Econ 100a Midterm

Econ 100A–Midterm 2 solutions. Thursday, March 22, 2012. True/False (2 questions, 10 points total) Answer true or false and explain your answer. Your answer must ? t in the space provided. T/F 1. (5 points) Suppose the government wants to place a tax on one of two goods, and suppose that supply is perfectly elastic for both goods. If the government wants to minimize the deadweight loss from a tax of a given size, it should put the tax on whichever good has worse substitutes. False: If the supply curves are identical, the only factor that determines the amount of deadweight loss is the elasticity of demand.Placing the tax on the good that has the lower elasticity of demand will minimize the deadweight loss of the tax. It is true that, holding all else equal, a good without good substitutes will have more inelastic demand than a good with good substitutes. However, this is not the only factor that determines the elasticity of demand. The goods could also di? er in terms of the i ncome e? ect. If the good with worse substitutes happened to be strongly normal while the good with better substitutes was strongly inferior, then the income e? ects might overwhelm the substitution e? cts, causing the good with better substitutes to be more inelastic. T/F 2. (5 points) In a perfectly competitive market with no taxes, if the price consumers are willing to pay for the marginal unit is the same as the price at which producers are willing to produce the marginal unit, then there will be no way to make anyone in the market better o? without making someone else worse o?. True. The price consumers are willing to pay for the marginal unit is the height of the inverse demand curve, and the price at which producers are willing to produce the marginal unit is the height of the inverse supply curve.Thus, when these prices are equal, it must be the case that supply is equal to demand, which is to say, the market is in equilibrium. If the quantity ? rms produce, and consumers co nsume, is more than the equilibrium quantity, then the ? rms’ cost of production will be greater than the consumers’ willingness to pay, and either consumers will have to pay more than the units are worth to them, making them worse o? , or ? rms will have to receive less than the units cost them, making them worse o? , or both.If the quantity is less than equilibrium, then there will be units not produced or consumed for which the cost of production would have been less than consumers’ willingness to pay, meaning that either ? rms have given up pro? table units, or consumers have given up units that generated consumer surplus, or both. In any case, at least one side of the market will have been made worse o?. Thus, from equilibrium there is no way that either ? rms or consumers can be made better o? without someone being made worse o?. 1 Short Answer (2 questions, 20 points total) Your answer must ? t in the space provided. SA 2. 10 points) Explain what we mean when we say that ? rms in long-run equilibrium are earning zero pro? t even though their owners and investors are making an adequate return on their labor and investments. The statement refers to â€Å"economic pro? t†, which is the di? erence between revenue and opportunity cost. The opportunity cost of the labor of the owner of a ? rm is the wage the owner could have earned if he or she chose not to run the ? rm, but to get a job instead. The opportunity cost of the capital investors invest in a ? rm is the rate of return they could have earned by investing their capital in some other ? m in some other industry. Thus, if the owner of the ? rm receives an amount just equal to the opportunity cost of their labor, and the investors receive an amount just equal to the opportunity cost of their capital, we do not include those amounts in economic pro? t, and the ? rm will be said to be earning zero economic pro? t, even though an accountant would say that both the owner and the investors are making an â€Å"accounting pro? t†. The accounting pro? t earned by the owner and the investors is the amount of money that is just adequate to make them choose to put their labor and capital into the ? m. 2 Problem Solving (2 problems, 50 points total) Problem 1. (26 points total) Consider a perfectly competitive ? rm with a production technology 1 1 represented by the production function, y = 10 K 2 + L 2 . Let p, r, and w be the price of the ? rm’s output, the rental rate of capital, and the wage, respectively. (a) (8 points) First let’s consider long-run pro? t maximization. (i) Set up the ? rm’s long-run pro? t maximization problem and compute the ? rm’s pro? tmaximizing demand for labor and capital, and pro? t-maximizing output, as functions of p, r, and w. ii) Is labor a gross complement or a gross substitute for capital, or neither. Prove your answer mathematically and explain what it means. The long-run pro? t maximization pr oblem is, max p  · 10 K,L v K+ v L The ? rst-order conditions are, 5p 5p for L: vL ? w = 0 for K: vK ? r = 0 Solving these for L and K respectively we get L? (p, r, w) = (f rac5pw)2 and K ? (p, r, w) = (f rac5pr)2 . Plugging these pro? t-maximizing levels of capital and labor into the production function we get the pro? t-maximizing output of the ? rm, y ? (p, w, r) = y(K ? , L? ) = 10 5p r 2 , 5p w 2 = 50p r+w rw .To determine whether labor is a gross complement or gross substitute for capital we take the partial derivative of the labor demand function with respect to the rental ? rate of capital, ? L = 0. Since this is zero, labor is neither a gross complement ? r nor a gross substitute for capital. What this means is that when the price of capital changes, the amount of labor the ? rm uses will not change. (b) (8 points) Set up the ? rm’s cost-minimization problem and compute the ? rm’s conditional demand for labor and capital, as functions of y, r, and w. The ? r m’s cost minimization problem is, v min rK + wL K,L K+ L =y ? s. t. 10 Setting up the LaGrangian function, this minimization problem becomes, min rK + wL ? ? 10 v K+ v L ? y ? v K,L,? The ? rst-order conditions are, 5 for L: w ? ? vL = 0 for K: r ? ? v5 = 0 for ? : 10 K the production constraint. v K+ L = y , which is just ? w 2 L. r Taking the ratio of the ? rst two conditions we get this into the production constraint we get, 10 3 v vK = w ? r L v v w r L+ L K= Plugging = y ? L? (y; r, w) = ? y2 r 10(r+w) 2 . Plugging this back into the expression for K that we derived earlier 2 w we get, K ? (y; r, w) = y 2 10(r+w) labor and capital respectively. These are the ? rm’s conditional demand for (c) (10 points) Now let’s consider scale and substitution e? ects. Assume that initially the price of the ? rm’s output, p, the rental rate of capital, r, and the wage, w, are all equal to 10. (i) How much labor will the ? rm use at these prices, and how much output will it produce? (ii) Using only the mathematical results you got in parts (a) and (b), compute e? ect of an increase in the rental rate to r = 20. Plugging the given prices into the pro? t-maximizing labor demand and output supply 2 functions from part (a) we get, L? (p, w, r) = 5 ·10 = 25, and y ? p, w, r) = 50  · 10 10 (f rac10 + 1010  · 10) = 100. ? ? you might have plugged the new prices into the ? rm’s supply function to get y ? (10, 10, 20) = 50 ·10 10+20 = 75. If you then plugged this into the 10 ·20 ? rm’s conditional factor demand at the new prices you would get L? (75; 10, 20) = 75 20 10 10+20 2 = 25. 4 Problem 2. (24 points total) Consider a perfectly competitive industry with 10 identical ? rms, each of which has variable costs of 10y 2 and ? xed costs of 1000. We will de? ne the short run as the time scale in which ? rms cannot enter or exit the industry, and cannot avoid their ? xed costs. In other words, in the short run ? rms must continue to pay their ? xed costs even if they produce zero output. ) In the long run, ? rms can enter or exit the industry, and can avoid their ? xed costs by shutting down. (a) (8 points) Compute the short-run inverse supply curve of the ? rm, and the short-run inverse supply curve of the industry, and graph them on the same graph. [Hint: it matters a lot that ? rms can’t avoid their ? xed costs in the short run. ] Each ? rm’s cost function is C(y) = 10y 2 + 1000, and the marginal cost curve is M C = 20y. Normally we say that the inverse supply curve of the ? m is the upward sloping part of the marginal cost curve, above the minimum of the average cost curve, because if the price is below the minimum of the average cost curve, the ? rm will make negative pro? t and will shut down. However, in this case, in the short run, if a ? rm shuts down it will still have to pay its ? xed cost of $1000. As a result, it will continue to produce output even if it is losing money, as long as it does not lose more than $1000. So we need to ? nd the price below which the ? rm will have lose more than $1000. Pro? t is py ? 10y 2 ? 1000 and we want the price below which this is less than ? 1000.To do this we have to plug in the ? rm’s pro? t-maximizing quantity as a function of price, which we get by solving the ? rm’s marginal cost curve p p p 2 to get y ? = 20 , which gives us p 20 ? 10 20 ? 1000 = ? 1000 ? p2 19 = 0 ? p = 0. 40 The ? rm will continue to produce at any positive price rather than shut down and 5 pay its ? xed cost without any revenue. Thus, the ? rm’s inverse supply curve is simply the entire marginal cost curve, p(y) = 20y. To compute the short-run inverse supply curve of the industry we ? rst have to aggregate ? rm supply to industry supply, and to do that we have to have the direct supply curve of the ? m, which we get by solving the inverse supply curve for y to p p get y(p) = 20 . Short-run industry supply is Y (p) = N yj (p) = 10 20 = f racp2. j=1 Solving for p we get the short-run inverse supply curve of the industry, p(Y ) = 2Y . Your graph should look like this: (b) (6 points) Suppose the demand for the industry’s product is de? ned by pd (Y ) = 700 ? 5Y . (i) What will be the short-run equilibrium price and quantity for the industry? Illustrate this equilibrium on a graph. (ii) Explain why this market outcome is an equilibrium in the short run. [Be sure to make reference to the general de? ition of equilibrium in your answer. ] (iii) Is this industry in long-run equilibrium? Explain why or why not. [Again, be sure to make reference to the general de? nition of equilibrium in your answer. ] The short-run market equilibrium is where the quantity demanded at the price paid by consumers is equal to the quantity supplied at the price received by producers, and since, in the absence of a tax, the price paid by consumers is the same as the price paid by producers, we just solve for the intersection of t he supply curve and the demand curve: 700 ? 5Y = 2Y ? Y ? = 100.Plugging that into either the demand or the supply curve we get p(Y ) = 200. Your graph should look like this: In general, equilibrium means that no individual agent has an incentive to do anything other than what they are currently doing, which means that the system will 6 not move from the point it is at. In the case of short-run market equilibrium this means that at the market price consumers cannot be made better o? by increasing or decreasing consumption, and ? rms cannot be made better o? by increasing or decreasing production. This is clearly the case at the market equilibrium we have solved for.If consumers increase consumption they will have to pay more for the additional units of the good than the value of those units, and if they consume less they will be giving up units that are worth more to them than they are required to pay for them. In either case, they are made worse o? , and thus have no incentive to c hange. For ? rms, roughly the same argument applies. If they produce more, the maximum they will be able to charge will be less than the cost of production, and if they produce less they will be giving up units that they were able to sell at a pro? t. In either case, ? ms are worse o? , so they have no incentive to change what they were doing. The industry is in long-run equilibrium. To see this we need to know whether ? rms are earning zero pro? t, and to determine that we need to know something about the ? rm’s average cost curve, which is AC = 10y + 1000 . If we minimize this we ? nd y that the ? rms’ minimum average cost is minAC = 200. And since this is equal to the price in the current equilibrium, ? rms’ pro? t is (p ? AC)y = 0y = 0. Long-run equilibrium is de? ned as the point at which ? rms will have no incentive to enter or exit the industry. The reason ? ms enter or exit is in response to pro? ts being either positive or negative, so if pro? ts are ze ro in the industry there will be no incentive to enter or exit, which is to say, no ? rm will have any incentive to do anything di? erent from what they are currently doing. (c) (10 points) Suppose the government imposes a tax of $50 per unit on the ? rms in the industry. (i) Compute the short-run after-tax equlibrium quantity, price paid by consumers, and price received by ? rms, and graph them. (ii) Calculate the change in producer surplus caused by the tax in the short-run. Add it to your graph. iii) Compute the long-run after-tax equilibrium quanitity, price paid by consumers, and price received by ? rms. Add this equilibrium to your graph. How many ? rms will exit the industry? (iv) Calculate the change in producer surplus caused by the tax in the long-run. Why is this the same or di? erent from your answer to ii above? To compute the short-run after tax equilibrium we need to ? nd the point at which the quantity demanded by consumers, at the price they pay, is equal to the qua ntity supplied by ? rms at the price they receive. This is the quantity that solves the equation, pd = ps + t, which is to say, 700 ? Y = 2Y + 50 ? YtSR = 92. 9. Plugging this quantity back into the inverse supply curve we get ps = 2  · YtSR = 185. 8, which means the price paid by consumers is pd = ps + t = 185. 8 + 50 = 135. 8. The change in producer surplus is the area to the left of the supply curve between the pre-tax price and the after-tax price received by ? rms. It includes the ? rms’ share of the tax revenue as well as the part of deadweight loss that comes from ? rms. In the case of linear supply it is the area of a parallelagram with height equal to the di? erence between the pre-tax price and the after-tax price received by ? rms, and bases of Y ? nd YtSR , which is ? P SS R = (200 ? 185. 7) 100? 92. 9 = 1379. 2. 2 7 By now your graph should look like this: In an industry with identical ? rms the long-run supply curve is horizontal, which is to say, in long-run equilibrium ? rms will be earning zero pro? t because entry and exit will always drive the price down (or in this case up) to the point where the price is equal to the minimum average cost. Thus, the after-tax price received by ? rms will be ps = 200. Otherwise ? rms would be losing money and would have an incentive to leave the industry, and the industry would not be in long-run equilibrium.Thus, we know that the tax will be passed on entirely to consumers, which means that the price paid by consumers will be pd = ps + t = 200 + 50 = 250. Setting the inverse demand curve equal to that price, we can compute the long-run after-tax equilibrium quantity, 250 = 700 ? 5Y ? YtLR = 90. To determine the number of ? rms in the industry we have to know how much output each ? rm will produce when they are operating at their minimum average cost. We computed the direct supply curve of p the ? rm in part (a), y(p) = 20 , which means that at the minimum of their average cost, minAC = 200, each ? rm will produce 200 = 10 units of output.Since the 20 industry as a whole is producing 90 units, there must be 9 ? rms in the industry. One has exited the industry. Your graph should look like this: In an industry with identical ? rms, by de? nition, the long-run producer surplus is zero. There are two ways to see this. The ? rst is that the long-run supply curve is horizontal, which means that in long-run equilibrium the price is the same as the height of the supply curve, and since producer surplus is the area between the price line and the supply curve, there clearly can be no producer surplus. The other way to see it is to refer to the de? ition of long-run equilibrium in an industry with identical ? rms, which is that all ? rms are earning zero pro? t. The reason this is di? erent from the answer to ii, above, is that in the long-run ? rms can escape the burden of the tax by leaving the industry and going into some other industry that is not taxed. We know that the burden of a tax always falls most heavily on the side of the market that is less able to change it’s behavior to escape the tax, which is to say, the side of the market that is most inelastic. In the long-run, the supply side of the industry is perfectly elastic, and thus bears none of the burden of the tax. 8

