Perfection of Pablo Picasso's Art Work Research Paper

Perfection of Pablo Picasso's Art Work - Research Paper Example The paper "Perfection of Pablo Picasso's Art Work" will discuss Picasso's early life and explores his work. The study will also review the ideas of various authors to support and elaborate the subject of study. Pablo inherited the outside appearance of his mother Dona Maria Picasso Y Lopez. With Pablo and his father, there were two painters in their family. He was born out of luck since the midwife had given up on him. The midwife tried saving the life of the mother instead. Pablo was saved from suffocation by his uncle Don Salvadors, a qualified doctor. He blew a few puff of smoke on his face and this gave life to Pablo. Picasso enjoyed narrating this legend. His biography also highlights this historical point as it shows Picasso’s initial encounter with death and the victory over it. People began admiring Pablo’s vitality at the age of nine years. This was particularly his aspect of art, which was part and parcel of him at birth. Pablo spent ten years of his early lif e at Malaga, the place of his birth. His father was not a wealthy man. The father worked as a keeper at the town museum. Pablo’s father also worked as an art teacher at Escuela de San Telmo. The father accepted a well paid job, which he got. Pablo’s father and his family moved to the capital of La Coruna in the province of Atlantic coast. Pablo and his father resided in this capital for the next four years. Pablo’s father encouraged the son’s talents later in Pablo’s life. The father was concerned with his progress in academies early in life.

Positive Effects of Japanese Saving Rate Essay Example for Free

Positive Effects of Japanese Saving Rate Essay The economic saving rate of Japan is among the highest in the world. According to a recent study, â€Å"the rate in the 80s and the early 90s had been over 10% steadily and higher than any other developed country. † (Katayama 1). This high saving rate has immediate positive effects on Japan’s economy and to foreign economies as well. In this short paper, we will discuss and explore some of the advantages brought by Japan’s high saving rate. As we are all familiar with, Japan is well known for being a self-sufficient country. It is a country that innovates its own useful products, and produces quality that is competitive with American made products. One great difference between the two is that Japan’s economy has a better inclination towards saving, while the American economy is more geared towards spending and making foreign investments. That is a major advantage for Japan as far as economic stability is concerned, because by being able to save well, they are able to sustain their position as a self-sufficient nation. That would mean, they don’t need to focus on making foreign investments to maintain and even increase their gross domestic product. In countries with relatively very high spending rates such as China and the United States, there is almost a desperate need to make foreign investments and export goods. Japan, meanwhile, is able to attract more foreign investors to their soil because of its high savings rate and economic self sufficiency. Future economic stability of citizens is another positive domestic effect of Japan’s saving rate. According to Katayama, â€Å"the life-cycle theory, one of the representative consumption theory, shows that while a rational household may save some of the income in youth, they may spend their savings after their retirement. † (3). This means that majority of Japanese citizens are placing more focus on their future rather than the present. When the current workforce reaches old age and eventually retire, they have personal savings that will ensure a better quality of life even during old age. It is a very good domestic advantage for Japan because the future generation of retired workforce will be taken good care of, even when they reach the age when they leave their jobs and cannot contribute to the Japanese economy anymore. Japan’s saving rate does not impact its own people only, but the entire Asia and the world as well. One of our research sources states:: â€Å"†¦since Japan is the worlds second largest economy (and the largest in Asia), developments within its borders have implications not only for itself, but the rest of the world as well, particularly the rest of Asia and the United States, its largest trade partner. Indeed, the faltering Japanese economy is potentially a significant impediment to economic recovery in the rest of Asia† (Nolan, Robinson and Wang). Although much has been said about the slight weakening of Japan’s currency and savings rate during the past 10 years, the fact remains that Japan is still the world’s second largest economy. It is also considered as the world’s largest creditor. The country’s savings rate, although not as good as before, remains slightly higher than those of highly developed countries and emerging economies. Thus, Japan is still in a position to greatly influence global economic trends in positive ways, eventually quell the current economic crises and pull more resources in the future. Bibliography: Brooke, James. â€Å"Quarters Growth Rose in Japan To 7%, Buoyed by China Trade†. The New York Times. (18 Feb. 2004). 1 Dec. 2007. http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9B01E0DD123DF93BA25751C0A9629C8B63 Katayama, Kentaro. â€Å"Why Does Japan’s Saving Rate Decline So Rapidly? †. Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Japan. (Dec. 2006). 1 Dec. 2007. http://www. mof. go. jp/jouhou/soken/kenkyu/ron164. pdf. Noland, Marcus. , Sherman Robinson and Zhi Wang. â€Å"The Global Economic Effects of the Japanese Crisis†. The Peterson Institute for International Economics. 1 Dec. 2007. http://www. iie. com/publications/wp/wp. cfm? ResearchID=147.

Salvia divinorum, Herb of Mary, the Shepherdess Essay example -- Botan

Salvia divinorum, Herb of Mary, the Shepherdess Salvia divinorum Epling & J. Tiva-M. is a member of the mint family (or Lamiaceae) native to the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is used by the Mazatec Indians of the region, in a manner similar to psilocybian mushrooms and lysergic acid-containing morning glory seeds, as a ritual entheogen (hallucinogen) and divinatory aid. It is propagated vegetatively by the Mazatecs, and no wild specimens of the plant have been observed by researchers. The diterpene salvinorin A is the chemical responsible for the visionary effects of this species. The plant now enjoys limited use among "basement shamans" in the North as an entheogen similar to LSD and psilocybian mushrooms, and is sometimes cultivated for this reason. Description A collection of Salvia divinorum suitable for identification was originally made by Wasson and Hofmann in 1962 and described by Epling and J. Tiva-M. as a new species (Epling and J. Tiva-M. 1962). The description was later amended by Reisfield. The plant is a perennial herb with trailing stems that grow from 0.5 to 1.5 m tall and have a square shape characteristic of mints. The flowers are white, turning blue with age, and borne on racemes (Reisfield 1993). It was originally described by Schultes as having all blue flowers, due to the fact that the calyces are blue (Ott 1996). Nutlets are rare among greenhouse cultivated plants, and have never been observed in the wild (Reisfield 1993). The cloud forests and tropical evergreen forests of the Sierra Mazateca mountain range provide the ideal conditions for S. divinorum growth. It lives in dark, humid areas at an elevation of between 300 and 1800 m. Propagation is vegetative, through rooting at the nodes of the l... ...e to be concerned that S. divinorum and salvinorin A have the potential to become "drugs of abuse" (Valds 1994). Bibliography Epling, C. and J. Tiva-M., C. 1962. A new species of Salvia from Mexico. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University 20: 75-76. Ott, J. 1996. Psychoactive Card IV: Salvia divinorum Epling et Jativa. Eleusis 4: 31-39. Ott, J. 1993. Pharmacotheon. Natural Products. Kenniwick, WA. Valds, L.J., III; DÂ ¡az, J.L. & Paul, A.G. 1983. Ethnopharmacology of Ska Maria Pastora (Salvia divinorum, Epling and J tiva-M.). Journal of Ethnopharmacology 7: 287-312. Valds, L.J., III. 1994. Salvia divinorum and the unique diterpene hallucinogen, salvinorin (divinorin) A. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 26(3): 277-283. Wasson, R.G. 1962. A new Mexican psychotropic drug from the mint family. Botanical Museum leaflets, Harvard University 20: 77-84. Salvia divinorum, Herb of Mary, the Shepherdess Essay example -- Botan Salvia divinorum, Herb of Mary, the Shepherdess Salvia divinorum Epling & J. Tiva-M. is a member of the mint family (or Lamiaceae) native to the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is used by the Mazatec Indians of the region, in a manner similar to psilocybian mushrooms and lysergic acid-containing morning glory seeds, as a ritual entheogen (hallucinogen) and divinatory aid. It is propagated vegetatively by the Mazatecs, and no wild specimens of the plant have been observed by researchers. The diterpene salvinorin A is the chemical responsible for the visionary effects of this species. The plant now enjoys limited use among "basement shamans" in the North as an entheogen similar to LSD and psilocybian mushrooms, and is sometimes cultivated for this reason. Description A collection of Salvia divinorum suitable for identification was originally made by Wasson and Hofmann in 1962 and described by Epling and J. Tiva-M. as a new species (Epling and J. Tiva-M. 1962). The description was later amended by Reisfield. The plant is a perennial herb with trailing stems that grow from 0.5 to 1.5 m tall and have a square shape characteristic of mints. The flowers are white, turning blue with age, and borne on racemes (Reisfield 1993). It was originally described by Schultes as having all blue flowers, due to the fact that the calyces are blue (Ott 1996). Nutlets are rare among greenhouse cultivated plants, and have never been observed in the wild (Reisfield 1993). The cloud forests and tropical evergreen forests of the Sierra Mazateca mountain range provide the ideal conditions for S. divinorum growth. It lives in dark, humid areas at an elevation of between 300 and 1800 m. Propagation is vegetative, through rooting at the nodes of the l... ...e to be concerned that S. divinorum and salvinorin A have the potential to become "drugs of abuse" (Valds 1994). Bibliography Epling, C. and J. Tiva-M., C. 1962. A new species of Salvia from Mexico. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University 20: 75-76. Ott, J. 1996. Psychoactive Card IV: Salvia divinorum Epling et Jativa. Eleusis 4: 31-39. Ott, J. 1993. Pharmacotheon. Natural Products. Kenniwick, WA. Valds, L.J., III; DÂ ¡az, J.L. & Paul, A.G. 1983. Ethnopharmacology of Ska Maria Pastora (Salvia divinorum, Epling and J tiva-M.). Journal of Ethnopharmacology 7: 287-312. Valds, L.J., III. 1994. Salvia divinorum and the unique diterpene hallucinogen, salvinorin (divinorin) A. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 26(3): 277-283. Wasson, R.G. 1962. A new Mexican psychotropic drug from the mint family. Botanical Museum leaflets, Harvard University 20: 77-84.

