A Modern Look at the Plague of Athens

The plague of Athens took place between the years 430-426 BC, at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. The plague killed an estimated 300,000 people, among which was the Greek statesman Pericles. It is said to have caused the death of one in every three people in Athens, and it is widely believed to have contributed to the decline and fall of classical Greece. The Greek historian Thucydides was infected by the disease but survived it; he reported that plague symptoms included high fever, blistered skin, bilious vomiting, intestinal ulcerations, and diarrhea. He also said that birds and animals which preyed on the animals were affected and that doctors were among the most affected by it. The Disease That Caused the Plague Despite Thucydides detailed descriptions, until recently scholars have been unable to come to a consensus of which disease (or diseases) caused the Plague of Athens. Molecular investigations published in 2006 (Papagrigorakis et al.) have pinpointed typhus or typhus with a combination of other diseases. Ancient writers speculating on the cause of plagues included the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen, who believed a miasmic corruption of the air arising from swamps affected the people. Galen said that contact with the putrid exhalations of the infected was quite dangerous. More recent scholars have suggested that the Athens plague arose from bubonic plague, lassa fever, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, measles, typhoid, smallpox, toxic-shock syndrome-complicated influenza, or ebola fever.​ Kerameikos Mass Burial One problem modern scientists have had identifying the cause of the Athens plague is that classical Greek people cremated their dead. However, in the mid-1990s, an extremely rare mass burial pit containing approximately 150 dead bodies was discovered. The pit was located on the edge of the Kerameikos cemetery of Athens and consisted of a single oval pit of an irregular shape, 65 meters (213 feet) long and 16 m (53 ft) deep. The bodies of the dead were laid in a disorderly fashion, with at least five successive layers separated by thin intervening deposits of soil. Most bodies were placed in outstretched positions, but many were placed with their feet pointing into the center of the pit. The lowest level of interments showed the most care in placing the bodies; subsequent layers exhibited increasing carelessness. The upper-most layers were simply heaps of the deceased buried one on top of another, no doubt evidence of a spike in deaths or a growing fear of interaction with the dead. Eight urn burials of infants were found. Grave goods were limited to the lower levels and consisted of about 30 small vases. Stylistic forms of the Attic period vases indicate they were mostly made around 430 BC. Because of the date, and the hasty nature of the mass burial, the pit has been interpreted as from the Plague of Athens. Modern Science and the Plague In 2006, Papagrigorakis and colleagues reported on the molecular DNA study of teeth from several individuals interred in the Kerameikos mass burial. They ran tests for the presence of eight possible bacilli, including anthrax, tuberculosis, cowpox and bubonic plague. The teeth came back positive only for Salmonella enterica servovar Typhi, enteric typhoid fever. Many of the clinical symptoms of the Plague of Athens as described by Thucydides are consistent with modern day typhus: fever, rash, diarrhea. But other features are not, such as the rapidity of the onset. Papagrigorakis and colleagues suggest that perhaps the disease has evolved since the 5th century BC, or perhaps Thucydides, writing 20 years later, got some things wrong, and it may be that typhoid was not the only disease involved in the Plague of Athens. Sources This article is a part of the About.com guide to the Ancient Medicine, and the  Dictionary of Archaeology. Devaux CA. 2013.  Small oversights that led to the Great Plague of Marseille (1720–1723): Lessons from the past.  Infection, Genetics and Evolution 14(0):169-185.  doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2012.11.016 Drancourt M, and Raoult D. 2002.  Molecular insights into the history of plague.  Microbes and Infection  4(1):105-109.  doi: 10.1016/S1286-4579(01)01515-5 Littman RJ. 2009.  The Plague of Athens: Epidemiology and Paleopathology.  Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine  76(5):456-467.  doi: 10.1002/msj.20137 Papagrigorakis MJ, Yapijakis C, Synodinos PN, and Baziotopoulou-Valavani E. 2006.  DNA examination of ancient dental pulp incriminates typhoid fever as a probable cause of the Plague of Athens.  International Journal of Infectious Diseases  10(3):206-214.  doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2005.09.001 Thucydides. 1903 [431 BC].  Second Year of the War, Plague of Athens, Position and Policy of Pericles, Fall of Potidaea.  History of the Peloponnesian War, Book 2, Chapter 9: J. M. Dent/University of Adelaide. Zietz BP, and Dunkelberg H. 2004.  The history of the plague and the research on the causative agent Yersinia pestis.  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health  207(2):165-178.  doi: 10.1078/1438-4639-00259

Finance for Managers Essay - 876 Words

Unit 4.9 Level 4 Finance for Managers 15 Credits Sample Assignments You are employed in a financial consultancy and one of your clients is a relatively new company that is facing rapid growth. As they began as a small family business, they have not had the level of financial control that would be expected in a business of their current size. The management team are looking to employ an accountant. Before taking this step they need to understand the reasons for recording and reporting financial information, the legal responsibilities they have in this respect and the usefulness of financial information. They also require some specific help in relation to working capital and in respect of a new project which they are†¦show more content†¦Actual output was 1,100 units which were sold for  £69,900. The actual production costs were:  £ Direct labour (1075 hours) Direct materials (1175 kg) 24,420 23,260 Fixed overheads 6,400 There were no inventories at the start or the end of the month. You are required to calculate the variances for the month from the available information, and use them to reconcile the budgeted and actual profit figures. You should produce a document that identifies and explains the variances and reconciles the actual and budgeted profit figures. You should identify further information required that would help to further explain variances. Task 3 The directors have the opportunity to invest in a new project. This involves the acquisition of new machinery. The figures for the project are shown in the table below. Cost of machine Estimated life Estimated future cash flows: Year 1 Year 2  £10,000 5 years  £2,000  £3,000 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Estimated residual value  £3,000  £5,000  £5,000  £3,000 For the project, calculate the accounting rate of return and the payback period. In your report, explain the significance of these values and indicate how such values can be used to determine the viability of a project. 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Hinayan and Mahayn Free Essays

