Load shading Crisis in Nepal

Nepal is being ravaged by the electricity crisis. The electricity crisis of this millennium began in 2006. Nepal saw the last electricity crisis of the last millennium in 1999 and, with the commissioning of Khimti project in 2000, there was no load shedding through till 2005. Nepal was grappling with the problem of flood in the first week of August 2008, with resultant loss of life and limb as well as property in the hilly areas and Terai of the west Nepal. NEA was imposing a load shedding of 2 hours each day, two days a week.With effect from 27th August, 2008 the load shedding hours was increased to 16. 5 hours/week. The increase of load shedding by more than 4 times was ascribed to (a) inability to import power from India, due to collapse of a particular transmission tower in east Nepal caused by the breach of Koshi embankment, and consequent flooding of the area and (b) low water level in Kulekhani reservoir. There was one more reason behind the â€Å"augmentation† of load shedding hours which can be gleaned by studying following table closely . Why Load Shedding?It is rather normal for people to wonder why we have to put up with load shedding in a country that is endowed with an economic potential of 43,000 MW of hydropower. It is more surprising, knowing that relevant officials did have prior knowledge of what will be the demand for electricity in the country in specific years to come. NEA and other policy makers must have been in a position to prepare plans for an increase in generation. However, it is saddening to note that generation expansion has not kept pace with consumption growth.One of the problems behind this is the failure to complete project construction and commission in time – Middle Marsyangdi project is a prime example which was supposed to be completed in 2004 originally. However, looking at the magnitude of power deficit, it is not difficult to see that even with this project completed in a timely manner Nepal would have fac ed load shedding as the projects in the pipeline is not commensurate to growth of electricity consumption. Demise of Arun III and Load SheddingWith the country facing load shedding due to supply constraint, people, ranging from the then finance minister (an economist, possessing doctorate degree) and many electricity experts (self proclaimed and otherwise), have been ascribing the current electricity crisis to the cancellation of Arun III in 1995, which was scheduled to be completed in 2005. Silver lining Like in all dark cloud, some silver lining has been seen in the load shedding problem of Nepal. Candle industry, which is a flourishing cottage industry of Nepal, has further flourished due to the electricity crisis obtaining in the country.It is heart warming to note, as candle industry has high level of backward linkage, that it must be contributing to the economy significantly. Perhaps many a marital relationships, undergoing some crisis, must have taken a turn for the better du e to ubiquitous candle light during dinners frequently, even at homes! Similarly, sale of inverters, batteries, generators, solar panels, etc. also has increased by a magnitude. There is nothing to be happy about the increased turnover of these, as these have to be imported.In the case of inverters, the experts opine that use of inverters at home exacerbates the problem further as these mediums store energy inefficiently. Similarly, increase in the sales of generators has contributed to aggravation the fossil fuel crisis in the country besides contributing to environmental pollution. Due to time constraint, this paper is not able do an in-depth analysis of this aspect. Adverse impact Obviously the primary impact of load shedding is on NEA in terms of loss of revenue. In FY 2007/08 the deficit of electricity was 309. 46 GWh and at average revenue rate of Rs 6.70/kWhNEA could have earned Rs 2. 07 billion incremental revenue and would have been able to post a net profit of Rs 761 milli on, instead a net loss of Rs 1. 312 billion, but for this crisis. There was a time when even hospitals suffered due to shortage of oxygen which was ascribed to unavailability of electricity. Similarly, factories operating for 3 shifts had to operate only 2 shifts and those operating 2 shifts had to scale down to 1 shift. It even became difficult to operate a factory for a particular shift contiguously as the load shedding occurred in the middle of a shift which posed a new kind of challenge..In order to mitigate this problem, a number of industries acquired standby generators which increased the fossil fuel crisis by a magnitude. On the other hand, even after procurement of standby generators many industries were forced to stand idly by as they were unable to operate even the standby generators due to shortage of fossil fuel to operate them. Further, the load shedding problem also aggravated and compounded the fuel crisis as various factories, even shops and some households started using generators to mitigate the problem of load shedding.Besides, the use of fossil fuel as an alternative to electricity increased environmental pollution (due to industries, shops[20] etc. using backup generators) including indoor pollution. Anomaly There is a note worthy anomaly in all this – spilling of electricity (wasting generation capacity) in the midst of load shedding. In fiscal year 2007/8, as mentioned earlier, the energy demand totaled 3,490. 12 GWh while available energy was 3,180. 66 GWh only resulting in a deficit of 309. 46 GWh. However, NEA spilled 223. 378 GWh of this precious commodity during the same period .On the other hand, consumption pattern in Nepal is diametrically opposite of generation by RoR projects – high quantum of electricity consumption in the dry season (winter) and low consumption during wet (rainy) season. Kulekhani I and II – totaling 92 MW – is the only storage project in Nepal, generation from which could be tail ored to the demand. GoN Policy and Load Shedding Nepal’s Water Resource Strategy[24]stipulates that â€Å"by 2017, 2230 MW hydropower developed to meet projected demand of 2230 MW, including 400 MW for export.