Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Physics Online Course Essay Example for Free
Physics Online Course Essay 1-How can you demonstrate that water is denser than ice without weighing them? What is the principle involved? Release an ice cube in water; the ice cube will float. The ice cube will displace some water as it â€Å"pushes†the water away. The principle involved is displacement. 2-The density of water is a maximum at 4 °C. Why is this property of water important for aquatic life? The maximum density being attained at 4 °C means that even if the water gets colder, the density will decrease. Therefore, ice (when it forms) floats instead of sinks. This makes the continuity of aquatic life during winter possible. 3-When two different materials are given the same amount of heat will their temperatures increase by the same amount? Explain with reasons? No. It depends on the ability of the materials to conduct heat. 4-It is generally observed that it is more difficult to cook food at high altitudes. Explain the possible reason for this? In higher altitudes, there is lower pressure. This means that water will not boil at 100 °C, but at a lower temperature, making your water not as hot as on sea-level, making cooking time longer. 5-What are the variable factors that affect the pitch (frequency) of a vibrating string? How are these factors controlled in a stringed musical instrument such as a violin? The speed and wavelength of the waves formed by striking an object. A musician controls the frequency through the strings tension and density, by pressing some of the strings. 6-If you want to see yourself fully in a plane mirror, the mirror needs to be only half your height. Draw a ray diagram showing how this is possible. Explain the diagram and principles you used. The image in the mirror looks as if the figure is far away, when in fact, it is right in front of the mirror. This is because the light received by the eye traveled in a straight line as if it came from behind the mirror. The mirror is also laterally inverted, meaning the figures right will appear as the mirror images left. References Leigh, J.R. (1988). Temperature measurement and control. USA: Institute of Engineering and   Technology. Sumich, J.L. and Morrissey J.F. (2004). Introduction to the biology of marine life. Massachusetts: Jones            and Bartlett Publishers. Pople, S. (1987). Explaining physics. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Dolan, G., Duffy, P. and Percival, A. (1996). Physics. United Kingdom: Heinemann.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Multifunctional Porous Organics Synthesis
Multifunctional Porous Organics Synthesis TITLE OF WORK The synthesis and characterisation of functionalized porous organics Abstract Lophine based radicals have been studied for many years due to their photochromic nature, recent literature has seen attempts to connect two radicals to carbon based backbones. In this report we will discuss attaching six lophine molecules to a single backbone which is a phosphazene ring. Cyclophosphazene rings have a unique conformation allowing for supramolecular architectures to be formed by varying the substituents, these architectures range from 0-2D structures. The hexalophine molecule exhibits 1D channels due its unique conformation which leads to the formation of a porous material. Porous organics are of high interest in recent literature due to them being a cheaper, less toxic alternative to MOFs as well as having the ability to be modified and tailored easily due to the simple starting materials. In this report we shall state synthetic pathways from simple molecular building blocks to hexalophine (32%) and two derivatives, compound 4 (46%) and 5 (15%). These two derivatives have the potential to increase pore stability. This report will also include the oxidation of hexalophine to its radical species which were found to display photochromic properties and it is also believed that this material could contain light gated pores which are closed in the dimer form of the product but then open upon irradiation of UV of 365nm. 1. INTRODUCTION 1.0 Properties and potential uses of Lophine This report will feature chemistry based upon the triphenylimidazolyl based radicals (TPIRs) as well as the dimer form hexaarylbiimidazole (HABI). Lophine (2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazole) is a heterocyclic imidazole derivative where three phenyl rings are attached to the imidazole ring (figure 1), these imidazole derivatives are an area of importance due to the many interesting properties it possesses. Lophine has been of interest to researchers for many years with its chemiluminescent properties being first discovered in 1877 by Radziszewski.1 The oxidation of the lophine molecule follows the reaction scheme below, where lophine is oxidised to the TPIR radical state via addion of base and treatment with Fe forming one of six dimers both in solution and the solid state (figure 2). These materials display photochromic, thermochromic and piezochromic properties. The mechanism of photochromism of the lophine dimer is the homolytic cleavage of the 2C-1N bond of the dimer by irradiation wit h light, forming two lophine radicals.2 The fast colour change associated with this dimer opening means there is a potential use in display screens or as the basis for molecular switches, where irradiation with light opens the dimer forming the radical in turn switching the external component On/Off. These possible applications have caused a focus on creating methods to manipulate and control the colour of these materials and as well as to increase the rate of switching.3 The colour of the radical form is dependent upon the substituents on the ring, the more conjugated the system the further toward the red side of the spectrum the colour.4 Lophine displays piezochromic properties in its solid state, upon applying pressure lophine crystals the colour change of yellow to blue/green has been observed, this occurs via the radical dissociation of the 1N-1N dimer bond.5 Other more unusual modes have been of dimerization such as the 2C-2C have now also been isolated, this mode features a u nusually long C-C bond.3 Figure 1 The structure of Lophine (2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazole) Another interesting lophyl radical derivative is the 1,8-TPID-naphthalene radical which consists of 2 lophine radicals connected by a naphthalene ring. 1,8-TPID-naphthalene has been characterised in the solid state by Abe et al; who studied the photoreactivity of the compound. 