Financial Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Financial Management - Assignment Example In this research we analyzed how the company could revive its position with the growth rate of 20% in revenues and would be the future impact of investment decisions and losses made at Kuwait by the company1. Research Methodology The research employs secondary research methodology for analyzing data and reaching conclusions. High emphasis had been laid on studying the annual statements of the company, e-journals, financial books and magazines. Organizational Background Industry Background The market research industry has grown globally into a number of areas and sectors including financial research, business research and marketing research. Companies like Grail Research, Global Insight and ICRA are one of the top most companies in this field globally. Companies with the help of innovative and latest technologies along with the use of various business tools, come up with results that are practical and profitable for many other companies. Also companies in this industry employ various pricing and differential strategies to be ahead of competition2. Company Information Synovate FZ-LLC is a market research consultancy in Dubai. It is a free zone company registered with limited liability pursuant to regulations issues by Dubai Government and Media Free Zone Private Regulations, 2003. The company current has revenues of AED 27.24 million with net loss of AED -5.4 million in 2008. The company is also having going concern issues currently. This is primarily due to negative equity of AED 6.6 million of the company along with the operating losses described above. The product and services of the company are basically related to industry research. The company has offices in over 60 countries and operates as a global brand in global market research firm3. Mission The mission of Synovate FZ-LLC is to showcase how market research is deriving changes in an enterprise, the market place as well as the society. Services As discussed earlier the company is into marketing research. The product and services of the company are basically related to industry research. The company has offices in over 60 countries and operates as a global brand in global market research firm. The company researches various companies, sector and industry for new investment opportunities of for some other specified reason. My Role I worked with Synovate FZ-LLC as a sales executive and I am in direct contact with the management team of the company and have thereby utilized my knowledge, experience and relationship for building this proposal. Financial Management The objectives of financial management are to maximise owners wealth by â€Å"Planning, directing, monitoring, organizing, and controlling of the monetary resources of an organization†4. To achieve the above definition, financial management involves the following: 1. Financial Planning and control: how the resources will be managed effectively in order to achieve the financial objectives. 2. Managing of working capital: managing day to day operations, this includes managing current assets components: Cash and

Relation to the Socio-Political Essay Example for Free

Relation to the Socio-Political Essay Comparison and Contrast of the General Tones of the Sumerian and Egyptian Hymns, in Relation to the Socio-Political and Geographic History of these Nations It is interesting to note that the Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations both sprung up beside rivers: Egypt lies in the delta of the Nile while the Sumerian civilization was on the fertile Mesopotamia along the banks of Tigris and Euphrates. It is thus expected that both civilizations revere their river, and associate them with gods, because the rivers prove to be vital to their existence and a channel of life for them. These forces of nature are considered holy and addressed by prayers. Examples of such pleas can be found in both hymns â€Å"A Sumero-Akadian Prayer to Every God† and the â€Å"Hymn to the Nile. † In these prayers, however, we find very different attitudes of the early people towards their gods. In the Sumero-Akadian prayer we will read a tone of sorrow, grief and fear by a troubled soul over his offences with the gods. The introduction fearfully desire for peace with the divinity: â€Å"May the fury of my lords heart be quieted toward me. † Throughout the text we will also find out that the gods are not named, but is rather just sanctified as an existing being that may not be offended. This apparent fear of the divinity may be attributed to the structure of the Mesopotamian civilizations, where the land was divided into different city-states believed to be owned by a deity. The Sumerian state is therefore not a solid state, but is a conglomeration of small states. Consistent fear of invasion made them turn into the divine beings for protection and blessing. As a further note, in the Sumero-Akadian civilizations, the power of government is divided into two: the lugal took care of the military powers and the even more powerful ensi was the supreme religious leader who also controlled â€Å"economic and technological expertise† (Krejci and Krejcova, p. 31). It can therefore be seen that the fear of the gods was the way of the ensi to maintain political control over his dominions. Political and social structure in Egypt proved much different from the Sumerians. The whole of Egypt was controlled by only one ruler – the Pharaohs. This unity gave the Egyptians more control over their surroundings and their country. Early on, the Egyptians had a clear sense of identity (Kemp, p. 25). This control is best exemplified by their ability to time and control the flooding of the Nile. However, geographically, the Egyptians were not as lucky as the Sumerians, as they were surrounded by deserts. This made them consider the Nile as a gift from the gods, a means by which they would live. It is therefore not surprising that the â€Å"Hymn to the Nile† is a joyous song of praise. The overall theme of the hymn is perhaps best stated in the first lines: â€Å"Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt!† References Mircea Eliade `From Primitives to Zen`: A SUMERO-AKADIAN PRAYER Ancient History Sourcebook:Hymn to the Nile, c. 2100 BCE Jaroslav Krejci, Anna Krejcova (1990). Before the European Challenge: The Great Civilizations of Asia and the Middle East. SUNY Press. Barry J. Kemp (2006). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization, 2nd Ed. Routledge

Limitations of Access Control Lists in Network Security

Limitations of Access Control Lists in Network Security On the Limitations of Access Control Lists (ACL’s) in Network Security In basic security parlance, the Access Control List (ACL) directly determines which parties can access certain sensitive areas of the network. Usually, there are several. One enables general access to the network, which includes non-sensitive information about company policy and operations (Verma 2004). Access is granted to a general audience and all personnel within the organisation. Confidential files and sensitive data, however, would only be available to a limited number of people, which would be specified. Such delicate information is often only available when accessing a certain terminal. For example, our hypothetical travel agency will allow only the network manager on a particular terminal to PING the proxy servers from the internal LAN as well as deny connections from the Internet to those hosts with private source IP addresses. As with any company, the travel agency wishes to protect its sensitive information from hackers and fellow competitors. The network administrator cr eated ACL’s congruent with the company’s security policy. However, additional protocols will need to be implemented in order to offer the agency the full protection it needs. The purpose of this essay is to highlight the vulnerabilities and limitations of the ACL and suggest supplementary protocols to ensure tighter security. Peter Davis (2002) identified six vulnerabilities of the ACL in the context of testing Cisco’s routers. First, because the ACL will not block the non-initial fragments of a packet, then the router will fail to block all unauthorized traffic. ‘By sending an offending traffic in packet fragments, it is possible to circumvent the protection offered by the ACL’ (Davis 2002). Secondly, if one were to send packet fragment traffic to the router, it is likely that there would be a denial-of-service on the router itself. This is because the router fails to acknowledge the keyword fragment when a user sends a packet specifically to the router (Davis 2002). Third, there is the odd phenomenon of the unresponsive router. ‘The router ignores the implicit deny ip any any rule at the end of an ACL when you apply an ACL of exactly 448 entries to an interface as an outgoing ACL’ (Davis 2002). The result of this would compromise the integrity of network security, as the ACL will not drop the packets. Fourth, modern routers allow support for the fragment keyword on an outbound ACL. In previous models, only the inbound ACL provided support for this keyword while ignoring the outbound ACL (Davis 2002). Fifth, the outbound ACL may fail to prevent unauthorized traffic on a router when the administrator configures an input ACL on some interfaces of the multi-port Engine 2 line card. ‘Any ACL you apply at the ingress point will work as expected and block the desired traffic. This vulnerability can cause unwanted traffic in and out of the protected network’ (Davis 2002). Last of all, even the fragment keyword is not sufficient to get the ACL to filter packet fragments, which would enable an individual or corporation to exploit this weakness—attacking systems that are supposed to be shielded by the ACL on the router (Davis 2002). To avoid many of these pitfalls, Davis recommends that administrators routinely filter packet fragments. Although filtering may be useful, it is insufficient in preventing security breaches according to Kasacavage and Yan (2002). Without supplementary processes, packet filtering will fail to identify the originator of the data, and it would fail to prevent a user from gaining access to a network behind the router. Thus, the creation of extended ACL’s along with the standard is very important. ‘Standard ACL’s can only filter based on the source address and are numbered 0 through 99’(Prosise Mandia, p. 429). Extended ACL’s, in contrast, can filter a greater variety of packet characteristics and are numbered 100-199. In other words, each object is supposed to enforce its unique access control policy (Sloot 1999). For instance, the ACL commands are applied in order of precedence and the second rule will not allow the packets denied by the first rule, even if the second rule does permit that (Prosise Mandia). Filling in the Gaps One recommendation for securing a private network is to use a firewall such as a DMZ LAN. Essentially, it does not have any connections save the router and firewall connections (Kasacavage Yan 2002). This would force all packets of all networks (public and private) to flow through the firewall. This greatly diminishes the breaches common in security systems employing mainly ACL’s as direct unprotected connection with the Internet is judiciously avoided. The problem with the router mentioned by Davis in the previous section was its failure to filter packets going in one direction, or outbound ACL’s with specific identifiers. Installing a firewall at each locus connected to the Internet is highly recommended (Kasacavage Yan 2002). Like most aspects of technology, the ACL must be updated quite frequently. However, this gives the individual employed in this task a high degree of latitude, which is why access to this function must be strictly controlled (Liu Albitz 2006). ‘In order to use dynamic updates, you add an allow-update or update-policy substatement to the zone statement of the zone that you’d like to make updates to†¦it’s prudent to make this access control list as restrictive as possible’ (Liu Albitz 2006, p. 232). As wireless communications technology continues to revolutionize the way people do business, another issue that will concern security administrators is the increase of wireless LAN attacks that result in the loss of proprietary information and a loss of reputation as customers become leery of a company that can easily lose personal data (Rittinghouse Ransome 2004). Most wireless networks identify individual users via the Service Set Identifier (SSID) in such a way that would repel wireless LAN attacks that greatly compromise network security by using the ACL that comes standard with WLAN equipment. Because all devices have a Media Access Control (MAC) address, ‘the ACL can deny access to any device not authorized to access the network’ (Rittinghouse Ransome 2004, p. 126). However, other host-based intrusion detection software such as Back Orifice, NukeNabber, and Tripwire are also instrumental in preventing these attacks. In sum, although it would be impossible to create an impregnable security system, it is necessary to ensure that the system one employs is extremely difficult to breach, with very little profit for their troubles. By identifying the six most significant issues ACL’s face and exploring other ways that network administrators can close the gaps, more sophisticated security protocols can be put into operation. However, while security systems are correcting their weaknesses, computing experts on either side of the law are still finding ways to circumvent them. Controlling access to sensitive data is a necessity in any network, even in an informal file-sharing network. With the enclosed ACL’s, the agency shall be able to successfully diminish its odds of a security breach. Bibliography Davis, P.T. (2002), Securing and controlling Cisco routers, London: CRC Press. [Online at books.google.com] Kasacavage, V. Yan, W. (2002), Complete Book of Remote Access: Connectivity and Security, London: CRC Press Liu, C. Albitz, P. (2006), DNS and BIND: Fifth Edition, Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media Inc. Prosise, C. Mandia, K. (2003), Incident Response Computer Forensics, New York: McGraw Hill Professional Rittinghouse, J.W. Ransome, J.F. (2004), Wireless Operational Security, Oxford: Digital Press Sloot, P., Bubak, M., Hoekstra, A. Hertzberger, R. (1999), High-Performance Computing and Networking, New York: Springer Verma, D.C. (2004), Legitimate Applications of Peer-to-Peer Networks, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons

Half Brothers - How far can you sympathise with Helen, Gregory, William :: English Literature

Half Brothers - How far can you sympathise with Helen, Gregory, William Preston and the narrator of the tale? How does Elizabeth Gaskell guide your response? HALF BROTHERS How far can you sympathise with Helen, Gregory, William Preston and the narrator of the tale? How does Elizabeth Gaskell guide your response? Out of all of the characters in the story, I think that Helen and Gregory are the two that are easiest to sympathise with. William Preston is a harder character to sympathise with. The way that Elizabeth Gaskell portrays these characters in the tale, is a great influence on these thoughts. From beginning to end, Helen seems to have led a very tragic life. The start of the story consists of a very depressing amount of death and poverty and this could trigger a sympathetic reaction from the reader. After three years with her first husband, he dies of tuberculosis and leaves her with a young child, barely able to walk and many burdens such as a lease on their farm that she is stuck with for another four years. As if that wasn't enough, half of the stock on the farm was dead and the rest had to be sold to deal with 'more pressing debts'. All this made her life very difficult as there was no immediate source of income. The way all of this information is provided to the reader is also a reason for the quantity of sympathy generated for Helen. All of these tragic events in Helen's life are included in one single sentence. This gives the reader the impression that all these events happened within a very short time of each other. This would generate even more sympathy for Helen. Immediately after this one, massive sentence full of tragedy, and financial problems, Elizabeth Gaskell reveals that Helen is expecting another child. Here, a lot of emotive language is used, like 'sad and sorry' that trigger sympathy. Terms like 'lonesome dwelling' are also included. This suggests that Helen leads a very lonely, sad life. With winter approaching, Helen's future looks very bleak. At this point, Helen's sister 'Fanny' goes to stay at the farm to keep her company and help out. They planned ways to make money and for a short time, Helen's life began to look up. However, soon, Helen's daughter took ill of scarlet fever and within a week, she died. At this point, Helen was described as stunned by this blow. The fact that Helen did not cry almost gave the impression that Helen was so used to death that she had been 'hardened' by past experiences.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Grandmother Is the Central Character

A Good Man is Hard to Find The grandmother is the central character in the short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† by Flannery O’Connor. She is also a very well rounded and dynamic character. She shows various characteristics and reveals various remarks as they story progresses. Some of her qualities include selfish and a pushy person. She is also kind of manipulator in a way that she insists her family to change the plan. At the beginning of the story when we first realize her desire to visit her childhood house, she is being a very selfish person. Examining her conversation with her son Bailey, the grandmother is moreover a pushy person. She is convincing Bailey to change the trip plan according to her need only and which will benefit her only. She is trying to manipulate her family to do what she thinks is best. She is also a bit of criticizer at points in the story. Her characteristics remain same throughout the story that is even when her desire was ignored, she still kept praising it. The story opens up with a conversation between the grandmother and her son Bailey about their trip to Florida. Instead of going to Florida with her entire family, she insists on visiting her relatives up in Tennessee. In spite of everyone’s choice, she just wants to go where her mind is set. It is very obvious that she is only concerned about her gaining and nobody else’s. Her selfishness occurs when she says â€Å"The children have been to Florida before† (O’Connor 345). It sounds like the grandmother is being stubborn and childish, and trying to change their mind about going to Tennessee. She is persuading the family to change their vacation destination to Tennessee. â€Å"Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward the Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did† (O’Connor 345). She is trying to scare Bailey and also saying that going there could also be dangerous. She lies after she seems to not get any reaction from previous attempts by trying to say out that it’s not about her, but in fact it’s about the children. â€Å"The children have been to Florida before,† the old lady said. â€Å"You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad. They never have been to east Tennessee† (O’Connor 345). She is critical of the children’s mother and persuades Bailey by telling him that it can be an educational experience for his children. Truthfully, she wants to go to Tennessee for the benefit of her own only and fulfill her needs. One of major selfishness occurs when she first tries making her son Bailey change the whole vacation plans including the destination. She had always treated her son Bailey as if he was child still and expects him not to make his own decision for himself. After the family ignores the grandmother’s attempts of persuasion and her desire, they decide to go on their own way. She is urged to travel with her family. Subsequently the grandmother shows characteristics as if she were a follower. â€Å"The next morning the grandmother was the first one in the car, ready to go† (O’ Connor 345). At this moment in the story, her movement shows that she has been ignored and becomes the first one to get ready as if she has been forced to do so. In spite of knowing that her son Bailey doesn’t like taking cat onto their trips, she hides her cat, Pitty Sing, into the basket. †¦ and underneath it she was hiding a basket with Pitty Sing, the cat, in it† (O’Connor 345). She is avoiding her son and doesn’t want to leave the cat home alone. At the end of the story, the grandmother shows a very obvious selfishness act where is only concerned about her life only and shows zero concern about the rest of the family. When the family encounters the Misfit and his gang, the grandmother recognizes him as the Misfit. â€Å"I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got! † (O’Connor 355). She is pleading the Misfit for her life only by saying the word lady repeatedly and offering him the money. She is also praising the Misfit by calling him a good man and trying to save her life. She was also careless about her family. When her family is taken down into the woods, she continues to talk to Misfit. She ignores the sound of when her son and rest of the family were being shot. She is apparently oblivious to many things. She was ignoring everything but the Misfit. â€Å"The shirt came flying at him and landed on his shoulders and he put it on. The grandmother couldn’t name what the shirt reminded her of† (O’Connor 354). The grandmother doesn’t even realize that shirt was her son Baileys. She had no interest in knowing where that shirt came from and what happened to my family. For the concern of her life only, she tries to persuade the Misfit the same way she tried with her family. â€Å"I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people! † (O’Connor 352). She is trying to manipulate the Misfit and hopes that he will bear her. She is thinking about no one else but the sake for herself. However she fails once again to influence the Misfit. One of her characteristics in the story is being a very pushy person. Even when she is not heard by her family, she continues to praise her homeland hoping that Bailey would change his mind still. After they had left The Tower, â€Å"a part-stucco and part-wood filling station and dance hall†¦ † (O’ Connor 348), the grandmother recapitulates â€Å"an old plantation that she had visited in this neighborhood once when was a young lady† (O’Connor 349). Regardless of the consequences, the grandmother finds an alternative way to manipulate Bailey for changing his route to the old house she wanted to see. She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose anytime looking at an old house, but the more she talked about it, the more she wanted to see it once again† (O’Connor 349). She is being a very pushy person here trying to convince Bailey and makes it sound even interesting telling the children. â€Å"There was a secret panel in this house,â €  she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, â€Å"and the story went that all family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (O’Connor 349). The father concedes to visit the house after his kids start to yell and scream that they wanted to see the house with secret panels (350). She persuades the children about telling them a secret panel in the house which makes them grows their excitement even more in seeing it. However she is not telling the truth about the house but just making the children want to see it right away and would compel their father to take them there. She is not only being pushy to Bailey but also to the children. She seeks a way to gain Bailey’s attention. â€Å"It’s not far from here, I know,† the grandmother said. â€Å"It wouldn’t take over twenty minutes† (O’Connor 350). The grandmother later realizes that the house with secret panels she told the children is in Tennessee not in Georgia. Her desire to visit the old house from childhood results in an accident when her cat Pitty Sing sprang onto Bailey’s shoulder (350) losing the control of the car and resulting into an accident. If the grandmother had not pushed her son to detour to see the old house, which she later realized was in Tennessee not in Georgia, they wouldn’t have met with an accident. She is the cause of her entire family when they encounter the Misfit and his gang who shot everyone at the end of the story including the grandmother. Throughout the story, her various remarks reveal that she wants to achieve only for the benefit of her own and won’t let anything come in her way. At the end, during her conversation with the Misfit, the grandmother says that she knows him from good people trying to save her own life. She carried out herself as a very selfish person especially at the end of the story. In my opinion she remained a static character as her characteristics didn’t transform. She remains egocentric throughout the story and seeks to gain everything that will benefit her only. The grandmother shows various personality traits that brings families down fall at the end of the story. Her act of selfishness shows when she tells her son Bailey the benefit of taking their children to Tennessee. She wants the children to visit different part of world and be broad. But truthfully, only she will gain everything by going on vacation in Tennessee. She persuades her family by stating that this trip could be an educational experience for the children. As the story ends, she faces a death as her punishment for self-serving doings. Along with her, the entire family faces with death. Works Cited Updike, John. â€Å"Pygmalion. † Literature for Composition. 8th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.

