Early Sartre: Unsatisfactory Account of Alterity :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Early Sartre: Unsatisfactory Account of Alterity ABSTRACT: This paper critically examines the way in which Sartre dealt with the problem of alterity in his early works, proposing that Sartre presented an unsatisfactory account of alterity in his first philosophical work entitled The Transcendence of the Ego, though his study of imagination offers ample opportunities to re-examine the question of alterity and to arrive at a more adequate formulation of the way in which the self relates to the other. I therefore begin by demonstrating that the Transcendence of the Ego perpetuates the Cartesian tradition where the self is defined primarily in terms of thinking-that is, self-consciousness and immanence. Next, I turn to the Sartrean Psychology of Imagination to find another way of conceptualizing the problem. I inquire into his general theory of the imaginary consciousness defined as a 'picture consciousness' and argue that it reduces the alterity of the imaginary object to sheer absence. As such, the theory of imagination does not allo w us to bring the fundamental character of alterity to light. Still, we uncover a more adequate way of dealing with alterity in the context of the imaginary life. I show that the notion of the 'picture itself' allows us to conceptualize alterity as the radical withdrawal of the other. Finally, I make evident that the imaginary subject is necessarily divided between itself and itself as another and due to that internal split, can grasp the alterity of another person. The first properly philosophical work written by Sartre-The Transcendence of the Ego (1) -is an investigation into the problem of otherness, of alterity or-to use Sartre's terminology-of transcendence. Sartre develops the notion of transcendence in a radical opposition to that of immanence i. e. of a uniform and homogenous sameness. His ultimate aim is to arrive at the notion of immanence purified of any transcendent elements and to use that notion as a clue for his definition of subjectivity. That is to say, to the question: "What am I?" Sartre would reply: "I am an immanence without transcendence. I am a pure stream of consciousness without any contents. I am an absolute transparency without opacity. I am no more than the temporal unity of my life-which means-a pure self-contained flow that no alien element can interrupt or contaminate". The idea of pure self-transparent subjectivity has a long history behind it. It originated in the philosophy of Descartes and was further developed by Husserl.

The Book: Boofheads

Essay on Boofheads by Mo Johnson. The book Boofheads is a story based on prejudice. Prejudice is here in every day society. This book was written by Mo Johnson for teenagers that have the same problem. The problem is sexism. The prejudice in the book is sexism and how it can affect people in such ways that they have to give up one of the most important things in life. With the three seventeen year old boys Ed, Steve and Tom sexism is a big problem. In the book Boofheads by Mo Johnson sexism is a problem between young boys and girls. The ‘girl’ saying about girls being smart and boys being dumb. This was a clear demonstration of prejudice in Boofheads. In chapter three the three best-friends Ed, Steve and Tom were all in English class. Their teacher had asked Tom a question about the book ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which the class had been given to read for homework. One of the girls in the class named Amy Jones had spoke up before Tom could start to answer his question. Amy then answered the question correctly and turned to Tom and Steven to comment on how ‘dumb’ they were. Her arguments aim was to prove that girls were clearly smarter than boys and that they were not able to produce a â€Å"single word of half decent English,† Amy had commented. This example explains why this passage from the book has the prejudice of sexism. Boofheads by Mo Johnson has a main story line on three teenage boys pretending to be a 36 year old lady in order to have a column in a teenage girl’s magazine. The three boys Ed, Steve and Tom have had the opportunity to prove themselves right to all the sexist girls in their school. They are going to become a fake lady so that they can answer teenage girls’ problems in Tom’s mother’s magazine. Each month they get an email from Toms mum with problems from girls around the state. They come up with solutions to the problem and send an email back to Toms mum with the answers. They only do this to prove that boys can produce a ‘single word of half decent English’. The girls in the boys’ school are adamant that the boys are dumb and these three boys want to prove that they are not. In Boofheads the seventeen year old boy named Tom has a mother that is a fussy magazine editor. One of the best in the country. She has a messy office and never relies on Tom’s advice. Tom is always giving his mother advice on the look of the magazine, contrasting colours and some fashion ideas. He is usually right as his mother gets the same criticism from her boss. She never even realises that Tom gave the same advice to her rior to her changes. She does not believe that a male has any brain for a magazine and they need to stick to the things that men are supposed to do. Tom could be right on the spelling of a word and she would still not believe him. This shows that women of an older age are still sexist to males when it comes to how smart they really are. In conclusion the book Boofheads by Mo Johnson was a book about sexism. It was mainly based on sexism on males by females. This is why Boofheads is a book about prejudice.

Minimum wages

Many economic theories have been proposed to discuss the impact of minimum wages on labor market. The proceedings of the labor market is based on the exchange of resources between the employee and employer, the employee receive wages in return for their labor services to the employer. Labor market is considered to be most competitive market, where the established market price is much closer to the value of the product. Therefore, the employee is likely to receive marginal value, in the competitive market (excluding the factor of minimum wage). Therefore minimum wage laws have been introduced which foresee crisis of unemployment, if fewer employers are interested to hire labor, where as more people are willing to offer their services. Therefore, the law intends to maintain the equilibrium, to avoid social and economic turmoil. The amount of labor supplied by the workers is directly proportional to the nominal wage, a certain increase in the wage, forecast increase in the labor supply. The observation is based on the assumption that an employee hired at a low wage will prefer to consume ‘leisure and forego wages', a slight increase in the nominal range, it becomes difficult to practice leisure and avoid labor, therefore there is an increase in the number of workers wiling to offer labor. The relationship between the labor supplied and nominal wage is function of different variables including price. A substantial increase in the price level will reduce the number of workers, at all wages (Wascher, 1995). LABOR MARKET AND WAGES There exists an inverse relationship between the nominal wage, and the ‘amount of labor demanded by the organizations'. A substantial increase in the wages is likely to compel the organizations to reduce recruitment schemes. The relationship has been derived on the basis of an assumption that the organization prefers saving for increased proportion of profitability i.e. such level of production is aimed by the organization which increases the profit i.e. the difference between expenses and revenue. The revenue is based on the price of an item, and quantity of the items sold (Christopher, 2005). The expanses include the amount of wages, which is based on the labor and services. Therefore, the company will prefer to maintain a minimum threshold level to secure profit, on the basis of reduction in the wages, as more workers are employed, the labor wage increases which turn the organization less profitable. The price factor may compel the organizations to recruit the employees for all wage levels. minimum wages AND LABOR MARKET: IMPLICATIONS It has been predicted that minimum wage laws are expected to increase unemployment, if minimum wage is established above equilibrium wage. It is because, a large number of employees will be interested in offering their services in exchange for higher wages, on contrary on small and limited number of such opportunities will be available. Also, the organizations will be careful about the recruitment scheme, and ensure that only well qualified people are hired on high wages, therefore there is expected to be little scope for the least skilled and inexperienced employees, thus within the labor market the unemployment level will increase (Kane, 2007). Another factor which has the potential to