Capturing the Audience

â€Å"Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, When honour’s at the stake. How stand I then† (4,4,52-55). This is part of one of Hamlets great soliloquys from act 4. This soliloquy hits on several points like greatness, honour and how to live your life. These are to things are subjects that have interested the human mind for thousands of years. This soliloquy speaks to these desires in different ways and is able to relate to our inner desires. In this essay, it will be explained how this soliloquy and the themes that are featured in it effect the audience. The first way it speaks to the audience, particularly the Elizabethan audience of the time by, is by Shakespeare creating a hero that would do anything to protect their honour. Honour has always been part of a man. Looking at history it has pooped up over and over again. Honour is being true to a set of personal ideals, or being a man of integrity. ` The imminent death of twenty thousand men/ That for a fantasy and trick of fame/ Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot/ Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,/Which is not tomb enough and continent/to hide the slain? (4,4,59-64) In the soliloquy, Hamlet gives the most fundamental idea of honour protect it no matter what. No matter what the fight is over, you have to stand up for yourself or you are not a â€Å"manâ€Å". Hamlet is looking at Norway’s army with great respect. They are gaining nothing by c onquering Poland, yet they are still going after it to protect their honour. They aren’t backing down from the fight. Shakespeare knew that honour has always been a big part of human life and something greatly respected, especially to the nobles of his time (Shakespeare’s main audience), and made sure to really hit on that really important moral that the audience was able to relate too. Greatness is something that we look for since the beginning. As young children, we look at our parents as the definition of great. As we get older, we start to see all of our parent’s faults but the idea of greatness s already set in our minds and is something that we will always want to achieve. In The soliloquy greatness is closely associated with honour. A good example of how Hamlet sees greatness is the quote was used at the beginning on the essay: â€Å"Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, When honour’s at the stake. How stand I then† (4,4,52-55). Hamlet sees greatness has someone who will always defends their honou r. He is very jealous of young Fortinbras for being a great man who is always defending. This speaks to the audience because again, not only is honour again speaking to the audience but also with our desire to be great. The audience can relate to Hamlet. Most people look at someone with envy wishing they could be great like them. Shakespeare used these feelings of envy and wish for greatness to be able to relate to the play. The last point that Shakespeare hits on is living in the moment. Hamlet biggest flaw in the play is his tendency to ever think everything (e. g. When Claudius is praying and Hamlet comes up with several reasons not to kill him. . The biggest thing that Hamlet realizes in his soliloquy is that flaw. â€Å"Of thinking too precisely on th' event— /A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom And ever three parts coward—I do not know/ Why yet I live to say â€Å"This thing’s to do,† Sith I have cause and will and strength and means/ To do ’† (4,4,40-45) Hamlet realizes what he has done throughout the play and is now regretting the decision he has made. He wishes that he had been brave enough to kill Claudius right away rather than hide behind his thoughts. Audience can relate to this now more than ever. Just take a look at today’s society, many things are about planning and the future but a lot of other things are the exact opposite. Many people are starting to live with the idea that you need to start doing things on a wimp rather than thinking over things and planning them out. People want to live their life to the fullest (e. g YOLO). The people of Shakespeare’s time were renaissance men. They most likely had these thoughts of making their life worthwhile. It is in human nature to want to feel as though our lives have meaning. Although Hamlet is not talking about that exact subject, many of the principles are the same. This speaks to the inner desires of the human mind, capturing the audience’s attention. In conclusion, Hamlets soliloquy captures the targets audience’s attention by using elements that have naturally always captures the human mind attention like greatness, a meaningful life and honour. Shakespeare manages to use all of them to capture the audience’s attention and help them relate to the play.

Role Of Public Libraries In Society Education Essay

IntroductionA public library is a non-profit library, which is maintained for public usage and funded by the authorities or the public beginnings. Unlike other libraries, public library satisfies general public information demands by supplying all sorts of cognition and information available to all sections of the community regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, faith, linguistic communication, disablement, economic and employment position. It may besides supply other services to their communities such as, storytelling for kids, after-school plans, linguistic communication acquisition, seminars, workshops and other community services. Public libraries were initiated back in antediluvian times. They were known and used by Greeks, Romans, North Africa and Middle East. However they did non originate in Europe and America until 18th and nineteenth century. In USA and Europe, public libraries started with a contribution from many private altruists like Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Franklin. Like other altruist, both Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Carnegie realized that books, and the cognition they provide, should non be for merely profusion but for functioning the populace and for anyone who wanted to larn. Because of this belief, they made books and money available to the general populace through their philanthropic gift. Throughout the history, the library aggregations have been changed and developed. Nowadays, beside printed books and traditional stuffs, public libraries offer broad scope of other media and modern engineerings like, videos, audio books, e-books, DVD ‘s and others. Similarly, the functions and missions of public library have been shifted from recreational reading to moving as active educational, economic and societal agents. A A A A A A A This paper seeks to offer a literature reappraisal on the function of public libraries in society. Take the manner of the litrature reappraisal and the words from article ( kids litracy ) A study reveals that, show, found, assume, Harmonizing to Lyman ( 1977 ) , Weibel ( 1992 ) looked at the function of the library in advancing literacy, Spink ( 1989 ) notes, Other surveies have concentrated on, provinces, points out, believeRole of public librariesPublic library plays an of import function in people ‘s lives as a beginning of accessing information and a topographic point for cognition creative activity. It has shown that public libraries are of import informational, educational, cultural, and societal establishments. Public library and Education One of the public libraries ‘ important and cardinal functions is instruction. Public libraries provide books and other stuffs for people to read and utilize. These stuffs are educational and lead to self-improvement and develop basic literacy accomplishments. Public Libraries have ever seen as an educational resource for all people. The educative function of public libraries has expanded to include back uping both formal and informal instruction. A. Public library and literacy Literacy is the ability to read and compose. In libraries civilization, this construct is expanded to include the cognition or instruction in one or several Fieldss required to develop single and communities ‘ accomplishments. Learning today is non a luxury limited merely to selected group, but it is indispensable for endurance. Expansion of literacy demands reading and composing stuff. ( Wijentunge, 2000 ) The public library is the local centre for supplying a wealth of information through acquisition installations and stuffs to back up literacy to the general populace. Literacy is besides achieved by supplying literacy plans and activities for different groups and ages. Public libraries continue to play a major function in furthering literacy in communities and societies, peculiarly among those groups of the populations that need particular aid in developing literacy accomplishments, such as preschool and simple school kids. Children literacy is one of the educative functions of public libraries. Public libraries concern in supplying kids and exposing them to high-quality reading stuffs and rich linguistic communication experiences during the important preschool and simple school old ages. ( Celano, 2001 ) Pennsylvania public libraries are among the libraries, which keen in heightening the kids literacy accomplishments by turn outing them high quality stuffs and affecting them in summer reading plans, narrative hours, humanistic disciplines and crafts activities. A survey was done in Pennsylvania public libraries utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze how library preschool and summer reading plans contribute to kids ‘s reading accomplishments. Surveies were sent to every 3rd library mercantile establishment listed in the directory of Pennsylvania libraries ( 227 studies ) . The survey reveals that kids who participate in summer reading plans gain more literacy accomplishments. They besides found that preschool and summer reading plans encourage kids to pass more clip with books. Furthermore, Observations and question show that library plans encourage parents to play greater functions in their kids ‘s literacy development ( Celano, 2001 ) . B. Public library and Non-formal Education Non-formal instruction is an unsystematic signifier of acquisition and educational activity that occurs outside of traditional organisation or establishment. Unlike the formal instruction, non-formal instruction is non-structured educational system. Examples of non-formal instruction include after-school plans, community-based organisations, museums, libraries, or at place. The purposes of both formal and non-formal instruction are similar but they are different in attack. ( Abraham, 2010 ) . Both larning focal point on deriving cognition and accomplishments nevertheless, the manner of deriving acquisition is different. Non-formal educational patterns are reinforced due to the challenges of modern information society. Abraham ( 2010 ) states that rural people suffer from deficiency of proper instruction. He points out that formal instruction is clip edge, stiff and hard to such people hence, non-formal instruction is much suited to rural people in order to fulfill their demands and suit their environmental conditions. He describes the public library as â€Å" public assistance centre, which provides utile services to the community by furthering instruction, advancing civilization, diversion and airing of information to all subdivisions of the society † . Abraham ( 2010 ) looked at the public libraries as the most appropriate centres through which non-formal instruction can be achieved. He found that some public libraries in rural countries in India ( Kerala ) play an of import function in back uping non-formal instruction by forming dark schools, constructive treatments, seminars and symposia to contend illiteracy and proliferation reading wont. A survey was conducted in one of the Kerala territories ( Abraham, 2010 ) to garner an overview of the function of public libraries in advancing non-formal instruction. Inquirers were distributed among 20 adult females labourers. It was found that 30 % of them could go on their instruction and are trying to accomplish minimal making through utilizing rural libraries in their ain place countries. 60 % could read and compose and 10 % stopped their instruction due to assorted forces grounds. C. Public library and Life long larning Lifelong acquisition is the procedure of continues and on traveling larning throughout individual life in order to heighten uninterrupted development and betterment of the person ‘s ‘ cognition and accomplishments. Life long larning can non be achieved without literacy because reading and authorship is indispensable for larning. Due to the complex and rapid alteration environment, people need to get a assortment of accomplishments and knowledge irrespective of their age, societal, political or economic position. Wijetunge ( 2000 ) states that public libraries contribute to the womb-to-tomb acquisition by back uping the scholars to place and turn up the reading stuffs relevant to the demands of the community. Karunawathie ( 1998 ) gave an illustration of how the Negombo Public Library has contributed to the community in which it exists. The public library has assisted the fishing community in Negombo in altering the procedure of their fishing engineering by supplying the community with good and rich stuffs related to completing industry. 2. Public library and Economic development Public libraries do non merely have educational functions and maps but besides contribute to states ‘ economic systems. There is a important displacement in the function of libraries ; from recreational reading and educational establishments to active economic development agents. † Due to economic development and globalisation, public libraries started to concern in back uping concern and economic development through supplying effectual concern services, resources and literacy plans to their concern communities. Economic and instruction research workers have been analyzing how educational degrees are related to states ‘ economic growing and economic productiveness. They believe that more educated and skilled workers are more productive. ( Liu, 2004 ) A research survey ( Liu, 2004 ) was done to analyze the relationship between public libraries and school libraries and how they are related to states ‘ literacy degrees, which in bend contribute to states ‘ overall economic productiveness. This empirical survey developed a way analysis theoretical account. Cross- state statistics were gathered from a figure of beginnings including the Statistical Abstract of the World and Unesco ‘s Statistical Yearbook. It is demonstrated from this survey that public libraries have a important impact on economic productiveness through supplying assorted concern resources and literacy plans. Other surveies done corroborating the same indicant. A research done by the institute for public and Business Research on behalf of the Kansas State Library ( Glass etc. , 2000 ) . The intent of the survey was to find how Kansas public libraries could play a more active axial rotation in back uping concern and economic development in their communities. The research applied three chief tools: ( 1 ) Focus groups with bibliothecs and concerns, ( 2 ) Case surveies of four local libraries, ( 3 ) Surveies of public libraries, concerns, Chambers of Commerce, and Small Business Development Centers. The survey shows that about a 3rd of successful concerns and economic organisations in all parts of the province usage public libraries as a resource. 3.Public libraries and democratic administration Public libraries are one of the most successful information centres for increasing the quality of life and democratic opportunities for citizens by supplying free and equal entree to high-quality information. Information is of import to civic engagement and its development, which become one of the basic maps of public libraries. ( Arko-Cobbah, 2005 ) Harmonizing to Arko-Cobbah ( 2005 ) , Public libraries can help civil society to implement democratic civilization through the followers:Free and just electionsPublic libraries provide civic societies with instruction plans and necessary information to develop an informed electorate. Through an unfastened entree Internet installations, public libraries can assist with voter enrollment and even function as polling Stationss in some countries. They besides can be used to make out to politically unmotivated citizens and publicise party places, solicit feedback, new thoughts and new members ( Drake, 2001 ) .Citizen engagement in decision-makingThrough the proviso of Internet installations, public libraries provide and exchange the information needed for duologue that the public needs to do determinations about common concerns and guarantee answerability from the authorities.Human rightsIn conformity with the rule of human rights, public libraries play important function in guaranting tha t stuffs and resources are available to run into the demands and involvements of all sections of the community including national minorities.Information AccessFree entree to information is a critical component of the human rights issue that promotes the construct of democracy. Intellectual freedom is a basic human right. Want of this right leads to bossy administration. Public libraries play an of import function in supplying free entree to information, which is a necessary status for good administration.DecisionHarmonizing to the literature reappraisal, public libraries play cardinal functions in the society. They are educational establishments. They provide educational plans, such as kids ‘s and adult literacy plans, to better the literacy degrees of users. They besides support life long learning instruction. Public libraries besides play a function in supplying concern resources and aggregations in their establishments in order to react to the universe economic challenges. They are besides indispensable to the operation of a democratic society by supplying free and equal entree to high-quality information. Despite of all these critical functions for public libraries in society, these functions are non recognized in Kuwait society. Public libraries in Kuwait focal point merely on back uping formal instruction. The library still remains visited by pupils who perform research on assignments and undertakings. It is recommended that public libraries expand their functions to more important one as discussed in the literature reappraisal. That required more attempts in supplying and diverseness in the resources, aggregations, engineering installations, activities and educational plans in the libraries, which can back up different functions. Besides it is recommended increasing the consciousness of public library functions among users. Media besides could hold a important function in indicating out the importance of public libraries in Kuwait.

