Informative speech outline Essay

1. In order to give a good informative speech first thing you have to do Is to choose a good topic, and if you are doing your speech for school, pick a topic you are familiar with. It will help you to be a better speaker. 2. It will be helpful if you will include things you do and like into your speech. But it does not mean that you have to talk about stuff you know, make sure to do a good research and try to find something new and significant for you and of course your listeners. Read more:Â  Informative essay outline 3. It is important to narrow down your topic, so you can be able to cover your topic in the time allotted. 4. If you are making speech about popular stuff like obesity, bullying etc make sure you do a good research and try to find stuff people might do not know, at this point your speech won’t be boring. 5. From your list of topics, choose one to develop into your thesis. Your thesis is simply a specific statement expressing clearly in a single sentence what exactly you’re going to do. The last significant thing you have to know is that thesis has to be as specific as possible. References: ColoState.edu 1. Why is the topic appropriate for your audience? In my opinion movies are part of our lives, everybody watch them, therefore I have decided that this topic is going to be interesting not only for me but also for the audience. 3. How is your topic narrowed to conform to the time limits for the speech assignment? I am trying to be specific In order to narrow my speech and make sure that I make time. 4. What is your specific purpose statement? 5. What is your central idea? 6. How will you introduce your topic and what method(s) of gaining attention do you use in the introduction? Intro – How much work goes into making a good movie? Â  Inorder to get an attention of my audience I am going to use the questioning method. 7. How do you establish your credibility in the introduction? 8. Write the preview statement you will use in your introduction. Today I am going to talk about filmmaking. Not everybody aware of how hard is it to make a good movie. Firstly I will tell you about preproduction, which is one of the hardest steps in making a movie, secondly I’m going to talk about production and in conclusion you will learn what is postproduction period. 9. What method of organization will you use in the speech? I will use topical method of organization. 10. State in full sentences the main points to be developed in the body of your speech. I will give you some insight on what it takes in order to make some of your favorite movies. The film production has three main stages preproduction, production and postproduction. 11. What information will you include to adapt the content of your speech so it will be clear and interesting to your audience? Be specific. My speech will consist the information about preproduction, production and postproduction. Basically the information of how the movies are being made. 12. How will you conclude and what method(s) of reinforcing your central idea do you use in the conclusion? Using a quotation by Banksy Film is incredibly democratic and accessible, its probably the best option if you actually want to change the world, not just re-decorate it.

Cult of Masculinity in “In the Country of Men”

In the book â€Å"In the Country of Men†, Hisham Matar, the author discusses his childhood experience in the 1970's during the revolution in Libya. The time when men overpowered and completely dominated women. The title itself describes Libya as a country that belongs to men where women are used like tools. We see that Suleiman wants to become a man as soon as possible through the story but on the other hand, the story also talks about a female being Suleiman’s mother – Najwa who thinks she lost her freedom when she was just 14 and had to get married. However, after all the development from the 1970’s till today, the current generation considers both men and women equally powered. Right from the starting, it can be predicted that Suleiman wants to be a man. When baba goes on the so called â€Å"business trip†, Suleiman is the only male in the house making him the man of the house. It is just the way how baba says it every time he leaves – â€Å"Take care of your mother, you are the man of the house now† (61). Suleiman handles these responsibilities very well. He takes care of his mother as he knows very well that she is ill every time baba is not home and wants to take over a men's responsibility of taking care of his mother. He even talks about him willing to take responsibilities like his father and be just like him, a man. Later in the story, we also see the cult of masculinity urge through Suleiman when he and the other neighborhood kids were at Adnan’s house to look at him inserting an injection in himself due to his illness. â€Å"I also prayed for a disease that would give me what Adnan had† (126). Suleiman thinks that Adnan’s disease makes him seem older and more independent like a man. Thus Suleiman wants to have Adnan’s illness so that he too could be like a man. â€Å"I couldn’t wait to be a man† (148). Suleiman’s words prove how he wants to become a man and does not want to fall into kid’s category. However, on the other side, there are still clues given throughout the story that prove how Suleiman has failed to be a man. For example, during the visit of the RCC (Revolutionary Committee Men) to Baba’s house to find Baba and any evidence against him. â€Å"I was wet beneath my clothes and realized what I had done. The pee felt warm and cold and sticky to my skin† (64). When the RCC man had asked him about his father, Suleiman gets scared and pees himself not being able to control him. Even though he was the â€Å"man of the house† this incident proves him as a kid who cannot control himself. Another example was when Najwa tells Suleiman about how Faraj, who she belonged to, and all the other men out there had to puncture his wife’s veil and bleed her to prove his wife as a virgin. â€Å"I didn’t know what Mama meant, but feared that when the time came I might not have what it takes to ‘puncture’ a women† (13). Suleiman fears he might not be able to do the duty that every man is to do to prove his wife a virgin. Even though there are some responsibilities of a man that Suleiman has fulfilled, he still doubts if he will be able to be a real man just like his father was. Najwa, Suleiman's mom, as she like to say, lost her freedom when she was just 14 years old. She had been forced to marry a completely strange man who was 9 years older than her even though she wanted to complete her education first. She being the girl was not even allowed to reject the marriage or even argue to defend herself. The High Council decided my fate† (144). When she says â€Å"High Council† it meant all the males in the house – her father and all her brothers. Here we see that women had no choices but to obey what the males or so called â€Å"High Council† said. Also the only reason why the family to marry Najwa as quickly as possible is because one of her brother had seen her with another guy same age as her at the Italian Coffee shop and so they wanted to get rid of her before someone can spread rumors about them and ruin their reputation. In a family like Najwa's, members cared more about the family's reputation then ever caring about a woman. She remembered her grandmother say to her â€Å"If a slave came to propose, a slave as black as this night, I would give you to him†(144). This definitely proven that girls/women did not have any right to speak up for themselves. They were just there to keep their men happy and follow their orders. After the â€Å"Black day† – day she got forced to marry baba, her life has not changed very much. She is only there to keep baba happy since he is the man of the house. When baba is away she is ill. She starts drinking alcohol as a symptom of depression due to the freedom she has lost. And when baba returns, she dresses up good to please her man. â€Å"During those nights, when Baba was home, Mama dragged her blanket behind her to the sofa† (85). She does not like to sleep in the bed with Bu Suleiman even though he is her husband. However if the man demands something then she could not reject him. She is basically like a slave of the man in the house. For example, the marital bed scene describes what she has to do for her man. â€Å"I saw him on top of her†¦. she lay beneath him, unmoving, looking away†(86). Also, the only role of women seen in the book is â€Å"A women had to be young and strong enough to bear children and serve the man well into his old age† (151). This definitely proves how women did not have the rights to express them self, were treated like slaves and their only role was to obey their man. Therefore, it could be concluded that the Cult of Masculinity has a huge impact on Suleiman and Mama. Males are always considered the higher authority in a family. It changes the way how Suleiman thinks and how Um Suleiman – Najwa losses her rights to live her life the way she wants to. However, it still concerns me why women were treated so unequally compared to today. Today the women do not just have to take care of their family but can also work in any type of career they want to, while being treated equally as men.

HR Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HR Project - Assignment Example In order to comply with this strategy the workplace environment of the firm has to change to become more attractive for the personnel. Employees get better at their jobs over time when they master the learning curve. The learning curve is a graph that depicts the mastery of skill by an individual or group of people over the course of time (Answer). Having competent employees that know how to provide customer service will ensure that the company retains all its current business contracts. In order to make the company grow the managers of the company have to emphasize the marketing function. Satisfied corporate customer can serve examples that can be showcased by the executive salespeople when a making a pitch to a sales lead. Increasing the sales of the company can improve the profitability of the company. Another way to improve the profitability of the firm is by lowering cost. In order to improve the individual performance of the employees of the company the managers have to take measures to make it happen. A way a manager can influence the performance of the workers is by motivating them. Motivation can be defined as individual forces that account for the direction, level, and persistence of a person’s effort exerted at work (Schermerhorn & Osborn & Hunt). A way to motivate employees is by providing rewards or incentives. For example the customer service personnel can be given a bonus based on the amount of satisfied customers they serve during a work shift. Managers can also provide non-financial rewards to motive employees such as giving them recognition and telling them they are doing a good job. In order to relieve the tension at work the company should increase the amount of break times the employees are entitled too. Retaining talent is important for the company. A way to inspire these workers is by offering promotion or ascension opportunit ies. Another important

Case study 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case study 3 - Essay Example An organization that would have seen issues, past and present and because of such, Shapp would feel the need to seek the services of Peter Sneed. After analyzing what he felt to be the issues within his own company and considering the potential benefit of utilizing the services of Peter Sneed, he would seek to consult with another member of his company and initiate the discussion as the prospect of integrating the services of Mr. Sneed, with the inner structure of the company. As Julie Phillips, the co-worker in question of Shapp’s, would seek to become involved with the overall discussion, she would be seeking to do so, so that any difference in opinion could be addressed and that if integration were to in fact occur, the best possible outcome would be achieved. With the issues that would have come about in the past, her concerns would not be without merit. Out of all of the styles that are possible in terms of the OD system, the most likely candidate that Sneed should take on, would be the style involving interviewing those he would come in contact that would have to do with this new proposed task. It would enable him to have the opportunity to gather as much information as possible from the available stakeholders and in doing so, would be able to come with the best possible picture, as to where to begin in terms of aiding those involved with the company and the organization itself. With everything that is known about Peter Sneed, this situation alluded to that would involve Henry Shapp and his organization, would be something that Sneed should take on. He would have the necessary background from his previous experiences, to work with Julie Phillips and Mr. Shapp, as well as their other co-workers, with the shared goal of seeking the best possible outcome for the company and its workers. One of the first actions taken, in terms of strategy, should be the approach and engagement of all

Maritime Logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Maritime Logistics - Essay Example Maritime logistics industry itself is going through a very subtle but important change which will make it critical for the leading industry players to prepare them strategically in such a manner that can allow them to develop sustainable and progressive businesses in largely volatile business environment. Our target company which emerged from being a small player to one of the key international player only because of the management of the most important key drivers in such a manner that it allowed to develop its strengths and potential to dominate the market. The fact that company has been able to withstand the pressures of the current financial crisis itself is one of the ample proofs of how a successful company can actually sustain the external pressures and develop its internal strengths to achieve the success. Some of the issues that have been discussed in part 1 of this report focused on the understanding of the basic characteristics of the industry as well as to study and understand as to how the company has been working over the period of time and what are some of the risk factors that can contribute towards increasing the overall risk of the investment opportunity. As such there is a need to have a broader understanding of the factors identified in part 1 of this report so that a comprehensive and to the point understanding of the critical success factors can be developed for making better and more informed decisions. Our target company is also one of the firms which has been able to successfully withstand the economic pressures because of the fact that it has strategically developed itself to a point where it is relatively more stable and resilient against the changes in economic conditions. The target firm therefore is one of such firms which will contribute positively towards value creation if all the risk factors and critical issues are factored in accordingly. Some of the issues that have been discussed in

Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Argument - Essay Example I believe that in our judgments about reality we cannot abstract ourselves from the sensual reactions and subjective judgments; as a result, empiricism is the philosophy that is closer to the reality and reflects the true way of judging and evaluating the surrounding reality. Rationalism is an important trend in philosophy. Plato is fairly regarded as one of the basic proponents of rationalism in philosophy. Rationalism in general and Plato, in particular, assert that knowledge never comes from senses but is innate (Anonymous 335). As such, there is nothing sensual in nature and individuals who seek to objectivity in their judgments should rely on their innate knowledge and avoid using personal experience and observations. It should be noted, that where Plato opposes to the relevance of the senses as a potential source of reliable knowledge, his opposition is justified by the fact that the senses are bodily and thus morally tainted (Anonymous 335). Actually, everything associated with body, in Plato’s opinion, is morally tainted and cannot be considered as a good source of knowledge. Such rejection of the senses is the definitive feature of rationalism (Anonymous 335). To some extent, Plato’s arguments about the senses his opposition to using the senses as the source of knowledge are justified. He is confident that absolute truth and absolute good do exist (Anonymous 335). However, never in life was he able to perceive and grasp the meaning of these absolute beauties and absolute good with his senses; rather, a rational person in search for objective knowledge will do everything possible to develop an intellectual vision of reality which has nothing to do with the senses but applies to reason (Anonymous 335). Surprisingly or not, but in his defense of rationalism, Plato does not only exclude the senses as potential sources of knowledge but also implies that other emotions, including love, lust, fear, and

Buddong System Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buddong System - Case Study Example Though the company headquartered in New South Wales, it became able to present its products in varied parts of the world in a very efficient way. It is mainly due to high-level of dedicated and committed employees, who always try to fulfil the requirements of the customers and leads to the betterment of the organization. Due to which, its range of profit margin and ROI tends to increase day by day to a significant extent as compared to others. Along with this, the level of reputation of the organization also enhances to a considerable extent as compared to others (Rosengren, 2000). However, due to certain communication and ethical issues and problems, Buddong system failed to maintain its sustainability, due to which its competitiveness also reduced considerably. Side by side, due to lack of proper communication among the members of the organization, the morale and dedication of the employees are declining day by day resulting in downfall of the entire organization in long run. Criti cal Analysis Ethical and Communication Issues Ethics is also described as the moral philosophy that helps an individual to perform the accurate things in accurate time. It also involves defending and recommendation accurate facts and opinions to the peers and other members of the organization so as to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.... deas that help an organization or its members to improve its portfolio or profit margin along with the level of dedication and commitment to perform the work. Not only this, corporate ethics that helps to increase the strengths of the organization thereby reducing, its weaknesses in this competitive market among other rivals. Apart from this, appropriate ethical conducts also need to be followed within the organization within its entire hierarchical process so as to enhance the productivity of the organization in the market among other rivals. Only then, the level of sustainability of the organization (Buddong System) might get enhanced in the future run. However, after reading the case study, it may be analyzed that proper corporate ethics is not followed within the entire organizational hierarchy. The CEO of the Buddong System, Mr Ken Young advised his financial officer, Simon Cheng to present $ A 200,000 as a bribe to the officials of Absurdastan so as to extend its mode of operat ions. Along with this, it also helps in increasing its market position and brand image of the Buddong Systems in the market among other competitors. But, Simon Cheng was not at all happy with the decision of Ken Young as he always desired to follow ethical paths in each and every sort of situations. So that, he might remain ethical at the time of tough situation, that is extremely essential on the part of an officer or manager of an organization. This is because the officer or CEO of the organization is just as the driver or controller of an engine, who drives the car or organization in accurate way (Warren & Fassett, 2010). But if, he or she follows the wrong path then the entire organization might move in wrong way resulting in is downfall among all other organizations. So, it is

Gun Control and Its Effects on Crime Rates Research Paper

Gun Control and Its Effects on Crime Rates - Research Paper Example Keeping this in view, many countries across the world banned the acquisition of harmful weapons on civilians. Logically speaking, if B accompanies A most of the time and one does not want B then one should be more likely to avoid A, too. Similarly, if crimes involve armed weapon and if someone wants to lower down the criminal activity, then the logical course of action should be to ban the possession of armed weapon. However, ironically, opposite is true. The phenomenon of gun control, which is the ban on supply or usage of guns by civilians, correlates highly with the increase of crime rates. This theory faces great opposition by pro-gun control schools of thought, which maintain that less weapons means less crime. This paper addresses this debate in a more enlightened space substantiating each point with relevant evidence. However, the paper holds and attempts to prove that gun control does, directly or indirectly, leads to increase in crime rates. Before diving into the actual debate, a glance at the background of the issue and historical anecdotes will clear the space for the discussion to build up in a more neutral, bias-free fashion. Gun control has been a popular topic of discussion and argument since a century. Nazis and Fascist were strong proponents of enforcing gun control to disable the civilians to counterattack. Therefore, people belong to anti-Hitler clan usually oppose the enforcement of fun control, saying that this is remains of the brutality of fascism (Wilson, 2007). On the other hand, US have a strong history of gun control, especially with respect to its Civil Rights Act and racial discrimination against African Americans. After the slavery abolished and Reconstruction was underway, slavery codes were replaced with Black Codes, which contained laws only for African Americans. These codes include gun control. Later on, when Black Codes were deconstitutionalized and racial

Comorbidity Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse Essay

Comorbidity Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse - Essay Example Using a behavior specific approach in a community-based sample, Piran and Robinson (2005) found that as disordered eating behaviors became more severe, or were clustered together, the number of substance classes used increased. In addition, particular eating disordered behaviors were differentially related to the use of various substance classes. The study of the comorbidity between disordered eating and substance use in middle and high schools samples tended to focus on the association between attitudes toward eating, weight, and shape and tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and marijuana use (Field et al., 2002). Nonetheless, several school-based studies have also reported on associations between tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and marijuana use in relation to bingeing, purging and dieting behaviors (Lock et al., 2001 and Tomori et al., 2001). However, only a few investigations have included a broader range of substance classes while investigating associations between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors and substance use in school-based studies (Von Ranson et al., 2002). Tomori et al. ... (2002) found an association between the revised EDI subscales of Binge Eating, Body Dissatisfaction, and Compensating Behaviors, and the use of a wide range of illicit drugs. There are a small number of studies that have examined the relationship between problematic eating patterns and substance use in university samples (Anderson et al., 2005, Dunn et al., 2002, Krahn et al., 2005, Saules et al., 2004,). Several of these studies have focused on the relationship between bulimic symptomatology and substance use (Dunn et al., 2002 and Krahn et al., 2005). For example, Dunn et al. (2002) found no difference in patterns of alcohol use among college-age non-treatment seeking females with and without bulimia nervosa. The investigators did, however, find differences between the groups in their reported use of marijuana, opiates, and barbiturates. Krahn et al. (2005) found that the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption were positively associated with a measure that assessed the combined severity of engagement in bingeing, dieting, and purging behaviors. In their study, smoking cigarettes, even at very low levels, was also related to the measure of combine d disordered eating behaviors. Other university-based studies have explored the relationship between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors as measured on the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and substance abuse. Krahn et al. (2005) reported a positive significant, albeit small, association between problematic alcohol use in female undergraduate students and the EDI subscales of Bulimia and Interoceptive Awareness, but no such correlation with the other EDI subscales. No significant relationships were found between EDI subscales and use of other substances,

Death and the Afterlife of Christianity and Buddhism Essay

Death and the Afterlife of Christianity and Buddhism - Essay Example When an individual dies, they are allowed another chance in a different life form to do well. This sequence continues from good to worse life forms. They believe that when an individual dies, they can be reincarnated in animals, spirits and even human life forms. This is totally different from Christians who believe that individuals are allowed only one chance. If they lead a righteous life they head to heaven where there is eternal happiness, if they do not, they head t hell where there is total suffering. This essay seeks to discuss the similarities and differences in the Christian and Buddhist beliefs about death and afterlife. This is on my background of Christianity as my main religion and the Buddhist influence from my grandparents. In Christianity, physical death is seen as an event which can be escaped through having life after death. The Christian traditions are set on the basis that when one leads a righteous life on Christ, they get a chance to have another life after deat h. Having a strong relationship with god is the only way out for any Christian seeking to have eternal life. In Christianity, therefore, physical death is depicted as a mere separation of one’s soul from the physical body. The christen bible stipulates that the dust returns where it came from, and the soul goes where it came from. ... They believe that one’s inequities make the relationship with God not clear hence they sufferer spiritual death. It is in line with this that Christians believe that when one becomes spiritually dead, they have no chance of entering the Kingdom of God. The sinners have no place in heaven, and when they die both physically and spiritually they do not ascend to heaven. Heaven is seen as a place where there is joy, happiness and eternal enjoyment. This is where the Christians who spent their lives in a rightful manner in earth get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. This means that, in their afterlife, only the righteous will experience joy and happiness. For those that do not lead righteous lives spiritually and physically will head to hell where there is eternal suffering. It is in this respect that Christians are in constant search for spiritual nourishment to get to heaven. They also lead their lives according to the way of God. They spent their lives righteously knowing that in the afterlife they would have eternal happiness and joy in paradise. In daily life of a Christian, it is appropriate to live rightfully and forgo the worldly pleasures (Duncan 25). The belief in the afterlife influences numerous activities that Christian engage in. the Christian traditions are dedicated to seeking high spiritual levels and beliefs in the commandments of God. Many people live their daily lives in the expectations of having a better life in the afterlife. The Christian scriptures attest that there is life after death through the story of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not only resurrect from death physically but also spiritually. Christians base their belief on this story since it is true evidence that there is life after death. The biblical texts record of joy and happiness to

