Azt Pricing Decision Essay

In 1986, Burroughs-Wellcome Company introduced the first major breakthrough against acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). It was the life-prolonging drug AZT. The product has turned out to be very successful for the company and, largely because of AZT’s success, Burroughs-Wellcome’s profits have doubled in the three years ending in 1988. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to expand the authorization for the drug’s usage to those who are infected with the AIDS virus, but not yet showing signs of serious illness. The estimate of the size of this market is hundreds of thousands rather than the tens of thousand who are currently sick with AIDS (1988). The controversy over the drug centers on its price. AZT costs about $8,600 for a year’s supply for each patient (lowered from $10,000 in 1987). Critics in the gay, medical, and legal communities contend that Burroughs-Wellcome executives are â€Å"corporate extortionists.† Some believe that the company has already made too much money at the expense of the sick. The price is so far out of reach of indigent and moderate-income people that the federal government had to step in with subsidies of millions of dollars. Burroughs-Wellcome defends it pricing practices by stating that its profit margins (in the 50-70 percent range) are in line with those companies introducing new drugs. They contend these high returns are necessary to finance research and recoup the millions of dollars invested in developing the drug. They initially gave the drug free-of-charge to as many as 5,000 AIDS patients and spent $80 million on a new plant. Additional criticism revolves around the actual development of the drug. The Wall Street Journal stated, â€Å"But Wellcome’s moral position is undercut by its relatively minor role in the creation of AZT.† Researchers at the Michigan Cancer Foundation, from West Germany, and at the National Cancer Institute are credited with the major discoveries that led to AZT. Nevertheless, Wellcome performed toxicology, pharmacology, and animal studies before AZT was given to the first human volunteer. It also financed the big clinical trial and bankrolled the give-away to the patients in the initial experiment. Wellcome is under pressure to cut its price. The government is attempting to institute a â€Å"reasonable price† clause where an unduly high price could trigger a government order for a company to open its books. Any company found in violation could be sued for breach of contract. Congress is also studying AZT and one Congressman wrote the company contending that the original price rationale (achieving a decent return on investment during a short product life) no longer exists as the drug has been on the market for three years and the market is growing for the product.

Human Body Systems Essay

The human cell is said to be a living thing because it is a basic functional unit of any living organism. Thus it performs the most detailed functions like energy generation, facilitating tissues functions, hence organism control. Body cells feed, grow, respire, excrete and can die. A cell is the smallest basic unit of life. It is made up of chemical substances such as atoms, ions and molecules that are important for life. The body is made up of different types on cell. For instance, egg cell, muscle cell, rode cells found in the eye, sperm cell, hair cell and nerve cell. Each of these different types of cell performs different functions in the body of the organism. Different cells are joined together through biological processes to form tissues, for example, epithelia tissue and muscles tissue. More so, different tissues unite to form different organs. An organ is formed of two or more tissues that collectively undertake a specific function in the body of an organism. Some examples of organs are the stomach, heart, kidney, lungs, and liver. When a number of organs are coordinated together towards a certain body function they form a system. The human body has eleven major systems which include the digestive, respiratory, nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, skeletal, endocrine, reproductive, integumentary, muscular and urinary systems. As discussed earlier the livelihood of an organism depends entirely on the functionality of each particular cell, tissue, organ and system. For example, the reproductive system is responsible for the propagation of genetic material to new organisms of the same species. The system results from the organization of reproductive cells, tissues and organs. In other wards, if each particular cell, tissue, organ and system functions effectively within its role the organism must be sustained alive. All the body systems are interlinked to form a fully functioning organism It is worth noting that for any cell or tissue and body part to function effectively it must be supplied with enough energy. The process by which energy is made available to cells and organs is metabolism. This process ensures an endless flow of matter and energy via an interlinked set of connections of chemical reactions within the cell, tissues, organs and organ systems. This results in a sustainable and continuous supply of body building materials, constant body repair and development of the organism. Generally, biological life is maintained by metabolism which involves food intake, digestion and its subsequent transformation into energy source for the cells. Food plays a vital role in the growth and development of body cells hence organisms’ health and life satiability. All living thing feed, grow, reproduce, move, breath and die. Food intake necessitates growth, development, reproduction, breathing, digestion, excretion, movement of organisms. Organisms are categorized in to five kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, protisti and bacteria. The fetal pig and human are related in their body systems since they are all animals. They are further classed in to mammals which bring them closer in terms of organ systems such as respiration, digestion, reproduction and endocrine systems. Thus when a fatal pig grows, its body functions the same as that of and adult pig except for a few systems. The development processes involved in pigs is similar to that of humans. In conclusion, body systems are formed by organs, which are formed by tissues resulting from cells. A living organism sustains its life and health through internetworking of the different body organs and systems through their specific functions in the body. The cell is a basic unit of life.

Network Risk Assestment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Network Risk Assestment - Research Paper Example The network layout of I.T soft requires an expandable and efficient network that will fulfill the requirements of the company. Advanced security features are also required in order to protect the VoIP traffic and preserve network availability. As I.T soft an automated business support network. The network is utilizing latest technology in terms of both hardware and software, however cost considerations cannot be ignored as the company is an SME. The software technology includes the new innovative network that supports the following: As seen in Fig 1.1, there is no protection on the Internet connection that is terminating on the router. The connectivity from the router to the two data switches i.e. switch connecting to the data center and the second switch connecting the access points also have no protection. However, MacAfee EPO is installed on the server and on the workstations as well. The centralized anti- virus works on defined policies and scans workstations, USB drives and downloads from the Internet. In this scenario, if any threat enters the network from the Internet and penetrates in the server hosting Mcafee EPO server, it will certainly corrupt the operating system and consequently, infect the EPO server as well. Identified risks from the Internet are virus and malicious codes. For physically securing the information systems, there are no physical controls currently. As shown in Fig 1.2, there are no physical controls on the data center and everyone can enter without verification and authentication. The sales database and customer database are connected to the switch. Every request from the users is redirected to the router, where the router checks the Access Control List (ACL). In this scenario, the accounts staff has permissions to access these servers. However, all the other users on the network are restricted to access these servers. I.T soft has configured an email server to provide email

Warehousing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Warehousing - Essay Example The need for operations managers to reduce manufacturing costs, optimize productivity and improve product quality in order to stay in the market has become imperative. Many organizations now recognize the importance of automation, optimization of scheduling and a proper inventory management system, and are incorporating total quality management and total quality in their operations. Every organization invests a considerable amount of capital on materials. In many cases, the cost of materials exceeds 50 percent of the total cost of goods produced ((ICMR), 2003). Such a large investment requires considerable planning and control so as to minimize wastage. Even before we talk about planning and control it is inevitable that the material is stored in a safe place and such place of storing materials is termed as a warehouse. Hence, Warehousing can be defined as the process of storing goods or merchandise safely (Answers.com, 2004). Inventory refers to a stock of goods, commodities, or other economic resources that are held by firms at a particular time for their future production requirements and for meeting future demands. Inventories can be direct or indirect. Direct inventories include goods that play an important role in manufacturing of a product and become a part of the finished product. Direct inventories include raw materials, work-in-progress goods, etc. Indirect inventories include goods that are necessary to run the production process but do not become part of the end product. For example, lubricants, grease, oils, stationery etc, are indirect inventories. 2. Brief History of Warehousing As defined above, a warehouse is a commercial building used for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by people like manufacturers, importers, exporters, people in the logistics industry etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They come equipped with loading docks to load and unload trucks; or sometimes are loaded directly from railways, airports, or seaports. They also often have cranes and forklifts for moving goods, which are usually placed on ISO standard pallets loaded into pallet racks (Answers.com, 2004). With advent of globalization and information technology, now-a-days, warehouses are being fully automated. In such automated warehouses, there are hardly any workers found working inside. The pallets and product are moved with a system of automated conveyors and automated storage and retrieval machines coordinated by programmable logic controllers and computers running logistics automation software (Answers.com, 2004). With the introduction of new and recent technologies like Just-in-time (JIT) and ABC classification systems,

Occupy Wall Street Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Occupy Wall Street Movement - Essay Example The Tahrir Square Movement triggered the common people’s emotion in the US. The citizens of the US were fuelled by rage due to the price hike in the commodities and the unavailability of jobs in the US. People who led and joined the movement had the commonalities of purpose, i.e. they wanted a government which was of the people and for the people rather than being a Government who is a puppet in the hands of rich corporate lobbyists who occupied the Wall Street. They were the main reasons behind the wealth divide in the country and their influence on the government was huge (Gautney, 2011). Opinions on Facebook and Twitter had become a passe; September 2011 witnessed a mass demonstration and a strong support within the US and the rest of the nations. The demonstration was actually quoted as very â€Å"loosely organized† by the government as it lacked clarity of demands from the protestors. Soon the protestors agreed to focus on the basic frameworks of the organization. The organization of the Occupy Wall Street movement decided to protest on the streets of Wall Street which was the crux of the debate. However, chased by the police, the organization of Occupy Wall Street movement kept their motto alive and marched their way out to Zuccoti Park, a privately owned park made for public in the lower areas of Manhattan. The movement witnessed almost 300 protestors sleeping overnight in sleeping bags and shouting slogans like: â€Å"Wall Street is our Street - We are the 99%† which had claimed to become one of the most popular slogans of all times. Moral and Economic Implications The Occupy Wall Street Movement had a large impact on the entire globe; strong supports were being voiced by the common people of the other countries who felt that the US government was spiraling out of control, leading to a huge disparity in the income and distribution of wealth. The blame for this creation of this gap was largely blamed on the banks that got bailed out easily with the taxpayer’s money. Although the movement had gained popularity, due to lack of a leadership, it was a directionless movement. September 23 witnessed the organization of the movement to lay down the Principles of Solidarity and the rough drafts were posted online. The movement focused on national topics like income inequality, unemployment and bankers increasing fee. It had become nothing more than a national conversation and lacked the voice of a strong common leader. The New York Federation of Teachers had a strong support for the Occupy Wall Street Movement as they continuously sent food supplies and storage supplies; the organizations got continuous food supplies from various parts of the country which was obviously a helping hand to the Occupy Wall Street Movement (Bradford, 2012). The Utilitarian, Kantian and Virtue Ethics and Its Relation with the Movement The utilitarian movement focus is on the right action which is for the benefit and happiness of the majority of the people and is a cause of the goodwill of the people. This concept was introduced by Jeremy Bentham who believed in the idea of utility and later an added theory of quantitative measurement of utility was introduced by John Stuart Mill who believed that some kind of desires and wishes are stronger than desires creating a sense of happiness. Kantianism is a pure concept of catering to one’s dutiful needs rather than emotions or end goals; this concept was in

