Define and Discuss ‘Retail Experience’ Essay Example for Free

Define and Discuss ‘Retail Experience’ Essay Define and discuss ‘retail experience’. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? Define and discuss ‘retail experience’. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? David Olu RETAIL MANAGEMENT Define and discuss ‘retail experience’. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? When people go shopping they want to encounter an enjoyable experience which will satisfy their needs so in recent years retailers have tried to take the shopping experience to another level in order to encourage consumers to build a relationship with the brand. The purpose of this essay will be to outline what is meant by the term â€Å"retail experience†. The main focus will be on a particular case study involving Apple in order to explain how the retailer goes on to enhance value. Retail experience can be seen as a process in which a retailer packages an experience together with products. (Berman B Evans J 2010) highlight that â€Å"A Retailers image depends heavily on its â€Å"atmosphere†. When looking at atmosphere it is the psychological feeling a customer gets when visiting the retailer.’’ It is noted that atmosphere can influence hedonic value this is an important aspect of the experience, because this is what plays a vital role in gaining a customer’s interest and it can help in leading the customer into the buying process. All of the major retailers will aim to provide a relaxing environment for their consumers because shopping is considered as fun and pleasurable (Jones, 1999). There are some key factors that contribute to this, first we look at music because it provides entertainment for shoppers Turley and Chebat (2002). Followed by lighting the appropriate use of it,  such as product spotlighting and dim ambient lighting, and thirdly the use of bright and vibrant colours. Swinyard (1993) reiterated this by pointing out that â€Å"Mood states are present in virtually every shopping encounter, and could have a significant effect on shopping behaviour†. And In Relation to this (Kemp and Kopp 2011) also put forward that Emotions shape our everyday existence, including our consumption and purchase behaviour. So this could mean that a consumer in a bad mood may tend to view shopping activities differently from one in a good mood. When a customer enters the store atmosphere they are not able to experience the music in seclusion or smell the scent without seeing the colours as well they do not walk on the floor-covering without feeling the ambient temperature. The typical customer experiences amounts of all these and other incentives as an on-going, collective experience. So it can be argued that most buying environments are purposefully designed to produce specific emotional effects in shoppers. Berman Evans J (2010) argued that â€Å"The presentation merchandise and the displays that bring shoppers into the store are very important in creating a retail image. So other factors which have to be considered when looking at retail experience is the layout of the shop itself because if the shop is nicely laid out it will encourage customers to spend more time in the shop than originally planned. So retailers have to consider the layout of the products and how they can appeal to customers and also clearly labelled displays if they have any in order to make the customers indentify what is on sell clearly. So it is always essential for a business to ensure that the shop is properly organised. A store exterior provides a powerful impact on a business’s image this should be planned effectively a store exterior consists of the total physical exterior of the store itself, with a storefront most retailers can present a traditional, trendy, upscale environment, in relation to retail experience customers who happen to pass a shop they usually judge a store by its exterior so this can be used to draw in customers with things like display windows showing products will be able to catch a customer’s attention  straight away most retailers make use of mannequins in order to grab people’s attention. Customers always want to feel valued and welcomed when they visit a shop so when they enter the shop they expect a good customer service from the members of staff this is crucially essential for an organisation to manage. Because not only will shoppers appreciate the store due to the products offered, or atmospherics’ but they will have more of a strong interest due to the kindness of the salesperson (Lombart and Jeandrain, 2003). If the members of staff are always available and helpful it will create a customer satisfaction and this can be considered as a key determining factor with benefits of repeat shopping and buying behaviour if managed effectively so with this it means that customers will always have a good experience, when they encounter polite and helpful members of staff and this will also create a positive image for the business. Promotion is another tool in which retailers will aim to provide satisfaction to their customers so in order for them to do this they implement special offers as a strategy to achieve this, if an organisation regularly provides promotion as part of its experience it will find that they will attract more customers. So for example retailers like Tesco or Asda regularly offer promotion and they go head to head on offers in order to gain draw in more people. Not only will offering promotions attract repeat custom it will also allow the organisation to generate profit. All different kind of Retailers will try to use different ways in order to bring that retail experience that their consumers desire so retailers who connect with customers through experiences which are personally relevant , memorable, interactive and also emotional are more likely to increase sales and brand loyalty and this is why experience stores such as Apple have emerged, reason being that they want customers to bond with the brand, at first hand , a â€Å"try before you buy† approach . Apple is one of the biggest leading technology companies in the world apple provides customers with an attractive and relaxed environment where they can  handle. â€Å"Apple has been developing its experience stores since 2001 and by the end of 2008 the company had opened some 250 increasingly sophisticated stores† (Jones, Comfort, 2010). Benghazi (2012) States that entertaining browsing experiences might help a browser to learn more about the offers and characteristics. Customers will be able to use knowledge in order to make a decision on whether they should purchase the product or not so in regards to this Apple provide their consumers with a live interaction of their products for example the Apple store in London’s regent street lets customers get involved in â€Å"Getting started workshops† this includes showing customers how to set up a new Mac, connecting to the internet and sending emails. This goes to show that Apple are trying to involve their customers with a firsthand experience of the brand and the products they offer, the experience goes beyond the store itself the company provides summer camps for children and youth workshops. Children aged 8-12 years get what is known as a â€Å"hands-on Mac experience, during a 3 hour workshop 8-13years olds can compose a song â€Å"in a garage band†, construct a photo album and create key note presentations. This illustrates on how Apple are trying to expand retail experience to their customers by going beyond the in store experience this will in return generate a positive outcome for Apple. Within regards to the designs of the stores, the interior represents three values, which are