Ragamuffin War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ragamuffin War - Essay Example These two army generals succeeded in making the war big because of the support they got from Giuseppe Garibaldi who was an Italian fighter. The war ended came to ending on March 1, 1845 after there were negotiations that led to the signing of the Ponche Verde Treaty. The Ragamuffin War was a big war that took place in the Brazilian Empire. The cause of the war was that there had risen a difference between the status of the economy in Rio Grande do Sul as opposed to the other states within the Brazilian Empire. The main issue with the economy was that there was an over focus on the internal market as opposed to the external market; this means that the income that came from the exports was relatively low. The internal market was going through hard times after the products that came from region faced much competition from commodities from outside the state, especially from Uruguay and Argentina, where dried and salted beef came from. The taxes imposed to the gauchos (the residents of Rio Grande do Sul) were relatively higher than that which was imposed in other states. The goods from the two highly competitive countries were tax free, an aspect that forced the local goods to suffer a big blow. The outburst of the war came immediately after a presidential election. In the elections held the same year the war began, Antonio Rodrigues Braga was elected the president of the Rio Grande do Sul. As expected by many, the president would make changes that would see that the state benefit more from its production after the heightened competition from products outside the state. Despite being impressive in the first days of his appointment, he began having resistance from the farming community. The perceived unfairness in trade caused general Bento Goncalves to initiate a revolution that would see the overturning of the government. This took place in September of 1935, where the General took captive of Porto Alegre and

Human Relations Managing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Human Relations Managing - Research Paper Example Trade unions are a collection of individual, who join it, in order to attain freedom from varied types of unfair practices within the organization such as unfair wages, unfair environment, improper treatment etc. However, the trade unions help to the employees to attain their desires and needs through vigorous negotiation and communication with the employees of the organization. By doing so, the level of performance of the employees gets enhanced resulting in the upliftment of their productivity and performance. Apart from this, the trade unions help to maintain a good relationship among the employees thereby enhancing the rate of coordination and cooperation among them. As a result, the level of performance of the employees enhances resulting in amplification of the total productivity and reliability of the organization in the market among others. However, due to the improvement of the relationship of the employee and the employer the level of retention of the employees also gets en hanced to a significant extent (Claydon, 2003, pp. 334-356). Therefore, due to the retention of the experienced staffs within the organization, the intensity to develop varied types of inventive products and services also gets enhanced. Hence, the organization becomes able to satisfy the changing needs and demands of the customers. However, the trade union is entirely different from the concept of employer’s organizations. Employer’s organization is described as a group of employees, operating in a similar segment.

Enhancing Employability in Marketing Assignment

Enhancing Employability in Marketing - Assignment Example Particularly, the banking and finance industry has witnessed this and there is since a vacancy hence the need to employ more marketers and advertisers in London as its the country’s hub. Financial services, professional services, not-for-profit and media are hiring the majority of marketers in London (Anderson & Marsh, 2011). Also, another current trend worth taking note of in the marketing and advertising industry in the U.K is high demand for digital marketers. Technology has revolutionized the traditional way of doing business. Companies are now hiring personnel who can compete globally and those who are techno-savvy. For example, online marketing is a tool used by most companies that want to gain a global audience. This therefore means that there will be a very high demand for digital marketers who can use various online methods as channels of communication. Another significant trend in this industry is demand for marketers driven by regional specific industries. Each region in the U.K has a specialized marketing need. They will therefore hire marketers who they think will be most appropriate for those various needs. An example would be Leeds is dominated by retail, financial and professional services; Sheffield by manufacturing and public sector; Greater Manchester has a diverse mix of industry, com merce, public sector, as well as dominating the creative agency sector outside of London. The location of the port cities of Liverpool and Newcastle mean they operate almost as separate economies in their own right. This means that the demand for marketers will vary greatly and will definitely depend on the demand and supply rule otherwise known as Adams invisible hand theory. (CBI employability report 2010). Finally, the industry has also experienced a high turnover in the fast moving consumer goods sector.

Wal-Mart Is Bad for America Essay Example for Free

Wal-Mart Is Bad for America Essay Starting out with a single store in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart has not stopped expanding. The First Wal-Mart store was opened in 1962 by a Mr. Sam Walton. He opened the store with one intention: sell products people need at the lowest price available. Wal-Mart has since blown up into a globally known and used corporation. Currently, more than fifty percent of all Americans live within five miles of a Wal-Mart store, which is less than a ten mile drive away. Ninety percent of Americans live within fifteen miles of a Wal-Mart. (Fishman, 2006). Wal-Mart is bordering on 9000 locations worldwide including operations in Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, and India. Wal-Mart is undoubtedly a global powerhouse. This powerhouse is impacting its home country. Wal-Mart affects American businesses and employees. This massive corporation affects the health of the United States. It has many affects as it spreads around the world. â€Å"A century ago, the companies that dominated the global food trade were wholesalers. Today these giants are dwarfed by the supermarkets that govern the global food system from farm to fork† (Patel, 2011). In other words, supermarkets or â€Å"superstores† have dominated and taken over the food system. Wal-Mart would be the leader and most profitable giant in this group. With the company’s rampant globalization and its negative impact on American businesses, employees, and overall health, Wal-Mart has proven time and time again that it is no good for America. To begin with, Wal-Mart’s rapid growth has led to great success for the company, but at the expense of small businesses around the nation. â€Å"Supermarkets rule the food chain† (Patel, 2011). Smaller shops and businesses have been taking huge hits in recent years. Small â€Å"mom and pop† stores have been the backbone of American society and a symbol of the American dream since the founding of the country. That