A Beginners Guide to Logo Styles

A Beginners Guide to Logo Styles When creating a logo, there are many different visual options to consider- color, typeface, and imagery to name a few. One of the first decisions you need to make when starting the logo design process is what type of logo mark is best for your project.There are several different types of logos, and each kind has a distinct feel which can influence how your brand is perceived and how effective your logo is. While all logos are essentially combinations of type and images, there are various reasons why you might choose one type of logo over another, as each type has its own strengths and weaknesses in regards to appearance and practical use. Heres a brief overview of the different types of logos and the pros and cons of each one.Wordmark and logotypeOne of the most frequently used types of logos is the wordmark. Sometimes referred to as a logotype, a wordmark simply uses the full name of the company by using typography alone. Some well-known examples of wordmarks include Google, Disney, Subway, and Kelloggs.Heres a sample wordmark logo. Often this typography is stylized or typeset in such a way to create a unique, visually-interesting logo.To ensure that your wordmark is distinct and represents your companys essence, its best to use custom details in the typography, rather than merely using a font with its default settings, to type out your name. Some companies have custom fonts created to differentiate their wordmarks; others use the signature of their founder. Think about how the letterforms interact with each other, and consider using color or type weight to emphasize parts of the mark, like in the example above. Because logotypes rely on type alone to convey your message, its imperative that the logo is typeset well and that all letterforms feel properly kerned, easy-to-read, and balanced.Wordmarks can be a great choice for a new company thats starting out because the entire name of the company is being immediately presented in the logo. This can help you to s tart to build some brand recognizability quickly. However, if your company has a name longer than two or three words, it might be best to consider other options- the longer the wordmark, the more cluttered and overwhelming the logo will be, and the harder it will be to use in applications where space is limited. The examples I mentioned earlier are all just one word, which is one reason why they make good logotypes. Because of their simplicity and cleanness, logotypes are usually easy to replicate and make a terrific choice for companies who will be using the logo across a wide variety of applications.Lettermarks and monogramsLettermarks or monogram logos are built from a companys initials. They are similar to wordmarks in that they use only typography. Think IBM, NASA, CNN, and ESPN.Heres a sample lettermark logo. Lettermarks are especially useful when a company has a long name, and they can help people have an easier time remembering and pronouncing complicated names.Because lette rmarks have fewer pieces than wordmarks, you may find that you have more creative freedom to explore different type treatments. Lettermarks also take up much less space than wordmarks, so in many cases theyll be easier to use across applications. An acronym logo with several letters can feel corporate and official, so keep this in mind if youre considering using a lettermark. If your acronym only has one or two letters, try abstracting the letters to make new shapes or consider how the letters can interact to make a visually interesting composition.Sometimes it may be necessary to employ aspects of both wordmarks and lettermarks to create a logo better suited for your company. For example, if you are a new organization or not well-known, it may be best to write out what the initials of your company stand for underneath your lettermark to help people learn what it is you do, like in the example above. Or, you might find that you can abbreviate the name of your company in the logo wit hout reducing the name to initials only- FedEx (Federal Express) and The Met (the Metropolitan Museum of Art) are two examples where the logo is shortened to create a quicker read and an easier pronunciation.Pictorial or symbolic logoThe next type of mark is a pictorial logo, which consists only of a graphic symbol or icon. Some of the most recognizable brands use this type of logo- Apple, Target, Microsoft, and Snapchat are some examples. The icon you use can either be literal- Targets logo is an actual target- or more conceptual, like the Nike swoosh. One advantage to using a symbol on its own is youre able to communicate something immediate about your company using visual language alone, making pictorial logos ideal for global brands which exist in different cultures with different languages.Heres a sample pictorial logo. Because it represents your company without the use of words, a pictorial logo has to be simple, distinct, and memorable.Pictorial logos can be a challenge for n ewer or smaller companies to use simply because they require much previously established brand equity. Even though a pictorial logo on its own can create a bit of intrigue and mystery, its ultimately not practical enough to use for every application. Large, influential corporations can generally get away with using a symbol on its own as a logo because people frequently see and interact with these brands. However, many big companies didnt make the switch to pictorial logos until they were more established. For example, Apples iconic logo was frequently seen along with the companys name during its early years until the brand became recognizable enough without the type. Another example of this is Starbucks, which has recently dropped their name from their emblem logo and now uses the Mermaid illustration on its own after developing into a globally recognized company. Companies like these have grown to the point where they simply dont need to include their names anymore, which makes lo go replication simpler and easier.Combination markOne of the most common types of logos is the combination mark, which is simply a logo that uses both typography and a pictorial mark. Well-known combination marks include Dominos, Verizon, Amazon, and Adidas.Heres a sample combination mark logo. Because they employ both text and imagery, combination marks allow much creative freedom and design choices, making them a versatile choice for just about any type of business.Combination marks are ideal choices for new companies