transparency, community and service. There is the open spacious interior containing the computers, IPods and IPhones which are neatly placed on tables this portrays transparency. Community is encouraged by the store through its theatre and its lounging areas and then the commitment into services is branded into customers minds as they are able to visit the genius bar, each store is looked at as a place where people can feel comfortable and are not intimidated by technology. Apple stores may be designed to sell but also at the same time they are designed to teach, customers who walk into an apple store just for a casual play of the products can find that the experience can quickly turn into some serious learning. When we look at a typical apple store it has three  spaces the first one is usually for play and for purchasing, and the other one is for learning a customer would typically come across these areas in that order. The shop is laid out in a simple manner enabling the customers to move around freely to admire the products within the store. Like any other store, apple stores consist of members of staff who wear a blue t-shirt with the apple logo in the middle making them easily recognisable to the public as the staff with a casual look. There always there to help customers with their knowledge on how to use the products. The members of staff always ensure to ask customers if they need help if the customer looks lost, this type of retail setting allows customers and members of staff to interact as the members of staff are always asked questions in regards to the products, and the questions that the customers ask the staff guide the learning and they reveal what has been learned and what else is there left to be learned. So in a sense Apple have able to take the relationship between the customers, staff members and the store to a different level of retailing and learning. The Apple store has built relevance into every section of the shop, the members of staff are aware that they have to start with the customer and with whatever knowledge the customer knows and then progress on from there. Despite the technology the apple store experience is more focused on forming a relationship with the products rather than just focusing on products. An Apples store experience generally provides a powerful image about the brand Apple is able to combine products together with service effectively in order to reward their customers with a unique experience in which customers are able to feel like learners who are able to develop valuable skills. The Apple store learning experience is greatly adapted and focused on the interests and the needs of the individual customer. Conclusion Retail experience is vital for all of the retailers to establish in order to looking at Apple they have successfully established an environment where customers would want to come back again and again so in conclusion Apple has shown that they value their customers by ensuring that their customers experience the products at first hand and by also taking that experience out  of the store by providing their customers with things like summer camps. It is vital that Apple continue to bring this experience to their customers because it will mean that they will generate repeat custom and also they will be able to attract new customers. Bibliography Books Berman, B. and Evans, J. (2010) Retail management a strategic approach. 11th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson education Inc, p.508, 509,510,512. Internet Sonera, T. (2006). Apple case study. Available: www.buyukdemirci.com/Apple/Apple_case_.pdf. Last accessed 18th November 2012. Journals Ballantine, P. et al. (2010) Atmospheric cues and their effect on the hedonic retail. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 38 (8), p.1, 2. Burns, D. and Neisner, L. (2006) Customer satisfaction in a retail setting: The contribution of emotion. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 34 (1), p.50, 51. Jones, P. et al. (2010) Retail experience stores: experiencing the brand at first. Marketing Intelligence Planning, 28 (3), p.243. KEMP, E. and KOPP, S. (2011) Emotion in consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 10: p.1. Kronrod, A. et al. (2012) Hedonic Consumption and compliance with assertive messages. Journal of Consumer Research, Inc., 39 (1), p.52. Nsairi, Z. (2012) Managing browsing experience in retail stores through. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 40 (9), p.678. Swinyard, W. (199300) The Effects of Mood, Involvement, and Quality of Store Experience on Shopping Intentions. Journal of consumer research, 20p .271. Washor, E. et al. (2009) At the Core of the Apple Store: Images of Next Generation Learning. The Phi Delta Kappan, 91 (2), p.61, 62, 63

Lecture by Cornelia Parker at the Bartlett January Essay Example for Free

Lecture by Cornelia Parker at the Bartlett January Essay Cornelia Parker is a London-based sculptor and installation artist. She was born during the year 1956 in Cheshire, England. She was raised on a Cheshire smallholding. Cornelia Parkers work is regarded internationally for its complex, darkly humorous, ironic style. Cornelia Parkers work is highly allusive and patterned with cultural references to cartoons, a style which she adapts to her need to capture things in the moment before they slip away and are lost beyond human perception. When examining her work holistically one can see the following themes driving her work forward consumerism, globalization, and the role of the mass media in contemporary life. Cornelia Parker was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1997 and featured in the 8th International Sharjah Biennial in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates in 2007. Cornelia Parker, sculptor and installation artist intensified her campaign against disused silver a few years later when she crushed hundreds of plated items with a steamroller. She has also flattened thousands of coins under the wheels of passing trains, plucked feathers from Sigmund Freud’s pillow and blown up garden sheds with plastic explosive. The results of these depredations have been hung in art galleries where they have received high praise from public and critics alike. Her collaboration with the actress Tilda Swinton, ‘The Maybe’ at the Serpentine Gallery, was the focus of excited national attention for its display of Swinton, surrounded by objects selected by Parker, sleeping throughout the day in a glass case. In November 1996 Parker mounted a solo show called ‘Avoided Object’ at Chapter Art Gallery in Cardiff. Word of mouth was infectious and the show attracted scouts from London. Avoided Object is the title of series of smaller works which have been developed in liaison with various institutions, including the Rayal Armouries and Madame Tussauds. These â€Å"avoided† objects have often had their identities transformed by being burned, shot, squashed, stretched, drawn, exploded, cut, or simply dropped off cliffs. Cartoon deaths have long held a fascination for Parker: ‘Tom being run over by a steamroller or Jerry riddled with bullet holes. Sometimes the objects demise has been orchestrated, or it may have occurred accidentally or by natural causes. They might be â€Å"preempted† objects that have not yet achieved a fully formed identity, having been plucked prematurely from the production line like Embryo Firearms 1995. They may not even be classified as objects: things like cracks, creases, shadows, dust or dirt The Negative of Whispers 1997: Earplugs made with fluff gathered in the Whispering Gallery, St Paul’s cathedral .Or they m ight be those territories you want to avoid psychologically, such as the backs, underbellies or tarnished surfaces of things.’ Cornelia Parker uses processes of destruction to transform found objects. She steamrolled, explodes, degrade and turn poisonous, and presents the remains of the object. She collects tarnish, dust, stains, and traces of the object as an archive may store the trace or residue of an event. How is memory attached to the object, does it become unstuck during the process? Does the object continue to embody its past in its morphed and rearranged construction? And how is this past still present, through the viewers’ projection of their readings, through clues given in the ‘found’ titles of the artwork? Of the collected silverware, all with different stories, Parker says she wanted to ‘give them one story’, by flattening them with a steamroller. Parker seems to also enjoy the unexpected stories when the reader projects something new onto the artwork or interesting things are discovered within the ‘blow up’. For example, she was asked by a curator at the Tate if the Pornographic prints were made by a human body, which is the curator reading into the Rorschach inkblots. Einstein’s formulae on a blackboard, when photographed under a microscope resemble ‘sea creatures’, Parker suggests nature under the mathematics. She also photographs under a microscope dust collected from Donald Judd’s work, and describes the emerging imagery as ‘Gothic’. Parker is talking art history in her East End flat, standing beside a humming slide projector. Her slightly stooped stance reminds us that tall women are politer than tall men. They succumb to the wearisome need to bend down towards their lesser interlocutors. As she speaks one realizes that her face is rarely in repose her delivery is rapid, nervously energized, its content a dense mixture of anecdote and analysis. The vigor of her commentary is directly reflected in her work, which proliferates in an apparently unbroken stream much like the awesome eruptions that inspire it. She is talking about her enchantment with the exploded view. â€Å"You could just about visualize what the original object was,† she explains, â€Å"but I started thinking how all the fragments might reform to make completely new objects with new uses.† These speculations eventually evolved into the ideas that have so fruitfully driven Parker to make art. In 1991 she took her preoccupation with the metaphysics of explosions to an extreme that marked a breakthrough in her work. Parker filled a garden shed with tools, a lawnmower, a bicycle, books and toys, all culled from the artist’s trove of orphaned objects that is the British car boot sale. The shed was installed and photographed in the Chisenhale Gallery in London’s East End, then dismantled and transported to the British Army School of Ammunition at Kineton. Lieutenant Colonel Joe Hastings and Major Dougie Hewitt applied sticks of pale marzipan explosive to the interior of the shed and blew it to pieces. For several hours squad dies and a delighted Parker combed the area, picking up every single shard and sliver, every shred of the shrapnel of the mower and the mangled mass of bent bike. A few days later an eerie and exquisite sculpture, ‘Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View’, was unveiled in the stark concrete space of the Chisen-hale Gallery. Parker had painstakingly reassembled the shed and its shattered contents, suspending each tiny blasted scrap from a filament of wire and illuminating the whole with a single bare white bulb placed at the epicenter. The shed had been frozen in space a millisecond after its disintegration; only the bang is missing, rather like the cold, dark matter that astronomers say makes up the weight of the Universe. The business of finding new currency for old and familiar objects has led the indefatigable Parker down some exotic pathways. Her ‘Thirty Pieces of Silver’ also featured an act of great violence followed by a display of surpassing beauty. Turning again to the cornucopia of the car boot, the artist collected hundreds of old silver and silver-plated tea-pots, candle-sticks, toast-racks, salvers and the odd trombone. The tarnished tat, displaced from numberless mantelpieces, was laid out on the ground in a long, gently curving line and slowly crushed by a steamroller. After the grinding and clanking had subsided, Parker picked up the pieces. The YBAs [Young British Artists], supposedly typified by Damien Hirst, have become inseparable from the controversy staged around their work and Parker is frequently written about as if she were part of the gang. A distinction that generally escapes her commentators is that at the age of 41 she has, in fact, quite happily relinquished the ‘Y’ part of the sobriquet. She graduated from the Fine Arts course at Reading University in 1982 and has been steadily mounting exhibitions in the art capitals of the world ever since. Given that there’s no proper money in art unless you’re up there with Damien, Parker lives off a succession of commissions, awards and residencies, whilst renting a modest shared flat in Shoreditch. At the time of writing she was rather looking forward to seeing her newish partner, a Texan artist on the point of visiting London. The work that so impressed the Turner Prize selectors saw Parker working on a much smaller scale than that of her shed and steamroller period. ‘The Cardiff show,† she says, â€Å"had lots of little residues of objects that are all quite slight but together add up to something solid.† The ‘avoided objects’ speak of their role in a process which has made them seem redundant. â€Å"They’re about things that have lost their life or not yet got a life.† As an example, she cites ‘The Negative of Sound’, a framed assemblage of strands of black lacquer, the swarf discarded from the ‘master’ of a record first cut in Abbey Road Studios. â€Å"The idea of the negative of sound, for me, is fantastic. How can you listen to it? What does it sound like? What kind of instrument would you have to have to play them on?† Avoided objects can also be ex-objects. For ‘Exhaled Cocaine’ Parker persuaded Customs Excise to give her the ashes of seized, incinerated cocaine, presented by the artist as an end product ‘breathed out’ by a crucial process in its history. This poetic recycling of residue is also seen in a piece whose title would, quite wrongly, lead overheated British journalists to believe their usual suspicions were justified. ‘Pornographic Drawings’ is the fruit of another successful transaction with Customs Excise. â€Å"They’re Rorschach blots made from confiscated pornography. The video tape was chopped up into tiny pieces, to get rid of it, and they gave me a big bag full. I wanted to recreate images from things that had been taken out of circulation, so I made an ink out of it. Most of them did turn out to be quite pornographic, but if you think they are, that’s you projecting because they’re only accidental ink blots.