Chapter 1 the Investment Environment

Chapter 1 The Investment Environment 1. 1. Real Assets versus Financial Assets (Page 30) ? Real Assets ? Determine the productive capacity and net income of the economy ? Examples: Land, buildings, machines, and knowledge used to produce goods and services ? Financial Assets ? Claims on real assets 1-2 1. 2. Financial Assets (Page 32) ? Three types: 1. Fixed income or debt Common stock or equity Derivative securities 2. 3. 1-3 Fixed Income ? ? ? ? 1-4 Payments fixed or determined by a formula Money market debt: short term, highly marketable, sually low credit risk (T-bills, certificates of deposits etc) Capital market debt: long term bonds, can be safe or risky (Treasury bonds, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, etc) Bond ratings: in terms of default risk, from very safe to junk Common Stock and Derivatives ? Common Stock is equity or ownership in a corporation. ? ? Derivatives ? ? 1-5 Payments to stockholders are not fixed, but depend on the success of the firm Value derives from pri ces of other securities such as stocks and bonds Used to transfer risk (hedge) 1. 3.Financial Markets and the Economy (page 33-36) ? ? ? ? ? 1-6 Information Role: Capital flows to companies with best prospects Consumption Timing: Use securities to store wealth and transfer consumption to the future Allocation of Risk: Investors can select securities consistent with their tastes for risk Separation of Ownership and Management: minimize the famous agency costs and maximize firm value Corporate Governance and Corporate Ethics How to reduce the agency problems (Page 34-35) ? ? ? ? 1-7 Compensation plans: bonus, stock options, etc.The power of the board of directors Outsiders’ monitor Threat of takeover: proxy contest, mergers, etc. 1. 4. The Investment Process (page 36) ? When constructing a portfolio, investors need to decide: ? ? 1-8 Asset allocation ? Choice among broad asset classes Security selection ? Choice of which securities to hold within asset class ? Security analysis to value securities and determine investment attractiveness 1. 4. The Investment Process (page 37) ? 1-9 Portfolio strategies ? Top-down: starts from asset allocation Bottom-up: starts from individual securities 1. 5. Markets are Competitive (page 37-39) ? Implications from â€Å"no-free-lunch† proposition: ? ? Risk-Return Trade-Off Efficient Markets (security prices have reflected all information) (Chapter 11-12): ? Passive management ? No attempt to find undervalued securities ? No ? attempt to time the market ? Holding a highly diversified portfolio Active Management ? ? 1-10 Finding mispriced securities Timing the market 1. 6. The Players (page 39-42) ? ? ? ? Business Firms– net borrowersHouseholds – net savers Governments – can be both borrowers and savers Financial Intermediaries: Pool and invest funds ? Investment Companies ? Banks ? Insurance companies ? Credit unions 1-11 Universal Bank Activities Investment Banking †¢ Underwrite new stock and bond issues †¢ Sell newly issued securities to public in the primary market †¢ Investors trade previously issued securities among themselves in the secondary markets Commercial Banking †¢ Take deposits and make loans †¢ †¢ 1-12 1. 7. Financial Crisis of 2008 Reading (page 42-51) 1-13

Joan Didion, Essayist and Author Defined New Journalism

Joan Didion, Essayist and Author Defined New Journalism Joan Didion is a noted American writer whose essays helped define the New Journalism movement in the 1960s. Her sharply etched observations of American life in times of crisis and dislocation also played a role in her novels. When President Barack Obama presented Didion with the National Humanities Medal in 2012, the White House announcement cited her works of startling honesty and fierce intellect and noted she had illuminated the seemingly peripheral details that are central to our lives. Fast Facts: Joan Didion Born: December 5, 1934, Sacramento, California.Known For: Helped transform journalism in the 1960s with her sharply crafted essays that evoked America in crisis.Recommended Reading: Essay collections Slouching Toward Bethlehem and The White Album.Honors: Multiple honorary degrees and writing awards, including the National Humanities Medal awarded by President Barack Obama in 2012. In addition to her novels and literary journalism, she wrote a number of screenplays in collaboration with her husband, the journalist John Gregory Dunne. A documentary on her life by her nephew, actor Griffin Dunne, introduced her lifes work and its influence to the Netflix viewing audience in 2017. A critic interviewed in the documentary, Hilton Als of The New Yorker, said, â€Å"The weirdness of America somehow got into this person’s bones and came out on the other side of a typewriter.† Early Life Joan Didion was born December 5, 1934, in Sacramento, California. World War II broke out days after Didions seventh birthday, and when her father joined the military the family began moving about the country. Life on various military bases as a child first gave her the sense of being an outsider. After the war the family settled back in Sacramento, where Didion finished high school. She hoped to attend Stanford University but was rejected. After a period of disappointment and depression, she attended the University of California at Berkeley. During her college years she exhibited a strong interest in writing and entered a contest for student journalists sponsored by Vogue magazine. Didion won the contest, which secured her a temporary position at Vogue. She traveled to New York City to work at the magazine. Magazine Career Didions position at Vogue turned into a full-time job which lasted for eight years. She became an editor and a highly professional writer in the world of glossy magazines. She edited copy, wrote articles and movie reviews, and developed a set of skills which would serve her for the rest of her career. In the late 1950s she met John Gregory Dunne, a young journalist who had grown up in Hartford, Connecticut. The two became friends and eventually romantic as well as editorial partners. When Didion was writing her first novel, River Run, in the early 1960s, Dunne helped her edit it. The two married in 1964. The couple adopted a daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne, in 1966. Didion and Dunne moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1965, intent on making major career changes. According to some accounts, they intended to write for television, but at first they continued writing for magazines. Slouching Towards Bethlehem The Saturday Evening Post, a mainstream magazine remembered for its frequent cover paintings by Norman Rockwell, assigned Didion to report and write on cultural and social topics. She wrote a profile of John Wayne (whom she admired) and other pieces of fairly conventional journalism. As society seemed to change in startling ways, Didion, the daughter of conservative Republicans and herself a Goldwater voter in 1964, found herself observing the influx of hippies, Black Panthers, and the rise of the counterculture. By early 1967, she later recalled, she was finding it difficult to work. It felt to her like America was somehow coming apart and, as she put it, writing had become an irrelevant act. The solution, it seemed, was to go to San Francisco and spend time with the young people who were flooding into the city just before what would become legendary as The Summer of Love. The result of weeks of hanging about in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood was perhaps her most famous magazine essay, Slouching Towards Bethlehem. The title was borrowed from The Second Coming, an ominous poem by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. The article appears, on the surface, to have little or no structure. It opens with passages in which Didion evokes, with carefully chosen details, how in the cold late spring of 1967 America was in a time of bleak despair and adolescents drifted from city to torn city. Didion then described, with novelistic detail, the characters she spent time with, many of whom were taking drugs or seeking to acquire drugs or talking about their recent drug trips. The article departed from standard journalistic practice. At one point she did attempt to interview a policeman who had patrolled the neighborhood of the hippies, but he seemed to panic and stopped talking to her. She was accused of being a media poisoner by members of The Diggers, an anarchic group of hippies. So she hung out and listened, not interviewing anyone so much as just observing in the moment. Her observations were presented starkly as what was said and seen in her presence. It was up to the reader to draw deeper meaning. After the article was published in the Saturday Evening Post, Didion said many readers didnt grasp that she was writing about something more general than a handful of children wearing mandalas on their forehead. In the preface to a 1968 collection of her articles, itself titled Slouching Towards Bethlehem, she said she had never gotten feedback so universally beside the point. Didions technique, coupled with her distinct personality and mentions of her own anxiety, had created something of a template for later work. She continued writing journalistic essays for magazines. Over time she would become known for her observations of distinctly American events, ranging from the Manson murders to the increasingly bitter national politics of the late 1980s to the scandals of Bill Clinton. Joan Didion and husband John Gregory Dunne. Getty Images Novelist and Screenwiter In 1970 Didion published her second novel, Play It As It Lays, which was set in the world of Hollywood in which Didion and her husband had settled. (They collaborated on a screenplay for a 1972 film adaptation of the novel.) Didion continued to alternate writing fiction with her journalism, publishing three other novels: A Book of Common Prayer, Democracy, and The Last Thing He Wanted. Didion and Dunne collaborated on screenplays, including The Panic In Needle Park (produced in 1971) and the 1976 production of A Star Is Born, which starred Barbra Streisand. The work adapting a book about ill-fated anchorwoman Jessica Savitch turned into a Hollywood saga in which they wrote (and got paid for) numerous drafts before the film finally emerged as Up Close and Personal. John Gregorys Dunnes 1997 book Monster: Living Off the Big Screen detailed the peculiar story of endlessly rewriting the screenplay and dealing with Hollywood producers. Tragedies Didion and Dunne moved back to New York City in the 1990s. Their daughter Quintana became seriously ill in 2003, and after visiting her at the hospital, the couple returned to their apartment where Dunne suffered a fatal heart attack. Didion wrote a book about dealing with her grief, The Year of Magical Thinking, published in 2005. Tragedy struck again when Quintana, having recovered from a serious illness, fell at Los Angeles airport and suffered a serious brain injury. She seemed to be recovering her health but again became very ill and died in August 2005. Though her daughter died before the publication of The Year of Magical Thinking, she told The New York Times she hadnt considered changing the manuscript. She later wrote a second book about dealing with grief, Blue Nights, published in 2011. In 2017, Didion published a book of nonfiction, South and West: From a Notebook, an account of travels in the American South constructed from notes she had written decades earlier. Writing in The New York Times, critic Michiko Kakutani said what Didion wrote about travels in Alabama and Mississippi in 1970 was prescient, and seemed to point to much more modern divisions in American society. Sources: Joan Didion. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 20, Gale, 2004, pp. 113-116. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Doreski, C. K. Didion, Joan 1934- . American Writers, Supplement 4, edited by A Walton Litz and Molly Weigel, vol. 1, Charles Scribners Sons, 1996, pp. 195-216. Gale Virtual Reference Library.McKinley, Jesse. Joan Didions New Book Faces Tragedy. New York Times, 29 August 2005.

