Interacting Galaxies - Galaxy Mergers and Collisions

Interacting Galaxies - Galaxy Mergers and Collisions Galaxies are the largest single objects in the universe. Each one contains upwards of trillions of stars in a single gravitationally bound system. While the universe is extremely large, and many galaxies are very far apart, it is actually quite common for galaxies to group together in clusters. Its also common for them to collide with each other. The result is the creation of new galaxies. Astronomers can trace the construction of galaxies as they collided throughout history, and now know that this is the main way galaxies are built.  Ã‚   Theres a whole area of astronomy devoted to the study of colliding galaxies. The process not only affects the galaxies themselves, but astronomers also observe that starbirth is often triggered when galaxies merge together.   Galaxy Interactions Large galaxies, like the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy, came together as smaller objects collided and merged. Today, astronomers see smaller satellites orbiting nearby both the Milky Way and Andromeda. These dwarf galaxies have some of the characteristics of larger galaxies, but are on a much smaller scale and can be irregularly shaped.  Some of the companions are being cannibalized by our galaxy.   The Milky Ways largest satellites are called the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. They seem to be orbiting our galaxy in a billions-of-years-long orbit, and may not actually ever merge with the Milky Way. However, they are affected by its gravitational pull, and may only be approaching the galaxy for the first time. If so, there still could be a merger in the distant future. The shapes of Magellanic clouds have been distorted by that, causing them to appear irregular. Theres also evidence of large streams of gas being pulled from them into our own galaxy.   Galaxy Mergers Large-galaxy collisions do occur, which create huge new galaxies in the process. Often what happens is that two large spiral galaxies will merge, and due to the gravitational warping that precedes the collision, the galaxies will lose their spiral structure. Once the galaxies are merged, astronomers suspect that they form a new structure known as an elliptical galaxy. Occasionally, depending on the relative sizes of the merging galaxies, an irregular or peculiar galaxy  is a result of the merger. Interestingly, while galaxies themselves may merge, the process doesnt always hurt the stars they contain. This is because while galaxies do have stars and planets, theres a LOT of empty space, as well as giant clouds of gas and dust. However, colliding galaxies that do contain a large amount of gas enter a period of rapid star formation. Its usually much greater than the average rate of star formation in a non-colliding galaxy. Such a merged system is known as a starburst galaxy; aptly named for a large number of stars that are created in a short amount of time as a result of the collision. Merger of the Milky Way With the Andromeda Galaxy A close to home example of a large galaxy merger is the one that will occur between the Andromeda galaxy with our very own Milky Way. The result, which will take millions of years to unfold, will be a new galaxy.   Currently, Andromeda is about 2.5 million light-years away from the Milky Way. Thats about 25 times as far away as the Milky Way is wide. This is, obviously quite a distance, but is quite small considering the scale of the universe.  Hubble Space Telescope data suggests that the Andromeda galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way, and the two will begin to merge in about 4 billion years. Heres how it will play out. In about 3.75 billion years, the Andromeda galaxy will virtually fill the night sky. At the same time, it and the Milky Way will start warping due to the immense gravitational pull each will have on the other. Ultimately the two will combine to form a single, large elliptical galaxy. It is also possible that another galaxy, called the Triangulum galaxy, which currently orbits Andromeda, will also participate in the merger.  The resulting galaxy might be named Milkdromeda, if anybody is still around to be naming objects in the sky.   What Will Happen to Earth? Chances are that the merger will have little effect on our solar system. Since most of Andromeda is empty space, gas, and dust, much like the Milky Way, many of the stars should find new orbits around the combined galactic center. That center may have as many as three supermassive black holes until they, too, merge.   The greater danger to our solar system is the increasing brightness of our Sun, which will eventually exhaust its hydrogen fuel and evolve into a red giant. That will start to happen in about four billion years. At that point, it will engulf Earth as it expands. Life, it seems, will have died out long before any kind of galaxy merger takes place. Or, if were lucky, our descendants will have figured out a way to escape the solar system and find a world with a younger star.   Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Research Paper on A Raisin In The Sun Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On A Raisin In The Sun - Research Paper Example According to Miller (32), tragedy involves common people, not necessarily heroes. A â€Å"Raisin in the Sun† satisfies the requisites that Miller suggests. For example, in the play, the tragic hero appears to be normal, he does not have any superior qualities that would differentiate him from other characters in the play. Lorraine Hansberry creates common people who experience similar problems to people in the real world. The entire Younger family lives a poor lifestyle and only hopes for a better life than their current one in future. This is evident from the plant that Mama keeps in the play. This plant appears to symbolize the lack of direction that this family has. It has half a life and it grows in all directions that appear to have light (Hansberry 48). Lorraine Hansberry’s play â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† presents the younger family that has struggles with acceptance throughout the play. She creates the title of this play from Langston Hughes’ poem â€Å"Harlem†. Throughout the play, Lorraine Hansberry struggles to make her audience understand the challenges faced by the Younger family in their rented ghetto apartment (Rorty 29). Each member of the family seems to have intense issues that he /she must address to avoid conflicts within their families. For example, the tragic hero in this play wishes to head the family after their father dies. Walter Lee feels emasculated probably because of the presence of several women in his life. His mother controls all the cash that flows to this family, making the tragic hero to question his role as a man in the Younger household (Hansberry 42). Aristotle focuses on the element of Harmatia in tragic plays. He also suggests that the ideal tragic play must involve catha rsis. This implies that the readership of the respective play must connect with the characters by sympathizing. Aristotle also seems to indicate that successful tragic plays should reveals extremely sympathetic situations for their respective protagonists. This facilitates a quick purging of emotions that must be present for the success of a tragic plays. In his definition of tragedy Aristotle suggests that perfect tragic heroes must experience serious loses in their lives. For example, a tragic hero must fall from a high ranking to an extremely low one. The tragedy is implied in the fall that the hero experiences. Normally in all these tragedies, the fall is a punishment to the hero who disrespects either the gods or fundamental rules of society (NYTC 3). Critics Some critics disagree on the perfection of â€Å"A Raisin in the sun† as a perfect tragedy. The reasons attributable to these allegations are the evident differences between this play and Shakespeare plays whose str ategic heroes were always superior and could never compare to the common person as Lorraine Hansberry does in this play (Hansberry 46). Other critics argue that in this, there are intense elements of positivity that should not be in tragedies. There could be certain sad scenes but when the play ends, the Younger family has resolved almost all of their issues. Mama cannot forget the flower because of the extreme that it suggests for the family. According to these critics, this play cannot be tragic because there are no major loses to the Younger family that Lorraine Hansberry highlights. The final category of critics suggests that the characters in this play do not have any flaws. Ideally, characters in tragedies must have flaws that make characters commit regrettable

Chemical and Material Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chemical and Material Engineering - Essay Example The process of analyzing the mechanical qualities of nc by researchers is gradual since this process is experiencing various obstacles. Manufacture of the nc materials is one of the Chief impediments of the experimental evaluations of its properties. The preparation of nc involves factors, for example, porosity, contamination and residual stress, which significantly influence its mechanical capabilities (Lu, Lu & Sui, 4127). Indeed, a valid evaluation of the mechanical qualities of the nc requires a sample that is deficient of the contamination and residual stress. Such a sample will have to be large to ensure several tests are done on it. A significant quantity of nc pure copper was synthesized through an electrodeposition technique. Copper (Cu) metal has unique characteristics that make it suitable for in manufacturing the nc sample. Cu has an extensibility quality when undergoing cold rolling at average room temperature (Lu, Lu & Sui, 4127). The deformation feature of Cu has been researched at length through high-resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM). Experimental Procedures According to (Lu, Lu & Sui, 4128), the manufacture of nc copper entails the electrodeposition process through an electrolyte of CuSO4. This is a chemical procedure where the substrate of Cu is deposited on the cathode, which has a capacity of 99.99wt%. The electrolyte had an acidity of 0.9 mol/l and the solution temperature was a moderate 20Â ±1. The purity of the deposits of nc Cu was better than that of 99.993 at% (exclusive of oxygen). If the oxygen content were inclusive, the nc Cu sample would be at 99.98 at%. The Archimedes principle was the standard that researchers were utilizing to measure the density of the nc Cu sample (Lu, Lu & Sui, 4128). The density of the sample was 8.91?0.03 g/cm3, which is indifferent from that of pure Cu, which is 8.96 g/cm3. X-ray