1,8-TPID-naphthalene allowed the group to fix two radicals onto a backbone meaning that the radicals were in close proximity and could dimerise easily as opposed to two radicals not connected via a backbone which first need to find eachother in order for dimerization to occur (figure 3). They found that the dimer could be cleaved photochemically giving the diradical and then could be thermally converted back to the dimer.6 They also found that the formation of a peroxide bridge was much more common than previous literature had accounted for. This bridging occurred when the 1,8-TPID-naphthalene radical was placed under an O2 atmosphere.7 This peroxide bridge formation is very important as when oxygen quenches th e spin to form the closed shell peroxide it does so irreversibly meaning the material is no longer photochromic. It was then shown that this peroxide degradation pathway can be generalised for the chromic dimers of TPIR materials, with non-tethered TPIRs forming similar peroxide bridges.8 A recent development by the same research group has also shown how a thiophene substituted phenoxyl-imidazole radical complex (PIC) can generate two non-equivalent radical upon irradiation with UV light. The colour change can be fine-tuned from tens of seconds to nanoseconds, however a sensitivity to lower wavelengths of light meant that applications were limited. This problem was rectified by adding a phenyl group to the 5 position of the thiophene ring.9 Figure 2 The six potential dimerization modes of two lophyl radicals.3 Figure 3 Illustrates the reversible conversion of 1,8-TPID-naphthalene between its radical and dimer forms. 1.1 Hexa-substituted Phophazene Rings, Tectons and Crystal Engineering A key component of this project was the exploitation of the Phosphazene ring as soft tecton; a tecton is a molecular building block that interacts with sticky sites, formally known as supramolecular synthons, via spatial arrangements to induce the formation of supramolecular aggregates. The search for new tectons is a hot area of research due to the constantly growing field of crystal engineering where the aim is to produce functional single crystal materials using intermolecular interactions. The arrangement of molecules in solid state structures is largely dependent on striking a fine balance between intramolecular forces and packing interactions, knowledge of these forces is key to the field of crystal engineering.10 In general, hard tectons interact via more robust synthons than soft tectons and therefore usually crystallise with unambiguous geometries. Whereas soft tectons and less robust synthons allow for the formation of supramolecular isomers (figure 4).11 These tectons allo w for many functional materials to be formed in a one pot synthesis, they also have the ability to be carefully adjusted to alter and improve upon their functionality.12 Cyclophosphazenes are extremely soft tectons that interact with soft synthons to give a large variety of supramolecular architectures in the solid state. The conformation of the cyclophosphazenes is also very interesting as three substituents reside above the plane of the ring and three below (figure 5). It was found that small modifications to the substituents attached to the ring gave supramolecular architectures ranging from 0D to 2D structures (figure 6) such as include monomer, dimer, cyclic hexamer, zigzag chain, linear chain, double chain, graphite-type sheet, rectangular grid and hexagonal close-packed sheet. Such variety of structures came from the easy rotation about the exocyclic P-N bonds, which allowed variable directionalities for all of the N-H bonds. 11                          3a)                                                                  3b) Figure 4a) Shows benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid a classic example of a hard tecton. 4b) shows a silanetriol a classic soft tecton. Figure 5 Conformation of a Hexa-substituted Phosphazene Ring. Figure 6 Schematic representations of aggregation patterns of (RNH)6P3N3 in the solid state.11 1.2 Magnetism and Magnetic Frustration The materials we aim to make during this project once appropriately oxidised should go on to form dimers which when irradiated with UV light form discrete radicals containing unpaired electrons thus giving each radical an associated magnetic moment. Neutral organic radicals tend to be paramagnetic and exhibit Curie- Weiss behaviour, where the spin vectors of the unpaired electrons are randomly aligned above the Curie temperature (Tc), which is the critical temperature below which the long ordered state is established, unless a magnetic field is applied. If spin vectors are parallel to each other below the Curie temperature then the material is ferromagnetic, if the spin vectors are aligned antiparallel to one another the material is antiferromagnetic.13 Due to the geometry of the phosphazene ring (three substituents pointing up above the plane of the ring and three below) there is the possibility of forming a 2D triangular lattice of spins if the substituents