being said, Wal-Mart has been in constant competition with these stores, and many say Wal-Mart is doing a great job of destroying all its competition, even some larger manufactures’. â€Å"Not since the days of the British East India Company as the cornerstone of the British imperial system has one single corporate entity been responsible for so much misery† (Freeman Ticknor, 2003). There have been many efforts to combat these â€Å"big box† stores from taking over small communities, while other communities have welcomed stores like Wal-Mart with open arms simply because their community is struggling to survive and they expect such a large business to bring in jobs. It is true that Wal-Mart does bring in jobs. However, as people are applying and taking jobs at Wal-Mart stores, what they do not know is that, they are slowly selling their souls, giving up their pocket books, and becoming slaves of this corporation. â€Å"An exchange of goods at a low price benefits everyone-quoting Adam Smith† (Van Riper, 2008). At what lengths are customers willing to go through to have low prices? Although Wal-Mart offers these low prices, communities still do not want their businesses being forced out and have been fighting the big box store takeover. Americans have not all become accustomed to supermarkets and malls. There are Americans who still enjoy the small â€Å"mom and pop† markets on the corner and like the rich culture that comes from individual shops and town markets. Sometimes, these individuals make a stand against Wal-Mart and other large companies. Take, for example, the success of the citizens of Eureka, California, who were not thrilled with the idea of Wal-Mart coming to town and setting up shop. â€Å"Activists built a well-oiled machine of organized resistance† (Halebsky, 2010). Most towns and communities are not this lucky. The activists had help in this case from Al Norman, the founder of Sprawl-Busters, consultants who help local community campaigns against megastores and other undesirable large-scale developments. This is a reminder that under the right conditions, the small town â€Å"David† can topple a big business â€Å"Goliath† (Halebsky, 2010). When all of these viewpoints are considered, it is clear that Wal-Mart’s rapid growth at the expense of small businesses is bad for the American economy. Wal-Mart is crushing all competitors with no remorse. Wal-Mart forces its way into small communities and forces itself upon the citizens making them into employees and also making it so small business does not stand a chance. Small business in small communities, especially low-income communities, simply cannot compete with a large corporation like Wal-Mart. Though some, like the citizens of Eureka, may be able to fight a Wal-Mart invasion, most are not this lucky nor do they know enough to fight Wal-Mart on their own. Simply put, Wal-Mart is a disease; it infects one community then moves on to the next. In addition to these effects on small businesses around the country, Wal-Mart’s promises of low prices are also impacting its own workforce. These low prices often come at the expense of fair wages and sufficient healthcare plans, leaving Wal-Mart employees to work in poor conditions for little reward. Wal-Mart’s treatment of its employees has long been in question. â€Å"The sad truth is that people earning Wal-Mart level wages tend to favor fashions available at the Salvation Army† (Ehrenreich, 2007). In less sarcastic terms, Wal-Mart employees cannot even afford to buy the clothes they sell and have to end up shopping at places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army to clothe themselves and their family. â€Å"You have to keep wages completely down; you have to keep staff down† (Fishman, 2006). This is part of Wal-Mart’s business strategy for higher profit. Wal-Mart offers some of the lowest possible wages for its employees. Wal-Mart also keeps the available staff down so the employees on the clock are constantly swamped with business making them extremely overworked. So Wal-Mart has discovered the secret to maximum profits: keep the wages and amount of employees down, which means paying less people less money while still raking in profit. This sounds dangerously close to a sweatshop. â€Å"Wal-Mart has lately come under fire for its meanness over employees’ health-care benefits† (Economist, 2006). In the movie Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, there were several interviews with actual Wal-Mart employees who discuss the low wages and poor health care. In an anonymous interview, an employee states that â€Å"you should never have to choose between medicine for your sick child and feeding your family† (Greenwald, 2005). Wal-Mart offers big discounts and low prices, but the employees end up paying for it with low wages and poor health care. â€Å"The biggest single problem was health care costs which were rising 19 percent a year, mainly because Wal-Mart employees are sicker than the average American† (Bianco, 2007). Wal-Mart’s healthcare is a joke. The rates and premiums are through the roof with doctors’ visits costing one hundred dollars or more. The basic healthcare plan is a 25 dollar premium for an individual, 37 dollars for a single parent, and 65 dollars for a family. This plan included 3 total doctor visits per year before the 1000 dollar deductible kicks in (Bianco, 2007). So the key to Wal-Mart’s broken system is that they pay their employees low wages and overwork them, but if an employee falls ill, Wal-Mart’s own healthcare plan does not even provide enough to help their employees back to work. In addition to the low wages and poor healthcare plans that the company offers its employees, there have been an ever-increasing number of sexual harassment cases levied against Wal-Mart. One such case involved a male employee who made an explicit comment to a female employee who was bending over to pick up a package. One Peggy Kimzey, shipping clerk from Warsaw, Missouri, bent over a package when she heard a male store manager laughing with another male employee. When Peggy asked what they were doing, he replied with a sexual comment about her backside. He then continued even after she asked him to stop. Peggy filed a law suit against Wal-Mart. According to her attorney, Peggy, endured many other situations like this in her four years of employment. Peggy also reported that many of the other female employees went through daily degrading remarks from male managers, as well (Glazer, 1996). This was the beginning of many lawsuits against Wal-Mart and certainly not the end. Wal-Mart is also strictly and famously non-union. â€Å"Wal-Mart has been successful in keeping Unions out of its American stores, partly because it has the resources to fight organizers in the stores and in court† (Preface to â€Å"Should Wal-Mart Unionize, 2008). In order to keep goods at discount and keep wages down, Wal-Mart has tried extremely hard to keep any whisper of unionizing out of its stores. There have been countless attempts by Wal-Mart employees to petition and unionize, but even at the suggestion of a union being formed, Wal-Mart managers start the threats and spread rumors of jobs being lost if employees vote yes. One case came out of Jacksonville, Texas, where butchers voted 7 to 3 to unionize. After two weeks, Wal-Mart eliminated the butchers’ jobs by switching to prepackaged meat and scattered the workers to different departments, which effectively abolished the union. The federal Labor judge ruled this act illegal three years later and ordered Wal-Mart to reverse all its actions. However, by that time, the original butchers