William Shakespeare s Julius Caesar - 1641 Words

EZ Julius Caesar was a crucial political figure that saw the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman empire. Through political strategy and military feats, Caesar seized significant power and influence over Roman politics and eventually declared himself a â€Å"dictator in perpetuity†. He centralized the government, passed social and bureaucratic reform, and even created the Julian calendar. However, he was soon assassinated by senators led by Marcus Brutus who stabbed him to death, after which the empire underwent several civil wars. His death is considered by historians as a watershed in Roman history, and one of the most influential assassinations in history. In Shakespeare s play Julius Caesar, Caesar s death was preceded by numerous omens: a severe thunderstorm, a bird of night screaming in a marketplace, and even a lion walking through the streets. EZ Shakespeare alludes to Julius Caesar, in order to highlight the importance of King Hamlet’s death and also foreshadow the discovery of betrayal. One of the reasons that Caesar was alluded to was to capture one of the themes of Hamlet: that everyone dies eventually. Like how King Hamlet was going to die eventually, Julius Caesar dies too. It is this realization that is a major part in Hamlet’s grief driven quest for self-knowledge. Another reason that Caesar was alluded to is to capture a similarity between Caesar’s son and Hamlet. Both of their fathers were important leaders that were murdered prematurely,Show MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar1082 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Et tu, Brutà ©? Then fall Caesar† (III.i 179). The fatal stabs of the conspirators did not kill the all-mighty Julius Caesar, for the sharp butcher of Brutus pierced his heart and condemned his life to cessation. This dramatic, mood changing affair serves as the pivotal platform in William Shakespeare’s, Julius Caesar. It is a compelling novel that recounts the unjust murder of Julius Caesar, an ancient Roman general. Oblivious to this conspicuous foreshadowing, Caesar fails to distinguish his trueRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar Essay1833 Words   |  8 Pages INTRODUCTION The seemingly straightforward simplicity of â€Å"Julius Caesar† has made it a perennial favourite for almost 400 years. Despite its simplicity, almost Roman in nature, the play is rich both dramatically and thematically, and every generation since Shakespeare’s time has been able to identify with some political aspect of the play. The Victorians found a stoic, sympathetic character in Brutus and found Caesar unforgivably weak and tyrannical. As we move into the twenty-first century, audiencesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar Essay2414 Words   |  10 Pages Christa Kiesling AP Lang Block 1 Mr. Snider 6 Nov. 2016 RA1 William Shakespeare, in his historical play Julius Caesar, makes the characters Brutus and Antony utilize rhetorical strategies in order to win the favour of the Roman people for their own purposes. These two speakers try to convince the audience of different things: where Brutus, who speaks first, was trying to subdue the passions of the mob and use logic to win acceptance for his murderous actions, Antony, who had to follow Brutus, wasRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar760 Words   |  4 Pagespeople of Rome. In Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, Brutus and Antony address the people over Caesar’s dead body. The body is brought to the town square shortly after he was murdered by the Senate. Brutus, one of the murderers, appeals to the people’s fear and patriotism. Antony speaks after and puts doubts of the justification of the murder and plays to the people’s hearts. Brutus addresses the crowd by using his reputation to support his reasons for killing Caesar. He starts his speechRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar804 Words   |  4 Pagesthe phenomenal, as well as tyrannical, Roman rulers throughout history, Julius Caesar is by far the most prominent. This fame is due in no small part to William Shakespeare and his play that bears the same name. However, although Caesar is the play’s namesake, the story’s central focus is on Brutus and Caius Cassius and their plot to assassinate Caesar. When discussing Antony’s fate in Act II scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus argues against what he perceives as the unnecessary and brutalRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar919 Words   |  4 Pageschoices that eventually bring about their demise. At first glance, Caesar may appear to be the tragic hero, when the real tragedy actually lies in Brutus’s story in William Shakespeare s p lay The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. One tray a tragic hero must posses is that they are relatable. The play may be named for Caesar, but the reader simply knows more of Brutus and his motives, which help to make his story a tragedy more so than Caesar s. Brutus’ thoughts, actions, and history are made more apparentRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar1508 Words   |  7 Pages William Shakespeare’s play, â€Å"The Tragedy of Julius Caesar† was mainly based on the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. â€Å"Julius Caesar† is a play based on rhetoric and politics. Rhetoric is the science of manipulation. Marcus Brutus, a Senate and a beloved friend of Caesar stood as the face among the conspirators leading the assassination of Julius Caesar. Aristotle said, â€Å"A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his downfall†. He defined a tragic hero as someone who is highlyRead MoreThemes Of William Shakespeare s Julius Caesar 2063 Words   |  9 Pages Theme, Mood and Conflict in Julius Caesar Savannah Baine â€Å"Come I to speak at Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me. But Brutus says that he was too ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man .† Mark Antony (Act 3,Scene 2,Line 85). â€Å"Julius Caesar† by William Shakespeare, is a classic play depicting the death of Caesar and the chaos that ensues afterwards. One theme in this play is fate vs. free will, the mood is seriousRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar1721 Words   |  7 Pagesusually stems from their own deep rooted hatred of a person and is often in some way personally benefiting to themselves. However, this is not the case of Brutus in Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar. Brutus’s plan to murder Julius Caesar does not make him a villainous man but a rather noble one. Despite his plot against Caesar, Brutus’s intentions were always one-hundred percent honorable. The first instance in the play where the reader learns of just how honorable a man Brutus is, is in Act 1, SceneRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar1201 Words   |  5 PagesDellinger English II 4/18/17 Julius Caesar There are many people you may have heard of that lived during 100 B.C.- 10 A.D. in Rome. Some of those people include Marcus Brutus, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, and Julius Caesar. In this paper I will be talking about Julius Caesar. And while doing so I will be talking about his early/personal life, his career, and his assassination. Julius Caesar was born July 12. B.C. as Gaius Julius Caesar, to Aurelia Cotta, and Gaius Julius Caesar. Julius was born with the Neurological

Reasons Why Testing Products On Animals - 1614 Words

Sherie Moody ENC 1101 –section #296 October 19, 2015 Reasons Why Testing Products on Animals is Wrong Don’t we all have rights? Believe it or not animals have rights, just like humans. It is inhumane to tamper with the lives of animals. Animals have no idea what’s going on when experimentation is happening. We should nurture and care for the animals, not pick and poke, and inject substances into them. It is not right. No one should want to harm a poor helpless bunny, just see if the mascara is perfect enough for the human eyes. Animal experimentation is a selfish act, humans are only thinking of themselves. Even though some scientist believe animals experimentation is necessary to ensure product safety, scientist shouldn’t be able to test products on animals, animals are delicate creatures, there are many other ways products can be tested without using animals and animals aren’t the best test subject. Animals are delicate creatures. Animals have rights. According to Home Office, there was a two percent increase in 2011 for the total number of animal testing procedures. There was then a campaign set out. The campaigning group was called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or Peta. PETA did an investigation and a lab in Denver was throwing away live animals into the trash. The animals then died a slow painful death. There were so many welfare violations being made. One scientist was trying to restrain a rabbit and ended up breaking the rabbits back. There were twentyShow MoreRelatedReasons Why Testing Products On Animals1119 Words   |  5 Pages14, 2015 Reasons Why Testing Products on Animals is Wrong Don’t we all have rights? Believe it or not animals have rights, just like humans. It is inhumane to tamper with the lives of animals. Animals have no idea what’s going on when experimentation is happening. We should nurture and care for the animals, not pick and poke, and inject substances into them. It’s not right. No one should want to harm a poor helpless bunny, just see if the mascara is perfect enough for the human eyes. Animal experimentationRead MoreAnimal Testing Is Wrong1495 Words   |  6 PagesHarmful Testing on Animals is Wrong In American society, many groups and organizations are debating whether or not animal testing should be banned. Some people believe that there are reasons why animal testing should be done. Others believe that animal testing is morally wrong. Some experts believe that there are other options available. I believe that animal testing is wrong based on three observations: animal testing is unethical, pointless, and abusive. Numerous years ago, animal testing was startedRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned847 Words   |  4 Pagesagents animals testing. As well as the years has pasted on protesting on animals, it became more sires in increased in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Many cosmetics companies been testing on animals throughout the years there is also many that have not. The cosmetics line LUSH has been fighting over animals testing for over thirty years and will continue to fight for their right according to the company. When LUSH had first started the company had divided they didn t ever wanted to test their product on animalRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Outlawed Essay1158 Words   |  5 Pagesof innocent and helpless, animals are being tortured and murdered. They are used for product testing as well as to put into products without consumer knowledge. These defenseless animals are deprived of respect and are victimized to an extent where it becomes unbearable to watch. There are many organizations that are trying to fight for animal rights. However, these organizations struggle with is because there is no legislation in the United States to combat animal testing. Even though it is not againstRead MoreAnimal Testing : Inhumane And Unmoral1351 Words   |  6 Pagesmedicine, and other products on the store shelves? Thousands of animals lose their lives for next to no reason while subject to test in laboratories that give us these products. Animal testing is inhumane and unmoral. It needs to be stopped and the public needs to be educated about what is animal testing and the negative effect it has on animals, educated on animal testing alternatives, and educated on which organizations to support in the world to get rid of animal testing. Animals are test subjectsRead MoreAnimal Testing Is Ethical Or Moral Reason1342 Words   |  6 Pages Throughout history, animal testing has always been a controversial and sensitive topic. It can easily receive much hate as well as praise which could be accounted for by many different factors. Animal testing is such a broad idea that can be misconceived in multiple ways such as unethical animal breeding, mutations, or cruel product testing. Yet, that is not the case at all since animal testing could also have a positive and beneficial outcome to which helps people in society. While there are manyRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1721 Words   |  7 Pages † Today, more animals are being used in experiments than ever before: around 100 million in the United States alone† (3). Animal testing is now an international issue, and it is becoming a major story. Currently, animals are often used in medical testing, make-up testing, and other consumer product testing. Animals used in such product testing are often abused and suffer from serious side-effects. Animal testing can be painful for the animals, testing results are usually not even useable forRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned776 Words   |  4 PagesAnimal Testing Should be Banned  ¨Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisioned and abused in US labs every year ¨ ( ¨11 Facts About Animal Testing ¨). Imagine if that was someones animal getting tortured in labs just to test things such as beauty products and perfume. Animal testing was first suggested when,  ¨Charles Darwin evolutionary theory in the mid 1850s also served to suggest that animals could serve as effective models to facilitate biological understanding in humans ¨ (Murnaghan)Read MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned Essay537 Words   |  3 Pagesmillions of animals are used to test how safe and effective products, such as cosmetics, are. They are genetically modified, force-fed harmful chemicals, blinded, scalded, and maimed. How could one not object to this awful cruelty? Animal testing should be banned because it is cruel, unnecessary, inaccurate, and expensive. The very first reason why animal testing should be banned is elementary: it is cruel and unnecessary. Approximately 17-22 million animals are used for testing each year inRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned1326 Words   |  6 Pagesbelieve animal testing is necessary to ensure medicines and cosmetic products are safe, alternative methods of testing, such as in vitro tests and EpiDerm, are available and should be implemented. Animal testing is the use of animals in research to determine the safety of a product. Animal testing is an outdated science while alternative, non-animal methods are rapidly becoming more effective. Laws in the United States do not require cosmetics or medicinal drugs to be tested on animals, only that