are organic radicals. This could possibly lead to geometric magnetic frustration due to the fact that the two nearest neighbours to a spin are themselves nearest neighbours and therefore antiferromagnetic couplings cannot be satisfied (figure 7).14 This can lead to very interesting magnetic properties. Most solid state examples of this geometric frustration tend to be transition metal oxides, however, studies have been done on organic systems that also distribute geometric frustration.13 One example of this is m-MPYNNP+ which is a spin  ½ organic radical that upon dimerization forms a 2D triangular lattice which demonstrates the aforementioned geometric frustration.14 The issue of spin frustration has been around for a long time as Quantum spin liquids (QSL) were first theoretically proposed by Anderson many years ago which are now a hot topic of research due to the realisation of these QSLs in organic materials such as k-(ET)2-CH2(CN)3, which has a near perfect triangular lattice with angles very close to 120 °.15 A QSL is an exotic ground state where interacting spins continuously fluctuate with no formation of low range magnetic order even at sufficiently low temperatures.16 Figure 7 Antiferromagnetic coupling cannot be fulfilled causing geometric magnetic frustration. 1.3 Porous Materials Porous materials are as important as ever due to their wide spread use in several fields such as catalysis and gas absorption,17 meaning they can play a critical role in the route to solving our growing energy shortage problems. Porous materials are instantly associated with materials such as zeolites, metal organic framework (MOF) and organic polymers. MOFs are characterised by their tuneable pores and inherent flexibility which more classical carbon or oxide based structures do not possess, this gives a wide range of applications for MOFs such as gas storage, separation, drug delivery or catalysis.18 Porous organics have been discovered in nature but are largely created synthetically and approaches often need to be coupled with knowledge of crystal engineering. These materials are often held together by directional forces which form extended frameworks of noncovalent interactions such as À- À interactions, hydrogen bonding or coordinate bonding (figure 8).17 Like zeolites a nd MOFs porous organics have the ability to selectively absorb atoms and molecules in the gas phase.19 There are many positives to these porous organics, they are often cheaper to synthesise and less toxic as well as being far less dense than metal containing MOFs. Figure 8 One example of a Porous Organic by Sozzani et al. 1.4 P3N3 Hexalophine The chemistry of P3N3 Hexalophine incorporates much of the chemistry discussed above and has many interesting properties. The P3N3 Hexalophine molecule consists of six lophine substituents attached to the phosphazene ring via a P-O bond (figure 9). Previous work in the Robertson group found that the solid state structure of Hexalophine consisted of a pseudo hexagonal motif giving rise to 1D channels that run parallel to the stacking axis (figure 10). The molecule maintained its D3 symmetry in the solid state. The phenyl rings twist to maximise pi-stacking interaction and the 3 imidazole nitrogen atoms form hydrogen bonds to a central water molecule. There are 4 pi-pi interactions that stabilise this structure, the molecules are in a slipped conformation allowing the phenyl and imidazole to rings overlap. Other non-covalent interactions such as van der Waals interactions also help to stabilise the structure. The high symmetry of the structure which comes from the hexa substituted phos phazene ring (three above the plane of the ring and three below) gives an equal distribution of intermolecular forces giving a high probability of forming a stable porous structure. IGA measurements with CO2 loading at 195K shows a Type I isotherm with absorption reaching 8cm3g-1 at a pressure of 700mmHg confirming the materials microporosity. However only a small fraction of the void space contained CO2. Figure 9 The structure of Hexalophine. Figure 10 The crystal structure of Hexalophine, illustrating the 1D channels. 1.5 Aim of Project The aim of this project is to combine our knowledge of the chemistry of both lophine radical systems and cyclophosphazene rings to find elegant synthetic routes which will improve upon the porous properties of hexalophine. This will be done by varying the ring substituents to increase stability of the pores and to improve its gas absorption properties. Three lophine derivatives have been identified as plausible candidates for thid are where two of the phenyl groups on the lophine will be replaced by two thiophene rings and two pyridine rings respectively, with the position of the nitrogen in the pyridine ring being varied depending upon the synthetic pathway (figure 11). We wish to synthesise and fully characterise these derivatives including growing single crystals for structural studies via X-ray crystallography. Also a stoichiometric controlled oxidation of the hexalophine material to its neutral radical/dimer pair is required in order to further investigate the properties of hexa lophine such as the possibility of creating a photochromic material that has light gated pores that open on irradiation with UV light. R=                 or       or Figure 11 the synthetic targets of this project. 2. Results and discussion 2.0 Hexa-benzaldehyde Synthesis The first step in this synthetic project involved attaching six benzaldehyde units to the phosphazene ring via a P-O oxygen bond. This was achieved by reacting the phosphonitrillic chloride trimer along with 6 equivalents of 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, potassium carbonate in dry THF (figure 12). The reaction was monitored with 31P NMR which showed completion when only a singlet was present in the spectra indicating full substitution. This produced the compound 1 which was the precursor for many of the subsequent reactions. The reaction gave the desired product in a fairly low yield (45%). Whilst the yield was slightly low the FT-IR showed all of the characteristic absorptions such as C=O (1697cm-1) and CAr-CAr (1585cm-1). 