Strategic management of human resources management Essay

Strategic management of human resources management - Essay Example This type of relationship exist between co-workers, and between workers and supervisors, they help employees to listen to others, understanding of acceptance, team building, understanding of workers life issues, avoiding discrimination and in conflict resolution. Employment partnership-it can be defined as the way partnership is developed in the work place and this type of partnership has been seen to help an organisation to be more productive. It involves building strong bonds of relationship in an organisation. Employment partnership is a way forward in integrating employees, such relationships play a major role in environmental scanning, and this can be viewed as the identifying and analyzing external opportunities and threats that may be crucial to the company's success. This partnership is beneficial to the worker and the organization, workers have different needs and therefore their benefits and job security are major determinants of their performance. Consultation of workers is also a major determinant of performance; the employees should be briefed and involved in decision making of an organization. Workers should be allowed to raise their views and opinions in decision making. Communication with employees should include discussion on the overall progress, agreeing on potential progress, discussing how current performance is in line with the long term goals and planning on actions to be undertaken to improve the organization current state. HOW EMPLOYEE.PARTNERSHIP FIT WITH SHRM The main goal of forming these relationships in an organization is to improve on productivity and efficiency of the organization. This will help in reviewing on the overall progress, an organization that creates an environment based on understanding; better communication and honesty will be successful. The company is in a position to resolve conflicts that result and therefore this does not affect its performance. The relationships that exist helps achieve goals because they help match personal needs with work life. This type of relationships help build trust in the work place, training is the most useful tool in forming this type of partnership because attitude change is difficult and therefore t

Failure of democracy in developing countries Research Paper

Failure of democracy in developing countries - Research Paper Example According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s report on the status of democracies in the world, in 2014, almost 70% developing states’ democratic governing systems were characterized as the â€Å"flawed democracies.† According to the report, deficiencies in the governing process, electoral system, political culture, and civil rights have played a crucial role in failure of democracies developing states. After the end of the World War II, especially during the Cold War era, western powers were engaged in aggressive promotion of democracy in developing and third world countries. During the period, democratic peace theory, which was introduced by Immanuel Kant in 1795, emerged as the widely recognized theory in the global politics and academic spheres. This theory is the core of western promotion campaigns of democracy in developing states. According to the theory, democracy plays a vital role in development of economic stability, security and peace. The theory further claims that democratic states are usually peaceful and comparably less war-oriented. Therefore, it is assumed that the larger the number of democratic states in the world will lead to the less possibility of war and the greater assurance of social and economic stability and peace in the society. On the basic of various scholarly researches and available data, the present paper provides numerous pieces of evidence that w ill cast serious doubts on the validity of the democratic peace theory. In other words, by confuting the major assumptions of democratic peace theory, the paper exposes the failure of democracy in developing world and argues that only the potential spread of democracy won’t lead to more secure world, rather flawed and unmethodical promotion of democracy can lead to more instability and insecurity in the world. Since the period of Cold War, Western powers have

Discrimination and the Role of Business Research Paper

Discrimination and the Role of Business - Research Paper Example However, the commonness of the term in our societies, there has been no stable and neutral definition of the feud. In an attempt to define the term, Altman (2011) views discrimination as the means of treating groups of people in distantly different ways. Discrimination in the workplace occurs when an individual employer or employee treats one group of employees with less consideration than others. All the same, Altman (2011) admits that not all unequal handling of employees constitutes discrimination considering the fact that various people in an employment set up perform different kinds of duties. Employment discrimination practices as comprising issues like biased hiring of workers, selective promotion, unequal job assignment, unreasoned termination of ones duties and unfair compensation. Furthermore, discrimination can be defined as the use of ones power to induce legal and behavioral restrictions on the impoverished societal members to with a vision to maintaining the inequality and desires of particular individuals. In addition, discrimination refers to the unfair treatment of a particular society or group having different believes and views on concerning particular issues. Workplace place discrimination does not just result from the specific work place but the established social relations mostly influence it. The elements of social discriminations are influenced by the varying relationship between groups, which later dictates power and participation in various issues. The hostile existence between groups and social prejudice can lead to development of bullying and stereotyping among various employees in the working organization. Discrimination in an organization may also result as a way of reiterating against past discriminatory acts to previously low ranking employees. Discrimination takes various dimensions that include race, gender, age, ethnicity, or disability among other natures of discrimination. Discrimination classifies under two major forms that include direct and indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination involves the act of treating particular individuals in a disfavored manner with consideration to specific traits such as of gender, race, disability, nationality, disability, and culture (Altman 2011). Indirect discrimination on the other hand refers to the policies that tend to be transparent and fair from the outlook but appears opposite when critically investigated. Indirect discrimination can involve blockade of job applicants on the grounds of petty reasons such as age and unreasonable requirements. In most cases, indirect discrimination persists in organization since it is never for an individual to identify and disclose it on the open. Indirect discrimination have been problematic to certain individuals especially women and the disabled groups (Altman 2011). The general concept of discrimination involves unethical treatment of specific individuals in ways of harassment, bullying, and prejudices that finally ma y have negative impacts on the victims’ concentration. The impacts of discrimination are usually borne by the society as well as the organization in which the act is pursued. The gender form of discrimination has been problematic and with great influence to the society and job organization as well. Gender discrimination in the societies has seen women being viewed as the minority members of the particular families (Glucks 2011). Gender discrimin

