Is the American Dream over? Essay

The American Dream is the American ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire. The American Dream is a belief that, in the United States, if a person wants something, they can make it happen. It’s the attitude that no one can hold a person back from their own personal dreams. If someone desires to start a company, and willing to work hard, they can achieve the dream. There is no racism, sexism, or discrimination that can place limits on wealth, stature, appearance or health. Any dream can be made real because of the freedoms we enjoy granted by our constitution and moral standards we as a nation live up to. Immigrants also that come to this nation to escape oppression from their governments around the world or just looking for a better opportunity can live free and run after the American Dream. However, slowly the American dream is becoming more difficult to achieve in our society. Opportunities for success are progressively diminishing because of the rapid expansion of government and its intrusion in our lives. I do not believe the American Dream is dead but it is more difficult to obtain. We may not need a college degree to achieve it but it will make it somewhat easier. The dream starts with individuals taking personal responsibility for their own lives, their own action and their own success. The dream isn’t about getting rich. It is about working hard and intelligently which brings natural rewards. The American dream is liberty and self-government. We the people are free to choose what we want to do with our lives. Originally the American Dream was having freedom of speech and religion. It has evolved into personal prosperity which includes a family, home ownership and dependable transportation. Cal Thomas’s newest column is a controversial argument in the New York Times about the American Dream. Columnist Bob Herbert’s commented on Thomas’ column, â€Å"However you want to define the American dream, there is not much of it that’s left anymore†(Herbert, 568-569). Thomas doesn’t dispute the point, except to argue that the definition of the â€Å"American dream† makes a difference. He agrees that there’s not much left of Herbert’s â€Å"version of the American dream as opposed to the original dream, which remains for those who would embrace it.Herbert’s version of the American Dream is â€Å"liberalism’s American dream,† which has proved unsustainable. Thomas equates the â€Å"liberal† American dream with an entitlement mentality that â€Å"has produced a country of government addicts† devoid of self-reliance, individual initiative and personal accountability. For Thomas, this is a dream in the worst sense of the word. â€Å"People who believe a politician of whatever party or persuasion can make their life better than individual initiative are doing more than dreaming,† he writes, â€Å"such persons are displaying cult-like faith, which can never be fulfilled†(Thomas, 569).

Management accounting questions

Decision makers are variably constrained by the environmental factors, their education, and mental ability. Besides these, decision makers may be constrained by the deficiencies in the information that Is available to them. Required Elaborate this statement with reference to Information deficiency with regard to Information timeliness, Information accuracy and clarity, Information relevance, and Information aggregation levels.Cite examples to support your points Jam Ltd is a manufacturer of a fertilizer product which is packed in 50 keg bags. The following report for year ended 31st December 2013 based on account analysis classification is availed to you Manufacturing costs Account Nature or Classification Amount in This 000 Direct Materials All variable 360,000 Direct Labor 200,000 Overhead costs: Electricity and water 60% variable 60,000 Managerial salaries 20% variable 1 o,oho Maintenance costs variable Depreciation 0% variable Indirect labor 50% variable 120,000Non manufacturing costs Accounts Administration expenses Marketing expenses 40% variable Depreciation costs 80,000 During the year 2013, Jam Ltd produced 80,000 bags. Management is forecasting sales price for the year 2014 based on 2013 cost data. The following additional data is available for the year 2014 compared to the data for the year 2013 1 . Price for direct materials are expected to increase by 10% 2. Under the terms of labor contract, both direct and indirect labor rates are expected to increase by 0% 3. All depreciation costs are expected to increase by 10% 4.Administration and marketing expenses to increase by 20% 5. Electricity and water, maintenance costs and managerial salaries are not expected to change 6. Jam Ltd expects to produce and sell 96,000 bags of fertilizer in the year 2014 Required (I) Estimates price per kilo of fertilizer in the year 2014 if gross profit margin of 201% is targeted (it) Outline advantages and limitations of cost based pricing technique ) For the year 2014 the following projected company data is made available to you for planning purpose 1.Estimated manufacturing costs when production level is 190,000 units is: fixed costs This 180,500,000 and per unit variable costs This 2,800. This cost behavior is maintained at all levels 2. The annual fixed advertising costs of This 190,000,000 and per unit uniform marketing costs of This 800 at all levels 3. A market survey carried out shows that for a change in privet

