Snow Leopard essays

Snow Leopard essays The Snow leopard is a wonderful and majestic endangered animal. There are anywhere between 4,510 and 7,350 left in the wild. This diminutive number of Snow Leopards resides mainly in the countries of China, Kyrgyzstan and, Mongolia in Central Asia. The snow leopard occupies an extremely patchy and fragmented realm of long narrow mountain systems and islands scattered throughout a vast region surrounding the Central Asian deserts and plateaus. Though this region is quite large, 2.3 million km2, only about 1.6 million of that is occupied by the snow leopard. Though most snow leopards are associated with arid or semi-arid shrub lands and grasslands, some are located mountains of Russia where they are also to be found in open coniferous forest, though disdain dense woodland. The diet of the Snow leopard consists mainly of wild sheep and goats (blue sheep, Asian ibex, markhor and argali), marmots (often taking advantage of spring population explosions of this small rodent), pikas, hares and game birds (partridge and snow cocks.). Snow Leopards usually make large kills every 9 to 14 days, staying in the kill area for 3 to 4 days; once that time period expires they usually move the activity to a relatively distant piece of their territory. The snow leopard is a victim of over hunting by the natives of many regions of the high Central Asian mountains. It also suffers from the large scale pika and marmot poisoning programs that have been put into action in the Tibetan plateaus. Another cause for the depletion of the snow leopard is the demand for leopard bones for use in Chinese medicine. Traders have been known to pay up to $190 U.S. currency for a snow leopard skeleton in Tibet. The pelts of the snow leopard are highly prized as well, in fact, the money that can be gained by the sale of a snow leopard pelt is more than a native farmer would make in an entire year. The Snow leopards still left in the wild are being looked ...

Descriptive and Informative Abstracts

Descriptive and Informative Abstracts Free Online Research Papers This handout provides definitions and examples of the two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. It also provides guidelines for constructing an abstract and general tips for you to keep in mind when drafting. Finally, it includes a few examples of abstracts broken down to isolate their component parts. What is an abstract? An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. Components vary according to discipline; an abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work. An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted. While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage. top Why write an abstract? You may write an abstract various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in the longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching. Selection Say you are beginning a research project on how Brazilian newspapers helped Brazils ultra-liberal president Luiz Igncio da Silva wrest power from the traditional, conservative power base. A good first place to start your research is to search Dissertation Abstracts International for all dissertations that deal with the interaction between newspapers and politics. Newspapers and politics returned 569 hits. A more selective search of newspapers and Brazil returned 22 hits. That is still a fair number of dissertations. Titles can sometimes help winnow the field, but many titles are not very descriptive. For example, one dissertation is titled Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro. It is unclear from the title what this dissertation has to do newspapers in Brazil. One option would be to download or order the entire dissertation on the chance that it might speak specifically to the topic. A better option is to read the abstract. In this case, the abstract reveals the main focus of the disse rtation: This dissertation examines the role of newspaper editors in the political turmoil and strife that characterized late First Empire Rio de Janeiro (1827-1831). Newspaper editors and their journals helped change the political culture of late First Empire Rio de Janeiro by involving the people in the discussion of state. This change in political culture is apparent in Emperor Pedro Is gradual loss of control over the mechanisms of power. As the newspapers became more numerous and powerful, the Emperor lost his legitimacy in the eyes of the people. To explore the role of the newspapers in the political events of the late First Empire, this dissertation analyzes all available newspapers published in Rio de Janeiro from 1827 to 1831. Newspapers and their editors were leading forces in the effort to remove power from the hands of the ruling elite and place it under the control of the people. In the process, newspapers helped change how politics operated in the constitutional monarchy of Braz il. From this abstract you now know that although the dissertation has nothing to do with modern Brazilian politics, it does cover the role of newspapers in changing traditional mechanisms of power. After reading the abstract, you can make an informed judgment about whether the dissertation would be worthwhile to read. Indexing Besides selection, the other main purpose of the abstract is for indexing. Most article databases in the online catalog of the library enable you to search by abstracts. This