31P NMR was conducted and showed a sharp singlet at 7.08ppm which indicated full substitution on the phosphazene ring as all of the environments are equivalent. 1H NMR was also conducted and show a singlet at 9.87ppm with an integration of 6Hs which was as expected for t he 6 aldehyde protons, two doublets were found in the aromatic region and integrated to 12Hs each which was correct for the number of protons expected. The CHN analysis was almost perfect with less than 0.2% difference from the calculated values, this indicated that the product was of high purity. Mass spectometry also indicated that the desired product had been synthesized as a [M+Na]+ peak was detected at 884. Figure 12 The reaction scheme for the synthesis of 1. 2.1 Synthesis of Hexalophine and Hexalophine derivatives 2.1.0 Using Diketones The synthesis of hexalophine and hexalophine derivatives is important due to their porous properties which can be of great importance in fields such as gas storage and catalysis. The method for attaching six lophine units to the ring was a ring condensation of 1 on the six benzaldehyde units attached to the phosphazene ring using a synthesis based upon Radziszewskis synthesis.1 The product 2 was achieved by reacting 1 along with six equivalents of benzil, ammonium acetate in excess in glacial acetic acid (figure 13). The yield for 2 was quite poor (32%), the FT-IR showed all of the characteristic peaks such as CAr-H (3055cm-1), C=N (1604cm-1) and CAr=CAr (1538cm-1) indicating the desired product had been formed. This was further confirmed by both the 31P and 1H NMR, the 31P NMR showed a singlet at 8.36ppm which indicates full substitution on the phosphazene ring. The 1H NMR showed a singlet at 12.65ppm which had an integration equal to 6Hs which is representative of the 6 imidazole N -Hs, it also showed multiplets in the aromatic region with an integration of 84Hs which is exactly the number of aromatic hydrogens in the desired product. CHN analysis of the product correlated well with the desired structure, especially when three molecules of water were factored into the calculation. It is unsurprising that this compound also contained water due to its porous nature.                                    NH4OAc                                 Acetic acid (6eq.) Figure 13 The reaction scheme for the synthesis of 2. Another reaction designed based upon the ring condensation reaction was the synthesis of 4. This synthesis builds upon the diketone functionality as above, however, in this reaction the R groups of the diketone thenil were thiophene rings as opposed to the phenyl rings of benzil. Thenil like benzil was reacted with 1 and ammonium acetate in glacial acetic acid (figure 14). The yield for this compound, whilst better than 2, was still fairly low (46%). FT-IR showed the characteristic peaks such as CAr-H (3071cm-1), CAr=CAr (1643cm-1) and C=N (1607cm-1) indicating the target molecule had been synthesised. The 31P NMR showed a singlet at 8.26ppm again indicating full substitution. The 1H NMR showed a singlet 12.91ppm with an integration of 6Hs representative of the 6 imidazole N-H hydrogens, it also showed multiplets in the aromatic region with an integration of 60 which was again exactly what was required for the number of aromatic hydrogens, indicating the correct product had been synt hesised. The CHN analysis was close to the theorectical values required especially when four water molecules were factored in, again this is unsurprising as this material like 2 is also expected to be porous.                        NH4OAc                              Acetic acid (6eq.) Figure 14 The reaction scheme for the synthesis of 4. Like thenil and benzil, pyridil is also a diketone where the two R groups are heterocycles, in this case the two heterocycles are pyridine rings. Pyridil was used again with the classical Radziszewski based synthesis to synthesise the compound 5 (Figure 15). The yield for this compound was very low (15%) due to a lot of mass lost upon recrystallization and decomposition upon heating. The FT-IR showed the correct absorptions for the key functional groups such as C=N (1600cm-1) and P=N (1158cm-1) indicating that the target compound had been synthesised. However large OH absorption band (3349cm-1) was also present showing that the product contained a considerable amount of water or ethanol. CHN analysis of the compound showed a vast difference in carbon and nitrogen values when compared to the theoretical values indicating some impurities in the sample. The fact that the product contained considerable amounts solvent would also skew the result of the CHN analysis somewhat.                     NH4OAc                               Acetic acid (6eq.) Figure 15 The reaction scheme for the synthesis of 5. 2.1.1 Using Aldehydes for an alternative preparation The idea of using aldehydes such as pyridine carboxyaldehyde and benzaldehyde as opposed to the diketones used above was born when questioning on how we could stabilise the pores in the materials we wished to synthesise as larger groups could be added to these aldehyde starting materials. An alternative synthesis of 2 using twelve equivalents of benzaldehyde is illustrated in figure 16. The reaction was left to reflux for 7 days however the 31P NMR showed a multiplet indicating that full substitution had not occurred or a mix of products was present. Unfortunately, this was a reoccurring theme as the failed synthesis of 3 using twelve equivalents of pyridine carboxyaldehyde (figure 17) also showed a multiplet in the 31P NMR. Benzaldehyde (12 eq.) Figure 16 The reaction scheme for and alternative preparation of 2. Carboxyaldehyde (12 eq.) Figure 17 The reaction scheme for compound 3. 