Against super PACs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Against super PACs - Essay Example The next presidential election will be one like no one has ever seen before in terms of campaign funding and expenses. Even now, the GOP Presidential Primary races are already showing signs of how money will not be an object for their presidential candidate. This paper will delve into the committee's history and the reasons behind the public outcry against the existence of Super PACs. A Super PAC is an independent - expenditure only committee that has the legal power to raise unlimited sums of money in campaign contributions from individuals, corporations, unions, and other (lobbyist) groups. The committee was the result of a landmark Supreme Court Decision (Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee) that dictated that campaign contributions to third party groups cannot be limited. The term Super PAC can be attributed to Eliza Newlin Carney, a reporter who worked for CQ Roll Call. She was the first person to have used the term Super PACs in the context of the word definition (We theimer, â€Å"Citizens United and Contributions to Super PACs: A Little History Is in Order†). Although Super PACs were not meant to openly support any single candidate, the committee has become a force to reckon with this campaign season. Its power and financial backing of particular candidates can be seen and felt in the negative ads that candidates like Mitt Romney have run, all amounting to tens of millions of dollars. That is one reason the public has come to reject the idea of the Super PACs. It has the turned the political campaign into a shallow, reality television, mud-slinging type of contest from which the candidates can never return. The ads being run in the newspapers, television, and radio stations cost these candidates and Super PACs money that could have been used for better political means such as contributions to charitable organizations by the candidates or their support groups on their behalf. That sort of act would have had a greater political impact upo n the voting public than an ad campaign explaining the ills of Newt Gingrich. Even more sickening, is the fact that most of the candidates will feign knowledge of participation in any negative campaign movements because of the independent nature of the Super PACs. The candidate can deny any involvement in the act all the while coordinating with his Super PAC under the radar of mass media. These negative campaigns leave the candidate free and clear of any involvement as all the Super PAC has to do is run the ad with a clear disclaimer absolving the candidate the ad supports of any wrong doing because the ad was not sanctioned by the candidate or political party. In other words, Super PACs gives a voice to people with money. All corporations that have money to give are giving millions and millions of dollars to the candidates across the board. Independent voters do not have that money to donate, so their candidates are not as prominent in terms of connecting with voters. Such is the e ffect of the Super PAC. It makes it seem like only certain candidates have a right to be in the political race because they are the ones with the (lobbyist group) backing and financing. However, ordinary citizens also find themselves scratching their heads in terms of wrapping their brains around the idea of a Super PAC not being a coordinated group founded by the political figure. Take for example the case of Newt Gingrich and the Winning Our Future group. Disclosures later in the campaign proved that he was the very person who founded the group and his close friend Becky Burkett worked for the group. His personal

The Use of Arched and Vaulted Forms in Architecture Essay

The Use of Arched and Vaulted Forms in Architecture - Essay Example It could be established that Macedonian military authority was current at every of the locations where the untimely instances of arched building occur. It is projected that military engineers of Macedonia were influential in initiating the factual arch into the architecture of the Greek, and in addition that these experts studied of this structural outline in Mesopotamia. In Mesopotamia, vault and arch had been acknowledged for no less than two earlier millennia, all through and after the crusades of Alexander the Great. The arch Structural particulars and its connected structure, the barrel-vault, are scrutinized in the acknowledgement of existing monuments and ruins, as are the options in arrangement from the plain true arch. Mutually structural and ornamental appliances of the arch and the vault are reviewed, and attention is compensated as well to the growth by Greek constructors of more complicated forms for instance groin-vaulting. The Vault Types of Vaults A vault is associate d to an arch because a vault is characterized as an arched stonework structure that creates a ceiling or crown. The Romans employed three fundamental kinds of vaults: Tunnel Vault Cross Vault Cloister Vault A barrel vault is shaped similar to half a cylinder. From this insinuation, they made the groined vault. A groined vault is considered a two-barrel vault having the similar size and stature that they construct at right angles to every other more than a single square part. The barrel vaults logically interconnect in oblique curves located transversely athwart the square area. The curves are described groins. Given that the vaults finish at the square sides in semicircles, creating a huge arched gaps on all the planes of the square is probable, and the entire roof is then sustain merely on four docks located at the corners. The cloister is centered on the right angles connection of two-barrel vaults. As an option of putting an arch on every facade of the vault, they ascend to an el evated middle from a plane starting on every four facades to structure a square vault. This assortment of vaults was employed to construct things such as: Huge Rooms Tombs Drains Viaducts Houses of Bath The Composition of a Vault The vault is an extremely easy structure. It comprises of an arch at every end. An extended arched tunnel constructed of concrete links the arches. In the time of making the huge vaults, it was hard to make it at one go. Hence the vault is made in parts. Centerings or rather impermanent supports are employed to support the completed concrete in one part until the subsequent parts are finished. Buttresses were employed Connecting the arches is a long arched tunnel that made of concrete. When making the large vaults, it was difficult to construct it all at once. The engineers built a vault in sections. They employed centerings, or provisional supports, to hold up the completed concrete in one part until the additional sections were completed. Buttresses were employed to provide the grave concrete vaults additional sustenance. Engineers would place layers of tiles that are not light straight on the centerings. As soon as the tiles were completed, it provided the centerings additional support until the engineers laid the concluding concrete layer. In the event that the concrete dried and the laying of the tiles completed, the Roman engineers or rather architects

Economics for the global manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economics for the global manager - Essay Example All benefits have a corresponding cost. The air we breathe, kept clean through laws costing millions of dollars to enforce, is not free. If your friend treats you for lunch, it is not free for you either, because the time you spent with your friend has an opportunity cost that may probably be more than the price of the lunch. 3. Why might the government want to influence transactions The government wants to influence transactions for many reasons. First, as in nations with free market economies, the government wants to make sure the market's rules are fair as part of its mandate to keep the people happy. One danger of a free market economy is explained by what is called asymmetric information: sellers may hide vital information from buyers that does not allow a fair price to be paid for a good (think second-hand car dealers). Otherwise, people cheated all the time will be aggravated and may move to change the government. Second, the government wants to control the supply and flow of money in the economy, because if they do not, there will be trouble in the form of inflation that can lead to social unrest (Solomon 1972 cited in Samuelson 1992, p. 712). Third, the government wants to influence transactions, like the Fed setting interest rates, Congress cutting budget deficits, or the Commerce Department ne gotiating trade agreements, because of the add-on effects that these actions (all are forms of market intervention) have on the nation's macroeconomic conditions. And fourth, government wants to ensure the country's patrimony is safe, for example to prevent some scam artist from selling the Statue of Liberty to foreigners. 4. What does the spillover or externality principle measure Use examples. This principle measures the costs or benefits of externalities, activities that affect others, without meaning to, either positively in the form of benefits not paid for or negatively in the form of inconvenience or costs for which they are not compensated. An example of the first (called external economies) is having a wife who is a doctor (you can consult her for "free" or, at least, you don't have to pay someone else to prescribe the right medicine). An example of the second (called external diseconomies) is driving recklessly on the freeway, which makes many other drivers nervous and increases their consumption of tranquilizers. 5. Currently our demand for gasoline is rising as our economy is expanding. However, we expect OPEC to keep the supply stable. Use a graph to show what your prediction is for the price of gasoline. USE A GRAPH INDICATING WHEN THE DEMAND INCREASES. I predict the price will increase, because as shown in the graph on Figure 1, with the supply constant and the demand increasing, the demand curve shifts to the right, moving the equilibrium point to the right, with the effect of increasing the equilibrium price, or the point at which the current supply curve intersects the increased demand curve, from p to p'. At price p, the gasoline market is in equilibrium, that is, supply equals demand. OPEC's move holds the supply curve steady, but an expanding/growing economy needs more fuel,

