Internal and external factors affecting Starbucks

Inside and outer elements influencing Starbucks Presentation This report will give a basic survey of Starbucks and its place in the café showcase in the UK utilizing three very much tried ways to deal with vital showcase examination: SWOT, Porter’s Five powers and PESTLE investigation. A concise history of the café advertise is given notwithstanding a few foundation to the organization being referred to, Starbucks. At that point the organization is dissected utilizing the three systems. At long last a couple of ends are drawn. History of the bistro The café is certifiably not another thought †they were built up in Britain in the seventeenth century, the principal opening in London in 1651 (Wilkes Gathering, 2012.). A few components of the Coffee House customer base stressed the foundation of the day, making King Charles talk about them as resort of ‘idle and antagonized persons’ creating ‘very malicious and perilous affects’ because of the reality individuals met there to talk about the governmental issues of the day (Ibid, no page no.) 300 hundred years after the fact bistros are similarly as famous, with an expected 5,700 in the United Kingdom in 2013 (Ibid.); the showcase is wildly battled, with Costa Coffee being number one brand in the market (as far as the quantity of stores), trailed by Starbucks (Figure 1). Third is Cafe Nero and there are various littler organizations joining the market, including Cafe Ritazza and a joint endeavor among Tesco and an Australian espresso organization called Harris Hoole (Ibid.) Figure 1 †Coffee House UK piece of the overall industry (number of stores) Source: The Wilkes Group, 2012. Starbucks Company foundation The organization was established in Seattle, Washington State in 1971; the name was roused by the mermaid in the novel Moby Dick, and the mermaid likewise propelled the organization logo. It is currently an effective café utilizing morally sourced Arabica espresso beans (Starbucks n.d.) Howard Schultz, presently the organization Chief, first visited a Starbucks store in 1981; he consequently made a trip to Italy where the bistros propelled him to take the idea back to the United States (Starbucks site, n.d.) In 1987 Schultz bought Starbucks with venture from neighborhood organizations. The ethos of the firm is to make an inviting place for discussion: a third spot among work and home. Today there are 15,000 Starbucks stores in 50 distinct nations (Starbucks site, n.d.) SWOT Analysis †Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) This segment presents a SWOT examination for Starbucks; SWOT is a strategy for advertise investigation; this natural abbreviation represents Strengths, Weaknesses, Openings and Threats. These four words speak to the significant builds firms need to consider to take advantage of their inner set up and the outer commercial center attributes. Its significant worth is in the ID of those business basic components which give chance to the firm, yet in addition any dangers from contenders and the changing business condition. These should be weighed facing the inside components (qualities and shortcomings) of the business to build up the best business arrangements and techniques, both present moment and long haul (Meek, 2003). (I) Strengths ~ One of the significant qualities of the organization is the solid Starbucks brand and it’s smart picture; this has made it exceptionally well known with youngsters, especially understudies. As per Alderman (2012, no page number) â€Å"laptop-employing youngsters hold onto the espresso chain as a symbol of American well known culture† ~ Starbucks has an advanced site which is alluring to clients and simple to explore. This is so significant in this computerized age when most of individuals depend on the Internet to accumulate data about products and enterprises. ~The faithfulness plot presented by Starbucks is another significant favorable position, a methodology received right off the bat in the firm’s improvement. Empowering buyers to build their recurrence of procurement using faithfulness cards is currently a promoting strategy effectively received by numerous organizations in various segments. ~ The way that Starbucks beans are morally created is a solid favorable position to the organization as purchasers are progressively worried about reasonable creation and corporate obligation. An ongoing huge scope overview on social duty (Nielsen, 2014) shows that around half of customers will decide to purchase socially capable brands. This incorporates venturing to such an extreme as to check bundling for claims about manageability. (ii) Weaknesses ~ Starbucks has been encountering money related challenges as of late, in any event, recording a misfortune (Wilkes Group, 2012.) placing it off guard in wording of having the ability to put resources into growing new items or extending its system of stores. ~ Perhaps because of lackluster showing Starbucks has encountered some decrease in its stock qualities which likewise can bring about diminished venture. ~ As understudies and the adolescent market is one of the fundamental market fragments for Starbucks, this is one age bunch in the UK socioeconomics which is declining and anticipated to keep on doing as such throughout the following scarcely any years (ONS, 2011). ~ The assessment evasion embarrassment of late years, when Starbucks abstained from paying partnership charge in the UK (Bergin, 2012), briefly marked the organization notoriety. Be that as it may, in the drawn out it doesn't seem to have influenced the prevalence of the firm with customers despite everything disparaging the stores. (iii) Opportunities ~ The desire for cafés and espresso utilization, especially as a component of the working day schedule is proceeding (Wilkes Group, n.d.) and indicating pretty much nothing indication of easing back down. ~ This is bolstered by a recouping economy and signs that purchasers are discovering they have increasingly optional pay to spend (CEBR, 2014). ~ The unwinding of the permitting laws has given a chance to firms like Starbucks to widen their contribution in cafés to incorporate liquor. This will draw in new market portions. ~ There are further potential specialty markets or fragments to focus, for instance building up a caffeine free option for those buyers worried about the wellbeing dangers of a lot of caffeine. ~ Increased enthusiasm for corporate obligation, moral exchanging and manageable espresso developing procedures for diminishing the carbon impression give Starbucks with an upper hand as it has consistently embraced moral business methodologies. ~ The suffering pattern for ‘drive thru’ premises and stands on railroad and transport stations as a substantial and well known method of conveying items in the food and drink part gives great, generally minimal effort, ways for Starbucks to expand deals and raise brand mindfulness and reliability further. ~ An augmentation of this may be ‘pop-up shops’; transitory control of premises as a major aspect of for instance, music and social occasions. This would likewise be a perfect vehicle for arriving at the objective market fragments especially youthful grown-ups and understudies. ~ The expanding globalization of business sectors gives more extensive chances to Starbucks to venture into new markets; a few creators keep up that youngsters in various nations share more for all intents and purpose than individuals of various age bunches in a similar nation (Usunier and Lee, 2013). This presents â€Å"an chance to target customers sharing a typical arrangement of qualities, needs, propensities and preferences† (Usunier and Lee, 2013 p. 131). (iv) Threats ~ The expanding accentuation on solid ways of life and decreasing caffeine consumption for individuals with certain wellbeing conditions is a potential danger to espresso house organizations (Lopez-Garcia et al, 2008). The mystery will discover appropriate choices for those buyers who can't or decide not to drink energized espresso. A quality decaffeinated elective will give access to this sub-portion of the market. ~ Climate change may well speak to a danger to espresso creation and thus make the crude materials increasingly costly. ~ There is extremely solid rivalry in the café showcase with Costa Coffee immovably in the main spot (Wilkes Group, n.d.) It is significant for Starbucks to keep up associations with its clients; the dedication card is a decent method of doing this as is two path correspondence with customers through social organizing locales (SNS). Notwithstanding, Starbucks must be mindful so as to guarantee not all