Racial Profiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Racial Profiling - Essay Example More recently the word racial profiling has been attached to that activity. The thought is to single out blacks and other racial groups in a hope of preventing crime. It later became an accepted practice and racial profiling was actually invested in by some police agencies. It did not become a cause for alarm until around 2002 when the first legal suits were perused by those who felt they had been discriminated against. This led to the need to take a second look at the practice. With all of the legal action that was taking place came the outrage of citizens who believed that minorities were being treated badly by police. This led to police keeping track of the race of people that they pulled over. Study of that data showed that truly there was a problem. Further study by others followed, including the study done by George Higgins and team (2009) on the influence of race in traffic stops. "By the time police Sgt. Robert Motyka responds to the disturbance call at a local hospital emergency room, the man at the reception counter is clearly agitated. His speech is unintelligible. He becomes frantic as the officer slowly approaches, urging him to calm down. In a blur of flailing arms, the man reaches for something in his back pocket. Motyka has no time to consider the possible consequences of one of the most potentially combustible scenarios in America: a confrontation between a black man and a white officer. When the man pulls a knife and lunges forward, Motyka drops him with four quick pops from his 9mm Beretta. But there will be no public second-guessing of the 13 year veteran's actions. In this case, Motyka was reacting to a large-screen video simulation."(Johnson, 2009). This department has a shooting range realistic demo that allows decision making to take place in a few seconds just like on the street. What can be done to improve the racial profiling that is built into police business today This is a possible partial solution. The rest is cultural training that needs to take place in the departments. People somehow feel more threatened when a couple of black students are standing on a corner than white students. Is the dress or is it lack of cultural understanding. Fear comes from lack of understanding and fear leads to wrong decision. Conclusion In conclusion, racial profiling is unfortunately a part of our culture, not just that of the police department. To overcome it, we must overcome our lack of understanding of the other culture. This is happening at some level although it still has a long way to go. In the meantime, like the simulations above practice at a better response is important. Is there ever a time when racial profiling is ok. This writer says probably not, while you are watching the black guy in the car, the white guy will shoot you. When it comes to doing police work all suspects deserve suspicion. References Higgins, G., Gabbidon, S., Gennary, V., Exploring the influence of race relations And public safety concerns on public support for racial profiling during traffic stops. Journal of Police Science and Management. Vol. 12. 1 Johnson, Kevin (2009). In a switch, police invite scrutiny of racial profiling USA Today. Retrieved

Inside job Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Inside job - Movie Review Example The movie arouses emotions of hatred towards those with financial power and annoyance towards regulatory agencies. The activities portrayed are too inhuman to bear and even come to terms with, which people with such wicked ambition do exist, and little can be done to bring their mindset to a halt. This is including the lack of a conscious, which seems to be the perfect definition of a capitalist nation, and one in which power is given to a chosen few to control the fate of the country’s economics. The worst part in the entire movie is the lack of measures to regulate the financial industry, and especially the replacement of business executives. This is concerning the selfish ambition with no regard, whatsoever, for human welfare, other than propulsion of their business enterprises into greater heights. This is particularly so with the selfish decision made in misleading investors, in internet stocks, to continue investing heavily while then returns, in the future, were not som ething worth considering (Scots 2). It is also frustrating to watch, in the movie, the lack of accountability after the bubble burst in the face of the world. The situation is made worse by the presence of Charles Morris and Lawrence Summers in the movies. They are the most annoying characters in the footage owing to their carefree attitudes in a dire situation that requires seriousness to put the audience at ease. Charles Morris finds it amusing that bankers have taken advantage of the windfall resultant from selfish decisions and misfortunes of members of the public. He is also annoying in his attempt to induce humor in the cheap mindset of the individual bankers at making large fortunes and thinking it is because they are smart, which is the opposite. This is because; his attempts appear as a mockery to the innocent pubic, which loses to the bankers. It also depicts the public as being part of a foolish movement that is easily swayed by winds of selfish ambition. Lawrence summers , though not an official member of the cast, is also annoying with his conceptions of other peoples’ ideas despite being backed by ideas. This is such as the warning given by Raghuram Rajan earlier of the pending financial crisis in the near future, which summers dismisses and mocks (Scott 1). Since the 1980s, the financial sector has undergone a phase of lack of regulation as opposed to the period before it putting the country in the state it currently is. With this mind, the film puts the blame for the situation squarely on the shoulders of both political parties; that is democrats and republicans (Scot 1). This is because during the entire period of lack of regulation, both parties have been in power and have done little to ease the tension in the financial sector. This is as portrayed by Ferguson through the dropping of regulation of the economy in the 1980s and the resultant crisis in the late 2000s. The blame for the entire crisis originates with the government followin g the policy against regularization of the finance industry, which could have been fuelled by financial institutions. However, the main cause of the crisis lies with the selfish bankers individually and their boards for misleading members of the public and capitalizing on their trust in financial institutions. Decisions made by financial services companies led to the meltdown in the financial sector by undermining reports of looming collapse of the financial system.

Museum Exhibit Design Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Museum Exhibit Design - Coursework Example In a way this commercializes art which partially necessary but may not be health if exhibitions are dependent on market forces or sale of paintings. It would make exhibits sustainable and interesting as well if workshops by known artist will be conducted along with the exhibits to engage the audience in several ways. First by letting them see the creative process of painting, by letting them experience the joy of painting through the workshop that would eventually draw larger audience. Source of revenue to sustain the exhibit is two-fold, first is on the sale of the art work and second the proceeds of the workshops. Art is not just a means to express our creative self and to heighten our aesthetic sensibility but also an effective social commentary. Presenting diversity is a wonderful theme in art narratives but limiting it to race is somewhat lacking because race is just a portion of diversity. I think it would be wonderful to include gender, diversity of perspectives and even diversity in style. A same subject probably can be rendered in diverse method and perspective. For example, the same portrait can be rendered through impressionism, classical, bistre and alla prima method giving the audience not only the narrative of the subject but also the breadth and narrative of how can it be rendered. Interpretation can also be expanded say for example, from a feminist point of view, racial point of view etch. This would provide audience different experience and perspective with the same subject and sort of educating them that there are a lot of ways to look at

Importance of Managers Cost Understanding Essay

Importance of Managers Cost Understanding - Essay Example Cost can be simply defined as an amount that has to be given up or to be paid in order to get something. It is therefore an expenditure that needs to be incurred. In business, cost usually comprises of monetary valuation of effort, time and utilities consumed, risks incurred, material, resources, and opportunity forgone in delivery and production of goods or services. All expenses may be costs, but not all of the costs (such as those which are incurred in getting an income generating asset) are expenses. (Business dictionary, 2011) Cost Analysis Cost analysis is the examination, accumulation and manipulation of cost information for healthy comparisons and projections. (Business dictionary, 2011) Cost Accounting Cost accounting forms budget and actual cost of processes, departments operations, or product and the analysis of profitability, variances, or social use of funds. It is a type of accounting process whose objective is to capture the company’s costs of production by estimating the costs of input at each step of production along with the fixed costs such as depreciation of capital equipment. At first it will measure and record such costs individually, then comparison between input and output or the actual results will be made to aid company management in measuring financial performance. (Investopedia , 2011) Cost Management It is the management of cost related activities results from collection, analysis, evaluation, and reporting of cost information used for estimating, forecasting, budgeting, and monitoring costs.( Business dictionary, 2011)... rtance of ‘Managers Cost Understanding’ Managers are making use of cost accounting for cost management to help form decisions that are profitable for the business. It is important that managers understand cost in order to cut cost and to improve profitability. Managers make use of cost accounting to calculate the unit cost of the product. This is helpful for managers for if the managers do not know the unit cost they will not be able to set the relevant selling price in order to break even or to realize profit. The calculation of profit per unit can also be known through the use of cost accounting. Cost understanding therefore is an essential management tool for effective management functions, this include performing budgetary planning & controls along with decision making. Managers depend on cost accounting to provide information of the actual cost processes, products, operations which is the foundation of the budget. This would help them analyze fluctuations and the ho w funds are to be use to cause profit. For managers this would help them provide a justification for cost cuts for a company in a manner that it increases profit. As a tool for internal usage versus tool for external users such financial accountants and such accounting does not make use of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Management understanding of cost creates a financial value for a product, measure the expenditure into nominal amount of currency. The understanding works on the process of taking recorded historic costs and allocating it over a specific period of time over what outputs is produced. The actual output produce might differ from that of the predicted and this would affect the amount of cost that producer has to pass to the consumer. Hence, managers are able to focus on

Essay Example for Free

Essay Since being young, I was raised up and educated in a disciplined environment by my beloved father. Therefore, I have a habit of making detailed plans for things to do. My dream has always been studying abroad so that I would become a pharmacist. In the following sections, I will draw a picture about my dream school in terms of academic and career goals. Firstly, my primary academic goals include two periods. The undergraduate program (Bachelor of Science) commences in September, 2013. This is an ideal path that prepares students for the professional programs such as Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy. I have nurtured the dream of being a pharmacist since I was a 14 year-old girl. The next phase of studying is to win a seat to the Pharmacy program offered by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Thus, completing a one-year program of general BS.c along with the completion of prerequisite requirements would give me an unrivalled chance of being admitted. Secondly, my career goals consist of two terms. In the short term, after completing my studies at the UofA, I would be confident to apply to an international pharmaceutical company in Vietnam and work conscientiously. In the long term, my another goal would be to keep ongoing learning to sharpen the skills of an good pharmacist. This would enable me to help others and positively contribute to the primary health-care in my rural community. Moreover, I want to devote myself to charity activities in local areas to help the poor and street children as my motto is Helping people first. In my research, University of Alberta is one of Canadas top teaching and research-based universities. By studying in modern facilities and an international environment, I do believe the University of Alberta could fully unleash my potentials.