Entire Course (Managerial Economics) Essay Example for Free

Entire Course (Managerial Economics) Essay Firm Objectives. Why do some business firms pursue a triple-bottom-line outcome while others focus only on profit maximization? Please, use a real company example to illustrate your points Decision Making Under Uncertainty. To save on gasoline expenses, Edith and Mathew agreed to carpool together for traveling to and from work. Edith preferred to travel on I-20 highway as it was usually the fastest, taking 25 minutes in the absence of traffic delays. Mathew pointed out that traffic jams on the highway can lead to long delays making the trip 45 minutes. He preferred to travel along Shea Boulevard, which was longer (35 minutes), but rarely had traffic jams. Edith agreed that in case of traffic jams, Shea Boulevard was a reasonable alternative. Neither of them knows the state of the highway ahead of time. After driving to work on the I-20 highway for 1 month (20 workdays), they found the highway to be jammed 3 times. Assuming that this month is a good representation of all months ahead, should Edith and Mathew continue to use the highway for traveling to work? How would you conclusion change for the winter months, if bad weather makes it likely for traffic jams on the highway to increase to 6 days per month? How would your conclusion change if Mathew purchased a new smart-phone app that could show the status of the highway traffic prior to their drive each morning, thus reducing the probability of them getting into a jam down to only 1day per month (where on this day, the app showed no traffic jam, but a jam developed in the meantime as they were driving along the highway). Economics of Risk and Uncertainty Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. A generous university benefactor has agreed to donate a large amount of money  for student scholarships. The money can be provided in one lump-sum of $10mln, or in parts, where $5.5mln can be provided in year 1, and another $5.5mln can be provided in year 2. Assuming the opportunity interest rate is 6%, what is the present value of the second alternative? Which of the two alternatives should be chosen and why? How would your decision change if the opportunity interest rate was 12%? Please, show all your calculations. 2. Volkswagen is considering opening an Assembly Plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the production of its 2012 Passat, tailored for the US market. The CEO of the company is considering two potential options for the size of the plant: one is a large size with a projected annual production of 150,000 cars, and the other one is a smaller size plant, which is cheaper to build, but can only produce up to 80,000 cars per year. Depending on the expected level of demand for these cars in the US, Volkswagen has to decide which option is more profitable. The discount rate is 6% and for simplicity purposes, the CEO is only evaluating a two-year horizon. The initial factory setup cost, the expected demand scenarios, profit, and probabilities are shows in the below table. Calculate the Net Present Value in each of the two options. Which option should the CEO choose and why? Please, show all your calculations. 3. An angel investor is considering investing in one of two start-up businesses and is evaluating the expected returns along with the risk of each option in order to choose the better alternative. Business 1 is an innovative protein energy drink, which has ENPV of $100,000 with a standard deviation of $40,000. Business 2 is a unique chicken wings dipping sauce with an ENPV of $60,000 and a standard deviation of $25,000. a) Apply the coefficient-of-variation decision criterion to these alternatives to find out which is preferred by the angel investor, assuming that he/she is risk-averse. b) Apply the maximin criterion, assuming that the worst outcome in Business 1 is to lose $5,000, whereas the worst outcome in Business 2 is to make only $5,000 in profit. c) If you were the angel investor, what is your certainty equivalent for these two projects? Are you risk-averse, risk-neutral, or risk-lover? Week 2 Marginal Rate of Substitution. What is the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) and why does it diminish as  the consumer substitutes one product for another? Use examples to illustrate Demand Elasticity. Please, read the article Hainer, R. (2010), provided in the required readings section for this week. The tobacco industry is a prime example to consider when talking about price elasticity of demand. While nicotine use can be addictive for many users, it is not addictive for the so-called social smokers. What can we say about the price elasticity of demand for nicotine products (such as cigarettes, pipes, tobacco) in the group of nicotine addicted users, versus the group of social smokers? Can we say whose demand is likely to be more elastic? Why? Consumer Demand Analysis and Estimation Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. Roshima is researching universities where she could study for her MBA degree. She is considering 3 major attributes that she considers important in her choice: ranking, price, and location. The value she places on each attribute, however, differs according to whether she remains full-time employed during her studies or quits her job and focuses on her degree. If she continues to work full time and takes all her courses online, then ranking is the most important attribute, twice as important as price and three times as important as location. If she quits her job and attends school full time, then location becomes three times as important as ranking and twice as important as price. She is considering two universities, respectively, the MBA program at Arizona State University (ASU) and the MBA program at University of Phoenix (UOP), both of which are priced at approximately $25,000. She has rated each attribute on a scale of 1 to 100 for each of the two schools. a. Which of the two options should Roshima pursue of she wants to keep her full-time job? (Calculate the total expected utility from each school option and compare. Graph is not required) b. Which of the two options should she pick if she plans to quit her job and dedicate to her studies? c. Which option should she pursue if the probability of being laid off and unable to find a new job is estimated as  0.6? Show your calculations and explain your reasoning. 2. The demand function for Einstein Bagels has been estimated as follows: – 40.73Px + 84.17Py + 0.55Ax  where Qx represents thousands of bagels; Px is the price per bagel; Py is the average price per bagel of other brands of bagels; and Ax represents thousands of dollars spent advertising Einstein Bagels. The current values of the independent variables are , , and a. Calculate the price elasticity of demand for Einstein’s Bagels and explain what it means. b. Derive an expression for the (inverse) demand curve for Einsteins’s Bagels. c. If the cost of producing Einstein’s Bagels is constant at $0.10 per bagel, should they reduce price and thereafter, sell more bagels (assume profit maximization is the company’s goal)? d. Should Einstein Bagels spend more on advertising? 3. The consulting firm that you work for has been hired by the US Government to provide an independent analysis of the demand-side effects of a contemplated increase in the tax on gasoline. They provide you with a data set relating to the period 1962-1987, which they say contains valuable historic lessons relating to the impact of volatile pump prices due to the supply restrictions imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations that required car manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of the cars they sold, while at the same time Real Disposable Income (RDI) per capita was rising, the number of passenger cars (NPC) almost doubled, and inflation was pushing up the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Week 3 Relevant Costs. Two partners own together a small landscaping business in North Carolina, called Summer Lawn Care. They have been specializing in summer grass seeding, installation, and maintenance. Recently, the partners acquired special technology and know-how for winter grass installations and maintenance. They also added a tree cutting service as recent storms in the  area had caused demand for this service to soar. One of the partners insists that the name of the business should change to Lawn and Tree Care, so that it better reflects the range of services and, thus, generates more customer interest, and thus contracts. The second partner wants to keep the old name and argues, â€Å"We have already paid for business cards, vehicle paint, signage, and ads in Yellow Pages†. Evaluate the arguments of the two partners. Explain and illustrate their points by identifying the relevant and irrelevant costs for this decision. Contribution Analysis. Explain what is meant by â€Å"contribution analysis†. Carefully define the term and provide examples to illustrate it. Production Cost Analysis and Estimation Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. Jennifer Trucking Company operates a large rig transportation business in Texas that transports locally grown vegetables to San Diego, California. The company owns 5 large rigs and hires local drivers paid fixed salaries monthly, regardless of the number of trips or tons of cargo that each driver transports each month. 2. The Palms Dry Cleaning Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, faces a highly seasonal demand for its services, as the snow-birds retirees flock to Florida in mid-fall to enjoy the mild winter weather and then return to their main homes in mid-spring. Given this seasonality, Palms tries to keep the overhead costs as low as possible and therefore, often uses seasonal contracted labor to man its operations. The following table shows the labor costs in each month of operation over the past 12 months as well as the total number of garments that were dry-cleaned in each month. Palms pays fixed wages per hour to each employee, and we can assume that the costs of other variable inputs (such as chemicals, electricity, etc) have remained constant. 3. Over the past 12 months the Four Winds Novelty Company firm has recorded its internet sales (equals monthly output levels) and its monthly total variable costs (TVC) for a particular novelty item as shown in the following table. Sales have grown over this period with  relatively few shocks due to uncontrollable weather, political and sporting events. This online retailer carries no inventories; when it receives a pre-paid on-line order from a customer, it simply buys the product from a supplier and ships it out to the customer. Week 4 Strategic Behavior Oligopolies. An interesting example of strategic behavior comes from a 1997 article about Microsoft’s investment in Apple (New Straits Times, 1997). The article is included in the Required Readings list. Facing tough anti-trust scrutiny from government agencies, Microsoft provided financial support to Apple in order to ensure Apple’s survival and, therefore, to ensure that competitiveness in the industry remains. Moreover, the partnership with Apple provided an additional market for Microsoft’s products – the MS Office and the IE products were to be bundled with the MAC OS as one of the conditions for this financing. Discuss this case in the context of market structure and strategic behavior. What market structure do these firms operate in? Why did Microsoft need to preserve competitiveness in the industry? What was Microsoft afraid of in the event that Apple did not survive? Local Market Power. Bulls Eye department store specializes in the sales of discounted clothing, shoes, household items, etc. similar to the offerings at a regular Walmart or Target. Bulls Eye is the only department store in Show Low and the nearest other discount retailer is Target, located 49 miles away in Eagar. Bulls Eye, therefore, has some market power in its local area. Despite having some market power, Bulls Eye is currently suffering losses. An analyst at Bulls Eye is recommending to the manager to raise prices, so that profitability can be improved. The manager is unsure of this strategy as recent data points to increasing numbers of individuals shopping more and more. What are the pros and cons of raising the prices at Bulls Eye and would that strategy be profitable? Market Structures and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems. A small business which produces plastic vacuum-suction covers for round household dishes has  a monopoly that is protected by a utility patent. The market demand curve for this product is estimated to be: – 25P where Q is the number of plate covers per year and P is in dollars. Cost estimation processes have determined that the firm’s cost function is represented by + 2500Q -0.25*Q2. 2. Greener Grass Company (GGC) competes with its main rival, Better Lawns and Gardens (BLG), in the supply and installation of in-ground lawn watering systems in the wealthy western suburbs of a major east-coast city.Last year, GGC’s price for the typical lawn system was $1,995 compared with BLG’s price of $2,100. GGC installed 9,130 systems, or about 55% of total sales and BLG installed the rest. (No doubt many additional systems were installed by do-it-yourself homeowners since the parts are readily available at har dware stores.) Week 5 Good Will in Price Bidding. Sometimes, a bidder on a work contract may bid lower than what would maximize his/her profit from the contract and the reason for that is to create goodwill (to increase expected future business from the buyer). How would you value the goodwill that is obtained in this way? New Product Introduction. Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany owns the Alka-Seltzer, which was launched in 1931 and was meant for relief of minor aches, pains, inflammation, fever, headache, heartburn, sour stomach, indigestion, and hangovers. The Alka-Seltzer Plus was a spin-off of the original medicine, meant to relieve colds and flu. The company has recently introduced a new and improved Alka-Seltzer Plus, as described in the TV ad: â€Å"The Cold Truth†, (please, watch the ad listed in the Required Readings) Price Quotes and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. Maxim Motronics A.G. have been marketing a new product in Europe that has achieved notable market success and it now plans to introduce this product into the United States market. Week 6 Game Theory and Strategic Behavior. Suppose that GE is trying to prevent Maytag from entering the market for high efficiency clothes dryers. Even though high efficiency dryers are more costly to produce, they are also more profitable as they command sufficiently higher prices from consumers. The following payoffs table shows the annual profits for GE and Maytag for the advertising spending and entry decisions that they are facing. Based on this information, can GE successfully prevent Maytag from entering this market by increasing its advertising levels? What is the equilibrium outcome in this game? Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Describe the circumstances under which a firm chooses a low-cost strategy to attain sustainable competitive advantage. What about the situations when a differentiation strategy is chosen? Provide specific real world examples. Focus of the Final Paper Research a specific company of your choice and identify some of the managerial decisions that were made over time and in response to changes in its market or competitive environment. Use the Ashford University Online Library and web-based sources for your research. At least three external scholarly sources must be used. Address all of the following areas: Describe the company and provide a brief history of its operations. Find or use graphs to illustrate its financial performance over the years. Identify any sources of risk or uncertainty in its operations. Do the financial reports indicate risky or uncertain activities or changes to the economic environment that ultimately appear to have affected the company’s financial outcomes? Be specific. Are there any government regulations that have affected this company’s operations domestically or abroad? Explain.