†According to load forecast prepared by NEA (table 5 above) peak demand in FY 2017/18 is estimated at 1770. 2 MW and to meet this level of demand the installed capacity will have to be at least or more than 3500 MW as power plants generate at around 50% of the installed capacity. Therefore, with 2230 MW in the system it will generate only about 1115 MW during the dry season and, therefore, the plan to export 400 MW will not be possible. Nepal can even escape from current petroleum product crisis significantly by electrifying transportation system (ranging from electric train, trolley bus, cable car, ropeway, electric bike, etc  to even hybrid car).Actually Nepal should aim to maximize use of power generated by harnessing its water resource domestically and also benefit by forward linkaged benefits. Use electricity to lift water to irrigate, to run cold storage, to set up agro-processing industries, use for industrialization of Nepal, also to set up energy intensive industries. The policy and strategy adopted by the government based on the assumption that Nepal has excess hydropower potential, the only use of which is exporting it to a neighboring country is at the root of all the problems.Presently the policy is focused on getting free energy by allowing developers to implement projects as export oriented. Which results in cheap and better quality electricity being exported (example is West Seti, Upper Karnali and Arun III) while condemning people in Nepal to live in the dark due to load shedding, leaving industries to starve for energy and continuing with long queues for petroleum products that pollute the environment and make people sick, increasing the absenteeism from work, and spend hard earned money on medicine and medical treatment. Way forward All problems have solutions and load shedding problem is not different. In following lines an attempt is being made to come up with certain suggestions as to how the problem is best mitigated. However, due to time and space constraint, all the issues could not be dealt with here exhaustively, although one could come up with many more suggestions. GoN Policy: Nepal government should have a policy to implement as many hydropower projects as possible with domestic investment so that investment linkaged benefit will percolate into the economy.This does not mean that we should close our doors to foreign direct investment. As long as the electricity is used for the benefit of the country who is investing in the project does not matter. Secondly, Nepal should allow projects to be implemented by the investor/s (domestic or foreign) that will generate the electricity at the lowest cost. Nepal should purchase all such power (at lowest possible price) and electrify the nation massi vely (not just for lighting a few bulbs in houses, though) and export the electricity that Nepal is not able to consume at premium .What Nepal should do is, instead of dedicated export oriented power projects, she should plan to export energy during wet seasons and off peak hours when she needs to spill her electricity generation capacity while during the same window of time the electricity demand in south is at its peak, thus commanding premium tariff. In this manner we could easily get out of the trap of long term PPAs and also take advantage from the complementarity of electricity market of Nepal and India implemented at the end of the survey license period.Infrastructure: Private investors have discovered that investment in electricity generation project is a lucrative business. However, they are constrained by lack of infrastructure like transmission network and access road.. Therefore, NEA should launch a campaign to build transmission network and if it is constrained by finan cial considerations, then she should, to use an old euphemism, beg, borrow or steal to build the transmission network where it enjoys both comparative and competitive advantage.Becomes clear by looking at the highest priority accorded to Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur trans-border transmission line that will be used to evacuate power from Arun III and Tamakoshi projects in Nepal. Moreover, all the connection points proposed across the border in India, like Gorakhpur, Purnea and Muzaffarpur (except for Silguri), are load centers suffering power deficit. Delayed Completion of Projects: A part of the load shedding problem is attributable to construction delays. Implementation of hydropower projects by NEA is fraught with both cost overrun and time overrun risks as the experience shows.Therefore, the best use of national resource is to have hydropower projects implemented by private sector that seems to be able to implement projects effectively and efficiently both in terms of cost and time. In order to mitigate this problem NEA should review structure and content of construction/supply contracts that it signs with contractors and suppliers and adopt construction/supply contracts which are not open ended (fixed time and fixed price) – not affording any latitude for increase in cost or completion time (to use the popular phrase with no scope for any â€Å"variation order†).System Mismatch: With the total installed capacity of over 687 MW now, the system is generating less than half of that during the dry season when the demand is at its peak, thereby creating electricity crisis. Nepal not only needs to have a reliable storage project in its stable but she should also supplement peak period demand by implementing daily pondage projects. NEA should also seek the cooperation of private sector to solve the system mismatch problem, by introducing bulk besides the seasonal variation in the tariff as it has now adopted for projects of up to 25 MW.Investment friendly environment: In order to assess the role of investment friendly environment in the implementation of hydropower projects, it’s educative to compare the target and achievement of 9th and 10th five year plans. Loss control: NEA announced that its net system loss was 25. 