because including text along with imagery is an effective way to help the public start to recognize your brand immediately. They are generally easier to trademark because of their distinctness, and they have a degree of flexibility and adaptability which allows them to be broken into their respective pieces in certain applications. For example, the pictorial part of the mark can be used on its own for favicons, app icons, and even merchandise.There are a few challeng es with combination marks that are important to consider as you design. Because of the number of elements in these logos, its easy for combination marks to quickly become too cluttered or disjointed, so make sure you avoid using too many fine details. The type and icon should work together- ensure that together these elements feel balanced and harmonious. Depending on the layout of the type and icon, you might end up with a logo thats difficult to use in different applications, so you may want to consider creating horizontal and vertical versions of the mark.EmblemsOne of the most traditional choices when it comes to logos, emblems have been used throughout the history of branding to contain type and imagery in a holding shape. Usually resembling badges or crests, emblems have an official, academic feel about them which makes them popular with schools and government agencies, and car companies tend to use emblems for their compact nature. Some well-known emblem logos include Starbuc ks, UPS, the NFL, and Ford.Lastly, heres a sample emblem logo. Because of their classic, vintage feel, emblem logos have made a bit of a comeback in trendier industries like coffee companies, breweries, and sports teams, but an emblem can look sleek and modern as well.The biggest challenge when it comes to emblems is limiting the level of elements inside and around the mark. If illustrations are included, then make sure theyre simple enough to be easily reproduced with any printer and recognizable at any size. Keep extra strokes, flourishes, and other visual elements to a minimum- as a general rule, the less complex your design, the better.Now that you know a bit about the different types of logos, dont be afraid to do your own research on what kinds of logos are commonly used in your industry as you begin your design process. When choosing what type of logo to use, its important to consider all factors in order to make the most effective logo possible. Explore how each type of logo could work for your project, and ultimately think about all the various contexts your logo will be in as its introduced to the public.

Greek Mythology - Bible vs Biblos

Greek Mythology - Bible vs Biblos The Bible is sometimes called the Good Book, which is fitting since the word Bible comes from the Greek word for book, biblos. For the Greeks, the bible was Homer, particularly, The Iliad, and Hesiod. The Father of History, the Greek Classical period traveler Herodotus (c. 484-425 B.C.) writes: Whence the gods severally sprang, whether or no they had all existed from eternity, what forms they bore - these are questions of which the Greeks knew nothing until the other day, so to speak. For Homer and Hesiod were the first to compose Theogonies, and give the gods their epithets, to allot them their several offices and occupations, and describe their forms; and they lived but four hundred years before my time, as I believe.~ Herodotus Book IIYou can find a religious world view, morals, customs, genealogy, and more in Homer and Hesiod. However, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Theogony were not sacred texts. (Depending on your definition, the Greeks had other sacred texts, like hymns and responses of the oracles.)The Opening of The IliadThe Iliad begins, not with the creation of the world in 6 days, but with an invocation of the goddess or muse:Sing, O goddess,followed by the story of the wrath of the great Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles:the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, t hat brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another....and his anger at the expeditions leader, Agamemnon, who has strained relations with his best man by stealing his beloved concubine and committed sacrilege:And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto [Apollo]; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest.(Samuel Butler translation)The Place of Gods in Mans LifeGods in Homers ancient heroic age walked among men, but they were much more powerful than humans and could be prevailed upon by prayer and sacrifice to help human beings. We see this in the opening of The Iliad where the rhap sode (the composer/singer of the story) Homer seeks divine inspiration to create a great epic, and where an old man seeks the return of his abducted daughter.There is nothing in this Greek great book (The Iliad) about taking clay and forming it in a certain likeness or taking a rib from said animated clay, although the latter, the story of the creation of woman (Pandora) by a craftsman, does appear differently elsewhere in the canon of Greek mythology.Next Page: Creation Stories Introduction to Greek Mythology Myth in Daily Life What Is Myth? Myths vs. Legends Creation Stories Titanomachy Olympian Gods and Goddesses Five Ages of Man Philemon and Baucis Prometheus Trojan War Bulfinch Mythology Myths and Legends Kingsley Tales from Mythology | Golden Fleece and the Tanglewood Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne Confusing Creation Stories Creation StoriesUranos Revenge Titanomachy Philemon and Baucis Prometheus Version 1: Genesis 1.27 King James27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Version 2: Genesis 2.21-2321: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22: And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.... the story of the 5 Ages Also see Jewish Legends - Creation Genealogy Shows Mans Relationship to God(s) The stories one polis told about its divine connection might or might not contradict the stories of another polis about its connection with the same god. Sometimes what looks like an effort to smooth out one set of inconsistencies seems to have created others. It might serve those of us coming to the Greek stories from a Judaeo-Christian tradition to remember that there are plenty of apparent inconsistencies in the Bible, too. Reference: [url formerly www.rpgclassics.com/quotes/iliad.shtml] Interesting Quotations from the Iliad Introduction to Greek Mythology Myth in Daily Life What Is Myth? Myths vs. Legends Gods in the Heroic Age - Bible vs. Biblos Trojan War Bulfinch Mythology Myths and LegendsGolden Fleece and the Tanglewood Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Essay about two related chapters from David Sloan Wilsons Evolution

