American-Cuban Relations: A critical analysis

The American Cruise Line is a United States small ship company. Its operations are around Eastern Seaboard in the US. Its operations commencement is dated back in early 1970’s. However, the business stopped sometimes in 1980s due to a decreasing level of customers. Its operations either went in business again in 2000, by launching some three ship fleet with the American Eagle (49 – passenger capacity) being the first ship. Others launched in 2002 and 2005 where the American Glory (49 – passengers) and the American Sprit (98 – passengers) respectively. In 2007, the company is to launch the American Star.The owner had sold the company in late 1980’s before it went under due to operational inefficiencies. Since it’s rebirth in 2002, the company continues to embrace a big growth, with its operation expanding highly. The same rebirth followed an acquisition by the owner of the then former company which was operational in 1980’s. The company is a US based small ship company registered in Maine. Its operations are along the US coastal line form the Maine to Florida. Operational profile. The company owns a much larger fleet with a capacity of 220 square fleets.Its cabins are of a larger size than any other small ship company. In its fleet Profile, its currently operates with three cruise ships such as the American Eagle, American Glory and the American Spirit. Its current decision to launch the fourth ship (America Star) within the year is perhaps its greatest achievement. Its ships are profound in three characteristics which make it to adequately compete with its competitors at the market place. They are highly roomy, and of the most modern nature. (http://www. cruisecritic. com/reviews/cruiseline. cfm? CruiseLineID=57)Their ships have adequate privacy due to the large capacity, intimate relations for their relatively small size as well as allowing its passengers to be able to frequently meet within a week. Their dining room are located at the deck which primarily lowest at the stem point, where it has some windows on its three sides it has other two cabin sized lounges, with the tip deck making open cut facility for the remaining part of the ship. The four decks will then be linked together by an elevator. Many of the cabins have balconies which provide an attractive environment for the passengers on the coastal scenery while traveling.Those without balconies will have their windows painted large pictures which are then opened for free circulation of air and also the different sounds emanating form the sea. They also offer cabin facilities for persons who are single or disabled. Generally, the vessels will have identical features in regard to the facilities, decor and also layout. The passengers are free in their choice of cruise in terms of date or even itinerary without been forced to use a cruise without their choice. (Morgan, 2004) The decors are attractive and exciting, with both muted and a range of simple colors.Their close array is like that of a hotels generic lobby. Its main lounge has a specific location. This is underneath their bridges at a directly forward position. It has a set of tail windows in one of the three sides which are used for providing a way of viewing the attractive scenery while passing. However, the stringent maritime laws have worked to lower the company’s activities. These laws prescribe an attractive package in the certain conditions relating to capacity, modern, operating diameters, and other legal conditions on the cruise business.At one point, we can talk of the advantage into the nature of the business customers. However, the same laws may be argued as stumbling blocks into the cruise business where stringent legacies ought to be followed. Consequently, cruise businesses are required to have a layout of specific modalities in the operational system and the physical nature of their ships. Such conditions have been voted as been hig hly expensive leading to conditions of high operating costs. The company has the launch of the American Star in progress which is to be later in this year.Either, its development of Pearl Seas Cruises within the course of 2008, will find the company at the most competitive edge in the international waters. This would have the same similarities to the other ship models, though it’s highly sophisticated. With a regard to the environmental laws about water pollution, the company has been in the fore front to ensure Low rates of environmental pollution. The construction system of its ships follows a highly conventional manner in which high standards ships manufactured with lower cases of oil spill-over in the water.Either, it has various facilities for ensuring safe custodies for any emergency cases and accidents that would lead to oil spillages in the water. Above these parameters, its high advocacy to the travelers of frontiers that provides conditions for lower environmental p ollution has been ensured by the management. The company has continued to recognize and put in place various campaigns on environmental conservations, and reduction in water pollution. Through such a campaign, it has ensured high operational statuses which provide a hallmark in the conservation of the water environment through reduced pollution.(Sagers, 2006) Organizational structure and current operating environment. The company has provided a layout in terms of its organizations structure. A compliment of various stakeholders to be same structure is therefore available. It has the CEO as the highest rank in the structure. A panel of board of directors also accompanies the same structure. Elsewhere, various managerial staff positions provide management services to the different management offices. The current operating structure may be summarized under the aspect of ship board organizational structure.The shipboard organizational structure is comprised of system of controls into th e various activities and operations at the time of boarding a ship. Like any other organizational activity, the ship boarding activity is comprised of various activities that help an adequate environment for the operations. Different personnel have various delegated responsibilities, which help the smooth process of activities during the boarding time. (Hazell, Fitzpatrick, 2006) Various control persons are therefore delegated with various duties.These include; operations control who is capable of the communication process within the shipping process. The engineering control, who provide various engineering services for the shipboard process incase of mechanical breakdowns; the damage controller, who provide repairs and maintenance to any materials breakdown in the shipping process. The shipboard directors(s), who provides a package of directorship in the control layout systems of the ship board process. Above these profiles, the shipboard organizational structure is compounded by o ther systems of control / control officials.These are medical controls, finance officials, supervisors, safety officers, security control and quality assurance controls. All the controls play their relevant authorities and displiness in correspondence to the requirements of the shipboard process. Summarily therefore, shipboard organizational structure is comprised of a system of control that ensure adequacy in the company’s organization at the shipboard process. The shipboard operating structure is comprised of a system of control available at the process of its operations.While the ship is on its traveling process, there are various operating controls and processes that accompany it for adequate and safe traveling and services. At one level, the demographic population of the company can be echoed in a close perspective between the ships and the passenger volume they operate in. The demographic structure of the company depicts diversity in its clients in terms of geographical parameters. Clients are from the whole region. Generally, the number of children clients has been voted to be low.However, a higher volume of children is available during the summer within the Maine and the New England. Currently the company has its three ships with the American Star at the verge of been launched within this year. (Talley, 2000) The major nationalities working in the onboard process are Americans. The company has had dominance in the employment of Americans for its onboard activities. This is in attribute and understanding that fellow Americans can provide good customers relation in the onboard process during the ship traveling.However, the onboard process is accompanied by a number of activities on process where different personnel perform different roles. Firstly, the role and position of show excursions controller should not be overlooked. This is the controller person in charge of excursions in every port in which passengers are taken through to know the differ ent environments they are driving in. This is taken as a refresher course to the passengers in the long journey processes. Food and drinking personals (waiter) who are allied to the different schedules of the passenger feeding.With the long journey process, passengers are ideally provided with food, this is taken care of by the food controller. Like the shipboard organization structure, the on process is also accompanied by a system of control which includes quality assurance, finance, medical, security, administration, above others. At the onboard process, the persons are responsible for these controls. At the shore side either, a comprehensive, package of management structure, controls and human resources issues is highly pronounced to provide a higher and better environment of the shipping process.Majority of the characteristics of activities found at the shore side is a combination those at the shipboard organizational and operating structures above those of the onboard structur e. A combination of the relevant system of control relating to the various systems of control is therefore attributable to the shore side organizational structure. Marketing positioning The small ship industry in America is highly competitive. The company continue to get a high and stiff competition form its competitors around the world.The success to the company has however been through a package of providing relatively high quality products and services above other strategies which helps it to even pursue well in such a competitive market. It has however a highly developed and established system of itineraries which are found placed in the whole Eastern Seaboard covering the Penobscot Bay at the Maine up to the Florida. (Haigh, Nomikos, Bessler, 2004) The traveling system changes considerably during the various seasons of the year. The cruises allied to England Island have the Block Island as their stopping areas at the summer periods.They can also stop at Nantucket or Martha†™s Vineyard. Trips also change in the course of the year depending on the environmental conditions allied to the navigation process. There is the June offer of itineraries from the Chesapeake Bay which are allied to the Baltimore case. However, these are all short trip cases. The great passageway which is form the Baltimore to the peak of Florida is among its long paths. Elsewhere, the ships will sail via the Antebellum Itineraries, which is form the Jacksonville and the Charleston.This occurs at the periods form November throughout April. The Okeechobee trip is offered as an occasional trip. As the 2008 approaches, other cruises will be introduced by the Pearl Seas Cruises. There destinations are proposed to been Canadian Marmites, St. Lawrence Seaway Caribbean American itineraries and also the Central American itineraries. This 2008 activity plan is a clear indication of the high level of expansion by the company in their itineraries. (Still, 2001) The target market of the compa ny is to include the whole of the US costal line.However, this is only its immediate (short run goals) with the intensity into its expanding phenomena, the company is perhaps to embrace its final attribute of expanding to reach the various water ways and ports in the US coastal strip. Elsewhere, its greatest achievement would be expanding to the broad foreign market. Foreign market is seen as an attribute in which the company will develop in capacity to even reach the global market, through mergers, acquisitions, starting or even through Franchises. Miscellaneous details The American Cruise company has continued to embrace the sovereignty as one the largest small ship company in US.Over the last three years, it has had an average of reported profit amounting to $ 694 per annum. The price of it share in the American stock market has considerable been improving. Since is rebirth in 2002, it has continued to show an increasing level of profit. . References Cruise Review and News (2007) American Cruise Lines. Retrieved on 7th Nov. 2007 from http://www. cruisecritic. com/reviews/cruiseline. cfm? CruiseLineID=57 Haigh, M. S. , Nomikos, N. K. , & Bessler, D. A. (2004). Integration and Causality in International Freight Markets: Modeling with Error Correction and Directed Acyclic Graphs.Southern Economic Journal, 71(1), 145+. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5006987575 Hazell, L. C. , & Fitzpatrick, S. M. (2006). The Maritime Transport of Prehistoric Megaliths in Micronesia. Archaeology in Oceania, 41(1), 12+. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5015172724 Morgan, C. (2004). The Public Nature of Private Industry in Confederate Georgia. Civil War History, 50(1), 27+. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5006500885Sagers, C. (2006). The Demise of Regulation in Ocean Shipping: A Study in the Evolution of Co mpetition Policy and the Predictive Power of Microeconomics. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 39(3), 779+. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5019554251 Still, C. (2001). Thinking outside the Box: The Application of COGSA's $500 Per-Package Limitation to Shipping Containers. Houston Journal of International Law, 24(1), 81+. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5000945085 Talley, W.K. (2000). Ocean Container Shipping: Impacts of a Technological Improvement. Journal of Economic Issues, 34(4), 933. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5001180959 The state of conflict that has come to define the relationship between the United Sates of America and the tiny island nation of Cuba is, unknown to many, as old as the history of Cuba as a nation state. The first signals of conflict came early in the life of Cuba as a Spanis h colony when in 1795 Negro slaves and whites came together to revolt against the Spanish overlords.That momentous occasion caused a great disquiet amongst slave owners in the American south, and thus attracted the keen attention of the American establishment, who did not desire such an example to be set too close to home. The first overt reaction of the American rulers at that time was to make overtures to Spain for the purchase of Cuba. In this respect, Thomas Jefferson, the American President, was reported to have said in 1809 that, â€Å"I candidly confess that I have ever looked upon Cuba as the most interesting addition that can be made to our system of States. †Though Spain persistently rejected the American request, the Americans never dropped their desire to annex Cuba by any possible means. This ardent American desire and policy on Cuba was summed up by the then American Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, â€Å"These islands (Cuba and Puerto Rico) are natural a ppendages of the North American continent, and one of them (Cuba) almost within sight of our shores, from a multitude of considerations has become an object of transcendent importance to the commercial and political interests of our Union†¦ These are laws of political as well as physical gravitation.† It was therefore only a matter of time before the first real conflict over Cuba erupted. When it did, it did so in two fronts, one involved America and Spain while the other involved Cubans themselves, who desired independence from Spain. In 1823, US President Moore declared the Western Hemisphere, including Cuba, as an exclusive sphere of influence of the United States, warning European powers to take heed and steer clear of any interference in the affairs of any nations within the so declared ‘sphere of influence’.Subsequently, in 1898, Cuba became a theatre of war between the Americans and Spain, the Spanish American War. This was coincidentally at a period C uban revolutionaries claimed they were on the threshold of liberating Cuba from Spanish rule. The Americans won in the ensuing war and subsequently took control of the governance of Cuba as protectorate. What was to follow was a despoliation of the Cuban state by successive American appointed administrators, land speculators, profiteers, the Mafia and their local Cuban collaborators.Attendant to these was the economic emasculation of the Cuban nation as American colonists swooped on the island and acquired large swats of fertile farm land, marginalizing the local people, and in so doing sowed the seeds of the many conflicts that were later to help shape American-Cuban relations for almost the past half century. 2. 7. 1. The Actors General Fulgencio Batista Formerly a Sergeant in the Cuban Army, Batista came into limelight when he led a group of sergeants, ‘The Revolt of the Sergeants’ to overthrow a sitting government in 1933.Though he relinquished power shortly afterwa rds to become the army chief, he made himself the elector of the next president and subsequent five others until 1940 when he contested and won the presidency for himself. Successive American administrations found him a willing ally and were in tacit support of his conducts and rule over Cuba. Under Batista, the Miami mafia mob became the co-rulers of Cuba. Batista was to retire from presidency in 1944 only to make a quick come-back in 1948 when he was elected into the Cuban senate. Later in 1952 he sidestepped the elections and took over power in a coup.With the support of U. S administration of Harry Truman, Batista cancelled the elections all together and became the maximum leader. Fidel Castro was one of the contestants in that botched election. Fidel Alejandro Castro. The son of a wealthy Creole farmer, Castro was educated in Jesuit schools, and finally graduated from the Havana University with a law degree. Disillusioned with the poverty he saw around him and the display of we alth by the American colonists, Fidel joined the political movement with intent to stand for an election into the Cuban congress.When this desire of his was scuttled by the cancellation of the elections and the usurping of power by General Batista in 1952, he took up arms with other rebels, ‘The July 26 Movement’, including his brother Raul to wrest power out of Batista forcefully. Their attempt at rebellion in 1953 ended in disaster and the killing of most of the rebels. Fidel, his brother and a few others were arrested, tried and jailed, but later released. Castro was to strike again, and eventually defeated Batista’s soldiers to take over power in 1959.On assumption of power, Castro took several populist actions, which endeared hum to the down trodden Cuban masses. But his later actions of nationalizing all American run and owned businesses in Cuba, closing down all casinos, whore houses and sending the mafia on the run, as well as his switch to communism earn ed him powerful enemies in the American establishment. Ever since, American Cuban relations can be effectively summed up in two this short term- mutual hostility. Dwight D.Eisenhower. Two-term president of the U. S, 1953-1961, Eisenhower was in power at the height of the Castro rebellion, which ousted General Batista from power. Eisenhower was the architect of initial American policy response to the Castro challenge. Hostility was the initial and consistent response to the Castro regime. This response was later to be institutionalized, thus setting the mood for subsequent US-Cuban relations. Eisenhower took far-reaching steps to checkmate Castro.Some of these steps were the authorization of the CIA to train Cuban exiles to form a force that could overthrow Castro and install a more acceptable regime in Cuba, cancellation of American orders for Cuban sugar, prohibition of American exports to Cuba, putting pressure on European banks to cancel loans meant for Cuba, blacklisting of nava l vessels carrying cargo to or from Cuba, massive propaganda offensive to discredit the Cuban regime, liaisons with and use of mafia links to try to assassinate Castro or destabilize Cuba. J. F.Kennedy. He succeeded Eisenhower as American President, and true to his election campaign pledge to ‘do something about Castro’, Kennedy went a step further by authorizing and sponsoring the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban dissidents. This was in addition to other US sponsored covert and overt terrorist attacks against Cuban interests and attempts on Castro’s life. Kennedy followed up late with the termination of diplomatic relation with Cuba in 1961. Some other attempts by Kennedy to deal with Castro included:Operation Mongoose, whose aim was to overthrow Castro through acts of terrorism and subversion; The invoking of US military intervention to â€Å"overthrow the Castro regime; Operation Peter Pan, (1960-62) in which the US colluded with the Catho lic Church transport 14,048 unaccompanied children between 6 and 18 years old out of Cuba for the US; Institution of a full trade embargo against Cuba; Punishment and denial of US aid for third countries which allowed assistance or commerce with Cuba; Imposition of travel to Cuba on US citizens;Though President Kennedy was assassinated in circumstances which some speculations have linked to the Castro issue, the US policy direction on Cuba did not change, but had rather intensified with successive US regimes. 2. 7. 2. Issues Basically the Issues at stake in American-Cuban relations could be described as both ideological and territorial.The United States on the one hand had a long standing interest to annex or control Cuba and to have the island nation come under its capitalist mode of operation, whereas Cuba had traditionally resisted any such designs by the Americans and had under Fidel Castro towed the communist line of production and ideology. 2. 7. 3. The Underlying factors Many recent commentators on the unending face-off between Cuba and the United States have wondered why the US has found it difficult to accommodate the Cubans and their communist form of government at a time that they have normalized relations with such other communist regimes as China and Vietnam.`It is quite obvious that such commentators have failed to take into account the full weight of the underlying factors that have helped shape and instruct American policy direction on Cuba. Some of these factors can be discussed below: 1. The ideological war: Capitalism vs Communism. It is an established fact that the United States is as rabidly capitalist as the former Soviet Union was Communist. So when Castro concluded his revolution by tilting towards communism he inadvertently touched America at it sorest point.It was a declaration that an enemy was at its back door. Thus Cuban American relations were ab initio anchored on diametrically opposing posts the moment Castro took over power. 2. Proximity. Cuba’s proximity to the US which put it within the so-called American sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere precluded that the US must, as a matter of national security, have interest in what happens in its back waters. And what the American administrations loathed most was for Cuba to become an example which other Western hemisphere counties could look up to and copy.3. Interest groups. Most of the American business interests that were nationalized by Castro are today part of the dominant group ruling the United States, and dictating state policy. They have not forgiven Castro and will never forgive him for disrupting their lucrative business operations in Cuba. The same is true of the mafia elements within the Cuban exile groups. 4. Resistance from ordinary Cubans. Having witnessed firsthand what unbridled capitalism and corrupt did to them the first time they came under U.S rule, ordinary Cubans are loathe to again welcome any American hegemony over the m. 2. 7. 4. Scope The scope and ramifications of US-Cuban relations crossed national and continental boundaries in the 70’s and 80’s when Cuba embarked on shoring up leftist regimes or groups in South America and Africa. These attempts brought them into direct conflict with the US; with disastrous effects in Nicaragua, Grenada, Angola, Ethiopia and Congo democratic republic.Consequently, local conflicts were internationalized, protracted and resulted in tremendous human tolls. The effect of almost fifty years of American economic embargoes on Cuba has also been horrendous on Cubans. 2. 7. 5. Previous Attempts at Settlements The first known attempt at settling the disputes between the US and Cuba was in 1964 when Cuba offered to desist from exporting revolutionary ideals to South America if the US would halt its hostile actions against Cuba. The US refused, urging Cuba to first stop close relations with the USSR.It was also speculated that Kennedy had intended to engage Castro in negotiations shortly before he was assassinated in 1965. Another secret attempt was made at reconciliation in 1974, but was supposedly cancelled after Cuba got involved in Angola. President Ford at that time linked normalization of relations with Cuba with its voluntary pull out from Angola. It was under Jimmy Carter that the most real attempts at the normalization of relations with Cuba were initiated when he lifted the travel embargo on Cuba.A maritime boundary and fishing accord was signed by both countries during this period, while diplomatic interest sections were opened by both countries in Havana and Washington, respectively. Other bilateral negotiations were started; the American Congress also repealed the provision of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 banning aid to countries permitting their vessels to trade with Cuba. The National Security Council also rescinded the ship blacklist. 2. 7. 6. Phases and IntensityThe Kennedy era was perhaps marked zenith of Ameri can-Cuban hostility. It was then that the botched Pay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was carried out in 1961, same as the Cuban missile crisis, which involved the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962. Though the missile crisis was eventually resolved, when the Soviets willingly dismantled the missiles, the crisis almost precipitated a nuclear war between the US and the Kruschev-led Soviet Union. Several U.S instigated attempts were also made during that same era to assassinate Fidel Castro, but the climax was the assassination of President Kennedy himself. The other high intensity points in American-Cuban relations were in the 70’s and 80’s when Cuba actively supported leftist insurrections against American backed dictatorships in Africa and South America. The most notable of these countries where Cuban forces played direct combat role were Angola, Ethiopia, Grenada, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The U. S countered these Cuban moves by pouring in massive supp ort to the opposing groups.However, the relations between the have traditionally been known to experience upward and down swings in response to the parties in power in Washington- much more favorable under the Democrats and less so under the Republicans. 2. 7. 7. Balance of Power In territorial size and resources, Cuba is no match to the United States, but the active support of the Soviet Union at the start of the Castro revolution and until the collapse of the Soviet Union brought a semblance of balance of powers between the two feuding neighbors- U. S and Cuba.However, at the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were expectations that Cuba would falter and collapse, but world public opinion and the support of Canada, the European Union, China and of late Venezuela have helped stabilize Cuba ideologically and materially. 2. 7. 8. Capacity and Resource There is no room for comparison of the resources and capacities of both countries, the U. S is way ahead of Cuba in all respects, but as explained earlier what Cuba has going for it are favorable world opinion and the resilience of its leadership and people. 2. 7. 9.State of the Relationship The support for the continuing US embargo of the island nation have been completely eroded, as many of the nations of Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa have since normalized relations with Cuba. Even fellow North American countries of Canada and Mexico have consistently opposed US embargoes on Cuba, especially as it affected US subsidiary companies within these two nations. Even many Americans have come to question the wisdom of continuing with the hostilities when it is obvious that Cuba, at present, poses no threat to U.S national security. Visits have been made of late by sitting congressmen and other influential Americans in efforts to settle the disputes between the two neighbors that are so close but yet so far apart. Works Consulted Chadwick Ian. History of Cuban American relations. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from h ttp://www. ianchadwick. com/essays/cubahistory. html Siera J. A. Compilations of History of Cuba. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from http://www. historyofcuba. com/history/batista. htm