Mr. David O’Brien

I will look at the key aspects that are present in the piece and how they relate to the question asked and the reliability of the source provided. The three aspects that I will look for are the evidence of economic pressure and how this drove people to fight against the poor law and rebel against the middle class and the oligarchs from 1838. The political movement within Chartism that spawned the general convention as well as the formation of the national charter association, and eventually put forward the petition in 1842. And the cultural community that was very inclusive for its time, letting people from outside England and also other ethnicities like William Cuffay have as much of a say as anyone else within the movement. I will then conclude by choosing what I think is the main catalyst for support. Part 2 What evidence is there in the extract above of the three explanations for Chartism’s support that you learned about in the chapter, and which, if any, is stressed most strongly by the speaker? In this essay I will show evidence from the speech provided, of economic pressure, political movement as well as the inclusive cultural community present within the Chartist Movement that helped Chartism gain a following, and reference other sources to support my discussion. And explain which aspect I think the speaker emphasises more strongly than the others. The primary source provided is the speech that was said on July 6, 1839, and was heard by as many as 12,000 people. It was taken from a report in the Northern Star a Chartist publication. I don’t believe this source to be particularly reliable due to the absence of the speaker’s name and that it is from another article. Certain things could be elaborated due to the bias nature of the publication. The speaker makes many references to the economic conditions of the times. One of the most important â€Å"These evils chiefly of a political and social cast arise from one source class legislation†. Class legislation refers to the laws that chartist’s thought were put in place to defend the rich. One of these laws was the â€Å"poor law†. This law enacted in 1834 by parliament, tried to push the able bodied poor into workhouses to receive money and aid from the government if they were unemployed. These workhouses would provide lodging and food but had a social stigma attached to them. This was not popular among the chartists or the general population alike. Another extract highlights the hard life of the working class during the economic down turn â€Å"while destruction in horrid form stalks though street, lane and thoroughfare, in all its sickening outlines, all of its appalling aggravations, all its emaciated frames, its haggard features, its ragged clothing, its insufficiency of food, its skeleton like, ghastly aspect, followed in the rear by heart rendering cries insufferable despair, the bursting heart, the muffle voice of burning inward madness, the infuriated rage of desperation, the sad habiliments of mourning, and the toll of the death-bell over the famish victim of monopoly, closes the scene† This is in contrast to the lifestyle of the Clergy, Aristocracy and the middle classes of the period. As many working class men we not allowed to vote, had laws passed that directly affected them whilst living in conditions that were abysmal made for strong resentment. The speaker adds â€Å"with this nation suffering its liberty and rights to be remorselessly trampled upon by murderous factions, jobbers and commercial blood sucking vampires, the rich unnaturally elevated above the proper spheres of the mortal man, the poor crushed beneath the alpine mountain weight of taxation, misrule and oppression†. Adding to this resentment was the â€Å"Peterloo massacre† where Chartist’s died at the hands of British Army cavalry during a protest. Going back to other comments made by the speaker â€Å"Honourable gentlemen, I mean by this name the working class only† Highlighting the feeling between the working class and other casts, as very much divided. Extreme conditions and inequality existed throughout economic downturn and from 1837 to 1842 Britain was experiencing a sharp recession. 1839 was a â€Å"year of mass meetings† and there was a common ground among working class males that the idea of universal suffrage should be implemented, as they did not feel adequately represented in parliament. There is a strong political message for reform. Swell the numbers of the patriot throng which have sworn by him that liveth for ever, that they will have the peoples charter, or they will die in the struggle. (Bravo, and We will)† The movement formed a more organise d front just after this speech on 20 July 1840 with the formation of the National Charter Association (NSA). Braches organised meetings and distributed free press. Mass meeting like this speech and the NSA were pivotal in the creation of the second charter that was signed by 3,317,752 people supporting Universal suffrage and other points mentioned in the charter. The Chartist Movement was very inclusive, as at this time racism and discrimination were rife. Some examples of this in the higher leadership are Fergus O’Connor an Irishman of noble standing and William Cuffay the son of a freed black slave and well as being born with a deformed lower back and leg. â€Å"Mr Chairman and fellow working men, brethren of the human race†, an example of the camaraderie of the working class as a whole. The economic conditions and lack of representation are the main points in this speech. They led to the common support of the chartist cause, as support would increase in times of economic difficulty. Chartist’s adapted to create a political movement out of which, they had a voice. I conclude that Chartism was the catalyst for change and one of the main reasons we live in a democratic society today.

