published by companies, covered the ten year pe riod 2001 to 2010 of 26 companies. (companies depends upon availability of data) The nature of the data allows us the use regression analysis to build relationship between dividend payout policy and factors which influence dividend policy HYPOTHESISH1: Cement companies pays smooth or stable in paying dividend H2: Positive relationship of dividend payout and size(Total Assets) of company H3: Positive relationship between Profitability(Net Profit) of company & dividend payout H4: Positive relationship between growth(Growth in sale) and dividend payout H5: There is positive relationship between liquidity (Quick Ratio) & dividend payout. H6: There is negative relationship of leverage (Debt to Equity ratio) & dividend payments H7: There is negative relationship between Investment opportunity (retained earnings/total asset) and dividend payout Limitation Due to unavailability of all companies data listed on KSE to construct a balance panel and for selected time period, the study used data for twenty companies which represent more than 80 % of total cement industry. ?This study includes both types of firms (e. g. dividend paying and non paying firms). ?There are many determinants of dividend policy but only six determinates have been taken. References Adaoglu, C. (2000). â€Å"Instability in the dividend policy of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) corporations: evidence from an emerging market. Emerging Markets Review 1(3): 252-270. Al-Kuwari, D. (2009). â€Å"Determinants of the dividend policy in emerging stock exchanges: The case of GCC countries. † Global Economy & Finance Journal 2(2): 38-63. Amidu, M. (2007). â€Å"How does dividend policy affect performance of the firm on Ghana Tock exchange? † Investment Management and Financial Innovations 4(2): 103-112. Amidu, M. and J. Abor (2006). â€Å"Determinants of dividend payout ratios in Ghana. † Journal of Risk Finance, The 7(2): 136-145. Black, F. (1998). â€Å"The dividend puzzle. Streetwi se: the best of the Journal of portfolio management: 10. Eriotis, N. (2011). â€Å"The Effect Of Distributed Earnings And Size Of The Firm To Its Dividend Policy: Some Greek Data. † International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER) 4(1). Fama, E. F. and K. R. French (2002). â€Å"Testing trade? off and pecking order predictions about dividends and debt. † Review of financial studies 15(1): 1-33. Farinha, J. (2003). â€Å"Dividend policy, corporate governance and the managerial entrenchment hypothesis: an empirical analysis. † Journal of Business Finance & Accounting 30(9? 0): 1173-1209. Imran, K. (1997). â€Å"Determinants of Dividend Payout Policy: A Case of Pakistan Engineering Sector. † Romanian Economic Journal 14(41): 47-60. Okpara, G. C. (2010). â€Å"Investigation of the critical sources of investment finance in Nigeria: a factor analytical approach. † Pettit, R. R. (1972). â€Å"Dividend announcements, security performance, and ca pital market efficiency. † The Journal of Finance 27(5): 993-1007. Terra, P. R. S. (2011). â€Å"Determinants of corporate debt maturity in Latin America. † European Business Review 23(1): 45-70.

Debut Speech Essay

During my 18 years, I’ve learned how important family is. Your family will always be there for you no matter what. My family supports me in everything I do. All their time and money cannot express how much they love me because love is more than any of that. Love between families is a special bond of time, laughs, smiles and memories. Love is something that family doesn’t have to say to each other because we already know and I am blessed to have a family that loves me in every way possible. As for friends, I’ve learned something important about friends. You will meet many people throughout your days and for a moment in time you will be that person’s friend or more. Friends are the ones that stay by your sides during the bad and will never intentionally stab you in the back. To all my friends here tonight, thank you for everything; I hope we’ll continue our friendship for many more years to come. Ahead is a new journey, not only for me but for all of us. And what I have to say to that, â€Å"Challenge accepted. I can only imagine the way my parents are going to feel watching me grow up more and more and having to let go little by little each day but even then my imagination cannot comparable to the feelings they feel. Even then, I willingly accept this new chapter of my life which I wouldn’t have been able to reach without every single one of you. No matter how small to how big of an impact you’ve had in my life, I thank you all equall y. So now I will end my speech with a thank you. Thank you for joining me in celebrating my 18th birthday. Thank you Mc Three McQueens for taking those beautiful pictures for this debut especially to kuya Michael and Kuya Chieboy. Thank you Kuya Elvin Sagun and Kuya Jervyn for coming over countless times to help with all the planning. Thank you cousins and Leo for helping me. Thank you kuya Frederic Rodriguez for making my dream dress. To my friends, classmates titas, ninongs and ninangs for sharing this special day that I will cherish forever. And a special thank you to my Mama and Papa for making this all possible. I love all of you very much!

Multinational Corporations and Nationality Essay

Multinational Corporations and Nationality - Essay Example The present research has identified that much contrary evidence suggests that even the most global of companies remain deeply rooted in the national business systems of their country of origin. Hu and Ruigrok have argued that MNCs exhibit national characteristics. Very few of the worlds largest companies are production highly internationalized as evidenced by very few Fortune top 100 companies have more than half their production facilities or their workforce outside the country of origin. Even though the home base does not account for the bulk of sales, operations, and employment, the home nation is almost always the primary locus of ownership and control. Board and senior management positions are staffed disproportionately - often overwhelmingly - by home country nationals, strategic decisions tend to be made in the home nation, and innovative activities are also disproportionately located there. The connection between national culture and MNC behavior rests on the academic industr y generated by Hofstede's analysis of `cultures consequences. Wong and Birnbaum, for example, have constructed hypotheses about MNC behavior on the basis of Hofstede's analysis of power distance, that is the perception by individuals of the degree of interpersonal power or influence exerted over them by their superiors in the organization. They found that the acceptance of unequal power distances in the banks home society was highly significant in explaining the centralization of authority in the bank operating in Hong Kong. The analysis using Hofstede’s ideas are said to have inconsistencies that make it unreliable. Hofstede came up with his five dimensions and scores with samples taken only from a single company – IBM. McSweeney points out that generalizing results from IBM employees to a global scale is unthinkable because there are no evidence-based reasons for assuming that the average IBM responses reflected ‘the’ national average.