allows for quick retrieval by users and limits the extraneous items recalled by a full-text search. However, for an abstract to be useful in an online retrieval system it must incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher would use to search. For example, if you search Dissertation Abstracts International, using the keywords France revolution and politics, the search engine searched through all the abstracts in the database that included those three words. Without an abstract, the search engine would be forced to only search titles, which, as we have seen, may not be fruitful, or else search the full text. I would bet that a lot more than 60 dissertations have been written with those three words somewhere in the body of the entire work. By incorporating keywords into the abstract, the author emphasizes t he central topics of the work and gives prospective readers enough information to make an informed judgment about the applicability of the work. When do people write abstracts? * when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals * when applying for research grants * when writing a book proposal * when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or MA thesis * when writing a proposal for a conference paper * when writing a proposal for a book chapter Most of the time the author of the entire work (or prospective work) writes the abstract. However, there are professional abstracting services that hire writers to draft abstracts of other peoples work. In a work with multiple authors, the first author usually writes the abstract. Undergraduates, most often in seminar-style classes, are sometimes asked to draft abstracts of books/articles for classmates who have not read the larger work. Types of abstracts There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. They have different aims, so as a consequence they have different components and styles. There is also a third type called critical, but it is rarely used. If you want to find out more about writing a critique or a review of a work, see the UNC Writing Center handout on writing a review. If you are unsure of which type of abstract you should write, ask your instructor if it is for a class, or read other abstracts in your field or in the journal where you are submitting your article. Descriptive abstracts A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted. Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short- 100 words or less. Informative abstracts The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less. Here are examples of a descriptive and an informative abstract of this handout: Abstracts, UNC-CH Writing Center, Descriptive abstract: The two most common abstract types- descriptive and informative- are described and examples of each are provided. Informative abstract: Abstracts present the essential elements of a longer work in a short and powerful statement. The purpose of an abstract is to provide prospective readers the opportunity to judge the relevance of the longer work to their project. Abstracts also include the key terms found in the longer work and the purpose and methods of the research. Authors abstract various longer works, including book proposals, dissertations, online journal articles, and internal office communication. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract briefly describes the longer work while an informative abstract presents all the main arguments and important results. This handout provides examples of various types of abstracts and instructions on how to construct one. Which type should I use? Your best bet in this case is to ask your instructor or refer to the instructions provided by the publisher. You can also make a guess based on the length allowed; i.e., 100-120 words = descriptive; 250+ words = informative. top How do I write an abstract? The format of your abstract will depend on the work being abstracted. An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. When preparing to draft your abstract, keep the following key process elements in mind: Key process elements: 1. Reason for writing: What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work? 2. Problem: What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim? 3. Methodology: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research. 4. Results: Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way. 5. Implications: What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic? (This list of element is adapted with permission from Phil Koopman, How to Write an Abstract, ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html.) All abstracts include: 1. The full citation of the source preceding the abstract. 2. The most important information first. 3. The same level of language found in the original, including technical language. 4. Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work. 5. Clear, concise, and powerful language. Abstracts may include: 1. The thesis of the work in the first sentence. 2. The background that places the work in the larger body of literature. 3. The same chronological structure of the original work. How not to write a abstract: 1. Do not refer extensively to other works. 