Saving Private Ryan Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Saving Private Ryan - Movie Review Example George Marshall has ordered Captain Miller to save the last Ryan alive. The team composed of 8 men headed by Captain Miller. Not sure of the whereabouts of Ryan, the team of Captain Miller moved from one place to another looking for Ryan. Until one day they met someone who saw Ryan guarding the town of Ramelle in France, to prevent the German from taking the people of the town. Captain Miller tries to convince Ryan to come with them but instead of coming he makes a deal with Miller that if they help him protect the city then he will go with them. Miller agrees with him and fought with the German. During the encounter with the German, Miller got hurt but was able to bring home Ryan alive. At the end of the story, the old man in the beginning of the movie was James Ryan and the grave belongs to Captain Miller. Saving Private Ryan is an epic movie that features how the US troops were able to save the only survivor among four brothers who were held captive by the Germans. Private James R yan played by Matt Damon is the only survivor among the four brothers; three of his brothers were killed in action. Captain John Miller played by Tom Hanks was the one designated to bring to safety Private James Ryan. The movie received several good reviews from a different part of the world. Veterans of the World War II who have seen the movie relived their memories during the war. Although the movie was done in England, Ireland, and France, the movie seems to make it look like they are on the battlefield. The characters in the story are fictional but the story was adopted in the life of the Niland Brothers. They are also from the military two died during the battle one held captive and the other is missing. The movie made a good selection of characters to make this movie realistic. The character of both Captain Miller and James Ryan are very appealing to the viewers. Since they are both a good actor they have portrayed their character very well. Although the places and other chara cters are fictional the actors still were able to do justice in their different role.   In the Battlefield the warships and combat outfit are very much similar to the one that the US army is wearing during the 1940 war. Based on the review done by several observers, the one making this picture really is the movement of the camera. The camera in the first part of the story on the Omaha Beach brought the viewer on the battlefield. The agony and pain were felt during the shot taken by the camera. Added to the realism of the story are the make-up, costumes, and the effectiveness of the portrayal of the characters. The battleship used is the same replica in the 1940 war that can be seen in the museum and other historical websites. The movie really brings out the story behind the battle. The location was James Ryan found were fictional but added the spies in the story. This American soldier has dedicated his life to serving not only his country but also those who need his service.   T he weapons, machine gun nests, bunkers, and vehicles add elements that engage us easily into the narrative. During the search for James Francis Ryan of Iowa the locations and set design shows accuracy. Bombed houses, splintered planks everywhere, and rubble-strewn streets resemble photographs of real battle scenes. And the costumes are correct. The canvas belts, the jackets, the occasional puttees laced around the calves -- these are the outfits of 1944.

Comparative Analysis of Two Films Essay Example for Free

Comparative Analysis of Two Films Essay Stereotyping can be defined as sweeping generalizations about affiliates of a certain gender, nationality, religion, race, or other group. Social stereotyping has been a worldwide issue for many years. More specifically, stereotypical assertions, based on both gender and race, have been a common theme throughout many 20th and 21st century films. Both Crash, directed by Paul Haggis in 2004, and Girlfight directed by Karyn Kusama in 2000, address the issue of stereotyping in their own unique way. Girlfight does this by placing a female in the spotlight of a sport that is predominantly dominated by males, whereas, Crash confronts our problem with racial stereotypes and racism, and the need to counter them, by focusing on the â€Å"crash† humans experience by encountering people that they actually are already linked to. Throughout the film Girlfight, the crowd may have been against Diana, but her determination allowed her to fight off skeptics outside the ring and her opponents in the ring. Crash is a movie that brings out bigotry and racial stereotypes. While one story revolves around a gender debate, the other approaches the argument from the aspect of race and ultimately both combat the greater social issue of stereotyping. The film Girlfight depicts the struggle of Diana Guzman, a high school girl, and how she overcomes gender barriers to dominate the boxing arena. Her mother passed away when she was young, and she lives with her father and younger brother, Tiny. They reside in the projects of New York City, a tougher area where the ability to defend yourself is basically a prerequisite. Her father forces Tiny to train at the local gym to become better suited to defend himself and that is where Diana is introduced to the sport of boxing. Setting is a key aspect of the film and director Karyn Kusama’s choice of realistic venues for each and every scene help create a documentary-like atmosphere. One scene that illustrates this quality is when Diana and Adrian learn that they will both be fighting each other in the final bout. The scene takes place inside the manager of the ring’s office; a small but well organized office. The camera pans from character to character as they discuss Diana’s next fight and the viewer is placed in the back corner of the office space. A key detail to be noticed is that the door is open and one can see that boxers are still training in the background. This gives the audience the idea that what they are viewing is very real, almost like a documentary, and Kusama’s film work adds to that with a picture that is both grainy and misty. The scene is also full of dialogue, which is a common attribute of any documentary. It seems as if the scene would have occurred even if the camera had not been rolling film. The realistic aspect correlates back to the underlying premise of the movie, gender stereotyping. At the time, female boxers were a rarity and Diana was an exception not only because of her gender but also because of her skill. The boxers at this gym are all male except for Diana who happens to be the main character in the film. This creates an immediate gender barrier the second that Diana steps in the gym merely because she isn’t of the norm. The film Crash attempts to tackle the issue of racial stereotyping though the stories of several characters who all turn out to be connected in some way, shape, or form. Anthony and Peter are partners in crime who hijack cars for a chop shop. Anthony believes that society is unfairly biased against blacks, and at one point in the film he justifies his actions by claiming he would never hurt another black person. Rick Cabot, district attorney of Los Angeles, and his wife Jean are two other main characters throughout the film. One scene that reinforces the use of stereotyping is when Anthony and Peter stroll a Los Angeles shopping strip. As they walk along, Anthony explains to Peter how whites are so quick to judge blacks at night. The dialogue throughout the scene is especially important because Anthony quickly changes from complaining about racial tendencies around him to hiding behind a handgun as both he and his friend hijacks a car. The audience sides with Anthony, as he begins his rant, but out of the blue, the two men pull a gun on an innocent couple and the audience is left in shock. Anthony states, â€Å"You couldn’t find a whiter, safer or better-lit part of this city right now, but yet this white woman sees two black guys who look like UCLA students strolling down the sidewalk, and her reaction is blind fear† (Crash). This statement draws light on the fact that we as humans tend to jump to conclusions often too quickly. Anthony and Peter had done nothing out of the ordinary but the town happened to be predominantly dominated by whites and that set off a red flag in Jean’s mind. Anthony flips the subject based on the fact that they are the only blacks in the area and asks Peter, â€Å"Why aren’t we scared? † Peter responds, â€Å"Cause we got guns? † and both men proceed to pull out their weapons and hijack the Cabot’s vehicle (Crash). This scene is greatly enhanced by the use of sound. As both of the couples stroll down the boulevard, one can hear a peaceful Christmas carol in the background, but as the men approach the Cabots, the music increases in volume and changes to a more upbeat, edgy track. The film does this in order to create tension between both sets of characters; it changes the norm and keeps the audience anxious. To reinforce this, the sound increases once more as Anthony and Peter peel out of the street with the stolen car creating a definitive point in the scene. By transitioning from calm to chaos, Haggis demonstrates how a simple misinterpretation, a stereotype, could pay dividends in the long run. Jean Cabot had suspected something was not right as soon as she locked eyes with Anthony. The fact that Anthony gave a rather thought-provoking talk on racial tendencies shows that stereotyping does not go unnoticed. An act as simple as interlocking arms with your husband as you pass two young, African American teenagers may seem like an act of safety to you but to the teenagers it is offensive. This also proves that this is not a one-sided debate. Both parties are involved and equally held responsible for their criticisms. In â€Å"Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meaning of Gender,† Aaron H. Devor discusses the distinction between gender and sexuality. Gender is typically based on anatomical differences between men and women, but does not necessarily match with them. In Diana’s case, she is a female yet she demonstrates masculine tendencies through her animosity and fury in the boxing arena. According to Devor, Diana fails to follow â€Å"the natural role† of her sexuality (Devor 160). Devor states, â€Å"persons who perform the activities considered appropriate for another gender will be expected to perform them poorly† (Devor 159). He point is valid because there are always cases when a male or a female may not fit the norm and fight off a society that is so fixated on masculinity versus femininity. This statement connects with the film Girlfight, in which Diana Guzman distinguishes herself by becoming a boxer, a sport dominated by males. Devor states that even if the athlete does succeed, it is a â€Å"reward with ridicule or scorn for blurring the gender dividing line† (Devor 159). The film Girlfight somewhat argues this statement because Diana was cheered as she finished her final bout against Adrian. Adrian was obviously the favored fighter, mainly due the act that he was a male, yet Diana pulled off the victory. The fact is that gender is socially and culturally determined; it is not biologically determined. At the time, boxing gurus failed to give credit to Diana by being an underdog and decided to instead critique and stereotype her based on her sex. Today more and more women have become boxers but there are still those that frown upon their presence in the ring. Even though people have become more tolerant, there are still some who are not willing to except things out of the norm, which is why society has not gained the balance it needs and social stereotyping exists. Gender stereotyping is a very serious issue in today’s society, but another dilemma just as grim is that of racial stereotyping. Larry Aubry’s Los Angeles Sentinel article titled, â€Å"Undoing Racism in American Cities,† argues how racism is still very much with us and is still a barrier to the realization of the American dream in the nation’s cities and towns. His main point is that in order to â€Å"undo racism† one must â€Å"move from being a part of the problem to becoming a part of the solution† (Aubry, par. 3). Throughout the film Crash, the main characters are given various opportunities to combat racism but instead act on poor judgment by stereotyping. The fact is that stereotyping never leads to a proper outcome. A proper outcome may not be what either party had intended but most of the time an ethical outcome is best. In Anthony’s case, he fumed on how whites were racist yet he became part of the problem by doing exactly what Jean Cabot had foreseen him execute. Anthony stereotyped against himself and further worsened the problem. According to Aubry, â€Å"there is a consensus that everyone is part of the problem in many different ways† (Aubry, par. ). Most people place the blame on others when in fact they escalate the argument. Stereotyping has set societies back time and time again and until society is guided by the fairness of its ideas, its politics, and its culture and not by the fairness of one another’s skin or gender, progress cannot be made. Girlfight attacks the issue from the gender side while Crash from the racial side. Stereotyping is vague in nature but both films key in on these issues through their storyline and cinematic techniques. Girlfight did this through a realistic portrayal of the life of a young female boxer and her struggles. Crash decided to create a segmented story in which characters interact through their abuse of stereotyping. If Anthony and Peter had decided not to go through with the car hijacking, both them and the Cabots would have been closer to the realization that they were in fact, out of line. In Diana’s case, the public is against her, even her father is against her, yet she knows she can fend off the skeptics. Social stereotyping is pervasive and without both parties grasping that fact, both racist and gender stereotyping will continue to exist.