Global Poverty Essay

Poverty is a serious issue that has been going on for centuries. Every day there are people who die due to hunger but there are solutions to reducing, and even stopping, poverty. Global poverty comes in an abundance of shapes and sizes. One of the main sources of poverty is the lack of investment in the future at all levels. The manufacturer outsources to China because he does not want to invest in long-term employees. The government does not want to invest in quality employees through education, infrastructure, health care, etc. The potential employee does not want to invest in his future through education or training, but would rather have immediate gratification of leisure. A second main source is the lack of certain basic government functions. The government needs to be able to provide stability, through laws and establishing property rights. Without these basic things, there is little incentive for the people to develop new products, or work hard, because it will just be taken a way by someone more powerful. I don’t think government is the solution to everything, but it is necessary for a few basic functions. Another main source of poverty (and economic inequality) is because we are very selfish and self-destructive. We are a species that cannot exist without soiling our own nest and devouring our own weak until we ourselves are devoured. We all want to have more stuff for the amount of wealth we have to give up. That means we all are demanding that someone generate more wealth for less than it is worth. Unfortunately, we are willing to take this to extremes. We are more than happy to see all of our neighbours lose their jobs in the mill next door because the super center gets the same item made by slave labour in China. The people at the top are merely making a profit on what we demand they do for us. Poverty hits children the most because they are our future generation and they need to grow up healthy and prosper but most children don’t have this advantage. They should have food and education so they can grow up and become something, push the world forward, but unfortunately those living in poverty don’t have the luxury of this. More than 80% of the population dies of hunger every single year and 22,000 of them are children. There are solutions to ending poverty but if we don’t stop it now it will only get worse. The percentage will double and there won’t be children to bring the world forward because they would have died due to poverty. The infant mortality rate will increase and so will the amount of homeless people.In the political sense there could be an increased risk of war as well as genocide and terrorism. There’s also the possibility of the population migrating to places that are doing economically better than their community. The reason inequality exists is because of the devaluing middle-class workers. No matter how hard they work and how many hours they work; almost all of the profit goes to the executives and shareholders. Until middle-class workers are at the same level as corporations, the income gap will keep widening. There’s also the fact that women get paid less than men in most work places. This just makes matters worse. Unemployment also plays a role because those who are unemployed aren’t making any money at all and the rate for unemployment just keeps rising. It’s these people who are being discriminated against when it comes to the working class and that’s why economic inequality exists and why it’s on the rise. A major effect economic inequality could have is the increase in unemployment. And if unemployment increases then the demand and supply will decrease, thus causing the economy to go down. If people lose their jobs they have no money to pay for certain goods and services and some might not even be able to afford putting food on the table. This will also increase poverty. A possible solution for poverty is getting rid of capitalism. We need to get rid of all forms of physical force being the win/lose system of government, taxation, income redistribut ion and regulation and central banking and have a society based on the division of labour, individual rights and private property. Also, it’s not education or income redistribution that will do it either. The level of invested capital per worker, both foreign and domestic, thus raising the productivity of labour in an unhampered free market government free capitalist system, Prior to the industrial revolution, 95 percent of children died before the age of 5, and since then the world’s population has exploded more than 10 fold. The Chinese economy since 1978 has grown 90 times since the introduction of † a freer more capitalistic market society,† Literally lifting 100’s of millions out of abject poverty and misery. Poverty can probably never be completely eliminated but this could be one possible solution. Another solution could be allowing free trade with these developing countries, and maybe even give them some trade protections for a short time while they develop their comparative advantage. You could probably argue who benefits from poverty from many different angles. I would  tend to say that no one benefits from poverty. Sure, if you can pay some people much less than the natural market rate to produce a good, some people will benefit by receiving some products at a lower price, but this actually isn’t all that beneficial. By paying these people less, they have less money to contribute back to society, so from an economic standpoint, I would say no one really benefits from poverty in the long run. If instead, all countries had free markets, the world would be better off. One more possible solution for ending poverty is helping each other out, especially those living in third world countries. Countries that are developed, like the US, spend all their money on war when they could be focusing on helping other countries out, even helping their poor communities. Children living in poor areas need a quality education. They need to go to school to gain knowledge and life skills and how to reach their full potential which will help them out in the long run. There needs to be new schools built and the barriers that are preventing children from going to school (especially girls) needs to be broken. Without the proper education, these countries won’t be able to improve their situation. Countries living in poverty also need health care and safe drinking water. If we can help provide these things for these countries they could eventually come out of the poverty because it’s hard to start a business or provide for a family when they’re busy looking for their next meal and some water. We can also help these countries by letting them come out of it themselves. We can lend them financial aid but having people from over here go over there to build the schools and hospitals only hurts the country. They need to be provided with jobs and they need to learn how to help because that is the only way they will get economically stronger. There needs to be access to food, water, health facilities, transportation, roads, education, daycare and many more infrastructures in each community to allow people in those communities to work effectively and productively. We have tried this in countries such as Africa and nothing came of it but that’s because we weren’t doing it right. We believed that we were helping them when, in fact, we’ve only made their situation worse. We need to be more conscious of what’s going on and how to help properly instead of trying to throw money around. We need to participate and push for change if we really want to make a difference and reduce poverty as well as economic inequality. It won’t be easy but it will definitely be worth it.

