Pulp Fiction Analysis

Pulp Fiction – 1994 Color – 154 mins. Producer: Lawrence Bender Director: Quentin Tarantino Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary Director of Photography: Andrzej Sekula Editor: Sally Menke Music: Rolf Johnson Introduction Released in October of 1994, this crime/thriller/gangster film, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is still one of the most widely controversial classic American movies of all time. Pulp Fiction blew the Box Office away when it received a whopping nine million dollars on opening night alone. The film is known for its extremely ironic blend of humor and brutal violence, as well as its multiple story lines that eventually weave themselves together. Quentin Tarantino strays from the ordinary script by giving the characters long, intense, and surprisingly profound monologues and dialogues throughout this film. The film’s title, Pulp Fiction, comes from magazines and novels about gangs and crime that were popular during the time of the films release. Tarantino presents his trademark style of the out of order plot in this film, just as in many of his others. The inspiration of this film has been profoundly felt throughout many aspects of the film industry, even having an affect on the independent film world, though it is not an independent movie. Pulp Fiction stars many famous Hollywood actors such as John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, and Bruce Willis. In 1995 Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary won the Oscar for Best Writing for this film, and it was nominated for six other Oscars in the same year. Tarantino was also awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his directing this movie in 1994. Pulp Fiction was truly an influential movie for its time and, without a doubt, a classic American film. Plot Summary As the credits end a title card is shown which gives two dictionary definitions of the word â€Å"pulp. † The camera then fades to show a couple sitting in a diner having a discussion about robbing banks and liquor stores. The woman, called â€Å"Honey Bunny,† and the man, â€Å"Pumpkin,† decide they would likely make more from customers wallets than they would from the till itself. They proceed to stand up in their booth and announce that they are robbing the diner. Immediately after he announces this the scene cuts and the opening credits begin. We then see two men, who we later learn are Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, driving a car and discussing a recent trip to Europe. The two are wearing dress suits and are on their way to get a briefcase for their boss, Marsellus Wallace, from a man that did business with Wallace without paying him for it. Winnfield and Vega discuss foot massages, their bosses wife, and â€Å"Royale with Cheeses† before ultimately entering the mans room, retrieving the briefcase, and killing the man and another man in the room. The scene cuts and we are in what appears to be an empty restaurant with Butch Coolidge, a fighter, and Marsellus Wallace. Coolidge agrees to lose his upcoming fight in exchange for a great deal of money from Wallace. The next day, Vega drives to a friends house to shoot up heroin before heading to Marsellus Wallace's house to take his wife, Mia Wallace, out for the night, just as Wallace asked him to while he is away. They arrive at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, a fifties diner, and participate in a twist competition, and return to the Wallace house. While Vega is in the bathroom, Mia finds a bag of heroin in his jacket pocket and, thinking it is cocaine, shorts it and overdoses. Scared and worried, Vega rushes Mia to his heroin dealers house to try and save her. They proceed to give her a shot of adrenaline in her chest which awakens her, and Mia and Vincent decide not to tell Wallace about what happened. The story then goes back to Coolidge, the fighter, preparing for his fight. Having received the money from Wallace to throw the fight prior to the fight, he wins the fight, flees the arena, and hops in a cab. He learns from the driver that he killed his opponent and hides out in a motel with his girlfriend before realizing that she forgot to pack his watch. When he returns to his apartment he notices a gun on the counter and, upon seeing Vega exit his bathroom, he shoots and kills him. When leaving the apartment Coolidge hits Wallace with his car. After a foot chase, kidnapping by a shop owner, and Coolidge saving Wallace’s life, Wallace agrees to forget about the fight so long as he does not tell anyone bout what happened with the shop owner. The story then returns to Vega and Winnfield at the apartment when a man they were not aware was there jumps out of the bathroom and shoots at them. He misses every shot and is killed when Vega and Winnfield return fire, and Winnfield is convinced it is a sign from God that they were not hit with a single bullet. They then take the only man left alive in the apartment, Marvin, to be their informant. While in the car talking about the â€Å"m iracle from God,† Vega accidentally shoot Marvin in the face. In an act to get their blood covered car out of public the two men call upon a friend, played by Quentin Tarantino, for help cleaning up. With the help of a â€Å"The Wolf† the men and their friend are able to clean up the car, themselves, and dispose of the body and go to breakfast. As they eat breakfast in a coffee shop, they discuss Winnfield’s plan of retiring due to the â€Å"sign from God. † The story then cuts to Honey Bunny and Pumpkin and their discussion from the first scene of the movie, just before they hold up the same restaurant where Vega and Winnfield are eating. With Vega in the bathroom, Honey Bunny and Pumpkin announce they are robbing the place and request Winnfield’s mysterious briefcase. Winnfield draws his gun on Pumpkin which causes Honey Bunny to point her gun at Winnfield as well until Vega emerges from the bathroom with his gun pointed at Honey Bunny. Winnfield tells the couple he will let them go with the money they collected from the customers wallets so long as he lets him keep the briefcase. They agree and leave the restaurant with their loot. Winnfield decides he is going to be retiring after they give Wallace the briefcase. The scene then fades to black and the movie is over. Comments/Response To me, this film is a one of a kind piece of art that Quentin Tarantino beautifully wrote and directed. Some aspects of the movie – the fact that the audience must decode the order of the scenes – were not my favorite, but overall this film is one of the greatest, in my eyes. Tarantino’s use of dialogue in this film is astonishingly clever as most people would not think of â€Å"gangsters† as the type to enjoy a good intellectual conversation. Similarly, I found it interesting that Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Jules Winnfield, seemed to be a religious man in that twice during the movie he recites Ezekiel 25:17 from the bible, as well as believing that the fact that they had been shot at several times and had not been hit was a sign from God. Tarantino does an outstanding job with having the first and the last scenes partially overlap as well as having them unfold at the same time, even though they are not presented together in the movie. He ultimately allows the audience to see the same scene twice but from an entirely new perspective without even realizing it at first. All in all, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction is not only a classic American film that has forever changed several media, but it also successfully skews the audiences morals into unknowingly viewing the â€Å"bad guys† as the heros, which is no easy task in film. This is a must see film for all who love a great film as well as a good deal of blood.

Fin 370 Ethics and Compliance Paper

Ethics and Compliance FIN/370 Dec/14/2011 Ethics and Compliance â€Å"The mission of the Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world† (According to  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Walt Disney Company Mission Statement†Ã‚  (2011) Walt Disney began as a cartoon studio in the 1920s more than eight decades later is become a global corporation, and premier provider of quality family entertainment across America and around the world. What is the secret of the Walt Disney success? What are the rules and standard that make Walt Disney one of the biggest corporations in the world? Team C is going to discuss in this presentation the role of ethics compliance, the procedures and ethical behavior, the processes that the company uses to comply with the SEC regulations, and assess the financial performance of Walt Disney Company. Disney’s Ethics Since the beginning of the Walt Disney Company, ethics and compliance were very important for the entire organization and the Walt Disney Company of today the business standards and ethics are well written, and outlined in great detail. One of the reasons that the ethics and compliance standards were implemented is to ensure that the financial health of the company is not compromised by the misused of proprietary information to gain wealth illegally by the employees and the Board of Directors. All employees, managers and Directors are responsible for the financial health of the company and the best interest of the stockholders. Walt Disney Company used internal audits to ensure that all documentation and reports are accurate and also that all financial statements are in compliance with the general accounting practices. Each individual shall report and record all information, and complete Company document, accurately and honestly. These include, for example, time cards, reimbursable business expense requests, invoices, payroll records, safety records, business records and performance evaluations. † According to  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Walt Disney Company†Ã‚  (2011) Walt Disney Company has taken steps to ensure the ethical behavior in the organization, honesty is emphasized in the 2011 employee handbook, employee and upper management is accountable for all documentation are accurate. Evaluation of Disclosure control and procedures is a division of Walt Disney Company created to ensure that all employees, management, and Directors are following the ethical behavior established by the company and all financial reports files within the time mandated the General Accounting Practices. SEC Regulations The U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in place to ensure that people who invest in publicly traded companies are protected, and that an efficient market is maintained in a fair and orderly fashion. The SEC has put in place several laws and rules to ensure that all investors have access to certain financial information before they buy stock in a company. This information is to remain public and readily available as long as the company is publicly traded. This means that the companies that are publicly traded must disclose this financial and other related information to anyone who requests it. Most companies have it posted online on their company website. These rules and laws ensure that investors are making informed decisions both before they buy stock and the entire time they are owners of company stock. Every year, the SEC finds companies who are in violation of the rules they have in place. Some companies will neglect their duty to post their annual financial data, or they may manipulate the data that they post. These violations can be viewed as insider trading, account fraud, or purposefully misleading company shareholders. Those companies who are found guilty of these types of offenses face serious fines against the company, and may include jail time for the people who manipulated the data. Disney is a publicly traded company, and as such, is expected to follow the rules and regulations set forth by the SEC. To comply with the regulations, Disney has made available all of the required annual financial statements on their company website. This website is separate from their storefront and theme park websites, and is dedicated to providing information about the Disney Corporation. This information includes the history of the company, investor relations, news releases, career information and job listings, and all of the required financial documents for investors. This way, any existing or potential investors can readily find information about the Disney Company that can be useful when trying to make sound decisions regarding buying or selling shares of Disney stock. Disney’s Financial Performance | | | The Walt Disney Company has several different operations: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, customer products and interactive media (Disney,  2010). Based upon Disney’s 2009 and 2010 financial statements, we have calculated these key ratios: Key ratios:| 2010| 2009| Current ratio| 1. 11| 13. 31| Debt ratio| 0. 90| 0. 08| Average collection period| 55. 46| 49. 01| Return on equity| 0. 11| 0. 10| Disney’s revenues increased on 2010 compared to 2009. The overall liquidity of the company was better on 2009. On 2010 Disney acquired a bigger debt because of the current financial crisis. They took a bigger risk by doing this, but the risk turned into a positive outcome. Their collection period extended more in 2010, but this allow them to generate more businesses as suppose they would have kept a more extract payment regiment. Disney managed its resources efficiently, making a bigger profit on 2010 than they did on the previous year. Between all of their operations, some more popular than others, they could produce a higher profit margin on 2010. They also focused on the new trends such as technology, and product globalization, to stay competitive and profitable. Disney has adapted to the economy changes and taken risks in order to keep up with the competition and to maintain the business growth. 2009 was more stable and secure in every aspect, but the risk taken was necessary to increase the company’s profit. Conclusion The Disney Corporation is a company that has been publically traded for many years, and has grown to be one of the largest companies that is publically raded. The company strives to follow the regulations set forth by the SEC so that stockholders in the company can easily make sound decisions regarding their shares of stock. For 56 consecutive years, Disney has been able to pay dividends to their shareholders, even through the most recent financial recession. Most recently, the annually pa id dividend increased by 50% for the 2011 fiscal year. (Disney, 2011) Over the last couple of years, the company has shown steady growth, and could be considered a wise investment for someone interested in buying shares of stock. References The Walt Disney Company,  (2010). Retrieved from http://corporate. disney. go. com/investors/annual_reports. html The Walt Disney Company,  (2011). Retrieved from http://corporate. disney. go. com/corporate/complete_history. html The Walt Disney Company,  (2011). Retrieved from http://corporate. disney. go. com/news/corporate/2011/2011_1201_board_increases_annual_dividend. html Walt Disney Company Mission Statement,  (2011),  Retrieved from http://retailindustry. about. com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Walt-Disney-Mission-Statement. htm