The long history of puppetry Essay Example

The long history of puppetry Essay Example The long history of puppetry Paper The long history of puppetry Paper Prehistoric miniature stone figures have been excavated in many places. We can only guess what they may have been used for. Scholars try to attach cultural or mystical significance to these finds. Storytelling and play acting with dolls are invented spontaneously by children the world over. The making of miniature figures is basic to human nature. It is a fair guess that the main use is simply entertainment. In the fifth century BC Herodotus writes about ancient figures operated by strings. Xenophon of Athens refers to a travelling Greek showman putting on a puppet show. These men did not discover something new, they were just early-published writers, and they wrote about what was happening. A 12th century woodcut shows two youngsters playing with figures of armed knights on strings. In a 14th century illuminated manuscript we see three girls watching a puppet show. It looks a lot like Punch and Judy. Theatrical scripts have often made fun of authority and the injustices of life. In societies where the authorities had more power than we nowadays give them they often reacted angrily to deserved ridicule. The Commedia dellarte was an improvised popular comedy in Italian theatres of the 16th to 18th century. It was frequently banned and was often performed on the streets. The characters Harlequin, Columbine and Pulcinella originated here. Italian performers exported their art throughout Europe and further afield. In the French language Pulcinella became Polichinelle, in Russian Petroushka, and in English Punch. They also invented the slapstick, a stick that has two small paddles at the end of it or is divided at one or both ends to make a noise when it hits anything. This is where we get the term slapstick comedy. Polichinelle was playing in France by 1630. Samuel Pepys was a civil servant who kept a diary. He wrote it for himself in his own private code but it was published after his death. It gives a fascinating personal view of 17th century England. In 1662 this diary records the first English mention of open-air puppet performances. Pepys writes that he watched the puppets a few times, once he stopped for a show in Hyde Park and it made him late for an appointment with the king. First known as Punch and Joan, the puppets became a popular diversion on beaches and in parks. The performers were often itinerants and were often mentioned in literature. As readers of Dickens the Old Curiosity Shop will know they were sometimes of not too respectable personality. Henry Fielding wrote his brilliantly satirical novel Tom Jones in the 18th century. There were concerns about violence in puppetry then as now. Tom Jones meets a travelling Punch and Judy man who claims to have cleaned up his show and made it into a moral and refined spectacle. The entertainer enjoys a couple of mugs of beer with the patrons of a wayside tavern and then physically assaults his assistant. Fielding has his hero comment that he much preferred the show in its old form. George Cruikshank, who made a name for himself by illustrating the writings of Charles Dickens was involved in the production of a book that preserved a street performance of a Punch and Judy show. Cruikshank and publisher John Payne Collier hired an Italian performer, Signor Piccini, to put on a private show in the Kings Arms, a tavern in Drury Lane, London. The show was stopped frequently so that Cruikshank could make drawings and Collier could record the dialogue. Both of these illustrations are by Cruikshank. Piccini may or may not have been an Italian. Then, as now, entertainers sometimes invented exotic names and backgrounds for themselves. He was a great puppeteer. He could have one of his puppets take off his hat with one hand, throw it to the other hand, and put it back on his head. Punch and Judy proliferated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Shows were seen everywhere and some of the performers became prosperous.

Human Resources Management World Wide Fund For Nature ( WWF) Essay

Human Resources Management World Wide Fund For Nature ( WWF) - Essay Example As the essay declares the process of hiring and sourcing the right balance in an organisation is a continuous one that involves regular adjustments in the employee mix. The WWF pools together people of different talent and the grouping of these people is essential in the organisation realising its overall goals and objectives. According to the report findings the human resource through the monetary gains. The positions in these organisations can be filled with people who are able and willing to take the available positions. Most charitable organisations provide accurate and realistic skill specifications for the particular positions advertised. The job expectations for specific opportunities are essentially communicated through job descriptions. Oxfam for instance, attaches the job description in the call for vacancies. The emphasis on the right candidates is because of the risk that charitable organisations undergo in fulfilling their duties. The approach in most charitable organisations is inclined towards selecting candidates that are best suited for the specific job. Performance appraisals are also a preferred way of boosting the performance of employees. Most charitable organisations prefer internal recruitments that are based on the organisation’s recruitment policies. Save the Children for in stance, gives preference to internal appraisals before they consider hiring externally. Many not for profit organisations have realized that recruitment success is achieved through incisive analysis of the potential of prospective employees must be done.

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

Apocalypse - Essay Example The film has its direction of Edgar Wright. The story is about a man who is attempting to get focus on his life and deal with a bigger issue of dealing with the rising of the Zombie Apocalypse. The film depicts the current cultural phenomenon in Hollywood and around the world as we will see when comparing and contrasting the two films. The antagonists in both the "Blade Runner" and "Shaun of the Dead" depict human-like characteristic in their physical form but are still monsters. The stories are science fiction that depicts the robot apocalypse and a zombie apocalypse. They are both set in the future. The changes that modernity brought into the world and advancement in technology is what led to the making of the two films. "Shaun of the Dead" shows anxiety through the spread of viral capitalism around the world. The zombie apocalypse leads to denial of the people to ever go back to normalcy (Wright, 2004). "Blade Runner" also has a form of denial when the cooperations that comes up with replicants who do not want to go back to humans. It is because the replicants are more human than human beings (Scott, 1982). It shows how the future people are satisfied with the apocalypse of either zombies or genetically engineered replicants. There is a fear among the human race about a possible apocalypse as we see the making of the two films. The human beings in both films defend themselves from the unwanted creatures that have invaded the earth. â€Å"Shaun from the dead† has the people from the bar defend themselves after the return of the zombies to haunt them. The zombies feed on human beings thus the rise of the zombies means the end of the human population (Wright, 2004). The replicants from â€Å"Blade Runner† are also created to finish the human population as they are superior to human beings. The humans must, therefore, fight against the robots before the monsters lead to their end. We see the fight between human beings and the replicants from the film (Scott,

History of Immigration in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of Immigration in the USA - Essay Example The settling of America began with an idea. The idea was that people can join together and agree to govern themselves by making laws for the common good. The history of U.S immigration began in 1513 when a Spanish explorer, Ponce De Leon discovered Florida. In the 16th century Spain took control of Florida, California and the south-west region of America. About 200,000 Spaniards migrated to the new world and founded some 200 settlements in different parts of America. St. Augustine, Florida, founded by Pedro Merendez in 1565, was the first permanent settlement established by the Europeans in what is now the United States. The Spanish mined precious metals and was able to ship back to Europe large quantities of gold and silver. Then came the Dutch who first arrived in America in 1609 when the Dutch East India Company vessel De Halve Maen, commanded by the English captain, Henry Hudson, laid anchor at Sandy Hook, before sailing up what is now known as the Hudson River. The arrival of people from England grew steadily and by 1650 the population of Virginia reached 15,000. Settlements spread from the banks of the James River to the York and Rappahannock Rivers. Many immigrants decided to leave the coastal regions and move inland. By 1685 the population of Virginia had grown to 60,000.The early British arrivals in America were known as colonists or settlers. The term immigrant was first used in 1787. However, it was argued at the time that there was a difference between the colonists who "established a new new society, and those foreigners who arrive only when the country's laws, customs and language are fixed.

Finance and Accounting, Literature Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Finance and Accounting, - Literature review Example Controversies such as those linked to the former GE CEO, Jack Welch and the NYSE CEO Richard Grasso have made many companies to create a guideline that will be used to limit how much company executives can earn. It is important to note that even in the cases of the above CEOs, their work and performance on the job was impeccable and many would believe that they earned what they had worked hard for (Jensen and Murphyn 2004:15). However, there is a perception that there was a lot of inadequate disclosure and that they received a little ‘too much’ despite their performance. According to the general conference convened by the International Labor Organization in 1951; the term remuneration was defined as (Yang 2008:654): â€Å"the ordinary, basic or minimum salary and any additional benefits that are payable whatsoever directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment.† Success on the oth er hand is mainly defined by the amount of output acquired as a result of one’s ability to utilize the opportunity given to them to lead, supervise, mentor and motivate others effectively. Though many believe that performance is imperative, others postulate that traits and effective practices determine who one becomes and how much they achieve while at the executive position (Yang 2008:654). Others believe that the successful ones are not necessarily the most effective and the debate may go on for a long time. However, the main aim of this report is to look into the issue of remunerations and how they are determined based on performance, success and commitment rather than astuteness to ascend to higher positions quickly. Analyzing Remuneration Packages The past history, if anything to go by, teaches the corporate world that managers, however effective, require having a maximum for the company to remain afloat even when they leave. Attention is mainly given to those who draw s o much that the divide between them and the employees widens every other day. People are entitled to get the maximum they can from their hard work. However, placing a cap on how much one can draw is also important for effective running of the company. Many however argue that the lack of proper and adequate disclosure on how much each of these executives earns has placed a barrier between them and other employees (Jensen and Murphyn 2004:13). Many believe that they are receiving record salaries and bonuses. As a result of this, the 1951 convention sought to bring all the remunerations at par within the companies without watering down the motivation of all the employees. For instance, GE’s CEO had planned for some lavish retirement benefits that were kept secret to the board and the shareholders (Fama and French 2001:23). The reputation of one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs was questioned. This incident led many to believe that this is what all the other CEOs were receiving. The case of the NYSE CEO was no different. He was accused that he was bound to receive a retirement benefit of close to $190 million in 2003 which was also not disclosed to the board (Jensen and Murphyn 2004:15). These cases bring about a lot of questions that the report will try to answer. The issue of disclosure is very vital in any organization based on the sensitivity of the remunerations issue. However hardworking these executives are, the