string(40) " Twelve Enlightening Deeds of a Buddha\." Introductory Comparison of Hinayana and Mahayana Alexander Berzin Berlin, Germany, January 2002 [edited transcript] The Terms Hinayana and Mahayana The terms Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle or Modest Vehicle) and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle or Vast Vehicle) originated in The Prajnaparamita Sutras (The Sutras on Far-Reaching Discriminating Awareness, The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras). They are a rather derogatory pair of words, aggrandizing Mahayana and putting down Hinayana. Alternative terms for them, however, have many other shortcomings, and so therefore I shall use these more standard terms for them here. We will write a custom essay sample on Hinayan and Mahayn or any similar topic only for you Order Now See: The Terms Hinayana and Mahayana. ] Hinayana encompasses eighteen schools. The most important for our purposes are Sarvastivada and Theravada. Theravada is the one extant today in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Sarvastivada was widespread in Northern India when the Tibetans started to travel there and Buddhism began to be transplanted to Tibet. There were two main divisions of Sarvastivada based on philosophical differences: Vaibhashika and Sautrantika. Hinayana tenet systems studied at the Indian monastic universities such as Nalanda, and later by the Tibetan Mahayanists, are from these two schools. The lineage of monastic vows followed in Tibet is from another Sarvastivada subdivision, Mulasarvastivada. [See: A Brief History of Buddhism in India before the Thirteenth-Century Invasions. ] Buddhas and Arhats There is quite a significant difference between the Hinayana and Mahayana presentations of arhats and Buddhas. Both agree that arhats, or liberated beings, are more limited than Buddhas, or enlightened beings, are. Mahayana formulates this difference in terms of two sets of obscurations: the emotional ones, which prevent liberation, and the cognitive ones, which prevent omniscience. Arhats are free of only the former, whereas Buddhas are free of both. This division is not found in Hinayana. It is purely a Mahayana formulation. To gain liberation or enlightenment, both Hinayana and Mahayana assert that one needs nonconceptual cognition of the lack of an impossible â€Å"soul. † Such a lack is often called â€Å" selflessness,† anatma in Sanskrit, the main Indian scriptural language of Sarvastivada and Mahayana; anatta in Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada. The Hinayana schools assert this lack of an impossible â€Å"soul† with respect only to persons, not all phenomena. Persons lack a â€Å"soul,† an atman, that is unaffected by anything, partless, and separable from a body and a mind, and which can be cognized on its own. Such a â€Å"soul† is impossible. With just the understanding that there is no such thing as this type of â€Å"soul† with respect to persons, one can become either an arhat or a Buddha. The difference depends on how much positive force or so-called â€Å" merit† one builds up. Because of their development of the enlightening aim of bodhichitta, Buddhas have built up far more positive force than arhats have. Mahayana asserts that Buddhas understand the lack of an impossible â€Å"soul† with respect to all phenomena as well as with respect to persons. They call this lack â€Å"voidness. † The various Indian schools of Mahayana differ regarding whether or not arhats also understand the voidness of phenomena. Within Mahayana, Prasangika Madhyamaka asserts that they do. However, the four Tibetan traditions explain this point differently regarding the Prasangika assertion. Some say that the voidness of phenomena understood by arhats is different from that understood by Buddhas; some assert the two voidnesses are the same. Some say that the scope of phenomena to which the voidness of phenomena applies is more limited for arhats than it is for Buddhas; some assert it is the same. There is no need to go into all the details here. [See: Comparison of the Hinayana and Mahayana Assertions of the Understandings of Voidness by Arhats and Buddhas. ] Further Points Concerning Buddhas and Arhats The assertions of Hinayana and Mahayana concerning arhats and Buddhas differ in many other ways. Theravada, for instance, asserts that one of the differences between a shravaka or â€Å"listener† striving toward the liberation of an arhat and a bodhisattva striving toward the enlightenment of a Buddha is that shravakas study with Buddhist teachers, while bodhisattvas do not. The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, for instance, did not study with another Buddha. He studied only with non-Buddhist teachers, whose methods he ultimately rejected. In the fact that Buddha’s understanding and attainment id not arise from reliance on a Buddhist teacher, Theravada asserts that a Buddha’s wisdom surpasses that of an arhat. In addition, bodhisattvas work to become universal Buddhist teachers; shravakas do not, although as arhats they certainly teach disciples. Before passing away, Buddha himself deputed his arhat disciple Shariputra to continue â€Å"turning the wheel of Dharma . † According to Theravada, however, Buddhas excel arhats in being more skillful in methods for leading others to liberation and in the breadth of their conduct of teaching. This is the meaning of a Buddha’s being omniscient. However, according to this presentation, a Buddha would not know everyone’s address and would have to ask such information from others. According to the Vaibhashika school of Hinayana, Buddhas are actually omniscient in knowing such information, but they only know one thing at a time. According to Mahayana, omniscience means knowing everything simultaneously. This follows from its view that everything is interconnected and interdependent; we cannot speak of just one piece of information, totally unrelated to the rest. Hinayana says that the historical Buddha achieved enlightenment in his lifetime and, like an arhat, when he died, his mental continuum came to an end. Therefore, according to Hinayana, Buddhas teach only for the rest of the lifetime in which they achieve enlightenment. They do not emanate to countless world systems and go on teaching forever, as Mahayana asserts. Only Mahayana asserts that the historical Buddha became enlightened in a previous lifetime many eons ago, by studying with Buddhist teachers. He was just demonstrated enlightenment under the bodhi tree as one of the twelve enlightening deeds of a Buddha. The precursor of this description of a Buddha is found in the Mahasanghika School of Hinayana, another of the eighteen Hinayana schools, but is not found in either Sarvastivada or Theravada. [See: The Twelve Enlightening Deeds of a Buddha. You read "Hinayan and Mahayn" in category "Essay examples" ] Concerning Buddhas, another major difference is that only Mahayana asserts the three corpuses or bodies of a Buddha – Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Dharmakaya. Hinayana does not assert them. Thus, the concept of a Buddha is significantly different in Hinayana and Mahayana. [See: Identifying the Objects of Safe Direction (Refuge). The Pathway Minds Leading to Liberation and Enlightenment Hinayana and Mahayana both assert that the stages of progress to the purified state, or â€Å"bodhi,† of either an arhat or a Buddha entail developing five levels of pathway mind – the so-called â€Å"five paths. † These are a building-up pathway mind or path of accumulation, a n applying pathway mind or path of preparation, a seeing pathway mind or path of seeing, an accustoming pathway mind or path of meditation, and a path needing no further training or path of no more learning. Shravakas and bodhisattvas who attain a seeing pathway of mind both become aryas, highly realized beings. Both have nonconceptual cognition of the sixteen aspects of the four noble truths. [See: The Five Pathway Minds: Basic Presentation. See also: The Sixteen Aspects and the Sixteen Distorted Ways of Embracing the Four Noble Truths. ] Both Hinayana and Mahayana agree that a seeing pathway mind rids both arya shravakas and arya bodhisattvas of doctrinally based disturbing emotions, while an accustoming pathway mind rids them of automatically arising disturbing emotions. The former are based on learning the set of assertions of one of the non-Buddhist Indian schools, while the latter arise automatically in everyone, including animals. The list of disturbing emotions that shravaka and bodhisattva aryas rid themselves of is part of a larger list of mental factors. Each of the Hinayana schools has its own list of mental factors, while Mahayana asserts yet another list. Many of the mental factors are defined differently in each list. Both Hinayana and Mahayana agree that the course of progressing through the five pathway minds entails practicing the thirty-seven factors leading to a purified state. A â€Å"purified state† or â€Å" bodhi† refers to either arhatship or Buddhahood. These thirty-seven factors include the four close placements of mindfulness, the eight branches of an arya pathway mind (the eightfold noble path), and so on. They are very important. In anuttarayoga tantra, the thrity-seven are represented by Yamantaka’s thirty-four arms plus his body, speech and mind, as well as by the dakinis in the body mandala of Vajrayogini. The thirty-seven are a standard set of practices. The specifics of each practice, however, are often different in Hinayana and Mahayana. See: The Theravada Practice of the Four Close Placements of Mindfulness. See also: The Four Close Placements of Mindfulness According to Mahayana. ] Both Hinayana and Mahayana assert that the scheme of stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner and arhat refers to stages of an arya shravaka’s path, but not to the path of an arya bodhisattva. Thus, stream-enterers have nonconceptu al cognition of the sixteen aspects of the four noble truths, which include nonconceptual cognition of the lack of an impossible â€Å"soul† of persons. We should not think that stream-enterer is a beginner level. So if someone claims to have achieved the state of a stream-enterer, be suspicious. Hinayana does not provide an extensive explanation of the bodhisattva pathway minds. Mahayana, however, explains that an arya bodhisattva’s path to enlightenment entails progressing through the development of ten levels of bhumi-mind. These levels of mind do not pertain to the path of shravakas. Both Hinayana and Mahayana agree that traversing the bodhisattva path to enlightenment takes more time than traversing the shravaka one to arhatship. Only Mahayana, however, speaks of building up the two enlightenment-building networks – the two collections – for three zillion eons. â€Å" Zillion,† usually translated as â€Å"countless,† means a finite number, though we would be unable to count it. Shravakas, on the other hand, can attain arhatship in as short as three lifetimes. In the first lifetime, one becomes a stream-enterer, in the next lifetime a once-returner, and in the third lifetime, one becomes a non-returner, achieves liberation, and becomes an arhat. This is quite tempting for many people. The assertion that arhats are selfish is like bodhisattva propaganda. It is basically meant to point out an extreme to avoid. The sutras record that Buddha asked his sixty arhat disciples to teach. If they were truly selfish, they would not have agreed to do so. Arhats, however, can only help others to a more limited extent than Buddhas can. Both, however, can only help those with the karma to be helped by them. Bodhisattvas It is important to realize that the Hinayana schools do assert that before becoming a Buddha, one follows the bodhisattva path. Both Hinayana and Mahayana have versions of the Jataka tales describing the previous lives of Buddha Shakyamuni as a bodhisattva. Starting with King Siri Sanghabodhi in the third century CE, many Sri Lankan kings even called themselves bodhisattvas. Of course, this is a little tricky to untangle because there was some Mahayana present in Sri Lanka at the time. Whether this idea of bodhisattva kings preexisted a Mahayana influence is hard to say, but it did happen. Even more surprisingly, in the fifth century CE, the elders at the Sri Lankan capital Anuradhapura declared Buddhaghosa, a great Theravada Abhidharma master, to be an incarnation of the bodhisattva Maitreya. Mahayana asserts that there are a thousand Buddhas in this â€Å"fortunate eon† who will start universal religions, and there have been and will be many more Buddhas in other world ages. Mahayana also asserts that everyone can become a Buddha, because everyone has the Buddha-nature factors that enable this attainment. Hinayana does not discuss Buddha-nature. Nevertheless, Theravada does mention hundreds of Buddhas of the past. One Theravada sutta even lists twenty-seven by name. All of them were bodhisattvas before becoming Buddhas. Theravada asserts that there will be innumerable Buddhas in the future as well, including Maitreya as the next one, and that anyone can become a Buddha if they practice the ten far-reaching attitudes. The Ten Far-Reaching Attitudes Mahayana says that the ten far-reaching attitudes are practiced only by bodhisattvas and not by shravakas. This is because Mahayana defines a far-reaching attitude or â€Å"perfection† as one that is held by the force of a bodhichitta aim. According to Theravada, however, so long as the ten attitudes are held by the force of renunciation, the determination to be free, bodhichitta is not necessary for their practice to be far-reaching and act as a cause for liberation. Thus, Theravada asserts that both bodhisattvas and shravakas practice ten far-reaching attitudes. Aside from the different motivating aims behind them, the other main difference between a bodhisattva’s and a shravaka’s practice of the ten is the degree of their intensity. Thus, each of the ten far-reaching attitudes has three stages or degrees: ordinary, medium, and highest. For example, the highest practice of generosity would be giving one’s body to feed a hungry tigress, as Buddha did in a previous life as a bodhisattva. The list of the ten far-reaching attitudes also differs slightly in Theravada and Mahayana. The Mahayana list is: * generosity * ethical self-discipline * patience * joyful perseverance * mental stability * discriminating awareness * skill in means How to cite Hinayan and Mahayn, Essay examples

