Study Guide to the Judicial Branch of US Government

China Airlines Marketing Strategy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2083 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/09/20 Category Marketing Essay Type Argumentative essay Topics: China Essay Marketing Strategy Essay Did you like this example? Marketing Strategy China Airlines on Guam CASE SYNOPSIS: This is a case study about how a foreign carrier, China Airlines, adapts it strategy competing in the Guam-based airline industry. The case traces the company’s history on Guam from setting up its regular flight schedule between Guam and Taipei, through a pricing competition with its main competitor Continental Micronesia, to today where it occupies the sole market share of flights between these locations. In addition, the study explains China Airlines approach to its customers through partnerships with hotels and tourism companies in both Taiwan and on Guam; how this business has been affected by immigration regulations; and how it has become a successful carrier on Guam, in spite of failing to reach its initial goal for even being on Guam. Business Background on Guam China Airlines is a foreign aviation corporation with headquarters in Taipei Taiwan. Before 2000, China Airlines only flew charter flights to G uam, with the market here being limited by the requirement that Taiwanese hold American visas to enter Guam. These charter flights, or irregularly scheduled flights specially arranged according to the needs of customers, were more expensive than normal flights, and were held at peak travel times, such as Chinese New Year (which usually is in January or February and lasts about fifteen days), a golden travel time period throughout Asia. In March 2000, the United States passed a visa waiver policy, allowing Taiwanese to come to Guam directly from Taiwan with only a Taiwanese passport and a Taiwanese identification card. The stay period was only valid for 15 days. With this policy in place, more Taiwanese came to Guam for vacation. With this growing tourist market in mind, China Airlines set up regularly scheduled flights between Taipei and Guam twice a week with a capacity of about 150 passengers per flight. When China Airlines began regular flights, its goal was to develop its market in the whole Micronesia area, targeting Guam as its hub to fly to the surrounding islands, and keeping flight capacity small, as the airports around these islands did not ave the infrastructure that would allow large planes to land. However, its main competitor on Guam, Continental Micronesia Airlines, had established a presence in the Micronesia area from the 1970s onward, making it difficult for China Airlines to open flight routes throughout the region. The way China Airlines operated its business was to contract with a global ground aircraft service group named Aircraft International Service Group, which does airplane maintenance, aircraft cleaning service, refueling and passenger check-in. In such a way, China Airlines did not need to recruit an entire team to Guam, thus keeping its operational costs low and allowing it to compete with Continental Micronesia, which also had regular flights between Taipei and Guam. A pricing competition between China Airlines and Conti nental Airlines lasted for about five years to capture the largest share of the Guam market. Both airlines tried to lower their ticket prices to keep their flight routes. As a result, neither of the airlines could make a profit from these flights since they targeted the same group of customers. As a corporation, Continental Micronesia had to give up the market when it could not make a profit anymore according to current chief executive officer of Continental Micronesia Charlie Duncan. Thus Continental terminated its regular flights between Taipei and Guam in October 2005, according to Pacific News Daily. To force Continental Micronesia to terminate its three times weekly regular flight routes between Taipei would be China Airlines’ first marketing strategic achievement even though it lost money during the competition. But as the last airline standing after a pricing competition, they had more pricing flexibility. Sometimes China Airlines is able to sell tickets from Gua m to Taiwan at a cost almost equal to a flight from the United States to Taiwan. Business Development China Airlines maintains its success by working with tourist agents, which are the biggest air tickets resource for both passengers and airlines company since its vacationing passengers are usually looking for a package deal, to include hotel and air tickets, and even activities. Airline companies can do mass sales to the tourist agents at a lower price, but allowing it to maximize its profits in general. China Airlines works closely ith a lot of tourist agents both in Taiwan and Guam. According to China Airlines Guam Branch general manager Norman Wang, flight sales have to be balanced between an outbound and inbound market. When a flight comes in to Guam, which is an inbound flight, its outbound passengers have to reach a certain level of capacity. Otherwise, it will lose money if it flies back to Taiwan below its break-even level. In order to attract more tourist to come to Guam, China Airlines works closely with three tourist companies on Guam, which take care of the arrival passengers while the