Delta airlines: connecting the world

We conducted a thorough equity research on majorAmericanlegacy carrierDelta Airlines. By doing an analysis of general macroeconomic conditions in different regions of the world,analysis of the main competitors of the company,finallyfollowed by a fundamental analysis of Delta Airlines, we concluded that the before mentioned company is heavily undervalued by the markets. Based on the outcome of our research, we gave a strong buy recommendation of the company stock

Applications of advanced transport aircraft in developing countries

Four representative market scenarios were studied to evaluate the relative performance of air-and surface-based transportation systems in meeting the needs of two developing contries, Brazil and Indonesia, which were selected for detailed case studies. The market scenarios were: remote mining, low-density transport, tropical forestry, and large cargo aircraft serving processing centers in resource-rich, remote areas. The long-term potential of various aircraft types, together with fleet requirements and necessary technology advances, is determined for each application

The Environmental Impacts of the Gulf War 1991

The environmental consequences of the Gulf War in 1991 affected the air, the marine environment, and the terrestrial ecosystem. Various scenarios and forecasts had been made before the war about the possible and probable impacts under different conditions. The follow-up studies have showed a rather different picture than what had been forecasted. When considering the various aspects of air and atmospheric pollution, in brief summary, the following observations have been made: In early 1991 more than 800 oil wells were blown up, of these more than 600 caught fire and burned with flames and about 50 wells gushed oil onto the ground. During the period up to October 1991 all the wells were capped. The maximum amount of oil and gas in the oil fires was about 355,000 tons and 35 million m3 respectively per day. The soot emissions for the burning oil and gas has been estimated to about 20,000 tons per day and the total SO2 emission about 24,000 tons per day. The CO2 emission from the burning oil and gas in Kuwait has been estimated to about 130 to 140 million tons corresponding to 2-3% of the global annual anthropogenic contribution from the use of fossil and recent fuels and only 0.1% of the total global CO2 emission. Levels of particles in the air a few kilometers from the burning oil fields was in the order of about 10 5 per cm3. this corresponds to 10% of the global contribution from anthropogenic burning of recent and fossil fuels. Most of the soot particles accumulated at altitudes between 1000 and 3000 meters and very little contamination reached higher than 5000 meters. As a result the soot did not spread over large areas but fell out with rain and dew mostly over the Arabian Peninsula. The high volume of particles in the air had a very pronounced effect on the climate in Kuwait and in the neighboring countries. Temperatures were up to 10 degrees C lower than under normal years. Soot and oil covered extensive areas in Kuwait, Northern Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. the vegetation as well as wildlife was exposed to this fallout but no or very scattered information is available about environmental aspects. The oil from the oil wells formed networks of rivers and lakes on land. The total volume of oil din these lakes and rivers has been estimated to between 10 and 20 million tons. During 1991, up to 200 km2 of ground was covered with oil forming about 250 lakes. In 1992 the figure had decresaed to about 50 km2, partly due to weathering, penetrating of oil into the ground, coverage of oil by dust and sand, and physical removal. The oil has subsequently the ground to varying depth, depending on the nature of underlying soil. The total area of oil lakes calculated based on satellite image in 1998 was about 24 km2. However, at that stage much of the surface area of the oil lakes were covered by sand and could hardly be observed from the sky. The "marine environment" was exposed to large quantities of petroleum hydrocarbons, the volume of the spills has been estimated to between 1 and 1.7 million tons. the oil was released from tank farms on land (Al Ahmadi North), oil loading terminals (Sea Island and Mina Al-Bakr (Iraq)) and from oil carriers anchored along the Kuwait coast. the spill was broken up from several smaller spills which contaminated most of the Saudi Arabian coastline. About 700 km of Saudi Arabian shoreline consisting of sand, gravel, wetlands, lagoons, and muddy tidal flats and a total of the surfacve area of about 34 km2 was contaminated. Some oil ended up on the beaches of Kuwait, Iran, Bahrain, and Qatar but generally these countries were less affected. The oil on the SAudi Arabian coastline ende up in shallow lagoons, wetlands and flats covered with vegetation. Here the oil caused considerable damage and caused primarily by the physical characteristics of the oil on the vegetation and on animals in the intertidal zone. Hence most of the mangroves and marshes in the wetlands along the affected coast was destroyed by the oil. Fifty to 90% of the fauna of these areas, mainly crabs, amphipoda and molluscs, were also killed by the oil. Already within a year natural cleanup process had removed most of the oil from hard surfaces and decresed the quantities considerably in areas with sand and mud. About three years after the spill most of the fauna had re-colonized the lower sections of the beach, and the recovery on the upper sections were underway. About 10 years after the spill, weathered and underground oil were still present on some beaches. The large-scale clean-up that was carried out after the spill in many areas did contribute to incresing the damage and spreading the oil into previously unaffected areas. Studies from different subtidal areas along the Saudi Arabian coast on sand, mud and rock bottoms and in sea-grass beds showed minor or no effects at all among the fauna and flora at 1 to 6 meters depth and deeper areas. Several investigations were carried out to study the impacts on soral reefs along the coast but these studies did not reveal any significant effects, particularly in the reefs off the Saudi coast. Also the fish fauna appeared to have survived intact. About 75 to 80% of the sun's radiation was absorbed and the remainder was scatttered by the smoke in the super composite plume and this resulted in a drop in the temperature by up to 10 degrees C in Kuwait and in the Northern Saudi Arabia. Also as far away as 250 km from the burning Kuwait oil fileds a reduction in mid day temperature of 5-8 degrees C was recorded. Also seawater temperatures in the Gulf were considerably lower during 1991 as conpared to previous years. This drop of seawater temperature during spring-summer period of 1991 was considered more damaging to fish and prawns than the oil spills. Seabirds and waders were affected by direct oiling of feathers and due to intake of oil primarily through preening. It has been estimated that between 22 and 50% of the populations of several species of cormorants and grebes died as a result of the spill. Investigations of the presence of waders on the shores made during the acute phase of the war a reduction by almost 100% and most of the birds found were contaminated by oil. It was estimated that about 100,000 waders were killed directly or indirectly by the oil spill in 1991. Investigations of the marine turtles showed that green turtles nested at normal rates and with a hatching success similar to the figures for the figures for the years previous to the spill. For hawksbills the number of nests were normal but the hatching rate was much lower than normal. Approximately 50 dugongs and several times as many dolphins were found dead on the beaches of Saudi Arabia after that spill. In total over 84,000 tons of bombs were dropped over an area of about 4,000 square miles during 43 days of war. The military casualties and the allied side was 149 dead and another 513 wounded. In the years after the war between 50 and 100 allied soldiers were killed in connection with mine clearance. The total loses of Iraqi soldiers were much higher, probably more than 100,000 during 43 days of war. Nearly 25,000 died during the mass retreat. In addition at least another 100,000 Iraqi military were wounded, the majority of whom later died due to lack of medical facilities and medicine. Between 400 and 600 Kuwaiti civilians were killed directly during the war. In addition an astimated 2,000 died due to consequences of the war. Between 15,000 and 16,000 civilians spent time in prison during and after the war. In additio there have been more than 1,500 civilian mine and ammunition victims in Kuwait since August 1990. Furthermore a large portion of the Kuwaiti population suffered various psychosomatic disorders, so called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) several years after the war. Another consequence of the war is that crime and violence has become more common in Kuwait. Between 2,500 to 3,000 Iraqi civilians died directly as a result of the allied bombardment. However, Iraqi civilians suffered much larger casualties as indirect consequences of the war dring the period 1991-2001. Figures are not known but several hundred thousand civilian, including infants and children, have probably died due to the lack of medicine, hospital supplies, and medical services. Other studies indicate that more than 46,900 children under five years age died between January and August 1991 due to the war and its aftermath. In addition about 100,000 Kurds in the north and Shiites in the south of Iraq died and many more suffered from heavy repression in the civil unrest immediately after the war. Other reports indicate increseased child mortality among children in Iraq, in excess of 40,000 per year during the period 1992-1998