Business Analysis – International Strategy and Competitive Advantages

Introduction According to Iliev et al (2004, p. 133), Apple Inc. was selling its products exclusively in America, initially. Nowadays, Apple has expanded significantly beyond domestic market. Apple has so far succeeded to become a multinational organization, selling products and resourcing law materials globally. To minimize the impact of the existing rivalry in the PC industry at the global edge and to maintain competitive advantage, Apple applies non-competition strategies, (Yoffie, 2004).This section examines the strategies adopted Apple Inc to penetrate and to manage rivalry in the global market. Further, this part looks into the competitive advantages of Apple Inc, which enable it to maintain competitive edge In the PC industry globally. In addition, paper briefly highlights the benefits and shortcomings of the strategies adopted by Apple Inc, giving potential solutions and strategies based on the available data. International strategy According to Iliev et al (2004, p. 133), Ap ple Inc. ses a combination of product development and product proliferation strategies to achieve and maintain its international competitiveness. Iliev et al notes that, product proliferation strategy is similar to the approaches used in creating barriers to entry. In such an approach, if new niches develop, the leader in a given industry benefits most. For example, Apple got the first mover advantage in the digital music market where it was the first company to provide online music through iTunes and the iPod.The other companies in the industry started to move into the niche, competition was raised and rivalry decreased Product development on the other hand refers to the process of innovation of new or better products so as to replace the old ones. Apple has managed to lead in the PC industry in innovation and design hence, it has been able to exploit available opportunities and to gain significant market share in the international market. For example, in 2002 and 2003, iTunes and the iPod were made available by Apple at windows version.As a result, demand for the products skyrocketed and helped to propel revenues for Apple to record high. In fact, today, iTunes account for 70% for global market for digital music downloads, (Jones, 2011). The combination of product development and product proliferation strategies is beneficial to Apple since the perceived value of the products of Apple Inc. generated through innovation and superior design proves to be inimitable competency. Thus, as much as this advantage exists, Apple will continue to lead in the PC industry.However, the product proliferation strategy adopted by Apple Inc. a major shortcoming. According to Iliev et al (2004, p. 133), this tactic leads to high pressure for cost reduction and for local responsiveness. This makes this approach the most difficult to realize, but if a company succeeds, it can obtain a low cost structure and also considerable level of customer acceptance. According to Iliev et al (2004, p. 133), Apple applies this approach, but, it has not yet attained the optimal point.As a result, the majority of computer owners in the global market do not know much about Apple’s technology. For Apple to attain appropriately low cost situation, it has to come up with ways to persuade PC users in the global market from the very entry of their innovative and technological superiority. Competitive advantage Apple Inc faces great competition form other companies in the PC industry such as Dell, Compaq and Gateway. This forces Apple to come up with competitive strategies which best fits generic business level strategy in the industry life cycle (Lubeck et al, 2009, p. ). According Lubeck et al, Apple is keen to constantly watch the other players and tries to predict the step that each of them is likely to take in the future in order to be ahead of them. Further, Apple possesses competitive advantage in specific areas resulting from its distinctive competencies. First, Ap ple enhances the quality of its products through improved product design, (Iliev et al (2004, p. 135). According to Besanko et al, (2009, p. 362) this helps in creating value through functionality and better product quality, thus leading to more pricing options and differentiation.Moreover, the Human Resource Department of Apple Inc facilitates it to reach superior quality since it recruits high skilled workforce that ultimately leads to better product quality, thereby also leading to more pricing options and differentiation. Also, the Research and Development department of Apple Inc plays an important role as a source of superior innovation and comes up with new brands of products that create more value to the customers and enhances usability. As well, this factor results in more pricing options and to differentiation. Finally, the information systems in Apple Inc enhances internal communication and also, xternal coordination which in turn, optimizes business processes. This helps to reduce costs due to increased efficiency. According to Iliev et al (2004, p. p. 135). Apple adopts a model which acknowledges these distinctive competencies and sets a business model which facilitates it to enforce and to organize its competitive advantage. Therefore, all these above competencies enable Apple Inc to achieve superior level of innovation, enhance quality of its products and increase efficiency in production, hence provide Apple with a competitive advantage.Conclusion In conclusion, Apple uses product a both product development and product proliferation strategies to achieve and maintain competitiveness in the global market. This approach is beneficial since the perceived value of the products of Apple Inc. generated through innovation and superior design proves to be inimitable competency. However, this approach leads to high pressure for cost reduction and for local responsiveness and hence, it becomes the most difficult approach to realize. As demonstrated in thi s part, Apple Inc. eeds to come up with ways to persuade PC users in the global market from the very entry of their innovative and technological superiority so as to attain the benefits of the strategy of cost reduction. As noted in the essay, Apple Inc. possesses various competencies including; product design, branding, usability and internal communication and external coordination. These competencies enable Apple to attain a competitive advantage against the competitors. References Besanko, D. , Dranove, D. , Shanley, M. & Schaefer, S. (2009), Economics of Strategy, John Wiley and Sons, New York Iliev V. , Lindinger, A. & Poettler G. , (2004), â€Å"Apple Coputer Inc. Strategic audit,† Retrieved from, http://www. andreaslindinger. net/downloads/strategicmgmts-lindingeretal. pdf Jones D. , (2011), â€Å"Apple strives for global markets,† Retrieved from, http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052748703302604575294530119152528. html Lubeck, B. , Niltz J. , Danforth, J. & Brannon J. , (2009), Apple Inc. : creating and sustaining a competitive advantage, retrieved from,