tourism companies in Taiwan do sales. Due to languages barriers, customer service at the arrival destination is necessary for most Taiwanese. Thus, these three companies are incorporated to take the passengers to check in at hotels and arrange activities as necessary. Regarding the outbound passengers, China Airlines made more effort to work with eleven local tourism companies on Guam since Taiwan is not a very popular tourism destination for local residents. Therefore, these eleven companies only focus on ticket sales or travel packages sales to local residents. Besides that, China Airlines cooperates with hotels directly through bundle packages — hotel plus air tickets — to attract more customers, since most customers want a cheaper rate for both hotel and air tickets. And they even introduced wedding destination catering and Certified Professi onal Accountant services to Taiwan. Through these partnership engagement activities, China Airlines had been doing well after Continental was out of the competition. Moreover, Guam Visitors Bureau was making an effort to promote Guam in Taiwan, starting around 2007, which did help to get more awareness of Guam as a tourism destination in Taiwan. For a while, it was hard for Guam residents to get a ticket to Taiwan, especially local Taiwanese. China Airlines noticed the demand of tickets from the Guam end, and that Guam also increased its awareness in Taiwan. In order to ensure its market is ready for expansion; China Airlines conducted marketing research on both areas through working with tourist agents and local government agencies, as well. Tourist agents from both places indicated that there would be an increased trend in the near future and they were capable to help to increase sales in order to expand the market share. After several conversations between the governments o f both areas, they encouraged and supported China Airlines’ expansion challenge. As a result, China Airlines decided to change its 150 passengers capacity airplane to 300 seats per plane in September 2008, while maintaining a twice-a-week schedule. Larger capacity flights were the second achievement for China Airlines. Since then, China Airlines has maintained a schedule of twice weekly flights at a 300- seat capacity. During busy seasons (Chinese New Year and summer time), it adds more flights temporarily. Business failures Replacement of smaller capacity planes was only one of the methods China Airlines used to increase its market shares and profit margins. China Airlines also tried to increase the frequency of its flights per week in 2008. Its original schedule was only Tuesday and Saturday from Taiwan, and then they changed the schedule to be Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by adding two more flights a week. When they increased flights, they promoted six days-five nights or five days-four nights bundle packages, hoping to give customers more convenient options. However, it turned out to be a failure due to customer behavior changes (or group pattern change). The passengers either stayed longer or shorter, as a result, all the passengers chose the same flight while leave the other two schedules more vacant. In the end, they changed the flight schedule back to its twice-weekly schedule. Another way to increase market share is to explore potential markets. China Airlines never forgot its main goal on Guam, which was to set up Guam as a hub to the Micronesian region. Saipan to Guam and Rota to Guam routes are operated by Cape Airlines, which forged a partnership with Continental Micronesia. China Airlines tried to explore ways to incorporate with Continental Micronesia based on the model of Cape Airlines and Continental Micronesia. However, China Airlines was turned down. Uncertain opportunity A lot of business people are looking at the mi litary buildup on Guam as an opportunity. As for China Airlines, according to Wang, they are not sure if this is going to favor them since the military buildup has been delayed. He explained that first of all, the military are not going to Taiwan for travel: whenever they have a vacation, they will choose to go home first. And if they want to travel around Asia, Taiwan is usually the last destination they consider, he said. The only possible benefit the military buildup may offer to China Airlines is that it may attract more business investors to come to Guam time to time to do business research while seeking a chance to set up business here. But if it is delayed longer, there will also be fewer investors coming to Guam. Future Challenges China Airlines is facing some challenges now. According to Wang, the Taiwanese population on Guam has decreased, and these are its main customers on Guam. In order to balance the inbound and outbound passengers, they need to make more of an e ffort to maintain or even increase Guam’s market share. But who they should target and how is still uncertain. China Airlines has tried hard to work with the community on Guam in order to get more public awareness. They have approached Naval Base Guam, Andersen Air Force Base, and the Chinese and Guam chambers of commerce, through social activities. But the result of these efforts is not appreciable. In addition, the United States extended its Taiwanese Visa Waiver stay period to 45 days in November 2009, which also allows them to visit