Drones for Domestic Video Surveillance Research Paper

Drones for Domestic Video Surveillance - Research Paper Example Drones are easy and are expected to revolutionize security surveillance as well as being considered essential asset in future despite privacy concerns and other abuses. People of different political ideologies have raised debate regarding the use of drone with opponents complaining of infringement of fundamental privacy (Yanklowitz Web) interests and right to associate with others freely while proponents emphasize on potential benefits such as protecting public safety (Locke Web). Thompson asserts that issues of security and interests have always been triggered by arrival of surveillance technology in the past since law enforcers can now see through walls or track one’s movement from the sky (7). It is therefore apparent that many people question the proper balance between the necessity of the government to keep people safe and the privacy needs of the public even though the public support drone usage in some circumstances and less enthusiastic about using them as part of routine law enforcement. It is therefore undeniable that drones have limited abilities such as failure to communicate with civilians for more detailed intelligence and the fact that they cannot go from door to door. Moreover, some drones are lethal and can therefore not be used for surveillance and the public feel paranoid and feel like the government watches them. Yanklowitz argues that privacy concerns are the main challenges to domestic use of drones because continuous surveillance may torture, shame and even make one loss dignity (Web). Drones let the government spy on the public at home in various circumstances such as while taking showers or doing some sensitive things that may require some form of privacy hence depriving rights of the public and lowering their dignity. Thompson explains that home plays an integral role in American life and is accorded the greatest fourth amendment protection by ensuring that the right of

Immigration to USA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Immigration to USA - Assignment Example The work of the new department was overseeing a range of agencies and especially those specializing with immigration (US immigration enforcers, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and US Customs and Borders Protection. Creation of the new department came with a huge funding hence increasing the cost of maintaining all the departments, (Rollings-Magnusson 274). Secondly, deportations spending increased this is because the coming of the new department increased the activities of the subordinate department and this resulted to deportation of roughly 200,000 people in 2001 and almost double in 2011. Third, removing of criminals and this included both deportation and voluntary and since then it has doubled. Fourthly, police officers at the local level were promoted into immigration officers, a project aimed at securing communities. They worked together with Homeland security to ensure accomplishment of their goals of arresting and deporting the non-United States citizens. Finally was the tying immigration enforcement to corporate profits, this ensures that the law is enforced and the rate of immigration is reduced. What are the differences between the service and enforcement sections of immigration policy? Which do you hear about in the news? What do you hear? The service section has specialized with giving services to the people migrating in and out of the US, and has the responsibility of issuing visa as well as other crucial travel document to the immigrants. Additionally, they are responsible for immigrants screening and inspection of the immigrants before their entry to the United States. Enforcement section on the other hand deals with enforcement of the immigration department policies, (Maxwell 34); they are involved with deportation of those who are in the US illegally and those who lack the proper documentations. The commonly heard in the news the about enforcement sections since 9/11 is that the US administration embarked on ensuring their nationals safety, (Tirman 67). New policies and measures were put in place to deport those who did not have the necessary documents to be in the country and also restrictive measure were put in to place limit immigration in to the US. The news items common are on the number of people deported a nd the number of criminals deported, it is all about how people are being shipped and flown out of the US. What are the pros and cons of a law like SB1070? What do you think is going to happen? The SB1070 law had extensive negative impacts to the economy compared to positive impacts. Some of the pros are that the United State citizens could now obtain employment opportunities where the aliens had dominated and due to the restrictive immigration laws, security was enhanced. The disadvantage entails the decrease in the sector of the tourism; the police were authorized to monitor the immigrants’ documents especially those they suspected to be lacking the necessary authority to be in Arizona. This discouraged tourist because nobody wants to be scrutinized all the time other than being left free to enjoy touring the country as they set out to. The laws influence the sector of agriculture sector and most crucially in Alabama whereby the sector of agriculture sector generates revenu e. The laws incapacitated the performance due to the many restrictive laws. The restrictive immigration laws also influenced the businesses and this was mainly due to the distortion they brought in the competitive advantages in attracting new businesses to the region. The higher education departments lost students because many had came other

The library research essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The library research - Essay Example Considering the ages that play video games, teenagers are worst affected in terms of time taken, and research has shown that most of the teenagers take about average of 4-5 hours a day; thus, in most cases, the parents dislike video games since they are considered the facilitating factor for laziness on children. Video games are addictive just like drugs do, it makes those addicted especially the teenagers to abscond most of the important activities in the day, without guidance, it can destructive but can be beneficial to the players if considered carefully. There is a significant contribution of spatial reasoning in education, and there is a connection between those children that are good in spatial reasoning and there performance in IQ tests. In this regard, those children who have good spatial skills do excel in geometry and demonstrates good mental manipulation and navigation skills. In terms of gender, girls are considered not to easily adapt to spatial reasoning growth compared to boys, improvement of spatial reasoning is enhanced by playing video games, in this case, the skills required to play the game that also involves manipulation and anticipation of the objects, which eventually improves the skills of spatial reasoning (Anderson, Douglas, and Katherine 45). Furthermore, there is a special skill acquired through critical thinking, with critical thinking, one is able to master concepts rather than just memorize those concepts. Critical thinking is very important in making insights in technical subjects like engineering, math, science, and even humanities, in the playing of the video games, there are novels of problems that are presented to the person playing the game and needs a split of a second to solve (Anderson, Douglas, and Katherine 49). In this case, the gamers will have to learn how to think quickly and in several ways within a short time, the same speedy solution to a problem by provision of many options is transferred to other real life situ ation and the teenagers that play such video games have high chances of sharpening the critical thinking. In addition, the fact that video games are designed to be more realistic and the concern that it might increase violent activities is not true, as most of the video games today have been used to pass specific knowledge and have dominated teaching in institution. Simulation using video games are today used in surgery schools and can pass important information to the teenager who wants to acquire specific skills like surgery. There is also a sense of rehabilitation that comes with video game playing, for instance, there is a 13-year-old boy who suffered Erb’s palsy noticed remarkable improvement on how to control his arms after video games play (Bissell 32). Additionally, there is a false stereotype that is given to those who play video games, they are described as those who are antisocial and cannot lose an eye off the screen, this position is not true because the contempo rary video games are designed in a way that it helps in solving problem and complete tasks. There is the sense of building social skills especially those who are introverted; they get a solace from the video games that provide a stress free way for social interaction

Vascular Senile Dementia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vascular Senile Dementia - Research Paper Example When people hear these things, they automatically think of their hearts. The fact is, these are the very same problems that cause vascular dementia. Other things that can cause or contribute to vascular dementia are arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, TIA, atrial fibrillation, snoring, carotid bruits, alcoholism, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and smoking. Dementia means deprived mind and often includes a decline in memory, reasoning, thinking and mental functions. More than three million Americans now have dementia. The age of onset is usually 55-70 and the onset is usually quite abrupt. It often starts with paroxysmal deterioration of intellectual functions and this becomes clearly a succession of strokes and infarcts in the brain. There is often a fluctuation of mental status followed by generalized deterioration(Matteson, McConnell, & Linton pg. 1162). There may also be focal neurological signs such as asymmetrical reflexes, extensor plantar responses, limb weakness and focal signs like twitching plus a small step gate.