Effective time management skills and techniques are needed for Essay

Effective time management skills and techniques are needed for effective university study - Essay Example 12 ). Due to the increasing busy lifestyles and social duties, students are finding themselves with many commitments due to the busy academic calendar, family obligations, and work related ties for those who work and study at the same time. Therefore, time management becomes a necessity for success. This paper discusses effective time management skills and techniques necessary for effective university study. Effective planning is one of the most important time management skills. It refers to the wise evaluation of all tasks that need to be accomplished and effectively allocating adequate time for each task so that the overall plan is successful. This ensures that things and events are organized according to their priority (Forsyth, 2007, p. 17). Activities to be accomplished can be classified as important and urgent, important but not urgent, urgent but not important and neither important nor urgent. Mancini claims, â€Å"Good time management requires setting priorities-and in setting priorities, we accept that time limits must naturally limit our choices† (Mancini, 2007, p. 4). Therefore, to be successful in the university, students must endeavor to make an elaborate plan of all-important activities, make a schedule, and put the plan into action. It is also important to consider personals strengths and weaknesses as well as threats and available opportunities when making a time plan. Some students are gifted in understanding concepts when taught in class. Others might need to spend several hours doing personal studies and group discussions on order to understand the same concepts. Hence, time plans may be different for different students though they may be taking the same course in the university. When making a time plan, setting realistic and reasonable goals determines the success of the plan. Time management calls for a clarity of

Gender Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gender Stereotypes - Essay Example Are men better at science than women? Does science sexist? Are scientists sexist? These are some of the questions, which one needs to critically analyze before coming to any conclusion. If one would have evaluated this question a couple of centuries ago then the answer would have varied to a huge extent as compared to what a person keeps an opinion of his or her today that is in the modern world. It is a fact that, just like a society or community, culture and traditions of a society have a crucial impact on an individual’s morale, motivation and performance but there has still been a dearth of evidence for this crucial concept and there have been varied opinions and views in this regard. We have to closely analyze the role of culture regarding this very important opinion. We have to analyze from the origins of science when there were not really big names in science. Though there have been some important contributions made to science from female scientists such as Marie Curie, who was known for the invention of radioactivity and radium. However, most of the contributions in science have been made by male scientists. The list includes famous scientists such as Archimedes who was known for Archimedes’s principle and Archimedes’s screw, Aristotle who was known for his noble ideas such as golden mean and Aristotelian logic and many others including Leonardo-Da-Vinci, Galileo Galilee, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein etc who have been famous for their contributions towards science.

Decision Making Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Decision Making - Coursework Example The verdict bears positives for the individuals in the institution as well as the organization. However, the prioritization of profit with disregard of the customer well-being leads the firm into crisis. Specifically, it amounts to the organization breaching the laws governing ethical practices and thus may face legal action (Fitzgerald, 2002). For this reason, the company needs to make haste and strategic decisions with high-risk consequences. Nonetheless, the company may compensate the victims to avoid legal battles. More so, individuals in the company should look into ways that improve the product. Therefore, it is important that the leader change the decision-making approach that gives the managers the autogamy of making decisions in the enterprise. Considering Werbach’s criticism of Wal-Mart, it is unexpected that he would join the company. However, he realizes that he can influence change while working from within the system. Although the public view this as a bad decision, Werbach can change the employees’ lifestyle as they start embracing sustainable practices. Therefore, it is a successful decision considering the positive outcome. A successful decision is measured by how well it shapes the growth of the business. In addition, the benefit-cost ratio is applicable as an indicator of assessing the effectiveness of a decision of the company (Fitzgerald,