diffraction and HRTEM analysis were essential in determining thee microstructure of the Cu sample. The determination of t he nc Cu samples thermal characteristics was through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Plastic deformation of Cu was through cold rolling, which resulted in its extension in length. Results and Discussion The X-ray diffraction was displaying a Cu sample that was exhibiting {110} texture. This sample was showing a substantial broadening of a mean of 28 nm grain size and 0.14% of microstain. This was at a degree of deformation of 2300% (Lu, Lu & Sui, 4128). However, after the cold rolling process the microstain levels in the sample increase but the grain size remains constant at 28nm. Coldrolling of a coarse-grained Cu in similar conditions was producing different results. The microstain level did increase by 0.04% to 18% while the sample disintegrated to a degree of deformation of 800%. Thermal analysis The evaluation of the thermal characteristics was of a temperature bracket of 50Â °C to 250Â °C at a constant combustion of 5Â °C/min (Lu, Lu & Sui, 4130). The implications of these processes were subject to a DSC scan, which was showing no oxidation of the nc Cu samples. There was annealing of nc Cu at various temperature and afterwards cooled by the DSC process. Increment of the grain size of nc Cu from 75Â °C to 200Â °C was evident by 50 nm. Grain boundary enthalpy XRD results were representative of the grain growth of nc CU from 30nm to 80nm. Essentially, grain boundary enthalpy entails two procedures (Lu, Lu & Sui, 4132). The first is the dislocation of grain boundaries, which

Positive And Negative Outcomes Of Globalisation

Positive And Negative Outcomes Of Globalisation Globalisation is the process by which the world is connected as one through trade and set-up communication. This connection is occurring at a fast rate. According to Ervin and Smith (2008, p.2), Globalisation describes the ongoing global trend towards the freer flow of trade and investment across borders and the resulting integration of the international economy. The need to trade and conduct business with other countries Is what has led to Globalisation. Regional societies and cultures are trading with each other leading to mutual co existence. HISTORY Globalisation has existed for a long time. This came about due to agriculture and industrial revolution in the ancient times. Manufacturers and producers had to trade with what they had. The construction of roads, invention of wheel carts, and the coming up of big cities such as Rome and Olympia contributed to trade between the regions. In modern times the invention of aero planes, trains, mobile phones, internet and good network system has largely brought about the expansion of globalisation. This happened after World War 2 owing to the fact that peace had to be conventional. This could only be attained through trade and communication. The term globalisation is used in the media and by the world leaders every now and then. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that it is a fact and here to stay (Gordon Browns speech to the CBI, Nov 2006). This statement means that globalisation has taken charge, and will continue to increase as the world becomes a global village. The growth of globalisation has occurred owing to number of reasons. Tisdell San (2004, p.84), say that, Globalisation has proceeded rapidly since 1960, mainly due to reduced man-made barriers to trade, such as reduced tariffs. Generally the reduced cost of requirements for trade in the post war era has led to expansion of globalisation. The existence of technology such as computers and universal satellites has created a single market. A great deal of advertising that countries are doing for themselves is leading to verse responsiveness from other states. This is because countries are producing individual goods. People are traveling for themselves to purchase what they wish for because it is cheap and available. Globalisation has caused competition among high-quality goods. Lewis Richardson (2001, p. 39), state that, Global integration allows better performing firms, workers, and communities to grow faster than other firms, workers, and communities and so to increase their share of their industry, their lab our market, and/ or their region. Further from that, trade that comes as a result of this enhances the shared relationship amid the countries. ITS EFFCTS As globalisation continues to grow and improve it brings some effect. This is because both the developed countries and developing countries are involved and the level of production is not the same. Some deal with raw material and others deal with manufactured goods. The global recession is also making some countries to suffer the challenge. According to Hedegaard Lindstorm (2000, p. 50-51), there should be balance between the import and export conduced between developed and developing countries. There should be international equalization of factor prices. Globalisation should lead to capital exports from industrial to developing countries; exports of agricultural products and labour intensive manufacturers from developing to (initially) developing countries. This should reduce the disparity between them. The level of output has increased worldwide. This is because various countries are producing in anticipation of selling to other