Learning & Cognitive theories Essay

Learning in my life is an ongoing process; one that carries on as I come across various situations, every single one of them increasing my learning experience. It is rightly said that learning starts the day one is born and continues till one’s death bed. So in this respect there have been various stimuli that have repeatedly crossed my life. I have made several associations with different kinds of objects or situations for that matter which I have remembered and used to make various inferences. Who does not remember the jingles of the ice cream man, stimulating and beckoning the kids to crave for ice cream and inquire for money from the parents? Out of the many situations, one that has truly left an indelible impression on my mind is a childhood recollection of the horrific car accident that I went through with my family. Although I came out unscathed from the accident as did my family who just suffered minor injuries, the very thought of screeches of a car just triggers a whole array of thoughts and nightmares of my accident ordeal. It was a fine day with no unusual surroundings or conditions of the highway. Our car was also going at a steady pace maintaining the speed limits. The car was functioning well with every smallest detail of the car scrutinized by my father, a perfectionist at work. But as it happened that the heavy truck two cars in front of ours carrying logs of wood, its lock that fastened the logs broke free from its bolt which sent the logs tumbling down. This is what I last remembered out of my flashbulb memory, besides the incessant screeches and the wails of the people struck by this horrific incident. It is from that moment onwards that I shudder at the slightest screech of a car so much so that I cannot even stand my friends drifting their modified cars, much to their surprise and disgust. Such a fear that I have developed is largely due to that horrific incident that I went through. This has set a feeling or a sensation at the back of my mind about staying away from fast cars on the roads. I can attribute my fear to the concept of classical conditioning wherein an unconditioned stimulus (screech of a car) has turned into a conditioned stimulus. That conditioned stimulus sets off a conditioned response (fear of an accident). The concept of classical conditioning says exactly that learning is associated with a person responding to a neutral stimulus which normally does not bring about that response. So more often that not whenever I come across and hear a screech I relate it with a fear that somebody will have an accident. If I had not experienced that accident, such a screech of a car would not have meant anything abnormal or out of the ordinary. Such a behavior of mine can also be explained by the concept operant conditioning where a person learns a voluntary response and the extent of it is strengthened or weakened depending on its positive or negative consequences. In my accident scenario, the accident is a negative consequence which I associate with a screech of a car. So the screech or a high speed develops the fear and reinforces it as well. Such reinforcement may happen if somebody in my family also has an accident on a highway or I myself get into an accident. The reinforcement has also stemmed from media which has also done a sufficient bit to sustain my fear of car accidents. One can usually see in the car chases in the movies where the bad guys being chased by the cops or police in their cars get into accidents and get busted. There are several other instances where certain programs reinforce my fear of speeding and screeching cars like the reality car shows. They show cars getting into horrific and deadly accidents as the drivers over speed their vehicles. There is another approach to learning which is called cognitive social learning. One such learning is latent learning. In this type of learning a new behavior does not get registered properly though it is acquired till one receives reinforcement encouraging one to adopt or develop a behavior. But in my accident scenario, I can largely put it down to classical conditioning. This is where I have started making associations with certain stimuli which in turn leads to the development of fear. Reference ATHERTON J S (2005) Learning and Teaching: Cognitive theories of learning http://www. learningandteaching. info/learning/cognitive. htm Accessed: 2 February 2009 Frietas, S & Neumann, T. (2009). The use of exploratory learning for supporting immersive learning in virtual environments. Computers & Education Moriyama, J & Kato, Y. (2009) Self-efficacy and learning experience of information education: in case of junior high school. AI & Society

Infancy and Early Chidhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Infancy and Early Chidhood - Essay Example According to Piagets theory of cognitive development, there are four stages of cognitive development and the first stage or the sensorimotor stage occurs between birth to 24 months and the second stage or the preoperational stage occurs between 2- 7 years of age. In the sensorimotor stage, there are six sub-stages. During the first weeks of life, reflexive behaviours facilitate coordination of sensation. The main reflexes involved are sucking, movements of eyes and palmar grasp. From the six weeks of life to 4 months, coordination of sensation occurs through habits reflex and primary circular reactions. From 4-8 months, coordination between vision and comprehension occurs and children develop habits at this stage. The dawn of logic occurs at this stage. Between 8- 12 months, touch-hand-eye coordination occurs. Coordination between means and ends also occurs at this stage. Piaget called this stage "first proper intelligence." Goal orientation and deliberate steps to meet an objective begin in this stage. At the age 12- 18 months, children experiment with new behaviour. Piaget suggested that children discover new means to meet their goals at this stage. Between 18- 24 months, children begin to use primitive symbols and develop enduring mental representations. This stage is marked by the development of true creativity and insight. The next stage of development according to Piaget is the preoperational period. This stage begins by the end of 2 years and new kind of psychological functioning develops. The mental operations are inadequate and sparse. The child begins to use and represent by drawings, words and images. Thinking at this stage is egocentric and the child is not in a position to understand the viewpoint of others (Piaget and Inhelder, 1973). According to Erikson, during the first stage of development occurs between 0-1 year, during which period, the basic needs are met by

A History of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty Research Paper

A History of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty - Research Paper Example Despite preaching immense love and respect for humanity, Catholicism exhibited extreme views on the death penalty. Going back to the earliest times, Christianity adhered to the concept of vengeance instead of forgiveness. â€Å"An eye for an eye, life for life, limb for limb† had been the doctrine of olden times Christianity. This was the doctrine of the churches and all the popes had been following it until The Church published its approved catechism in 1992 for the first time in over four centuries. Pope John Paul II described death penalty in these words: "the right and duty of the legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty." â€Å"The 1992 text then asserts that "the primary effect of punishment is to redress the disorder caused by the offense." Finally, it states, "If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person." The second publication came in Latin in 1997 and to its readers’ surprise, the second version of catechism contained a significant change in the definition of the death penalty. But even before that Pope John Paul II issued a letter titled â€Å"On Human Life† (Evangelium Vitae, 1995). The letter emphasized the importance of the human life and reverence. It also arose many moral issues related to the death penalty. Although Pope John Paul had been favoring the death penalty as per the Capital Laws in the past this new shift surprised the Church’s followers to a great extent. Finally in the 1997 version death penalty was acceptable only in the extreme case of protecting one from the aggressor.  

Coaching skill education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Coaching skill education - Essay Example Scientists are of the view that this kind of training is good for the athletic sports as opposed to sports like table tennis, gymnastics, and figure skating which are considered early specialization sports. These early specialization sports take short number of years to fully develop competitor to join the elite competition. They therefore do not require as much number of years to prepare as for the athletic training (Bar-or, 2006). This stage as the name suggests is the fun stage. The athlete, or would be athlete, is meant to have fun as they learn the basic moves required in the sports. This stage is best suited for the ages of 6-9 for males and 6-8 for females. It is important to note the basic skills practiced here are not the sport specific yet but are just general body movement skills. This is to ensure the athlete is all round developed and grows with sporting without difficulty (Bloom, 2004). The emphasis is therefore to build basic motor skills. These will help produce an athlete with skills that are trainable in regards to the specific sport. There are three stages involve in the fundamental stage of skill development. These three stages can be categorized as: initial stage which takes (2-3 years), elementary stage which takes (4–5 years) and mature stage which takes (6–7 years). At the end of the FUNdamental stage, the athlete should have the basic sport skills such as speed, good balance, and agility. Strength training at this stage should include using the child’s weight another important aspect also is the introduction of the child to the ethics of sports. It is important that the child learn sports basics from the tender age (Ericsson & Charnesss, 1994). At this stage, the athlete is to learn all fundamental sports skills. The main objective of this stage is to further the skills learnt at the first stage. The motor skills are advanced and the child

Thermoregulation in Desert Lizards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thermoregulation in Desert Lizards - Essay Example Among ectotherms, lizards inhabiting tropical regions are most likely to be affected since biodiversity in their habitats are most affected (Meek 1). Change in temperatures affects lizards in terms of thermoregulation mechanisms, energy expenditure, as well as biological activity. Investigation on how temperature changes, caused by global warming, are affecting lizards is of utmost importance especially considering that lizards are at a high risk of extinction. According to Huey et al, â€Å"Forest lizards are key components of tropical ecosystems, but appear vulnerable to the cascading physiological and ecological effects of climate warming, even though rates of tropical warming may be relatively low† (Huey et al 1939-1940). This paper explores the effect of global warming on thermoregulation mechanisms of lizards. Strategies to Thermoregulation of Desert Lizard According to theories of evolution, thermoregulatory mechanisms in many species especially reptiles has evolved wit h time in response to changing climatic conditions (Huey et al 1939-1942). Changes in climatic conditions cause increase in temperature variations forcing lizards to adopt both biological and behavioral temperature regulation mechanisms in order to cope with changing weather conditions. According to Meek, â€Å"The evolution of thermoregulatory behavior in reptiles almost certainly arose because environments are not usually thermally stable but fluctuate both on a daily or seasonal basis or because of uneven heat distributions within environments† (Meek 1). Meek hypothesized that any thermoregulation mechanism adopted by lizards comes at costs and benefits. For instance, lguanid lizard inhabiting high altitudes where temperatures are extremely low use ground vegetation for insulation. It was observed that the lizards could raise their body temperature to approximately 35degrees by basking on the sun for two hours. They could then return to their shelters and maintain their bo dy temperature for the whole afternoon. However, such a thermoregulatory mechanism comes at a cost since the lizards remain inactive, minimal habitat utilization, and increased basking (Meek 1). These findings correlate with findings by Kearney et al â€Å"Warmer environments also may increase maintenance energy costs while simultaneously constraining activity time, putting pressure on mass, and energy budgets† (Kearney et al 1). One of behavioral mechanisms adopted by lizard is change of body color in relation to surrounding environment temperatures. According to Bradshaw, this type of behavior enables the desert lizard to maintain its body temperature in a normal range. As the temperature goes down the lizard turns into black. Black color is a good absorber of heat and hence it is able to absorb heat faster from the environment. Once the environmental temperature rises, light color becomes prominent. This turns the heat away and enables the lizard to cool its body. This exp lains why desert lizards are light in color as compared to lizards in cold regions (Bradshaw 90). Besides being a thermoregulatory mechanism, a study by Bujes and Verrastro found out that color change was also found to be a camouflage mechanism (Bujes and Verrastro 1). Activity of the Lizard in Different Seasons The most important factor in behavioral regulation of temperature in desert lizards is use of burrows. Indeed, different studies have pointed to the same fact that desert lizards spend almost 75% of their lifetime in burrows throughout annual season. These burrows offer temporary rescue or long-term survival mechanism. Lizards either dig their own burrows or use already existing ones (Bradshaw 166). Similar findings were found by â€Å"The activity of