messages it conveys to shoppers are deals advancements; as indicated by (Cohen, 2011) the vast majority of correspondences ought to be sharing data not attempts to sell something. Porter’s five powers This speaks to a similarly significant movement for any firm contender examination; in a quickly changing world and such a wildly challenged commercial center a logical perspective on the opposition is vital to progress. This specific methodology being depicted was structured by Michael Porter and is a deliberate methodology to recognizing and surveying the overall quality of the ‘five forces’ affecting the idea of rivalry in the espresso business. Figure 2 underneath outlines the five powers which incorporate contenders, new items, new participants to the commercial center and the haggling intensity of purchasers (Porter, 2008). Figure 2 †Porter’s five powers Source: Porter, 2008 1. The potential danger of another contender as well as another item in the effectively jam-packed café commercial center is high, with solid contenders, for example, Bistro Ritazza on the edges. The obstructions to passage to the market are very high as any organization needing to contend with Starbuck or Costa would need to open an enormous chain of shops. Notwithstanding, the case of the café uniting with Tesco (Poulter, 2013) is an a valid example and could have unfortunate ramifications for Starbucks. 2. Besides, the haggling intensity of providers and the expenses of crude materials is another solid power for any firm. In the

Church In Controversy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Church In Controversy - Essay Example Initially, the creator uncovers the blemishes in the contentions for the advocates of ladies appointment; to do this, the creator plainly clarifies how the contentions of the defenders of ladies appointment in the Catholic Church did not depend on Scriptures or any Theological information. Furthermore, the creator clarifies how ladies appointment would change the iconography of love, making Christians to have an alternate perspective on God and an alternate comprehension of the relationship of Jesus Christ with the Church. Also, ultimately, the creator clarifies how the organization of ladies is against the hallowed idea of the priesthood.The creator has truly persuaded me to acknowledge his theory. The fundamental motivation behind why I am persuaded that the author’s proposition is genuine is that the author’s contentions illustrate, in clear terms, that the appointment of ladies is conflicting with the Christian comprehension of the connection between Jesus Christ an d the Church; likewise, the writer has exhibited in this article appointment of ladies is, to be sure, not perfect with the consecrated idea of ministry. In my view, the creator has not forgotten about any significant point, or any significant certainty or contention that is against his perspective on this topic.The following two important verifiable and social conditions can assist us with understanding the creator's point better. As a matter of first importance, the writer is writing in the contemporary existence where the way of life of relativism and incredulity appears to describe the individuals' general way to deal with life.

History Of The Great Migration - Free Essay Example

The Great Migration occurred in the early 1900s, and it involved the migration of over 6 million African Americans from Southern cities to the North of the country specifically, Newark. The Great Migration resulted into what can be described as a shift in massive demographic shifts across the United States. African Americans migrated to Newark because they were trying to escape racism and Jim Crow laws that existed in the South. The African-Americans saw that Newark was a place of community and it had a lot of jobs to offer and to them, they thought Newark was a paradise compared to the Southern cities. According to the Newark Anniversary Guide published in 1916 by the Newark Sales and Advertising Co, Newark was a city with the best schools, well-paved streets, beautiful churches that welcomed anyone who wanted to attend, superb water supply and excellent public light and transportation service. That was not all, Newark also had a lot of booming industries and had wages that paid employees average $747 yearly. Who would not resist moving to a place that sounded so perfect without investigating if they were going through hardships like the African Americans? They set out to Newark because they felt that at least in that city, they would be accepted for who they were. Further, also to not having the right to vote, it is serious to understand that African Americans were also segregated in the South. In fact, it is critical to understand that in the year 1896, the case of Plessy V. Ferguson case made it legal in the United States to enforce the separate but equal public facilities that included water fountains, public schools as well as restroom facilities. However, the African Americans that existed in North America did not enforce most of these laws, and the African Americans that lived in the South had known about this situation. Therefore, they craved a life where they would be able to be adequately treated equally and feel that they are more humans. African Americans were more peaceful in the North because of the Great Migration. They were able to feel more peaceful because, in the South, African-Americans were subjected to several various acts of terror that were caused by white Southerners. There was the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan which argued that it was only White Christians that were entitled to civil rights in the United States. In the South, because of several white supremacist groups, African American Men and women were murdered by lynching, setting fire to their properties and homes as well as bombing churches that had African Americans. In an article by the Atlanta Constitution in December 14, 1916 titled, Penalties of Migration, it states that although the south may be as promising because of situations like the KKK, segregations and racism issues, the north was no better because it had unhealthy surroundings and their wages were not as big as promised yet still the African Americans did not heed because they thoug ht the south was just trying to keep them there. In a New York Times article published in 1917 it stated that because of World War I, there was a shortage of men in factories in the Northern cities. Therefore, because of the migration more African Americans were able to find work. There was an extreme shortage of workers and the African Americans felt that indeed they would able to cover the shortage. It is critical to understand that more than five million workers were enlisted in the Army, and secondly, the United States government was able to halt immigration from European countries. Most African-Americans that lived in the South had been severely affected by the shortage of farm work. Therefore, most of them went to the call of employment agents that were living in Newark. The agents from the different industrial sectors arrived in the South and enticed the African American women and men to migrate North by paying travel expenses. Therefore, the movement of the Great Migration led to better education as well as housing options as well as experiencing high pay as compared to the wages that they were being given in the South. Although Newark had a lot of good things to offer African Americans, the northern cities were no different from the south. When the African Americans got to Newark, most of them didnt have places to live. In an article by Helen Pendleton published in February 1917 titled, Cotton Pickers in Northern Counties, it talks about how African Americans sold their belongings and left for Newark with no plans or whatsoever. It also talks about how African Americans were forced to live in basements and in the worst parts of the city.   According to an interview with Annie Rose Johnston on November 13, 19995, most African Americans had a tough year because most of their families fell sick due to the conditions in which they lived in whiles someone in the family struggled very hard to make ends meet. African Americans were welcomed by racial inequality, segregation, many expenses, and cruel treatment in the south. They migrated towards circumstances which they had thought would be different, but it wasnt. Nevertheless, they brought their culture with them and left a lasting impact on different aspects of society. While they were unable to attain their goals, they still managed to leave significant impacts on American society.