This Mystery Shopping Activity Tourism Essay

This Mystery Shopping Activity Tourism Essay 1.1 Introduction In this assignment, mystery shopping will be shown with relation to three types of hospitality businesses. Mystery Shopping activities should be carried out at regular intervals. Clear performance objectives can be set by the definition of benchmarks which can serve both as possible motivators within the company and also as a parameter in a bonus or commission system. Mystery shopping or a mystery consumer is a tool used externally by market research companies or watchdog organizations or internally by companies themselves to measure quality of service or compliance to regulation, or to gather specific information about products and services. The mystery consumers specific identity is generally not known by the establishment being evaluated. In addition, temporarily implemented Mystery Shopping studies can be made use of to check and evaluate individual marketing activities. Beside that, secret shoppers is a tool used by businesses and market research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Then, mystery shoppers posing as normal customers perform specific tasks-such as purchasing a product, asking questions and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences. Mystery shopping is increasingly used to provide feedback on customer services. Furthermore, some tasks that may be carried out by the mystery shopper include taking photographs, measurements, consumer count or inventory count and so on. Recording the time it takes to complete a specific task with a timer is also a possibility. In todays society, quality customer service depends on whether a business keeps their customers or loses them. However, good marketing brings customers in, but its great service that keeps them. Finding out whether a business is doing well or not can sometimes be difficult to figure out, but the imperative factor is to know what customers think is important, what they want, and what to improve if necessary and a lot of things. The best way to find out this information is create a customer survey. By creating a customer service survey, customers are able to write down their views and opinions about the service they have received. Whether it is good or bad, the comments can then be used to reflect on what may need to be done to the business to either improve it or maintain its standards. 1.2 Comprehensive survey for this mystery shopping activity http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSPUAhK0xbQx-o6TZSV2xMSeGzoj3D3IVJQG822verXBfitYDuR http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSiOIvP7O9E5Soe8MMpo6Gp39HebiKkXE55RlG8hTgY_fNEWYUFAw http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTdbyWhLF7GMsZO2UcsKdldHa2l8IgJ2bt6fb8GqyxOwJnmYP6b This mystery shopping activity is done at three types of hospitality business that is in Pizza Hut, McDonalds and KFC. Interims of service that is competence, friendliness and waiting times , the quality of advice and product recommendation or food survey , living from service standards or perfect , cross selling. Beside this, presentation of goods or foods that want to serve to the customer , availability of goods in the range , indication of prices with a reasonable price for customer, cleanliness in surrounding area and implementation of marketing activities. Essentially, the types of questions that should be asked in the survey such as: (Please tick ) the answers below:- 1. Was the exterior to the restaurant clean? Clean ( ) Good ( ) Poor ( ) 2. Were they greeted in a friendly manner? Excellent ( ) Good ( ) Poor ( ) 3. How long the waiter or waitress take time to served the food ? Less than 15 minutes ( ) More than a minutes ( ) Above one hours ( ) 4. Was the temperature comfortable? Hot ( ) Cold ( ) Warm ( ) 5. Did the staff listen or pay attention carefully or not when the customer ask for something? Good ( ) Poor ( ) Very Poor ( ) 6. Was the restroom clean and fully stocked? Clean ( ) Poor ( ) Very Poor ( ) 7. Cleanliness of the staff ? Very Clean ( ) Good ( ) Poor ( ) 8. The place look like professional ? Yes ( ) No ( ) Balance ( ) 9. How knowledgeable were the customer service representatives at the organization? Very knowledgeable ( ) Good ( ) Poor Knowledgeable ( ) 10. How helpful were the customer service representatives at the organization? Very helpful ( ) Good ( ) Poor ( ) If there is any comments please write here:-________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.3 Conclusion One on one appraisal of each consultants Mystery Shopping report would be recommended to highlight their efficiencies or deficiencies with a view to improving their overall performance in their future dealings with prospective buyers. This could be done at a meeting between your Sales Manager and your Consultant. The National Sales Manager can also perform one on one appraisals of the Mystery Shopping experience with their District Managers to discuss the overall performance of their area of responsibility. The mystery shopper will then give a feedback report to his/her employer. Some tasks that may be carried out by the mystery shopper include taking photographs, measurements, consumer count or inventory count. Recording the time it takes to complete a specific task with a timer is also a possibility. Good marketing brings customers in, but its great service that keeps them. Posing as a customer, a researcher then analyzes the experience, collecting data and rating the encounter based on those measures. Mystery shopping has become a popular market research tool for monitoring customer experience. This is very helpful to us to evaluate the mystery shopping activity. QUESTION 2 2.1 Introduction In this assignment, researched and factors in setting up a restaurant business are going to be explored , but also features such as demographics in attracting and identifying customers are going to be determined. There are many different aspects that need to be well thought of and considered when opening up any new restaurant. Before opening or starting a restaurant business, people are usually unaware of the high failure rate that can happen due to quickly knowing that there can sometimes be more work than they had originally anticipated, resulting in them believing that they are not suited to the restaurant business. Beside this, when open a new restaurant many things can be done with a proper planning, budgeting, having a procedure on how to do and other things. It is because will give a good result the end of a new restaurant and fell in a good appearance, environment, cleanliness, safe work, and a lot of things can be done here. 2.2 Need to consider when open the restaurant? Firstly, deciding on a restaurant concept which can brings of deciding what type of restaurant that want to open will depend of a variety of things. Often times people who want to open their own restaurant want to serve food of their like to cook, in an atmosphere they feel comfortable in. Moreover, other people are interested in Franchising. Restaurant franchises offer a number of benefits, including instant name recognition and built-in marketing. However, many restaurant franchises dont come cheap and owners must be willing to follow a stringent set of rules. Take a look of the examples are franchise vs. independent restaurants, how to become a franchisee and types of restaurants. Secondly, find a good restaurant Location on how the location is vital to the success of any restaurant. There are many factors to consider when searching or looking for that perfect restaurant location, including population base, local employment figures and accessibility. Beside this, once find that a perfect or best location, will need to make sure to negotiate the best lease possible for the new restaurant that are finding the perfect location, how to determine population base and on how to negotiate a lease information. Writing a business plan is a third step to prepare for one of the person to get interview with the bank, the person need to do their homework. Creating a business plan that outlines of the particular restaurant and how it will plan to make it profitable, will show the loan officer to mean business. Also make sure arrived at the bank with all the necessary paperwork, including personal income statements, tax returns and anything else the banker ask for like a the reason need a business plan, writing a restaurant business plan and be get ready for the bank interview. Fourthly, selecting the perfect restaurant name. However, the restaurant names may reflect a theme, a location, or simply be a play on words. The important thing to consider is the impression it will leave on customers. Select a name that will be easy to customers to remember and spell. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to find a restaurant online or in the Yellow Pages because of the arent spelling it correctly of choosing a restaurant name and also restaurant names that inspire to the own restaurant and for the customer. Firth thing is writing the menu on what to be prepared for the customer on different types of theme and so on. The menu must is a huge part of your restaurant. After all, it is essentially why the customers keep coming back because the customer love the food. Not only this, the layout and design is just as important as whats listed on the menu. Avoid amateur looking menu designs, such as clip art or photocopied handwriting. Finally, knowing how to price the menu will help increase your profit margins, giving you more money to invest into a new restaurant and based on how the price of the menu, menu design and creativity and tips for the writing a restaurant menu and others. Lastly, the need to consider when it want to open a restaurant is equipping of the restaurant. Outfitting of the restaurant kitchen, dining room and bar is the largest part to start up budget. Moreover, shop around for bargain deals of used equipment and leased equipment. Also understanding needs and wants is important in avoiding the pitfalls of buying unnecessary furniture and equipment, which can set the way over budget. Begin with the basics, and once the have those you can pick up a few extras. For examples five tips for stocking of the restaurant, why need a POS System and benefits of leased equipment. 2.3 How can get the customer ? By forming strategic alliances event facilities. After a concert or sporting event, people are hungry and want to eat. Remember that people sometimes travel long distances for this event, do not want to go home with an empty stomach. Beside this, after the concert finished, the restaurant was packed with concert audiences. It can be do a part to promote upcoming events happening in the restaurant. Furthermore, participate in competitions one of the greatest ways to get media attention and therefore, to get the new business is to win the contest. Such as, enter the chef in a cooking contest. Read publication restaurant and browse the internet to find out about a contest that be may able to enter. If all else fails, create the own contest and invite local restaurants to participate. So even if you lose, the more still will generate great publicity and get new customers to the door. Demographics factors is the socioeconomic characteristics of a population articulated statistically, such as age, sex, occupation, religion, martial status, birth rate, death rate and income rate and others. Considering these factors when opening up a business like a restaurant not only helps the owner target specific customers, but can also be an advantage in the business environment itself. Moreover, determining whether or not an owner wants to have a family orientated restaurant over and above a fine dining restaurant usually targeted at adults only, is a prime example of how demographic factors can affect the choice of what type of establishment is going to be run. 2.4 Conclusion Overall of this assignment its a starting a restaurant business, owners and managers need to take into consideration the competitive industry that they are about to invest in. The performance of a given service may vary across service providers, service employees, consumers and service encounters. starting with a good concept will dictate the food menu, the location, the dà ©cor, and all other important facets of the business. Finally, in achieving a successful restaurant business and attracting and keeping clientele, strategies such as customer referrals, networking, merchandising and target marketing are inexpensive yet effective ways of doing so.