Business and Starbucks

1. Why do you think Starbucks has been so concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy? Starbucks is not only concerned with the success of the company but with the satisfaction of their employees and customers. They realize and show they know without the customers they would not have the business. They ensure farmers are able to make profits by paying more for the coffee; they put the customer first and put them before their profits. When they have employees that are not satisfied, they will not give the company 100% of their ability. They value their employees so they reward them to keep their morale up and keep them happy so they keep the customers happy. 2. What are the most admirable and significant investments that Starbucks is making in its people, products, stores and suppliers? Starbucks offers benefits to employees if they work at least 20 hours per week. This helps single mothers if they cannot afford insurance. They make charitable donations to help farmers and the surrounding communities in effort to help make a name for them. They try to make it more customer-friendly by combining items on their menus so customers can take advantage of being able to get their breakfast and coffee at one convenient place. 3. What do you believe are the most significant ethical criticisms of Starbucks’ leadership and business strategy? Starbucks are everywhere. I have personal issues with big box companies driving out the mom and pop shops. They make it a hard competition for entrepreneurs to try to make it in this economy. I feel they should support the smaller businesses more but realize they will worry about themselves first. 4. Is quality of life in Albuquerque better or worse because of Starbucks? I feel coffee is a very sought after luxury that almost everyone enjoys. I have walked by some Starbucks and have seen people on their laptops studying, visiting with people, and have seen some business people having meetings. I think it could bring a better quality of life to Albuquerque if it has not already. I personally have paid the Starbucks price for coffee and do very much enjoy having that sweet energizing treat every once in a while. Although the economy now does not allow much room for luxury maybe they will rethink their prices in the future to better fit the decreasing economy to keep the customers coming in.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 27. Travel Plans