Slavery and sectionalism, between the North and South Essay Example for Free

Slavery and sectionalism, between the North and South Essay To what extent did the American Civil War succeed in removing the two main causes of conflict: slavery and sectionalism, between the North and South? The causes of the Civil War are a subject that have fascinated historians for generations, provoking many different interpretations. From my study I have found slavery and sectionalism to be the most important causes. In the short term, the war did not succeed in eradicating these causes of conflict and actually incited further problems, such as racism and violence. The Reconstruction period failed to achieve its main aims, which were to re-unite the two sections of North and South into the Union, and to help the Negro to infiltrate that country as a citizen, and not a slave. I also aim to show that these forces are still evident in American society today, and therefore bring the historical argument up to date. Sectionalism is a multi-faceted cause, and many historians have stressed different aspects of this sectionalism as the cause of conflict. Cultural and social historians emphasise the contrast between the civilisations and values of the two regions, whereas progressive historians stress the economic gulf between the North and South, and Marxist historians believe the class difference was the overriding cause of conflict. These views are valid as a detailed insight into particular areas of sectionalism, however their narrow viewpoint ignores other contributing factors. The most reliable view is provided by Kennet M Stampp, who demonstrates that sectionalism was a culmination of these factors which together were a major cause of conflict. He uses a variety of sources, both contemporary and secondary, to provide a balanced evaluation. This is juxtaposed to other historians who may have used a limited range of sources or been influenced by the predominant view of the time. Other historians, however, have singled out slavery to be the cause of the sectional crisis, and indeed the war. Northern historians such as James Ford Rhodes particularly uphold this view: of the American Civil War it may safely be asserted that there was a cause, slavery Slavery certainly was a huge force in America. In 1860, four million people were slaves with more that three million of these working in the South. Nonetheless, revisionist historians have argued that slavery was not the main cause of the Civil War. This could possibly have been due to a new influx of evidence, or a particular historical debate. However, recently, historians have criticised these accounts for failing to appreciate the moral urgency of the slavery issue, and have given renewed emphasis to slavery as the cause of the conflict. Despite these different interpretations, it was both the multi-faceted nature of sectionalism and slavery, which caused the Civil War. According to law, slavery was removed after the American Civil War with the Emancipation Proclamation of September 22 1862: All persons held as slaves within any state, or designated part of a state shall be forever free This however, did not free them from the racism and discrimination that their emancipation incited. The Southern image of the Negro was shaped by their slave past, and therefore the image had not changed despite the war. For example, Brogan says: the mind of the section is continuous with the past Cash and his book are themselves strong evidence of the continuation of these ideas, even one hundred and forty years later. Other historians are in accordance with this view: Southern bitterness ran deep People still believed that what they had fought for wasnt morally wrong and that Africans were meant to be slaves. Thus, as Cable writes the ex slave was not a freeman, only a free Negro. These ideas were furthered by evidence from sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists who presented what they regarded as convincing evidence of the innate racial traits of Negroes, indicating that they were intellectually inferior to whites. For example Dr J C Nott, a leading Southern ethnologist in the 1850s said: The Negro races stand at the lowest point in the scale of human beings. These ideas were also passed on through the government, for example Alexander H Stephens (vice President of the Confederacy) said: equality does not exist between blacks and whites. The one race is by nature inferior in many respects, physically and mentally to the other. Thus, white people were indoctrinated by superior, and who they believed to be trustworthy figures of the time. This contemporary evidence is extremely useful to the modern historian to understand how the belief of the inferiority of Negroes was continued, and indeed reinstated, after the war, hence causing the degradation of the blacks. Economic degradation of the Negro also strengthened the white mans belief in their innate inferiority. Emancipated Negroes were potential social and economic competitors, particularly owing to the rapidly rising population of the South; therefore white men felt that they had to keep them at the bottom of the caste and economic system. This was achieved through sharecropping. Useless land was given to blacks who could take a share of the crop. The planters could therefore bring land to production without paid labour, whilst at the same time giving the chance for the black man to work under his own supervision and to sell his share of the crop to eventually buy his own land. However the blacks received poor treatment, were often cheated out of their money and remained under the control of the whites. Hence in all but appearance this was the same as the old plantation and slavery had effectively not been removed. Derrick Murphy upholds this view: Sharecropping.. kept them [the Negroes] in a position of poverty and social inferiority. Indeed sharecropping continued into the 1940s in some areas of America, such as Alabama, therefore it was another eighty years before slavery was abolished in the farms. The black codes also endorsed this idea of the black remaining under whites control. For example, a leading Northern liberal, Carl Schurz, remarked that the codes embodied the idea that although individual whites could no longer have property of the individual blacks, the blacks at large belonged to the whites at large. This could be seen as a prejudiced evaluation as Schurz is a Northerner remarking on Southern principles. However, this viewpoint is supported by fact. The black codes prohibited Negroes serving on juries or testifying against white men, disallowed Negroes marrying whites and stated that the Negroes were not allowed to leave their place of work without permission. The codes therefore limited their freedom, and reduced them to a state of pre-war slavery. Schurzs analysis is indeed correct, that the Negroes were far from being emancipated as they still belonged to the whites. Whites disallowed blacks the right to better their position through education. Post war public education was only provisioned for whites, as they believed that the education of blacks was a waste of effort, or even dangerous (Degler). All over the South in 1865-7 any white person who attempted to instruct Negroes was subject to attacks and violence. Therefore the blacks were further denied rights, much the same as they were under slavery. Under the driving will of the Radical Republicans, the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendment of 1866 and 1869 were adopted to the Constitution. These allowed the blacks to be full citizens, and equal in rights and voting privileges with white men. This threat of possible black power to white supremacy caused an upsurge of hatred towards the blacks, and an outbreak of violence and intimidation at the ballot box. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camelia, The White Brotherhood and The Pale Faces began to emerge. Their aim is shown in the official charge to the new recruits of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867: Our main and fundamental objective is the maintenance of the supremacy of the white race in this Republic. Therefore we can see that the emancipation of the slaves actually provoked worse reaction towards the Negroes, and made their life one filled with terror, which it had net been to the same extent before. However, there were also some positive moves towards equality of blacks in the Reconstruction period. Radical Republicans believed that all sons of Adam and Eve are equal in the eyes of God and therefore that it was morally wrong for Negroes to be discriminated against. They pushed for the Force Acts passed on May 31st 1870, and February 21st 1871. These said that force or intimidation used to prevent citizens from voting would be punished by fine or imprisonment. A third Force Act, the Ku Klux Klan Act of April 20th 1871, imposed heavier penalties on persons who shall conspire together, or go in disguise for the purpose of depriving any person or any class of person of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges or immunities under the laws. They also pressed for a longer life span of the Freedmans Bureau, which provided food, clothing and medical care for refugees and Negroes. According to the original act, the bureaus work was to terminate within a year after the end of the war. However, through the work of the Congressional Committee on Reconstruction and the radicals, the Freedmens Bureau Bill was passed in February 1866, which indefinitely extended its life span. However the bureau was hated by most Southern men, and was subject to much criticism, for example that it was stirring up discontent among the Negroes and giving false hopes, or that the bureau employed corrupt and incompetent administrators who wasted federal money. Some of this is true, however a more trustworthy evaluation of the bureaus work is that of historian Kenneth M Stampp, who believed the bureau played a constructive role in the transformation of the Negro from slave to citizen and that the tradition that the bureau was rife with corruption and incompetence is an exaggeration. His evaluation can be regarded as more trustworthy owing to the fact that as a modern historian he is less likely to be influenced by past war views and the use of evidence as propaganda. More than likely much of this corruption will have been exaggerated by Southern propagandists to try and close the bureau down and stop any aid to the Negroes. Stampp also has a wider range of source material and t he value of hindsight to provide a more balanced argument. However, the bureau did not manage the complete transformation especially as Congress stopped its activities in 1869. Thus ended the one modest Federal effort to deal directly with some of the social and economic problems confronting the post-war South, as written by Stampp. The Radical Republicans began to decline, and were replaced with stalwarts, who were concerned with the maintaining the status quo. This meant that they were no longer concerned with the issue of Negroes, and that its crusade had lost vitality. Brognan writes, by the end of the mind 70s the Negro was seen, at best, as a bore and a nuisance. Thus, by the end of the Reconstruction Period, the Negro remained a lower caste, economically discriminated against, faced with violence, and in a position no better than that of the pre-war slavery period. Towards the end of the nineteenth century their position became worse as they faced segregation. I t began with a movement led by Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1890, which insisted on poll taxes and literary tests to remove blacks from the voting registers. This initiated a period of segregation in hospitals, theatres, cemeteries, housing, prisons and even with water fountains. This was not helped by the fact that the North had begun to look at a Negro through Southern eyes. The post-war era may have united the Northern and Southern beliefs about the Negroes, however it caused a greater void between the two sections in other respects. The Civil War destroyed two thirds of Southern wealth, which was worsened by a population rise in the South, thus impoverishing the South. This was in direct juxtaposition with the North, who got economic benefits from the secession. It became easier for the North to go ahead with construction, for example of the transcontinental railway, without the South opposing it, and during the war years Northern wealth had grown by 50 percent. Thus, the war actually exacerbated the pre-war problems by creating an even greater economic gulf. Slavery had also hindered the training of artisans and craftsmen, and education remained a low priority for the south. Any educated Southerners would travel to the North to go to university, thus draining the South of its intelligence, and possible makers of wealth. This therefore maintained the divisions between the two sections of the country. The war also did not change the attitude of the two sections towards one another. If anything it strengthened them, and created patriotic ideas of either section: Four years of fighting for the preservation of their world, and their heritage, four years of measuring themselves against the Yankee had left the South more aware of their differences and of the line which divided what was South and what was not. Cash here provides a valuable and reliable view of the Southern viewpoint for an outsider. However, it is only a reliable view of the traditional Southern stance. Throughout his book it is interesting to note how revisionist ideas are not explored. This can be viewed in a positive manner however, in that we are given deep insight into one type of historical viewpoint, a view that many post-war Southerners would have held, one that evidently still exists today. This idea of Southern nationalism was deeply rooted in their fear of losing their traditions and therefore the status quo of the section. It was an unwillingness to change into a section like the North. They had their stereotypical views of the North, thus to change they felt they would incite moral and Physical ruin. Therefore it can be seen that not only was slavery still apparent in America after the Civil War, but also the divisions between the sections still existed. Thus the reconstruction had failed in most of its aims, and the Civil War had not succeeded in removing its causes on conflict. Even in todays society, one hundred and fifty years later, the causes behind the war are still evident in America. We can see that when the causes relate to the opinion, habits and traditions of the people they are extremely difficult to remove, and the mid set is often passed down through generations. The range of sources that I have used have all been unanimous in one aspect: they all acknowledge that the Civil War has been and will continue to be one of the most influential events that America has ever experienced, and that it is difficult to assess whether the divisions underlying the war will ever be fully removed from American society.