Global Energy Consumption: An Analysis of Variables That Shape Per Capita Usage, or How Pump Price, Urbanization, and Fossil Fuels Imports Impact Fossil Fuels Consumption Per Capita Across OECD Countries

Among reasons explaining the importance of studying fossil fuel consumption are: crude oil is a subject of the international commodities market, thus, any fluctuation related to its\u27 availability or price would impact the rest of the World; natural resources like oil, gas, and coal are limited; the extensive use of fossil fuels harms our surroundings, creating many environmental concerns; every human (on average) has been using more energy since 1971 and the trend is expected to continue. The upward trend is not consistent among individual countries. Therefore, the core question of my research is, `Why do some countries consume less Fossil Fuels per Capita (FFCC) than others?` I use a multivariate framework to answer the central question, including three independent (Pump Price for Gasoline, Urbanization, and Fossil Fuel Imports) and two control variables (Latitude and GDP per capita). My research is built upon three Hypotheses: In a comparison of countries, higher pump prices are associated with a decrease in FFCC compared to those with lower pump prices; In a comparison of countries, a greater urban percentage of the population is associated with a decrease in FFCC compared to those with a less urbanized population; In a comparison of countries, higher fuel imports are associated with a decrease in FFCC compared to those with lower fuel imports. As a basis of the quantitative method, I use a sample of twenty-eight OECD counties to design and test a model for 2009-2018 (The Model). The output of the multiple regression analysis shows that the Model explains 40% of the variance in the Dependent Variable. I use a qualitative method to review three case studies (Finland, Canada, and Colombia). Finland’s local conditions make the country almost an ideal candidate to fit the Model. Canada’s local situation concerning FFCC explains why the country does not fit the Model well, despite significant efforts of urbanized communities to pursue energy efficiency. The Colombian government’s continuous interventions prevent the country from fitting the Model and make Colombia an apparent outlier. Going forward, it is important to develop a worldwide database containing information on taxation and promote energy-related reporting among countries to ensure quantitative data availability