† Parker’s attention is directed always at the ignored, undervalued and forgotten. She pushes quizzically at the surface of the everyday until its objects reveal their hidden histories. These stories reveal in turn that much of what we take for granted is immersed in the streams of memory and myth that carry meaning into our lives. Galleries are not the only site in which she has placed her provocations. Forests, railway stations and bell towers have been requisitioned, sometimes for purposes of display, sometimes as places of concealment that may be chanced upon by the unsuspecting. Despite the many forms it takes, Parker’s art has an impressive internal consistency. All her work stems from a wittily philosophical consideration of the processes that bring everyday objects into being. She feels that this preoccupation, in turn, was partly brought into being by a curious event that took place in1961. Even if, she did not win the Turner Prize, many of her Avoided Objects will be seen by the thousands who visit the Tate for the six week show featuring the work of all the nominees. In addition to the works described, visitors will see her embryo guns, the feather from Freud’s pillow, a magnified photo of the grooves of a record owned by Hitler and several other evidences of a refined and ingenious sensibility. Pressed to speculate on her prize-winning chances, the artist is characteristically modest. â€Å"Oh, it’ll just be great to be shown in the Tate† is the most she’ll say. Were Parker to pull it off, however, her power to realize some of her more ambitious projects would be considerably enhanced. NASA, for example, would be bound to send a meteorite back into space for her and she might, at long last, be able to persuade Stanley Kubrick to part with a sample of his navel fluff. A few weeks ago Parker was nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize. Reference ‘Avoided Object’ (2007), Lecture by Cornelia Parker at the Bartlett January. London. Source document

The Block Cave Mining Method

The Block Cave Mining Method Block caving is a large-scale underground mining method applicable to the extraction of low-grade, massive ore bodies. With the amount of literature available on block caving this report identifies the need to provide a simple understanding of the process. Understanding a production process of a block cave mine is an important aspect before getting involved with technical aspects of the mine. This report attempts to give an introduction into the production process of a block cave mine and also an understanding about block caving. The document has been split into four chapters, Chapter One gives a basic understanding of the method and highlights the considerations that have to be made before the implementation of a block cave mine. Chapter Two gives an introduction into the production process involved in a block cave mine by taking into account four major levels involved in production. The production process has been described in the form of a flow chart for simple understanding of the process. Chapter Three outlines the significance of production control and production management in order to increase productivity of the mine. Chapter Four outlines some of the safety and risks involved in a block cave mine and the necessary precautions to be taken in order to increase safety. This report has been intended to provide a simple understanding of the block cave mining method and the production process involved. This report is advocated towards a layman in block caving in view of getting an impression about the block cave mining method. Chapter One Introduction 1.1 Block Caving Block caving is an underground mining method applicable to the extraction of low-grade, massive ore bodies with the following characteristics: large vertical and horizontal dimensions, a rock mass that will break into pieces of manageable size, and a surface that is allowed to subside. These rather unique conditions limit block caving to particular types of mineral deposits. Block caving is used for extracting iron ore, low-grade copper, molybdenum  deposits, and diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes. 1.1.1 Block Caving Method A large slice of material is blasted at the base of the ore body which creates an instability within the orebody, inducing the breakdown and mobilization of ore to the production level through the breakdown of ore and waste due to the natural pattern of breakages, development of stresses in the active caving area, and the low strength of the rock mass. The size and shape of the undercut depends on the characteristics of the rock mass. Excavations are created at the production level at base of the orebody to draw out the broken material. A large amount of development expenditure is required to set up the facilities to break the lowest level of the ore body, and all the broken rock is extracted out of the block cave through a system of drawbells. Once the caving is initiated, operating cost of the block cave is very low comparable to the operating costs in open pit mining. Once caving is initiated, production can be ramped up until the production rate is almost equal to the caving rate. The undercut is advanced in the horizontal plane to create greater areas of caving for increasing the production.   Rock breakage occurs only in the caving areas, induced by undercutting, and has low drilling and blasting cost; some amount of blasting may be required at the drawpoints1  to break some of the large rocks coming through the drawbell, especially during the initial stages of draw. Most block caves these days are highly mechanized with large number of large LHDs (load-haul-dump machines) working at the lower levels, though smaller orebodies can also be caved and extracted using gravity draw systems with orepasses2  and slushers3. The development of a conventional gravity flow system of block caving involves Figure Conventional Gravity Flow System http://technology.infomine.com/reviews/BlockCaving/assets/images/BlockCaving1.jpgSource: Infomine Block Caving A spot where gravity fed ore from a higher level is loaded into hauling units A vertical or inclined passage for the downward transfer of ore A mechanical drag shovel loader an undercut where the rock mass underneath the block is fractured by blasting; drawbells beneath the undercut that gather the rock into finger raises4; finger raises that draw rock from drawbells to the grizzlies; a grizzly level where oversized blocks are caught and broken up; a lower set of finger raises that channel ore from grizzlies to chutes for train loading the finger raises are arranged like the branches of a tree, gathering ore from a large area at the undercut level and further channeling material to chutes at the haulage level; and a lowermost level where ore is prepared for train haulage and chute loading. When LHDs are used, the development required is considerably less complex and involves Undercut Levelhttp://www.edumine.com/xcourse/xblock101/docs/figures/images/10002x.jpg Extraction LevelSource: Infomine Block Caving 4 Steeply sloping openings permitting caved ore to flow down raises through grizzlies to chutes on the haulage level an undercut where the rock mass underneath the block is fractured by blasting; drawbells constructed between the undercut and extraction levels; an extraction level with drawpoints at the base of drawbells; and an ore haulage system to collect, crush and transport the ore out of the mine. Underground Mining Methods Unsupported Artificially Supported Pillar SUpported Shrink Stoping Bench and Fill Stoping Room and Pillar Sublevel Mining Longwall Mining Sublevel and Longhole Open Stoping Block and Panel Caving VCR Stoping Cut and Fill Stoping 1.1.2 History of Block Caving Late 19th century:  precursor to modern block caving developed in the Pewabic iron ore mine, Michigan, USA Early 20th century:  the block caving method developed in the USA for iron ore and then copper mining in the western states 1920s:  block caving started in Canada and Chile Late 1950s:  block caving introduced into southern African diamond mines and then chrysotile asbestos  mines Late 1960s:  LHD vehicles developed for underground mining 1970:  LHDs used with block caving at El Salvador mine, Chile 1981:  mechanised panel caving introduced in the primary ore at El Teniente mine, Chile 1990s:  planning of the new generation of block caves with larger block heights in stronger orebodies (e.g. Northparkes, Palabora) 2000s:  planning and development of super block caves under existing open pit mines (Grasberg, Chuquicamata, Bingham Canyon) and at great depth (Resolution Copper) http://www.edumine.com/xcourse/xblock101/docs/figures/images/10003x.jpg Source: Infomine Block Caving 1.2 Management Organizational Chart Mine Manager Technical Services Superintendent Technical Services Superintendent Mine Superintendent Human Resource Logistics Electrical Mechanical Cave Development Cave Production Ventilation Projects Geo-Technology Geology Survey Long Term Planner Short Term Planner Design The organizational chart might differ based on the requirements of a specific mine. 1.2.1 Managerial Responsibilities: Mine Manager is responsible for the overall management, direction and coordination of the mine and related operations. Mine Managers are also intended to provide the technical leadership in the area of underground mine engineering.   