Marketing Planning Inner West of Sydney

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Planning for Inner West of Sydney. Answer: Introduction Royal Oak is a pub in inner west of Sydney that is located in state of New South Wales. The pub is famous for the canopy of oak trees with an outdoor setting of beer garden. The oak hotel has number of bars that includes Nineteen Thirty Six, Bar and Grill, the garden bar and the garden pavilion. It is one of the best pubs in Sydney. The main threat of the pub in Oak hotel is from its competitors. To run a pub it is essential for the firm to follow the legal standards as set by the government. Economy of Australia and the choice and lifestyle of Australians also affect the business environment (Oakshotel.com.au. 2016). Figure: The Oak Hotel (Source: Oakshotel.com.au. 2016). Situation Analysis Market and industry: Various external and internal factors affect the business. The Oak Hotel functions in a perfectly competitive market where there are large number of buyers and sellers. It functions in a food and beverage industry where the lifestyle of people has a great role to play. Oak hotel has its specialization in sell of beer (Royal Oak Great Ayton. 2016). Competitors: The major threat of the Australian pub is from its competitors. The competitors of The Oak Hotel that has its specialization in the selling of hard drinks are Le pub, 3 Wise Monkeys, Courthouse hotel and the Union hotel. It is essential for the pub to formulate strategies that helps the pub achieve competitive advantage. The marketer can use various strategies to achieve competitive advantage such as lowering the price of food and drinks, improving the ambience of pub, or introducing a new technique for the entertainment of people such as Karaoke (Turnbull 2013) Customers: The customers of Oak hotel are both men and women of Sydney. It not only includes the local people of Australia but also people from outside such as tourists and travelers. Pub of Oak hotel is famous worldwide. Hence, it attracts many tourists. The hotel mainly concentrates on high income customers due to the class that it holds. It is essential for the pub to form a particular target group of customers to attract as much tourists as it can (Cabras et al. 2016). External and internal factors: The external factors that affect the business of pubs is the environmental, economical, political and social factors. Environmental factor such as weather greatly affects the business such as in case of sunny weather the sale of beer is high while in case of rainy season the pub encounters fewer customers due to the open house. The internal factors such as behavior of employees, income of consumers and lifestyle of people affects the business of pubs (Royal Oak Great Ayton. 2016). SWOT analysis Strengths : The ambience of Oak hotel includes a garden with a canopy of oak trees It is one of the best pubs in Sydney. It is one of the oldest pubs in Australia. The pub is situated at the heart of the city that makes its feasible for people to visit. It not only provides drinks but also food to the customers. Weakness The main weakness is from its competitors. The pub is situated in an open area that makes it difficult for operation in bad weather condition. The turnover rate is high in pubs. It has a specific target market. Employee theft is high in case of pubs. Opportunities The pubs have opportunities to expand in local markets. It also has opportunity to expand its target customers (Wilson et al. 2012). Threats The threat of pubs is from the competitors. The pubs also face threat of closing down. New entrants hurt the operations and function of pub in the market. The threat is from the weather conditions. Marketing objectives Marketing objectives are the goals that are set by the pub that includes increasing sales, increasing brand awareness, improve relationship with customers and target new customers. The marketing objectives of the organization are: The objective of the pub is to increase its customers and give them pleasure and good experience. Its objective is to help the customers taste good and tasty food and give them a new experience. The objective of the Oak hotel is to achieve competitive advantage from its competitors and maximize the customer satisfaction. It also aims at increasing the profit and the revenue. Marketing objectives are the goals that are set by the organization before formulating strategies. It aims at improving the service and experience of customers (De Mooij 2013). Marketing strategies Marketing strategies are the strategies that are used by the organization to achieve the set target and goals. This includes market segmentation, positioning strategy and competitiveness. Market segmentation is the classification and categorization of markets based on factors that they hold in common. It is often segmented based on various factors such as demographic segmentation that is based on sex, age, population size and income of the people. The other market segmentation is behavioral segmentation, cultural segmentation and geographical segmentation. The Oak pub tries to achieve competitive advantage by concentrating on the service and the experience that it provides to its customers. The positioning strategy is the unique brand image that it creates (Bouvier and Nisar 2013). The oak pub ensures that the customer that visit the pub do not have bad experience and ensure that the same customers visit again to gain new experience. This will help the organization build an image of trust with its customers and will also help in promotion of the pub. The strategies of the pub focus on specific target group. It mainly targets the people who like to gain new experience. Working class are the target customers of oak pub. It is essential for the pub to expand its target group to other cities as well. It also targets travelers and tourists so that the pub is able to promote its ser ice in international market as well. Marketing mix Marketing mix is a marketing tool that is used to analyze the four Ps of organization that is price, place, promotion and products. Products: the products prided by the Oak hotel are food and beverages. The beverages include both hard and soft drink. The Oak hotel concentrates on providing premium beer, a mixture of drinks, cocktails and fine dining foods and snacks. It not only concentrates on providing a wide range of products but also concentrates on improving the services (Jones and Rowley 2012). Price: the price of the services and products that the organization is uniform in nature. The aim of the pub is to keep the prices of the products that it provides low in order to attract many customers. It aims at covering the cost and making some profit. The organization follows the product line pricing strategies to set the prices of products. The firm launches special offers on special occasions to attract customers (Hollensen 2015). Place: the Oak hotel is located in the heart of Sydney. It is situated in the heart of neutral bay in Sydney. The pubs at The Oak hotel have outdoor setting and retro look that is close to the Harbor Bridge. The pub is attraction for mainly the local people of Sydney though it concentrates on people from other cities of Australia as well. Promotion: various promotion techniques are used by the hotel to promote the service that it provides such as advertisement, direct sales, word of mouth, use of social media and internet and other techniques (Huang and Sarigll 2014). Role of social media in rating pubs Social media such as advertisement on twitter, facebook and other social sites plays an important role for the promotion of service provided by the pub. The company has a page in facebook that is used to build relationship with customers. The rating given by the customers also holds importance and it helps the other customers get reviews of the particular organization. High rating attracts major tourists (Gordon 2012). The company has the website of its own that is used to increase consumer awareness. Budget and profitability analysis Variable Expenditure Advertisement $2000 Social media $3000 Formulation of marketing strategy $10000 Gathering information for gaining competitive advantage $5000 Expenditure for charitable purpose $1500 Environmental security $3500 The expected revenue from the marketing strategy is $1 billion and the expenses of the firms is as mentioned in the above table for the formulation of marketing strategy. Monitoring and control Monitoring the strategies after formulation and implementation is essential. It is essential to ensure that cost of strategies is low and eradicate risks that they encounter while the implementation. Monitoring helps the company ensure that the strategies are leading the company achieve its goals. Motivation is necessary to motivate the marketers to help them achieve goals and objective. The performance can be measured by using social media metrics and gather information. Conclusion Various external factors such as political, environmental, social and economical factors affect the business. The report investigates a pub, its customers, and the factors that make it attractive. This includes the food, drink or the ambience of the pub. Formulation of proper marketing strategy plays an important role for the success of the organization. References Bouvier, L. and Nisar, T.M., 2013. Changes in the marketing and operational capacity of retail sector firms through corporate securitization.Journal of Financial Services Marketing,18(1), pp.53-64. Cabras, I., Higgins, D. and Preece, D. eds., 2016.Brewing, Beer and Pubs: A Global Perspective. Springer. De Mooij, M., 2013.Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. Sage Publications. Gordon, R., 2012. Re-thinking and re-tooling the social marketing mix.Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ),20(2), pp.122-126. Hollensen, S., 2015.Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education. Huang, R. and Sarigll, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. InFashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors(pp. 113-132). Springer New York. Jones, R. and Rowley, J., 2012. Food marketing: the public house sector.Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes,4(3), pp.255-270. Oakshotel.com.au. (2016).The Oaks Hotel - Great steaks, craft beers functions. [online] Available at: https://www.oakshotel.com.au/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2016]. Royal Oak Great Ayton. (2016).Home - Royal Oak Great Ayton. [online] Available at: https://www.royaloakgreatayton.co.uk/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2016]. royaloakdoublebay. (2016).The Royal Oak hotel. [online] Available at: https://royaloakdoublebay.com.au/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2016]. Turnbull, J., 2013. Some garden references in the Sydney office library of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.Australian Garden History,24(4), p.16. Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D.D., 2012.Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm. McGraw Hill.

Good Life by One Republic free essay sample

Well i have recently just listened to one of One Republics new songs called Good Life, and since then i have not been able to get it out of my head! The beat is perfect and the whistling just adds to the aliveness of the song. Also if you listen to the news they will tell you that people are already putting Good Life into there movies. I mean the second it was heard it has been a true hit, and anyone who listens just cant resist to start singing to the nice, easy going lyrics. So if you have a chance and have not heard this song yet please look it up, and listen to it. It really shows that there really can be a good life. Well my final say for the song Good Life by One Republic is is that it has a nice beat, easy going lyrics, and plenty of life!

Romanticism in music essays

Romanticism in music essays Romantic music reflected the profound changes that were taking place in the nineteenth century at every level of human existence. The Industrial Revolution saw the creation of cheaper, more responsive instruments and technical improvements that strongly influenced the sound of Romantic music. Improved manufacturing techniques resulted in the piano acquiring a cast- iron frame and thicker strings which produced a deeper tone. This new piano was capable of effects that were impossible in earlier periods, opening the door to musical exploration. The Romantic Movement in music coincides with a general Romantic movement in all arts. At this period, the arts of literature and painting also began to have an influence on music. While Classicism had a more conservative creativity, with an emphasis on balance, control, proportion, symmetry and restraint, Romanticism was a radical kind of expression. It was a search for the new, the curious, and the adventurous. The nineteenth century strove for a harmony that was more emotional and expressive, more fluent in movement and with greater contrasts. This was achieved through a wider dynamic range, fuller instrumentation, a wealth of dynamic and expression marks, performance directions, frequently varying tempo, a large pitch range, longer and more dramatic melodies, modulation to increasingly remote keys, the use of the pedal, octave doublings, extreme tempos, fuller and more dissonant harmonies, a frequent use of diminished sevenths and expanded formal structures. So, who were the great composers of the Romantic era? Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Brahms and Debussy are just a few who have lived on to become a household name. Perhaps one of the more well known Romantic composers is Frederic Francois Chopin. His works include that for piano and orchestra, including 2 piano concertos, four ballads, 3 sonatas, preludes, nocturnes, etudes, mazurkas, wa ...