Lunching new product in Qatari market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lunching new product in Qatari market - Essay Example Weaknesses: A major setback for the company is the underlying marketing cost of this product as well as the acceptance of this innovative product by the masses. The market research is prone to validity and reliability issues and even a company with excellent management and marketing personnel, it is feared that not many buyers are actually attracted. Also, since the cost of a PVC sometimes goes up to $400 per cell, the production cost of these cars might exceed the estimated budget. These cars also get extremely heated from the inside and may be prickly to drive (Why to buy a Solar powered Car, n.p.). 4 Opportunities: Solar cars are the most environment friendly cars to use. This factor can be cashed whilst generating a positive word of mouth for the company. Affiliating with organizations that promote Go Green concept can also benefit the new born company. With consumers needs shifting to preferring environment friendly products, this can go into the company’s benefit. Moreover, the economy of Qatar is permeable to new entrants and Smart Solar Cars can survive. 4 Threats: Competitors, both local and international, are an obvious threat. The fear of unsuccessful marketing efforts made to shift Qatari consumers from the conventional cars to solar powered cars, as well as the constant terror of unpredictable recession stay as major threats. 5 The company is named Smart Solar Cars Ltd which is an entirely new brand to be launched in Qatar. The main target market that these cars cater to, are the young individuals, and first time buyers of the car. The company is anticipated to be launched in Qatar in January 2012. The primary mission is to ‘go green’ in the future and save the natural resources to their maximum. The main objective of launching this product is to create awareness amongst people on the usefulness of the solar

The Role of Race to the Caribbean People's Sense of Identity Essay

The Role of Race to the Caribbean People's Sense of Identity - Essay Example 64) are all mixed up, making it almost impossible to give it a single description. And third, as the fight against racial discrimination positively gains ground worldwide, most especially in the land of the whites and as this so-called ‘race ideology’ is increasingly negated by the requirements of globalization. These considerations make ‘race’ an issue to ponder in the Caribbean people’s identity, compelling one to define it in different ways. One way to understand the role of race in the Caribbean peoples’ sense of identity is to group the people based on the main language most people used, as what Safa (1987) did in her article: â€Å"Popular culture, national identity, and race in the Caribbean,† thus the distinction between the Anglophone Caribbean, referring to its English-speaking nations and the Hispanophone Caribbean, referring to its Spanish-speaking nations. ... rly predominant Eurocentric orientation; in the Hispanophone Caribbean, the people’s national identity has remained grounded more on language, religion and other aspects of Spanish culture than on race (Safa, 1987). According to Brodber (1987), this shift in the Anglophone Caribbean’s thinking is greatly influenced by the positive changes in the Euro-American attitudes towards black people during the 1950’s and ‘60s, resulting from the black’s violent struggle against apartheid. This increasing recognition and acceptance of an Afro-orientation by the Afro-Jamaican middle class (the literate class), which traditionally has identified itself only with its European lineage, and the popularization of Afro-orientation primarily through music (e.g. Bob Marley) further broadened the acceptance of the Afro-orientation in the Anglophone Caribbean (pp. 147-149, 156-157). Furthermore, Safa (1987) explains that after achieving their political independence, polit ical expediency left no recourse to the mulatto Creole elite – who identified themselves with European white against their African heritage – but to accept the predominantly black masses of its population as its political constituents. The governing on the basis of white superiority, as how the former colonial society was ruled, will never gain the trust and cooperation of the black masses. Thus, there is the need to favor racial solidarity and to recognize black pride. Given this long waited opportunity, the Afro-orientation, which has long been held and survived in the oral tradition of the black population (the illiterate lower class), unstoppably surges. Today, a greater part of the Anglophone Caribbean regards ‘blackness’ as the symbolism of its nationhood. However, this consensus does not hold true

MHE509 Module 5 - SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MHE509 Module 5 - SLP - Essay Example The main better features of the Barnard College’s plan/policy for the emergency and disaster management those can be used to effectively deal with the weakness of the overall policy and disaster management plan. This plan has set up priorities regarding the disaster management, where the policy makers have given priority to the saving of the lives and collage property in case of emergencies. Then they have placed the point regarding the functioning of College main task during emergency condition. Here they have minimized the weaknesses through the on time better management of the resources and manpower in the occurrence of an emergency state. They also mentioned that the help and coordination with the outside agencies in case of emergency will be preferred, in this way the Barnard College be able to manage and handle of its main weaknesses regarding there policy and emergency state management recourses. Now I will mention few main objectives settled by the Barnard College for the effective management of any disaster state. This feature of their policy is more powerful tool they can use for the better disaster management in spite of lot of policy and resource weaknesses. This policy has established that the on time and non-interrupted emergency communication is very necessary for handling the critical situation. The policy states that need to assess the injuries, damage and site of main troubles is also a main facture for the successful critical situation handling. The evacuate plan implementation is also a better step for the better disaster management and handling. In this way the Barnard College is able to save the numerous lives and the property from some critical situation. Another main feature of this policy is regarding the isolation of the unsafe areas in anticipation of evaluation that can grantee that the location is now safe for reentry. In this policy they have mentioned that the first aid and medical triage