Strategic Management Analysis The Thomson Travel Group PLC Essay

Strategic Management Analysis The Thomson Travel Group PLC - Essay Example The company in 2002 changed its formal name from Thomson Holidays Limited to TUI UK, Ltd. Presently it is operating as Thomson Holidays, a brand of its parent company TUI Travel Plc. delivering their services to vacation travel retailers. It is primarily a UK based group serving both travel and tourism packages in the national as well as international markets. The group operates its air-line services in European region, Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, and America, employing nearly 18000 people at present. (Bloomberg L.P., 2010). Apart from airlines the group also owns a number of cruises named as Thomson Cruises, offering lower cost Europe tour through water. Additionally, the group also feature many holiday resorts to serve their customers a cheaper and comfortable holiday experiences. With a difference to the prospects of mere holiday packages, the group has also destined its path in publishing several magazines and brochures defining the types of packages offered and there pricing thereof giving its advertisement sector an effective touch. Some of the published magazines are, Thomson Destinations and Summer Sun, Thomson Destinations Florida among others (My Holiday Co. 2010).

Fiction analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fiction analysis - Essay Example Because the grandmother recognizes him, the entire family is taken back into the woods and killed with the exception of the grandmother, who is allowed to talk with the Misfit until the rest of the family is dead and then is killed there at the side of the road. A few more superficial comparisons can be made in that the main character of each story is a woman, each woman must face the death of her son and both women die by the end of the story for reasons they have little or no control over. However, there are deeper similarities between these two stories that emerge when one takes a closer look. These similarities include being written in the realist tradition, featuring men who suddenly realize their own common connections and both having a gothic element. One of the most glaring similarities between these two stories is that they are both written in the realist tradition. The realist tradition in American literature focused on the concept that people were just people, not submerge d divinities as the transcendentalists claimed or helpless victims of fate as the naturalists claimed. "These American realists believed that humanity's freedom of choice was limited by the power of outside forces" (Penrose). In other words, realism acknowledges individuals have their own power to make choices, but that they are also forced to work within boundaries established by external events. In Chopin's story, this is seen as Desiree finds herself trapped in a situation in which her beloved husband can no longer stand the sight of her because of the obviously mixed blood seen in their baby - a condition she cannot control. However, her fate is determined by her individual choice to "not take the broad, beaten road which led to the far-off plantation of Valmonde ... She disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again" (Chopin). It is also found in O'Connor's story as the grandmother is unable t o determine where she will go for a family vacation, but has the option of going along with the family or continuing to bid for a trip to Tennessee instead of Florida. In each case, there are limiting outside forces, but it is still the individual's choice that leads them to their fate. Both stories also have a strong gothic element. Some of the common elements of Gothic literature are emotional terror, some form of crumbling architecture, death and madness occurring among the characters, a sense of pervading darkness and plenty of secrets and hereditary curses (Hume 282). Desiree's home is dark enough to give Madame Volmonde shivers with its deeply sloping roof, "steep and black like a cowl," and the "big, solemn oaks" whose "thick-leaved, far-reaching branches shadowed it like a pall" (Chopin), giving a strong instance of foreshadowing in the symbolism used within this description. The nearby marshes, the stubble of the fields that cut Desiree's feet on the November evening that s he disappears, and the prevailing gloom of the harshly treated slaves all function to create a gothic environment. This is further enhanced by the mental anguish of the lady as she perceives

Internet Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Internet Security - Essay Example Internet security is a concern for all the world because due to internet, where people have gained many benefits, there are also many disadvantages such as internet fraud, loss of security and privacy, virus attacks, spamming, threat to data protection and computer misuse. Internet is accessed daily all over the world and is employed for multiple purposes is under threat. The companies, organizations, institutions and workplaces of the world that make use of internet are in need of internet security (Bhimani, 1996). Internet has minimized the gaps between people and their wanted works but it has also given us many disadvantages such as security threat. The computers that are kept and used in global settings are at threat in terms of security and if they are accessed illegally, there will be security threat and the private data of the companies or organizations that are working on international basis can get lost. In the lieu of internet security, there are a number of security measures that are taken such as anti-virus software, spyware, firewall and copyright authentication. There are many other security measures taken by various global organizations such as passwords for security purposes. The companies that are working online are at higher stake of lapsing of internet security. The online companies suffer from online monetary frauds that are quite problematic for the organizations. For all these purposes, further measures are required to be taken in order to safeguard the private and confidential data of internet companies. Global internet access is easier but internet security is considered very important by all the users of internet operating globally. Internet is an essential resource for all working institutions whether they are educational or business oriented. The sharing of it can be a key to growth and success of the institution. Internet security can be linked to computer security because internet is dependent on computer.

Reflective Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflective Discussion - Essay Example The fact that I could not perform well and the falling expectations that I had from myself made me lose interest in my studies. When I started this independent learning module, I was both a bit reluctant and sceptical. This is because the major way that I learnt was through the lectures given by teachers. I had not been in the habit of learning on my own unless it was to prepare for a test or to do an assignment. Independent learning did not seem to be of any use to me, since I had developed the attitude that when left on my own, I would give other things priority over my learning and education. However the full impact of the module was yet to unfold. Starting the module with scepticism, I saw my attitude and perception towards self-directed learning change over the course of the module. The experience of pursuing information on my own and learning for the sake of learning, without having a supervisor directing me to study taught me a number of things. The experience also brought my strengths and weaknesses to surface. Initially, independent learning was an arduous task for me. I knew that I had to study and it made me feel guilty when I used to waste time in the first few days of the module. However, it took me a class on self-motivation to realize where my problem lay. The class made me aware of my inaptitude to focus on goal-oriented learning. I realized that I lacked the intrinsic drive to study on my own and regulate my own learning. This encouraged me to take a series of steps to solve the problem. I asked my peers who performed well about how they study and balance their study and social life. I read literature on self-motivation. Moreover, I started implementing the philosophy of kaizen into my daily routine. Instead of delaying my assignments till the last day, I started work on them timely. I set short-term goals for myself, rewarding myself when I achieved them. Thus I gradually brought about little changes in my daily routine. These experiences made me appreciate my ability to identify the problem at hand and take concrete measures to counter it. I realized that where there is a will, there is a way. If a person is motivated and dedicated towards the achievement of his/her goals, he is most likely going to achieve them no matter how many challenges come in the way. However one weakness that independent learning highlighted was my tendency to become isolated. Effective independent learning requires that the individual engages in discussions with his/her teacher (CILL 2009). However I felt that I became very isolated with my peers and teachers towards the latter half o f the module. I believe that interaction with the tutor is necessary for not only clearing the misconceptions regarding the course work and understanding any concepts that the student does not comprehend, but also for providing guidance to the student. I feel that I did not have adequate interaction with my tutors and peers. There were some things in the course work that I did not get. Initially I remember that I did approach teachers or a peer for help. However later in the module, as I became involved in my own work, my interaction with my peers and teachers decreased so much so that I felt hesitant when it came to approaching them for help. This hesitance did have its consequences. I spent a longer period of time understanding a concept on my own as compared to the time I would have spent if I had received directive from an external source. Moreover

Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity Essay Example for Free

Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity Essay Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity People of different religions are in contact with each other every day, and do not even realize it. Here in the United States there is a compilation of many religions. Three major religions not only in the United States, but also throughout the world are Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. There are many differences, and few similarities when comparing Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Not only are the backgrounds of these religions similar and different, but so are the practices that they still live out to this day. Hinduism originated between 4000 and 2000 BC. Hinduism believes in Karma, â€Å"you reap what you sow,† and reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that after death, the soul can come back to earth in another body. The Hindu trinity is the Brahma, Vishnu, and the Shiva, which are the three aspects of the same divine being. There are four goals in the life of a Hindu. They are Kama, Artha, Dharma, and Moksha. These mean the fulfillment of certain desires, wealth, religious duties, and not wanting things. The cow and the bull are both considered sacred and should not be slaughtered. So Hindus are forbidden from eating beef. There are many festivals affiliated with the Hindu religion, because they believe it keeps them close to their gods. At least once a month, there is a Hindu festival, where they celebrate their diversity. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and the fastest growing religion in the world. Islam is the belief in the Judeo-Christian God. Muslims are monotheistic, and believe in the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars are the Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and the Hajj. The Shahada means testimony, Salat is for prayer, Zakat is for giving, Sawm is for fasting, and Hajj means pilgrimage. According to Muslims, Muhammad was a cornerstone of Islam, and he was god’s messenger. For Muslims, the pig is an unclean animal, and is forbidden to eat unless prepared in accordance with prescribed rules. Intoxicating drinks and substances are prohibited. Christianity is a major world religion that adapted over 2000 years ago. It is the belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. The major text of Christianity is the Bible. The Bible concludes of an Old and a New Testament, and is a compilation of books. Christians have many ways of religious practices. There are festivals and feasts, which are usually celebrated on holidays. The communal worship takes place on Sundays and other days of the week in which people from the church come together for rituals. The last is private worship, which is used when one is alone, where they can engage in prayer, devotions, and spiritual practices. Islam is a religion founded by a prophet. In contrast, Hinduism is a group of religious traditions, established over a period of time. In Hinduism personalities do not count as much as the divine law or the dharma. So in Islam the message of Islam is far more important than the person of Muhammad himself. Unlike Christianity, Muslims do not worship their prophet. Unlike Islam, Hinduism is strictly monogamous. Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam all share similarities and differences. Unlike Hinduism, Christianity and Islam share the belief of only one god. Hindus have a god for fire, death, water, etc. The practices of Christianity and Islam are sometimes in groups, while Hinduism is practiced alone. All three religions believe in the efficacy of prayer. But Hinduism and Islam believe in the importance of remembering and reciting the names, words, and deeds of god, for inner purification. Unlike Islam and Christianity, Hinduism has the choice of an intervener between god and a person, such as a priest or a guru for assistance. Intimate relationships are not approved of in Islam and Hinduism. Dating is considered both irreligious and immoral. In these two religions along with Christianity, premarital sex is considered immoral also. In conclusion all three religions share that they believe in an afterlife, and strive for immortality. For all religions death is a normal and natural thing that leads to an eternal life. Christianity and Islam are closer together then Hinduism. Mostly Europeans adopted Christianity along with Islam in the 18th and 19th centuries. This means that both Christianity and Islam have been influenced in some ways by the European culture. The Europeans have pulled Christianity and Islam close together while the Europeans have never influenced Hinduism, which makes Hinduism different from the other two religions.