The focus of the Mine Manager should be on the following subjects Ensuring underground mining activities are conducted in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations and environmental standards Complying with all safety requirements Observing all company policies and procedures Assisting with the development of production targets Ensuring production targets are met or exceeded Developing schedules, budget and ensuring these are controlled and managed effectively Monitoring production results on a progressive basis and preparing monthly progress and variance reports Maintaining effective working relationships with Contractors, Suppliers and Service Providers, and ensuring adherence to contractual requirements Developing a sense of continuous improvement Ensuring appropriate training programs are in place to meet safety and production requirements Maintaining knowledge of current statutory requirements and industry best practices and ensuring compliance at all times Interphases with other managers and superintendents as part of the management team Reviewing mining methods Implementing optimisation programs where appropriate Managing manpower levels to achieve their performance 1.3 Parameters to be considered before the implementation of cave mining Twenty five parameters that should be considered before the implementation of any cave mining operation are set out in Table 1. Many of the parameters are uniquely defined by the orebody and the mining system. No. Parameters Considerations 1 Cavability Rockmass Strength Rockmass Structure In situ stress Hydraulic radius of orebody Water 2 Primary Fragmentation Rockmass strength Geological structures Joint/fracture spacing Joint condition ratings Stress or subsidence caving Induced stress 3 Drawpoint Spacing Fragmentation Overburden load and direction Friction angles of caved particles Practical excavation size Stability of host tockmass Induced Stress 4 Draw Heights Capital Orebody geometry Excavation stability 5 Layout Fragmentaion Drawpoint spacing and size Method of draw 6 Rockburst Potential Regional and induced stresses Rockmass Strength Structures Mining Sequence 7 Sequence Cavability Orebody geometry Induced stresses Geological environment Influence on adjacent operations Rockburst potential Production requirements Water inflow No. Parameters Considerations 8 Undercutting Sequence Regional stresses Rockmass strength Rockburst potential Rate of advance Ore requirements 9 Induced Cave Stresses Regional stresses Area of undercut Shape of undercut Rate of undercutting Rate of draw 10 Drilling Blasting Rockmass strength Powder factor Rockmass stability Required fragmentation Height of undercut 11 Development Layout Sequence Production Drilling and blasting 12 Excavation Stability Rockmass strength Regional and induced stresses Rockburst potential Excavation size Draw height Mining Sequence 13 Primary Support Excavation stability Rockburst potential Brow stability 14 Practical Excavation Size Rockmass strength Insitu stress Induced stress Caving stress Secondary blasting 15 Draw Method Fragmentation Practical drawpoint spacing Practical size of excavation 16 Draw Rate Fragmentation Method of draw Percentage hangups Secondary breaking requirements 17 Drawpoint Interaction Drawpoint spacing Fragmentation Time frame of working drawpoints No. Parameters Considerations 18 Draw Column Stresses Draw-column height Fragmentation Homogenity of ore fragmentation Draw control Height-to-base ratio Direction of draw 19 Secondary Fragmentation Rock- block shape Draw height Draw rate-time dependent failure Rock-block workability Range in fragmentation size Draw control program 20 Secondary Blasting Secondary fragmentation Draw method Drawpoint size Size of equipment and grizzly spacing 21 Dilution Orebody geometry Fragmentation range of unpay ore and waste Grade distribution of pay and unpay ore Mineral distribution in ore Drawpoint interaction Secondary breaking Draw control 22 Tonnage Drawn Level interval Drawpoint spacing Dilution percentage 23 Support Repair Tonnage drawn Point and column loading Secondary blasting 24 Extraction Mineral distribution Method of draw Rate of draw Dilution percentage Ore losses 25 Subsidence Major geological structures Rockmass strength Induced stresses Depth of mining Source: Laubsher Chapter Two -Production Process 2.1 Block Cave Mining System In a Block Cave Mine there are four major levels that contribute to the production of the mine. The levels that have been taken into account here are Extraction Undercut Haulage Ventilation In a natural progression of a block cave mine the infrastructure that need to be built before the start of caving includes Primary access to the production levels (ramps and shafts) Extraction level excavations Haulage and Ventilation level excavations; and Crushing and ore transport facilities. While most of these excavations need to be created before the start of caving operations, construction of some extraction, haulage and ventilation level drifts can be planned just in advance of actual caving operations. Each of these levels is given a brief introduction and the production process for each level are outlined from collecting data from different sources. The information flow in the form of a flow chart is provided for ease of understanding the process. The information flow chart provided is implemented from personal experience and its objective is to provide an impression on the production process of an underground block cave mine. 2.2 Extraction Level The extraction level is the main production level in a block cave operation. All the ore from the block cave is drawn through draw points at the extraction level and then transferred to haulage level through a system of ore passes or a fleet of LHDs. Since this is the main production level, it is developed and supported to counter the stresses and displacements that can be expected during the life of the drawpoints at the level. The arrangement of drawpoints, drawbells and other excavations on the extraction or production level is referred to as the extraction level layout. The development of the extraction level and the drawbells creates two types of pillars. The major apex is the shaped structure or pillar above the extraction level formed between two adjacent drawpoints but separated by the extraction or production drift. The minor apex is the shaped structure or pillar formed between two adjacent drawbells on the same side of the extraction drift. The drawpoint spacing, the drawpoint width, and the distance between the undercut and extraction levels are all designed based on the fragmentation expected within the block cave. The ground support installed in the excavations at the extraction level is based on the characteristics of the rock mass and the expected stress levels at different locations. 