had left the company. (Pre-face to â€Å"Should Wal-Mart Unionize, 2008). This shows that no matter what, Wal-Mart wins. The corporation will do almost anything to keep unions out of the workforce. With all viewpoints considered, it is clear Wal-Mart does not take care of its employees. Wal-Mart employees struggle to make ends meet and there are employees that have to choose between the whole family eating and provide medicine for a sick child or family member. This is a ridiculous and disturbing way to live. Employees have no choice in most cases because it is the only job they can find in small towns where Wal-Mart has forced out all other small business. Wal-Mart’s treatment of its employees is ludicrous and barbaric, and it borders on slave labor. Wal-Mart plans every move it makes. It knows they are the only choice for most Americans in terms of employment, so they are able to set their own conditions. Wal-Mart sells goods at the lowest possible prices to keep their prices to consumers low. The problem is that they do not care how or from where those cheap goods are obtained. Recently, in the movie Food Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner (2008) broke down the supermarket walls and showed the public where and how their food transforms from raw material to the food sold in stores. â€Å"I think it’s one of the most important battles for consumers to fight, and that is the right to know what’s in their food and how it was grown† (Kenner, 2008). There has been a big push in recent years for more accurate labeling in the food sold in supermarkets. Many producers and supermarkets are fighting to not have labels on their food showing where the food comes from or even what ingredients are in the food. â€Å"Not only do they not want you to know what’s in it, they have managed to make it against the law to criticize their products† (Kenner, 2008). There are laws protecting the meat and produce companies from people openly criticizing their product. Oprah was even sued by the cattle companies for saying â€Å"it makes me not want to ever pick up another Meat patty again† on her show (Kenner, 2008). The meat packers unsuccessfully sued Oprah for bashing their product and loss of profit. Again, Wal-Mart has no regard for how they make money. It does not matter where or how Wal-Mart’s food is obtained, just so it brings in the maximum amount of profit for them. Red meat and poultry is literally packed into houses and not able to move, in order to gain more meat in less space. These extreme conditions, piled onto extensive hormones and steroids administered to boost the size of animals, make many farm animals extremely unhealthy to consume. There has been an extensive amount of E. Coli poisoning breakouts over the past ten years because of these chemicals growing in the intestines and stomachs of the animals. Yet agai n, Wal-Mart does not care how this meat is obtained just so they get it as cheap as possible and they can resale it marked up and make their profit. Americans have forever been informed of the horrible experiences going on overseas in sweatshops that are run by American corporations trying to maximize profit by paying workers in other countries massively low wages to make and produce goods such as clothing. Wal-Mart has also has been accused of running sweatshops and outsourcing its manufacturing jobs overseas to places where it costs less to make goods because they can pay employees less than American workers. â€Å"Americans may not know it, but many of the name-brand products they purchase were made under appalling circumstances† (Clark, 1996). Many companies, such as Sears and Bloomingdale’s, choose to outsource their work in order to maximize profit. Both companies are huge retailers and make a large profit every year, but this profit is largely based on their ability to produce clothing and other goods through sweatshops and cheap child labor in other countries. Wal-Mart is no different. Although Wal-Mart does not directly contract these sweatshops, they do go around the world finding the cheapest made jeans, clothing, toys, etc., and buy all of them up to turn around and sell them for a huge profit. So, no, Wal-Mart does not directly contract these sweatshops, but they do support this ghastly system. Wal-Mart has come into the Chinese economy in the same way it has in America, by putting a big blue store on every corner. In the most recent study, Chinese Wal-Mart stores are employing almost 150,000 people and drawing in more than 1.2 million people a month with more than 100 stores across the nation (Matusitz Leanza, 2009). This is leading to the same kind of shift to low wages and poor working conditions that is happening in the United States. Aware of these many issues surrounding its global presence, Wal-Mart has been growing involved in fair-trading. â€Å"Recently Wal-Mart has quadrupled its purchases of fair trade bananas, thus elim inating non fair trade bananas from its shelves† (Chu, 2009). However, this engagement in the fair trade market is not compatible with Wal-Mart’s current business model. Simply put, even as the economy is in ruins, Wal-Mart is managing to continue to bring in more profit every year at the expense of its workers and the health of its shoppers around the world. â€Å"Wal-Mart is a penny pinchers paradise† (Gross, 2008). So Wal-Mart finds another way to maximize their profit at the expense of others. Wal-Mart chooses to utilize sweatshops and child labor to increase their overall profit. Instead of using American distributors or buying locally, merchandise travels the world in the pursuit of greater profit margins for the company. Wal-Mart also chooses to expand its business overseas to China. This action also takes advantage of Chinese workers who, like America workers, need money and Wal-Mart is their only option. In conclusion, Wal-Mart is a huge corporation with many resources. Wal-Mart employs over 1.3 million people and over 5000 stores nationwide (Freeman Ticknor). It has been under fire a lot for several of its business practices. Wal-Mart offers horrible wages and meager healthcare to its workers. Additionally, there are many examples of rampant sexual harassment issues among the Wal-Mart work force. With these claims not ceasing, it is clear that Wal-Mart does not care enough about its employees to change. Wal-Mart obtains its food and goods from the cheapest provider and has no problem sacrificing quality or nutrition for the bottom line. There is also the controversy over its economic effect on American businesses. Wal-Mart destroys communities and small business. Piece by piece and store by store, Wal-Mart is taking over the United States. It wrecks communities and treats its employees like slaves. Simply put, Wal-Mart is bad for America. â€Å"Americans have stopped trading up and started trading down† (Gross, 2006). References Bianco, A. (2007, February 20). Wal-Mart: The bully of Bentonville: How the high cost of everyday low prices is hurting America. New York: Crown Business. Chu, J. (2009, April 1). The interest of large companies in fair trade is a sign of growing ethical consumption. In D. A. Miller (Ed.), Opposing viewpoints: Fair trade. Greenhaven Press. Clark, C. S. (1996, August 16). Child labor and sweatshops. CQ Researcher 6, 721-744. Ehrenreich, B. (2007, August 20). Unregulated capitalism exploits the poor. In J. Norman (Ed.), Opposing viewpoints: How can the poor be helped. Greenhaven Press. Fishman, C. (2006). The Wal-Mart effect. London, England: The Penguin Group. Freeman, R., Ticknor, A. (2003, November, 14). Wal-Mart is not a business, its an economic disease. Executive Intelligence Review, Retrieved July 7th, 2011, from http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2003/3044wal-mart.html Glazer, S. (1996, July 19). Crackdown on sexual harassment. CQ Researcher 6, 625-648. Greenwald, R. (Director). (2005). Wal-Mart: The high cost of low price [DVD]. Available from www.walmartmovie.com Gross, D. (2008). As economy tanks, Wal-Mart thrives. Slate.com, Retrieved July, 7 2011, from http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/AsEconomyTanksWalMartThr