Levi Strauss Case Study Marketing Essay

Levi Strauss Case Study Marketing Essay Levi Strauss is the worlds best-known jeans brand, but its hard to see much chance of the company regaining its former glory without a substantial overhaul. Iconic or not, what kind of future lies in store for a company which derives around 85% of its annual revenues from selling pants? And only really two sorts of pants at that, which are also sold by just about every other clothing manufacturer on the planet. Either Levi Strauss needs to diversify substantially, and bolt on other brands or more likely needs to sacrifice its long cherished but out-of-date independence and become part of someone elses larger multi-brand portfolio. These years of struggle against a vast array of competitors have merely added to the gradual erosion of the brand. The development of value line Signature has helped, but despite doubling in size during 2004, its contribution has steadily decreased ever since. In the late 1990s, Levis became a victim of their own success. Too involved in corporate restructuring, the company effectively ignore a seismic shift in the youth market. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Levis 501 jeans had managed to dominate the market for everyday clothing as a result of high quality manufacturing and smart marketing. There were many kinds of jeans, went the general perception, but Levis was the brand to which all others aspired. A brilliant marketing campaign, especially in Europe, reinforced the brands hip status. But in the late 1990s, Levis jeans suddenly became a victim of its own success. They were seen by the new generation of teenagers as the jeans my Dad wears, and that put them completely out of fashion. Fashions in cut came and went but Levis failed to respond, leaving the market wide open for competitors The companys biggest mistake, arguably, was to ignore the baggy cut, which rode in on the back of the mid-1990s grunge movement, and remained the leading fashion style for the rest of that decade. While Levis stuck rigidly with the 16-inch straight-leg cut that appealed to the now ageing market who had rediscovered the brand in the 1980s, even the least hip of US retailers began selling extreme-cut. Millers Outpost, Tommy Jeans, JNCO and even JC Penney and Sears were selling jeans with legs as wide as 23 or 40-inches. The fashion-conscious teenage market began buying their jeans from other manufacturers, while a new breed of retailers, led by The Gap, captured the middle ground. Protecting their premium status, Levis refused to chase the market and strictly adhered to their long-established policy of only selling through specialist outlets and avoiding discount stores including Wal-Mart. Although this held the brands perceived value it also restricted sales to only around half of the US retail market. Worse still, later that decade the market as a whole began moving away from denim altogether as combat and cargo pants became the new fashion Question 2) How could a sensitive and informative Marketing Information System (MIS) have helped Levis to identify these environmental variable and form future strategies ? THE NEED FOR MARKETING SUPPORT In 1986, Levis relaunched the 501 with the Launderette and Bath commercials. The tremendous success of these executions and the campaign that developed from them has been well documented. All of the commercials featured the 501 jean and most stated 501 specifically in the end frame. The advertising success was not restricted to the 501 alone. There was a halo effect on the whole Levis range. But naturally the 501 took on a dominant share of Levis business. This dominance was intended. The 501 was positioned as definitive. It is an anti-fit jean which is right for most people, and, in a sense, 501 for most people took fit out of the purchasing equation. Despite this, there were (and still are) a significant number of people who, for reasons of personal physique or style, did not consider the 501 as the right fit for them. For this significant minority Levis developed a range of other Red Tab fits. The range includes: Historically the strategy had been to sell these non-501 Red Tab fits in-store, via POS and retailer advice. Levis own retailer and consumer research indicated, however, that the non-501 Red Tab fits had been underperforming in the market. There were a number of reasons. l Many consumers were under the impression that Levis was really just about 501. They were unaware of the availability of other Red Tab fits. So if they tried on 501 and were not completely happy, they would try on another brand, rather than another Levis fit. Or if they knew from the start that they wanted a fit other than 501, they would go directly to another brand. 517: Regular Fit 518: Loose Fit 511: Zip Fly 536: Girls Fit l Many retailers were not directing failed 501 traffic onto other Red Tab fits. l Some retailers, in the absence of specific consumer demand for non-501 Red Tab fits, were deciding not to stock these fits at all. The above factors created a problem that reproduced itself Levis was losing out to competitive brands in this significant minority of the premium jeans market. And there was a risk that if no action was taken, the scale of the problem would spiral. Clearly the Red Tab range required marketing support, and advertising was deemed necessary. THE BRIEF We determined that there was a very specific role for advertising: to raise awareness of the multiplicity of Levis Red Tab fits. Advertising should make people understand that if they want something other than 501, it will be there in the store for them. They can discover exactly the right fit in-store. And we drafted a very simple proposition to address this task: Levis Red Tab jeans come in as many different styles as the people that wear them. THE ADVERTISING MINEFIELD This seems relatively straightforward. But in fact, in identifying these as the role for advertising and proposition, we had also identified what advertising could not do or say. Examination of previous competitive advertising relating to product ranges and fits indicated to us a series of problems and misconceptions both strategically and creatively. It was important that we map out for the creative team where these perils and pitfalls lay, in order that they could steer a clear path through the minefield. The 501 issue We were concerned that above-the-line support for fit numbers other than 501 would confuse people and dilute the definitive status of 501. We realised that we could not expect people to memorise a series of fit numbers and their definitions. It had taken a great deal of time and money to establish one fit number in public consciousness. Indeed, we did not want non-501 fit numbers to develop their own identify to the extent that they became sub-brands. The non-501 Red Tab fits could not approach the wealth of heritage and associated imagery commanded by 501. They could not really aspire to being brands in the same sense. More importantly we did not want to compromise in any way the definitive status of 501. Thus we specified in the brief that executions should avoid discussion of or comparison with 501s. Moreover, we determined that we could keep the Red Tab communication separate from 501 communication by adopting an entirely new medium for Levis: posters. More specifically, Adshels offered a street level impact, in keeping with our youthful target and within sight of most retailers. Since advertisings role was not to raise awareness of individual fit numbers, we decided its effectiveness should not be judged by peoples ability to recollect specific numbers, but by their awareness that Levis have a range of Red Tab fits. Range advertising Advertising a range of products is often strategically unsound and creatively uninspiring. People generally do not buy ranges; they buy individual products. A range campaign tends to proclaim the benefits of the range as a whole, or to highlight the differences within the range. But if people are interested in individual products, all they really want to know is what is good about that product. Moreover, a brief for range advertising can often lead to creative cul-de-sacs: a row of products and an invitation to the consumer to make his or her own choice etc. Consequently, although the objective of the advertising was not to establish individual fit identities, we did specify that each execution should feature one fit only and would talk about the benefits of that fit. Across a range of executions we aimed to establish a sense of the multiplicity of the fits, thereby addressing the key objective. Fit adverting Fit messages also pose a strategic and creative challenge. People choose different jeans fits for reasons both of personal physique and current fashion. If advertising addresses one motivation, it struggles to communicate the other. And the more obvious creative solutions tend not to be challenging or motivating. For example, a tight fit can be communicated by showing a thin person and a loose fit by showing a fatter person. But the latter expression clearly does little for loose fit. And what of the people who wear loose fit for style rather than physical reasons? Alternatively, a fit message can be conveyed by showing the overall style or fashion of the wearers of different fits. For example, a punk in tight jeans and a hip-hop fan in loose jeans. But youth fashion cannot easily be compartmentalised into discrete tribes with conveniently different jeans fits. Moreover, young people quite naturally recoil from any cynical attempt by advertisers to mirror their own street-level cultures. And, as with the above, what of the people who do not choose fits for fashion reasons? We concluded that these more literal expressions of fit were not worth exploring and we directed the team to seek out more lateral solutions. THE CREATIVE SOLUTION The creative team, conscious of the objectives of the advertising and the strategic and executional minefields to be avoided, came up with an innovative solution to the brief. They developed a range of executions each employing a black and white still from the respected photographer Bill Brandt to deal with one Red Tab fit message. They did not talk about fit in a literal way. Rather they implied the various fit messages. Moreover the images employed were not completely unrelated to fit. (They were not vegetables or fruit!) Rather all the executions focused on the human form, which is after all the basis of any fit choice. ADVERTISING EFFECT The poster campaign ran nationally for four weeks only in April 1993. Millward Brown tracking showed very high advertising recognition: over 40% of a sample of 17 to 29-year-olds recognised the posters. More importantly, spontaneous and prompted awareness of Red Tab rose from 35% to 45% and from 57% to 75% respectively. The percentage of respondents able to quote any non-501 fit number rose from 50% to 60%. We are unable to divulge actual sales data. SUMMARY The planners role does not only entail pointing the creative team in one particular direction; it can also involve illustrating to them the strategically unsound and creatively fruitless routes. In advertising non-501 Red Tab fits for the first time, Levi Strauss were entering a minefield. By identifying the best role for advertising and mapping out the geography of that minefield, the planner was able to play a part in the development of advertising which maintained Levis best standards of creativity and effectiveness. CREATIVE BRIEF Why are we advertising? To raise awareness of the range of Levis Red Tab jeans by demonstrating that Levis produce different fits to compliment different body shapes and personal styles. Who are we talking to? Boys and girls, 15 to 19 years old. They are aware of Levis advertising and recognise that 501s are the original, definitive jeans. In fact, they may already own a pair of 501s, but find certain aspects of 501s either inconvenient (ie button fly) or uncomfortable. They are at the middle end of the market (early/late adopters) and are often insecure and lack confidence. They therefore need to be reassured that they can buy into the imagery associated with 501s, while having a pair of jeans that fits comfortably and flatters their individual shape. What must the advertising say? Levis Red Tab jeans come in as many different styles as the people who wear them. And why should the consumer believe it? Levis make a range of different fits to suit your shape and tastes. What tone of voice? Confident, classic (ie timeless), cool and sexy. What practical considerations? The campaign must work as both posters and press. The campaign should avoid discussion of, or comparison with, 501s. This is not an opinion leader campaign, and is aimed at a younger, more mass-market consumer. Question 3) Analyse the importance of the various marketing mix elements in the success :failure of Levi, how important is design? Levis share of the denim market plummeted. In 1990, according to Tactical Retail Monitor, more than 48% of men chose Levis as their preferred choice of jeans. By 1998, this had tumbled to 25%, while Lee and Wrangler had risen from 22% to 32%, and private label brands including Gap from 3% to more than 20%. In sales terms the brand slipped from a 30% US market share to 14%. (Upmarket designer labels such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein got a great deal of publicity but never achieved more than around 7% of the market). The percentage of teenage boys who thought Levis was a really cool brand had dropped from 21% in 1994 to just 7% by 1998. Levis position has, for the most part stabilised since then, but competition remains intense The Levis brand now houses several sub-brands. Chief amongst these is Levis Red Tab, which includes the legendary 501 button-fly design. (The number 501 was originally the products stock number, first adopted in 1890; the red fabric tab was first used in the back pocket from 1936). Levis Vintage features a broader range of classic retro designs. In pursuit of the youth market, the company has tried to turn back the tide with more extreme cuts, such as Levis Engineered Jeans, introduced in 2000 and supposedly designed ergonomically to fit the bodys contours. Some cuts are even pre-stained with oil. Another stylised new design launched in early 2003 as Levis Type One. These offered exaggerated versions of traditional features such as rivets, stitching and the tab, blown up in size. However sales were slow to take off, especially in the US, despite high profile marketing, including a Super Bowl ad (which the company later claimed admitted was unsatisfactory). They, along with another st ylised line known as Silvertab, were replaced by the Levis Capital E line. Levis ICD, a partnership with Philips to market workwear with integrated electronic devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players etc, was withdrawn in 2002. The group also licenses out the Levis brand to other manufacturers for branded T-shirts and accessories. Combined sales of the core brand improved in 2007, reaching almost $3.2bn. Levis is primarily a menswear brand, with just under three quarters of all pairs sold bought by men. After its many attempts to introduce more stylized or fashion-oriented designs had failed, the company agreed to abandon its premium positioning and chase the mass-market as well. A new design, Levi Strauss Signature, launched in July 2003, initially available exclusively through Wal-Mart. By the end of the year it had become apparent that the new line was the much-needed hit for which the company had been searching. The group rebranded the range as Signature by Levi Strauss, extended distribution to Target Stores and Kmart in 2004, and also introduced the range into selected mass-marketers in Australia (including Coles Myers Target and Kmart), Japan and other Asian markets. It was also launched in the UK (through Asda), France (through Carrefour), Germany (through Wal-Mart) and Switzerland (through Migros), but performed poorly and was withdrawn in 2007. Yet after a strong start, sales of the Signature line have fallen steadily since 2005, declining from a peak of around $410m that year to $260m in 2007. Dockers, first launched in the US in 1986, is the companys khaki-based casualwear line. It was launched as something of a reaction to inroads into the market by Gap and others, serving as a halfway point between jeans and smarter dress pants. Dockers Slates, a sub-brand of dressier and more expensive trousers, was discontinued in 2004. Although it has been generally successful, Dockers remains very much the second string in the groups portfolio behind its jeans line. In 2004, Levi Strauss put the Dockers brand up for sale in order to concentrate on its still struggling core business, but failed to attract a suitable buyer. Sales of the brand were reported at $1bn for 2003, but had fallen to around $775m by 2005, with sales concentrated in the US. Since then it has repositioned itself as a wider casualwear brand, diversifying into shirts, sweaters and blazers, as well as a line of womens clothing. The unit was rewarded with an increase in revenues for 2006, its first for several years . For 2007, it generated sales were around $915m. The group also generates significant income from royalties on Dockers belts, footwear and other accessories manufactured by other companies under license. Levi Strauss has production facilities and customer service centres throughout the world. Until comparatively recently the company maintained a policy of manufacturing its goods in the regions in which they are sold, but rising labour costs and declining sales made this increasingly unfeasible. Production in the US and Europe began to be farmed out to cheaper regions in the late 1990s. Having already closed six of its US factories by 2003, the group announced that the remaining four in North America would also be shuttered by early 2004. The group supplies its products to around 60,000 retail outlets worldwide. It owns and operates around 200 of its own Levis or Dockers branded stores, and franchises around another 1,300. More than half of these stores are located in the Asia Pacific region. Otherwise sales are through department stores and national chains. There are three regional business units: Levi Strauss North America operates local subsidiaries in the US, Canada and Mexico, and accounts for almost 60% of revenues, or $2.5bn in 2007 (compared to a peak of $4.8bn in 1996). Levi Strauss EMEA is the second biggest market, but performance there took longer to recover than in other markets. Sales rose in 2007 for the first time in several years, finally returning above the $1.0bn barrier. Asia Pacific remains the smallest market for now, but has been the companys strongest performing region for several years. Sales rose by a further 6% in 2007 to $805m, with Japan contributing a little under half of all sales. Question 4) As a strategic marketing consultant, advise Levi about what now it should now do ? It is every businesss objective to maximize their profits and lessen their expenses. Levis has invested on one of the most important resource that a company could have its employees. Their corporate strategy has now been aligned with their human resource management which is valuing their employees due to high costs of recruiting and training new staff. It must be noted that losing an employee can be very expensive and high staff turnover can eventually ruin a business. The last thing that businesses need is for its competitors to benefit from the training, knowledge and experience that it has built within its workforce. It is suggested that employers give their people the opportunity to make their own benefits decisions. This way, employees will take a keener interest in their benefits. The traditional company benefits package often has a rigid one size fits all approach; it fails to consider the varying needs of individual employees. In addition, the traditional company benefits package may sometimes be complicated and difficult to manage. Thus, it is greatly recommended that companies like Levi Strauss and Co. implement a flexible benefits package to help reduce costs and provide a greater choice for their workforce. Furthermore, flexible benefits provide additional lifestyle choices along with traditional company benefits such as private healthcare and the company pension scheme which will allow employees to choose the benefits that they want which in turn will motivate them and make them more productive. It is also important that companies like Levi Strauss and Co. consider some of the following pointers: (1) the main goals of the companys employee benefits programme, the last time that the company last reviewed their benefits scheme, steps or initiatives undertaken to ensure that the companys benefits programme underpins their business strategy, knowledge of employees regarding the benefits that the company offers and how they benefits from it, issues like sickness and absence, healthcare and dental care, and (6) the extent of the relevance and significance of the recruitment and key staff in employers business and their industry.