Experience In Giving Oral Care

Experience In Giving Oral Care Reflection is the process of reviewing an experience in order to describe analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice (Reid 1993).This essay will reflect on the importance of; and the experience I gained whilst giving oral care on a student placement simulation using a reflective model. Jamieson et al (2002) believe mouth care is the use of a toothbrush and paste to help patients recover and reduce risk of infections, communicate better, eat more easily and maintain dignity. Yet, it is also a role which too often delegated to health care assistants. I chose this area to highlight its need and the scope of opportunities in learning it has provided in improving my skills in practice. There are different models of reflection one of which is Gibbs (1988). On this occasion, Gibbs model will be used as a framework in guiding me, because it focuses on different aspects of an experience and feelings, and exploiting it fully will be more appreciated. Description I was part of a placement simulation group which went to the multi-skills laboratory to practice mouth wash. I was assigned a colleague to brush his teeth using a toothbrush and paste. I put on gloves so as to prevent contamination with body fluid. Seeking his consent, I undertook a brief  visual assessment of  the health status of his mouth. I then put him in a comfortable position so as to tolerate the wash. Thereafter, I cleaned all-round the mouth, gums and tongue. I finished off with mouthwash. I treated  my partner as though he was physically unable to hold the brush himself  to scrub his own teeth, but he was able to communicate with me and was able to assist me in terms of spitting and gargling with water at the end of the procedure. Feelings My immediate concern was I had not brushed anyones teeth outside of my family before and hence, how my partner will behave (Dowling, 2006). Although alert and dignified, I felt in giving mouth care, both the carer and patient are put into a state of uncertainty, embarrassment, inadequacy and a sense of intrusiveness to their privacy (Lewis, 2006; Sturdy, 2007). I became helpless with his facial expression shown no trust in me. Rungapadiachy (1999) defines trust as being honest, open, sincere, supporting and dependable, genuine, warm and accepting. Our reaction put us on the high score scale of Millon (1994), Hesitating (Reticent) pattern of behaviour. In spite of my concerns, I felt comfortable in completing the task. Evaluation Reflecting on or in action is becoming a great learning tool This experience taught me that, oral care provides any nurse with an ideal opportunity to undertake a thorough physical, emotional and cognitive assessment of a patient (DOH, 2001). I was pleased to find that, no injuries were sustained as I checked mouth prior and after. Also, I was pleased my communication skills improved and the therapeutic relationship built up; and with the knowledge I got from supporting literature formed the foundation of my learning and practice. Burnard (2002) suggests that a learner is a passive recipient of received knowledge, and that learning through activity engages all of our senses. From his feedback, I understood feedback is an important learning tool. One crucial point to come from some recent research (Burke, 2009) is that many students do not know how to use feedback as many have never been taught how to do so. However, the experience highlights the complex problems I have to solve in practice and the provision of care needs to patients for whom I may not have had contact with before. Although this task caused me discomfort and added pressure in the short term, I realise that it was a very significant event in my studies. Analysis WHO (2010) describes a healthy mouth as being free of chronic mouth and facial pain; and helping patients/service users to meet their hygiene needs is a fundamental component of nursing care (Essence of Care, 2003). In 2007, 50% UK adults attended an NHS dentist. Older people in residential homes were at risk of infection, with infection identified in 80% of one study population (Holman et al, 2005). The care of a patients mouth forms an important component of assisting hygiene needs and yet is an aspect of practice which is not always afforded the attention it fully deserves (Evans, 2001).It is now clear that, mouth care is important and that, nurses have a role in assessing and maintaining it (Malkin, 2009). The task identified encouraging people to acknowledge their intuitive capacity helps them to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses (SWOT). Jasper (2003) regards SWOT analysis as getting to know ones self. The understanding of our skills and abilities and the awareness of where our limits lie is seen as crucial to being able to act as a professional practitioner. My confidence grew and got more interested, encouraging him to do as much as he could. Jackson and Mannix (2001) note that amount of interest the nurse shows in the learning needs of the student and the key role he or she plays in their achievement are essential to the students development. Conclusion I feel that the whole process went on smoothly. Caring for a patient requires a relationship and empathy. By developing collaborative relationship with patients, I can provide prompt and focused interventions which can limit illness. Nonetheless, it has raised awareness the effects of others on my practice. Action Plan At the moment, I read more books a day than practice. My aim is to be proactive in the future by promptly opening up through total participation and doing more practices on regular basis. I aim to develop the skill of emotional resilience to be able to deliver and receive any care or learning activity by keeping diaries of events and reflecting on them. Conclusion My belief now is brushing teeth loosens and removes debris trapped in the spaces and prevents the growth of plaque which habours bacteria and that; nurses have a role to play in mouth care. Due to my lack of experience in care and the job title of student nurse, I perceived that most sessions would run in a lecture format. I now believe practical skills development using reflection is as important as lecture tuition although, Quinn (2000) believes most students and many professionals note that learning acquired from placement experience is much more meaningful and relevant than that acquired in the lecture room. The process of learning I went through is more complex than Gibbs suggests. It is not as cyclical as this model implies and I found myself jumping or combining some stages, before coming back. However, it has taken me out of my comfort zone, challenging my thinking.

Howard Stern Essay -- essays research papers

.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Howard Stern has been labeled as many things, such as offensive, obnoxious, discussing and by the majority of his listeners a genius. He grew up in a suburb of Manhattan in the early sixties. His father, Ben Stern, worked at radio station WHOM where the was the engineer. His father commuted every day about 40 miles to and from work. Howard would spend little time with his father but on occasion he would get to go to work with him. This is what interested Howard to being on the radio.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the time, the area Howard lived in was going through a racist change. His mother told his friends who were making racist comments about the negros that she and Howard were part negro, but they weren’t really. Roosevelt High School, his school, was a fully integrated educational system, which in his words meant â€Å"six thousand black guys and him.† In his high school years he turned to marijuana because he had to deal with several personal problems. He said the personal problems affected his personal life forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his college years it was pretty hard for him to find a date. So, he stayed at home and masturbated constantly. His senior year he got on at the college radio station known as WTBU. That year he met the woman who would be his future wife. She was in his first film for his film class. He won an award for the film.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After completing college Howard went to his first job interview on May 12, 1977. His interview was at WRNW and he got the job. After two months on the air, the manager who said he would never be a good DJ and that he had a lousy voice, promoted him to program director because he was a hard worker and came to work on time.† After saving money and working for awhile he then married Alison. They got their own place and was doing well with Howard making $250.00 a week.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After three months of being program director Howard quit his job because he didn’t want to fire an employee. So, Howard was now unemployed himself. Howard decides to make a major decision and move to another city. He moves to Hartford and begins working as a morning man on WCCC. Time has moved to October , 1979. Howard then met his partner Fred who wil... ...ey say â€Å"I want to see what he will say next.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Howard is invited to be on the David Letterman show and talks down about NBC. On a July of 1985 he tops the rating charts in New York. A rally is thrown for his accomplishment AC/DC plays at the ceremony. It is held in Central Park, on the field it is a sold out show. During the concert Alison’s water breaks. He named his first daughter Emily.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Three children later he is still the best known radio personality in years. Occasionally he might make a fool of himself in public like the MTV music award incident as Fartman. To this date the FCC still wants him off the radio and so does every other fundamentalist group in the United States. Most of the things he does are mostly misunderstood but that is the fate of most geniuses right? Stern, Howard (1997). Private Parts. New York City, NY: NBC Retived (11/17/00) From http://www.california.com/~rpcman/HOWARD1.HTM Retived (11/17/00) From http://www.sgi.net/~jon/howard/

The Sputnik Satellite Essay -- Space Satellites

Works Cited Incomplete Sputnik: The Satellite That Inspired Generations Introduction In 1950, a group of American and European scientists decided to establish a worldwide program to promote research and understanding of the world around them. They decided that July 1957 to December 1958 would be called the International Geophysical Year, or IGY. They hoped that drawing attention to geophysical matters would stimulate new projects and inventions, and increase the knowledge the world had of the planet, its atmosphere, and the things that lay beyond. This focus galvanized many countries to produce new innovations in science and technology. At the same time, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were involved in the Cold War. They were competing against one another, constantly trying to show that their country (and therefore their form of government and ideals) was the better choice. They were competing for influence over the rest of the world. Eventually the USSR and Communism lost, but far more important results came out of this competition instead. Development of Sputnik The idea that a satellite could be put into orbit around the Earth was introduced to the scientific community in 1903. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky showed that this could be done, but his work was all mathematical. In 1948, another Russian named Mikhail Tikhonravov talked to the famed scientist Sergei Korolev about turning this theory into an actual working device. Tikhonravov presented his ideas to the Academy of Artillery Sciences, but they refused to support the project. The Academy president Anatoli Blagonravov, however, could not get the idea that the project would have huge value out of his head. Eventually he brought the p... ...rsity. Accessed May 22, 2003. [URL] 6. Jorden, William J. "Soviet Fires Earth Satellite Into Space?" New York Times, October 5, 1957. [URL] Accessed May 22, 2003. 7. Launius, Roger D. "Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age." 1997. NASA. Accessed 2 Apr. 2003. 8. Plumb, Robert K. "Satellite is First Step Into Space." New York Times, October 5, 1957. [URL] Accessed May 22, 2003. 9. Siddiqi, Asif A. "Korolev, Sputnik, and The International Geophysical Year." 1997. NASA. Accessed 2 Apr. 2003. [URL] 10. Sullivan, Walter. "Scientists Wonder if Shot Nears Moon." New York Times, November 5, 1957. [URL] Accessed May 22, 2003. 11. Wright, Michael. "Sputnik: First Artificial Satellite." 30 Aug. 1997. Accessed 2 Apr. 2003 [URL]

Essay --

1. What is RCRA and what are its goals and objectives? Resource Conservation Recovery Act of 1976 was created to regulate solid waste and hazardous waste as well as regulate underground storage tanks. The goals and objectives of the RCRA are: †¢ Protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal †¢ To conserve energy and natural resources †¢ To reduce the amount of waste generated †¢ To ensure that wastes are managed in an environmentally sound manner (EPA, What is RCRA?, 2010) 2. What are the two agencies that regulate the generation and transportation of hazardous waste? Briefly describe these agencies. The 2 agencies that regulate are the EPA and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The EPA is known to all as the Environmental Protection Agency and is the main government control group. All other entities report to the EPA. The DOT is the Department of Transportation. This group is in charge of everything that moves across the nation on wheels, and has the record control. 3. What is a hazardous waste manifest and what is it used for? The ...