Relative Price And Performance Relationship

Relative Price And Performance Relationship 2.1 INTRODUCTION In essence, the job of a strategist is to understand and cope with competition. Often, managers define competition too narrowly, as if it occurred only among todays direct competitors. Lall, (2001, p. 6) stated that competitiveness in industrial activities means developing relative efficiency along with sustainable growth Moreover, agribusiness competitiveness has been defined as The sustained ability to profitably gain and maintain market share(Martin, Westgren, van Duren, 1991, p. 1456) or, in a more consumer-oriented way, as the ability of a firm or industry segment to offer products and services that meet or exceed the customer value currently or potentially offered by the products and services of rivals, substitutes, and possible market entrants (Kennedy, Harrison, Kalaitzandonakes, Peterson, Rindfuss, 1997). Yet, according to Michael E. Porter, the Harvard Business School professor, competition for profit goes beyond established industry rivals to include four other competitive forces as well as customers, suppliers, potential entrants and substitute products. Furthermore, the model of Five Competitive Forces was developed by Michael E. Porter in his book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors in 1980. It draws upon Industrial Organisation (IO) to develop five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Attractiveness in the context of business environment refers to the overall industry profitability. An unattractive industry is one in which the combination of these five forces acts to drive down the overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one approaching pure competition, in which available profits for all firms are driven down to zero. The character, mix, and subtleties of competitive forces are never the same from one industry to another. A powerful and widely used tool for systematically diagnosing the principal competitive pressures in the hydroponics market and assessing the strength and importance of each is the five-forces model of competition.(see figure) Moreover, three of Porters five forces refer to competition from external sources. The remainders are internal threats. Therefore, it is important to use Porters five forces in conjunction with SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and PEST Analysis (Political, Economical, Social and Technological). Porters Five Forces 2.2.1 Threat of new entrants One of the defining characteristics of competitive advantage is the industrys barrier to entry. It is very expensive for new firms to enter an industry where there is high barrier of entry. Furthermore, profitable markets that yield high returns will attract new firms. In this situation, these new entrants could change major determinants to the market environment (e.g. market shares, prices, customer loyalty) at any time. In the 1993 reprint of the first edition of Bain (1956, pp. 53-166), three main factors are considered as entry barriers: economies of scale, product differentiation advantages, and absolute cost advantages. Moreover, as more firms enter the market, you will see rivalry increase and profitability will fall to the point where there is no incentive for firms to enter the industry. Likewise, the threat of the new entrants will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry. These are typically: Economies of scale According to Kislev et al, it is generally accepted that agricultural production is characterized by increasing returns to scale. If economies of scale exist, it represents a high barrier of entry. Firms within the industry will have achieved these economies and if we enter this industry we will have to match their scale size of production in order to compete with them. Thus according to Michael Porter, since EOS does not exist in a tangible way, we need to prove their existence first before trying to compete with the existing firms. Capital requirements This refers to how much money should the firms have to tie up to keep the doors open. This is also a barrier to entry as if firms have to tie up large amounts of capital for daily operations; this will deter smaller firms from entering. Dr. Pieter A.Schippers said that hydroponics requires high-cost installations marketing gourmet vegetables at ritzy prices. According to AREU, the capital investment for hydroponics in Mauritius is up to three million rupees. Brand identity According to Erin Ferree ,Brand identity is the combination of consistent visual elements that are used in your marketing materials. A basic brand identity kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and envelope. It can be extended to include a Web site Where there is brand identity there is high barrier to entry and regarding the hydroponics market in Mauritius, there are no such barriers in the field of hydroponics as it is a newly grown market. Access to Distribution The new entrant must, of course, secure distribution of its product or service. A new food item, for example, must displace others from the supermarket shelf via price breaks, promotions, intense selling efforts, or some other means. The more limited the wholesale or retail channels are and the more that existing competitors have tied them up, the tougher entry into an industry will be. Sometimes access to distribution is so high a barrier that new entrants must bypass distribution channels altogether or create their own. Switching cost Switching costs are fixed costs that buyers face when they change suppliers. Such costs may arise because a buyer who switches vendors must, for example, alter product specifications, retrain employees to use a new product, or modify processes or information systems. The larger the switching costs, the harder it will be for an entrant to gain customers. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is an example of a product with very high switching costs. Once a company has installed SAPs ERP system, for example, the costs of moving to a new vendor are astronomical because of embedded data, the fact that internal processes have been adapted to SAP, major retraining needs, and the mission-critical nature of the application. 2.2.2 Bargaining Power of suppliers The term suppliers comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services and bargaining power is the ability to influence the setting of prices. Therefore, bargaining power of suppliers will identify the extent to which your suppliers can choose to raise prices, reduce quality or reduce service without consequence. The more concentrated and controlled the supply, the more power it wields against the market. Monopolistic or quasi-monopolistic suppliers will use their power to extract better terms (higher profit margins or) at the expense of the market. Moreover, in a competitive market, no one supplier can set the prices. Likewise, suppliers can group to wield more bargaining power. The conditions making suppliers, as a group, powerful tend to mirror those making the buyers powerful are as follows: Differentiation of inputs A primary goal of the theory of product differentiation is the determination of market structure and conduct of firms that can choose the specifications of their products besides choosing output and price. Traditional models of product differentiation and marketing have focused on products that are defined by one characteristic only. ( See Hotelling (1929), Vickrey (1964), DAspremont, Gabszewicz and Thisse (1979), Salop (1979), Economides (1984), Anderson, de Palma, and Thisse (1992), among others in economics and Hauser and Shugan (1983), Moorthy (1988) and Kumar and Sudarshan (1988) in marketing.) Threat of forward integration The traditional market foreclosure theory, which was accepted in leading court cases in 1950s-70s, viewed vertical merger as harming competition by denying competitors access to either a supplier or a buyer. (Arrow, K., Vertical Integration and Communication, Bell Journal of Economics, 1975, 6, 173-183.) The critics argue that the theory is logically flawed, and a vertically integrated firm cannot benefit from excluding its rivals (e.g., Bork, 1978; and Posner, 1976). The paper by Salop and Sche ¤man (1987) forms the basis for this argument, and Ordover, Saloner, and Salop (1990, hereinafter OSS) is perhaps the best-known paper that pioneered the equilibrium approach to the analysis of vertical mergers. In this paper, I shall argue that the new theories on vertical mergers have ignored an important point, namely that vertical integration not only changes the integrated firms incentive to supply inputs to its downstream rivals, but it may also change the rivals incentives to purchase inputs from alternative suppliers. Once this is realized,an equilibrium theory of vertical mergers can be developed without some of the controversial assumptions made in the literature, and this theory can provide a framework in which the competitive effects of vertical mergers are measured and compared. The basic insight of my analysis is that vertical integration creates multimarket interaction between the integrated firm and its downstream rivals. A rival may recognize that if it purchases inputs from the integrated firm, the integrated firm may have less incentive to cut prices in the downstream market, which will benefit the rival. Therefore, vertical integration can change the incentive of a downst ream rival in selecting its input supplier, making it a strategic instead of a passive buyer in the input market. Supplier concentration relative to industry concentration Trade theory predicts that if trade costs go down or if productivity rises exogenously in a pool of potential suppliers with heterogeneous productivity levels, the number of suppliers will enlarge (Helpman, Melitz and Rubinstein 2008).An exogenous taste for variety, or a desire to limit monopoly positions, would also lead to a larger number of suppliers, although these forces are static. In the presence of heterogenous quality, however, the dynamics of diversification/concentration can be different. Access of labour According to Bertram,G. (1986), he assumes that output is governed by a well-behaved, continuous, constant returns to scale, aggregate production function involving two factor inputs, capital and labour.( Bertram, G. (1986), Sustainable development in Pacific micro-economies, World Development, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 809-22.) Importance of volume of supplier According to Hahn et al., 1990; Humphreys et al., 2004; Krause, 1997; Krause et al., 1998; Li et al., 2007; Watts and Hahn, 1993, buyer-supplier relationships are becoming increasingly important as buyers realize that their success is often tied to the capabilities and performance of suppliers. Many organizations engage in supplier development to assist suppliers in improving supply chain performance and capabilities. Bargaining power of buyer According to Inderst (2007), buyer power is the ability of buyers to obtain advantageous terms of trade from their suppliers. Monopsonistic or quasi- monopsonistic buyers will use their power to extract better terms at the expense of the market. In a truly competitive market, no one buyer can set the prices. Instead they are set by supply and demand. Prices are set by supply and demand and the market reaches the Pareto-optimal point where the highest possible number of buyers are satisfied at a price that still allow for the supplier to be profitable. Porter states that a buyer group is powerful if it: purchases large volumes relative to seller sales; learns low profits; the products it purchases from the industry represent a significant fraction of the buyers costs or purchases; the products are standard or undifferentiated and face few switching costs; the industrys product is unimportant to the quality of the buyers products or services; buyers pose a credible threat of backward integration; The buyer has full information. Additionally, with the bargaining power, buyers can impose on suppliers and thus can choose their suppliers. According to Ghodsypour and OBrien, (1998); Weber et al., (2000) and Dahel, (2003), this can be done by using the linear programming models. Moreover, the multi-objective programming model developed by Weber and Ellram (1993) can helps buyer to select a pool of suppliers and determine the purchasing units to be allocated among the suppliers. Buyer switching cost Buyer-supplier relationships play a key role in the success of a supply chain (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Lin et al., 2001; Storey and Emberson, 2006); however, organizations often face the problem of choosing appropriate suppliers (Pagell and Sheu, 2001; Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Wadhwa et al., 2006; Phusavat et al., 2007). The problem of choosing suppliers so that profits can be maximized has become increasingly vital to an enterprises survival due to keen competition in the micro-profit era (Giunipero et al., 2006). Numerous studies have addressed the issue of the buyer-supplier relationship in supply chain management. One stream of research examines related variables, such as cooperation, satisfaction, trust, and commitment, which make the supply chain relationship successful (Byrd and Davidson, 2003; Fynes et al., 2005; Malhotra et al., 2005). Another stream focuses on the criteria for choosing suppliers, such as quality, on-time delivery, and costs (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Blackhurs t et al., 2005; Gunasekaran and Kobu, 2006; Phusavat and Kanchana, 2008). Among these criteria, costs have received the most attention because they are considered the key factor in choosing suppliers (Noordewier et al., 1990; Kalwani and Narayandas, 1995; Dahlstrom and Nygaard, 1999; Zhao and Yang, 2007). Buyer information Another reason why buyers were in such a strong bargaining position was because they had full information about demand, actual market prices, and even manufacturer costs. The buyers comparative information was often better than what was available to manufacturers, and thus with such full information, retailers were able to ensure that they received the most favourable prices offered to others, and were able to oppose suppliers claims that their viability would be threatened if prices were reduced. Owing to all of the above reasons, one can see that the bargaining power of the Australian food retailers was so great in the early 1980s that they were perhaps in a unique position of strength even in a global sense. The current barriers for purchasing organic products mainly relates to price, availability, and consumer awareness. Moreover, offering customers and obtaining greater value added by creating, developing, and maintaining lasting customer-supplier relationships (Rexha,2000; Van der Haar et al., 2001), such that both parties benefit (Gro ¨nroos, 2000; Kothandaraman and Wilson, 2001; Sharma et al., 2001; Walter et al., 2001; Leek et al., 2003), is considered fundamental for guaranteeing the success and survival of companies in the market. Suppliers adapt to the customers needs in order to satisfy them. This adaptation can encourage the