5 X 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

5 X 2 - Coursework Example izona, were killed by a flash flood that had its origins in a distant, unseen cloudburst.   Flash floods commonly occur during Arizona’s monsoon season, and are chiefly caused by short-lived rainfall (Arizonas Geologic Hazard Center, 2006). Some of the losses associated with floods are the damage caused to farmlands. Flooding also damages roads, collapses bridges and results in traffic congestion; which may affect day to day life. Moreover, flooding spreads infectious diseases like military fever, pneumonic plague, dermatopathia, dysentery, common cold -type A, and breakbone fever (Effects of Flooding, 2004).   ADEM administers the flood management assistance program, on behalf of the federal government. It constitutes the major source of funds that are deployed for the express purpose of flood mitigation. In addition, the ADEM spreads awareness, regarding the basic steps that everyone must adopt, as part of flood damage mitigation activities. As such, with respect to floods, the ADEM has a comprehensive mitigation and risk response plan (Floods, 2003). The skeletal muscles are muscles that are directly attached to the bones by the tendons. They are made up of striated muscle tissue. These muscles permit the movement of joints, by the forces that they bring to bear on the bones. Such force is the result of the contractions and expansions that these muscles undergo. Skeletal muscles are under voluntary control. This can be understood as conscious control from the brain generates signals that simulate the movement of these muscles. Smooth muscles are involuntary, non-striated and present in hollow organs, such as the bladder and in the blood vessels. They can be simulated directly by the central nervous system. The autonomous nervous system generates signals that control the movement of these muscles, which are rhythmic and automatically controlled. The cardiac muscle is a striated muscle, found in the heart. To ensure coordinated contractions and relaxations

Causes of Civil War Essay Example for Free

Causes of Civil War Essay You hear the word civil in such terms as civil rights, civilian, civilization and civil liberty. All are related to the concept of a common citizen and a member of society. So, a civil war is a war between citizens representing different groups or sections of the same country. That is how the Civil War in the United States between 1850-1860 started. The distinction of ideas about slavery between the South and the North was pretty much the main cause of the war. However if we look at the details carefully, the economic forces in the South combined with the cotton plantations and the reactions to abolitionism in the South were the main factors that caused the Civil War. Economics was an important cause of the Civil War. Economic reasons affected and still affect almost everyone around the world. The economy, simply money gives people a lot of power, which causes a lot of problems between people, and makes everything more complicated. That’s pretty much why it was a big deal with the starting of the Civil War. It started around early 1800s with the harvesting of cotton in the South (Holland, â€Å"The North-South Divide†). Harvesting of cotton required the labor of many people with the invention of cotton gin. So, the way of making a lot of money out of cotton was to find enough laborers to work with. That’s how slavery became essential for the South’s economic future because it was a great source of laborers. In this way slave and cotton plantation owners were making a lot of money and expanding their plantations and of course the number of slaves they owned, which made slavery expand in the South pretty quickly. Also, people who owned slaves and the cotton plantations were mostly the men of social and political power, and of course they didn’t want to lose their power. They were getting richer and richer every day with the expanding plantations with the invention of the cotton gin. For example, Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee were some of the most powerful slave owners of that time. Davis had a great political career, and Lee was an important commander and general in the army. They and the other slave owners got their power from slavery and didn’t want to lose that power. While slavery kept expanding in the South, the North didn’t like that. The North was against the expansion of slavery, an opposition captured by Free Soil Ideology. Their main purpose was opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories, because they saw it as a corrupt economic system. This made the South see the Free Soil movement as a threat of making slavery totally disappear. The South was threatened because they thought this ideology in the North would keep expanding and finally free all the slaves they owned, and ruining the Southern economy (Brinkley). While this happened in the South, the idea of abolitionism kept spreading through the North. Another cause of divisions between the North and the South was the abolitionist movement. The South saw this movement as a threat from the North, and becoming suspicious of them. John Brown was clearly the most significant radical abolitionist at that time. He fought slavery for years but his most significant action took place at Harper Ferry, Virginia. Brown seized federal arsenal, and he hoped the slaves would come to Harpers Ferry and march through the South, fighting slavery. This way he scared the South, because a slave rebellion had always been the region’s main fear, and therefore the South formed militias. Most Southerners were convinced Brown had done what a lot of Northerners wanted to do, which threatened them (John Brown Farm, North Elba, New York New York History Net†). In other wards, Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry 1859 fed fear of slave uprising. Southerners basically thought the Republican Party supported John Brown’s Raid and what he had done (Holland, â€Å"Abolitionism†). This was a big issue for them, because the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was elected the next year and he was a member of the Republican Party. The South thought that being a member of the Republican Party meant being an abolitionist. This worried them, because abolitionists wanted to make slavery disappear, and they thought that’s exactly what the new president of the whole country, Lincoln wanted to do. So, the South saw the election of Abraham Lincoln as a threat. On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln was not an abolitionist, and he didn’t think what John Brown did was good and ethical. He didn’t want to make the South be against him. He was just supporting the Free Soil Ideology. So Lincoln just didn’t want slavery to expand. However the South didn’t see this distinction. Even before Lincoln was inaugurated, Southern states began to secede from the Union (â€Å"Abraham Lincoln†). So that was pretty much how the conflict first started, and caused the Civil War to begin. The Civil War ended in 1865 and slavery was finally abolished. Slavery had been the main reason for its start, because of the economic divisions it sparked along with abolitionism. The harvesting of cotton was a big source of money at that time, especially after the invention of the cotton gin and needed a great source of slaves as laborers. The abolitionist movement added more to this conflict with the misunderstandings about Lincoln’s political views in the South. At the end, the price for the war was pretty high. Lincoln, a visionary president, was assassinated, and it was the bloodiest and the saddest war in American history. It has a valuable part in American history and worth remembering a clear example of what’s right and what’s wrong.