Consider immigration into the US and remittances sent home Essay

Consider immigration into the US and remittances sent home - Essay Example On the other hand, entrepreneurs make the use of unexploited economic potential in the country, thereby increasing employment opportunities and bring in additional revenues in the region. The immigrants who are in the united state illegally increased competition in the labor market. This community offers a threat to the economy since the competition reduces the employment opportunities for Inuit communities. The national government should therefore strive to reduce the community that is illegally in the region. Remittances are funds that a foreign individual sends to home country, mainly to their families. In this perspective, remittance is very effective in the economy since the remittance funds are earned by foreign individuals, therefore adding value to the economy (Gylfason, 2009, p. 109). On the other hand, these funds are tax deductible and therefore provide the government with revenue through taxes. However, foreign aids are tax-free and have no economic value to the host

Financial relief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial relief - Essay Example These factors include the ages of Megan and Hugh and the duration of their marriage, contributions made by Megan through her income, looking after their home and children, the family’s needs, assets and earning capabilities of Hugh and Megan, the age, mental, physical and emotional well being of both Megan and Hugh, their standard of living before separation, and whether being the custodian of the children will limit Megan from earning a substantial income. Hugh’s adultery, which is said to have begun since their first born was born, will not be considered in determining whether to award spousal maintenance to Megan. According to Rossini, alimony â€Å"is separate and apart from monies paid for financially dependent children as child support. In some jurisdictions under certain conditions, alimony may be taxable income for the recipient (and deductible for the payor).† 2 It is possible for the court to assess Megan’s needs and decide on whether to award he r compensatory maintenance to enable her to save and ease her transition on the fact that had she not gotten married and given up her well paying job to look after the kids, her career just like Hugh’s would have progressed. The Ages of Megan and Hugh and the Duration of their Marriage Determination of Megan’s eligibility for spousal maintenance is a vital consideration by the court. The ages of Megan and Hugh are important in determining how easily each of them can make a fresh start, which has a profound impact on their resources and expenditure in future. The length of their marriage is also important in determining how they ought to share assets and Hugh’s income. In the United Kingdom, a marriage of four years is considered as a short one, while a marriage of twenty five years is considered as a long one.3 Megan and Hugh have been married for more than four years making their marriage a long one. They are both however not too old to remarry making it easy f or both of them to start their married lives afresh with other spouses in future. This is especially true from the fact that their first born is fifteen years old and their youngest son is below ten years of age. The fact that Megan and Hugh have been married for a considerable length of time makes Megan eligible for spousal support. Contributions Made by Megan through Her Income, Looking After Their Home, and Children Financial contributions made by a spouse as well as other contributions in the home are a necessary consideration in determination for spousal maintenance. In Megan’s case, she has definitely made financial contributions in the home, especially at the time when she had a well paying job. Although it is not clear whether she contributed in buying the property at Hertford, she has made financial contributions in the joint building society savings. She also left a well paying job to be the primary homemaker and take care of the children. According to Boele-Woelki et al., â€Å"

Future Business Leader scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Future Business Leader scholarship - Essay Example Successful business leaders must be inspirational and committed to work. Successful business leaders should have the ability to share their vision in a successful manner with their team. If the mission and vision of the organisation is clear to the employees then the chances of leading the team successfully increases. Successful business leaders have good communication skills. They ensure that via their communication they are able to motivate their team and retrieve maximum amount of productivity from the team. Leaders need to keep their team motivated so that the team remains in high spirits at all times. Successful business leaders need to engage in team work and also encourage team work amongst their staff. With team work, the task gets effectively and efficiently done. Leaders need to effectively handle teams and delegate tasks to team member according to their capability. Successful leaders need to have good time management skills. They need to manage workload time according to deadlines and should know how to prioritise work according to deadlines. Successful leaders can work under pressure and ensure that they manage all activities in a successful manner. Successful leaders need to have a good and modest character. They should instil good values in their organisation so that the employees following them aim for good values in their professional life. Leaders need to demonstrate a strong ethical conduct at workplace. They should be ethical while conducting the organisational activities so that the subordinates under the leader do the same. Honesty and ethical conduct are crucial elements for successful business leadership. The business that I would like to initiate in my future is a day care business. Day care business is a highly challenging business as one has to deal with small children and a staff that is calm and patient. Due to my inspirational personality,