Historical development of the atom :: essays research papers fc

The notion of the atom all stared about 450 BC when a Greek scholar starting think when can something break on more, when are the pieces at their smallest, this mans name was Leucippus. Leucippus also had pupil who also thought the same way as Leucippus, his name was Democritus. They developed there ideas and when Democritus died his theory summed up briefly was that everything in the world was made of tiny pieced that could not be broken up any more. That how the word atom was derived from the Greek work â€Å"atomos† meaning â€Å"unbreakable†. This was the start of the theory of atoms. The first time this theory was taught at a school was by Epicurus 306 BC which he established himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theory laid dormant for about 2 millenniums this was basically because it was all but forgotten, this was because it had no evidence, and it was only logic. One of the first people to show some evidence was Robert Boyle, an English chemist. In 1662 he conducted ‘Boyle’s experiment and compressed air in a ‘J’ tube with mercury, this opened up a whole new window.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This lead to new and old thought about different types of atoms, elements. The Greeks thought simular to this but only divided it up into four groups. Their theory was close to Boyle’s but Boyle had a more concise idea of these elements and by the end of the 1700’s they had discovered about 30 elements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1972 Frenchman Antoine Laurent Lavoisier discover the no mater what happens a substance always has the same weight. In the late 1700’s another Frenchman, Proust, discovert that elements can be combined to make different compounds, and that certain proportions had to be used. This became know as â€Å"law of definite proportions†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A few years later an English chemist, John Dalton, a fan of Boyle worked on Proust’s theory and came up with â€Å"the law of multiple proportions†. Dalton soon came up with ‘weight’ theories of the atom a discovered that hydrogen was the lightest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1813 Jons Jakob Berzelius created a system using the Latin words for the element to represent that element.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1860 the chemist of Europe had their first international Chemical Congress to discuss the matter. They theory that prevailed was Cannizzaro theory. John Thomson was born in 1856, and is recognised as the British scientist who discovered and identified the electron.

Fractal Geometry :: essays papers

Fractal Geometry The world of mathematics usually tends to be thought of as abstract. Complex and imaginary numbers, real numbers, logarithms, functions, some tangible and others imperceivable. But these abstract numbers, simply symbols that conjure an image, a quantity, in our mind, and complex equations, take on a new meaning with fractals - a concrete one. Fractals go from being very simple equations on a piece of paper to colorful, extraordinary images, and most of all, offer an explanation to things. The importance of fractal geometry is that it provides an answer, a comprehension, to nature, the world, and the universe. Fractals occur in swirls of scum on the surface of moving water, the jagged edges of mountains, ferns, tree trunks, and canyons. They can be used to model the growth of cities, detail medical procedures and parts of the human body, create amazing computer graphics, and compress digital images. Fractals are about us, and our existence, and they are present in every mathematical law that governs the universe. Thus, fractal geometry can be applied to a diverse palette of subjects in life, and science - the physical, the abstract, and the natural. We were all astounded by the sudden revelation that the output of a very simple, two-line generating formula does not have to be a dry and cold abstraction. When the output was what is now called a fractal, no one called it artificial... Fractals suddenly broadened the realm in which understanding can be based on a plain physical basis. (McGuire, Foreword by Benoit Mandelbrot) A fractal is a geometric shape that is complex and detailed at every level of magnification, as well as self-similar. Self-similarity is something looking the same over all ranges of scale, meaning a small portion of a fractal can be viewed as a microcosm of the larger fractal. One of the simplest examples of a fractal is the snowflake. It is constructed by taking an equilateral triangle, and after many iterations of adding smaller triangles to increasingly smaller sizes, resulting in a "snowflake" pattern, sometimes called the von Koch snowflake. The theoretical result of multiple iterations is the creation of a finite area with an infinite perimeter, meaning the dimension is incomprehensible. Fractals, before that word was coined, were simply considered above mathematical understanding, until experiments were done in the 1970's by Benoit Mandelbrot, the "father of fractal geometry". Mandelbrot developed a method that treated fractals as a part of standard Euclidean geometry, with the dimension of a fractal being an exponent. Fractals pack an infinity into "a grain of sand". This infinity appears when one tries to measure them.

David Comparision Essays -- Essays Papers

David Comparision Today, just as Homo erectus did eons ago, modern man strives for expression through art. The evolutionary paths of man and art parallel one another; in that, the complexities, which have accompanied the millenniums, also have brought exponentially progressed forms of art. Sculpture is an art form that maintains a high quality of expression. Two examples of this are the Davids done by Michelangelo and Bernini. Michelangelo’s David and Bernini’s David represent their different time periods and artists while remaining similar. Michelangelo was born in 1475 near Florence. At an early age Michelangelo’s interest in art eclipsed that of his studies, and so he began apprenticing at 13 in lieu of regular school. His time under Lorenzo de Medici was the most influential in his young life; this is where he came in contact with Hellenistic nudes, began with anatomy and embedded his humanitarian views. Michelangelo went to Rome at twenty-one and sculpted the Pieta, which made him famous (Coughlan 85-91). In 1501, in which time, he began the monumental task of carving David from a huge block of marble, Florence was experiencing political turmoil. The central meaning of the piece was to symbolize the greatness of Michelangelo’s proud city. He depicts David before the battle with Goliath as he thought Florence was only just beginning to fight and to remind the people of their duty to defend it (Shaked 1). David is portrayed nude, asymmetrical and in cont...