Financial Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Markets - Essay Example Under financial discussions & research, options fall under a particular style or family. Theoretically speaking, the style or the family of options refers to a class that signifies the category into which that particular option comes under. The options are generally verified & studied by analyzing the dates on which these options may be exercised. Such options come under the purview of the European & American Styles. There are many more types of options available. The similarity between all of them is that they come under the 'Vanilla Options' wherein, the options are evaluated on the basis of the payoff. There are also numerous Non-Vanilla options such as the Russian & the Asian options. The proposed research is aimed at studying the various arbitrage options that fall under the Asian option. Under the proposed research, there are a number of issues that are planned to be studied. The first & the foremost would be to perform an analysis & assessment of the various techniques that have been devised for assessing the Asian option. The study of these techniques is very important in order to assess each one for its effectiveness & compare & contrast between all of them for their numerous features & capabilities. ... The reason why this topic is being studied is that though there are numerous techniques available for determining the payback, none of them is able to provide a clear-cut & a fully observable solution. This is because the evaluation of the Partial Differential Equations (PDE) involves a certain degree of adjustments in terms of the areas being evaluated under the integrals that varies with each technique. Nevertheless, numerous options have been devised that tend to improve the degree of efficiency and accuracy with which these options can be worked out.Some of the techniques that are proposed to be covered under the proposed research are discussed below: Roger & Shi's one-dimensional Model: This model is suitable for both fixed & floating Asian options. This method uses the Strike & the average value of a stock over a time period for the evaluation of the PDE. But there are certain problems with this technique that need to be investigated. Jan vecer technique: this method falls under the traded account option wherein the gains & losses from trading are evaluated using a special Partial Differential Equation. The PDE for this model takes into account the rate of reinvestment as well as the trading strategy with the intent of maximizing the price of agreement. Under the Asian option, the payoff is calculated as a function of the stock & the strike value. Monte-Carlo Approach: this approach is adopted when the dimensional space is larger than usual wherein the share of price is evaluated by the Black & Scholes model while the price of an asset has been given Lapeyre & Temam. This model utilized the standard Brownian motion & additionally

Individual Assignment Process Improvement Plan Essay Example for Free

Individual Assignment Process Improvement Plan Essay Individual Assignment: Process Improvement Plan  · Complete the Statistical Process Control for the process identified in Week One.  · Write a 1,050 words (maximum) explanation of the control limits including the calculations and data used to determine them.  · Discuss the effect of any seasonal factors using the process performance data collected each week.  · Discuss the confidence intervals and their usefulness based on the number of data points. General Questions General General Questions Complete the Statistical Process Control for the process identified in Week One. Write a paper of no more than 1,050 words in which you explanation of the control limits, including the calculations and data used to determine them. (I expect everyone to use the data that they have collected and create a control chart for your process. I want to see your calculations for the upper and lower control limits as well as the raw data). Discuss the effect of any seasonal factors using the process performance data collected each week. Discuss the confidence intervals and their usefulness based on the number of data points. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. When choosing your major, think about the kind of job you want, but think about the person you are. If you are someone who doesnt want to get up before noon, for example, you might not want to choose a major where the job possibilities require you to work early in the morning. In this file OPS 571 Week 5 Individual Assignment Process Improvement Plan you can find overview of the Statistical process control (SPC) Individual Assignment: Process Improvement Plan  · Complete the Statistical Process Control f Complete course guide available here https://bitly.com/12CiLPG When choosing your major, think about the kind of job you want, but think about the person you are. If you are someone who doesnt want to get up before noon, for example, you might not want to choose a major where the job possibilities require you to work early in the morning. General Questions General General Questions Complete the Statistical Process Control for the process identified in Week One. Write a paper of no more than 1,050 words in which you explanation of the control limits, including the calculations and data used to determine them. (I expect everyone to use the data that they have collected and create a control chart for your process. I want to see your calculations for the upper and lower control limits as well as the raw data). Discuss the effect of any seasonal factors using the process performance data collected each week. Discuss the confidence intervals and their usefulness based on the number of data points. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Associates degree Essay Example for Free