Coach Carter Way Essay

The American Educational institution is stereotypical in a sense that’s it’s built around the American Dream concept. The American educational institution set that platform for the future. Students go to grammar school, junior high, and high school in aspiration to go on to higher education. In the movie coach carter, the struggle, is what’s built character in the players to become elite, therefore, pressing the stereotype that knowledge is power In this situation, Cruz a player says –‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. You’re playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously g ive other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. â€Å"This central quote of the film packs a powerful emotional punch. Clients will often focus on a fear of failure before realizing that it is success that is more frightening. Success entails making sacrifices, and trading the comfort of mediocrity with the intensity of glory. â€Å"It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us† because in the dark we can hide and remain anonymous. When we start to shine, we open ourselves up to the world and to possible criticism. Shining brightly also means obtaining greater amounts of responsibility The film Coach Carter was very captivating. To others it may seem a little clichà © like another â€Å"Piece of the Action† with Sidney Portiere or â€Å"Lean on Me† with Morgan Freeman. Both films are American stereotypical educational institutions in their own rights. However, Coach Carter intersects where they are parallel, by not just giving the students tough love, but giving the players more than hopes of being great athletes. The Coach, Ken Carter gives these players affirmations and inspirations so that they may go on to become great men. In the film Coach Ken emphasizes academics, leadership and gained the respect of his players. The American educational institution is stereotypical in a sense that it is built around the concept of the â€Å"American dream†. This concept sets the platform for the future. You go to grammar school, junior high and on to high school all in aspiration to go onto higher education. Also to think that with higher education there is greater opportunity. â€Å"Well, let me tell you what I see. I see a system that’s designed for you to fail. Now I know you all like stats so let me give you some. Richmond High only graduates fifty percent of its students. And of those that do graduate only six percent go to college; which tells me when I walk down these halls and I look in your classrooms, maybe only one student is going to go to college. Well damn, Coach Carter, If I ain’t going to college, where am I going to go? Well that’s a great question. And the answer for young, African American men in here is this: probably, to prison. In this county, thirty three percent of black males between eighteen and twenty four get arrested. So look at the guy on your left, now look at the guy on your right. One of you is going to get arrested.† (Coach Ken Carter, Coach Carter Film, 2005) In this Film Coach Ken Carter emphasizes on the dire need for academia. Throughout the movie he belts out the many statistics that the Richmond basketball players are up against. He rules with an iron fist. He also acknowledges that many of the players are not performing well in their current classes and forces their parents to get active, and forces the players to improve their grades. He helps them make this change by enforcing s contract, study time and discipline. In Coach Carter acknowledging that these players need a strong academic support system he pushed them harder so that they may have that option for higher education. â€Å"You said we’re a team. One person struggles, we all struggle. One person triumphs, we all triumph.† (Jason Lyle, Coach Carter Film, 2005) In the film Coach Carter, the struggle, is what built character in the players to become elite. Coach Carter showed leadership by his motivation to inspire these young men. His leadership came from his passion to teach and coach. This film was a direct reflection of his integrity and leadership. In this docudrama Coach Carter did not fill these young men with a false hope. He served a purpose in letting these young know that they could break the statistics and the institutionalized stereotypes placed upon their education based upon numbers. He laid the foundation for the expectation of an American dream. In the film Coach Carter, Coach Carter gains the respect of the players by being driven and unwavering. He allowed them to find themselves, he valued them and he taught the players self worth. He did not just talk a good talk he walked the walk. He was a true example of practice what you preach. He lived every single work he spoke to the players and they respected that. â€Å"I came to coach basketball players, and you became students. I came to teach boys, and you became men.† (Coach Ken Carter, Coach Carter Film, 2005) His goal was to gain the respect of these young men while teaching them that it is more the life than the four corners of their block and what was going on in their life at the present. He did not just gain the respect of just the players he gained the respect of his colleagues and the parents. In conclusion Coach Ken carter defied the odds of the stereotypical American institutional education system for young men of color in an impoverished area such as Richmond California. He emphasized on academia which heightened the expectation of his players. He gained the respect of his players by being a man if his word, showing great restraint and growing the distance to be the role model that they needed. He is indeed a leader because he pushed the envelope and exposed them to thought patterns I’m not sure they could have ever conceived on their own. Coach Ken CARTER broke the mold.

Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biography - Essay Example Incredibly powerful and talented women have either isolated themselves in lonely closets or succumbed to drug addiction, and even committed suicide because they feared both societal and familial rejection. From a historical perspective, the pressure women faced in the past is understood. However, even today, women in the upper echelons of society still have to choose between silence and success. However, Perko decided to speak out about the rights of people due to the fact that she witnessed others being mistreated. Some people are settled in the United States; however some do not receive the same education and treatment as white students due to the fact that they are viewed as a minority race. Furthermore, because of their lack culture acknowledgement from teachers, sometimes American students require educational intervention, which is actually lacking knowledge in their culture even though they have settled in the United States for hundreds of years. From there, this is why she recorded some people were very proud when they had a chance of education. It is apparent that family structure is highly important to children's behavior due to the fact it does affect all levels of educational performance, which includes preschool to college. Furthermore, family has a big influence on a child behavior.

Week 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Week 3 - Assignment Example Main goal behind this article is to understand the transition between careers and particularly assessing the self-preparation, identifying the gaps and filling these gaps by developing the activities. Another source of self-preparation is the creation of unit professional program for individual development through education and training. Critical skills required for an individual build up for cyber domain include the knowledge on the computer networks, enterprise networks, cyber community, cyber command operations, cyber policies, hackers’ strengths and weaknesses, exploiting the data collection from opposite sources, kinetic military operations and new trends in emerging technologies (Conti et al., 2011). Authors do not encourage the students to adopt the cheating from adversaries. They want the students to learn creatively about the behavior of adversaries about cheating. Conti and Caroland (2011) have precisely pointed out the realm about cheating. Cheating techniques used by students in an exam present their intellectual advancement about how to use cheating means, even these are not allowed by exam laws and policies. This exercise of an exam enhanced the student capabilities to analyze the environment and benefited from weaknesses found in the system. Trust was another security principle, which is left open for exploitation of online as well as physical world. Student showed diversity of skills as they used different means of cheating in the class exam. Human beings always prove themselves as a weakest link in a given security system. Students are learnt how adversaries used cheating by violating the rules. In addition to this, students learn how their instructors provide them an environment to use the cheating in the exams. Exercise used in this article was only for one time and not for other exams or graded events. Realism and stress were increased as they occasionally walked among the students. Unfair and

Credit Derivatives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Credit Derivatives - Essay Example (Moorad Choudhry, 2004) Theoretically, credit derivatives make a new class of assets made to trade default risk on a range of maturity without a collateral constraint. However, the potential efficiency benefits of credit derivatives are being reduced by lack of liquidity globally, the repo market use in hedging and the lack of secondary markets. The pricing of these instruments is affected by factors such as the option to deliver the cheapest bond and liquidity. In addition, emanating from lack of arbitrage, the rate of repo and bond over libor spread can be utilizedd to price the default swap. (Romain G Ranciere, 2002) In relatively short time, the credit derivative markets have grown, becoming a key component of capital markets and embracing a wide range of participants. They form an important part of the corporate bond market used for hedging and speculative purposes. Credit derivatives are ‘over the counter’ (OTC) instruments and therefore, very flexible; they can be specifically made to suit individual needs and can be used for a wide range of applications. These OTC instruments have a number of advantages such as their ability to be tailor made to suit specific requirements, their ability to isolate the underlying loan or bond from certain aspects of credit risk and their ability to be used by the banks in business restructuring as they allow these banks to parcel out credit risk while retrieving assets on the balance sheet. The three most common credit derivative instruments are credit default swaps, total return swaps, and credit-linked notes. The credit derivatives market share in the corporate sector is estimated at 80 percent and is essentially made up of high yield fixed income market in developed economies. Ironically, the credit derivatives upon upcoming sovereign bonds form the remaining 20 percent. (Moorad choudhry, 2004) BRIEF HISTORY OF CREDIT DERIVATIVES. Although since 1975 credit instruments were operating, it is in the year 19 96 that credit derivative markets really started. This came from financial institutions’ held concern about credit risk exposure regarding them. At that moment, the credit derivatives markets started being viewed as a compliment to the loan securitization markets. Quickly, the credit derivatives’ markets developed solely and simply became an important place to hedge as well as take credit risks on sovereign and corporate debts alike. During the crisis in Asia, from july of 1997, the emerging credit markets made a break in forward surge. The markets were slowed down by the absence of standardized documentation until 1999, when the International Swap and Derivatives Association (SDA) credit derivatives definitions were published, though. In year 1998, during which year the Russian nation bond defaults started. Credit derivatives markets were again triggered although some legal documentation problems were highlighted. However, the 1999 ISDA definitions reduced the causes of legal disputes. It is during that period of time that the year 1999 Ecuador-quasi voluntary bond exchange was put under recognition as a credit event. It is also at some time later that the investment markets agreed that the 2000 Argentina debt swap did not constitute a credit event. The Argentina turmoil of 2001