Theodore Roethke Biography free essay sample

Theodore Roethke: Impact on Literature There are many influential aspects of life such as a persons childhood, family, or career just to name a few. What makes these effects so influential is their impact on everyday habits and important decisions people have to make. Poets are no exception to this same idea. In fact, the events that affect the poets life can be seen through his or her writings. Theodore Roethke, a twentieth century poet, is a great example of this concept. Along with many other influences, one could argue that the three most influential aspects of the life and time of Theodore Roethke were his childhood greenhouse, his physical and mental health, and the literary period during which he wrote. Theodore Roethke was born in Saginaw, Michigan where his parents owned a local greenhouse along with his uncle (Seager 6). He began to teach at various schools such as Harvard and Lafayette College, but once the Great Depression came he was forced to leave them behind (71). Roethke was hospitalized for what would be a reoccurring mental illness. In 1923, his father died of cancer and around the same time his uncle committed suicide. He went on to marry Beatrice OConnell in 1953 and ten years later in 1963, he suffered from a fatal heart attack and died (104). During the last years of his life he composed 61 award-winning, new poems that are still fairly popular to this day (87). The greenhouse of Roethkes childhood would prove to have a substantial impact on his writings later on in life. He wrote in his poetry, the greenhouse is my symbol for the whole of life, a womb, a heaven-on-earth(Kramer 22). Among his earlier poems, the most interesting and more noticed are those which evoke his childhood, his life as the son of a florist (Carruth 25). Babette Deutsch stated, His work gains from the fact that his childhood was intimately bound up with the life of a Michigan greenhouse, which, physically and otherwise, was to afford the material for some of his est lyrics (165). What she is trying to say is that the majority of Roethkes inspiration and ideas for his poetry came from his greenhouse in Michigan. Deutsch goes on to name some titles of works that show influence of the greenhouse like Root Cellar, Flower Dump, and Moss Gathering. In Roethkes poem The Waking, there seems to have been a transformation from his easy going, nature-loving philosophy into an almost musical format which could be considered soothing. This poem is a short reflection on both living and learning, and is one of the finest villanelles in English. As the biographer Alan Seager quotes, Roethke wrote, I can sense the moods of nature almost instinctively When I get alone under an open sky Im tremendously exalted and a thousand vivid ideas and sweet visions flood my consciousness (55). In order to reflect on living and learning, he uses nature as a tool because of how well he can relate and how relationships between nature and life help people see the hidden messages in a different way. For example, in The Waking, his advice is to relax and enjoy nature, not to strive too hard like the lowly worm who pointlessly climbs the winding stair and not to become too worried about living or learning (Cone). Also, he implies that the truly important knowledge will come just as easily as the trees change with the seasons (Turner). Along with that, he used a complex vision of the greenhouse poems and his great ability to humanize the details and moods of nature, as symbols of large truths about all of life, which is important to his poetic accomplishments (Carruth 168-169). Poems published in The Lost Son and Other Poems, show themes in which his imagination returned to the Saginaw greenhouse and found there images of the dank, ugly and incredible forces which are the fundamentals of life as he stated. A greenhouse is the country of Roethkes childhood, the inevitable place of his return. This world under glass where, as a boy, small among the the lovely diminutives, he grubbed, weeded, pruned, transplanted, is bound in with his family, for whom it was, presumably, an economic as well as a physical center of gravity (Kunitz 177). He speaks of this greenhouse with love and its invincible Becoming. He believed in natures green force and stretching and reaching of plants (Kunitz 178). For example in his poem Cuttings, he stated: This urge, wrestle, resurrection of dry sticks, Cut stems struggling to put down feet, What saint strained so much, Rose on such lopped limbs to a new life? (Roethke, Cuttings) Kunitz is not stating that Roethkes greenhouse world is rosy, innocent, optimistic, or anything along those lines. Instead Kunitz claims it swarms with malevolent forces, or in other words wicked and evil things. It is a place of scums, mildews, and smuts; of slug-soft stems; of obscenely lolling forms; a place of moist and rank. What a congress of stinks! It is engulfing, and horribly fecund (Kunitz 177). Roethkes earlier poems were about groping roots, straining tendrils, the turmoil of growth in a steamy greenhouse. From this Roethke passed to a consideration of all primitive life, the dark life of a weed and m innow at the bottom of a woodland pond, and the equally dark life of children (Carruth 198). In complete contrast to the previous argument that Roethkes writing about nature is dark and evil, in Requiem for Gods Gardener, the criticism says that Roethkes outlook on nature is that of beauty and not evil. Carruth states that Roethkes best poems about nature were created with his great imaginative powers, as well as using other sources like Taoism, Amerindian poetry, Mother Goose, and mostly things he invented himself. He was also a birdwatcher, an excellent one, and his professional knowledge of flowers is said to have begun within his fathers greenhouses. In the poem All Morning he brings together the minute felicities of songbirds, even their cutenesses, the things we depreciate on greeting cards, and does it so unaffectedly that suddenly we realize he has touched the elemental force of the universe (Carruth 199). He writes of natures larger aspects, such as movements of waters and mountains, which contradicts his previous nature poems that rely on small, detailed features like plant roots, and parts of leaves. When he writes about mountains and waters, he evokes a sense of cosmic restlessness or in other words, natures constant motion.

This is a reflection paper for... free essay sample

This is a reflection paper for Self-Psychology class, Spring Quarter taught by Dr. Lane Gerber.For this paper, Alina Olaru and Michael Gonzales are working together and they have chosen to write about Ordinary People, a psychological movie. This movie has had a tremendous impact on us, and after watching it and discussing it, we had concluded that the story unfolded in the movie is a very representative example for the field of psychology and especially psychotherapy.Alina:Ordinary People is the story of a family of four once, now of three (Conrad, Calvin and Beth) and focuses mainly on the three of them after the accident and the way they deal with the pain and recovery after the loss. The film presents a family that has turned into separate individuals living in the same house and who cannot communicate their pain positively. The familys inability to communicate their problems and to work together as a system lead them down to a path where they each felt an individual breakdown and eventually one as a family. We will write a custom essay sample on This is a reflection paper for or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Conrad shows serious signs of depression and PTSD and he has trouble sleeping, presenting on and off nightmares of trauma. His overall life and activities it has been affected tremendously by this trauma and he doesnt show any signs of recovering. Conrad is the identified patient of the Jarrett s family and he is the youngest son of the family. He returns home after four months of hospitalizing after a serious suicide attempt. Because the novel focuses on two different people, there are several conflicts throughout the novel that are specific to those individuals. The central question in Conrads story is whether he will be able to recover after his suicide attempt. As Dr. Berger points out, half the people who attempt suicide will try to do it again at some point in their lives. The inclusion of Karens suicide towards the end of the novel is a way of reminding the reader that Conrad may not have recovered completely even when he seems to be getting better; after all, Karen seemed to be doing well when Conrad met her for a Coke earlier in the novel.Another important part of this story is if Calvin (father) and Beth (mother) can recover and work their problems together. Their conflict is fundamentally around the communications problems between them. My understanding is that Calvin believes that their problems can be solved through communications and through talks and expressing feelings, while Beth doesnt seem to explore much of the past instead she wants to move on with her life. The mother who represents the perfectionism, wants everything to appear to be normal. She thinks Conrad s suicide attempt wanted to hurt her, and she doesnt know how to deal with it and how to really show affection to him. She seems to have lost this part of herself and doesnt want to make efforts to regain her parenthood skills.The movie in general unfolds the story of Conrad whom deals with