customer to behave opportunistically (Brown et al., 2000; Wathne and Heide, 2000). But if the supplier is able to adapt, and satisfy customer needs better than its competitors, enduring relationships can develop between both agents. Brand identity of buyer According to Aaker, (1991, 1996), brand identity is a message about a brand that a firm seeks to communicate with. This communication is undertaken via the product, the brand name, symbols and logos, historical roots, the brands creator, and advertising (Kapferer, 1998 Some organisations base their competitive advantage on physical assets such as a manufacturing facility, some on their employees, and some on their distribution networks (Kotler, 2000). Many others, however, seek to attain a competitive advantage from intangible assets such as their reputation or the brands that they own (Beverland, 2005; Keller, 1993; Low and Blois, 2002). Yet, research to date on branding in business and industrial marketing has been limited (Beverland et al., 2006; Low and Blois, 2002; Mudambi et al., 1997; Nilson, 1998). Price sensitivity Porter (1985) has defined two primary types of competitive strategy that can provide a source of competitive advantage: differentiation and low cost strategy. The low cost strategy, which may enable a price leader position, can lead to price wars and is therefore risky for all digital products and services, including retail banking. Ultimately only one company can be the price leader, thus all other companies should contemplate alternative strategies. Likewise, marketers and researchers are familiar with the concept of price elasticity, which describes changes in the quantity of demand for a product associated with changes in price of the product. If demand is elastic, changes in price level have a proportionally greater impact on demand. Inelastic demand describes the case where changes in price have little effect on demand. The concept of price elasticity describes the aggregate response of a market segment to price levels. Price sensitivity is an individual difference variable describing how individual consumers react to price levels and changes in price levels. A consumer high in price sensitivity will manifest much less demand as price goes up (or higher demand as price goes down), and consumers low in price sensitivity will not react as strongly to a price change. Standardize products A large majority of respondents believed that many retailers considered most food products to be fairly standard, and thus, as they could most often find alternative suppliers, they played one manufacturing company against another. It was the respondents view that such tactics also extended towards substituting house brands and generics for brand names, and these aspects will be considered later. Thus, unless a manufacturer had very strong end-user demand for its brand (e.g. Vegemite, Milo, Pal), it found that its product was capable of being substituted unless it succumbed to retailer pressure. Threat of substitute products All firms in an industry are competing, in a broad sense, with industries producing substitute products. The impact of substitutes affected certain segments of the food industry more than others, the obvious examples being the yellow fats segment (butter versus margarine), the sweeteners segment (sugar versus sugar substitutes) and the pet foods segment (canned versus dry). The food industry as a whole is, in fact, competing with other substitute expense categories such as entertainment and personal items. While expenditure on food will never fall below an essential base level. Research done by Ogilvy and Mather (1983) seems to suggest that more people cut back on food during the early 1980s, in order to cope with inflation, than on other expense categories. The following factors are being considered when analyzing the threat of substitute products: Buyer propensity to substitute For sellers, it is crucial to win a buyers trust, then nurture it over the course of a relationship. Trust enables the buyer to economize cognitive and emotional energy and rely on a seller before extensive information can be gathered (Luhmann, 1979; Jones and George, 1998; Yamagishi, 2002; Mayer et al., 1995). As trust matures, the buyer identifies with (Lewicki and Bunker, 1995) and feels affection and devotion for the seller (McAllister, 1995). Trust is therefore strongly linked to buyer commitment (Moorman et al., 1992) and loyalty (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). A sellers violation of trust occurs when the buyer perceives evidence that the seller failed to meet the buyers confident expectations (Tomlinson et al., 2004). Relative price/performance relationship of substitutes Shapiro (1992) argues that institutional investors, who normally trade in large quantities, are concerned with the opportunity costs involved in undertaking these large trades. Many suppliers, in turn, face a growing trend towards commoditization of products (Rangan and Bowman, 1992) and search for new ways of differentiating themselves through improved customer interactions (Vandenbosch and Dawar, 2002). From an academic perspective, there is a rich and growing body of research focusing on buyer-supplier relationships in business markets (Ulaga, 2001). More broadly, researchers have coined the term relationship quality which is typically assessed through some combination of commitment, satisfaction and trust (Crosby et al., 1990; Dorsch et al., 1998; Hewett et al., 2002). According to Wilson (1995, p. 337) trust is a fundamental relationship model building block and as such is included in most relationship models. In addition to trust, Morgan and Hunt (1994) identified commitment as another key-mediating variable of relationship marketing. Furthermore in their commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing, Morgan and Hunt (1994) establish trust as a key-mediating variable that is central to relational exchanges. Moreover, customer satisfaction is widely accepted among researchers as a strong predictor for behavioural variables such as repurchase intentions, word-of-mouth, or loyalty (Ravald and Gro ¨nroos, 1996; Liljander and Strandvik, 1995). Satisfaction research is mainly influenced by the disconfirmation paradigm (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Competitive Rivalry The rivalry amongst existing firms analysis will help you to understand the risk that your competitors may compete for market position and if their competitive tactics are likely to be effective. Furthermore, you will find that your competitors may compete for market position using tactics such as pricing competition, advertising as well as increasing customer service. To analyze industry rivalry in your industry, you will need to consider the following factors: Diversity among competitors The first point of departure is found in Miles et al.(1993)and Miles and Snow (1986) proposition that strategy in diversity and structure is normal in any industry, that it is good for and industry and furthermore that various configurations of strategy and structure may be equally effective in producing high performance. Industry growth rate When hydroponics industry is in a growth phase there will be room for the industry to grow, as a result there will be a low risk of competitor rivalry. Thompson et al., (2008) stated that rivalry becomes stronger if demand growth is slow. Exit barriers Powell (1995) incorporated entry barriers and industry rivalry in his research and found a significant correlation of firm performance with entry barriers (r  ¼ 0:29; p , 0:05) and industry rivalry (r  ¼ 20:32; p , 0:05). These results indicate the higher the entry barriers, the lower the threat of new entrants and the better the opportunities for improved performance; and similarly, the higher the industry rivalry, the tougher the industry competition which would mean the lower the firm performance. A critique of Porters model There are, however, several limitations to Porters framework, such as: It tends to over-stress macro analysis, i.e. at the industry level, as opposed to the analysis of more specific product-market segments at a micro level. It oversimplifies industry value chains: for example, invariably buyers may need to be both segmented and also differentiated between channels, intermediate buyers and end consumers. It fails to link directly to possible management action: for example, where companies have apparently low influence over any of the five forces, how can they set about dealing with them? It tends to encourage the mind-set of an industry as a specific entity with ongoing boundaries. This is perhaps less appropriate now where industry boundaries appear to be far more fluid. It appears to be self-contained, thus not being specifically related, for example, to PEST factors, or the dynamics of growth in a particular market. It is couched in economic terminology, which may be perceived to be too much jargon from a practising managers perspective and indeed, it could be argued that it is over-branded. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis, which is originally introduced in 1969 by Harvard researchers (e.g. Learned et al., 1991), calls for an external assessment of the opportunities and threats that exist in a firms environment and an internal assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation. The SWOT framework became popular during the 1970s because of its inherent assumption that managers can plan the alignment of a firms resources with its environment. Subsequently, during the decade of the 1980s, Porters (1980) introduction of the industrial organization paradigm with his five forces models gave primacy to a firms external environment, overshadowing the popularity of SWOT. More recently, at the start of the twenty-first century, SWOT is alive and well as the recommended framework for case analysis in many of the leading strategic management and marketing texts (Hitt et al., 2000; Anderson and Vince, 2002). However, despite its wide and enduring popularity, SWOT has remained an theoretica l framework, of limited prescriptive power for practice and minor significance for research (Dess, 1999). Generally, firms are asked to develop strategies to guide the organisation to ward opportunities that may be exploited using strengths of the organisation, push the organisation away from threats in the environment, maintain existing strengths and improve organisational weaknesses. Recently, Duncan, Ginter and Swayne (1998) suggested a four step model for assessing internal strengths and weaknesses. Their four steps include surveying, categorising, investigation, and evaluating. The tables below show the Strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of hydroponics in Mauritius. STENGTHS WEAKNESSES Growing demand for vegetables, both consumer and business markets. Environment-friendly practices favoured. Provide employment. Flexible in production. Poorly structured distribution channels. Finance: such project requires huge investments. Insufficient use of technology: growers in Mauritius cannot afford to adopt latest technology such as those used in Australia and USA due to high costs. Equipment and other materials have to be imported. Lack of trained trainers. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Favoured business environment- laws and legislations have been modified so as to propel small business. Examples are the introduction of the Municipal Fee, replacing the Trade Licence, Special Tax Holiday Scheme, cancellation of customs duty on several products and Empowerment Programme. Incentives offered to registered enterprises by SEHDA, National Computer Board and so on. Examples are awards to the best business plans, business counselling and facilitation. Increasing cost of doing business. High inflation rate causing depreciation of the Mauritian Rupees. Favourable prices of the substitutes. PEST Analysis PEST (or political, economic, social and technological factors) is the most commonly used tool for environmental analysis (Beamish, 1996) and is possibly the second most widely known strategy technique after SWOT analysis. Political/ Legal Environment: in most countries, the government provides much needed support to those who want to invest in hydroponics technology. Examples are tax relieves on equipment, free counselling, training, incentives to set up small businesses, loan facilities and so on. Regarding the Economic Environment, these issues should be considered: Income is a major influencer of consumer purchasing power. For instance, a fall in income caused by an increase in the rate of inflation may result in a fall in purchasing power. Consumers may buy more of the organic vegetables, which are cheaper than the hydroponics vegetables. The reverse is also true. Changing consumer spending patterns influence the demand for hydroponics produce. It has been noted that there is an increasing tendency for consumers to spend more and more on leisure activities, transportation, medical-care and education rather than food. But with the new budget made by the finance minister, we can expect that the spending on education will decrease and ultimately result to and increase in food or other activities also. Social/ cultural Environment: a study by the NZ Vegetable Growers Federation (www.vegetables.co.nz) , found that nearly 40% of people who purchase organic food do so because they believe it is pesticide-free. Technological Environment: growers of hydroponics produce who do not adopt the best practice technology will be disadvantaged and gradually lose access to all but low margin residual markets. However, there is a profound gap between PEST and SWOT analysis, and this is only partly met by Porters five forces. A linking technique is that of Grundys growth drivers (Grundy, 2004). See the diagram below. Grundy gives an example of growth driver analysis, helping us to represent the forces that, directly or indirectly, cause or inhibit market growth over a particular time period. However, an important feature to note here is that it is part of a system. The system captures, in an onion model format, the key domains that need to be thought through, within the overall competitive climate, beginning with: _ PEST factors _ growth drivers _ Porters five competitive forces _ competitive position. These layers of the onion are highly interdependent, which might be a very useful phenomenon for managers to learn about and to apply. For example, where the PEST factors are generally hospitable, growth is encouraged and the full impact of the five competitive forces may not be felt and may thus be latent. However, where the PEST factors become inhospitable, this will clearly dampen the growth drivers, and if the growth drivers within a particular market are themselves tightening, for example due to life-cycle effects, then this will put a disproportionate and adverse pressure on Porters five forces, particularly in the bargaining power of buyers, and also upon rivalry. Furthermore, a high growth environment may encourage entrants and a low one will discourage these. The result can lead to a collapse in confidence and in prices unless there are lots of exits.