deteriorate the condition and extend the unemployment crisis is monopsony within the labor market. If the employer has the authority to determine the wages for the employees, it is expected that the unemployment rate will diminish because minimum wage may boost employment. The equilibrium between the labor demand and labor supply will exist only at a point when applied wage is equal to the requirements of the labor and organizations. Wages are more than the equilibrium wage, will result in unemployment i.e. the excess supply of labor. ‘Using the matching function formulation along with Nash bargaining between workers and firms, the results of Hosios inform us that an efficient labor market equilibrium requires that the elasticity of the matching function with respect to the size of the set of searchers be equal to the share of the surplus they receive’ (Kane, 2007). CONCERNS: MINIMUM WAGE It is important to understand that minimum wage is a practice control factor applicable on the labor, which can be regarded as the captivity of the economic rights of the low-paid labors, and their prospects. The increased minimum wage limit is expected to reduce America's labor freedom index to 87 percent. In the case of free market economy, the maximum utilization of the land, information, capital goods, and labors achieved through price allocation. If the prices are kept free floating, the market is considered to be real free in launch of its economic policies and business plans, which have an impact on the labor market, and the fixture of minimum wage. ‘Estimates of the bargaining power parameter, although significantly lesser than a   percent, are significantly larger than estimates of the match function elasticity and as a result yield an optimal minimum wage rate less than the then current value of $4.25’ (Swinnerton, 1996). Considering the example of an organization, the organization has the right to increase its wages to capture the attention of the labor for the employment. Wages are considered to be suitable indication to discuss the expansion of business activities, and direct employment. ‘Freely floating prices allocate resources efficiently to places where they will take root and boost economic productivity' (Christopher, 2005). Price signals have been disturbed and distorted through implementations of labor regulations, which hamper market mechanism, and restrict economic freedom of employers and employees. Minimum wage is considered to have significant impact on economic freedom, the labor supply and demand mechanism undergo disruption due to the allocation of government specified minimum wages (Card, 1995). If the situation is not existent, the minimum wage can be regarded as ‘crude instrument' which relocate the labor market towards efficient allocation. ‘The labor market is not excused from the basic economic principle that artificially high prices cause lower demand'. The National Bureau of Economic Research observed that many analysts were of the opinion that minimum wages have negative impact on the labor market, ‘almost all point to negative employment effects’. More specifically, the study also revealed that there is, ‘relatively overwhelming evidence of stronger unemployment’ impacts on less experienced workers (Swinnerton, 1996). In the case on United States, the proposed federal minimum wage has been avoided by the Congress for more than a decade. The reviewed limit for the minimum wage is expected to raise to $7.25, however analyst are of the opinion that labor market can be served well through expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (or EITC, a substantial wage subsidy for low-income workers). According to 2007 Index, more than 90% of the US labor market is considered independent, and the imposition of the minimum wage will not only hamper the status of the labor market, but will reduce the labor freedom factor. IMPLICATIONS The proper approach for ensuring better income for group of workers can be achieved through imposition of minimum wage. The entrance to Labor Market can be achieved through implementation of minimum wage, and this is likely to benefit least qualified individuals. ‘Labor market flexibility refers to the ease with which workers and employers can negotiate mutually advantageous labor contracts' (Nathalie, 2006). However the implementation of minimum wage has been discouraged by economist, most of the economists are of the opinion that higher minimum wage has failed to achieved the primarily goal of poverty reduction, and is responsible for unemployment. According to a survey by Canadian authorities, 10% increase in the minimum wage was responsible for the direct unemployment of Canadian teenagers by 2.5%. In this context the labor laws play fundamental role, to counter such flaws. Researchers have concluded that, the scheme of tightening of laws about labor relations is responsible for the unemployment. It has been warned that implementation of rigid laws for the minimum wage barrier will affect the performance of the organizations. It is believed that organizations will opt for recruitment of smaller staff, and sought the replacement of workers with machines, and diminishes the performance premiums and other perks, or move switch over their operations ands move to other part. EFFECTS AND ALTERNATIVE (TAX CREDIT) The increase in the level of minimum wage is considered to be blockade for the reformed economic policies of any country; furthermore it disrupts international competitiveness, labor freedom. Labor freedom, like property rights and business freedom, a detailed study report issued by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal have concluded that, all these factors are considered to be important parameters for the evaluation of country's overall economic freedom as measured by the Index of Economic Freedom (Kane, 2007). The labor market should be based on labor freedom to strengthen the scope of economic activities that correlates the ability of workers and businesses to interact without any surveillance or official restrictions by the government. The minimum wage is although considered to be an important measure for supporting the poor and less skilled worker, but such conditions affect the business activity and shatter the economic plans of the organizations, and consequently the labor market is affected (Wascher, 1995). ‘The minimum wage disrupts the natural interaction of supply and demand and leads to inefficient allocations of labor and, eventually, increased unemployment', on contrary the government discourage the practice of competitiveness, and transform it into level economic battlefield, with restricted scope of advents (Swinnerton, 1996). The sole objective of minimum wage is to provide higher income to low earners, but to avoid the negative fallout of labor market, the execution of such policy should be avoided, and therefore policies based on negative income tax or earned income tax credit should be introduced to favor the low wage earners. Such methodology is considered to be economic efficient. The classical analysis of minimum wage support the idea that higher wage earners should help the low earners, the restriction of higher minimum wage is likely to affect the services and jobs of the low wage earners, therefore the labor market can be strengthen by providing sufficient incentives to ‘ low wage workers at the expense of other low wage workers and businesses employing low wage workers' (Card, 1995). The alternative scheme of negative income tax or earned income tax credit support the low earners, and it is the over all society that incurs the cost, and this further stabilizes the labor market. The scheme is considered to be economically viable, ‘because, a low tax rate on the broader economy causes less deadweight loss than a high tax rate on a small section of the economy' (Wascher, 1995). It has been reported that the approved EITC has increased the level of earnings by 40 percent; the proposed $7.25 of minimum wage after taxes for a full-time worker is expected to double the EITC. It is expected that minimum wage and tax credit scheme will rekindle the hope of low earners, and re-link them directly to the benefits of growing economy. REFERENCES Tim Kane, Ph.D. and Anthony B. Kim. A Higher Minimum Wage Equals Less Economic Freedom. 2007. Prentice Hall. pp. 125 Neumark, D. and W. Wascher. Minimum-Wage Effects on School and Work Transitions of Teenagers. American Economic Review 85. 1995. pp. 244-249. Card, D. and A. Krueger. Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1995. Swinnerton, K. Minimum Wages in an Equilibrium Search Model with Diminishing Returns to Labor in Production. Journal of Labor Economics 14. 1996. pp. 340-355. Christopher J. Flinn. Minimum Wage Effects on Labor Market Outcomes under Search, Matching, and Endogenous Contact Rates. New York University Publications. 2005. pp. 45 Nathalie Elgrably. The Minimum Wage and Labor Market flexibility. December 2006.Montreal Economic Institute Publications.      