Butler Lumber Company Case Study Essay

Summary of Facts. Butler Lumber Company is a Pacific Northwest based lumber distributor that sells plywood, moldings, and sash and door products. The sole owner of Butler Lumber is Mark Butler, accompanied by one administrative assistant and ten employees who focus on repairs and labor intensive work. Because of Butler Lumber’s competitive pricing scheme, it has seen rapid growth in the past few years. Due to the rapid growth and a shortage of cash in 1990, Butler Lumber Company is seeking to take out an additional loan in order for the business to sustain itself and grow in the coming years. Butler Lumber has the option to accept a loan of $250,000 from Suburban National Bank, or accept an unsecured revolving 90-day note of $465,000 at 10.5% interest from Northrop National Bank. If Mr. Butler decides to accept the note from Northrop National bank, it will sever the existing ties with Suburban National Bank and a new relationship must be maintained. Problem. If Mr. Butler accepts the loan from Suburban National Bank, he must agree to a secured loan that is backed by his real property that will act as collateral for the agreed amount of $250,000. Due to Suburban National Bank’s constraints, Mr. Butler is looking to find a new banking relationship that would allow him to negotiate a much larger unsecured loan. The amount of the loan offered by Suburban National Bank has made Mr. Butler realize the company’s growth potential – increase in sales, but also realize the increase in debt. Since he is limited on his loan and has little cash on hand, he has turned to trade credit for the past few years. As consultants, we will investigate the following four key issues: * Should Butler Lumber sever ties with Suburban National bank in order to obtain a larger loan from Northrop National Bank? * Why does Butler Lumber have a cash shortage problem to begin with, and are they currently using their existing funds efficientl y? * How much additional funding does Butler Lumber need, and will they continue to need even more in the future? * What sort of implications does the firm’s growth suggest? * Are there Alternative solutions to Butler Lumber’s cash shortage problems? Analysis. The need for cash is clear; however, there could be multiple opportunities to raise the capital that is needed. It is imperative that Butler Lumber takes into consideration the costs associated with accepting external financing, and in turn be able to assess whether or not it is the best solution. If relying on external financing is not plausible, Mr. Butler will have to search for alternative methods to grow his business – whether it’s finding a different financing solution or a way to generate cash by altering management activities. As we assess Butler Lumber’s operations from 1988 to 1990, it is clear that his reliance on trade credit and a specific focus on having a very competitive pricing schema has allowed the company to generate revenue up to this point. Although the company was able to generate revenue at an increasing rate during the given years, Butler Lumber was unable to accumulate any cash in order to fund operations moving forward. We will start by assessing one of the two immediately available options presented for Butler Lumber: Butler Lumber can remain with Suburban National Bank by accepting their loan offer of $250,000. The only apparent advantage of this option lies solely in the fact that the relationship with the bank already exists. The disadvantages are seen in the possibility that Butler Lumber will need additional financing past the initial loan amount, and the offered loan is now secured (backed by Mr. Butler’s real property), signaling that the bank has doubts that Butler Lumber will pay back the loan amount. Though Butler may be capable of repaying the amount, it is inevitable that the company will need more financing. Due to the bank’s recent focus on the riskiness of Butler Lumber, this may alter their ability to receive more funding from Suburban National Bank. Mr. Butler could alternatively choose to take the unsecured revolving 90-day note of $465,000 at 10.5% interest from Northrop National Bank. The apparent advantages are: it is a more flexible option, it is an unsecured loan that requires no collateral from Mr. Butler, and it is of a larger amount. The big disadvantages are: the termination of the banking relationship between Butler Lumber and Suburban National Bank, and the increased interest expense on the loan. Another disadvantage of establishing a LOC with Northrop National Bank is the possibility of restrictions on the company stating that the net working capital be maintained at a level agreed upon by both parties and any increase in fixed assets with approval by N orthrop. Also there would be limitations on withdrawals of funds from the business by Mr. Butler. Another concern with the loan is that Butler Lumber would need to draw additional loans from Northrop because the company is unable to pay back the loan amount within the 90 day period due to the lack of cash and liquid assets. -Why does Butler Lumber have a cash shortage problem to begin with ,and are they currently using their existing funds efficiently? The â€Å"Sources and Uses of Funds brings forth a snapshot of the company’s cash flows and illustrates the reason behind Butler Lumber’s cash deficit. For the past two years, Butler Lumber has generated negative cash flow from operations, which is alarming for the firm. Given the typical business model of a growing firm, Butler Lumber has seen increases in both the inventory and receivable accounts. This makes sense because the more customers Mr. Butler has, the more inventory he needs to have on hand and given his somewhat lackadaisical approach on payment collection, the amount of receivables is expected as well. This could be an issue for the firm, but if Mr. Butler has a strategy to fund operations until they are able to generate more cash, it will not break the firm. As inventory and receivables grow, an area to hone in on is whether or not these accounts are being turned over in a timely, progressive manner. As seen in the â€Å"Asset Utilization Analysis† table, the ratios for both receivable and inventory indicate that it is taking a longer period of time to collect money and a is holding on to inventory for much longer (nearly 15% and 10% longer, respectively). It is clear that Butler Lumber is not maximizing operational efficiency and will accrue extra costs as a result. -How much additional funding does Butler Lumber need, and will the firm continue to need even more in the future? After analyzing and projecting Butler Lumber’s 1991 Pro Forma Balance Sheet, we have decided to separate the projections when considering the current payable policy and also considering discounts. We have concluded that Butler Lumber will need additional funding of $409,000 under the current payables policy, and including purchase discounts, they will need $658,000 (seen in Exhibit 1). These figures indicate exactly how Mr. Butler has been operating, relying on specific payment terms with his suppliers and customers. Mr. Butler is using his accounts payable as a sort of leverage (funding) while he searches for external financing, which is quantitatively laid out in Exhibit 4. So the question becomes whether Mr. Butler should take advantage of the 2% purchase discount or continue to rely on the suppliers payment flexibility. The pro-forma analysis we generated is based on recent percent of sales from the years 1988-1990. -What sort of implications does the firm’s growth suggest? NEED SOMETHING ABOUT HOW THE SALES GROWTH OVERSHOOTS THE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH -Are there Alternative solutions to Butler Lumber’s cash shortage problems? If Mr. Butler does not or cannot obtain the loan through Northrop National bank, an alternative option is Recourse Factoring. Recourse Factoring is the selling off of Accounts receivables where the selling company is still responsible in the event of receivable default. A factor company purchases receivables from other companies and provides the necessary capital for a small fee. This can be very beneficial for companies experiencing problems with cash flows. This could be a potential option for Butler Lumber because they have slow paying clients and an extensive cash shortage problem. Butler’s Receivable turnover has decreased from 9.92 in 1988 to 8.5 in 1991 indicating it is taking longer to recover much needed cash. If Butler was able to factor away their receivables they would have more working capital, a flexible funding program that will increase only as their sales increase and also would help Butler take advantage of purchase discounts. If Butler found a Factoring company to take on 75% of their receivables , $317,000 cash would be freed up and eliminate the need for Additional funding. Even if Butler paid a small 2% factoring fee they would still easily be able to maintain their rapid rate of growth with the current $250,000 of funding through Suburban National Bank. Recommendation: Given the analysis of the firm, in order for the firm to continue it will need external financing. The recommendation that we give to Mr. Butler is that he accepts the LOC from Northrop National Bank, but only if the loan does not include any negative covenants such as restrictions on: the sale of assets, engaging in other businesses, and voluntary prepayment of other indebtedness. This financing is needed because the expected sales growth exceeds the firm’s sustainable growth rate and leads to a negative cash flow because of the trends Mr. Butler has displayed regarding his payables and receivables.

Federal Health Care Essay

Federal health care is one of the biggest social and economic problems Americans face today. Due to the rising cost of medical care and health insurance, many Americans are either uninsured or do not have adequate coverage. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly known as Obama Care, is part of a decade-long effort to reform the nation’s health care system and ensure that more Americans have adequate and affordable health care coverage (Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2013). This essay will briefly explain the elements of Obama Care, the pros and cons of the policy, and how the policy raises issues of federalism. President Barack Obama made health care reform the foundation of his agenda during his first year as president. According to Salem Press Encyclopedia (2013), â€Å"he charged the Democratic Congress with crafting a comprehensive bill that would provide coverage to all Americans, lower health care costs, and improve the quality of health care of the entire country.† Even though the Democratic majority embraced the idea, they had considerable difficulty in embracing a single package that satisfied liberals, moderates, and conservative Democrats alike (Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2013). However, Republicans and a growing number of independent votes immediately pushed for an appeal of the law. In light of the major controversy that surrounded the reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act had been significantly modified, removing sticky points underscored by moderates and conservatives, to make it palatable to enough moderate and conservative Democrats to gain passage (Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2013). The Ninth Amendment states that â€Å"the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people† (Huffman, 2012). However, the federal government and the states view the Obama Care policy has a struggle for power when their central concern should be with establishing the division of powers best suited to preserve liberty. According to Huffman (2012), â€Å"Obamacare’s transparent impositions on liberty were given scant attention in the oral arguments over the law’s constitutionality, notwithstanding the fact that the reason the healthcare law has been consistently opposed by a majority of voters is their objection to the individual mandate.† President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. Its goal is to  give more Americans access to affordable, quality insurance and to reduce the growth in health care spending in the United States through consumer protections, regulations, subsidies, taxes, insurance exchanges, and other reforms (ObamaCareFacts, 2014). According to ObamaCareFacts (2014), â€Å"ObamaCare offers a number of new benefits, rights and protections including provisions that let young adults stay on their plan until 26, stop insurance companies from dropping you when you are sick or if you make an honest mistake on your application, prevent against gender discrimination, stop insurance companies from making unjustified rate hikes, do away with lifetime and annual limits, give you the right to a rapid appeal of insurance company decisions, expand coverage to tens of million, subsidize health insurance costs, require all insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions, among other things.† Obama Care, or PPACA, has been designed to help Americans medically and financially when it comes to health insurance.  There are many pros and cons related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or commonly known as Obama Care. Some pros of PPACA include tens of millions of uninsured will get access to affordable quality health insurance through the marketplace, helps to curb the growth in healthcare spending, over half of uninsured Americans can get free or low cost health insurance, and even small businesses can get tax credits for up to 50% of their employees’ health insurance premium costs (ObamaCareFacts, 2014). Some cons of PPACA include in order to get the money to help insure tens of millions there are new taxes which mostly affect high-earners, focuses more on making sure people are covered than it does on addressing the cost of care, mandates that you have to obtain health coverage by January 2014, get an exception or pay a fee if you cannot afford it, and even mandates that in 2015 businesses with over the equivalent of 50 full-time employees must provide health coverage (ObamaCareFacts, 2014). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been fairly effective in achieving its goals of give more Americans access to affordable, quality insurance and to reduce the growth in health care spending in the United States through consumer protections, regulations, subsidies, taxes, insurance exchanges, and other reforms (ObamaCareFacts, 2014). According to  Dictionary.com, LLC (2014), effectiveness means â€Å"adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result.† Even though there are many pros and cons to the policy, they have been fairly effective to ensure all Americans receive affordable, quality health insurance and coverage. American federalism’s constitutional framework is based off of national and state governments sharing the authority that is derived from the people (Levin-Waldman, 2012). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is successful based off of the cooperation of local, state, and national authority. PPACA is consistent with American federalism’s constitutional framework because all stages of government, as well as people, are working together to ensure all Americans are taken care of medically, as well as financially, when it comes to health care and insurance. Furthermore, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is part of a decades-long effort to reform the nation’s health care system and ensure that more Americans have adequate and affordable health care coverage (Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2013). It has many pros and cons, but has been effective and demonstrates American federalism’s constitutional framework because it includes all stages of government, as well as ensures all Americans receive affordable, quality health insurance and coverage. References Dictionary.com, LLC. (2014). Effectiveness. Retrieved from http://dictionary.referance.com/browse/effectiveness Huffman, J. (2012). Obamacare vs. Federalism. Retrieved from www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/119436 Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2012). American government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. ObamaCareFacts. (2014). ObamaCare Facts: Facts on the Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-facts.php ObamaCareFacts. (2014). ObamaCare: Pros and Cons of ObamaCare. Retrieved from obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-pros-and-cons.php Salem Press Encyclopedia. (2013). Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Overview. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail?sid=2b1be3dd-154d-43ab-84e9-aeeaa71be0c7%40sessionmgr4004&vid=5&hid=4205&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=ers%AN=89158281