About two related chapters from David Sloan Wilsons Evolution for Everyone - Essay Example Besides attempting to provide a plausible explanation for the origin of life, evolution also heavily impacts the behavior of species. Evolution holds the key to understanding the behavior of all species including the bizarre infanticide tendencies of particular species. The third chapter of Wilson’s Evolution for Everyone lays foundation for â€Å"the power of natural selection thinking† (Wilson 19). To demonstrate the power of this line of thinking, Wilson dwells on the socially undesirable practice of infanticide. Since the concept of natural selection is driven by the need to have off springs, then killing the off springs is automatically out of question (Wilson 19). However Wilson reveals that there exist certain environmental situations which make infanticide to be desirable. According to Wilson such possibilities like uncertain parentage, poor offspring and lack of sufficient resources create justification for infanticide among some species. In the fourth chapter of the text, Wilson proceeds to justify what he termed as the â€Å"third way of thinking† in the previous chapter. The third way of thinking is just but a simple phrase that Wilson uses to urge the reader to be flexible enough in their thinking to accommodate even the most remote of thoughts that indeed natural selection is responsible for the formation of the world as it currently is through contributing to all the behavioral outcomes of all the species in the universe. While still pursuing possible reasons that make infanticide to be a rational outcome, Wilson eventually derive his proof from the behavior of burying beetles. The Prove It chapter explains the possible reasons behind the actions of infanticide by a species – the burying beetles. Wilson reveals that this specie opts to regulate its brood size purely based on the food resources that are available. The parent beetle opts to kill some of its young ones so as to ensure that the rest c an comfortably thrive. This is one of

Gap Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gap Inc - Essay Example Thirty-seven years ago, Gap Inc. started its humble beginnings with big dreams that spun into a golden international retail enterprise of highly-respected apparel lines. From a handful of employees at its historic California home, Gap Inc. has now hired over 160,000 employees all over the world that support the brand names it carries. With more than 4,250 stores, Gap Inc. boasts of its worldwide lead as a retailer for clothing, accessories and personal care products under the brand names of Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. By the year 21st century the complexity of the fashion industry has acknowledged the changing moods of dressing. Dressing down according to Kelly and Silverstein (2005) became an acceptable norm for the society whose rules for dressing became relaxed and interest in fashion waned. With home-based jobs sprouting people saw no need to buy fashionable clothes. Ordinary retail and clothing sales saw a disappointing decline as the millennium ushered in comfort dressin g. Gap Inc., whose target clients are teens and the middle market with its basic style should see a logical push compared to Banana Republic's affluent clientele and Old Navy's fashionable yet bargain minded customers.Gap Inc. however, suffered tremendous drawbacks against its gracious fashion profit enjoyment of the 90's that Brady attributed to its electronic retailing in 1997, as prevailing modes of expression sank the sales of summer 2001. Hea revealed how store sales showed a 12% dip compared to the previous year. Given the sales shortfall, shares of stocks remained on the defensive that Hea positively believed could pick up during the fall months. However August and September saw weak store traffic owing to the lack of buyers' enthusiasm for its apparel lines. The Old Navy division suffered the highest setback with the biggest sales drop that then CEO Millard Drexler acknowledged as its priority, "the need to find the right balance between key items and fashion". In its numero us attempts to survive the fashion crash, Drexler was later replaced in 2002 according to Brady(2003) that has brought in bolder colors that certainly help cut the inventory, squeezed out costs and helped Gap triple its earnings and stocks rose to more then $18 per share. The GAP strategies By redesigning a "look" to fit in with the season and the environment, Gap's strategies included highly focused surveys and research on consumer needs and fashion trends that high-lighted classifying its clientele from the "style-conscious, updated and classic" individuals according to Brady(2003). Gap, has also adapted the different mixes provided by Levy and Weitz (2004, Ch.2) that retailing systems should carefully observe with strong emphasis on the merchandise. According to them, much focus on its products centered on the ability to recognize versatility in style, assortment and variety without sacrificing its quality. Fit being an important factor in the clothing apparel line, assumed that its predictability should announce its availability that consumer research brings into its designs for must-have clothes. Although the millennium trend was to dress down and simplify, the smugness brought by the old Gap designs were too obtainable with other cheaper competition. A variety of choices for the shopper in style and a wider array of color definitely zeroed in the buying spree. Gap's predictability in the 1990's saw a gradual yet significant progress that has seen improvement on its credit rating and debt reduction in the 3rd quarter of 2003. Webb then announced its CEO Paul Pressler's move to repurchase its common stocks. Price Adjustment according to the law of supply and demand hammers specific changes to maximize profit and minimize markdowns according to Chorafas (2002). Prices change but are highly capricious in trying to match the demand. Gap, has however attached a stigma to dynamic pricing that the fashion industry equates with consumers flocking stores only