Differences Between Documentary and Fiction Film

Differences Between Documentary and Fiction Film Generally speaking there is a clear distinction between documentaries and fiction films and a viewer should be able to tell whether what he is watching is fiction or documentary. The clearest distinction between the two is their relationship with the reality; a fiction film presents a story that is not based on reality, or at least not in the form it is represented; a documentary, however, tells something about the reality of our world shows us the real world (Bakker, 2002). But what reality are we talking about? There are several cases where it is difficult to draw distinction between fact and fiction. Even the experts fail to make this distinction sometimes as can be seen by the case of The Sea that Thinks which won the Joris Ivens award at the International Documentary Film festival Amsterdam, and was within a year in the competition for fiction films of the Dutch Film Festival (Bakker, 2002). Conceptually there is a significant difference between documentaries and fiction films. Traditionally, documentaries are generally short films and are based on facts while fiction films are not (or are at least not claimed to be) based on facts. This traditionalist view of documentaries has changed slightly in recent years with directors such as Michael Moore providing documentaries which are heavily edited and hence not entirely based on facts. This paper reviews the key differences between documentaries and fiction films. These differences are then used to discuss the key differences in documentary making and fiction filmmaking. Beginning with defining the key terms, this paper explores the key differences between the documentary and fiction filmmaking form a traditional/conceptual point of view. Following this, it uses evidence from real life cases of documentary and fiction filmmakers to assess the functional difference between the two. It investigates distinction between the two by comparing structural attributes and viewers interpretations and concludes that it is the latter which determines whether a film is fiction or documentary. Documentaries vs. fiction filmmaking: There are many definitions of the term documentary, and in my opinion, no one that could certainly define the term documentary as a whole. We can say that it would be up to the documentary maker and how he would define his or her particular style of documentary. John Grierson one of the founding of documentary approaches confirmed that documentary was distinguished from other shapes of films with reality desire to bring the citizens eye in from the ends of the earth to the story, his own story, of what was happening under his nose From Nicholss perspectives is a representation we already occupy and stands for a particular view of the world, one we may never have encountered before even if the aspects that is represented are familiar to us(Nichols, 2001) All these definitions may provide a different definition of the term but all these definitions indicate that documentaries are based on facts. Thus, documentaries by definition must be non-fiction. Commentary and opinions are allowed, but misrepresentation is not (Layton, 2010). But in last couple of decades, with the success of filmmakers such as Michael Moore, there have been certain changes in the documentary making. Firstly, some documentary filmmakers now aim for commercial success when they create a film; and second, in a development related to the first issue, some documentary films are in fact fictionalized to some extent through misrepresentation and omission (Layton, 2010). Again Moore can be the best example of this change in documentary making. His movies such as Bowling for columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 have several clips which have been manipulated/edited in a manner to provide a meaning different form the actual meaning of the speaker. Moores work will still be categor ized as documentary because his clips are still from facts but the representation is manipulated to give a different meaning- sometimes completely out of context. Thus, Moores work is a mix of a fact and fiction but still categorized as documentary. A new debate a surfaced in the same context in recent years. While the puritans have described the making of docudramas as corruption of the documentary genre, there are several other experts who suggest that the act of recording the truth on film is fictionalizing in and of itself (Layton, 2010). According to the latter, when a documentary maker captures anything from a certain angle, he/she is actually using his/her own bias. When it comes to putting together the filmed content, the filmmaker faces a critical choice of what to keep and what to leave out. In such situations the filmmaker is likely to put together content so as to make something meaningful out of it. But the critics argue that because part of filmed content is left out which means that the documentary cannot be a complete representation of the truth and hence is fictions itself. But according to my view, this cannot termed a fiction. We must note the distinction between the filmmakers who filter out the content due t o constraints but still try to provide as accurate as possible view of the case and then there are filmmakers who deliberately edit the content so as to mislead the audience. While the former is a documentary in all respects, there can be a debate over whether the latter can be categorized as a documentary. Bakker (2002) provides an interesting analysis of the distinction between documentary and fiction filmmaking. He suggests three key points: First the clearness of the audio and visual information. Second one side of the relation between the information and reality. Third spectator play vital role by impose the pictures by them. From a structural perspectives the documentary is dawdling rapidity editing while, the fiction films are depend strongly on editing with fast rate editing. The shot in the documentary is a close up and extremely close up shots whereas; fiction films rely on wide shots. The numerous moving camera, sound formed in the studio and theatrical music in the fiction films but the contrary in documentary films like location sounds and infrequently roving cameras (Etizen, 1995; Huston and Wright, 1983) also, Nichols and Kochberg said that the documentary could distinguished by the voice-of-god commentary, interviews, scene sound recording and the absolute dependence on social actors(Kochberg, 2002) which is support the documentary tremendously in the documentary filmmaking process, one of the characteristics of this type of filmmaking. However, Renov argues that narration and musical complement could be included in the documentary films (Renov ,1993a). By another words a film is constructed of several attributes including sound, images, dialogues and written texts. Documentary and fiction film, both are audio visual media and contain all these attributes. The difference, however; lies in the manner in which these are communicated to the viewer. This is a unique language which can convey endless number meaning to the viewer. This language was termed as passe-partout by Hjelmslev (1968). The grammar of this language is related to viewers understanding and is not formalised. This means that a movie can be made in any manner possible without conflicting the established practices. However; the more distant a film is from the mainstream, the less it will correspond to the industrys dogmas and conventions of filmmaking. Another characteristic in the difference is the actors for the fiction films the actors do what they asked to do. The process of the filmmaking is defined by their performance in the acting by transmigrate the required role. The actors do their responsibilities on base of the contracted relationship, as a result the filmmaker has the validity to object on the performance of the actors and the actors will be praised on the good performance and his performance will determine the actors value. On the other hand, the documentary looks to the people as social actors, ordinary people they behave and carrying on their social daily life without any affectedness or artificiality they dont have a contract to behave in a certain manner, the people or the actors present their daily handling and their pure personality. Baddeley supported Nicholss words that people should be encouraged to perform naturally and do not integrate the artificiality in their behavior and they act autonomously, However he mentioned that in many occasions the professional actors must be involved to organize the naturally appearance of the people (Baddeley, 1981). Nichols (1991) has categorised the documentaries itself in four different categories with each one containing its own sub genre: Expository This style of documentary is basically a series of visual images complete with narration. It is a very traditional form of documentary with the narrator giving the viewer a series of facts and figures that accompany the visuals and is usually associated with wildlife or historical programmes for example. Observational This style of documentary is also known as cinema verità ¨ or fly on the wall. Its aim is to film events, on camera, as they happen. To film people and places and to represent the everyday life of the people, as if the camera wasnt there at all. The viewers are usually left to draw their own conclusions about what is happening. The filmmakers do not intervene in any way and it is meant to represent the facts and record people and events in real time. Interactive The interactive style of documentary covers the facts and figures but allows the presenter to interact with the people within the documentary. This particular style could contain a series of interviews or demonstrations and could also come across as being quite bias, in that certain parts of the documentary can be edited to influence the viewers reaction or thoughts on the matter in question. Reflective or Reflexive This style of documentary basically shows the viewer everything. The filmmakers themselves are usually seen on camera attempting to raise the consciousness of the audience themselves. It gives the impression that the people making the documentary are able to construct reality itself. Citizen Kane (1941), by Orson Welles is a commentary form of fiction film, while the Salesman, by the Maysles brothers is a form of Observational fiction film. Similarly, Cest arrivà ©e prà ¨s de chez vous (1992) by Remy Belvaux is an example of interactive fiction film. At the same time Bakker (2002) agrees that interactive mode is least commonly used in fiction films while observational mode is the most commonly used mode. However; the distinction becomes less apparent in the reflexive mode. According to Nichols (1991), in its most paradigmatic form the reflexive documentary prompts the viewer to a heightened consciousness of his or her relation to the text and of the texts problematic relationship to that which it represents. Similarly Metz (1991) states that the film speaks to us about itself or about cinema in general, or about the position of the spectator. And this is how this kind of doubling manifests itself in the text, which, in all theories, constitutes that without whi ch we cannot imagine the process of narrating. It is thus, in the reflexive mode that Metz (1991) domain of fictional films and Nicholss (1991) domain of documentaries overlap. Another aspect of the discourse on distinction between documentaries and fiction films is the contract between the viewer and the director. Bakker (2002) argues that since structural factors fails to clearly distinguish between documentaries and fiction films, there has to be some other form of distinction. This, according to him is the viewers interpretation which is often affected by the viewers pact with the filmmaker. The filmmaker thus influences the interpretation of the film as the documentary or fiction film and the ultimate judgment of interpretation rests with the viewer. Bakker (2002) refers to what Eco (1979) termed as the inferential walks. According to this, the viewer compares the film with his real life experiences and tries to prepare his story. This construction process is dynamic as the viewer continues to accommodate the developments in the story to reconstruct his own story as the film progresses. Thus, the viewer is a part of the film. The difference between documentaries and fiction films is that in the former, the viewers participation is explicit (through narration) while in fiction films it is not explicit. The filmmakers attempt is to make the viewer believe that what is shown in the film is a possibility (in case of fiction film) or a reality (in case of documentary). To do so he adopts several persuasive techniques/strategies. But the viewer has his own memory and interpretations on basis of which he/she accepts or rejects the possibility/reality of what is shown in the film. For creating specific effects of reality, the filmmaker uses cinematographic techniques and narrative strategies. Cinematographic techniques include techniques like camera movements, the use of color, the photographic grain of the film, the use of commentary, the gaze into the lens of the camera by the characters (Bakker, 2002). The competence of the director rests in whether he/she can make the viewer believe in what he/she is showing. There is, however; no guarantee that a viewer will accept his film as a possibility/reality. Conclusion To sum up, the notion of documentary truth might be best understood as that truth which is found in the way that we mentally organize our perceptions. Increasingly the theoretical understanding of documentary film is moving away from the notion of an inherent reality found within a film text and more towards an understanding of how texts are read. However, I believe that the idea of defining documentary as a receptive strategy should not negate a consideration of the filmic text as primary focus of consideration. At the heart of the matter lies the concept of truth. Throughout our discussion the paper emphasized that the documentary films more related to the reality for example the social facts in the society and the political issues in order to provide the public or viewers with good understanding with these issues, but the fiction films present unreality vision to some issues. From the implementation view the actors are different from the both sides, the documentary films depends o n the social people not really contacted actors. These differences illustrate the importance for both kinds and what they can provide the viewers with what they need from credibility to demonstrate the events or misleading views. Also, the interpretation of the viewer ultimately decides whether the film will be considered as a documentary or fiction. This is what distinguishes a documentary from fiction.