Katherine Ann Porters The Jilting of Granny Weatherall :: The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

Katherine Ann Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,† a short story by Katherine Anne Porter, describes the last thoughts, feelings, and memories of an elderly woman. As Granny Weatherall’s life literally â€Å"flashes† before her eyes, the importance of the title of the story becomes obvious. Granny Weatherall has been in some way deceived or disappointed in every love relationship of her life. Her past lover George, husband John, daughter Cornelia, and God each did an injustice to Granny Weatherall. Granny faces her last moments of life with a mixture of strength, bitterness, and fear. Granny gained her strength from the people that she felt jilted by. George stood Granny up at the altar and it is never stated that she heard from him again. The pain forced Granny to be strong. In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," there are two themes. The first is self-pity. The second theme is the acceptance of her death. Both deal with the way people perceive their deaths and mortality in general. Granny Weatherall's behavior is Porter's tool for making these themes visible to the reader. The theme of self-pity is obvious and thoroughly explored early on. As a young lady, Granny Weatherall was left at the altar on her wedding day. As a result, the pathetic woman feels sorry for herself for the rest of her life. She becomes a bitter old woman who is suspicious of everyone around her. This point is shown early in the story when the do Granny Weatherall, the main character in Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, is an 80-year-old elderly woman who is at the doorstep of death. There is a sense of disillusionment with Granny that leads readers to develop their own interpretation of her relationship with Cornelia, her daughter As the narrator, Granny unk nowingly would paint the picture of Cornelia as nuisance and bothersome. In fact, the reader can rationalize that it is just Cornelia's concern for an ailing mother that creates the situation of her seemingly being there all the time. Granny is having mental flashbacks as death approaches like "a fog rose over the valley" (1296). Granny recalls events throughout her life, from being left at the altar on her wedding day, to losing a child, to coming to grips with her own death as the story reaches a close. All of these recollections and the realization of her death bring together the great ironies of the story, ironies which cause not one but two jiltings for Granny.

Book Design Essay

Process of Book Making 1. Idea 2. Manuscript 3. Contract/ Agreement 4. Editing 5. Proofreading 6. Typesetting 7. Editing 8. Correction (book layout) 9. Page Layout 10. Editing and correction 11. Film making 12. Plat Making 13. Printing 14. Binding 15. Packaging 16. Distribution THE IMPORTANT OF BOOK DESIGN 1. Poor design can hurt sales: ‘ People Do Judge a book by its cover’ 2. Book design size of books body copy headings or titles running head chapter numbers 3. Book Design Approach (Marshall Lee Transparent Approach Mood approach. DISTRIBUTION & BOOK FEATURE Book stores; attractive jacket, thick and hefty bulky) appearance and colorful Gift book; large, expensive and exclusive Mail order; light weight paper Library; strong binding Design unusual format: Die-Cut (Children Books) LINEUP OF NON-FICTION BOOK Preliminary Page/ Front-matter Half-title page Full title page Advertising card Copy right page and catalog number Dedication Acknowledgment Preface or forward Table of content List of illustration, list of abbreviation etc Introduction BINDING Stitching binding. Adhesive binding Mechanical binding STITCHING BINDING Side and saddle stitching 1. Simple binding method 2. Inserting one or more wires through the fold line 3. Suitable for thinner book and publication; brochure, booklets, newsletters and magazines. ADVANTAGES OF STITCHING BINDING 1. Flatter than perfect binding 2. Quicker turnaround 3. Lower cost DISADVANTAGES OF STITCHING BINDING 1. Working in signatures in four pages or panels 2. Not durable (heavy duty) and inappropriate for heavy use 3. Spine forms a blunt point 4.Thick and small-format have a tendency spring open ADHESIVE BINDING: LAY-FLAT & OTABIND Uses glue to hold pages together Appropriate for thickness book Stacking up assembly Backbone is roughened for glue Trimming side; head, foot and face ADVANTAGES OF ADHESIVE BINDING 1. Strong binding 2. Heavy use and heavy duty 3. Signatures in single leaves DISADVANTAGES OF ADHESIVE BINDING 1. Costly than stitching binding 2. Spine for thick publication 3. Do not lay-flatter MECHANICAL BINDING Spiral Binding 1. Manual and workbooks 2. Single loop/ metal or plastic wire ADVANTAGES OF SPIRAL BINDING 1. Lay-flatter 2. Turnaround 3. Ease of use DISADVANTAGES OF SPIRAL BINDING 1. No printable spine 2. Not appropriate for books that to display at library and bookstore 3. Facing pages steps up when open 4. Require greater margin. WIRE-O Binding 1. Double looped wire with interlocking (join together) that run through holes punched in the binding edge. 2. Sturdy and attractive 3. Calendars, cookbooks etc ADVANTAGES OF WIRE-O BINDING 1. Lay-flatter 2. Turnaround 3. Ease of use DISADVANTAGES OF WIRE-O BINDING 1. No printable spine 2. Not appropriate for books that to display at library and bookstore 3. Facing pages steps up when open 4. Require greater margin. Plastic Comb Binding 1. Punching slots or holes through the binding edge and inserting formed of plastic material 2. Does not allow 360 degree 3. Easy to insert and removed papers with proper materials ADVANTAGES OF PLASTIC COMB BINDING 1. Suitable for reports and materials that need frequent updating 2. Available in many colors DISADVANTAGES OF PLASTIC COMB BINDING 1. No printable spine 2. Not appropriate for publications that to display at library and bookstore 3. Require greater margin. PUBLISHING ON DEMAND 1. On-demand printing can be defined as short notice and economical print runs 2. By using POD technology, book original is stored in digital and is not printed until it is ordered 3. With such innovative approach, no books are printed unnecessarily, avoiding the problem of a storage costs and safeguard backlist titles. 4. Sometimes it called custom publishing but that is usually associated with book that is assembled from different bits and pieces. ADVANTAGES PUBLISHING ON DEMAND 1. On-demand printing can be defined as short notice and economical print runs 2. By using POD technology, book original is stored in digital and is not printed until it is ordered 3. With such innovative approach, no books are printed unnecessarily, avoiding the problem of a storage costs and safeguard backlist titles. 4. Sometimes it called custom publishing but that is usually associated with book that is assembled from different bits and pieces.