Ethical Marketing Strategies in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Ethical Marketing Strategies in the Pharmaceutical Industry Ethical marketing refers to the application of marketing ethics into the marketing process. Ethical marketing generally results in a more socially responsible and culturally sensitive business community. The establishment of marketing ethics has the potential to benefit society as a whole, both in the short- and long-term. Ethical marketing should be part of business ethics in the sense that marketing forms a significant part of any business model. Marketing strategy can be arranged into five categories, (1) Physicians-targeted promotions, (2) direct-to-consumer advertising, (3) unethical recruitment of physicians, (4) researchers conflicts of interest, and (5) data manipulation in clinical trials. Drug companies promotions subconsciously influence physicians prescription patterns. Heavy advertising to consumers results in more prescriptions being written, whether or not the new drug is in the best interests of patients, and therefore strongly correlates with sales increases for the promoted new drug. It has been estimated that pharmaceutical companies spend Rs.7 Billions every year prompting their product to Physician in Pakistan. Although pharmaceutical marketing strategies are primarily directed toward practicing physicians and residents, medical student are targeted as well. The goal of this study is to asses the importance of ethical marketing strategies of pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan. A questionnaire is design to assess the attitudes of Doctors and pharmaceutical professionals about pharmaceutical promotion, including the acceptability of receiving various gifts, foreign and local sponsorships, and incentives. In this study, Pharmaceutical market will be direct variable, marketing strategies will be indirect variable where as doctors and Pharmaceutical representatives will be population. The scale will use from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Total 180 Questionnaire will be distributed by the researcher. Rresearcher will elaborate here the different choices of m ethodology that have been adopted in this research paper. Research-findings based on data analysis will be discussed in general and exclusively. Finally conclusions and recommendations will be made accordingly. Problem and Its Background Introduction Mark Twain once remarked: Always try to do the right thing. It will surprise a lot of people. And it will astonish the rest. There has long been a close relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. It has been estimated that 85-90% of doctors in Pakistan see to pharmaceutical representative. These representatives often visit physician offices to discuss their products, provides free samples, and offer gifts. According to industry estimates, pharmaceutical promotional expenditure in Pakistan amounted to Rs.7 Billions in 2009. Approximately 25% of this amount was spend on detailing to doctors, 4% on hospital detailing, 2% on journal ads, 56% on samples, and 12.5% on direct-to-consumer advertisement. The precision and the worth of drug advertisements has been the subject of debate for more than a century now. According to World Health Organizations (WHO) criteria for medicinal drug promotion, promotion refers to all the informational and convincing activities of manufacturers and distributors, the effect of which is to encourage the prescription, supply, purchase and / or use of medicinal drugs. Drug promotion and marketing make up a very large part of the activities of pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan. For the drug promotion, in addition to other activities, companies usually use the written material supposedly showing all the good and bad aspects about the concerned drug. These advertisements can be highly informative as long as they are critically appraised. However, when these are accepted without any question, can contribute to illogical prescribing. Ideally, drug promotional literature should provide health care professionals with considerable information. However, the information contained in promotional material may be inadequate or altogether inaccurate Undoubtedly, the pharmaceutical promotional activities have powerful influences on prescribing behaviour of the doctors although this influence may be more hidden rather than explicit. Being a member state of the United Nations Organization, efforts to regulate drug promotions in Pakistan were also initiated with the proliferation of the Drug Licensing, Registering and Advertising Rules by the Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan. However, there is no mechanism to monitor the drug promotional campaign by pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan despite the fact that there is enough evidence that logical drug utilization problems are increasingly encountered even in developed countries due to unethical practices of pharmaceutical promotion. Since promotional activities influence the prescribing behaviour of the health care providers, it is of utmost importance to critically analyze the claims made in the promotional material of the drugs. Internationally, aspects of contents in pharmaceutical advertising pertinent to evidence based decision-making have been studied. The extent to which pharmaceutical companies promote the merits of their products and whether such c laims are supported by evidence, has not been studied in Pakistan. The results of the present analytical study show that unethical and biased claims regarding the medicinal products are uncontrolled in Pakistan. These drug promotions influence the prescribing behaviour of the General Practitioners, Consultants thus accounting for one of the potentially major causes of illogical prescription. Pakistan Medical Association has developed Ethical Code of conduct for Doctors and pharmaceutical organizations but are not followed by National companies. All Multinational organizations in Pakistan are following the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) code of conduct and International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) code of conduct. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations is the global nonprofit NGO representing the research-based pharmaceutical, biotech and vaccine sectors. All the Multinational pharmaceuticals companies running in Pakistan are members of this NGO and bound to follow the code of ethics. Definition of Construct Ethical Marketing Strategies in pharmaceutical industry are the tools and techniques to sell medicines ethically. The strategy must be such that it doesnt not influence the decision making criteria of doctors. Background Information The researcher is working as Field Manger in Roche Pakistan Ltd since last three and half years. Roche Pakistan Ltd is a member of Halfman La Roche Basel, a Switzerland research based multinational organization that is running its businesses in more than 70 countries of 6 continents of the world. Halfman La Roche started it business in 1886 from Basel Switzerland from multivitamins medicines to new innovative biotechnology products. In 1946 they discovered metabolic and antibiotics product. In 1980, they discovered anxiolitic and psychiatric medicines. In 1990s, they discovered cancer and hepatitis medicines. Now Halfman La Roche Basel has discovered 100 more molecules that are in different phases of clinical trails for different diseases. Roche Pakistan Ltd started its operation in Pakistan in 1982. Initially they imported their products and sell in the Pakistan Market but they started their manufacturing in Pakistan in 2001. Now Roche Pakistan Ltd selling its product in 8 segments in Pakistani pharmaceutical market that are; Hepatitis Cancer Transplant Anaemia Antibiotics Antihypertensive Metabolic Diseases Diagnostic Halfman La Roche is at 4th ranking world wide in pharmaceutical industry and is Market leader in Hepatitis, Cancer, Transplant and Anaemia, Metabolic diseases and Diagnostic. The annual sale is CHF. 49051 Millions grew by 10% and operating profit in 2009 was 15012 Millions that grew by 6%. Roche is invested CHF. 9874 Millions on RD in 2009. The free cash flow in 2009 was 8893 that was 79% more than 2008. The total employee of Roche are 81507. Out of them 80115 are permanent. The Sales contribution is more from US that is 38% than West Europe that is 28%. Since pharmaceutical marketing activities influence the prescribing behaviour of doctors, it is of utmost importance to critically analyze the claims made in the promotional material of the drugs. The extent to which pharmaceutical companies promote the merits of their products and relevant clinical trails provide to doctors are not studied in Pakistan. The results of the present analytical study show that unethical and biased claims regarding the pharmaceutical products are uncontrolled in Pakistan. These drug promotions influence the prescribing behaviour of the General Practitioners, Consultants thus accounting for one of the potentially major causes of illogical prescription. Roche Pakistan Ltd is a Member of IFPMA and PMA and follow their ethical business guidelines to sell its products. Roche Paksitan Ltd is at 6th ranking in Pakistan Pharmaceutical Market and its annual sale is Rs. 5.2 Billions in 2009 in Pakistan. Problem Statement Unethical Marketing strategies effect the prescribing habit of doctors that can lead to serious life threatening results for patients. Research Questions Research Q 1: What Ethical Marketing Strategies formulated for business in pharmaceutical industry? Research Q 2: What type of studies should be formulated? Research Q 3: what are the Marketing strategies that effect the decision making criteria of doctors.? 1.6 Research Objectives To find out the problem associated with unethical marketing strategies in pharmaceutical industry. To enlist the ethical strategies that will not effect the decision making criteria of doctors. Hypothesis Ho: There is no relationship between ethical marketing strategies and unethical marketing strategies. H1: There is relationship between ethical marketing strategies and unethical marketing strategies. Scope and Limitations of Study Scope of the research: As this research will be carried out with in single organization that is Roche Pakistan Ltd, based on the population from the different pharmaceuticals representative and doctors so the targeted low population narrows down the scope of the study. Limitations: Following limitation may also be observed during the research procedure and methodology adopted in collection of data from the resources within the organization: Data will be collected only from those respondent who directly and indirectly involved in the decision making process at different levels. Researcher may lave limited access to all authorities in respondent. Respondent may not responded answer due to tight schedule Respondent may not have proper information about variable and their relationship. respondent personal liking and disliking may create some biasness. Respondent may feel hesitation while attempting to questions Respondent may have personal reservations in responding to some questions relevant to their field or job. As the population under study is lessened to 132 respondent only, hence the scale of the study is restricted. Due to inadequate time, Research may cover and pass influential information only Data will be collected by the researcher himself. It is not possible to cover all variables. Significance of the research The study will explore that how the marketing strategies effect the decision making process of healthcare professionals. This research will also helpful to understand the importance of ethical marketing strategies. It will elaborate the impact of ethical marketing strategies on patients life. Moreover another aspect of this study is to elaborate the significance of ethical pharmaceutical strategies for doctor, pharmaceuticals industry and patients. It will assist to confirm that following the ethical marketing codes in pharmaceutical industry not only save the cost of patients but also life. It will also increase the moral and dignity of doctors also. CHAPTER 2 Literature Review Ethical marketing is the application of marketing ethics into the marketing process (Patrick, 2005). Ethical marketing generally results in a more socially responsible and culturally responsive business community (Eugene, 1978). Pharmaceutical strategy can be arranged into five categories (Brownlee, April 2004). Heavy pharmaceuticfal promotional activities to doctors results in more prescriptions being written (Elliott, Oct 2004). It has been estimated that 85-90% of doctors in Pakistan see to pharmaceutical representative (Gutknecht, 2001). pharmaceutical promotional expenditure in Pakistan amounted to Rs.7 Billions in 2009 (Gutknecht, 2001). (WHO) criteria for medicinal drug promotion, Marketing Strategies by Pharmaceutical companies is to encourage the prescription, supply, purchase and / or use of medical drugs, (WHO 33rd World Health Assembly, May 1986). The pharmaceutical promotional activities have powerful influences on prescribing behaviour of the doctors although this influence may be more hidden rather than explicit. (Lexchin, 1999). There is no mechanism to monitor the drug promotional campaign by pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan (Lober, 1993). Pakistan Medical Association has developed Ethical Code of conduct for Doctors and pharmaceutical organizations (www.jpma.gov.pk). International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) has developed code of conduct for pharmaceutical organizations. (www.ifpma.org). The strategy must be such that it doesnt not influence the decision making criteria of doctors. (Lober, 1993). Roche Pakistan Ltd is a member of Halfman La Roche Basel (www.roche.com). The annual sale of Roche is CHF. 49051 Millions and operating profit in 2009 was 15012 Millions. Roche is invested CHF. 9874 Millions on RD in 2009. (www.roche.com). In 2002, the pharmaceutical industry spent $15.63 billion on promotions, which include free office supplies, all-expenses-paid events, sales representatives, and awards to physicians (Parker, 2003). A 10-year study of internists at seven university hospitals, published in 1990, found that frequent contact with sales representatives also changed prescription practice (Israel, 2003). New drugs are not time tested; their long-term effects are unknown; many patients who can be just as effectively treated with less expensive, older drugs are risking their health when using newer drugs (Elliott, 2004). Dr. Drummond Rennie, Deputy Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, stated, I suppose I had about 20 at one time (Spears, 2003,). Brett and Colleagues found that physicians make distinction about the ethical acceptability of drug company gifts ( Brett, 2003). Drug information provided by pharmaceutical representative and drug advertisements are inaccurate ( Wilkes, 1992). Medical practitioners are dependent on the pharmaceutical industry for much of their drug information in Pakistan (Ahmad,1990). Unethical practices regarding the medicinal drug promotion are uncontrolled in Pakistan and it is suggested that physicians should be careful and decisive in assessment of advertised claims of greater efficacy, safety or convenience made by the pharmaceutical companies (Ahmad, 1990). Gifts DinnerNetwork Diagram Samples Pharmaceutical Market Doctors à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ International Trip Clinical Trails Cash Chapter 3 Research Methodology In order to answer the research questions mentioned in chapter 1, researcher will elaborate here the different choices of methodology that have been adopted in this research paper. For historical viewpoint, I will conduct a Qualitative (content based) study of the previous researches on the role ethical marketing strategies in pharmaceutical industry. For present view, I will conduct a Quantitative (based on survey) analysis. 3.1 Population In the given research study, the population will be all employees of Roche Pakistan Ltd, Doctors of Medical Unit Sir Gangaram Hospital Lahore. 3.2 Sample The sample will consist of both males and females, Seniors and Juniors Doctors, pharmaceutical representative. According to the designations of the respondents their qualifications, professional experience, age will vary. 3.3 Sampling Technique/Strategy: In order to select the sample from the target population i.e. Roche Pakistan Ltd, Sir Gangaram Hospital Lahore, Non-Probability Convenience (purposive) sampling technique will be used. 3.4 Sample Size For the present study sample size will consist of 132 respondents (Pharmaceutical Representative, Doctors and Chemist). 3.5 Survey Instrument A questionnaire (English language) will be designed to collect the required Information. All the questions will be close-ended. A Cover letter to highlight the purpose of the study and instructions to fill the questionnaire, and a Demographic Data Sheet will be prepared and attached with the Questionnaire as well. 3.6 Data Collection The data for the proposed study will be collected through sell-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire will be circulated, explained and collected by the researcher himself. The questionnaire will be based on Likert Scale and will have five levels of responses against every question from the respondent. Since the company contains different hierarchies of employees and management so the respondents will be categories and manipulated accordingly. The five levels of responses will be: 1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Undecided/ Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree 3.7 Pre-Testing Before the full scale administration of the questionnaire it will also be pre-tested on a  very small segment of the population (10-15 respondents) so that any ambiguity in  any question/s can be dealt with. CHAPTER 4 Data Analysis and Interpretation Available research soft ware for social sciences i.e. SPSS. Will be uses for analysis on Data collected for the proposed research study. Statistical and Arithmetical formulae Correlation or Regression will be applied as per demand and need of the study. Statistical tables and graphs / figures will also be obtained / drawn if needed. CHAPTER 5 Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations In order to achieve the basic purposes and objectives of the proposed research study, research-findings based on data analysis will be discussed in general and exclusively. Finally conclusions and recommendations will be made accordingly.