Anthem for Doomed Youth

Choose a poem in which you feel there is a significant moment which reveals the central idea of the poem; show how the poet achieves this in an effective way. ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth' by Wilfred Owen is a poem in which a significant moment reveals the central idea of the poem. The poet achieves this through many poetic techniques such as depersonalisation and alliteration. The first hint of content of the poem comes in the title, the paradox of ‘Doomed Youth' implies that it will not be a happy poem but the first line is significant as the central idea of the poem is revealed. â€Å"What passing bells for those who die as cattle?† The rhetorical question at the very beginning of the poem draws the reader in making them think fully about the ideas carried on through the rest of the poem. From the very start we are aware that the people who are dying are not considered important as the writer refers to the people as ‘those'. Also the depersonalisation as he calls them ‘cattle' implies that they were thought to be no more than animals. They also lose their own personal identities. ‘Cattle' also implies that the men do not have voices and needs that anyone else – anyone human – can understand. As a reader I feel that opening the poem with a rhetorical question is very effective. However in the second line of the poem Owen personifies the guns – ‘monstrous anger' – showing that the guns are worth more and have a louder voice than the men who are dying, which links to the first line as the men were depersonalised. Also Owen uses the word ‘stuttering' to describe the rifles which could imply that the soldiers are young and nervous referring to ‘youth' in the title. The reader feels sympathetic towards the young soldiers. Again Owen implies that the soldiers are not seen as individuals by the use of ‘Can patter out their hasty orisons'. By using the word ‘their' Owen shows how the soldiers were grouped together. This idea is carried on to the next line with ‘No mockeries for them' as he refers to the men as ‘them.' The idea of ‘mockeries,' ‘prayers', ‘bells' and ‘mourning' all are associated with death and funerals, but the repeated use of ‘No' tells us that no one respected the soldiers enough for a proper burial, it could also imply too many of the soldiers were dying. This also relates to the question at the beginning of the poem. The reader feels angry that the soldiers are not respected in their deaths. Although the second stanza starts the same way as the first stanza – with a rhetorical question – the ideas suggested are different. â€Å"What candle may be held to speed them all?† Unlike the first rhetorical question this implies that there is not anything good or big enough to show respect to all the soldiers who died in the war. This rhetorical question also links the first and second stanzas together as they both start the same way. Also death is portrayed in a more positive light, as the people at home respect the soldiers. This is shown by the ‘holy glimmers of goodbyes' by the use of the word ‘holy' the poet shows the reader that the soldiers were respected greatly. Owen also implies that only in death with the torture of war end which makes the reader feel sympathy for the soldiers and anger for the pointless destruction that war causes. In contrast to the treatment of the soldiers in the first stanza the writer tells the reader that the soldiers will be missed as he says about the women at home: â€Å"the pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;† This shows that they were worried about their husbands, brothers and sons. This is carried through the next line when Owen tells the reader ‘their flowers the tenderness of patient minds' showing that the war is not only affecting the soldiers but their loved ones who are left behind. This makes the reader sympathetic towards the soldiers and their family and friends. The idea of respect is carried on in the last line as the alliteration of ‘And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.' slows down the pace of the words and ‘drawing down of blinds' symbolises the end of another soldiers life as drawing down blinds was a mark of respect when someone died. ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth' by Wilfred Owen is a poem in which a significant moment reveals the central idea of the poem. Through many poetic techniques such as word choice, alliteration and personification the writer effectively creates a moment which the central idea is revealed. Anthem For Doomed Youth Throughout this poem there is a theme of mourning and funeral. In the first stanza it is almost sarcastic with instruments of war conducting a service on the battlefield for their victims. The guns become ‘passing-bells' and shells become ‘demented choirs'. The second stanza takes us back home where the true mourners are. The poet speaks of how ‘the holy glimmers of goodbyes' will shine in the eyes of boys instead of their hands and how ‘the pallor of girls' brows' being the ‘pall' of the dead. The last two lines, for me carry the greatest effect and meaning: ‘Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds' The first is about the disappointment of people who have worried and waited for a long time and whose pain can only be expressed in small gestures or things such as flowers. The second could be interpreted in many different ways. It could be referring to the custom of drawing down of blinds but it could also be about the end of a life and hope leaving as reality settles. These two lines also delineate the pointlessness of hoping as the dead were ‘doomed' and predestined for slaughter in the way that ‘cattle' are in the first place. ‘Anthem For Doomed Youth' is structured like a sonnet and has a very strong rhyme which never appears to be forced and does not interrupt the meaning of the poetry. Indeed, most things about the structure and choice of language appear to be unforced as they are so well incorporated with one another and only after the second reading does one realise how carefully thought out they are. In the first stanza, there is a large use of onomatopoeia: ‘stuttering', ‘rattle', ‘patter', ‘wailing'. This has the effect of bringing the reader to the battlefield. Wilfred Owen has personified the warfare and made the rifles ‘stutter' and the shells ‘wail'. He has also made them come to life; guns cannot be angry and neither can shells be ‘mourning'. This forms an image in the first stanza that is slightly ‘demented' and disturbing. He often repeats vowel sounds and uses alliteration throughout the poem. In ‘the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle' the ‘a' sound is repeated along with the alliteration of the ‘t's. The words of the poem are cleverly chosen to heighten the expression of the poem in the way it is read. For instance, in the quotation about the rifles above, the alliteration he has chosen to make makes the sound interrupted and quickens the pace. This also reminds of the panic and rushing of war. In the final lines the words are not ones that can be said quickly: ‘flowers', ‘patient', ‘minds', ‘slow', ‘blinds'. This dramatically slows the pace of reading and makes them more expressive because it makes the reader think that the poem also dies with the soldiers or the hopes for the soldiers' lives. What is interesting is that there are no phrases that bind this poem to the First World War. Of course, it was written about it, but if given to a reader who did not know about Wilfred Owen or his works, they could think it was about any or all wars after the invention of the rifle. The poem does not mention trenches or gas. ‘These who die as cattle' are not necessarily British, neither are they necessarily of any side in war; they are the collective dead. ‘The guns' are not our guns or their guns. In the preface for a book of poems he intended to publish, Wilfred Owen wrote ‘My Subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.' ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth' is unique in that the pity is not only for the soldiers of the First World War, but also for those who suffered the loss of people they loved. It can be raised to a universal level where it comments on the shame and futility of all wars. In his other poetry, there is often blame involved but in this poem he evokes an air of sadness and waste only. There is genius behind the phrasing of it, but it is almost hidden because of its perfection.

A.T. Kearney Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A.T. Kearney - Case Study Example Kearney’s market reach to expand and overwhelming competition with the scale of services and expertise that the merger resulted to? If so, how? II. Summary of the facts A.T. Kearney was acquired by EDS (Electronic Data Systems). It is expected that with the merger of A.T. Kearney and EDS, clients could take advantage of a much broader range of services. In essence, it is expected that both companies could become a a â€Å"one-stop shop,† capable of servicing every client requirement. Both companies are expected to complement each other’s weaknesses and achieve a synergy that could be used as a leverage in the market. The combined capability of the two companies will enable them to offer end to end services in addition to the benefit of a larger market reach. Before the merger, A.T. Kearney was well known The firm was well known for its ability to deliver value and results throughout the management process, from strategy development to business and market analysis to operations, process, and technology transformation. This mix of strategy and operations, combined with a focus on implementation, had differentiated A. T Kearney from its competitors and driven the firm’s outstanding results for over a decade. A.T. ... Incidentally, the core business of A.T. Kearney is EDS waterloo. For years, EDS had been struggling to establish its MCS (Management Consultancy Service). EDS â€Å" Despite the ability to combine expertise and intellectual capital with the delivery capability of EDS, MCS was having difficulties getting off the ground† (pg. 5). Despite its size and capitalization, it registered a loss of $23 milllion in 1994. EDS just lacked the expertise to pursue MCS capability as an IT firm and lacked a clear positioning in the marketplace as a formidable â€Å"consulting† practitioner. This weakness in MCS prompted EDS to acquire A.T. Kearney for $600 million. III. Analysis Management consulting industry is a profitable industry. In 1994. It registered $40 worth of services of which $18 billion of these revenue were services related information technology (i.e., IT planning, IT strategy, strategic procurement of hardware and software solutions). Management consultancy industry was e xpected to grow faster than its other segment at an annual rate of up to 15 percent. Fred Steingraber suggested that total fees for the management consulting industry would double by the year 2000. The main reason for the tremendous growth in this sector can be attributed to the following reasons; Technology has been integrated into business strategy. Technology investments will increase. Corporations are embracing the philosophy of restructuring and reengineering. Senior management is becoming technology-literate as, across all industries, major corporations increasingly view themselves as â€Å"technology-oriented companies.† Senior management expresses satisfaction with return on technology investment, even in the absence of precise measurements. Given this data about this trend management

E-commerce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E-commerce - Research Paper Example However, the key challenge has been the fraud and general security issues this affects both the buyer and the seller. Businesses run the risk of phishing attacks before they can transact any business. This is costly for them as a business, but it is inevitable to avoid further losses in future. The customer is the most vulnerable to fraud and security risks the common security issue is hacking of their credit card. My paper seeks to explore deeper into these problems (fraud and security), effects on e-commerce, and ways of improving the security of the business to both customers and the sellers. The recommendations to be made can be used by authorities to make changes in the trade for its success in the future. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction Since the introduction of e-commerce fraud and security issues are a serious blow in the business, of all other issues that people around the globe have had to put up with, fraud and security issues have dominated. Discussions have previou sly been held to try and bring a lasting solution but with little success. Of all cyber crimes in the world, fraud accounts for 3% which is a substantial margin compared to other small offences committed through internet. Garner Group on the other hand estimated that around 1.06% of the total online transactions are fraudulent as compared to the 0.6% (Reynolds 2004). Both statistics above translate to a lot of money loss, which affects clients and sellers of goods or services. Effects and impact of security and fraud in e- commerce are worrying, by year 2003, it was estimated that 1.8 billion dollars would be lost (Debjan 2005). Once one is a victim of security and fraud in e- commerce, majority fear and their perceptions changed. Many fear that they may lose their money again... Since the introduction of e-commerce fraud and security issues are a serious blow to the business, of all other issues that people around the globe have had to put up with, fraud and security issues have dominated. Discussions have previously been held to try and bring a lasting solution but with little success. Of all cyber crimes in the world, fraud accounts for 3% which is a substantial margin compared to other small offenses committed through the internet. Garner Group, on the other hand, estimated that around 1.06% of the total online transactions are fraudulent as compared to the 0.6% (Reynolds 2004). Both statistics above translate to a lot of money loss, which affects clients and sellers of goods or services. Effects and impact of security and fraud in e- commerce are worrying, by the year 2003, it was estimated that 1.8 billion dollars would be lost (Debjan 2005). Once one is a victim of security and fraud in e- commerce, majority fear, and their perceptions changed. Many fe ar that they may lose their money again especially if they lost a lot of money previously.Literature review below has the research and view of people who have done research e-commerce in the past. The literature has a lot of information and data regarding the proposal.E-commerce touches many people’s lives around the globe, a million e-businesses, are registered and operation on the internet, interacting with a billion people both buyers and potential buyers, through trillion interconnected intelligent devices.