Regulation of Solicitors' Trust Accounts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regulation of Solicitors' Trust Accounts - Essay Example Summary of the Acts Section 3.3of both the Acts deals with â€Å"trust money and trust accounts†. This session involves several regulatory measures that would secure consumers’ interests in the legal service market. The Acts contain the provision for suspending stated operations associated with the solicitors’ trust accounts. They require solicitors to maintain a general trust account and accurate trust records, and present them before an eternal examiner for cross checking. The main intention of this provision is to increase the reliability of trust accounts and thereby secure consumer confidence. The Acts have also defined a set of condition for closing a general trust account. As per the provision, a law practitioner has the responsibility to deposit the trust money in the general trust account at the earliest possibility. The Legal Professional Act 2007 clearly states that disbursement of trust money must be under the direction given by the particular person. This provision will ensure that trust money is safe under the custody of solicitor until the time of disbursement. The Legal Profession Regulation Act 2007 The Legal Profession Regulation Act 2007 describes different aspects of keeping trust account receipts and payments book. This Act specifically directs solicitors to keep separate trust accounts receipts cash book and trust accounts payment cash book. Part 3.3(29) of the Legal Profession Regulation Act 2007 has clearly defined trust record copies to be printed at the end of particular periods. Mainly receipts and payments cash book, reconciliation statements, and trust ledger accounts and their balances have to be printed. In addition, section 37 of this Act holds provisions for secure withdrawal of trust money from a general trust account. This provision also adds value to consumer confidence, because it prevents deceitful withdrawal of trust money (Legal Profession Regulation Act 2007). Similarly, section 38 deals with payment of trust money through electronic fund transfer. It is one of the major provisions of the Act that secures consumer confidence to a great extent because probability of fraud is higher in electronic fund transfer. Section 42 directs solicitors to systematically record various transactions in trust ledger accounts as this method will be effective to distinguish between trust accounts of different clients. The Regulation Act also specifies journal transfer principles regarding transfer of trust money from a general trust account to another. It also insists to provide necessary and timely notifications to concerned beneficiaries. In addition, it is mandatory to issue trust account statements to the beneficiaries of the trust money. This type of provision helps consumers to keep in frequent touch with their account transactions. The regulation of solicitors’ trust account would assist consumers to ensure that their money is not misused for the benefit of third parties. According to the perception of Queensland Law Society (n.d), the strict regulation measure would prevent any type of unfair practice related with trust accounts. The most attractive feature of these Acts is that consumers are allowed to get informed of their account status. The Legal Profession Act 2007 The Legal Profession Act 2007 specifically states that the trust accounts should not be used for paying off any type of debt. This

Airport Privatisation The Challenges Way Forward Economics Essay

Airport Privatisation The Challenges Way Forward Economics Essay Traditionally all the airports were owned by the public sector. The European airports in major cities such as Paris, London, Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Madrid, and Geneva were all owned by national governments. The airports outside Europe like Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney, and Johannesburg were similarly owned by their countrys government bodies. Elsewhere, the major airports like in the U.S. were controlled by local or regional governments. Regional airports in Europe too followed this rule. For example, Manchester airport was owned by Manchester City Council and a combination of 8 local authorities of nearby towns with 45% ownership resting with the latter and 55% with the former authority. In Germany, Dusseldorf airport was owned by the governments of North Rhine, Westphalia state and the city of Dusseldorf together, whereas, the Hanover airport was owned jointly by the governments of Lower Saxony and the city of Hanover. In the 1990s, private or partially privately owned airports became significant. Before this, the privately owned airports were limited only to the general aviation or to the aeroclub airports. The norm during that period was that the public ownership, i.e. the government handled the airport operations at least at a local or majorly at national level. This had a major impact on the operations of the airport and its degree of independence. The strictest form of control existed when the government had direct control over the airport, for example the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Ministry of Transport or, in few cases, the military. This was commonly practiced in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. In Canada, 150 commercial Canadian airports were directly controlled by The State Department of Transport. Within Europe, Greece was a good example where CAA controlled all the airports effectively. In some cases, semi-autonomous bodies and companies, those were still under the public ownership owned the airports. Some organizations managed more than one airport, British Airports Authority (BAA) and Aer Rianta Irish Airports were good examples in Europe. Other airport authorities and companies also existed that operated just one major airport. This was the case at Amsterdam airport and many German airports. In the U.S., airport authorities also existed for some of the airports, such as the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission. In some cases, multipurpose transport authorities which operated other modes of transport also operated airports, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey or Massport in Boston. There were also examples of airports where companies which were publicly owned managed the airports at concession for the central government. For example, the major Italian airports like Venice and Milan were controlled by public shareholdings and perhaps some private shareholdings at concession for long terms, such as 60 years. The concession could cover management of the total airport operations and