Steering System And Suspension Design Mechanics Essay

Steering System And Suspension Design Mechanics Essay The aim of this project is to work with a project team to design, build and optimize the running of a Formula SAE-A racecar, with particular interest in the Steering and Suspension systems. The Formula SAE-A project team aims to produce a competitive racecar that will compete in the Formula SAE-A competition in December. To achieve this I was required to, research the important aspects of steering and suspension systems used frequently in a nonprofessional racecar and select a suitable steering and suspension system that is within the motorsport teams limits. This project includes suggestions for the design and construction of these systems, the installing and optimising(or tuning) the steering and suspension systems and future recommendations to provide the most cornering and handling ability. Identifying the critical areas that are important for competitive steering and suspension systems, I can improve the effective handling and cornering capability of the racecar. Improving the handling and cornering power of the racecar will allow faster speeds into and exits out of corners, which will result in quicker lap times, better performance and higher overall standing in the 2006 FSAE-A competition. Adhering to the rules and regulations for the 2006 FSAE-A competition I aim to select suitable systems that are within the project teams limits by considering the financial cost versus benefit or performance to the car, complexity and time to design and 1.1 Cornering Ability and Handling 2 manufacture of each system. Critically analysing the 2005 teams racecar enables me to evaluate the cars steering and suspension setup performance and find any flaws or ways to improve them. This will give me a better understanding of the steering and suspension systems and how to find the optimum settings to perform with the 2006 car at the FSAE-A competition. Using a suspension geometry computer program developed by Wm. C. Mitchell software, I can model the 2005 teams racecar to compare the accuracy of the program, and then apply the program to optimise the 2006 racecar. The ideal outcome of this project will see that this years FSAE-A racecar have a working and well-tuned or optimised steering and suspension system that has high cornering ability and handling. Most of this projects work will become evident once we have manufactured our design and are able to test the car by running it on a test-track. If all things go to plan, I should be able to make small adjustments to improve and finally optimize the handling and cornering ability of the car which will be paramount to the performance at the FSAE-A competition. 1.1 Cornering Ability and Handling The cornering ability and handling of the racecar is very important to the overall performance of the racecar. Having excellent acceleration and braking power is good but without sufficient cornering ability and handling, the racecar will not be able to use the full potential and is more likely to run off the racetrack than take a podium position. Cornering ability and handling will be discussed in detail and how the steering and suspension systems affect it. 1.2 Explanation and definition of terminology 3 1.2 Explanation and definition of terminology Here is a number of terms and names that will be used in this dissertation to avoid confusion with other names and meanings. Ackerman Is both a principle and definition, where the principle is that the extended axis of the steering arms projected rearward meet at the centre of the rear axle (shown in figure 1.1). This allows the tyres to traverse an arc without skidding, which would otherwise oppose the steering forces making it harder to steer. The definition is described as the difference in the angle of the front tyres when turned. This dissertation will only refer to Ackerman as the principle from herein. Camber Is the angle between the vertical plane and the centre angle of the tyres (shown in fig 1.2), which can be positive or negative. This changes the size and shape of the tyres contact patch during a corner which in turn affects the amount of lateral acceleration or force it can produce (cornering and handling ability). A small amount of negative camber is ideal (around 1.5 degrees) to induce camber thrust and ensure a good contact patch during cornering (smith. C. 2004). 1.2 Explanation and definition of terminology 4 Camber Gain Or the rate of camber change in roll (or as the chassis rotates laterally). Caster Is the angle between the steering axis and the vertical from the side plane (see fig 1.3). Positive caster improves straight line stability but makes it slightly more difficult to steer, while negative makes it easier to steer with less stability. Jacking Is an upwards reaction force generated by the tyres when the racecar is accelerated during cornering and has its roll centre above ground level. Where the upwards force on the outside tyre is greater than the inner tyre having a 1.2 Explanation and definition of terminology 5 net resultant force that lifts or Jacks the sprung mass. This is unwanted and unsettling to the driver and should be avoided. The roll centre Indicates the point at which the chassis rotates (at the front and rear respectfully) during lateral acceleration. The two moment arms between the roll centre, the CG and the ground plane determine the racecars sensitivity to lateral acceleration by the production of rollover movements and jacking (Smith. C, 2000). The roll axis Is the straight line joining the roll centres of the front and rear tyres The roll moment Is the distance between the roll centre and the mass concentration at the front or rear of the car. The mass concentration is the equivalent mass or point of the CG if it were split into 2 points, one front and rear. Steering Axis Inclination and Scrub Radius Steering Axis Inclination or Kingpin Axis, is the angle between the vertical and the steering axis (figure 1.4). This helps the car to exit a corner by naturally trying to align the wheels back to centre. The SAI works with caster to allow more directional stability but less effort on steering (more sai and less caster). Scrub Radius Is the pivot point for the tyres footprint or the distance between the centre of the contact patch, to the extended SAI to the ground (figure 1.4). This allows more feel in the steering, a little is good, too much can be detrimental due to the increased steering effort for the driver. 1.3 Overview of the Dissertation 6 Slip angles Are the angles between the direction that the tyres are facing, and the direction that the tyres want to go. Deformation is due to the elastic nature of rubber when a vertical load is applied. This will be explained in detail in Chapter 2 and its effect on cornering and handling. 