I took mythology a lot more seriously since I'd become a vampire. Often, when I looked back over my first three months as an immortal, I imagined how the thread of my life might look in the Fates' loom – who knew but that it actually existed? I was sure my thread must have changed color; I thought it had probably started out as a nice beige, something supportive and non-confrontational, something that would look good in the background. Now it felt like it must be bright crimson, or maybe glistening gold. The tapestry of family and friends that wove together around me was a beautiful, glowing thing, full of their bright, complementary colors. I was surprised by some of the threads I got to include in my life. The werewolves, with their deep, woodsy colors, were not something I'd expected; Jacob, of course, and Seth, too. But my old friends Quil and Embry became part of the fabric as they joined Jacob's pack, and even Sam and Emily were cordial. The tensions between our families eased, mostly due to Renesmee. She was easy to love. Sue and Leah Clearwater were interlaced into our life, too – two more I had not anticipated. Sue seemed to have taken it on herself to smooth Charlie's transition into the world of make-believe. She came with him to the Cullens' most days, though she never seemed truly comfortable here the way her son and most of Jake's pack did. She did not speak often; she just hovered protectively near Charlie. She was always the first person he looked to when Renesmee did something disturbingly advanced – which was often. In answer, Sue would eye Seth meaningfully as if to say, Yeah, tell me about it. Leah was even less comfortable than Sue and was the only part of our recently extended family who was openly hostile to the merger. However, she and Jacob had a new camaraderie that kept her close to us all. I asked him about it once – hesitantly; I didn't want to pry, but the relationship was so different from the way it used to be that it made me curious. He shrugged and told me it was a pack thing. She was his second-in-command now, his â€Å"beta,† as I'd called it once long ago. â€Å"I figured as long as I was going to do this Alpha thing for real,† Jacob explained, â€Å"I'd better nail down the formalities.† The new responsibility made Leah feel the need to check in with him often, and since he was always with Renesmee†¦ Leah was not happy to be near us, but she was the exception. Happiness was the main component in my life now, the dominant pattern in the tapestry. So much so that my relationship with Jasper was now much closer than I'd ever dreamed it would be. At first I was really annoyed, though. â€Å"Yeesh!† I complained to Edward one night after we'd put Renesmee in her wrought-iron crib. â€Å"If I haven't killed Charlie or Sue yet, it's probably not going to happen. I wish Jasper would stop hovering all the time!† â€Å"No one doubts you, Bella, not in the slightest,† he assured me. â€Å"You know how Jasper is – he can't resist a good emotional climate. You're so happy all the time, love, he gravitates toward you without thinking.† And then Edward hugged me tightly, because nothing pleased him more than my overwhelming ecstasy in this new life. And I was euphoric the vast majority of the time. The days were not long enough for me to get my fill of adoring my daughter; the nights did not have enough hours to satisfy my need for Edward. There was a flipside to the joy, though. If you turned the fabric of our lives over, I imagined the design on the backside would be woven in the bleak grays of doubt and fear. Renesmee spoke her first word when she was exactly one week old. The word was Momma, which would have made my day, except that I was so frightened by her progress I could barely force my frozen face to smile back at her. It didn't help that she continued from her first word to her first sentence in the same breath. â€Å"Momma, where is Grandpa?† she'd asked in a clear, high soprano, only bothering to speak aloud because I was across the room from her. She'd already asked Rosalie, using her normal (or seriously abnormal, from another point of view) means of communication. Rosalie hadn't known the answer, so Renesmee had turned to me. When she walked for the first time, fewer than three weeks later, it was similar. She'd simply stared at Alice for a long moment, watching intently as her aunt arranged bouquets in the vases scattered around the room, dancing back and forth across the floor with her arms full of flowers. Renesmee got to her feet, not in the least bit shaky, and crossed the floor almost as gracefully. Jacob had burst into applause, because that was clearly the response Renesmee wanted. The way he was tied to her made his own reactions secondary; his first reflex was always to give Renesmee whatever she needed. But our eyes met, and I saw all the panic in mine echoed in his. I made my hands clap together, too, trying to hide my fear from her. Edward applauded quietly at my side, and we didn't need to speak our thoughts to know they were the same. Edward and Carlisle threw themselves into research, looking for any answers, anything to expect. There was very little to be found, and none of it verifiable. Alice and Rosalie usually began our day with a fashion show. Renesmee never wore the same clothes twice, partly because she outgrew her clothes almost immediately and partly because Alice and Rosalie were trying to create a baby album that appeared to span years rather than weeks. They took thousands of pictures, documenting every phase of her accelerated childhood. At three months, Renesmee could have been a big one-year-old, or a small two-year-old. She wasn't shaped exactly like a toddler; she was leaner and more graceful, her proportions were more even, like an adult's. Her bronze ringlets hung to her waist; I couldn't bear to cut them, even if Alice would have allowed it. Renesmee could speak with flawless grammar and articulation, but she rarely bothered, preferring to simply show people what she wanted. She could not only walk but run and dance. She could even read. I'd been reading Tennyson to her one night, because the flow and rhythm of his poetry seemed restful. (I had to search constantly for new material; Renesmee didn't like repetition in her bedtime stories as other children supposedly did, and she had no patience for picture books.) She reached up to touch my cheek, the image in her mind one of us, only with her holding the book. I gave it to her, smiling. † There is sweet music here,'† she read without hesitation, â€Å"‘that softer falls than petals from blown roses on the grass, or night-dews on still waters between walls of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass – ‘† My hand was robotic as I took the book back. â€Å"If you read, how will you fall asleep?† I asked in a voice that had barely escaped shaking. By Carlisle's calculations, the growth of her body was gradually slowing; her mind continued to race on ahead. Even if the rate of decrease held steady, she'd still be an adult in no more than four years. Four years. And an old woman by fifteen. Just fifteen years of life. But she was so healthy. Vital, bright, glowing, and happy. Her conspicuous well-being made it easy for me to be happy with her in the moment and leave the future for tomorrow. Carlisle and Edward discussed our options for the future from every angle in low voices that I tried not to hear. They never had these discussions when Jacob was around, because there was one sure way to halt aging, and that wasn't something Jacob was likely to be excited about. I wasn't. Too dangerous! my instincts screamed at me. Jacob and Renesmee seemed alike in so many ways, both half-and-half beings, two things at the same time. And all the werewolf lore insisted that vampire venom was a death sentence rather than a course to immortality___ Carlisle and Edward had exhausted the research they could do from a distance, and now we were preparing to follow old legends at their source. We were going back to Brazil, starting there. The Ticunas had legends about children like Renesmee†¦. If other children like her had ever existed, perhaps some tale of the life span of half-mortal children still lingered___ The only real question left was exactly when we would go. I was the holdup. A small part of it was that I wanted to stay near Forks until after the holidays, for Charlie's sake. But more than that, there was a different journey that I knew had to come first – that was the clear priority. Also, it had to be a solo trip. This was the only argument that Edward and I had gotten in since I'd become a vampire. The main point of contention was the â€Å"solo† part. But the facts were what they were, and my plan was the only one that made rational sense. I had to go see the Volturi, and I had to do it absolutely alone. Even freed from old nightmares, from any dreams at all, it was impossible to forget the Volturi. Nor did they leave us without reminders. Until the day that Aro's present showed up, i didn't know that Alice had sent a wedding announcement to the Volturi leaders; we'd been far away on Esme's island when she'd seen a vision of Volturi soldiers – Jane and Alec, the devastatingly powerful twins, among them. Caius was planning to send a hunting party to see if I was still human, against their edict (because I knew about the secret vampire world, I either must join it or be silenced†¦ permanently). So Alice had mailed the announcement, seeing that this would delay them as they deciphered the meaning behind it. But they would come eventually. That was certain. The present itself was not overtly threatening. Extravagant, yes, almost frightening in that very extravagance. The threat was in the parting line of Aro's congratulatory note, written in black ink on a square of heavy, plain white paper in Aro's own hand: I so look forward to seeing the new Mrs. Cullen in person. The gift was presented in an ornately carved, ancient wooden box inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl, ornamented with a rainbow of gemstones. Alice said the box itself was a priceless treasure, that it would have outshone just about any piece of jewelry besides the one inside it. â€Å"I always wondered where the crown jewels disappeared to after John of England pawned them in the thirteenth century,† Carlisle said. â€Å"I suppose it doesn't surprise me that the Volturi have their share.† The necklace was simple – gold woven into a thick rope of a chain, almost scaled, like a smooth snake that would curl close around the throat. One jewel hung suspended from the rope; a white diamond the size of a golf ball. The unsubtle reminder in Aro's note interested me more than the jewel. The Volturi needed to see that I was immortal, that the Cullens had been obedient to the Volturi's orders, and they needed to see this soon. They could not be allowed near Forks. There was only one way to keep our life here safe. â€Å"You're not going alone,† Edward had insisted through his teeth, his hands clenching into fists. â€Å"They won't hurt me,† I'd said as soothingly as I could manage, forcing my voice to sound sure. â€Å"They have no reason to. I'm a vampire. Case closed.† â€Å"No. Absolutely no.† â€Å"Edward, it's the only way to protect her.† And he hadn't been able to argue with that. My logic was watertight. Even in the short time I'd known Aro, I'd been able to see that he was a collector – and his most prized treasures were his living pieces. He coveted beauty, talent, and rarity in his immortal followers more than any jewel locked in his vaults. It was unfortunate enough that he'd begun to covet Alice's and Edward's abilities. I would give him no more reason to be jealous of Carlisle's family. Renesmee was beautiful and gifted and unique – she was one of a kind. He could not be allowed to see her, not even through someone's thoughts. And I was the only one whose thoughts he could not hear. Of course I would go alone. Alice did not see any trouble with my trip, but she was worried by the indistinct quality of her visions. She said they were sometimes similarly hazy when there were outside decisions that might conflict but that had not been solidly resolved. This uncertainty made Edward, already hesitant, extremely opposed to what I had to do. He wanted to come with me as far as my connection in London, but I wouldn't leave Renesmee without both her parents. Carlisle was coming instead. It made both Edward and me a little more relaxed, knowing that Carlisle would be only a few hours away from me. Alice kept searching for the future, but the things she found were unrelated to what she was looking for. A new trend in the stock market; a possible visit of reconciliation from Irina, though her decision was not firm; a snowstorm that wouldn't hit for another six weeks; a call from Renee (I was practicing my â€Å"rough† voice, and getting better at it every day – to Renee's knowledge, I was still sick, but mending). We bought the tickets for Italy the day after Renesmee turned three months. I planned for it to be a very short trip, so I hadn't told Charlie about it. Jacob knew, and he took Edward's view on things. However, today the argument was about Brazil. Jacob was determined to come with us. The three of us, Jacob, Renesmee, and I, were hunting together. The diet of animal blood wasn't Renesmee's favorite thing – and that was why Jacob was allowed to come along. Jacob had made it a contest between them, and that made her more willing than anything else. Renesmee was quite clear on the whole good vs. bad as it applied to hunting humans; she just thought that donated blood made a nice compromise. Human food filled her and it seemed compatible with her system, but she reacted to all varieties of solid food with the same martyred endurance I had once given cauliflower and lima beans. Animal blood was better than that, at least. She had a competitive nature, and the challenge of beating Jacob made her excited to hunt. â€Å"Jacob,† I said, trying to reason with him again while Renesmee danced ahead of us into the long clearing, searching for a scent she liked. â€Å"You've got obligations here. Seth, Leah – â€Å" He snorted. â€Å"I'm not my pack's nanny. They've all got responsibilities in La Push anyway.† â€Å"Sort of like you? Are you officially dropping out of high school, then? If you're going to keep up with Renesmee, you're going to have to study a lot harder.† â€Å"It's just a sabbatical. I'll get back to school when things†¦ slow down.† I lost my concentration on my side of the disagreement when he said that, and we both automatically looked at Renesmee. She was staring at the snowflakes fluttering high above her head, melting before they could stick to the yellowed grass in the long arrowhead-shaped meadow that we were standing in. Her ruffled ivory dress was just a shade darker than the snow, and her reddish-brown curls managed to shimmer, though the sun was buried deeply behind the clouds. As we watched, she crouched for an instant and then sprang fifteen feet up into the air. Her little hands closed around a flake, and she dropped lightly to her feet. She turned to us with her shocking smile – truly, it wasn't something you could get used to – and opened her hands to show us the perfectly formed eight-pointed ice star in her palm before it melted. â€Å"Pretty,† Jacob called to her appreciatively. â€Å"But I think you're stalling, Nessie.† She bounded back to Jacob; he held his arms out at exactly the moment she leaped into them. They had the move perfectly synchronized. She did this when she had something to say. She still preferred not to speak aloud. Renesmee touched his face, scowling adorably as we all listened to the sound of a small herd of elk moving farther into the wood. â€Å"Suuuureyou're not thirsty, Nessie,† Jacob answered a little sarcastically, but more indulgently than anything else. â€Å"You're just afraid HI catch the biggest one again!† She flipped backward out of Jacob's arms, landing lightly on her feet, and rolled her eyes – she looked so much like Edward when she did that. Then she darted off toward the trees. â€Å"Got it,† Jacob said when I leaned as if to follow. He yanked his t-shirt off as he charged after her into the forest, already trembling. â€Å"It doesn't count if you cheat,† he called to Renesmee. I smiled at the leaves they left fluttering behind them, shaking my head. Jacob was more a child than Renesmee sometimes. I paused, giving my hunters a few minutes' head start. It would be beyond simple to track them, and Renesmee would love to surprise me with the size of her prey. I smiled again. The narrow meadow was very still, very empty. The fluttering snow was thinning above me, almost gone. Alice had seen that it wouldn't stick for many weeks. Usually Edward and I came together on these hunting trips. But Edward was with Carlisle today, planning the trip to Rio, talking behind Jacob's back†¦. I frowned. When I returned, I would take Jacob's side. He should come with us. He had as big a stake in this as any of us – his entire life was at stake, just like mine. While my thoughts were lost in the near future, my eyes swept the mountainside routinely, searching for prey, searching for danger. I didn't think about it; the urge was an automatic thing. Or perhaps there was a reason for my scanning, some tiny trigger that my razor-sharp senses had caught before I realized it consciously. As my eyes flitted across the edge of a distant cliff, standing out starkly blue-gray against the green-black forest, a glint of silver – or was it gold? – gripped my attention. My gaze zeroed in on the color that shouldn't have been there, so far away in the haze that an eagle wouldn't have been able to make it out. I stared. She stared back. That she was a vampire was obvious. Her skin was marble white, the texture a million times smoother than human skin. Even under the clouds, she glistened ever so slightly. If her skin had not given her away, her stillness would have. Only vampires and statues could be so perfectly motionless. Her hair was pale, pale blond, almost silver. This was the gleam that had caught my eye. It hung straight as a ruler to a blunt edge at her chin, parted evenly down the center. She was a stranger to me. I was absolutely certain I'd never seen her before, even as a human. None of the faces in my muddy memory were the same as this one. But I knew her at once from her dark golden eyes. Irina had decided to come after all. For one moment I stared at her, and she stared back. I wondered if she would guess immediately who I was as well. I half-raised my hand, about to wave, but her lip twisted the tiniest bit, making her face suddenly hostile. I heard Renesmee's cry of victory from the forest, heard Jacob's echoing howl, and saw Irina's face jerk reflexively to the sound when it echoed to her a few seconds later. Her gaze cut slightly to the right, and I knew what she was seeing. An enormous russet werewolf, perhaps the very one who had killed her Laurent. How long had she been watching us? Long enough to see our affectionate exchange before, I was sure. Her face spasmed in pain. Instinctually, I opened my hands in front of me in an apologetic gesture. She turned back to me, and her lip curled back over her teeth. Her jaw unlocked as she growled. When the faint sound reached me, she had already turned and disappeared into the forest. â€Å"Crap!† I groaned. I sprinted into the forest after Renesmee and Jacob, unwilling to have them out of my sight. I didn't know which direction Irina had taken, or exactly how furious she was right now. Vengeance was a common obsession for vampires, one that was not easy to suppress. Running at full speed, it only took me two seconds to reach them. â€Å"Mine is bigger,† I heard Renesmee insist as I burst through the thick thornbushes to the small open space where they stood. Jacob's ears flattened as he took in my expression; he crouched forward, baring his teeth – hismuzzle was streaked with blood from his kill. His eyes raked the forest. I could hear the growl building in his throat. Renesmee was every bit as alert as Jacob. Abandoning the dead stag at her feet, she leaped into my waiting arms, pressing her curious hands against my cheeks. â€Å"I'm overreacting,† I assured them quickly. â€Å"It's okay, I think. Hold on.† I pulled out my cell phone and hit the speed dial. Edward answered on the first ring. Jacob and Renesmee listened intently to my side as I filled Edward in. â€Å"Come, bring Carlisle,† I trilled so fast I wondered if Jacob could keep up. â€Å"I saw Irina, and she saw me, but then she saw Jacob and she got mad and ran away, I think. She hasn't shown up here – yet, anyway – but she looked pretty upset so maybe she will. If she doesn't, you and Carlisle have to go after her and talk to her. I feel so bad.† Jacob rumbled. â€Å"We'll be there in half a minute,† Edward assured me, and I could hear the whoosh of the wind his running made. We darted back to the long meadow and then waited silently as Jacob and I listened carefully for the sound of an approach we did not recognize. When the sound came, though, it was very familiar. And then Edward was at my side, Carlisle a few seconds behind. I was surprised to hear the heavy pad of big paws following behind Carlisle. I supposed I shouldn't have been shocked. With Renesmee in even a hint of danger, of course Jacob would call in reinforcements. â€Å"She was up on that ridge,† I told them at once, pointing out the spot. If Irina was fleeing, she already had quite a head start. Would she stop and listen to Carlisle? Her expression before made me think not. â€Å"Maybe you should call Emmett and Jasper and have them come with you. She looked†¦ really upset. She growled at me.† â€Å"What?† Edward said angrily. Carlisle put a hand on his arm. â€Å"She's grieving. HI go after her.† Tm coming with you,† Edward insisted. They exchanged a long glance – perhaps Carlisle was measuring Edward's irritation with Irina against his helpfulness as a mind reader. Finally, Carlisle nodded, and they took off to find the trail without calling for Jasper or Emmett. Jacob huffed impatiently and poked my back with his nose. He must want Renesmee back at the safety of the house, just in case. I agreed with him on that, and we hurried home with Seth and Leah running at our flanks. Renesmee was complacent in my arms, one hand still resting on my face. Since the hunting trip had been aborted, she would just have to make do with donated blood. Her thoughts were a little smug.