New Company Business Plan Adventure International Travel Tourism Essay

New Company Business Plan Adventure International Travel Tourism Essay Adventure International Travel would be a sole proprietorship company that will provide adventure trips and activities such as skiing, river rafting, mountain climbing, biking, etc. along with other services such as lodging, car rental, airline tickets and so on. The location of the company will be in the central of California. The idea behind setting up this business is its high growth rate; travel industry growth rate is 4% and 10% of adventure travel per year. AIT will take advantage of this growing sector by providing full adventure packages with the support of experienced staff and effective marketing. The estimated set up cost for AIT would be approximately $102,500, out of this figure $85,000 will be a loan from First National Bank and remaining will be the personal investment. The large percentage of AITs target market would be health conscious, ages between 18-34, and families with annual household income of $50,000 and it will maintain 10% margins on all airline tickets and 20% gross margins on other services such as lodging, car rental, etc. AIT will start with 4 full time positions (manager, marketing and advertising director, accountant, and travel agent). It expects slow growth in first 2 quarters of operation because it will be new in the market and will take time to establish. Details about market analysis, strategy, management, and financial plan are described in this study. AIT is a travel agency that provides adventure trips and consultation to its customers with a view to make their vacation worthy. Providing adventure trips is our primary business and hence we generate profits from it. The required capital for setting-up the business would be approximately $103,000, out of which some investment would come from personal and remaining would come from long-term loan from First National Bank in north-west location (Edward G. Hinkelman, 2004). EXPENSES: this will include rent of the office, consultants fees, cost of insurance, electricity, water and other utilities bills. The large portion of investment will go in setting-up the computer systems. LOANS: a loan of $85,000 would be taken from First National Bank. (Startups, 2010). AIT will be a sole proprietorship owned business that will be located in Central California. Once the Business achieves its goal we may go for a partnership with other agencies to expand our Business. This probably is done after 18 months of operation. AIT has searched for 3 potential locations for setting up the Business. All these locations are in the central of California and are between approximately 1200-1500 square feet of area. After achieving the goal within defined time period in the travel industry AIT would be among the top 30 agencies in California with population of 38 million in 2010 (Allan Beaver. 2005). AIT provides travel services to both individual and group of customers. We provide special offers to corporate clients also. We provide full travel package that includes air tickets, lodging, car on rent, rail passage, sightseeing, etc. Our aim is to keep differentiate ourselves as a specialist in adventure travel agency (Adventuresportsonline, 2010). AIT will provide a high standard of services including air tickets and travel packages. Top of it we will provide services like accommodation and entertainment, customer satisfaction, and assistance in handling the passport. Moreover, we offer quality services with competitive rates focusing mainly on Adventure travel. There are two categories of Adventure travel, hard and soft adventure. Both categories involve physically active and athletic activities. Soft adventure activities involve less physical work and risk as compared to hard adventure activities. Economic indicators suggest that there is a high rise in demand for adventure travel services. We can position ourselves as a niche services provider in the field of adventure travel. AIT will deal with all the top-notch suppliers with accomplished backgrounds. If any of the suppliers failed to meet our requirements for high standards of quality we will discontinue our business with them (Ibid). The travel agency business is very highly competitive in market and the latest technology, computerized reservation systems (CRS) using the internet has changed the way how agencies operate. With the help of internet both agencies and clients can search for best deals in the market. Air fare brokers offer more discount on online reservations. It has resulted in price competition. CRS can increase the speed and efficiency of agencies to respond to customer transactions. It has also resulted in increased set-up costs for other travel agencies those wish to be competitive. Increasing industry competition and the number of travel options that are available have forced smaller travel agencies to become specialist at least one of the travel types and AIT would try to establish as a specialist in adventure travel. AIT believes in establishing customer relationships for its long-term sales and will provide full adventure packages with free consultation and lower prices (Trekamerica, 2010). Brochures such as travel locations, airlines, train passage, car rental companies, etc. would be obtained from the suppliers of these services and wholesale houses with whom IT would deal. On the request of customers, AIT will mail these brochures to them electronically. Also, other marketing mix activities such as direct mailing, printed advertising, pamphlets, etc. will be utilized as needed. Customers contact information can be retrieved if database is maintained by AIT (Howard S. Rowand). AIT need to establish strong relationships with the suppliers who provide travel related products and services. AIT will select two major airlines as its primary ticket providers. As per industry standard we can keep 10% margin on ticket sales. With the help of market research we have identified working relationships with many of the service providers globally. There is an opportunity to keep margins up to 25% in profits in the location; AIT has selected to start business. AIT will keep monitoring the quality of its offerings by taking the advantage of trade fairs, market publications, and other information that is related to travel industry (Travel trends, 2010). It would be better if AIT follows the recent trend of technology in client reservations i.e. Computerized Reservation System (CRS). The CRS will help us in identifying the customers need and in retrieving the required information in just few numbers of clicks. It will increase the speed and efficiency of communication with clients and suppliers. Also, CRS will help us in maintaining the customer database for future references. Excessive use of internet in searching information and communication would be needed (Travel industry wire, 2010). 3.6 Future Services When saturation point will reach then AIT may think to open offices in other locations and may look to participate in other segments of the travel industry. AIT will keep researching for further potential opportunities in market to expand business. The long-term goal of AIT is to achieve global position in providing top class adventure travel services at low costs. We will try to make profits by increasing the number of sales instead of increasing in prices. 4.0 Market Analysis Summary AIT plans to provide adventure travel services in all the greater parts such as California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Utah, Colorado, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, and North Dakota. Adventure travel is one of the sub-categories of leisure travel and further divided into soft and hard adventure travel. Travel agencies in the U.S are generating more than $50 billion of revenue annually and out of which soft adventure travel is generating approximately $40-50 million and $12-15 million for hard adventure travel (tours to United States, 2009). 4.1 Survey Conducted AIT has conducted the market survey for its customers and it has observed the following (Survey money, 2010): Out of the group of 51 individuals Occupation 43 (84.3%) are students + working. 10 (19.6%) are only working 2.0% 1 others Age 22 (43.1%) are between 18 to 20 28 (54.9%) are between 21-34 of age 1 (2.0%) is above 34 Interested in Adventure trip AIT is surprised that due to stress in life, people are moving towards adventure trips to have some fun and relaxation in their life. 49 (98%) are interested in adventure trip 1 (2%) is not interested, and 1 did not decide yet. Annual income of families 22 (45.8%) have $50,000 of annual income 11 (22.9%) have $60,000 of annual income, and 15 (31.3%) have above $60,000 of annual income 3 skipped the question. 4.2 Market Segmentation AIT is targeting health conscious couples and individuals with average of $50,000 annual household incomes as customers. AIT will focus on people with the interest of adventure activities such as river rafting, mountain climbing and biking, skiing. The large percentage of men who were interested in taking adventure travel was between the ages of 18 to 35. But these days the number of women travelers is increasing rapidly. According to survey of women traveling together in 2008, women comprises of 49% of adventure trips. The average spending of men on adventure travels are more than women. AIT will also provide adventure packages to married couples aged between 25- 35 with children (Adventure women, 2010). 4.3 Target Market Segment Strategy The location of AIT would be in the pacific northwest of U.S because this region is rich in the natural beauty and provides outdoor activities to fitness oriented individuals. This area has people with more per capital income than any other part in the country those like to take part in such soft and hard adventure activities. These people will be the AITs target market. This area has many big companies and most of these companies organize such adventure trips for their employees as a group task and to increase group cohesion. 4.4 Market Trends One of the notable trends in the field of travel industry is Increased Deregulation. Deregulation is directly proportional to the need for differentiation of products and services that is if deregulation increases, the need for differentiation of products and services also increases and has resulted in decrease in the prices of airfare and other travel and tourism related services. Other trends include caps on commissions of travel agencies by many of the larger Airlines resulting increase in adventure travel and reducing profit margins. More than 147 million adult travelling populations (about 50% of adult population) of the United States have taken an adventure trip at least once in their lifetime and out of this figure 98 million have taken in the past years. Nearly 31 million of the adult population have engaged in hard adventure activities such as river rafting, mountain biking, and scuba diving and around 25 million population is engaged in both hard and soft adventure activiti es in which people have high interest and participate during their adventure vacations are camping (84%), hiking (75%), skiing (52%), scuba diving (31%), sailing (25%), river rafting (24%), and mountain biking (24%). These customers are young and affluent, aged between 18 to 34 and one fourth of them have $50,000 (Â £ 32,500) or more annual incomes (Adventure travel industry growth statistics, 2009). 4.5 Market Growth The travel industry has a high growth rate. Reasons behind this growth are healthy domestic and international economies and the devaluation of foreign currency in other areas which has made travel cheaper for United States residents. According to the Tourism satellite accounting (TSA) world travel and tourism has generated close to $ 8 trillion of revenue in year 2008 and expected to generate approximately $ 15 trillion over the next ten years. Due to the global economic downturn it has experienced a slowdown in growth (In 2008 it was 3% in comparison to 3.9% in 2007). By looking at the past experiences the long term forecasts believe that the growth for world travel and tourism between the period of 2009 and 2018 would be around 5% per year, supporting 289 million employment and approx 11% of total global GDP by 2018 (Ibid). 4.6 Market Needs Most of the customers are unsure about the location where they wish to go for adventure trip. So travel agencies should provide better knowledge about destinations to their customers. These days customers are price conscious and look for agencies with competitive price. Time is also one of the precious commodities. AIT would be the solution to save time and money and insure that customers are fully satisfied with their vacation. 4.7 Service Business Analysis Before 2000 travel and tourism industry in the U.S. was the countrys third largest retail industry and according to the department of commerce, it is now at number one. There is a 100% increase in the revenue generated from travel and tourism industry in the last decade. The U.S. travel agencies generate more than $100 billion of revenue each year. Travel industry is divided into two main categories 1. Business travel and 2.Leisure travel. Each of them contributes about 45% of the total revenue and remaining 5% of revenue comes from combined business and leisure trips. Travel market is than further divided into domestic into domestic and international travel. 