Cecil Rice Export

CECIL RICE EXPORT REPORT This report will focus on Cecil Rice Export and its aim is to develop more organized system which enhanced the productivity of each hour and for each three days. We discussed and calculated below the three questions. 1. In the Cecil Rice Export, to determine whether the process is in control or out of control we should use x-Charts and R-Charts. X-Charts are usually used when we know standard deviation of the sample. We calculate the upper and lower control limits based on that data.For this data, we assumed the standard deviation as 3 and we found the upper and lower limits for each day’s shifts. According to Monday Shift 1, the lower limit is 69. 23 hence the numbers that are below 69. 23, are becoming out of control. And the upper limit is 71. 91, so the numbers which are above 71. 91, become out of control due to assignable causes and not natural causes. In addition, Tuesday Shift 1, the lower limit is 68. 54, thus the numbers which are below 68. 5 4, are out of control. The upper limit is 71. 22 and the numbers that are above 71. 2, become out of control. Finally, those processes which we calculated as upper and lower limits should be under control. In R-Charts, the important part is the upper and lower control limits and the specific mean. We calculated the upper and lower control limits for each day of shifts according to n is equal to four. For instance, for Monday Shift 2, the upper control limit is 4879 pounds and the lower control limit is 4865 pounds. 2. We developed control charts for each shift three days. For Monday shifts from 00:00 to 08:00 the upper control limit is 71. 1 and the lower control limit is 69. 23. From 08:00 to 16:00, the upper control limit is 71. 30 and the lower control limit is 68. 25. And from 16:00 to 00:00 the upper limit is 71. 45 and the lower limit is 68. 77. According to our calculations, the best shift on Monday is from 08:00 to 16:00. In addition, for Tuesday shifts from 00:00 to 08:00 t he upper control limit is 71. 22 and the lower control limit is 68. 54. From 08:00 to 16:00, the upper control limit is 71. 24 and the lower control limit is 68. 55.From 16:00 to 00:00, the upper control limit is 71. 05 and 68. 37. The best shift in terms of productivity is from 16:00 to 00:00. Finally, for Wednesday the best shift is from 16:00 to 00:00. Because the customers expect the bags that are closest to the specific mean 70. For R- Charts, we assumed mean as 70 and found the upper and lower control limits for each days. For Monday shift, from 08:00 to 16:00, it seems more profitable when we considered with the other shifts on Monday. The upper and lower control limits are 4879 and 4865 pounds.Furthermore, for Tuesday, as same as Monday shift, from 08:00 to 16:00 is more suitable than other shifts for customers. We calculated the upper and lower control limits as 4942 and 4900 pounds. For the last shift, the best and more productive hours are from 16:00 to 00:00 and the uppe r and lower limits are found as 4977 and 4900 pounds. 3. Each shift in each day, the productivity hours change according to the personals and seniors. In order to increase output levels and shorten the lead times for customer, we mixed all shifts in each three days.By using the pooled chart where we calculated the upper and lower control limits for each days and each charts. Then, we took the average of UCLs and LCLs for each day for x-Charts. For instance, on Monday the average UCL is 71. 55 and LCL is 68. 87. Finally, we calculated the average of D3s and D4s for each shifts on each days. And we multiplied the D3s and D4s with the specific mean 70. Lastly, we found UCLs and LCLs for R- Charts for each day. For example, on Tuesday, UCL and LCL were calculated as 4975 and 4907 pounds. These numbers are our control limits.

Jesus Camp

â€Å"Jesus Camp† A growing number of Evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway in America that requires Christian youth to assume leadership roles in advocating the causes of their religious movement. â€Å"Jesus Camp† follows three home-schooled Missouri kids—12-year-old mullet-haired Levi, who was saved at 5; 10-year-old soldier's daughter Tory, who loves dancing to Christian heavy metal; and 9-year-old Rachael, who breathlessly approaches strangers to talk about Christ—to Pastor Becky Fischer’s â€Å"Kids on Fire† summer camp in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. At this camp, kids as young as six years old are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in â€Å"God’s army. † The film follows these children at camp as they hone their â€Å"prophetic gifts† and are taught how to â€Å"take back America for Christ. † Wielding everything from PowerPoint to plush toys to illustrate the wages of sin, the impassioned Fischer has a clear-eyed view of children as malleable material, ripe for the inculcating. When they are not speaking in tongues, pledging allegiance to the Christian flag, or blessing a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush, the kids rally round to hear Fischer and others entreat them to â€Å"join the war,† â€Å"fix the sick world,† and fight abortion. The film looks into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America’s political future. The fundamentalist revival is a concept that can be associated with â€Å"Jesus Camp. † While many of the large, mainline churches have lost members, other churches (such as the Evangelical Christian churches) have gained members. Contrary to mainline Protestants, Evangelical Christians emphasize a literal interpretation of the Bible. They also stress emotional demonstrativeness rather than quiet, inward devotion at church services (Thio, 2007, pp. 354). For instance, the kids who attended â€Å"Kids on Fire† summer camp spoke in tongues, pledged allegiance to the Christian flag, and blessed a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush instead of quietly praying during church services. Bibliography Thio, Alex. 2007. Society Myths and Realities; An Introduction to Sociology. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Summary essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Summary - Essay Example In order to convince the public, she used facts, statistics, and name calling to present her arguments. Emma Watson delivered a game-changing and persuasive speech about feminism at the United Nations assembly (â€Å"Emma Watson’s UN speech: has it been effective?†). The much talked about speech was highly admired and went viral in the social media, as well as elicited mixed reactions. She delivered the speech six months after her appointment as the Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations. She did this in an attempt to promote and push the new United Nation’s HeForShe project. The primary reason for the speech was to discourage stereotyping of women in the society. In addition, Emma’s motive was not only advocate the empowering of women, but also liberate some men in the society. Her sole mission was to encourage both sexes to identify as feminists. This speaker addressed all forms of violence and discrimination faced by women and girls in the society. She argued that not only women, girls and transgender that suffered discrimination, but some men too fell victims to these acts. She invited men to join the conversation of feminists since this issue concerns them as well. Her sole intention was to get a large number of men and boys to commit to joining the gender equality campaign. In addition, according to Hashempour (â€Å"Emma Watson’s UN speech: has it been effective?†), she told the world that in order to achieve gender equality and eliminate harmful and destructive stereotypes the idea of masculinity must change. Moreover, Watson used one of the strategies of propaganda to convince the public of her ideas. She adopted the name-calling to get the attention of her audience and project her ideas as favorable (Class Notes Week 8). She mentioned statesman Edmund Burkes and quoted his condemning words that aimed at

NONE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NONE - Essay Example This is the most popular and long lasting pedagogic economic notion and the best example in the combination of both economic and moral arguments that economists based on. Some of the aspects of the concept of just price, such as the production cost and the biased efficacy concept of value continue to be controversial. One group of scholars is for the view that just price concept is purely the modern marketplace price and functions similarly in the competitive environment. While on the other hand another group argues that, the concept does not describe the current market and gives principles that contradict the modern developments in our economies. Traders must reach to an agreement in which both the seller and the buyer will consider it fair (Wilson 56). Thus, the concept of just price, which advocates for mutual benefit, is among the best bequest scholastics to the economic thinking. The theory plays a vital role in the process of price determination in the current market. Human beings depend on each other and it is therefore morally wrong to exploit others through unfair dealings. On the other hand, traders must understand that the main purpose of creating goods and services is to satisfy human needs therefore, there should be fair rules and regulations to ensure efficient production and distribution of commodities to the people. Every private owner selling something does not only deal with his commodity but also deals with the necessity, which is common to himself and the buyer (Monsalve 7). There are some circumstances in which the just price theory becomes irrelevant acting in opposition to fairness in the current economies. Some of these include the condition of high number of buyers and shortage of goods and services together with the mode of sales and high sums of money involved. When goods are sold on credit, the number of buyers increases because they will not need cash to buy the goods and there is the risk of damages that must be put