the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands during the time. This policy reduces China Airlines’ business, instead of bringing in more customers. Wang explained that under the two-week stay policy, some frequent-flying businessmen could not complete their work in such a limited time period and had to buy another ticket to come in again. But now, they can save one trip at least. Moreover, even though China Airlines occupies th e market between these two destinations, its ticket prices are still expensive for the Taiwanese, who are the main customer resource to China Airlines. Thus it is challenge for China Airlines to set price to maximize profits. SWOT Analysis Strength: Today China Airlines is the only carrier with regular flights between Guam and Taiwan, which gives it more flexibility to set prices. Guam is an American territory with beaches, plus a visa waiver policy to Taiwan, thus attracting many Taiwanese tourists. Weakness: Guam to Taipei is the only flight route China Airlines has in the region, which limits its market shares and profits margins. Whenever China Airlines tries to increase flights schedule between these two destinations, overhead cost exceeds its profits, which limits China Airlines’ expansion. Moreover, with Continentals Micronesia pre-occupancy in Micronesia area, it makes it harder for China Airlines to expand its market. Meanwhile, Guam government needs to improve it s public facilities, such as public restrooms, which are locked sometimes, and public transportation, which does not provide comfortable seats or consistent schedules. Opportunity: China Airlines hopes the military buildup can bring more Taiwan investors to come to Guam while the investors will commute more frequently between these two destinations. Threat: Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) usually has a certain of budget for promoting Guam in different countries. Currently, GVB has allocated more of its budget to promote Guam in China and is focusing efforts there. Thus, GVB will decrease its budget to promote Guam in Taiwan. As a result, it affects China Airlines business directly. Overall, China Airlines made profits between these two destinations even though they failed to expand its market shares in the Micronesia area. However, China Airlines has successfully adjusted its marketing strategies based on its competitors, market demands and political elements between these two dest inations. Even though China Airlines is a leader between these two places, they still try to seek more opportunities to realize its initial goal on Guam. Reference Daleno, G. (September 17, 2005). Taiwan flights to be cut, Retrieved on October 26, 2010 from Pacific Daily News Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "China Airlines Marketing Strategy" essay for you Create order

My Own Personal And Theoretical Understanding Education Essay Free Essays

The biggest development so far has to be my apprehension of English as an extra linguistic communication, non merely did I use to believe EAL pupils were portion of the Particular Educational Needs and Disabilities standards, I ever use to see pupils with EAL as a barrier, inquiring myself inquiries like, How would I get the better of the linguistic communication barrier? Making myself believe that EAL pupils are lower ability within all topics, but this is non the instance. Some instructors have small or no apprehension of a kid ‘s demands that does non hold English as their first linguistic communication. Sometimes this deficiency of apprehension and communicating between pupil and instructor can decelerate down the pupils ‘ advancement. We will write a custom essay sample on My Own Personal And Theoretical Understanding Education Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Whether the kid is considered to be one of the followers: an Asylum-Seeker, Refugee, Isolated Learner, Sojourner, Bilingual or merely new to English, every kid affairs. EAL teaching method is designed to assist run into the linguistic communication and larning demands of pupils who have English as an extra linguistic communication. Successful EAL scholars will normally hold a good apprehension and a appreciation of their ain first linguistic communication, so while larning English they are able to develop their vocabulary in their first linguistic communication. In order for a pupil to develop cognitively and linguistically, they need to hold the chance to talk and compose within the English linguistic communication from an early phase of a lesson, assisting them to go more witting of their new linguistic communication, this is besides a good manner to measure the pupil ‘s demands, being able to see where they need more development. Student ‘s larning EAL need contextual support in order to do sense of new information and the new linguistic communication ; this can be developed through ocular cues, assisting the EAL pupil to acquire to footings with the undertakings presented to them though their cognition of English is limited. Standard five ‘Adapt learning to react to the strengths and demands of all students ‘ from the Teachers ‘ Standards provinces ; ‘Have a clear apprehension of the demands of all students, including those with particular educational demands ; those of high ability ; those with English as extra linguistic communication ; those with disablements ; and be able to utilize and measure typical instruction attacks to prosecute and back up them. ‘ ( DfE, 2012:8 ) After reading and re-reading the Teachers ‘ Standards and taking this subdivision of Standard five on board I have come to gain, that in order to learn EAL pupils you have got to be willing to larn to learn. No affair where you are within your learning calling you have to larn from the kids within you category. Jim Cummins developed a model, which shows how basic interpersonal communicating accomplishments ( BIC ) and cognitive academic linguistic communication proficiency ( CALP ) can be developed through planning and instruction. The model is helpful to place and develop appropriate undertakings for different pupils within different categories. Though it its believe that pupils need to be working from the high cognitive demand and high contextual support quarter-circle, Conteh explained the quarter-circles in Cummins ‘ diagram as the followers ; ‘Beginning with context-embedded activities and bit by bit traveling, with talk and action, towards less embedded activities means that kids are ne’er left without support, and at the same clip are being encouraged to travel to the new cognition which is the object of the activity. ‘ ( J.Conteh 2006:11 ) After reflecting on the point that Conteh made about how the model fundamentally helps to construct upon the pupil ‘s English cognition, through practical activities and a assortments of experiences within the schoolroom. The best manner to assist with a pupils ‘ cognition is through verbal communicating. Bringing me to submergences versus bilingualism, BIC and CALP are both needed to assist back up a pupils larning and understanding. Though bilingualism is good to pass on between the same linguistic communication and you can happen out more about this pupil within their ain apprehension of their first linguistic communication, submergence will assist a pupil develop quicker. By literately throwing a pupil into the deep terminal with a group of pupils who merely have English as their first linguistic communication the kid is so forced to pass on with these pupils assisting come oning with verbal communicating, this can besides assist with linguistic communication accompli shments through written pieces of work as the pupil is larning from equals who are the best instructors to pupils who are EAL. ‘Have high outlooks of behavior, and set up a model for subject with a scope of schemes, utilizing congratulations, countenances and wages systematically and reasonably ‘ ( DfE, 2012:8 ) Concentrating on standard seven of the Teachers ‘ Standards, behavior is all the clip non merely disputing. When inquiring myself what behavior was all I had in my head were the pupils who are disputing. Coming to gain that behavior is non merely those who like to dispute a instructor, but it is besides those who push to win as mentioned before behavior is all the clip. Within any school many pupils will move otherwise, within different scenes and with different instructors. Some pupils do non like alteration, so a alteration to a usual modus operandi can take to a alteration in behavior ; this besides happens when a pupil is faced with a different instructor to the 1 they are used to. Many instructors and pupils have a common consequence on one and other, when detecting a pupil ‘s behavior alongside the observation of the instructor, there was a direct nexus that you can see that it was every bit much the instructor ‘s behavior that contributed to the incident that go on within the category, whether triggered by a bad twenty-four hours or the features of that specific instructor. Though ambitious behavior is the chief obstruction to raising accomplishment, pull offing behaviour positively can travel a long manner towards cut downing emphasis degrees between staff and students, which helps to enable a safe acquisition environment. When supervising a pupil ‘s behavior I have come to gain that you have to take into history many facets that every kid is different, they all come from different backgrounds, with different degrees of societal and emotional development. Developing a relationship with all the pupils within a category is the key to a happy environment. Amy Demorest, 2005 explains Burrhus Skinner ‘s theory every bit behaviour as being a manner to avoid penalty but to win in accomplishing wages, believing that penalty was counterproductive. When taking this theory with me onto my recent pattern, it came to demo that Skinner ‘s theory was right. Student ‘s will move misconduct but one time the instructor has offered and inaugural for good behavior the pupil automatically stops, because they know at the terminal of the twenty-four hours they are being rewarded for something they would be acquiring into problem for. Though this theory does come with advantages, after a piece of the pupil being offered a wages in topographic point of misbehavior the pupil will shortly alter their ways and be cognizant they no longer have to move up in order to have congratulations and a wages. The idea of going a instructor is highly rewarding, but it is traveling to take tonss of work, clip and consideration on my portion. Planning, clip direction and administration play a critical function in pull offing a schoolroom. In order to pull off a schoolroom, I will necessitate to hold