Organization and Management of a Health Care Facility Research Paper

Organization and Management of a Health Care Facility - Research Paper Example Under the chief of operating officer and the chief of financial officer is their various administrative staff that is considered the subordinates in the health care facility and the lowest in the organizational structure. Under the chief of medical staff is various departmental heads in charge of the different health related departments. They include the head of surgery, head of trauma, head of palliative care and head of pediatrics. Under each of these departmental heads are the staffs which include the nurses and physicians (Daniels and Ramey, 2005). The Chief Executive Officer is the hospital head in charge of all the staff in the hospital. He is also the administrative head who liaises with various chief heads to find the way forward for the health care facility. He receives advice from the rest of the chiefs and heads of departments and then makes the final decisions. He also gives authorization of budgets, people to hire and fire as well as other types of authorizations. He is the chair of the disciplinary committee which is composed of all chiefs and heads of departments (Garber, Gross and Slonim, 2010). The chief information management officer is in charge of the staffing issues in the hospital. His role is similar to that of a human resource manager and legal officer all combined in one concerned with all staffing affairs from hiring to firing and other staffing issues that may arise in the health care facility. He is also in charge of tracking of the professional certificates, tracking and handling any legal issue in the facility as well as provides monthly reports to the chief executive officer on the general functioning of the hospital (Dewan, Luo and Lorenzi, 2010). The chief financial officer is in charge of all the financial details and records in the health care facility starting from budgets, preparing and disbursing salaries and wages, handling payments from patients and purchase of

Time value of money Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Time value of money - Research Paper Example One can settle for less return if he or she is certain about the offered return in a given period of time. At times, when the company is highly reputed and has never defaulted in the past in its history; investor will agree to accept slightly less return for the reason of assured returns in a given time frame. Against this, if the company’s history indicates that it does not pay in time or has defaulted in payments to its debtors then it will force us to ask for the higher return to cover up the associated risk with our capital or delayed payments. Of course, it is subjective and based on the individual judgment; nevertheless, basic framework in applying the theory about risk and returns remain the same everywhere. Besides, other prevailing parameters such as inflation, interest rates in the market do influence about our decision to settle for appropriate returns. For example, if inflation is ruling at 5 % per annum, any return less than that simply means that our money is dep reciating. In the same scenario, if the yearly return received is six percent, it means that net of inflation our real return is only 1 percent. Above concepts are being applied in answering the questions of this paper. Answer 1) Current inflation rate in U.S is about 2.25 percent and term interest rates for the deposit of one year can be taken as around 1 percent. If the bond belongs to Nvidia Corporation, the company’s financials do not pose any near term threats so far the risk factor is considered. With simple thumb rule, I will not pay more than $1850 for the bond of this company that will fetch me around $2,000 after a year from this company. (Future value, FinanceProfessor.com) Answer 2. Cash flow (maturity value) available in this case is $2,000 The time period is one year for which it is required to find the present value, which is given as PV = CF * 1/ (1+r)t PV= 1,850 CF= 2,000 t=1, putting these values in the equation, it can be solved for r (discount rate), which will give us applicable discount rate. 1+r= CF/PV 1+r=2000/1850=1.08 or r=0.08 Hence discount rate for this bond is 8 percent. (Present Value, FinanceProfessor.com) Answer 3. As competitors to Nvidia, two companies selected are Siemens and AMD. Siemens is well established and financially very sound and deals in host of products. I would consider Siemens bonds highly liquid and secured. Based on the track record of Siemens, I would agree to buy bonds from Siemens by paying slightly higher price in comparison to Nvidia. There is absolutely no chance of Siemens’ failing on the redemption payments of bonds issued. All other things remaining the same, risk factor being nil, I would agree to buy these bonds by paying more in comparison to SLP Company Nvidia. In short, I will agree to slightly less than 8 percent of return while investing with Siemens. However, the same cannot be said for AMD as performance of the company is highly fluctuating in the market quarter after quarter. A MD’s operations are in the limited field and the company certainly carries some risk of failing in its payments for the bond. To cover up my risk of losing the capital or getting the delayed payments, I would certainly look for higher returns than normal. It means that I need to buy the bonds of AMD at

THEORIES OF LATE CAPITALISM AND THE WORLD SYSTEM Essay

THEORIES OF LATE CAPITALISM AND THE WORLD SYSTEM - Essay Example With that respect, this essay will seek to highlight and address this problem as well as identify solutions provided by both theorists. Francis Fukuyama assert that the loss of social order as depicted by capitalism was a not matter of poor memory or nostalgia but rather a matter of hypocrisies committed in the early ages of communism. Most recently, as Francis reveals, there has been frequent occurrence of seismic shifts during the fall of 1980s. These shifts involve strategies set in place by governments of the developed countries such as the United States with the aim of harnessing economic power (Harvey 43). The issue regarding if the information age democracies have the ability to withstand social order while facing economic and technological change are part of the greatest challenges encountered by these economic super powers. Philosopher Francis argues that, there exists a strong logic backing the evolution of political institutions pointing towards modern liberty democracy, b asing on mutual relations between stable democracy and economic development. However, the most worrisome aspect as described Francis is that, this progressive tendency lacks social and moral development. His failure to include politics and ecology in his work derives bases from the general tendency of the contemporary basics where liberal democracies fall victim to excessive individualism. Francis makes it clear that the liberty of the modern state premised on the concept whereby the interests political peace, the government would not be in a position to sideline differing moral claims as put forward by traditional culture and/or religion (Harvey 45). In their theories, there is no examination of the ecological implications of modernism or the theoretical practices of postmodernism in relation with the environment to assess whether they repress modernist assumptions or encourage non-exploitation. Their failure to address these issues inevitably reflects the supposed conditions of po stmodernism and discussions based on political stratagem. As a matter of course, their theories omit space analysis into spatial politics as opposed to other theorists (Harvey 46). Indeed, theories of postmodernism bear a strong family resemblance to those ambitious sociological generalizations that bring people the news of the arrival and the inauguration of a new type of society baptized as postindustrial society. To their own relief, these theories have the obvious ideological mission of illustrating that the new social formation does no longer obey the laws of late capitalism. Situation of the problem Their failure to address politics and ecology has made learners fail to understand that despite the increasing global division of poverty and wealth, dependency theory together with its thesis concerning the structural domination of the capitalist West over the developing countries or simply, the Third World, is all but dead. According to Francis and David’s theories of late capitalism, the passing of dependency theory has been faltering, slow, and at the same time inexorable. Now, it is a reduced theoretical political memory in both mainstreams in international relations writing mentioned only as interesting historical lineage (Gray 47). This omission is not very helpful, at best, since

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

Case study - Essay Example On its part, the media is used by the government to control the public. The public on the other hand has become obsessed to TV from which government publicity is generated. Some common events designed on media to gain publicity are in the form of planted, manufactured or non-spontaneous news. Some practices in public relations are timeless like the carrying of a bible as a prop particularly in enhancing the seeming worthiness of a leader. The true application of public relations as self-conscious managing art and occupation was through the 20th century ideas of Bernays aimed at influencing the opinion of the public on commodities through the use of psychology. This strategy worked for both Proctor & Gamble Ivory soap and American Tobacco Company through selective use of powerful symbols to correlate with the selling. Today, public relations practitioners seek to achieve an essential moment that representatively engraves in the mind of the public. The most recent defining moment was t he bombing of the world trade center in 9/11 involving Rudy Giuiani who survived the blast by escaping from debris. In conclusion, public relation is an inseparable part of management’s major decisions given that one has to consider the perception of the public on the decisions. Public relations are not without drawbacks since some use it to cover up for their misgivings which then call for the public to be keen in examining their public servants (case study

Abortion - Today's Contemporary Moral Issue Essay

Abortion - Today's Contemporary Moral Issue - Essay Example To date no convincing results could be procured rather it emerged as the most contentious of all the existing contemporary societal concerns of the present century (Ethics of Abortion: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion). Abortion poses a ethical, societal, and therapeutic predicament that blend up poignant answers among disputants of the topic. Abortion is such an issue that carries two viewpoints encompassing choice and life. Life is present in the fetus right from the moment of conception, a fetus, or human embryo, is considered to be a living individual. Due to the act of abortion, the individual is divested from the survival and therefore for some abortion is considered to be equivalent to murder. The view is supported by the Catholic Church, as it is the moral responsibility to prevent every individual (Ethics of Abortion: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion). On the contrary, decision to give birth to the young one is the right of the mother and there should not be any interventions. Thus it is a matter of fetal life but at the same time the issue is concerned with the upbringing of the child and also the consent of the mother who has to give birth to the baby (individual). The present article considers the philosophical facet of abortion, as it encompasses the ethical assessment of the proceedings. History reveals that abortion has always been a contemporary issue, the issue was prevalent even before the birth of Christ. Some traditional methods were prevalent to kill the unwanted fetus, although it was a legal as well as political concern. It was Plato (428- 347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) who maintained the outlook of abortion (Roos). Aristotle developed the thought of "delayed ensoulment" which had far reaching implications amongst intellectuals. He very well discriminated plants animals and humans and framed the view that the soul enters the human body once the body is fully formed. and also postulated the ensoulment as- for males it is forty days and for females it is eighty days. Roman law did not provide any legal standing to the infant till the family head accepts it (Roos). Later with the advent of Christianity life in womb was also considered to be sacred and therefore contradictions started which is prevailing even in the present situation (Roos). Abortion: a Cru cial Ethical Issue Abortion has been debated over the years on the political grounds to make a law and should be regarded as a murder of an individual or it should be left as a permissible issue leaving on the choice of the women. On the other hand it is believed by some that law must not legislate transience. It is also believed that all the laws must be made for good. A breakdown or stoppage to explicitly converse those morals and ethics could incomprehensible vital planning (Fetus, Humanity, Personhood: When Does a Fetus Become a Human Person with Rights). Could fetus be considered as an individual with rights? Debates related to abortion encompass the lawful eminence related to the fetus. Considering fetus as an individual, abortion is equivalent to the murder and therefore abortion is an illegitimate act. On the other hand, it is necessary to understand that it is the part of women's body and any state cannot compel a woman to continue with the pregnancy if the woman is not wil ling to maintain it to the complete term. Thus it should be an ethical choice and should not be a considered as a murder (Fetus, Humanity, Personhood: When Does a Fetus Become a Human Person with Rights). Female does possess Moral Responsibility towards the developing Fetus! In certain cases the contraception fails or the use of contraceptive means may turn out to be improper of

A Case Study of Southwest Airline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A of Southwest Airline - Case Study Example Southwest Airline has been one of the companies with highest growth rate for the last more than forty years since it was found (Bundgaard, Bejjani & Helmer, 2006). This has been due to its ability to sustain growth and maintain profitability despite the challenges of the aviation industry and has resulted mainly due to increase in the demand of its low price structures and high quality services. According to Keller (2010), it is always the objective of this company to meet the customer demand. Since the customer demand has been increasing, Southwest airline has been forced to increase its number of flights and to even acquire other Airline companies. One recent acquisition is acquiring of Air Tran Holding, which it used to expand its operation (Keller, 2011). According to Drake (1998), Southwest Airline has been experiencing growth on annual bases since it was found. The airline started with three aircraft operating in three planes only. Since then, the airline has grown to the capacity of operating more than 400 planes throughout the United States. This growth has been because of the increase in demand that has resulted to Southwest airline increasing number of flights in each of the airport hubs. This has led to presence of more aircrafts and more schedule flights in all the airport hubs selected by Southwest Airline. Another cause of this congestion is increase in competition in the aviation industry and emergence of new companies. In the recent years, there has been emergence of other low cost companies in the airport hubs selected by Southwest Airline.