Factors Affecting Animal Growth

Factors Affecting Animal Growth Modern cattle are descendants of Bos indicus and Bos Taurus (Gillespie, 1992). According to Lawrie (1991) these breeds are believed to be descended from Bos primigenius, the wild cattle. The last representative of the wild species died in Poland in 1627 (Zeuner, 1963). Lawrie (1991) reported that domestication of cattle followed the establishment of settled agriculture about 5000 B.C. and domestication of hump-back cattle (Bos indicus) existed in Mesopotamia by 4500 B.C. Garner (1944) stated that the immediate predecessor of majority of the breeds of British cattle was Bos longifrons, which was of relatively small frame rather than Bos primigenius which is massive in size. The development of many present British breeds was due to the early improvements initiated by Bakewell in the middle of the eighteenth century, who introduced in-breeding, the use of proven sires, selection and culling (Lawrie, 1991). Since 1790, the focus on cattle improvement is towards smaller, younger and leaner animals; and there has been growing realization that breed potentialities will not be fully manifested without adequate food given at the right time in the growth pattern of the animal (Hammond, 1932a). Lawrie (1991) suggested that a beef animal should be well covered with flesh, blocky and compact-thus reducing the proportion of bone whereas in a dairy animal the frame should be angular with relatively little flesh cover, the body should be cylindrical thus accommodating the large digestive tract necessary for efficient conversion of food into milk and mammary tissue should be markedly developed. Aberdeen Angus has been regarded as the premier breed for good-quality meat (Gerrard, 1951). Lawrie (1991) reported that one of the reasons for the good eating quality of the Aberdeen Angus is its tenderness which is due to the small size of the muscle bundles, smaller animals having smaller bundles. Good-quality meat can also be attained by feeding concentrates such as barley to beef cattle (Preston et al., 1963). Efforts have been made to cross various breeds of Bos indicus (Zebu cattle) with British breeds, to combine the heat resisting properties of the former with the meat-producing characteristics of the latter (Lawrie, 1991). Unfortunately, unusual breeds of cattle are found within a normal breed: dwarf Snorter cattle occur within various breeds in U.S.A., and pronounced muscular hypertrophy, which is often more noticeable in the hind quarters and explains the name doppelender given to the condition, arises in several breeds e.g. Charollais and South Devon (McKellar, 1960). Recessive genes are thought to be responsible in both cases (Lawrie, 1991). FACTORS AFFECTING THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CATTLE Lawrie (1991) reported that as an animal grows two things happen: first, it increases in weight until mature size is reached; this is called growth and secondly it changes in its body conformation, shapes and its various functions and faculties come into full being; this is referred to as development. Genetic factors According to Lawrie (1991) several economically important traits in meat animals are heritable to some degree and can thus be selected for by breeding. In cattle, certain growth features are controlled by recessive genes which have not so far been controlled, complicating breeding. One such trait is dwarfism; another is the doppelender or double muscling condition, which causes muscle hypertrophy and thereby increases the animals commercial value (Lawrie and Ledward, 2006). Genetic analysis continues to reveal the genetic mechanisms that control numerous aspects of the endocrine system and, through it, meat growth and quality as concluded by Lawrie and Ledward (2006). Genetic engineering techniques can shorten breeding programmes significantly because they allow for the identification and isolation of genes coding for desired traits, and for the reincorporation of these genes into the animal genome as reported by Lawrie and Ledward. Experimental reproductive cloning of commercially important meat animals such as sheep, pig or cattle has been successful. The multiple asexual reproductions of animals bearing desirable traits can thus be anticipated, although this is not yet practical on a commercial scale. Environmental Factors Heat regulation in livestock especially cattle is of great economic significance, because mammals attempt to maintain a constant optimal body temperature (Lawrie and Ledward, 2006). Low temperatures tend to prolong animal development and high temperatures tend to retard it. Depending on their size, body shape and insulation through tissue and fur, some animals have a relatively narrow zone of temperature tolerance and others (e.g. cattle) a broad one. Static magnetic fields, for reasons still unknown, also retard animal development. Nutritional Factors Acker and Cunningham (1991) reported that the quality and quantity of usable meat depends on the animals plane of nutrition, i.e., whether it is over or underfed. The composition of the diet, especially the amount of protein provided, is also an important factor regulating animal growth and development (Wardlaw, 2000). Cattle digest cellulose which is better adapted to poor-quality diets, but their ruminal microorganisms degrade high-quality protein if supplied in excess, because producing high-quality protein animal feed is expensive. Several techniques are employed or experimented with to ensure maximum utilization of protein. These include the treatment of feed with formalin to protect amino acids during their passage through the rumen, the recycling of manure by feeding it back to cattle mixed with feed concentrates, or the partial conversion of petroleum hydrocarbons to protein through microbial action (Gillespie, 1998). In plant feed, environmental factors influence the availability of crucial nutrients or micronutrients, a lack or excess of which can cause a great many ailments. In Australia, for instance, where the soil contains limited phosphate, cattle are being fed additional phosphate to increase the efficiency of beef production. Also in Australia, cattle and sheep in certain areas were often found losing their appetite and dying in the midst of rich pasture; this was at length found to be a result of cobalt deficiency in the soi (Acker and Cunningham, 1991). Gillespie (1998) stated that plant toxins are also a risk to grazing animals; for instance, fluoracetate, found in some African and Australian plants, kills by disrupting the cellular metabolism. Certain man-made pollutants such as methyl mercury and some pesticide residues present a particular hazard due to their tendency to bioaccumulate in meat, potentially poisoning consumers. SLAUGHTERING AND KILLING OF CATTLE Slaughtering Religious slaughtering The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 (as amended) (WASK) require that all animals are stunned before slaughter, using the methods of stunning prescribed by the Regulations, subject to specific exemptions. One of these exemptions refers to slaughter without the infliction of unnecessary suffering by the Jewish method for the food of Jews; or by the Muslim method for the food of Muslims, provided the requirements for the licensing of slaughter men under the Regulations are met. Since a complete bleed is necessary, cattle are not stunned before bleeding (Donin, 1972). Religious issues surrounding slaughter without pre-stunning were explored in detail in the FAWC report on religious slaughter published in 1985 and have not been reiterated in this report. Council has taken account of relevant information generated since then in drawing its conclusions. Jewish method The Jewish method of slaughtering animals for food (Shechita) requires that they be healthy at the time of slaughter and must not have suffered any physical injury. For this