2. Do not add information not contained in the original work. 3. Do not define terms. If you are abstracting your own writing When abstracting your own work it may be difficult to condense a piece of writing that you agonized over for weeks (or months, or even years) into a 250-word statement. There are some tricks that you could use to make it easier, however. Reverse outlining: This technique is commonly used when you are having trouble organizing your own writing. The process involves writing down the one main idea that is in each paragraph on a separate piece of paper. For the purposes of writing an abstract, try grouping the main ideas of each section of the paper into a single sentence. For a scientific paper, you may have sections titled Purpose, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each one of these sections will be longer than one paragraph, but they are grouped around a central idea. Use reverse outlining to discover the several ideas in each section and then distill them into one statement. Cut and paste: To create a first draft of an abstract of your own work you can read through the entire paper and cut and paste sentences that particularly capture key passages. This technique is useful for social science research with findings that cannot be encapsulated by neat numbers or concrete results. A well-written humanities draft will have a clear and direct thesis statement and informative topic sentences for paragraphs or sections. Isolate these sentences in a separate document and work on revising these disparate sentences into a unified paragraph. If you are abstracting someone elses writing When abstracting something you have not written you do not have the luxury of cutting and pasting. Instead, it is up to you to divine what a prospective reader would want to know about the work. There are a few techniques that will help you in this process: Identify key terms: Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction (or Purpose) and the Conclusion (or Discussion). These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract be sure to incorporate the key terms. Highlight key phrases and sentences: Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, re-write the sentences and phrases in your own words. Dont look back: After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted. Revise, revise, revise No matter what type of abstract you are writing, or whether you are abstracting your own work or someone elses, the most important step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often. When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate meaningful and powerful words. The idea is to be as clear and complete as possible in the shortest amount of space. The Word Count feature of MS Word can help you keep track of how long your abstract is and help you hit your target length. top Example 1: Humanities abstract Kenneth Tait Andrews, Freedom is a constant struggle: The dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1984 Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAI-A 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998 This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers and published reports. This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Indeed, some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents dri ving institutional change. Typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi. Now lets break down this abstract into its component parts to see how the author has distilled his entire dissertation into a ~200 word abstract. What the dissertation does This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. How the dissertation does it The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. What materials are used Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. Conclusion This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Indeed, some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change. Typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi. Keywords Civil Rights Movement Mississippi voting rights desegregation top Example 2: Science abstract Luis Lehner, Gravitational radiation from black hole spacetimes Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1998 DAI-B 59/06, p. 2797, Dec 1998 The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals. The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one s econd. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability. This science abstract covers much of the same ground as the humanities one, but it asks slightly different questions. Why do this study The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals. What the study does The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. Results This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability. Keywords gravitational radiation (GR) spacetimes black holes Research Papers on Descriptive and Informative AbstractsAmerican Central Banking and OilMy Writing ExperienceDistance Learning Survival GuideIs the Use of Psychotropic Drugs in the Treatment ofContrasting Berthe Morisot and Jan van EyckHenderson the Rain KingQuebec and CanadaMr. Obama and IranExempt vs Non-Exempt EmployeesGlobal Distributive Justice is Utopian