handling services like Milan and Turin or just some of the operations like terminal management and handling services like Palermo. At French regional airports, the concessions were given to the local chambers of commerce, but national government holding some control over the airfield facilities. For example, at the Zurich airport, the planning and the overall operation of the airport and the airfield infrastructure is controlled by the Zurich Airport Authority, which is owned by the Canton of Zurich, while a mixed public private company, named FIG, managed and constructed the terminal i nfrastructure. Commercialization The publicly owned and strictly controlled airports were historically considered as a public utility for the public service obligations. As a result, the airport industry was not considered as a business dominant industry but a general public service transport system. However, in the 1970s and 1980s the perspective towards airport management changed as the industry grew towards airline privatization and deregulation. Many airports then were considered more of a commercial industry and businesslike management philosophy was adopted. Thus the airport industry around the world took steps towards commercialization with Europe as its leader. However, airports in areas like Africa and South America mostly stuck on to the traditional way and experienced less changes. The coming of commercialization was seen in many different steps. For instance, many independent airport authorities and airport companies with public shareholders were established resulting in less government control over airports. This gave airports more of operational and commercial freedom and also gave private sector investment and partnership more chances. In 1972, the International Airports Authority of India was established to manage Indias four international airports. In 1986, National Airports Authority took control of the domestic airports in the country. These two merged in 1995. In Canada, where the Transport Canada was in direct control of the countrys major airports, passed its airport management completely to individual non-profit-making authorities in a long-term lease in the 1990s. its main reason was to improve its efficiency and integrate it to the local economy. During the commercialization process, airport management was focused upon operational aspects like financial management, non-aeronautical revenue generation and airport marketing. Many airport directors and senior managers were operational specialists. This realization of commercialization resulted in expansion of staff members and operational resources. Also the typical departments for finance, administrations, operations, and so on was replaced with new department or business units like customer needs, passenger and airline services. One of the most significant changes during commercialization was an increased focus on the non-aeronautical revenues and commercial revenues. Aeronautical revenues such as landing and passenger fee from the airlines had been the most important source. In most of the airports, mainly European airports, non-aeronautical revenues overtook aeronautical revenues as the most important source. For example, Amsterdam airport first reported of its higher non-aeronautical revenue when compared to its aeronautical revenue. This was due to large space allocation to commercial retail shops and other non-aeronautical facilities. In the past, it was very difficult to obtain a true indication of an airports financial and economic performance. Often the government would undertake normal public accounting practices specific to its country and would use public sector rather than more standard commercial procedure. This resulted in difficulty in comparing it with the other organizations. In some cases, airports cost and revenues were considered as one item only within the government departments financial accounts. Therefore no specific profits from the airports could be determined. In the 1970s and 1980s, more commercial accounting practices were adopted in most of the airports. This was mainly due to less control in the hands of the government. For example, in 1987, all major airports in the U.K. became public limited companies (plc). This meant that these airports adopted commercial private sector accounting procedures. One example of this was when Geneva airport became an independent authority in 1994, it began to show balance sheets and asset values in its annual accounts, which previously was ignored. Privatization During the 1970s and the 1980s, commercialization took great strides in the growth of airports around the globe. But it was during 1990s when privatization became a reality. But what is actually meant by privatization? In its broadest sense, it usually means the transfer of airport management, and sometimes ownership as well, to the private sector. Privatization of publicly owned airports had many arguments both supporting and against it. Privatization reduces the need of public sector investment and provides access to commercial sectors. It reduces government control and interference enabling the organization to diversify. It may also increase the operational efficiency of the airport, induces competition and payment of incentives for management and employee staff to perform well. There were some developments that took place in the 1970s and 1980s which strengthened the reasons for airport privatization to occur in some countries. For example in North America and Europe, deregulation resulted in the growth of the airports which meant the existing airport capacity could not cope with this growth. Privatization of airports was considered as a means of injecting additional finance into the airport systems to pay for the future investments. In addition to this, public sector funding became very scarce in the modern-day global econ omic climate as government thought of reducing their spending and turned to non-revenue-earning activities like education and health. Privatization also has some adverse effects like it may create a private monopoly which charges extra for same or lesser standards of services, invests inadequately and gives less consideration to externalities like controlling environmental impacts and maintaining social justice. Less favorable employment condition may occur and redundancies may occur. From a point of view, airport privatization can be considered as just an evolutionary development of the aviation industry. Airports evolved from public sector utility to