Marketing Mix & Marketing Mix Planning with Nutritional Supplements Assignment

Marketing Mix & Marketing Mix Planning with Nutritional Supplements - Assignment Example All in all, in marketing their products and services, business people should develop marketing strategies that are based on crucial and effective marketing considerations and decisions. 1.) Identify the type of product/service (convenience, shopping, specialty, unsought), and explain in your own words what marketing considerations need to be made for my product/service (Nutritional Supplements) based on this product classification. Based on the criteria of how consumers go about in purchasing them and how they are marketed, consumer products can be classified into four main types. To start with, we have shopping products which involve products that are bought by consumers less frequently (Doole & Lowe, 2005). Secondly, there exist convenience products which entail those that are frequently purchased by customers (Evans & Wurster, 1997). Thirdly, we have specialty products. These include products with unique features or brands and those that catch the attention of a particular class of customers who are willing to make a special buying effort (Taylor, 2009). Finally, we have unsought products which involve products that are not known to the consumer or if known, the consumer has never thought of purchasing them (Evans & Wurster, 1997). Using this classification, nutritional supplements can be said to belong to the category of specialty products. There are four main marketing considerations that can be made by nutritional supplements marketers and marketers of specialty products in general. The first consideration is the customer’s buying behavior. Here, buyers go in for strong and appealing brands. These consumers are normally loyal to specific brands and they are usually less sensitive to prices (Doole & Lowe, 2005). The second consideration is the price. According to Taylor, like in the case of most specialty products, the pricing of nutritional supplements can

The field of Image Processing refers Essay Example for Free

The field of Image Processing refers Essay The field of Image Processing refers to processing digital images by means of digital computer. One of the main application areas in Digital Image Processing methods is to improve the pictorial information for human interpretation. Most of the digital images contain noise. This can be removed by many enhancement techniques. Filtering is one of the enhancement techniques which is used to remove unwanted information (noise) from the image. It is also used for image sharpening and smoothening. Some neighborhood operations work with the values of the image pixels in the neighborhood and the corresponding values of a sub image that has the same dimensions as the neighborhood. The sub image is called a â€Å"filter†. The aim of this project is to demonstrate the filtering techniques by performing different operations such as smoothening, sharpening, removing the noise etc. This project has been developed using Java language because of its universal acceptance and easy understandability. The Image Processing is based on client-server model. A client sends a request with image that is to be processed to the server computer. The server computer receives the image and process it according to client request and sends the result back to the client machine. Keywords— Image Processing, Human Interpretation, Filtering, Smoothening \ INTRODUCTION Interest in digital image processing methods stems from two principal application areas: improvement of pictorial information for human interpretation; and processing of image data for storage, transformation, and representation for autonomous machine perception. An image may be defined as a two-dimensional function, f(x , y), where x and y are spatial coordinates, and the amplitude of f at any pair of coordinates (x , y) is called the intensity or gray level of the image at the point. When x, y, and the amplitude values of f are all finite, discrete quantities, we call the image a digital image. The field of digital image processing refers to processing digital images by means of digital computer. Digital image is composed of finite number of elements, each of which has a particular location and value. These elements are referred to as picture elements, image elements, pels, and pixels. Pixel is the term most widely used to denote the elements of a digital image. Sometimes a distinction is made by defining image processing as a discipline in which both the input and output of a process are images. Filters are one of digital image enhancement technique used to sharp the image and to reduce the noise in the image. There are two types of enhancement techniques called Spatial domain and Frequency domain techniques which are categorized again for smoothing and sharpening the images. LITERATURE SURVEY AND OUTCOME The Enhancement Techniques make information more visible. The various types of image processing techniques are as follows. A. Histogram equalization- Redistributes the intensities of the image of the entire range of possible intensities (usually 256 gray-scale levels). Unsharp masking-Subtracts smoothed image from the original image to emphasize intensity changes. B. Convolution- It is a technique in which 3-by-3 masks operating on pixel neighborhoods. Highpass filter-Emphasizes regions with rapid intensity changes. Lowpass filter-Smoothes images, blurs regions with rapid changes. C. Math processes- In this technique, It performs a variety of functions. Add images-Adds two images together, pixel-by-pixel. Subtract images-Subtracts second image from first image, pixel by pixel. Exponential or logarithm-Raises e to power of pixel intensity or takes log of pixel intensity. Nonlinearly accentuates or diminishes intensity variation over the image. Scaler add, subtract, multiply, or divide-Applies the same constant values as specified by the user to all pixels, one at a time. Scales pixel intensities uniformly or non-uniformly Dilation-Morphological operation expanding bright regions of image. Erosion-Morphological operation shrinking bright regions of image. D. Noise filtering- It decreases noise by diminishing statistical deviations. Adaptive smoothing filter-Sets pixel intensity to a value somewhere between original value and mean value corrected by degree of noisiness. Good for decreasing statistical, especially single-dependent noise. Median filter-Sets pixel intensity equal to median intensity of pixels in neighborhood. An excellent filter for eliminating intensity spikes. Sigma filter-Sets pixel intensity equal to mean of intensities in neighborhood within two of the mean. Good filter for signal-independent noise. PROBLEM FORMULATION AND METHODOLOGY The System Model We consider a cloud computing model for image processing system. The system will be designed in such a way that the processing of image is performed on server machine rather than client machine. In this, client sends the image with its required request of processing to server machine to process it accordingly. The server machine receives the request and process it and finally send back the result to client machine. Existing System: In the Existing System, A number of image processing techniques, in addition to enhancement techniques, can be applied to improve the data usefulness. Techniques include convolution edge detection, mathematics, filters, trend removal, and image analysis. The Image processing is performed to client computer itself so the overhead to client computer increases due to processing of Image. Proposed System: The proposed system can be summarized as the following three aspects: Most of the digital images contains noise. This can be removed by many enhancement techniques. Filtering is one of the enhancement techniques which is used to remove unwanted information (noise) from the image. It is also used for image sharpening and smoothening.. The Image Processing is based on client-server model. A client sends a request with image that is to be processed to the server computer. The server computer receives the image and process it according to client request and sends the result back to the client machine. The image processing is performed on server computer so there is much less overhead on client computer to process an image. Work done In Image processing methodology, we study the different types of enhancement techniques like noise filtering, image sharpening, image smoothening etc. with the help of different references. Now finally we concluded how to complete this project and we prepared some modules that will be present in our project. And to complete this project we require minimum system requirement and project specification as follows: SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT: Operating system: windows 98/XP or later versions Tool: Java Frames HARDWARE ENVIRONMENT: Processor : Pentium III RAM : 64 MB Harddisk : 2. 1GB Processor speed : 512 MHZ Modules: User/client: In this module user selects an image through GUI. Request: It is a module that belongs to client side that generate request message for server. Process: It’s the module lying on server side that processes the image sent by the client. Reply: It is also a server site module that forward the result after processing of element to client machine. Server: In this module, server machine receives the request from client process it and reply back the result to client. CONCLUSIONS The objective of the project is to smooth and sharp the images by using various Filtering techniques. Where Filtering techniques are one of the enhancement techniques in the Digital image processing. Here in the project I had implemented few spatial domain filters and frequency domain filters. Where spatial domain filters removes the noise and blurs the image. And frequency domain filters are used to sharpen the inside details of an image. The Image Processing is based on client-server model. A client sends a request with image that is to be processed to the server computer. The server computer receives the image and process it according to client request and sends the result back to the client machine. Filters are useful in many application areas as medical diagnosis, Army and Industrial areas. REFERENCES Gonzalez, Rafael; Steve Eddins (2008). 4. Digital Image Processing (2nd ed. ). Mc Graw Hill. p. 163. Tinku Acharya and Ajoy K. Ray (2006). Image Processing Principles and Applications. Wiley InterScience. Wilhelm Burger and Mark J. Burge (2007). Digital Image Processing: An Algorithmic Approach Using Java. Springer. ISBN 1-84628-379-5. R. Fisher, K (2002). Digital Image Processing. Springer. ISBN 3-540-67754-2. Milan Sonka, Vaclav Hlavac and Roger Boyle (1999). Image Processing, Analysis, and Machine Vision. PWS Publishing. Tim Morris (2004). Computer Vision and Image Processing. Palgrave Macmillan.