70% of the revenue is generated by domestic travel. Business travel can be separated into medium to large business trips and small independent businessman trips. The classification of leisure travel Customers is based on the type of trip they take, budget, or age (Ibid). The four primary groups of customers under leisure travel are:- Adventure lovers, special-interest groups, honeymoon couples, and sightseeing trips. Rich travelers with high incomes. Budget conscious travelers, and Families with children, group of students and seniors. 4.8 Competition and Buying patterns At present there are number of adventurous activities and types of travel such as theme parks, motor home trips, less expensive self-planned trips and cruises that are available to people to choose from and contemplate an adventure vacation, have created huge competition in the travel industry. Also, many high income people like to invest money in other financial services instead in having vacation. There are many travel agencies that are creating direct competition by providing adventure travel packages. Lifestyle, age and income are three major factors that influence the decision of customer to travel and the type of travel to participate in. According to survey, on average an adventure traveler takes at least one of the adventure travel every 12-18 months (US Travel, 2009). 4.9 Main competitors Rollins and Hayes: They are based on the eastern costal area and are the most famous and respected travel agency in the world that provides adventure trips. Since last 20 years they are in travel business and providing adventure packages to their customers. They are very successful in travel business. This gives them total control over the entire vacation. Rollins and Hayes have the advantage of their established reputation, strategic alliance, and experience in providing high quality trips with economies of scale. The negative thing about them which could be an opportunity for my business is that their packages are expensive and appeal only to rich customers with high incomes. Sundance travels: It is a traditional travel agency based in Colorado and has been in the business for last 10 years. Slowly they have made the move towards adventure trips and are now well known for it. Their major strengths are reputation, past experiences, and financial solvency. And their major weaknesses are high personnel and management turnover and they are lacking behind in constructing better road map for future growth. Global Adventure: They started travel business in 1995 in the Los Angeles area and now successfully established and well-known as adventure travel specialists. The Los Angeles is a very competitive area because of its large number of tourist attractions and other travel agencies. Global has achieved good position through their highly skilled management and successful marketing communications (Ibid). 4.10 Distributing a Service The distribution channel in travel industry pattern is from supplier to agent and then to customer. A conference system can be used for distribution between agency and suppliers. Airline reporting corporation (ARC) and International airlines travel agents networks (IATAN) are the two conferences through which agency and air travel providers communicate. The primary work of the agency is to hold the fixed number of airline ticket vouchers from the airline reporting corporation and then responsible for storing and collecting the payments for the vouchers. To keep the prices down and to attract more customers, agencies are buying airline tickets in large quantities and selling them online (Microstrategy, 2010). 5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary AIT has planned to adopt the following strategies to achieve the goal of becoming leader in the adventure travel business in the Pacific northwest of U.S. AIT would establish its reputation by providing differentiation of products and services to its clients. This could be possible through better Marketing Communication programs at AITs target market using various forms of media. By providing supreme services to the customers so that AIT can gain repeats Business and build trust. This can be done by providing superior services in all stages of the transaction. By promoting adventure travel as a healthy, exciting, and interesting activities and by publishing photos and testimonials of customers who participate in such activities in companys newsletter, website and other advertising Medias. 5.1 Competitive Edge Competitive edge of AIT is its dedication, interest in adventure travel, focus on building long term relationships and trust, and experienced staff. AIT will provide differentiated travel services to customers with the better utilization of Management experience, cost and commitment in maintaining quality service. 5.2 Marketing Strategy The basic goal of the AITs Business is to create and keep clients for future. The Marketing Strategy of AIT will reflect this goal in building its reputation in the Pacific North western area. Though AIT will operate in the travel industry but it will provide much more than just an adventure trip. It will provide adventure and freedom to enjoy it. Due to busy era most of the people spend 50 weeks of a year in their office only. AIT will encourage them about the challenge, excitement, ability to do, and importance of an athletic endeavor. AIT will try to promote the benefits of having an adventure travel and theses benefits may include body fitness, ear to ear grins, personality development, excitement, and lots more (travel agent success, 2010). 5.3 Promotion Strategy During the opening ceremony of AIT there will be a grand party and we will organize and sponsor many athletic related events such as 2km fun race, 5km marathon, mountain climbing and biking, etc. AIT will provide travel related packages to winners and other consolation prizes to participants. It will be easier for AIT to promote its services through interaction with people present on ceremony if all employees working with AIT would from the local athletic clubs background. During the opening ceremony and other fun events, AIT will give presentation on the services and trips it offers. AIT will negotiate with local health clubs and other promotional activities through these strategic alliances (saac, 2010). Specialty advertising association of California will serve marketing service to AIT because they are very famous and provide better advertising service at lower costs. AIT will also promote its services on local Radio stations. Orkut, Facebook, Twitter are also acting like an effec tive tool for promoting services online. AIT will create communities named as Adventure Travel Lovers on these social websites and will publish information about its travel offerings. Personal selling is also very effective promotional tool but AIT will keep it limited to safe cost on phone bills. According o IT facts, in California 96% of households have internet access, so AIT will focus more on online promotional activities. AIT also planes to station sales in major public places such as shopping malls (Ibid). 5.4 Distribution strategy AITs distribution strategy will focus on the direct selling in the area where it is possible to reach at minimum cost and for other areas World Wide Web will be use to establish distribution capability. This will increase the ability of AIT to establish a national reputation. 5.5 Marketing Programs AIT will use traditional marketing communication methods to reach its customers. Every month AIT will conduct surveys to know the taste of both soft and hard adventure lovers and their profiles such as where they live, where they work, what is their profession, etc. According to IT FACTS California, most of the travel customers purchase either over the internet or through travel agents and AIT will assist them in both ways: online and in-personal. The use of internet will provide a better and an effective methods of communication with clients and suppliers. In starting AIT will focus on primary customer group and this group is defined as the number of customers who have purchased an adventure package before and who are interested in buying it. In addition to Internet, AIT will follow all those marketing tools with which customers feel comfortable such as travel magazines, direct mail, in house meetings and personal selling. Initially, AIT will start operating in the local region than within 18 or more months of operation it will extend sales into other national and global markets. It will keep informing about its season, off season offers through newsletter every month (Ibid). 5.6 Positioning Statement Both individuals and corporate clients who are interested in having the adventure travel, AIT is a solution for it because it is a premier adventure travel agency that provides full package including transport, accommodation, sightseeing, consultation, and adventure activities. 5.7 Pricing Strategy AIT will decide its pricing according to the market standards. As per the current market standards (10% to 16%) it will maintain margins of 10% on all travel services (it facts, 2010) and will try to keep 20% margins on remaining products and services that will depend on the pricing of providers. It will keep the prices low (just minimum margin 10%) as compared to other travel agencies in the region to maintain a competitive pricing policy. AIT will try to make its reputation as the best travel service provider in the region and will charge the best for services (resources. net, 2010). 5.8 Sales Strategy The main aim of the AIT is to deliver the benefits of products and services that it offers and promotes. It sells the freedom of life to customers and there are numerous benefits of this freedom such as healthy and balanced lifestyle. AIT will keep reminding its old and new customers about the importance of having the adventure trip and will hold a tag line as There is more to life than building bigger barns. AIT will provide full assistance with adventure travel and its primary concern is to provide high standard services and to make customers satisfy instead of maximizing the profits without concerning customer satisfaction. If AIT follows this, it will reduce costs and gives profit in long run because maintaining a relationship and good will with customers is always less expensive than to develop a new one (Ibid). 5.9 Sales forecast The monthly sales forecast is projected in the table below. AIT expects that in the first quarter of operation there would be a less number of sales but it has been estimated that 3 years growth would be around 20%. 5.10 Strategic Alliances With purpose of promotion AIT will develop strategic alliances with California family fitness centre, spectrum athletic clubs, and many others according to need of the business. Alliances with providers of adventure travel in other US. States and abroad will also be established (California family fitness, 2010). 6.0 Action plan/Milestones 7.0Management Summary However, AIT will start as a small business organization and will hold sole proprietorship, so employees working with it would have to share their duties and responsibilities. There would be a general manager who will be responsible for decision making. It is necessary for all employees to be capable of accepting all types of responsibilities of the business. During hiring period of employees, applicants should meet the following requirements: They must have at least 3 years of experience in the travel industry and activities, AIT will promote. They must hold certification in certified travel counselor from a reputed institute for example Institute of certified travel agents (ICTA) (totaljobs.com, 2010). 7.1 Organizational structure In the beginning AIT will start its operation by hiring four full time positions and these positions are describes below. 8.0 Financial plan The financial plan for AIT is discussed in the following sections. During first 2 quarters of operation, AIT expects slow growth because it will be new to market and other seasonal factors. All the estimated costs are based on the current market standards. AIT has decided to keep sufficient cash to overcome the situation of negative cash flow, if required. There may some differences in the figure during setting up the company due to gross margins, but this will present a realistic financial plan (Travel financial help, 2010). Important Assumptions National growth will not affect the growth of travel industry for the next five years. The demand for adventure travel will keep growing. International situation for providers and suppliers of services would remain positive. All calculations are carried out in Dollar ($). 8.1 Key financial indicators AIT has developed a chart which is shown below and describes major financial indicators for the first 3 consecutive years of operation. The U.S. economy has recovered lot from recession that will support the positive growth in adventure travel business. 8.2 Break Even Analysis AIT has decided to keep 20% gross margins and accordingly break even analysis is carried out. The table below describes the BEA, including monthly sales BE points (Ibid). 8.3 Projected profit and loss AIT will try to improve its operation progress in the third quarter of the 1st year after establishing itself in the market. It will improve gross margins from 22% in 2nd year and 23% in 3rd year. The below graph shows estimated annual profit and loss details. 8.4 Projected cash flow Both monthly and yearly estimated cash flow is projected in the below graph. Yearly cash flow is calculated by taking 60 day collection period. AIT has considered positive cash flow during the mid of the first year of operation (Ibid). 8.5 Projected Balance sheet Estimated balance sheet is shown below. 8.6 Business ratios-Below are the AITs Business ratios, estimated based on Standard Industry Classification (SIC) index code 4724.- Appendix