Case Study Pizza War Essay

BSB, Inc. is a large nationally operated food-services company. The company serves client organizations on a contract basis. Its business is divided into three (3) market-oriented divisions of corporate, airline and university or college. Case Summary Renee Kershaw is BSB’s manager of food services at a medium-sized private university in the Southeast. BSB has been operating at the university for the past 10 years and Kershaw has been the manager at BSB for the past 18 months. At the university, BSB caters for 6000 students and 3000 faculty staff and support personnel via its 3 different eateries in the university campus. The three eateries are: a)The Cafeteria ? Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily b)The Dogwood Room ? Serves an upscale luncheon buffet on weekdays only c)The Grill ? Open between 11a. m to 10p. m daily and until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights Initially, after 4 months being in-charge of BSB’s operations at the university, Kershaw conducted a survey on customer needs and market trends. The survey revealed that students were not satisfied with the food services at the university. A large amount of the food being consumed by students was not from BSB’s facilities mainly due to a lack of variety and unsuitable facilities’ serving time for the students. Below are the data from the survey: Food prepared in dorm room20% Food delivered from off campus36% Food consumed off campus44% Students with cars on campus84% Students with fridges or microwaves in their rooms62% Food that students consumed outside BSB, Inc. facilities43% As a result of the survey conducted by Kershaw, she decided to include pizzas in the menu. In addition to the new menu, Kershaw also introduced delivery service (by bicycle) for its pizzas. Currently, apart from placing the pizza making facilities at the grill, space is also being allocated at the grill to store pizza ingredients, as well as to prepare and stage pre-made pizza. In order to keep the cost down and provide fast delivery, only a limited number of ? standard pizzas’ are offered in the menu. Challenges and Problems Despite the rise in sales and profit from the pizza operations, increase in demand for the pizza has led to capacity problems and increase in delivery times. As a result, the pizza’s sales began to level off. Furthermore, Kershaw is concerned of the competition from a new food court to be opened in campus which will house Pizza Hut, Dunkin’ Donuts and Taco Bell. Specifically, Pizza Hut will be putting up a facility offering a limited menu and pizzas on a â€Å"walk-up-and-order† basis. Question 1 Does BSB, Inc. enjoy any competitive advantages or core competencies? Answer Competitive Advantage is the ability of a company to win consistently over the long term in competitive situation. Core Competencies are the unique resources and strengths that an organization’s management takes into account when formulating strategies. BSB enjoys competitive advantages or core competencies in a number of ways. a)Specialization – BSB is a specialized food-services operator for universities and colleges. b) Experiences ? BSB has been serving the university for 10 years therefore they have first hand knowledge relating to customer preferences and needs derived from their experiences in the market. For e. g. : survey data. c)Existing facilities and services provided ? new entrants have to start from scratch. For e. g. : location and delivery services in the university are very important due to the lack of parking spaces. d)Brand Recognition – Familiarity among the campus community of the BSB ? brand’ as it has been in existence for some time. e)Close proximity – Close proximity to the customers is critical for pizza delivery as it allows quicker and lower cost delivery. Question 2 Initially, how did Renee Kershaw choose to use her pizza operations to compete with off campus eateries? What were her competitive priorities? Answer Kershaw decided to use her pizza operations to compete with off campus eateries based on the following reasons: a)Available resources ? Based on time, location and staff available for Kershaw at that time, pizza operation is the most logical choice to be adopted in competing with off campus eateries. Pizza operations do not require much time to be set-up. Furthermore she can run the operation from one of the available eateries (she decided at the Grill) and a minimal amount of staff training is required to run the pizza operations. b)Food variety ? By introducing pizzas in the menu, Kershaw has somewhat addressed the problem of the lack of food variety by only implementing minimal changes in her normal operations. c)Catering for students’ tight schedules ? Through delivery services, Kershaw is able to cater for students with tight and erratic schedules. This decision is based on the high percentage of food not purchased from BSB facilities whereby 36% of the food is delivered from off campus. Since pizza can be kept and reheated easily, going into the pizza business seemed like the best option for Kershaw because 62% of students in the university have fridges and microwaves in their rooms. Competitive Priorities are the critical dimensions that a process must possess to satisfy its internal or external customers both now and in the future. Kershaw’s competitive priorities when choosing the pizza operations to compete with off campus eateries were: a)Cost ? Low cost of operating since pizza operations require minimal staff training and delivery is done by bicycle. Limited combinations of toppings and ? standard pizzas’ available enable Kershaw to keep cost down. b)Flexibility ? Through minimal changes, Kershaw is able to add a selection of pizzas to her menu as part o her efforts to increase the variety of food offerings. c)Time ? The limited number of pizzas that can be prepared and cooked would be able to speed up preparation and delivery time since ? standard pizzas’ can be pre-assembled and ready-to-cook once orders are received. QUESTION 3 a) What impact will the new food court have on Kershaw’s pizza operation? The immediate impact would be direct competition from other food operators. As announced by the University, the new food court would accommodate, among others, food franchises such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. BSB, Inc was the sole contractor and provider of food services in the University campus prior to the announcement, thus it has, until recently, enjoyed somewhat monopoly status. Of even more concern to BSB is the fact that the new food operators are coming in as established brand names, hence making competing with them an even more difficult task. Competition to BSB, Inc would come in the form of alternative food types. Dunkin Donuts, for example, would offer snack-type food for the students, where as the likes of Taco Bell offers easy-to-go fast food. Students would find these types of food suitable for life on campus. Students are normally subject to hectic schedules and are always on the move, therefore having the convenience of easy and ready-to-go food services (as offered be the new operators) would suit them very well. Of more significance (to BSB) is the emergence of Pizza Hut on campus. Kershaw’s BSB has recently introduced grilled pizza as an item on its grill menu, and has so far enjoyed considerable success too. Of course, this was before Pizza Hut came into the picture. There is little argument that Pizza Hut would provide the keenest and most direct competition to Kershaw’s pizza business. In fact, Pizza Hut, being a reputable and an established franchise coupled with its financial muscle, would be a serious and immediate threat to BSB’s market share in pizza sales. However, Kershaw should take note of the fact that the Pizza Hut franchise on campus has its limitations. For one, the Pizza operator does not offer delivery service (for now), as it operates on a ? walk-up-and-order basis. Secondly, it is only offering limited selection of toppings for its pizzas, preferring to focus on a ? standard menu’. QUESTION 3 b) What competitive priorities might she choose to focus on now? BSB’s competitive priorities can be divided into three main categories; Cost, Flexibility and Time. With the establishment of the new food court and the emergence of the new food franchises at the food court, Kershaw’s BSB would now have to decide which competitive priorities would give it a competitive advantage and thus allow it to better compete with its more established competitors. BSB may choose to focus on its wide array of food selection it provides on campus via its three main food facilities; the Cafeteria, the Dogwood Room and the Grill. Compared to its competitors which serve mainly homogeneous products i.e. donuts, tacos and pizzas, BSB offers a better selection of food items including those offered by its competitors i. e. pizza, which may work to BSB’s advantage in serving customers who desire for an ? expanded’ menu to satisfy their culinary instincts. As part of its efforts to offer a variety of food selection, BSB can also look at increasing the topping combinations for its pizza to compete head-on with Pizza Hut’s limited selection of toppings. BSB’s efforts at expanding its menu should not be at the expense of quality, while at the same time attempt to maintain the pricing for its food items. Another competitive priority that Kershaw and BSB would do well to leverage on is its ability to provide delivery service. Since BSB’s competitors do not offer delivery service, BSB has an edge in this area, as students, which make up the majority of it customers, would usually prefer not to dine out given their hectic schedules. Also, BSB’s customers would be able to enjoy food in the comfort of their own dwellings. In addition, Kershaw may want to set a minimum amount limit for delivery orders to ensure the service remains cost viable, and also to ? encourage’ customers to order more food or higher priced food items. QUESTION 4 a) If she were to change the competitive priorities for the pizza operation, what are the gaps between the priorities and the capabilities of her processes. In its efforts to add variety to its food selection and in response to a customer survey conducted, BSB has started offering pizza to its customers. BSB’s pizzas were well received by the students, and soon after, sales increased, resulting in higher profit margins for the company. However, the new found success comes with new challenges. Kershaw soon found that her existing capacity is not sufficient to cater for the increasing demand for her pizzas. She lacks storage space for pizza-making equipment and facilities i. e. ovens and space for her pizza ingredients. Her pizza operations are putting a strain on her other grill activities, which is forcing her to re-look at some of the selection on the grill menu. Given her existing facilities, she faces the dilemma of increasing her pizza supply at the expense of other food items. This may defeat her initial purpose of attempting to offer a variety of food selection. b)How might that affect her operating processes and capacity decisions? Kershaw was also faced with the problem of longer delivery time for her call-to-order pizzas. She deduced that the gap arising between her existing capacity and the growing demand for her pizzas has, to some extent, caused delivery time for pizza orders to slowly increase, possibly leading to ensuing complaints from its customers. The poor service (delay in delivery orders) may influence customers to seek alternative food services in and off campus. As a consequence of the gap, customers’ satisfaction may decline, potentially leading to loss of regular and existing customers as they opt for alternatives. As a result, sales will suffer, and inevitably affecting BSB’s bottom-line, if not immediate, in the long run. Lower margins and ultimately declining profitability will in turn impact the company’s overall performance and viability as a going concern. QUESTION 5 What would be a good service strategy for Kershaw’s operations on campus to meet the food court competition? With the emergence of new food services in campus namely Dunkin’ Donuts, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, Kershaw should first invest time and resources in understanding the impact of the emergence of these competitors on customer preferences. Knowing very well the fact that Pizza Hut are of world class standard with regards to quality and taste, Kershaw needs to come up with a better business strategy. Our group has deliberated on the following recommendations as part of Kershaw’s strategy: 1. Offer Variety of Pizzas at Cheaper Price Off Campus food outlets, especially those offering Pizzas have emerged as a serious source of competition to BSB. These food operators are likely to offer many pizza combinations. Thus, Kershaw could maintain its competitive advantage by offering a variety of pizza with a wide range of toppings at reasonable prices. The key to this strategy is to maintain quality and to innovate on product offerings. For instance, Kershaw could offer pizza selections which are different from what Pizza Hut currently offers (such as Spicy Tandoori Pizza, Vegetarian Pizza and Chicken Hot Pizza). This might allow the customers to have more choices that are superior in quality yet affordable. By offering Vegetarian Pizza which is not being offered by Pizza Hut, the international students who are vegetarians (i. e. students from India and China) could also indulge in the pizza. This could create a niche market for BSB among vegetarians. Due to the fact that the majority of the university’s residents are students who do not earn a fixed and stable income, Kershaw should offer pizzas that are affordable to them. To beat her competitors, Kershaw should sell the pizza at lower prices than Pizza Hut. By offering a variety of pizzas at lower prices, Kershaw could increase the demand for its pizza, ultimately increasing its profits. 2. Maintain Good and Consistent Quality Understanding customer needs and maintaining good quality are paramount in ensuring success, especially in the food industry because customers are extra value conscious when it comes what they ?consume’ i. e. food and beverage. For some customers, price may be of less importance compared to quality. Kershaw should continuously reinforce its pizza quality and standards to remain ? relevant’ with in-campus and off-campus customers. 3. Phone Order and On-time Delivery Kershaw’s direct competitor, Pizza Hut could probably match BSB’s pizza prices, but may lose out in terms of selection and delivery. Since Pizza Hut does not accept phone orders and do not offer delivery services, Kershaw should take advantage by offering these services to the customers. Kershaw should allow phone orders because most of the students face erratic schedules that discourage them from eating out In addition, the delivery should be made timely to ensure customers’ satisfaction. 4. Longer Operation Time Due to the fact that the schedule of students are tight and normally did not fit with cafeteria serving hours, Kershaw should extend its business operations until midnight. Some students tend to study until midnight and like to have supper. In fact, they will find the nearest food court for convenient. Many students tend to study and have a group discussion outside the library while having supper at the same time. Thus, it is important for Kershaw to extend its operation hours and serve food such as pizza or burger at the cafeteria. As a result, Kershaw could maintain its competitive advantage and compete against the likes of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. 5. Expanding the Distribution Network Presently, Kershaw is renting three food-service facilities namely the cafeteria, Dogwood Room, and Small Grill. However, she is nearing full capacity on her pizza operations and is looking to expand. Thus, she may have to consider a new location, as there seems to be limited space at the grill location. Clearly, she can choose to set up new convenient and attractive food-facilities such as the Kiosk and Bistro-type facilities, provided that the return on investment is worthwhile. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION In conclusion, by adding variety to the menu while maintaining the quality and delivery speed, it is possible for BSB to maintain its competitive advantage despite the emergence of new rivals such as Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donut. The increase in requests for additional topping combinations and levelling of sales suggest that BSB should expand its product variety. This suggests customers’ desire for a variety of selection, and the expanded hours will enable BSB to offer its services when the Pizza Hut is closed, or when students are in their dorm rooms. However, an increase in product variety will affect both service and cost. Kershaw probably cannot have as many pre-made pizzas ready to be thrown into the oven. She will also need to stock additional toppings. If she wants to maintain good service, she will need to hire additional workers. Hence, there will inevitably be some trade-offs between quality service and cost if she decides to focus on product flexibility.