Why It Is Harder to Rinse Off Soap With Soft Water

Why It Is Harder to Rinse Off Soap With Soft Water Do you have hard water? If you do, you may have a water softener to help protect your plumbing from scale buildup, prevent soap scum, and lessen the amount of soap and detergent needed for cleaning. Youve probably heard that cleaners work better in soft water than in hard water, but does that mean you will feel cleaner if you bathe in soft water? Actually, no. Rinsing in soft water may leave you feeling a little slippery and soapy, even after a thorough rinsing. Why? The answer lies in understanding the chemistry of soft water and soap. The Hard Facts of Hard Water Hard water contains calcium and magnesium ions. Water softeners remove those ions by exchanging them for sodium or potassium ions. Two factors contribute to that slippery-when-wet feeling you get after soaping up with soft water. First, soap lathers better in soft water than in hard water, so its easy to use too much. The more dissolved soap there is, the more water you need to rinse it away. Second, the ions in softened water lessen its ability to stick to the soap molecules, making it more difficult to rinse the cleanser off your body. Chemical Reaction The reaction between a triglyceride molecule (fat) and sodium hydroxide (lye) to make soap yields a molecule of glycerol with three ionically bonded molecules of sodium stearate (the soap part of soap). This sodium salt will give up the sodium ion to water, while the stearate ion will precipitate out of solution if it comes into contact with an ion that binds it more strongly than sodium (such as the magnesium or calcium in hard water). The magnesium stearate or calcium stearate is a waxy solid that you know as soap scum. It can form a ring in your tub, but it rinses off your body. The sodium or potassium in soft water makes it much more unfavorable for the sodium stearate to give up its sodium ion so that it can form an insoluble compound and get rinsed away. Instead, the stearate clings to the slightly charged surface of your skin. Essentially, soap would rather stick to you than get rinsed away in soft water. Addressing the Problem There are a few ways you can address the problem: You can use less soap, try a synthetic liquid body wash (synthetic detergent or syndet), or rinse with naturally soft water or rainwater, which probably wont contain elevated levels of sodium or potassium.

Free Essays on Gender Biases As They Exist Across The Lifespan

Do gender biases exist? I am going to attempt to show that they do before a child is even born, when s/he is an infant, through their childhood and into adulthood. This is not to say that, in some instances they should not exist, only that they do. Let’s first think about how they begin, even before a person is born. A woman is be given a baby shower for her unborn child. The first question from any guest who will be in attendance is â€Å"Is she having a boy or girl†? Well, now we all know the reason for this is so then we know what to get for that unborn child. If it is a boy we will get anything and everything in blue and if it is a girl, well we know to buy pink. At least this is what seems to be the â€Å"society norm†, if you will. If the woman does not know what she is having, which I personally do not see as the case anymore, well then this poses a mini crisis. Now what color should we buy? So, the infant ends up in white and light green and y ellow, because these are the colors that are excepted to be universal. Before 1920-children under the age of six generally wore white. After approximately age six, children were dressed like miniature adults. In the 1920’s, a new interest in differentiating the sexes at an earlier age developed, it became fashionable for boys’ color to be pink (a more vibrant color) and girls’ to be blue (a more placid, serene color). The present fashion (pink for girls, blue for boys) came about in the late 1930’s. Pink for girls, and blue for boys is fashion, and like any other style, it comes and goes but it is sexist, (Crawford, p.81). Children then enter into the educational institution, where gender biases continue to play a major role, although quietly, it is still present in a major way. It is sometimes more of a type of segregation. For instance, when children are told to line up for something, they are usually in two lines, one for girls and one for boys. â€Å"At a ver... Free Essays on Gender Biases As They Exist Across The Lifespan Free Essays on Gender Biases As They Exist Across The Lifespan Do gender biases exist? I am going to attempt to show that they do before a child is even born, when s/he is an infant, through their childhood and into adulthood. This is not to say that, in some instances they should not exist, only that they do. Let’s first think about how they begin, even before a person is born. A woman is be given a baby shower for her unborn child. The first question from any guest who will be in attendance is â€Å"Is she having a boy or girl†? Well, now we all know the reason for this is so then we know what to get for that unborn child. If it is a boy we will get anything and everything in blue and if it is a girl, well we know to buy pink. At least this is what seems to be the â€Å"society norm†, if you will. If the woman does not know what she is having, which I personally do not see as the case anymore, well then this poses a mini crisis. Now what color should we buy? So, the infant ends up in white and light green and y ellow, because these are the colors that are excepted to be universal. Before 1920-children under the age of six generally wore white. After approximately age six, children were dressed like miniature adults. In the 1920’s, a new interest in differentiating the sexes at an earlier age developed, it became fashionable for boys’ color to be pink (a more vibrant color) and girls’ to be blue (a more placid, serene color). The present fashion (pink for girls, blue for boys) came about in the late 1930’s. Pink for girls, and blue for boys is fashion, and like any other style, it comes and goes but it is sexist, (Crawford, p.81). Children then enter into the educational institution, where gender biases continue to play a major role, although quietly, it is still present in a major way. It is sometimes more of a type of segregation. For instance, when children are told to line up for something, they are usually in two lines, one for girls and one for boys. â€Å"At a ver...

Apply for a Canada Old Age Security Pension

Apply for a Canada Old Age Security Pension Canadas Old Age Security (OAS) pension is a monthly payment available to most Canadians 65 or older, regardless of work history. Its not a program that Canadians pay into directly, rather it is funded out of the Canadian Governments general revenues. Service Canada automatically enrolls all Canadian citizens and residents who are eligible for pension benefits and sends a notification letter to these recipients a month after they turn 64. If you have not received this letter, or you receive a letter informing you that you could be eligible, you must apply in writing for Old Age Security pension benefits. Old Age Security Pension Eligibility Anyone living in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or legal  resident at the time of applying and who has resided in Canada for at least 10 years since turning 18 is eligible for an OAS pension. Canadian citizens living outside of Canada, and anyone who was a legal resident the day before leaving Canada, might also be eligible for an OAS pension if they resided in Canada for at least 20 years after turning 18. Note that anyone who lived outside Canada but worked for a Canadian employer, such as the military or a bank, can have their time abroad counted as a residence in Canada, but must have returned to Canada within six months of ending employment, or must have turned 65 while abroad. OAS Application Up to 11 months before you turn 65, download the application form (ISP-3000)  or pick one up at a Service Canada office. You can also call a toll-free number to receive the  application, which requires basic information such as Social Insurance Number, address, bank information (for deposit), and residency information. For assistance with completing the application, call the same number. If you are still working and wish to put off collecting benefits, you can delay your OAS pension. Indicate the date you want to start collecting benefits in section 10 of the OAS pension form. Include  your  Social Insurance Number in  the space provided at the top of each page of the form, sign and date the application, and include any required documentation before sending it to the regional  Service Canada office nearest you. If you are filing from outside of Canada, send the application to the Service Canada office nearest to where you last resided in Canada. Required Information The ISP-3000 application requires information about certain eligibility requirements, including age, and asks applicants to include certified photocopies of documents to prove two other requirements: Certificate of citizenship, immigration documents, or temporary residents permit to prove Canadian legal status, unless you have lived in Canada your entire life.Stamped passport pages, visas, customs declarations, or other documents to prove Canadian residence history. Photocopies of documents proving your legal status and residence history can be certified by certain professionals, as outlined in the Information Sheet for Old Age Security Pension, or by staff at a Service Canada Centre. If you dont have proof of residency or legal status, Service Canada might be able to request the necessary documentation on your behalf. Fill out and include the ​Consent to Exchange Information with Citizenship and Immigration Canada with your application. Tips If you have already turned 65, send your application as soon as possible so you dont miss any more payments. If you have already supplied the documents when applying for a Canada Pension Plan retirement pension, you do not need to supply them again. If you are incarcerated, you can still apply for a pension but the benefits will be suspended until your incarceration ends. If your application is denied, you must submit a request for reconsideration in writing within 90 days of receiving the notification. The appeal should include your name, address, telephone number, Social Insurance Number, and the reason for your appeal, including any new information that would affect the application, and be sent to the address on the notification letter.

Faculty Evaluation Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Faculty Evaluation Development - Essay Example Faculty evaluation usually involves assessment of the faculty members based on a set of performance indicators such as teaching, scholarly activity or creative endeavors, professional development and institutional/university involvement and community service. Such evaluations should use multiple sources including students, peers and the faculty members themselves (Paulsen, 2002). As the chairperson of the Faculty Evaluation Development committee of the University, I would like to co-opt the following members of the committee and for reasons detailed below. 1. All Academic Deans of the university who will be responsible for providing collated data obtained from students, peers, and faculty through the department heads/chairpersons. These data will be used to evaluate each faculty member. The deans will also be entrusted with the responsibility, at the end of the annual performance appraisal, of holding discussions with the faculty members under their jurisdiction to motivate and guide them to better their performance. The department heads/chairpersons, on the other hand, will hold private discussions with each of their faculty members on their assessment and also make discussion on assessment a regular part of departmental faculty meetings. 2. External expert/consultant. This person will be an important component of the committee to deal with the faculty concerns that are bound to be there to the evaluation system. Having an outside consultant as a conduit between faculty and the administration could help overcome faculty resistance to the evaluation process (Arreola, 2007). A consultant could also help to convert the ambivalent faculty. It would help if the consultant is someone preferably trained in educational psychology and of an affable and non-threatening demeanor. Â  

The Ethical Issues Concerning Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Ethical Issues Concerning Abortion - Essay Example Normally I would say it is a bad idea to totally base one’s argument of an assumption, and I think that that is usually a good rule of thumb to follow when constructing an argument, especially if there can be found a hole in your argument based on the assumption that you made right from the start! However, in this instance, I feel that her assumption if somewhat justified. The writer attempts to back up their argument by tossing around names of other people who believe as she does, and instead of trying to argue against them she decides to assume they are correct and argue with them. It is an interesting stylistic way to present an argument. It does solve the problem of having to argue that point, as she comes off right from the bat stating that she will not argue that and that the whole argument is based off the idea that is taken for an assumption. And while I originally thought it would be ineffective and not work well in the thought process of an argument, it ends up worki ng out quite well for the writer throughout the course of the article. It works for one reason, and it is because of this that I think it is justified to use that assumption. I can find no holes in that assumption, and it is a very fit and sound one to start off an argument. For is the whole abortion debate not over whether or not a fetus is a person? The whole idea is debated over whether or a not a fetus is a person unfit to kill or not, and the assumption that the whole argument is based off that is correct because that is the entirety of the abortion argument. Now, you might think that there is more to the argument than that, but the author debunks that idea in their next paragraph and states that this whole argument is going to be base on the ethics of abortion; not the subtleties that exist in various cases. And with these ideas, she starts up and opens what is followed by a very sound argument, one that totally supports the sound assumption it is based on. I found myself bein g impressed, as I originally was holding out to bust the earlier assumption, and soon found myself thinking that it really is all about the idea of a fetus and if they are in fact people or not. In the end, I believe it is a totally justifiable assumption, and it works exceedingly well in the course of the written argument, even though I did not think that to begin with.  Ã‚  