Who Invented Trivial Pursuit

It was the board game Time Magazine called the the biggest phenomenon in game history. Trivial Pursuit was  first conceived of on December 15, 1979, by Chris Haney and Scott Abbott. At the time, Haney worked as a photo editor at the Montreal Gazette and Abbott was a sports journalist for The Canadian Press. Haney was also a high school dropout who later joked that he only regretted not dropping out earlier. Scrabble Was the Inspiration The pair were playing a game of Scrabble when they decided to invent their own game. The two friends came up with the basic concept of Trivial Pursuit within a few short hours.  However, it was not until 1981 that the board game was commercially released. Haney and Abbott had taken on two more business partners (corporate  lawyer Ed Werner  and Chriss brother John Haney) starting in 1979 and formed the Horn Abbot company. They raised their initial funding by selling five shares in the company for as little as $1,000. An 18-year-old artist named Michael Wurstlin agreed to create the final artwork for Trivial Pursuit in exchange for his five shares. Launching the Game On November 10, 1981, Trivial Pursuit was trademark registered. That same month, 1,100 copies of Trivial Pursuit were first distributed in Canada. The first copies of Trivial Pursuit were sold at a loss as the manufacturing costs for the first copies came to 75 dollars per game and the game was sold to retailers for 15 dollars. Trivial Pursuit was licensed to Selchow and Righter, a major U.S. game manufacturer and distributor in 1983. The manufacturers financed what would be a successful public relations effort, and Trivial Pursuit became a household name. In 1984, they sold a record 20 million games in the United States, and retail sales reached nearly 800 million dollars. Long-Term Success The rights to the game were licensed to Parker Brothers in 1988 before Hasbro bought the rights in 2008. Reportedly, the first 32 investors were able to live comfortably on the annual royalties for life. However, Haney died at age 59 in 2010 after a long illness. Abbott went on to own a hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League and was inducted into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. He also owns a horse racing stable. The game survived at least two lawsuits. One lawsuit was from a trivia book author whose charged violation of copyright. However, the court ruled that facts are not protected by copyright. Another suit was brought by a man who alleged that he gave the idea to Haney when the inventor picked him up while he was hitchhiking. In December 1993, Trivial Pursuit was named to the Games Hall of Fame by Games Magazine. By 2014,  more than 50 special editions of Trivial Pursuit had been released. Players can test their knowledge on everything from Lord of the Rings to Country Music. Trivial Pursuit is sold in at least 26 countries and 17 languages. It has been produced in home video game editions, an arcade game, an online version and launched as a television game show in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

Another Leader, James Birney, Was A Powerful Abolitionists

Another leader, James Birney, was a powerful abolitionists leader and â€Å"he believed that political action and the power of religion were the keys to ending slavery,† and his proposal, â€Å"proposed measures that would allow the legislature to emancipate slaves and prohibit selling slaves brought into the state,† allowed for him to be known as, â€Å"one of the nation’s most prominent abolitionists† (American Experience†). James Birney was also the Liberty Party’s presidential candidate during the 1840 to 1844 presidential campaign (Abolitionists). According to historical evidence, Birney and Garrison did not get along on the issue of how to best emancipate slavery, â€Å"Birney’s ideas about achieving abolition using political means and moral†¦show more content†¦Without these white and black abolitionist leaders, the fight to emancipate the slaves and the Civil War might not have happened; therefore, each leader influe nced the nation. Religion was another factor in creating and solidifying the abolitionist movement. The first religious group to reject slavery was the Quakers, â€Å"standing almost alone in professing that slaveholding was incompatible with Christian piety† (McKivigan). Not long after the Quakers stand against slavery, did the northern states and the federal government take a stand, â€Å"federal government prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory and banned the trans-Atlantic slave trade.† (McKivigan). Out of all the states, â€Å"Virginia was the first territory to ban slavery within their borders,† and not long after that, â€Å"Pennsylvania followed suit† (American Experience†). As the churches from the North and the South began to preach differently upon slavery, the churches started to reject and despise each other, â€Å"abolitionist ideas became increasingly prominent in Northern churches, which contributed to the regional animosity between the North and South† (Abolitionist Movement). Therefore, religion was an integral component to instigating the start of the Civil War. When the churches started believing that slavery was inhumane and that emancipation was greatly needed, the abolitionist cause becameShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Road to Freedom—the Underground Railroad2714 Words   |  11 Pages where the bloody lash was not buried in the quivering flesh of a slave.... (7,p.i). Such were the conditions of the Underground Railroad. It was a fictitous railroad but served the same purpose: to transport people from one place to another. This railroad, however, was not sanctioned by any government, in fact if it had been discovered many would have died. The Underground Railroad was a huge risk. If you used it, and were caught, you could die. For some that was better than being treated

Overseas Expansion for Case Study of Mcdonald - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theOverseas Expansion for Case Study of Mcdonald. Answer: Overseas expansion is now very common with many small and large size organizations. This is full of opportunities to many while on the other hand it offers bunch of challenges as well. Despite the fact there is an incrementing trend in the overseas expansion. The expansion has benefitted the many while on the other side it has challenged the survival of few others (Pan et al. 2017). McDonald is no other exception. The company has started its journey from being just a family burger to become a global recognition (Hak and Gr?bosz 2016). The study shows a brief journey of McDonalds to the position it is at present. Moreover, the main purpose of this assignment is to understand the process of internationalization through the example of McDonalds. Types of Motivation had kept on changing with McDonald. They had initially used the traditional motivation, which is one of the kinds of motivation. McDonald had used traditional motivation while the company was in the stage of resource seeking and market seeking. The first international expansion came in the year 1967 when it opened up its store in Canada. The expansion occurred when McDonald has successfully crossed the resource seeking stage after 27 years of its establishment. After 27 years of the establishment, the company had felt the necessity to look for the market seeking strategy and therefore, it started its operations in Canada (Hutchinson, Singh and Walker 2012). The company had also used emerging motivation