Australian Constitution – Essay

– Like the American political system, the Australian system is divided into two levels (federal and local), For instance the FED cannot tell the local government how to make their local laws and regulate their government and the local can’t do that to the FED. – The Australian Government is different from the United States though in that it has a Parliament like the British.The government is made up of the Prime Minister and his cabinet and at any time the Parliament (which is just like the American Congress) can remove the Government or force it to call an in which neither level can change the power of the other nor make laws that the other has rights over. election. – Also the Australian Constitution does not say that a politician’s term has to be fixed like an American politician’s does. For instance the President will without a doubt serve a full four years baring impeachment or assignation, but in Australia Governor-General or Prime Mini ster can be kicked out at anytime – The U.S. Constitution clearly describes the separation of powers. The members of the executive branch cannot sit in Congress and so forth, but in the Australian Government has what they call an independent judiciary system where the government and parliament are not separated. The ministers can be members of parliament and the Prime Minister can dissolve parliament if he so chooses. – Like the U. S. the Australian Constitution is written down and is entrenched and very hard to change.Their constitution does most everything the American one does including separation of powers, division and powers of the different branches of government, has a form of supremacy clause which says commonwealth law is supreme over state law, and the last chapter deals with amending or changing the constitution. – Where the U. S. has a President who is head of the executive branch, the Australians have a Queen and her representative the Governor-Gen eral, who in many ways is like a president in that he is the Comand in Chief of the military.The Governor-General can however dissolve both houses of Parliament if they are deadlocked and he can appoint sitting time for the Parliament. As discussed earlier the Australians like the British have a Prime Minister. – Like the American Constitution the Australian one has a preamble but the constitution itself is divided into chapters, parts, and sections that deal with each specific form of government with the first being Parliament. The preamble is divided into parts where the rest of the constitution is in chapters with sections within each chapter. Overall the Australian Constitution is very much like ours in that it has to deal with the same problems that we do. It has sections that deal with race, equality, elections, and many other things. It seems that while the Australians seem to be more British in their political set up, they are in fact very much like us as well. While the country is trying to decide whether to be more like a monarchy as always or change into somewhat of a republic, their constitution remains unchanging and the Supreme Law of the Land.

Output System Essays

Basic Input/Output System Essays Basic Input/Output System Paper Basic Input/Output System Paper If Microsoft Windows (MS Windows), a well-known operating system, become attractive interface between human/user with computer, then BIOS is a heart that work unconsciously to collect several information that a user input. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) are codes that have critical functions in computer system such as collecting button taps from keyboard or laying the pixel to the screen. This little program work behind the screen, translate MS Windows commands that people know them as representation of zero and one numeric, which only known by computer hardware. Like a heart role in human body, BIOS also has a strong influence to computer works. Since computer system needs refreshment, the BIOS also need it. However, to update BIOS is easy although user must perform it carefully since any fault will lead computer to misconduct. The affecting are: the real correct BIOS updating will make a computer progressively stabilize and in line with the computer hardware’s, but if there is a little mistake, users just can bewail the computer’s motherboard since it cannot be used anymore. Therefore, when updating BIOS, make sure to read all the instructions in the readme BIOS update file and always do as the instructions, which are searchable in BIOS website. I. Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) I.1. Understanding BIOS BIOS stand for Basic Input/Output System. This is a program, which also known as firmware that is stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) chip on the motherboard, commonly referred to as the BIOS chip. The BIOS has critical responsibility since it detects, tests, initializes and monitors the system hardware from the moment the system is turn on until Windows takes over. When a user turns on the computer on, the BIOS instantly identifies all of the onboard devices such as processor, memory, video card, etc and then runs the Power on Self Test (P.O.S.T) to determine whether each detected device is working properly. If all of the devices pass the POST tests then BIOS initializes each device, detects the hard drives, CD-ROM and floppy drives and then searches the first boot device (normally the hard drive or floppy drive) for files necessary to load the operating system software and then passes control of the system to the operating system software. If any devices fail the tests, the POST provides an error message, which is displayed on the computer screen or it provides a series of beep sounds to computer’s speakers to indicate there is a problem. The sequence of beeps can be used to identify exactly what the problem is. I.2 Importance of BIOS A flash BIOS chip contains BIOS information that can be erasing and updating. This allows it to recognize new features on an upgraded processor chip or new component that has come out since bought r computer. Occasionally, a computer will need to have its BIOS updated. This is especially true of older machines. As new devices and standards arise, the BIOS needs to change in order to understand the new hardware identification. Since the BIOS are stored in some form of ROM, changing the BIOS is a bit harder than upgrading most other types of software (Biosman, 2006). Most commonly, a user would want to upgrade BIOS on an older machine so that it can use Plug and Play features built into Windows.

fox hunting essays

fox hunting essays Fox hunting and the issues surrounding it is a very important topic for the whole of Great Britain especially at this precise moment in time as the British government are discussing weather or not to ban this controversial sport. Within this essay I shall be discussing the factors and opinions and views of people opposing and supporting a ban in hunting with hounds in the British countryside. Everybody in the country has an opinion weather fox hunting should be banned or not and I shall be asking a range of people living in my area what their views are and including them in this essay. Firstly I shall be looking into the arguments that are against the use of hounds to hunt foxes and that are supporting the ban in this sport. The main argument that a person would put across who was in favor of a ban would be the cruelty to the fox that is being hunted. Personally the thought of a fox being ripped apart by a pack of blood thirsty hounds distresses me and a large proportion of this country. According to the RSPCA which I feel is a rather bias source hunting foxes using hounds is more damaging to the fox than conventional hunting methods. For example shooting or poisoning the fox to cut down on fox numbers. The fox goes through immense stress as it is found to be killed by the hounds. People who are for fox hunting say that they harm farm animals and crops. But according to the RSPCA the fox is a rather harmless animal and the animals that it does kill on the farm are relatively weak animals and therefore are not much good to the farmer because the fox do esnt want to waste energy chasing lambs and healthy animals as they only account for 1% of lamb deaths on farms. Another argument would be that foxes are very good pest killers such as mice and other rodents which tend to destroy crops on farms. They are also very good at cleaning after humans by eating human rubbish so in a way they clean up t...

Charlie Gordon

Charlie Gordon is the hero of a flower for Algernon. Charlie is a 33-year-old adult with mental retardation. Especially in a family who struggled to adapt to his illness and experienced a very difficult childhood, he wants to be very smart. Charlie has a good attitude towards changing his life and will make every effort to complete his clever job. Charlie underwent surgery to improve his intelligence. It was done only with the mouse, especially the mouse named Algernon. In the book by Daniel Keys' Flower for Algernon there is a chance to become a genius through surgery for the mentally disabled person Charlie Gordon. Charlie Gordon is the subject of the experiment to increase intelligence. The experiment was successful, Charlie Gordon became a genius. However, he has many emotional problems and understands how serious he is receiving. Finally, as he got dull again, could Charlie Gordon get a better surgery? It is not well understood. When Charlie was stupid, he was very happy. He thi nks he has friends, everyone likes him. But when he got better, he noticed his so-called friends were not his friends. He said: When I am late, I have a lot of friends, now I do not have anyone.Oh, I know a lot of people.It is a lot of people.This is my friend I do not mean anything to me, what it means (p.174) Charlie Gordon's brave Charlie Gordon is a hero, regardless of wisdom, for his bravery. Charlie's intelligence is slow, but his courage depends on what he intellects. I said that I was taken care of because I did not have anything, I am very strong and always fine, my rabbit's leg is next to me 11) Author Daniel Case, Charlie's obstacles are shown using misspelled words and highlights