countries. This increases the yield and production of further goods. This is advantageous because countries will never go in need. It will ensure incessant supply of goods and services. It has also led to development of ICT in most countries especially developing ones. This is because there is need for unremitting communication among the countries for trade purposes. Information is also necessary if business is going to be conducted. It brings technical advancement especially to the developing countries. This is because they have to attain the standards of the core countries. It has been said that ICT is globalizing at a swift rate. It has led to integration between diverse cultures and societies. This is because they indulge in trade. As a result of these there is exchange of culture and behavior. The world becomes a village as a result. Integration also brings about good co existence between the different countries and diplomatic relations. POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OUTCOMES Globalisation has positive and negative effects. The constructive effect of globalisation is that it has created opportunities for countries to market what they have. This is because they have potential consumers for their goods. It has created a market place for goods, therefore this is positive as countries earn there revenues. Globalisation has also promoted the design of new technologies. This is because of the competition that exists between countries conducting the trade. Every country is trying to provide the latest technology. This is good for human race because their life is enhanced. Globalisation also brings about growth and improvement of developing countries as they get new technology. It enables them to improve the way of life of their people and this is also good as it enlightens people. It also brings about good diplomatic relations amid countries. This because of the relationship that exists such as economic ties. It creates peaceful coexistence and ensures that it i s maintained. According to Molle (2003, p.37), It brings economic benefits, highlighting the growth of some countries that have opened their markets to international trade and investment. They point next towards the benefits in terms of peace and security. These are some of the positive outcomes of globalisation. Globalisation has negative outcomes. One is the price set up for the commodities in trade. These prices set at times cannot be attained by the developing countries due to economic hardships such as global recession. It makes the condition to be unjust leading to exploitation of the peripheral countries. There is also repatriation of profits back to the mother countries if the business was conducted in other countries. This is because individuals and companies who invest in other countries always take the profits back to their home countries e.g. Multinational companies. It also leads to cases of monopolization by the world economies. This is because they are the forces that set up the market price for goods. They control the market. This leads to anguish of developing countries as poverty progresses. According to Hewa and Stapleton (2005, p. 155), The negative effects of globalisation can be varied and range from the impoverishment and depopulation of local communities as corporations or factories relocate to optimize competitiveness and unemployment rises. These are some of the negative reasons for globalisation. CONCLUSION Globalisation is consequently here to stay. It will continue to grow as the world advances into the future. It has integrated a lot of countries and enhanced peaceful co existence among them.

Given Name and Passport Information Booklet Essay

Please read the Passport Information Booklet carefully before filling the form. Furnishing of incorrect information/ suppression of information would lead to rejection of application and would attract penal provisions as prescribed under the Passports Act, 1967. Please produce your original documents at the time of submission of the form. All fields marked with (*) are mandatory to fill. PASSPORT APPLICATION FORM Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Service Required Applying for * Type of Application * Type of Passport Booklet * Validity Required (For minors between 15 and 18) Normal 36 Pages 10 years Tatkaal 60 Pages Up to age 18 Not Applicable Applicant Details Applicant’s Given Name (Given Name means First Name followed by middle Name (if any)) * Surname Are you known by any other names(aliases)? * Have you ever changed your name ? * Date of Birth (DD/MM/YYYY) * Place Of Birth Village or Town or City * Country (If abroad)* State (If in India)* Gender * PAN (If available) Employment Type * Is either of your parent (in case of minor)/ spouse, a government servant? * Educational Qualification * Visible Distinguishing Mark Family Details (You have to provide atleast one Father/Mother/Legal Guardian details.) Father’s Given Name (Given Name means First Name followed by Middle Name (If any)) Surname Legal Guardian’s Given Name (if applicable) Surname Mother’s Given Name (Given Name means First Name followed by Middle Name (If any)) Are you eligible for Non-ECR category? * Yes Yes No No District (If in India)* Marital Status * Citizenship of India by * If born before 15/08/1947 in a place now in Pakistan or Bangladesh, select â€Å"Undivided India†. Voter ID (If available) Page of Surname Present Residential Address details (where applicant presently resides) Is your present address out of India? * Is permanent address same as present address? * Emergency Contact Details * Name and Address * Yes Yes No No Mobile Number E-mail ID References in your Village or Town or City First Reference Name and Address * Telephone Number Mobile Number Second Reference Name and Address * Telephone Number Mobile Number Previous Passport/ Application Details Telephone Number Have you held/ hold any diplomatic/ official passport? Passport Number Date of Expiry (DD/MM/YYYY) Place of Issue Have you ever applied for passport, but not issued? * Other Details 1) Have you ever been charged with criminal proceedings or any arrest warrant/ summon pending before a court of India? * 2) Have you at any time during the period of 5 years immediately preceding the date of this application been convicted by a court in India for any criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more? * 3) Have you ever been refused or denied passport? * 4) Has your Passport ever been impounded or Revoked? * 5) Have you ever applied for/ been granted political asylum to/ by any foreign country? * 6) Have you ever returned to India on Emergency Certificate (EC) or were ever deported or repatriated? * Yes Yes No No Yes No Date of Issue(DD/MM/YYYY) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No Self Declaration I owe allegiance to the sovereignty , unity & integrity of India, and have not voluntarily acquired citizenship or travel document of any other country. I have not lost, surrendered or been deprived of the the citizenship of India and I affirm that the information given by me in this form and the enclosures is true and I solely responsible for its accuracy, and I am liable to be penalized or prosecuted if found otherwise. I am aware that under the Passport Act, 1967 it is a criminal offence to furnish any false information or to suppress any material information with a view to obtaining passport or travel document. I Agree Place

Efficient Pricing of Geomarketing Internet Services Essay

Abstract Geomarketing information is information which enables the user to take better and faster decisions about marketing and sales activities. The main source of information are geographic, demographic, and statistic data. These data are usually collected and maintained by several institutions and come in a variety of forms and formats. The final integrators acquire datasets, sort, filter and organize them, and offer in advance defined analyses. In this paper we focus on geomarketing services offered on the Internet where usually no physical good is exchanged. The subject of trade is geomarketing information the user is able to extract from the datasets. The main issue is how to set a Pareto efficient price for geomarketing information. The situation is Pareto efficient when the sum of user’s and service provider’s surplus is maximized. We investigate nonlinear pricing strategies and their efficiency to serve mass markets and attract users with different willingness to pay. Nonlinear pricing is used in a broader sense to include the practice of selling the same information product on various vertical markets at prices that are not in proportion to the differences in marginal cost. The market research for the GISMO project (Krek et al. 2000) showed that the US market differs substantially from the European. It has characteristics of a commodity market, where providers offer very similar or equal products at similar prices. This is feasible only if the prices for raw datasets, which represent the main barrier to enter the market, are low or zero. Competition among service providers drives prices down and enables them to successfully serve a mass market. The European approach is mostly determined by the high prices of datasets and restrictions on the copyright forced by the National Mapping Agencies. This prevents further production and creation of information products and serves only a narrow group of users with high willingness to pay. We list the most i mportant conditions for Pareto efficient nonlinear pricing of geoinformation services. 1 Introduction Price is a very important element of trade. It can only be discussed in relation to what is offered, how much value the potential user attaches to the product and how much he is willing to pay for it. A geomarketing service in this paper serves as an example for a geoinformation service in general where a Geoinformation product is traded. A Geoinformation product is defined as a specific piece of geoinformation which provides an answer to a particular user’s question. The provider of a geoinformation service has to select the medium of delivery and the price for the service. We concentrate on geomarketing services provided online through the Internet. The service is mostly done automatically, and not by a human. Usually no physical good is exchanged. Gathering information about the product, placing the order, and payment is done over electronic network. In the sections 5 and 6 we analyze different pricing strategies for geographic information and their Pareto efficiency. The s ituation is called to be Pareto efficient when the user’s and service provider’s surplus is maximized. We review marginal cost and nonlinear pricing and explain in which cases they conform to the Pareto efficiency. Setting a price equal to marginal cost is not economically viable since such a price does not cover fixed cost. Some examples of nonlinear pricing, such as quantity discounts, term-volume commitments, and list of price options satisfy the Pareto efficiency requirement if certain conditions are satisfied. We conclude with the list of the most important conditions for the Pareto efficient pricing of geomarketing service. They can be applied to geoinformation services in general. 