through competitive positioning and global scanning. The company had shown their extensive focus on the emerging markets, which is why it had used the competitive positioning and global scanning strategy to capture the target market. McDonald is very less active wit h the competitive positioning strategy as they are almost the same across the globe. However, minimal level of differentiation can still be found in the company. For example, McRice in Indonesia is a food that suits the food culture of the people living in Indonesia (Budiman 2012). McBeers are sold in Europe and Asia to satisfy the cultural beliefs of people living in those regions (King et al. 2012). Global scanning is the other strategy that McDonald has used to expand into the international market. McDonald has been sequential in approaching to the various international centers. Global scanning has actually helped the company expand to the various international markets at a very appropriate time. For example, McDonald started its expansion in the year 1967 in the closest markets. Later on, it moved to more distinct nations. The maximum expansion happened in the period of 1990s when there was political, technical and economic changes on a global scale. However, the expansion proce ss slowed down after 2000 due to international economic downturn and due to some internal issues (Badal 2017). Prequisition or prior to expanding into the global market, McDonald use to adopt a specific strategy such as providing location specific advantages. It is specific to McDonald that they provide location specific advantage to customers to grab their attention. For example, they have not used beef in preparing their food just to encourage the beliefs of a large group living in the country. Another example is of targeting both the lower and the middle income group as their population is very high in the country. In doing so, the company has actually targeted a mass population (Gerhardt, Hazen and Lewis 2014). Another example is of differentiation in their foods, which they bring to satisfy the requirements of diverse customers across the globe. One of such examples is that they offered McRice to the Indonesian people (Zhang and Zhou 2012). The process of expansion had started in the year 1967. The company had first entered into Canada. By doing so, it actually followed the Uppsala model, which guides for a sequential expansion into the global market. McDonald is one of few such companies that have set trends for some useful strategies such as Franchising. The concept was very new to the fast food industry when McDonald took the full advantage of it and expanded into the United States. The company had used three methods to operate locally and expand to international markets. Those three methods are franchising, joint ventures and wholly owned outlets. The first franchising operation had started in the year 1953 with Arches Logo in Phoenix, USA. However, it has also used wholly owned outlet strategy depending on the external environment in the target market. They have adopted this technology in Mexico and the United Kingdom (Steenkamp 2014). The company has planned to refranchise approximately 4,000 restaurants. This wil l take their worldwide franchised percentage to around 93% (Forbes.com 2017). According to the Uppsala model, McDonald has constructed its international expansion in both the sequential and strategic mode. It first entered into Canada as it is very much close to the United States in terms of culture. Later on it moved to a little distinct society such as the European countries. At the very end, they moved to an entirely distinguish society such as the Middle East and the Asian countries (Sameer 2012). McDonald has used two strategies to expand into the international markets. Franchising and Wholly Owned Outlet are the two dominion concepts that the company had used. The dominion of these two factors encourages a fact that McDonald feels less secured with the Joint Venturing. However, it has still opted for joint venturing as it did in India and China (Zhang and Zhou 2012). Franchising has always remained a dominating strategy for McDonald; however, they have used a Wholly Owned concept in some parts of world such as Mexico and the UK. This has happened because the respective governments did allow franchising option (Abdelgawwad 2012). The dominion ride of McDonald has been challenged immensely by various local and international fast-food brands. The dominion has been challenged by many such as Starbucks, Subway, KFC and Burger King. The utmost competition from the rival companies and the changing perceptions of millennial customers has both contributed to a negative progression of the McDonalds business (Shen and Xiao 2014). The circumstances are very hard to displace; however, an alternative option can be taken to remain solid in the ever rising competition. It is recommended that the company should stick to what has helped it become the leading fast-food brand at the global platform. The setbacks have probably come from ample of changes in the menu that has been offered to the customers. It can be concluded that it is full of opportunity if a company wish to expand into the international market. On the other hand, the various international markets are also full of challenges. The fact has been clearly understood from the journey of McDonald Company. It is therefore advised to take cautious move and trusting the self-potential elements to remain competitive and selling in the market. References Abdelgawwad, M.A.A., 2012.Quality management: success and failure factors for new global product development in global quick service restaurants: a case study of McDonald's Egypt(Doctoral dissertation, Cardiff Metropolitan University). Badal, P.A., 2017. McDonalds Corporation-2015 (MCD). Budiman, A., Chhor, H., Razdan, R. and Sohoni, A., 2012. The new Indonesia consumer. Forbes.com. 2017.Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/06/09/why-investors-should-not-worry-about-mcdonalds-declining-revenues/#4aa2cd483144 [Accessed 6 Nov. 2017]. Gerhardt, S., Hazen, S. and Lewis, S., 2014. Small Business Marketing Strategy Based on McDonald's.ASBBS Proceedings,21(1), p.271. Hak, A. and Gr?bosz, M., 2016. International expansion based on Uppsala modelcases of McDonalds and Sfinks Poland.Zeszyty Naukowe. Organizacja i Zarz?dzanie/Politechnika ?dzka, (63, nr 1207), pp.45-57. Hutchinson, D., Singh, J. and Walker, K., 2012. An assessment of the early stages of a sustainable business model in the Canadian fast food industry.European Business Review,24(6), pp.519-531. King, G., Mattos, J.C.S., Mulder, N. and Rosales, V., 2012.The changing nature of Asian-Latin American economic relations. ECLAC. Pan, F., He, Z., Sigler, T., Martinus, K. and Derudder, B., 2017. How Chinese financial centers integrate into global financial center networks: an empirical study based on overseas expansion of Chinese financial service firms.Chinese Geographical Science, pp.1-14. Rowley, B. and McMurtrey, M.E., 2016. McDonald's and the Triple Bottom Line: A Case Study of Corporate Sustainability.Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability,11(1), p.33. Sameer, S.K., 2012. Strategy and Repositioning the Brand McDonalds in India.International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications,2(9), pp.1-5. Steenkamp, J.B., 2014. How global brands create firm value: the 4V model.International Marketing Review,31(1), pp.5-29. Zhang, Q. and Zhou, L., 2012. Cultural adaptation pattern analysis of McDonald's and KFC in the Chinese market.