2.2 Oxidation of Hexalophine and its derivatives The oxidation of hexalophine is of great interest due to the potential properties it may possess, such as it possessing photochromic properties which may lead to light gated pores. For this oxidation an excess of potassium hydroxide was used to create the anion before 50 equivalents of the classical oxidising agent potassium ferrocyanide (III) were used to perform a one electron oxidation to the radical species 6, a yellow to orange colour change is associated with the formation of the radical species. This radical species quickly dimerises and an orange to yellow colour change is associated with this. Upon irradiation with UV light (365nm) the dimer opens to form two radicals, the colour change associated with this was yellow to purple displaying the photochromic behaviour of this compound (figure 18). The radical species is stable for a number of hours in the solid state unless gentle heating is applied which induces dimerization again and the colour change of purple to yellow is a ssociated with this. FT-IR showed characteristic absorbances of CAr-H (2955cm-1), C-N (1301cm-1) and P=N (1198cm-1) which are present in the desired product. The thiophene hexalophine derivative 4 was also oxidised using the same classical oxidation conditions as above to form its radical species 7. Upon separation the system formed 3 layers, an organic layer, an aqueous layer and a solid substance formed which was soluble in neither. Both the organic layer and solid substance were irradiated with UV light to test for photochromic properties however neither displayed a colour change and thus further testing of this material via UV/Vis spectroscopy is required to determine its nature. Figure 18 A RBF containing the hexalophine dimer and radical, the purple is the radical species, the yellow is the dimer species. 3. Conclusions and further work The aim of this project was to synthesise and characterise functionalised porous organics based upon hexalophine as well as to perform oxidations to the radical species and study their properties such as photochromism. For the most part the aim of the project has been met as two derivatives of hexalophine (4 and 5) and hexalophine (2) itself have been synthesised from simple molecular building blocks and characterised using a range of spectroscopic techniques such as NMR, FT-IR and CHN analysis. The next step in the characterisation of these materials would be to gain crystal structures via x-ray crystallography to show the packing arrangement of these molecules and to prove the existence of pores with in the molecule created from the unique conformation of the phosphazene ring. Additionally, once crystal structures have been gained gas absorption test should be taken to test both the gas uptake properties and selectivity of certain gases. Yields for these experiments were quite low and the aldehyde reactions did not demonstrate full substitution onto the ring, one possible solution would be to try the reaction in a Parr pressure reactor. The oxidation of hexalophine was carried out with great success as the experiment demonstrated the proposed photochromic nature of the material, also the stability of this material with respect to air was very surprising. If possible crystal structures for this material should be obtained in order to investigate further the possibility of light gated pores which when the molecule is in the dimer form are closed but once in the radical form are open. 4. Experimental details 4.0 Ma
Sunday, August 4, 2019
geothermal energy :: essays research papers
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY Geothermal energy is one of the oldest sources of energy. It is simply using and reusing (reusable energy) heat from the inside of the earth. Most of the geothermal energy comes from magma, molten or partially molten rock. Which is why most geothermal resources come from regions where there are active volcanoes. Hot springs, geysers, pools of boiling mud, and fumaroles are the most easily exploited sources. The ancient Romans used hot springs to heat baths and homes, and similar uses are still found in Iceland, Turkey, and Japan. The true source of geothermal energy is believed to come from radioactive decay occurring deep within the earth.      Electricity is one of the biggest outputs of geothermal energy. It was first recorded to produce electricity in 1904 in Italy. There are now geothermal power plants in operation in New Zealand, Japan, Iceland, the US and elsewhere.      For the generation of electricity, hot water, at temperatures ranging from about 700 degrees F, is brought from the underground reservoir to the surface through production wells, and is flashed to steam in special vessels by release of pressure. The steam is separated from the liquid and fed to a turbine engine, which turns a generator. In turn, the generator produces electricity. Spent geothermal fluid is injected back into peripheral parts of the reservoir to help maintain reservoir pressure. If the reservoir is to be used for direct-heat application, the geothermal water is usually fed to a heat exchanger before being injected back into the earth. Heated domestic water from the output side of the heat exchanger is used for home heating, greenhouse heating, vegetable drying and a wide variety of other uses. Hot water and steam exist at many subsurface locations in the western U.S.      These resources can be classified as low temperature (less than 194 degrees F), moderate temperature (194 – 302 degrees F), and also high temperature (greater than 302 degrees F). The uses to which these resources are applied are also influenced by temperature. If the reservoir is to be used for direct-heat application, the geothermal water is usually fed to a heat exchanger before being injected back into the earth. Heated domestic water from the output side of the heat exchanger is used for home heating, greenhouse heating, vegetable drying and a wide variety of other uses. Hot water and steam exist at many subsurface locations in the western U.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Essay -- Harry Potter and the