Critical Thinking Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical Thinking Philosophy - Essay Example Critical thinking because of its reasoning based on logic is applicable here. By organizing his experiences with the universally accepted aesthetic standards like that of goodness and truth, the individual became an objective participant in the order of beauty. Any deviations from this harmony were subjective errors and which encompassed the individual’s lack of ability to make or comprehend beauty. This universe of the conscious makers was both beautiful and good and rational. Such a universe however went beyond the power of any single individual, be it intellectual, moral or aesthetic. This started the notion of there being a universal order, which had existed before and beyond them. This implied the existence of a bearer of ‘truth’, goodness’, and ‘beauty’ who had organized the universe into this one perfect module. This universe had to be full of ethically perfect activities and beauty and reason. Critical thinking in this context makes us pause and wonder whether there was a personal God behind this or a spiritual being outside this universe which was actually his creation or was an inherent active reason in the universe behind the creation of this perfect world. (Znaniecki, 88-89) Critical thinking encompasses metaphysical thinking as well as scientific thinking. Parmenides is considered to be the father of metaphysics. (Marias,20) The aim of metaphysics is to determine the real nature of things, to put all assumptions to test and to determine the meaning, structure and values of things the way they are.(Wilshire, 1-26)

Food Retail Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Food Retail - Assignment Example Given the trend toward globalization and international expansion of markets, modern retailers are faced with increasing competition as well as the need to expand their products and services to appeal to broader market segments. This process is requiring retail grocers to identify and target specific ethnic market segments. In the same way that US retailers have successfully targeted Hispanic consumers, international retail grocery companies such as Tesco must focus on diversifying their product line and successfully marketing to significant segments such as the Muslim community. According to the company, Tesco is one of the world's leading international food retailers with over 2500 stores worldwide and a commitment to long-term growth (Tesco: At a Glance, 2006: 1). In fact, it has been called the "success story" of British supermarket retailing whose industry leadership has been widely accepted (Kacker & Sternquist, 1994: 202). This places the organization at the forefront of market development because its broad reach locates it's outlets in many different markets with an extremely diverse customer base. In those areas which have high concentrations of devout Muslims, this means offering a product line that comports with the strict dietary laws known as Halal. There is no doubt about the fact that the Muslim community has significant economic power; in France, it is estimated that if the 60 million Muslims who reside there would consume and purchase only Halal meat, the product could account for 10% to 15% of the French national meat market (Kutschera, 199 6: 40). Given Tesco's stated corporate responsibility policy, which notes the organization's intent to appeal to customers across many social and economic ranges as well as use their size and success as a force for good in playing an important role in local communities, Tesco has given itself no choice but to develop products that will appeal to this constituency (Tesco: Corporate Responsibility, 2005: 1). The concept of Halal, which means "acceptable," is to the Muslim community what Kosher is to the Jewish community. It is a set of dietary laws which prescribe the manner in which foods are processed prior to being consumed, and there is increasing Muslim demand for the provision of these products (Haddad & Lummis, 1987: 20). In fact, making acceptable food available to devout Muslims is so important that many European countries are now including it as part of the food services available in public institutions such as schools and hospitals; and if they cannot find it elsewhere, many Muslims will purchase their meat from Jewish shops because of

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Consumer Choices Research Paper

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Consumer Choices - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the definition of Cause Related Marketing. A working definition of CRM is borrowed from Varadarajan Menon. In this regard, Varadarajan and Menon define CRM as the process of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are characterised by an offer from the firm to contribute a specific amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue providing exchanges that satisfy organizational and individual objectives. In this regard, CRM is a form of business orientated philanthropy geared toward â€Å"profit-motivated giving†. CRM is also characterized by symmetrical relations between business organizations/for-profit organizations and non-profit organization on the basis of shared advantages. To this end, the business organization seeks to obtain an increase in sales and the non-profit organization seeks to obtain an increase in funding. Thus CRM is both a â€Å"positioning† and â€Å"marketing tool† that intentionally connects a business or a brad to â€Å"a relevant cause or issue† for the benefit of the business and the social cause or its non-profit promoter. A business firms’ investment in CRM is based on the concept that consumers for the most part will choose a brand for both â€Å"expressive† and â€Å"practical reasons†. Therefore a business may choose CRM as a means of promoting attachment to brand by tapping into the social and environmental consciousness of consumers to their products. When businesses’ brands are already experiencing a high level of loyalty to their products and brands, CRM can be used as â€Å"brand extensions†.... 60). In this regard, CRM is a form of business orientated philanthropy geared toward â€Å"profit-motivated giving† (Varadarajan & Menon, 1988, p. 58). CRM is also characterized by symmetrical relations between business organizations/for-profit organizations and non-profit organization on the basis of shared advantages. To this end, the business organization seeks to obtain an increase in sales and the non-profit organization seeks to obtain an increase in funding (Kahle & Close, 2011). Thus CRM is both a â€Å"positioning† and â€Å"marketing tool† that intentionally connects a business or a brad to â€Å"a relevant cause or issue† for the benefit of the business and the social cause or its non-profit promoter (Pringle & Thompson, 1999, p. 3). A business firms’ investment in CRM is based on the concept that consumers for the most part will choose a brand for both â€Å"expressive† and â€Å"practical reasons†(Linton, 2005, p. 604). Th erefore a business may choose CRM as a means of promoting attachment to brand by tapping into the social and environmental consciousness of consumers to their products. When businesses’ brands are already experiencing a high level of loyalty to their products and brands, CRM can be used as â€Å"brand extensions† (David, 2000, p. 132). Ultimately, the marketing strategy employed in CRM is to engage the consumer’s emotions with the result that the consumer is left feeling that by purchasing a specific product, he or she is helping to further social goods (Strahilevitz, 1999). From the perspective of the business organization, there can be two specific benefits. First, in the long term, CRM can provide an advantage in that it may improve the business’s

Internet Technology, Marketing and Security Research Paper - 1

Internet Technology, Marketing and Security - Research Paper Example Social media, though an emerging trend is becoming part of everyday life and most businesses ranging from SMEs to corporate companies are now using social media marketing strategies. With today’s dynamic world social media platforms is also increasing tremendously with the current trends in information and communication technology (ICT) making the world more or less a global village. Businesses that have been swift to move with the current trend have seen great success whereas those that are not dynamic enough to embrace technology have often collapsed. Social media marketing has gained tremendous popularity and use in the recent past by entrepreneurs at all levels of business. There are very many companies that have succeeded and benefited from using social media marketing including Pepsi Co. and Ford just to mention a few, and others like Kodak have faced great decline because of not being swift in embracing technology and dynamism. There are very many reasons why social med ia has become increasingly popular among entrepreneurs in the recent past as the state of the art marketing tool. Many people have switched from the traditional telecommunication tools to adopt the emerging technologies in the ICT sector. There has been a paradigm shift from the traditional media such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines, which are seen as one-way and static communication technologies, to the current trend of online sources and social media as communication tools (Zarrella, 2010). In a way, it can be said that the traditional media has lost a lot of its popularity to the new social media thus, companies can only reach many people through the social media. The paradigm shift in communication has also shifted consumer markets to a great extent changing the orientation of the business playing field (Evans, 2010) People are no longer seeking News as it was in the recent past but instead News is looking for them, all this courtesy of the recent developments in ICT (Zarrella, 2010). People are no longer buying information and knowledge but it has become free in the social networks. The information has also become free of constraints of place, free of control of content and free of restrictive access on consumption. The social media dramatically levels the playing field by making the information plentiful and available just like it levels the businesses and organisations that work on the principle that make information scarcer (Evans, 2010). Social media platforms somehow create virtual communities by bringing people together in creating, manipulating and sharing information. Companies that use social media marketing are able to reach out to these social communities and interact with them more closely in a way that they share information thus strengthening the communities (Qualman, 2012). The organisation using social media has a more interactive and deep relationship with their customers compared to companies using traditional media. In th is way, the company can get instant feedback from the customers regarding their products and thus learn more about the feelings and perception of the people/consumers concerning their product and services. In this way, they can improve their products to suit the needs of their customers in a more appropriate manner (Zarrella, 2010). On the other hand, those companies using traditional media cannot have a deep dialogue with the customers because the communication is one-way. For instance if you do not agree with an advertisement

Who Is Jesus Essay Example for Free

Who Is Jesus Essay To say who Jesus Christ is within one essay would be an impossibility. However, as a servant of my Lord and Savior, I will attempt to explain who my precious Jesus is. Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God and He is also the Son of man. He is the atonement for our sins; he is the King of glory. Jesus is the bright and morning star and a mighty counselor and teacher. He is the great physician and the bread of life. Jesus is the bread of life; the first and the last; the Alpha and the Omega. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. To me, personally, Jesus is my strength and the best thing that has ever happened to me! He is my Savior; my Redeemer and my best friend. And what He is to me, He desires to be to the whole world. He is the good Sheppard; He gives life for the sheep. (John 10:11, King James Version) Jesus’ mission to the world is to seek and save that which is lost. The whole reason he left Heaven and came to this earth and was crucified was so that we could be saved by His blood. We know what his mission was by reading His holy word, the Bible. John 3:16 says: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. So, in conclusion, let me say that this Jesus that I am describing is the reason for living and without Him, life would not be worth anything. I love Him so much. But, most of all, He loves me.