2.2.1. Drawbells The ideal shape of the drawbell is like a bell, so that ore can flow to the drawpoint. However it is a compromise between strength and shape. The major and minor apexes must have sufficient strength to last out the life of the draw. It needs to be established how much influence the shape of the drawbell has on interaction. It has always been an empirical point that shaped drawpoints improve ore recovery as the ore should have better flow characteristics than a drawbell with vertical faces and a large flat top major apex. The time consuming operation is creating the drawbell. The undercut technique also determines the shape of the major apex and importantly the shape of the drawbell. The draw rate from the drawbells is an important factor in that it must provide space for caving; also it must not be too fast to create a large air gap and possible air-blasts. If the draw rate is too fast seismic activity will occur. Production must be based on this value and not rely on economic factors such as short term return on investment that ignores long term consequences. There is also the fact that a slow draw rate will mean improved fragmentation. 2.2.2 Extraction Level Production Process Planning Design Equipment/People Decision Making Ground Support Drawbells Drifts Ground Support Development Pathways Ventilation Ventilation Blast Hang ups Drawpoint Undercutting Secondary Blasting Ore Removal LHDs Ore pass full Ore Pass Haulage Level Secondary Ore pass Crusher 2.3 Undercut Level The process of undercutting creates instability at the base of the block being caved. Block cave mining is based on the principle that when a sufficiently large area of a block has been undercut by drilling and blasting, the overlying block of ore will start to cave under the influence of gravity. The process will continue until caving propagates through the entire block surface or to the open pit above, unless a stable shape is achieved. The purpose of the undercut level is therefore to remove a slice of sufficient area near the base of the block to start the caving of the ore above. The undercut level is developed at the base of the block to be caved. The caving of the block is initiated by mining an undercut area until the hydraulic radius of the excavation reaches a critical value. As the broken ore above it will collapse into the void so created. Vertical propagation of the cave will then occur in response to the continued removal of broken ore through the active drawpoints. The horizontal propagation of the cave will occur as more drawpoints are brought into operation under the undercut area. 2.3.1 Undercutting Undercutting is the most important process in cave mining. As not only is a complete undercut necessary to induce a cave, but the design and the sequencing of the undercut is important to reduce the effects of the induced abutment stress. It is essential that the undercut is continuous and it should not be advanced is there is a possibility that pillars will be left. This rule which is often ignored owing to the problems in re-drilling holes, results in the leaving of pillars resulting in the collapse of large areas and consequent high ore losses. The undercut technique also determines the shape of the major apex and importantly the shape of the drawbell. Care must be taken that there is no stacking of large blocks on the major apex as this could prevent cave propagation. 2.3.2 Undercutting Techniques Conventional The conventional undercutting sequence is to develop the drawbell and then to break the undercut into the drawbell. Henderson Technique The Henderson Mine technique of blasting the drawbell with long holes from the undercut level just ahead of blasting the undercut reduces the time interval in which damage can occur. They have also found it necessary to delay the development of the drawbell drift until the drawbell has to be blasted. Advance Undercut The advance undercut technique means that the drawpoints and drawbells are developed after the undercut has passed over, so that the abutment stresses are located in the massive rock mass with only the production drift. 2.3.3 Undercut Level Production Process Design Planning Development Equipment/People Decision Making Ground Support Ventilation Drifts Pathways Undercutting Ore Removal Haulage Level LHDs Crusher Muck Removal LHDs Ore Pass Waste Dump 2.4 Haulage and Ventilation Level The haulage and ventilation levels lie below the extraction level. They need to be developed with adequate excavations to handle the quantity of broken ore and ventilating air streams required for the designed production rates, equipment and manpower employed within the block cave. Facilities for storing, crushing and conveying the broken ore to the mill need to be developed at the haulage level. The larger excavations required for the crushers, ore bins and conveyor transfer stations need to be located outside the zone of influence of the stresses due to the block cave, and adequate ground support will need to be installed to ensure that the excavations are stable during their expected life. The excavations and levels must be placed far enough apart so that there is limited interaction between numerous excavations created to move the ore from the production level to the milling facilities at the surface. 2.4.1 Haulage Level Much of the development of the infrastructure for a block cave operation is completed during the pre-production stage though some haulage lines and ventilation drifts and raises may be deferred to later in the life of the block cave. Scheduling the development of haulage and ventilation drifts needs careful planning so that the required facilities are in-place well in advance of their requirement. Though there is some flexibility in the development of these levels since they are different elevations and lie below the extraction level, the preliminary layouts need to be prepared so that the flow of materials, ore and ventilating air can be integrated without interruption as the block cave progresses. 2.4.2 Ventilation Level Ventilation Levels are normally developed between the haulage and the extraction levels. During the development phase air is streamed through the undercut and extraction levels to the working faces and exhausted through the raises to the ventilation level. During production, air is coursed through the extraction level and exhausted through the ventilation raises to the exhaust side of the ventilation level. Additional air is provided at the working areas through ventilation raises which connect to the intake of the ventilation level 2.4.3 Haulage Level Information Chart Scoop Ore Removal Haulage Level Haul Distance Optimization LHDs Crusher Figure Haulage Level Information Chart 2.4.4 Ventilation Level Information Chart Auxillary Ventilation Intake Raise Exhaust Raise Fresh Air Exhaust Air Drifts Pathways Fans/Vent Ducts Chapter Three Production Control 3.1 Departments in a block cave mine involved in Production Control Design Planning Geology Geo-technology Ventilation Maintenance Cave Development/Production Survey Construction Electrical Mechanical Human Resource Safety In a Mine Environment each and every department plays a crucial role to keep the Mine running and to meet the production targets. Problems associated with these departments no matter how small they may be contribute damage in their own way to dampen the production. Production planning for block cave operations can be complex. The factors to be considered include geotechnical constraints, cave shape, draw point development sequence, draw point productivity, production block limits such as loader capacity and ore pass capacity and variable shut-off grade mining costs. The nature of the problem also changes during the life of a cave from initial production build up to final closure. Overall objective for production planning should be to maximize productivity, some of the aspects of production planning include Minimum/Maximum tonnage per period Maximum total tonnage per draw point Ratio of tonnage from current drawpoint compared with other drawpoints. Height of draw of current draw point with respect to other drawpoints Percentage drawn for current draw point with respect to other drawpoints Maximum tonnage from selected groups of drawpoints in a period. 