The American Health Care System’s Limited Access

Identify and discuss the factors that limit access to health care services for many people in America. According to a published Guidebook for providers entitled â€Å"Achieving Cultural Competence: A Guidebook for Providers of Services to Older Americans and Their Families (January 2001)†, there are two general and primary factors that limit certain groups of the American population in their access to appropriate health care.   These are the structural barriers and the cultural barriers.Structural barriers are further categorized into two sub-factors. These are the   External barrier factors such as lack of health insurance coverage and out of pocket costs and the Logistical difficulty factors such as lack of transportation, language difficulty (or comprehension) and illiteracy (CC Guidebook, 2001).Meanwhile, Cultural barriers are also categorized into internal and external factors.   Internal factors are those caused by traditional practices among certain ethnic groups like Asians – particularly the older Chinese generation – who refuse to reveal details about their affliction or disease because they regard these matters as purely personal and should be kept within tight family circles only.   Particularities of these traditional beliefs usually affect the provision of a more thorough health scanning and diagnosis, thus resulting to usual misdiagnoses or prognoses (CC Guidebook, 2001).Cultural external factors include a lack of comprehensive background data or earlier studies about the cultural nuances and statistics for these underserved minority groups (CC Guidebook, 2001).   As a direct result, the lack of available research data affects the decision of policy makers and federal level planners to incorporate cultural nuances into intervention programs that could break the trend of a â€Å"cultural block† or absence of data.Furthermore, policy makers tend to group together certain ethnic groups as those â€Å"not needin g† specific care like nursing home services or elder care because of the assumption or misconception that all elderly people from a specific ethnic group like the Hispanics who have close personal ties and the Asian groups, that they will take care of their elderly.   Research did confirm this fact (CC Guidebook, 2001, p10) but this shouldn’t be the norm or primary continuing assumption in the future.   To quote from the Guidebook (CC Guidebook, 2001, p10):â€Å"Research does confirm that a significant proportion of minority elders live with their family. Unmarried older African Americans are twice as likely to live with family  members as whites, Hispanic American and Asian American elders are three times as  likely, and half of urban Native American elders live with family members (controlling for income, health status, and other characteristics)†.2. Identify the specific populations and groups that face difficulties with access to health care services. According to the Fact Sheet published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, two predominant ethnic minority groups lack the basic access to primary and preventive care in the US.   These groups are the African-Americand and the Hispanic population in the US (AHRQ, February 2000). To quote:â€Å"About 30 percent of Hispanic and 20 percent of black Americans lack a usual source of health care compared with less than 16 percent of whites.Hispanic children are nearly three times as likely as non-Hispanic white children to have no usual source of health care.African Americans and Hispanic Americans are far more likely to rely on hospitals or clinics for their usual source of care than are white Americans (16 and 13 percent, respectively, v. 8 percent)†.These data from AHRQ and other agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services formed the (HHS) formed the basic tenets and foundation for the 18 out of 28 focal areas for their Ten year Plan entitled â⠂¬Å"Healthy People 2010†.   Six out of these 18 focal areas are geared toward eliminating factors to health barriers and disparities such as: gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation.   According to the OMH, there is â€Å"Compelling evidence indicates that race and ethnicity correlate with persistent, and often increasing, health disparities among U.S. populations in all these categories and demands national attention’ (Fact Sheet, AHRQ, 2000).References:Achieving Cultural Competence: A Guidebook for Providers of Services to Older Americans and Their Families (January 2001). (Chapter 10 and 11). Retrieved on February 28, 2007. From: https://aoa.acl.gov/#search=`Achieving%20Cultural%20CompetenceAddressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Fact Sheet, February 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AHRQ Publication No. 00-PO41. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,    Rockville, MD. Retrieved on F ebruary 28, 2007. From:                   https://www.ahrq.gov/research/disparit.htmCover the Uninsured Week 2007 (April 23 to 29).   Retrieved from the homepage on February 28, 2007.   From: http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2011/06/looking-back-on-cover-the-uninsured-week.html?cid=xdr_ccs_001Keppel, K. et. al. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Trends in Racial and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ethnic-Specific Rates   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   for the Health Status Indicators: United States, 1990-98.    Retrieved on February 28, 2007.   From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/statnt/statnt23.pdfNational Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Midcourse Assessment of Healthy People   Ã‚  Ã‚   2010 Goal II (PPT). (2006). Retrieved on February   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   28, 2007.   From:http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/4/176/PatientversionFINAL.pdfOffice o f Minority Health website. â€Å"Eliminating Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities†.Retrieved on February 28, 2007. From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.cdc.gov/omh/AboutUs/disparities.htmâ€Å"What Healthcare Consumers need to know about Racial and Ethnic disparities in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Healthcare†. (March 2002). Institute of Medicine. Retrieved on February 28,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2007. From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/4/176/PatientversionFINAL.pdf