commercial enterprises and privatization can be considered as commercialization taken to its limits. Increased commercialization has brought about good profits and market oriented management. The increase in number of airport privatization around the world has shown us that this method has successfully achieved ways to tackle some problems that could be faced by the airports in the 21st century. However, this in some countries where publicly owned organizations are considered as national or regional assets being transferred to private companies could be a sensitive political issue. It brings fear that the focus would be then shifted to private shareholders and the customer needs will be neglected. Privatization of airports may have different views among different groups and even between the local and national government. As a result, it should not be thought that commercialization always leads to privatization. A good example for this is the Manchester airport, which runs on a very commercial basis, but has no desire to undergo privatization. Types of Privatization Airports are one of the most attractive organizations for investors, for many reasons. Firstly, the aviation industry has a unique growth rate. Many airports, mainly the major airports have less or no competition, from the airports and also from other modes of transports. It is difficult to enter into the airport industry as it requires heavy capital investment and also difficult to find an appropriate and convenient locations where airport development is allowed. However, there are risks also available such as the political interference in the form of airport regulation and control over airport development as there is deregulation and greater collaborations through alliances. According to the document prepared by Carney and Mew in 2003, the types of privatization can be broadly classified into 5 types: Share floatation Trade sale Concession Project finance privatization Management contract The selection of the most appropriate type of privatization for the airports is done by a series of complex decision-making process in which the reasons for privatizing is checked by fulfilling certain conditions. Share Floatation The first type, i.e., the share flotation or Initial Public Offering (IPO), where the airport share capital is issued, and traded on the stock market. The Management or the public owners are given options to acquire shares. In this type, the government or the public owners give up the total or partial ownership according to the shares open, transferring economic control and risks to the new shareholders. Generally this type of privatization has shown positive results with promising economic growth rate and limited competition as the capital investments are too high for the risk to be taken. Even when total privatization occurs, the government has a certain degree of influence by issuing a golden share so that the national interests can be secured in extreme cases. Trade Sale In this type of privatization, some parts of the airport or the total airport is sold to a trade partner or a consortium of investors, through a public tender. The trade sales which took place in the 1990s had strategic partners involved rather than just passive investors. As a result, the managerial and technological expertise was considered while agreeing on a sale. Concession With this type of arrangement, an airport management company or consortium will purchase a concession or lease to operate the privatized airport for a defined period of time, commonly between 20 and 30 years, again usually through a tendering process. Financial terms and the types of lease will vary but typically this option will involve an initial payment and a guaranteed level of investment and/or payment of an annual fee. Hence this tends to be a more complex approach, which has high transactions costs and needs to carefully designed and implemented to ensure that the private contracts achieve the government policy objectives. Project Finance Privatization With this option, a company will usually build or redevelop and then operate an airport or specific facility, such as a terminal, for a certain length of time, typically 20-30 years. This company may be totally private or may be a private-public partnership. At the end of this period, ownership will revert to the government owners. Thus this approach can be viewed as a particular type of concession agreement. Generally such an arrangement will not usually require a large upfront payment but the operating company will bear all the costs of building or re-developing the facility. When it is built, the company will have to cover the operating costs but will also retain most revenues (often after paying an annual fee to the government) until the facility is handed back. Thus, the airport company will take full economic risk for investment and operations. There are a number of project finance privatization methods with the most popular being build-operate-transfer (BOT) when, as the name suggests, the company will build the facility, operate it for a certain length of time and then transfer ownership back to the government. Other similar models include build-transfer (BT), build-rent-transfer (BRT) or design-construct-manage-finance (DCMF). Other options may actually involve the ownership of the facility such as build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) or rehabilitate-own-transfer (ROT) projects. All these methods, however, are often referred to by the generic term BOT. Management Contract The least radical privatization option is a management contract when ownership remains with the government and the contractors take responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the airport, usually for a period of 5-10 years. The government either pays an annual management fee to the contractor, usually related to the performance of the airport, or the contractor will pay the government a share of its revenues. Normally investment will remain the responsibility of the government owner and so the overall economic risk is shared between the owner and the management company. For the government owner this may be politically more acceptable, whereas for the contractor such an arrangement may be attractive in countries where greater financial exposure, through a trade sale, for example, may be seen as too great a risk. Overview The overall reason for this report is to analyze the effects of ownership change on the economic growth of the industry. The main success of