Franchthi Cave on the Mediterranean Sea

Franchthi Cave on the Mediterranean Sea Franchthi Cave is a very large cave, overlooking what is now a small inlet off the Aegean Sea in the southeastern Argolid region of Greece, near the modern town of Koiladha. The cave is the epitome of every archaeologists dreama site constantly occupied for thousands of years, with wonderful preservation of bones and seeds throughout. First occupied during the early Upper Paleolithic sometime between 37,000 and 30,000 years ago, Franchthi Cave was the site of human occupation, pretty much consistently up until about the final Neolithic Period about 3000 BC. Franchthi Cave and the Early Upper Paleolithic Franchthis deposits measured over 11 meters (36 feet) in thickness. The oldest layers (Stratum P-R in two trenches) belong to the Upper Paleolithic. A recent reanalysis and new dates on the oldest three levels was reported in the journal Antiquity in late 2011. Stratum R (40-150 cm thick), lower part is Aurignacian, upper part Gravettian, 28,000-37,000 cal BPStratum Q (5-9 cm), volcanic tephra representing ash from the Campanian Ignimbrite, Aurignacian lithic materials, rabbit and cat bones, 33,400-40,300 cal BP-Stratum P (1.5-2 meters thick), undistinguished lithic industry, poorly-preserved mammal bone, 34,000-41,000 cal BP The Campanian Ignimbrite (CI Event) is a volcanic tephra thought to have occurred from an eruption in the Phlegraean Fields of Italy which occurred ~39,000-40,000 years before the present (cal BP). Noted in many Aurignacian sites across Europe, notably at Kostenki. Shells of Dentalium spp, Cyclope neritea and Homolopoma sanguineum were were recovered from all three UP levels; some appear to be perforated. Calibrated dates on the shell (with consideration for the marine effect) are in roughly the correct chronostratigraphic sequence but vary between ca 28,440-43,700 years before the present (cal BP). See Douka et al for additional information. Significance of Franchthi Cave There are many reasons why Franchthi Cave is an important site; three of them are the length and period of occupation, the quality of preservation of the seed and bone assemblages, and the fact that it was excavated in modern times. Length and period of occupation. The site was occupied, more or less continuously, for about 25,000 years, during which time came the invention of agriculture and pastoralism. What that means is that changes that were wrought by these phenomenal leaps in human understanding can be traced at one place, by examining differences between different layers. Quality of preservation. In most of the layers excavated at Franchthi cave, remnants of animals and plants in the form of bone, shell, seed, and pollen were preserved. These kinds of artifacts have provided researchers with a wealth of information concerning diet and the course of domestication. Modern excavation techniques. Franchthi cave was excavated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, by the Universities of Indiana and Pennsylvania and the American School in Classical Studies at Athens. These researchers paid attention to stratigraphic layers, and kept much of the faunal and floral materials that would have been ignored or thrown aw ay in earlier times. Franchthi Cave was excavated under the direction of T.W. Jacobsen of Indiana University, between 1967 and 1979. Investigations since then have concentrated on the millions of artifacts recovered during the excavations. Sources This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Upper Paleolithic, and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Deith MR, and Shackleton JC. 1988. The contribution of shells to site interpretation: Approaches to shell material from Franchthi Cave. In: Bintlinff JL, Davidson DA, and Grant EG, editors. Conceptual Issues in Environmental Archaeology. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press. p 49-58. Douka K, Perles C, Valladas H, Vanhaeren M, and Hedges REM. 2011. Franchthi Cave revisited: the age of the Aurignacian in south-eastern Europe. Antiquity 85(330):1131-1150. Jacobsen T. 1981. Franchthi Cave and the beginnings of settled village life in Greece. Hesperia 50:1-16. Shackleton JC. 1988. Marine molluscan remains from Franchthi Cave. Excavations at Franchthi Cave, Greece. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Shackleton JC, and van Andel TH. 1986. Prehistoric shore environments, shellfish availability, and shellfish gathering at Franchthi, Greece. Geoarchaeology 1(2):127-143. Stiner MC, and Munro ND. 2011. On the evolution of diet and landscape during the Upper Paleolithic through Mesolithic at Franchthi Cave (Peloponnese, Greece). Journal of Human Evolution 60(5):618-636.

Lord Of The Flies Play Essays - English-language Films, Films

Lord Of The Flies Play Essays - English-language Films, Films Lord Of The Flies Play 29/1/00 M3 Lord of the Files( Review) The theatre version of Lord of the Flies based on the novel by William Golding and adapted by Nigel Williams are now being presented in the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, London. Tickets cost about 7.00. This review is comparing the book and how Nigel Williams adapted it. The theatre version of Lord of the Flies is very good. Interesting and always in the climax. The actors are not little kids and there are not lots of them. There are only 8 actors. Some of the actors take 2 or 3 roles. The adult actors acted like a bunch of kids, which was very effective. The way the stage is set out was terrific, the moves around and about on the stage were really planned out well. The stage is a wrecked plane broken in to 2 parts. Actors used up all the stage. See diagram. For example when it is the mountain scene the fire on top of the shelter is lit up and the movable part is facing towards us with the highest point towards the audience. When simon is running down the mountain the movable parts were facing with the lowest point towards us so that it creates a downhill effect. Piggy was a very good actor. The person who took the role of piggy really sounded like piggy.(cockney accent). Some of Piggys lines were cut out and the way the Piggy died was totally different. Ralph was played by a good actor. The actor was really active, hyper, and was very childlike. He was serious and sometimes fun like in the book. Jack was not what I expected. The entrance of the choir was very good but Jacks voice was just to high pitched and annoying. If Jack were a bit more serious and manly he would have been the perfect actor. Jack sounded too childish. Simon was a very good actor. He was interesting. I taught that the actor had the potential to be like Ralph but because he plays Simon he doesnt talk that much. The way he did was very good and interesting. The others chased him so that he is going up the mountain but then he gets killed. They move the movable parts and the body slides down for jack to take off stage. Overall the play was very good just as the book. Bu if youre lazy and dont like reading this is highly recommended. But still it is recommended to every one ages 13 - as old as the oldest person in the world. Bibliography the Play Production in the lyric theater in london

International Relations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Relations - Research Paper Example Intergovernmental organizations are formed to address specific issues such as security, trade, the welfare of refugees and children, environmental conservation and management and food safety. These intergovernmental organizations engage nation-states to reach agreements, treaties and protocols that bind and which are crucial to solving some of the issues that characterize international relations. Multi-national corporations are large, wealthy, and it is impossible to deny their influence on the international stage. Multi-national corporations play a controversial role in many aspects of the foreign policy of nation-states, but their participation is considered good politics and business. Multinational corporations create many opportunities for employment and the huge profits they make increase the wealth of nations. Non-governmental organizations actively participate in international activities that are common to many nation-states. Non-governmental organizations tackle a variety of issues that include poverty, human rights, gun control and provision of education. Non-governmental organizations that address human right issues operate across nation-states and which focus on protecting human rights. Intergovernmental organizations, multi-national corporations, and non-governmental organizations have enhanced their influence in international activities, and it is impossible to ignore their participation blatantly. These three act as the thread that connects the nation-states of the world together.

Coursework in Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coursework in Economics - Essay Example given that the price remains constant, the demand curve may shift upwards or downward, some of the reasons why the demand curve shifts include a change in future price expectations, consumers may opt to purchase more today to avoid high prices in the future or purchase less to purchase at low prices in the future, (Hardwick (2002)). The following table shows an example of downward shift and upward shift in demand: From the above diagram assuming that demand curve 0 is the original demand curve, a downward shift in the demand curve will shift the demand curve to demand curve 1 while an upward shift will shift the demand curve to demand curve 2. A shift in supply curve occurs when the quantity supplied increases or decreases given that the price remains constant, the supply curve may shift upwards or downward, (Hardwick (2002)). The following table shows a downward and upward shift in supply: From the above diagram assuming that supply curve 0 is the original demand curve, a downward shift in the supply curve will shift the supply curve to supply curve 2 while an upward shift will shift the supply curve to supply curve 1. Own price elasticity of demand refers to the percentage change in quantity demanded when the price is increased by one percent. Therefore it is calculated by dividing the percentage change in the quantity demanded by the percentage change in price level. For a normal good own price elasticity of demand is negative. (Walter (2000)) Own price elasticity of supply refers to the percentage change in quantity supplied when the price is increased by one percent. Therefore it is calculated by dividing the percentage change in the quantity supplied by the percentage change in price level. (Walter (2000)) The price of oil is determined by the supply and the demand of oil in the world. Some of the major producers include Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. From the oil price chart it is evident that the fluctuations in oil prices has been as a result of war and

Pizza - Marketing Essay Example for Free

Pizza Marketing Essay 2. Summary: a. Overall Score i. With this Competitive Profile Matrix, a couple of conclusions can be made. Firstly, when comparing Pizza Hut to its competitors, it can be seen that Pizza Hut had a higher score than Papa John’s but scored lower than Dominos. This shows that overall Pizza Hut is doing better than Papa John’s in terms of identifying strengths and working with weaknesses. When looking at Dominos, however, it shows that Dominos is a lot better at turning these success factors into strengths rather than weaknesses. b. Weights ii. When focusing on weights alone, however, some other conclusions can be drawn and also differ in outcomes when looking at the overall score. The most important things we identified in the pizza industry are product quality, price competitiveness, and advertising. As a group we weighted product quality and price equally with advertising being the second most important thing. For comparison, it can be seen that Domino’s takes the cake when dealing with product quality, price competitiveness, and advertising especially in the recent years as they have re-launched and revamped their entire recipe and product quality, advertising, marketing, and offering great pricing that are mostly the best deals around. They have owned up to the past disappointments and issues and have completely redone itself entirely for the consumers. By using quality ingredients and constructing their marketing to where the consumers drive their commercials and advertising they have definitely surpassed the other surviving pizza chains. Pizza Hut and Papa John’s comes in a close second to product quality as they are fresh and quality products. Pizza Hut ranks higher than Papa John’s for price competitiveness because as a group we see more Dominos and Pizza Hut deals versus seeing any type of Papa John’s coupons. Also, Papa John’s is priced fairly higher than either Pizza Hut or Dominos. Advertising, however, proves a minor weakness for Pizza Hut as very rarely do you see Pizza Hut commercials in comparison to Dominos and Pap Johns. c. Strengths iii. Pizza Hut is the leader in global expansion and correctly identifies its target market. The company will want to keep this apart of their strengths to keep up and always be a step ahead in these aspects. This will then ensure accessibility which is an important factor for generating revenues and thus creating a loyal customer base. d. Concerns iv. Some areas that Pizza Hut was rated lower than the other two competitors besides the ones addressed above is the organic foods factor. Many people want organic pizzas and the only chain coming close is Papa John’s which uses quality ingredients, some of which either local or organic. Although it does not seem like a huge deal in the present, eventually more and more consumers will be looking for this and have nowhere to turn but the company who falls close to the mark.