See the description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

See the description - Essay Example It is through these processes that the supply chain gets completed and helps to meet the demand of the consumer. When managed properly these stages help the firm to minimize costs and maximize profits. Firms like United Price Service (UPS) and FedEx are a very important part of the supply scale. They are a vital component in the distribution of products and services of a firm and help to contribute to supply chain improvements. Supply chain improvement is required for the better functioning of the firm as it helps them to stabilize their costs and satisfy their consumers. Some important areas in the supply chain improvement are: process, measurement, information management and technology (http://www.intercai.co.uk/library/pdf/supply_chain.pdf). For this the factors important are the velocity by which the supply chain functions to transport the end product to the consumers. Also what is important is that the product reaching the consumer is correct and meets the customer’s needs on time. UPS, which has been in existence since 1907, is one of the largest package delivery firms in the world with regular access to around 200 countries in the world. Similarly FedEx is another huge distributor business and again one of the leading firms in the business. Such transporting businesses not only play an important role in package delivery for people, but they also act as a medium of delivery for huge firms which use such transportation companies to deliver their products to customers anywhere with maximum speed. This is an extremely vital component in the supply chain of any firm which wishes to maximize its access areas and profits. These firms also provide many IT services to both the firms and the consumers. One of the major services is transportation. Any person anywhere in the world can buy products of any multinational company; like laptops, printers, cell phones, etc. and have them delivered at his/her

The beauty of islam art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The beauty of islam art - Essay Example The beauty of Islamic art, considering outward beauty and inward beauty, has its source in the past. The human activities are integrated to the extent into Islamic; they are a shore up for beauty that really transcends these actions for it is the Islamic beauty itself (Critch, 2004, 8). The art of Islamic receives its beauty from Islamic itself and not from any other ethic genius, and just as the science of Islamic originated in the Hadith and Qur’an, so the Islamic art typical form is rooted in the Islamic spirit. Inward beauty is the beauty of the heart or of the soul, and which necessary emanates outwards, transforming each individual action hooked on an art, and all art into Gods remembrance. As Islamic art is essential to all Muslim’s part of life and makes it beautiful, so the Islamic art ought to be used to invent the things of the everyday life with beauty. In Islamic art, the emphasis is not an art in favor of art’s sake, but it is an art on

Understanding business operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Understanding business operations - Essay Example Supply chain management integrates the key business processes, from end user through original suppliers. Companies and corporations involve themselves in a supply chain by exchanging information regarding market fluctuations and production capabilities. Technology can be used effectively to enhance the performance of the supply chain to ensure value propositions at all points of the supply chain. Ensuring superior value propositions based on customer service leads to competitive advantage. If all relevant information is accessible to any relevant company, every company in the supply chain has the possibility to and can seek to help optimizing the entire supply chain rather than sub optimize based on a local interest. This will lead to better planned overall production and distribution which can cut costs and give a more attractive final product leading to better sales and better overall results for the companies involved. The primary objective of a company’s supply chain management is to fulfil customer demands through the most efficient use of resources, including distribution capacity, inventory and labour. A supply chain seeks to match demand with supply and do so with the minimal inventory. Various aspects of optimizing the supply chain include liaising with suppliers to eliminate bottlenecks; sourcing strategically to strike a balance between lowest material cost and transportation, implementing JIT (Just In Time) techniques to optimize manufacturing flow; maintaining the right mix and location of factories and warehouses to serve customer markets, and using location/allocation, vehicle routing analysis, dynamic programming and traditional logistics optimization to maximize the efficiency of the distribution side. Incorporating SCM successfully leads to a new kind of competition on the global market where competition is no longer of the company versus company form but rather takes on a supply chain versus supply chain form. When a firm sustains

Alzheimer-Related Disabilities Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alzheimer-Related Disabilities - Assignment Example However, before it reaches to that stage, she will need to undergo further neurological tests and speech tests every so often to determine the progress of the disease. She therefore needs to establish a fund for these expenses. She is currently living alone which is something that will have to change as the disease progresses to an extent that she cannot be able to carry out routine chores without assistance due to the degeneration. She is also bound to forget a lot of tasks which will necessitate one of her children to come live with her. It is important to maintain her housing as she needs familiar environment in order to cope better. As a result of the numerous tests and special attention for the patient, the disease will demand having a stable financial background. Ellen is only a secretary but the fact that she has worked for 34 years is a guarantee that she is entitled to a handsome social security fund. Since she will be having a disability, she will get the disability fund and once she is 65 years old, she will benefit from the elderly people allowances (Fijiura, 2010). As mentioned above, Alzheimer’s disease degenerate the brain through hardening of the arteries which leads to loss of mental skills and abilities. The individual is therefore deemed dependent and cannot perform normal functions such as the usual jobs and chores. In this case therefore, Ellen will not be able to perform her secretarial job or even her home chores effectively. She is bound to forget or lack ability to comprehend what is needed to be performed. Some of the early symptoms of the disease include loss of sense of time or even place; have a decline in activities such as those that she used to be able to perform and were easy now become difficult including being able to take a bath. There are changes in personality where she may become

The Creation of a New Emotional Language in Art by Bernini with His Literature review

The Creation of a New Emotional Language in Art by Bernini with His Apollo and Daphne - Literature review Example In fact, the statues have improved with the revival of Villa Borghese, which harbors Apollo, and Daphne. The statues get subjected to constant cleaning as well as scientific analysis as well as the commemoration of Bernini’s birth sparkled a lot of interest as seen with the many photographs, essays and bibliographies. In spite of the documentary data connecting to the statue group's formation, the representation that comes out of its sense and approach is anything but apparent (Bolland, 2000, 309). According to most arguments, the Apollo and Daphne are said to commemorate the intelligence based delights of fine art or may be to warn against the evil of passionate poetry brought about by the bitterness of the beauty of the world (Bolland, 2000, 309). The artwork can be seen as erotic the people assume that it might have made for a pleasure seeking client or sponsor. The artwork can also be considered a symbol or metaphor for sensual desire or desires specifically sculptured for a principal person in the society. The artwork can either be viewed as Marinist and Petrarchan when using imagery or anti-Marinist and anti Petrarchan as per its message (Bolland, 2000, 309). ... The essay also has its focus on the contradictory relationships that come under the eroticism that is created, as well as anti sensuality of craving and ploy (Bolland, 2009). Poetry, sculpture, and artwork are regarded as sister arts in that they have common effects on the senses of a person as they rouse the desires and pleasure as well as provide an avenue for obtaining understanding. Vision, although seen as divine, can easily be deceived or mislead and therefore, seen as the most efficacious way to provoke someone to commit a practice any sexual offence. The transformation of Bernini can be seen to emerge from the poet-god who happens to be Apollo and provides him with the model that he utilizes to build his mythical and stylish uniqueness by reproducing the poetics that come from within him. The sculptures were custom-made for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, and were used to beautify his well-lavished villa exterior to Porta Pinciana (Bolland, 2009). Soon after delivery of the colle ction of artworks, it marked the end to production of Bernini’s artwork in large scale for the cardinal as well as an end to production of impressive work that can still be credited today. It also suggested a change or transformation to the existence of both parties that are the cardinal and Bernini (Bolland, 2007). The change in the lives was noted in the life of the cardinal whose status declined soon after the death of Pope Paul V and the taking of the office by Pope Gregory XV. Borghese soon recovered from the changes that took place, and during this period, his influence had quite deteriorated compared to the period that Pope Paul V was in power. The sculpture of Apollo and

Understanding business operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Understanding business operations - Essay Example Supply chain management integrates the key business processes, from end user through original suppliers. Companies and corporations involve themselves in a supply chain by exchanging information regarding market fluctuations and production capabilities. Technology can be used effectively to enhance the performance of the supply chain to ensure value propositions at all points of the supply chain. Ensuring superior value propositions based on customer service leads to competitive advantage. If all relevant information is accessible to any relevant company, every company in the supply chain has the possibility to and can seek to help optimizing the entire supply chain rather than sub optimize based on a local interest. This will lead to better planned overall production and distribution which can cut costs and give a more attractive final product leading to better sales and better overall results for the companies involved. The primary objective of a company’s supply chain management is to fulfil customer demands through the most efficient use of resources, including distribution capacity, inventory and labour. A supply chain seeks to match demand with supply and do so with the minimal inventory. Various aspects of optimizing the supply chain include liaising with suppliers to eliminate bottlenecks; sourcing strategically to strike a balance between lowest material cost and transportation, implementing JIT (Just In Time) techniques to optimize manufacturing flow; maintaining the right mix and location of factories and warehouses to serve customer markets, and using location/allocation, vehicle routing analysis, dynamic programming and traditional logistics optimization to maximize the efficiency of the distribution side. Incorporating SCM successfully leads to a new kind of competition on the global market where competition is no longer of the company versus company form but rather takes on a supply chain versus supply chain form. When a firm sustains

The Creation of a New Emotional Language in Art by Bernini with His Literature review