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry potter and the prisoner of Azkaban is an excellent book. Out of ten stars I would rate this one an eight because it was to short. Once you get into it and finish it. It seems so short, because it is so interesting. Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban starts out with a bang. In the beginning Sirius black a Man accused of thirteen murders in one night escapes from Azkaban.( A wizard prison guarded to the tee by dementors, deadly spirits that feast on anything happy. Basically they suck the life out of you slowly until you go mad and lose sanity). Harry runs away on the same night and crosses the man without realizing it. Since Sirius is an ananamugus he is able to turn into a giant black dog which sort of looks like â€Å"death†. When Harry g...
Terrorism †Wake Up America! :: September 11 Terrorism Essays
Terrorism – Wake Up America! America, wake up! That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then. It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign US embassy set the stage for the events to follow for the next 23 years. America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Viet Nam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then President Carter had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized / right sized since the end of the Viet Nam war. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission doomed from the start. Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued. In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more. Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut. 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more. Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber. The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gates of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Caterpillar Ethics
Caterpillar’s Views on Ethics and Sustainability Caterpillar, Inc. is indeed one of the World’s most Ethical companies. In 2011 it was listed in Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical (WME) Companies under Industrial Manufacturing. Personal Ethics Caterpillar has a worldwide Code of Conduct. The values it stresses are integrity, excellence, teamwork, commitment. They understand the importance of diversity and strive to achieve all of the above values given a diverse world environment and despite their differences. They feel that compliance within the laws are not sufficient.They want be leaders in ethics. They require all leaders within the company to be a role model and follow all of the rules with the Worldwide Code of Conduct. They are known to have a value-based culture. They are honest and refuse to make any â€Å"improper payments†of any sort. Ethics within the Supply Chain Caterpillar says in their Worldwide Code of Conduct that they â€Å"seek strong, mutually rewarding business relationships with suppliers who enhance the value of our products and services through close collaboration throughout the entire life cycle.We view suppliers as extensions of our company and an essential part of our extended value chain. We look for suppliers and business allies who demonstrate strong values and ethical principles and who support our commitment to quality. We avoid those who violate the law or fail to comply with the sound business practices we embrace. No supplier is required to buy Caterpillar products in order to compete for business or to continue as a supplier.We do reserve the right, consistent with applicable law, to require suppliers to use Caterpillar equipment when performing work on Caterpillar premises and where Caterpillar offers a product appropriate for the work being performed. We encourage fair competition among our potential suppliers, contractors and other vendors, and work equitably and reasonably with allâ₠¬ . Ethical Behavior Regarding the Environment Caterpillar strives to come up with solutions that improve their operations efficiency in a sustainable way.They balance innovation and technology to improve their productivity and efficiency while reducing their environmental footprint. One major way they are accomplishing this is with their fast growing remanufacturing business. This is where they return end-of-life components to same-as-new condition. By doing so, they vastly reduce the amount of waste and minimize the need for the amount of raw material needed to produce new parts.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
RBC Analysis Essay