privatization is not by attaining maximum airport profits but by providing quality service with continuously improvising efficiency and maintaining cost of charges. There are a number of lessons that can be learnt from this experience: The cost of capital is found to be too high in the plc privatization model. Efficiency is optimized when the business is outsourced. Performance can be improvised even without ownership change. It is difficult to reach objectives to provide quality, cheap, and safe service simultaneously. Privatization is not a successful option unless customer needs are not kept in priority for the growth and development. Customers have gained some from privatization, in terms of lower prices relative to the public ownership organizations, but not by a lot. Identifying Challenges Vienna International Airport (VIA), Austria Privatization resulted in inadequate investment and high charges for customers. Before privatization, VIE had high costs. The weak economic regulation did not help much to change this providing no incentive to improve efficiency, provide adequate investment, or hold back monopoly profits. This is due to the direct regulation of charges from the government. Due to the classic monopolist behavior, profit margins are restricted. As a result, insufficient incentives are being produced which cannot further pay for the cost-efficient investments for the future of the airport. Zurich Airport (ZRH), Switzerland The independent TRL Charges Index of the top-50 airports worldwide ranks Zurich Airport as the 10th costliest airport in the world. Due to the collapse of Swissair, capacity constraints have emerged at the Zurich Airport. As a result it is the least profitable airport among the top 50 airports. Absence of an independent economic regulation resulted in low incentives for higher efficiency. The airport has switched from single-till to dual-till which resulted in the aeronautical revenue to bear all the cost of aircraft and passenger service. Auckland International Airport (AIA), New Zealand Absence of an effective economic regulation, due to which they charge excessively on their customers for higher incentives. Asset base and operational cost valuation of the AIA is remarkably high due to its dominant market position. Moreover the cost of capital used by AIA also appears to be extremely high. These appear to be the reasons for high base for charges. Sydney International Airport (SYD), Australia Although the service quality is complimented by passengers, airlines are less satisfied and charges are high. The prices rose high in 2001, giving reasons that it would help SYD earn a commercial rate of return. SYD also switched to Dual-till; therefore the aeronautical revenue is only confined to cover the aircraft and passenger service charges. The ACCC, similar to the Competition Commission in the U.K., is not influential enough to encourage SYD to increase their efficiency as there is no incentive-based price cap. Perth Airport (PER), Australia Huge price rise in service charges with no improvement in services or any significant capital investment. Absence of economic regulation, asset evaluation and the use of dual-till; all this result in increase in charges for the customers. Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), Argentina Privatization meant very bad for the customers. High charges for the structure, under-investment and poor quality of service to the customers. Absence of an independent economic regulator has led to very high service charges. It also resulted to a very confrontational relationship between the government, airport operator and the customers. Capacity constraints have been dealt very poorly. Under-investments due to payment of high royalties. No competition between service providers led to high customer charges with low standards of service. Athens International Airport (AIA), Greece Service quality is good to the customers but comes at a very high price. It ranks the 3rd highest charges in the world. No consultation with the airline customers on building of the new airport, therefore high cost and inefficient investment. The rate-of-return economic regulation creates no incentives for improving efficiency and permits monopoly profits. If the profits are not met within one year, then the regulator allows charges to be raised in order to recoup. The AIA also uses the dual-till. This means the aeronautical revenue is confined only to the aircraft charges and passenger charges which should have been also used for the commercial charges. There has been over 20 years since privatization of infrastructure providers started in different industries. Although, considerable rise of amounts had been achieved by privatizing many publicly owned companies fully or partially, general public and customer interest had not been one of the major concerns. From the identified challenges brought into light due to privatization of airports all around the globe, some prominent issues like cost inefficiency, high charges due to no independent economic regulation in existence. The cost of capital is too high under the plc privatization model. There is no improvisation in the efficiency and quality of customer services to cope with low or minimal incentives. The privatization of airports has also brought the issue of capacity, financial and environmental constraints into light. This resulted in potential discrimination between incumbent and new airline companies. Expanding capacity at new major airports require huge amounts of capital, where public sector funding might not be sufficient, therefore private sector investment has to be considered. But for future investments, incentives and service charges have to be rightly considered and revised. Compacting Strategies An efficient economic regulation is necessary to regulate the cost of capital, the asset and resource valuation and to control the service charges according to the quality of service provided. It is also needed to improvise the quality of service provided to airlines and customers according to the incentives. It has to optimize the use of given space capacity, both for aircrafts and passengers. An efficient economic regulation system is appropriate for bringing a balance between the service provided and service charges by setting up a fair and efficient charging system for airports infrastructure. It may encourage private investors to invest and take control of commercial management. It is noticed through history that airports when operated with commercial