Estee Lauder Essay Example for Free

Estee Lauder Essay I. BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY Està ©e Lauder Companies, Inc. founded by Estee Lauder and her husband Joseph in 1946 started by selling four skin care products invented by her chemist uncle in beauty salons and hotels. The enterprise established their first department store account with Saks Fifth Avenue in New York in 1947. By 1960, Estee Lauder was an international manufacturer and marketer, selling their products in the famous Harrods Department Store in London. In the subsequent years, they opened outlets in Central America, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, New Zealand and Switzerland. Today, Estee Lauder markets its products through different brands in more than 140 countries and territories. It also holds the global license for fragrances and cosmetics. The company consists of a collection of prestige brands targeted at a diverse selection of consumers. The group’s portfolio of brands includes the most recognized labels for mature customers (Estee Lauder, Clinique, Prescriptives, Aramis, and La Mer), eco-correct labels (Aveda and Origins), as well as hip labels (M.A.C., Bobbi Brown, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Stila, Jo Malone, Bumble and Bumble, Kate Spade, jane, Darphin and Smashbox). The Estee Lauder Companies is an organization which engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of several beauty products. The company is divided into four sectors, skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care. Estee Lauder is based in New York City and currently employs 32,300 people. The products are mostly marketed through department stores, specialty retailers, upscale perfumeries, pharmacies, salons, and spars. Additionally products are sold at company owned free standing stores and through e-commerce in selected countries. The company is still controlled by the Lauder family, which controls about 70% of the voting shares. Estee Lauder’s grandson is currently the chairman of the board of directors. II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This case analysis attempts to determine the most effective strategies Estee Lauder must use in the Philippines. To determine the main objective of this case the researchers focuses on the major components of the case analysis which are as follows: A. Market Analysis 1. To what extent will the Filipino consumer will support or use Estee Lauder products? 2. What are demographic profiles of the target users of Estee lauder in the Philippines? 3. What are the information needs of the Filipino consumer to divert their patronage to Estee Lauder products? B. Technical Analysis 1. Based on the needs of the Filipinos what would consist the basic collection of Estee Lauder products that should be put up into Philippine markets? 2. Where the possible locations that will effectively inform and market to the Filipino consumer the Estee Lauder products? III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The primary objective of this study is to determine the most effective strategies Estee Lauder must use in the Philippines using market analysis and technical analysis. A. Market Analysis 1. To determine the perception of the Filipino consumer on Estee Lauder products versus other beauty product competitors. 2. To verify the demographic profiles of the target users of Estee lauder in the Philippines. 3. To determine the information needs of the Filipino consumer to divert their patronage to Estee Lauder products. A. Technical Analysis 1. To enumerate the possible collection of Estee Lauder products that should be put up into Philippine markets? 2. To plot possible locations that will effectively inform and market to the Filipino consumer the Estee Lauder products. IV. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS A. Analysis of the Macro environment 1. Demographic Environment In the next 20 years, there would be an expected growth of sales of cosmetic products because roughly 70 million people around the world will reach an income that will allow them to purchase such kind of product. In the next 40 years, aging population in the world will multiply by 2.5 times. With an increase in the world’s aging population, life expectancy would improve too. 2. Social and Technological Environment Social environment is a broad concept which may be affected by all factors to be considered in making analysis in the Macro environment of the company. There is a significant factor that may affect sale of products easily. Majority of the Filipino consumers especially those who live in the National Capital Region may support products easily because of the practice called mental colonialism. What is imported is better. Of course it is! Filipinos tend to patronize imported products most especially those that are known for years. In fact, products made by the Estee Lauder Company are sold in some known malls all over the Metro Manila region. May it be cosmetics or fragrances; consumer will buy it as long as they have the money. Social media affects Filipinos perception about a certain thing. If there is one thing that Estee Lauder to focus on in trying to caught more attention from Filipinos, it shall be in the social media. I have noticed that they cannot be seen in the TV commercials, radio stations or even print ads. They appear in print ads but rarely with the local magazines. Since Estee Lauder is based in London, cosmetics are mostly designed for the white people. This company should create cosmetics that are compatible with the Asian skin especially to the Filipinos. Filipinos are fond of social networking sites which may be an advantage of Estee Lauder to advertise products internationally easily and can hear feedbacks with just a click. Since Estee Lauder prices ranges from mid-high to high, not all Filipinos can afford to have a single product on their pouches. Mid-range to elite people may patronize the product continuously but not those who are tight with the budget. Filipinos should be aware that though it may be a little expensive, the bill spent is worth every product. It has been a practice that those who can’t have those products, shift to an imitation of the original. I believe, these products should be innovated even more where in all Filipinos can afford to use Estee Lauder products in their daily routine. They should know the big difference between the original and the imitation. What is it? We should see it ourselves. 3. Economic Environment All sectors of the cosmetics industry showed growth in the Philippines in 2008/2009, according to Euromonitor. Beauty and personal care sales were US$2.26bn, a 2% rise year on year. The highest growth was in colour cosmetics (7.9%), skin care (6.3%), deodorants (4.3%), hair care (4%) and fragrance (2.9%). The mass market is dominant in the Philippines, accounting for 96.3% of all bath and shower sales. As elsewhere in the southeast Asian region, the major players are foreign multinationals – Unilever, followed by Procter Gamble, L’Orà ©al, Està ©e Lauder and Shiseido, according to the trade association Chambers of Cosmetics Industry of the Philippines (CCIP). In the beauty and personal care sector, Colgate-Palmolive is the third largest company, behind Unilever – who in 2009 adopted a strategy of offering smaller-sized packaging, targeted at middle and lower income consumers – and Procter Gamble, according to Euromonitor. The economic slowdown in the Philippines has prompted growth in direct selling. Companies such as US-owned Avon and Philippines-based Ever Bilena Cosmetics adopted commitments to boosting revenues through discounts and tapped into a female labour market keen to increase household incomes. The market appears to be remaining vibrant. Between January 2009 and January, 2010, 511 new cosmetics products were launched in the Philippines, according to market research group Mintel – the highest number (176) was in skin care, followed by soap and bath products (131) and hair products (108). B. Competitive Analysis 1. Intensity of the Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Està ©e lauder’s brands face great competition in the cosmetics industry. Internationally it competes with Loreal, Avon, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden and Bare Escentuals. Though there are a lot of competitors in the industry, Estee lauder consists of various products that competes on each of them. Està ©e Lauder’s all-natural products face competition from Bare Esentuals. Its mid-end products compete against Revlon, Avon, and Elizabeth Arden. Additions to these competitors are the local companies in the Philippines like Ever Bilena and Careline. Rivalry intensifies because there are a lot of companies that are in to beauty products. Competition is more intense because of the local brands that use price cuts or other marketing tactics to boost unit volume. And because most Filipinos are thrifty, rivalry is stronger when the cost incurred by customers to switch their purchases from one brand, like Estee Lauder to another, like Careline, are low. Competitors might get a close competition with some EL products. But because of its variations of beauty products Estee lauder possesses, it still rises above the others internationally. Its professional makeup brands, M.A.C. and Bobbi Brown face significantly less competition because of their target marked of specialized clientele. In more than 25 years, Ever Bilena has become the number one Filipino brand. It has penetrated an industry dominated by global giants, and have made products best suited for our Filipina consumers with international quality at affordable price. Ever Bilena and Careline cater products that are way too cheap compare to EL and other international beauty companies. Ever Bilena and Careline target market are different from the target market of EL. They target teenagers who need beauty products for their everyday use. It outwits EL by selling their products in a very low price. Our country is considered as third world so along with that it gives EB and Careline the edge among competitors because of the market it targets, basically the Masa. Estee lauder is known for its reputation and expertise in beauty products. EL has been in the industry for years. They have gained loyal customers as time pass by, and as quality of their products improved along with it. They got an edge among other competitors just by the name it carries. But in the Philippines, those who cannot afford high-end beauty products will definitely not patronize Estee lauder products. It’s a really tough completion EL have in the Philippines, but it still stand a chance in competing with other local products because of the colonial mentality of the Filipino, love for foreign products. 2. Threat of the New Entrants Locally, the barrier is high but we can say that there is a great chance of any other aspiring businessman to enter into the industry. Economies of scale act as a great barrier to entry, and with EL, its sales for the past few years. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. today reported a strong financial performance for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 based on the financial statement posted via internet. In line with these facts gathered, we can say that the stability of the company is very strong that becomes a barrier for new entrants. Its capital requirement established in the industry by Estee Lauder is so large that it becomes a discouragement for the new companies planning to enter the industry. Another barrier is the Estee Lauder product differentiation. It offers different products that create a barrier by forcing entrants to incur expenditure to overcome existing customer loyalties. New entrants must spend a great deal of money and time to overcome this barrier. Filipinos will always patronize products that are affordable and with good quality. They can enter the industry by taking the form of aggressive price-cutting and increased in advertising. Estee Lauder is considered as high-end beauty products for the Filipinos. Only few can afford to buy fragrances, skin cares and make-up Estee Lauder offers. If the new entrant penetrates in the market by having the strategy of offering its products in a relatively low- price, it will definitely boom Filipino consumers. Watson beauty care, easily took Filipino patronage by selling different variety of products in a low prices. The barrier is really high when it comes to reputation and quality. But in the Philippines, the door in entering the industry is very much open to those who are willing to produce quality products in affordable prices. 3. Bargaining Power of the Buyers The consumers can bargain in this industry simply because they are the buyers purchases are a sizable percentage of the selling industrys total sales. The products are unimportant to the quality of the customers product or service. The item being purchased is sufficiently standardized among sellers that not only can buyers find alternative sellers. 4. Bargaining Power of the Suppliers Suppliers do not play a big roll and have little bargaining power in this market. Big brands like Està ©e Lauder develop essential ingredients in their own RD department, and only outsource basic and non-value-adding chemicals and packaging. 5. Threats of Product Substitute As a rule, the lower the price of substitutes and the higher the quality and performance of substitutes, the more intense are the competitive pressures posed by substitute products. We Filipinos go for the ones that are almost free of charge that gives us the same result that a costly product offers. We are the most resourceful race. Filipinos are naturally creative and imaginative people. Filipinos can invent a lot of things to substitute any products just so they can save money. We are also fan of herbal products which is the result of our being authentic Filipinos. Along with these ideas, the threats of product substitute are very high in the Philippines. Though Estee Lauder produce a brands, Aveda and Clinique, which focus on producing products made with natural ingredients and anti-allergens, many will still go for the naturals, literally, to make their skin or hair really good. V. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Threats: * Intense competition in cosmetics has increased and market initiators with quality providers are a serious threat to the firm. * New entrants, even though the market has considerably mature in the sense that it has captured customer loyalty, but there is always room for improvement in this field. * Counterfeit commodities affect the sales of the branded commodities. 9%, according to the Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting, of all the world trade comprises counterfeit goods. Opportunities: * New markets are emerging in various countries where the firm can inject its products, such as India, China (known to be the 2nd largest cosmetics market in Asia) etc. * Markets where wealthy rule is also a good opportunity to tap in because of the tendency of the wealthy to own luxury commodities. * Many nations are growing to be beauty conscience every passing day; the firm will do well in order to tap-in without any delay and initiate in order to get customer loyalty attached to its products. * Diversification of the distribution channels. * Expansion to global markets, worldwide. Weaknesses: * Lack of concentration regarding customer value (Client.) * Profit oriented (loses sight of the customer) * Weak Liquidity Position (decline in the firm’s liquidity in the past few years.) * Distribution Network’s lack of reach to other viable markets. * Declining operating income in various market marks the weak penetration of the products in those specific markets. Strengths: * Strong Brand Reputation (The brand is associated with luxury quality. Also has a strong brand portfolio). * Research Development (Role model and leader in identifying consumer needs, and preferences and developing products accordingly). * Strong Distribution Network (The products are sold to a limited stores that compliments the image of the brands such as department stores, upscale perfumeries, specialty stores, professional hairdressers etc. specially in U.S.) * Vigorous Revenue Profitability (Net Earnings for fiscal year 2010 $478 million while Net sales were $7.8 billion.) * 31,000 employees working under its umbrella, full-time. (approximate value) * Products are sold in more than 150 countries. * Powerful marketing techniques used by the firm: Free Gift, Gift-With-Purchase, Makeup Artist Events (for trying out the new products) etc. * Operations and cost maintenance with the firm holds a strong positive attitude in the long run. * Regulations are increasing due to the voicing of different groups about harmful chemical ingredients in cosmetic products. VI. GENERIC STRATEGIES Differentiation â€Å"Differentiation is a competitive business strategy whereby firms attempt to gain a competitive advantage by increasing the perceived value of their products and services relative to the perceived value of other firm’s products and services† – Charles W.L. Hill, Gareth R. Jone No other companies has done better than Estee Lauder company. They are already on top but the concept of being unique or different is far more important today that it was years ago. The company should consider strategies in differentiation. First, they can use quality/price differentiation for Estee Lauder. The company can improve more on the quality of their cosmetic products so that customers will build loyalty to the company. Next, said company could use product differentiation by adding more features, specifications, design or the image, packaging and benefits on their products. Also, they can use differentiation by repositioning. To regain its position as a premium product, Està ©e Lauder must reposition itself. A successful repositioning would require the Està ©e Lauder brand to develop a clear brand image and provide its customers with something that is unique. There are a few possibilities that Està ©e Lauder could take; Està ©e Lauder could emphasize the natural ingredients in a product, the romance and sexiness, or the technology involved in a product. Another possibility for Està ©e Lauder would be to create a new brand image through the release of a sub-brand. In considering each of these strategies, it is also important to take into account how Està ©e Lauder’s competitors will react. Natural Ingredients. Currently, Està ©e Lauder’s customers are not interested in the naturalness of the ingredients used in Està ©e Lauder skincare products. This is evidenced by the fact that Està ©e Lauder does not promote the natural ingredients and yet they still have customers. To redefine the brand as one that emphasizes natural products might ostracize the current Està ©e Lauder customers. In addition to this, the natural ingredient skincare market is not high-end. The main competitors in that market are Biotherm and Clarins. These brands are well recognized by those customers that place natural ingredients above technology; however, they cannot demand as high a price as Està ©e Lauder for their skincare products. This would not be a wise move for Està ©e Lauder. Romance. Another option for Està ©e Lauder would be to position the brand so that it is appealing for those women who desire the romance and sexiness that is associated with cosmetics. This positioning strategy would place Està ©e Lauder in direct competition with Lancà ´me. As Lancà ´me is a French brand, it already has an advantage over Està ©e Lauder as France is widely associated with romance. The Està ©e Lauder brand would have to work very hard to overcome Lancà ´me’s natural advantage. A first glance comparison of an Està ©e Lauder and a Lancà ´me booth at Macy’s will show that Està ©e Lauder’s image is lacking the luscious, red lips of Lancà ´me. Instead, Està ©e Lauder’s image is of the elegant Carolyn Murphy and Liya Kebede. Their images are beautiful but distant and lacking passion. To rework this image would be extremely difficult. Direct competition with Lancà ´me would also be unfavorable. By more heavily emphasizing its technology, Està ©e Lauder also has the opportunity to occupy the trendy end of the technology market as opposed to being a complete dermatologist-brand. This is due to the elegance and fashion that is associated with Està ©e Lauder. Presently, the bestsellers in the skincare market in general are anti-aging formulas. In the growing Asian skincare market, the bestsellers are anti-aging and whitening formulas. Both these formulas rely heavily on technology, so it is a good time for dermatologist-brands to enter the market. By occupying the trendy end of the technology market, Està ©e Lauder will have a good position against these strong new entrants. VII. ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION Estee Lauder can implement Horizontal Integration where the company will buy another company. If they really want to increase the sales in the Philippines, they can buy local brands and kill the competition. VIII. RECOMMENDATION/ CONCLUSION Based on the data gathered we can conclude the following: 1. Filipinos are aware of Estee Lauder and they consider this as a very high-end product. They patronize competing product that offers more reasonable price. Estee Lauder should formulate products that they can offer to Masa, a product for Filipinos. Same as to what L’Oreal did in the Philippines, when they introduced shampoo and conditioner that is close to the price of local brands. 2. Estee Lauder’s target market is middle-aged female whose buying power is relatively secure and thus are less price-sensitive. Filipinos are price sensitive, with that they should formulate strategy that is similar from the first conclusion. 3. Filipinos need lots of information about beauty care. We should be informed about the importance of Estee Lauder’s product, and what are the difference between their product to other companies and substitute product we are using. They should increase their advertisements in the Philippines. Technically, they are so known in the industry that they don’t need any advertisement, but Filipinos are fan of idiot box that they rely mostly to what they see on TV. 4. The collection should consist of products that can be offered to middle market. It should be affordable and with good quality. The collection should be focusing on whitening skin and affordable cosmetics. 5. Aside from department stores and exclusive beauty shops, Estee Lauder should try putting up a place for their products in drugs store like Mercury and Watsons, which include every product they offer. They are already doing this but just to chosen products. They should start advertising their cosmetic products to these places where people have easy access and this will help people to get familiar to Estee Lauder’s product.