2 Geomarketing Services A geomarketing service is a service of providing geomarketing information to the user. Geomarketing information is information which enables the user to take better and faster decisions about marketing and sales activities. This information can be delivered to the user in a different form, format and through different media. Geomarketing information is gathered from internal company’s data, which are combined with external demographic, statistic and geographic data. A geoinformation that satisfies a particular information need in a specific decision making situation is called a Geoinformation product. 2.1 Geomarketing Data Geomarketing data consists of internal company’s data and external data. Internal data (the rate of sale, current customers profiles, etc.) is collected and maintained by the company itself. External data comes in a variety of formats and forms, as a collection of numbers, reports, maps, etc., and is gathered by different institutions. Demographic and statistic data is collected and maintained by Statistical Offices and aggregated to a certain extent. Geographic data is provided in Europe mostly by National Mapping Agencies, in USA by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Because of this broad variety of data, their structure, content and formats, they cannot be easily integrated and are not straightforward usable by a non-technical user. 2.2. Geomarketing Information: a Product The source of geomarketing information is geomarketing data. Specialized companies collect the data from different sources, combine them, sort and filter them. For example, the statistical and demographic data have spatial dimension, which is usually given by the street name and house number. This data has to be geocoded in order to link the attributes (purchasing power, age, educational structure, etc.) with geographic data. The providers identify dimensions of data that are valuable for a certain group of users, package them and offer them as a Geoinformation product. A Geoinformation product is a specific piece of geoinformation which provides an answer to a particular user’s question. The answer to the question can come in many different forms; as a selected dataset, combination of datasets, a report, a map, etc. To make the geomarketing service feasible, some in advance designed steps and analyses are offered to the user. The most common are customer profile, site selection, and market penetration. 3 Internet as a Medium of Delivery The Internet changes the way transactions are done. User and seller can enter an electronic relationship without personal contact. The buyer can place an order any time (from the seat at home, late in the evening) and can take as much time as he wants or needs to take the decision about the purchase. Searching for the right product over e-network, he can get comparable information about similar products from other companies, their characteristics and prices. Cooperation with potential and current users of geoinformation services is important. In the Internet world, the gap between service-consumers and services-providers blurs. â€Å"Consumers become involved in the actual production process, their ideas, knowledge, information become part of the product specification process† (Tapscott 1996). In a geomarketing service, usually no physical good is exchanged. The user gets o the result of nly the analysis, the answer to his question. Even more advanced geomarketing services offer the possibility of uploading the data of the user on the provider’s server and combining these data with the collection of the data on the server. A service offered via Internet involves less administration, paper work, and less human resources, which reduces transaction costs. Direct connection to the computer accounting system can provide systematic and efficient registration of the transactions. Security and protection mechanisms enable the service provider to follow and control transactions. Selecting a proper pricing policy in order to attract widespread use of the service is of great importance. In the next sections, we review marginal cost and nonlinear pricing, and analyze their Pareto efficiency. 4 Pareto Efficiency The situation is Pareto efficient if there is no way to make both the user and the service provider better off. The sum of the user’s and provider’s surplus is maximized. It can be a understood lso as maximizing the difference between economic benefits and costs which appear on the user’s as well as on the provider’s side. The economic benefits are the benefits of using the product on the product has to him with his willingness to pay for the marginal unit of the product. If he expects high benefits, he will be willing to pay a high price for the product. Cost incurred on the provider side is mostly high fixed cost of designing and creating the Geoinformation product and enabling the service, and low marginal cost of providing an incremental unit of the product. The user’s cost is the price he pays for the product, the transaction cost and the cost associated with acquiring the information about the product. 