Life As a Fashion Designer Essay

The career in which I am most interested in the textile industry is that of the fashion designer. A fashion designer is the person who comes up with the ideas and designs today, for the clothes that we, the consumers, will be wearing tomorrow. This alone, the power to inspire the world of fashion , would be enough to make me want to become a designer, but designing clothes is also a way of expressing yourself. Each designer is unique and thus the clothes that each create are just as unique. Although the job of a fashion designer may seem easy, there are many abilities involved in the job. Some of these abilities, which I posses, include a love for fashion, understanding of color and combinations of color, and the ability to convey design ideas through pictures. Along with the possessed above qualities, taking clothing classes in school has made me realize the many ideas that I have for clothing and becoming a fashion designer would allow me to convey these ideas to those around me. Life As A Fashion Designer In essence a fashion designer is a person who develops new styles for clothing or clothing accessories. These new styles can be achieved by creating original designs or by adding personal ideas to old styles to suit popular trends or environmental requirements. â€Å"For The job of a fashion designer involves many different duties. Typically a fashion designer must first develop an idea for a garment and then convey this idea graphically through drawing or computer visuals. Once this is done a pattern must be created and thus the designer must meet with pattern makers. Along with creating the pattern, the designer must choose the fabric type and color for the garment. After these choices have been made, samples of the garment must be created and shown to the management, sales and manufacturing staff. Once prices for the garment are calculated, finishing samples are created and must be approved before they go into production. Finally, once the garments are in production, the designer meets with the production staff to ensure quality control. Along with this immense amount of work, a designer is still expected to stay in tune with current fashion trends not only where they  presently live, but all over the world. It is almost as if learning and putting that information into action never ends for a fashion designer. To become a fashion designer, one must have a lot of creativity, imagination, fearlessness and passion. † I am really passionate with making clothes.† (said by Francesca Marotta in interview) People in the fashion design world must also have a strong sense of the esthetics. This is an eye for color and detail, a sense of balance and proportion, and an appreciation for beauty. Although computers have aided in fashion design, the ability to sketch design images is an important skill that all prospective fashion designers should possess. It is also necessary to keep a good portfolio, a collection of examples of a designer’s best work, so that prospective employers can have a sense of the quality of your work. Fashion design may seem like a career that involves no school training, but this is not true. Along with a portfolio, as mentioned above, designers are usually require to have a 2 or 4-year college degree in design. One example of a designer who attended college is Francesca Marotta, who attended the London College of Fashion. Education in fashion will be important, especially for prospective fashion designers, because statistics are now showing that the employment rate in the design industry is growing faster than the average. People looking for jobs in the fashion design industry should expect to face fierce competition for designing positions. People with little to no education in design, along with those who lack creativity and imagination, will find it extremely hard to start and maintain a career in fashion design. In terms of money the median annual earnings for fashion designers were $48,530 in 2000. The middle 50 percent earned between $34,800 and $73,780. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,710, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $103,970. Benefits vary with employers. Designers often negotiate their salaries and benefits individually with employers. Some firms provide vacation and group health insurance plans. Self employed designers must supply themselves with their own insurance, but it also means that their schedule is very flexible and allows them to take time off to  travel for business or pleasure at any time which is convenient to them. Interview Basement Couture by Marian Buckley In a Ladbroke Grove basement studio flat, I sit down with designer Francesca Marotta. This is couture heaven, W11 style. Francesca says she always knew she wanted to be a fashion designer. â€Å"When I was 4 I said to my Mum, ‘I am going to work in fashion’.† By the age of 10 Francesca was whipping out the family Singer to run-up dolls’ clothes. â€Å"I remember when my Mum used to go shopping, I would open up the sewing machine and make clothes for my sister’s dolls, and then when I heard the car come back I would quickly put the sewing machine away again.† After studying at university in Belgium (her family relocated to Belgium, leaving Sicily when she was 5) Francesca moved to London to study for a BTEC National Diploma at The London College of Fashion. She never completed the course. â€Å"They never liked my style,† she explains. â€Å"The London College of Fashion is very good for technique, but at the time they weren’t broadminded, they weren’t like St Martin’s – the crazier you are the more they like you! But there it was very different. It was good, but there were about 20 people who just didn’t fit in.† Despite having a rough time at LCF, Francesca fell in love with London and has made the city her home ever since. â€Å"There is a London style,† she says. â€Å"whenever I go away and I am coming back I can feel the buzz on the plane†¦ there’s a London smell.† Since LCF, Francesca has designed for Souled Out, worked for a retail company, taken a business course and is now looking at expanding her business. In March 2002 she came 2nd at the Neuvieme Concours Jeunes  Creaturs, an award for new design talent in Lille. Her latest collection is in a suitcase. â€Å"I start by finding the fabric first,† she tells me as she unsheathes reams of gorgeous textures – a crystallized piece of mesh that’s she discovered in a fabric shop, it looks like woven gold wire with glittering beads, but feels like a piece of jewelry. Francesca describes how this will form a top with just a fastening at the back. Her inspiration for the collection was, â€Å"What do I want to wear next winter?†. She adds â€Å"It’s very feminine.† Don’t expect any easy, straight to the high street trends going on here. Forget jackets and other cold weather items. Francesca loves ball gowns. For this collection she’s created a bonkers straight-at-the-front-curved-at-the-back skirt with an under wired petticoat, leather tops, feather arms bands. She’s using taffeta, silk, curtain fabrics and has a magpie’s stash of feathers (chicken and turkey bought from a basement sh op just off Oxford Street), chicken wire, camping tent rings, pendant earrings and leather. From this amassed material 8 outfits are to emerge to be shown at The Cobden Club in a few weeks time. â€Å"I am really passionate with making clothes,† she confesses, and you know this woman is telling the truth. Marotta has developed her own unique couture – it could never officially be labeled couture because it doesn’t comply with the rigid rules that govern the practice – but it is her own version. â€Å"I love couture,† she admits. â€Å"If I could, I would make a million pound dress†¦ Most people think of couture as something for mature women. I like edgy couture. It’s not French, it’s more avant garde.† The collection will be handmade and most elements are designed on the fly. She doesn’t work with a toile and although she can sketch, she prefers to dive in and design without one. Her mother is fantastic knitter and she contributes to the collections: â€Å"All the knitting you see in my collections my Mum makes for me. She could have been a designer because she does some really funky pieces.† Her parents are also her main backers, but Francesca is hoping to find some investors, people who like her vision. â€Å"I am trying to find investors to be able to do the London Fashion Week. I would really  like to do that,† she says with a beaming smile. â€Å"I’ve always liked the idea of becoming a band stylist, where each song has a new theme so you design a mini collection for the band. With bands you can always go over the edge and use your imagination.† Which bands would she ideally like to work with? â€Å"Ms Dynamite, I think she’s funky or So Solid Crew.† In the meantime, she’s building up her personal client list by making one-off pieces. â€Å"If a friend says to me I want a top I know exactly what to do†¦ a friend said they wanted a velour tracksuit I say we don’t do velour we do suede with crystals. I have people say they want a fake Versace and a fake whatever and I can do that – you know you have to make ends meet.† She’s approached a few shops but local retailers feel she would be better in the West End. â€Å"I went to a few shops in Portobello and they said my designs were too futuristic. I am hoping that Pineal Eye, Tokian To Zai somewhere like that will take some pieces.† Conclusion Being a fashion designer had many advantages, but it has many disadvantages as well. Below is a chart of most of each. Being a fashion designer is not a job that I would like to pursue professionally. I love to create clothes for myself, but only for my pleasure, almost like a hobby. If I were interested in pursuing the career, there are a few things that I could do. These include taking clothing courses and designing courses. As a junior it is also important to look for good colleges that specialize in fashion design. Through college there are some co-op programs that make the transition to the work place easier. Bibliography Buckley, Marian; Basement Couture [interview on-line] (London, England: WideMedia Ltd., 1995, accessed May 20, 2003); available from http://www.widemedia.com/fashionuk/fashion/marotta/index.html ; Internet. Battock, Tina ; In Style [magazine online] (Boulder, Colorado: About Inc., 2003 accessed May 20, 2003); available from http://sewing.about.com ; Internet. Ungless, Simon. â€Å"Careers in the Fashion Industry.† The Career Center [magazine article] May 31,2002.