Feminist political thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Feminist political thought - Essay Example Her removal of the women’s suffrage campaign, and her acrimonious opposition to the social transparency dogmas that influenced many feminist reformers, inspired many feminists to reject her as an enemy of women’s liberty and a man’s woman. This paper will focus on the Emma Goldman, and that in her own unique way, she was not only a radical feminist but one of the most deep-seated of her time. In all, this paper also focuses on Bell Hooks’ concept of transcendence and immanence from the Second Sex. The fact that Goldman was an avant-garde rather than a systematic theorist presents a problem for any discourse of her beliefs. Of course, she had specific ideas that were always evolving. It will also be imperative to depict the context in which her ideas were modeled, as unlike other feminist radicals, Goldman’s struggle for women was second to her struggle for equality for all. Further, this paper will also discourse Goldman’s early influences th at worked upon her consciousness and made her a dissident. Emma Goldman was born and raised in a Russian province of Kovno on 29th June 1869. In her memoirs entitled Living my Life she explains how she gleaned in the community around her demoralizing repercussions of erratic system where wives and children are beaten, Jews ostracized and peasant beaten, guidelines made and broken at the whim of those in power. There was no place for her where she could resort for refuge in her family. Her dictatorial father whom she refers to as the nightmare of my childhood picked her out as the object of his often rages, consequently making sure that from the starting point her advancement was largely in upheaval. In 1882 the family relocated to St. Petersburg, and after a year, the experienced changed everything in her whole life. The same year saw the bloody assassination of Tsar Alexander 11, which was the culmination of numerous decades of increasing radical activity focused towards the Tsaris t despotism. Further, Populism had originally arisen as response to the explosive European revolutions of 1848. For this case, nearly all the Russian affluence and authority were focused in the hands of tiny wealthy aristocracy, which clearly live off a wide-ranging subjugated populace of uneducated and underprivileged peasants. In repulsion against the mounting poverty and injustice around them, scholars such like Nikolai Chernyshevski and Alexander Herzen, somehow nurtured by far-reaching thought from Western Europe, started to evolve a particularly Russian prototype of socialism. They held that Russia could bypass capitalism in the walk toward socialism. At this rate, Emma Goldman started to read the outlawed tracts and censored novels that disseminated amid her sister’s students friends and mourn the insurgents, many of whom had been incinerated, exiled to Siberia or executed by the despotic government. With the books and tracts influencing her, she began questioning more and more the community in which she lived. The notions of the Populist openly inspiring her, she started falling prey later to anarchist notions. She chronicles this in her memoirs when she asserts â€Å"they had been my inspiration ever since I had first read of their lives.†(21) Further, the eminence of women in the Russian revolutionary crusade was an unusual phenomenon within the framework of the 19th century European left. The crusade was maybe the only environment in which women were treated as equals. The

The Federal Reserve Bank Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Federal Reserve Bank - Research Paper Example Somewhat more than ten years after its opening, nonetheless, the new bank came into the line of sight of Andrew Jackson, who attempted to slaughter it after he was chosen president in 1828. After the second bank collapsed, state-sanctioned and uncharted â€Å"public banks† flourished. These banks issued their own notes, redeemable in gold or silver. Given that the National Banking Act, passed in 1863, attempted to provide a measure of cash strength, bank runs and money related frenzies stayed necessary into the mid-twentieth century. This was an episode of theory on Wall Street that bottomed out in 1907 (Paul, 1996). The advanced Fed follows its establishing to President Wilson, who came up with a group of counsels that created the proposition which eventually turned into the Federal Reserve Act, passed by Congress in 1913. The seven unique individuals from the FRB sit for a gathering representation, soon after being confirmed. They incorporate the first Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Charles Hamlin, and President Wilsons Treasury Secretary W.G. McAdoo. Today, the designated individuals from the board serve for staggering fourteen-year terms. Regardless of the chief aims of the Federal Reserve Act, hypothesis on Wall Street proceeded at a pace, prompting a crash in October of 1929. Researchers have proposed that the monstrous money related emergency that followed was exacerbated by the unwillingness of Fed to infuse more cash into the economy. To some degree due to this, almost 10,000 banks fizzled between 1930 and 1933 (Paul, 1996). Because of the emergency, Congress passed the Banking Act of 1933, otherwise called the Glass-Steagall Act that required the separation of business and investment; obliged the utilization of government securities as security for Federal Reserve notes. This led to the con struction of the Federal

Will be provide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Will be provide - Essay Example red to the flow loop since the level loop is just pegged on the level valve just as where the flow loop also depends on both the flow and level valve. The level sensor’s gain was recorded at 121.28% m. Rationally an increase in the level percent led to an increase in the level as the tank increased. The effects of the derivative, integral and proportional actions on the system were observed with the turning of the flow level trainer. It was established through the turning that the system responded faster with a gain in the system. Involvement of the integral led to a decreased and went from slow reactions to unstable ones. Addition of the derivative caused the higher rate to do an overshoot. Tuning rules are critical part of learning how to manage a system. In this section of the experiment, familiarization with the operation of flow level trainer as well as data V system was acquired. The set point reactions and tuning parameters of the flow as well as level loop were observed. The first tuning parameters of the system are as indicated in table 2.3.1. The reaction to a set point alteration of the flow loop was examined by setting the rate of flow to 2.5 USGPM and level set point to 50 %.There was time allowed for the system to be able to settle so that its water level and flow rates were approximately at the allocated set points. Recording was done for the positions of the level and flow valves. Thus, changes were made for the flow set point from 2.5 USGPM to 3.0 USGPM. The system’s response was examined by recording the new level and flow valve positions in table 2.3.2. There was observation of the response to a set point change of the level loop by setting tank water level to 60% as well as the flow set point at 3.0 USGPM. Once again the system was given time to settle with the recording of valve and flow positions being done. Thus there was a reduction of the set point to 30% from 60% and the new flow ad valve positions were put down in table 2.3.3 The

Do not need to divide it Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Do not need to divide it - Coursework Example If it is used to store an account object, it is known as the domain container. In certain cases it is used to indicate the Windows structure by means of the concerned directory. (Schmidt 2008) The domain structure has gone through various changes and the environment and structure of Windows has changed when compared to the past. The domain structure depends on the operating system and hence the domain structure must be modified each time the operating system is changed. Windows domain is completely different from that of other operating systems. Initially domains had the ability to store the user accounts pertaining to a company. But this often led to problems related to data access, since the company in a different city was deprived of its chances to access the required data. (Tiensivu 2008) In this stage, Microsoft altered the usage of domains by introducing domain trusts that helped in the easy access of data. The domain trusts help the employees to access the data only if they ar e directed form a trusted domain source. In this case, the domain which allows the access is known as trusting domain. In the initial stages of development, domains were individual components that were isolated from each other. The changes in the Windows environment changed the entire structure of domain and created a separate structure for these domains. The Windows NT domain structure is completely different from that of Windows 2000, 2003 or 2008. (Posev 2007) The use of domains does not end with database account management; instead they are also used for resource management. The domain structure includes domain controllers and domain name spaces. Domain names are initialized by the Domain Name Servers (DNS) which acts as an intermediary between the systems in a network. The use of domains and their structure varies according to the operating system. (Comer 2006) Domain Structure The domain structure is composed of several domains where they are considered in a hierarchical patte rn. The domains are grouped into a single tree with a root domain. Even a single domain can be made into a tree by including the sub domains from other systems. If the numbers of domains are more, then they are treated as a forest where the first domain is known as forest root. The domain trusts also form a part of the domain structure. In simple terms domain trusts are described as the relationship between two different domains. (McNab 2007) The trust relationship might be either one way where one domain permits the users to access another domain, or two ways where users have the accessibility to both the domains involved in the trust relationship. Role of Domain Structure Windows 2008 allows both one way and two way trust relationship between the domains. In this way it is advantageous, since the users can have an access to both the databases. Cross link, transitive and explicit are the other types of trust relationships that can be established between the domains. The next import ant aspect of domain structure is the domain controller. The domain member of a tree can be made as a domain controller by specifying certain commands. This domain controller manages the other domains in the system. It ensures that the domains perform their operations in a proper manner. (McClure 2009) Windows operating system uses Primary Data Controller(PDC) (McNab, 2007) which controls the entire operations of the domains included in the system structure. Windows can

Will be provide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Will be provide - Essay Example red to the flow loop since the level loop is just pegged on the level valve just as where the flow loop also depends on both the flow and level valve. The level sensor’s gain was recorded at 121.28% m. Rationally an increase in the level percent led to an increase in the level as the tank increased. The effects of the derivative, integral and proportional actions on the system were observed with the turning of the flow level trainer. It was established through the turning that the system responded faster with a gain in the system. Involvement of the integral led to a decreased and went from slow reactions to unstable ones. Addition of the derivative caused the higher rate to do an overshoot. Tuning rules are critical part of learning how to manage a system. In this section of the experiment, familiarization with the operation of flow level trainer as well as data V system was acquired. The set point reactions and tuning parameters of the flow as well as level loop were observed. The first tuning parameters of the system are as indicated in table 2.3.1. The reaction to a set point alteration of the flow loop was examined by setting the rate of flow to 2.5 USGPM and level set point to 50 %.There was time allowed for the system to be able to settle so that its water level and flow rates were approximately at the allocated set points. Recording was done for the positions of the level and flow valves. Thus, changes were made for the flow set point from 2.5 USGPM to 3.0 USGPM. The system’s response was examined by recording the new level and flow valve positions in table 2.3.2. There was observation of the response to a set point change of the level loop by setting tank water level to 60% as well as the flow set point at 3.0 USGPM. Once again the system was given time to settle with the recording of valve and flow positions being done. Thus there was a reduction of the set point to 30% from 60% and the new flow ad valve positions were put down in table 2.3.3 The