Courtly Love in The Canterbury Tales

Courtly Love in The Canterbury Tales In all periods, in all forms of literature, love has always found its place within the words of its authors. The ideas and meanings readers create about love can change drastically from one reading of a text to another. However, it is safe to say that when reading a tale of courtly love, the type of love is immediately recognizable thanks to the peculiar behaviour, desires, and extreme heartache of the characters. The experience of love the characters feel is put to an extreme that is unrecognizable to what we know as modern day love. Almost all of the Canterbury Tales contain love and lovers who act upon the conventions and standards of courtly love. Chaucer was greatly influenced by the courtly romance of his predecessors. In this paper I intend to give a brief history of courtly love and explore the influences of courtly love on Chaucer and how it is echoed within his Canterbury Tales. It is difficult to define courtly love when scholars such as C.S Lewis, D.W Robertson, E.Talbot Donaldson and Gaston Paris disagree with both the nature and origin of it. Alexander J. Denomy puts it nicely as he defines courtly love as a type of sensual love and what distinguishes it from other forms of sexual love, from mere passion, from so-called platonic love, from married love, is its purpose or motive, its formal object, namely, the lovers progress and growth in natural goodness, merit, and worth. Courtly love contains an important social component. In the poetry of the troubadours, social promotion is an important theme, particularly when it comes to love. William of Poitriers is the highest of nobility as he is the first troubadour. He proclaimed that love can transform a courtly man into a churl, and a churl into a courtly man. The troubadours find it very important that the woman whose love they seek must be of some nobility, at the same time, they claim that love, though u nrequited, makes them better, inspiring in them an emulation of the beloved through which they hope to become worthy of the elevated love for which they long (Manson 239-240). Courtly love is a highly ritualized practice. Generally, courtly love is practiced only between a woman and a man of noble status who are not married. Usually the characters would be a squire, or a knight and a woman with an aristocratic background. Courtly love is seen as ideal and above intercourse. True love was seen to only exist outside of marriages. Marriages had nothing to do with love as they were arranged more often than not. Having a wife was looked at the same way as owning another piece of property to a husband. The medieval teaching of marriage focused on Pagan and Christian views. The first purpose of marriage is to multiply the human race; the second purpose of marriage is to avoid fornication. Kelly states that other motives were admissible, too, especially the nobler ones of peace-making or the encouragement of love between in-laws, but also less noble ones of desire for the intendeds beauty or wealthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦mutual love between the spouses is notably absent fr om their lists (Kelly pg 247). In the common society of the medieval world there is ordinary love. Some of Chaucers tales are of ordinary love; these tales are called fabliaux. It is easy for one to spot fabliaux from a courtly love tale as the characters in fabliauxs react to lust; they react to love in its most non complex state, its natural state. All forms of love begin with lust, but to be able to master the art of courtly love, one must take themselves out of the simple state of lust and take it to a superior extremely sensual state of love; its power is elevated to a point of worship. In order to achieve this sense of love the man has to endure suffering for the love he seeks. After he goes through the suffering he is able to rise above the lust and begin to serve the women with courageous deeds and beautiful language. An example of one of Chaucers fabliauxs is The Millers Tale. This tale is lusty and vulgar yet the characters, although somewhat immoral, have more depth and personality than the characters in The Knights Tale. Above I have noted that marriage is not typically placed in with courtly love tradition, although in his book The Allegory of Love, C.S. Lewis states that adultery does have its place in courtly love. He suggests that a wife is no superior. As the wife of another, above all as the wife of a great lord, she may be queen of beauty and loveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but as your own wife, for whom you have bargained with her father, she sinks at once from a lady to a mere woman (36-27). Chaucer plays upon this idea in The Millers Tale. It is a criticism of courtly tradition, it is similar to The Franklins Tale and The Merchants Tale in that it is about a young squire who cuckolds another mans wife and enters into an affair. Even though it is not traditional for courtly love to be associated w ith a married woman both The Franklins Tale and The Merchants tale use this idea of stealing a mans wife. Both of the young squires, Damian and Aurelius covet another mans wife, but of course only one commits adultery. On the other hand, The Knights Tale is not at all fabliaux and represents much of the courtly love tradition. Arcite and Palamon are both characters of noble status, and they are the best and ideal of their type. Chaucer does a wonderful job glorifying his characters to perfection, he makes certain that the reader knows how noble, courageous, and beautiful his characters are, that gretter was ther noon under the sonne (863). These characters embody the standards of courtly love; Arcite suffers extreme love pains for Emelye as he has his freedom but does not have access to her. Arcites anguish is so great because he cannot see Emelye that it physically changes him. Palamon can not even recognize him. It is made quiet clear that there has never been anyone to feel the pains of love as bad as what Arcite felt. Theseus even acknowledges the extremes of love-sickness when he asks who may been a fool but if he love? (1799). Palamon also suffers love pains for Emelye as although he can see her through bars, he will never be able to be with her, he will never be able to touch her. Both men suffer for her, and later in the tale both men perform courageous deeds when they decide to fight each other for the chance of being with Emelye. The language in The Knights Tale is quiet extreme and takes every event to a heightened level. Theseus builds a battlefield for the two knights to battle on and he refers to it as a noble theatre as it was / I dar wel seyen in this world ther nas (1885-1886). Thus further embodying the greatness of courtly love. Andreas Capellanus was surely an influence for Chaucer when it comes to courtly love. De Arte Honeste Amandi is essentially a hand book on how to love like a courtier written by Capellanus. Love is a certain inborn suffering derived from the sight of an excessive meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex, which causes each one to wish above all things the embraces of the otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Capellanus 40). First is the sexual desire, and then is the excessive meditation on the womens beauty which makes the lover rise above his lust to a realm of innocent passion that makes only the embrace of the love he seeks meaningful. Throughout Capellanuss hand book on how to love like a courtier are examples of problems in which lovers know no answers. One example of a situation is, if a lover dies, how long one must wait until she may seek a new love (Capellanus 49). The answer is two years. Chaucer uses this span of two years in The Franklins Tale, and it strikingly resembles that of wh ich is read in Capellanuss De Arte Honeste Amandi. In The Franklins Tale Arvergus is sent away for two years on duty. The squire Aurelius has loved Dorigen for two years, and he prays to the gods that the waters stay higher than the rocks for two years, and suffers love sickness for two years. As well, after two years of Dorigens husband beings away she considers having an affair. Another influence on Chaucers writing was Guillaume de Lorris Le Roman de la Rose. In this love affair the protagonist greatly suffers for his love. He shows all of the symptoms of love-sickness, as well he listens to the commands given to him by the god of Love. The commands become expected for the young knights in following works of courtly love. Many of Chaucers concepts in The Canterbury Tales derived from the courtly ideas in the Rose. An example of how the rose is interrelated with Chaucers work is how The Franklins Tale and The Knights Tale resemble it. In the poem a young man is wandering in a garden. He leans over and looks into a well of narcissus; this glance into the well causes him to fall in love with the first thing he sets his eyes upon. When they young lover sees a rose bud, cupid shoots an arrow at him; it enters though his eye and penetrates his heart. The young man removes the shaft from his eye but he will forever have the arrow head lodged into his heart. This i dea of love at first sight has held its own place in literature throughout centuries. Chaucer mirrors this representation of an arrow in the heart in The Franklins Tale and The Knights Tale. Aurelius suffers from love, although he appears fine on the outside a keen arrow stuck within his soul / A wound thats only surface-healed can be / A perilous thing, you know in surgery / unless the arrowhead be taken out (435-438). In The Knights Tale Palamon is struck by love through the eye, I have been hurt this moment through they eye, / Into my heart (42-43). In both cases the wounded lovers are inflicted of the gods love, and both will suffer for the one they love. The medieval period in English Literature spends a lot of time being concerned with love and lovers, surely more than any other period. Almost every one of The Canterbury Tales discusses love is some manifestation or another and almost all encounter lovers. Chaucer was neither an enemy nor a companion of courtly love. With him the concept remained unchallenged, serviceable for dealing with love elegantly and useless for dealing with it seriously (Eliason 15). He takes inspiration from authors before him and adds an element of courtly love into his own work that develops the idea with a new sense of creativity and intelligence.

Free Essay on Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia - Playing God :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Playing God: A Role That Shouldn't Be Cast All humans will die. Approximately 2,155,000 people from the United States will die in one year. In the United States, during the year of 1989, 34% of all deaths were caused by heart disease, 23% caused by cancer, 6% by strokes, and 2.2% by accidents involving motor vehicles. In that same year, 5.5% of the deaths were caused by medical negligence and suicide (Leading causes). This does not take into consideration the number of people who were killed by assisted suicide and euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is described as the intentional discontinuation, by the patient's physician, of vital treatment that could prolong the person's life. Assisted suicide occurs when a health care worker provides a patient with tools and/or medication that will help the patient kill him or herself, without the direct intervention of the care provider. Active euthanasia takes place when the doctor is responsible for the killing of the patient; for example, when the doctor administers a lethal injection (S chofield, 25). Active euthanasia is illegal in the United States. Only three states have legalized assisted suicide and only Oregon permits physician-assisted suicide. Thirty-five states, including Colorado, have statutes criminalizing assisted suicide and nine states criminalize assisted suicide through common law (Assisted suicide laws). In addition to active and passive euthanasia there are three other categories of euthanasia: voluntary, nonvoluntary, and involuntary. Voluntary, there is written or spoken consent from the patient; nonvoluntary, the patient can not voice his or her opinion because of unconsciousness or comatose; and involuntary, which goes against the wishes of the patient, and constitutes murder (Schofield, 26). Assisted suicide and euthanasia, in any form, are murder. "People are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to them" (Vaticana, 550). To decide if euthanasia is wrong, one must first decide whom life belongs to. The Bible says, "In God's hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind" (Job 12:10). Life belongs to God and since God gave life to the human race, God should decide when it is time to take life. Also, the fifth commandment says, "Thou shall not kill." Assisted suicide and euthanasia disobey this commandment. Supporters of euthanasia argue that the First Amendment "forbids the establishment of religion" and therefore one can't say life belongs to God. However, in the case of Bowers versus Hardwick in 1986, the Supreme Court ruled "that citizens in a democracy may vote away individual rights, even if that vote is based ultimately on nothing but religious faith" (Bowden).