Personal issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal issue - Essay Example issue of such a sleep problem as insomnia, for it relates to me extremely directly for a long time, and I believe I know the true reason of its occurrence, but let’s see am I right or not. Insomnia is the most frequent manifestation of a temporary malfunction of the nervous system in response to various stressors. There is no specific nature of insomnia appearance, as in different cases it can peer out in different ways. â€Å"While theres no standard definition for insomnia, suggested criteria include taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, waking up too early, or sleeping less than 6 1/2 hours a night...† (Beals). This is three types of the disease. Many factors may cause the problem including chronic disease of different kinds, overwork, overexcitement, and all this is worsened by unhealthy lifestyle, negative attitudes towards the world and people on the whole, and oneself in particular. If to cast a bit detailed glance at seeds of insomnia, the most frequent among them are psychological problems, violation of the usual regime, as well as other diseases (heart, liver, etc.), or the use of psychotropic drugs, alcohol, or a cup of strong coffee before goi ng to sleep, overeating in the evening hours, especially junk greasy food. Insomnia can be affected by intense mental work, noisy games, compulsive reading at bedtime or even smoking. It also occurs in the cases of constant expectation of poor sleep and related experiences, as well as can be a result of insufficient physical activity. The specific side of the disease is connected with the fact that â€Å"Although many patients can link the start of their insomnia to a particular cause, others have a form of insomnia with no underlying connection to another disorder† (The New York Times). In such a case there is a need of seeking medical advice if a sleep is not normalized in short terms. Depending on duration of disturbance, there are three forms or phases of insomnia, namely: a transient or episodic one

Constructivism Theory of International Relations Essay

Constructivism Theory of International Relations - Essay Example Based on these articles, I would like to point out that these scholars conducted a well organized and extensive research. They had to choose to carry out a research on this theory in order to create more awareness and inform their respective audiences on all the contributions, controversies and the gaps in this theory which need more researchers to study. In the choice of their methodology, I would like to recommend that it was properly done. It seems that they knew about the main objective of their research. Thus, they identified and used the most appropriate variables which would help them in answering their research questions and the hypotheses. Both of these scholars knew about the predictions that would determine their findings. This explains why there was no failure in the whole of their research. After identifying the research topic/issue, they settled on literature review in which they conducted several documentary analyses in order to get more information about this theory. They did this by choosing the most appropriate and relevant set of documents to use. Thus, their work became more credible and authoritative to be relied upon by other scholars for carrying out their future researches (Rodney, B.H., 2009). This area or f research is quite important for these scholars. Although several scholars have researched on it, because, as Richard and Christian suggest, a lot still need to be done in order to fill up the missing links. Based on their findings that this theory is valuable for the contemporary society.

Applying the Laws of Sines and Cosines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Applying the Laws of Sines and Cosines - Essay Example For both solutions of the ambiguous case the third angle is found and the rest sides are calculated (Aufmann and Nation, 2014). SSS and SAS cases are solved applying the law of cosines. According to the law of cosines, the square of any side of the triangle is equal to the sum of squares of the rest sides subtracting double product of these sides and a cosine of the angle between these sides (Aufmann and Nation, 2014). For instance, For SSS case, the cosine of each angle can be found from the equation, and the corresponding angles can be calculated. For the SAS case the unknown side is found from the equation initially. Then, the rest angles are found using the procedure for SSS case (Aufmann and Nation, 2014). Thus, the general guidelines for any triangle are to define the problem or the case (SSS, SSA) encountered. For the ambiguous case, the number of possible triangles has to be found. Afterward, the solution for the triangle can be found using the procedures described

Hills Like White Elephants Essay Essay Example for Free

Hills Like White Elephants Essay Essay 1. I believe â€Å"the American and the girl with him† were talking about having an abortion, and how it would change their relationship if they were to have a baby. He was saying that it is the only thing â€Å"bothering† them and making them â€Å"unhappy.† The girl appears undecided, and scared of losing the man. 2. Nothing really happens, except a rehashing of their relationship, which seems to consist of looking â€Å"at things and try[ing] new drinks.† 3. Their relationship is not about communication, but about the girl following everything the man says   because she doesn’t care about herself. She just wants him to love her. He tries to manipulate the girl to agree to the abortion, saying that things between them will not have to change, and that â€Å"things will be like they were,† when she felt he loved her.   