Molecular stability (rheology) of a plastic carrier bag through stress strain tests Essay Example

Molecular stability (rheology) of a plastic carrier bag through stress strain tests Essay I am going to study the molecular stability (rheology) of a plastic carrier bag through stress strain tests. I will do this through a simple viscoelastic experiment of where I will be able to calculate the Young Modulus and assess Hookes Law. Plastic carrier bags are made from polyethylene or polyethene, which is a homopolymer. Polyethylene comes from ethylene. Ethylene is an alkane made up of a series of saturated hydrocarbons. The alkane series are known as homologous series as they share the properties and general formula: (CnH2n+2) 1.1 Origin of plastic Essentially plastics are materials that can be heated and moulded and maintains this moulded shape once it cools. We will write a custom essay sample on Molecular stability (rheology) of a plastic carrier bag through stress strain tests specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Molecular stability (rheology) of a plastic carrier bag through stress strain tests specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Molecular stability (rheology) of a plastic carrier bag through stress strain tests specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Plastics have existed since the beginning of time. Plastic contains natural elements such as carbon(C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), chlorine (Cl) and sulphur (S). These elements can be originated from naturally grown organic materials such as wood, horn and rosin. Animal horn and amber are examples of natural plastics. Already renown for his work in the rubber industry, Alexander Parkes invented a material that was based on cellulose nitrate at the Great Exposition of 1862 in London. He called this material Parkesine, which was the first synthetic polymer. His invention was due to a new scientific movement to utilise by-products of natural gas production. We are now in the Age of plastics where plastic dominates our industrial world. Plastic is a force that will shape the twenty-first century, bringing to fruition new wonders in tomorrows world. Carin Glaser 1.2 Polymer Polymer comes from the Greek word, poly meaning many and mer meaning part. Polymerisation is the chemical process of forming polymers from their components of monomers. Polymerisation is often an intricate process that may be initiated or sustained by pressure, heat or with catalysts. Monomers generally contain carbon and hydrogen including, sometimes, chlorine, nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine. A polymer is a chemical compound with a high molecular mass constructed of chains of monomers linked together through bonds. Polymers can be categorised into two forms of polymers, addition polymers and condensation polymers. Condensation polymers consist of repeats of units that are bonded, which contain fewer atoms than the original monomer/s because of the loss of substances such as water. Addition polymers consist of the same monomer units that attach one at a time i.e. they have the same structural unit. A resultant of additional polymerisation, of monomer to polymer, with polyethylene is shown below. Ethylene; Polyethylene; 1.3 Cracking in the plastics industry Cracking is a process in industry where large chains of aliphatic hydrocarbons that make up crude oil/petrochemicals are broken down into smaller, more useful fractions. Factors such as high temperature, high pressure and catalysts are needed to break these long chains into shorter chains. Petrochemical such as oil or natural gas contain hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are processed through a reactor into a procedure known as cracking. In the plastic industry a natural gas derivative known as resin is produced. Resin pellets are then moulded or formed to produce several different kinds of plastic products with application in many major markets. The fickleness of the resin pellets proves a complex resin to be specifically designed for the consumers requirements. The different resins produced in the industry is the reason why certain plastics are better for different applications while others are best suited for entirely different applications. The production of a plastic bag is done through a process known as blown film extrusion. This process involves the resin being blown up and extruded to produce tubes of film. 1.4 Polymerisation of ethylene Branched polyethylene is produced through a free radical addition reaction. As shown above polyethylene are ethylene molecules bonded together. There are three stages to this process, these are: 1.4.1 Initiation Oxygen is the initiator of this process. The oxygen reacts with the ethylene to produce organic peroxide. Oxygen peroxide consists of double oxygen single bonds that are extremely reactive and break easily to give free radicals. This process can be avoided by adding other organic peroxides directly to the ethylene. The free radicals vary depending on the source, the basic formula for these free radicals is Ra*. These free radicals then react with the monomer to find its pair. This then pushes the monomers molecule leading the reaction back to the free radical stage. 1.4.2 Propagation The adding of more and more monomers to the growing chains is called propagation. The conductor of the experiment can add extra ethylene molecules to construct a long chain of them. Self-perpetuating reactions like this one are called chain reactions. The ethylene molecule consists of a double bond. One pair is held loosely on an orbital, this is known as a pi bond. The other pair is called a sigma bond and is held sturdily onto the nuclei. The free radical breaks the pi bond to form with another monomer. This is efficient because the previously weak pi bond is broken and the new carbon bond is stronger. This concluding that the more energy that is produced results in an additional stability to the system. This propagation results in the radical becoming larger and lengthened. Therefore each longer, larger radical can react with its other radicals to produce a polymer that extends further. 1.4.3 Termination This chain reaction must eventually end. The instability of the radicals means that eventually they will collide and form a pair without making a new radical. This then becomes one of the final molecules of the polyethylene chain. This termination process is called coupling. 1.5 Metal and plastic As we move closer to the future we can see that plastics are slowly taking over the function of metals on our society. The reasons for this are pretty simple, plastics are cheaper to make in industry than metals. Forms of iron are renown for its strength in the field of life but iron oxidises and slowly degrades. Plastics are non-biodegradable, meaning that they are suitable for long term uses unlike metals that are prone to disintegrate. Plastics do not need a great deal of heat to be moulded into shapes but metals tend to have a high melting point, this is cheaper for industries because less energy is used to make their products. The strengths of plastics are shown in industry through fire resistant material, bulletproof vests and puncture resistant tyres, buildings etc. Plastics are also known now to be able to conduct electricity (although not to a degree of a metal like copper) by modifying polyacetylene by blasting the material with iodine vapour. Thus, eradicate an electron giving the material a positive charge, allowing the material to conduct electricity. This may eventually resulting in plastics replacing metals in the electricity components, making modern technological equipment, such as DVD players, computers, TVs etc., cheaper to produce. Plastics are currently manufactures from crude oil through the cracking process but now scientists have discovered producing biodegradable plastics using waste food. The process is considerably cheap and could revolutionise issues such as protecting our ozone (as waste food release methane gas) and also keeping landfills clear of pollution. 