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Project Management - Essay Example Kerzner (2009) points out four different phases of the a project life cycle and these are the Conception Phase, Definition Phase, Execution Phase, and Operation Phase. On the other hand, Hira and Parfitt (2004) provide five phases in the project cycle which are Identification, Preparation, Appraisal, Implementation, and Evaluation. Perhaps the most popular view divides the project cycle into five stages, or process groups as some references have called them, which are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing (Rubin, 1995; Owen & Rogers, 1999; Elia, 2004; Elearn Limited, 2005; Heldman, Baca, & Jansen, 2007; Sanghera, 2008; Mihelcic, 2009). Within these stages, there are also a set of processes involved that are part of the knowledge required to manage a particular project. These knowledge areas are Communication Management, Cost Management, Human Resource Management, Integration Management, Procurement Management, Risk Management, Scope Management, and Time Management (Sanghera, 2008). While a large portion of this paper will focus mainly on the different stages of the project cycle and the processes within each of these stages, the discussion will also incorporate these knowledge areas. ... s important that a particular emphasis is placed on this stage because if this stage is merely skimmed over because the group is rushing to get started on what most would perceive as the actual work, the group will have a hard time implementing the project, not to mention needing more time to achieve it and thus, the project will most likely fail. This is the phase which examines and decides whether the project is worth doing or not. This process group provides approval to commit the organization’s resources to working on the project or phase (Heldman, Baca, & Jansen, 2007). The most important objectives of the project are identified and defined and financial commitments are undertaken to determine exactly what resources will be needed to complete the project (Elia, 2004). The project manager is assigned and authorized to begin working on the project. This is also the stage where the expectations for the project are formalized and communicated to all of the stakeholders. More specifically, the processes involved in this stage include the development of the project charter and the preliminary project scope statement, which are covered by the knowledge area of integration management (Sanghera, 2008). These outputs become inputs into the Planning process group. The Initiation phase for a contractor most likely starts once the firm is awarded a contract and has received a notice to proceed. Sometimes, there are also companies who move forward with less certain conditions. The estimate now becomes a project and a job or work order number is given to it. The project manager is assigned who then prepares to receive the handoff, or the transitional stage between project phases, from the estimating department (Elia, 2004). Planning The planning phase is which involves the

Scene comparison between the movie Il Gattopardo (The Leopard by Essay

Scene comparison between the movie Il Gattopardo (The Leopard by Visconti) and the novel - Essay Example The battle scenes, was developed from various Italy regions depending on the armies constitution that were involved in the battles. The resulting movie captivated all the senders. The film has recreated the atmosphere of19th century in a thorough manner; on their fittings and interiors, time of day, color, scorching heat, coolness search, and the dust that covers the noble when making their way to the Castle Donnafugata, the cloths used, the coaches interior, and the filthy cloak of clergyman, the furniture, and the single frame of the ball sequence accounts for a quarter of the film and which seems to be unending. This is the world that is portrayed by the author, in the disappearing verge, and in the look of the most proustian film that has ever been shot. For the miracle to achieve a collection of outstanding talents was collected veterans seasoned by multiple Viscotian battles. The Palermo aristocrats played in the sequence of dance but also lent the producer a lot of mise-en-sce ne. The film is the work where the author challenges the impossible, selecting to recreate realistically events which took a century earlier. The achievement of the author is magnificent that it appears the various echoes of 19th century outlook in the film have not been highlighted. The painting on the wall of the house participated in a dialogue with the prince of Salina and protagonists. During the dancing break, while contemplating a Jean Baptista famous painting. The prince of Salim is involved in death attempt for the first time and he imagines the next departure of young Tancredi. In the film, the director appeared to embrace contradictions. How did the Italian neorealism progenotir, which emphasizes the mise en scene naturalistic, eventually move towards making the operatic costume dramas and grand? According to Salvador Dali, he describes the producer and the communist that like luxury. The multiple questions are generated when watching the film. To fully understand the puz zle, the film story need not be told without mentioning its source (novel). The historical time is Risorgimento; collection of conflicts that resulted to the formation of a single political entire of Italy, and within the events of the 1860 that same the Garibaldi’s army helped by local militia that rebelled against the Bourbon

Finance and Accounting, Literature Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Finance and Accounting, - Literature review Example Controversies such as those linked to the former GE CEO, Jack Welch and the NYSE CEO Richard Grasso have made many companies to create a guideline that will be used to limit how much company executives can earn. It is important to note that even in the cases of the above CEOs, their work and performance on the job was impeccable and many would believe that they earned what they had worked hard for (Jensen and Murphyn 2004:15). However, there is a perception that there was a lot of inadequate disclosure and that they received a little ‘too much’ despite their performance. According to the general conference convened by the International Labor Organization in 1951; the term remuneration was defined as (Yang 2008:654): â€Å"the ordinary, basic or minimum salary and any additional benefits that are payable whatsoever directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment.† Success on the oth er hand is mainly defined by the amount of output acquired as a result of one’s ability to utilize the opportunity given to them to lead, supervise, mentor and motivate others effectively. Though many believe that performance is imperative, others postulate that traits and effective practices determine who one becomes and how much they achieve while at the executive position (Yang 2008:654). Others believe that the successful ones are not necessarily the most effective and the debate may go on for a long time. However, the main aim of this report is to look into the issue of remunerations and how they are determined based on performance, success and commitment rather than astuteness to ascend to higher positions quickly. Analyzing Remuneration Packages The past history, if anything to go by, teaches the corporate world that managers, however effective, require having a maximum for the company to remain afloat even when they leave. Attention is mainly given to those who draw s o much that the divide between them and the employees widens every other day. People are entitled to get the maximum they can from their hard work. However, placing a cap on how much one can draw is also important for effective running of the company. Many however argue that the lack of proper and adequate disclosure on how much each of these executives earns has placed a barrier between them and other employees (Jensen and Murphyn 2004:13). Many believe that they are receiving record salaries and bonuses. As a result of this, the 1951 convention sought to bring all the remunerations at par within the companies without watering down the motivation of all the employees. For instance, GE’s CEO had planned for some lavish retirement benefits that were kept secret to the board and the shareholders (Fama and French 2001:23). The reputation of one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs was questioned. This incident led many to believe that this is what all the other CEOs were receiving. The case of the NYSE CEO was no different. He was accused that he was bound to receive a retirement benefit of close to $190 million in 2003 which was also not disclosed to the board (Jensen and Murphyn 2004:15). These cases bring about a lot of questions that the report will try to answer. The issue of disclosure is very vital in any organization based on the sensitivity of the remunerations issue. However hardworking these executives are, the

Scene comparison between the movie Il Gattopardo (The Leopard by Essay

Scene comparison between the movie Il Gattopardo (The Leopard by Visconti) and the novel - Essay Example The battle scenes, was developed from various Italy regions depending on the armies constitution that were involved in the battles. The resulting movie captivated all the senders. The film has recreated the atmosphere of19th century in a thorough manner; on their fittings and interiors, time of day, color, scorching heat, coolness search, and the dust that covers the noble when making their way to the Castle Donnafugata, the cloths used, the coaches interior, and the filthy cloak of clergyman, the furniture, and the single frame of the ball sequence accounts for a quarter of the film and which seems to be unending. This is the world that is portrayed by the author, in the disappearing verge, and in the look of the most proustian film that has ever been shot. For the miracle to achieve a collection of outstanding talents was collected veterans seasoned by multiple Viscotian battles. The Palermo aristocrats played in the sequence of dance but also lent the producer a lot of mise-en-sce ne. The film is the work where the author challenges the impossible, selecting to recreate realistically events which took a century earlier. The achievement of the author is magnificent that it appears the various echoes of 19th century outlook in the film have not been highlighted. The painting on the wall of the house participated in a dialogue with the prince of Salina and protagonists. During the dancing break, while contemplating a Jean Baptista famous painting. The prince of Salim is involved in death attempt for the first time and he imagines the next departure of young Tancredi. In the film, the director appeared to embrace contradictions. How did the Italian neorealism progenotir, which emphasizes the mise en scene naturalistic, eventually move towards making the operatic costume dramas and grand? According to Salvador Dali, he describes the producer and the communist that like luxury. The multiple questions are generated when watching the film. To fully understand the puz zle, the film story need not be told without mentioning its source (novel). The historical time is Risorgimento; collection of conflicts that resulted to the formation of a single political entire of Italy, and within the events of the 1860 that same the Garibaldi’s army helped by local militia that rebelled against the Bourbon

Archaeology and Mayan People Essay Example for Free

Archaeology and Mayan People Essay 1. According to Principle 3 of the American Archaeology Statement on Ethics, an archaeologist should drop and avoid any activities or words that would enhance the buying and selling of archaeological Mayan objects. This is demonstrated in the Apocalypto movie, especially those Mayan objects that have not been introduced to the public view, or available for scientific study and display. For example, if the black knife of one of the main warriors in the Apocalypto film was valuable to Mayan people, then the archaeologist who reviews the movie should not mention nor speak about the knife’s value or its estimated price to the public world. If he failed to do so, the object might be sold. Therefore, that action will destroy the important information that is needed to understand the archaeological record of the Mayan people and their cultures. 2. The village life is peaceful, joyful, and they dressed in small pieces of rags. The houses are made of dry leaves and trees. Their source of light is bon fires, and they usually gather around at night to tell stories. The city life is quite harsh. The place is dried up with limited, dirty water. Slaves are the only one working; they’re covered in white pounder. City people have colorful body paint, dresses, and hats. Their ritual is the sacrificing people from the villages. Andrea Stone stated that Mayan rituals always structured in precise time and positioning under the ranked and hierarchy people in specific order, along with beautiful dance prior to them. But the movie portrayed that time as chaos and mad cheering. Also, massive slavery labors is an unfamiliar in that period of time. Stone implied that Mayan villagers don’t lie around in dirt near the fire like hunter-gatherers. Moreover, Mayan woman put their hair up in neat bun and they don’t wear beads unlike Jaguar’s wife. Additionally, Mayan warriors wield clubs, spear, and shield not smashing heavy-metal savage showed in the film. And Mayan territory has scarlet macaw, not blue and gold macaw and howler monkey. Andrea also said that some of the costumes in the movie came after the Classic period such as turquoise jewelry and gold bead, and hair inaccurately putted in corn row. The movie made an assumption that Mayan has stick through the nose. This is a stereotype and inaccurate, Stone wrote.