15% in 2007/08 and 26. 71% in 2006/07 This is total of both technical and non-technical loss. Technical loss can be significantly reduced by up to 7-8 percentage points by strengthening the transmission network which will definitely help in reducing load shedding durationSmart Retail Tariff: At present NEA has a specific slab structure of tariff for all kinds of domestic consumers irrespective of whether their demand for electricity is elastic (whether consuming it for luxurious uses like operating air conditioner, refrigerator or laundry machine) or not (use it just to ward off darkness). NEA has a social tariff of Rs 4/kWh up to 20 kWh – at which rate NEA doesn’t recover its cost (of generation, transmission plus distribution).Under the current policy the social tariff is not limited to indigent people only, NEA tariff should be amended to make social tariff available to only those who deserve it – poorest of the poor. Under a crude estimate, just with this one change NEA will earn incremental revenue of Rs 1 billion. Encourage Private Sector to Install More Capacity: Due to increase in the cost of construction materials like steel, cement, etc. private developers are asking for an increase in bulk tariff NEA offers to the private sector.GoN needs to understand that it doesn’t make sense for it GoN to earn revenue while NEA is hemorrhaging because NEA is also fully owned by GoN. Instead of revenue from duties, GoN should vie to reap benefit by the multiplier effects that will be caused by electrification of the country. What the government needs to remember is that sacrifice of revenue by it to increase domestic consumption will eventually enrich the macro eco nomy, hence the government, gaining from the multiplier effect on the economy due to forward linkages of electricity uses. Same is not true in the case of export oriented projects ConclusionIt is rather tragicomic to have a country like Nepal, richly endowed with water resources, suffer from the problem of load shedding. Besides, the problem is not too difficult to solve if only the hydrocracy (intelligentsia, politicos and bureaucracy involved in hydropower sector) starts to think outside the box. The problem is rooted in the tunnel vision. Because, although NEA has promised respite from it by 2013/14, it is clear from above discussion that even if the projects in the â€Å"pipeline† are commissioned by the promised date, the load shedding will not vanish.The load shedding is not happening because the decision makers are unable to figure out what will be the demand for the years to come or such data is not available to them. with regard to policy as well as with regard to wh en to start implementation of specific project to augment generation capacity – are not taken at appropriate time, the bureaucracy is unable to ensure that the projects under implementation are completed within expected time.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks Essay

This highly unpredictable 1993 novel by award-winning Faulks, focuses on the Battle of the Somme, famous chiefly on account of the loss of 58,000 British troops. The scenery is depicted so clearly that the readers will feel as though they are actually there, witnessing the mutilated, grotesque bodies, all as a result of the terrible war. The story begins in the house of Azaire, in France, 1910. 20-year-old Englishman Stephen Wraysford is staying there, whilst learning more about the textiles industry. He falls in love with Isabelle, Monsieur Azaire’s wife, who is 9 years Stephens junior. Despite the age difference they make love copious times, and soon run away together to an alternate part of the country. However, Isabelle falls pregnant and feels pressurised and confused, so escapes to the arms of her elder sister, Jeanne. Stephen returned from work and realised she had gone, without even knowing he was soon to be the father of a young child. After a few days the resilient character realised she was never coming back, and he forgot about his first love almost completely. The next scene takes place during the Battle of the Somme, where Stephen having had good education, was promoted immediately to an officer. He is often referred to as being ‘strange’ by his fellow men, of whom didn’t always look up to the cold-blooded, detached character. Stephen miraculously survives two years of heavy battles, and he becomes possessed by an inexplicably strong will to survive On leave, he discovers Isabelle’s elder sister Jeanne in the town of Amiens, and gradually builds up a relationship with the woman. She explains that Isabelle had returned to Azaire but recently met a German called Max of whom she fell in love with. She agreed to let Stephen visit her, as she was ill after being injured by a shell. The book goes forward in time to 1978, where Stephen’s granddaughter Elizabeth is trying to find out more about her brave grandfather. She makes frequent trips to see a man, Brennan, who fought in the war with Stephen. She had many notebooks that once belonged to Stephen, all written in special code. Elizabeth got a friend to study the books and eventually he cracked the code. Elizabeth thought that Jeanne was her grandmother, but her own mother, Francoise, finally admitted to her that her grandmother was actually Isabelle, the sister of Jeanne. On leaving the war Stephen married Jeanne, and Isabelle and Max both died, leaving the newly wed couple to bring up Francoise. Stephen is an extremely believable character, who had a disappointing upbringing, leaving him to be quite a ‘loner’. He has no friends or family, and doesn’t receive a letter until the very end of the war, which is from Jeanne. At the very end of the war him and Jack Firebrace are trapped underground, and so Stephen makes an explosion to attract the attention of his fellow men. Unfortunately, it is the Germans that hear the noise, and after hours of searching, they discover the man. I found this the most exciting and intriguing part of the book, and was relieved when the Germans embraced Stephen and gave him water to cure his dehydration. It