Strategic Justifications In The US Wine Industry

Strategic Justifications In The US Wine Industry Mergers refer to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid in, finance, or assist a growing company in a given industry. As outlined by Lawrence Gitman, it is the combination of two or more firms, in which the resulting firm maintains the identity of one of the firms usually the larger. The primary reason for a merger is to improve a companys financial and strategic position. (Gitman, 2009) Determining whether the merger or the acquisition in the U.S. Wine Industry is offensive or defensive is dependent on each companys perspective. International Beverages quest for seeking an acquisition was considered a defensive action put forward by the company and it needed to lengthen its life within the organization. This company was known as a leading producer and marketer in the wine industry. This company being slow at achieving internal growth as their revenues grew at a mere 10% per year as a result of aggressive acquisition strategy. They needed to make an acquisition to prevent it from becoming a market failure as lack of any acquisition resulted in a no growth rate for the Company. This needed to be done to achieve growth internally and to refrain from going under. The wine industry has showed desirable preferences for change to higher end brand which placed International Beverage in a very dangerous position as customer would show a great deal of preference for the highe r end brand wines. International Beverage then had to take the initiative and move strategically in order to remain in the market as a key player, thus alleviating any adverse effects that would occur as a result of the new emerging preference in the future. One of the other companies to be acquired was Starshine. One of the main compositions of companies that International Beverage acquires was the fact that they were all producers of low end quality wine. Starshine was one of them. They too were also facing the fact that they could eventually lose in the market shares as the market began leaning towards a higher end brand of wine and Starshine were offering mid range labels in the market. Since Starshine produced only mid range brand wines, it would have been in their best interest to merge with the other company Bel Vino in order to secure a share in the market. This would have been their defensive action. The merger was crucial because had they not merged with Bel Vino, International Beverage could have acquired their company as the urgently needed some pull out, keeping in mind also that International Beverage also needed some fix for themselves to retain their market share. Starshine would then now be able to deal with their cost issues and competition from foreign producers. The merger between Starshine and International Beverage would be a defensive action with respect to the emerging market changes and also to avoid not having a say in the future business of the company. Bel Vino was producers of high-end wine with a very strong brand. Despite this, they also had sluggish performance, there prevalent management conflicts, these were the internal problems the company was faced with; also their inability to form good distribution lines, have a bad management team and as a result, has unflattering performance levels (Luehrman Kester, 2009). The market change favoured Bel Vino prospects as it allowed them to have more clients to form a better distribution line which will then have positive effects on its revenues. Bel Vino did not need a merger neither an acquisition because it could have solved the aforementioned issues by itself. Despite this fact, there was the option of solving these issues by taking advantage of the already established distribution lines and high earnings of both Starshine and International Beverage (Luehrman Kester, 2009). Given these reasons, Bel Vino is the only one that would be taking offensive action in both instances with respect to merger and acquisition. Question 2 What primary advantages did your company bring to the table? An acquisition of or merger with Bel Vino would benefit both company as Bel Vino, is the company that offered classic vintages and strong brands (Luehrman Kester, 2009). This would give them the comparative advantage over the other companies since these other companies, Starshine and International Beverage, deal mainly with lower end and mid range labels (Luehrman Kester, 2009). From the fact that industry has overcome the wine glut the demand for wine has shifted to the higher end products which neither of Bel Vinos competitors possess (Luehrman Kester, 2009). This was an advantage for Bel Vino since they were able to use this for their negotiations. This would be beneficial also for International Beverage and Starshine providing the opportunity to gain a market share and for their survival in the new market transformation. Bel Vino also benefited from the low cost advantages with respect to the merger with Starshine given the fact of the apparent cost control issues. (Luehrman Kester, 2009). Management in Bel Vino were able to utilize their finances as opposed to overspending on advertisement as Starshine did. All in all, Bel Vino brought several advantages to the table during this negotiation, all of which benefitted each of the companies of way or the other. Question 3 Compare the market positions, financial performance, and future prospects of Bel Vino and Starshine. What are the most significant sources of synergies for the potential transactions? Market position can be defined as the ranking of a brand, product, or firm, in terms of its sales volume relative to the sales volume of its competitors in the same market or industry (Business Dictonary, 2009). In analyzing the three companies, it was found that from the years 2006-2010 Starshine continually had higher net sales to that of Bel Vino. In 2006 Starshine had 475 million compared to Bel Vinos 359 million and International beverages 2980 million. In 2007 Starshine had 495 million compared to Bel Vinos 360 million and 2999.9 million. In 2008 Starshine had 525.1 million compared to Bel Vinos 366 million and 3019.9 million. In 2009 Starshine had 557.2 million compared to Bel Vinos 382.1 million and 6100.4 million. In 2010 Starshine had 591.5 million compared to Bel Vinos 390.1 million and 6141.2 million. (Harvard Business School 2009) This shows that Starshine had a greater market presence than that of Bel Vino and that Bel Vino was finding it difficult to generate sales esp ecially in the international markets to compete with its rivals. This was possibly due to its poor distribution lines. International Beverage could help Starshine and Bel Vino increase their market share both domestically and internationally and also help improve Bel Vinos distribution line. Financial performance refers to the measuring of a firms policies and operations in monetary terms. These results are reflected in the firms return on investment and return on assets (Business Dictionary, 2009). As the formula for return on assets is Net Income/Total Assets, the Return on assets for Starshine through the years 2006 to 2010 are; in 2006: 11.1/498.3 = 2.23%; in 2007: 8.6/503.9=1.71% ; in 2008: 17.4/507.5=3.43 ; in 2009: 28.3/531.5=5.32 ;in 2010: 36.9/556.9= 6.63%. In comparison, the returns on Assets for Bel Vino throughout the years are in 2006: 4.2/425.9=0.99%, in 2007:18.8/406.8=4.62%, in 2008: 27.7/389.4=7.11, in 2009: 33.2/403.6=8.23%,in 2010: 36.1/409.1=.8.82%. This shows that Bel Vino had a higher return on assets than Starshine. Our return on assets are as follows; in 2006: 162.2/1227.2=13.22%; in 2007: 109.9/1461.5=7.52; in 2008: 97.5/1544.5=6.31; in 2009: 423.7/22.32.7=18.98; in 2010: 446.6/2770.2=16.12. This again shows that our company, International Beverage company is a larger better run company. In relation to the future prospects of these companies, Bel Vino had to focus on the protection of their brands, increase in distribution lines and increase in sales volumes. Pertaining to Starshine, they need to cut costs and break into the high end market. Question 4 What was the rationale behind the choice of target for the opening bid and our overall bidding strategy? As we were in a better position than both companies, we were faced with the decision of it to stay as we were and run the risk of both companies merging or if to acquire on of the companies. We decided that were not under any pressure and we were going to keep our bidding low as we felt it was in the other companies best interest to merge with us. We started by making a bid for Starshine as we felt that with their greater presence in the markets would help us to gain an even stronger market share. We thus made an opening bid of $45 per share to Starshine. This bid was rejected. As a result our share price dropped by $0.50 to $64.70 while starshines rose by $2.26 to $56.64. We decided to start the bidding at such a low price so during negotiations; the ceiling price would not get too high. We realised that Starshine offered Bel Vino 1.05 new Starshine shares for each existing Bel Vino Share. So we decided to give Bel Vino something to think about by offering $39 per share. This was lo wer than their share price at the current time which was $45.96. We were not prepared to buy out any of these companies while incurring huge debts. This was another reason why our bids were kept so low. Bel Vino didnt see our bid as attractive despite the fact that we could improve their distribution line internationally considerably. So they rejected our bid. We thus decided it was not worth it to acquire any of the two companies as they lacked the vision to see that they could only benefit by merging with us. In the end Starshine accepted Bel Vinos offer and the companies merged. Question 5. If you were not successful at completing a transaction, why do you believe this was the case? Do you think it represents the best outcome for your shareholders? Would you do anything differently if given another chance to negotiate? According to the confidential information our team was provided with, both Bel Vino and Starshine were potential prospects for a merger. Our main prospect was Bel Vino since they sold high end products and our company would have received more value from this merger. We also noted that a merger with Bel Vino would have added worth to our company. Therefore in the long term, shareholder value will also be increased. In order to increase shareholders value, it is imperative that a company implements strategic planning. This can be done by increasing cost base while maintaining revenue and by increasing revenue share and by reducing cost (Ezine Article, 2010). A merger between Bel Vino and Starshine would have reduced cost of goods sold by roughly $3 million to $ 5 million. In addition, their Research and Development cost would decrease by a significant amount, roughly, one million on an annual basis. Bel Vino showed strategic planning and they recognized the goal of the company and beca use of their financial operations which were done effectively and efficiently, they were able to develop their working capital. There was a possibility of mergers between Bel Vino and Starshine, which actually came to fruition. Before any negotiation is made by any organization and for it to be successful it is critical for them to look over key issues that will affect their organization in the long run. In other words preparedness is one of the main key to successes in any business organization. In addition, a good strategy is also important for a healthy and long term existence of that company. Our team definitely lacked in the area of preparation was resulted in International Beverage not being able to merge with any of the two prospective companies. Our team members were definitely not ready to negotiate because we did not conduct enough background work in terms of focusing on our operating assumptions which included domestic and international revenues. In addition, due to the lack of understanding the game and time, we were not capable of making enough offers to the other two wine companies These factors needed to be decided upon before we ventured into the negotiation process. We also need to focus more on our balance sheet and make comparisons between Bel Vinos and Starshines balance sheets. Despite our unpreparedness, we were able to make bids by offers to both Bel Vino and Starshine at prices, $48.81 and $58.57 respectively. Both companies rejected our offers. We assumed that they believed that their companies were worth more than what we were offering them. At the end of the simulation, Starshine and Bel Vino merged. In conclusion, the wine simulation was a learning experience for our team and we realized the importance of conducting our homework before venturing into negotiations. It is important to learn about your counterparts in detail, as opposed to looking on the surface. Details such as financials are crucial in getting into mergers. If given the opportunity to negotiate again, we will definitely make serious preparations for the negotiations.