Kite Runner Rahim Khans Dying Wish Essay Example for Free

Kite Runner Rahim Khans Dying Wish Essay Around the time of his 13th birthday, Amir decided to do something that would change his life forever; he decided to betray his loyal friend and servant, Hassan. His actions caused Hassan and Ali to leave Baba and him forever. Soon after that happened, Baba and Amir were forced to leave the Wazir Akbar district due to several dangers. They ended up in Fremont, California. Although Baba didn’t like his life in America, Amir seemed to enjoy it. â€Å"For me, America was a place to bury my memories. † (112) Although he says that it was a place for him to bury his memories, was he ever completely able to forget about them? Did he ever gain salvation? In the summer of 2001, Amir received a call from his father’s old friend and business partner, Rahim Khan. He asked Amir to come meet him in Pakistan because he was very ill, and didn’t know how long he would live. Even though he said all this, what caught Amir’s attention was something he said just before he hung up: â€Å"There is a way to be good again.† (2) This meant that Amir finally had the chance to right his wrong. After almost three long decades, Amir had gotten a chance to get forgiven for his sins. When Amir got to Pakistan and met Rahim Khan, he came to know about two of the most shocking facts: that Hassan was actually Baba’s son, and that he was killed by the Taliban! Rahim Khan’s dying wish was for Amir to go back to Kabul, and get Sohrab, Hassan’s son, and bring him to an American couple, Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell, who would then take care of him. In a way, Rahim Khan was doing Amir a favor, because he was giving him a chance to finally forgive himself for what he did to Hassan. He could no longer meet Hassan and apologize to him in person, but instead he could go to Kabul, and save his son, Sohrab.

Distribution Channel Design

Distribution Channel Design Distribution Channel Design Channel design facilitates the flow of goods from the manufacturer to the end-user. Hutt and Speh (2007) defined that, the link between the manufacturer and the customer is the distribution channel. The purpose of the distribution channel is to distribute the product from manufacturer to the end user to the right time to the right place (Klein and Frazier1990). The channel of distribution is the marketing managers bridge to the market. Channel design creates a competitive advantage that separates market winners from market losers. Stern Weitz (1997) , says the efficient distribution channel design and administration can offer opportunities to develop sustainable competitive advantage in the long term. The channel should achieve all tasks which are necessary to affect a sale and deliver products to the end user. The Tyre Company who is trying to enter into US market is a manufacturer of safety systems for vehicle tyres whose products allow the vehicle to continue to be driven even if the tires burst or are shot out. The main customers for the systems are police forces, security companies, emergency services like ambulance and fire service, armies, trucking companies (Original Equipment Manufacturers ‘OEMs), and even the general public. The organization cannot serve all types of customers through a single distribution channel, so depending on the size of the market, value and the level of usage, the market for safety systems can be divided into three segments. Ø Government Organizations (Ambulance, fire services, armies), Ø Private sector (Original equipment manufacturers like Trucking companies vehicle manufactures), Ø General public For the safety systems manufacturer there are many options to design a distribution channel. In the above figure, channel 1 comes under direct distribution channel where the organizations directly deal with the customers. This distribution channel does not have any intermediaries like distributors, wholesalers, retailers etc. Hutt and Speh (2007) says in, direct distribution channel the manufacturers own sales force deals directly with the customer segments, and the manufacturer has the complete responsibility for performing all the required channel tasks. Channel 2, channel 3 and channel 4 come under indirect distribution channels. Indirect channel distribution uses one or more intermediaries like distributors, retailers, sales representatives etc. Channel distribution for Government sectors customers: The safety systems manufacturer is entering into the U.S market for the first time, so the organization cannot contact the government organizations for selling their products. As the government uses the safety systems for emergency services, they cannot rely on the manufacturers words. So, the manufacturer should approach distributors and collaborate with them for doing business. These distributors can approach the government organizations and explain the products features and advantages. So, the best way to serve government sector customers is to design an indirect distribution channel which consists of distributors as Intermediaries. Corey et al. (1989) says indirect channel distribution is generally found where the markets are fragmented and widely dispersed, low transaction amount prevails and buyers typically purchase a number of items in one transaction. The government sector segment is widely dispersed and the buyers in the segment purchase a number of items in one transaction, indirect approach is recommended for dealing with this segment. The below figure shows the distribution channel design for government sector customers In private sector, the customers (original equipment manufacturers) for safety tyres are few. So, the company can directly approach the original equipment manufacturers that use the safety systems and can directly tie up with the vehicle manufacturers or OEMs. This increases the sales of the safety systems manufacturer. Hutt and Speh (2007), says the direct sales approach is feasible when the customers are large and well defined, the customers insist on direct sales, sales involve extensive negotiations with upper management. Here in this report the manufacturer has to negotiate extensively with the upper management of the OEMs to make them agree to fit the safety systems as the original equipment. Therefore direct distribution channel design is suitable for private sector customers. Distribution channel for general public: General public customers will maximum order 1-4 units per orders and its not so easy for the manufacturer to deal with every individual customer separately. So, the manufacturer should make tie ups with dealers or wholesalers. These dealers or wholesalers create awareness about the product and encourage the general public to buy the safety systems. These distributors or wholesalers intern make tie up with the vehicle repairing sheds and retailers. These vehicle repairing sheds play a vital role in increasing the sales of the safety systems. Therefore indirect channel is recommended for dealing with general public customers. The below figure indicates the distribution channel for dealing with general public. COMMUNICATION PROCESS: Kennaugh (2009), says the primary objective of marketing communications is to create awareness of a business, its products, and its position through customer-facing materials such as brochures, press releases, Web sites, and trade show presentations. Communication helps to spread awareness about products or services that are of some use to consumer and potential buyers. A good marketing communications plan requires an in-depth understanding of target audiences and the processes involved in buying, selling, and communicating. As the safety systems manufacturer has customers in different sectors, it should use different modes of communication for taking the product to the customers. Hutt and Speh (2007), says due to the technical complexity of the business products, the relatively small number of potential buyers, and the extensive negotiation process, the primary communication vehicle in Business to Business marketing is the sales person. As the Companys product in this report is a technical product, the primary communication for this company should through personal ­ selling. Personal selling is the most effective tool for building buyers preferences, convictions, and actions. Apart from personal selling the company can also communicate through sales promotion, advertising, public relations, Bouchers, E-Marketing, workshops, Direct Marketing etc. Advertising is also a most powerful tool of communication. Most of people believe the Media and attract to the media advertising. But media covers mostly general customers and some business customers. So, this can be used only as one of the communication tools for taking the safety systems into market. Aaker (1992), says Brochures are useful for the communication and this is the very cheapest way for communicating to the customers. Communication helps to keep the consumers informed about the new models of products or services that are available in the organisation. To communicate effectively, marketers need to need to understand how communication works .Communication involves the eight elements which are shown in the below figure. 1) Sender: The party sending the message to another party -in this case it is the Tyres Company. 2) Encoding: The process of putting the intended message into symbolic form that will differentiate us from other companies into an advertisement that will convey the intended message (Kotler et al 2008). 3) Message: This set of words, pictures or symbols that the sender transmits in the advertisements. 4) Decoding: The process by which the receiver assigns meaning to the symbols encoding by the sender -a consumer reads the ad and interprets the words and illustrations it contains. 5) Receiver: The party receiving the message sent by the company; the customer or the company that reads the tyres advertising. 6) Response: The reactions of the receiver after being exposed to the message -any of thousands of possible responses, such as the customer is more aware of the attributes of our tyres products. 7) Feedback: The part of the receivers response communicated back to the sender -tyres Company research shows that consumer like and remember the ad or consumers write or call the company praising or criticising the ad or its products. 8) Noise: The unplanned static or distortion during the communication process which result in the receiver getting a different message from the company. This is diagram shows that how message would pass to customers and how they would have respond by taking response and feed back like questionnaire, by filling feedback form, interviews and so forth. Scope for Conflict: Cannel conflict occurs when members of two channels fight for same goal. Organisational growth is badly affected by conflicts. Generally organisation doing business depends upon their Agents, Wholesalers, and Retailers. As long as the organization maintains a good relation with all its channel members the organisation gets good results, if the organisation does not maintain a healthy relations to all its channel members then the organisation sales growth decreases, and conflicts occur (Kogut, 1988). For instance, a premier distributor may be expected to share market analysis data, have an outside force and create account plans maintain specific inventory, and provide a complete service and repair function- in exchange for preferred pricing and product availability. An authorized distributor may be expected to share market analysis data, have a telemarketing operation, and maintain specific inventory. An affiliate distributor may have access to the manufacturers products without being given any special pricing or compensation. When there are too many distributors in a given area, or when one distributor â€Å"cherry-picks† accounts in another distributors territory, there can be price competition and conflict (Erramilli, 1991). Pricing related conflicts are most common in channel conflicts. It is very essential that the manufacturer creates the base for a pricing structure where each member is able to make a profit from the value they bring to the marketing channel process. Each members price must reflect his or her role within the channel (Aaker, 1992). For example, if a retailer is able to purchase directly from the manufacturer at a cost that is equal or less than the cost that their distributor gives them, then the distributor losses his business from the retailer. This is one of the reasons for channel conflict. The other reason for channel conflict is, if the organisation supply tyres to the end customer with help of the wholesaler/distributor and retailers in particular area, and also maintaining good relations with wholesalers and retailers as well. But, that area is very small or there is no need of retailers in that area. Then organisation distributes the tyres directly from wholesaler/distributor to end-user. In this regards retailers lose their business. So conflict may occur in between retailers and organisation or in between retailer to distributor. Based on this conflict Retailer may merges with the competitor which in turn effects the organization. Other sources of channel conflict may result from goal incompatibility, poorly defined roles and rights, perceptual differences, and interdependent relationships. All of these factors must be taken into consideration, addressed when necessary, and managed whenever possible (Nygaard, 1994). Relationship Marketing: Relationship marketing is a term introduced by Berry (1983) that puts forward that marketers should move away from transactional marketing and build longer term relationships with their customers, focusing on building trust between buyer and seller so that loyalty develops. Morgan and Hunt, (1994), say Relationship marketing refers to all marketing activities directed toward establishing, developing and maintaining successful relational exchanges. The idea of relationship marketing was developed by Gronroos (1994) whose opinion was that relationship marketing was all about identifying, establishing maintaining, enhancing and, occasionally, terminating relationships with customers. The objective of such relationships, he suggested, is to give mutual benefit through the exchange and fulfilment of promises as well as communication. Relationship Marketing involves organisations gathering information about their customers and then deciding with whom they can develop a dialogue; it allows buyers and sellers to work together in joint problem solving, easing the pressures on the buyer. Rather than employing market share as a measure of marketing success, this approach uses customer retention (Gummesson, 1994). The effectiveness of Business to Business marketing is largely determined by long-term relationships between buyers and sellers (Dion et al., 1995). According to Webster (1992), buyer-seller or customer-supplier interdependence is an integral part of business to business marketing. Over the past 10 or so years, there has been clear evidence to suggest that, in business to business marketing, the nature of buyer-seller interactions has changed from adversarial to relationship building, and, consequently, emphasis has moved away from discrete transactions and towards relational exchanges (Weitz and Jap, 1995). P ressures to meet the demands of global competition, reliance on single-source suppliers, the development and adoption of just-in-time systems, outsourcing and development of ‘partnerships have been cited as some of the main driving forces behind such developments (Metcalf et al, 1992). Over the last 20 years, relationship marketing has been espoused by many in the services and industrial arenas, where it is, perhaps, easier to developer longer term relationships. The acquisition, retention and nurturing of customer relationships is fundamental to an organisation engaging in relationship marketing. Nurturing the customer is a step along the path to invoking loyalty on the part of the customer. Loyalty is one of the objectives of relationship marketing because a loyal customer may be of strategic advantage our Company. In this case, as the manufacturer newly entering into the US market, he has to build the relationship with the channel partners. By building relationship, he can understand the market well. By building relationship all the channel members can work for the common goal and they can solve any problem effectively. References Aaker, D.A., (1992), â€Å"The value of brand equity†, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol.13, pp.27-32. Berry, L.L. (1983), â€Å"Relationship marketing†, in Berry, L.L., Shostack, G.L. and Upah, G.D. (Eds),Emerging Perspectives on Services Marketing, American Marketing Association, Chicago,IL. Corey, E.R., Cespedes, F.V., and Rangan, V.K., (1989). Going to Market: Distribution System for Industrial Products, Harvard University Press, Boston. Dion, P., Easterling, D., and Miller, S.J., (1995). What is really necessary in successful buyer/seller relationships, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol.24. Erramilli, M.K. (1991), â€Å"The experience in foreign market entry behavior of service firms, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 21 No.Fall, pp.479-501. Gronroos, C., (1994), â€Å"Quo Vadis marketing? Towards a relationship marketing paradigm†, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 10 No. 5. Gummesson, E., (1994). Making relationship marketing operational, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 5 No.5. Hutt, M.D., and Speh, T.W., (2007). Business Marketing Management: B2B, Thomson, USA. Kogut, B. (1988), Joint ventures: theoretical and empirical perspectives, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 9 No.4, pp.319-32. Koltler.P, Armstrong.G, Wong.V and Saunder.J., (2008), 5TH Edition, Principles of Marketing. Prentice Hall. Klein, S., and Frazier, G.L., (1990), A transaction cost analysis model of channel integration in international markets, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 27 No.2. Metcalf, L.E., Frear, C.R., Krishnan, R., (1992). Buyer seller relationships: an application of the IMP model, European Journal of Marketing, Vol.26, No.2. Morgan, R.M., Hunt, S.D., (1994). The commitment trust theory of relationship marketing, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58 No.3. Nygaard, A. (1994), The falsification perspective on theories in channel research, Journal of Marketing Channels, Vol. 3 No.4. Stern, L. W. Weitz, B. A.; 1997. The Revolution in distribution: Challenges and Opportunities. Long Range Planning . V. 30. pp. 823 829. Webster, F.E., (1992). Industrial marketing strategy. 3rd ed., Wiley, New York. Weitz, B.A., and Jap, S.D., (1995). Relationship marketing and distribution channels, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol.23, No.4.