Infectious Complications of Kidney Transplantation

Infectious Complications of Kidney Transplantation Introduction: Infections that develop after transplantation may be life-threatening and may affect outcomes. Infection follows cardiovascular disease as the second most common cause of death with a functioning graft in kidney transplant recipients. Post-transplant infections develop in approximately 40% of recipients within the first year in spite of prophylaxis. Both the type and occurrence of infections in the immunocompromised transplant recipient follow a timetable pattern. HBV, hepatitis B virus; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; HSV, herpes simplex virus; LCMV, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus; MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; PCP, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia; PML, progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy; PTLD, post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome; VRE, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis; VZV, varicella-zoster virus. Reproduced from Fishman JA. Infection in solid-organ transplant recipients. N Engl J Med 2007; 357:2601-14. With permission from the Massachusetts Medical Society.  © 2007 Massachusetts Medical Society. Risk Factors for Posttransplant Infectious Complications Pretransplant host factors: Underlying medical condition e.g. Diabetes Mellitus Chronic infections e.g. Hepatitis C viral infection Latent infections e.g. Tuberculosis, Dimorphic fungi Colonization with resistant bacteria Recipients preexisting immunity e.g. Varicella Zoster Virus Prior medications e.g. Antimicrobials, Corticosteroids Transplant factors: Allograft derived e.g. Cytomegalovirus Surgical duration, instrumentation, wound, abdominal fluid collections, technical issue e.g. type of anastomosis Blood transfusion Immunosuppression Immunosuppressive agents and additional treatment for episodes of rejection Time posttransplant Epidemiologic exposure Urinary Tract Infections: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infections following transplantation, which develop in approximately 20% of recipients. Female sex, genitourinary tract manipulation during transplantation, prolonged bladder catheterization, ureteric stenting, age, and delayed graft function (DGF) are independent risk factors. UTIs are independently associated with the development of bacteremia, and untreated UTIs are associated with subsequent rejection (3). Post-transplant vesicoureteric reflux occurs in up to 40% of transplant recipients, although is not associated with the UTI risk (4). Ureteric stents mitigate the risk of ureteric strictures and leaks after transplantation. Center practices vary, with stenting of all patients at some centers and more selective stenting at others. Wilson et al. performed a Cochrane analysis of seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) encompassing 1,154 patients that examined the practice of allograft ureteric stenting (5). The incidence of major urologic complications including urine leak and obstruction was significantly reduced (relative risk [RR], 0.24; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.77; P=0.02; number needed to treat = 13) by universal prophylactic stenting. However, UTIs were more common in stented patients (RR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.15), unless the patients were prescribed trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), in which case the incidence was equivalent (RR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.71 to 1.33). Stents were generally well tolerated, although studies using longer stents (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥20 cm) for longer periods (> 6 weeks) developed problems mo re frequently with encrustation and migration. Typical pathogens include Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Proteus, Enterococcus, Enterobacter, Staphylococcus, and Pseudomonas. In the case of recurrent infections, abscesses or other nidi of infection should be sought out by means of imaging with ultrasound or computed tomography. Early catheter removal decreases the incidence of UTI in renal allograft recipients. The use of TMP/SMX to prevent Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia and UTI has long been the standard of care after kidney transplantation. Wojciechowski et al. performed a single-center study comparing TMP/SMX for 6 months (group 1) versus TMP/SMX for 6 months plus ciprofloxacin for 30 days (group 2) for prophylaxis after kidney transplantation (6). At 1 year, more patients in group 1 developed UTIs (23.6% versus 10.8%; P=0.01) and the mean time to first UTI was shorter. There was a similar incidence of enteric Gram-negative antibiotic resistance to TMP/ SMX (75% versus 80%; P=1.00) and ciprofloxacin (16.7% versus 30%; P=0.39) in groups 1 and 2. For groups 1 and 2, the proportion of first UTIs requiring hospitalization was 48.9% versus 40.6%, respectively. A clean-catch midstream urine specimen should be submitted for quantitative bacterial and fungal  culture. Antibiotic therapy should be tailored according to the offending microorganism and drug susceptibility tests. Septicemia: The incidence of hospitalizations for septicemia among renal transplant recipients is approximately 42 times that of the general population. The urinary tract is the most common source of septicemia, followed by the lungs, the surgical wound site, and the abdomen. Most cases occur within the first six months after transplantation. Among patients with bacteremia, poor outcome is associated with Gram-negative species, multidrug-resistant organisms, and Candida species, especially when the empiric antimicrobial therapy is inappropriate or delayed. Bige et al. retrospectively studied 83 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) admitted for sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock to their intensive care unit over a 10-year period (1). The main sites of infection were the lung (54%), urinary tract (24%), and bloodstream (22%). Eighty percent of infections were bacterial. Mechanical ventilation was used in 46 patients (56%), vasopressors in 39 patients (47%), and RRT in 34 patients (41%). The 90-day mortality rate was 22%. By day 90, among the 65 survivors, 39 (47%) had recovered their previous graft function, and 26 (31%) had impaired graft function, including 16 (19%) who were dependent on RRT. Some studies suggest that bacterial sepsis increases the risk for CMV infection because of high levels of tumor necrosis factor-ÃŽÂ ± (TNF-ÃŽÂ ±) or dysregulated immune response to CMV in the context of serious bacterial infections. For detection of bloodstream infection, two sets of blood cultures should be obtained before initiation of antimicrobial therapy. If intravascular catheter-associated bacteremia is suspected, the device should be removed and the catheter tip should be cultured. Pneumonia: The incidence of pneumonia in kidney transplantation is the lowest among all solid organ transplants (8 to 16 percent). However, pneumonia is the most serious infection, leading to death in up to 50 percent of cases. The infectious agent in the majority of patients is never determined. This is likely because of the low yield of blood and sputum cultures and the efficacy of antibacterial therapy. In patients who are hypoxic on presentation or do not respond to initial therapy, a bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is almost always warranted. Patients should be referred if possible to a transplant center to improve the likelihood of diagnosing the etiologic agent. Common causative organisms include Streptococcus pneumoniae, nontypable Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and respiratory viruses such as influenza, adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Less commonly, patients may present with opportunistic organisms such as P. jirovecii and L. pneumophila. Silver stains for direct fluorescent antibody for Pneumocystis should be done on sputum or BAL specimens. A urine Legionella antigen test should be done on all patients on initial work up. Mycobaterium tuberculosis: Among the infections, tuberculosis is an important cause of morbidity in renal transplant recipients in developing world. The incidence of post-transplant tuberculosis in India has been reported to be highest in the world at 5.7 to 10 percent in various studies. Most cases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in kidney transplant recipients are due to reactivation of latent tuberculosis lesions. Important risk factors for reactivation include nonwhite race, history of active tuberculosis, presence of marked abnormality on a chest radiograph, exposure to person with a confirmed case of tuberculosis, and skin test positivity. In transplant patients, the clinical presentation of tuberculosis may be atypical and extrapulmonary and miliary tuberculosis is seen more frequently than in the normal population. Tuberculosis presents numerous diagnostic difficulties in renal transplant recipients. Because of high frequency of anergy in immunosupressed patients, the Mantoux test is generally unhelpful as a diagnostic tool. e classic picture of apical involvement in the general chest X-ray is seen in only a minority of renal transplant recipients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Demonstration of acid-fast bacilli in the sputum smear requires repeated examination on several occasions and has a low yield. Identification on culture takes four to six weeks. Treatment of post-transplant tuberculosis presents problems both in the choice of antitubercular agents and in the duration of therapy. Rifampicin is a well-known hepatic P-450 microsomal enzyme inducer, increasing the clearance of both prednisolone and cyclosporine A. The dose of prednisolone needs to be doubled and that of cyclosporine increased to three- to four-fold to maintain therapeutic blood levels. e latter increases the cost of therapy and is unacceptable to a vast majority of patients. An alternative regime that has been successfully used for these patients consists of a combination of isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ofloxacin, and ethambutol. e optimum duration of therapy is also a matter of debate but is usually for 9 to 12 months. e duration needs to be increased to 18 months in patients who are on cyclosporine and are not receiving rifampicin. e role of INH prophylaxis after transplant in endemic areas is controversial. Cytomegalovirus (CMV): CMV is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among kidney transplant recipients. Between 60 and 90 percent of adults are seropositive. Symptomatic disease ranges from a relatively mild syndrome of fever, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and elevated liver enzymes to severe disseminated disease that involves multiple organ systems, such as the lung, liver, and GI tract. CMV disease has been implicated as a cause of acute and chronic graft dysfunction as well as long-term graft loss. CMV can also suppress the immune response which predisposes the host to infections with other viruses, bacteria, and fungi. The incidence and severity of CMV disease has been most strongly associated with the CMV serostatus of the kidney donor and recipient. Seronegative recipients who receive a kidney from a seropositive donor (D+/R-) are at greatest risk for severe primary infection during the first three months post-transplant. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of CMV is important because delayed recognition results in increased morbidity. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays for CMV DNA and pp65 antigen detections are the most commonly used means to detect CMV viremia. e shell vial viral culture method remains a reliable way of detecting CMV in sputum. Multiple strategies have been used to reduce the morbidity and mortality of CMV infection and its associated costs (see Table 4). Avoiding CMV sero- mismatching through organ allocation is not feasible or worthwhile. Universal prophylaxis refers to giving prophylactic therapy to all kidney transplant patients regardless of their CMV serostatus. Selected prophylaxis refers to giving prophylaxis to patients at high risk for CMV, namely the D+/R- category or those receiving lymphocyte-depleting therapy. e preemptive treatment approach treats asymptomatic CMV infection in an e ort to prevent CMV disease. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, and there is no de nitive consensus on optimal preventive strategy. Prophylactic Therapy: Prophylactic therapy is effective in preventing CMV disease in high-risk patients. Ganciclovir and valganciclovir are equally efficacious. Ganciclovir 1,000 mg PO three times daily and valganciclovir 900 mg PO once daily are used. Valganciclovir is contraindicated in patients with a creatinine clearance of less than 10 ml/h. Prophylactic therapy is usually given during the first 100 days post- kidney transplant. A concern with the prophylactic strategy is that 20 to 30 percent of high-risk patients go on to develop late-onset CMV disease after the prophylaxis is stopped, and the incidence of ganciclovir resistance may be higher in those who receive prophylaxis. Preemptive Therapy: Preemptive therapy of CMV infection involves monitoring for CMV viremia and starting treatment before the development of signs or symptoms of disease. It has been shown to be as effective as prophylactic therapy in preventing CMV disease. Both oral ganciclovir and valganciclovir have been shown to be effective in treating viremia. Preemptive therapy has the advantage of avoiding the costs and complications of antiviral therapy in low-risk patients while at the same time initiating treatment early to avoid symptomatic disease in high-risk patients. It has also been shown to decrease the development of late CMV disease. Its major limitation is the need to perform frequent determinations of CMV viremia. Ganciclovir Resistance: Ganciclovir resistance is becoming more common among solid-organ transplant recipients. In one study, 6.2 percent of CMV isolates had UL97 or UL54 mutations. Viral strains with mutations in the UL97 gene, which encodes for a viral protein kinase, remain susceptible to foscarnet and cidofovir. Mutations in the UL54 gene that encodes DNA polymerase can result in resistance to ganciclovir, foscarnet, and cidofovir. e emergence of ganciclovir-resistant CMV underscores the importance of optimizing preventive strategies. BK Virus (BKV): BKV is associated with post-transplantation nephropathy, hemorrhagic cystitis, and ureteral obstruction. It has a tropism for genitourinary tract and usually remains dormant in the urinary tract and circulating leukocytes after the primary childhood infection and becomes reactivated during immunosuppression. Adult seroprevalence rates for BKV range from 65 to 90 percent and BKV reactivation can come from the recipient or the donor. BK viremia occurs in 13 percent and BK nephropathy in 8 percent of kidney transplant recipients. Analysis of risk factors for reactivation has underscored the central role played by serologic status of the donor, immunosuppressive regimens, injury to the uroepithelial tissue, and acute rejection. Distinguishing between BK infection and allograft rejection is of paramount importance, since BK infection necessitates reducing immunosuppression and allograft rejection requires the opposite. Among kidney transplant recipients who are receiving immunosuppressive therapy, 10 to 60 percent have reactivation of BKV accompanied by shedding of urothelial cells. Shedding is inconsistently associated with allograft dysfunction. Once the virus has reactivated, an ascending infection via cell-to-cell spread occurs. e overall state of immunosuppression is the primary determinant of BKV reactivation. Viral replication begins early after transplantation and progresses through detectable stages-viruria, then viremia, then nephropathy. Viruria can be detected by PCR for BKV DNA, reverse transcription (RT)-PCR for BKV RNA, cytology for BKV inclusion bearing epithelial cells termed decoy cells, or electron microscopy for viral particles. Viremia is a better predictor of nephropathy than viruria. Although higher levels of viremia correlate with the risk of developing nephropathy, there are no established thresholds of viremia to indicate nephropathy. The gold standard for establishing BK nephropathy remains a kidney biopsy with positive immuno- histochemical or immunofluorescent staining for the SV-40 large T antigen. An effective screening strategy is to check blood for BKV DNA by PCR monthly for the first 3 months and at 6 and 12 months after transplantation, at the time of any unexplained rise in serum creatinine, and after augmentation of immunosuppression. Because BKV nephropathy is preceded by BK viremia, asymptomatic BK viremia should prompt empiric immunosuppression reduction and continued monitoring. Currently, no established antiviral treatment is available, and control of viral infection is tentatively obtained by means of reduction of immunosuppression. Treatment attempts have included immunoglobulins without proof of efficacy. Other options include deoxyspergualin, cidofovir, leflunomide, uoroquinolones and gyrase inhibitors. Cidofovir use is limited by its nephrotoxicity. Fungal Infections: The incidence of fungal infections in renal transplant recipients is less than that reported for other solid organ transplant recipients, the mortality from fungal infections remains high and is related to the pathogenicity of the  organisms, site of infection, impaired host inflammatory response, limited diagnostic tools, potential for rapid clinical progression, failure to recognize a high-risk patient, and comorbidities, such as renal failure and diabetes mellitus. Colonization with yeasts and molds occurs frequently in transplant candidates with ESRD and after transplantation because of exposure to broad-spectrum antibacterial agents, domiciliary and hospital exposures, immunosuppressive therapy, especially corticosteroids, and the presence of urinary catheters and endotracheal tubes. Isolation of Candida species from cultures of stool, respiratory, and urine samples occurs commonly in kidney transplant recipients receiving corticosteroids and broad-spectrum antimicrobials and does not necessarily imply infection. However, repeatedly positive fungal cultures from a single or from multiple sites may herald invasive candidiasis in the appropriate clinical setting. Candida species, Aspergillus species, P. jiroveci, and C. neoformans are the most common fungal pathogens reported in renal transplant recipients. Candida infections occur most commonly during the first month following transplantation and are usually associated with transplant surgical technical complications, early rejection, and enhanced immuno- suppression. Candida infection is most commonly associated with an endogenous source of colonization. C. albicans is the most common species, followed by C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, and C. parapsilosis. Speciation is clinically useful because nonalbicans Candida species vary in in vitro susceptibility to amphotericin B and azoles. Sites of Candida infection include mucocutaneous candidiasis and esophagitis; wound infections; cystitis, pyelonephritis, and ureteral obstruction by Candida elements or fungal ball; intra- abdominal infections, including infected perigraft fluid collections or peritonitis; and intravascular device- associated fungemia. Renal parenchymal infection most often results from candidemia and hematogenous spread, although ascending infection from the bladder can oc cur. Candiduria is typically asymptomatic but may be associated with cystitis or upper tract infection. Patients with genitourinary tract stents and recurrent funguria often require removal of foreign body to eradicate the infection. Cryptococcus often presents as meningitis but may cause space-occupying brain lesions; pulmonary, dermatologic, skeletal, organ-specific disease; aspergillosis-pneumonia and other tissue-invasive forms, including genitourinary, central nervous system, rhinocerebral, GI, skin, wound, and musculoskeletal disease. Patients at risk for aspergillosis include those receiving repeated courses of enhanced immuno- suppression for rejection and those with chronic graft dysfunction, diabetes, comorbid medical illnesses, or CMV infection. Diagnosis of aspergillus infection depends on a high clinical suspicion, isolation of Aspergillus species from a sterile body site or repeated isolation from the respiratory tract, and typical radiographic findings. Radiologic appearances of pulmonary aspergillosis in kidney transplant recipients include nodules, di use or wedge-shaped opacities, empyema, or cavitary forms. Serial measurement of aspergillus galactomannan in the serum may aid in the early diagno sis of invasive aspergillosis in the high-risk setting. Historically, invasive candidiasis, cryptococcosis, coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and aspergillosis were treated with amphotericin B deoxycholate (AmB). The lipid formulations of amphotericin B are all associated with lower risks for nephrotoxicity, metabolic derangements, and infusion-associated side effects than is AmB. Higher therapeutic dosages can be administered, and broad-spectrum antifungal activity is generally maintained. Voriconazole appears to be superior to conventional AmB for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis and also has in vitro activity against a wider range of organisms. Available in both intravenous and oral formulations, the drug is generally well-tolerated, but some patients experience visual hallucinations or severe photosensitivity. Oral posaconazole has excellent activity in vitro against Candida, Aspergillus, and Mucor species, but experience in solid organ transplant recipients is limited to date. Although itraconazole has good in vitro activity against Aspergillus species, its use is generally reserved for treatment of less-severe aspergillosis or maintenance therapy following initial response to lipid amphotericin or voriconazole and for treatment of endemic mycoses. Fluconazole is the first-line agent of the treatment or prevention of reactivation of coccidioidomycosis in renal transplant  recipients. The echinocandins, including caspofungin, anidulafungin, and micafungin, inhibit synthesis of fungal cell wall protein ÃŽÂ ²1-3 glucan and are fungicidal for Candida species, including fluconazole-resistant species. Available only as intravenous formulations, the echinocandins are effective, well tolerated, and have few drug-drug interactions.