The Macro Environment Analysis | Australia

The Macro Environment Analysis | Australia The purpose of this report is to identify social-cultural and ecological environment which access to the major trends and forces can relate to develop tourism industry in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. This report suppose to use the result of macro-environment scanning on social-culture and ecological category to analysis the impact on customers, competition and suppliers. Moreover, the opportunities and threats identified from the impact that affects the tourism industry in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. Macro-environment analysis divides into two categories which are social-culture and ecological. Each category investigated from five variables. As reported by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (2010), Australias population growth in the result of two factors: natural increase and net overseas migration. In 2009, Out of the total population growth, 40% was contributed by natural increase and 60% was contributed by net overseas. It is estimated that the resident population will reach 22.33 million at 30 June 2010, an increase of 377,100 people since 30 June 2009. The population growth of Queensland was the second fastest of all states and territories, with an averagely growth rate of 2.5% each year since 2005 and the population reached 4.51 million in 2010 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2009). According to the latest published data from Australia Bureau of Statistics(ABS)(2009) report ¼Ã…’resulting in the population of Brisbane had a steady averaging growth rate of 2.3% per annum over the past five years, resident population increasing from 973,931 to 1,067,279 since 2005 to 2010. 2.1.2 Multiculturalism Australia is a vast melting pot of different races and nationalities. As stated by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2008), in the past forty years immigration was a significant contributor to the Australias population growth. Approximately 6.6 million (25% of Australias total population) from around 200 countries have immigrated to Australia since the Second World War which ended in 1945 to 2006-2007. The largest group of overseas-born residents was born in United Kingdom, accounting for 5.4% of Australias total population, followed by New Zealand (2.4%), China (1.6%), India (1.4%) and Italy (1.0%) (ABS, 2008). According to the data of Multicultural Affairs of Queensland report (2010), in 2006, there were 699,438 Queensland residents born overseas, accounting for 17.9% of Queenslands total population. Brisbane is also a city with diverse cultures. As reported by the Brisbane City Council (2006), the proportion of the Brisbane population born overseas was 23% (198.630 people). 2.1.3 Disability According to the data, there are four million (18.5%) people who had a disability in 2009 and more than a million people had service core activity limitation (ABS, 2009) in Australia. From 2003 to 2009, the disability number decreased from 22.1% to 17.9% (ABS, 2009). In Queensland, the physical disability dropped from 18.3% to 14.7% during 2003 to 2009(ABS, 2005). In addition, the mental and behavioral disability dropped from 3.8% to 3.1 %(ABS, 2005). In Australia, about 55% people aged over 65 had a disability in 1998 as well as in 2003(ABS, 2005). Approximately 42% males and 39% female between aged 65 and 69 had a disability in 2003.Between age 70 and 74, the rate of male with disability and female with disability increased to 45% and 46 % respectively ( ABS, 2005). 2.1.4 Age Age is normally structure divided into three parts: Children (under 15 years of age), working age population (aged between 15 to 64 years) and older people (aged 65 years and over). From the 30 June 2009 to 30 June 2010, the population of Children rose by 44,600 and it was 22.0% of total population. The Australias largest age group was taken up by working age population, the proportion of this group increased from 66.9% in 1990 to 67.6% in 2010. The population of older people and over increased by 94,800, with a proportion of 13.5%. (ABS, 2010) In 2010, the 67.5% (2,676,767) of the Queenslands total population was taken up by working age population, followed by Children 20.4% (807,065) and older people 12.5% ( 480,136) (ABS, 2010). In Brisbane, in 2009, the 68.9% of Brisbanes population was accounted for working age population, followed by children (19.9%) and older people (11.1%) (ABS, 2010). 2.1.5 Education During the 1980s, the rate of participation in education was increasing steadily and the educational level became higher by 1990s (ABS, 2005). In 1976 ¼Ã…’there were 12% in their 20s were people attending educational institution, however this rate increased to 23% in 2001(ABS, 2005). In addition, according to the data, the number of people between the age of 20 and 29 who had achieved higher education was increasing from 1976 to 2010. In 1976, there were 13% people with a bachelor degree compared with 36% in 2001(ABS, 2005). In 2010, 20% people were enrolled a course and about 39% of these attended higher education (ABS, 2010). In Queensland, the rate of high-level education participation increased from 22% to 55% during the period of 1981 to 2003 in age group 20 to 29. Furthermore, there were 57% people had school qualification in 2001 compared 38% in 1991 in Brisbane (ABS, 2005). 2.2 Ecological 2.2.1 Waste and recycling According to paper presented by the then Department of Environment and Heritage to the Productivity Commissions inquiry into waste generation and resource efficiency in Australia, during 2002-03, Australians generated 32.4 million tones of solid waste (domestic, commercial and industrial), with QLD generating 2.86 million tones of that waste. Of the 2.86 million tones generated, 347,100 tones (12.14%) were recovered (Queensland EPA, 2006). The estimation of waste generation and division in Australia from 2006 to 2007; total disposed was 21,069 tonnes; recycled was 22,707 tonnes; total generated was 43,777 tonnes and the division rates was 52%. According to the data which estimated per capita waste generation and diversion rates for Australia from 2006 to 2007, there were 4,181,000 people in Queensland. The average disposal was 1,030 kilograms per capita; and recycled 900 kilograms for a division rate of 47%. It is lower than NSW (52%) and VIC (62%), but it is higher than WA (33%) (Davis, G. Herat, S. 2007). 2.2.2 Temperature Change According to the recent climate and geophysical trends in Australia, Australias continental average temperature has increased by approximately o.8 degree since 1910. Most of this rise occurred after 1950, with 1998 being the warmest year, and the 1990s and 1980s being the warmest and second warmest decades, respectively (Collins 2000). These trends are consistent with those measured globally. Since 1951, mean temperatures have increased 0.1-0.2 degree per decade over most of Australia, with the greatest warming inland, particularly in Queensland and the southern half of Western Australia (WA), although some cooling has occurred in southern Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) (Suppiahet al . 2001).Night-time temperatures have increased more than daytime temperatures (0.96 degree per century for minima 0.56 degree per century for maxima; Suppiah et al. 2001). Average temperatures in Queensland have risen in both summer (0.07) and winter (0.08) over 20 years. 2.2.3 Water Consumption According to the Australia Bureau of Statistics (2006) that farming industry had accounted for 65% of total water consumed in Australia in the year 2004-2005. And, 90% of total water was used by farm in the year 2007-2008. 22% of total water in Australia was used by Queensland in 2006, 24.5% in 2007 and 29.2% in 2008. In Brisbane, according to Brisbane City Council, Environment Waste (2010) consumption falling from 300 litres per day to as low as 127 litres per person per day. 2.2.4 Biodiversity Across Australia, the number of animal species that were threatened every year was increase from 312 in 2001 to 427 in 2009, and within those 427 species, 46% of them were just injured, 41% were accounted as serious injured and 13% of them were listed as extinct. According to Biodiversity (2010), Queensland holds 85% of Australias native mammals (239 species), 72% of native birds (562 species), over 50% of native reptiles (473 species) and 12888 species of native plants in the year 2010. According to the Threatened (2010), approximately 40% of Brisbanes vertebrate animals and 10% of vascular plants in 1500 plants species and 523 vertebrate animals were threatened. And, according to Protecting (2010), under a rise in temperature of more than 2 degrees and increasing CO2, 21% 52% of animal species could be extinct, this affect Brisbane, Queensland and across Australia. 2.2.5 Land use Approximately 55.3% of Australian land was used by agriculture industry in 2006 and Queensland had the highest proportion among all other states (83.1%) and in 2009, 54% of Australian land was managed by agriculture business and Queensland was still the highest among all other states (82%) in the same year. 3.0 Trends 3.1 Social- Culture Trends Based on the research data, it is easy to see an increasing trend because of the high fertility and birth rates with the total population increasing stably and quickly in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. According to this current trend, the numbers of population in the future 10 years will also stably increase because of the overseas immigration and natural increase. (Population variable). As well number of the old people over age 64 increasing significantly during the last 20 years which has resulted in the population in Australia becomes older. In addition, the number of old people with a disability has increased and accounts for half of the old population. It means Australia has an issue with an aging population and in few years, it will become more and more salient factor in government issues (Age variable). Furthermore, because of the increasing number of migrants, Australia becomes a multicultural country. It can be expected that not migration from different countries will keep increasing during the next decade from different countries (Multiculturalism variable). In education, as the data showed above, the number of people participating in education increased quickly and stably during the last 30 years. In addition, the data indicates the number of people achieving high-level education was increasing a lot in Australia, as well as in Queensland and Brisbane. (Education variable). 3.2 Ecological trends In Australia waste generation kept increasing from 2002 to 2007, but recycling is also increase during that period. In Queensland, the per capita waste generation is lower than other states. The temperature has kept increasing since 1910, because of the global warming, particularly in southern Queensland. It has risen in both summer and winter. Every year, more and more species of animals and plants are in danger because of land development or climate change 4.0 Forces 4.1 Social-culture forces Along with the increasing of the ageing population, the ageing tourists become potential tourism market segmentation. The growth of the older with disability forces the tourism industry to develop more humanized infrastructures to meet the needs of the disability market. The increasing number of participants in higher education forces the firm to become more productive and competitive in the marketplace. 4.2 Ecological forces The waste and recycling management is not only to affect the local people living, but also it affects the tourism industry development. The global temperatures growth is not only happening in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane, but the temperature increase will impact on the natural environment resource. Hence, it will impact the tourism development in the long-term. 5.0 Impacts on customers, competitors and suppliers First, on the impact of customer, the trend of the increase aging group suggests that the old and retired people will be a big potential market of the tourism industry in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. Furthermore, from the suppliers aspect, they should focus on how to create an interesting tourism product and design the destination to attract the senior group and retired people in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. Lastly, about the impact on competitors, for Australia and Queensland, the competitors will be the other countries and other states. In Brisbane, the competition among the tourism organizations will be to special travel products to catch the attention of old tourists. Second, the growth of disability among old or people affect customers in three levels: there will be many tourists with a disability. Also, build more humanized infrastructures are good for the disability tourists. Suppliers need to create healthy tourism for these people with a disability and provide appropriate service. Competitors for this market will be more at the Australia and Queensland level, but in Brisbane, there should be little competition in this target market, because not too many firms focus on disability tourists. Third, the increase of people achieving high level education improves the rate of customers satisfaction in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. In addition, the competition among the firms shows on the recruitment, because all the firms want to employ highly competent people in Australia, as well as in Queensland and Brisbane. Moreover, high level educational staffs that have good skills and provide good service to customers have positive impacts on suppliers In Australia and Queensland. Fourth, the impacts of loss of biodiversity means loss of tourism potential and reduction in the demand from customers, as there is not too much to see which will be the same for each of Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. The firms in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane will suffer from the lack of product; also, the firms might face the problem of close down. In addition, there will be fewer products to sell. Fifth, as a result of global warming resulting in rising sea levels there will be less and less land to use which will reduce the opportunity for customer to travel in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. For firms, the competition among firms will be intense in three levels because lack of the land will reduce the amount of tourism destination. For the suppliers it will be difficult to provide a good land for tourism. Last, waste and recycle management to advance customers protect environment and reduce wasting. In addition, encourage green tourism participation of customers in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. Suppliers provide more products of eco-tourism in the tourism industries. For firms, sustainable tourism will be a mainstream tourism product in the marketplace, so it is necessary to create green product in tourism industry of Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. 6.0 Opportunities (in general) that arise from this impact Australia is a travel destination country which has wonderful natural environment and heritage resources and the speed of development of tourism industries is growing fast in Australia. Although there are some negative impacts of the macro environmental issues on customers, competition and suppliers, there are still opportunities for tourism development. The increasing number of old and disability tourists will bring Australia, Queensland and Brisbane more tourism opportunity which can help the local stakeholders to be more clear about the target market. From the target market analysis, the local infrastructure and facilities will be built more concern about the older and disability people to provide them higher quality service to satisfy their travel expectation. For example, the destination can provide the nursing facilities for the older and disability people which would provide an advantage over other travel destinations. Targeting the market of old and disability tourists with appropriate infrastructure will decrease the effectiveness of the competition from international tourism market. The increasing employees with a higher level of the education and training can promote the quality of the tourism service and cater for the technological tourist. It should be an advantage for Australia, Queensland and Brisbane in the marketing share in the tourism industry. Also, it can increasingly attract employees who have hospitality talent to work here. The Australia waste and recycling management which is a long term environmental protection can provide the travelers a natural protected travel destination. Also, the local waste and recycling management can influence the travelers concern the environmental issues and choose the green tourism product and services. The suppliers will invent more green tourism products and services not only to concern the environment, but also promote more travelers enjoy the eco-tourism in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane. 7.0 Threats that emanate from this impact Firstly, in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane, the threats from the aging market and disability market classified into the same category, as they are both potential consumers with special needs. However, there is a significant difference between the spending on the ordinary consumers and consumers with special needs. For instance, in order to make the tourism market accessible, the requirement to build approachable facilities, recruit nursing staff and design tourism packages for these special markets significantly increase the organizations budget and the market prices. Thus, for the disabilities and aging customers, they are faced with the high travelling prices and the need of special assistance which may result their dissatisfaction. For suppliers, these market lines may be a threat to them in reaching the organizations substantial long-term goals. Furthermore, the increasing costs of integrated reconstruction, recruitment and innovation also threat the competitors in tourism in dustry, which make it more difficult to become competitive in the marketplace. Secondly, the high level of customer satisfaction has no negative impact on tourism organizations in Australia, as well as Queensland and Brisbane. Moreover, it brings the high customer retention and excellent reputation for the organizations. In addition, from the competitors perspective in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane, the increasing demand for higher education employees is a threat to organizations to retain the outstanding employees and maintain low turnover rate. In addition, the good performances of workers lead to an underlying threat that is the workers will demand pay rise in the future and affect the profit of the suppliers in Australia and Queensland. Thirdly, in Australia, Queensland and Brisbane, as tourism industry is a big contributor to economy, the loss of customer demand will lead to the decline in organizations profit. Moreover, the lack of product will bring a threat to tourism organizations, which will influence the width of product line. Fourthly, as lacking of opportunities for customers to travel to Australia, Queensland and Brisbane, tourism organizations need to face threats from other travel destinations in international, domestic and local dimensions. For competitors, the reduce amount of tourism destinations will intensify the difficulty of Australia to be competitive in international tourism marketplace. However, for both Queensland and Brisbane, the reducing number of destinations may create barriers for new entrants, thus avoid competitions. From the suppliers perspective, the lack of attractive landscape creates a potential earning loss threat. 8.0 Conclusion The