Summer Sport Camp at State University

14th MANCO Linear Programming Approach for Irrigation Scheduling – A case Study H. MD. AZAMATHULLA, Senior Lecturer, River Engineering and Urban Drainage Research Centre (REDAC), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; email: [email  protected] usm. my, [email  protected] com (author for correspondence) AMINUDDIN AB GHANI, Professor, REDAC, Universiti Sains Malaysia, email: [email  protected] usm. my NOR AZAZI ZAKARIA, Professor, REDAC, Universiti Sains Malaysia, email: [email  protected] usm. my CHANG CHUN KIAT, Science Officer, REDAC, Universiti Sains Malaysia, email: [email  protected] sm. my Abstract There is an increasing awareness among irrigation planners and engineers to design and operate reservoir systems for maximum efficiency to maximize their benefits. Accordingly, significant work has been done on reservoir operation for known total irrigation demand and on the optimal allocation of water available to c rops at the farm level. Very few studies have been conducted to derive optimal reservoir operation policies integrating the reservoir operation with the on-farm utilisation of water by the various crops.This present paper deals with the development of model — Linear Programming (LP) — to be applied to real-time reservoir operation in an existing Chiller reservoir system in Madhya Pradesh, India. Keywords: Cropping pattern, Water resource management, Irrigation management, Optimization 1. Introduction In most developing countries, a huge share of the limited budget goes to creating facilities for irrigation. Construction of reservoirs requires very high investment and also causes socioeconomic and environmental issues.Water in the reservoir has multiple claimants and needs to be optimally utilized to generate maximum benefits through proper operation, which must remain consistent despite uncertain future inflows and demands. According to the World Commission on Dams, ma ny large storage projects worldwide are failing to produce the anticipated benefits (Labadie, 2004). Similarly, small storage projects made for local areas in developing countries, like India, are also failing to meet expectations.The main cause identified at various levels of discussion, as reported by Labadie (2004), is inadequate consideration of the more mundane operation and maintenance issues once the project is completed. For existing reservoirs, optimum operation is critical, since all the expected benefits are based on timely water releases to meet the stipulated demand. Real-time operation of a reservoir requires making relatively quick decisions regarding releases based on short-term information. Decisions are dependant on the storage in the reservoir and information available in the form of forecast hydrologic and meteorological parameters.This is especially important during floods and power generation, where the system has to respond to changes very quickly and may need to adapt rapidly (Mohan et al. 1991). For reservoir systems operated for irrigation scheduling, real-time operation is not very common because of longer decision steps. Traditionally, the reservoirs meant for irrigation purposes are operated on heuristics and certain rules derived from previous experiences. This defies the concept of water-management; much of the water is lost, which in turn leads to loss of revenue.In the early 1960s, mathematical programming techniques became popular for reservoir planning and operation; pertinent literature is available. An excellent review of the topic is given by Yeh (1985), followed by Labadie (2004) and Wurbs (1993). Along with simulation studies, Linear Programming (LP), Dynamic Programming (DP) and Non Linear Programming (NLP) are the most popular modelling techniques. A comparative study on the applicability and computational difficulties of these models is presented by Mujumdar and Narulkar (1993).Many of the aforementioned techniques ha ve been implemented in realistic scenarios, and many reservoir systems worldwide are operated based on the decision rules generated from these techniques. However, there exists a gap between theory and practice, and full implementation has not been achieved yet (Labadie, 2004). 1 14 & 15 February 2009 Kuching, Sarawak The basic difficulty a reservoir manager faces is to take a real-time optimum decision regarding releases according to the future demand and inflow. This leads to the problem of optimization of the stochastic domain.Two approaches of stochastic optimization are practised: i) Explicit Stochastic Optimization (ESO), which works on probabilistic descriptors of random inputs directly and ii) Implicit Stochastic Optimization (ISO), which is based on historical, generated or forecasted values of the inputs through the use of Time Series Analysis or other Probabilistic approaches. The ESO approach has computational difficulties; ISO methods are simple, but require an addition al forecasting model for real time operation. In the case of irrigation reservoirs, decision making at the reservoir level depends upon the water demand arising at the field level.In order to operate the reservoir in the best possible way, it becomes imperative to understand the processes occurring in the crop-soil-water-atmosphere system. This helps not only in the estimation of accurate demands, but also ensures optimum utilisation of water. If the processes at the field level are also modelled properly and integrated with the reservoir level model, the goal of water management can be achieved in the best possible way. Dudley et al. (1971) pioneered the integration of the systems in the determination of optimal irrigation timing under limited water supply using a Stochastic DP model.Dudley and his associates then improved the model (Dudley and Burt, 1973; Dudley, 1988; Dudley and Musgrave, 1993). Vedula and Mujumdar (1992, 1993) and Vedula and Nagesh Kumar (1996) have also contrib uted to this area. Their approach was to derive a steady state reservoir operation policy while maximizing the annual crop yield. DP-SDP and LP-SDP were used in the modelling. However, for real-time reservoir operation, Vedula and Nagesh Kumar (1996) stressed the need to forecast inflows and rainfall in the current season to implement the steady state operation policy.As a result, the ESO model has to be supplemented with an ISO model to get a policy for the current period. As an extension to the work of Vedula and Mujumdar (1992), a significant contribution to the real-time reservoir approach was presented by Mujumdar and Ramesh (1997). They addressed the issue of short term real-time reservoir operation by forecasting the inflow for the current period, a crop production state variable and a soil moisture state variable. Their work was based on SDP, but had all the limitations of SDP regarding the curse of dimensionality.Against this background, a model for the derivation of real-t ime optimal operating policy for a reservoir under a multiple crop scenario is proposed in the present study. The primary issue is that the reservoir gets