5 Marginal Cost Pricing and Pareto Efficiency Marginal cost pricing is pricing where the price equals the marginal cost. The cost of an economic good is an important determinant of how much the producer will be willing to produce. The concept of â€Å"marginal† or â€Å"extra† cost is crucial for the situation on the market of economic goods. It has an important role in appraising how efficient or inefficient any particular price and production pattern is (Samuelson 1967). This observation is valuable for the standard economic good where the total cost of producing the product depends on the quantity produced. The cost structure a Geoinformation product substantially differs from the cost structure of the standard economic good. The total cost of producing the product is mostly a high fixed cost of collecting the data and designing the product, and is not recoverable if the production is halted (sunk cost). The marginal cost of producing t e second and each additional copy of the product is h very low or zero, mostly the cost of disseminating the product. The share of the marginal cost in the total cost of production is negligible. Marginal cost pricing of a Geoinformation product would according to the marginal cost pricing scheme imply very low or zero price. â€Å"Pricing at marginal cost may or may not be efficient: it depends on how the consumers’ total willingness to pay relates to the total cost of providing the good† (Varian 1999). At the first stage of the production, the datasets have low value to most users and they have low willingness to pay for them. The high cost of producing the datasets cannot be recovered. M arginal cost pricing does not imply efficiency because it does not cover the total costs of producing a Geoinformation product. 6 Nonlinear Pricing and Pareto Efficiency Pricing is nonlinear when it is not strictly proportional to the quantity purchas ed. Different prices are charged to different groups of buyers or the same product. Nonlinear pricing is also used in a f broader sense to include the practice of selling the same product on different markets at prices that are not in proportion to the differences in marginal cost. Good examples are phone rates, frequent flyer programs, and electricity (Wilson 1993). The first notion about charging different users differently for the same product was called price discrimination (Pigou 1920) and distinguished among three different forms of discrimination. 6.1 Price Discrimination Pigou (Pigou 1920) first used the term price discrimination and he described the following forms of nonlinear pricing: †¢ First-degree price discrimination The first-degree price discrimination is sometimes known as perfect price discrimination. The producer sells different units of output at different prices and these prices may differ from buyer to buyer. The buyer pays the maximum price that he is willing to pay, irrespective of the cost of production and supply. Usually it is difficult to determine what is the maximum price someone is willing to pay for the product. †¢ Second-degree price discrimination The producer sells different units of output at different prices, but every individual who buys t e h same amount of the good pays the same price. Second-degree price discrimination is much more common in practice. Good examples of this discrimination are volume discounts and coupons. †¢ Third-degree price discrimination The producer sells the output to different people at different prices, but every unit of output sold to a given person sells at the same price. Customers are divided into more groups, which have different demand curves and different price elasticity. The highest price is charged to the groups with the lowest elasticity. Examples of this discrimination are student discounts. 6.2 Two-part Tariff Two-part tariff is an example of a nonlinear pricing and consists of two parts. The first part of the tariff usually comes in the form of a membership, an annual or monthly license and is supposed to cover fixed cost. The second part of the tariff is related to the usage (number of reports transferred, number of bits, layers, etc.) and covers the incremental cost. This pricing scheme is often used in telecommunication. Users are charged for the connection to the network and additionally for the usage. Two-part tariff pricing scheme can be very naturally applied to a geomarketing service. The first part of the tariff represents a membership fee, an annual or monthly licence for access to the data, reports and maps; the second part is a n additional fee usually based on the volume transferred. Price P for a geoinformation service is then P = p0 + p v.q where p0 pv q fixed fee (annual, monthly, membership, etc.) price set for a volume transferred quantity transferred. The revenue collected from the first part of the tariff (p0 ) is supposed to cover the fixed cost of producing the first copy of the Geoinformation product. The price of u sage (pv ) should cover the incremental cost and the cost of transaction. The combination of the membership and usage constructed for the predicted demand is set so that the company’s total cost is recovered. How high the fixed fee and the price of usage s hould be is an important question. Availability of the raw data at low price will change the nature of the market. The price for both parts of the tariff (p0 and pv ) will form according to the equilibrium rules of supply and demand. 