HPV Infection and Associated Cancers

HPV Infection and Associated Cancers 1.0 Introduction Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus that is spread through genital and skin-to-skin contact [1]. Its infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world [1] and accounts for 561200 representing 5.2% of all cancer cases worldwide [2, 3]. Over 290 million HPV infections are recorded worldwide annually [4] and the prevalence of HPV vary from 14% to over 90% [5]. Currently, over 170 HPV-types have been identified and designated with numbers [6-8] and at least forty are transmitted through genital contact [9]. The virus can also be transmitted through skin-to-skin sexual contact (regardless of penetration), mucous membranes or bodily fluids, oral sex and mutual masturbation (genital fondling) [10]. HPV affects only humans [11]. When the HPV virus comes in contact with human cells, it may bring about changes to the cell called lesions which may lead to the development of tumors [6]. High-risk HPV-types (hrHPV) (aka oncogenic HPV-types) are able t o incorporate themselves into the cell DNA and transform its behavior in a way that results in cancer whereas low-risk HPV-types (aka non-oncogenic HPV-types) do not cause cancer [10]. HPV infection is most common in young men and women in their teens and early 20s [11]. Authors of the HPV Infection and Transmission among Couples through Heterosexual activity (HITCH) cohort study reported an HPV infection of more than 56% in young adults in relatively new sexual relationships and more than half (44%) were infected with oncogenic HPV-types. In the early 2000s, about 6.2 million new cases of HPV infection were recorded in America of which 74% occurred in 15 to 24-year olds [12].   A systematic review of more than 40 studies by Dunne et al (2006) showed that HPV prevalence estimates vary from 1.3% to 72.9% amongst studies of multiple sites and 56% of them reported a prevalence of more than 20% [13]. Most HPV infections are asymptomatic and usually resolve on their own over the course of weeks [14]. For example, HPV-5 may cause infections that may linger for a very long time in an infected person without showing any clinical symptoms [9]. However, when an HPV infection does not resolve naturally, it may result in malignancies including genital warts (small or large, raised or flat or even shaped-like-a-cauliflower bumps or groups of bumps around the genital region) [9] and precancerous lesions [15]. While HPV-1/2 causes common warts (usually found on the hands, feet and sometimes knees and elbows), HPV-6/11 causes Recursive Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP) (when warts are formed on the larynx [16] or other sites on the respiratory tract) [17, 18]. These warts recur very often and obstruct breathing [17]. Another major symptom of HPV infection is that it is strongly related to cancer, specifically cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, oropharynx, anus and penis [2, 3] (For details refer to Section 1.1). One common feature of these cancers involves the transmission of HPV infection to the stratified epithelial tissue (a multilayered cell with every cell in direct contact with a basement membrane that separates it from a connective underlying tissue) [2, 14 -15]. The first section of this chapter of this thesis, section 1.1, briefly introduces all cancers associated with and attributable to HPV infection as reported in [2, 3]. Definition of HPV-associated and HPV-attributable cancers are also given in the same section. This is particularly important as a clear inclusion or exclusion criteria is set for cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus and penis as defined by their causal methods which are HPV-inspired or otherwise. Subsections 1.11 to 1.16 are devoted to respectively discussing all six cancers. In these subsections, actual definitions of cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus and penis will be provided as well as their composition by specific anatomical region. The relationship between HPV and these cancers will also be provided in these subsections as well as a brief history. Section 1.2 will provide a detailed discussion regarding international trends in the incidence rates of these HPV-associated cancers. Section 1.3 will disc uss the behavior of the incidence rates in Canada as established in Canadian literature and will, therefore, show why this thesis seeks to explore the behavior of incidence rates of HPV-associated cancers in Canada using Canada-wide data. Finally, section 1.4 will itemize the research questions in this thesis. 1.1 HPV-associated Cancers When most people think of an HPV infection, they might think of cervical cancer. However, one must be careful because they is a growing subset of non-cervical cancers extensively established as strongly linked to HPV infection and the proportion of these cancers vary by anatomical site [3]. These cancers include cancer of the oropharynx as well as those in the genital region (i. e. vagina, anus, vulva and penis) [19]. Current data reveal that HPV-infection is associated with 12%-63% of oropharyngeal cancers, 40%-64% of vaginal cancers, 40%-51% of vulvar cancers, 36%-40% of penile cancers and 90%-93% of anal cancers [3, 20] and 100% of cervical cancer cases are attributable to HPV [21]. The difference in HPV-attributable proportions for these non-cervical cancers partly results from inherent differences in the methods of detecting cancer, differences in geographic locations in HPV-attributable populations [22]. Other potential reasons for differences in HPV proportions are because som e studies report on individuals currently having a detectable infection while others report on individuals who have ever had a detectable infection and also there are differences in the HPV strain tested for by different studies [23]. An HPV-associated cancer is a specific cellular type of cancer that is diagnosed in a particular part of the human body where HPV is found [9]. The virus is often found in the vulva, vagina, cervix, rectum, anus and oropharynx [23, 24]. Several studies including [24] have shown that the incidence rates of HPV-associated anal and rectal cancers are similar, so from-here-on-in, rectal cancer will be assumed to have an analogous incidence distribution as anal cancer. Cancer-based registries (CBRs) identify diagnosed cases by using the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd revision (ICD-O-3) codes for HPV-associated groups: cancers of the anus (C20-C21), vulva (C51), vagina (C52), cervix (C53), penis (C60) and oropharynx (C019, C024, C028, C090-C099, C102, C108, C140, C142 and C148) [25, 26]. An HPV-attributable cancer is a cancer that is possibly caused by HPV [9]. HPV causes all cervical cancers and cancers of the vulva, penis, vagina, anus, rectum and oropharynx as shown above. The epidemiology and histology of HPV-associated cancers of the cervix, anal, penile, vaginal, vulvar and oropharynx are discussed next in subsections 1.11 to 1.16. 1.11 Cervical Cancer Cervical cancer is a major global public health threat: it is the fourth most prevalent cancer in women, with approximately 500000 new cases annually [27, 28]. Almost all cervical cancers occur at the junction of the endocervix and the ectocervix, at a junction called the transformation zone [28, 29]. According to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), any vaginal lesion that relates to the ectocervix should also be treated as cervical cancer [29]. Before puberty, this junction is found on the visible vaginal portion of the cervix (i.e. the ectocervix) and is fairly stable [30]. Within young women as well as women on oral contraceptives, the visible transformation zone is called ectopy, which regresses into the endocervix with increasing age and the commencement of sexual intercourse [31]. The main morphological type of cervical cancer associated with HPV is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) which accounts for about 60% of all cervical cancer cases [28]. Adenoc arcinoma (AC) and adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) are the next common types while neuroendocrine or small cell carcinomas, primary cervical lymphoma, cervical sarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma are rare [28]. There are geographical differences in the cervical cancer incidence rates [28]. GLOBOCAN 2012 examined the burden of cervical cancer amongst countries by estimating age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) by country, and a global ASR of 14 per 100000 women of all ages was reported [32]. Over 85% of the global burden of cervical cancer occurs in developing countries, where it accounts for 13% of all female cancers [33, 34]. Most countries in South America and sub-Saharan Africa report an ASR associated with cervical cancer of more than 50 per 100000 women [28]. In contrasts, cervical cancer rates are generally less than 7 per 100000 women in western Europe, western Asia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Australia and these geographical differences in cervical cancer incidence rates closely reflect the availability of cervical precancer screening programs [28]. Comprehensive national screening programs for cervical cancer and dysplasia have a great impact in managing cervical cancer incidence [35]. The Papanicolaou (pap) smear screening test, which detects cytological abnormalities of the cervical transformation zone reduced cervical cancer incidence by more than 70% in developed countries [36]. Risk factors associated with cervical cancer include early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners [37], smoking [38], a history of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) [39] and chronic immunosuppression with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection [40]. Circumcision of male sexual partners is protective for women [41]. Cervical cancer is preventable by avoiding HPV, the causative agent or through the identification and treatment or pre-invasive lesions by histopathologists [30]. These precursor lesions to cervical cancer are called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or, specifically, squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) a term used to identify where abnormal cells develop [30]. Lesions from Low-grade CIN mostly relapse while those of high grade require comprehensive treatment [42]. For high-grade CIN, the rate of progression to invasive cancer if left untreated is approximately 30%-50% with 30 years, however, proper treatment drastically reduces this risk to under 1% [42]. 