Link Lifetime based Border Node (LLBN) Protocol

Link Lifetime based Border Node (LLBN) Protocol Link Lifetime based Border Node (LLBN) Protocol for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks Sanjay Batish, Manisha Chahal, Sanjeev Sofat, Amardeep Singh Abstract Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) attracts rising attentions of researchers for safety related and other communication applications. These networks have many challenging characteristics such as high mobility, fast changing topology and limitation of bandwidth. Under these problems, we proposed LLBN (link lifetime based border node protocol). Keywords VANETs, Routing Protocol, Position based Routing, GPSR 1. Introduction Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) is emerging as an immense technology in wireless network that enable communication among vehicles. This network consist of vehicles, computer controlled devices, road side infrastructures, radio transceivers and internet connection. It attracts significant researchers, industry and government towards road safety, traffic control management and entertainment applications. Due to limitation of bandwidth spectrum, United State Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated 75MHz of bandwidth spectrum in 5.9 GHz band. Vehicles can communicate at a data rate of 6-27 Mbps up to a range of 1000m. VANET is a part of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Many of existing routing protocols for MANETs are not suitable for VANET. Position based (geographic or location based) routings protocols are most suitable for VANET environment due to extremely dynamic topology and repeatedly disconnected network. In these types of routing protocols, forwarding decision is based on location of destination and location of nodes one-hop neighbors called as position based greedy forwarding routing. Border node based protocols, for example Border-node based most forward with in radius (BMFR) follow greedy forwarding by considering concept of border node. Border node concept is used to reduce the hop count between sender node and destination node, that lead to conservation of bandwidth. Nodes lie on transmission range of a particular node are called as border node. This idea of border node suffer from link failure due to unrestricted road patterns and dynamic topology. In this paper, we proposed a link lifetime based border node protocol (LLBP) to perk up existing unicast location based routing protocols. If b-mfr results several border nodes projected at same point towards destination, then check for most stable path by considering link life span. 2. Related Work 2.1. Border Node Based Routing (BBR) Protocol M. Zhang and Richard S. Wolff have proposed BBR to minimize total no for nodes involved in routing process. Here, every node maintain three tables: Neighbor Table, Border Node Selection Table and the Forward Table. It works in two phase, first one is neighbor discovering like in all other position based protocols and next phase is border node selection process. 2.2. Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing (GPSR) protocol B. Karp and H.T. Kung have discovered GPSR position based protocol for vehicular network. In greedy mode each node forwards packets to next hop that is constantly nearer to destination, until the packet reaches its final destination. GPSR recovers from a local maximum using perimeter mode. It uses an algorithm of planer graph traversal to find a way out of the local maximum region. 2.3. Border-node based most forward with in radius (BMFR) Ram Shringar Raw, D K Lobiyal have proposed this protocol by making use of border node. One-hop neighbor selection method is same as other position based protocols but here border node consider as a next-hop node for forwarding packet from source to destination. Under border node selection process, select the one which is maximum projected towards the destination. In this protocol, problem of confliction( as shown in figure 1) between two or more border nodes may occur. Figure 1. Problem in BMFR 2.4. Movement-Based Routing Algorithm (MORA) F. Granelli and G. Boato have applied this algorithm on GPSR. It considers approach of movements of vehicles along with the position of vehicles. Firstly sender node flooded the network with route request message . Destination node send route reply message with a specific metric. After that sender transmit data according to method used in GPSR protocol. 2.5. Movement Prediction-Based Routing (MOPR) Protocol H. Menouar and F. Filali proposed MOPR protocol to improve the MORA. This protocol also consider speed of vehicle along with direction and position of vehicle. Vehicle, which is expected to go out the communication range in a short period time will not be selected as a next hop for data forwarding if some better node is available. 3. Link Lifetime based Border Node Routing To increase the performance of BMFR protocol, we have applied link lifetime on BMFR. As already discussed, BMFR decrease number of hop counts through which data packets travel, but a problem arises when more than two border node towards destination projected at same point. We believe that considering only the bandwidth is not enough in unicast routing. The vehicle movement and link failure should be taken into account. A border node which goes outside the radio transceiver range should not be selected as a next hop. We propose our LLBN concept applied to BMFR ( as shown in Figure 2,3). . Figure 2. Link life time calculation Figure 3. LLBN Protocol 4. Proposed Algorithm Case a: Send packet to most projected border node towards destination Notations NS: source node ND: destination node NRf: recent forwarding node Set: recent forwarding node neighbors SetS: set of selected node NextN: selected next node Rmax: maximum communication range LC: link constancy LLT[p, q]: link(p, q) life time 1. NCf = NS 2. if ( ND lies within Rmax(NRf) ) then send data to ND else go to step 3 3. Compute Euclidian distance of all nodes in Set from NRf 4. for all Ai ∈Set, i = 1 to n if (distance of Ai from NRf == Rmax) then SetS = SetS ∠ª Ai else interior nodes 5. Calculate projection(P) of Ai on line joining NS and ND 6. Choose next neighbor node (Nnext) having highest projection if (Nnext == 1) then // only one maximum // projected node send data to Nnext else if (Nnext ≠¥ 1) then // two or more maximum // projected nodes go to step 7 Case b: Confliction between two or more border nodes occurs (Xp0, Yp0): initial position of node p in X and Y coordinates (Xq0, Yq0): initial position of node q in X and Y coordinates Vp: speed of p vehicle Vq: speed of q vehicle t0: initial time t1: time after movement of nodes t = t1 t0 Din = initial link distance Dmov = link distance after movement Λ = constant routing route validity time D2mov = ( ( Xp0 + VXpt) (Xq0 + VXqt) )2 + ( ( Yp0 + VYpt) (Yq0 + VYqt) )2 D2mov = P t2 + Q t + R P = VXp VXq Q = R = Solve P t2 + Q t + R R2max = 0 LC[p, q] = LLT[p, q] / Λ find link having maximum LC[p,q] Conclusion References [1] Hamid Menouar, Massimiliano Lenardi and Fethi Filali Movement Prediction-based Routing (MOPR) Concept for Position-based Routing in Vehicular Networks, IEEE 66th Vehicular Technology Conference, Baltimore, MD, October 2007. [2] F. Granelli, G. Boato, and D. Kliazovich, MORA: a Movement-Based Routing Algorithm for Vehicle Ad Hoc Networks, IEEE Workshop AutoNet, San Francisco, U.S.A., December 2006. [3] Brad Karp and H. T. Kung, â€Å"GPSR: Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing for Wireless Networks,† ACM 6th annual international conference on Mobile computing and networking International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking, Boston, MA, August 2000. [4] Mingliu Zhang and Richard S. Wolff Border Node Based Routing Protocol for VANETs in Sparse and Rural Areas, IEEE GLOCOMW, November 2007. [5] Ram Shringar Raw, D K Lobiyal B-MFR Routing Protocol for Vehicular Ad hoc Networks International Conference on Networking and Information Technology 2010.

Shakespeares Hamlet Essay: Observations on Gertrude -- GCSE Coursewor

And What of Gertrude in Hamlet?      Ã‚  Ã‚   To what extent does evil reign in the heart of Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet? This essay will delve into her character, and into the deposit of literary criticism regarding her, in order to analyze her character in depth.    Philip Edwards’ â€Å"The Ghost: Messenger from a Higher Court of Values?† expresses the necessity of the Ghost leaving the guilt of Gertrude to the afterlife:    The final injunction, ‘Leave her to heaven’, must temper our feeling of the Ghost’s personal vindictiveness. It is more important, however, in giving a religious context to the punishment of Claudius and Gertrude. Gertrude’s earthly punishment is to be her conscience: ‘those thorns that in her bosom lodge / To prick and sting her’. Whatever further punishment or exoneration is hers to receive belongs to an after-life. With Claudius it is different. By his words ‘Leave her to heaven’, the Ghost must imply that a higher justice requires the exemplary punishment of Claudius on earth, by the hand of an appointed human being. (67)    At the outset of the tragedy Hamlet appears dressed in solemn black. His mother, Gertrude, is apparently disturbed by this and requests of him:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Do not for ever with thy vailed lids   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Seek for thy noble father in the dust:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Passing through nature to eternity. (1.2)    The queen obviously considers her son’s dejection to result from his father’s demise. Angela Pitt considers Gertrude â€Å"a kindly, slow-witted, rather self-indulgent woman. . . .† (47). She join... ...is Into' Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet." Early Modern Literary Studies 6.1 (May, 2000): 2.1-24   http://purl.oclc.org/emls/06-1/lehmhaml.htm    Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Smith, Rebecca. â€Å"Gertrude: Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother?† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.

Poetry Of Sound :: essays research papers

Rhythm and How it affects Poetry. Poems usually begin with words or phrase which appeal more because of their sound than their meaning, and the movement and phrasing of a poem. Every poem has a texture of sound, which is at least as important as the meaning behind the poem. Rhythm, being the regular recurrence of sound, is at the heart of all natural phenomena: the beating of a heart, the lapping of waves against the shore, the croaking of frogs on a summer’s night, the whisper of wheat swaying in the wind. Rhythm and sound and arrangement –the formal properties of words—allow the poet to get beyond, or beneath the surface of a poem. Both of Charles Roberts poems "The Herring Weir" and "The Skater" emphasize poetic sound to express their themes. Assonance—the repetition of the same or similar vowel sound, especially in stressed syllables—can also enrich a poem. Assonance can be used to unify a poem as in Roberts' poem in which it emphasizes the thematic connection among words and unifies the poem’s ideas of the humanoid and nature. Roberts indirectly links certain words and by connecting these words, he calls attention to the imagery that helps communicate the poems theme of how different mother nature and humans can be. In addition to alliteration and assonance, poets create sound patterns with rhyme. The conventional way to describe a poem’s rhyme scheme is to chart rhyming words that appear at the ends of lines. Naturally, rhyme does not have to be subtle to enrich a poem. Rhyme can also be classified according to the position of the rhyming syllables in a line of verse. Poets, too, create rhyme by using repeated words and phrases. â€Å"The red flats are uncovered, mile on mile" (31). Me ter, the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that govern a poem’s lines, largely creates poetic rhythm. This gives readers the â€Å"beat† of the poem and approximates the sound of spoken language. A way of varying meter is to introduce a pause in the rhythm often created by a caesura--a â€Å"cutting† within a line. Both Brooks and Bradstreet use caesuras to complete individual thought and to add to the beat of the poem. Although the end of a line may mark the end of a metrical unit, it does not always coincide with the end of a sentence. Poets may choose to indicate a pause at this point, or they may continue, without a break, to the next line.