1.3 Overview of the Dissertation This dissertation is organized as follows: Chapter 2 Discusses cornering and handling of a FSAE-A racecar and describes various steering and suspension systems. Chapter 3 Explains the rules and regulations of the FSAE-A competition and how it affects the steering and suspension systems. Chapter 4 Introduces Wm. C. Mitchells suspension geometry software, describes its uses and strengths for this project and how it will be used to improve the steering and suspension systems. Chapter 5 Describes the analysis of the 2005 FSAE-A racecar and documenting areas that can be improved and implemented into the 2006 car. Chapter 6 Describes the analysis of the 2006 racecar and recommendations for improving the cornering and handling ability. Chapter 7 Discusses testing methods and ways to document and record actual performance of the racecar, followed by processes for optimisation of the steering and suspension systems for the best cornering ability and handling. Chapter 8 Outlines the projects achievements, findings and future recommendations. Chapter 2 Steering and Suspension Systems for a FSAE-A Racecar 2.1 Chapter Overview This chapter discusses the steering and suspension systems that are commonly used in cars on the road and in professional racing, their benefits and limitations, the ease of manufacture and complexity of design. This chapter also discusses cornering and handling in detail and how the steering and suspension can improve its cornering and handling ability. 2.2 Cornering and Handling Handling defines the racecars ability to maneuver around a corner at maximum speed without losing traction. C. Smith (1978) remarks that being able to travel around a corner faster reduces the overall lap time on a circuit for 2 reasons. First is simply that the car traverses the distance in less time, secondly, if the car exits the corner at a faster speed, there will be no time lost from having to accelerate from a slower speed. Smith (1978) also says that the factors that determine the cornering power of a racecar 2.2 Cornering and Handling 8 include the cornering capacity of the tires, which is influenced by: Vehicle gross weight Vehicle downforce Height of the vehicles centre of gravity Vehicle load transfer characteristics Suspension Geometry Size and characteristics of the tyres So you can understand, the tyres are arguably one of the most important parts of the racecar because all the moments and forces that the car undergoes is transmitted through the tyres. The acceleration and direction of the car is passed through the small footprints or contact patches of each tyre. Understanding what happens here will help to get the most out of both the tyres and racecars handling ability (Smith, C. 1978). 2.2.1 Tyres and slip angles The tyres ability to grip the road is a combination of vertical load applied to the tyre, the coefficient of friction between the tyre and the road, adhesion between the road surface and tyre, and slip angles developed between the tyre and direction of travel. The vertical load that is imposed on each tyre is changing continuously on a racecar maneuvering around a racetrack due to the load transfer from acceleration, deceleration and cornering. As the racecar travels around a corner, the tyres are subject to forces which result in deformation in the compound that the tyre is made of, this elastic deformation results in the contact patch pointing in a different direction to the angle of the tyre (Smith, C. 1978). Shows the deformation of the tyre compound in the contact patch and the slip angle developed. The path of the rolling tyre defines the actual direction of the tyre as it continues around the corner.There is a relationship between the slip angles and the potential grip that the tyre has to the road. Some tyre data has shown that 2.2 Cornering and Handling 9 Shows the generated slip angles in the tyre contact patch as slip angles increase, the lateral or cornering force increases up to a maximum which then either begins to drop or plateaus then drops, usually sliding occurs soon after the drop in force. The flat portion of the curve at or near the maximum is the optimum range of tyre grip that experienced drivers remain in to maximize the cars cornering potential. shows the relationship between tyre grip and the developed slip angles. shows the relationship between tyre grip and developed slip angles, picture from http://www.donpalmer.co.uk/cchandbook/modelgrip.htm 2.2 Cornering and Handling 10 2.2.2 Factors influencing tyre cornering capacity The other factors as mentioned before, vehicle gross weight, downforce, height of the CG, tyre size and characteristics, suspension geometry and load transfer characteristics, all can be factored into the design or used to improve cornering and handling. The cornering force is proportional to the increase of the vehicle gross weight and generated downforce from wings or aerofoils. The increased pressure on the contact patch generates a higher lateral force component (Smith, C. 1978). The height of the vehicles centre of gravity from the ground affects the moment between the vertical force on the tyre and the CG, this will affect the lateral load transfer during a corner. The lateral load transfer changes the vertical loads from one wheel to another due to the CG tendency to move sideways during a corner, which will decrease the total amount of cornering force generated from the tyres. For example, a 400kg car with a 50-50 weight distribution front to rear will have 100kg vertical weights at the two front tyres. Assuming the CG height is 250mm above the ground, the track width is 1300mm and during a corner the car is subject to a cornering acceleration of 1.4gs we can determine the load transfer. LoadT ransfer = 1.4 Ãâ€" 200kg Ãâ€" 0.25 1.3 = 53.85kg So this gives us 46.15kg on one side and 153.85kg on the other and is a 53.85% load transfer to the outer wheel. Obtaining tyre data in the form of Tyre cornering force versus Vertical load will allow us to determine the total cornering force with this load transfer, however getting the tyre data is difficult. Generally the tyre data is curved with less tyre cornering force as vertical load increases, so measuring the data of each vertical load and summing together will be less than the equal load distribution. Reducing the load transfer is done by lowering the height of the CG and widening the track width which will improve cornering ability. The suspension geometry determines the location of the instantaneous centres and roll centres of the racecar, these control how much the chassis rolls or pitches during cornering and accelleration, which moves the CG and hence affects the lateral load transfer. 2.3 Steering Systems 11 During roll, the suspension geometry also controls the amount of camber gain in the wheels during a corner, the change in camber affects the contact patch (increase or decrease in proportion) which changes the cornering capacity of the tyres. Ensuring that an optimum contact patch is maintained through the control of camber gain and good roll centre location is key to good handling and cornering. 2.3 Steering Systems Common types of steering systems are: Rack and Pinion basic steering system Recirculating Ball Bearing more complex system Power Steering fluid assisted steering 2.3.1 Rack and Pinion The rack and pinion steering system is a simple, cheap and relatively easy system to implement. It comprises of a rack, or toothed bar/rod which slides left and right due to the rotation of a pinion gear that sits on the teeth (Fig 2.3). The steering wheel turns the steering shaft which rotates the pinion gear, resulting in the rack pushing/pulling the steering rods. The rods are attached to the wheel hubs which turn the wheels to the desired angle (Gilles, T. 2005). The most difficult parts to design or manufacture are the pinion and the rack, the pinion defines the turning rate of the steering wheel which affects the responsiveness of the steering. The rack need to have hardened teeth which could be difficult to manufacture to some groups or would involve a significant cost to have it done. Besides these two parts the rest of the system is relatively simple, as a whole the rack and pinion setup is a cheap and common system that is reliable and resiliant. 