1.6 The forces between the molecules The physical properties of polyethylene are judged by its intermolecular forces. The intermolecular force is the force attracting one molecule to another, Van der Waals attractions or hydrogen bonds. The melting and boiling point of any molecule would depend on the potency of the intermolecular forces. Van der Waals attractions are more likely to occur with larger molecules and these attractions need more energy to split. Presence of hydrogen bonds will lift the melting and boiling points. When covalent molecular substances are heated, they usually melt at low temperatures. The molecules do not decompose but remain as separate groups of atoms. This implies that the forces within the molecules are strong but the forces between molecules are not very strong. The forces holding the molecules together are not the strong forces of attraction resulting from the sharing of electrons. Source http://www.nelson.com.au/chemistry/guide/unit1chemistry/s1b.htm Polymers are normally long chains of hydrocarbons, the longer the chain of molecules, the higher the melting and boiling points are. This is due to the increase in dispersion forces as the size of the molecule increases. Hydrogen and carbon are non-metals and in general covalent bonds are associated with two (or more) non-metals bonding. In this bond the electrons are shared between the atoms. Electronegativity is the power of an atom in a molecule to attract electrons to itself. Carbon has an electronegativity of 2.5 and hydrogen 2.2. Therefore the higher electronegativity of the carbon atom signifies that the bonding electrons are attracted to the carbon atom rather than the hydrogen atoms. As the carbon atom contains more electrons it becomes vaguely negative and the hydrogen becomes slightly positive. This negative and positive bond is known as polarised and each molecule is a polar molecule or dipole. The hydrocarbons can organise themselves to result in the negative end of one molecule to be supported with the positive end of the next molecule. This type of intermolecular bonding is called dipole-dipole attraction. Molecules that are not polar have the weakest forces of intermolecular bonding between them. These types of substances are observed to have the lowest melting and boiling points. These molecules are held together by dispersion forces, which result from instantaneous dipoles caused by the constant movement of electrons within the molecules. The strength of the dispersion forces increases as the number of electrons in the molecule increases. Source http://www.nelson.com.au/chemistry/guide/unit1chemistry/s1b.htm 1.7 HDPE ; LDPE High and low density polyethylene are created in conditions under that ethylene is polymerised, the molecules become attracted towards each other in the solids by Van Der Waals dispersion forces. 1.7.1 High-density polyethylene (HDPE) A linear polymer is the most basic form of polymer structures (HDPE) HDPE has generally no branched chains. This allows molecules to attach nearer to the molecule in a normal way, which is almost crystalline. This signifies that the dispersion forces are more effectual therefore the material is moderately stronger and has a higher melting and boiling point compared to LDPE. 1.7.2 Low Density polyethylene (LDPE) LDPE has many short branches besides the chain. The extra chains stop the other chains from lying closely together in a neat arrangement, dispersion forces are therefore lower compared to HDPE and the material is fragile and has a lower boiling and melting point. The density of the material is lower since the wasted space within the irregularly packed formation. 1.8 Thermosets Thermoplasts There are two distinguished features of plastic. These two are thermosetting and thermoplastic: * Thermoplastic (thermoplast) is a polymer that is cross-linked. When heated the cross links are softened and then the polymer has the ability to be moulded into different shapes. Once cooled the polymer returns to its original stability. This process can be repeated many times. Its is of great use in the plastics industry because materials that do not need great strength but personalised structure such as plastic bags can be made with ease. * Thermosetting polymers are significant for their strength and durability. They are vastly stronger but brittle compared to thermoplasts. They are, in general, linearly structured such as HDPE. When heated a thermoset is made substantially infusible or insoluble, therefore the polymer cannot return to its original shape, or the polymer experiences plastic deformation. 1.9 Youngs Modulus The Youngs Modulus is stress/strain at the elastic limit. It is basically a measurement of the strength of a material or how much the material yields for each pound of force. Deformation relates to the stress strain behaviour of a material. Stress can be seen as the pressure exerted onto a material. To calculate stress the formula stress = load/area of cross section is used. Strain is the deformation of a material in relation with stress, or the deflection of a material due to force. For this experiment I need to calculate these three. 2.0 Prelimary work Preliminary work is done to pre determine the needs for the final experiment to be a success. I shall cover issues such as safety and dimensions. 2.1 Dimensions of plastic strip To calculate the length and width of the plastic strip of bag that I would use for the experiment I had to test the maximum strength of different lengths and widths of bags. From pre-knowledge of structures of molecules, the wider strip should be able to withhold more weight and the longer bag should extend further. I will choose various lengths of the plastic strips and summarise the maximum load limit of the strips. To measure this limit I shall use the method chosen for the experiment. N.B: Throughout the experiments I shall be taking Gravity (g) as 10ms-1 2.1.1 Results Prelimary Experiment Max Load (N) Length (mm) Width (mm) 1 2 3 Average 100 10 8 8 9 8.3 150 10 10 9 9 9.3 200 15 12 14 12 12.7 200 20 16 15 16 15.7 250 20 17 17 17 17 2.1.2 Summary I conclude that the wider the strip of plastic, in general, the heavier it holds before breaking. The weight holders carry around 15 Newtons each therefore I shall use 200mm by 20mm for my experiment. I noticed that when I added more weights the width of the bag shortened as the extension became greater, this may affect the eventual outcome of the result. To indicate this later in the experiment I shall identify any anomalies. I also need to calculate the impact that I did when I added the weights on directly, later in the experiment I need to add the weights on Newton by Newton simultaneously. Calculating stress To calculate the stress I need to use the formula: Stress = Load Area of cross section First I need to calculate the area of the cross section. To do this I shall use the formula: Area = width ? thickness The cross section of the paper strip is: The thickness of the bag varied in each strip so I took the average of the thickness of the plastic strips from 6 samples using a micrometer. Average (mean) = ?x ?f Samples thickness: 1. 0.019mm 2. 0.022mm 3. 0.02mm 4. 0.018mm 5. 0.019mm 6. 