effectual outlooks, make usage of the resources available to me and hold good clip direction. Supplying a batch of work within the schoolroom is of import to supply a batch of engagement for the pupils, this will guarantee that pupils are focused and enthusiastic within the category. Having a set of schoolroom regulations and modus operandis will assist set up socialization within the schoolroom, constructing up guidelines that must be followed within the category environment. Though regulations and modus operandis are highly different, let go of the overarching rules by which your category is fun, these regulations within the category define the ethos of the schoolroom, they need to positively depict coveted behavior and properties and in the long term support the pupils developing self-regulation of their behavior and direction. Whereas modus operandis are the manner specific undertakings need to be carried out, in order to guarantee a safe and purposeful acquisition environment. Efficaciously pull offing a schoolroom is of import to hold the category laid out and arranged in a manner that makes larning easier. The layout will hold an impact on the manner you teach and the manner the pupils learn. For each lesson it is impractical to travel the schoolroom unit of ammunition, so acquiring a layout that can be used for all topics is the key. It is critical to see all the pupils ‘ faces, and you besides need to guarantee they can see you and the synergistic white board or any other resource you are utilizing within the category. There are a batch of ways in which a schoolroom can be laid out and organized but it ‘s the 1 that suits the instructor best. So for me it will be about test and mistake as this is the lone manner you learn what suits you. Whether it is: the horseshoe, a circle, rows or sitting in ability groups or friendly relationship groups, there are pro ‘s and con ‘s to all these siting agreements. The lone manner to see what will accommodate non merely myself but my category is to seek each manner until I have found the perfect manner for the pupils to acquire the best out of the ballad out and place of resource ‘s so my category will be managed to my best ability. Taking the above on board and believing about how I am traveling to win to go an outstanding instructor I need to hold a mark and program in topographic point in order to accomplish this. Reflecting on my professional pattern I can see that I need to concentrate in more on how the kids respond to behavioural techniques the instructor has in topographic point. Though I saw house points being used I did non see any other signifier of enterprise in topographic point for the category. Every Friday afternoon the pupils would acquire aureate though if they had warnings throughout the hebdomad they would lose at least five proceedingss per warning. Within my twelvemonth six category they all had occupations they carried out every twenty-four hours throughout the school, so when thought and reflecting I can see this was besides a privilege for good behavior and gave them duty within their school fixing them for the following phase of their instruction. I feel that when I go back into school for farther pattern I want to research schoolroom direction and administration more. Asking assorted inquiries on how the instructor ensures she gets the best usage of all her resources and how she gets the kids to behaviour as they are sitting within friendly relationship groups. I can see how this works as there is a mix of ability on each tabular array and the lower ability are supported by their higher ability friends within their surveies, but how does she controls the sum of work done and the less yak traveling on throughout the lessons. Though there is merely one EAL pupil within the school, I am traveling to supervise and research learning techniques with this pupil during my following pattern at the school. On my first pattern I spoke to the category instructor about assorted ways in assisting this pupil advancement within her acquisition of English, for case blending the ability degree she is in, puting the pupil in a higher ability group than the lowest to seek and act upon her to talk out more and contribute. The category instructor has invited me to fall in her category on the 2nd portion of my pattern to assist me derive more understanding and cognition within pattern with an EAL pupil. In decision I feel that I need to utilize my contemplations to put myself bigger challenges and marks to make within the hereafter. To derive more understanding and cognition of the primary school atmosphere and develop my ain techniques of instruction. I am trusting on the following portion of my pattern I am able to set some of the techniques I have discussed into action through the usage of my microteaching. Hoping to research manner in which I can organize my schoolroom to derive the best usage of resources and the best manner the pupils within the category will larn. Not merely am I be aftering on acquiring to cognize my pupils better but besides I am trusting to derive a better apprehension of myself. Reflecting and come oning this experience to see myself as non merely a pupil but, a trainee instructor, with the power over the pupils larning and assisting the following coevals to win into exceeding scholars and outstanding professionals. How to cite My Own Personal And Theoretical Understanding Education Essay, Essay examples