inflows during the wet season (monsoon season) and is operated for irrigation in the dry season (non-monsoon season). The reservoir storage and the soil moisture level are considered to be the principal state variables, and the irrigation depths are the decision variables.An optimal allocation model is embedded in the integrated model to evaluate the irrigation water depth supplied to different crops whenever a competition for water exists amongst various crops. The model also serves as an irrigation-scheduling model because it specifies the amount of irrigation for any given fortnight. The impact on crop yield due to water deficits and the effect of soil moisture dynamics on crop water requirements are taken into account. Moreover, a root growth model is adopted to consider the effects of varying root depths on moisture transfer. The only stochastic element in the season is the evapotranspiration. The handling of stochasticity has been accomplished through dependability based forecasting in an ISO model. The rest of the variables, such as soil moisture status and the reservoir storage status, at the beginning of any period are considered to be state variables. The basic formulation is based on a LP model and is later transformed into a GA framework. 2. The Model Formulation and Concept The real-time operation model proposed in the present study integrates the reservoir level and a field level decision (Figure 3).It considers the soil-moisture status and the reservoir storage as the state variables and the applied irrigation depths as decision variables. The formulation is based on the conceptual model for soil moisture accounting and the reservoir storage continuity relationships. A major emphasis is laid on maintaining soil moisture in a state such that the evapotranspiration from the crops takes place at a rate that achieves better results in the form of increased yields from the crops. To assess the timing of irrigation water application, the soil moisture status of the crop is an important parameter.Whenever the soil moisture status approaches a critical limit, irrigation is applied. Thus, the soil moisture status is monitored either by physical measurement or through soil moisture models. Soil moisture models are more popular since they do not require a lot of instrumentation to be installed in the field. Soil moisture models can be formulated either by a physical approach (Fedders et al. , 1978) or a conceptual approach (Rao, 1987). The conceptual approach has been used by Rao et al. (1988), Rao et al. (1990) and 2 14th MANCO Hajilal et al. (1998) for the problem of irrigation scheduling.Vedula and Mujumdar (1992) utilised the conceptual model in their study. The same concept is adopted in the present study. Figure 3 Flow chart of real-time operation of reservoir 3 14 & 15 Februa ry 2009 Kuching, Sarawak 3. The Conceptual Model In the conceptual model for the Crop-Soil-Water-Atmosphere (CSWA) system, the basic assumption is that the soil acts as a reservoir, the main inputs to the reservoir are rainfall irrigation, and the main outputs are evapotranspiration, percolation and drainage. The extent of the reservoir is considered to be up to the effective root zone at the particular time.The soil water reservoir is governed by a continuity equation: ? ik +1 ED ik +1 ? ? ik ED ik ? IRR ik + AET i k = RF k (1) The conceptual model stated by Eq. 1 is used to compute the irrigation to be applied for the LP model with area as a decision variable. The following parameters are important for the conceptual model. Figure 1 shows the sketch for the conceptual reservoir. In the context of the conceptual model two parameters are important: IRRk RFk AETk EDk ?k Figure 1 Conceptual model Variation of Evapotranspiration with the Available Soil Moisture Evapotranspiration as a function of the available soil moisture is expressed as: kAETi k = PETi k if aai ? Zww (2) or AETi k = k aai PETi k Zww where AETi k (3) is the actual evapotranspiration that has occurred from crop i in fortnight k (mm), PETi k is the potential evapotranspiration in a particular geographical location (mm), Zww is the critical available moisture limit (mm/cm) = (Zf? Zw) d, Zf is the field capacity for the soil (mm/cm), Zw is the permanent wilting k point for the soil (mm/cm), d is the depletion factor and assumed to be 0. 5 in the present study, and a ai is the average available soil moisture over a fortnight (mm/cm). The average available soil moisture over a fortnight is given by ik + aik +1 a= 2. 0 k ai where otherwise aik = ? ik ? Zw if aik < Zww aik = Zww k +1 A similar expression can be used for ai . 4 14th MANCO Root Zone Depth Growth The root depth data in relation to the time stages are prepared according to the Linear Root Growth Model (adopted by Narulkar, 1995). The model assumes that maximum root depth is achieved at the start of the yield formation stage. It remains at the maximum depth until the maturity stage. A minimum depth of 15 cm is considered in the first fortnight to account for the conditions of bare soil and an area with sparse crops.The root depth model is shown in Figure 2. Life span of group Growth stages of group V F G Root Depth Max. Depth Figure 2 Root Depth growth model Relative Yield Ratio The yield of a crop is affected by water deficits and the rate of evapotranspiration. The rate of evapotranspiration tends to decrease depending on the available moisture content. There are many methods to model the phenomenon. However, the model used in the present study is the most commonly-adopted model. The relative yields are computed on the basis of the expression given by Doorenbos and Kassam (1979) YaiAETi k ? k? = 1 ? Ky ? 1 ? ? PET k ? ? Ymi i? ? (4) Equation (4) gives a yield ratio for a single period only. However, the aggregate ef fect of moisture deficits over all fortnights of crop growth is also evaluated. The final yield ratios computed for the crop during various time periods of a season is computed by a multiplicative model (Rao et al. , 1990). The determination of the yield ratio is very important since they reflect the operation policy for an irrigation system. The expression is given by ? AETi k Yai ncr ? = ? ?1 ? Ky k ? 1 ? ? PET k ? Ymi i =1 ? i ? (5)Water Requirements of the Crops The model derived for an optimal crop pattern uses predetermined irrigation demands. On the basis of this, the optimisation model selects an appropriate area for an individual crop. The irrigation demands are determined using the conceptual model stated in Eq. 1. The irrigation requirements may be calculated by substituting a value of critical soil moisture content instead of soil moisture in either of the fortnights k and k+1 and replacing the values of actual evapotranspiration by potential evapotranspiration and re arranging the terms of Eq. : ( ) IRRik = ? cr EDik +1 ? EDik + PETi k (6) 5 14 & 15 February 2009 Kuching, Sarawak where ? cr is the critical soil moisture content below which the actual evapotranspiration may fall below the potential rate. 4. Integrated LP Formulation In the objective function, the weighted sum of all the actual evapotranspiration values is maximised. The weights are assigned according to the yield response factors for individual crops in individual periods. The objective is to maximise the actual evpotranspiration rate to minimise the deficits in the yields.The available soil moisture in any time period in the objective function is indirectly maximised: ncr np ? a k + aik +1 ? Ky k MaxZ = ? ? ? i ? 