Jackie Robinson and the Struggle for Equality in Baseball Essay

Jackie Robinson and the Struggle for Equality in Baseball Baseball has always been known as America's pastime. But America's pastime, along with America's past, have both been saturated with the brutal force of racism. For hundreds of years, from the time of slavery until the middle of the 20th century, African-American children rounded up their friends and headed to the baseball diamond. There, for thousands of young black players, the smell of the grass, the cloud of dust that formed when running the ninety feet between bases, and the feeling of safely sliding into homeplate for a run marked the glimmer of fun and excitement in an otherwise dreary day. However, due to the color of their skin, black children were not awarded these luxuries. For aspiring black ballplayers, a baseball field with bats and actual baseballs would be a dream come true. Instead they were forced to play with rocks and sticks in an alley or run-down sandlot. But this would never stop them, the thrill and joy of baseball was too great. When playing, it seem ed as if all their worries and fears floated away and only one thing mattered...baseball. Baseball was their escape, their livelihood, and the topic of all their hopes and dreams. For young black ballplayers, baseball was much more than a game. The word aspiring must also be clarified. See, for black players, one undeniable truth was always present. No matter how good you were, no matter how many homeruns or stolen bases you had, how hard you hit the ball or how fast you threw the ball, no matter if you had the ability to play with the best of the best, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle, there was one thing you never had...the right skin color. The word aspiring did not exist in the... ... In 1972, Jackie Robinson died, but his legacy never will. Today, the effects of Jackie Robinson can be seen wherever one looks. On the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Rolling Stones, and even the Wall Street Journal, African-Americans are now seen in a much different light than in the fifties. Since Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947, black society in America has truly broken barriers. Although arguable, it is my contention that the 54 years after the first day Jackie Robinson stepped up to the plate was the best 54 years in African-American improvements of all time. More importantly than improvements in black America, are the improvements in all of America, in every facet of life. Jackie Robinson was not only great at playing baseball, but also great at playing life. Quoting the recent Nike advertising campaign, "Thank you Jackie Robinson."#

Overview of the Annual Report and Form 10k and the Balance Sheet Essay

I should be able to understand your answer and see what the numerical support is without looking at your tables. For all problem sets, please show tables and calculations with each answer (unsupported answers will be marked wrong), not in separate tables. I should be able to look at your tables or calculations and see what the answer should be without actually reading it. And I should be able to read and understand your interpretation of a table without having to look at it. Clearly show and label any and all calculations. Your output should look professional. 1. Corporate Message: What does Coca Cola’s 2012 Annual Review tell you about the message the company wants to convey to its readers? Point out examples to support your discussion. 2. Describe the three types of Coca Cola’s bottling relationships. Name the significant companies that are accounted for by the equity method. Does Coca Cola have a controlling interest in these companies? Explain and demonstrate why or why not? What would the company’s balance sheet look like if Coke were to account for its publicly traded equity method investments at fair value rather than using the equity method? . Except for Property, plant, and equipment, what was Coca Cola’s largest single asset (not asset category) at 12/31/2012? How does it compare to 2011? Why do you think it increased? What was its relative impact on the change in total assets? Which component of Coca Cola’s balance sheet is the primary factor causing the company’s change in total assets fro m December 31, 2011 to December 31, 2012? How much did this factor change by relative to (i. e. , as a percentage of) the change in total assets? 4. Income Tax: Is Coca Cola’s effective (i. e. , average) tax rate more or less than the U. S. federal (â€Å"statutory†) rate? What is the primary reason(s) that it was more/less in 2012? 5. Look at Coke’s 10K. For 2012, is the amount of dividends declared equal to the amount of dividends paid? What are these amounts? Where did you find them? Did dividends declared increase, decrease, or remain the same – per share and in total, compared to 2011? 6. Prepare a 2011 and 2012 common size balance sheet for Coke. Comment on differences between the two. A common size balance sheet is one for which each item in the balance sheet is divided by total assets. Download Pepsi’s 2012 10-K from Pepsico. com 7. Using the information in Pepsi’s 2012 10-K, calculate the company’s a. Total market value for 2012 and 2011. b. Book value to common shareholders for 2012 and 2011 (Hint: Pepsi does not have dividends in arrears on their preferred shares. Use Pepsi’s call price located in the footnotes for the preferred stock claim. Just subtract the total preferred stock call price amount from total stockholders’ equity. c. Market to book value ratios for 2012 and 2011. d. How do the above ratios for Pepsi compare to those of Coca Cola for the same two years? How do you interpret any differences? 8. Make a common size balance sheet for Pepsi for 2012 (round your percentages to 1 decimal place – i. e. , the same as 0. xxx ) Examine the two companies’ common size balance sheets. What do you notice about a. Cash and cash equivalents b. Net receivables c. Current liabilities d. Long term debt What do you think any significant differences between these ratios might mean? Do you notice any other significant differences between Coke and Pepsi? 9. Working capital: Working capital equals total current assets minus total current liabilities. How much working capital does Pepsi have at 12/31/2012 and 12/31/2011? How much working capital does Coca Cola have at 12/31/2012 and 12/31/2011? Can you directly compare the two companies’ working capital? Why or why not? If not, how could you make them comparable? Are the two companies experiencing similar changes in working capital?

Free Essays on Chocolate

Most relating, but not limited to chocolate. The corporation plays a role in deciding where products are produced. Hershey’s has expanded to both Canada and Mexico, which calls for many corporate decisions. There are an amazing amount of products associated with Hershey. These include Jolly Ranchers, Hershey Kisses, Hershey drink mixes, the entire line of Reese’s products as well as good old fashion chocolate bars. These products serve in the candy/snack foods division of sales. Society could do without them... but why would we want to? Hershey’s takes advantage of many different types of advertising. Television commercials and ads are very common. Sponsorships is also another very common way Hershey advertises. Hershey sponsors everything from ice skating shows, to racecars. The Hershey Food Corporation is very competitive so they need this type of advertising. However, the only other major corporation to compete with is Mars. The chocolate industry is diffidently not pure competition. Mars and Hershey’s form an oligopoly. Hershey’s has so many different kind of products that they have a lot of competition. The company has branched out to where they’re not only competing against other chocolates but also for fruit candies, and baking chocolate and chocolate drinks as well. The fact that so many products are offered, extends the corporation to different divisions. Mexico and Canada have manufacturing plants. Seventeen manufacturing plants include Hershey, Pa (Hershey plant, Reese plant, West Hershey plant0, Hazleton, PA, Lancaster, PA, Memphis, Tenn., Naugatuck, Conn., New Brunswick, NJ, Oakedale, CA, Palmyra, PA, Reading, PA, Robinson, Ill., Stuarts Draft, VA, Wheatridge, CO, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Montreal, Quebec, Smiths Falls, Ontario, and Guadalajara, Mexico. As successful as Hershey’s is, some factors have influenced set backs for the company. Devaluation in Brazil, Russia’s economic collap... Free Essays on Chocolate Free Essays on Chocolate Most relating, but not limited to chocolate. The corporation plays a role in deciding where products are produced. Hershey’s has expanded to both Canada and Mexico, which calls for many corporate decisions. There are an amazing amount of products associated with Hershey. These include Jolly Ranchers, Hershey Kisses, Hershey drink mixes, the entire line of Reese’s products as well as good old fashion chocolate bars. These products serve in the candy/snack foods division of sales. Society could do without them... but why would we want to? Hershey’s takes advantage of many different types of advertising. Television commercials and ads are very common. Sponsorships is also another very common way Hershey advertises. Hershey sponsors everything from ice skating shows, to racecars. The Hershey Food Corporation is very competitive so they need this type of advertising. However, the only other major corporation to compete with is Mars. The chocolate industry is diffidently not pure competition. Mars and Hershey’s form an oligopoly. Hershey’s has so many different kind of products that they have a lot of competition. The company has branched out to where they’re not only competing against other chocolates but also for fruit candies, and baking chocolate and chocolate drinks as well. The fact that so many products are offered, extends the corporation to different divisions. Mexico and Canada have manufacturing plants. Seventeen manufacturing plants include Hershey, Pa (Hershey plant, Reese plant, West Hershey plant0, Hazleton, PA, Lancaster, PA, Memphis, Tenn., Naugatuck, Conn., New Brunswick, NJ, Oakedale, CA, Palmyra, PA, Reading, PA, Robinson, Ill., Stuarts Draft, VA, Wheatridge, CO, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Montreal, Quebec, Smiths Falls, Ontario, and Guadalajara, Mexico. As successful as Hershey’s is, some factors have influenced set backs for the company. Devaluation in Brazil, Russia’s economic collap...

A true American essays

A true American essays An American to me, is someone who is willing to fight for and defend our country, someone who will fly our flag high, without any type of indignity, someone who is honest and cares for the welfare of our people. Most of all, an American has to have pride and faith in all that our country does, participating in activities that can only improve us as a unified nation. My definition of an American is best fit by my grandfather because he is loyal, proud, and giving He is a veteran who served in two wars. He belongs to many groups that help the communities and support some unfortunate families. He also sends money monthly to funds that help crippled or disabled veterans and their families. He attends town meetings and does anything in his power to provide help or opinion in any state or town situation. My grandfather illustrates that he is proud, by flying an American flag on a pole in his back yard, and also next to his door in the front of his house, he even has a custom license plate that has an American flag on it. No matter what country he travels to, or what language he is speaking, he makes it clear to everyone around him that he his from America and dedicated to it. He believes if you are going to be all you can be, first you must do all you can to make your country all it can be, because if your country is not successful, then you have a disadvantage in the world, with technology, jobs, the economy, and even just eating healthy everyday. He also believes that anyone in need should be helped, and supported until they can get on their feet. But, he does not like the fact that people take advantage of the system. He says that if something tragic happens to someone, then anything that comes out of his pocket to help them out is well worth it, but someone who is perfectly fine to work and they still dont, then they do not deserve a dime, because they are taking away from the needy. Anyone that needs the help should...