Alice in Wonderland Essay example -- Essays Papers

Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, a story about a little girl and her adventures in a dream-like place called wonderland, has been a beloved children’s story for over one hundred years. Though viewed by many as a simple children’s tale, if it is taken into a little more depth one will find that is a brilliant satire on the English system of government. Indeed, Alice in Wonderland is a brilliant novel written by a brilliant author. The main character of this novel is Alice. Throughout the story she has conflicts with many of the characters along with herself. Her main conflict is to return home from Wonderland and to become an adult. While she is in Wonderland she is faced with many other, not so important conflicts. Most of them are choices that may lead her to people or places that she might or might not want to meet or see. Throughout the story there are many supporting characters that both help and hinder Alice during journey through Wonderland. The first character that Alice first comes in contact with is the White Rabbit. As a character he is always in a rush, this is made apparent throughout the story. Alice first sees him while he is on the way to Wonderland. She chooses to follow him, and she falls down a rabbit hole, thus finding the entrance to Wonderland. The only other character that was influential in my opinion was the The Queen of Hearts. The Queen is a very bitter person. She made everyone aro...

Attack on Poland :: World War II History

Attack on Poland At daybreak on the first day of September, 1939, the residents of Poland awakened to grave news. A juggernaut force of tanks, guns, and countless grey-clad soldiers from nearby Germany had torn across the countryside and were making a total invasion of the Pole's homelands. Germany's actions on that fateful morning ignited a conflict that would spread like a wildfire, engulfing the entire globe in a great world war. This scenario is many people's conception of how World War II came about. In reality, the whole story is far more detailed and complex. The origins of war can be traced as far back as the end of the first World War in 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles placed responsibility for that terrible war squarely on Germany. Years later, in the Far East, Japanese ambition for territory led the nation to invade Manchuria and other parts of nearby China, causing hostilities to flare in the Pacific Rim. Great Britain, the United States, and many other nations of the world would all be drawn into battle in the years to come, and each nation had it's own reason for lending a hand in the struggle. Although Germany was the major player in World War II, the seeds of war had already been planted in the Far East years before conflict in Europe. On September 18, 1931, the powerful Japanese military forces began an invasion of the region known as Manchuria, an area belonging to mainland China. This action broke non-aggression treaties that had been signed earlier. It also was carried out by Japanese generals without the consent of the Japanese government. In spite of this, no one was ever punished for the actions. Soon after the assault on China, the Japanese government decided it had no choice but to support the occupation of Manchuria. By the next year the region had been completely cut off from China (Ienaga 60-64). Because of the Japanese offensive in China, the League of Nations held a vote in October to force Japan out of the captured territory. The vote was passed, 13 to 1, but Japan remained in control of Manchuria. A second vote, taken in February, 1933, a formal disapprova l of the Japanese occupation, was passed 42 to 1. Instead of expelling Japan from the area of Manchuria, it caused the nation to formally withdraw it's membership in the League of Nations the next month (Ienaga 66).

Journal Article Critique “From common to uncommon Knowledge: Foundations of Firm-specific use of Knowledge as a Resource” Essay

Research question: â€Å"How can managers create uncommon knowledge when rivals have access to similar, commonly available knowledge?† (page 425) Author’s purpose: The importance of knowledge is well established in research. The knowledge-based theory considers knowledge as the most strategically significant resource of a firm. Notwithstanding, the authors illustrate that it is not known much about â€Å"how firms create, acquire, and apply knowledge better than other firms† (page 421). Nag and Gioia set up a qualitative study to develop an inductive model to reveal the processes how and under which circumstances managers transform common into distinctive knowledge. The foundry industry in the northeast and midatlantic United States served as study population. The authors conducted 53 interviews with CEOs and other key members involving 22 different foundries. Major conclusions: The model developed three dimensions how executives differ in the process from common to uncommon knowledge: executive knowledge schemes, executive scanning and uncommon knowledge use. The study indicates the personal impact of executive behavior how they identified, searched for and used uncommon knowledge: Under same external circumstances they act in different ways to address strategic situations. (1) Interpretation of the results The interviews were structured like following. There are three aggregated dimensions (executive knowledge schemes, executive scanning and uncommon knowledge use). Each of these dimensions consists of two second-order themes. These feed on the first-order categories which are coded quotes. Executive knowledge schemes mean how executives are determined towards theirs perceptions of knowledge. They are also called knowledge structures. A more detailed view onto these structures reveals that they consist first of the second-order-themes knowledge significance (criticality and distinctiveness relate to the importance of knowledge to the strategic performance of a firm). The usage of knowledge is mostly seen in three areas: technical effectiveness, operational efficiency and customer responsiveness. Second, the knowledge schemes consist of knowledge source (external accessibility, personal competence and lower-echelon knowledgeability relate to the usefulness and quality of different origins of knowledge). Executive scanning means the activity to acquire additional knowledge. It differs in the quantity and the character how managers search to extend the strategic resources. Scanning intensity describes the amount of time and effort managers invest to acquire new knowledge. The other second-order theme scanning proactiveness goes beyond the intensity in order to get better and other information than competitors do. Uncommon knowledge use means the application of knowledge to a firm’s challenges. As long as a foundry does not know how to use common knowledge for its own problems it does not have a competitive advantage of knowledge (it does define about costs as differentiation). Only if it is using uncommon knowledge it becomes distinctive knowledge and therefore turns into a competitive advantage. In the second-order themes this dimension is separated into knowledge adaption and knowledge augmentation. The first one describes how to use new knowledge to solve specific problems and generate new methods. The second one goes beyond; it is about understanding problems in principle. When you are familiar with the principle you can adapt knowledge to related problems and through that it is possible to generate new knowledge by you. Different emphases in second-order themes are more likely to be linked with certain emphases on another second-order theme (e.g. strong believe in technological effectiveness is associated with engaging in proactive scanning). Through those linkages Nag and Gioia were able to draw tree knowledge pathways. The knowledge adaption pathways describe the track how managerial distinctions emerge to knowledge adaption. The knowledge augmentation pathways describe the way to the augmentation of knowledge and the third track describes how it happens that uncommon knowledge is not used. In the knowledge adaption pathways executives consider knowledge as most important for operational efficiency. They believe it’s hard to obtain from external sources and they have confidence in their own knowledge but limited trust in workers’ knowledge. They are scan-ning intensively for knowledge and personally they had a greater share in knowledge work. Firms on that pathway are adapting knowledge and come more likely to an incremental development. In contrast described before in the knowledge augmentation pathways leaders have a strong confidence on own knowledge, on workers capabilities and they believe their know-ledge is distinctive and hard to imitate for competitors. Therefore they are scanning pro-actively and engaging others to knowledge work. These companies use uncommon know-ledge through augmentation. Radical innovations are more likely in those companies. On the path for no uncommon knowledge use the executives contribute knowledge mostly to raise customer’s responsiveness. They have low confidence in company’s knowledge, their own and in workers’ knowledge. Through low and infrequent scanning activity they reduce the information available and therefore they avoid uncommon knowledge usage. Companies on that path are less cost efficient than companies on the paths described before. (2) Strengths and weaknesses of the methodological approach In general the study appears consistent and methodologically well done. While interpreting participants the authors included quotations (‘in vivo’ codes) of the respondents in the paper to underline their interpretations. For â€Å"member checking† they organized two group discussions with executives to verify the findings. They had a grounded theory approach. Starting from the interviews they developed inductively the model. In a quite good manner they developed graphics illustrating their model which make the study easier comprehensible for outsiders. It could be criticized that the authors did not reveal their bias and research background to the topic. In 2006 Nag published his dissertation with the title â€Å"From common to uncommon knowledge: An investigation into the socio-cognitive foundations of inter-firm heterogeneity in the use of knowledge as a resource†. Gioia was the chair of the dissertation committee. The dissertation had the same study population from the foundry industry with partially identical interviewees. In that dissertation more and less detailed sketches of the model in the current paper were presented. Against this backdrop the inductive approach could be suspected. It is more likely that there already existed some detailed ideas how the outcome could look like. Maybe here is the reason why the authors presented the literature review in the beginning which is unusual for an inductive approach. But nevertheless the developed model seems to be fully founded in the data. It could be mentioned more clearly when actually common knowledge becomes uncommon knowledge. The kind of knowledge which is spoken about is not clear enough. For example in the dimension knowledge schemes there are mentioned market insights as well as technological insights. But concurrent the dimension uncommon knowledge usage is all about technological and process effectiveness issues. Furthermore following there are detailed critiques concerning the sampling and the interviews. Sampling The study population like chosen in the study is well defined and concrete: Firms belong with the same industry Saturated industry with a lot of established common knowledge (=same basis) and where uncommon knowledge is the way to compete Foundries have a comparable (low) complexity (