He keeps speaking about â€Å"letting the air in,† which makes me think that he wants there to be â€Å"air† in the relationship, and that the non-operation would make him—not them happy again. He feels stifled, and this pressure is reflected in the hot day. The relationship is â€Å"airy† and superficial, without direct communication, because the man does not truly care about her and is concerned only with his interests, and the girl doesn’t care about herself, so she decides to want to do what he thinks is best. 4. The conflict of the story is resolved when the girl decides to have the abortion. The climax is when Hemmingway uses the adjective â€Å"reasonably,† when describing the people waiting for the train. It is a commentary that the man was thinking â€Å"reasonably,† but not from love, even though he says he is. He made his decision out of reason, and she out of emotion. 5. The hills are described as very fertile and the opposite landscape as very barren, and it seems to represent the barrenness of their relationship, as well as the discussion about abortion. 6. I would like to know why the girl said, â€Å"’I’ll scream.’†

Study On British Airways And Iberia Airlines Merger Management Essay

Study On British Airways And Iberia Airlines Merger Management Essay This case study seeks to explore why MA is taking place between British airways and Iberian airlines, taking into consideration globalisation, rationalisation and modularisation. Introduction British airways are U.K incorporated airline firm and is known for its world-class services in the airline industry. It was formed in the 1970s as the result of a merger between BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and BEA (British European Airways).From the past three decades British airways has been the flag career airline of the United Kingdom. The main headquarter is located near to  London Heathrow Airport. British airways is the largest airline in the UK based on the size of its fleet, international flights and international destinations. On the other hand Iberian airlines are Spain based airline firm and are the countrys largest air transport group and the fourth-largest in Europe. Iberia is listed in the Ibex 35 of Spanish stock market. It is the only European Airline to report a profit continuously till past 13 years and one of the three airlines to be listed in Dow Jones Stock index. In addition, the company carries its social responsibility in a better and a distinguished manner. From the year 1927 the airline is operating its business successfully and conducts mainly three operations: Transport of passengers  and  cargo Aircraft maintenance Handling  services in airports Both the airlines firms have had their share of success but are now facing a number of industrial problems due to recession and globalisation. Problems of the companies There used to be a time when British airways (BA) was said as the worlds favourite airline, as its banners conceitedly confirmed. However, taking the present economic scenario BA is undergoing a number of problems in the industry. British airways are still struggling with the legacy of state ownership even after it has been privatised for last twenty years. Even recession has hard-hit the airline industry and to overcome the losses that British airlines had faced during recession; it had decided to cut down on its cost by reducing cabin crew and by discouraging an increase in the salary. However this acted as a catalyst in the industrial disputes and the effect of which is still very much felt in the daily business of BA; there have been a number of deadlocks and strikes within the airlines which have left passengers to decide on for other airlines.(ECONOMIST, 2009). Due to economic crisis business coming from North American routes was hard-hit due to a fall in the business-class travel. However, this could be recovered with the recovery of American economy as well as reviving the long-haul travel which makes a major part of BA profits. One of BAs major problems is Pension Deficit. BA has also been facing tough competition from low-cost airlines that have been providing customers with cheaper fares on short-haul travel. So, the only cure to overcome such losses is seen in creating or teaming up with a low cost partner. (ECONOMIST, 2009) Iberian airlines have been suffering from lower air cost travel demand as well. It has reported a trouncing of 16.4 million euro in the third quarter compared to revenue of 30.4 million euro earned in the earlier quarter. The standard fares of this airline have declined by 14% and even the load factor i.e. how filled the air-crafts are, declined to as much as 1.1% points to 82.1%. To cope up with the credit crunch it has decided to freeze the wages for 2010 and 2011 thus enhancing annual savings up to 37 million euro by 2011. It also plans to create new airline to cater to the needs of the traffic of Madrid Hub. (MENAFN, 2009) British airways decided to join hands with Iberian airlines as a result of credit crunch. By coming together they would come in the league of big European airlines. The merger with the Spain based airlines was looked upon as an appealing blend a year ago. However, taking the present state of affairs it seems to be worth a joint rescue process. This is so because both of their airlines economies are still under the influence of financial crisis; struggling with costs higher than the income. Iberia is still not moved by Mr. Willie