Political and Legal Forces Essay

Political and legal forces are two of the three most important aspects for a business, with social forces being the third. Politics is a changing scene, and the rules and laws will change not regularly but often enough. Different elected parties have different feelings about certain business practices and use or alter the laws to change these. The same comes into play with trading in other countries. Organizations, especially the European Union, have a lot of rules for their member states with regards to production, distribution, content, health benefits, and many more. What are political forces? Political forces are governments and unilateral bodies that decree certain rules, regulations, laws or restrictions with regards the way a country is run. This siphons down into everyday life, especially business. Businesses cannot avoid these unless they move countries, and then there’s the issue of the attention this draws. More often than not they simply have to adapt. An example i s taxation. If taxation rises for companies then so does the price of the goods. If taxation rises in general then wages have to be increased thus making production values higher and prices for goods increase further. †¢What are legal forces? Legal forces are the types of law and legislation that a political body introduces. A government or state-body like the E. U may decide, for example, that advertising chocolate around children’s television is inappropriate, and thus ban them from advertising on children’s channels and during set time periods. This is a legal constraint. †¢How do we adapt? You have to evaluate the situation. If you’re being taxed more then the simple solution is to raise prices. However, this may upset the consumer, so you need to weigh up whether it’s safer to take the decrease in profitability or whether you should only marginally increase the prices, thus reducing your loss and minimizing upset to the consumer. Other manners of political interference or legal restriction can occur. Realistically you just have to make them part of your business model. Defying the law can result in punishment, such as fines and even closure

The Wanderer

I sat there on the bus, contemplating the abnormal events of the day and staring at the thick snow that lay outside. It was a long bus journey back to my house and I had a long time to spend with the not particularly talkative driver. I think the driver had become accustomed to my presence as I travelled on the bus every Friday night. He would always let me on the bus without charging me and wait for another ten minutes and see if anyone else got on, which they never did. I had not, for as long as I remember had a conversation with him, and had for a long time now forgotten the sound of his voice. The only sound I would hear on a typical journey was the quiet grumbling of the bus driver and the loud roaring of the buses engine. Nobody got on the bus this late at night. I was as I was saying, contemplating the events of the day, when I was interrupted mid thought by a more pressing realization. The bus was now stopping. This may seem a very normal thing for a bus to do, this bus however never stopped except for myself. The bus had stopped to let on another passenger. I looked forward to this, as my usual journey would include no human interaction. The passenger was a man, that I guessed to be in his mid thirties. I took a quick look up and down him. I looked up and down him again with a bit more detail. No snow, he must have been standing at the bus stop for a little while, as buses never come on time, yet he had avoided getting any snow on him. My own boots were cased in a think slushy mess, but his fine black shoes were hardly even wet. My jeans and thick jacket, which I was quite fond of, were no longer covered in snow but were wet from the snow that had melted in the comfortable warmth of the bus. His trousers that had been ironed to perfection and the suit that he wore were both black as midnight and looked of incredible quality. The man himself was bald and was cleanly shaven; he was yet to face me as he was talking to the bus driver. He carried nothing in his hands but kept his body still with his arms by his sides while talking. I started to hear their conversation after I was done scanning his person. â€Å"Shame that it had to happen isn't it?† The bus driver said in a burst of conversation. This in itself came as a shock to my system; it was such a long time since the bus driver had spoken in my presence. What was a real shock is what came next. â€Å"Yes, the poor elderly lady must have been quite shaken by the ordeal.† replied the stranger. His voice was eerie. He talked normally of course, but that was the problem, it was too normal. He voice stayed at the same volume and pitch all the time, he didn't change the level of excitement in his voice. He had no accent, he spoke perfectly and I was surprised to find that the bus driver, who had a strong accent, could understand him. It was then I realised that they were in fact talking about what they had interrupted me thinking about. Earlier in my day I had witnessed an attack on an elderly lady. A young teenager had an interest in her handbag and its contents. My good nature combined with my belief that today's youth should not be able to do as they please, caused me to leap into action. I had started shouting at the young boy and walking towards him, I expected him to run away and that to be the end of it. I pushed the boy back from the old lady and told her that she would be okay and should hurry home. It was after this as I was swinging round to give the boy a stern talking to, that I felt a sharp blow to my neck and then it was black. I woke up about two minutes later with a bit of a sore neck but otherwise unharmed. The stranger walked down the bus and sat at a seat just in front of mine. I had seen his face as he walked down but there was nothing interesting about it, apart from the fact there was nothing interesting about it. He sat with the same amazingly straight posture as when he was standing. â€Å"Where you gettin' off then?† the driver cried down the bus. â€Å"Crescent Road† the stranger replied. â€Å"Oh, surprise surprise† the bus driver chuckled to himself. The stranger didn't understand what the bus driver was talking about but I did. The bus driver still only had to make the one stop because mine and the stranger's stops were in fact the same. I thought this to be a remarkable coincidence. I returned to watching the snow falling gently outside. The night sky seemed to give me the impression that tonight was different in some way to every other night. I was snapped out of this small trance by the stranger standing and making his way to the front of the bus. Fortunately he was on the bus to remind me that at some point I would have to get off, and up I leapt. The bus pulled in to the stop as I staggered to keep my balance. The stranger moved to the side to let me past and to say thank you to the driver. I got off the bus and stepped onto the crisp snow that had just fallen. The stranger followed and we started on our way home. The stranger barged past me and started to walk briskly. I thought this to be quite rude and so I started to walk just as briskly to catch up with him. Even when in a hurry the man walked with impeccable posture. â€Å"I much prefer the summer to this.† I said jokingly in an attempt to spark a conversation. The man simply took a deep breath and proceeded to walk more slowly. I walked beside him, he looked quite troubled. I felt compelled to try and comfort him. I reached to put my hand on his shoulder as my brain prepared my next sentence. He stopped. His head darted in the direction of my face. It was not that he was looking at me, more that he was looking exactly in my direction. His look was empty and cold. He continued on his way and I kept my distance, I hoped he would enter one of the houses that we were passing but he didn't. He continued to wander the same way as I was. He wandered across the small road we came to and up onto the footpath that lead up to my cul-de-sac. The road was known for being dangerously icy. The path was also terribly dark and had trees along either side. This was all well and good during the daylight hours, but at night however the trees took on a more sinister presence and seemed to position themselves to block out the view of the moon or any other source of light. In front of me was the man, no more than five metres away. I could only just make out his suit and trousers. I could only just make out his shape. He was getting further away from me. I was trying to navigate the slippier parts of the path. â€Å"Are you having as much trouble as I am?† I exclaimed trying again to get the attention of the wanderer. â€Å"Don't be silly† the wanderer turned and said. I could only just make out his face and was unsure whether he was talking to me or himself. Before I could come to this decision he turned and started the brisk walking again. I followed to catch up with him and was looking for him through the black screen that was in front of my eyes. I hit the ground. It hurt and I was catching up on what had just happened. I had tripped up on the shape of the wandering man. He had fallen in on the ice and from what I could see had hit his head off the ground. I leant over to help him up but was knocked away as he lifted himself off the hard frozen ground. He held his hand to his head, and I was now quite worried about him, he looked like he had hit the ground with some force. He looked very frightened and was almost running along the road. We exited the small wooded path and to a fork in the road. I could see my house from here it was the first in the cul-de-sac on the right. The wandering stranger made his way along the road to the left and I felt it was my duty to follow him and to see if he was okay. Luckily for him his house was not far along the road and he entered the front gate of an impressive looking building, the wanderer had found his home. He left the gate open for me and I entered the garden. He entered the house and I followed. I stood in his porch as he rushed upstairs. I heard the sound of running water and I assumed that he was cleaning himself up. He returned a short while after and came slowly down the stairs. He was talking to a woman which I can only presume was his wife. â€Å"I am fine really, I just got a bit shook up along the path there† the man said. â€Å"I do worry about you, you know† Replied his wife â€Å"Look what happened to that kind gentleman in town today. He helps an old lady get her handbag back and gets beaten to death† I stood there baffled, and felt a shiver down my spine. I started to feel myself slipping away as I struggled with the events of the day. I had stopped wandering, I had found my home and I knew where I had to go†¦