If you can not decieve, you can not lead :: essays research papers

"The morals of the prince", written by Machiavelli in 1513 has unique and informative points of view. In order to uphold, and / or maintain power, deception is required, regardless of whether it is deemed right or wrong. All political parties, enter into office with the belief that they will do whatever is in the best interest of the people. They intend on being fair, honest, and well liked by those they reign above. However, once elected, they discover that compromise is necessary to achieve anything worth while. For example, naturalists, want land and animals to be protected by those who set out to abuse or disrupt the natural flow. But, on the other hand, hunting and fishing industries bring about a vast amount of revenue, into areas where it is permitted. Therefore, those in power, must compromise the needs and / or wants of their people to keep all parties involved happy, or at least content. Both groups must feel their desires have been accommadated. Hence, state parks, state recreational land, and wildlife refuges are established. Both groups have what they value, the naturalists have the wildlife refuges that are untouched, as close as possible to earth in the beginning of time., and some sta te parks and recreational areas have regulated statutes that permit hunting and / or fishing. Compromise, may be looked upon as deceit to many. Really, they do have similar meanings, but, compromise is a much friendlier word. Would you rather think, your boss, compromised with you or deceived you? When dealing with power, love is also a deception. As long as people love you, they will follow you. As long as you tell the people what they long to hear, they will love you. You can not love what you do not know, nor can you love what you can not trust.

Asahi Glass

TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary3 Recognizing Opportunities4 Company Structure 5 Issues Facing Asahi Glass5 Questions to Answer6 Conclusion6 Recommendations6 Executive Summary Asahi Glass Company was founded in the early 1900’s to relieve Japan’s dependence on foreign imports. It was the first successful endeavor into the flat glass industry. The company was able to continue to succeed through mergers, acquisitions, and organic growth. The company’s core businesses are: 1. Glass and related products, 2. Chemical products, 3. Ceramics and refractory products, 4. Electronic products, and 5. All other miscellaneous products The synergies that were created by combining management’s expertise with the company’s knowledge, resources, and technologies have contributed to the success of Asahi Glass Company throughout the years. The organizational structure of Asahi Glass’ domestic productions are effective for their business’. There is a top down management system, with each division having its own managers and balance sheet. However, globalization efforts have been depleting company resources in past years. Management has yet to be able to perfect their foreign operating organization. The company is unable to establish mutual trusting relationship with several overseas joint ventures. ? Asahi Glass Company was founded in 1907, by Toshiya Iwasaki, a nephew of one of the founders of the Mitsubishi business group. Iwasaki wanted to ease Japan’s dependence on imports, by establishing a flat glass industry. It took three years after production started in 1909 to make a profit, but the endeavor was well worth it; Asahi Glass Company established themselves as the dominate player in the market and has remained that way ever since. Throughout Asahi Glass’ existence, their decisions and objectives have been focused on growth. They achieve this by exploring new technologies and growing organically, as well as acquiring companies, and merging with others. Their management style is also a key factor to their success. Recognizing Opportunities During the First World War, Asahi Glass was having trouble importing the soda ash they needed for manufacturing, so they started producing it themselves. This led the company into the exploitation of the raw-materials scope economies. They soon developed technological expertise in ceramics and alkali chemicals, which became two of the three core business â€Å"pillars. † After World War II, management made a sensible strategic decision to license a new float glass process from the Pilkington Brothers in order to maintain their market position. In the 1960s, Asahi Glass took advantage of growing TV and auto industries, and moved into them, becoming a domestic leader in both industries. Soon after, they progressed into producing construction materials. When the chemical industry took off in Japan, Asahi Glass merged in with their alkalis, halogen, and other petrochemical additives. They were market leaders in every industry they infiltrated. Asahi Glass created new, unique markets and took the lead in many specialty markets. In the 1970s, the current president, Takeo Sakabe, took the initiative to introduce a fourth â€Å"pillar† to the company’s core businesses: electronics. He chose electronics because management had some expertise in it and the industry had room for growth. Asahi Glass began penetrating the global market in 1956, when they built a plant in India. Then, the company entered into joint ventures in Thailand and Indonesia in 1964 and 1972 respectively. Not long after establishing their presence in those markets for glass, Asahi Glass’ chemical business followed into the areas. Once the company began to expand, they accelerated their efforts through the 1990s. Company Structure Asahi Glass had â€Å"a matrix style organization structure. † Each of the six general divisions and the five individual divisions had their own managers and kept their own balance sheet. Asahi Glass had an International General Division, which communicated with domestic product divisions, and monitored the subsidiaries and affiliates who were abroad, as well as help formulate business plans. The company tried to localize their oversea activities, and let them manage day-to-day operations and only held executive meetings about once every four months. Issues Facing Asahi Glass In 1993, Asahi Glass’s domestic glass business was declining due to the Japanese economy. The answer for the company was to continue globalization efforts. However, the company’s quick response and accelerated efforts caused the company to lose focus of their traditional international practices. The company’s domestic operational structure was not the same as their international operating structure. Because many of the international were joint ventures, and still relatively fresh, the two companies still lacked trust and coordination. Asahi Glass was still realizing that moving into foreign markets took more integration and stronger efforts than operating domestically. Questions to Answer In 1993, president Seya was faced with a decision for the electronics department. He was analyzing a report of long term strategy for the business, and the position of its major products. The report offered proposals ranging from intense divesting, to rigorous investing. Mr. Seya needed to decide if investing the capital needed to ascertain a dominant position in the electronics business was worth the risk. His decision would be the foundation of the business’ strategic direction and he felt that direction should be aligned with Asahi Glass’ other divisions, and their overall objectives for the years to come. Conclusion Asahi Glass Company has always been an aggressive, dominant company. They exhort their knowledge, expertise, and technology in order to gain a leading position in whatever industry or market they endeavor. In the latest years, it seems that the company is trying to spread themselves too thin by globalizing. Until Asahi Glass finds a better way to organize and operate their foreign affairs, they should focus on domestic mergers, acquisitions, and internal growth. Recommendations I believe that Asahi Glass has had an excellent history of creating successful synergies that have propelled the company to success. From its beginnings in the early 1900s, the company’s management has recognized opportunities to expand their core businesses and grow organically. As their core businesses expanded, so did the company’s knowledge, experience, and technology. As these assets have interacted over the years, they have combined to make synergies that allowed the company to expand into new markets, products, and industries. Asahi Glass has an excellent foundation in the way of management as well as financial prosperity. I recommend that Asahi Glass invest in the establishment of the electronic business as a dominant position. Looking at the electronics business’ history shows that the division is among the top three in relative market position already, despite that they have a low share in the market (exhibit 10). They are also already well established, having joint ventures with at least five companies, three of which are in the top six market positions (exhibit 10). The electronic division contributed 5. 6% to sales in 1992; compared to ceramics contribution of 2. 4% (exhibit 6).

Historical Report on Paul Lauterbur

Historical Report on Paul Lauterbur Paul Lauterbur was born right here in Sidney, Ohio in 1929. He attended Case Institute of Technology where he majored in chemistry. After graduating with his Bachelor’s degree, he started working for Dow Corning Corporation in their Mellon Institute Laboratories. While working he took graduate courses at the University of Pittsburgh for free where he later received his PhD degree in 1962. During his studies, he learned about nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).Then he was drafted into the Army from 1954-1955 then left to work at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He realized new images could be made from NMR. Lauterbur’s breakthrough idea was to vary the strength of the magnetic field over the object which in turn emitted various radio waves that could be turned into images . Then he turned to using these variances on clams and green peppers in the beginning. This displayed different types of tissues in the images which lat er was used to distinguish between healthy tissue and tumors. In 2003, he received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.Not only did he have breakthroughs in imaging NMR, but in non-imaging NMR spectroscopy proving a method for the investigation of matter. Paul received many more awards during his life including the Gold Medal of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, US National Medal of Technology, US National Medal of Science, and Roentgen Medal. Sources http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2003/lauterbur-cv. html http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2003/lauterbur. html http://www. rsc. org/chemistryworld/issues/2007/May/PaulLauterbur. asp