Walshs, chief executive of BA, disagreements with the union. It still holds optimistic view towards BAs major problem of Pension Deficit. However if we consider the articles or the memorandum of the merger which was signed in November 09 between the two companies, Iberia has the right to call of the contract if BA is unable to meet up to the requirements of the trustees concerning the two pension funds. As recalculated on December 14th 09 by the trustees, the shortage of the two funds was declared to be at  £3.7 billion, based on March 31st 09 valuation. Presently BA is putting in cash worth  £131m a year. The Pension Regulator is helping to conclude whether the valuation performed by the trustees is satisfactory or not and what further actions are required to overcome the credit crunch. In this context, Iberian airlines say that it can decide to call of the deal if BA lands up paying more cash. (ECONOMIST, 2009) Airlines mergers and acquisitions are based upon strategies which involves several conditions. Airlines MA is beneficial for both travellers and airline employees. The issues which are considered while aviation MA are time, approvals, efficiency, competition, passenger benefits, and conflicts. Mergers and acquisition in airline industry is an emerging development across the world. But such MA are extremely planned and several important factors are considered. Such important factors are: The area covered by the airline The services and image of the airline Partnership of the airline with a rival group of airlines. Merger: A strategic plan The BA and Iberia pact will create a carrier of $25 billion, for instance. This deal makes a lot of sense and will cement the leading positions of the big three European network players. The merger seems to take place when the airline sector is badly hit by the decrease in number of passengers and cargo traffic. Apart of that the merger became the need of the hour, British airways reported a 20% decline in revenues to 4.1 billion pounds resulting in an operating loss of 111 million pounds in the six month period ending at September 2009. According to analyst Tony Shepard at the British brokerage firm Charles Stanley, the company is likely to report a 400 million pound loss for its full fiscal year ending in April 2010. British airways important North American routes and business have been hard hit by the collapse in business-class travel. This could bounce back quickly with economic recovery in America and, provided that cost increases from environmental measures are not too onerous; the long-haul travel on which BAs profitability depends should revive in time. But, like all former national carriers in Europe, it is facing devastating competition on its short-haul flights from low-cost airlines. .On the other hand the merger is definitely in need by Iberia also as the airlines faces hardships because airline sector in Spain is facing exceptionally difficult conditions amid the economic crisis and competition from high-speed rail. Iberian airlines financial position is quite weak as the company had plunged into the red in the second quarter of 2009, recording a huge net loss of 72.8 million Euros. Afterwards the company declared its third quarter results where it reported a loss of 16.4 million Euro s (24.4 million dollars. Due to such extreme losses and no signs of recovery in the market, the merger was seen as a best strategic move by Iberia. The planned merger with Iberia, the Spanish airline, looked as if it would be a winning combination a year ago when it was first mooted. Today it seems more like a mutual rescue operation. Both airlines national economies are still in the doldrums; both firms are struggling with costs greater than their revenues. It is also reasonably sanguine about BAs other big problem: its enormous pension deficit. But according to the merger memorandum signed, Iberia can call off the wedding if BA cannot reach a satisfactory agreement with the trustees of its two pension funds. As on 9th November 2009 there was an official announcement that both of them (British airways and Iberian airlines) reached an initial agreement for a merger which is planned to be completed by late 2010.As per the market this merger, which will need the European Commissions s eal of approval, will lead to the creation of the worlds third biggest airline. The deal would see the new company being split with Iberia being allocated a 45% stake and BA the remaining 55%. The new business would have 419 aircraft and over 200 destinations. In their last financial years, their joint revenues are approximately à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬15 billion. The airlines believe there is a compelling strategic rationale for the transaction, which is expected to generate annual synergies of approximately à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬400 million, and benefit both companies shareholders, customers and employees. The new group will combine the two companies leading positions in the UK and Spain and enhance their strong presence in the international long haul markets, while retaining the individual brands and current operations of each airline. In July 2008 there was news of pair being in talks for an all-share merger. But, because of issues such as the balance of control and the size of BAs pension-fund deficit the discussions were put at a stop. Market situation As