Associates degree Essay Picture this: You’re at the end of your summer before your senior year in high school. All summer, you’ve been working your minimum wage job, completing a project for school, and spending time with your friends and family. Every day is unique. Every day is new. You meet new people, go new places, and make new memories. Suddenly, and all too quickly, summer comes to an abrupt end. Senior year begins and the days go by faster than ever. You were courageous this year; you took â€Å"hard† classes. Well, hard classes means more schoolwork than ever before. More than you were expecting. And don’t forget about your job, three or four days a week after school for five or six hours, and one or both days of the weekend for eight hours. This is harder than you thought. You’re always tired. You’re always behind. You catch up one day, and are behind by the next. If you didn’t have to work, you could probably catch up. However, if you don’t work, you have no money to drive, and definitely no money for college. College is the one word you wish to avoid, but know it is inevitable. Applications are due soon, and you don’t have a clue what you want to do, much less where you want to go. Even if you were sure, there’s still a chance you can’t afford it. Coming from a family of five who lived in a one bedroom apartment when I was born, I am very lucky to be where I am now, and I know this. I have seen firsthand that with hard work and determination, everyone can succeed. I know I have the opportunity to do anything I want, be anyone I want. I could be an architect, a photographer, an engineer, a chemist. Anything. But what do I want to do? Where do I want to go? What type of school would be best for me? Deciding on if college is right for you, and if so, which college you want to attend is a very important decision to make. It will cost you a lot of money, and is not a decision to take lightly. Colleges can be broken down into two basic types, which can then be broken down further. The first of these is two-year colleges. Two-year institutions, sometimes called community or junior colleges, have programs that offer up to an associate degree, Associate of Arts (A. A. ) or Associate of Science (A. S. ), following successful completion of a two-year, full-time program. A few two-year colleges also offer the final two years of an undergraduate program only, awarding the bachelors degree rather than the associate degree. There are two basic types of programs at community and junior colleges, so when you start your search, having your career goals in mind will help in selecting a school. Some programs are strictly academic and are to prepare students to transfer to a bachelors degree program at a four-year school. Others are more applied and provide career training in specific areas (technical college). Though some of the credits offered at this second type of school may be accepted by a four-year institute, this type of school is not designed for students planning to transfer to such an institute. The next basic type of school is a four-year institution (college or university). The college or university, sometimes called an institute when offered programs focus on engineering or other technical courses, award a bachelors degree. The Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees are the most common, but many other bachelor’s programs are offered. Bachelors degrees are typically awarded after successfully completing a four-year, full-time program. Programs in some fields of study or at some institutions can be longer than four years. Some colleges have an affiliation with a specific religious group. If you’re looking at going to a four-year institution, a good place to start your search is a college guide. These guides show you the different types of four-year institutions available to you. Information provided by individual colleges can help influence your decision as well as. Both two-year colleges and four-year universities can be further broken down. One further division is public and private institutes. Generally, two-year community colleges, and state colleges or universities are publicly supported (funded). The state these institutions are located in generally provides the majority of their funding. The cost of private schools is generally higher because they do not receive the same state or federal funding. Colleges and universities with religious affiliations are private schools. Most are Christian (Roman Catholic and Protestant). Most often, you do not need to be a follower of any specific religion to attend a religiously affiliated college and these institutions generally strive to avoid effecting any students religious views. Cost of college can be a very important thing to take into consideration when choosing a college. Tuition costs have been going up at an increasing rate for many years. â€Å"In its most recent survey of college pricing, the College Board reports that a moderate college budget for an in-state public college for the 2011–2012 academic year averaged $21,447. A moderate budget at a private college averaged $42,224. † In the past 30 years, the cost has increased by over 500%, and that cost is expected to continue increasing by around 8% per year (the cost of living has only increased by approximately 250% in that same time period). That’s an additional $1,500 per year for in-state public colleges, and around $3,000 more per year for private colleges! Why, though, has this cost been increasing so drastically? In most other countries in the world, college is either payed for by taxes, or is very affordable. But what makes up this cost? The majority is tuition. Tuition is what colleges charge for the instruction they provide. Tuition is charged either by the semester or quarter depending on the college. Typically, one year of school is made up of classes ranging from early fall to spring (i. e late August through early May). Tuition for in-state residents at a public university is a bargain compared to what out-of-staters pay (often double the tuition of residents). Other costs (which will be covered in the following paragraphs) are generally about the same for residents or non-residents. Tuition at some colleges can also vary by major. Students in the sciences, engineering, computing, premed programs, and the fine arts often pay more. This â€Å"variable tuition† is something to keep in mind if you have a program/major in mind. Student fees are the next major part of the overall cost of college. These include anything from library access and parking, to registration and student government. Colleges usually give a total student fee, although this is generally only broken down into the most significant parts. However, other things that are generally included in these costs are health insurance, use of athletic facilities, ID cards, diplomas and graduation costs, lab supplies, computer access, student activities, and local bus service. Housing, meals, books, and other school supplies make up the majority of the rest of the total cost of college. Many colleges offer on-campus housing that varies greatly in price and comfort. Meal plans may also be purchased. Depending on the college, some plans are included with the cost of housing, while other schools keep the two separate. The plans can vary from as little as 7 meals a week or less to all you can eat, depending on how much you want to pay. Laptops are provided by most colleges, however the price to use these machines is usually quite hefty. While it may be expensive to rent a laptop, most often you will have access to nearly any program, as well as being able to purchase cheaper, student copies of programs to keep permanently. In high school, I was hardly told anything about college. Never was it even suggested that it might be a good idea to research different types of schools. After reading article after article about different types of colleges, and the factors to include in the total cost, I feel like I am finally beginning to understand the different types of colleges and the cost that comes along with them. There is still a lot of research to be done, but at least I am beginning to find my way. Hopefully, if you (the reader) are also thinking about college, and maybe even in a similar situation to me, this has helped you start working towards your final decision.