1.12 Anal Cancer Anal cancer or squamous carcinoma of the anus and anal canal is a rare malignancy accounting for only 2% of all gastrointestinal cancers [43, 44] and about 4% of cancers associated with the lower gastrointestinal tract [45]. Anal cancers emerge from anal mucosa when glandular elements associated with the gastrointestinal tract develops into squamous mucosa [28]. Research has shown that a greater proportion of anal cancer cases are attributable to continuous infection with hr-HPV (HPV-16/18) [46]. The global ASR associated with anal cancer is shown to be 1.0 per 100000 [32]. Risk factors for HPV-associated cancer of the anus are generally associated with sexual activity [46, 47]. Reporting at least 10 sexual partners in ones lifetime increases the risk of developing anal cancer [48]. Elsewhere, receptive anal intercourse with two or more partners and HIV infection [49], a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (e.g. gonorrhea, chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex virus 2) [48], genital warts [50] and smoking [51] have also been shown to increase the risk of developing HPV-associated anal cancer. 1.13 Penile Cancer Another rare malignancy associated with HPV infection is penile cancer. It accounts for less than 1% of all male cancers [3, 43 and 52]. It is an abnormal growth found in the tissues or on the skin of the penis and about 95% of all cases of penile cancer are SCC [53]. It mostly results from a series of epithelial modifications (precursor lesions) which often progress quickly from low-grade lesions to high-grade lesions and finally invasive carcinoma [53]. The frequency of SCC being preceded by premalignant lesions is still unknown [54-57]. Although SCC is the most prevalent penile neoplasia, several histological types of different growth patterns, clinical aggressiveness and HPV association have been reported [58]. An HPV infection is found in basaloid (warty penile SCCs (39%) and 76%, mixed warty-basaloid (82%) [55]. DNA of HPV has also been identified in about of 30%-40% and about 70%-100% of invasive penile cancer tissues [54]. Variations in histological subtypes of penile cancer vis-à  -vis the rate of HPV-positivity is an indication that HPV may be a cofactor in the carcinogenesis of certain variants of penile SCC [59]. This therefore points to higher incidence associated with penile cancer in regions with higher prevalence of HPV and vice versa [60]. Geographical differences in study populations result in variations in incidence rates associated with penile cancer [32]. In North America and Europe, SCC of the penis accounts for less than 1% of cancers associated with men [43]. In developed countries, the ASR of penile cancer is between 0.1 and 0.5 per 100000 men [32].   However, for developing countries including Malawi, Uganda, Brazil, Vietnam, Paraguay, Columbia and India, the penile cancer accounts for more than 10% of reported cancers [32]. The associated ASR is at least 2.0 per 100000 men is reported in these countries [32, 43-44]. The incidence of penile cancer suggests the presence of risk factors [28]. Risk factors essentially are associated with chronic inflammation and HPV infection, compromised genital hygiene [61-63]. Circumcision is reported to have a 3-fold decrease in penile cancer risk [62]. Cancer of the penis is classically associated with old age and is generally reported in men with low socioeconomic status [52]. Smoking is also an independent risk factor associated with penile cancer [62, 63]. Though not an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-defining cancer, the risk of developing penile cancer in HIV-positive men is 8 times higher than in HIV-negative men. Men with penile cancer are most likely to report protracted penile rash, penile injury, prior history of genital warts and phimosis (the inability of an uncircumcised penis to fully retract the foreskin) [62]. 1.14 Vaginal Cancer HPV-associated vaginal cancer is a rare malignancy with an ASR between 0.2 and 0.7 per 100000 in most countries [64]. It is associated with older women, with incidence peaking around the sixth and seventh decades of life [65]. Several studies have shown that

The Hard Nut Essay -- Drama

The Hard Nut ============ The Hard Nut Is Based On The Nutcracker and Mouse King by ETA Hoffmann, the dance company they used was the Mark Morris Company and the music is by Tchaikovsky. The director of the Hard Nut has not been original, as he has used the same music from the original Nutcracker. The video is a live recording. Act 1 The opening scene starts with three people on the stage dressed as young children, they have their backs to the audience and are dressed in a black and white style, and the curtains are drawn. The curtains go up and Act One Begins. The scenery is black and white there is also a big door bigger than the characters on the stage. The three main characters on the stage are children we can tell this by the way they are acting and the facial expressions they pull. The director is dealing with gender issues a lot of the women are played by men. The dance style they are using is ballet. The huge door opens and the set changes to a living room style setting. It is around Christmas we can tell this, as there is a Christmas tree in the corner of the stage. The characters are dressed in green and red which are the colours of Christmas. In the days were the musical is set they did not have coloured televisions the television starts to go colour and the music starts to be multipurpose as if there is a fire. Throughout the play the use of humour is quite big. The three children are now obviously in their Christmas suits the oldest girl showing off all dressed up whilst the other is quiet and dressed in pink different from the rest, she is overlooked by people very sensible and very shy. Everybody on the stage pairs up and are dancing in duets apart from the youngest child who is in the pink, she is being ignored but is trying hard to involve herself. The girl then notices a man coming into the house she makes a fuss and everybody notices and acts surprised. The man appears to be a joker always wants to be the centre of attention and loves the quiet girl. He brings in two life size presents and the young girl and boy open them, two giant toys come out and begin a duet but they are using the people around them to do the duet including the children. They are using sharp isolated movements acting like robots, using different motifs. The family then get back into partners and begin the duets again... ... look on their faces and start running around in circles and the kiss again! The characters start to run diagonally across the stage in duets and form a huge circle. The use lots of pirouettes all at the same time and then exit the stage with leaps. It leads to the girl and the nutcracker again, showing that they are deeply in love. They perform another duet and kiss again and again. They use movements to show they are in love like smooth runs and turns. They travel away from each other and come back together showing they are reaching for each other’s love! The music becomes grand and they both take centre stage, a new drop down sheet comes down with all different toys on and the music gets faster and faster. They run of and the black and white scene from the start comes back. The stage is now back to the opening scene with the television programme on. The maid comes in going mad and turns the television off. The audience start clapping as the characters come on in duets bow and go through the door apart from the girl and the nutcracker. They finally come on last and the curtain goes up all the characters are in positions and the girl and nutcracker join them.

Impact of Globalisation on the Music Industry Essay -- Globalization E

Define and explain globalisation, then critically evaluate and illustrate the impact globalisation has had on a particular business, the industry it operates in, its country of origin and the country or countries the business has expanded into. In this paper I will be discussing how globalisation has impacted the Music Industry in recent years, and in particular the multi-national giant Universal Music Group (UMG). Globalisation is a noun that is hard to define; it has many definitions depending on which scholar you talk to, which dictionary you reference, and the viewpoint you take. The Oxford dictionary will tell you that globalisation is â€Å"the process by which businesses or other organisations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale† (Definition of globalization in English). People’s perspectives on defining the word vary depending on the place they were born, where they have lived, the religion they follow, their social status, political ideology, cultural background and wealth, amongst other things, because all of these will affect whether they view globalisation to be a positive or negative occurrence. My favourite definition comes from Kenichi Ochmae; a Japanese organisational theorist most recognised for introducing Japanese management methods, such as the just-in-time method of production, to the Western world. In 1992, Ochmae said that globalisation is the â€Å"onset of the borderless world† (Al-Rodhan, 2006). This is my preferred explanation of globalisation because it is so simple to digest. From the phrase â€Å"borderless world† alone you can begin to understand exactly what globalisation is all about, however the simplicity of this definition is also its downfall because it is very non... ...ndi, a Paris-based multi-national who in 2012 declined an offer of 8.5 billion US$ for the company from SoftBank (Staff, 2013). Universal Music Group operates in over 60 countries across the world – with its corporate headquarters located in Santa Monica (California) and Broadway (New York City) (FAQ's, 2014). The firm owns many hugely successful record labels including Deutsche Grammophon Capitol Records, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, EMI Records, Interscope Records, Island Records, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Virgin Records and many more. This puts them is an extremely fortunate position in the music industry because they own many back catalogues of artists who have experienced huge fame and have the ability to attract new talented artists because of their history and the prestige linked to the names of the labels they own.