0.02mm These results are fairly close together therefore I shall use these results, as they seem accurate. ? Mean = 0.019 + 0.022 + 0.02 + 0.018 + 0.019 + 0.02 6 Thickness = 0.0197mm If area = width x thickness Thickness = 0.0197mm Width = 20mm ? Area = 20 ? 10-3 (m) ? 0.0197 ? 10-3 (m) Area = 3.94 ? 10-7 m2 From these results I can calculate the stress. I shall go to the force of 17N because from previous knowledge I can say that the strip will be likely to break at this point or below. Load Applied (N) Stress = load/area of cross section (Pa) 0 0 1 2.5 x 106 2 5.1 x 106 3 7.6 x 106 4 1.0 x 107 5 1.3 ? 107 6 1.5 ? 107 7 1.8 ? 107 8 2.0 ? 107 9 2.3 ? 107 10 2.5 ? 107 11 2.8 ? 107 12 3.0 ? 107 13 3.3 ? 107 14 3.6 ? 107 15 3.8 ? 107 16 4.1 ? 107 17 (max) 4.3 ? 107 2.3 Prediction I predict that to the elastic limit the force will be proportional to length. Beyond the elastic limit the extension of the plastic strip will increase excessively. 2.3.1 Deformation This is because of deformation. Deformation is the modification of a material in response to force. The two types of deformation are elastic and inelastic (plastic). Elastic deformation is when a material returns to its original shape after the force has been applied. Inelastic deformation is the change of the original shape after a force has been removed. The reason of deformation is related to the bonds in the material. In deformation the bonds are being re-arranged. For example, when stretching a polymer the connecting covalent bonds are given energy and the bonds are stretched. The reason of inelastic deformation is that when the energy is applied to the bonds the cross links are moved then the object therefore changes its original shape. With a large enough force the bonds will break and the polymer breaks. 2.4 Reasons for testing The reasons for testing are: 1. Safety measurements. 2. Provide a basis for reliability. 3. Quality control. 4. Establish design ideas. 5. Meet the standards and specifications set by producers and standard agencies. 6. Verify manufacturing process. 7. Evaluate and compare against competitors products. 8. Establish history for new materials. 2.4.1 Costs of testing I need to research the cost of testing polymers to understand the importance of testing in the plastic industry. From Dr. Shastri I have found that the costs of testing polymers in industry are: Property (Single-point data) Cost Range Per Grade Average Cost Mechanical properties $780 $3120 $1500 Thermal properties $1030 $3270 $2000 Rheological properties $ 370 $ 650 $ 500 Electrical properties $1020 $1860 $1500 Other properties $ 170 $ 540 $300 $5800 Property (Multi-point data) [viz, creep, stress-strain] Average Cost $14,484 $93,140 This concluded that the testing of polymers at an industry level is out of my budget and time range. Therefore I must keep the experiment at, to a degree, a simplistic level. The large cost of the testing of polymers in the industry justifies the importance of the material to society. This relates with why that safety is needed when testing the material, I shall later resolve safety procedures. 2.5 Possible solutions to conduct this experiment in a laboratory are: 1. This method of conducting the stress relaxation test is needed with a pc to measure the length and force applied; the computer can then create a diagram of force/extension. I cannot execute this method because I have not got the right equipment and this experiment does not allow me to calculate the effects manually, which is what I wish to accomplish. 2. This experiment is capable of doing but I think that the material stretched along the table at such a length would mean I would have to use a long plastic bag which are hard to get hold of; apart from that this method would be acceptable for wire dimensions materials. 3. The ruler held into a fixed position means that there are less human errors in the measurements. The fixed position with the clamps and retort stand shows the stability and rigid structure of this method. This experiment allows me to manually draw up diagrams to calculate the Youngs Modulus. I am going to use experiment 3 to perform my experiment. Method to perform experiment 3 2.5 Apparatus Apparatus that I will need to conduct this experiment from the method I have chosen are: * Ballpoint pen. * Paper. * Metal wire. * Meter rule. * Micrometer. * Plastic carrier bag. * Retort stand. * Scalpel. * Safety (metal) ruler. * Scissors. * Sticky tape. * Wire clippers. * Cushion. * Weights. * Stop watch. A strip of plastic bag needs to be measured using a ruler accurately onto the bag with a pen. The marked out strip then needs to be cut using a sharp tool such as a scalpel and a safety ruler is needed for precision cutting and safety. The device I have chosen to hold the material to the weights and clamp is a metal wire that has been twisted. The wire will be 100mm long and then twisted into a circle like shape as shown in the diagram (left). The wire will be firstly looped into a ring of plastic from the bag; each side of the bag will be a fixed length for the wire to loop into. 2.6 Method 1. Set up the experiment as shown in the diagram. 2. Measure the length of the plastic bag between the two marked points using the ruler that is attached to the retort stand. 3. Add one Newton to the plastic bag. 4. Begin the stopwatch. 5. Once 5 seconds have passed measure the new length using the ruler. 6. Continue steps 3-5 adding one extra Newton each time until the plastic bag snaps. 7. Repeat the experiment 5 times for a fair test. The most important factor is always making accurate measurements. By checking the results of measurements more than once using a ruler and then obtaining an average will provide me with suitable evidence of recurring measurements therefore showing that they have been accurate. 2.7 Safety procedures Safety is one of the major factors of doing any experiment, or anything. The safety factors that I will take into hand in this experiment is: * Work in a large open area that will be sufficient to be a good distance away from people. * Keeping my body away from the weights and putting a cushion underneath the weights to soften the blow when the plastic strip breaks. * Take care when handling scalpels. * Use a safety metal ruler when cutting with the scalpel. * Using wire clippers to cut wire. * Use retort stand so weights are sturdily held. * Use weight holders so weights are held tightly together in an order. * Always be aware. 2.8 Fair test For the result of the experiments to be valid and contain fewer errors I need to suggest factors that will affect the result and then resolve them with solutions. The fair test factors that I have taken into practice in this experiment are: * Use the same plastic bag because of specimen variations. * The molecule variation in the bag, the bags handles might be made stronger than the bag, although this may not be true. * Do the experiment in room temperature, as the heat affects the atom bonds. * Keep the rate of loading the weights simultaneously because of impact strength. * Keep the ruler attached to the same place on the retort stand. * Repetitive. * Conduct the experiment five times to devise anomalies. * Use the same dimensions of plastic strips and wires. * Accurately measure with a ruler and avoid parallax errors. * Accurately cut the plastic strips with a sturdy ruler. Other factors that I have taken into place are the weight of the metal wire, but this was under a gram so it would not have affected my result by a lot and if I used the same wire consistently I could justify with the errors. 2.9 Creep Creep is a major factor when using heavier weights because the strip will gradually deform to relieve stress. This is why I need a fixed time to measure the extension when doing the experiment. 