2.3 Steering Systems 12 2.3.2 Recirculating Ball Bearing A typical Recirculating ball-bearing steering system uses a worm gear to shift ball bearings that are located within a channel such that when moved, pushes or pulls the housing in which they sit. The housing has teeth located on the outside which are in line with a sector gear that rotates a pitman arm (Fig 2.4). The pitman arm is attached with the track and tie rods, which aligns the wheels. This system can also be described as a parallelogram steering linkage system in which the linkages trace a parallelogram (Gilles, T. 2005). Figure 2.4: Recirculating ball bearing steering, picture from www.imperialclub.com/ Repair/Steering/terms.htm A Recirculating Ball Bearing can also be used in a similar setup to aRrack and Pinion gear system, where the recirculating ball bearing housing replaces the pinion gear with a sector gear that pushes/pulls the rack to align the wheels. The recirculating ball 2.3 Steering Systems 13 bearing system is significantly heavier than the rack and pinion system, due to the extra linkages, housing and gears. Friction needs to be managed in the design stage, i.e. including grease input points, dust covers etc. However the Recirculating ball bearing steering provides more sensitivity to the steering and minimum slack or loose feel in the steering wheel. Costing is also increased due to the extra material and the complexity of design makes the recirculating ball bearing system less attractive. 2.3.3 Power Steering Power steering systems are the same systems as rack and pinion and recirculating ball-bearing but with a significant modification. In a rack and pinion power steering system, the rack contains a cylinder with a piston inside it, driven by fluid supplied by a pump (see Figure 2.5). The fluid lines run to a rotary valve controlled by the steering shaft which determines the sides of the piston that the high pressure fluid acts on. This pressure assists the steering action which requires less force to rotate the steering wheel. Similar to the rack and pinion power steering, the recirculating ball housing is assisted by the pressure respectively in the ball-bearing steering (Gilles, T. 2005). Rack and Pinion power steering, picture adapded from www.cars.com/ carsapp/boston/?srv=parseract=displaytf=/advice/caradviser/steering_ fluid.tmpl 2.4 Suspension Systems 14 2.4 Suspension Systems There are two common types of suspension systems used frequently today, dependant and independant systems. The various types of both are similar but have their differences and functions. Some of these sytems are described below. 2.4.1 Dependant Suspension Systems Solid or Beam Axle Panhard Rod Watts Linkage Dependant suspension systems are variations of a simple beam axle that holds the wheels parallel with each other. So when the vertical angle of one wheel (camber) changes, the opposite wheel also changes (Gilles, T. 2005). Examples of the Panhard Rod and the Watts Linkage are shown in Figures 2.6 and 2.7, these types of suspension are generally different ways of attatching the solid axle to the chassis. 2.4.2 Independant Suspension Systems Double Wishbone, A-Arm or Four-Bar link MacPherson Strut Multi-link 2.4 Suspension Systems 15 Watts linkage suspension. Independent suspension systems allow the wheels to move independently of each other, e.g. if one wheel were to move up or down, the other would not be affected directly. It is common for racecars to have all four wheels with independent suspension as this usually provides the most customizable setup options to maximize the handling potential of the racecar. Double wishbone suspension systems are also known as double A-Arm or Four-Bar link systems. They all comprise of equal or unequal parallel links from the chassis to the wheel hub, with the shock absorbers configured in a Push or Pull rod setup, as Figure 2.8 illustrates. Unparallel and Unequal double wishbone suspension with Push or Pull rod shock absorber setup. 2.4 Suspension Systems 16 The MacPherson strut suspension system (Figure 2.9) is very popular with passenger cars and some sports models since it is a relatively cheap system to produce that provides reasonable camber control (Smith. C, 1978). The MacPherson strut suspension is good for everyday commuting but does not provide sufficient stiffness to avoid movement within the components (compliance or slack) and would not fit comfortably with wide tyres (Smith. C, 1978). Multi link suspension systems are simply Four-Bar link systems with one or more extra links to attain extra control. MacPherson strut suspension, from www.autozine.org/technical_school/ suspension/tech_suspension2.htm The objective of the independent suspension is to provide enough vertical wheel movement to absorb surface bumps and compensate for the accelerations of the sprung mass, prevent changes in the distance between tyres (static toe) as they are moving, control the change of wheel camber angle and change of track distance with the wheel and/or sprung mass movement, and to ultimately allow the most grip or traction available out of the tyres while minimising weight and maximising stiffness in the links (Smith, C. 1978). 2.5 Chapter Summary 17 2.5 Chapter Summary Having discussed the cornering and handling ability in a Formula SAE-A racecar and what factors can influence the performance, helps to have an understanding of what is happening when a racecar traverses around a corner. With this in mind we can apply this knowledge into the design to maximise the cornering and handling ability of the racecar. Also selecting an appropriate steering and suspension system that will provide the best cornering and handling but also takes into account the motorsport teams resources (time, materials and complexity of design). Chapter 3 Rules and Regulations of the FSAE-A Competition 3.1 Chapter Overview This chapter covers the rules and regulations that will affect the steering and suspension sytems. Starting with the more specific rules that affect the steering and suspension systems, then moving into the general rules and regulations like material strength. These rules and regulations have been put into the competition to give the entry teams maximum design flexibility and the freedom to express creativity, but also to ensure that a safe and working car that minimises chances of damage and injury. 