6.3 Pareto Efficiency of the Two-part Tariff Two-part tariff can disadvantage a certain segment of the users. Imagine a geomarketing service company offering geographic data over the Internet. For the simplicity of reasoning, imagine there exist two segments of users; those who use data on a regular basis and have a high willingness to pay (governmental institutions, ministries, utilities, etc.), and those who seldom need data (students, individuals, small and medium companies, etc.) and have low willingness to pay. In this case, a high fixed fee excludes the users with low willingness to pay, occasional users who need only a small volume of the data and are not willing to pay an annual membership fee or a license. The necessary condition for Pareto efficiency is not satisfied. 6.4 Quantity Discounts Quantity discounts are a form of a nonlinear price where the provider charges a lower price for a higher volume purchased. The opportunity of selling high volumes at a low price is often neglected in geoinformation business. Increased revenue from the higher volume at lower price enables the provider to improve the service and reduce prices for all users. The quantity discounts are usually designed in order to stimulate sales, but can complicate the billing and accounting system. Pareto efficiency of quantity discounts depends on the volume-price categories offered by the service provider. This pricing strategy might disadvantage users with low willingness to pay, not being able to pay nor interested in purchasing higher volumes. 6.5 Term-Volume Commitments According to this strategy the user agrees with the service provider to pay a certain amount of money for the service in advance. The payment is set according to the predicted demand for the service. This kind of agreement usually involves some discounts, because the whole payment is done at once and at the beginning of the period. Short-term contracts involve lower reduction in price than longer contracts. This strategy reduces billing and accounting cost and is often used by Internet providers. For example, â€Å"a one-year-term commitment to spend $2000/month obtains a discount of 18%â€Å" (Gong and Srinagesh 1998), for the 5 -year contracts the Internet providers use up to 60% discount. Term-volume commitments satisfy the Pareto efficiency requirement if the user can choose among different schemes and are designed indiscriminately. 6.6 List of Price Options Different pricing options can be combined and offered as a list of price options. In geomarketing services, the two-part tariff is often combined with an additional pricing option, the uniform pricing scheme. Under the uniform pricing scheme, the user pays the price (p2 ), which is proportional to the data transferred. Usually the tariff per volume purchased (p2 ) is higher in the uniform pricing scheme than the price (p1 ) proposed in the two-part tariff scheme, but the user need not pay an annual membership fee or license. The user profits if he is an occasional user, who needs a small volume of data. The sum he is willing to pay in this case is lower than the annual membership or license fee plus the cost of the data transferred.

How did the Romans obtain and control such a vast empire

How did the Romans obtain and control such a vast empire? In its time, the Roman Empire was the largest empire the world had ever seen. The fact that the Romans were able to control and obtain an empire of this size was due to plenty of factors, but the main ones are the Roman army, the Roman roads, Pax Romana, the borders of the empire, and the benefits of the barbarians who became ruled by the empire. On their own, these factors wouldn’t do much at all, but such a combination brought great success. The Roman Army was the most important factor that led to the Romans maintaining such a large empire. The army was very well organised into many groups, and the whips kept by the group leader ensured that the army would be obedient and†¦show more content†¦To this day, many paths that these roads followed are still being used, which proves that a lot of time and effort were put into these roads to achieve such a high quality and durability. As well as the Roman Army and the Roman roads, the Pax Romana was another factor that led to the empire’s great success. Pax Romana, Latin for â€Å"Roman Peace†, was the peace established by the Romans in their empire, where the inhabitants benefitted from the law and order that was enforced by the Romans, and no more land was to be conquered. The Pax Romana was one of the most stable periods of the empire. This brought relative civilisation across the empire and kept the peasants happy, which was essential to keeping the empire under control. Crucial to protecting the empire, the borders the Romans had surrounding them were excellent; whether they be manmade or natural. Hadrian’s Wall was a good example of a manmade border. Issued by Emperor Hadrian in around 122AD, the wall was located in Northern England and was the most fortified wall built by the empire. 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