was great hearing the utterances, ‘the war is over’. The title, ‘Birdsong’, doesn’t lead the audience to think it is a war novel, as a birdsong is a sweet, innocent, sound that captures ones heart. However, throughout the novel, Stephen refers to the noises of birds he hears. After making love to Isabelle for the first time, he lies in complete satisfaction listening to the birds. Also, at the end of the war, he returns above ground with some new German friends, to be greeted by the sweet tune of birds. When writing this I believe that Faulks’ intentions were to inform people of what is was like to be a soldier in the Battle of the Somme, and he successfully did so by producing a very accurate account of what it was like. I felt fully the exhaustion and hysteria that the soldiers must have felt and it made me appreciate to some extent just what they went through. This entertaining yet informing book is a classic that I will never forget, although perhaps a bit too long. This gripping, moving revelatory book intrigued me and I particularly recommend it to those that found history lessons tedious, but want to know more about the Battle of the Somme.

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Exam questions in History - Essay Example Analyzing the factual evidences and the historical facts, it becomes lucid that Columbus enjoys a distinction among the explorers which is not completely substantiated by his deeds. It is a fact that he initiated some important explorations which helped the European explorers to establish their imperial superiority in the land. However, it does not adequately establish his role as the chief explorer of the European desires and, in fact, he fell short of his ultimate goals. "Christopher Columbus is an unlikely figure to be considered the discoverer of America and the leading symbol of European exploration overseas... None of this is certain and probably never will be... By contrast, Columbus...knew what he was looking for--a sea passage that would carry him to the fabled wealth of China by sailing west from Europe. This is not what he found." (Marshall, 1998, p 16). The most essential irony of his life and explorations is that Columbus, all through his life, failed to recognize that h e had not reached the Orient but had stumbled upon vast lands totally new to the European mind. Thus, Columbus was a failure in achieving his ultimate goal and was a self-conscious explorer driven by the craving for discovery. It was never Columbus but others who found the full significance of his discoveries. In short, the profound popularity of Christopher Columbus is not completely substantiated by his actions. A. Module 1, Q 2: The actions of the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch explorers and colonizers and their impact on the native peoples, the environment, and Europe. Explorations and colonization by the European explorers including the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch explorers have influenced the course of human history in general and that of the native peoples in particular. These sea-faring nations of Europe were determined to enlarge their influence on the rest of the world through their explorations and colonization in the early fifteenth century. The main motive of these explorations and colonization was profit and the native peoples needed to suffer for the advantage of the European nations. The impact of the actions by the European explorers was favorable to the Europe, while the native peoples and their environment were adversely affected. The European explorers such as the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch attempted to discover better trade routes to Asia and the trade interests in home nations increased tremendously. Explorations were also fueled by the interest for colonization by the European nation, along with the quest for kno wledge about the new lands. The entire Europe has been enjoying the fruits of the explorations and colonization by the early explorers, while the colonized and explored lands of Asia, Africa, and America have been deeply disfavored by these explorations. "The nineteenth century was the great age of European expansion. For 300 years, following the voyages of Columbus, Da Gama, and Magellan, the shadow of the European hegemony had been moving across the oceans. For ten generations hardy explorers, traders, and colonizers had been hoisting sail in the harbours of the Old World to lay the broad

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United States Military Foreign Policy Assignment

United States Military Foreign Policy - Assignment Example Aside from militaristic efforts, the federal government also sought to increase its own power and ability to utilize all of their resources in order to win the war on terror. The President’s power was Constitutionally expanded in a time of war, so 9/11 permitted the government to implement these wartime powers, including the increase of domestic and international surveillance (known by the Bush administration as the â€Å"dark side†) and the â€Å"secret document† signed by President George W. Bush (unbeknownst to many in the administration) instituting military tribunals to hold and try known terrorists, as opposed to civilian courts guaranteed by the Constitution. The events of 9/11 enabled the federal government and U.S. military to expand their interests and presence in regions which previously seemed impossible. In order to convince the recently-patriotic American people that U.S. military intervention was necessary, they focused on the oppressive governments of the nation’s enemies. They put forth the ideals and values evident in the American Constitution articulated over two hundred years ago, in which every nation must hold democratic elections and a certain set of basic rights should be guaranteed to all citizens despite race, creed or economic standing. The fascist regime of Saddam Hussein fit perfectly into the mold of murdering oppressors who must be ousted from power to help people incapable of helping themselves.  