per the current market scenario passenger traffic appears to have stabilized, and airlines have been able to convince their workforces that the industry is in crisis, pushing through some labour concessions and reducing capacity. BA is making genuine progress in lowering costs, says analyst Nick Cunningham of Evolution Securities. As per the British airways ongoing activities it seems the situation of the company has started improving after announcement of the merger, the company has recapitalized; following a convertible bond offering over the summer last year and now has a cash balance of 1.5 billion pounds. In addition the company has seen an increase in long haul flights which is one of the major areas where airline companies make most of the profit. But still after all the positive changes British airways still face a number of issues related to their workforce. Competitors in the market have a very mixed reaction towards the merger of both the airline. Virgin Atlantic which as per the market view faces the biggest competition from this merger its official said in a statement that the merger will increase BAs dominance at Heathrow with 44% of takeoff and landing slots this winter, and added its impossible for any other airline to replicate their scale. Other airline companies have the view that the deal could actually help them win business. Michael OLeary, CEO of discount Irish carrier Ryanair, told CNBC that the deal was like two drunks holding each other up on the way home. All you get when you put two high-fare, loss-making airlines together is even higher fares and even bigger losses. Mr. Leary operates a regional carrier and doesnt compete on long-haul flights against carriers like BA. Though these statement can be said as speculation in one sense as the true effect of this merger is still to be seen. But as per in a public announcemen t by BA chief executive Willie Walsh The merger will create a strong European airline well able to compete in the 21st century. The deal would create Europes second biggest airline by stock market capitalisation, and third biggest by income, with around 60 million passengers per year, As per market experts. The Times quoted various news on different dates regarding job cuts which were likely at existing head offices in London and Madrid, in maintenance facilities and the merged sales forces. In review of news Mr. Walsh will be chief executive, and Iberia airlines chairman Mr. Antonio Vazquez will be chairman of the new company to be based in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange. MR.Vazquez hailed the agreement, saying they were laying the foundations of what will be one of the most important airlines in the world, a real global airline.It is said that if the merger results fruitful and the economy begins its recovery in 2010 or maybe 2011 then it will be a major boost to both of them. One thing can be predicted that If the deal gets successfully executed the customers are going to have a wide variety of destinations as BA customers would gain access to up to 59 new destinations, of which 13 will be in Latin America, while Iberias customers would gain up to 98 new destinations across the BA network. In addition to it the effects of merger will result in combined stock market capitalisation of some 4.9 billion Euros (4.3 billion pounds, 7.2 billion dollars). Ways to deal with problems British Airways, the UK flag-carrier pension deficit was revealed and it was found that the deficit was more than double amounting to 3.7 billion pounds at the end of March, which was higher than analysts expected but it is not a bug enough to be a reason for ending up of the merger with Spanish airline Iberia. As told to Reuters by a source in Iberia airlines Were not surprised by this figure. It falls within the expected range, As it is already implied before, BAs pension deficit is the crucial area in the negotiation of merger and Iberia has the right to pull of the merger if the payment of this deficit turns to be too big. Moreover, there are chances that the deficit figure could arise till the time the valuation process is completed in next year in June because as per Britains Pensions Regulator the assumption which is used to calculate the deficit are too optimistic. In view of this BA said in a statement The regulators provisional view is that the technical provisions may be m aterially below a level it feels appropriate, As per the problem the British airways management is trying to figure out different ways to solve the problem. As per in one of the announcements BA said that the company and the pension trustees will work together to develop a recovery plan, a process through which the company will consult its employees and their trade unions and will try to take out a decision from it by the end of June 30, 2010. The strategy which is employed now is to change the nature of any pensions deal BA can strike with its staff and calculating the proportion of gap which can be covered by the company. As said by Deutsche Bank The Company may be forced to renegotiate pension benefits with employees if it is to avoid using more shareholders cash, Merger: Theory Practice The reality that only 20 per cent of the acquisitions actually succeed and the rest erodes shareholder wealth (Grubb and Lamb, 2000) can highly contravene with examples of successful takeovers like Swiss by Lufthansa in 2005.Talking about mergers, they create shareholder value with most of it accruing to the resultant company. One of the important reasons behind merging a company is that it helps in increasing shareholders value much above the sum total of the two companies.