Computer Sciences and Information Technology Essay - 5

Computer Sciences and Information Technology - Essay Example The recent years have been marked by a shift of resources to more secure designs now that the implementation bags have proved to be scarce courtesy of SDL (Viega and McGraw, 2002, p. 67) Threat models are SDL’s cornerstone as they make it possible for the development team to figure out secure designs in a way that is structured. To achieve this effectively, threat model has been simplified into several tasks; coming up with pictures of data flows software, the application of the â€Å"stride per element† method in an effort to identify threats applicable to the desired design, taking a look at each threat and verification to ensure that the software has been modeled enough by putting into consideration each threat and addressing all the discovered threats (Pfleeger, 1997, p. 78) The basic element of a threat model is in its delineation of the entry points in its application. The threat model is in such a way that it is able to capture the entry points in form of trust b oundaries during the phase commonly referred to as the â€Å"picture-drawing†. Good examples of this include; registry and files entry points and networking entry points. A threat model that is good enough should also be in a position to capture the authorization as well as the authentication requirements and the network accessibility of the interfaces. This process involves network accessibility via the IP address including the remote and local, local-only access and local subnet. The process also includes the authorization and authentication levels, user access, administrator-only access and anonymous access. When it comes to Windows access control lists (ACLs), the authorization levels come as finer-grained (Pfleeger, 1997, p. 56). The process identity is another critical data piece that is always captured by this model. In this case, the running code’s interference is what is taken to be the entry point and the resulting process which is high-privilege is considere d to be very dangerous if it is compromised. In the case of Windows, the administrator or the system process are regarded as being the highest privilege. In Mac OS X or Linux situation, the running process happens to be the most privileged (Viega and McGraw, 2002, p. 108). References List Pfleeger, C. 1997. Security in Computing. Prentice Hall: New Jersey Viega, J & McGraw, G. 2002. Building Secure Software. Addison-Wesley: New York DQ: RBAC The Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is an essential access management approach. It offers a provision method that is straight forward and in the right access level and to the correct users every time it is being applied. Despite RBAC applications, most of the security teams are still facing difficulties when it comes to account implementation and the process of access management on RBAC. The reason for the above scenario is that most of the internal developer’s teams and vendors are not coming up with capabilities based on the expected r ole into the solutions at hand. RBAC has been applicable in major overhaul in the last two years resulting to its application being assigned to more than 20, 000 users on each product. Many vendors tend to be attracted to such products. This indicates how RBAC has value to the management and its users. The latest RBAC model is designed in such a way that it enforces the least segregation and

Basic Summary of Elliot Aronson's 'Social Animal' Essay

Basic Summary of Elliot Aronson's 'Social Animal' - Essay Example Aronson has fundamentally asserted that people tend to move along with the mob in general because if they do not, they are offered social resistance. They may change their personal opinion in favor of the majority either to escape a punishment, seek a reward or else, because of lack of confidence in their personal judgment. Conformity is essentially compliance if the objective is reward/punishment centered. It is identification if the individual’s intention is to develop affiliation, and it is internalization, if the individual conforms if he/she actually thinks it is rational. Aronson has also discussed some personality variables like self esteem, courage and experience that determine the level of conformity in an individual’s attitude. Then Aronson discussed obedience in context of conformity, and finally, the role of an uninvolved bystander as that of a conformist, because he/she overlooks the tragedy because everybody else does the same. Overall, the article is a ve ry comprehensive and though provoking demonstration of

Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of Research Paper

Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children - Research Paper Example The assignment will propose a theoretical framework which assigns a central role to the interaction or the interdependence between the factors in explaining the academic as well as cognitive development of bilingual children. The paucity of meaningful data on the effectiveness of bilingual children can be attributed to the case that evaluations have ignored the correlations between the factors. The findings of the previous attempts stated bilingual children performed below expectations on the verbal parts of tests on intelligence and on the academic tasks and the researches and the investigators stated mental confusion and language handicaps to be the behind factors. The â€Å"balance effect† hypothesis in this genre proposed that a bilingual child paid for the L2 skills by a fall in L1 skills (Cummins, 1979). A mismatch between the language at home and the language at schools leads in retardation in the field of academics. The UNESCO exemplified the hypothesis stating that a child can be best taught in his mother tongue. Some researchers argued that instructions proposed through a medium of weaker language will lead to retardation in the subject matter taught. The researchers studied the inadequacy of both linguistic mismatch hypothesis as well as the hypothesis that bilingualism to be the source of academic and cognitive retardation. The researchers opined that bi lingualism can influence in positive fashion to cognitive and linguistic development. The fine documented achievement of immersion programs for the linguistic programs is far from being inconsistent without the simplistic notion that mismatch in linguistics can cause academic retardation. It is not surprising that educators re-examined the assumptions behind the underlying bilingual education and have emphasized the socio cultural as well as the school program variables rather than the factors on linguistics. The recent reviews on the perspectives of linguistics

Information Technology Project Research Proposal

Information Technology Project - Research Proposal Example Being an IT student, keeping only objectives in hand don't completes my traits. Though it is the world of proofs and proving objectives with the presentations and documentations. Every deliverable clutches some fundamentals of this project. Deliverables till the end of the project will be as per defined: This is the first deliverable that embrace the contents about Information Technology. What is Information Technology When it is started Since then how it is improved What is the status of Information Technology now days What kinds of projects and their importance in real world Etc. This document is a small thesis on Information Technology with a little introduction to the real topic. This deliverable accomplish first three above-mentioned objectives of the project. A sample of professionals is gathered to have a little talk upon the topic. Few famous and well-known software houses are being listed. Moreover to reach these software houses and contact the entire professionals, references are gathered. This list along with the professional names holds their contacts, their references and name of people they are reference by. Reason to make them our samples. This deliverable, strengths up our project research and help in the accomplishment of our forth above mentioned objective. Questionnaire For IT Professionals This deliverable is a complete document carrying related questions focusing the topic and finding what may be the reasons or strategies to avoid projects to be failed. This deliverable is submit to get the approval from the supervisor for proceedings. The questionnaire holds both close-ended and open-ended questions related to their experience and professionalism. Interview Details With Project Managers A detail interview is held with different project managers of different software houses who talk about different strategies to manage a project and keeping things sufficiently arranged that it wouldn't cause a failure. This is all documented and is shown to the supervisor so that they also can agree with the conclusion at the end comes out. List of samples; Questionnaire, and this document; all three helps to achieve successfully the fourth objective. Analysis Report It includes the combine result that can be concluded from the questionnaire and interview statistically. They are represented graphically in charts and add it with their details. Thesis Last but not least, a document prepared after a complete research from interviews, questionnaire, Internet and book on the reasons for and strategies of avoiding project failure. This document includes objectives in detail, all research work, and how each and every objective is

How to make the registration of property more efficient to Essay

How to make the registration of property more efficient to entrepreneurs in Beirut Lebanon - Essay Example Currently, there exist lengthy procedures in obtaining license for property and businesses making registration process more difficult. The government of Lebanon can make registration process more effective and faster by minimizing the procedures involved in acquiring licenses for property. License acquisition is an imperative step in registration of property and if the government of Lebanon can minimize its process as aforementioned, it would have an efficient and reliable legal system. Moreover, Lebanese government should eliminate the current tradition of delaying licensing of property amongst registration authorities. Eliminating the delays would directly result into reduction of the days needed for obtaining property license. Consequently, Lebanon property registration process would be more efficient and reliable. It is imperious to understand that high taxes levied on government legislation process directly contribute to its inefficiency. Lebanese government authorities that directly engage in property registration process including tax authority and land registry should significantly lower registration fees to increase efficiency of the processes. Lowering property registration fees would also attract more entrepreneurs (World Bank Group 1). The most amicable property registration process prides in free corruption and embezzlement of funds. Apparently, property registration process in Lebanon has remained inefficient and expensive to entrepreneurs due to constant corruption and mismanagement of funds buy Lebanese land registry and tax authority (Haidar 1). Lebanese government should establish fundamental strategies that would aim at eliminating corruption within the property registration system to make the process more accessible, efficient, and inexpensive. Haidar, Jamal Ibrahim. Business Regulations In Lebanon: Where Are We? Where Do We Go Now?. August 1, 2013. Web. November 22, 2014. Accessed