Operation Strategy w3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Operation Strategy w3 - Essay Example The difficulty is the services marketing arises because there is an absence of any physical product in the business. The customer’s needs vary from one individual to another and because of this reason; services have to be modified in order to serve each client. There are four basic process strategies that are described as follows: - The strategy focuses on the product as the name suggests and it works towards the betterment of product and service quality (van de ven, 1992). The low level of standardization is used while; the product designed is generic in nature. This strategy requires the division of a process into various steps and these steps are taken separately in order to minimize the possibility of an error (van de ven, 1992). The assembly line manufacturing is a common instance. The strategy focuses on designing a specific product for a client so that his or her needs can be fulfilled optimally (van de ven, 1992). The customer satisfaction is the ultimate concern of this approach. The example includes the garment shop that is vending professional suiting for both males and females. The concept is to take a specific order in the light of purchaser’s buying power and other aspects. The idea is to maximize customer satisfaction. Reimann, M., Schilke, O., & Thomas, J. (2010). Customer relationship management and firm performance: the mediating role of business strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 38 (3) ,

Dramatic Importance of Similar Themes Essay Example for Free

Dramatic Importance of Similar Themes Essay A distinct art form like a poem, novel or play, a short story is a short piece of writing, having few characters, conflicts, a theme, a setting and a point of view, usually fewer than 10,000 words. Every detail contributes to the unity of effect. Most short stories can connect if they include similar elements, characteristics or qualities including character development and themes. In the short stories: A Deal in Ostriches, The Beautiful Suit, and The Triumphs of a Taxidermist, all written by H. G. Wells, there are similar features in the way the author writes about the theme of humans going through major changes in their lifetime, which shows how important this fundamental is in the plot development of a short story. Whether the change is positive or negative; all humans go through many changes that could as well be life altering. In A Deal in Ostriches, this theme is situated to play out a role, so the main character goes through a dramatic change from start to finish, ending with a twist to show the main characters true side. In The Beautiful suit, the main character goes through his major change at the end as well, starting off as a man boy, but dying happily in the end. In The triumphs of a Taxidermist, the taxidermist starts off as a man of an unintelligent nature, but concludes in the founding of an extinct species of a New Zealand bird, showing his true identity. These factors help prove that the consistency of having the same theme, helps plot development and structure greatly in short stories. In A Deal in Ostriches, the theme is showing that the main character goes through a vivid change in his life and role as the story progress to the finish. The main character Padishah, tends to be a loyal character who needs help finding his jewel. We believe he is against Potter, who is trying to steal his jewel for his own contentment. In the end we consider the fact that Padishah changes throughout the story and turns against everyone to be on Potters side. This story concludes with a bit of a twist, â€Å"A week or so after landing I was down Regent-street doing a bit of shopping, and who should I see arm-in-arm and having a purple time of it but Padishah and Potter. †(Wells 4) This shows that even if someone is reliable or trustworthy at the start, it does not mean they will never change. Padishah is a perfect example of how life situations will always change over time. In The Beautiful Suit, the main character is a little man, who goes through a major change at the end of the story, showing the theme of how life changes can occur in very little periods of time. He starts off as a sad man because his mother would never let him wear his favourite suit, but dies happily in the end. â€Å"But his face was a face of such happiness that, had you seen it, you would have understood indeed how that he had died happy. †(Wells 4) He is the one who changes his feelings; he decides to go out and live his life the way he wanted to. One night he decided he was going to do everything he ever wished to do, including wearing his suit. We find out that his negative attitude turned into a positive one just by changing the way he felt he should be doing things. This little man starts his life in a way he did not feel was right, so he took a chance to turn his life around, and he did. He died happily, just as he wished he would. This shows the theme of human life changing noticeably, and how it can also change in an encouraging way. In The triumphs of a Taxidermist, the main character who is a taxidermist starts off hiding who he truly is, but ends up showing how truly smart and sneaky he is in the end. The taxidermist does not tell or show anyone his uniqueness until the end of the story when he reveals that he found a species of a New Zealand bird which is extinct. One man questioned â€Å"Is it one of those big birds recently extinct in New Zealand? †(Wells 2) No one truly believed that the taxidermist actually founded this spices, but life is full of unexpected surprises. If you are gentle and composed, you can always change your ways in life and become a man of great power. The taxidermist showed that humans go through major changes or chose to make those changes themselves, sometime throughout their lifetime. In conclusion all three of these well written short stories by H. G Wells, brought me to the attention that similar themes, such as the theme of humans going through major changes, is very important in plot development of a short story. These short stories all include a main character that goes through dramatic changes from start to finish presenting its similarities. Everything has something in common; you just need to be imaginative to find it out.

William Lyon Mackenzie :: essays research papers

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie's life can best be understood if man and legend are separated. William was born on March 12, 1795 in Scotland. Three weeks after his birth, his father, Daniel, supposedly died, but no record of his death has ever been found. William and his mother were said to gone through great hardship, having to move off of Daniel's land. After moving to Dundee, William, who went by the names Willie or Lyon, entered the Dundee Parish School at the age of five, with the help of a bursary. At fifteen, he was the youngest member of the commercial newsroom of the local newspaper. He also belonged to a scientific society, where he met Edward Lesslie, and his son, James. These two would be William's patrons throughout most of his life. In 1820, William sailed to Canada with John, another son of Edward Lesslie. Mackenzie was immediately impressed with Upper Canada. Before the end of the year, Mackenzie was writing for the York Observer under the name of 'Mercator'; In 1824, Mackenzie started his most famous newspaper, the Colonial Advocate. The first edition appeared on May 18, 1824. The sole purpose of this paper was to sway the opinions of the voters in the next election. On June 8, 1826, a group of fifteen, young, well connected Tories disguised themselves as Indians, and broke into Mackenzie's York office in broad daylight. They smashed his printing press, then threw it into the bay. The Tories did nothing to compensate him, so it was clear that they were involved. Mackenzie ntook them to court, and seeing that their 'disguise'; had been seen through, they offered Mackenzie  £200. He refused, and after a bitter trial, the court awarded him  £625. In March of 1829, Mackenzie went to the United States to buy books for resale, and to study the actions of the newly appointed Andrew Jackson. He compared the simplicity and the cost of American government to Canada's, and saw that their spoils system might be a way of doing away with some Family Compact members. When an assembly met in January of 1831, Mackenzie fully immersed himself into its proceedings. He demanded inquiries into abuse, and insisted on a review of representation in the province. He appointed people on the council to fight for what he, himself wanted, while what he personally did angered and annoyed the Tory members of parliament. On December 12, 1831, Mackenzie was voted out of parliament on a vote of 24 to 15.

Lord of the Flies - Savagery Essay -- English Literature Essays

Lord of the Flies - Savagery â€Å"There are too many people, and too few human beings.† (Robert Zend) Even though there are many people on this planet, there are very few civilized people. Most of them are naturally savaged. In the book, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, boys are stranded on an island far away, with no connections to the adult world. These children, having no rules, or civilization, have their true nature exposed. Not surprisingly, these children’s nature happens to be savagery. Savagery can clearly be identified in humans when there are no rules, when the right situation arouses, and finally when there is no civilization around us. Without rules, savagery takes over. Without rules, man is free to do whatever he desires. Meaning, their true nature will be exposed. That nature is surely savagery. For example, when you watch little kids, you tend to notice that if one has a toy, the other will start a fight just to get a toy. Since the kids don’t know the difference between rights and wrong, they’re just expressing themselves naturally, which happens to be savagery. Here is a quote from Golding from chapter 4 of his book that proves that rules are the basis to civilization. â€Å"Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and scho...