An inexperienced nurse looking after a diabetic Essay Example

An inexperienced nurse looking after a diabetic Essay Example An inexperienced nurse looking after a diabetic Essay An inexperienced nurse looking after a diabetic Essay The facts of the inquiry province that the nurse increased the dosage of the patient’s insulin with ‘no prescription from the doctor’ . The first inquiry we must inquire is whether or non Insulin is a prescription merely medicine [ P.O.M. ] ; if it is, it would look that the nurse in inquiry was moving in breach of s58 ( 2 ) ( B ) of the Medicines Act 1968 which provinces, that no individual shall administrate a POM unless he is an appropriate practician or a individual moving in conformity with the waies of an appropriate practician. If we can presume that the drug was administered intravenously, which is the standard method of presenting insulin into a human organic structure ; by virtuousness of the Medicines ( Products Other Than Veterinary Drugs ) ( Prescription Merely ) Amendment Order 1988, Insulin should non be considered a P.O.M. : Article 2 of this Order provinces, â€Å" [ n ] otwithstanding Article 3 ( 1 ) ( vitamin D ) , any readying of insulin for parenteral [ 1 ] disposal to human existences shall non be a prescription merely medical specialty. The nurse in inquiry was therefore non obliged to obtain a written, or verbal, prescription prior to administrating the drug. We must presume, despite the fact that we are told that the nurse is ‘inexperienced’ , that he or she was to the full trained to administrate endovenous medicine ; after all, we are besides told that the nurse was delegated the duty of ‘looking after a diabetic patient with unstable diabetes’ , administrating a ‘dose of insulin [ of ] 12 units per hour’ , connoting that she is to the full qualified to present drugs in this manner ; rule 7 of the NMC ( 2004 ) a provinces, â€Å"a rehearsing accoucheuse shall merely provide and administrate those medical specialties, including anodynes, in regard of which she has received the appropriate preparation as to utilize, dose and methods of administration.† If the nurse did non hold such competency, so irrespective of the fact that he or she had been delegated to this patient, under s1.18 of the NMC ( 2004 ) , the nurse is responsible for informing her higher-ups of her deficiency of equal prepara tion, and merely undertaking pattern and accepting duties for those activities in which he/she is competent. Sing any possible civil jurisprudence claim of carelessness against the nurse: it should be noted foremost, that it is improbable that the patient would of all time convey such an action against the single nurse ; after all, the true purpose of such claims is to retrieve fiscal compensation, compensation which is more likely available from the Health Authority employer of that nurse, who can be held vicariously apt for any carelessness of its staff. Second, if such a claim was to be brought against the nurse, her rawness would non itself provide a defense mechanism, nor a lowering of the criterion of attention which the jurisprudence would anticipate of her ; in the instance of Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority [ 1987 ] [ 2 ] the bulk of the tribunal rejected the statement that what was expected of an single health care practician was what was moderately to be expected of a individual of his makings andexperience. As Lord Justice Mustill remarked in this instance, to take the pra ctitioner’s subjective experience into history when puting the range of his/her responsibility of attention would imply that â€Å"the criterion of attention which the patient is entitled to demand [ would ] vary harmonizing to the opportunity of enlisting and rostering. [ 3 ] † Therefore, whilst the nurse is improbable to confront a civil jurisprudence claim in the civil wrong of carelessness, if she does, she will be expected to hold acted with the same due attention and diligence that would hold been expected of anyone of her occupation description, irrespective of her existent experience within that place [ 4 ] . Likewise, the nurse is expected to hold a good sense of when it will be necessary to seek more specialist advice from a superior [ 5 ] , and one such method of cognizing his/her competency is by mention to the NMC ( 2004 ) . In our instance, it is implied that the nurse did seek such advice from her higher-ups, for non merely was she ‘pressurised by a nursing co-worker to increase the dosage of insulin’ , but she besides clearly contacted the supervision physician, for ‘he said he [ would ] come to the ward to order [ the insulin ] subsequently when is free’ . In visible radiation of this reading, it is really improbable that the nurse would of all time be considered carelessness at civil jurisprudence, even if her misguided actions so went on tocause[ 6 ] personal hurt to the patient ; â€Å"If [ the practician ] does seek such aid, he will frequently hold satisfied the trial [ of rationality ] , even though he may himself hold made a error. [ 7 ] † Sing possible condemnable liability originating from breach of the Medicines Act 1968 ( as amended ) or the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, as stated earlier, there is nil within the facts of this inquiry which suggest that the nurse acted reprehensively ; she was following the instructions of both a more-experienced nurse and, presumptively, the oversing physician besides, and she administered a drug which is non a P.O.M. There is some counsel provided pertaining to where a nurse has identified an mistake in the dose of medicine NMC ( 2004 ) : where a nurse has identified an mistake in the disposal of a drug to a patient, a 2nd practician should look into any complex drug computations. In our instance, the nurse should hold checked the computations of her co-worker, who pressured her into amending the dose. If the nurse did non execute these collateral computations, so there is small uncertainty that she would be deemed to hold breached the NMC ( 2004 ) guidelines, which might travel some manner towards turn outing carelessness should such a civil action arise. The NMC ( 2004 ) guidelines besides province that a nurse or accoucheuse should non administrate or alter medicine which has been ‘drawn up by another practitioner’ ; in our instance, the nurse might hold altered the physicians dose, but she had informed the physician of her concerns, and he had expressed his consent to such amendments in saying that he would fix a prescription to consequence the alterations in dose. If the nurse is found to be in breach of the professional codifications of behavior in respects to the misadministration of medicine, the fact that she was pressured into such behaviors should supply her with some defense mechanism to any ensuing disciplinary processs: As stated in the NMC ( 2004 ) , ‘where the mistake was the consequence of reckless or unqualified pattern or was concealed, and those that resulted from other causes, such as serious force per unit area of work, and where there was immediate, honest revelation in the patient’s interest’ . Sing any ethical concerns, as contained in the NMC codification of professional behavior of professional behavior: criterions for behavior, public presentation and moralss ( NMC, 2004b ) ; as stated earlier, the nurse is under an ethical responsibility to merely move within her competency, and where he or she knows him/herself to be excessively inexperient, it is his/her ain responsibility to forbear from that activity until advice has been sought and provided by a more experience practician. In this instance, there is non indicant that the nurse was in any manner in breach of her ethical responsibility in these respects. Mentions: Luxmore-May V Messenger May Baverstock [ 1990 ] 1 WLR 1009 Bolam V Friern Hospital Management Committee ( 1957 ) 1 WLR 583 Wilsher V Essex Area Health Authority [ 1987 ] Q.B. 730 The Medicines Act 1968 The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 The Medicines ( Products Other Than Veterinary Drugs ) ( Prescription Merely ) Amendment Order 1988 U.K.C.C. [ 1992 ] Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses, Midwives, and Health Visitors. UKCC, London Steadman, ( 2000 ) . Stedman s Medical Dictionary. Lippincott Williams A ; Wilkins ; 27th edition NMC ( 2004 ) Guidelines for the Administration of medical specialties. Nursing the Obstetrics Council, London. Nursing A ; Midwifery Council ( 2004a ) Midwifes regulations and criterions NMC, London Jackson, Powell and Stewart, ( 2002 ) . Jackson and Powell on Professional Negligence. Sweet and Maxwell Publishing. 19ThursdayDecember 2002. Pyne R, Accountability in rule and in pattern, British Journal of Nursing, Vol 1, No6, 1992, p301 – 304 Nursing A ; Midwifery Council ( 2004b ) NMC codification of professional behavior of professional behavior: criterions for behavior, public presentation and moralss NMC London.

Deforestation and Global Warming Essay Example

Deforestation and Global Warming Essay Example Deforestation and Global Warming Paper Deforestation and Global Warming Paper Essay Topic: Deforestation Farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock. Often many small farmers will each clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning them in a process known as slash and burn agriculture. Logging operations, which provide the worlds wood and paper products, also cut countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forests. This process just leads to further deforestation. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban populations. Hydroelectric dams are quite controversial because while they help to power communities, they also contribute to deforestation. Damming opponents believe that the building of such structures not only has a negative environmental impact, but it also opens up the area to loggers and more roads. To build a hydroelectric dam, acres of land must be flooded, which causes decomposition and release of greenhouse gases. Local people can also be displaced by dam projects, causing further deforestation when these people resettle elsewhere. Although not all deforestation is intentional, some s caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and subsequent overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees. Fires, both accidental and intended, destroy acres of forest very quickly. Areas affected by logging are more susceptible to fires due to the number of dried and dead trees. Milder winters and extended warm seasons due to global warming also helps fuel fires. For example, certain species of beetle that usually die off each winter are now able to survive and continue feeding on trees. This feeding causes the trees to die and dry out, making them more susceptible to fires. Effects of Deforestation Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. The most dramatic impact is a loss of habitat for millions of species. Seventy percent of Earths land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes. Soil erosion, while a natural process, is accelerated with deforestation. Trees and plants act as a natural barrier to slow water as it runs off the land. Roots bind the soil and prevent it from washing away. The absence of vegetation causes the topsoil to erode more quickly. Its difficult for plants to grow in the less nutritious soil that remains. Deforestation also drives climate change. Forest soils are moist, but without protection from sun blocking tree cover they quickly dry out. Trees also help perpetuate the water cycle by returning water vapor back into the atmosphere. Without trees to fill these roles, many former forest lands can quickly become barren deserts. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the suns rays during the day and holds in heat at night. This disruption leads to more extreme temperatures swings hat can be harmful to plants and animals. Trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming. Fewer forests mean larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. Scientists are finding more and more links between deforestation and global warming. The carbon footprint created by four years of deforestation is equal to the carbon footprint of every single air flight in the history of aviation up to the year 2025. Solutions for Deforestation The quickest solution to deforestation would be to simply stop cutting down trees. Though deforestation rates have slowed a bit in recent years, financial realities make this unlikely to occur. A more workable solution is to carefully manage forest resources by eliminating clear-cutting to make sure that forest environments remain intact. The cutting that does occur should be balanced by the planting of enough young trees to replace the older ones cut down around the world. Most deforested areas when left alone will eventually regenerate to fertile landscape. We can certainly plant more trees in a process called reforestation. In fact, many nonprofit organizations have popped up to support reforestation. Although the number of new trees planted each year is growing, their total still equals only a tiny fraction of the Earths forested land. Conclusion In conclusion, deforestation is a serious problem affecting all areas of the globe. The effects of deforestation are long lasting and devastating. Entire species of insects and animals have disappeared because of the destruction of their habitats. Scientists see that deforestation has a significant effect on climate change, or global warming. This alone should be enough to cause change in our approach to deforestation.