3.2 Conclusion My prediction was: I predict that to the elastic limit the force will be proportional to length. Beyond the elastic limit the extension of the plastic strip will increase excessively. My prediction in accordance to my results states clearly that this statement is true. Therefore my results are a success. The strips broke at different forces. This means that some of the strips may have been stronger than the other ones. This may have affected my results before the material reached its elastic limit because the bonds might have been stronger, also maybe because of human errors. The bonds in the different parts of the bags may have been engineered differently to suit its purposes i.e. the handle of the bag may have been made stronger than the body because of the force applied to it. I found that after the material reached its elastic limit the results became a little random. This may have been due to creep and the difficulty to measure the extension when the material is constantly going through deformation and the bonds are weakening making the material extend at a faster and easier rate. I have not included results after the elastic limit in my calculations because of this. The bag may also have contained additives such as colorants to produce colours on the bag; this may affect the bonds in the bag slightly and therefore affecting my results. I found the strip went through plastic deformation at around 10 N, which is equal to 1 kg. Bags are made to carry around 7 kg and the strip I cut was 1/10th of the bag, meaning that the strip cannot be justified as the strength of the bag as the shape of the bag differs from the strip and is stronger than the strip because of the way it is built. To summarise the results fairly I have created an averages of my results. I shall use the average results to do my calculations of the Youngs Modulus and strain energy. 3.3 Evaluating Graphs 3.3.1 Calculating Strain Energy When the strip is stretched we can say that energy has been applied to it, i.e. it extends (goes through deformation). The force extension graph can calculate the work done on the strip. Energy is measured in joules and is the area below the elastic limit on the graph. This energy is called work done and is the elastic potential energy, or the strain energy in the strip. Strain energy is the area underneath the force extension graph up to the elastic limit. ?This area must be a triangular shape because the line up to the elastic limit is straight. The area of a triangle = 1/2 base x height ? Strain energy = 1/2 f.x Where f is the force to produce the extension, x. Strain energy = 1/2 x 9 x 8 x 10-3 = 0.036 J 3.3.2 Calculating Youngs Modulus (E) Youngs Modulus is a measurement of the stiffness material. It is similar to calculating the gradient of the line up to the elastic limit. Youngs Modulus = Stress Strain = 2.5 x 107 0.096 = 2.604166667 x 108 Pa = 2.60 x 108 Pa (to 3 s.f) 3.4 Calculating the % errors for Strain Energy and E All experimental measurements have some degree of error associated with them. Physics Dept. New College Durham. There are systematic and random errors. A systematic error is when the method of measuring is always to large or to small. Such as a non-parallax error or when instruments such as the micrometer are not zeroed correctly. Random errors are when repeated results have different outcomes. To avoid this the experiment can be repeated and then take an average from the results. The formula used to calculate error = ? Smallest division Height gained Error in 100g masses = ? 0.1g ? ? 1.0 x 10-4kg Error in metre rule reading = ? half the smallest division of the rule. = ? 0.5mm Since a measurement is the difference between 2 readings error = ? 1mm ? ? 1.0 x 10-3m Error in vernier reading = ? half the smallest division = ? 0.0005mm Therefore the measurement error (2 readings) = ? 0.0001mm ? ? 1.0 x 10-6m 3.4.1 Strain Energy Strain Energy = 1/2 x load x extension Elastic Limit = 0.9 kg and 8 x 10-3 m % Error in mass (9 x 100g) = 9 x 1.0 x 10-4 kg x 100 9 = ? 0.1% % Error in extension (metre rule) = 1.0 x 10-3m x 100 8 x 10-3 m = ? 12.5% To obtain the total error for strain energy, add the % errors = ? (0.1% + 12.5%) = ? 12.6% Strain energy = 1/2 f.x = 1/2 x 9 x 8 x 10-3 = 0.036 J ?Strain energy = 0.036 J ? 12.6% = 0.036 J ? 0.00454 J 3.4.2 Youngs Modulus Youngs Modulus = Stress Strain = (Force/area of cross section) (Extension/original length) = Force/area of cross section x original length/extension = (Mass x gravity/thickness x width) x (original length/extension) Mass % error = ? 0.1% Material thickness = 0.0197mm ? 0.0197 x 10-3m Material width = 20mm ? 20 x 10-3m Original length (between lines) = 100mm ? 100 x 10-3m Extension = 8mm ? 8 x 10-3 m at elastic limit Material thickness % error = 1.0 x 10-6m x 100 (Vernier) 0.0197 x 10-3m = ? 5.076142132 ? ? 5.08 (to 3 s.f) Width % error = 1.0 x 10-3m x 100 (Rule) 20 x 10-3m = ? 5% Original length % error = 1.0 x 10-3m x 100 20 x 10-3m = ? 0.5% Extension % error = 1.0 x 10-3m x 100 8 x 10-3m = ? 12.5% For the total error, add the % errors = (mass + thick + width + ori length + extension) = ? (0.1 + 5.08 + 5 + 0.5 + 12.5) = ? 23.18% ?Youngs Modulus = 2.60 x 108 Pa ? 23.18% = 2.60 x 108 Pa ? 60268000 Pa = 2.60 x 108 Pa ? 6.03 x 107 Pa (to 3 s.f) 3.5 Evaluation The experiment conducted allowed me to calculate the Youngs Modulus using a carrier bag, the method I used was suitable to the objective of measuring force against extension (the investigation). From my results and graphs I can see that there were no spurious readings in the investigation. Therefore my experiment was a success. The problems of this experiment was the cutting of the plastic bag as due to the lack of friction the plastic bag was not held properly onto the work surface. I tried to resolve this by embracing the carrier bag onto the work surface whilst I cut it but this was still difficult as the bag still moved. When the strip had a force applied its width reduced and the strip became compact into a wire dimensional shape. I would have preferred f I was able to hold the original shape intact when adding the weights. I did try other methods, such as replace the wire with a pencil and hold the weights on each side but this meant that the weight addition was going up by 2N instead of 1N simultaneously. Also putting on the 2 weights at the same time was difficult because of balancing the pencil, this meant that creep came into affect and I it was hard to record measurements at a fixed time. I would have preferred to use a PC to help me record my results, as this would have reduced the human errors and recorded the results more accurately than I could have. But the costs of using a computer and setting it up was time consuming and would not have correlated with the time I was given to conduct this experiment. The strain energy and Youngs Modulus % errors were both above 10% and this is quite a high figure when trying to measure accurately. If I used a computer this would have reduced my errors and made my measurements accurate. If I were going to extend this testing into measuring hardness, viscosity or ductility then I would have re-done the experiment using a PC. At a more advanced level plastic deformation is caused by the motion of dislocations, which involves the breaking and reforming of bonds. This can be seen as a random procedure because the force applied would have to be done on the same material with the exact structure and the force applied in the exact place. As carrier bags are made in masses I doubt that the structures are exactly the same. Therefore it would be pointless for me to have measured beyond the elastic limit.