Honda City Marketing Research

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The project in its present form and state would not have been possible had it not been for the able guidance and support of Prof. Sandip Anand whom we always looked up to, when faced with any difficulty and have disturbed him at all times and hours. We would also like to thank our seniors and classmates who provided us with references required for collection of data. No research would be successful, without the active involvement of the respondents and we take this opportunity to thank our various respondents for having patiently filled our response sheet. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND The first automobile was steam powered vehicle invented in 1672. Since the first car rolled out on the streets of Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1898, the Automobile Industry of India has come a long way. During its early stages the auto industry was overlooked by the then Government and the policies were also not favorable. As a result automobiles were not a common sight. However with liberalization policy adopted y the GOI, significant changes have been made. Today, India is one of the largest markets for automobiles in the world. Our research is concerned with the sedans. A sedan car or saloon car (British English) is a passenger car with two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the rear compartment for adult passengers. The vehicle usually has a separate rear trunk for luggage, although some manufacturers such as Chevrolet, Tata, and Volkswagen have made rear-engined models. It is one of the most common body styles for modern automobile LITERATURE REVIEW We studied some current literature and news reports available on the growing mid segment sedan market in India. There is a huge shift that is currently happening as far the car market is concerned. Companies are now starting to believe in the â€Å"India Growth Story†, and changing their focus to lure high spenders and people who are connoisseurs of luxury and premium cars. All companies have either entered or planning to enter this segment. Some of the latest reports from the executives (or the company) of some of the leading players in the market are as mentioned below. Speaking to Business Standard, Fumihiko Ike, chief operating officer of regional operations, Asia Oceania, Honda Motor Company, said: â€Å"There will be multiple models coming out of the small car platform after its launch in 2011. We will explore a sedan, too, using the same platform to make maximum use of our resources. † While Japan's third largest auto company, Nissan, had stated earlier that it would also pull out a mid-sized sedan from the small five-seater car that it would launch this May. Toyota Kirloskar Motors will be launching a sedan based on the concept compact model, which it had showcased at the recent Auto Expo held in Delhi. Company officials decline to reveal the targeted price, but state it will be available in the same range as the Swift Dzire, which is Rs 4. 90-5. 5 lakhs. Czech-based car maker Skoda Auto is also working on a car which it is keen on positioning below the Octavia, a premium car sold above Rs 10 lakhs. Thus, this area presents a huge marketing opportunity for companies and so is an exciting subject for study as well. CATEGORY The brands this study would cover are Ford Fiesta, Maruti Suzuki SX4, Hyundai Verna, Fiat Linea and Honda City. Research Methodology Prime focus of the research: To find the value positioning of Honda City among the mid segment sedans. Target Group Since we were studying the mid and the premium segments there are three groups that we targeted in our study: Existing consumer who buy cars. Probable consumers who can convert into active consumers into near future. Consumers who shall be converting into such category in distant future. We basically studied the following categories of people for our analysis: Working professionals Youths in the age group of 25-40 with high disposable income Students and other youth about to join service or start up on their own First year students of XIMB were also considered for the study Methodology The attempt of this study was to cover the growth of the premium segment watches as a lifestyle statement, the coverage included quantifying or finding the strong and the weak attributes that pursues the sales of these watches hence the methodologies used are: Focus Group Discussions (2) In-depth Interviews Survey methodology (Sample Size = 101) While the group observation and discussion helped us to identify the qualitative aspect of the study at length the survey methodology helped us to reach to a various inferences related to percentage of people preferring the sedans, the primary drivers for the various mid segment sedans, the strengths and weaknesses of the brands, stochastic share of brands etc. which is discussed in detail in the report at a later part. Process Since we are targeting such diverse consumer group our survey has to extend beyond regional level. The focus of our survey shall be: Pan India Survey Respondents from metros- Prime target study Mini metros Class 1 towns Online questionnaire: We used this as our method for collecting data so as to reach customers from all possible segments and various cities. Sampling The traditional sampling approach, i. e. the sample was selected before data collection began and sampling without replacement was performed. The following techniques were used: Sampling Technique The traditional sampling approach was used, i. e. he sample was selected before data collection began and sampling without replacement was performed. The following techniques were used: For the qualitative analysis, i. e. in-depth interviews and focus groups discussion, subjects were selected based on the attributes and the parameters for buying the mid segment sedans mostly from students and working population. For the quantitative analysis, snowball sampling was adopted. Recent buyers helped to send the questionnaire to ot her people who were passionate about mid segment sedans. Sample Size Around 150 people were included in the study with the following rough breakup. Around 10 people for the focus group discussions and the in-depth interviews (Qualitative Analysis) Around 101 people for the Sample survey (Quantitative Analysis) Aspiring groups comprising of students, young working people and executives were considered. Variables Dependent Variable Independent Variables Now we have a look at the various independent variables that in turn have helped us to decide the preference of a particular mid segment sedan. Affordable Price – Whenever customers go to buy a car, some of them may have a particular budget in their mind while some may be willing to spend any amount. Many a times it happens that a customer goes to a showroom and asks the dealer to show cars with a particular price range while at times they are willing to spend any amount if they like a particular car. Hence this variable helps us in understanding the attitude of customers with respect to the price they are willing to spend when they go to purchase cars especially in the segment of 5 lakhs to 12 lakhs. This variable also helps us to understand very important factors like whether the customer is willing to compensate quality to save cost because if he is not willing to spend more if he is getting a better quality car in a price beyond his budget then it shows that the customer is strictly limited by his price range while making the purchase. Comfort – Comfort is one of the important aspects while deciding on the choice of cars. When a customer is willing to pay any amount over 5 lakhs for a sedan that means he or she is looking for a car which provides good comfort. Comfort in a broader aspect touches upon the experience of a customer when he or she is travelling in car. Sufficient leg space, seats and a good shock absorbing system are quintessential in determining the comfort of a car. Interior and Exterior looks – Aesthetics and looks are always an important criteria for purchasing a car. Sedans are typically considered as mid segment cars because of its superior exterior looks and good interiors. This variable helps us to determine whether people consider exterior and interior looks as one of the defining criterion while going for a sedan. Safety and additional Features – With increase in the options available in the market, many a time customers may want to look for additional features being offered in different mid segment cars. Air bags, power steering, alloy wheels, music player, central locking and multiple colour options are various other additional features which customer are looking for when they purchase a car. This variable will give us an idea as to how much priority a customer gives to these features. Mileage – Middle and upper middle class people always look out for a car which has a good mileage. As fuel prices are increasing year after year, mileage has definitely been a governing criterion for all car takers. This variable will help us measure the importance of mileage as one of the deciding parameters. Power – One of the most important features of a mid segment sedan is the power. There is a substantial increase in power from the small cars thereby giving more pick up and stability in the long run. This variable will help us to determine whether people perceive power as a criterion to select a sedan or not. After-Sales Service – Possessing a good car does not solve one’s purpose. Customers are looking for cars which not only are affordable, give good mileage but also which have good after sales service. Therefore, after sales service is very important in today’s competitive environment. This variable will give us an idea how important is after sales service when customers go for a particular brand. Status Symbol – India has been growing at a fairly fast rate which eventually has raised the per capita income. With the growth in income people have become more conscious about the kind of cars they possess. Therefore, status symbol is an important parameter when we go for a particular brand. This variable will tell us whether status symbol is one of the criteria to go for a particular brand. In addition to the above independent variables we have also gathered some demographic data of the people so that we can have a better understanding of the pattern of preference of people coming from different locations, belonging to different age group, having different annual incomes etc. Some of these demographic variables are listed below Name: Name of the respondent Gender: To find out the gender of the respondent Occupation: To find out the current occupation of the respondent Household Income per annum: To find the income group to which the respondent belongs. Price willing to pay for a sedan: To find out the price range which respondents are comfortable while going for a sedan. Qualitative Analysis Qualitative Analysis was carried out using focus group discussions to generate hypothesis about purchase decision of a car for people and how different factors affect their decision. Qualitative analysis will be helpful for getting a detail insight into the problem. Focus Group Discussions Honda City has been regarded as a prestigious brand in India since its launch in 1998. It maintains a significant market share in its class and enjoys a very high level of popularity. The luxurious sedan has a lot to offer to its potential buyers- new engine, new design, more grandeur, increased cabin space, and of course top notch performance. Objectives: To find out the perception of people about Honda City among the mid segment cars in terms of factors that affect the purchasing behaviour of customers. They are factors like: {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} To check the status of Honda City as compared to its competitors like Verna, Ford Fiesta and Linea in the sedan segment of cars. Target Population: Young Professionals in the age group of 22-35 years. Users of Honda City and users of other brands Non users of cars Students with no work experience and others with substantial work experience of 2-4 years. Content Analysis: Table 1 CONCLUSION BASED ON QUALITATIVE FINDINGS From the overall Qualitative Analysis, it seems that customers of premium watches are very conscious and careful buyers. For them the most important features are the Quality of the watch and are very particular about its Performance as well. They view it as a strong status symbol and an accessory, which adds to their personality. Also, people these days lay a lot of stress on the additional features like Embedded Jewellery, chronographs etc Quantitative Analysis Quantitative data analysis has been done in the following way. An Excel Analysis of the demographic profile was done first to understand the respondents’ background and to check the general attributes of the respondents. Then the Factor Analysis was done, the result of which has been explained below. Then the top 2 boxes scores were analyzed for various attributes based on respondent profiles. Then Jaccard Analysis was done to find out the primary drivers for the mid-segment car category. It was followed by stochastic share analysis and SWOT analysis. Then cross tabulation was done to measure Brand Preference with the top 2 boxes for all the important attributes. This is how an extensive quantitative analysis for our research was done. Demographic profile of the respondents Gender Profile {draw:frame} The gender profile of the respondent base is tilted towards the male category as they constitute 76% of the total base. Age Profile {draw:frame} Occupation {draw:frame} Of the total number of people surveyed, the service and self employed categories almost constitute 50% of the responses. All the respondents provided their employment status within these three categories and nobody opted for the â€Å"Others† category which was provided. A lot of respondents were from our institute making the student population half of the total responses. Students make the aspiring group and also form an important part for the emerging market. Total Household Income {draw:frame} Pilot Testing Initially a questionnaire was developed as per the requirements of the research proposal. This questionnaire was subject to pilot testing to find out the errors in it if any as per the attitude of the people. To find out if any question is confusing or not conveying the intended meaning it was done. For this we selected around 15 people according to the sample needed for the study. These people were asked to fill up the questionnaire. We noted down any possible problem that these respondents faced while filling up the questionnaire. After this we worked on such problems found out and the suggestions from these respondents with respect to the questionnaire. Some questions those were conveying double meaning or creating confusion was omitted from the questionnaire. This edited questionnaire was then used as the final questionnaire and then the study was carried out. Bi-Variate Analysis Total Household Income Vs Amount Willing to Spend on a Sedan It can be inferred from the above figures that the people want to own a car mostly in the range of annual salary they earn. But majority of the people are willing to buy a car in the range of Rs. 5-7 lakh. It is interesting to find that a very few people want to buy a sedan in the range of above Rs. 12 lakh among the first four income groups. Still people having income below Rs. lakh have shown interest in buying such a sedan possibly due to aspirational reason. Total Household Income Vs Preference of Respondents for Various Brands It can be observed that for those people earning less than Rs. 300000, there is not much difference between the preferences for the different brands. Nonetheless, Honda City and Ford Fiesta are the winners with equal percentage of fan following. In the higher categories of to tal household incomes, it can be inferred that Honda City has a clear cut upper hand over the other brands. Only Suzuki SX4 comes close to it in some cases. This shows that people with higher earnings definitely would like to choose City over other given brands in the mid segment category. People with lower incomes are open to any brand FACTORING Factor analysis is a data reduction technique that aims at grouping the input variables, which have dependency with each other, into factors that underlie the input variables. Initially the total number of factors in the factor analysis is equal to the total number of input variables. But after the factor analysis the total number of variables in the study can be reduced by discarding the insignificant factors based on certain criterion. We have performed factor analysis on all the questions that we had in our questionnaire treating each one as an independent variable. The extraction method chosen for factor analysis was Principal Component matrix. This is the most popular technique for factor analysis, which determines loadings of variables on different factors by using the standard normal values of the observations of the original input variables. The rotation method used is Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. We have given the SPSS output as a separate attachment with the report. Extraction communalities are the variances of the variables accounted for by the factors in the factor solution. Large values of communality of all the variables indicate that they fit well with the factor solution, and thus should not be dropped from the analysis. Clearly all the fifty-two variables have fairly high value of extraction communality and thus should not be dropped from the factor analysis. Scree plot is the curve obtained by plotting Eigen values against their corresponding factors. The eigen value of a factor captures the variation in all the variables captured by it. The Scree plot above clearly shows that the slope of the curve falls after the fifteenth factor and also eigenvalue drops below Due to these only fifteen factors are taken into consideration. The total variance table also gives the details of the fifteen variables of the factoring output. The second column indicates that there are 15 factors for which Eigen value is greater than 1. The last column ‘cumulative %’ gives the percent of variance accounted for by all factors or components up to and including the current one. The fifteenth factor has a value of 82. , which indicates that all the fifteen factors till the current one total account for 82. 