Different attitudes to war Essay

Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen are poets who fought for England in the First World War. Both poets depict the same topic of war, but through different views and opinions. Despite them pertaining to the similarly themed subject, their language and tone invoke contrasting feelings in readers and affects their impression of war in opposite ways. Examples of these differences can be seen in the two poems by Rupert Brook ‘The Dead (iii) and ‘The Soldier’ and two by Wilfred Owen ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’. Rupert Brooke writes ‘The Dead (iii)’ in an extremely relaxed and romantic mood. Brooke had not experienced war, so with this in mind the poem seems very clear and concise. Brooke aims to show us the glory that is brought about by dying for your country. He thinks that war is a simple and dignified cause. He aims to make us more patriotic and convince us to die for our country in war. The first line is very energetic and joyous for a horrendous subject such as war. This may mean that Brooke tries to symbolise enthusiasm and glory. Since bugles are used at a grand occasion, but also militarily charges and retreats he may be trying to indicate that dying for your country is a glorious way to end your life. â€Å"Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!† As he says, it has made them ‘rich’. This probably means that they are wealthy with glory, praise and admiration. He makes no mention of the pain and suffering in war. The third line explains that dying has again made them important. But, dying has made us rarer gifts than gold. Gold is very rare, so by dying they have been them valuable and unique. Brooke is trying to signify that not many people sacrifice their lives this way. This in Brooke’s belief is a very honourable and glorious practice. The sestet explains to us how the soldiers dying bring England a lot of honour and credibility. Honour has come back, as a king, to earth, And paid his subjects with a royal wage; The peace that has been present for so long has made her weak. ‘Heritage’ is use to clearly link with the overall theme of ‘payment and reward’. It implies ‘that which is rightfully theirs’, has been successfully implemented. And we have come into our heritage. In ‘The Soldier’, Brooke feels content to die for his motherland to protect the people left behind. The title conveys a sense of pride and loyalty to the reader. Although fully aware of the possibility of death, indicated by the line ‘If I should die’, think only this of me:’ Even if his ashes, his ‘richer earth’, were to lie in a land distant from England, his love would still be ‘forever’. This is further stressed when his relationship is compared to the bond between mother and child. ‘A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,’ His purpose of fighting for his country is to protect England, indicated by the words, ‘Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,’ His sense of pride and honour is so strong that he does not dwell on the gloom and misery that is associated with war, instead views it as if through rose-tinted glasses. Even if his contributions were minute, shown by the comparison of, ‘A pulse in the eternal mind’ ‘Give somewhere back the thoughts England given’, He is happy to repay England and wishes to preserve her ‘laughter’ and ‘gentleness’ for the future. This contentment and happiness is clearly shown by the words ‘peace’ and ‘heaven’, even if he is dead, he can rest in peace as he has loyally served his country. This patriotism is frequently brought to attention with the repeated use of the word ‘England’ and ‘English’ throughout the poem. The Soldier gives out an optimistic tone, making war out to be a peaceful and heroic act. It is written in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, which is traditionally used to express personal thoughts and feelings. This could have been the reason why Rupert Brooke chose to write in this form. It is also an autobiographical poem in which the author expresses a personal viewpoint on war and his love for his country. Rupert Brooke also makes use of iambic pentameters, which is a line containing five stresses. It gives his written words authority by using this classical verse. It also provides a rhythm, which reminds the reader of a heartbeat or a ‘pulse’. This helps in making his argument more convincing. The stanzas are separated into two. The octave talks about the possibility of death while the sestet talks about death itself and what his sacrifice will mean for England. It gives the traditional, naive and biased view of war. It also gives a pastoral description yet a biased view of England as he blatantly ignores the negative side of England only mentioning its best side. He uses a religious diction, for example the last line reads, ‘In hearts at peace, under an English heaven’. ‘ This reveals Brooke’s belief in God and Heaven. This is what makes the poem sound somewhat like a sermon. Rupert Brooke expresses patriotism and his conviction that England is worth fighting for as he also claims that God is on England’s side by saying ‘blest by the suns of home’. By believing in  this, Rupert Brooke makes himself believe that he should sacrifice his own life for England and by doing so he would be returning the favour of being born British and so believes it is an honour to go to war, and an even greater honour to die in battle for one’s country and in return, portrays in his poem an image of one dying a painless death. Such a view is in the Victorian tradition of war which viewed it as a glorious and noble enterprise, with such poems as Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’. This patriotic fever was simply carried on by Brooke who still saw warfare in terms of duels and honour. By looking at these sonnets, we can come to the obvious conclusion that Brooke was very idealistic about war and had no idea of the horror and suffering involved. However Wilfred Owen’s ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ achieves a totally different effect on the reader, as it is completely devoid of any obvious sense of national pride, and instead questions the very purpose of war. His use of ironies throughout produces a mocking tone, which serves to emphasize his view of the uselessness of war. This is revealed in the title, where the effect of the word ‘Doomed’ suggests that the soldiers are destined to die and are without any hope. However, it is ironic that it is used with the word ‘Anthem’, a word reserved for praise. ‘What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? ‘ The soldiers are compared to ‘cattle’ that are slaughtered, indicating that they have no other purpose than to die. The comparison also suggests that the soldiers were killed numerously, mercilessly and systematically. He uses crude words to convey the complete absence of love or honour on the battlefield and numerous contradictions to invoke the feelings of pity in the reader; instead of ‘passing-bells’ there are only ‘guns’ and ‘stuttering rifles’. The words ‘monstrous anger’ refers to the fierceness and violence of war. ‘Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle’ The word ‘monstrous’ also suggests that the soldier’s task is immense, almost impossible to do, which emphasizes the feeling of hopelessness of war. This is again highlighted when the poet refers to the gunshots as ‘stuttering’. This means that there are bullets whizzing everywhere, and chances are most of the men would have been hit. The alliteration of the ‘R’s in rifles rapid rattle indicate the sounds of gunshots; again appealing to the reader’s senses to highlight the bleak conditions in the battlefield which are terrible and ugly. Owen is obsessed with the cruelty, indignity and senseless wasting of their lives. The use of the word ‘patter’ refers to the bullets hitting a soldier’s body. It gives the effect of raindrops hitting a window, which when used to describe how a body is inflicted with bullets paints a very cruel and inhumane picture. When he writes, ‘No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells’ He says that the dead are forgotten; they are neither mourned nor prayed for. This is because the dead are so many that it would take too much effort to bother to tend to them. The only things to mark their deaths are the ‘choirs’, yet there are not ordinary choirs but, ‘The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells’. It is as if death has become the norm for them; it does not receive much attention or sympathy. The words ‘shrill and wailing’ seem to suggest that even in their deathbeds, there is no peace. The ‘bugles calling for them from sad shires’ seem to be calling in vain, because the soldiers are all dead. If anything, the soldier’s deaths are undignified and not the least bit honourable. There is no hero worship and the dead are ignored. There is no pride, no honour and still the war continues. Owen writes about the effects of so many casualties of war and how it ironically destroys the homes the soldiers died to protect. The numerous deaths caused by war  ravages even the younger generations left behind, shown by the ‘candles’, ‘What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. ‘ This refers to their tears and the ‘pallor of girl’s brows’ which is the paleness of the girls. It is all they have to mourn the dead soldiers, and they are plagued with sadness at the death of a loved-one. The line, ‘And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds’  shows that they are slowly losing hope against the darkness, which signifies their sorrow and misery. He says that the youth are supposed to be the hope for the future but are doomed because of the past, which is ironic because so many soldiers wasted their lives hoping to protect these children. The calmness achieved by the consistency only serves to suggest the mood is heartless, without emotion, cold, cruel, and that like of a machine. In ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, the rhythm is broken and unsteady; it serves to create an impression on the reader of how grave and miserable war is. In ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, the tone is more sombre and angry; making out the same war is grim and insufferable. The Latin words used in the title of the poem Dulce et Decorum Est mean, ‘it is a sweet and fitting thing to die for ones country’. This is ironic as throughout the poem, Wilfred Owen gives the reader a negative picture of war and towards the end of the poem, calls his title ‘the old lie’. This is because at the start of the war the Latin phrase had become a motto which was used in supporting patriotic statements about war and to encourage other young men to become soldiers. But Owen himself had been at the front lines for three years and so by now knew what war really meant and so he uses his poetry as a means to express the views of soldiers to people who had no experience of it; namely the public. Wilfred Owen begins his poem with the soldiers’ description, ‘Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags,’ This is strange coming from a soldier himself and directly opposes the stereotypical soldier. Throughout, his choice of words describing the soldiers, his experience and war itself, Wilfred Owen puts the reader into a state of shock and disillusion. He uses the analogy of war as being like a plague or a lethal disease that is highly contagious and can cause mass destruction, in order to emphasise the harsh reality. This is shown when he writes, ‘like a man in fire or lime’; as in the days of plague where lime was used as a substance to decompose dead bodies, and in saying this, he says that those who enter war, those who actually participate and experience war at its worst, for them there is no return to normality, or indeed humanity. He writes about a soldier who had died of poisonous gas inhalation and describes it vividly, trying to make the reader imagine the scenes before him using the present progressive verb form ending with ‘-ing’. For example, ‘He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. ‘ This gives the sense of immediacy, that the reader is actually witnessing the soldier’s death. This soldier died by breathing in poisonous gas. Then Owen describes how the man’s dead body was treated, ‘Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin, ‘ This shows the pain he was in, as he was on the brink of death. This is to  illustrate that as the devil is destined to commit evil until the end of time, it has come to the extent that even the devil is sick of the amount of evil and torture around it. The religious diction used here symbolizes the relationship between war and the devil and that they too, are playing on the same grounds as the devil. A direct address to the readers is also used, using a persuasive technique, especially in the last stanza, for example, ‘If you could hear†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ in line 21, ‘My friend, you would not tell†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ in line 25, This is so that the reader would feel sympathetic towards him and the soldiers. It is almost as if Owen is begging the reader to understand. Through describing this man’s tragic death and his burial, Wilfred Owen tries to change the views of the public. The use of fricatives symbolizes the harsh reality of war as by using fricatives, for example a hard ‘c’ is used in words such as ‘corrupted’ and ‘cud’, it becomes as though the reader can actually hear the person dying as it sounds like choking and so writes in a very vivid form. In the last few sentences he makes his final message clear, ‘My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old lie: Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori.’ Again he makes a personal plea to the reader telling them not to tell children that war is a patriotic act and the only answer to the world’s problems. It is in fact the worst possible answer, there can never be honour as a result of war and there are only dire consequences. Brooke’s love for England is shown throughout his work. As in Dulce et Decorum Est repetition and alliteration used. The words England and English are repeated many times to show his love for his country and alliteration such as, ‘Her sights and sounds’ magnify the beauty of England. It is also used to mask the horrors of death on a battlefield as it states, ‘That there’s some corner of a foreign field’. He also believes that heaven will look similar to England by stating ‘under an English heaven’ and therefore also believes in the superiority of the English, ‘a richer dust concealed’. Owen, on the other hand, witnessed twentieth century war in all its cruel destructiveness and as a consequence brought war poetry into the modern era. Although both poets write about the same topic, which is war, they both have different views and attitudes towards it. Perhaps this is because of their different experiences with war. Brooke is like a new soldier, naà ¯ve and yet to experience its horrors. Owen writes as if he has just witnessed the worst, as he was involved with the uglier and bloodier part of the war. He also reveals the effects both on and off the battlefield. Both authors have distinctly different impressions of war because of their different experiences, but ultimately, both describe the subject, although from totally opposite sides. The two poets really contrast and oppose each other greatly. Brooke writes about war idealistically and with passion, Whereas Owen does the complete opposite. Owens’s poem is however more reliable since he has experienced war. ‘The Dead’ was written before the war. The Soldier was written in 1914, a year before Brooke died, and Owen wrote Dulce et Decorum Est in 1917, three years after the First World War had started. In these dates we may find the reasons behind the conflicting ideology the two men gained. Brook wrote his poem at the beginning of the war, and so the ideas and perceptions of war and fighting for one’s country as being noble and heroic were still fresh in his mind and the public’s. Owen, on the other hand, wrote his poem three years into the war and in that time was able to see and accept the realities of war, so his perception of war was changed to bitterness and this was reflected in his many poems such as Anthem for Doomed Youth in which he reveals the same feelings on war as he does in Dulce et Decorum Est. In one of his previous poems, The Ballad of Peace and War, he himself had supported  the idea of, ‘How sweet it is to live in peace with others, but sweeter still far more meet to die in war with brothers. ‘ Therefore, it would be concluded that the only reason why the two poets have conflicting ideologies of war, is time. If Brooke had experienced more of the war he might have wrote later poems that portrayed the same bitterness as Owens.