The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation Essay Example

The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation Essay Example The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation Paper The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation Paper Choosing three pieces of artwork for an exhibit is an exercise in itself. However, I am faced with this duty. So, being naturally inquisitive, I was taken by the allure of the mysterious Jan Van Eyck. Thus, I decided to devote all my attention on him, choosing three of his pieces. The pieces I chose are the Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation. The information Ill provide about each piece would be set by the paintings in an exhibit. Although slightly long-winded, I hope the information provided would encourage the same interest I have gained in Jan Van Eyck. Also, I would simply use the title of this paper at the entrance. Jan Van Eyck has a controversial background. His life is rather a mystery to art historians. There are a few things however, that have been accepted as the truth. Van Eyck was born around 1390 and died in 1441. He was a Flemish painter, active in Brugge (Bruges). He and Robert Campin founded Ars Nova (new art) of 15th-century northern late Gothic painting, which brought about the Renaissance in northern Europe (MS Encarta). It is thought that Van Eyck came from Maaseik (in the province of Lind Bourg). From 1422-1424, Van Eyck was employed at the court of John of Bavaria, count of Holland, at the Hauge. In 1425 Phillip the Good appointed him court painter. He remained court painter for the rest of his life and became quite close to Philip the Good (MS Encarta). Otherwise, in ducal circles, Van Eyck seems to have been employed decorating castles and contributing to ephemeral displays, such as floats for ducal processions and food designs for banquets. (Harbison) The painting that inspired American Gothic, The Arnolfini Marriage, is an oil painting on wood. The story behind it is not a simple one. The major school of thought as to why this painting was done is that it acted as a sort of marriage certificate; hence the name. Giovanni Arnolfini was a merchant who married in Bruges in 1434, the year the painting was done. Their solemn, young faces are typical of Van Eycks work. The Arnolfini Marriage is oil on wood. This piece is 2 8 x 1 11 (Pioch, Web Museum). Also Typical of Van Eycks work, and exemplified in this piece, is intuitive perspective. Van Eyck did not use a ruler or draw a vanishing point; he simply eye-balled the angle at which lines should flow. This can be noted by following the line created by the top of the bed as compared to that of the windows. There are a few symbolic things that need to be mentioned about the Arnolfini Marriage. One is a candle, another is the mirror in the background, the image of St. Margaret carved into a chair back, and the last is Van Eycks own signature. Generally the candle is accepted to be a bridal candle. However, there are other possibilities such as Gods all-seeing eye, or simply a devotional candle. (Pioch, Web Museum) Another symbol is St Margaret (the patron saint of women in childbirth), whose image is carved on the high chair back. (Pioch, Web Museum) It should be mentioned that Giovanna Cenami, the woman in the Arnofini Marriage, is portrayed with a large amount of cloth in her hand. The gathering of cloth around her stomach makes her appear to be pregnant. This also may allude to the prospect of children during the marriage (just as the image of St. Margaret does). In the background of the Arnolfini Marriage is a mirror painted in amazing detail, especially for its size. The reflection in the mirror includes not only the backs of the newly married Arnolfinis, but also the reflection of two on-lookers. One of the on-lookers is wearing a red hat. The man in the red hat is a recurring theme among pieces attributed to Van Eyck; and is accepted to be Van Eyck himself. The other person is thought to be some sort of official witness to the ceremony, or the conductor of it. Around the mirror, painted to appear engraved in its frame, are the ten Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross are parts of Christs life/death. The last symbolic detail is Van Eycks signature on the painting. The signature has just as intricate detail as the mirror, and is directly above it on the wall. It is unlikely the writing on the wall was actually there. It is thought to be a detail meant to attribute the painting to himself without interrupting it. Above the mirror is written extremely small yet clearly Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434 (Jan Van Eyck was here, 1434). Normally a work of art in the fifteenth century would have been signed, Jan Van Eyck made this. The wording here specifically refers to a witness to a legal document. (Stokstad, 628) There are also a few symbols of faith. In the painting is a dog between the Arnolfinis feet. Dogs are considered faithful companions. On the window ledge there is fruit that could symbolize fertility and the fall from Paradise in the Bible. Also the shoes by Giovanni Arnolfinis feet are thought to allude to the sanctity of marriage. (Pioch, Web Museum) The next piece I find very interesting, and hope many others will too, is the Ghent Altarpiece. The Ghent Altarpiece is Van Eycks earliest known work (Stokstad, 626). This painting is made with oil on panel and extremely large. Finished in 1432, the altarpiece was roughly 11.5 x 7.5 closed and 11.5 x 15 open. The altarpiece is rather difficult to describe. That is because it opens twice to show two separate scenes, with one set of inner wings. I will explain the piece in sections beginning with the outer, or closed, section. The altarpiece remained closed at all times, with one exception Easter. When closed the altarpiece had a much more toned down appearance than the bright extravagance within. The altarpiece, when closed was divided into twelve sections. The two lowest center sections are St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist painted to appear as statues. Beside them are the donor and his wife; the donor was a wealthy official in Ghent. Above, the wing exteriors show Gabriel and the Virgin looking out on an old city from opposite sides of a room (Stokstad, 626), this scene includes four panels. At the top of the closed altarpiece, involving four sections, are ancient sibyls (female prophets) and Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of Christ. The open altarpiece was also divided into twelve sections. This section would be shown only on the feast of days, Easter. The opened altarpiece was much more vivid in color and lively than its outer companion. The largest section, in the bottom center, is dedicated to the Adoration of the Lamb. Also referred to as the Communion of Saints, the Lamb symbolizes Christ and is surrounded by many believers. Directly above the Communion of Saints are three sections. The center section is the figure of God enthroned. On the right side of Him sits John the Baptist and on the left sits the Virgin Mary. John the Baptist and the Virgin are surrounded on each side by angel musicians (Stokstad, 612). Wings on either side of the angels open to reveal Adam and Eve. Looking solemn, Eve stands holding the core of an apple, the forbidden fruit, which she has eaten. Adam and Eve are covering themselves because according to the bible, only after Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit did they know they were n aked. They are hiding themselves in shame. The life of this piece is quite interesting. It has survived more than five centuries. At one point in the sixteenth century, when political struggles were rampant, the paintings were removed from their frames and hidden in a church more than once. Later, as a means of protection, the panels were separated and moved to different places. In 1894 Berlin royals had the six small panels split so both sides could be seen. After the First World War, it was put back together in Ghent, but someone stole two panels. Only one panel was found; the other is now a copy. During the Second World War the panels were moved around again. Then in the 1950s, it was finally put back together one last time in Ghent (Stokstad, 612). The third and last piece I chose for a gallery show is The Annunciation. Completed in 1436, this piece was originally painted in oil on panel and was later transferred to canvas. Its name explains what is occurring in the painting. The Annunciation was when the Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she was going to bear the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The Angel and the Virgin are shown with golden letters flowing from their lips. The letters form the Latin equivalent of Hail, full of grace and Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord, spoken by Gabriel and the Virgin, respectively. As in all of Van Eycks work there are many symbolic points in this painting. A dove above the Virgin and Gabriel symbolizes the Holy Spirit. A stained glass window of God (surrounded on either side by two wall paintings of Moses) is parallel to three windows enclosing Mary. The three windows represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The juxtaposition of the three windows to the stained glass one represents the coming of a new era. White lilies in a vase by her feet symbolize Mary. The floor tiles are decorated with signs of the zodiac that indicate the date of Annunciation (March 25). Lastly, the placement of the figures in a new church suggests that Mary is the new Christian Church (Stokstad, 18-19). During the Middle Ages, the Church was the most powerful entity in Europe. The Church even had a great amount of say over political decisions. The religious art of the fifteenth century mirrored the political, social, and economic power of the Church. (Harbison) Each of the three paintings described in this painting contain religious references. In the Arnolfini Marriage there is the candle, and St. Margaret on the chair back. The entire Ghent Altarpiece is a religious painting. In the Annunciation, another entirely religious work, there is not only Gabriel and the Virgin but the windows as well. The reason behind the religious references is not only to show the power of Church, but too reawaken faith among people at a time when it was beginning to falter. Come visit the gallery to learn more on the life and works of the mysterious Flemish painter, Jan Van Eyck. In the gallery you will see The Arnolfini Marriage, The Annunciation, and the Ghent Altarpiece (with a room of its own), up close and personal. Our guides will assist you in finding all of the symbolic points I mentioned earlier as well as explaining some of Van Eycks life during the time these pieces were made. The Gallery de la Sol is located at on the north corner of 124th and Broadway in Manhattan. Lastly, in the Gallery, B. Dalton bookstore will be selling books about Van Eyck and some of his peers. If you are interested in Jan Van Eyck but cannot attend or if you would like to find out more try reading about him. Here are some books I recommend: Jan Van Eyck: The Play of Realism, by Craig Harbison, Jan Van Eycks Arnolfini Portrait: Stories of an ICON, by Linda Seidel, and All the Paintings of Jan Van Eyck, by Denis Valentino.