The Creation of a New Emotional Language in Art by Bernini with His Apollo and Daphne - Literature review Example In fact, the statues have improved with the revival of Villa Borghese, which harbors Apollo, and Daphne. The statues get subjected to constant cleaning as well as scientific analysis as well as the commemoration of Bernini’s birth sparkled a lot of interest as seen with the many photographs, essays and bibliographies. In spite of the documentary data connecting to the statue group's formation, the representation that comes out of its sense and approach is anything but apparent (Bolland, 2000, 309). According to most arguments, the Apollo and Daphne are said to commemorate the intelligence based delights of fine art or may be to warn against the evil of passionate poetry brought about by the bitterness of the beauty of the world (Bolland, 2000, 309). The artwork can be seen as erotic the people assume that it might have made for a pleasure seeking client or sponsor. The artwork can also be considered a symbol or metaphor for sensual desire or desires specifically sculptured for a principal person in the society. The artwork can either be viewed as Marinist and Petrarchan when using imagery or anti-Marinist and anti Petrarchan as per its message (Bolland, 2000, 309). ... The essay also has its focus on the contradictory relationships that come under the eroticism that is created, as well as anti sensuality of craving and ploy (Bolland, 2009). Poetry, sculpture, and artwork are regarded as sister arts in that they have common effects on the senses of a person as they rouse the desires and pleasure as well as provide an avenue for obtaining understanding. Vision, although seen as divine, can easily be deceived or mislead and therefore, seen as the most efficacious way to provoke someone to commit a practice any sexual offence. The transformation of Bernini can be seen to emerge from the poet-god who happens to be Apollo and provides him with the model that he utilizes to build his mythical and stylish uniqueness by reproducing the poetics that come from within him. The sculptures were custom-made for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, and were used to beautify his well-lavished villa exterior to Porta Pinciana (Bolland, 2009). Soon after delivery of the colle ction of artworks, it marked the end to production of Bernini’s artwork in large scale for the cardinal as well as an end to production of impressive work that can still be credited today. It also suggested a change or transformation to the existence of both parties that are the cardinal and Bernini (Bolland, 2007). The change in the lives was noted in the life of the cardinal whose status declined soon after the death of Pope Paul V and the taking of the office by Pope Gregory XV. Borghese soon recovered from the changes that took place, and during this period, his influence had quite deteriorated compared to the period that Pope Paul V was in power. The sculpture of Apollo and

Marketing strategies Essay Example for Free

Marketing strategies Essay Types of strategies Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual business. However there are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies. A brief description of the most common categorizing schemes is presented below: Strategies based on market dominance In this scheme, firms are classified based on their market share or dominance of an industry. Typically there are four types of market dominance strategies: Leader Challenger Follower Nicher According to Shaw, Eric (2012). Marketing Strategy: From the Origin of the Concept to the Development of a Conceptual Framework. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing., there is a framework for marketing strategies. Market introduction strategies At introduction, the marketing strategist has two principle strategies to choose from: penetration or niche (47). Market growth strategies  In the early growth stage, the marketing manager may choose from two additional strategic alternatives: segment expansion (Smith, Ansoff) or brand expansion (Borden, Ansoff, Kerin and Peterson, 1978) (48). Market maturity strategies In maturity, sales growth slows, stabilizes and starts to decline. In early  maturity, it is common to employ a maintenance strategy (BCG), where the firm maintains or holds a stable marketing mix (48). Market decline strategies At some point the decline in sales approaches and then begins to exceed costs. And not just accounting costs, there are hidden costs as well; as Kotler (1965, p. 109) observed: No financial accounting can adequately convey all the hidden costs. At some point, with declining sales and rising costs, a harvesting strategy becomes unprofitable and a divesting strategy necessary (49). Early marketing strategy concepts were: Borden’s â€Å"marketing mix†Ã‚  In his classic Harvard Business Review (HBR) article of the marketing mix, Borden (1964) credits James Culliton in 1948 with describing the marketing executive as a decider and a mixer of ingredients. This led Borden, in the early 1950s, to the insight that what this mixer of ingredients was deciding upon was a marketing mix' (34). Smith’s â€Å"differentiation and segmentation strategies† In product differentiation, according to Smith (1956, p. 5), a firm tries bending the will of demand to the will of supply. That is, distinguishing or differentiating some aspect(s) of its marketing mix from those of competitors, in a mass market or large segment, where customer preferences are relatively homogeneous (or heterogeneity is ignored, Hunt, 2011, p. 80), in an attempt to shift its aggregate demand curve to the left (greater quantity sold for a given price) and make it more inelastic (less amenable to substitutes). With segmentation, a firm recognizes that it faces multiple demand curves, because customer preferences are heterogeneous, and focuses on serving one or more specific target segments within the overall market (35). Dean’s â€Å"skimming and penetration strategies† With skimming, a firm introduces a product with a high price and after milking the least price sensitive segment, gradually reduces price, in a stepwise fashion, tapping effective demand at each price level. With penetration pricing a firm continues its initial low price from introduction  to rapidly capture sales and market share, but with lower profit margins than skimming (37). Forrester’s â€Å"product life cycle (PLC)† The PLC does not offer marketing strategies, per se; rather it provides an overarching framework from which to choose among various strategic alternatives (38). There are also corporate strategy concepts like: Andrews’ â€Å"SWOT analysis† Although widely used in marketing strategy, SWOT (also known as TOWS) Analysis originated in corporate strategy. The SWOT concept, if not the acronym, is the work of Kenneth R. Andrews who is credited with writing the text portion of the classic: Business Policy: Text and Cases (Learned et al., 1965) (41). Ansoff’s â€Å"growth strategies† The most well-known, and least often attributed, aspect of Igor Ansoff’s Growth Strategies in the marketing literature is the term product-market. The product-market concept results from Ansoff juxtaposing new and existing products with new and existing markets in a two by two matrix (41-42). Porter’s â€Å"generic strategies† Porter generic strategies strategy on the dimensions of strategic scope and strategic strength. Strategic scope refers to the market penetration while strategic strength refers to the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage. The generic strategy framework (porter 1984) comprises two alternatives each with two alternative scopes. These are Differentiation and low-cost leadership each with a dimension of Focus-broad or narrow. ** Product differentiation ** Cost leadership ** Market segmentation * Innovation strategies — This deals with the firms rate of the new product development and business model innovation. It asks whether the company is on the cutting edge of technology and business innovation. There are three types: ** Pioneers ** Close followers ** Late followers * Growth strategies — In this scheme we ask the question, â€Å"How should the firm grow?†. There are a number of different ways of answering that question, but the most common gives four answers: Horizontal integration Vertical integration Diversification Intensification These ways of growth are termed as organic growth. Horizontal growth is whereby a firm grows towards acquiring other businesses that are in the same line of business for example a clothing retail outlet acquiring a food outlet. The two are in the retail establishments and their integration lead to expansion. Vertical integration can be forward or backward. Forward integration is whereby a firm grows towards its customers for example a food manufacturing firm acquiring a food outlet. Backward integration is whereby a firm grows towards its source of supply for example a food outlet acquiring a food manufacturing outlet. A more detailed scheme uses the categoriesMiles, Raymond (2003). Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4840-3.: Prospector Analyzer Defender Reactor Marketing warfare strategies This scheme draws parallels between marketing strategies and military strategies. BCG’s â€Å"growth-share portfolio matrix† Based on his work with experience curves (that also provides the rationale for Porter’s low cost leadership strategy), the growth-share matrix was originally created by Bruce D. Henderson, CEO of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1968 (according to BCG history). Throughout the 1970s, Henderson expanded upon the concept in a series of short (one to three page) articles in the BCG newsletter titled Perspectives (Henderson, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1976a, b). Tremendously popular among large multi-product firms, the BCG portfolio matrix was popularized in the marketing literature by Day (1977) (45).