Patriarchy in India, China, Greece and Rome Essay -- Sociology, Classi

Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics. Because they did not have a traditional role in government, women had work their way around the system to gain any type of political leverage. Empress Lu violated every cultural and social norm by retaining power as a regent throughout the reins of her son, grandson and adopted grandson. Tradidtionaly regents ruled from behind the scenes while the emperor himself was unable to make decisions, usualy due to age or heath complications, however Empress Lu eradicated any competitors for the thrown. As the end of her reign was nearing, she expected her nephews to succeed her. Even as the first empress, not unfamiliar with disrupting tradition, she left the emperorship to the next male in her bloodline (Doc. 5) not a female. Though Empress Lu defied all expectations of women, her power as an Empress was still undisputed due to the Mandate of Heaven, an idea originating in the Shang dynasty.... ...c. 4). This is an example of one of the seven unequal relationships in Confucianism. Much of the social structure of classical China was based on Confucian ideals (Doc. 3). In Greece the relationship between a husband and wife also very unequal due to her young age and lack of education. Alone a woman had no political rights and limited legal powers therefore is was necessary for a husband to provide for his wife much like a father would (Doc. 6) A woman would learn house hold management and eventually produce heirs. These two similar systems of social roles was not a benevolent system. It did not take into account the welfare of individuals, particularly woman who had little power to leave in a bad marital situation. However by insuring that people know their place, which kept them in line, classical societies were more prosperous and able to run more smoothly.

American Freedom - No Greater Gift Essay -- Exploratory Essays Researc

American Freedom - No Greater Gift Silently they stand, tall, strong pillars of memory in a seemingly long since forgotten world. Rows upon rows of white marble glisten in the first rays of the rising sun. The shimmer of morning frost still graces their elegant arches as the brisk air begins to take on a slightly warmer tone. In this quiet hour, not quite night, yet still not day, one lone man stands respectfully next to a small, almost insignificant grave stone. His head hangs slightly bowed, and except for the small hunch in his back, he stands at perfect attention. Unnoticed by the swirling city around him, he slowly removes his cap and looks out across the hill before him. His gaze sweeps over the expansive garden of marble and granite. Millions of white headstones grace the green hillsides, most of them appearing small and humble. Every so often, however, the man sees a taller, more significant looking headstone. He knows these stones were meant to be impressive and eye catching; but to him, there is nothing more touching than the stone which stands before him. Only the rank of a private, a name and two dates grace the stone's face. Some might say this is rather insignificant compared to the graves containing generals or captains. Others might take the time to note how young the man was when he died at the age of twenty-one, and think he still had his whole life left to live. This lone man, though, views the grave stone entirely differently. To him, Private Michaels was more than just a name carved into a head stone, more than a private, more than just a twenty-one year old boy. Private Michaels had been his best friend. In Arlington Cemetery, there are hundreds upon hundreds of heroic men lying silently, their sto... ...rice of our freedom. Many have stepped back and taken a good look at the struggles our founding fathers went through to plant our country on a firm foundation based on freedom. As the old man stood silently surrounded by the stillness of the morning, he thought back to the days of his youth. Private Michaels and he had grown up together, and were thought to be closer than any two brothers. Where one went, the other was sure to follow, even to the extent of entering the Second World War. Together, they fought side by side, defending their country as well as the lives of many innocent people. Michaels gave his own life over to enemy fire, shortly before the end of the war, so his best friend could live. Standing there with rays of warmth caressing his back, the old man realized there truly was no greater love than the gift his friend had given him, and his country.

Climate Change in India Essay -- Global Warming Essays

Information regarding India ’s climate dates back for thousands of years. The reason for this is that India was once ruled by the empire of Alexander the Great in 300 B.C. Alexander’s empire was one of the first western civilizations to keep environmental and meteorological records in writing. Thus, from just about the western world’s beginning, India ’s environmental records have existed in writing. However, although no written documents regarding India’s weather and climate exist prior to Alexander’s era, we can assume certain climatic conditions and changes prior to 300 B.C. due to the known history of native civilizations that previously existed. Between the years 2500 and 1700 B.C., the Indus valley in the northwest portion of today’s India fostered homes for great civilizations. Around the cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro large civilizations flourished. In order to understand why such great civilizations existed in the Indus valley during this period, it is essential to understand the climatic conditions that existed there at the time and whether or not the fall of these civilizations correlated with any climatic changes. When examined closely, it is quite evident that the Indus valley was home to great civilizations between 2500 and 1700 B.C. directly as a result of the abundance of water in the region. Furthermore, the decline of these civilizations and the absence of any such great civilizations existing shortly thereafter is a direct result of the continual lessening amounts of water for the millennium to follow. Between 2500 and 1700 B.C., the Indus valley had an annual rainfall of 400 to 800 mm. This annual rainfall was the ideal amount of water needed for this specific region to harbor great civilizations. ... ...hese paddy fields are extremely vulnerable to salinization which means that a rise in sea levels would probably destroy the coastline’s agriculture. The effects of such climate changes would be so profound on India because its coastline is home for much of the country’s social infrastructure. In addition, India ’s tourism industry is almost entirely reliant on its beaches. Potential oil reserves along India ’s coastline are also at risk to be lost with rises in sea levels which could possibly eliminate any potential natural riches existing in India. It is predicted that with a 1 meter rise in sea levels along India’s coastline, 1,700 square kilometers of agricultural land would be destroyed, putting 7.1 million Indian at risk. Sources Lamb, H.H. Climate, History and the Modern World. www.teriin.org/climate/climate.htm www.teriin.org/climate/impacts.htm