1912 Lawrence Textile Strike Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

1912 Lawrence Textile Strike - Essay Example This strike took place in, â€Å"Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912 and was led by the Industrial Workers of the World†.1 The strike has a variety of complex reasons for its establishment, but it’s broadly understood that it occurred as a response to the mill’s decision to lower wages after a law shortening the workweek was enacted. This essay examines a variety of issues surrounding the 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike and considers whether the strikers were justified in their actions. The city of Lawrence was founded in 1845 and quickly grew based on its productive textile industry. Even as the textile industry in the region greatly contributed to the region’s development, it’s clear it was also a highly problematic industry. With the turn of the century an influx of mechanization resulted in the gradual release of skilled laborers and an increasingly dangerous and demanding work environment. The large numbers of unskilled laborers, largely women, workin g in the textile industry gave the factory’s considerable leverage, further leading to arduous working conditions. Furthermore, â€Å"divisions between skilled and unskilled laborers were also strongly divided along ethnic lines, further contributing to growing tension in the region†.2 While there were instance of unionization through the United Textile Workers and the Industrial Workers of the World, it was generally recognized that unionization had not taken a strong hold in the area. With growing recognition of the poor working conditions in the region a new Massachusetts law was enacted that â€Å"reduced the number of house of work per week for women and children from 56 to 54†.3 Upon the implementation of the law, employers followed by reducing the weekly wages to match the change in hours. Workers at the Everett Cotton Mills discovered the reduction in pay and immediately left their looms, setting off the early stages of the strike. After this early stage , the Industrial Workers of the World became involved and further organized against the textile mills. Joseph Ettor took control of strike and put together a committee with representatives from each ethnic group working at the mill; the group’s demands were that the textile factories raise wages by â€Å"15% for the newly specified workweek, and provide double pay for overtime†.4 The strike resulted in a large-scale public conflict, with the city calling out a militia to confront the picketers. The militia turned a firehouse on the picketers and they responded by vandalizing many of the mills. These incidents resulted in a domino effect where the strike leaders were framed, the United Textile Workers (UTW) attempted to deter the deliberations, and children and mothers were clubbed for peaceful protest. This last act gathered national attention and resulted in a resolution being reached regarding the strike. Ultimately, â€Å"the textile companies, led by the American Woolen Company, capitulated to nearly all of the strikers’ demands†.5 These actions had a significant impact on labor as other factories in New England followed these policy changes worried about facing similar civil strife. In conclusion, there are a number of considerations that are made when one considers whether the strike was justified. While the strike was ultimately successful in that the workers had most of their demands met, it’s clear that there was considerable civil strife that resulted in these actions. While ostensibly it appears that such actions were not needed and the physical conflicts could have been avoided, one considers prominent civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X who indicated that oftentimes violence was necessary to enact significant public change. In this textile strike, civil change was not simply enacted in

Hacking Exposed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hacking Exposed - Essay Example Similarly, he could acquire social security numbers of many persons at reputed ranks. Lamo misused Times’ LexisNexis account with intent to conduct some researches on various high profile subjects. In the words of Poulsen (2002), Lamo clearly found out ‘seven misconfigured proxy servers’ that acted as the connecting link between public internet and Times’ private intranet. As a result of his discovery; any person, who properly configuring his Web browser could have accessed into Times’ private intranet. Adrian Lamo was a journalism student who was seeking a job. According to the report of Ewalt and Hulme (2004), Lamo thought that hacking high security networks would give him fame so that he could get a reputed job. Therefore, it is obvious that Lamo did not ever think of making money out of act. In most of his hacking cases, he has informed the companies regarding their flows in database. It is reported that Lamo informed The New York Times about the weaker areas of its database and it indicates that his act did not intend to deceive Times. The hacking activity of Lamo at The New York Times indicates that he was a grey hat hacker. Grey hat hackers apply their skills in order to prove their eligibilities and thereby achieve public stature (Grey Hat Hackers).

The assignment is to choose between problem 2 and 3 of the Problem Essay

The assignment is to choose between problem 2 and 3 of the Problem Solving Activities (pages 428 and 429) and prepare a word report of your findings - Essay Example If a student or the person applying has this information at hand then this stage will not be a problem to pass. I also found out that you can actually log into the website using your social media account which is very good considering the fact that almost every student have one or more social accounts. They especially use the Facebook accounts for verification and thus one doesn’t have to go through the rigorous process of filling in information because all will be obtained from the website itself. After feeding all the information correctly you will receive notification in your email account and thus you will use it to activate your account with my majors and access the services. On the website you will find several courses that you can major on after your undergraduate level and thus you get assisted on the way forward on how to select a course online. The website is easy to use and is helpful to all the students who would like to identify the areas of studies they would like t0o major on. It is essential to visit this site if you have an ambition to strengthen your studies by advancing it via majoring in specific fields. The website generally assist students achieve their

HST130SP4 The Fall of the Roman Republic 1000words Paper Essay

HST130SP4 The Fall of the Roman Republic 1000words Paper - Essay Example 269). Although these two statesmen were born in different eras and had different family backgrounds, both had marked similarities of thoughts and values aside from being novus homo or â€Å"new man†, along with Cicero. A novus homo is a Roman who got elected to the position of consul, the highest elected position in Rome then, even without having ascendants who were themselves consuls (Mellor 1999 p 40). One similar trait between Cato and Marius was their anti-Hellenistic attitudes. To Cato the Greeks personify material indulgence which was abhorrent to most Roman aristocrats. Cato who also held the position of a censura, the highest Roman magistrate, spoke against Romans who took to wearing Greek dresses, visited the gymnasium and imitated the hedonistic way of Greek lifestyle. Similarly, Marius looked down on Greeks as militarily inferior and refused to learn the Greek literature on the ground that it was ridiculous to learn from teachers who were subjugated by another people (Isaac 2006 pp 387-388). In addition, both men were ambitious although Marius was a little bit overambitious, as can be gleaned from the way they lived their lives, running for the consulship position after serving in wars, with Marius having been elected for seven times. Both are driven men: Cato in accumulating riches through accumulation of agricultural estates, and; Marius for glory in warfare and politic s (Humphrey 2006 pp 137-138; Boatwright, et al 2004 p172). In addition, the fact that both men were able to have themselves voted to the highest elected position, the first in their families, attest to their ambitious nature. Statesmen who rose to prominence on their own without the backing of ancestral nobility are examples of â€Å"the ideology of novitas,† a principle espoused by the likes of Cato, Marius and Cicero. The ideology put emphasis on personal valor rather than on the standard Roman aristocratic principle of ancestral right. Romans that

Competing Value Framework Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Competing Value Framework - Research Paper Example Similarly, other tools like Managerial Behavioral Instrument and Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument gives a concrete path to analyze the organization’s position and defines where it should have to be, and assists in rearranging the business from entire the culture of the organization to individual level (Yu & Wu, 2009). Discussion Confucius defined his techniques which are also known as The Great Learning regarding development of great nation is that one must focus and incline toward his state; to build the a great nation; you need to incline towards your family initially, and to develop a great family; first you need to nurture yourself; for nurturing oneself; one needs to dictate towards learning (Blocker & Starling, 2001). These techniques were written in 5th century B.C. for aspiring leaders and it is accepted until today and accredited. Therefore, if someone wants its organization to compete effectively globally, then the relevant and appropriate culture for the organization is needed to execute effective strategies. Therefore, we need to consider ourselves before entering into this type of transformation effectively. It is a fact that the Competing Values Framework is an essential and effective tool to use which assists in determining culture not only at the individual level but also at an organizational level. It also assists in developing the path for change in organizational culture that is important for strategies going to be implemented (Cameron, 2006). Common models of leadership have divided this popular area of leadership among different comparing categories. There are various examples regarding the comparison of leadership from the literature of leadership, for instance, task theory versus socio-emotional; Theory X versus Theory Y; transactional leadership versus transformational leadership; and participative leadership versus autocratic leadership (Van & Suino, 2012). It is also found that these theories cannot be used in larger comparison and there is no other such work that compares large mixtures to examine or analyze towards defining the required leaders' behavior and to what extent it is required in leaders (Hart & Quinn, 1993). It is also to mention here that these traditional models just make us think over such leadership and it shows limits of these models which further leads to inefficiency in defining the leadership effectively (Bensimon et al., 1989). However, Robert Quinn was among those who were in an argument of saying that leadership effectiveness needs simultaneous and balancing mastery of likely paradoxical or contradictory abilities; reflectiveness and decisiveness; incremental adjustments and bold moves; and people orientation as well as performance (Hart & Quinn, 1993). It is to mention here that Quinn’s model is based on CVF for analysis of organizations. Initially, it was developed from a research that was conducted for identifying the factors of effective organizations. Quinn and Rohrbaugh in 1983 identified two main dimensions essential for the effectiveness of organization based on their statistical outcomes. The first dimension refers to a focus on the organization, from focusing internally on the individual’s development and well-being in the organization towards an external or outside focus on organization’s development and well-being.  