Cheating on the SAT Spreads to the United States

Cheating on the SAT Spreads to the United States SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Not again! Allegations of cheating swirl around the latest administration of the SAT on May 2. While recent scandalshave sprung fromAsian countries like China and South Korea, this one is centered on the U.S.-based test, which hundreds of thousands of students took at the beginning of May. It seems that communication technology and time zone differences around the world have punchedholes in the SAT's security. Let's take a look at what's unfolded in this investigation so far. Allegations Around the May 2 SAT Lots of students take the SAT in the spring, many of whom are juniors hoping to hit their target scores in time for college deadlines senior year. This most recent administration on May 2 has allegations of a major security breach. Educational Testing Service (ETS)officials suspectthat students may have had access to the test, or at least to some "live" questions, before test day. This was first reported publicly by a Washington Post writer who received a copy of the May 2 test a day before the official test. The reporter did not report the source, but this release was clearly not approved by the College Board. Thus, an unknown number of students around the country could have had access to this test ahead of time. She was not the only one to report this leak. The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or FairTest, is committed to ensuring that standardized tests are fair and open. According to its public education director Bob Schaeffer, FairTest was emailed a version of the SAT before it was actually administered to students. Since no one is supposed to see the test before students take it, he and others gathered that this was a major security breach, likely on a global scale. It would be very easy to score a 2300+ score on the SAT with prior access to the test, which would disrupt the rest of the grading scale. SAT test scores are designed to be resistant to fluctuations in tester quality from test to test, but if a single test has an abundance of undetected cheaters, this would disrupt the normal statistics in the exam. Any students whose scores will be withheld should have been notified by this point, but ETS has not yet released any further information about the findings of its investigation. College Board takes security around the SAT very seriously. SAT tests and questions are saved on computers that aren't connected to the internet. They are highly classified and accessible only toETSofficials with clearance for direct access. Test proctors are required to report any suspicious behavior on test day. So given the high security around the SAT, how could live questions have been leaked before test day? The findings aren't known yet. It's possible that a leak happened in the process of shipping tests to test centers, or that an internal staff member at College Board released the test. But there have been clear methods of systematic cheating in the past, primarily in Asia. Global Connections Among Cheating Rings This recent investigation in the U.S. is just one piece of the larger global puzzle. Students scores were actually withheld in Asian countries in October, November, December, and January. In January of this year, all scores were withheld for Chinese students who tested both in China and outside of their country. Because of recent regulations about whichschools can administer the SAT, most Chinese nationals have to travel outside of mainland China, like to Hong Kong or Macao, to take the test. Along similar lines, all scores were canceled in 2013 in South Korea. All of the tutoring centers in Seoul were investigated, and educators were even barred from leaving the country. In 2010, a school in Seoul emailed live SAT questions to two Korean students who lived in Connecticut. When their scores jumped hundreds of points, ETS audited their results and discovered the cheating on the SAT. So what do these cases of cheating in China, South Korea, and other countries have to do with this most recent one in the U.S.? Apparently ETS recycles tests that have already been administered in the U.S. to use internationally, like in China, South Korea, and Australia. Because the U.S. and these other countries are in different time zones, this policy creates a vulnerability that many companies have taken advantage of togain access to live tests and then shareor sellthem to students. According to Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post's "Answer Sheet," this access tothe SAT may be gainedthrough a 5step process. It's a small world after all. The 5 Step "Time Zone" Cheating Process The securityof the SAT has been compromised for a number of reasons, the most important of which aregeographic dispersion, time zone differences of 12 or more hours, recycling of already used tests,and technology that allows people to instantly transmit questions and answers. The following steps illustrate one way thattesting companies seem to be illegally obtaining and selling live questions and answers. People in the U.S. gain access to previously administered SAT tests and share or sell them to overseas "tutoring" and educational companies. These overseas companies keep extensive databases of any and all SAT questions and answers. Because ETS reuses tests in Asia and other countries, manyof these questions are "live" and will show up on future tests. These companies enlist "hired guns" to sit for the SAT. They advertise this on online message boards like QQ, WeChat, and Taobao. When these employees sit for the SAT, often in a time zone hours ahead of China, they share the questions and answers. People have been found with earpieces or taking pictures of their cell phones and sharing the information during breaks between sections. After receiving the questions and answers, the company immediately searches through its database to locate the questions and answers that will be given to students in their time zone soon thereafter. Finally, theyadvertise this information and contact their clients. These companies transmit the information to paying clients, who might put the answers in their cell phones or program them into their calculators. This allseems like an elaborate plan just to get access to the SAT, but the high level of competition and pressure creates a substantial market for this kind of easy information. While in the past most cheating allegations had to do with impersonation, or with one student sitting in for another, now they zero in onmore advanced operations that take advantage of time zone differences and instant communication through online chats and cell phones. Given these breaches that seem to be happening more and more in the past few years, what security measures does ETS have in place to protect the confidentiality of the SATbefore testing day? Security Measures Tightened As mentioned above, the major vulnerability around the SAT used to be one of identity impersonation. On Long Island, New York in 20, for example, high schoolstudents were found guilty of paying college students to sit in for them and take the test in their stead. Since then, ETS has required students to upload photographs along with their IDs. Besides this, ETS has its testing materials on serious lockdown before the test is administered and is very strict about testing guidelines for students and proctors. However, the time zone changesamong countries and policy of recycling already used tests opens up a window for companies and students to get earlyexposure to the questions. So is ETS going to find a way to close this window? When recycling is not the best policy... Will ETS Stop Recycling Old Tests? FairTest's Bob Schaeffer is adamant that ETS should stop reusing tests given in the U.S. in Asia. According to Schaeffer, it's impossible to keep these tests confidential today given our global connectedness and technology. Perhaps because these types of cheating on the SAT scandals are a relatively recent phenomenon, or because the cost of creating brand new tests is high, ETS has not changed this policy yet. Another small step they might take is to train test proctors to be even stricter about confiscating cell phones and any other devices, as well as having students clear the memory on their programmable calculators. It has yet to be seen what new guidelines and rules will be put in place, but the huge scale of score cancellations and allegations of cheating month after month seem to demand some change be put in place. Without addressing these issues, ETS will surely continue to have controversy around how the SAT can beused as a fair evaluation of students' readiness forcollege around the world. As I talked about above, ETS and FairTest have not shared that they know how many students actually had access to the leaked SAT information. As this and other investigations continue, what does it mean for students who have taken or plan to take the SAT in the future? What Do These Security Breaches Mean for Students? Whileallegations of cheatingon the SAT are relatively rare for the majority of students, they do affect a few thousand each year. ETS has about 2,500 tests flagged each year for suspicious scores, and of these, it might withhold about 1,000 of them. Rather than a highlysynced system of espionage with earpieces and massive databases, these cases are usually much more low-key. ETS does an audit if they see a huge score increase, like a 350+ increase in reading and math combined or a 250+ increase overall. If something about your scores from one test to the next seem unbelievable, ETS could delay your scores. In some cases, they might release them later, or they might require you to send letters on your behalf testifying to your preparation between the two tests. This can be a huge holdup and especially stressful if your college deadlines are approaching, and you don't have much time to retake the test. To make sure this doesn't happen to you, I would recommend taking every SAT you take seriously. You can definitely start early and take the SAT several times to raise your scores, but I wouldn't recommend sitting for the SAT without having done at least 10 hours of prep first, at least to get yourself familiar with the format, instructions, and timing of the test. This is especially important for students who speak a language other than English at home. I worked with an English Language Learner student whose scores were canceled after the proctor saw her flipping through her test booklet. The proctor suspected she was returning to sections after time had been called. It turned out she hadn't fully understood the instructions and didn't know this wasn't allowed. Luckily, she had time to take the SAT again, but only after calling all her colleges and asking them to extend deadlines for her SAT score reports! The moral of the story is thatyou always want to do at least some test prep before sitting for the real test, even if just to ensure that you understand the specific instructions for each section. So what does ETS tell your colleges if it cancels your scores? In most cases, ETS does not specify a reason for cancelled scores, but admissions officers can fill in the blanks. You don't want anything to raise a red flag in your application, least of all an investigated and invalidatedSAT score. Unfortunately, that might just be what's going to happen for students who took the SAT on May 2, as it did for students in China and South Korea in recent years. Time will tell about the results of this investigation. In the meantime, remember that prepping, not cheating, is always the best policy when it comes to the SAT - and leave yourself plenty of extra opportunities to retake the test in case you're unlucky enough to find yourself in the midstof a national cheating scandal! What's Next? Are you planning to take the SAT once? Twice? As many times as College Board will allow? Read about how many times you can (and should) plan on taking the SAT to achieve your target scores. Does the thought of sitting down for the SAT make your stomach turn? This article discusses how mindfulness and simple relaxation techniques can help you calm your nerves and focus on the task at hand. You know that preparing is important for the SAT, but exactly how many hours should you study? Read about a solid test prep schedule for the SAT here. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

European Competition Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

European Competition Law - Essay Example What follows is a general discussion of State Aid in the European Union followed by the Judicial and Academic attitudes towards it in the United Kingdom. Although in the past State Aid was considered a "poor relative" of European competition law and viewed as a rather politically motivated/policy based phenomena. Things have changed in the past two decades however and the EU version of State Aid control has assumed the significance of its American counterpart pertaining to antitrust enforcement and merger control. Every year the EU commission reviews thousands of state aid cases each year, as lengthy investigations are undertaken to and many companies have found themselves going bankrupt following large illegal State Aid repayments. Social contributions and tax benefits and subsidies have been recognised as State Aid alike and likely to distort market competition.The EU's basic aim is to achieve a perfect competition like situation with liberalisation and State Aid control.The EU sta te aid control framework has not spared large financial institutions and multinationals (take the example of high profile disputes like Alstom, France Tlcom, British Energy or WestLB) and this has put these corporate "big fish" much favoured by State Aid previously at their guard from loans and large capital injections,shady compensation for public services, lenient tax measures, and feigned Research and Development measures. 1- introduction ''Effective competition is the best and strongest means to create natural incentives for companies to come up with new ideas and new products.' - Neelie Kroes, EU Competition Commissioner, 2004-2009 It is a trite principle of Economics that State Aid can have detrimental effects on the economy of a country and its trading partners and rivals. It can potentially distort competition and cause wastage of the society's resources by e.g. supporting an outdated industrial structure and delaying a necessary restructuring process in firms. The European Unions efforts to control any measures by its member states to curb competition have made their presence felt for the member states mainly because of the European Unions strict control over competition policy which gives it the power to rule on mergers, takeovers, cartels and the use of state aid. In the recent years the European Union has been able to develop competition regulation into a key area of EU leadership by imposing its rules/policies pertaining to open market competition on member states. Most of these measures have often proved controversial1 as threatening the social market model of its members with its open market policies competition policy dates back to 1957 in the Treaty of Rome wide ranging powers were given to EU authorities to oversee and prevent anti-competitive activities in the firms of its member states. The decades of the nineties saw an increase in the control and activism of the EU in pursuing breaches of competition law, and this contributed to a significant amount of case law as well. Until 2004 these rules were accused of being hot potch and allowing too much interference by the EU authorities in what it deems to be breaches of its Competition regulations.The Treaty of Rome empowers the EU commission2 to investigate the allegations of price fixing, abuse of