Methods of Analysis in Health Care Research Paper

Methods of Analysis in Health Care - Research Paper Example Horizontal analysis informs about how different items in the balance sheet and income statement behave in many years. This particular type of analysis reveals how the performance of the firm has been affected over the years due to environmental factors. This analysis is also important information regarding cyclical demand trends and helps understand fluctuations of demand for a firm. This particular analysis can be used in health care industry to understand reasons of increasing costs over many years. Through this analysis one can know the main areas due to which health care costs is increasing. Horizontal analysis will tell which elements have contributed to the increase in costs and which have remained fairly constant over many years or accounting periods. Vertical analysis is a form of financial analysis in which elements of financial statements are presented in a percentage form of total elements (Haber, 2004). This type of analysis presents all information of a particular account, for example liabilities, in percentage form of the total value of that particular account or element. Vertical analysis focuses on proportions and attempts to guide decision making based on how much weight or proportion a particular element in the balance sheet has. Through this analysis, firms can know easily what proportion of a particular asset, like cash or receivables, is present in the total assets of the company. This analysis can guide decision making by highlighting which areas have are important for the firm and which are not. Vertical analysis can be used in health care by managers to understand the nature of their debt. This analysis can tell managers regarding how much debt is due in the short term and how much is due later. Ratio analysis involves analyzing different aspects of a business including efficiency, leverage, debt, profitability etc (Siddiqui, 2006). This type of analysis focuses on the relationships between different factors

Lower Limb Prosthetics Evolution Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lower Limb Prosthetics Evolution - Article Example Presently, there has been the use of Carbon fiber springs in the prostheses that allows improved shock absorption and mobility without increasing any weight. Additionally, the carbon fiber have allowed active amputees to wear limbs that can help in the absorption of two to four times their total body weight. In 2004, the esteemed international event aided the drive of development of lighter and more functional devices such as the gait-adaptive knee and an artificial limb that can be modified for its users2. There has been the advancement of the technology today where scientists and developed with the advent of microprocessors, robotics and computer chips have allowed amputees to get back to their accustomed lifestyle. United States., United States., & United States. (1984). Journal of rehabilitation research and development. Washington, D.C: Veterans Administration, Dept. of Medicine and Surgery, Rehabilitation R & D

Macro & Micro Environmental Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Macro & Micro Environmental Analysis - Essay Example This report stresses that considering the analysis of the above five industry forces, the hotel industry holds moderate to high level of attractiveness as three out of the five forces are in beneficial state and the threat of new entrants is also not high but moderate. Only adversely positioned industry force is the high rivulet levels within the industry and companies who specialize in their marketing and differentiating strategies and build strong brands will be able to counter this force as well. Thus, organisations with high internal capabilities will be able to enjoy strong profits within this industry. This paper makes a conclusion that it can be noted that the organisations and its performances are affected by a myriad of factors in its macro and micro- environments. While the factors within the micro environment is within the reach of organisational influence, the macro factors tend to affect the organisation but remain beyond the control of the company. Organisations can assess the conditions of its macro environment through application of SPECTLE analysis while the microenvironment can be assessed through stakeholder analysis or Porters five force concepts. While these analysis will only yield an insight in to the conditions of the environment, its the strategic responses which the company makes in relation to the environmental conditions which will decide how successful the company be in surviving and thriving in the turbulent business environment.

Strategic Management and Possesses Good Customer Essay Example for Free

Strategic Management and Possesses Good Customer Essay 1.What are the key issues presented in the study? Barclay’s is one of the four most dominant retail and commercial banks in U.K. but the company has faced many challenges between the time periods of 1980-2000. Key Issues: †¢Underperformance: The bank had lost confidence in its abilities due to years of underperformance. It had failed to reach global market place with negligible growth in divestitures and acquisitions. †¢Leadership issues: The bank failed to find a good leader between 1995 and 19999. It had five different CEOs in five years failing to contribute. †¢Cost reduction: The bank was struggling to make significant changes which could reduce its cost base. Its cost to income ratio was higher than that of competitors. †¢Lack of Planning: The bank lacked strategic planning and also had a inadequate management performance system. †¢Media and investors: The bank had become the easy target for media because of its performance and changing CEOs. This resulted into unhappy investors and demoralized employees. 2.Is Barclay’s performing well? Justify your answer. Considering the size and resources the bank has, I would say the bank is not performing according to its standards. Justification: Barclay’s possesses good customer relationship skills. They have built personal relationships with one out of five personal customers, and have direct relationships with 25% of the businesses in U.K. This is a great resource to have; unfortunately it is not able to use the resources effectively. The infrastructure of the company is not capable of using the resources properly. One of the most important things needed for success of any organization is to have a good leader which the bank lacks. The bank has little indication on where they are losing money and where to cut costs. This is due to absence of a strategic plan and poor management system. The cost to income ratio was higher than its competitors which greatly affected the company’s balance sheets. The bank had been unable to grow globally due to unmotivated and demoralized executives. The employees were not able to work in a team due to lack of communication and other corporate difficulties. In all, Barclay’s was a brand and had a reputation which it failed to fulfill because of poor management decisions and lack of proper planning and execution. 3.What are the processes that Barrett used to formulate decide and implement new strategy? Matt Barrett had a difficult task ahead to imp

Customization And Personalization Through Emarketing Marketing Essay

Customization And Personalization Through Emarketing Marketing Essay The most current and relevant literature on e-marketing is examined and the relevant areas disused in various literature which has connection with the objective of the business project are explored in this chapter. E-business and e-commerce are modern form of business which is performed in a technologically advanced business environment. The e-business is termed as the application of information technology for internal business process as well as activities in which a company engages during commercial activity. These activities can include functional activities such as finance, marketing, human resources management and operations (Philips, 2003). Ecommerce is the use of Information and communication technology to enable external activities and relationship with individuals, groups and other businesses (Laudon and Traver, 2002).Due to the growth in electronic media for business functions , the way of interaction between the supplier, distributor, seller and customer has become changed and more enhanced. E-commerce channels allow businesses to get to the customer faster, with more velocity, and more value (Budhwani, 2001) E-Marketing E-marketing is a process of building and maintaining customer relationship through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas, products and services that satisfy the goals of both parties (Mohammed et al, 2001). Strauss et al (2003) suggest that e-marketing covers a wide range of IT related applications with three main aims: Transforming marketing strategies to create more customer value through more effective segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning strategies; more efficiently planning and executing the conception, distribution, promotion and pricing of goods, services and ideas; creating exchanges that satisfy individual consumer and organisational customers objectives. Business is mainly based on exchange process; e-marketing has the ability to be beneficial for all the people who involve in the business. Mainly organization has realised this and started to refocus their marketing strategy using e-marketing. E-Marketing versus Traditional Marketing As number of individuals spending their time on internet is increasing rapidly, e-marketing is growing as a powerful marketing tool. Due to advancement and utilisation of technology in Internet has grown rapidly, thereby e-marketing gained more attention by most of the firms and due to this the traditional marketing methods loses its value. The traditional marketing channels like as television, print media, and radio are becoming less popular. The traditional media are competing with the electronic media for seeking customer attention but the Internet and appear to be gaining over the other media. On implementing E-Marketing a company can reach its customer directly through website, e-mail, social networking sites and various other means. E-Marketing is cost effective and also gains lot of attention of the customer. These factors make E-Marketing to overlap the traditional marketing. The Internet is assumed to be an important channel for marketing and distribution of products and services. This is, among other things, due to the cost-effectiveness of the Internet and the convenience for customers. With the Internet marketers can reach out to a broad customer base, locate target customers, identify their needs and communicate with them at a relatively low cost. The Internet provides an opportunity for market testing and optimization. Increasing digitalization will make it progressively easier to experimentally alter particular aspects of a business and quickly observe how customers respond (Wyner, 2000) Benefits of e-marketing E-marketing has several benefits which can be capitalised by the organisation to gain competitive advantages; those benefits are listed below, The web allows non-linear communication in which there is free flow and exchange of information, and there is a potential for two-way communication between a business and its audiences in different contexts on a one to one basis, and a many-to-many basis. The many-to-many model involves communication between customers (Hoffman and Novak, 1995). E-marketing can increase an organisations geographic coverage beyond its traditional operating area. E-marketing will also make the organisation to have a global presence and a wider reach. New market and new customers can be obtained by the company, if the e-marketing is utilised effectively. Moreover e-marketing provides a cheap way of communicating with customers and the business transactions can also be cared out in low cost. A website can be used as a powerful business tool for carrying out sales and services all day providing greater convenience for the customer. Besides that e-marketing can be used for an online sales promotion and provide targeted offers and special privileges to the customer. E-Marketing is fast and flexible communication tool and helps to fulfil the customer retention objective of the company. The internet provides rich sources of marketing data for the marketers, which can be used for decision-making purposes. Additionally e-marketing research supported with appropriate software and technology provides a good data analysis to streamline the process of research. Similarly e-marketing help to improve the brand name and provides a better platform for development of the brand presence. The purpose of branding is to facilitate the organisations task of getting and maintaining a loyal customer base in a cost-effective manner to achieve the highest possible return on investment (De Chernatony and McDonald, 1998, p.17) E-marketing problems There are also few problems with e-marketing that marketers must understand and respond to. Those are outlined below: A companys marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect the marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its target customers. The marketing environment offers both threats and opportunities (Kotler et al, 2001) The major problem of e-marketing is lack of trust among the online users to make transactions with unknown traders and the customers resistance to change, mainly older and disadvantage people. Next big problem is customers concerns over privacy issues such as spam and unwanted marketing communication. Rising network security doubts over fraud and hacking cause huge setback for e-marketing. Moreover the technology gap between the organization and customer is a disadvantage. There are also difficulties and social impacts in cross-broader trading using electronic media. Customization and Personalization through E-marketing The e-marketing provides customization and personalization benefits to both firm and the customer. Customisation refers to more personalised products availability and tailored communication. The Internet marketing environment offers extensive customization and personalization opportunities. The evolution from marketing on the averages to marketing on the differences is a very prominent theme and a major advantage of the Web market compared to real environments (Reitman, 1994). Customization provides the ability to the customer to order product uniquely as per their need and specification. This helps the firms to know more about the individual customer, so that the offers and communications can be tailored as per the behaviour of the customer. This provides a great competitive advantage. E-marketing and Customer Focus The customer focus is very essential for any business organisation and marketing activities are will be build to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. Customer loyalty is emerged from satisfaction and from loyalty come more profitability and sales. The customer is the key element for all business but the e-marketing make customer even more powerful. Due the technology advancement customers are more demanding with search engines, more substitute product availability and multi-channel user friendly technology. Customer makes up the online communities of an organisation. Consumer behaviour growing to be more complex. But e-marketing coupled with emerging technologies enables more precise segmentation and targeting of customer. E-marketing helps to implement personalised offering to each customer, this done by obtaining permission and sends offers to target customer. The interactive nature of internet allows getting quicker customer feedback. These factors of e-marketing helps fi rms to remain customer focused.