reason, pre-slaughter stunning methods that are judged to cause physical injuries prior to cutting the throat have been considered unacceptable for this slaughter method. Cattle are restrained in an upright position in a specialized pen with the head held fast and the neck exposed in a suitable position for incision of the throat. A transverse cut is made using a reciprocal, uninterrupted motion of the knife. The intention is to produce an immediate outpouring of blood by severing both jugular veins and both carotid arteries. The knife used for cattle has a long, extremely sharp and undamaged blade. After the cut has been made the animal must remain restrained until it is bled out before being released, shackled and hoisted. With Rabbinical approval some premises have adopted a post-cut stun for cattle. The Islamic method The Muslim method of slaughter (Halal) is, in many respects, similar to Shechita. However, pre-slaughter stunning methods for cattle and sheep that have been demonstrated not to kill the animal, such that the heart is still beating, have been deemed acceptable and have routinely been adopted in many Halal slaughterhouses. The level of restraint required to expose the throat, perform an effective cut and hold the animal still until it has bled out is greater than is needed for conventional slaughter. The restraining pens used for this purpose require Ministerial approval. This is designed to protect bovine animals from any avoidable pain, suffering, agitation, injuries or contusions in the pen and in particular to ensure effective means of restraint and support (WASK). The design and operation of restraining pens are assessed by the SVS before Ministerial approval is given. Humane slaughtering Cattle are slaughtered by being first stunned and then exsanguinated (bled out). Death results from the one or the other procedure, depending on the methods employed. Stunning can be effected through asphyxiating the animals with carbon dioxide, shooting them with a gun or a captive bolt pistol, or shocking them with electric current as reported by Lawrie and Ledward (2006). According to Lawrie (1991) draining as much blood as possible from the carcass is necessary because blood causes the meat to have an unappealing appearance and is a very good breeding ground for microorganisms. The exsanguination is accomplished by severing the carotid artery and the jugular vein in cattle and sheep, and the anterior vena cava in pigs. Bleeding According to Beinempaka et al., (1990) the neck of the animal is cut and it is allowed to bleed by hoisting it up. They also reported that adequate bleeding is essential to reduce meat spoilage since blood is a good source of moisture and nutrition for most of the contaminating organisms. This indicates that the amount of blood retained in the beef determines the degree of spoilage of the beef. Panda, (1986) reported that the amount of blood drained out from different types of birds vary depending on the stunning technique and physiological condition of the cattle. Deskinning and dressing This process of deskinning is done manually or mechanical and manual at the same time. The mechanical and manual ones are normally done at the abattoirs. This involves using a sharp knife to deskin the animal while the machine pulls the skin off the animal. Dressing involves the opening of the carcass to remove the internal organs (Beinempaka et al., 1990). Care must be taken in removing the intestines, as an unintentional incision may result in the distribution of fecal bacteria onto carcass possibly contaminating the beef (Borch and Arinder, 2002). Washing Following the deskinning and dressing stage is the washing stage. It involves using a stream of water which removes dirt and the amount of blood retained in the carcass. This helps in reducing microbial load present on the carcass. Chilling This is done immediately after the preparation of the carcass and must last for as short a time as possible to avoid bacterial proliferation (Gracey, 1986). Nester et al., (2001) stated that chilling inhibits the growth of micro-organisms such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp at temperature below 3-50C. Chilling in a common bath may result in cross-contamination from Escherichia and Salmonella carriers to free carcasses (Cross et al., 1988). NUTRITIVE VALUE OF BEEF The use of lean and clean beef is advisable to include in diet, it could be as an ingredient in stews or traditional recipes. Beef is a popular meat rich in protein, being a red meat had always made it a bad food when it comes to studies and researches (Owen et al., 2005). Wardlaw, (2000) stated that, a lean beef adds to health benefits related to heart and prevention of cancer. As a matter of fact, no one can deny that beef is an important source of protein. Beef is found to be very rich in Iron, Zinc, Selenium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Magnesium. Sodium and Copper are found in good quantities. However, minute quantities of Calcium and Manganese are also present. According to Acker and Cunningham (1991), beef is one of the best sources for Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6 Niacin and Riboflavin. However, it is also rich in Thiamin and Pantothenic Acid. Small amounts of Vitamin E, Vitamin K and Foliate are present. According to Owen et al., (2005) the calorie count of Beef per 100 gm is 155.0; it is meat which is higher in protein and moderate in fat. Beef is good for bones and teeth. It enhances immunity against infections of ear etc., and prevents blood vessel walls from damaging. Moderate consumption of lean beef is altogether good for cardiovascular health and to prevent cancer risks. The amount of fat in beef carcasses has decreased compared to what it was during the middle of the twentieth century; beef contains about 6 percent less fat (Gillespie, 1998). FRESHNESS OF DRESSED BEEF Beef is a perishable product and may cause public health concerns. Fresh beef is most likely to spoil before it will cause food-borne diseases (Gill, 1998). For preserved meat the opposite may be the case, where micro-organisms have been eliminated. There is the tendency to use milder preservation methods either because of energy saving, because of consumers preference for mildly cured or cooked products, or their desire for having more fresh beef products or because of an aversion to the use of preservatives (Panda, 1995). According to Lawrie and Ledward (2006) in order to satisfy these demands, it will be necessary for meat industry to improve microbial monitoring of production including hygiene and to formulate processes which will give minimal variation in their results. Although intensive work is being carried out by meat industries to find substitutes for known processes with equivalent inactivation or inhibition of microbial froth, no overall acceptable alternative seems to be readily available (Gracey, 1986). QUALITY OF BEEF The quality grades are based on the degree of marbling (intramuscular fat) in the beef, and the maturity of the animal at slaughter (USDA, 2007). A quality grade is a composite evaluation of factors that affect palatability of meat; tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. These factors include carcass maturity, firmness, texture, and color of lean, and the amount and distribution of marbling within the lean. Beef carcass quality grading is based on degree of marbling and degree of maturity (Hale et al., 2007). Texture Meat from less tender cuts or older cattle can be mechanically tenderized by forcing small, sharp blades through the cuts to disrupt the proteins (Denver, 2003). Also, solutions of exogenous proteolytic enzymes such as papain, bromelin or ficin can be injected to augment the endogenous enzymes (USDA, 2007). Similarly, solutions of salt and sodium phosphates can be injected to soften and swell the myofibrillar proteins. This improves juiciness and