Worst Mistake in History free essay sample

Lastly, his statement about clumping together as a civilization being the cause of spreading diseases is completely invalid contradicting to everything the human race has accomplished so far. 12,000 years ago, the Agricultural Revolution started separating the Neolithic Period and the Paleolithic Period. The major change between the Paleolithic and Neolithic period was the domestication of animals and crops. The Agricultural Revolution brought dramatic changes in the Neolithic Period. People no longer had to chase animals around and were able to settle in one place and start the first civilizations. It was a change from a Hunter gatherer to farmers. This is where I disagree with Jared Diamond. He states that all the Agricultural Revolution did was create confusion forming social classes and the inequality between men and women. A defined Social class is a crucial element of starting a civilization so that part is debatable. Domestication abled us to settle in one stop which gave us a head start on starting our civilization. We will write a custom essay sample on Worst Mistake in History or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This process wasn’t necessary confusing making it an disadvantage for the human race. The issue about nutrition that Jared Diamond brings up is debatable because it might really depend on what region he studied to find the numbers. Even though humans started to domesticate crops, it doesn’t mean they didn’t hunt for animals. During the Agricultural Revolution, humans staid in one region an domesticate grains such as barley, wheat, and rice depending on the region. Rather than making a unbalanced food pyramid, adding a grain portions increased the life span of the humans. Also Jared Diamond states that living together might have been a great disadvantage because epidemics would spread quicker killing many people at a time. But on the other hand, if humans never settled and were always on their feet, none of this we have now would have happened. There would have never been a civilization without the Agricultural Revolution. Based on what Jared Diamond states, the human race is giving themselves a hard time by starting to domesticate crops and animals only based on the idea that living close causes a quick spread of disease It is obvious that the Agricultural Revolution isn’t the worst mistake the human race has ever created. The Agricultural Revolution is what shaped the world of how it is today. The civilizations, the start of everything. All of Jared Diamond’s arguments on why the Agricultural Revolution may be the worst mistake the human race has ever made are valid and they do have a point. But according to all his arguments, they contradict on all of what the human race has accomplished to do so far. The Agricultural Revolution isn’t a mistake, Its a blessing that the human race has put on themselves to shape this world.

More Words That Turn on the Root Vert

More Words That Turn on the Root Vert More Words That Turn on the Root Vert More Words That Turn on the Root Vert By Mark Nichol A recent post dealt with many of the English words based on the Latin verb vertere, meaning â€Å"turn,† focusing on those that precede the root vert with a prefix, and their various grammatical forms. This follow-up post defines some additional words in the vertere family: those beginning with vert. Those with the variant stem vers rather than vert will be outlined in a subsequent post. Vertigo originally meant â€Å"a spinning or whirling movement† and later came to refer to a form of dizziness in which the sufferer has a sensation suggestive of spinning or whirling. The related adjective is vertiginous, which also applies neutrally to any spinning motion or judgmentally to frequent and unnecessary change. A vertebra (plural: vertebrae) is a segment of the system of bones that constitute the spine, or backbone, of vertebrates; that last word refers to two classes of animals, the higher and lower vertebrates, possessing a spine of bone or cartilage or a similar process. It also serves as an adjective, as does vertebral- the spinal column is also called the vertebral column- and as an adjective, vertebrate also means â€Å"well formed or â€Å"well organized,† though this usage is rare. The connection to vertere is of the spine’s hinge-like quality, which allows animals to turn or bend their bodies. An invertebrate is an animal lacking a spine or a similar process. In Latin, vertex and vortex both mean â€Å"whirl,† but in English the terms are distinct: Vertex applies to the top of the head, the highest point (such as a summit), or a point farthest from the base of an object or shape. (It also applies in geometry to the point at which two lines or curves meet.) A vortex, meanwhile, is a literal or figurative whirlpool. The adjective vertical is related and in one sense means â€Å"located at the highest point† but usually means â€Å"upright† or â€Å"lengthwise† and is an antonym of horizontal. In economic and sociological contexts, it can refer, respectively, to the scope of activity in the production of goods or to hierarchy. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Rules for Writing Numbers and NumeralsFlier vs. FlyerDozen: Singular or Plural?