A Long Walk to Freedom- Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela in his book, Long Walk to Freedom argues through the first five parts that a black individual must deal, coop, and grow through a society that is hindering their lives† with apartheid and suppression of their rightful land. Rolihlanla Mphakanyiswa or clan name, Madiba was born on July 18, 1918 in a simple village of Mvezo, which was not accustomed to the happenings of South Africa as a whole. His father was an respected man who led a good life, but lost it because of a dispute with the magistrate. While, his mother was a hard-working woman full of daily choirs. His childhood was full of playing games with fellow children and having fun. In school, Mandela was given his English name of Nelson. After his father†s death, he moved to love with a regent, who was a well-off individual and owed Nelson†s father for a previous favor. The next several years were full of schooling for Nelson. These schools opened Nelson†s eyes to many things, which we will discuss later. He and the regent†s son, Justice decided to travel to Johannesburg and see what work they could find. They left on their journey without the regent†s permission, but eventually escaped his power and settled down in the town. In Johannesburg, Nelson settled down in a law firm as an assistant and went to University of South Africa and Witwatersrand University to further his law education. Witswatersrand University brought many new ideas to Nelson and awakened a spirit inside of him. The next several years, Nelson met many new political friends and began his involvement in the ANC. Also during this time, he met Evelyn and they became married. Gradually Nelson†s political involvement grew and his family life declined. Nelson and his good friend, Oliver Tambo opened a law firm, which took up most of Nelson†s time. Evelyn mothered two of Nelson†s children, but the gradually grew apart. Now, Nelson was an influential political individual and bans and jailing began to follow him around. One day, a young woman came into his life by the name of Winnie and they got married. Winnie gave birth to two more of Nelson†s children. As time passed, Nelson†s spirit for freedom grew more and more each day. Though his life was full of bannings and jailings, he never gave up his fight, but he knew that the south African government was becoming agitated with him and the ANC. The South African government became ruthless and strict and this forced Nelson to leave his family. After he left his family, he went underground. Nelson†s life has been full of hardships and decisions, but his heart for the struggle has never faltered. Now let us examine Nelson in closer detail. Nelson is an individual who fought through many hardships, but was also faced with decisions that affected his future, his family, and his livelihood. As we look at Nelson deeper, we can see many interesting points. He was opened to new ideas and beliefs through his experiences in the schools of Heraldtown and Fort Hare, but knew there was something better. He decided to travel to Johannesburg to find new and greater opportunities. While, in Johannesburg, he believed education would be a key asset. While working for a small firm, he took classes at University of South Africa and eventually Wits University. Here is where his mind and social life flourished. He interacted with great minds and influential political individuals. He talked to many Africans without proper education, who contained more knowledge and better social skills than many Africans with education. But, he still persisted in acquiring his B. A. Wits University brought his life to new extents. He was also talking to Indians, Coloureds, and whites for the first time in his life and Becoming friends with many more prominent African individuals. Nelson soon joined the ANC and became very prominent in the fight for freedom. Nelson was always open to listening to new ideas, but when his was just starting his fight. He believed that just Africans should fight the struggle and that the Indians, Coloureds, and communists would hinder their fight. As the ANC grew, Nelson also became well known. He was part of the Youth League, another beneficial part of the ANC. Nelson was not president yet, but was powerful enough to voice is opinions, which many people listened to and believed in. As Nelson†s political involvement grew, the police became more aware of him. Nelson received ban after ban, which ranged from months to years. He also experienced jail time constantly. Eventually, the police†s pursuit of him forced him to go underground. Nelson was also becoming more open-minded. He now believed that the fight should involve the Indians and the Coloureds. He also believed that Communism did have some good points, but he would never accept the whole communism aspect. There were many freedom fighters in South Africa. One that stood out was Dr. Xuma. Dr. Xuma was friend of Nelson and the president of the ANC, but the struggle forces many hardships on one†s life. Nelson gave everything up to pursue his fight for freedom. He left his family, his prospering law firm, and his past for the struggle. Dr. Xuma believed in the same ideas as Nelson, but would not give up his prominence with the whites and his wealthy occupation for the struggle. This decision had to be made by many freedom fighters. Nelson gave his life for the fight. While, Dr. Xuma thought his career was more important. Now let us look closer at some issues seen through Mandela†s book. Through this paragraph, I will compare foreign influence seen in Long Walk to Freedom to foreign influence seen in Mexico through Professor Hornibrook†s lectures and notes. As I have seen through your lectures, South Africa was affected by foreign influence from the British and the Dutch. Mandela†s autobiography helps give more detailed accounts of the European influence seen in South Africa. Ever since Mandela was born, the European†s power affected his people. European influence could be seen through every aspect of life. In Mandela†s school, he was given an English name and this was because â€Å"this was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. â€Å"(14) Also, â€Å"the education I received was a British education, in which British ideas, British culture, British institutions were automatically assumed to be superior. There was no such thing as African culture. â€Å"(14) This shows that it was difficult to get away from the British influence even for children in school. The British and the Dutch governments passed several acts that were instituted to fight against the Africans freedom struggle. The Africans struggle for independence was slowly growing and this scared the government. A new term was being seen and it was called â€Å"apartheid. † The government enacted laws and acts that prohibited Africans from doing Many things that were vital to their fight and survival. The Group Areas Act was one example. This act called for each racial group to be separated into separate areas. Another act was the Population Registration Act, which showed that race had become the most important and influential aspect of South African law and society. Another act was the Suppression of Communism Act. This act called for all communists to be brought to trial. The police could arrest anyone they believed were trying to overthrow the government by violence and communist ways. Lastly, the government put bans on individuals who were becoming to involved in the struggle and finally the government banned the ANC and all other liberation groups. This ban now made freedom fighting was illegal in South Africa. The effect of foreign influence was drastic. Africans lost sense of African culture in schools. While, the foreign government tried everything to break down the Africans chance for liberty. The foreign influence seen in South Africa crushed the African†s hope and survival. While this was occurring in South Africa, Mexico was also seeing the effect of foreign influence. Americans and Europeans came into Mexico and gained much power. Haciendas helped their rise and foreign investment in many minerals and oil. But, Mexico did not approve of this and changed it. In 1917, Mexico created a new constitution, which limited foreign investment and promised land reform. This showed that Mexico did not want an overpopulation of foreigners and would not allow it. While, in oil, the foreigners controlled much of the oil, which Mexico had an abundance of. In 1938, oil workers went on strike and the companies would not give in, but instead of allowing foreign influence to become too powerful. The Mexican leader, Cardenas sent in arbitrators. The arbitrators called for the one/third pay increase, but the companies refused. Therefore, Cardenas nationalized oil and limited the power of foreign influence in Mexico. Now, Mexican oil was controlled by PEMEX, which is controlled only by Mexico. Mexico become a large influence in the oil market during the oil crisis, but also went though hyperinflation and eventually needed some foreign help. But, the Mexicans would not allow foreign influences to dominate the Mexican state as foreigners have affected South Africa. Now I will examine another issue seen in the book. In this paragraph, I will examine the movement seen in Long Walk to Freedom to the movement seen in China during the 1900†³s. In South Africa, the movement I saw was the Africans fighting for freedom. In their time of struggle, they had little help from those with power. The liberation movement involved peasants, educated, and well-off Africans. But, the government did what ever they could to put down this struggle. They set up organizations, such as the ANC, Youth League, and others, but as seen in other places the wealthy and powerful would not help the struggle. Many people were blind to the struggle. â€Å"Most of these wardresses had no idea why we were in prison, and gradually began to discover what we were fighting for and why we were willing to risk jail in the first place. (249) Many individuals did not realize what the Africans were really fighting for and why the government was harassing them, but slowly they were learning. â€Å"Seeing prominent and educated white women discussing serious matters with a black man on the basis of perfect equality could only lead to the weakening of the wardresses† apartheid assumptions. â€Å"(249) The government tried to separate whites from blacks so whites would not turn sympathetic towards the Africans fight. This scared feeling made the government acts and laws stricter and harsher towards the African struggle. Therefore, in South Africa, the movement received little help from the people who had influence in the country and the help they truly needed. While, in China, their movement involved their peasants and they had help, which truly helped their struggle. Mao stated that â€Å"In a very short time,†¦ several hundred million peasants will rise like a mighty storm†¦ They will sweep all the imperialists, warlords, corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry into their graves†¦ â€Å"(Mao, 24) Here Mao stated that the peasants would destroy the landlords and corrupt individuals. He helped the peasants by making some reforms. He gave peasants land and made marriages a free choice. He also instituted the 100 Flowers Campaign. This campaign allowed peasants to speak out and have freedom of speech. We see here that the peasants had help in their struggle, while the Africans had very little. This assistance helped the peasants to get the things they were fighting for. Mandela†s Long Walk to Freedom, helped show the rise of an incredible individual, who fought with many of his countrymen against the oppression and apartheid of white supremacy in South Africa. Throughout the book, I have seen Nelson†s open-mindedness. Nelson always listened to communist ideas and Indian goals, eventhough he did not agree with them. Nelson faced many hardships through his struggle and this had to cause some resentment against his oppressors. But if anyone would not be bias in his writing, I would say it would be Nelson Mandela. He has showed in his book that he is great individual and that he will not let his past feeling cloud his writing. You can see his feelings in his book and that is what makes it so good, but I believe he does not hide anything from us on both sides of the stories. In conclusion, Mandela†s autobiography is a brilliant book written by an incredible individual. I wish I could of read the whole book for this essay, but that was not possible. It is hard to write an essay on the first 5 parts when I know some things that happened further in the book. I did not know if I should include that information in the essay, but I did not involve it. This book helped to show the other side of the story. We always hear the victor†s story and in this class we got to hear the other side of the story.