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Leadership - Essay Example have devised a plan that will enhance my strengths so that they become my core competency thereby assisting me to survive in this highly completive world. Before framing the development plan I have decided to conduct a SWOT analysis which will help me to recognize those areas that requires special attention. SWOT helped me to understand not only my strengths and weaknesses but also gave a brief idea regarding the opportunities and threat which I am likely to face from the prevailing market scenario. Down the line five years I have a plan to be the head of Human Resource Management in one of a multinational company where I have to manage people from different backgrounds and different cultures. For handling the job responsibility I need to enhance my leadership skill and have to overcome the weaknesses as soon as possible. Considering my strengths and weaknesses I have decided to learn more regarding communication, transformational leadership, managing conflict, and valuing & supporting staffs. I know that my plan is to develop a long term plan so that the existing loopholes can be removed. I decided to make a three year plan within that time I can develop my self and make myself capable of handling the job responsibility of an affective HRM in a multinational company. It is a know fact that to attain success during implementations of a project, the plan should be broken down in small segment and one by one each part should be implemented. After one part of the plan is successfully implemented, I will go to the next one. I also have a plan to maintain records of my achievement in form of different charts and flow diagrams. This will be of great importance because with the help of this charts if can understand what I was suppose of attain and what is my real achievement. The gap between plan and real achievement will help me to understand where the progresses got deviated and what remedial actions need to be taken for smooth progress of the plan. This

A wall of funnels concentrates swimming bacteria Essay

A wall of funnels concentrates swimming bacteria - Essay Example It also shows how these microstructures can affect the living, breeding and feeding patterns of the microorganisms. The structures are also responsible for the change in populations and patterns that the microorganisms are used to. The results achieved were through using funnels that were laced with reactive ion and microlithography fluids that were mixed with silicon water. The funnel enclosures were placed in a way that the bacteria would swim and then were sealed with microscope slides. The analysis of the bacteria behavior and swimming modes was determined through reading and use of the microscope (Martinko & Madigan 63). The results were that the swimmers were green in color and fluorescent, which represented the mobility of the microorganisms. The bacteria were initially spread on the funnel and as they communicate with each other to move towards the microfluidic mixture. With time, the bacteria travelled from the broader side of the funnel to the narrow part where they concentrated and coagulated together (Martinko & Madigan 112). The research has contributed to the in-depth knowledge of survival strategies that we can look at when it comes to evolution.It helps the scientific world in analyzing the changes that can be made when it comes to mobility of bacteria and how to separate

History of Camarines Norte Essay Example for Free

History of Camarines Norte Essay From 1573 to 1829, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte formed only one political unit known as Ambos Camarines. In 1829, they were separated but reunited again in 1854. They again separated in 1857 to be reunited again in 1893. This union continued until 1919. On March 3, 1919, Camarines Norte was reestablished by the Philippine Legislature in Act 2809. When Camarines Norte was separated from Ambos Camarines in 1829, it was assigned the towns of Daet, as capital, Talisay, Indan (now Vinzons), Labo, Paracale, Mambulao (now Jose Panganiban), Capalonga, Ragay, Lupi and Sipocot. Seventeen years later, it lost Sipocot, Lupi and Ragay to Camarines Sur in exchange for the town of Siruma. Juan de Salcedo, dispatched by Legazpi to explore the island in 1571, influenced the existence of Camarines Norte. After subduing Taytay and Cainta, he marched further across Laguna and Tayabas. He visited the rich gold-laden town of Mambulao and Paracale, obsessed by them about which he heard from natives there of existing gold mines. When Francisco de Sande took over from Legazpi as Governor General, Spanish influence started to be felt in the region. He established a permanent Spanish garrison in Naga to control the region and defend it from Chinese and Muslim pirates. Capt. Pedro de Chavez was assigned to head this force. There were already native settlements here when the Spaniards arrived. The flourishing towns of Mambulao and Paracale were two of them. Indan and Daet were the other settlements besides Capalonga and others. But Paracale remained the most sought after because of its gold mines. ** The national hero Jose P. Rizal and other Filipino expatriates who lived in Madrid and other cities of Spain, called ‘Los Indios Bravos,’ established â€Å"La Solidaridad,† their publication