(Watson and Head,2007) The optimistic impact of mergers extends to and involves economies of scale or synergies, helps to gain power in the markets by creating monopolies, manages agency costs and manages risk for undiversified managers ( Gregor Anrade, Mark Mitchell, Erik Stafford, 2001). Mergers create synergies, reduce operational costs and enhance market share. On the other hand it results in the genesis of agency problems as the managers can cause mergers for their own benefit. It also results in decentralisation of power that reduces responsibility and accountability. Merger which can be defined as when two (or possibly more) business combine. In other words one can say that merger is defined as a situation when two companies/firms decide by mutual agreement to combine the businesses. The term takeover holds a different meaning in comparison to merger. It means when a larger business takes over control of a smaller business and the smaller business gets immersed by the larger business. But in todays era it is not cleared that whether the business has been merged or it has been taken over. According to the relationship between the businesses being merged, mergers and takeovers can be divided into three parts and they are : Horizontal merger occurs when two businesses in the similar industry, and at the Same point in the production process decides to combine. Vertical merger occurs when two businesses in the similar industry, but at different points in the same production process decide to combine. Conglomerate merger occurs when two businesses in unrelated industries decide to combine. As it can be implied from the academic studies supporting the article the merger between British airways and Iberia airlines is Horizontal type of merger as both the companies are from the airlines sector leading to same production process and they have got high presence at international level. According to research, the last few years werent an acceptable period for the air line industry as a result of rapidly increasing fuel costs and due to economic downturn. Airline mergers and acquisitions have clustered and most of the airline bosses exclaimed consolidation is inescapable. The prominent examples of merger and acquisition in the industry are Air France KLM in 2003, Swiss- Lufthansa in 2005, US Airways-America West in 2005 and Delta- Northwest in 2008. The Europeans lead the way in establishing mega-carriers. By revenue Air France-KLM is the world leader with $34 billion, followed by the Lufthansa Group at $30 billion. (The Mating Game.  Airline Business, 02687615, Jan2009, Vol. 25, Issue 1). At the same time, US Airways and America West merger drained their expenses by over $250 million a year and created a company better able to weather $100-a-barrel oil. US  Airways, the nations fifth-largest carrierearned $427 million on revenue of $11.7 billion. (A Cautionary Tale for Airline Mergers, Palmeri, Christopher, Business Week; 3/17/2008) Therefore it can be determined that mergers and acquisitions had sustained airline industry during the economic downturn achieving significant synergies and economies of scale. Although the mergers and acquisitions prevented air lines from liquidation, adverse impacts can also be emphasized. Even US Airways exists bankruptcy; the expanded company still face the internal struggle of affiliating two separate airlines. The main obstacles are employee dissatisfaction and customer complaints (A Cautionary Tale for Airline Mergers, Palmeri, Christopher, Business Week; 3/17/2008 ) However the worlds airlines are forming themselves into huge alliances. Does this matter? Yes: the risk is that the airline industry is moving from one extreme and its time to worry about the competition. Conclusion According to our studies and research it can be seen the airline industry has been hit by the economic downturn. They struggled with the cost hikes higher than their incomes. Both the airlines have been faced by the problems of industrialization and globalization, the competition of other airlines such as low cost airlines and rail services like Euro Star. Most of the airlines restructured and merged and gave them a competition as well. Pension black hole is one of the main current problems occurring in the British airways and some of the analysts say that they need more time to recover from the deficit than their estimated time of 2016.(in practice)Longer time is required for the closure of the deficit according to some analysts. But in the situations of cash in hock the company can consider making non-cash contributions such as non-monetary incentives instead of cash. If the company utilizes its assets for pension funds it might cripple the company with the same forces reducing its net worth. The impeccable size of the deficit is not known by the BA and at the same time they have released before announcing the recovery plan the size of the deficit effectively. However, airline and trustees are now working together to develop a recovery plan to negotiate with employees and trade unions. Unless and until BA manages come up with a solution to determine the pension deficit the merger will remain unsettled.