305T, Process Description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

305T, Process Description - Essay Example Blair maintains in his paper that trying to manage time begins with ‘the three Eff words’. â€Å"The three "Eff" words are Effective - having a definite or desired effect; Efficient - productive with minimum waste or effort; Effortless - seemingly without effort; natural, easy.† (Blair) If any company embraces this and passes it on to its workers, then a culture of time management can be inculcated effortlessly. Clemmer lays emphasis on personal organization. True to his work, time management is greatly affected by personal prioritization and scheduling. Lack of these two on personal levels could lead to a highly disorganized work area hence more inefficiency. He has a customized approach abbreviated as PODS. P reflects prioritization, O for organization, D for disciplines and S for systems (Clemmer). The approach he advices, is bound to run only if there are set goals and targets. Organization just like multitasking is not common for many. Therefore one needs dis cipline to manage time and systemization of tasks. Downs holds it that time management is a five step process. â€Å"It generally involves a five-step process: setting priorities, analyzing, filtering, scheduling, and executing† (Downs 1). The suggestion by Downs is interlinked with that of Clemmer. They are all about planning. Both scholars give a step by step rationale for time management hence the notion that time management is all about planning creeps in. This is further supported by another author; Hellsten whose rationale has seven important steps. According to Hellsten, â€Å"Time management is most commonly defined by: (a) time analysis, (b) planning, (c) goal setting, (d) prioritizing, (e) scheduling, (f) organizing, and (g) establishing new and improved time habits†( Hellsten 21). Hellstens approach is broader but it culminates to the same school of thought. In light of all these scholarly contributions, institutions should put in place measures that aim at time management and focus on

To What Extent Was Truman's Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb Justified Research Paper

To What Extent Was Truman's Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb Justified - Research Paper Example The first atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima by a B-29 war craft on august 6 1945, resulting in the destruction of the city and instant deaths of over 90,000 people. It is still not clear why japan hesitated in surrendering after the damage and carnage in Hiroshima as the Truman administration did not give them much time to respond. On august 9 1945, the second atomic bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, a secondary target, to avoid poor visibility due to bad weather in Kokura, the primary target. The bombing of Nagasaki resulted in over 60,000 instant deaths. The Truman administration was planning on further attacks, but japan surrendered 5 days after Nagasaki bombing. These actions exposed Truman to sharp criticism, with many people referring to the bombings as barbaric. The main aim of this report is to use various primary and secondary sources to determine the level to which Truman’s actions were justified. Primary sources include official documents, eyewitness accounts and excerpts from harry Truman’s speeches and diaries, and secondary sources include textbooks and journal articles supporting or opposing Truman’s actions. ... In any case, the American public was getting weary of war and Truman wanted to conclude it to prevent the countless deaths that were happening at the hands of the Japanese2. In addition, Truman was not enjoying the public perception that he was too soft on the Japanese3. Russia had the intentions of taking over the Japanese territory and something had to be done about it; and Truman figured that the United States had to show its power to the world to prevent the Soviet Union from emerging as the world’s super power4. Truman thought that if Russia gained any more power than it had, then it would resort to enforcement, spread and strengthening of communism5. The atomic bombs seemed to be the ideal tool to show America's superiority over the Soviet Union; and Truman showed the Soviet Union that he had the bombs and was ready to use them6. Japan only acted as a demonstration board since the United States was neither in good terms with japan, nor with the soviet union. However, Tru man did not expect to cause deaths of innocent civilians, in fact, he believed that the two cities he ordered bombed were military bases7. In addition, Japan, USSR, and Germany were developing nuclear weapons; it was only a matter of the country that could use theirs first, which was mainly the reason why the United States joined hands with Canada and United Kingdom to pursue the Manhattan project8. To avoid the possibility of a nuclear war, Truman decided to use the means at his disposal to instill fear to the other countries developing the weapons. The other reason cited for Truman's use of the atomic bombs was to end the war as quickly as possible so that he could save countless of lives, including American9, Japanese, and

Relativism and Morality Essay Example for Free

Relativism and Morality Essay Is it ethical? Will it be right? Is it a small sacrifice for the betterment of the future? All these questions do not have exact answers. You can never give a straight cut answer to all the above questions. You can never exactly say that a particular thing is completely right or completely wrong. All this varies from people to people and culture to culture. Individual personalities have different philosophies regarding particular thought and belief. There is never completely a black or white it is in between. It is grey. This is relativism. Relativism can be defined â€Å"as the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration†. According to relativism all views are considered valid. Well relative truth varies with people for example, a person prefers a red coloured car over black coloured car, where other person may disagree. True for one person is not true for another. So relative truth can’t be right or wrong. But greater than relative truth is Morality, where you see whether your actions are causing any harm to another and stop doing such things. Here which causes problems or harm someone should be considered as wrong. It is absolutely wrong on the part of our moral values to harm someone. There is a very fine line between morality and relative truth, moral values also varies from people to people and culture to culture but morality will never do any bad(even if it’s right for the other person). It is rightly said about moral by Ernest Hemingway â€Å"About morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after. † There are some things that are absolutely wrong and therefore I agree with Lenn Goodman. He is right on his part in challenging relativism and I fully support him. Just suppose if everyone was allowed to do as they wish, what a horrid place this could have been. If everything was so relative and there was no right or wrong then one person could have killed other for his better future, and he would never have got any punishment. Because on his part, he was right. Also sometimes we have to rise above principles to challenge wrong. For example, America would have never got independence if slavery was discussed on principles. But if we see overall, it was a good thing going against the principles because slavery was the wrong being done. Same goes with the case of India’s independence where the freedom fighters were called terrorists just because they fought against the government for their own rights. But not every compromise is that easy to digest. It was wrong what happened with Germany in the first world war was bad but what followed in the second world war by Nazis may be a reaction was not tolerable. It was like removing a whole community from the world, that was worst. How can one have the right to destroy the being of the whole community or clan, just to satisfy one’s own selfish motives. Or you thing this is right for your own community or culture, but this is completely wrong. It is not human. Our moral values and love and respect for each other is what differentiates us from ruthless animals. Every human deserves respect, love and moral behaviour even if there is culture difference or some other difference. We all are made of same thing and thus have the same needs which mainly includes Respect. The main examples which truly challenge relativism are genocide, famine, terrorism, slavery, chid warrior and rape. Everyone has the right to life, no one can take away that right just because he thinks it’s right. Killing a single person and killing the whole community is different. Killing of whole community(genocide) being uglier, because it destroys not only dreams but destroy the being of the whole community, it can then well said to be extinct just like the bird Dodo. Genocide simply destroys a way of life. This is not humane. What the soviets did to Ukraine or Mao to China, was the part of a so called bigger plan, a small compromise. But a compromise which is difficult to live by. Millions of people lost their lives, and people lost their mother, father, brother and what not. This was simply wrong and cannot be considered relativism. The cultural revolution in China which was brought about by Mao, was wrong. It was relatively a right thing on the part of Mao. But it was wrong on the moral, ethical and human part. The number of Deaths during Mao’s period was about 70 million and he was ready to sacrifice 300 million. He had no right to control people’s life like that. This is where relativism should be challenge, because this is simply unfair and unacceptable. The other example is of terrorism, it’s also like mass killing of a community out of frustration and anger, which is illegal. As compared with the above example which is considered legal, as it is for some revolution; terrorism is you can say illegal. You don’t have the power to destroy someone’s life but you want to have that power, power is confused with violence. Terrorists say that they fight for some values, but they themselves destroy values by guns and bombs, by killing innocent people. By bombing school bus or by exploding some monument, to build fear in people. This is what the terrorists are doing, how can this be said to be fighting for your rights when today you can be creating people who want to take revenge from you, the same way you did, and someone else did to you. This is a never ending chain. Humanity will be the sufferer and this is completely wrong. It is unacceptable. The damage is devastating and not by any chance humane. Child warriors is also very wrong on the part of humanity. The innocence of child is lost, he becomes emotionless after all the what he suffers. There are around 300,000 child soldiers, it is legal to have children below 15 in the army, no one is convicted of it till now. They are even used as sex slaves and exploited. They grow up with these scars and in return are ready to give scars to others. War, genocide or terrorism whatever is there, whosoever is the winner, humanity will always be the looser. Innocence of people, their dreams to live a happy life, their achievements, what good they could have given to the world all get killed along with them because of the inhumane ways of so called humans, the ways being war, genocide, famine or terrorism. Slavery can be equalled to murder, but here it is the murder of one’s wishes, desires and dreams. The person is alive but his soul is no less then dead. Human trafficking mainly includes women and children. Women and children are mainly used in prostitution, as labors and for agriculture mainly men are trafficked. Around four million people are trafficked and people from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Mexico, Russia, and the Czech Republic are the victims. This is completely wrong. The use of humans here is not tolerable and unfair. It is taking advantage of other people’s weakness. This is not fair on part of humanity. Rape is also exploitation, it aims to abuse and humiliate the sufferer. It violates one’s personhood. It is an act of hate and not love. Rape is used even today in wars or genocide wars, it is a weapon to humiliate and abuse the opponent. This is not good at all, and should be stopped. It is wrong on the part of humanity. Here also humanity is the one that suffers. Exploitation of people for your own benefits has always been wrong and should be stopped. It takes away one’s freedom to live life his own way. Whether it is the case of genocide , warfare, murder, slavery, rape or child warrior, nothing can be considered right and can never be right even according to relativism. It is not moral, it is not humane. Even if there are relativistic truths in this world. And ethics and morals have evolved over time. It changes from people to people, culture to culture, with time and with place. Even then somehings are simply wrong when it comes to humanity. It is well known that two hundred years ago there was slavery in America. It was considered right at that time, we can consider it was right, that doesn’t mean it was actually right. It was inhumane. If this was not thought at that time, then slavery would have existed till now in America. If it was not wrong even at that time, then no one would have made an effort to stop this exploitation of human being. There should be global moral norms made, inorder to stop this evil on human race. Everything should not be left on relativism and such logics should not be given, that is is right according to me and it is for the betterment of the society. Then it should be made clear that by doing genocides and practicing slavery, the society will never get better. People should rise above their culture limitation, to achieve a greater goal, i. e. success of humanity. By practicing norms that benefit us but without compromising other people’s life, dreams and freedom. This will make the world a better place to live. People should see to it that everyone has the right to life, and we are no one to take it away from him. Everyone should take care of others emotion, ritual, feeling and should not violate it, this is right for sure. Individuals should see to ot that everything contributes in the success of humanity, and then everything can be considered right. This I can say for sure is Absolute Truth and not Relative Truth. It is rightly said by Martin Luther King â€Å"The first principle of value that we need to rediscover is this: that all reality hinges on moral foundations. †