advocating for reforms in the Philippines from the Spanish governm ent. One of the editors of ‘La Solidaridad’ was Jose Maria Panganiban, born in Mambulao (now Jose Panganiban) on February 1, 1863. Lovingly dubbed by his compatriots the â€Å"Avenger of Filipino Honor† or â€Å"El Vengador del Honor Filipino,† this genius, nationalist, scientist and writer died on August 19, 1890 at age 27 of pulmonary tuberculosis in Barcelona, Spain. His remains were brought back to the Philippines by Dr. Domingo Abella in 1958 and to Jose Panganiban in 1985 – 122 years to the day since his birth – â€Å"to rest in eternal repose in the bosom of his beloved native town (Mambulao) on February 1† by MP Roy B. Padilla, Sr., Batasang Pambansa. The entire country and province respectively bestowed upon him a belated but rousing honors. The towns were chiefly inhabited by Tagalogs; the rests were of Visayan strain. However, most of the immigrants were from Mauban, Quezon. The Spanish missionaries did not falter in their mission to Christianize the natives. ** Daet Revolt : APRIL 14-17, 1898 Local members of the Katipunan led by Ildefonso Moreno and other illustrious patriots staged an uprising against the Spanish authorities here who have fortified themselves in the house of one Florencio Arana, a Spanish merchant and a long time resident of Daet. Sporadic encounters started on April 14 until April 16 when the rebels occupied Daet and surrounded the Spaniards in the house of Arana. But the Katipuneros failed to repulse the reinforcements which arrived in Barra (now Mercedes) from Nueva Caceres on April 17. Said reinforcements broke the siege of Daet. This resulted in the death and/or execution of many patriots, including Ildefonso Moreno, Tomas Zaldua and his two sons, Jose Abaà ±o, Domingo Lozada and Aniceto Gregorio, among others. While the Daet revolt collapsed, it signaled the start of a series of rebellion throughout the Bicol region. ** Another illustrious son of Camarines Norte, Gen. Vicente R. Lukban of Labo wrote a golden page in the history of the province in particular and the country in general. On September 28, 1901, Sunday, he led Filipino rebels, armed only with bolos and sharpened bamboo poles, in an attack against the contingent of American forces in Balangiga, Samar. Only 36 troopers of Company C, 9th Infantry Regiment of the US Forces survived the attack against 16 casualties among the Filipino rebels, giving the encounter its famous label â€Å"Balangiga Massacre† in Philippine history. This feat of arms is celebrated annually in Balangiga, Samar, and in Camarines Norte, with appropriate activities. By virtue of Act 2809 of March 3, 1919, Governor General F. B. Harrison separated Camarines Norte from Camarines Sur with the installation of Don Miguel R. Lukban as its first governor. â€Å"In functional sense, April 15, 1920, was the date of the organization of Camarines Norte, as directed by Executive Order No. 22 dated March 20, 1920, in conformity with the provisions of Act No. 2809,† according to Serafin D. Quiason, former chairman of the National Historical Institute (NHI). Presently, Camarines Norte consisted of 12 towns: Basud, Capalonga, Daet, Jose Panganiban, Labo, Mercedes, Paracale, San Lorenzo Ruiz, San Vicente, Sta. Elena, Talisay and Vinzons. Daet remained as its capital town. ** Wenceslao Q. Vinzons, Sr. Lawyer, orator, labor leader, writer, youngest delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention and youngest signatory of the Charter at the age of 25, governor in 1940 and congressman-elect in 1941, this provincial hero, refusing to surrender, evacuated the provincial government during the Japanese occupation to the hinterlands of Labo and led a guerrilla force against the Japanese forces here, capturing one town after another in Camarines Norte; organized an all-out attack on Daet, the capital town, and captured it on May 3, 1942; ***together with his father Gavino Vinzons and then Gov. Basilio Bautista, he was captured on July 8, 1942, but he refused vehemently to collaborate with the Japanese; ***few days later his wife Liwayway and children Aurora and Alexander were likewise abducted; he and his father mysteriously disappeared on August 7, 1942; â€Å"the remains of Vinzons, his father, his wife and two children had never been found;† the town of Indan where he was born on September 28, 1910, was re-named Vinzons in his honor and became the venue of the province-wide annual celebration of his birth anniversary. ** First Guerilla Encounter The first guerilla encounter in the Philippines during the second world war in the Pacific, occurred on December 18, 1941 11 days after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 and 10 days after the attack on Clark Airbase in Pampanga on Dec. 8, 1941 at Laniton, Basud, Camarines Norte when the Vinzons guerrilla group with some elements of USAFFE units engaged the vanguard of the Japanese Imperial Army advancing towards Daet, the capital town; a shrine was put up in Laniton to mark this historic feat of arms while surviving veterans and the sons and daughters of veterans who fell commemorate this event every Dec. 18 with fitting programs and activities in Basud and Daet under the auspices of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines – Camarines Norte Chapter (VFP-CN), Basud Municipal Government and the Provincial Government.