outlook, the performance, efficiency and financial situation is improved, whether it may be publicly owned or privately owned. Airports governed by national or local governments should be allowed some degree of freedom to run more like a commercial type and unnecessary regulations should be lifted. British Airports Authority (BAA), U.K. Excellent example of how to privatize an airport successfully, by implementing effective economic regulation of assets. Since privatization, the company has diversified. It started managing airports overseas with equal stakes and concentrating on particularly the non-aeronautical revenue generation at the airports. Effective economic regulation has been critical for the success of privatization, which regulated the aeronautical revenue considerably low and maintaining good quality of services. The existence of a Competition Commission has resulted in effective regulation of charges by keeping the customers interest in mind. The price-caps are given a regular check in order to prevent the increase in airport profits in excess of the cost of capital. This avoids inefficient investment which would lead to excessive charging of customer services. Revision of incentives for better services keeps the quality of service good and also in improvisation. If neglected, it would lead to poor quality of service in order to increase airport profits. Single-till is the mode of airport accounts management. In this method, both the aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues are taken into account during setting the airport charges. Copenhagen Airport (CPH), Denmark Relatively successful privatization with quality service and relatively low airport charges. Effective economic regulation has been critical for the success of this privatization. This controlled the aeronautical revenue relatively low and quality of service high. Improvisation in the efficiency of services was the key to its success since shareholders are also benefitting. The regulation put price-caps by negotiation with the airline customers, if this failed, then incentive based charges are assigned to improve efficiency of the services. Brussels Airport (BRU), Belgium The economic regulation brought customers into reassurance by setting appropriate charges. With respect to the rate-of-return policy, little incentives are produced for cost efficiency improvements to reduce airport charges. Conclusion Privatization brought drastic changes as the ownership changed from public owners like national or local government to private sector ownership. But commercialization is of greater asset than privatization. Increasing the airport profits, expansion of airport capacity and economic growth happens by undertaking commercial type of management. The public owners can increase the revenue generation by liberalization and allowing the airports more degree of freedom. Effective economic regulation is critical for successful privatization as capital investment is high therefore there is less competition for private sector investment. The economic regulation is highly necessary for creating incentives, which would help in improvisation of quality of service and increasing efficiency and would restrain monopolies created by privatization and allow sharing of airport profits with the customers by reducing customer service charges. A regulatory committee in association with the economic regulation could be considered highly beneficial as they would complement each others price-capping by keeping the customers and the airports cost of capital into consideration. For successful privatization, customers should be considered as key stakeholders in the development and expansion. The pricing infrastructure should be set by keeping the customers interest as one of the most important criteria in making capital investments for growth and future development.

Integrating Technology for Better School Security Essay -- essays pape

Integrating Technology for Better School Security Using new technology for better school security is not always easy because it is difficult to address the correct problem with the right equipment, there also exists economic issues, and mental unrest among staff and students. School safety is an issue that has been concerning this country for many years. With the populations of our schools growing, the crime rates with in them have been as well. The student to staff ratio has greatly increased and there are concerns on how to regulate student behavior as well as crime prevention among students. Along with regulating student behavior, more security issues need to be addressed in order to maintain a safe school. For example, more schools have now been upgraded with better computer systems for the staff and students. Students now have computers in every classroom and better equipment for their specific classes. This new equipment is very costly and it is a long process for the school district to obtain. School security measures need to be taken to avoid the theft or damage of these new, expensive technologies. More needs to be considered before resorting to extreme measures of security for schools. The issue that the specific school is facing must be addressed in the correct fashion. Meaning that an analysis of the school and every aspect of it must be taken. The schools budget must be looked at, as well as history of misconduct and/or crime. A school’s financial situation must be one of the most important issues looked at when considering new security equipment. Most of the county’s school districts are already in a money slump right now. The budget for school funding is low and is getting lower by ... ...ist (1995). Risks to students in schools. Washington D.C. Office of Technology Assessment. (2003). Datastrip’s ID Cards, Bar Codes Scanner Ensure Student Protection. THE Journal, 31, 27-30. Blackburn, M. (2001). Mikulski urges U.S. funds for special education: The Sun, Local, 3B. Lane, K. (1996). The School Safety Handbook, taking action for students and staff protection. Lancaster, PA: Technomic Publishing. Schneider, T. (2001). Newer Technologies for School Security. (ERIC Digest No. 145) Eugene, OR: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management. (ERIC Document Reproductive Service No. ED449550.) Trump, K. (2004) School Security Equipment and Technology, National School Safety and Security Services, http://www.schoolsecurity.org/resources/security-equipment.html Watson, R. (1995). A Guide to Violence Prevention: Educational Leadership, 52, 57-60.