Strategic Management for a Medium Sized Firm Research Paper

Strategic Management for a Medium Sized Firm - Research Paper Example This can be seen by the fact that customers are getting more educated. The access to the internet also balances the information asymmetry in the market making customers knowledgeable of the price and features of competing products. Customers look for products the way they want it. With this development, essential issues should be addressed by the company as firms are producing more than they can sell which significantly drives down prices. This situation poses more intense rivalry from competitors requiring companies to develop an efficient and sustainable strategy. For a medium-sized firm operating in a hypercompetitive industry which embarked on a follower strategy should seek to have a more effective marketing strategy. Follower strategies or "me too" strategies are only able to compete on price. Thus, followers are deemed to reduce prices forever, squeezing their margins and profitability. Possible strategic alternatives which it can bank on are differentiation and innovation strategies. Differentiation strategy in a hypercompetitive market is imperative and "not discretionary." As customers have higher bargaining leverage, a firm should introduce product features which adds value to its buyers. Instead of simply following the strategies and move of the market leader, a medium size firm should embark on developing innovative products. This is very important taking note of the fact that the market is unstable. Oftentimes, the case is that buyers are dissatisfied with the present alternatives and are looking for new options. Competition through differentiation and innovation are two strategic options which are always more effective than price competition. Â  

HST130SP4 The Fall of the Roman Republic 1000words Paper Essay

HST130SP4 The Fall of the Roman Republic 1000words Paper - Essay Example 269). Although these two statesmen were born in different eras and had different family backgrounds, both had marked similarities of thoughts and values aside from being novus homo or â€Å"new man†, along with Cicero. A novus homo is a Roman who got elected to the position of consul, the highest elected position in Rome then, even without having ascendants who were themselves consuls (Mellor 1999 p 40). One similar trait between Cato and Marius was their anti-Hellenistic attitudes. To Cato the Greeks personify material indulgence which was abhorrent to most Roman aristocrats. Cato who also held the position of a censura, the highest Roman magistrate, spoke against Romans who took to wearing Greek dresses, visited the gymnasium and imitated the hedonistic way of Greek lifestyle. Similarly, Marius looked down on Greeks as militarily inferior and refused to learn the Greek literature on the ground that it was ridiculous to learn from teachers who were subjugated by another people (Isaac 2006 pp 387-388). In addition, both men were ambitious although Marius was a little bit overambitious, as can be gleaned from the way they lived their lives, running for the consulship position after serving in wars, with Marius having been elected for seven times. Both are driven men: Cato in accumulating riches through accumulation of agricultural estates, and; Marius for glory in warfare and politic s (Humphrey 2006 pp 137-138; Boatwright, et al 2004 p172). In addition, the fact that both men were able to have themselves voted to the highest elected position, the first in their families, attest to their ambitious nature. Statesmen who rose to prominence on their own without the backing of ancestral nobility are examples of â€Å"the ideology of novitas,† a principle espoused by the likes of Cato, Marius and Cicero. The ideology put emphasis on personal valor rather than on the standard Roman aristocratic principle of ancestral right. Romans that

Strategic Management for a Medium Sized Firm Research Paper

Strategic Management for a Medium Sized Firm - Research Paper Example This can be seen by the fact that customers are getting more educated. The access to the internet also balances the information asymmetry in the market making customers knowledgeable of the price and features of competing products. Customers look for products the way they want it. With this development, essential issues should be addressed by the company as firms are producing more than they can sell which significantly drives down prices. This situation poses more intense rivalry from competitors requiring companies to develop an efficient and sustainable strategy. For a medium-sized firm operating in a hypercompetitive industry which embarked on a follower strategy should seek to have a more effective marketing strategy. Follower strategies or "me too" strategies are only able to compete on price. Thus, followers are deemed to reduce prices forever, squeezing their margins and profitability. Possible strategic alternatives which it can bank on are differentiation and innovation strategies. Differentiation strategy in a hypercompetitive market is imperative and "not discretionary." As customers have higher bargaining leverage, a firm should introduce product features which adds value to its buyers. Instead of simply following the strategies and move of the market leader, a medium size firm should embark on developing innovative products. This is very important taking note of the fact that the market is unstable. Oftentimes, the case is that buyers are dissatisfied with the present alternatives and are looking for new options. Competition through differentiation and innovation are two strategic options which are always more effective than price competition. Â  

Contemporary management functions Essay Example for Free

Contemporary management functions Essay Contemporary management functions reflect considerations of past management theories and aim to improve and strengthen employer-employee relationships as well as providing suitable working conditions for employees. Management functions are functions which managers perform to â€Å"effectively and efficiently coordinate the work of others. (Robbins, 2012). The functions consist of planning, organising, leading and controlling. The theories discussed in the article (1981) Hawthorne, the Myth of the Docile Worker, and Class Bias in Psychology, American Psychologist, 36(8) pp. 867-878. By Bramel, D, an article written about the Hawthorne Research conducted between 1924-1933, which looked to identify the relation between various working conditions and productivity and output, highlight the need for contemporary management functions. The article addresses how integral a continuous strong and communicative relationship is between the employer and employees of a business and the necessity of a strong and ethical organizational culture. Poor executions of the leading management function can reduce trust between employers and employees and create job dissatisfaction. In regards to the rapid decrease in output in period 12, Bramel writes that Roethlisberger and Dickson (1939) stated that the â€Å"workers were afraid that should their previous performance be maintained or improved in this period, rest pauses might never again be reinstated. † (Bramel, D. 1981). This is an example of a lack of communication between employer and employee, resulting in resistance from employees. Communication is a vital part of the organising management function; communication is the transfer of understanding and meaning (Robbins, 2012). In the case study, understanding was clearly not transferred between managers and employees as despite employees being reassured this was only temporary prior to the exercise, the workers still believed that management was â€Å"really interested in how to squeeze the most out of them, rather than in making their working conditions better for them. †(Bramel, D. 1981). The lack of understanding and meaning communicated between each party led to the reduced trust ultimately resulting in lowered total output. This is well summarised by Bramel â€Å"If the workers had in fact ad the kind of trust in management’s good intentions that Mayo claims, would they have found it necessary to resist the experimenters so actively in this period? The picture we get, instead, is of a group of rather wary workers engaged in a continuing skirmish with management and determined not to be taken advantage of. Rather than become a part of the company â€Å"team,† they became a team of their own, rather coolly looking out for their own economic interests in an adversary relationship with management. â€Å" (Bramel, D. 981). Bramel highlights the trust lacking in an â€Å"adversary relationship† with the worker’s management, who work as a team outside of the organisation’s best interests. (Bramel, D. 1981). The leading management function recognises that managers must be able to explain, predict and influence employee’s behaviour for success. Managers must be able to explain why employees engage in some behaviour, predict how employees will respond to various actions of the manager, and to influence how employees behave (Robbins, 2012). Job satisfaction is an employee attitude, which refers to an employee’s general attitude towards their job; employees with high levels of job satisfaction have positive attitudes towards their jobs. People’s behaviours, attitudes and actions are closely related. In the case of the Hawthorne Study, managers were unsuccessful in predicting how employees would respond to their actions and did not positively influence employee’s behaviour through their actions. Dissatisfied employees can result in workplace misbehaviour (Robbins, 2012). s witness in the case study where employees intentionally slowed down production to spite the managers. Poor job satisfaction as a result of indisposed working conditions and a poor leading management function contributed to the fall in productivity. Weak management of employees reduces motivation and employee contentment. During period 12 of the experiment, productivity dropped significantly as a result to the removal of resting periods for the workers. Bramel writes that evidence revealed four of the five workers actually slowed down, and it was apparent that it was intentional. The workers were quite consciously adopting a strategy in-tended to induce the experimenters to return quickly to the preferred conditions† (Bramel, D. 1981). The evidence is clear that there was a direct correlation between the decrease in output and fall in motivation for the workers and the removal of rest pauses, as the output increased significantly for all five workers with the return of the rest pauses (Bramel, D. 1981). Motivation is a key part of the leading management function. It is the process by which a person’s efforts are energised, directed and sustained towards attaining a goal. (Robbins, 2012). The manager must be supportive, they must, have mutual confidence and trust, help to maintain a good income, understanding of work problems and help in doing the job, genuine interest in personal problems. (Mullins, 2005). Managers must look to continually motivate and increase performance of employees through different processes such as; rewards for performance, recognition and appraisal, showing care and concern, and using attainable goals. (Robbins, 2012). A strong organisational culture can harness and set the foundation for the four key management functions; planning, organising, leading and controlling. A strong organisational culture provides shared values that ensure that everyone in the organisation is on the same track (Robbins, 1996). Organisational culture offers a shared system of meaning, which forms the basis of communication and mutual understanding (Funrham and Gunter, 1993). Strong organisational cultures are strong in the leading management function, as employees are motivated through values they share with their colleagues. Organisational culture complements rational managerial tools by playing an indirect role in influencing behaviour (Martins and Terblanche, 2003). Hence it being important for a strong culture to plan, organise, lead and control processes with the agreement, cooperation and enthusiasm of employees, in order to avoid resistance and hostility. It can be seen through the study of several articles that contemporary management functions are integral for successful management. Via the study of the Hawthorne Study, the theories proposed have illuminated how imperative the proper conduction of the management functions are for firms. A strong organisation culture provides the framework for managers to conduct the management functions by creating and sharing the values, which the functions will encompass through the firm. Contemporary management functions must be organising and leading via successful communication, understanding and motivation to be successful.