Roman Empire Essay Example for Free

Roman Empire Essay The world of Literature before 1500 AD encompassed the era from the day when the civilizations came into existence till AD 476, when Roman Empire fell and again from the Florentine Renaissance in late 15th century to the renaissance. The literature saw the growth in the lands of Hebrews, Greeks and Romans who made remarkable contributions in poetry, and drama form. The ancient Greeks in the period from 356 BC to 323 BC formulated their work on basis of the works of the well-known and famed Pericles, Plato, and Aristotle using politics and philosophy as their tools under the leadership of Alexander, the Great. In the same way, Hebrews exerted an enormous impact on world history through their holy book, the Bible, which is still considered sacred by both Jews and Christians. Fragments of the literary works in the ancient era were discovered in nineteenth century â€Å"Beowulf,† the Norse sagas, the â€Å"Kalevala,† the â€Å"Nibelungenlied,† the â€Å"Song of Roland. † Starting g from 2700 B. C and written uptill 2000 B. C, Gilgamesh was the first great heroic narrative. It was lost due to the vagaries of time but it was found again in 1872, and its importance came to be known when the Utnapishtims Story of the Flood, was rediscovered. Gilgamesh is a Saga of spirituality, and the psychology of character is embodied in the character of Gilgamesh who took upon the journey to attain immortality, but he found his journey was fruitless and he lamented, â€Å"For whom have I labored? For whom have I journeyed? For whom have I suffered? I have gained absolutely nothing for myself, I have only profited the snake, the ground lion! † (angelfire. com, online edition) He realized that death was inevitable and should make most of the short life. The literature came into prominence in the Western world in 100 AD. The earliest of the medieval literature were Epic poems in vernacular language depicting the heroism, myths and supernatural elements derived from oral tradition. Beowulf is a good example of an Old English heroic elegy, written in 700-750. It has 3,183 lines. It is originally Anglo-Saxon poetry but created an indorrebale influence on the literatures of the generation ahead and had become â€Å"England’s National Epoc†. The poem composes of legends. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, fought battles with three antagonists; Grendel who was always destroying Heorot, its inhabitants in Denmark, Grendel’s mother and later a dragon. Between the years 1340 to 1400 was the age of Chaucer. His period was the age of transition, as this age saw the meeting of the two incongruous periods-the medieval and the modern or the Renaissance. The most crucial aspect of the medieval period is the belief in spirituality and abstract ideas, whereas the Renaissance period believed in sensuous and the concrete. Medieval period supported communism whereas Renaissance supported individualism. Medieval mind never tolerated free thoughts whereas the period of Renaissance advocated individualism. Chaucer represented his own age and held the mirror to the life of his time. He was truly the social chronicle of England during the same period. His poetry is a reflection of the fourteenth century not in fragments but as a whole. Other poets of this age focused on certain aspects prevalent at that time for e. g. anonymous author of Pearl tells us about the mysticism of the refined minds. Wycliff gave us the surging wave of religious reformation, but Chaucer focused on wide and variegated life. Chaucer symbolized the Middle Ages and poster the spirit of medieval world but underneath him flowed the spring of Renaissance. Writers of medieval period captured the foibles and follies of the contemporary society in the mysticism nature. Chaucer also used Nature in its full as symbol of life, which is fresh and serene and stirs up the emotion of erotic love in his most enduring and popular â€Å"The Canterbury tales. † The Canterbury Tales begins with the season of spring in the month of April when the flowers are in full bloom, the birds are swinging from the trees and giving the chirping sounds, which is a symbolic of spiritual renewal. Spring also is a symbol of erotic love and we can have an essence of it in a scene when Palamon looks at Emelye, who is gathering fresh flowers to make garlands in honor of May and the Squire too participates in the beauteous and ardent scene of love. His courtly love signifies the freshness of the month of May. In the General Prologue, the garments are also symbols signifying characters personality and reveal the true nature of characters. The rich silk and fur gown, which the Physician’s is wearing shows his love for wealth and the flower brocade on the tunic of the Squire shows his youthful vanity and the forked beard of the Merchant symbolizes his duplicate nature. Chaucer also used physiognomy to decipher the temperament of pilgrims in the general prologue. The peasants are shown with the exaggerated figures. And the best example is Miller, who has round and ruddy face with a wart on his nose. Chaucer rendered meritorious service to the English language and made it an instrument of social, political and literary thought. Chaucer was realistic too as he revealed the truth as he saw it, which he showed in the journey of pilgrims to the holy shrine in this Canterbury Tales. He imparts the solid touch of realism as he portrayed in this characters. With him the literature also saw the beginning of realism in the new emblem and thoughts. The prose literature was almost negligible. Its bulk was very small and the literary quality was also very less. Though in France and Italy prose writing was in full swing, the English prose was very slow to catch up. Before 1350, there was hardly any prose work written except Ancrene Riwle. It is spiritual and the characteristic of Anglo-Saxon is clearly visible in their works. Higden, a monk wrote Polychronicon in Latin in 1350. In this work, we can find the reflection of the history of the entire world from the early creation to Higden’s own times. By the end of the century, Walsingham of St. Albams compiled Latin chronicles, which are similar to the description of scenes in the pages of Forissart. John Trevisa translated Higden’s Polychronicon and completed in 1387. Chauser’s contribution towards the English prose is also worth noting but he was more of a translator when he wrote prose. His prose works include the Treatise on the Astrolabe, the translation of Boethius. The most valuable contribution was the addition of the new prose in meters, which had not yet appeared before and added the beauty of Boethius. The Astrolabe is an early scientific treatise and an address to â€Å"Little Lewis My son†. This treatise amplifies the scientific application of literature and the literary handling of Science. The contemporary to Chaucer, there were other three chief writers. One was John Gower, who was a wealthy landowner whose tomb with his effigy is placed in St. Saviors, Southwark. Gower was conservative and he focused more on the past then on the future. The large part of his works was written in French and Latin. In his â€Å"Vox Clamantis† (The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness), he denounced the common people for their revolt against the privileged class and the people of authority. And in this vocabulary, he showed exaggerated bitterness. After the death of Chaucer in 1400 for complete 150 years, there was no great writer and the main cause for the decline of the literature was the restart of the Hundred Years War, and then the War of Roses, which was nothing more than the butchery of rival factions. In this period, the leading poets were only imitators of Chaucer and many of them were Scots. Among them was the Scottish king, James I who wrote beautiful poem â€Å"The king’s Quair†, which is more of an allegory of 1400 lines showing the love of an captive author with a lady who promised to bring him out from the drudgery to the life of riches. This was the historical and the biographical account of his own eighteen years captivity in England. He incorporated the Chaucer’s stanza of seven lines riming ababbcc, which gave him the name of ‘rime royal. ’ (Fletcher, 1918) The most popular were the ballads written by both the English and Scottish writers. Among all the best ballads written are: The Hunting of the Cheviot, Sir Patrick Spens, Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough, and William of Cloudeslee; Captain Car, or Edom o Gordon and King Estmere among the few. The ballads, as the old tradition dictates, give the vivid, picaresque and descriptive account of the battles of the Kings and knights. The Author of Par excellence, which fifteenth century saw was the Sir Thomas Malory. His main purpose was to gather important works of Arthurian romance and organize them giving the historical accounts of King Arthur and his knights in his book ‘Le Morte Darthur,’ The Death of Arthur. It was the first English classic, which was published and printed. Women in the medieval period were not treated equally to men. They were mostly religious writers who were canonized as nuns like Clare of Assisi, Bridget of Sweden and Catherine of Siena, who wrote their experiences and insights into religion. But what ever they wrote, they gave charm and feminine touch to their works and in the secular realm, opportunity came in form of Marie de France and Christine de Pizan and from their soul flowed their repressed feelings. They wrote on courtly love. Marie de France was born in France but lived in England in 12th century. In most of her manuscripts are found the characteristic features of Anglo-Norman. The medieval French literature is abounding with stories of courtly love focusing on the queen. The queen for the literary world is the â€Å"natural feminine object of male heterosexual desire†(Kinoshita, Online Edition) and she remains a figure of desire in the hands of King but the Marie de France’s Equitan1 tells us the story of king’s extra marital affair with Senechal’s wife. Even though the lady resisted but she succumbed to his advances and the two plotted to kill Seneschal so they both could marry but Seneschal knew about their disloyalty and he blistered them to death in hot bath and the moral she poster is: â€Å"He who plans evil for another may have that evil rebound back on him† â€Å"Tels purcace le mal dautrui / Dunt tuz li mals revert sur lui† (309-10). 4 (Kinoshita, Online Edition). What lie beneath are the complexities abounded in the courtly forms and the responsibilities of the king? Equitan1 tells about the function of kings, and the principal element is the lord-vassal relations. The feminist theories of today looked into the various aspects that constituted the feminine role in the medieval age and subsequently in their literature. There were very few female writers who had really left an endurable mark on the society. In the patriarchy society, they enjoyed respectable and encouraging social circumstances, though for a limited period. Writers such as the Greek poet Sappho, the Alexandrian mathematician and philosopher Hypatia, and the Chinese scholar Pan Chao (Ban Zhao), were the women of great intellectual abilities. Hypatia was born between 350 and 370 AD. She was a mathematician and also taught astronomy and astrology. She was daughter of Theon, a philosopher and a student in a school of Plato and Plotinus. Her notable works are commentaries on Diphantus’s Arithmetica, on Apollonius Conics and Ptolemy works, but all are lost. She was murdered in 415 AD by Christians mobs. With her murder her works too died. The role of the women was just confined to the domestic affairs which is reflected in the art and literature of the time from Athenian vase paintings to the Homeric verses in both Iliad and Odyssey. In the epics, the woman got the place as mythic figures. Ovid in his Metamorphoses recapitulated women as goddesses who had the power to revenge, as revengeful queens, and on the other hand the cunning witches, and the objects or victims of male aggression and sexual desires. In the classical dramas of Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes and Sophocles, women looked in a different way. Clytemnestra kills the king; her husband Agamemnon but does not hide instead proclaims her deed openly. Agamemnon had killed his only child as he deemed it necessary but Clytemnestra did not forget it and revenged her death. Here Aeschylus poses ethical question on viewers and makes the reader feel sympathetic for women, a thing, which could not be heard, in the contemporary society and Aeschylus bestows on her with title of tragic heroine. On the other hand, Euripides is seemed to be afraid of women. His protagonist Medea is depicted more as a devil than a human being that came on this earth from some other world. She has barbaric attitudes. Euripides was fully aware of the fact that the majority of the women are sensitive human beings, but he was looking at the other side of the women who in the Athenian Age had no rights like that of men and are different than men and when the time came, they are capable to be barbaric too. In Bible, women are shown as heroic female figures like Esther and Judith mostly found in the Old Testament Apocrypha. And the Bible also shows women symbolically as the two opposite poles: temptress Eve and the flawless Virgin Mary. Chaucer in his Canterbury tales presented the women as a dominating personality. Though Chaucer presented the follies of both men and women, he yet gave women her place in the society. In the Knight’s Tale, women find themselves free from the male domination. Emily, Duke Theseus’ sister-in-law, refuses to marry as she considers her chastity as most valuable. His cousins, Palamon and Arcita, both fall in love with Emily. Palamon loves Emily because he thinks that she is a goddess Venus, â€Å"goddess/ But [she] is really Venus [to him]† (Chaucer 1986) whereas Arcita loves Emily because he finds her most beautiful, â€Å"Beauty [that is] so fresh it destroys [him]† (Chaucer, 1986) The plays during the Middle Ages were liturgical, mystery plays but they did not get its due place in the society, and most of the plays had religious fervor. Slowly the mystery plays got popularity in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries with the most renowned and passionate play being Oberammergau. Along with this, morality plays also gained popularity. Twenty years later, people began to watch the Chronicle-History plays. These forms of the plays depicted the glory of the English to inculcate among public, the feeling of pride under Elizabeth and an ardent desire to know the historical past. The plays became popular, as there was an enthusiasm among the people due to the defeat of Armada in the struggle with Spain. After that there was an era of Renaissance, the freshness of the new ideas originated from the new order in the social, political, economic fabric of the society. Reference List Angelfire. com The Epic of Gilgamesh Retrieved on September 10, 2007 from W. W. W: http://www. angelfire. com/mo3/paganfiles/library/ancient/epic_of_gilgamesh. txt Chaucer G. (1986) The Canterbury Tales. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press Inc. Fletcher R H. (1918) A History of English Literature. Retrieved on September 10, 2007 from W. W. W: http://classiclit. about. com/library/bl-etexts/rfletcher/bl-rfletcher-history-3. htm Kinoshita S. Adultery and Kingship in Marie de Frances Equitan1. Retrieved on September 10, 2007 from W. W. W: http://www. luc. edu/publications/medieval/vol16/kinoshta. html