Historic Jonesborough, Tennessee :: Descriptive Essay About A Place

Historic Jonesborough, Tennessee Jonesborough is the oldest town in Tennessee; consequently, it draws people from all over the world. The town is known for its great amount of visitors during the story telling festival, Jonesborough Days, and during the fall, when some just like to roam the streets to check out the many interesting shops. For the first-time visitor, I recommend that your first stop to be to the Visitors Center. There are so many things to do in this small town you really need a plan to get you started. The Visitors Center offers several brochures and maps of local attractions and festivals in the area. For $1.00 you can also purchase a map that gives a brief description of each of the shops and cafes. The map also gives the location and description of the downtown inns and bed and breakfasts in the area. The Visitors Center also offers several gift items and souvenirs, such as postcards and books written about the town’s rich history. Several different types of tours of the town are offered, including a horse drawn carriage ride throughout the town. Individual or group tours are also available at varying rates. An individual tour can cost between ten to twelve dollars per person and a large group tour cost as high as three hundred dollars per person. Jonesborough.http://www.historicJonesborough .com/index.html. Another place to visit is the Lollipop Shop. This store is quite unique because it offers over 400 different types of candy. If you have a sweet tooth, this is the shop for you. The kinds of candy they offer are the old-fashion candy sticks I used to buy for a dime, different flavored hard candies, several types of gummy candies, gum, and of course lollipops. While we were there, my wife and I inquired about services the Lollipop Shop offers, such as birthday party packages available through the shop. The bear parties are very unique, and we hadn’t tried them before. The children are given a choice of one of about twenty different choices of stuffed animals. They then go to stuff the animal and fluff it. They also offer to give their creation, which comes with adoption papers, a name. This party is offered for fourteen dollars per child. With another package, for eighteen dollars per person, in addition to stuffing their animal of choice, they get to decorate a cookie, and the y get a slushie.