Alternative Tourism And Ecotourism

Alternative Tourism And Ecotourism The critical climatic conditions and the disappearance of endangered species in the worlds ecosystems is the concern of all, and affect our everyday lives, businesses and industries. The tourism industry is not spared, having adversely and greatly contributed to the destruction of micro-ecosystems and biodiversities over decades through Mass Tourism. Nonetheless, governments, tourism-planners and international organisations are now investing into alternative forms of tourism in order to counter the still ongoing damages of Mass Tourism. The goal is to consume differently and to sensitise tourists about sustainable practices, not only during their holidays, but to implement it in their very thinking and everyday life. This paper combines the material of four different papers, based on Alternative Tourism and Ecotourism respectively. They describe the principles of each and the features required for its successful fulfillment. Introduction Lifestyles and consumer behaviour have been known to evolve and adapt to changes in global needs and the availability of resources in the world all throughout history. As such, it is not surprising that the increase in awareness, concerning the precarious environmental, social and economic situation of todays world, is leading to new trends and behaviour in the way people live and consume. Likewise, the tourism industry has been undergoing a similar transformation since at least the past two decades with the advent of Alternative Tourism. This form of tourism has been introduced since the early nineties and has began to grow in magnitude as from the 1980s. It is considered as a sustainable alternative to counter the adverse effects and low-level authentic experiences provided by the so-called Mass Tourism. The latter has boomed dramatically with the technological advance of transport facilities (air, sea and land) and the open-sky agreements between countries worldwide, amongst various other factors. Inspite of the huge, fast economic gains of Mass Tourism, it has been found to be severely disastrous on the environment and the socio-cultural aspects of host countries and communities, respectively. In contrast, Alternative Tourism has responded in retaliation into the clean or sustainable form of tourism, which takes into account, the impacts of tourism on nature, society (for both the host community and travelers), culture and economy. Here, locals are also directly involved in the making of the tourism product and are often the financial beneficiaries. The umbrella of Alternative tourism covers a vast range of tourist activities such as rural, adventure, cultural and historical, heritage, sports (such as hiking, mountaineering, caving, diving, and so on), ecotourism and any other forms of tourism that is not Mass Tourism, as long as it does not impact adversely on the host country. Ecotourism has emerged since the 1960s and is popular amongst nature and culture lovers. It fits perfectly the concept of Alternative tourism and is considered as the fastest-growing form of sustainable tourism, according to the UNWTO (2003). Hetzer (1965) described the characteristics of ecotourism as: minimizing environmental impacts, respecting host cultures, maximizing benefits to local people and maximizing tourist satisfaction. Literature Review Alternative Tourism is a process which promotes a just form of travel between members of different communities. It seeks to achieve mutual understanding, solidarity and equality amongst participants. (Holden, 1984, p.15: cited in Smith Eadington, 1992. P.18) McIntyre (1993, p.11) defines Sustainable Tourism as a model form of economic development that is designed to improve the quality of life of the host community, and provide a high quality of experience for the visitor. Moreover, to maintain the quality of the environment on which both the host community and the visitor depend. He also states that it seeks decision-making among all segments of the society, including local populations, so that tourism and other resource users can coexist. Firstly, Alternative Tourism does not damage the environment, is ecologically sound, and avoids the negative impacts of many large-scale tourism developments undertaken in areas which have not previously been developed. Secondly, it is thought to consist of smaller scale developments, or attractions for tourists which are set in villages or communities and organised by them. These are seen as having fewer negative effects social or cultural and a better chance of being acceptable to the local people than mass tourism. Thirdly, there is the question of who benefits. Certain kinds of tourism are called alternative because they are not exploitative of the local people, because the benefits flow to local residents, or in general to poorer communities. Also known as Soft Tourism, Sustainable tourism denotes a mutual understanding between the local population and their guests, which does not endanger the cultural identity of the host region and which endeavours to take care of the environment as best as possible. Soft tourists give priority to using infrastructures destined for the local population, use the same accommodation and transport facilities as the natives and do not accept substantial tourist facilities harmful to the environment (Smith Eadington, 1992). Further, as they want to get more information before and during their holiday, it may actively try to encourage a respect for the cultural realities encountered by the tourists through education and organized encounters (de Kadt, 1990). Alternative Tourism, also brings about constraints. For a variety of reasons, alternative tourism in developing countries has been much more limited and less successful than Mass Tourism. The alternative projects in the Third World are frequently handicapped by the cost of international travel in the first place and poor local connections within destinations in the second. Language barrier, differences in culture and standards of living between hosts and guests tend to hinder communication and understanding (Smith Eadington, 1992). Some of the implications of alternative tourism need to be examined more closely. These include the reduction in numbers of tourists, the change in type of tourist, the education of all parties involved, and the impacts resulting from a new set of activities. Reducing numbers of tourists has two aspects, reducing numbers in areas where numbers are currently too great, and limiting potential visitors to levels compatible with capacity parameters. It is extremely difficult to reduce numbers in a free market situation without prejudicing the viability of the industry. Revenues can be expected to decline (unless massive market replacement occurs at the same time), which can result in loss of employment and reduction in local standard of living (Butler, 1990). Also, soft tourists may not only represent a not large enough market, but may also not be a repeat market. While mass tourists are for the most part sedentary and spend their money in a limited number of locations, much of the expenditure of the alternative tourists may be pre-spent on packages or spent in small amounts in a wide variety of locations (Butler, 1990). Furthermore, educating people is an alternative that is hard for Butler (1990) to reject, but it is a mammoth and long term project. He states that most people would probably accept the wisdom of the concept of sustainable development and developing suitable and low-impacting forms of tourism, but short-term reality dictates that the window of opportunity is often limited and time-scales of most entrepreneurs are short. Those of a tourist spending a week on a beach are even shorter. It is not realistic, even if naively optimistic, to expect a tourist wishing to lie on a beach in the Caribbean to be too interested in the impact he or she may have on the social fabric of the island visited, especially when they may not wish to associate with local residents or move out of the hotel complex. However, Alternative Tourism help cleaning physical surroundings, protecting environments and often the distinctive cultural patterns of local communities. It can be a significant factor in conserving the environment. Moreover, it also helps to conserve an areas cultural heritage. Archaeological and historical places, distinctive architectural styles, local dance, music, drama, ceremonies, arts and crafts, dress, customs and value systems all comprise the culture of an area (McIntyre, 1993). He emphasises on the fact that Alternative Tourism raises awareness concerning the impacts of tourism on the natural, cultural, and human environments. It ensures a fair distribution of benefits and costs. It incorporates planning and zoning which ensure tourism development appropriate to the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. It monitors, assesses and manages the impacts of tourism, develops reliable methods of environmental accountability, and counters any negative effect. Furthermore, nature tourism encourages productive use of lands which are marginal for agriculture, enabling large tracts to remain covered in natural vegetation. Cultural tourism enhances local community esteem and provides the opportunity for greater understanding and communication among peoples of diverse backgrounds. Environmentally sustainable tourism demonstrates the importance of natural and cultural resources to a communitys economic and social well being and can help to preserve them. As opposed to Mass Tourism development, which is predominated by multinationals and tends to be unplanned and uncontrolled, taking up the most scenic regions and altering them beyond repair, Alternative Tourism requires extensive initial planning with greater reliance on local labour, and local sources of capital in line with locally promulgated regulations. Tourism assumes a complementary industrial role emphasizing the importance to continuing traditional lifestyle patterns. Existing resources (e.g., buildings) are used and renovated when necessary rather than relying on new construction. Features of Alternative Tourism Also known as Sustainable Tourism, Alternative Tourism adheres to the triple bottom-line of sustainability, that is to develop and progress without depleting environmental, socio-cultural and economic resources for future generations. In other words, these resources must be used, preserved and managed in such a way as to move forward, while keeping in mind the Native American proverb: we do not inherit the world from our ancestors, we are borrowing it from our children. Tourism can be environmentally feasible, as opposed to the pre-conceived idea exhibited by Mass Tourism during the past decades. It is not all about deforestation, land and water pollution or chains of gigantic resorts all over the place. Sea, Sun and Sand Tourism, a major form of Mass Tourism, has caused its own death by saturating the most popular and splendid coastal spots with hotel resorts, hence permanently disfiguring these locations physically, depleting and polluting its resources and attributes respectively. This has led to an increase in awareness amongst host communities and potential tourists alike, and hence emerged forms of tourism that aimed at enjoying a destination while minimizing alterations to nature and monitoring the impacts of visits at the same time. First of all, environmentally sustainable tourism businesses would take into account the characteristics of a location at the Planning Stage of a project. This is usually part of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment). The fauna and flora would be meticulously studied and limited changes (or none at all) would be permitted, so that micro-ecosystems would be able to survive and cohabit along with the implementation of the project. This way, endangered species (both plants and animals) would still retain their habitat and the environment would be altered in the smallest possible way. Furthermore, the project should not be physically alienating to its surroundings, that is, it should be able to blend in and not be an eyesore. For instance, a state of the art hotel in a remote, under-developed village would be totally inappropriate, even if it respected environmental norms. In the same breath, operating sustainable tourism commerce implies minimizing damages done to the environment through energy and waste management. As far as possible, sustainable forms of energy must be used, and energy-consumption must remain reasonable. Waste water management is a must, and recycling must be practised as far as possible, for ethical disposal of both solid and liquid waste. However, not all businesses are able to afford the above measures, especially, since the number of green-tourists is usually quite limited. This is where the concept of Carrying Capacity comes into effect. The physical carrying capacity of a destination or site, is the maximum number of visitors that it can contain at a particular time. In order to avoid permanent environmental changes and abuse, the number of visitors and the duration of their stay must be under strict control. This is also known as the limits of acceptable change and does not require much financial investment to be accomplished. In addition, Mass Tourism brought along westernisation, the alienation of ethnic and local cultures and commodification throughout the years. Their consequences can be seen today, especially amongst the younger generations in destinations that have suffered Mass Tourism for several generations. The youth have often copied the beliefs and lifestyles so as to resemble those of foreigners, deeming western culture to be superior, and thus resulting in the loss of local cultural heritage and long-standing ancestral traditions. This is due to the fact that cultural exchange between tourists and locals has not been equitable, even though it is usually not in the intention of visitors to have such an impact on local beliefs and traditions. In order to counter this, tourists need to be educated on how to interact, behave and limit the exposure of their cultural identity, with respect to that of the host community. Accordingly, commodification, which is the act of viewing local cultural, historical or religious identity merely as a tourism product, is yet another drawback of mass tourism. Places of worship or of sacred religious importance were being assaulted with camera flashes by hordes of tourists, who were not even aware of the appropriate dress codes and behaviour to be adopted on such sites. Thanks to sustainable tourism and the responsibility of tour operators towards the education of tourists, rules and guidelines have since then been forwarded so as to minimize the impact of loss of cultural identity. Indeed, it is now the tourist that adapts to the culture of locals during visits to sites of religious and cultural importance, thus resulting in a more authentic cultural exchange and experience. Thirdly, the most immediate aspect of Alternative Tourism in a destination is the economic gains to the local community. Despite the fact that large-scale tourism generates astronomical amounts to tourism-related businesses and organisations, the majority of locals do not benefit from these profits first-handedly. In some cases, such as in franchise businesses, most of the profit goes back to the source-organisation, with local employees being paid with low salaries and slim chance of career advancement. On a different level, the concept sustainability implies that one should make reasonable use of its available resources, in such a way as to progress, while benefiting to its environment and stakeholders. This largely goes against conventional tourism, whereby most of the resources required to make the tourism product happen comes from elsewhere, whether in terms of raw materials, expertise and partially labour. It is therefore natural that economic rewards go abroad as well. On the other side, Alternative Tourism encourages entrepreneurship in all forms, from hospitality, entertainment and craftsmanship of locals. They are often offered trainings, participate in empowerment programmes and sometimes even subsided by the state to put their projects into motion. Nevertheless, financial gains, which is not comparable to that of Mass Tourism goes directly to those local entrepreneurs and the money is usually spent within the country, hence improving income distribution, increasing standard of living and indirectly contributing to the national GDP. The Emergence of Ecotourism Being one of the most popular segments of Alternative Tourism, Ecotourism is reaching a peak and gaining educational, sustainable and economic importance within the tourism industry, being one of its fastest growing sectors (UNWTO, 2003), grossing over $335 billion a year. In todays world, it plays a crucial role in the conservation of nature, in educating tourists about sustainable environmental practices and in benefiting local people. Ecotourism products consist of attractions, tours and accommodation, where each component is marketed and sold separately, but may be combined into packages as well. It is a form of tourism that targets a wide range of tourists, who are willing to experience a get-away holiday from the stress and monotony of everyday life. Its influence lies in the fact that unlike other forms of tourism, it is diverse enough to attract tourists of different age groups, budgets, interests and occupations. However, ecotourism poses a threat to its own existence and operations. Since the tourism product is settled within the type of ecosystem or environment that it promotes, there needs to be careful planning and management. Else, its activities may harm, deplete or alter the fragile and pristine biodiversities that it relies on for sustenance. Limits of acceptable change regarding social, cultural and environmental must be closely monitored in order to minimize impacts. Ecotourism projects are usually of small-scale and low-impacting; waste output is minimized and recycled as far as possible, so as to cause the minimum intrusion and alterations to the surrounding ecosystem. Biodegradable products are favoured over chemical detergents or products toxic or unhealthy for the environment. Clean and renewable energy forms, such as solar or photovoltaic panels, are popular energy sources in the most sophisticated eco-lodges as well as the use of fossil fuels are avoided. Further, infrastructures are designed to be harmonious with the environment in which it is situated. The actors involved in creating the ecotourism product include businesses, scientists, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and local or native communities. The active participation of guests or tourists, is essential for the product to be complete. It is interesting how this tends to foster collaboration and better understanding between the different contributors to ecotourism, hence encouraging local entrepreneurship and strengthening local identity. Emphasis must be stressed upon the preparation and education of ecotourists, before, during and after their holiday trip. This implies that guides and tour operators play a major role in consolidating the ecotourism product. They are responsible to instruct tourists about acceptable behaviour during their stay or trips, sensitize them to be environmentally-friendly and raise their awareness towards the need for sustainability, not only during their holidays, but also in their thinking and everyday lives. Furthermore, their duties include instructing guests about the modes and limits of communication with respect to surrounding local or native culture. Ecotourism has the goal of improving and contributing to the well-being of these people, without altering their beliefs, culture or traditions, but promoting them while empowering their identity and pride. Additionally, ecotourism projects often help natives and local communities to rehabilitate endangered species or animals and plants alike, reinstate their natural habitat and raise-awareness about them. Ecotourists are educated about the importance and relevance of such projects, if not encouraged to actively participate themselves. The profit accumulated through ecotourism is usually re-injected into ecological projects and also to upheave the standard of living of locals and their everyday situation. In the case of culturally sensible communities, such as natives, this is expended differently, in terms of medication and the protection, as well as conservation of their lands and culture. Conclusion and Discussion Alternative Tourism and Ecotourism have both been operating in a moderately successful manner in Mauritius during the past decade and is continuously gaining in popularity, both among locals and tourists alike. Indigenous plants and species are being rehabilitated and their habitat sustained, although there have been some negligence on the part of some stakeholders. The Blue Bay Marine park had been flourishing in the beginning years, but the project is now undergoing a decline due to illegal fishing and the carrying capacity of human interactions exceeded through visits, snorkelling and deep-sea diving. It is however not too late to reverse the situation and additional efforts need to be input from all stakeholders. On the bright side, small surrounding islands such as lIle Plate and lIle aux Aigrettes have known successful rehabilitation of their micro-biodiversities and human intervention is being closely monitored by environmental organisations. Fortunately, Mauritius has the resources and potential to further promote Ecotourism and other forms of Alternative Tourism, such as hiking, outdoor tourism and mountaineering. Additional resources must be made available to qualified people and organisations to implement and diversify the Alternative Tourism projects possible on the island. Emphasis should be put on consistency and regular evaluation, to cater for weaknesses. The objectives of sustainability however do not limit themselves to tourism and the whole Mauritian community must be sensitised for better environmental-friendly attitudes, which requires advocacy, education and a change of behaviour, which is a long-term and never-ending process, to protect, save and respect what remains of our nature and resources.

Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun :: essays research papers

Ronils Review of A Raisin in the Sun. This is probably the first play I've ever seen that I REALLY HEATED. A Raisin in the Sun The Madison Repertory Theatre has produced many plays by African American playwrights recently, such as last year's From the Mississippi Delta, but their most recent, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is certainly one of the veryWorst. The play starts in a darkened living room. Ruth Younger wakes her family on a Friday morning. Her father-in-law has recently died, and the family is awaiting the arrival of the insurance money. Her husband, Walter, has plans to use it to buy a liquor store, but wife doesn't believe he belongs in business. Beneatha, Walter's sister daughter, hopes to use the money for her tuition for medical school. Walter's mother, Lena (Mama), plans to use the money for a house for the family. On top of all this, Ruth has discovered that she is pregnant. In an effort to find a true identity, Beneatha has shunned her mother's religious beliefs and has taken an interest in Asagai, a Nigerian student. Asagai brings her a tribal drum recording and a robe from his country. Beneatha is also being pursued by another suitor. George Murchison, a student belonging to the upper class also has an interest in her, and regards her embracement of African culture as childish. After the money arrives, Mama leaves to "take care of some business." When she returns, she announces just what it was that she did do: she has bought the family a house...in Clybourne Park, an all-white neighborhood. Mama then entrusts the rest of the money to Walter, to invest in his sister's education, and to put the rest into a savings account under his name. Walter promises his son Travis a great future, and promptly invests it in his liquor store. While packing, the family is visited by Karl Linder from the Clyborne Park Community Improvement Association, and a white man. Linder explains that the Younger family might not be welcomed in Clybourne Park, and might be better off living in a black neighborhood. "It has nothing to do with racial prejudice," he explains. To make matters worse, Bobo, Walter's friend comes to say that the third member of their team, who had been entrusted with all the money is gone. Period. In desperation, Walter calls Linder to buy the house back, but after a talk with

Thematic Analysis of Jack Londons White Fang Essay -- Jack London Whi

Thematic Analysis of Jack London's White Fang White Fang, written by Jack London, is a wonderful adventure novel that vividly depicts the life of a wolf by the name of White Fang. Throughout the course of the novel, White Fang goes through numerous learning experiences as he interacts with humans and other wolves from Alaska around the turn of the century. Jack London uses the events that transpire during White Fang's life to illustrate that only the cunning, intelligent, and strong will be able to survive. The ideas of Darwinism and survival are reinforced by almost every action that takes place in the novel. Man is shown defeating nature through superior intelligence, a wolf cub conquers his puppy-hood, and a young wolf survives despite the hardships placed upon him by man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the story begins, Jack London is quick to introduce his theme, but he opens the first three chapters without the main character, White Fang. Two men, named Bill and Henry, are trying to transport the body of a rich man across the frozen tundra of Alaska by sled dog, while a pack of hungry wolves is pursuing them. The wolves gradually kill off the team of dogs, and eventually Bill, in an attempt to survive the long winter. It is ironic in that both the wolves and Henry are struggling against each other for their lives. The wolves need to eat Henry to fight off their maddening hunger, and Henry needs to get rid of the wolves so he can remain living. In the end, Henry proves the victor of t...