3.2 Steering Requirements The specific steering system rules and requirements are as follows: The steering must affect at least two wheels The steering system must have positive steering stops that prevent the steering linkages from locking up. 3.3 Suspension Requirements 19 Free play is limited to 7 degrees measured at the steering wheel. Steering must be mechanically connected to the wheels i.e. steer by wire prohibited These requirements do not severely limit the steering system design at all as for most of the previously mentioned systems, none of which include steer by wire and all affect at least 2 wheels. The rules that need to be kept and monitored is the free play in the steering wheel and steering stops, otherwise the design is virtually open. 3.3 Suspension Requirements The rules state that the car must have a fully operational suspension system with springs and shock absorbers, front and rear, with a minimum useable wheel travel of 50.8mm (2 inches), 25.4mm (1 inch) in jounce and rebound with the driver seated. So the rules again do not restrict the specific suspension system but merely sets a benchmark that it must perform to. 3.4 Other Requirements Other requirements set out in the rules define that the wheelbase must be of at least 1525mm (60inches) and that the smaller track must be no less than 75% of the larger track. The minimum material must be; either round mild or alloy, steel tubing (min 0.1% carbon) with minimum dimensions as outlined in table 3.3.3.1 in the FSAE rules handbook; or an approved alternatice material that is tested and proved to meet the alternative material guidelines in section 3.3.3.2 of the FSAE rules handbook. The wheelbase requirement affects the suspension geometry design, setting a minimum length for the suspension linkages. 3.5 Chapter Summary 20 3.5 Chapter Summary Knowing and understanding the requirements and rules set out by the Formula SAE competition provides a starting point for our design, also talking with the previous team and the performance will help to identify areas needing improvement and investigaiton. Once finding sufficent information a start can be made to get the ball rolling on design and construction of the steering and suspension systems. Chapter 4 WinGeo3 Suspension Geometry Program 4.1 Chapter Overview This chapter introduces Wm. C Mitchells suspension geometry software, Racing by the Numbers and shows its most useful power of calculation and display of steering and suspension geometry of any four wheel vehicle. The information it can tell us will greatly improve the time taken to analyse steering and suspension set-up and will allow fast optimisation when the time comes to testing. 4.2 WinGeo3 Geometry Program The steering and suspension geometry can be modeled on Wm. C. Mitchells software which is quicker than manually measuring all the various important values repeatedly for the various settings you wish to try during testing. This enables a comparison with the originally intended design parameters of the 2005 racecar and an indication of how well the car will react while cornering. It also allows a comparison of the initial 2006 cars design and actual geometry after construction and allows us to optimise the geometry to provide the best cornering and handling ability of the racecar. By 4.3 Set-up and initial measurements 22 measuring the data and entering into Wm. C. Mitchells software, we can critically analyse the racecar with regard to the handling and cornering characteristics. The software requires actual measurements taken from the car which will be done and recorded according to the geometry software requirements. Once recording all the information that the software needs, we can analyse the way the steering and suspension reacts with the chassis. Moving up or down (ride) or rotating (roll) we are able to observe the change in camber, steering angles and caster at each of those changes. This is useful since during a corner, we may model the changes that the chassis will go and can see the result on the tyres (and contact patch) and get an indication of how well it will perform. Wm. C. Mitchells software can also be used to aid in the design of steering and suspension systems, through its design and build functions you may specify various values and the software will convert it into the required lengths of the arms and rods. 4.3 Set-up and initial measurements I strongly recommend allowing at least half a day to measure up a car for the first time and someone to help. It will save alot of time that would otherwise be lost dropping things, re-setting the origins and other fiddly jobs that are not normally accounted for. Once installing the program, printing out some forms will make things much easier for entering information into the program once the measurements have been taken, as the forms sets out the required information neatly and in similar format to the program screen. Open the geometry program and from the help menu open quick start. The help tree is on the left side column, from there open the Files menu and then Blank Forms, here is all the blank forms that is needed. Click on Blank forms: Measuring cars for some general information and hints, for a double wishbone suspension with a push/pull damping system, click on the Blank forms: Double A-arm and Rocker Arm option and print. Also click on Blank forms: Pull-rod / Push-rod form, Blank forms: Auxiliary points, and Blank forms: Swaybar form and print them all out. These all will be 4.3 Set-up and initial measurements 23 sufficient for the front suspension and rear (remember to print a second batch of forms for the rear) unless you have a control arm / panhard rod rearaxle suspension setup, for which there is a seperate form. First you need to make sure that the car is set up already with the correct alignment and on a flat surface as it would on the racetrack. Ensure that access to the suspension points is possible and that they are locked in place so they do not move if you lean on the car (within reason). Then determine a baseline or origin accurately and place strings on the surface plate or flat floor or tie to appropriate point, to represent the centerlines of the car (front to back, side to side). Once an Origin for each Axis has been made, where the X-Axis is the fore-aft longitudinal dimension (front to rear of the car). The Y-Axis is the lateral dimension, or left and right sides of the car (drivers side passenger side) and the Z-Axis is the vertical dimension from the ground up. Care must be taken when selecting an origin due to common suspension adjustments, such as changing caster, can move the tire contact patch. Each such change requires a careful remeasurement (or re-calculation). When the car is ready to be measured, follow these steps: Measure the track width of the front and rear tyres by taking the centre points of each tyre as low to the ground as reasonable, the WinGeo3 program measures track at ground level at the center of the tire contact patch. The easiest way is to measure to the middle of the tire,but this can be misleading if the tire has significant static camber, so as long as you are aware of the settings you should be fine. Measure the static toe for the front tyres while measuring the track at the front and do a quick calculation of the static angle pointing inwards or outwards that

Essay --

1. What controls the Nanowire diameter ? Seed particle size / volume can be considered as a major factor controlling the Nanowire growth in conjunction with super saturation which is considered as a major factor controlling the Nanowire growth. Seed particle in most of the cases is a catalyst, e.g. Au. Sung Keun Lim et al [3] related mathematically the Nanowire diameter with the volume of seed particle and parameter beta (ÃŽ ²) which is the Particle-Nanowire contact angle. These authors [3] made use of two different precursors (group III and group V) : one soluble in the seed and other insoluble in the seed particle which in this case is Au. They proposed a mechanics that controls the Nanowire diameter and this mechanism is based on the diffusion (or more precisely dissolution) of the soluble precursor in to the seed particle and further reaction with the insoluble precursor If we operate at the steady state in such case Nanowire diameter remains constant because the rate of injection of soluble precursor into the seed and rate of further reaction with insoluble precursor are exactly t...