2. 0 ? Zww i =1 k =1 ? (7) subject to the following constraints: 1. Soil moisture continuity ? aik + aik +1 ? PET = RF k ? 2. 0 ? Zww ? ? ik +1 EDik +1 ? ? ik EDik ? IRRik + ? (8) ? ik +1 ? aik +1 ? bik +1 = ZW (9) where with physical bounds ? ik +1 ? 4. 0 a 2. k +1 i ( 10) ? 0. 9 (11) Reservoir continuity ncr A k S k +1 ? B k S k + ? i =1 S k +1 ? 31. 1 5. IRRik * AREAik = ? ID ? Ao RE k Eff (Maximum Reservoir Capacity M m3) (12) (13) Crop Simulation ModelThe optimisation model presented above yields some irrigation depth values that are based on forecasted values for the reference evapotranspiration. This reference evapotranspiration, in turn, is based on a dependability model. However, the actual evapotranspiration value differs from these values, and thus, before going into the next fortnight, the soil moisture status must be updated with the applied irrigation and actual climatic factors. The formulation for crop simulation is as follows: First compute the final soil moisture with the following relation ? ik = (? ik +1 EDik +1 + IRRik ?Fkcik APET k + ARF k ) / EDik If (14) ? ik +1 < 3. 1 ?k ? Fkcik +1 APET k +1 Fkcik +1 APET k +1 ZW + ARF k +1 ? ? i EDik + IRRik +1 ? + ? 2. 0 2. 0 ? EDik +1? ik +1 = ? k +1 k +1 Fkci APET EDik +1 2. 0 ( ) (15) or 6 14th MANCO ? ? ik = ? ik ? 1 ? EDik ? 1 ? ? Fkcik APET ? Fkcik APET Fkcik APET + Zw + ARF k + IRRik ? ? EDik ? 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0 ? (16) or ? k ? 1 ? k ? 1 Fkcik APET ? Fkcik APET Fkcik APET ? k k ? ? = i ? EDi ? Zw? ? ? EDi ? ? + IRRi + ? ? 2. 0 2. 0 2. 0 ? ? ? ? k i (17) The computed soil moisture status of the crops is used in the next fortnight to compute the demand. . Stochastic Analysis of Evapotranspiration It was previously stated that the data regarding the climatic factors is uncertain in nature and the determination of these factors beforehand is impossible. However, there is a general trend to assume the expected values for these factors and carry out the operation. The concept does not give a clear picture of the actual scenario and the appropriate weights for the individual growth stage of the crops are not assigned. The present study proposes a different method of forecasting the expected values for the climatic factors.The method of analysis starts with the co mputations of dependability values of reference evapotranspiration factors from the available data. The dependability of realisation of any stochastic variable is defined as the probability of equalling or exceeding that variable with a particular value. Mathematically, P(x ? X ) (18) where P (. ) is the probability and x is the variable under consideration and X is a stipulated value of the variable. A traditional method of estimation of the dependability value is the use of standard frequency formulae (e. . Wiebull’s formula or Hazen’s formula). In the present study, a detailed probability analysis for the data is performed. The data is fitted to a standard probability distribution and the best fitting distribution is tested through the Kolmogorov Smirnov Test (Haan, 1977). Once the values corresponding to different dependabilities are evaluated, dependability values for reference evapotranspiration are assumed to be different in different growth stages. The analysis is performed on the basis of the yield response factor.A high yield response factor signifies greater sensitivity towards the deficits, and thus, a higher level of dependability is assumed for the evapotranspiration data and a lower level of dependability is assumed for the rainfall data. This will ensure a higher value of irrigation required for the crop in the sensitive period. As a result, the crop will be safeguarded against any poor moisture content conditions. 7. LP Model Formulation for Optimal Cropping Pattern At the start of each dry season, depending on the storage volume in the reservoir, the crop pattern must be determined.To evaluate the crop pattern, another LP model is used. In this model, irrigation depths are calculated from Eq. (6). The formulation is as follows: The objective function is MaxZ = C1 X1+ C2 X2+ C3 X3 (19) which is subject to the following constraints: 1. Total available area X1+X2+X3? A (20) where X1, X2, and X3 are the decision variables related to the area of individual crops;C1, C2, and C3 are the cost coefficient for each crop in Indian Rupees (1 US $ = 50 INR); and A is the maximum area available for irrigation. 2.Area of each individual crop: 7 14 & 15 February 2009 Kuching, Sarawak The area under each crop is required to be constrained; thus, there are lower and upper bounds on the area under each crop. The lower bounds indicate the minimum area that can be allocated to a crop, while the upper bound indicates the maximum. In the present study, the lower bounds were defined for all the crops except cash crops, while the upper bounds were defined considering the present cropping pattern. The constraints can be expressed as Li? Xi? Mi (21) here Li corresponds to the lower bound of the area for the ith crop and Mi corresponds to the upper bound on the area of the ith crop. 8. Model Application The developed models were applied to the Chiller reservoir system in Madhya Pradesh, India (Latitude 23o23’ N and Longitude 7 6o18’ E). In the central part of India, many reservoir projects have been constructed for irrigation, but no irrigation is available from these reservoirs during the monsoon period (from June to September). The area receives about 90 to 95 % of its rainfall during the Monsoon season. The rainfall then becomes runoff to the reservoirs.These reservoirs are designed to contain the runoff in the monsoon season, but there is no runoff during non-monsoon months. The present formulations are specially suited for these types of reservoirs. Non-monsoon rainfall is rare and provides little runoff. A systematic data base was prepared for the various physical features of the reservoirs, including the meteorological and hydrological data such as evapotransiration, details of crops in the command area, details of net returns from individual crops and soil properties collected from the College of Agriculture, Indore, India. . Results and Discussion Optimum Crop Pattern A separate computer p rogram was run before the real time operation program to determine the optimum crop pattern for all possible storage values. The results of the optimum crop pattern are stated in Table 1. The results indicate that from a storage level of 31. 10 M m3 to a storage level of 26. 06 M m3, the cropping pattern is same as the one that has been adopted in the project formulation. However, below a storage level of 26. 