Natural Resources

Natural resource Natural resources (economically referred to as land or raw materials) are naturally forming substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount and extractability of the material available and the demand for it. The latter is determined by its usefulness to production. A commodity is generally considered a natural resource when the primary activities associated with it are extraction and purification, as opposed to creation.Thus, mining, petroleum extraction, fishing, hunting, and forestry are generally considered natural-resource industries, while agriculture is not. The term was introduced to a broad audience by E. F. Schumacher in his 1973 book Small is Beautiful. [1] The term is defined by the United States Geological Survey as â€Å"The Nation's natural resources include its minerals, energy, land, water, and biota. â€Å"[2] | | Classification of natural forms Natural resources are mostly classified into renewable and non-renewable resources.Sometimes resources are classified as non-renewable even if they are technically renewable, just not easily renewed within a reasonable amount of time, such as fossil fuels. Non-renewable resources Main article: Non-renewable resource Some non-renewable resources can be renewable but take an extremely long time to renew. Fossil fuels, for example, take millions of years to form and so are not practically considered ‘renewable'. Different non-renewable resources like oil, coal, natural gas etc. have different levels of demand from different sectors like transportation and residences with each resource specializing for each sector. 3] Many environmentalists propose a tax on consumption of non renewable resources. Non-renewable resources cannot be replaced or can only be replaced over thousands or millions of years. Natural capital Natural resources are natural capital converted to commodity inputs to infrastructura l capital processes. [4][5] They include soil, timber, oil, minerals, and other goods harvested from the Earth. Both extraction of the basic resource and refining it into a purer, directly usable form, (e. g. , metals, refined oils) are generally considered natural-resource activities, even though the latter may not necessarily occur near the former.This process generates high profits due to the high demand for the natural resources and the energies that they are able to generate. A nation's natural resources often determine its wealth in the world economic system and its diplomatic, military, and political influence. Developed nations are those which are less dependent on natural resources for wealth, due to their greater reliance on infrastructural capital for production. However, some see a resource curse whereby easily obtainable natural resources could actually hurt the prospects of a national economy by fostering political corruption.Political corruption can negatively impact the national economy because time is spent giving bribes or other economically unproductive acts instead of the generation of generative economic activity. This has been seen over the years with legislation passed to appease companies who will benefit. There also tends to be concentrations of ownership over specific plots of land that have proven to yield natural resources. In recent years, the depletion of natural capital and attempts to move to sustainable development have been a major focus of development agencies.This is of particular concern in rainforest regions, which hold most of the Earth's natural biodiversity – irreplaceable genetic natural capital. Conservation of natural resources is the major focus of natural capitalism, environmentalism, the ecology movement, and green politics. Some view this depletion as a major source of social unrest and conflicts in developing nations. Types of resources Natural Resources Natural resources are derived from the environment. Many of them are essential for our survival while others are used for satisfying our wants.Natural resources may be further classified in different ways. On the basis of origin, resources may be divided into: †¢ Biotic – Biotic resources are the ones which are obtained from the biosphere. Forests and their products, animals, birds and their products, fish and other marine organisms are important examples. Minerals such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they were formed from decayed organic matter. †¢ Abiotic – Abiotic resources comprise of non-living things. Examples include land, water, air and minerals such as gold, iron, copper, silver etc.On the basis of the stage of development, natural resources may be called: †¢ Potential Resources – Potential resources are those which exist in a region and may be used in the future. For example, mineral oil may exist in many parts of India having sedimentary rocks but till t he time it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource. †¢ Actual Resources are those which have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined and are being used in present times. For example, the petroleum and the natural gas which is obtained from the Bombay High Fields.The development of an actual resource, such as wood processing depends upon the technology available and the cost involved. That part of the actual resource which can be developed profitably with available technology is called a reserve. On the basis of renewability, natural resources can be categorized into: †¢ Renewable Resources – Renewable resources are the ones which can be replenished or reproduced easily. Some of them, like sunlight, air, wind, etc. , are continuously available and their quantity is not affected by human consumption.Many renewable resources can be depleted by human use, but may also be replenished, thus maintaining a flow. Some of these, like agricultural crops, take a short time for renewal; others, like water, take a comparatively longer time, while still others, like forests, take even longer. †¢ Non-renewable Resources – Non-renewable resources are formed over very long geological periods. Minerals and fossils are included in this category. Since their rate of formation is extremely slow, they cannot be replenished once they get depleted. Out of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling them.But coal and petroleum cannot be recycled. On the basis of ownership,resources can be classified into:individual,community,national,and international Individual resources: Human resources Human beings are also considered to be resources because they have the ability to change raw materials into valuable resources. The term Human resources can also be defined as the skills, energies, talents, abilities and knowledge that are used for the production of goods or the rendering of services. While taking into account human beings as resources, the following things have to be kept in mind: †¢ The size of the population The capabilities of the individuals in that population Resource use and sustainable development Many resources cannot be consumed in their original form. They have to be processed in order to change them into more usable commodities. This is known as resource development. With the rise in human numbers all over the world, the demand for resources has also increased. However, there is a difference in distribution of resources to different regions or countries. Developed countries use more resources than developing countries. The rising demand coupled with the over-consumption of resources has led to several problems: †¢ Resource depletion Accumulation of resources in the hands of a few †¢ Environmental degradation †¢ Tragedy of the commons †¢ Resource curse Uses of our Natural Resources Rock and mineral resources have a wide variety of uses and play a huge role in our lives The Mineral Information Institute has a poster showing how much of a variety of minerals each person uses in his or her lifetime. Minerals are important to our health. We need small amounts of a wide variety of minerals. Minerals found in Tennessee which people need include: calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, copper, fluoride, iron, and zinc.Coal, oil and natural gas provide us with almost all of the energy we use to light, heat and run our world. Minerals are ingredients in almost all of the products we use from fertilizer to plastics, from toothpaste to kitty litter, from knives to plates. Minerals are common ingredients in pigments. In fact, some of the earliest uses of minerals were as pigments. Minerals also play an important role in the processing of materials. Bentonite is important in well drilling, Barite is important in oil drilling. Fluorite is important in making steel |Resource |How are our resources used? characteristics exploited) | |Barite | Used in oil drilling to weigh down the oil and prevent gushers (high specific gravity), filler in paint, glass, | | |toothpaste. | |Chert |Used to make stone tools. (hardness, fracture patterns). Used as fill to provide a stable base for roads | | |(insolubility) | |Clay |Used to make pottery and bricks.Used for pet litter (ability to absorb water) | |Chalcopyrite (copper)|Copper is used to make electrical wiring (electrical conductivity). Used in alloys – bronze and brass (low | | |melting point, beauty, resistance to oxidation) Used as an ingredient in pigments (blue and green) | |Coal |Used as a fuel (flammable). The oils and tars produced processing coal are processed into a variety of organic | | |solvents and compounds such as plastics, motor fuel, photo developer, perfume, medicine, and sugar substitute. |Fluorite |Used as a flux – i. e. used as an intermediate chemical to separate metals from waste material. Another important | | |product made from fluorite is hydrofluoric acid, which is used in the pottery, optics, and plastics industry. | | |Fluorite is also used in making opalescent glass and in enameling cookware. | |Galena (lead) |The largest use of lead is in automotive batteries. It is also used as weights (high specific gravity).Used as | | |an ingredient in solder (soft, low melting point. ). Until recently it was also used as an ingredient in paint and| | |as an additive in gasoline to make engines run more smoothly. | |Gypsum |Gypsum is primarily used to make wallboard. It is also an ingredient in cement. | |Ilmenite (titanium) |Titanium is used in alloys to make strong light-weight materials – space ships, bicycles Used to make white paint| | |- non-toxic replacement for lead, which used to be used for this purpose. low reactivity) | |Iron |Iron is used for tools, for appliances, for building supports. It is also used as a pigment (red and ochre) | |Limestone |Limestone is used as building stone, for ornamental stone f or surfaces and sculpture, to make cement and mortar, | | |as crushed stone for fill | |Mussel Shells |Mussel shells were used as ceremonial objects.European Americans have used shells as ornaments – buttons and | | |pearls for jewelry. | |Oil/Natural Gas |Oil and natural gas are used as fuels and ingredients in the chemical industry to produce petroleum based | | |products notably plastics. | |Phosphate |Phosphate is used as a fertilizer and to make phosphoric acid which is a major ingredient in food products such | | |as cola drinks. | |Saltpeter |Saltpeter was used as a fertilizer (source of nitrogen) and as an ingredient in gunpowder.It has now been | | |replaced by the related compound ammonium nitrate which can be manufactured in the laboratory. | |Sand & Gravel |Sand and gravel are used as fill to provide a stable foundation for buildings and roads. | |Sandstone |Sandstone is used as a building material. | |Sphalerite (zinc) |Zinc is used as an ingredient in brass (wit h copper). It is used to coat (galvanize) iron implements to protect | | |them from rusting.It is used as a pigment (white) | Natural resources are raw materials we use to make other products. These include trees, minerals, aquatic life, gravel, coal, and many others. How can businesses remove these resources from an area and still maintain a working landscape? Responsible businesses know that they can make money producing products or gathering natural resources while they minimize the damage to their surroundings. Take a look at some products and possible damage from forestry, mining, and aquaculture.Forestry The forest industry is made up of businesses involved in the growing and harvesting of trees and other plant life from forests. |Products |Damages | |wood products |They provide lumber or timber for |clearcutting |Removing a large block of trees exposes ground, which is| | |building houses, boats, decks, and | |vulnerable to soil erosion. | |furniture. | | | |paper |They cre ate pulp to make paper and |log jams |Over cutting may result in logs piling up and blocking | | |paper products. | |the natural flow of water. | |Christmas trees |They grow, cut, and sell Christmas |lost recreational |Forest landscapes are degraded. Who wants to visit a | | |trees. value |forest with no trees, or a river clogged with trees? | |landscaping |They fulfill our landscaping needs |lost renewable |New trees may not be planted. Forests are not renewable | | |with trees and plants. |resource |resources unless trees are planted to replace the trees | | | | |cut down. This also displaces wildlife. | MiningMining is the process or business of removing ore, soil, rock, and minerals from the ground or from mountains. |Products |Damages | |Coins |Historically and currently used as |Reclamation | | |money. |Reclamation means restoring land that has been altered.Mining pits must be | | | |reclaimed after mining operations cease. Poor mining practices can destroy the| | | |environme nt and cost taxpayers a lot of money in clean-up. | | | |Habitat destruction | | | |Animal habitats are destroyed and biodiversity is compromised. | | |Pollution | | | |Mining by-products, called tailings, can pollute our air and water. | |Gold/Silver Standards|Influence the value of currency. | | |Fossil Fuels |Provide fuel by burning. | |Nutrition |Minerals are often used in vitamins. | | |Building Materials |Provide materials used in | | | |construction like aluminum and | | | |concrete. | |Jewelry |Gold, silver, diamonds and other | | | |precious stones provide material for | | | |jewelry. | |Gravel |Gravel is used to build roads and is | | | |mixed into cement to form concrete. | | Aquaculture Aquaculture is the business of raising marine or freshwater fish or shellfish under controlled conditions. |Products |Damages | |Oyster |Netpens |   |Areas of waterways that are lined off by nets; these result in large quantities of waste (just like other forms of intensive | | |animal production). | | | | | |Aquaculture Waste | | |Processing wastes are often released directly into natural bodies of water. | | | | |Protein | | |Many fish are carnivorous—they eat meat. The food provided in fish farms may not contain meat protein. The fish who eat this | | |food do not possess the same amount of protein as their natural counterparts. This can result in a less healthy fish. | | | | |Mangroves | | |Fishing operations (shrimp farms in particular) have damaged mangroves—trees and shrubs forming buffering boundaries between | | |land and saltwater environments. (This is an important ecosystem along coastlines. | |Clams | | |   | | |Shrimp | | |   | | |Lobster | | |   | | |Salmon | | |   | | |Trout | | |   | | Natural Resources Natural resource Natural resources (economically referred to as land or raw materials) are naturally forming substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount and extractability of the material available and the demand for it. The latter is determined by its usefulness to production. A commodity is generally considered a natural resource when the primary activities associated with it are extraction and purification, as opposed to creation.Thus, mining, petroleum extraction, fishing, hunting, and forestry are generally considered natural-resource industries, while agriculture is not. The term was introduced to a broad audience by E. F. Schumacher in his 1973 book Small is Beautiful. [1] The term is defined by the United States Geological Survey as â€Å"The Nation's natural resources include its minerals, energy, land, water, and biota. â€Å"[2] | | Classification of natural forms Natural resources are mostly classified into renewable and non-renewable resources.Sometimes resources are classified as non-renewable even if they are technically renewable, just not easily renewed within a reasonable amount of time, such as fossil fuels. Non-renewable resources Main article: Non-renewable resource Some non-renewable resources can be renewable but take an extremely long time to renew. Fossil fuels, for example, take millions of years to form and so are not practically considered ‘renewable'. Different non-renewable resources like oil, coal, natural gas etc. have different levels of demand from different sectors like transportation and residences with each resource specializing for each sector. 