Natural Rights Theory

Natural Rights Theory Natural rights are perceived as the inherent and original rights of human nature, which equally belong to all men without exception, and which are possessed solely because of their human condition.ÂÂ  They are held to stem from a concept of natural law, whatever definition may be attributed to the term. The theory of natural law and natural rights of man is, however, an obscure one. It seems a strange law, which is unwritten, has never been enacted, may even be observed without penalty, and imposes peculiar rights which are entitled prior to all specific claims within an organised society. It may be just an example of social mythology, but such an idea is still intriguing. For, to disregard it completely is to deny all its evident psychological, political and legal effects, and to adopt it fully is to be blind to mans own imperfections. That men are entitled to make certain claims by virtue simply of their common humanity has been equally passionately defended and vehemently den ied.[Â  [1]Â  ] H. L. A. Hart once asserted that if there are any moral rights at all, it follows that there is at least one natural right, the equal right of all men to be free.[Â  [2]Â  ] And the proposition that all men have natural rights or rights as human beings is found explicitly in the theories of Thomas Aquinas and John Locke, implicitly in the moral and political philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and at least problematic in the writings of Thomas Hobbes. At the level of practise, it is expressed not only in the rhetoric but in the constitutional innovations of the American and French Revolutions, stating that the end in view of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptable rights of man.[Â  [3]Â  ] When the ordinary citizen acts as a living and protesting individual, challenging the dictates of existing governments when and if he finds them oppressive, he is appealing to the very same values of freedom and equality among men, and in which social differe nces simply vanish, leaving the solitary individual with his essential human nature. Both conservative and socialist thinkers, however, have attempted to deny such claims, and instead assert the interests of the community as more important than those of the individual. As Karl Marx would put it, none of the so-called rights of man goes beyond egoistic man, an individual withdrawn behind his private interests and whims and separated from the community.[Â  [4]Â  ] The same idea and the same controversies have dominated political debates in the twentieth century regarding governmental practises. The importance of a persons rights to individuality and freedom from interference is central to the moral and political theories of such subjectivist thinkers as J. L. Mackie and David Hume. However, by no one has the theory of natural rights ever been properly justified or denied, or at least not as it has been defined and debated. Questions are then posed as to, why people should suppose that they have natural rights independent of the laws and governments of any existing society? If, for example, the laws of a society condemn a human being to slavery, how would his claim (if any) that freedom is a natural right of man be justified? And, if it could be said that there is an essential aspect of human nature which determines mans free status, a natural law which applies to all men, something in man which governs the relations of human beings independently of the laws of all particular societies, how can such natural facts be discovered if they have never been confirmed by observation? The answer may be contained in the proposition that man uniquely possesses the powers of reason. Thus, Roman lawyers, who were not the first to discuss natural law or natural rights, but the first to posit the theory defensibly, conceived of it as an ideal or standard, not yet completely exemplified in any existing legal code, but also as a standard fixed by nature to be discovered and gradually applied by men.[Â  [5]Â  ] It is a standard not created or conferred by mans voluntary action, but by nature, or God, and which all men have if they are capable of rational choice. According to Thomas Hobbes, the state of nature in which man lived before the social contract was a war of every Man against every Man,[Â  [6]Â  ] a condition of internecine strife in which the life of man was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.[Â  [7]Â  ] Thomas Hobbes believed that self-preservation was the great lesson of natural law and that law and government would become necessary as a means of promoting order and personal security. For each citizen to preserve his own life, he must give absolute and unconditional obedience to the law. Hobbes political theory is best understood if separate in two parts: his theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Egoism, and his theory of the Social Contract. The direction of this assessment will look exclusively to Hobbes theory of Social Contract. The social contract is used by Hobbes in defense of absolutism and is thus used to justify authoritarian government. Hobbes own goal was to rule out the legitimacy of civil rebellion and thus to eliminate the possibility of civil war, which he regarded as the greatest of evils. Hobbes informs us that we should infer the characteristics of political obligation from the intention of him that submitteth himself to his power, which is to be understood by the end for which he so submitteth.[Â  [8]Â  ] The use of a social contract to construct a natural rights doctrine is articulated most fully in the writings of John Locke.[Â  [9]Â  ] To Locke the state of nature that preceded the social contract was not, as conceived by Hobbes, one of brutal horror, but rather a golden age, an Eden before the Fall. In the state of nature, men have the right to freedom from interference by others and in turn a correlative duty to refrain from interfering in the life of others. However, at the same time, all men may be restrained from invading others rights, and from doing hurt to one another, the execution of the law of nature and preservation of individual natural rights is put into every mans hands, whereby everyone has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such degree, as may hinder its violation.[Â  [10]Â  ] Men have an obligation to preserve to the best of their ability the life, liberty and property to which others also have natural rights, as long as his own preservation comes not in competition.[Â  [11]Â  ] In moving from the state of nature to that of civil society, man carries with him the natural rights and some of the authority he had in that state of autonomy. There are certain powers, however, that man gives up in subjecting himself to civil authority. He gives up that power he had to do whatever he sees fit for the preservation of his life, since this power is to be regulated by the laws made by society. Man therefore signs a social contract, surrendering the power of punishing, which is to be so far disposed of by the legislative, as the good of society shall require. But he never surrenders his rights, and thus government is obliged to secure everyones property [liberty, life and possessions], by providing against those defects that made the state of nature so unsafe and uneasy.[Â  [12]Â  ] Man did not enter society to become worse than he was before, but only to have his natural rights better secured. When social contract theorists talk of the rights which men enjoyed in the state of nature, they are in effect saying what men ought to enjoy in any society, that all men ought to be free, independent of their social condition. Words like freedom and equality represented for the advocates of natural rights what they considered to be the fundamental moral and social values, which should be realised in any society of rational citizens. These values, and hence natural rights, in the social contract, are the basis for rights embedded in the clauses of constitutions. The fundamental purpose of law is therefore considered to be the protection of individual rights. In reality, however, positive laws of society are somewhat imperfect. Until a law was enacted in order to abolish slavery, slaves ought to have been free but clearly were not. Even though man seemed to be entitled by nature to natural rights, which might be denied to him by the positive laws of existing societies, the natural law and natural rights were impotent. The Social Contract approach to natural law culminated in the writing of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. As Barker has noted: Rousseau is a Janus-like figure in the history of natural law. He turns to it and belongs to it, he turns away from it and it belongs elsewhere.[Â  [13]Â  ] There are two distinct social contract theories by Rousseau. The first one is, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men, usually referred to as the Second Discourse, and is a relation of the moral and political evolution of human beings over time, from a State of Nature to modern society. As such it contains his naturalized description of the social contract, which he sees as very problematic. The second is his normative or idealized theory of the social contract, and is meant to provide the means by which to lighten the problems that modern society has created for us, as laid out in the Second Discourse. Rousseaus idea of a state of nature is closer to Lockes than Hobbes, though without Lockes emphasis on the sanctity of property. Rousseau, the social contract is a mystical construct by which the individual merges into the community and becomes part of the general will. Preferably the people should govern themselves. But, as he acknowledged, it is unimaginable that the people should remain continually assembled to devote their time to public affairs.[Â  [14]Â  ] Law is the register of general will. Government can only be tolerated so long as it accurately reflects the general will. On the other hand, Rousseau insists that whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled to do so by the whole body: he will be forced to be free.[Â  [15]Â  ] What Rousseau is saying is that disobedience is morally illegitimate because it constitutes a failure to discharge a moral obligation a citizen incurred when acting as a citizen. Rousseau is, however, refusing to draw a distinction be tween law and morality: the general will is the moral will of each citizen. Rousseaus social contract theories outline a single, consistent view of our moral and political situation. We are gifted with freedom and equality by nature, but our nature has been contaminated by our contingent social history. We can overcome this sleaze, however, by calling upon our free will to reconstitute ourselves politically, along strongly democratic principles, which is good for us, both individually and collectively. [Â  [16]Â  ] If morality is not to be discovered but to be made, one may say that there are no real natural rights as described above by Lockes theories. Natural events cannot tell us what we ought to do until we have made certain decisions. Whether moved by reason or sentiment, or both, standards of behaviour are determined by human choice, not set by nature independently of men. And no man can have any valid rights in the absence of a society. That is not to argue in favour of the communitarian point of view that there can be no individual rights but it is to assert that human beings need one another in order to fully exercise all their rights. One may say that someone has the right to life only because someone else might have the power to kill him. For, if there were no else in the universe, there would be no need for protection, there would be no need for rights. Human beings can only vindicate their rights in relation to others, for human beings can only live in relation to others. It can thus be concluded that (human) rights are the product of social conditions, of mans general desire for harmonious relations and his instinct of self-preservation in a community of different and often conflicting interests. Hence, neither can there be no natural rights, as understood to be ordained by God, or, as many libertarians would defend, to be discovered by reason. Rather, mens own imperfections have made individual rights a natural quality of human beings. If they are thought to originate outside of human nature and interactions, natural rights are defiable; but nonetheless, in day-to-day life, we simply assume that we have these human rights. It may be a product of human imagination, and it probably is but we like to think that they are real.

Free Essays On Shakespeares Sonnet 153 :: Sonnet essays

Analysis of Sonnet 153 Cupid laid by his brand and fell asleep. A maid of Dian's this advantage found, And his love-kindling fire did quickly steep In a cold valley-fountain of that ground; Which borrow'd from this holy fire of Love A dateless lively heat, still to endure, And grew a seething bath which men yet prove Against strange maladies a sovereign cure. But at my mistress' eye Love's brand new fir'd, The boy for trial needs would touch my breast. I, sick withal, the help of bath desir'd, And thither hied, a sad distemper'd guest; But found no cure: the bath for my help lies Where Cupid got new fire-my mistress' eyes. This and the next sonnet both share the theme of love through Cupid. The conceit is not new, for it has been found in many poems. One example is from an epigram of Marianus Scholasticus from Henri Estienne's edition to which the theme is shared: "Under these plane trees Eros was resting, held in gentle sleep, having given his torch to the nymphs to take care of. 'What are we waiting for?' said the nymphs to one another. 'If only we could quench together with this same fire in human hearts!' But as the torch set the water also on fire, since then the love-nymphs pur hot water into the bath." Speculation remains as to whether Shakespeare is the author of these two sonnets, but it has never been proven successfully. The source for these sonnets, whoever the autheor, still remains unknown, but I suppose the scholars who diespel Shakespeare's authorship do so on the grounds of it being fairly simple in context, that is, there is not too much ambiguity. Due to the simplicity, I will do a brief paraphrase of the three quatrains and the couplet. 1st: 'Cupid falls asleep and one of Diane's maids (known for her chastity) tried to extinquish Cupid's fire in a pool of water'; 2nd: 'The maid borrowed an endless, lusty fire, which still goes on to this day, and provided [to her dismay] a bath of healing properties'; 3rd: '(Cupid) would curiously touch my heart (leading me to stray towards lust), unless I am in the sight of my lover, because of the "Love's brand" being newly fired [started].

Causes Of The Great Depression Essay -- essays research papers

Causes of the Great Depression Many people think that the Great Depression was caused solely by the stock market crash. Anybody who tells you this probably didn’t pass U.S. History in high school. The fact is, the Great Depression was caused many different factors. Four of which were overproduction, uneven distribution of wealth, protective tariffs, and the four â€Å"sick industries† of the 1920’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After World War I, new technological improvements helped factories to produce higher quantities of goods using smaller amounts of employees. Fewer workers meant less money being redistributed to the consumers to purchase products. America didn’t have a necessity for this higher quantity of goods with less people receiving paychecks. Thusly, the age-old system of supply and demand began to wither because there were too many products with too few people who could afford them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1922, the average weekly earning for most people was about 22 dollars. Because of this uneven distribution of income, families couldn’t afford to buy most products. Businesses suffered additionally because they had trouble selling goods. Most profits that could have been put into employee’s salaries went to shareholders or back to the business itself. If the workers had higher wages, they would be able to purchase goods and thus help the economy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1930, congress passed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, which created the highe...