A Case Study of Crisis Management Training Needs: Saudi Airlines

This dissertation explores crisis management policies, programs, and training in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s premier airliners, Saudi Arabian Airlines. Saudi Arabian Airlines is a domestic and international carrier with a major role in the transportation of millions of Muslim pilgrims to the Kingdom during the annual Hajj season. This event places enormous strains on the capacity of the carrier, the airport, ground support systems, and the societal infrastructure of country. There have been tireless efforts by the Airline’s staffers to serve millions of visitors including pilgrims in a timely, safe and appropriate manner. Crisis management for Saudi Arabian Airlines includes assessment of natural and man-made risks in the firm’s operational environment, the development of a comprehensive response plan that includes training of staff at all levels of the firm, compliance with all relevant legal and regulatory mandates, and the use of effective response tools and systems. Saudi Arabian Airlines is viewed herein as best approached through the theoretical lens of Systems Theory, which speaks to the interdependency that exists within complex, multi-faceted systems. To identify the approach taken by Saudi Arabian Airlines to crisis management and to assess whether or not its response could be enhanced through additional planning, training or other strategies, a case study including review of relevant literature augmented by a survey of a sample of industry employees was undertaken. The survey instrument, coupled with an analysis of relevant crisis management protocols and practices including those recommended by organizations such as the International Air Transport Association was sued. The study identifies a need for additional training of the Airlines’ employees for a more effective crisis respons

Armed forces, states and threats : civil-military institutions and military power in modern democracies

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2009.Vita. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, p. 739-769).Two longstanding questions preoccupying political scientists, military officers and policymakers alike are how should and how do political leaders interact with military professionals? This thesis argues that historic patterns of civil-military relations underlay distinct national defense policymaking institutions, which, in turn, shape how states produce and employ force. Thus, long after states are no longer prey to military interventions in politics, the institutions originally created to protect government from the armed forces will continue to shape how governments use military force. In states where civil-military conflict prompted sustained periods of institutional development, present day governments will possess institutional resources to exert maximal civilian control over defense policymaking. States with harmonious civil-military legacies will lack these institutional structures and will exercise a lesser degree of civilian control. Each form of political control embodies distinct comparative advantages, one privileging the integration of military activities with the state's foreign policy, while the other provides for greater military effectiveness. Termed "civil-military legacy theory," the analytical framework of the dissertation is rooted in historic institutionalism. The theory is tested by examining the elaboration of military doctrine, the acquisition of new weapons and the conduct of military interventions in France and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom and France have, since the Second World War, possessed and expended comparable resources on defense. The United Kingdom and France have, however, diametrically opposite experiences of civil-military relations. The United Kingdom has never experienced a significant civil-military crisis; France has six times seen a general become head of state without being elected, and nine times seen military factions attempt to supplant the government. As predicted, France's history of fractious civil-military relations led it to develop civil-military control institutions that permit civilian leaders to micromanage military doctrine, procurement and operations. Conversely, the United Kingdom's record of civil-military concord has resulted in the armed forces retaining authority over an autonomous sphere of military competence. The principle of civilian control of the armed forces is acknowledged in both cases, but its practice varies widely, with a functional division of labor in the British case and more intrusive civilian control in the French.by Marc Ronald DeVore.Ph.D

Technology Transfer to the Middle East

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "clarifies the policy issues surrounding technology transfer to developing countries, by highlighting tradeoffs among various commercial, political, and development assistance policy goals, and by suggesting options for more consistent policies affecting technology transfer to developing countries" (p. iii)

Approval of George W. Bush: Economic and media impacts

George W. Bush\u27s approval rate had its shares of ups and downs. In this time series study I analyze the empirical evidence of the media\u27s and economy\u27s impact on his approval rate from 2001-2009. People tend to hold the president responsible for the country\u27s economic performance and the media influences people\u27s opinions of the president through agenda setting and priming. I operationalize the media influence on people into an independent variable. My economic independent variables are the monthly percent change in inflation rate, unemployment rate, and personal income. The dependent variable is the president\u27s approval rate. This study seeks to understand the relationship between the economy, media, and George W. Bush\u27s approval rate and add insight to the body of approval research