06 M m3, the crop pattern changes suddenly, and wheat (ordinary) is not recommended by the model.The area of wheat (hybrid) also gets reduced when the rainfall storage is below this level. However, the area for Gram is full, up to a storage level of 15. 83 M m3. The change in cropping pattern indicates that efficient water usage is maintained. Table 1 Optimum Cropping Pattern for Different Live Storage Values Area (ha) for different crops Live storage (M m3) Wheat (ordinary) Gram Wheat (hybrid) 4. 3230 342. 910 120. 00 8. 2379 427. 580 500. 00 12. 3246 15. 8632 20. 7581 26. 098 6 28. 8610 30. 1250 31. 1000 300. 0 300. 0 300. 0 300. 0 1084. 015 1100. 000 1100. 00 1100. 000 1100. 000 1100. 000 1100. 000 500. 00 855. 00 1434. 00 1700. 00 1700. 00 1700. 00 1700. 00 Results from Real-Time Operation Model The real-time operation model gives an optimal operating policy for the available storage in the present fortnight considering the future. The model also yields the values of irrigation to be applied to individual crops in the fields. In the wake of deficient water supplies, the model distributes the available water over the time for different crops optimally. The sample results of the present model are stated in Table 2.The available moisture to the crops is not affected, and generally the soil remains at the upper limit of the available soil-moisture. This 8 14th MANCO is because the crop pattern is predicted according to the availability of the storage in the reservoir. The results are indicative of successful application of the real-time operation strategy proposed in the present work. Table 2 Sample Results Showing the Soil Moisture, Available Soil Moisture, Storage, and Irrigation to be applied for Different Crops for a Real-Time Reservoir Operation Model (LP) Live Storage in the Reservoir 31. 1 M m3 FORTNIGHTPARAMETER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Reservoir Storage (M m3 ) 29. 28 28. 17 26. 30 22. 22 Crop 1) Soil Moisture (mm/cm) 3. 76 3. 89 3. 84 3. 07 2) Available soil Moisture 0. 9 0. 9 0. 9 0. 87 (mm/cm) 3) Applied Irrigation (mm) 53. 62 90. 63 92. 87 36. 04 Crop 1) Soil Moisture (mm/cm 3. 90 3. 07 3. 28 3. 15 2) Available soil Moisture 0. 9 0. 87 0. 9 0. 9 (mm/cm) 3) Applied Irrigation (mm) 68. 76 22. 27 60. 67 41. 59 Crop 1) Soil Moisture (mm/cm — – 4. 00 2) Available soil Moisture —0. 9 (mm/cm) 3) Applied Irrigation (mm) — – 94. 21 19. 68 14. 64 10. 87 Wheat (ordinary) 3. 54 3. 30 3. 22 0. 9 . 9 0. 9 5. 62 4. 24 3. 63 3. 60 3. 17 0. 9 4. 0 0. 9 – -. — — 163. 9 8. 44 23. 02 GR AM 3. 28 3. 66 0. 9 0. 9 19. 94 102. 6 — — 3. 23 0. 9 3. 47 0. 9 — — 37. 64 53. 15 Wheat (hybrid) 3. 06 3. 48 3. 32 0. 86 0. 9 0. 9 0. 00 33. 17 — — 3. 28 0. 9 3. 38 0. 9 3. 18 0. 9 3. 19 0. 9 37. 19 162. 9 0. 00 36. 09 0. 0 3. 4 0. 9 26. 96 127. 9 78. 89 Relative Yield Ratios Relative yield ratios computed for different crops at different live storage values are shown in Table 3. The relative yield ratios for all the crops become one if live storage in the reservoir is equal to or greater than 28. 9 M m3. The GA model is found to be better for application in real world operation of the reservoir. Table 3 Relative Yield Ratio for Different Live Storage Values Computed With a Real-Time Reservoir Operation Model Relative yield ratio for Live different crops storage LP (M m3 ) Wheat Gram Wheat (hybrid) (ordinary) 4. 3230 0. 9677 1. 000 8. 2362 0. 9083 1. 000 12. 3246 0. 9576 1. 000 – 0. 989 1. 000 20. 7581 26. 0986 1. 000 0. 987 0. 987 0 . 911 0. 952 28. 8610 1. 000 0. 987 1. 000 30. 1250 31. 1000 10. – 15. 8632 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 ConclusionA real-time model using an integrated Linear Programming Model for a reservoir system meant for irrigation has been developed in the present study to obtain an optimal reservoir operating policy that incorporates field level decisions, while also deciding the appropriate time and amount of water to release from the reservoir. 9 14 & 15 February 2009 Kuching, Sarawak From the analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn: The developed model can be successfully applied to irrigation supporting reservoir systems. Furthermore, the models ensure an optimum reservoir release over different time periods.In addition, they also ensure optimum allocation of the available water over the different crops in the fields. While allocating the water to different crops in the fields, the model takes into account the critical growth stages of the crops and allocate s sufficient water to each crop to safeguard it against any ill effects of water deficits. The optimum crop pattern model used in the study will only allow productive irrigation, so the amount of wasted water is reduced. Acknowledgements The authors would like to express sincere thanks to Universiti Sains Malaysia for the financial support of this work.Nomenclature AETi k k Actual evapotranspiration in period k from crop i (mm) APET ARFk Ak and BK Ao d Actually occurring potential evapotranspiration in period k (mm) Actual rainfall value in the fortnight k Constants relating the storage to reservoir evaporation Area of spread at dead storage level Depletion factor EDik Effective root zone depth of a crop i in period k (cm) k +1 i ED Effective root zone depth of a crop i in period k+1 (cm) Eff Fkcik ID Overall efficiency Crop evapotranspiration coefficient Industrial supply from the reservoir (mandatory release) IRRikIrrigation applied to crop i in stage k (mm) k Ky Yield response fa ctors for a crop i in period k PETi k RE RF k Potential evapotranspiration in a particular geographical location (mm) Rate of evaporation in fortnight k k Sk Sk+1 Zf Zw Zww Rainfall in period k (mm) Reservoir storage at the beginning of period k Reservoir storage at the end of period k Field capacity for the soil (mm/cm) Permanent wilting point for the soil (mm/cm) Critical available moisture limit (mm/cm) ? ik ? ik +1 Final soil moisture in a particular time stage k for a particular crop i (mm/cm) Yai Ymi Actual crop yield Maximum crop yieldInitial soil moisture in the time stage k in for a crop i (mm/cm) 10 14th MANCO References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. Doorenbos, J. , and Kassam, A. H. (1979). Yield Response to Water. Irrigation and Drainage Paper, 33, FAO, Rome. Dudley, N. J. , Howell, D. T. , and Musgrave, W. F. (1971). Optimal intraseasonal irrigation water allocation. Water Resour Res. , 7(4), 770-7 88. Dudley, N. J. and Burt O. R (1973). Stochastic reservoir Management and system design for irrigation, Water Resources Res. 9(3), 507-522. Duldley, N J. 1988). A single decision-maker approach to irrigation reservoir and farm management decision making, Water Resources Res. , 24(5) 633-640. Dudley, N. J. and Musgrave, W. F. (1993). Economics of water allocation under certain conditions. In Biswas, A. K. ; et al. , ed. Water for sustainable development in the twenty-first century. Oxford University Press, Delhi. Fedders, R. A. , Kowalic, P. S. and Zarandy, H. , (1978). Simulation of field water use and crop yield. Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wganingen. Haan, C T. (1977). Statistics methods in hydrology, Iowa State Press, Iowa.Hajilala, M. S. , Rao, N. H and Sarma, P. B . S. (1998). Real time operation of reservoir based canal irrigation systems, Agricultural Water Management, 38, 103-122. Holland, J. H. , (1975). Adaptation in natural and artificial syste ms, University of Michigan Press, Cambridge Mass. Labadie, J. W. (2004). Optimal operation of multi reservoir systems: State-of-the-art review, J. Water Resour. Plan. Manage. 130(2), 93–111. Mohan, S. , Raman, S. , and Premganesh, G. , (1991). Real-time reservoir operation. IWRS, 11(1), pp. 35-37. Mujumdar, P. P. , and Sandeep Narulkar. , (1993).Optimisation models for multireservoir planning and operation†, Hydrology Review, Vol. VIII, No. 1, pp. 29-52. (Pub: Indian National Committee on Hydrology, Roorkee, India) Mujumdar, P. P. and Ramesh, T S. V. , (1997). Real time reservoir operation for irrigation, J. Water resources research, Vol. 33, No 5, 1157-1164. Narulkar, S. M. (1995). Optimum real-time operation of multi reservoir systems for Irrigation scheduling. Ph. D Thesis submitted at I. I. T. , Bombay, India Oliveira, R. and Loucks, D. P. , (1997). Operating rules for multi reservoir system, Water Resources Research 33(4), 839–852. Rao, N. H. , (1987).Field test for a simple soil-water balance model for irrigated areas. J. of Hydrology, 91, 179-186. Rao, N. H. , Sarma, P. B. S. and Chander, S. (1988). Irrigation scheduling under a limited water supply. Agri. Water Management, 15, 165-175. Rao, N. H. , Sarama, P. B. S. , and Chander, S. (1990). optimal multicrop allocations of seasonal and interseasonal irrigation water. Water Resour. Res. , 26(4), 551-559. Reddy, J. M. and Nagesh Kumar, D. (2006). Optimal reservoir operation using multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, Water Resources Management, Springer, 20, No. 6, 861-878. Reddy, J. M. and Nagesh Kumar, D. (2007).Optimal reservoir operation for irrigation of multiple crops using elitist-mutated particle swarm optimization, Hydrological Sciences Journal, IAHS Press, UK, Vol. 52, No. 4, 686-701, Sharif, M. and Wardlaw, R. (2000). Multireservoir System Optimization Using genetic algorithms Case Study. J. Comp. in Civ. Engrg. ASCE, 14(4), 255–263. Shie-Yui L. , Al-Fayyaz T. A. , and Sai L. K. (2004). Application of evolutionary algorithms in reservoir operations, Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, 44(1), 39-54. Vedula, S. and Mujumdar, P. P. (1992). Optimal Reservoir Operation for Irrigation of Multiple Crops. Water Resour. Res. 28(1), 1-9. Vedula, S. and Mujumdar, P. P. (1993). Modelling for Reservoir Operation for Irrigation. Proceedings of Intl Conf. on Environmentally Sound Water Resources Utilisation, Bangkok. Vedula, S. and Nagesh Kumar, D. (1996). An integrated model for optimal reservoir operation for irrigation of multiple crops, Water Resources Research, American Geophysical Union, 32, (4), 1101-1108. Wurbs, R. A. (1993). Reservoir system simulation and optimization models. J. Water Resource Manage. ASCE 119 (4), 455–472. Yeh, W. W. G. (1985). Reservoir management and operation models: A State of the Art Review, Water Resour. Res. 21(1), 1797-1818. 11

The Considerations of Pricing Strategies in Multiple Industries Essay

The Considerations of Pricing Strategies in Multiple Industries - Essay Example Burrows (2009) describes the dilemmas at Microsoft company when deciding pricing policy on its many different technology and consumer-oriented products. Microsoft maintains tremendous buying power in its technology market but is facing pricing issues in the midst of a global economic slowdown and rising competition in this market. Microsoft is now wondering, in order to keep sales volumes up and profit at expected levels, whether the business should consider lowering the prices on a wide variety of Microsoft branded products. Says CEO Steve Ballmer of Microsoft, â€Å"we’re focusing on gaining share in (new markets) that are most critical† (Burrows, p.51). Apparently, Microsoft has considerable problems in some markets, such as in Asia, with large volumes of pirating occurring in its computer-related technology marketplaces. Piracy, when customers are able to get their hands on Microsoft products without a proper license, erodes sales success at the company. Therefore, Microsoft considers that in these markets where piracy runs high, they can lower the price of the technology software to make the product less appealing from illegal markets and will bring buyers into the store instead to make a purchase. Even though there is no research evidence which shows that Microsoft has determined a price policy that fits with the company’s leadership expectations, clearly a consideration of pricing is the ability to avoid piracy and also to make products seem more attractive to buyers with fewer resources in order to boost higher sales volumes. Cooper (2009) describes how the regulatory environment impacts pricing, by describing data from the Digital Britain Report.  

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Operations Management - Essay Example Thus no organization can afford to be involved in non-value adding activities (Brown 2005). Non-value adding activities not only increase costs but also result in poor outputs, slow delivery and reduced flexibility to respond to the market forces. In our following discussion, we will start by understanding the various theories and latest practices in the field of Operations Management (OM). We will also try to understand the practical aspects of OM and see how these are actually implemented in the real organizational context. Since we need to analyze Aldi Stores, which is a chain of retail stores, we will look at the implications of Operations management in the field of retail management. Retail has become a very competitive field today. As retail chains were the first to enter into the globalization arena, especially international sourcing, this industry has reached a very mature level of internationalization of operations. Managing these operations to obtain the real benefits of internationalization is of critical importance for these organizations. Our aim in the pursuing sections will be to see how these concepts and theories of operations management as a whole (and in specific relation to the retail industry) can be used for obtaining operational excellence at Aldi Stores. Hence, we will first look at operations management examples that have provided competitive advantage to Aldi as well as its competitors Tesco, ASDA and J Sainsbury. This will be followed by a discussion on some OM problems being faced by these companies. A major concern of this field of management is the cost of implementation as it is highly dependent on technology. Thus, we will analyze the costs and benefits accrued from OM implementation at Aldi. After analyzing all aspects of the operations management we will look at some solutions to the problems faced by Aldi in this respect and arrive at some concrete recommendations for its