Helping Beyond Our Borders Essay -- International Crime

There are currently 14 names on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) â€Å"Most Wanted† list (USA for the International Criminal Court). This is the list of the individuals that are responsible for the most heinous crimes happening around the world. It is the goal of the ICC to find these criminals and bring them to justice. American Involvement in the International Criminal Court, designed to provide enforcement and prosecution for crimes against humanity, is critical to its success in fighting those who are responsible for the world’s worst crimes. The International Criminal Court was first established in 1998 when 120 countries voted to adopt the treaty outlining its structure. This treaty went into effect on July 1, 2002, and 108 countries have ratified it as of 2008. The goal of the ICC is to bring the most serious international war criminals to justice and stop crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes (USA for the International Criminal Court). The involvement of the United States in the ICC has changed with each president in office. During the Clinton Administration, President Clinton participated in negotiations with the ICC and signed its statute in 2000. However, he did not ratify the treaty because he believed it to be flawed. Then, in 2002, the Bush Administration announced that it would no longer participate in any ICC activity and would not support the court when it was established (AMICC). Since then, the Obama Administration has changed the United States’ relationship with the ICC f rom that of hostility to positive support. Under Obama, the U.S. has supported international criminal justice and principled engagement with international institutions. The U.S., however, does not wish to become... ...fference. Aggressive prosecution aided by the strength the U.S. would add to the process, would help deter future events. There are many people behind all of these horrific crimes, and American involvement in the ICC is crucial to its success in bringing those individuals to justice. Works Cited American Non-Governmental Organization Coalition for the ICC. AMICC, 2012. Web. 12 Mar 2012. MacPhee, Briony. "The United States Should Be a Part of the International Criminal Court." American Non-Governmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC), 2008. Gale Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 9 Mar 2012. "U.S. Influence Being Felt at International Criminal Court." America.gov Press Release. 16 Jun 2010. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 09 Mar 2012. USA for the International Criminal Court. Citizens for Global Solutions. Web. 12 Mar 2012.

Meat Industry Essay

People all over the world eat meat for its nutritional value and taste. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that in the year 2011 people in the U.S consumed 25.6 billion pounds of beef. Most of this meat was produced in America. A Holistic approach to food production is important in order to improve the quality of beef. What we feed our cattle, the housing conditions and the slaughter procedure directly impacts our food. What the farmers feed cattle directly affects the quality of beef for the consumer. The cow has many more benefits from eating grass than being fed corn. It is a lot healthier for cows to consume grass because that is what their stomachs are made for. The stomachs have three sections that are made specifically for digesting grass (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Today, most cows are put on a diet that is based on corn. The cows used to be fed grass and roam free but since than there have been changes. The idea about feeding cattle grain began during World War II. It all started when farmers were producing more grain than the American population could handle, so the rest of it was fed to cows. It was discovered that feeding a cow different types of grains fattened them up a lot faster than when cows were consuming grass. With a grass fed diet, it takes cows about five years to reach 1,200 pounds. However, with the grain-based diet it takes a cow about 390 days to get to a reachable weight for slaughter (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Also, the producer benefits more from feeding his cows corn because it is cheaper than grass. Therefore, a diet based on corn is more cost effective but the quality of meat has less nutritional value (Why Grass Fed- Health Benefits of Grass Fed Beef). The consumer benefits more from meat that comes from cows that consume grass rather than in-taking different types of grains. The cow is a lot healthier and happier when it is eating grass, which results in higher quality meat. Since cows’ stomachs are meant to break down grass, a corn based diet causes changes in the digestion of a cow leading to serious health problems, such as diarrhea, ulcers, and a weakened immune system. As a result of these issues, the cows are given antibiotics to help prevent this from occurring, which makes the meat unhealthier (Healthy Theory -Corn-F ed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Another huge topic of concern is the disregard of animal welfare. These animals aren’t being cared for and they are treated as units of production (Learn About The Issues). In order to fatten up cows in time for slaughter, many farmers put them in feedlots. The conditions these cows go through are unbearable. As many cows as possible are crammed into each pen. The result of this is massive amounts of waste covering the animals living space (The Issues Animal Welfare). This causes the air to be unhealthy and creates many gases and diseases that aren’t wanted. During the whole time the cows are in the feedlot they are breathing in methane gas. Large amounts of methane are bad for animals because it takes away oxygen from the air, which can affect the central nervous system (2- Health Effects of Methane). The alternative is a more holistic way, which allows the cattle to roam around freely on huge pastures until they get fat enough to get slaughtered. In the United States, animal welfare is being ignored, because cows are being treated i n a cruel and unhealthy way. When they are living in the feedlots, they are covered with manure and aren’t being cared for. As soon as cows are fat enough to get slaughtered, they are sent to the closest slaughterhouse. On their journey they are faced with heartbreaking situations. They are often transported from 1,200 to 1,500 miles away in scorching hot weather or freezing temperatures. Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian inspector said, â€Å"They are crammed onto trucks and go without food or water for days†. When it is cold, they are in the back of a trailer with nothing covering them. As the driver drives sixty miles per hour, cows are being exposed to a variety of extreme weather. Many cows collapse in hot weather. While they are traveling they urinate. After sometime it begins to freeze while their hooves are standing in it. Also, the fur of the cows â€Å"†¦ freezes to the sides of the trucks until workers pry them off with crowbars†(Cow Transport and Slaughter). When the cows get to the slaughterhouse, they are often in bad conditions. Most of them are sick and cannot walk because they are too weak. In order to move weak and injured cows they are dragged along with a bulldozer by a chain around their neck or leg. Even though they are in bad shape, cows are still being used for their meat because it means more money in the producer’s pocket. If some of the cows are able to walk, they are still abused. Workers beat them with a metal rod in order to move them faster (The Humane Society of the United States). Also, before they are killed the cows are lined up to wait for their turn to be stunned so that they will pass out before they get slaughtered. Sometimes the stunning procedure does not work. Ramon Moreno, a slaughterhouse worker has stated that he often has to cut the legs off of cows that are completely conscious. â€Å"They blink. They make noises,† he says. â€Å"The head moves, the eyes are wide and looking around. †¦ They die piece by piece.† If workers try to report that the cows are still alive they risk loosing their jobs (Cow Transport and Slaughter). After cows reach a certain weight they are ready to be slaughtered for meat consumption. The process of tu rning cows into packed meat can cause the meat to be infected. Before they are slaughtered, cows are cleaned. However, in some cases not well enough. The waste of the cow can get into the processed meat that is being cut by the workers. This can contaminate the meat with E-coli, which is a type of bacteria that can lead to death. â€Å"According to Centers for Disease Control estimates, up to 20,400 cases of E. coli infection and 500 deaths from E-coli disease occur annually in the United States† (Escherichia Coli 0157:H7). Another disease that is created in these fast paced industries is mad cow disease. (the issues-slaughterhouses and processing). Mad cow disease affects the cow’s nervous system and it causes the cow to act confused and loose control of the ability to walk (What is Mad Cow Disease). When people eat infected beef they may contract a human version of mad cow disease. It affects the nervous system causing depression and loss of coordination. As it becomes more severe, it causes dementia (The Basics of Mad Cow Disease). With our modern day technology, slaughterhouses are able to kill thousands and thousands of cow’s every day. There are many solutions that can change the food industry to produce their meat in a more animal friendly way. To help cut back more meat being produced in factories, consumers can support local farms by eating food that is grown locally. Holistic farming care for their animals and focus on getting delicious, healthy meat than just producing more and more for profit. The food quality of holistic farmed meat is a lot better because the cows are raised and treated well as opposed to when the animals are abused their whole life. If we really want a change, it is up to Americans to demand that. Currently, laws support the industrial farming methods and lack the attempt of helping small farms grow. An example is that American tax money goes to support research and the operating cost of large food producing companies (Learn About the Issues). In order for there to be a change, citizens need to become aware of the process. Change will happen by the consumer supporting politicians who are looking to change the food industry. Consequently, producers would need to be more focused on the care of the animals than earning as much money as possible. What American farmers feed their cattle, where they raise them and how they get slaughtered directly impacts the quality of our food. It is important for consumers to be aware of the United States food industry because there is so much more behind the food brought to you in the supermarket. If the consumer buys meat that is produced holistically, and legislation puts focus on the care of animals, the food industry will be forced to improve their methods.