3.2. Production Control Major Concerns 3.2.1 Fragmentation Rock fragmentation is the fragment size distribution of blasted rock material, in caving operations fragmentation has a bearing on Drawpoint spacing Dilution entry into the draw column Draw control Drawpoint productivity Secondary blasting/breaking costs Secondary blasting damage Primary Fragmentation Caving results in primary fragmentation which can be defined as the particle size that separates from the cave back and enters the draw column. The data to be considered for the calculation of the primary fragmentation is In situ rock mass ratings Intact rock strength Mean joint spacing and maximum and minimum spacing Orientation of cave front Induced stresses Secondary Fragmentation Secondary fragmentation is the reduction in size of the primary fragmentation particle as it moves down through the draw column. The processes to which particles are subjected to, determine the fragmentation size distribution in the drawpoints. The data to be considered for the calculation of the primary fragmentation is The effect of fines cushioning Draw strategy and draw rate Rock block strength Shape of fragments Frictional properties of fragments Column height Fragmentation is the major factor that determines productivity from a drawpoint. Fine material will ensure high productivity. 3.2.2 Draw control Draw control is one of the major concerns that need to be optimized in order to increase productivity of the mine. Geomechanical issues related to draw control have played a dominant role in efforts to reduce stress and improve fragmentation and reduce dilution. Draw control is the practice of controlling the tonnages drawn from individual drawpoints with the object of Minimising dilution and maintaining the planned ore grade. Ensuring maximum ore recovery with minimum dilution. Avoiding damaging load concentrations on the extraction horizon. Avoiding the creation of conditions that could lead to air blasts or mud-rushes. The following have to be considered for draw control strategy in order to maximize productivity, Any factors observed during the start of caving that will influence the planned caving and drawdown processes. Control the draw from the first tonnage into the drawpoint. Define the potential tonnages and grades that will be available from each drawpoint. The draw control system must be fully operational. Confirm that the planned draw strategy is correct. The recording and analysis of the tonnages drawn, this important aspect is often not treated with the required respect. Managing the draw by following the adopted draw strategy. Define how the control is to be monitored, maintained and audited. Planning for how the draw column would behave with time. An estimation of the remaining tonnages and grade for future production scheduling and planning. Personnel must be aware of the definition of isolated drawpoint. Ensure the drawpoints are clearly and correctly identified underground. There must be reporting system to record and describe why allocated drawpoints have not been drawn. Ensure secondary breakings are done effectively and efficiently. Develop standard procedure for close drawpoints. Draw control is what block caving is about, the reasons for and the principles of draw control must be clearly understood by all operating personnel. Preparation of orebody must be done in a sound way so that preventable problems do not hamper the draw control. 3.2.3 Secondary Breaking Irrespective of the method of primary blasting employed, it may be necessary to reblast a proportion of the rock which can then be handled by the loading, hauling and crushing system. There are four types of problems that cause a need for secondary breaking, High hang-ups are where a large fragment lies across the entrance to the draw bell up to 19m above the footwall. This type of hang up is very rare though, and it is more common that this will only occur up to a distance of 5 m above the draw point floor. Rock jumble is where several ore fragments of rock smaller than two cubic meters form an arch in a drawbell. This is found to occur especially in the troat of the drawpoint. Low hang up is a large fragment of over two cubic metres hanging in the troat or on the floor of a draw point clocking the flow of ore. Draw point oversize is any large fragment over two cubic metres on the floor of a draw point and effectively prevents loading by LHDs. Some of the techniques that are in use for secondary breaking are as follows, Concussion blasting Drill and blast Emulsion secondary blasting Robust hydro fracturing breaking system There are many products on the market today that promise effective secondary breaking of both hang-ups and boulders, including cone packs, the quick draw system, the boulder buster and the penetrating cone fracture technique. In order to choose a secondary breaking method with respect to productivity the following need to considered and evaluated, Explosive quantities Labour and Equipment requirements Fragmentation Safety 3.3 Significance of Production Management

Peer to Peer Piracy and the Film Industry Essays -- Exploratory Essays

Peer to Peer Piracy and the Film Industry Introduction Each day an estimated 400,000 films exchange hands through the Internet. Movie piracy, once reserved to pirate syndicates and illegal duplication factories, has become a common staple among college students with high-speed internet access. With advanced compression technology, movie files can be transferred across continents in hours and across campus networks in under ten minutes. File-sharing is seen as a victimless crime, but the motion picture industry is expected to lose $3.5 billion this year alone due to piracy. Pirate activities undermine every aspect of the legitimate filmmaking business since legitimate retailers cannot possibly compete fairly with pirate business. Therefore, piracy negatively affects all aspects of film-making including the studios that invest in the film, the distributors, the retailers and foreign and local filmmakers. Economic Impact Intellectual property (TV programs, movies, etc†¦) is an incredible source of growth for the American economy. Intellectual property is not only America’s largest trade export, but it is creating new jobs at triple the rate of the rest of the economy, and is responsible for more than five percent of the GDP. The movie industry alone has a surplus balance of trade, something no other American company can lay claim to. Moviemaking is a risky business, for it is not always profitable. Only one in ten films ever recovers its initial investment from theatrical exhibition. In fact, four out of ten movies never recoup the original investment. In 2000, the average studio film cost had a total cost of over $80 million per film. No other industry in the world risks that much capital to make, finance, produce ... ...ue entertainment in a lawful environment. The attitude of entitlement that many internet users exhibit with regard to internet piracy must stop. The movie industry will not suffer the pillaging that has been inflicted on the music industry by casual pirates. New efforts to prevent piracy are currently being undertaken and they include research to new technologies to prevent piracy and copying, strengthening laws to inflict harsher penalties for copyright infringement, and educating the public about why copyright protection is imperative to economic growth and the negative effects that file-sharing has on the American consumer. Works Cited Valenti, Jack. Thoughts on the Digital Future of Movies, The Threat of Piracy, The Hope of Redemption. Motion Picture Association of American Press Release. 30 Sep. 2003