6% of variance. The following manifest variables were used for factor analysis: Price on mind while buying Price is the deciding factor Japanese cars of superior quality Warranty important Spare parts availability Serviceability Engine life After sales value Additional features 10. Mileage 11. Engine power 12. Performance feedb ack 13. Status symbol 14. Uniqueness 15. Investment source 16. Superior functionality of premium cars 17. Necessity 18. Affordability reduces attractiveness 9. Perceived as successful by colleagues when driving premium cars 20. Great interior and exterior looks KMO and Bartlett’s Test KMO test indicates if the sample size is adequate with respect to number of variables being considered. 0. 815 indicates that the sample size is adequate. We can also reach the same conclusion by multiplying the number of manifest variables by 5, which is 100 (=20Ãâ€"5) and that is less than 101, the sample size. Bartlett’s test has a chi square distribution and if significance is greater than 0. 1, then data is unimodal. But the high significance level here shows that the data collected is not skewed and has more or less a uniform distribution. Communalities Total Variance Eigen cut-off value has been set to one here. As we can see in the appendix attached, there are four factors which explain 60. 97% of total variance. {draw:frame} Screen Plot Scree plot shows how the Eigen value varies across factors. The points above the Eigen value of 1 in the scree plot constitute the factors. The first four factors have thus a steep value after which the slope flattens. Rotated Component Matrix draw:frame} The rotated component matrix shows all the manifest variables grouped together in various classes which are called factors. They are called latent factors because they are the underlying variables which determine the dependent variable. Also the first factor and the manifest variables under it explain the dependent variable more than the second and third factor. As can be seen from the rotated component matri x table below, eight manifest variables can be grouped under one factor. Another 5 variables under the second factor and so on. Each factor has been provided by a name. A list of the factors and the manifest variables involved is given below: Factor 1 – Features of car/sedan Warranty important Spare parts availability Serviceability Engine life After sales value Additional features Mileage Performance feedback Factor 2 – Social/Perceived Factors Investment source Superior functionality of premium cars Necessity Affordability reduces attractiveness Perceived as successful by colleagues when driving premium cars Factor 3 – Prestige Factors Japanese cars of superior quality Status symbol Uniqueness Factor 4 – Monetary Aspects Price on mind while buying Price is the deciding factor _ _Top of Mind Analysis {draw:frame} The above chart shows the percentage distribution of the various car brands which were provided by the respondents when asked for four various car brands which came to their minds in the mid segment. A total of 45 different car brands were given as response by them consisting of vehicles in the low, mid and the high segments. The most prominent brands were selected and the data concerning them was analyzed. It can be clearly inferred that Honda City enjoys a very good share of the respondents’ top of the mind with a share of about 27%. Maruti SX4 comes next with a share of 14% followed by Ford Fiesta at 11%. When asked about the first brand which comes to their minds, again Honda City was the clear winner by a large margin with about 37 respondents providing the brand name. Jaccard Analysis Jaccard analysis is used in market research to establish which attributes of a brand are important to the customers and the extent to which each of the attributes satisfies their expectations. Jaccard analysis is primarily done to find out the variables in order of their importance for their ability to govern groupability or similarity with the dependent variable. In our marketing research, we have used Jaccard scores to identify the attributes which are important for the brand category using five brands, namely, Honda City, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Verna, Fiat Linea and Suzuki SX4. These attributes will constitute the primary drivers of the brand. We calculate the Jaccard score as follows: The respondents are asked about their brand preferences in the category and their responses are noted down. Then they are asked if they associate a particular attribute with each of the brands under study and their responses are again noted down as follows: YY: If the respondent prefers a brand and associates with a particular positioning. YN: If the respondent prefers a brand but does not associate with a particular positioning. NY: If the respondent doesn’t prefer a brand but associates with a particular positioning. Jaccard Score = YY / (YY+YN+NY) We calculated the Jaccard score for each of the attributes and ranked the attributes from highest to lowest in descending order of the scores. That means in Jaccard analysis, higher the Jaccard score, better is the attribute. After they are ranked, the attributes with scores above a benchmark score are listed. These attributes are named Primary Drivers. The table given below gives the primary drivers for the brand category of Honda City: Based on a cut-off of 0. 4, we find that the following attributes are the primary drivers in the brand category concerned: Exterior/Interior Looks Comfort Affordable Price Power SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is done to find the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a particular brand with respect to other brands in the same category. When studied along with the help of Jaccard analysis, it becomes a powerful tool to identify the areas of strengths and weaknesses. In SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses are internal to the organization while opportunities and threats are external to the organization. A positive SWOT score indicates strength and a negative SWOT score indicates a weakness. It is also observed that the SWOT analysis works on the principal of zero-sum game. A gain on an attribute of a brand is counterbalanced by a loss in another attribute. SWOT scores are calculated as follows: SWOT SCORE = (Brand Attribute score – Attribute Average) – (Brand Average – Grand Average). Here, Attribute’s average is average of all brands’ scores for that particular attribute (Row Average) Average of Brand’s scores on all attributes being considered (Column Average) Grand average of scores (Average of row averages/column averages) The following table is generated for the SWOT scores of different attributes and brands: We have categorised the scores on the basis of the above table. As shown, the attributes with a SWOT score of more than 2 are identified as strengths and are shown in dark green colour. Attributes with SWOT score between 0 and 2 are weaknesses and coloured red, those between 0 and -2 are threats and coloured yellow. Lastly those attributes with SWOT scores less than -2 are labelled as weakness of the concerned brand and coloured red. Now we focus on the brand under question – the Honda City. The attributes of the brand based on SWOT scores can be summarised as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the table given below: Honda City STOCHASTIC ANLYSIS When we are talking about the strength of a brand there are few parameters using which we judge the strength of the brand based on the share it has like: Share of Market This measures the hold of the brand of the market. The problem with this kind of analysis is that it tells the strength of the brand today it reflects no projections and possibilities for future. Share of Mind and Heart is the one that highlights the prospects of the brand in the coming future. It tries to capture what the consumer thinks and believes of a particular brand and thus helps us to determine the prospects of the brand in future based on present perceptions. While conducting the market research for Honda City we have resorted to stochastic share analysis, to see the strength of the brand Honda City relatively to other brands in terms of share of mind The analysis has two parts: Preferred set size of the brand Stochastic share of the brand Preferred set size analysis This part of the analysis hovers to procure the data regarding the preference of the brands in the market. It is the simple process in which the respondent has been asked for preference for the brand from the given choices. Respondent’s response for each brand is treated as a unit for each brand; he can prefer more than one brand. All the brands for which the respondents has respondent in affirmative get allocated a unit i. e. if the respondent says he is aware of Honda City and Fiat Linea, both of them will be appended to the column of Honda City and Fiat Linea. In the end summation of the response is taken and the preferred set size is calculated. Of a brand = ————————————————————————————— Total no of respondents that has a preference for that brand Following table has been extracted from our analysis OBSERVATION The preferred set size for all the brands lies between 1. 38 and 2. 41. Honda City has the value of 1. 38 which essentially means people are pretty clear when it comes to Honda City than any other brand. In fact the total data exhibits far lower preferred set size. If see the preferred set size of the other sedans, we can see that they are pretty well distributed which means preference of a particular brand are clearly visible. Inference The ideal score for any preferred set size is 1 which means this is the only brand preferred by the respondent. This sends a very strong message that there is no close competitor to the given brand, when we are talking in terms of preference set of consumer. For the given analysis we observe that some of the sedans have a preference set greater than 2 and some have a score significantly less than 2. The scores which are less than 2 are a good signal because the customer has more clarity and Honda City enjoys higher preference as compared to its competitors. Stochastic Share Analysis This is the second part of the analysis here we approach the core of the analysis. Taking data from the preferred set size analysis we proceed to calculate the stochastic share of the brand The number of respondents that have responded in affirmative for any brand represents the set, which can become the buyer of the brand hence they represent the future market share for the brand and today’s share of mind this is calculated as No of respondents who responded in affirmative for the brand preference __ Total set size of the respondents considered Now this is the market share of the brand but as we have analyzed before the brand is preferred alongside other brands as well so this share of the mind includes the respondents who prefer other brand as well. Thus to get the actual % representation of a brand in the market we calculate Proportionate market share = % of market calculated earlier ——————————————————- This is now the actual share of the brands but this is not the actual share of mind of the brands that is represented by the share of the brand among he brands considered for study. Proportionate share of the brand Stochastic Share = —————————————————————————- ? Proportionate share of all the brands in the consideration set Fol lowing is the table from our analysis Observation There has been a conformance in the data pattern from that noted in the Preference set analysis. Honda City has the least preferred set size, and has the stochastic share of 56. 40% where as the other sedans have stochastic share between 8% and 17%. Inference This reiterates the fact of the preferred set size analysis where Honda City had the lowest preference set score, thus Honda City could be a leading brand in the market. This analysis emphasizes that Honda City is the brand with the highest share of mind of all consumer. This would or already has translated into highest market share in the segment of sedans, as people are all for this brand when it’s up against the other considered brand. Unparallel attributes that are highlighted by the brand Honda Aggressive marketing effort, which has left a lasting impression on the respondents Precaution in adaptation of analysis The analysis has been done based on the respondents and following points have to be kept in mind The analysis has been drawn on the basis of the respondent set thus depending on the response for the sample set the analysis is done. The competitor set size has been defined with deliberate efforts but the share output could vary with the competitor set. Conclusion Honda City definitely enjoys a good top of mind share in the mid segment cars. So, it shows it is enjoying a good position in the sedan segment. But the pricing is obviously becoming a deciding factor in a small city like Bhubaneswar. Most of the people are willing to spend around 5-7 lakhs on Honda City and not more than that. The most important factors that people look for while purchasing a car are features present in the car, prestige issue linked with the purchase, factors like after sales service, availability of spares, etc and of course monetary factors. Comfort, looks, status symbol and maintenance are the strengths of Honda City. But there are other things like after sales service where Maruti SX4 is the leader. It is also lagging behind competitors like Hyundai Verna, Ford Fiesta, and Maruti SX4 in areas like power, mileage and additional features that people expect to be present in a sedan. Honda has got a high stochastic share which means that it has a large potential market. People want to go for it but are not doing so presently due to some factors. So, Honda should try improving on its weaknesses and keep its strengths intact. It should also be alert for new threats in the market. This can lead Honda to be the market leader in the Sedan segment.