A Walk In The Woods: Chapter 9 :: essays research papers

Bill Bryson the author of the short story ‘A Walk in the Woods’ constructs the story in a certain way to try to get the reader to accept his attitudes and values about how dangerous and death defying Earl V. Shaffer and other’s are in attempting to travel the trail. He uses the techniques of emotive language, unusual language and use of first hand accounts in the short story ‘A Walk in the Woods‘ . The use of descriptive and humorous language, combined with conversational text has allowed Bryson to express his feelings and opinions on his and others experiences on the Appalachian Trail to the audience. The language that the author uses in the short story is very emotive and expressed the feeling which have been felt by others on the trail. The author uses emotive language throughout the story to position us to feel amazed and astonished toward Earl V. Shaffer’s 2000 mile journey on the trail. †He spent long periods bushwhacking over tangled mountains or following the wrong path when the trail forked.†, this text shows that Shaffer was a tough and sturdy and wouldn’t give up for any reason. â€Å" On the other hand, even the dustiest little hamlets nearly always have a store of cafà ©, unlike now, and generally when he left the trail he could count on a country bus to flag down for a lift to the nearest townâ€Å". The reader is also told that he might have been helped along the way, so suspicion arises. â€Å"...Reduced to a rutted, muddy track†¦Ã¢â‚¬  shows that the trail conditions at times were anything but perfect. ‘Rutted’ and ‘muddy’ describe the Appalachian Trail as an almost tough and hardy trail to trek across. â€Å"The trail Shaffer found was nothing like the groomed and orderly corridor that exists today† shows how the Appalachian trail appears to Bryson and portrays to the audience a trail affected by modern societies requirement of health and neatness. 'orderly' and 'groomed' are used to portray an image of a beautiful trail that is set out neatly, far from what Shaffer would have experienced on his travel along the trying trail. The attempts of Bryson to explain the conditions fought by Shaffer on his trip were well complimented by descriptive and explanatory sentences.Bryson uses the very distinct humorous and silly style of writing which entertains the audience very well.

Are parents to stick on their kids?

Today I am here to share with you about the loss of my beloved daughter, Juliet. As a father myself, I will be sharing the many mistakes I have made while raising Juliet, hoping you will be able to learn from my past experiences and not make the same mistakes I have already made. One of the biggest mistakes I made as a father is not giving Juliet the freedom she deserved. As parents, we want the best for our children as we want to ensure their safety.However, we tend to forget that they're growing up and we take away their hoicks and rights as we think we know what's best for them. An example of this would be when I threatened Juliet with eviction and portended to disown her if she didn't marry Paris that I would kick her out and disown her if she didn't get married to Paris. This was a very unreasonable and harsh decision I made, as I will regret this for the rest of my life as it will lead her to rebel and do things behind my back. If I had Just given her the freedom she deserved, things may not have ended up the way It has.One of the biggest mistakes I made as a father Is not giving Juliet the freedom she didn't marry Pans that I would kick her out and disown her if she didn't get married it has. Didn't marry Paris that I would kick her out and disown her if she didn't get married it has. Greetings to all. As you might be familiar already, I am Lord Caplet. Today I am here to share with you about the loss of my beloved daughter, Juliet. As a father myself, I will be sharing the many mistakes I have made while raising Juliet, hoping you will be able to learn from my past experiences and not make the same mistakes I have already made.

Haverwood Furniture Inc Case Study Essay

Background on the merger In April 2008 Haverwood Furniture merged with Lea-Meadows, a manufacturer of upholstered furniture for living and family rooms. The merger was not planned in any conventional sense. The merger proceeded smoothly since the two firms were located on adjacent locations and the two companies would maintain as much autonomy as was economically justified. The only real issue that still remained was merging the selling efforts. The question was straight-forward â€Å"do we give the upholstery line of chairs and sofas to our sales force, or do we continue using the sales agents?† Haverwood’s vice president said the line should be given to his sales group, but Lea-Meadows said the upholstery line should remain with sales agents. Lea-Meadows Inc. Lea-Meadows Inc. is a small, privately owned manufacturer of upholstered furniture for use in living and family rooms. The firm is more than 75 years old. The company has some of the finest fabrics and frame construction in the industry. Their net sales in 2007 were $5 million and the total industry sales in 2007 were $15.5 billion. A forecasted industry sale for 2008 is about $16.1 billion. Over the past 5 years sales had increased 3% annually, also believing that this trend would continue. Lea-Meadows employed 15 sales agents to represent its products. Sales agents found it necessary to deal with several buyers in a store in order to represent all the lines carried. On a typical sales call, a sales agent first visited buyers to discuss new lines, in addition to any promotions being offered by manufacturers. These new orders were sought where and when it was appropriate. Lea-Meadows paid an agent commission of 5 percent of net company sales for these services. Also were thought to have spent 10-15 percent of their in-store time on Lea-Meadows products. There is no influence on who to sell their products to but there is a stigma of not selling to discount houses. Records show that agents were calling on specialty furniture and department stores. An estimated 1,000 retail accounts were called on in 2006 and 2007. All agents had established relationships with their retail accounts and worked closely with them. Haverwood Furniture Inc. They are a manufacturer of medium- to high-priced wood bedroom, living room and dining room furniture. Their net sales in 2007 were $75 million; and the industry sales of wood furniture in 2007 were $12.4 billion. It is projected that in 2008 they will have $12.9 billion in industry sales. The company has 10 fulltime sales representatives, who call on 1,000 retail accounts. They perform the same activities as sales agents but were paid a salary plus a small commission. In 2007 the average sales representative received an annual salary of $70,000 and a commission of 5% on net company sales. Total administration costs were $130,000 Haverwood’s salespeople were highly regarded in the industry. They were known particularly for their knowledge of wood furniture and willingness to work with buyers and retail sales personnel. Sales representatives were presently making 10 sales calls per week with an average sales call running three hours. Their remaining time was accounted for by ad ministrative activities and travel. It was also recommended that the call frequency be increased to seven calls per account per year. Pros and Cons Points in favor for combing the two companies Haverwood has one of the most respected sales force in the industry. Their sales force could easily learn the lingo to interacting with upholstery buyers. Selling Lea-Meadows would only require 15% of present sales call times More control over sales efforts is possible and a combined sales forces fits with the belief that â€Å"only our people are willing and able to give† It would not look right if both representatives and agents called on the same stores and buyers because of the overlap on the companies on both companies’ accounts. Points in favor of keeping in the sales agents All sales agents had established clients and were highly regarded among the store buyers. Sales agents represent little cost beyond commission Sales agents were committed to the lea-meadows line. Sales agents were calling on buyers not contacted by haverwood sales force. Haverwood sales people would have a tough time learning the ways of lea-meadows because there are over 1 billion possible items to learn. Both companies make valid points but the main thing is to determine the cost and profitability. Financial calculations based off the cost of sales force,  and sales agents. Haverwood 10 (sales force members) x $70,000 (average salary) = $700,000 .005 (commission) x $75,000,000 (net sales) = $375,000 x 10 = $3,750,000 $130,000 (total sales administration costs) Total cost of sales force $4,580,000 Lea-meadows 5,000,000 (net sales) x .05 (commission) = $250,000 x 15 (sales agents) Total cost of sales agents $3,750,000 Although Lea-Meadows pays their sales agents less with 5 more employees, their profit margins fall 5% below that of Haverwood. It ultimately will affect them more than the cost for Haverwood affects them. If Lea-Meadows were to give their line to the Haverwood sales force, they would only need to pay for 15% of the cost for the sales force. Haverwood Total sales force cost = $4,580,000 Lea-Meadows $4,580,000 x .15 (percentage of time devoted to Lea-Meadows line) = $687,000 The decision to give the line to Haverwood saves Lea-Meadows $3,063,000. Haverwood’s sales process Haverwoods personal Sales forces Retail Consumer Lea-Meadows sales process Lea-Meadows Sales agency Retail Consumer