Understanding Eskimo Science :: essays research papers

In Richard Nelson’s â€Å"Understanding Eskimo Science† a man, Nelson, traveled below the Arctic Circle in the boreal forest of interior Alaska were he lived, studied and interacted with a few native Eskimos groups during the mid-1960’s. Throughout the article Nelson provides an abundance of interesting and relevant information about Eskimo survival coming about through the understanding of one’s environment. Nelson’s best argument is the simple fact that these people have managed to survive in one the, if not the, harshest environment on the planet. There knowledge is useful, tested and true to the groups as this truly unique understanding of there world has permitted them to thrive well in these parts. Although the vegetation is rather scarce the Eskimo’s made due with a diet based mostly on hunting. But as we find out in the article Nelson describes how these people are well adapted to the art of hunting. The relationship between man and animal is described to be one of intricate understanding and respect: â€Å"Koyukon hunters know that an animal’s life ebbs slowly, that it remains aware and sensitive to how people treat its body†. The Eskimo people have accumulated a massive memory based archive of scientifically valid knowledge concerning the diverse workings of the landscape of Alaska. Unfortunately Nelson makes it all too clear that this knowledge is disappearing and he fears that once gone there will never again be such a deep link between man and land. On a side note, this arcticle also makes it clear that the Eskimo’s respect there elders and place them at the head of all that is important as there knowledge and experience is treasured. They are the teachers of there people and the identity of the Eskimo is reflected in stores of experience in the minds of elders like Igruk. Nelson is most obviously a rational man saying rational things, but as is often the case with topics concerning native people, this knowledge will probably be lost in time. This article makes one think about man as a hole. Are we truly happy in our jungles of steel? Have we not lost something of great importance, something the Eskimo people have managed to conserve through all these millennia. We have lost contact with the spirit of nature. We have lost it to a point where our scientist do not consider Eskimo science (general knowledge) as a valid enough foundation for

Types of Criticism and Literary Movements in Short Stories :: Free Essay Writer

Types of Criticism and Literary Movements in Short Stories The short story dates back as early as the 14th Century. It offers what a novel or the equivalent would offer but it has a swiftness and completeness about it. According to Ruby Redinger, the short story is most powerful through graphic narration (752). The short story has captured a diverse group of things from the supernatural to an everyday occurrence. Nearly any situation can be worked into a short story if the right writer is managing the idea. The first masters of the short story in the eyes of Redinger were Boccaccio, Decameron, and Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (752). These stories were both written during the 14th Century. During the Renaissance period the short story lost its edge and writers’ attempts to do what Boccaccio and Chaucer had done failed. In the 19th Century America was the first to declare the short story as a literary form. During this time the authors Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, and Nathaniel Hawthorn contributed to the survival of the short story . During this timeframe realism, romanticism, and impressionism were the more common literary movements. The short story can also use many other forms and types of criticism to describe it. A few different forms are surrealism, Dadaism, Imagism, Romanticism, and many others. The satire is both a type of literature and a literary manner. It has an early history in poetry as a genre. C. Hugh Holman states that it originated in the 2nd Century B.C. by Roman satirist Lucilius and later practiced by Horace, Persius, Juvenal, and Quintilian (294). A satire is more frequently a literary manner in which the imperfections of a person, entire mankind, or an institution are ridiculed with the intention of correcting them. Satire is also applied to magic songs and ritualistic incentives in Greek, Old Irish, and Arabic literatures, where the ritual curse was believed to have powerful effects. The satire is often confused with the satyr play of Greek drama and coarse comic manner. This has influenced and confused the ideas about a satire in English literature. Although the satire is often comic, its primary object is not to provoke general laughter but to provoke laughter for corrective purposes. The satire always has a target, which is held up to mock upon the satiri st’s unveiling. The satirist’s viewpoint is nearly that of the cold-eyed realist, that penetrates shame and pretense for a didactic reason.

Finance Tutorial Essay

(a) Explain what is meant by the liquidity of a company. Define two common accounting measures of liquidity. (b) Why is liquidity an important indicator that an investor should consider when analysing share investment opportunities? Answer: 7. a) A company must ensure that it has access to sufficient cash to be able to meet its current commitments and take future advantage of future business opportunities. This is indicated by the company’s level of liquidity, that means having ability to continue to meet its short-term financial obligations and thus to continue trading. Two common accounting measures of liquidity are: i) Current ratio= Current assets (maturing within 1 year) /Current liabilities (due within 1 year) ii) Liquid ration= Current assets-Inventory (stock on hand)/ Current liabilities- Bank overdraft. 7. b) Liquidity is the ability of a company to meet the short term obligations. It is the ability of the company to convert its assets into cash. Short term, generally, signifies obligations which mature within one accounting year. Short term also reflects the operating cycle: buying, manufacturing, selling, and collecting. A company that cannot pay its creditors on time and continue not to honour its obligations to the suppliers of credit, services, and goods can be declared a sick company or bankrupt company. Inability to meet the short term liabilities may affect the company’s operations and in many cases it may affect its reputation too. Lack of cash or liquid assets on hand may force a company to miss the incentives given by the suppliers of credit, services, and goods. Loss of such incentives may result in higher cost of goods which in turn affect the profitability of the business. Thus, liquidity is an important indicator that an investor should consider when analysing share investment opportunities to make sure that they are investing in the right company where they could get a good return on their investment.