The World Aircraft Manufacturing Industry

The World Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Introduction As the globalisation spreads out the whole world, the connection between each country becomes closer. Airplane as one means of transportation also plays an important role to support globalisation. Boeing and Airbus are the two largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the industry. This essay is focus on the market for commercial aircraft manufacturing by analysing competitive factors in the industry and comparing with personal computers market. Background The world aircraft manufacturing Industry can be divided into Military Space Aero-structure and commercial aircraft (Sedaei.S, 2007). In the Figure 1, it shows the segments of world aircraft manufacturing industry. à ¦Ã…“ ªÃƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ½Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ .jpg Source: Commercial Aircraft Industry The passenger commercial aircraft is important in the aircraft manufacturing industry (Sedaei.S, 2007). In the large aircraft manufacturing, Boeing as the first producer, its quick development had made it become nearly a monopoly in the commercial aircraft. It made the prospect of airline worried. During the late 1970s, the nature of the industry was changed by European aircraft manufacturing. France and Great Britain created the Concorde with strong aviation industry, and then combined with West Germany to build up Airbus (Sedaei.S, 2007). Since Lockheed quitted in 1986, and McDonnell Douglas was merged by Boeing Company, the commercial aircraft manufacturing market is an oligopoly dominated by Boeing and Airbus (Besanko, 2007) Analysis of Commercial Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Market structure In the market, a few sellers control a significant amount of the market for the industry, which is defined as oligopoly. In the oligopoly, there are barriers to enter, due to the limitation of technologies and raw materials and so on. Also, the firms in the oligopoly are interdependent, which means that the action of one firm will influence all the other firm. Moreover, the non-price competition is engaged in the oligopoly (Besanko, 2007). As mentioned above, the commercial aircraft market has been in an effective duopoly by Boeing and Airbus. à ¦Ã…“ ªÃƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ½Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ .jpg In the Figure 2, it reveals the market share of Boeing and Airbus. These two companies control the whole commercial aircraft manufacturing industry. Because of the oligopolistic between Boeing and Airbus, the competitive relationship will depend on the instances of strategic interaction. According to the market structure of commercial aircraft manufacturing industry, each firm would like to consider the actions of others when making decision (Cook.A.J, 2008). Competitive Factors The five-force frame work is the one of efficient ways to analyse the industry. The Figure 3 presents the five forces: internal rivalry, substitutes and complements, entry, supplier power and buyer power. Figure 3: The Five-Force Framework Internal Rivalry is pointed to the competition within the industry. Price competition and non-price competition are involved on the competition of firms. Due to the particularity of commercial aircraft manufacturing industry, which is its price elasticity of demand is not large, it is hard to erode profit by cutting down price-cost margin (Besanko, 2007). Therefore, the market engages in non-price competition. In the non-price competition, the firms can make profit by increasing fixed costs, such as new product development, and marginal cost like adding product features (Besanko, 2007). Except for crisis in 2001, Boeing and Airbus keeps backlogs which can take them long time to finish. It is found that neither Boeing nor Airbus can broaden market share rapidly with high fixed costs during this time. However, when it comes to downturn, Boeing and Airbus are willing to decrease the product capacity and make a deal with each other to face the declining backlogs (Tuttle.M, 2004). Recentl y, in order to make products differentiation, Airbus has developed its A380, which is a double-decker plane with over 550 seats. To maintain the market share, Boeing plans to concentrate on 350-passenger 787 dreamliner which is to be more fuel efficient than the others instead of creating Sonic Cruiser (Boeing.com, nd). Furthermore, the government subsidies is one of the drivers in the competition of commercial aircraft manufacturing. Since the airbus is generated by France, Germany and Great Britain, it received subsidies from European governments. With these subsidies, to some extent Airbus can undercut to the price of Boeing and gain the market share. To Boeing, it is also supported by US government on military aircraft, so that it can remain its competitiveness in commercial aircraft manufacturing (Besanko, 2007). Substitutes is an important factor