Coca Cola’s Water Neutrality Initiative

Coca-Cola’s Water Neutrality Initiative 1. The public issue that the Coca-Cola Company was facing is this case was its impact on its water use in local communities. The company was depleting local water reserves and introducing dangerous levels of pesticides in its products in and around its global plants. I feel that the nonmarket stakeholders were the ones most concerned by this public issue in the beginning. The global leaders (government) understood that the depletion of the world’s water resources could have a profound effect on the world in the near future.The water shortage also had an effect on the rise in food prices, regional conflicts, and disease. This in turn caused concern in another nonmarket group the general public. The general public are on the front lines in these circumstances, especially in third world countries where there is little corporate regulation and law. Because Coca-Cola is a World Wide conglomerate the global leaders and the general publi c expect the company to lead the way in terms of corporate social responsibility.I feel that in the beginning of this issue that Coca-Cola was primarily interested in facilitating the needs of their market shareholders. However once the global leaders and general public began to take notice they soon began to sway their views in terms of more efficient and effective methods to resolve their water issues to satisfy both the market shareholders and the nonmarket shareholders. 2. I feel that the geophysical environment and the political environment are the two strategic radar screens that stand out in this particular case.The physical environment affects the behavior and development of the people, both children and adults, who live and work in it. The quality of the physical space and materials provided affects the level of involvement of the children and the quality of interaction between adults and children. Coca-Cola definitely had disrupted the water resources of the local communit ies where they conduct their packaging and manufacturing.The TCCC managers should be concerned with these public issues and increase their environmental intelligence. The political environment is the other strategic radar screen that stands out to me. Differences in laws and policies from one regional government to another can mean that doing business can be easy in one part of a country and a nightmare in another. It may even be advisable for the TCCC to relocate all or part of its business operations to eliminate the negative effects of political hostility.This falls under the TCCC’s strategic management ability to institute some type of issue management to correct the water problems they face. 3. Issue management involves anticipating trends, responding to challenging events, engaging critical stakeholders; managers are responsible for managing strategic matters that affecting their organization. In the life cycle of any project, there will almost always be unexpected prob lems and questions that arise. Most issues are, by their nature, unexpected, managers need to deal with them quickly and effectively.The first thing that TCCC must do in the management life cycle process is determine the issue or event (internal/external), that if it continues will have a significant effect on the functioning or performance of their organization or on its future interest or what is causing a gap between their corporate practices and stakeholder expectations. Next management needs to analyze the issue by seeing if these gaps lead to a contestable point of difference, the resolution of which can have important consequences for their organization.Next management should frame the issue, specify decision factors, identify environmental forces by scanning and monitoring, develop alternate scenarios, and decide implications or recommend actions. Taking action is the next step in the issue management life cycle process. Barriers to effective issues management are the lack o f clear objectives, and unwillingness or inability to act Issues management is a process with achieved results. The scanning, monitoring, prioritization and strategic decision-making steps have no value unless action is taken toward achieving specific and measurable objectives.Finally, is the evaluation process of the management life cycle. Clear and measureable objectives need to be set and defined. The TCCC management needs to find the tools that best fit the set objectives. Tools such as surveys and interviews, as well as behavioral measures such as purchasing decisions, may all be necessary to evaluate the objectives laid out for the plan to succeed. I can definitely identify that TCCC has identified the issue of poor water conservation.It also appears to me that TCCC has begun to analyze and generate options with regard to their water issues. Finally TCCC has begun to take action to reduce their wasted water numbers and reverse the cycle of waste. The only step in the process n ot clearly cover I feel would be the evaluation process of how well the program faired. 4. The Coca-Cola Company used the reports from the Center for Science and the Environment and the analysis from the secretary general of the United Nations identify the issues they were facing with their treatment of water.TCCC used environmental intelligence to develop issues on their strategic radar screen. Once TCCC managers followed and assessed these eight different environments they identified their public issues and gaps between society’s expectations and their own practices. TCCC then used the issue management life cycle process to analyze the issue, generate options, and take action to prevent and correct the issues they identified. I feel the biggest benefit to the company was a more efficient and effective method of bottling and manufacturing the products.TCCC also provide their customers with a positive corporate social responsibility. Seeing the error of their ways was the fir st step need to improve their image. TCCC went the extra mile and acted on their findings and developed a new and innovative solution to a problem that affected the communities that support their bottom line. 5. I feel based on the information in the case study the TCCC did respond in an appropriate manner to the water waste issue.Any time a corporation can curve their waste (especially on this scale) they are excepting responsibility for their success through the communities they depend on. In most cases the corporation not only improves their social image, they also save money and costs through innovative techniques and technology development. I feel that there needs to be equilibrium for corporations between maximizing profits and duty to social responsibility. Works Cited Lawrence, A. T. , & James, W. (2011). Business and Society . New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin .