Adv Top in Enterprise Analysis Essay

1. What is the main thrust of the strategy that AOL has been pursuing? In 1999, the major problem facing the â€Å"AOL Anywhere† strategy was how high-speed, broadband technologies would impact the company’s future growth. If AOL were to remain dominant against its competitors, it, too, would have to offer broadband access. Indeed, the emergence of broadband was the motivation behind the AOL/Time Warner merger, which was announced on January 10, 2000. The merged company became a formidable presence in the Internet, media, and entertainment fields. 2. What appear to be the strengths of this strategy? Do you think AOL’s strategy is proactive or reactive, and why? One of the strengths of the strategy is that the company was able to expand into the next level of the media venues that the world was achieving. The strategy was a reactive one, AOL needed to make major changes to adapt the new technologies in the new worldly age. 3. Telecommunication capacities are doubling every six months. What are the implications of this for AOL’s strategy? What are the implications of this for IT and other functional managers in most firms today? The merger for AOL did cause some implications for the company, one was expense, AOL would have needed to hire new employees that were skilled in the new areas of the company and create a new division for the company to keep and manage the new areas. 4. Research reveals that office automation as an issue has been declining in importance for IT executives. What might this mean in terms of strategic information systems? Strategic information systems (SIS) are information systems whose unique functions or specific applications shape an organization’s competitive strategy and provide it with competitive advantage. Office automation in the IT system is not an easy accomplishment, systems are used constancy with no breaks by far more personal across a company, the process needs to be monitored and watch. 5. The six strategic thrusts we presented are not mutually exclusive. Discuss the implications of this fact. * Differentiation, Cost, Innovation, Growth, Alliance and Time these six strategies have their good and bad aspects for the company. The good points are that the strategies can help the company meet its goals; the bad points are working against the company if the goals are not meet in their set dates and times. 6. De-regulation has encouraged new entrants into the airline industry. Given the enormous advantages of competitors who own reservation systems, how can new entrants overcome barriers to entry? By sharing the technology with other companies who wanted to be in the airline business, Sable shared the technology for the reservation system. They also became the company that managed, updated and maintained new technologies for the system. 7. Discuss the role that IT managers play within a firm as it seeks to improve its competitive posture. What contributions can they make, and in what areas must they take the lead? IT manager keep their departments in the lead by including all department from IT as well as other areas from within the company. They will also attend seminars for new technologies that are coming out onto the market, I know in previous companies that the managers would attend these seminars for this very purpose, they also will upgrade their systems such as workstations every three years and major server systems every 5 – 10 years depending on its rate of use by the company. These timelines will usually keep the company in the completive edge since they will need to know what other companies are using and if they are happy with the technology. 8. What are the implications of new wireless technology such as Satellite TV, Web-enabled cell phones, and other handheld devices to the financial industry? One such implication is that new technologies are a risk for any company to take, especially early on in the development and test stages. Apple for instance knows this very well, The took a chance when they introduced the iPhone to the world. They could have had a disaster on their hands if they had not played the part correctly. 9. Discuss the importance of telecommunications to the Federal Express’ strategy. Telecommunications in the federal express industry is very important, it has allowed the industry to have the companies and the customers to work together and make the ability more efficient. Telecommunications systems enhance information flow between organizational entities, bridging the gap in space and time. 10. What is the significance of new economy e-business systems? Give some examples of the impact of telecommunications on internal business systems. Although expensive, the importance has provided the companies that use the internet for some of the services are more attractive to customers. Some of the features enabled the customers to make orders and ship their packages themselves online, this helps the company with scheduling because then they can determine a particular place and time for the customer to bring the packages to them to be processed. 11. How might firms seeking international competitive advantage rely on information technology? What strategic thrusts might they employ? Recognizing the immense importance of e-business, many firms are rapidly building infrastructures, re-engineering business practices, and developing partnerships with suppliers, distributors, and others as they adopt new technology. Case Study 2 1. Use on-line library databases to identify articles in trade publications that provide case studies of ERP implementations. These articles may provide some insight into each of these questions: a. How widespread is the use of ERP across certain industries? ERP systems help organizations deal with the supply chain, receiving, inventory management, customer order management, production planning, shipping, accounting, human resource management, and other business functions. b. What are the benefits reported from implementing ERP? Organizations have a business justification for implementing ERP systems. The business benefits of ERP include improved accessibility of information; real time access to data benefits the organization, improved cycle time for orders, decreased financial close time, and reduced operating costs, and lowered inventory levels. c. What are its limitations? One of the limitations is time, most ERP plans need years to full implement and show the true level of success. 2. Research and learn about the implementation of ERP. Use trade publications and on-line library databases (e.g., ABI Inform, ProQuest, First Search, Wilson Select Plus, available through your library) to conduct a search for articles. d. Find a success story of ERP implementation. What factors contributed to the success of this implementation? Some of successes in the case studies that I read have to do with the proper planning and the timeline goals of the business plan. e. Find a story of problems encountered with an ERP implementation. What factors contributed to the encountered obstacles? One common factor that I notice was the human obstacle, companies needed to rely on a good staff to make the company run smoothly and grow. The ERP implementation time line takes years to complete, and as long as the company has the staff it does succeed.

Supreme court justices- controversial case Essay

Supreme court justices- controversial case - Essay Example Most commonly, the separation of church and state applies to autonomous maintenance of both secularity and religious exercise. In recent news, Chief Justice Samuel Alito has repeatedly proven himself unfit for the position he has thus far occupied. As per a specific chain of events that led to his forced resignation, I have taken over his position on the Supreme Court. As most are aware, the former Chief Justice Samuel Alito maintained constant sway toward the conservative right, often tying up verdicts due to his obvious religious views and allegiance to the republican party. Alito was nominated to fill the position once occupied by Sandra Day O’Conner, by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005. He has maintained a consistent record of conservative rulings since that time including cases such as C.H. versus Olivia et al and the case of ACLU versus Schundler. Both of the afore mentioned cases were ruled in favor of religion versus separation of church and state. Generally, conservative rulings are rulings that are in favor of the government or the large corporations as opposed to liberal ruling s which focus on civil rights and the ruling in favor of the individual or smaller organization. As per the resignation of Chief Justice Alito, I have been appointed by the new President of the United States, Barack Obama. Just recently, a case has come before me which revisits the notion of separation of church and state. This case is known as Smith-Jones vs. the state of Pennsylvania. In this case, Jack Smith and Larry Jones have joined in matrimony under the authority of a Buddhist religious leader via a private ceremony. However, the existing laws do not favor same sex marriages when it comes to filing taxes (or anything else for that matter). The dilemma faced by Mr. Smith-Jones and Mr. Smith Jones is that when it became time to file taxes, the Smith-Jones couple was not able to file as

Survey finding & conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Survey finding & conclusion - Essay Example Nonetheless, this sporting activity seems not to be popular among university student and the research was carried to determine their attitude towards the sport and how the same could be increased among the same students. The research was carried through interviews. 3.1. The Cause Taken By the Participating Student in the Research Table 1: showing the respondent per QUTCI Course Figure 1: participating students in the study in relation to the course they are taking 3.1.1. Findings From the findings as indicated in the figure 1 above, it is apparent among the 20 students who participated in the study most of them were those who registered for the diploma studies. Statistically, 14 were registered for diploma studies, 5 were registered for the foundation studies, and only one registered for EAP. 3.1.2. Conclusion Students registered for diploma has the more free time to participate in the study than students perusing other courses. Notably, rock climbing has not become a popular sportin g activity among students since the climbing sites are never around schools among other learning institutions. Additionally, of the students usually consider rock climbing as dangerous activity (Hill, 2007). Therefore, other students never wanted to participate since they might have regarded that the entire excise could have been a waste time since they knew less or virtually nothing regarding rock climbing. This statistics indicates that there are needs to promote the sport among the student even those who feel that they are too busy and committed in their studies. 3.2. Participants According to Ethnicity or Country of Origin Figure 2: showing participant per ethnicity or country of origin Table 2: showing the number of participants per country or ethnicity 3.2.1. Findings It apparent from the graph 2 and table 2 above those different students from different ethnicity perceive the different sporting activity. From the table 2 above, only China, Korea, and India showed a significant participation in the research at figure of 4 for student from china and 3 students each for Korea and India. 3.2.2. Conclusion This indicate that different students form different ethnicity or country perceive research activity in different ways. Some of the student perceives research as means of development through understanding the research question through participation. However, some students usually consider research work as a waste of time and they may convert such time into other useful activities (Hill, 2007). Additionally, different nations usually have different perception to different sporting activities. Therefore, some will tend to understand sporting activities through research especially that affect their citizens directly. For instance, student from Brazil are expected to focus match on research involving football as opposed to rock climbing and this indicates why only one student participated in the research (Kidd, Hazelrigs, and Wilderness Education Association (U .S.), 2009). The same reason may apply to other students; moreover, it is worth noting that students from certain countries never value sporting activities and that result above support their poor participation. 3.3. The Participants who have ever participated in Rock Climbing Ever Participated in Rock Climbing YES NO 3 17 Table 3: Showing the number

Project 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project 1 - Assignment Example Andersen served as the company’s auditor and he consequently issued an auditor’s report that stated that all-financial statements had been presented fairly with respect to all materials and in accordance to the GAAP. Duncan was the global engagement partner for the Enron’s audits. He held such responsibilities as determining whether an unqualified opinion should be issued within the report of the auditor. The main official responsibility of Duncan was to ensure that all auditors’ reports about the financial statements were relevant and true before he could sign them. Duncan held full responsibility on the approval for all business documents and financial statements and the Enron’s annual reports on the forms 10-k that had been filed with the commission for years 1998 to 200 consecutively. In addition, Duncan was supposed to design and implement auditing procedures that were adequate in addressing the total risks essential in the Enron engagement. He was supposed to perform tests and other procedures to obtain competent and sufficient evident matter. He was supposed to properly supervise the audits for Enron (Markham & Jerry 92). Duncan was responsible for determining whether the unqualified opinions were supposed to be issued within the auditor’s report. For the ended years, however, Duncan did not perform his duty in due diligence. He was not careful to note that the auditor’s reports he had signed on behalf of Andersen were misleading and materially false. Duncan had carelessly signed the unqualified auditor’s reports with little concern on observing their relevance. This action was alleged as being against the Securities Exchange Act of section 10 (b) as well as being against rule 10b-5. Duncan failed to ensure that the engagement team audited Enron’s prepay transactions according to the GAAS and also failed to make sure that Enron adequately disclose and presented the prepay transactions in its financial statements. With respect to the AU Section 316, with consideration of Fraud in a financial statement audit, the Anderson team identified several risk factors. Andersen identified the Fraud risk at Enron as well as the engagement team that documented that many risks were available with Enron. For instance, questioners that were prepared by the engagement team demonstrated that Enron placed emphases that were undue on meeting earnings targets. Enron also used highly destructive accounting practices. Another risk that had been identified is that Enron used uncommon year-end dealings that posed difficult substance over form enquiries. The misleading statements that Duncan had signed had some social-economic consequences of that, the financial statements were not performed with respect to GAAS and that his financial statements did not present Enron’s outcomes of operations, their financial position, cash flows and changes in the equity with respect to the GAAP. This acti on demonstrated Duncan recklessness that is a social problem associated with the Enron. Much of the Enron’s quarterly earnings were ascribed to unrealized achievements in its merchant energy portfolio as well as in various technology investments (Markham & Jerry 86). Part II- related party transactions A related party transaction can be explained as a business arrangement or deal between two parties joined by a certain relationship prior to the arrangement or the deal. A business transaction between a corporation and

Mother Tongue by Amy Tan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mother Tongue by Amy Tan - Essay Example   Lastly, the essay tells of how she got into many problems as a result of the way her mother spoke English.Lastly, the essay tells of how she got into many problems as a result of the way her mother spoke English. In my opinion, it is easy to use many different languages with different people without even realizing it (Tan 2). For example, it is easy to speak proper English with people who speak proper and correct English. The author has done a great a job at showing the readers this fact. This is through showing us that when she spoke with her mother, English language was usually broken and simpler. She could not even understand the difference herself until her friends told her how her mother spoke. This article is very useful in helping readers to correct the mistakes that they make when speaking English. This is because it can help readers to understand the differences of correct English and broken English as they use it over time, thus bettering themselves (Tan 4). This can he lp many people to overcome various hurdles they face in using the English language. Lastly, it is evident that having a background where people use broken and incorrect English can seriously affect the way one communicates in English. This is because one gets used to using broken, simple and incorrect English and may find it difficult to distinguish it from correct and proper English. It takes determination and mixing with people who use proper English to be able to succeed in using the English language the right way (Tan 5).

Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Globalization - Essay Example With the decades or even centuries of other political views like communism, it is indeed a difficult task to educate a large group of people to adopt to a great change in their way of living so that the process is given the time to take its full effect and not to be hurried (Modelski 2007). Economic freedom could be the most important of the factors contributing to communist nations to consider being democratized and can be said to be the strongest driving force for a nation to undergo the process. Looking at democratic countries succeeding not only in their economy but also in their social affairs adds to the attraction to democratization as Modelski states as ‘winning wars sans the mass killings’. In addition, democracies work better. Where there is peace and order, without the fear of committing mistakes and getting punished, a person surely works better and this is true in democratic countries as opposed to communist countries. Modelski also considers the factor of d emocracy knowing how to cooperate a strong motivation for the drive to democratization. Taking the psychological side of it, people who are given the freedom to have their rest and improve their working conditions are more productive and consequently improve the economic situation of the nation they are in.

Importance of television in our life Essay Example for Free

Importance of television in our life Essay Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, as initially produced, consists of suitable polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds plus water. Forms of polyisoprene that are useful as natural rubbers are classified aselastomers. Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from certain trees. The latex is a sticky, milky colloid drawn off by making incisions into the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called tapping. The latex then is refined into rubber ready for commercial processing. Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications and products, either alone or in combination with other materials. In most of its useful forms, it has a large stretch ratio, high resilience, and is extremely waterproof.[1] Varieties[edit] The major commercial source of natural rubber latex is the Parà ¡ rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), a member of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. This species is widely used because it grows well under cultivation and a properly managed tree responds to wounding by producing more latex for several years. Many other plants produce forms of latex rich in isoprene polymers, though not all produce usable forms of polymer as easily as the Parà ¡ rubber tree does; some of them require more elaborate processing to produce anything like usable rubber, and most are more difficult to tap. Some produce other desirable materials, for example gutta-percha (Palaquium gutta)[2] and chicle from Manilkara species. Others that have been commercially exploited, or at least have shown promise as sources of rubber, include the rubber fig (Ficus elastica), Panama rubber tree (Castilla elastica), various spurges (Euphorbia spp.), lettuce (Lactuca species), the related Scorzonera tau-saghyz, various Taraxacum species, including common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz), and guayule (Parthenium argentatum). The term gum rubber is sometimes applied to the tree-obtained version of natural rubber in order to distinguish it from the synthetic version.[1] Discovery of commercial potential[edit] The Para rubber tree is indigenous to South America. Charles Marie de La Condamine is credited with introducing samples of rubber to the Acadà ©mie Royale des Sciences of France in 1736.[3] In 1751, he presented a paper by Franà §ois Fresneau to the Acadà ©mie (eventually published in 1755) which described many of the properties of rubber. This has been referred to as the first scientific paper on rubber.[3] In England, Joseph Priestley, in 1770, observed that a piece of the material was extremely good for rubbing off pencil marks on paper, hence the name rubber. Later, it slowly made its way around England. South America remained the main source of the limited amounts of latex rubber used during much of the 19th century. In 1876, Henry Wickham gathered thousands of Para rubber tree seeds from Brazil, and these were germinated in Kew Gardens, England. The seedlings were then sent to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Singapore, and British Malaya. Malaya (now Malaysia) was later to become the biggest producer of rubber. In the early 1900s, the Congo Free State in Africa was also a significant source of natural rubber latex, mostly gathered by forced labor. Liberia and Nigeria also started production of rubber. In India, commercial cultivation of natural rubber was introduced by the British planters, although the experimental efforts to grow rubber on a commercial scale in India were initiated as early as 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta. The first commercial Hevea plantations in India were established at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902. In Singapore and Malaya, commercial production of rubber was heavily promoted by Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, who served as the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1911. He distributed rubber seeds to many planters and developed the first technique for tapping trees for latex without causing serious harm to the tree.[4]Because of his very fervent promotion of this crop, he is popularly remembered by the nickname Mad Ridley.[5] Properties[edit] Rubber latex Rubber exhibits unique physical and chemical properties. Rubbers stress-strain behavior exhibits the Mullins effect and the Payne effect, and is often modeled as hyperelastic. Rubber strain crystallizes. Owing to the presence of a double bond in each repeat unit, natural rubber is susceptible to vulcanisation and sensitive to ozone cracking. The two main solvents for rubber are turpentine and naphtha (petroleum). The former has been in use since 1764 when Franà §ois Fresnau made the discovery. Giovanni Fabbroni is credited with the discovery of naphtha as a rubber solvent in 1779. Because rubber does not dissolve easily, the material is finely divided by shredding prior to its immersion. An ammonia solution can be used to prevent the coagulation of raw latex while it is being transported from its collection site. Elasticity[edit] In most elastic materials, such as metals used in springs, the elastic behavior is caused by bond distortions. When force is applied, bond lengths deviate from the (minimum energy) equilibrium and strain energy is stored electrostatically. Rubber is often assumed to behave in the same way, but this is a poor description. Rubber is a curious material because, unlike in metals, strain energy is stored thermally. In its relaxed state, rubber consists of long, coiled-up chains. When rubber is stretched, the chains are taut. Their kinetic energy is released as heat. The entropy and temperature increases during elongation but decreases during relaxation. This change in entropy is related to the changes in degrees of freedom. Relaxation of a stretched rubber band is thus driven by a decrease in entropy and temperature, and the force experienced is a result of the cooling of the material being converted to potential energy. Rubber relaxation isendothermic, and for this reason the force exerted by a stretched piece of rubber increases with temperature. The material undergoes adiabatic cooling during contraction. This property of rubber can easily be verified by holding a stretched rubber band to ones lips and relaxing it. Stretching of a rubber band is in some ways opposite to compression(although both undergo higher levels of thermal energy of an ideal gas), and relaxation is opposed to gas expansion (Note: rubber bands last longer in the cold). A compressed and heated gas also exhibits elastic properties, for instance inside an inflated car tire. The fact that stretching is equivalent to compression is counterintuitive, but it makes sense if rubber is viewed as a one-dimensional gas, plus it is attached to other molecules. Stretching and heat increase the space available to each section of chain, because the molecules are pulled apart. Vulcanization of rubber creates disulfide bonds between chains, so it limits the degrees of freedom. The result is that the chains tighten more quickly for a given strain, thereby increasing the elastic force constant and making rubber harder and less extensible. When cooled below the glass transition temperature, the quasifluid chain segments freeze into fixed geometries and the rubber abruptly loses its elastic properties, although the process is reversible. This property it shared by most elastomers. At very low temperatures, rubber is rather brittle. This critical temperature is the reason winter tires use a softer version of rubber than normal tires. The failing rubber o-ring seals that contributed to the cause of the Challenger disaster were thought to have cooled below their critical temperature; the disaster happened on an unusually cold day. The gas molecules in the rubber were too close to their bound solid molecules(a partial phase change that separated the rubber molecules may have occurred), allowing the rubber to take on a more solid shape(a partial phase change to a more liquid and molecularly separated form would not be good, either). Heated gas has a higher energy, and rubber must be kept at specific temperatures and probably should not be used on vehicles that undergo extreme temperature changes. Chemical makeup[edit] Latex is the polymer cis-1,4-polyisoprene – with a molecular weight of 100,000 to 1,000,000 daltons. Typically, a small percentage (up to 5% of dry mass) of other materials, such as proteins, fatty acids, resins, and inorganic materials (salts) are found in natural rubber. Polyisoprene can also be created synthetically, producing what is sometimes referred to as synthetic natural rubber, but the synthetic and natural routes are completely different.[1] Chemical structure of cis-polyisoprene, the main constituent of natural rubber: Synthetic cis-polyisoprene and natural cis-polyisoprene are derived from different precursors. Some natural rubber sources, such as gutta-percha, are composed of trans-1,4-polyisoprene, a structural isomer that has similar, but not identical, properties. Natural rubber is an elastomer and a thermoplastic. Once the rubber is vulcanized, it will turn into a thermoset. Most rubber in everyday use is vulcanized to a point where it shares properties of both; i.e., if it is heated and cooled, it is degraded but not destroyed. The final properties of a rubber item depend not just on the polymer, but also on modifiers and fillers, such as carbon black, factice, whiting, and a host of others. Biosynthesis[edit] Rubber particles are formed in the cytoplasm of specialized latex-producing cells called laticifers within rubber plants.[6] Rubber particles are surrounded by a single phospholipid membrane with hydrophobic tails pointed inward. The membrane allows biosynthetic proteins to be sequestered at the surface of the growing rubber particle, which allows new monomeric units to be added from outside the biomembrane, but within the lacticifer. The rubber particle is an enzymatically active entity that contains three layers of material, the rubber particle, a biomembrane, and free monomeric units. The biomembrane is held tightly to the rubber core due to the high negative charge along the double bonds of the rubber polymer backbone.[7] Free monomeric units and conjugated proteins make up the outer layer. The rubber precursor is isopentenyl pyrophosphate (an allylic compound), which elongates by Mg2+-dependent condensation by the action of rubber transferase. The monomer adds to the pyrophosphate end of the growing polymer.[8] The process displaces the terminal high-energy pyrophosphate. The reaction produces a cis polymer. The initiation step is catalyzed by prenyltransferase, which converts three monomers of isopentenyl pyrophosphate into farnesyl pyrophosphate.[9] The farnesyl pyrophosphate can bind to rubber transferase to elongate a new rubber polymer. The required isopentenyl pyrophosphate is obtained from the mevalonate pathway, which is derives from acetyl-CoA in the cytosol. In plants, isoprene pyrophosphate can also be obtained from 1-deox-D-xyulose-5-phosphate/2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate pathway within plasmids.[10] The relative ratio of the farnesyl pyrophosphate initiator unit and isoprenyl pyrophosphate elongation monomer determines the rate of new particle synthesis versus elongation of existing particles. Though rubber is known to be produced by only one enzyme, extracts of latex have shown numerous small molecular weight proteins with unknown function. The proteins possibly serve as cofactors, as the synthetic rate decreases with complete removal.[11] Current sources[edit] Close to 21 million tons of rubber were produced in 2005, of which approximately 42% was natural. Since the bulk of the rubber produced is of the synthetic variety, which is derived from petroleum, the price of natural rubber is determined, to a large extent, by the prevailing global price of crude oil.[12][13] Today, Asia is the main source of natural rubber, accounting for about 94% of output in 2005. The three largest producing countries, Thailand, Indonesia (2.4m tons)[14] and Malaysia, together account for around 72% of all natural rubber production. Natural rubber is not cultivated widely in its native continent of South America due to the existence of South American leaf blight, and other natural predators of the rubber tree. Cultivation[edit] Rubber is generally cultivated in large plantations. See the coconut shell used in collecting latex, in plantations in Kerala, India Rubber latex is extracted from rubber trees. The economic life period of rubber trees in plantations is around 32 years – up to 7 years of immature phase and about 25 years of productive phase. The soil requirement of the plant is generally well-drained, weathered soil consisting of laterite, lateritic types, sedimentary types, nonlateritic red, or alluvial soils. The climatic conditions for optimum growth of rubber trees are: Rainfall of around 250 cm evenly distributed without any marked dry season and with at least 100 rainy days per year Temperature range of about 20 to 34 °C, with a monthly mean of 25 to 28 °C High atmospheric humidity of around 80% Bright sunshine amounting to about 2000 hours per year at the rate of six hours per day throughout the year Absence of strong winds Many high-yielding clones have been developed for commercial planting. These clones yield more than 2,000 kg of dry rubber per hectare per year, when grown under ideal conditions. Field coagula[edit] Mixed field coagula Smallholders lump at a remilling factory There are four types of field coagula, cuplump, treelace, smallholders’ lump and earth scrap. Each has significantly different properties.[15] Cuplump is the coagulated material found in the collection cup when the tapper next visits the tree to tap it again. It arises from latex clinging to the walls of the cup after the latex was last poured into the bucket, and from late-dripping latex exuded before the latex-carrying vessels of the tree become blocked. It is of higher purity and of greater value than the other three types. Treelace is the coagulum strip that the tapper peels off the previous cut before making a new cut. It usually has higher copper and manganese contents than cuplump. Both copper and manganese are pro-oxidants and can lower the physical properties of the dry rubber. Smallholders’ lump is produced by smallholders who collect rubber from trees a long way away from the nearest factory. Many Indonesian smallholders, who grow paddy in remote areas, tap dispersed trees on their way to work in the paddy fields and collect the latex (or the coagulated latex) on their way home. As it is often impossible to preserve the latex sufficiently to get it to a factory that processes latex in time for it to be used to make high quality products, and as the latex would anyway have coagulated by the time it reached the factory, the smallholder will coagulate it by any means available, in any container available. Some smallholders use small containers, buckets etc., but often the latex is coagulated in holes in the ground, which are usually (but not always) lined with plastic. Acidic materials and fermented fruit juices are used to coagulate the latex – a form of assisted biological coagulation. Little care is taken to exclude twigs, leaves, and even bark from the lumps that are formed, which may also include treelace collected by the smallholder. Earth scrap is the material that gathers around the base of the tree. It arises from latex overflowing from the cut and running down the bark of the tree, from rain flooding a collection cup containing latex, and from spillage from tappers’ buckets during collection. It contains soil and other contaminants, and has variable rubber content depending on the amount of contaminants mixed with it. Earth scrap is collected by the field workers two or three times a year and may be cleaned in a scrap-washer to recover the rubber, or sold off to a contractor who will clean it and recover the rubber. It is of very low quality and under no circumstances should it be included in block rubber or brown crepe. Processing[edit] Removing coagulum from coagulating troughs The latex will coagulate in the cups if kept for long. The latex has to be collected before coagulation. The collected latex, field latex, is transferred into coagulation tanks for the preparation of dry rubber or transferred into air-tight containers with sieving for ammoniation. Ammoniation is necessary to preserve the latex in colloidal state for long. Latex is generally processed into either latex concentrate for manufacture of dipped goods or it can be coagulated under controlled, clean conditions using formic acid. The coagulated latex can then be processed into the higher-grade, technically specified block rubbers such as SVR 3L or SVR CV or used to produce Ribbed Smoke Sheet grades. Naturally coagulated rubber (cup lump) is used in the manufacture of TSR10 and TSR20 grade rubbers. The processing of the rubber for these grades is a size reduction and cleaning process to remove contamination and prepare the material for the final stage of drying.[16] The dried material is then baled and palletized for storage and shipment in various methods of transportation. Transportation[edit] Natural rubber latex is shipped from factories in south-west Asia, South America, and North Africa to destinations around the world. As the cost of natural rubber has risen significantly, the shipping methods which offer the lowest cost per unit of weight are preferred. Depending on the destination, warehouse availability, and transportation conditions, some methods are more suitable to certain buyers than others. In international trade, latex rubber is mostly shipped in 20-foot ocean containers. Inside the ocean container, various types of smaller containers are used by factories to store latex rubber.[17] Uses[edit] Compression molded (cured)rubber boots before the flashesare removed Contemporary manufacturing[edit] Around 25 million tonnes of rubber is produced each year, of which 42 percent is natural rubber. The remainder is synthetic rubber derived from petrochemical sources. Around 70 percent of the worlds natural rubber is used in tires. The top end of latex production results in latex products such as surgeons gloves, condoms, balloons and other relatively high-value products. The mid-range which comes from the technically-specified natural rubber materials ends up largely in tires but also in conveyor belts, marine products and miscellaneous rubber goods. Natural rubber offers good elasticity, while synthetic materials tend to offer better resistance to environmental factors such as oils, temperature, chemicals or ultraviolet light and suchlike. Cured rubber is rubber which has been compounded and subjected to the vulcanisation process which creates cross-links within the rubber matrix. Prehistoric uses[edit] The first use of rubber was by the Olmecs, who centuries later passed on the knowledge of natural latex from the Hevea tree in 1600 BC to the ancient Mayans. They boiled the harvested latex to make a ball for a Mesoamerican ballgame.[18] Pre-World War II manufacturing[edit] Other significant uses of rubber are door and window profiles, hoses, belts, gaskets, matting, flooring, and dampeners (antivibration mounts) for the automotive industry. Gloves (medical, household and industrial) and toy balloons are also large consumers of rubber, although the type of rubber used is concentrated latex. Significant tonnage of rubber is used as adhesives in many manufacturing industries and products, although the two most noticeable are thepaper and the carpet industries. Rubber is also commonly used to make rubber bands and pencil erasers. Pre-World War II textile applications[edit] Rubber produced as a fiber, sometimes called elastic, has significant value for use in the textile industry because of its excellent elongation and recovery properties. For these purposes, manufactured rubber fiber is made as either an extruded round fiber or rectangular fibers that are cut into strips from extruded film. Because of its low dye acceptance, feel and appearance, the rubber fiber is either covered by yarn of another fiber or directly woven with other yarns into the fabric. In the early 1900s, for example, rubber yarns were used in foundation garments. While rubber is still used in textile manufacturing, its low tenacity limits its use in lightweight garments because latex lacks resistance to oxidizing agents and is damaged by aging, sunlight, oil, and perspiration. Seeking a way to address these shortcomings, the textile industry has turned to neoprene (polymer of chloroprene), a type of synthetic rubber, as well as another more commonly used elastomer fiber, spandex (also known as elastane), because of their superiority to rubber in both strength and durability. Vulcanization[edit] Main article: Vulcanization Natural rubber is often vulcanized, a process by which the rubber is heated and sulfur, peroxide or bisphenol are added to improve resistance and elasticity, and to prevent it from perishing. The development of vulcanization is most closely associated with Charles Goodyear in 1839.[19] Before World War II era manufacturing, carbon black was often used as an additive to rubber to improve its strength, especially in vehicle tires. Today, all vehicle tires are made of synthetic rubbers. Allergic reactions[edit] Main article: Latex allergy Some people have a serious latex allergy, and exposure to natural latex rubber products such as latex gloves can cause anaphylactic shock. The antigenic proteins found in Hevealatex may be deliberately reduced (though not eliminated)[20] through processing. Latex from non-Hevea sources, such as Guayule, can be used without allergic reaction by persons with an allergy to Hevea latex.[21] Some allergic reactions are not to the latex itself, but from residues of chemicals used to accelerate the cross-linking process. Although this may be confused with an allergy to latex, it is distinct from it, typically taking the form of Type IV hypersensitivity in the presence of traces of specific processing chemicals.[20][22]