affect the demand of products. To make profit, substitutes operate in the same way by stealing business and enhancing the internal competition (Besanko, 2007). In terms of the airline, the substitute for Boeing and Airbus is the airplane made by others. In detail, it is not economical that using medium and large capacity to fly with nonstop point-to-point travel. Thus, it forced Canadian manufacturer Bombardier and Brazilian Manufacturer Embraer to fill in this gag. These two manufacturers created regional jets, and 2000 regional jets sold to date. Undoubtedly, it shocked to traditional workhorses Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s. However, the demand for air travel is climbing up, and some carriers suppose to choose Boeing and Airbus to maintain profitability (Cook.A.J, 2008). Some indirect substitutes include the other means of transportation, such as high-speed rail in Japan, which can only impact on regional aircraft in certain routes (Besanko, 2007). Barriers to entry depend on the limitation of raw materials and technologies and so on. The commercial aircraft manufacturing is a special industry with high development costs and experience-based advantage, which makes difficulties on entering. For example, the Airbus takes $ 13million to manufacture the A380. That will be a large amount to an incumbent and the non-experienced will make incumbents to be risky (Besanko, 2007). Suppliers and Buyers are another two forces. Boeing and Airbus can get raw materials and components from supplier markets. In order to tie up with suppliers, Boeing has set up its Global Airlines Inventory Network, which can order spare parts from suppliers directly (Besanko, 2007). Concerned with buyers, each has limit power which are airlines and leasing companies. Because of the few substitutes, the minimum backlogs orders can be kept with its rival competition. Moreover, during the recession, the orders can be canceled by buyers. The cancellation will influence the profitability (Lipczynski.J, 2001). Comparison with personal market Personal computers have possessed an important position in the daily life. The personal computer varies in different types: workstation, desktop computer, single unit, nettop, laptop, netbook, table PC, Ultra-mobile PC, home theater PC and pocket PC (Reimer.J, 2005). Also, there are many competitors in the market for personal computers, such as HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Apple, ASUS and Toshiba. Therefore, the market for person market can be described as monopolistic competition. Different from oligopoly, the monopolistic competition involves many producers and consumers, and no exact business can control the whole market (Lipczynski.J, 2001). For instance, the Boeing and Airbus almost control the commercial aircraft manufacturing industry. Whereas, different brands in horizontal differentiation and different types in horizontal differentiation exist in personal computers and they are substitutes. In the short run, it can behave as monopolies to gain profit wit market power. In the long run, due to the freedom of entry and exit, it can behave like perfect competition (Besanko, 2007). Also, the new product development in personal computers market is independent. The firms can make decisions despite of effects come from the competitors (Shepherd.W.G, 1997). For instance, in the commercial aircraft manufacturing, Boeing and Airbus are interdependent which means the actions of one will entirely influence the other. Once Airbus develops A380 as new product, Boeing abandon its original plans to develop 787. Without the government subsidies, the innovation seems to be difficult owing to the high fixed cost. On the contrary, the producers in personal computer can develop new product based on customer preferences independently. Compared with personal computers, the growth opportunities in commercial aircraft manufacturing are limit. Because of the oligopoly, non-price competition and interdependent relationships is included. Boeing and Airbus have its own customer loyalty, the high operation cost and technologies. It is hard for them to stealing business and market share from each other. However, in the personal computer market, free entry makes the entrants can obtain the profits when sellers set prices above marginal cost, and can offer customers much more new flavors, styles, and so on (Besanko, 2007). Conclusion Overall, the market structure of commercial aircraft manufacturing industry is oligopoly. Boeing and Airbus possess the largest market share in duopoly. The competitive factors come from both internal and external, which are internal rivalry, substitutes, barriers to entry, suppliers and buyers, influence the firm growth, new product development and pricing of the commercial aircraft manufacturing market. Compared with the market for personal computers, they are different owing to different market structure which is monopolistic competition. The personal computers can do innovation freely and large space to grow.