tenderness. Flavour Evaporation concentrates the remaining proteins and increases flavor intensity; the molds can contribute a nut-like flavor. The majority of the tenderizing effect occurs in the first 10 days, although two to three days allow significant effects. Boxed beef, stored and distributed in vacuum packaging, is, in effect, wet aged during distribution. Premium steakhouses dry age for 21 to 28 days or wet age up to 45 days for maximum effect on flavor and tenderness.. Salt can improve the flavor, but phosphate can contribute a soapy flavor. SOURCES OF CONTAMINATION OF BEEF Lawrie (1991) suggested that contamination of beef is a continuing possibility from the moment of bleeding until consumption. Contamination of beef from the moment of bleeding until consumption is from microbial to physical contamination. The microbiological contamination of carcasses occurs mainly during processing and manipulation, such as skinning, evisceration, storage and distribution at slaughterhouses and retail establishments (Gill, 1998; Abdalla et al., 2009). Fecal matter was a major source of contamination and could reached carcasses through direct deposition, as well as by indirect contact through contaminated and clean carcasses, equipment, workers, installations and air (Borch and Arinder, 2002). Cattle slaughter operations, such as bleeding, dressing and evisceration, expose sterile muscle to microbiological contaminants that were present on the skin, the digestive tract and in the environment (Gill and Jones, 1999; Bacon et al.,2000). Moreover, dirty workers hands, clothes and equipments of the slaughterhouse and at the market by retailers act as intermediate sources of contamination of meat (Gill, 1998; Gilmour et al., 2004; AbdelSadig, 2006; Abdalla et al., 2009). Also, handling and storage of beef contribute effectively to meat contamination (Beinempaka et al., 1990). The storage place should be clean and preferably cold (400F). Any temperature above will contribute to microbial growth which act on the meat and cause spoilage whereas the beef must be handled with proper care. METHODS OF MINIMIZING CONTAMINATION OF BEEF Rangaswani (1983) reported that meat quality could be enhanced and prolonged when the causes of microbial contamination are drastically reduced or removed altogether. He stated further that quality and wholesomeness of meat depend on many factors of which the following are part: Source of Beef Meat from abattoir slaughtered animals and well established farms generally have less bacteria counts than meat from backyard slaughtered animals because at the abattoir or farm, all the necessary safety and hygiene consideration are undertaken. The level of infection is thus minimized unlike backyard slaughtered animals where animals are killed and dressed on the floor with no better hygiene condition (Zeigler, 1966). Health of Animals Beef from healthy animals keep longer than beef from diseased cattle. This is so because beef from healthy animals are more likely to be free from any microbes unlike diseased cattle. Zeigler (1966) reported that veterinary inspection should be the priority when animals are being slaughtered since it will be proven whether animals are free from any diseases. Method of Slaughter Meat from bruised animals, improperly bled animals, meat contaminated with faeces during evisceration and meat soiled with dirt from skin tends to spoil early. The normal micro flora from the skin of carcasses includes Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli and organisms of fecal origin (Cross and Overby, 1988). The source of these organisms is not clearly understood but in addition to contamination from the skin and intestines, equipments and tools during slaughter and selling of beef may be responsible for some contamination. To avoid further contamination, potable water should be used for rinsing carcasses and surfaces coming into contact with meat and offal. PRESERVATION OF BEEF According to Panda (1995) preservation or meat can be done by adopting several techniques among which are refrigeration, dehydration, curing, smoking, canning, irradiation, microwave heating and use of chemical additives including antibiotics. Refrigeration Refrigeration includes cold storage and frozen storage. In cold storage a temperature between 00C to 70C is employed and in frozen storage at between 150C to 170C (Panda, 1995). Controlled temperature assists in preventing quality loss and maintaining shelf life of the product. Proper air circulation in addition to maintenance of air temperature prevents mould growth and controlled air composition provides fresh air and avoids development of extraneous odour out of undesirable gases. Moisture control assists in preventing excessive dehydration of the product stored (Panda, 1986). Smoking Smoking helps in preserving beef by acting as an antioxidant, bactericidal agent and providing a protective covering on the surface. Smoking also imparts specific flavour to meat. Various types of wood used for generating smoke also impart different flavour to the finished product. However, the best type of wood which could be exploited for producing quality smoked beef is hard wood. Smoke also influences the colour of the smoked beef. Curing This is a process of preserving meat. It is done to preserve and maintain red colour of the meat and also to add flavour. This ingredients used include common salt, sodium nitrate or nitrite, sugar and spices (Beinempaka et al., 1990). Therefore selection of curing formulation is extremely important while using it, as long as large amounts of salt or spice will mask the flavour of meat. The functions of these curing agents are different. Salts assists in preservation of meat while influencing the flavour and texture. Sugar adds to the flavour while checking the drying and toughening effect and nitrate provide the desired pink colour to it (Panda, 1995). Chemical Additives Gill (1998) stated that fresh beef in intact carcass is not severely contaminated except for its surfaces and skinning. However, as it is minced for utilization in further processed products, the solution changes. As the beef gets exposed, added bacterial contamination from hands of operators and machineries used occurs (Borch and Arinder, 2002). According to Panda (1995) the use of additives in beef extends the life of the beef and has a little effect on the colour, flavour and texture. PACKAGING AND STORAGE If the beef is to be used for processing, then it is taken straight to the meat cutting and industries to be processed. If they are to be stored for use at a later stage, these are properly packed in suitable polythene bags and kept inside a deep freeze maintained at 15-180C. Panda (1995) reported that the packaging material used for packaging the beef should be colourless, transparent and of adequate strength to safeguard the dressed beef packed during handling and transportation. Also, the packaging material should not transfer any harmful substances to the packed material. The major objectives in using the packaging material is that it should provide optimum protection to the product packed inside it and to maintain wholesomeness for its anticipated shelf life, while preventing physical, microbial and insect damage with appropriate properties and capacity to preserve its nutritive value in an acceptable way and other quality factors, important in the marketing channel (Panda, 1995). Various types of primary and secondary containers as well as flexible material are being used for packing beef products. Primary container is one which is in direct contact with the food item. The secondary container is the outer box or wrap that holds the primary units of food such as jars, cans, tins flexible packages which have no direct contact with the food item. Some of the various types of packaging material used for beef packaging include tins, cans, glass, plastic films and laminates.

Simulation of the ALOHA protocol

Simulation of the ALOHA protocol Abstract-The present essay is a tutorial on the OMNeT++ simulation environment, through the analysis of the known ALOHA protocol. The model implements the ALOHA random access protocol on the Link layer, and simulates a host to server instant broadcast. ALOHA is rather simple yet convenient to demonstrate the potential of OMNeT++ in simulating wireless protocols. The final part evaluates the pure and the slotted ALOHA variations, in regard to the theoretical models. Introduction OMNeT++ is a discrete event simulation (DES) environment, developed by Andras Varga as public source, and is accompanied by Academic Public License, which means that it is free for nonprofit academic use. The intention behind OMNeT++ was the development of an open source generic simulation environment, not exclusively dedicated to network simulations as the more known ns-2, or the commercial Opnet. The environment offers instead, a generic and flexible platform to develop simulation frameworks dedicated to complex IT systems, as wireless and sensor networks, the classic IP and IPv6 stacks, queuing networks, optical networks and various hardware architectures. Typical example of a framework that provides simulation components for IP, TCP, UDP, Ethernet and MPLS, is the INET Framework and the MiXiM, which is an aggregation of several frameworks for mobile and wireless simulations. The OMNeT++ ver. 4.0 is built on the known Eclipse CDT ver. 5.0, and uses most of its resources. It is offered for Windows and Linux operating systems. The core of the models is coded in C++, in Linux uses the gcc compiler and in Windows uses the MinGW port for the gcc suite. There is a commercial version called OMNEST, with no significant accessories than the open version, except the optional use of the native Visual C++ compiler for the Windows platform. The ALOHA protocol was one of the oldest random access protocols, invented by Norm Abramson in 1969. The first wireless network, implementing packet switching over radio, used the pure ALOHA variation, have initially established in Hawaii. Later Abramson interfaced the ALOHAnet with the ARPAnet, the primitive form of internet. The ALOHA have inspired the creation of CSMA/CD and the birth of Ethernet. Finally, the random access protocol has evolved to contemporary CSMA/CA, the MAC layer of Wi-Fi. The slotted ALOHA and the later pure ALOHA have simple implementations, appropriate for simulation. It uses only the host to server broadcast instant, but is adequate to calculate the maximum channel capacity and demonstrate some other interesting attributes, as well. OMNeT++ DESCRIPTION The Structure of Models OMNeT++ is based on C++ programming and follows the object-oriented approach with classes and class instances, the so-called objects. The simulation model consists of modules, which communicate by message passing. The core element is the simple module, which is written in C++, and constitutes an instance of a module type from the simulation class library. The next structural element in the hierarchy is the compound model, which is formed from simple modules or other compound models. Every module, simple or compound, has ports to communicate with the external environment, called gates. Gates could be bidirectional or could be restricted to input or output. Modules are connected through their gates via connections and they communicate by exchanging messages, via these connections. The block diagram in Fig. 1 depicts the internal module structure according to the declared hierarchy, in OMNeT++. The connections are limited within the module range but the message exchange can be established across hierarchy levels. This is applicable in the case of modeling wireless systems and the simulation of ALOHA stations will make use of it. Otherwise, messages are traveling through the chain of connections. Modules have parameters, which are used to pass initialization data during the initiation of the simulation. The compound models can pass parameters to the contained sub-modules. The final model which contains the aggregate of the modules is called network model, is represented as a class and each simulation run is executed on an instance of this class. The NED language The structure of the simulation in OMNeT++ is based on the network description language (NED). The NED includes declarations for the simple modules and definitions for the compound modules and the network model. The language programming is accomplished by the integrated graphic editor, as shown in Fig. 2 or the text editor, as shown in Fig. 3. Both editors are producing equivalent code, and the programmer can switch from one another without any derogation. The programming model The typical code development includes the following steps: The programmer creates the network model, by creating the appropriate network_name.ned file, using the IDE. The NED file describes the network name and the topology, which are the names of the sub-modules, simples and compounds. Every sub-module should have its own module_name.ned file, which includes the parameter declarations and other meta-data. As mentioned, the behavior of every simple module is expressed in C++, so there should be two specific files, the module_name.cc and the module_name.h, for every simple module. These files are compiled during simulation execution by the supporting C++ compiler, and linked with the simulation kernel and libraries. The programmer usually tests the behavior of the simulation model according to different inputs. These could be entered manually by the user, during simulation execution, or could be included in a configuration file. Generally, there is a special type of file the omnetpp.ini that contains these parameters and the rest of the building blocks, to support user interaction. The IDE includes an editor for the initialization files, which can switch between form view, as shown in Fig. 4, and source view, as shown in Fig. 5. The two fields are equivalent. There are two fundamental methods to develop C++ code for programming the simple module behavior: The co-routine based and the event processing function. In the first approach, every module executes its own threat of code, which is activated every time it receives a message from the simulation kernel. In the last approach, the simulation kernel calls the module function, having the specific message as argument. Prior to main() function execution, an initialization function declares variables and objects and before program termination, a finalization function saves the data logged during simulation, and produces histograms. OMNeT++ Architecture and Potentiality The following Fig. 6 presents the internal logic structure of OMNeT++. The first block is the model component library, which the programmer develops in C++, and contains the compiled code of simple and compound modules. The simulation kernel and the class library (SIM) instantiates the modules and build the concrete simulation model. The user interface libraries (Envir and Cmdenv or Tkenv) provide the simulation environment, which defines the source of input data, the sink of simulation results and the debugging information. It controls the simulation execution, visualization and animation. Cmdenv provides only command line and text mode input-output, and it is more appropriate for batch simulations. Tkenv is the graphical user interface (GUI) of OMNeT++. It provides automatic animation, module output windows and object inspectors. The following Fig. 7 depicts an active simulation output through OMNeT++/Tkenv. OMNeT++ includes very powerful tools to visualize the interaction among modules. A sequence chart diagram provides a way to inspect the timing of the events during simulation by extracting data from an event log file. During the finalization routine, the logged data are saved to specific result files, the vectors in network_name.vec and the scalars in network_name.sca files, respectively. For the result analysis, OMNeT++ produces the analysis file network_name.anf, which contains aggregated data in vectors and scalars plus any histograms, created during the final stage. All the types of data can be further processed by using pattern rules, in datasets and charts section, to produced advanced charts and graphs. In the ALOHA simulation most of the available choices are used for demonstration. Aloha Simulation Background Theory The slotted ALOHA is the most simple random access protocol. The transmitting station always broadcasts at the full rate R of the channel. The transmission initiates at the beginning of the slot, which is common for the aggregate of the stations. If two or more stations transmit simultaneously, then the condition is called collision and all the stations involved, after a random time different for each, retransmit the frame until successful delivery. The procedure is presented at the following figure: The slotted ALOHA protocol allows each station to transmitat at the channels full speed R, but requires slots to be synchronized in all the stations, something not nessesary for the unslotted or pure ALOHA. The following assumtions are made to simplify simulation: The source generates single frames of length L bits. The inter-arrival times between frames follow exponential distribution. If R bps is the capacity of the wireless link then the slot time is set equal to the transmission time of each frame, which is: tframe=LR sec. All nodes are synchronized and transmit frames only at the beginning of a slot. If a node has a new frame to send, it waits until the beginning of the next slot. If two or more frames collide, then their hosts retransmit after random time, following exponential distribution. If there is no collision, then the node transmits its next frame following exponential distribution. I define N the number of stations operating the slotted ALOHA protocol and p the probability of each station to transmit in the next slot. The probability for the same station to do not transmit in the next slot is then 1-p, and for the rest of the stations is 1-pN-1. Therefore, the probability for a station to have a successful transmission during the next slot is to transmit and the rest of the stations to do not transmit, so it is p1-pN-1, and because there are N stations, the probability that an arbitrary node has a successful transmission is Np1-pN-1. A slot where a single station transmits is called a successful slot. The efficiency of slotted ALOHA is defined as the long run fraction of successful slots, which is: Ep=Np1-pN-1 (1) To find the maximum efficiency, we seek p* that maximizes (1). Then: Ep=N1-pN-1-NpN-11-pN-2=N1-pN-21-p-pN-1 If Ep=0 then p*=1N . Using this value, the maximum efficiency is: Ep*=N1N1-1NN-1=1-1NN-1=1-1NN1-1N (2) For a large number of active stations, the maximum efficiency accrues from (2) as N approaches infinity: limNEp*=limN1-1NNlimN1-1N=1e1=1e=0.368 (3) From (3), the maximum efficiency of slotted ALOHA is 0.368 or 36.8% The unslotted version or pure ALOHA protocol does not have the restriction of slot synchronizing, and the station is able to broadcast when a new frame is available. So pure ALOHA is a full-decentralized random access protocol. When a transmitting station detects a collision, after completing the transmission, it retransmits the frame with probability p. If it chooses to postpone the transmission for a single frame transmission period tframe=LR sec, then the probability is (1-p). The figure below depicts transmissions and collisions in the unslotted channel. The maximum efficiency of pure ALOHA protocol is calculated similarly as the slotted ALOHA. The only difference here is that the rest of the stations should have not begun transmitting before and should not begin during the broadcast of the given station. The probability that the rest of the stations remain idle is 1-pN-1 and the probability that they remain idle is 1-pN-1 again. Therefore, the probability that the given station will have a successful transmission is p1-p2N-1. Again, we seek the value of p* that maximizes (4), which is the probability of successful transmission for the sum of the N stations. Ep=Np1-p2N-1 (4) Ep=N1-p2N-2-Np2N-11-p2N-3=N1-p2N-31-p-p2N-1 If Ep=0 then p*=12N-1 . Using this value the maximum efficiency is: Ep*=N2N-11-12N-12N-1 (5) From (5), the maximum efficiency accrues as N approaches infinity, which is: limNEp*=121e=12e (6) From (6) I assume that the maximum efficiency, for the pure ALOHA protocol, is 0.184 or 18.39%, the half of slotted ALOHA. Another useful diagram is in Fig. 10. It depicts the apparent superiority of slotted ALOHA over the pure ALOHA protocol, despite the limitations that turn it to non-functional. The normalized total traffic is the aggregate traffic, which generated by the source of the station, divided by the channel capacity R and the normalized throughput ? is the average successful traffic (non-collided) divided by R. The slotted ALOHA achieves double throughput than the pure ALOHA and achieves its maximum efficiency when the generated traffic rate equals the channels capacity R. The pure ALOHA although, achieves its maximum efficiency when the generated traffic equals to R/2. Model Development NED language The following paragraphs describe the process of creating a functional model for the simulation of ALOHA protocol in OMNeT++. The object of simulation is to study the behavior of the ALOHA model and to confirm the theoretical values of maximum efficiency for pure and slotted ALOHA. The ALOHA random access protocol is peer based and does not use a server-client architecture. It is convenient to study the effect of collisions and random retransmissions only in the case when one host is receiving (becomes server) and the rest of the hosts are transmitting. The first step is to develop the NED code that describes the network Aloha. The following Aloha.ned file creates the Aloha network, which consist of simple modules, one called server and a number of hosts, equal to numHosts parameter. The txRate defines the transmission rate R, of the wireless channel, and slotTime defines the type of protocol. Zero means pure ALOHA and 100ms defines the slot time length. The parameter @display selects a background image, taken from the library. network Aloha { parameters: int numHosts; // number of hosts double txRate @unit(bps); // transmission rate double slotTime @unit(ms);// zero means no slots (pure Aloha) @display(bgi=background/terrain); submodules: server: Server; host[numHosts]: Host { txRate = txRate; slotTime = slotTime; } } The following Server.ned file describes the servers simple module. It loads an image for the server icon and defines a gate of input type (in), with which it is not necessary to establish a connection. It can receive a message directly from a host via @directIn, something that is usual to wireless simulations. simple Server { parameters: @display(i=device/antennatower_l); gates: input in @directIn; } The following Host.ned describes the hosts simple module. It loads a set of parameters from the omnetpp.ini file, the radioDelay, which is the propagation delay over the radio link, pkLenBits, which is the length of the frame, and iaTime, which is the random inter-arrival time, following exponential distribution. The rest of the parameters, txRate and slotTime, are loaded in Aloha.ned, during sub-module instantiation. simple Host { parameters: double txRate @unit(bps); // transmission rate double radioDelay @unit(s);// propagation delay of radio link volatile int pkLenBits @unit(b); // packet length in bits volatile double iaTime @unit(s); // packet interarrival time double slotTime @unit(s); // zero means no slots (pure Aloha) @display(i=device/pc_s); } Configuration The most critical file is the configuration file omnetpp.ini. It stores the values of the parameters that are loaded in the NED parameter fields. When declaring on the [General] field that Aloha.slotTime=0, is presets globally the pure ALOHA protocol. Similarly, the Aloha.numHosts=20 defines the number of hosts to be 20, the Aloha.txRate=9.6kbps defines the R to be 9600bps. The last definitions load the parameters of Aloha model and consequently the parameters of the simple modules that Aloha model controls, which are the server and the host modules. The definitions Aloha.host[*].pkLenBits=952b and Aloha.host[*].radioDelay=10ms load directly the parameters pk.LenBits and radioDelay on every host submodule, respectively. [General] network = Aloha #debug-on-errors = true #record-eventlog = true Aloha.numHosts = 20 Aloha.slotTime = 0 # no slots Aloha.txRate = 9.6Kbps Aloha.host[*].pkLenBits = 952b #=119 bytes, so that (with +1 byte guard) slotTime is a nice round number Aloha.host[*].radioDelay = 10ms [Config PureAloha1] description = pure Aloha, overloaded # too frequent transmissions result in high collision rate and low channel utilization Aloha.host[*].iaTime = exponential(2s) [Config PureAloha2] description = pure Aloha, optimal load # near optimal load, channel utilization is near theoretical maximum 1/2e Aloha.host[*].iaTime = exponential(6s) [Config PureAloha3] description = pure Aloha, low traffic # very low traffic results in channel being idle most of the time Aloha.host[*].iaTime = exponential(30s) [Config PureAlohaExperiment] description = Experimental mutliparameter demostration repeat = 2 sim-time-limit = 90min **.vector-recording = false Aloha.numHosts = ${numHosts=10,15,20} Aloha.host[*].iaTime = exponential(${mean=1,2,3,4,5..9 step 2}s) [Config SlottedAloha1] description = slotted Aloha, overloaded # slotTime = pkLen/txRate = 960/9600 = 0.1s Aloha.slotTime = 100ms # too frequent transmissions result in high collision rate and low channel utilization Aloha.host[*].iaTime = exponential(0.5s) [Config SlottedAloha2] description = slotted Aloha, optimal load # slotTime = pkLen/txRate = 960/9600 = 0.1s Aloha.slotTime = 100ms # near optimal load, channel utilization is near theoretical maximum 1/e Aloha.host[*].iaTime = exponential(2s) [Config SlottedAloha3] description = slotted Aloha, low traffic # slotTime = pkLen/txRate = 960/9600 = 0.1s Aloha.slotTime = 100ms # very low traffic results in channel being idle most of the time Aloha.host[*].iaTime = exponential(20s) A selection of the SlottedAloha2 configuration overrides the value of slotTime with Aloha.host[*].slotTime=100ms, which fixes the slotted ALOHA protocol with slot time to 100ms. The Aloha.host[*].iaTime=exponential(2s) sets the frame inter-arrival time on every host to follow exponential distribution, with mean time equals to 2 seconds. The Config option PureAlohaExperiment exploits the OMNeTs capabilities of organizing different experiments with simple repetition declarations. The statement Aloha.numHosts=${numHosts=10,15,20} declares three (3) repetitions having 10, 1 and 20 hosts respectively. The statement Aloha.host[*].iaTime=exponential(${mean=1,2,3,4,5..9 step 2}s) declares seven (7) repetitions, with interarrival times equal to exponential distribution and means, 1, 2 ,3, 4, 5, 7 and 9, respectively. The repeat=2 statement doubles the number of runs, so finally the available choices will be 2x3x7=42 from 0 to 41 optional runs. The statement sim-time-limit=90min constrains the simulation time to 90 minutes. C++ model coding The simple modules Host and Server are based on C++ programming. The relevant host.cc, host.h, server.cc and server.h, which are included entirely in the appendix section, implement the model behavior during simulation by exchanging messages directly one-another or with the simulation kernel. The following Fig. 11 is a design- level class diagram, describing the basic relationships among network module Aloha and simple modules, Host and Server. The two last, inherit from cSimpleModule simulation class library, and redefine the basic methods initialize(), handleMessage(), activity() and finish(), according to the desired function. The Aloha network model comprises of several Host objects and one Server, so it keeps an aggregation association with Host and Server classes. It passes also to them some parameter values, some declared in the omnetpp.ini file and some taken from user dialog form. The Host module keeps an one-way association with Server because every Host declares a Server object in the attribute field, in order to send a direct message (pk) later, by calling the sendDirect() function. The scheduleAt() function programs the kernel to send the Host an endTxEvent message when the transmission ends. This is represented by the self-association. Similarly, the Server module programs the kernel to send the Server an endRxEvent, when the reception of the message sent from Host finishes, and is represented as the self-association. The module code is cited commented in the appendix. Here, I will explain the finish() function of the server module, because it creates the result reports, necessary for the exploitation of the simulation. void Server::finish() { EV