Facts About the Solar System

Facts About the Solar System Welcome to the solar system! This is where youll find the Sun, the planets, and humanitys sole home in the Milky Way Galaxy. It contains planets, moons, comets, asteroids, one star, and worlds with ring systems. Although astronomers and skygazers have observed other solar system objects in the sky since the dawn of human history, it has only been in the past half-century that theyve been able to explore them more directly with spacecraft. Historical Views of the Solar System Long before astronomers could use telescopes to look at objects in the sky, people thought that the planets were simply wandering stars. They had no concept of an organized system of worlds orbiting the Sun. All they knew were that some objects followed regular paths against the backdrop of the stars. At first, they thought these things were gods or some other supernatural beings. Then, they decided that those motions had some effect on human lives. With the advent of scientific observations of the sky, those ideas vanished.   The first astronomer to look at another planet with a telescope was Galileo Galilei. His observations changed humanitys view of our place in space. Soon, many other men and women were studying the planets, their moons, asteroids, and comets with scientific interest. Today that continues, and there are currently spacecraft doing many solar system studies. So, what else have astronomers and planetary scientists learned about the solar system?   Solar System Insights A journey through the solar system introduces us to the Sun, which is our nearest star. It contains an amazing 99.8 percent of the mass of the solar system. The planet Jupiter is the next most-massive object and it comprises two and a half times the mass of all the other planets combined. The four inner planets- tiny, cratered Mercury, cloud-shrouded Venus (sometimes called Earths Twin), temperate and watery Earth (our home), and reddish Mars- are called the terrestrial or rocky planets. Jupiter, ringed Saturn, mysterious blue Uranus, and distant Neptune  are called gas giants. Uranus and Neptune are so cold and contain a great deal of icy material, and are often called the ice giants.   The solar system has five known dwarf planets. They are called Pluto, Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. The New Horizons mission explored Pluto on July 14, 2015, and is on its way out to visit a small object called 2014 MU69. At least one and possibly two other dwarf planets exist in the outer reaches of the solar system, although we do not have detailed images of them. There are probably at least 200 more dwarf planets in a region of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt (Pronounced KYE-per Belt.) The Kuiper Belt extends out from the orbit of Neptune and is the realm of the most distant worlds known to exist in the solar system. It is very distant and its objects are likely icy and frozen. The outermost region of the solar system is called the Oort Cloud. It probably has no large worlds but does contain chunks of ice that become comets when they orbit very close to the Sun. The Asteroid Belt is a region of space that lies between Mars and Jupiter. It is populated with chunks of rocks ranging from small boulders up to the size of a big city. These asteroids are left over from the formation of the planets.   There are moons throughout the solar system. The only planets that do NOT have moons are Mercury and Venus. Earth has one, Mars has two, Jupiter has dozens, as do Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Some of the moons of the outer solar system are frozen worlds with watery oceans beneath the ice on their surfaces.   The only planets with rings that we know of are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. However, at least one asteroid called Chariklo also has a ring and planetary scientists recently discovered a tenuous ring around the dwarf planet Haumea.   The Origin and Evolution of the Solar System Everything that astronomers learn about solar system bodies helps them understand the origin and evolution of the Sun and planets. We know they  formed about 4.5 billion years ago. Their birthplace was a cloud of gas and dust that slowly contracted to make the Sun, followed by the planets. The comets and asteroids are often considered the leftovers of the birth of the planets.   What astronomers know about the Sun tells us that it will not last forever. Some five billion years from now, it will expand and engulf some of the planets. Eventually, it will shrink down, leaving behind a very changed solar system from the one we know of today.

3. Biomaterials for bone tissue-engineering Essay

3. Biomaterials for bone tissue-engineering - Essay Example Osseointegration means the ability to integrate into surrounding bones. The ideal condition is that the tissue should be reabsorbed and may be even replaced by the body’s own regenerated biological tissues. Bioactive inorganic materials like tricalcium phosphate, HA, bioactive glasses have a large capacity to be re-absorbed. This is definitely one of the positive points of inorganic materials. But the main problem is their brittle nature. This brittle nature means that the fracture toughness of the bones cannot b matched by these materials and thus is not ideal for picking heavy loads. Polymers such as collagen and hyaluronic acid are polymers which are interesting options for the use (Seeherman H, 2008).However they have weak mechanical properties and provide a possible risk of diseases if there is poor handling. Hydrogels are the kind of polymers which are creating great buzz about their use. They have many advantages including the one that chemical biofunctionalisation and cell encapsulation and delivery are very straightforward. In order for the biomaterial to be like a real bone the toughness of a polymer needs to be combined with the compressive strength of an inorganic material (Hollinger, 2004). This improves their mechanical properties and degradation profiles. Once the adequate biodegradable polymer has been selected the next step is to find a suitable processing technique. The processing methodology must not adversely affect the biocompatibility or the chemical properties of the chosen materials. Through the years a variety of processing techniques have been developed. Some of them will be discussed here by us. Solvent casting /Particulate Leaching – This method consists of dispersing calibrated materials such as sodium chloride or organic materials like saccharine particles in a polymer solution. The dispersion is processed after this either by casting or by using the method of freeze drying which results in