Executive Summary In today’s demanding market, it is essential to know how to make good investments. The following is an in depth qualitative and quantitative analysis of the Royal Bank of Canada. First, RBC and its subsidiaries will be introduced including information about its history and current situation. The qualitative analysis will consist of RBC’s general information, history, business segments, and corporate social responsibility. Secondly, ratios and other quantitative information pertaining to RBC’s investment situation will be analyzed. Finally, with respect to the qualitative and quantitative data, an investment recommendation will be made Investment Criteria A company’s ethics and proper management are just as important for their success as their financial data. In order to decide whether or not to invest in a company one must research the company inside and out starting with where the company has come from all the way to their current situation. A company’s history is of the utmost importance because it reveals management trends and past ethical decision making that could reoccur. Another important aspect of a company’s history is their international expansion and the companies they have done past business with. The industries companies choose to merge with are a good indicator of where they will invest their money in the future. More specific to the banking industry, sustainability has become one of the most important criteria for investment. Especially after the financial collapse of 2008, banks with strong sustainability stood out and gained ground on the high-risk high reward banks. From a quantitative perspective, data trends can help predict if a company is on a small skid or headed toward future collapse. Ratios can help determine how quickly a company can pay back their liabilities as well as how efficient they are being with their shareholder’s money. A company’s stock may rise or fall depending on their current situation and how the market is fairing overall. The amount of assets and acquisitions a company makes can lead a potential investor to believe they are expanding. Usually good financial data investment criteria are a current ratio >2:1 and an ROA >5%. Company Introduction The Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank by assets and market capitalization. The bank has offices in Canada, United States and 49 other countries. Currently, there are 80,000 full and part time employees at RBC with close to 15 million clients worldwide. The company has a good balance between retail and wholesale banking with over two-thirds of their revenue coming from Canada. The other main geographical markets include U. S. (16%), while all other revenue is distributed internationally (17%). (See Appendix A) Qualitative Analysis History The history of a company, industry it is present in, and prior success are some of the main factors when considering investing in a company. RBC has been a leading Canadian bank since June 22, 1864 when it was incorporated as the Merchants Bank of Halifax. Its name was changed to The Royal Bank of Canada in 1901. Twenty-four year later it merged with the Union Bank of Canada on the basis of 1 share of Royal Bank stock for two shares of Union Bank stock. Since then, RBC has taken advantage of many international joint ventures and foreign acquisitions. Most notably in Cuba, Britain, and West Germany. Post-1980, the bank created joint ventures in China with China International Trust & Investment Corp. and began acquiring financial companies in North America. All of the sudden, RBC found themselves competing with large new international banks. During this time, the bank also made a larger commitment to their corporate social responsibility as their charitable donations reached 25. 5 million in 1999. Most recently, RBC has been striving to become a more broad-based financial services group rather than a traditional commercial bank. Although RBC wanted to keep with it’s main goal of being the #1 banker in Canada, they also wanted to build a stronger overall North American identity. Technology based products took the lead in the bank’s new American market strategy. In going along with this strategy, RBC acquired the world’s first Internet bank in order to take advantage of e-banking services. Finally, the bank has developed a new global brand strategy in response to their growing North American presence, which requires the RBC financial group banner to each business platform and operating subsidiary. Business Segments The Royal Bank of Canada has five main business segments. The largest of these segments is their personal and commercial banking segment, which makes up 56% of their earnings. RBC was named the largest and most profitable retail banking in Canada as well as the 2nd largest bank by assets in English Caribbean (†Corporate Profile†). The bank provides cross-border banking for Canadian clients and U. S. wealth management clients. Their second largest business segment is their capital markets sector. Their capital markets department deals with corporate and investment banking, equity and debt distribution as well as trading. This segment is recognized as the 10th largest global investment bank by net revenue and was also named the best investment bank in Canada across equity, debt, and M&A five years in a row (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). The third business segment of RBC, which makes up 11% of their earnings, is their wealth management division. Investment, trust, credit, and other wealth management and asset management solutions are all included in wealth management. The division was named top six global wealth mangers by assets as well as ranked #1 in Canada in both retail and asset management (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). Finally, their insurance and investor & treasury services make up the last 11% of the bank’s total earnings. The insurance segment deals with life, health, home, auto, travel, and wealth accumulation solutions. Achievements of the insurance segment include receiving high marks for â€Å"Likelihood to Recommend†and â€Å"Ease of Doing Business†(â€Å"Corporate Profile†). Their investor & treasury services provide global custody, fund administration, and asset servicing to institutional investors. (See Appendix B) SWOT Analysis Strengths: Leading Market Position: RBC is Canada’s largest bank measured by assets and market capitalization. Leading market position in Canada enables the bank to gain economic economies of scale. Significant Presence in the US and UK RBC is the sixth largest full-service brokerage firm in the US and operates in a network of 42 states. In the UK, RBC is considered a Gilt-edged market maker and actively trades in either conventional or index-linked gilts (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Strong Balance Sheet RBC has a strong capital ratio and common ratio that are much greater than those required under Canadian standards. Also, the bank’s operating leverage declined between the years 2008 and 2010 showing potential from raising new capital (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Weaknesses: Asset Quality Deterioration RBC’s asset quality has been deteriorating since 2007. More specifically their gross impaired loans to total loans and acceptances ratio has grown between the years 2008 to 2010. Growth and profitability concerns at US operations Although RBC realized an overall growth in revenue in 2009, they also experienced a loss of net income. The US is RBC’s second largest market and can deeply impact the companies overall growth as a whole. Opportunities: International Expansion RBC has a rich history of international acquisitions over the past 30 years. Continuing with this aggressive strategy paves the way potential increases in revenue and profit expansion. Canada’s Promising Economic Prospects Canadian GDP has shown positive growth within the past two years. Attributing to this growth has been an increasing demand for commodities and improving global financial market conditions. Threats: Increasing Interest Rates As Canadian interest rates rise, so does the potential for a decrease in demand for financial services. High Taxation Banks in Canada are taxed at a much higher rate than other countries. In addition to Canada’s high taxation, the bank also faces high tax rates in the US; it’s second largest market (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Corporate Social Responsibility RBC has a clearly defined community and sustainability mission as they have been contributing to building a better future since 1864. Emphasis is put mainly on investing in the future by delivering quality products, protecting the environment, and sustaining a productive workplace. In respect to the community, RBC invests millions of dollars in health, sports, and the arts. More specifically they created RBC Play Hockey, which provides hockey gear to under privileged children. RBC believes that the game of hockey can bring a community together and provide a fun, competitive atmosphere among kids. Twenty grants, each of which was $25,000, will be awarded across North America (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). In respect to the environment, climate change, biodiversity, and water are weighed heavily upon. The RBC Blue Water Project helps educate people about the importance of preserving clean water in order to have enough fresh water for the future. The main component of the program is a ten-year, $50 million donations program, which supports not-for-profit organizations that protect watersheds and ensure access to clean drinking water (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). In RBC’s workplace is built upon the notion of shared values, and a sense of responsibility toward others. They look to provide a safe and flexible working environment with career growth opportunities. Also, the bank provides short and long term savings and wealth accumulation programs for their employees. Quantitative Analysis (See Appendix C) Balance Sheet: RBC has realized a 14% increase in assets over the last three years. This growth in assets is an indicator for an increase in stock returns. However, many times a growth in assets leads to sluggish returns as too many assets weigh down the bank (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Basic accounting procedures require all financial information on the balance sheet to even out. Therefore since RBC’s assets grew by 14%, so did they liabilities and shareholders equity. This increase in the bank’s liabilities can be attributed to inventory being purchased, issuing bonds payable at a discount, retirement costs for current employees etc. Paid-in capital, the year’s net profits, or a new share offering can increase shareholder’s equity. Shareholder’s equity is especially important for banks such as RBC because of the amount of capital they are given to invest. Cash Flow: Net investments cash flow represents the gain or loss in cash flow from investments made in the financial market and operating subsidiaries. In 2009, RBC had a positive cash flow indicating they were not investing heavily at the time. However, in the next two years, huge investments were made which made their net investments cash flow to go far below zero. Having a negative overall cash flow is not necessarily a bad thing, but instead may be a result of heavy investments. Nevertheless, RBC has maintained sustainability and kept their overall cash flow positive despite their large investments. Income Statement/Retained Earnings: RBC’s total revenue has decreased by 5% over the last three years. However looking deeper will reveal a huge increase in the company’s revenue over the past five years. In 2007 and 2008 the total revenue was $22,462 and $21,582 respectively (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). This data revels an overall increase in revenue of 22% between 2007 and 2011, which any company would be proud of. In addition, RBC shows their continued effort toward sustainability as their retained earnings increased by almost 20% in the past three years (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). In effect, this increase shows that a healthy profit exists even after dividends are given out to the shareholders.
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