Dr. Stephen Hawking; Man Of Mystery :: essays research papers

Dr. Stephen Hawking has been considered to be more brilliant then Einstein. Dr. Hawking was born on January 8 1942 in Oxford, England on the 300th anniversary of Galileo’s death. Is this a coincidence? After his studies at St. Albans School, he attended University College, Oxford. He wanted to study Mathematics, but because it was unavailable at Oxford, he concentrated on Physics and earned a degree in Natural Science three years later. Stephen went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology. After attaining his Ph.D., he became a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. He left the Institute of Astronomy to become a professor at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge. He has held the post of Lacasian Professor of Mathematics since 1979. In the early 1960’s, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with the dreadful disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (A.L.S.), an incurable degenerative neuromuscular disease, also known as Lou Gerh ig’s Disease. He has been paralyzed unable to use every muscle in his body. The only muscles he has use of are those around his eyes. This explains why Hawking has become a theoretician rather than a â€Å"hands-on† scientist. He spends hour after hour in his wheelchair pondering complex ideas and formulating mind bobbling equations in his head. Dr. Hawking’s work is primarily in the field of general relativity and in particular on the physics of black holes. He uses his theory on the origin of black holes to help explain the creation of the universe. In 1971 he suggested the formation (following the big bang), of numerous objects containing as much as 1,000,000,000 tons of mass but occupying only the space of a proton. These objects, called mini- black holes, are unique in that because of their immense mass and gravity, they are ruled by the laws if relativity, while their minute size requires that the laws of quantum mechanics apply to them also. In 1974, Hawking proposed that, in accordance with the predications of quantum theory, black holes emit subatomic particles until they exhaust all their energy and finally explode. Hawking’s work spurred efforts to theoretically delineate the properties of black holes. It was previously thought that nothing could be learned about black holes. Now we know that each bl ack hole starts out as a star about ten times the size of the sun. Over time, the star burns all its nuclear fuel and explodes.

Breakfast cereal market analysis

The term â€Å"breakfast cereals† covers a wide variety of grain products that are usually cooked or processed to improve their texture, flavor and digestibility. Although these products are often made from flours, they differ from breads and other baked goods in that they are not usually leavened; instead they may be toasted to crispiness like crackers. The modern ready-to eat breakfast cereals are only about 100 years old.They owe their development to the Seventh Day Adventists, an American religious sect for whom Dr. JH Kellogg invented a granola-like ready-to-eat breakfast cereal/ later Dr.  JH Kellogg and his brother WK Kellogg founded the cereal company which still bears their name. Interestingly yet another pioneer of the industry was CW Post who had been a patient and ate Dr. JH Kellogg’s cereal and was inspired by it enough to make his own version of the product.The establishment of the breakfast cereal industry came about the time the United States began a t ransition from a predominantly agricultural society to a more industrialized urban culture. A strong selling point of the ready-to- eat cereal was and still is, is their convenience (Ensminger, Konlande, 1993, p.261-262). There seems to be indication that there will be steady increase in the consumption of commercial cereal products around the world as the developing countries attempt to feed their burgeoning population. The present paper presents an analysis of the Breakfast cereal industry as well as market. Characteristics of the Breakfast cereal industry Brand History Breakfast cereals are not a homogenous product. The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry may be characterized by relatively low economies of scale and relatively low levels of technology.In other words, the entry into this industry is easy. Between the 1950s and the 1970s there was no entry of new firms in the industry even though all the incumbent firms such as Kellogg, General Mills, General Foods and Quaker Oa ts, made significant profits. Later however, there was the entry of new low-end companies in the markets and the number of brands sold by these firms also increased substantially from 25 to more than 80, and this number is still on a rise (Cabral, 2000, p. 265-266). Pricing trends For decades the breakfast cereal market was one of the most profitable in the United States.The industry had a consolidated structure dominated by Kellogg, General Mills and Kraft Foods with its Post brand. Strong brand loyalty, coupled with control over the allocation of supermarket shelf space, helped to limit the potential for new entry. Meanwhile the steady demand growth of around 3% per annum kept the industry revenues expanding. Also Kellogg, which accounted for over 40 percent of the market share, acted as the price leader in the industry for years in the industry. Every year Kellogg increased cereal prices, its rivals followed and industry profits too remained high.However, this favorable structure started to change in the early 1990s when the growth in demand slowed and then stagnated as the lifestyle and hence food patterns changed and the market saw the rise of powerful discounters such as Wal-Mart that started promoting their own brand of cereal. As sales of cheaper store-brand cereals began to take-ff, supermarkets no longer were as dependent on brand names to bring in traffic and hence they started to demand lower prices from the branded cereal manufacturers.Initially, the branded cereal manufacturers tried to hold against these adverse trends. However, in 1996 Kraft which was then owned by Philip Morris aggressively cut prices by 20 % for its Post brand in am attempt to gain market share. Kellogg son followed with a 19 percent price cut on two-third of its brands and General Mills quickly did the same. However, this too did not change the consumption pattern the growth rates of which remained flat and revenues then started going down for all the branded cereals (Hill, Jones, 2009, p. 52).The trend continued in 2000s also and the situation worsened with the private-label sales continuing to make inroads, gaining over 10 percent of the market. To top it all off, the sales of breakfast cereals started to contract at 1 percent per annum and the period between 1998-2001 saw the market leader Kellogg sliding down to the 2nd position for the first time in its history since its inception in 1906, by General Mills that continued to launch expensive price and promotion campaigns. To cover the rising cost General Mills raised prices in 2001 and competitors soon followed the trend.However, both Kellogg and General Mills tried to move further away from price competition in the industry by diversifying and focusing on brand extensions such as Special K on the behalf of Kellogg and new varieties of Cheerios. Special K was instrumental and helping Kellogg recapturing its market leadership position from General Mills and this renewed focus on non-price competitio n halted years of damaging price warfare (Hill, Jones, 2009, p. 52). Target markets The breakfast cereal industry targets several diverse markets but focuses upon two large ones namely the baby boomers and their children.Since a high proportion of the baby boomers are highly educated, health appeals are paramount. Thus many brands have placed emphasis on various types of oat-bran cereal. The other sizeable market, targeted to children is also highly developed. Various brands have successfully used sports personality and trade characters such as Tony the Tiger to attract the children towards their products and retain brand loyalty. The breakfast cereal industry has been adept at target market segmentation and promoting favorable brand images.The strategy of the overall industry especially Kellogg, the market leader, has been to provide a comprehensive assortment for the retailers targeting specific market segments (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 109-111) Competition Breakfast cereal indust ry faces competition from hand-held breakfast products such as bagels, muffins, doughnuts etc. These have in fact led to a decrease in the growth of the breakfast cereal industry. The industry also faces competition from frozen waffles, pancakes, and French toast brands which have proved to be a concern both in the past and the present.Many analysts consider that the competition is due to the change in dietary habits, though some also say that this has been due to th increase in cereal prices for the branded segment (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 112-113). Advertisements and Promotional activities From the time of WH Kellogg, the breakfast cereal industry has been dependent on marketing strategies and expensive promotions. In fact in 1909 itself the advertisement budget of Kellogg had reached 1 million per annum. Needless to say this is a major problem in the industry which has become price sensitive in present times.This activity has led to a decrease in profits and considering that the market share has not increased since the 1990s, this has become even more of a problem. There were also many insufficiencies generated by coupons and in-store promotions. For instance, more than 95 percent of the cereal coupons were thrown away and not redeemed and approximately half of the promotional expenditures did not reach the consumers in the form of lower prices. Because of these inefficiencies, as well as congressional investigations and competitive treats, the breakfast cereal industry has moved to lower prices.As the returns earned by the cereal manufacturers exceed most other grocery products, there is fierce competition among manufacturers (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 113-114). Factors contributing to success and failure There are a combination of variables that contribute to the successes and failure of the breakfast cereal industry. These variables and strategies include innovation, target-market segmentation, image, physical environment resources, and human resources. Such factors must be combined in various degrees for success. The breakfast cereal industry has shown innovation in product and packaging strategies.In addition to this, breakfast snack bars are a new innovation. The image of the breakfast cereal industry has been positive enough to withstand the assault of private-label brand sot a large extent. Also cereal manufacturers with their successful track records and huge advertisement budgets do not have much difficulty in convincing retailers to give their new product introduction a chance. In 1970s, Kellogg designed shelf space allocation programs for supermarkets. Sophisticated computers and programs developed by members of the breakfast cereal industry now help to allocate shelf space according to turnover.The breakfast cereal industry has also been successful in designing packaging for shipping and for display purposes. To sell their product brands and retain the company brand value, the breakfast cereal manufacturers have developed the strategy that links the brand name to the company name instead to identifying brand products by their individual brand names. For instance, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies and Special K, as well as General Mills’ Total Raisin Bran and Total Corn Flakes use this strategy. To fend off private brand competition by offering product line depth and high brand identification (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 114-115).