3] Many environmentalists propose a tax on consumption of non renewable resources. Non-renewable resources cannot be replaced or can only be replaced over thousands or millions of years. Natural capital Natural resources are natural capital converted to commodity inputs to infrastructura l capital processes. [4][5] They include soil, timber, oil, minerals, and other goods harvested from the Earth. Both extraction of the basic resource and refining it into a purer, directly usable form, (e. g. , metals, refined oils) are generally considered natural-resource activities, even though the latter may not necessarily occur near the former.This process generates high profits due to the high demand for the natural resources and the energies that they are able to generate. A nation's natural resources often determine its wealth in the world economic system and its diplomatic, military, and political influence. Developed nations are those which are less dependent on natural resources for wealth, due to their greater reliance on infrastructural capital for production. However, some see a resource curse whereby easily obtainable natural resources could actually hurt the prospects of a national economy by fostering political corruption.Political corruption can negatively impact the national economy because time is spent giving bribes or other economically unproductive acts instead of the generation of generative economic activity. This has been seen over the years with legislation passed to appease companies who will benefit. There also tends to be concentrations of ownership over specific plots of land that have proven to yield natural resources. In recent years, the depletion of natural capital and attempts to move to sustainable development have been a major focus of development agencies.This is of particular concern in rainforest regions, which hold most of the Earth's natural biodiversity – irreplaceable genetic natural capital. Conservation of natural resources is the major focus of natural capitalism, environmentalism, the ecology movement, and green politics. Some view this depletion as a major source of social unrest and conflicts in developing nations. Types of resources Natural Resources Natural resources are derived from the environment. Many of them are essential for our survival while others are used for satisfying our wants.Natural resources may be further classified in different ways. On the basis of origin, resources may be divided into: †¢ Biotic – Biotic resources are the ones which are obtained from the biosphere. Forests and their products, animals, birds and their products, fish and other marine organisms are important examples. Minerals such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they were formed from decayed organic matter. †¢ Abiotic – Abiotic resources comprise of non-living things. Examples include land, water, air and minerals such as gold, iron, copper, silver etc.On the basis of the stage of development, natural resources may be called: †¢ Potential Resources – Potential resources are those which exist in a region and may be used in the future. For example, mineral oil may exist in many parts of India having sedimentary rocks but till t he time it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource. †¢ Actual Resources are those which have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined and are being used in present times. For example, the petroleum and the natural gas which is obtained from the Bombay High Fields.The development of an actual resource, such as wood processing depends upon the technology available and the cost involved. That part of the actual resource which can be developed profitably with available technology is called a reserve. On the basis of renewability, natural resources can be categorized into: †¢ Renewable Resources – Renewable resources are the ones which can be replenished or reproduced easily. Some of them, like sunlight, air, wind, etc. , are continuously available and their quantity is not affected by human consumption.Many renewable resources can be depleted by human use, but may also be replenished, thus maintaining a flow. Some of these, like agricultural crops, take a short time for renewal; others, like water, take a comparatively longer time, while still others, like forests, take even longer. †¢ Non-renewable Resources – Non-renewable resources are formed over very long geological periods. Minerals and fossils are included in this category. Since their rate of formation is extremely slow, they cannot be replenished once they get depleted. Out of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling them.But coal and petroleum cannot be recycled. On the basis of ownership,resources can be classified into:individual,community,national,and international Individual resources: Human resources Human beings are also considered to be resources because they have the ability to change raw materials into valuable resources. The term Human resources can also be defined as the skills, energies, talents, abilities and knowledge that are used for the production of goods or the rendering of services. While taking into account human beings as resources, the following things have to be kept in mind: †¢ The size of the population The capabilities of the individuals in that population Resource use and sustainable development Many resources cannot be consumed in their original form. They have to be processed in order to change them into more usable commodities. This is known as resource development. With the rise in human numbers all over the world, the demand for resources has also increased. However, there is a difference in distribution of resources to different regions or countries. Developed countries use more resources than developing countries. The rising demand coupled with the over-consumption of resources has led to several problems: †¢ Resource depletion Accumulation of resources in the hands of a few †¢ Environmental degradation †¢ Tragedy of the commons †¢ Resource curse Uses of our Natural Resources Rock and mineral resources have a wide variety of uses and play a huge role in our lives The Mineral Information Institute has a poster showing how much of a variety of minerals each person uses in his or her lifetime. Minerals are important to our health. We need small amounts of a wide variety of minerals. Minerals found in Tennessee which people need include: calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, copper, fluoride, iron, and zinc.Coal, oil and natural gas provide us with almost all of the energy we use to light, heat and run our world. Minerals are ingredients in almost all of the products we use from fertilizer to plastics, from toothpaste to kitty litter, from knives to plates. Minerals are common ingredients in pigments. In fact, some of the earliest uses of minerals were as pigments. Minerals also play an important role in the processing of materials. Bentonite is important in well drilling, Barite is important in oil drilling. Fluorite is important in making steel |Resource |How are our resources used? characteristics exploited) | |Barite | Used in oil drilling to weigh down the oil and prevent gushers (high specific gravity), filler in paint, glass, | | |toothpaste. | |Chert |Used to make stone tools. (hardness, fracture patterns). Used as fill to provide a stable base for roads | | |(insolubility) | |Clay |Used to make pottery and bricks.Used for pet litter (ability to absorb water) | |Chalcopyrite (copper)|Copper is used to make electrical wiring (electrical conductivity). Used in alloys – bronze and brass (low | | |melting point, beauty, resistance to oxidation) Used as an ingredient in pigments (blue and green) | |Coal |Used as a fuel (flammable). The oils and tars produced processing coal are processed into a variety of organic | | |solvents and compounds such as plastics, motor fuel, photo developer, perfume, medicine, and sugar substitute. |Fluorite |Used as a flux – i. e. used as an intermediate chemical to separate metals from waste material. Another important | | |product made from fluorite is hydrofluoric acid, which is used in the pottery, optics, and plastics industry. | | |Fluorite is also used in making opalescent glass and in enameling cookware. | |Galena (lead) |The largest use of lead is in automotive batteries. It is also used as weights (high specific gravity).Used as | | |an ingredient in solder (soft, low melting point. ). Until recently it was also used as an ingredient in paint and| | |as an additive in gasoline to make engines run more smoothly. | |Gypsum |Gypsum is primarily used to make wallboard. It is also an ingredient in cement. | |Ilmenite (titanium) |Titanium is used in alloys to make strong light-weight materials – space ships, bicycles Used to make white paint| | |- non-toxic replacement for lead, which used to be used for this purpose. low reactivity) | |Iron |Iron is used for tools, for appliances, for building supports. It is also used as a pigment (red and ochre) | |Limestone |Limestone is used as building stone, for ornamental stone f or surfaces and sculpture, to make cement and mortar, | | |as crushed stone for fill | |Mussel Shells |Mussel shells were used as ceremonial objects.European Americans have used shells as ornaments – buttons and | | |pearls for jewelry. | |Oil/Natural Gas |Oil and natural gas are used as fuels and ingredients in the chemical industry to produce petroleum based | | |products notably plastics. | |Phosphate |Phosphate is used as a fertilizer and to make phosphoric acid which is a major ingredient in food products such | | |as cola drinks. | |Saltpeter |Saltpeter was used as a fertilizer (source of nitrogen) and as an ingredient in gunpowder.It has now been | | |replaced by the related compound ammonium nitrate which can be manufactured in the laboratory. | |Sand & Gravel |Sand and gravel are used as fill to provide a stable foundation for buildings and roads. | |Sandstone |Sandstone is used as a building material. | |Sphalerite (zinc) |Zinc is used as an ingredient in brass (wit h copper). It is used to coat (galvanize) iron implements to protect | | |them from rusting.It is used as a pigment (white) | Natural resources are raw materials we use to make other products. These include trees, minerals, aquatic life, gravel, coal, and many others. How can businesses remove these resources from an area and still maintain a working landscape? Responsible businesses know that they can make money producing products or gathering natural resources while they minimize the damage to their surroundings. Take a look at some products and possible damage from forestry, mining, and aquaculture.Forestry The forest industry is made up of businesses involved in the growing and harvesting of trees and other plant life from forests. |Products |Damages | |wood products |They provide lumber or timber for |clearcutting |Removing a large block of trees exposes ground, which is| | |building houses, boats, decks, and | |vulnerable to soil erosion. | |furniture. | | | |paper |They cre ate pulp to make paper and |log jams |Over cutting may result in logs piling up and blocking | | |paper products. | |the natural flow of water. | |Christmas trees |They grow, cut, and sell Christmas |lost recreational |Forest landscapes are degraded. Who wants to visit a | | |trees. value |forest with no trees, or a river clogged with trees? | |landscaping |They fulfill our landscaping needs |lost renewable |New trees may not be planted. Forests are not renewable | | |with trees and plants. |resource |resources unless trees are planted to replace the trees | | | | |cut down. This also displaces wildlife. | MiningMining is the process or business of removing ore, soil, rock, and minerals from the ground or from mountains. |Products |Damages | |Coins |Historically and currently used as |Reclamation | | |money. |Reclamation means restoring land that has been altered.Mining pits must be | | | |reclaimed after mining operations cease. Poor mining practices can destroy the| | | |environme nt and cost taxpayers a lot of money in clean-up. | | | |Habitat destruction | | | |Animal habitats are destroyed and biodiversity is compromised. | | |Pollution | | | |Mining by-products, called tailings, can pollute our air and water. | |Gold/Silver Standards|Influence the value of currency. | | |Fossil Fuels |Provide fuel by burning. | |Nutrition |Minerals are often used in vitamins. | | |Building Materials |Provide materials used in | | | |construction like aluminum and | | | |concrete. | |Jewelry |Gold, silver, diamonds and other | | | |precious stones provide material for | | | |jewelry. | |Gravel |Gravel is used to build roads and is | | | |mixed into cement to form concrete. | | Aquaculture Aquaculture is the business of raising marine or freshwater fish or shellfish under controlled conditions. |Products |Damages | |Oyster |Netpens |   |Areas of waterways that are lined off by nets; these result in large quantities of waste (just like other forms of intensive | | |animal production). | | | | | |Aquaculture Waste | | |Processing wastes are often released directly into natural bodies of water. | | | | |Protein | | |Many fish are carnivorous—they eat meat. The food provided in fish farms may not contain meat protein. The fish who eat this | | |food do not possess the same amount of protein as their natural counterparts. This can result in a less healthy fish. | | | | |Mangroves | | |Fishing operations (shrimp farms in particular) have damaged mangroves—trees and shrubs forming buffering boundaries between | | |land and saltwater environments. (This is an important ecosystem along coastlines. | |Clams | | |   | | |Shrimp | | |   | | |Lobster | | |   | | |Salmon | | |   | | |Trout | | |   | |