Theories of Fatigue: Football Case Study

Theories of Fatigue: Football Case Study What are the key theories of fatigue, how does it develop throughout the course of a game in footballers and what are its implications on  injury risk? Introduction Everyone experiences fatigue, and many of us have felt fatigue associated feelings of tiredness, lethargy and slowed reactions it in the context of sport and exercise. Fatigue represents a key limiting factor for performance in sportspeople, and it is therefore a very important topic in Sports Medicine. With this essay, I hope to provide an interesting introduction to the field of fatigue and to demonstrate its importance in sport. The physiological processes underlying the development of fatigue are complex and still widely debated. Nevertheless, I aim to discuss some key theories of the contributing central and peripheral mechanisms, their merits, and how they have developed over time. I will describe how fatigue effects footballers as a match progresses and in doing this, introduce some methods used to monitor the activity of footballers during a game and perhaps prevent injuries. To further highlight the impact of fatigue in sport, I will end by giving evidence that fatigue incre ases the risk of injury and an important example of how this might occur. Theories of Central Fatigue Central Fatigue (CF) describes processes occurring within the Central Nervous System, resulting in a reduced rate of firing by alpha motor neurones to skeletal muscle, and can be summarised as an impaired motor drive.1 Strong evidence suggests that central mechanisms play a greater role than peripheral mechanisms in fatigue caused by low-intensity exercise.2,3,4 A study published in 20072 illustrates the reduced motor drive caused by CF in low-intensity exercise particularly well. Despite having a relatively low participation of 18, I think it is worth highlighting as it exhibited tight control of unwanted variables. Low-intensity contractions were performed at 20% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) and high-intensity contractions at 80% of MVC. Participants were randomised between these two groups and required to perform their respective fatiguing task until failure, which unsurprisingly took longer for low-intensity contractions. Precautions were taken to isolate the elbow flex ors including strapping of the shoulder, and neither the subjects nor investigators were informed of their time to task failure as it occurred. Voluntary activation the increase in force when an electrical stimulus is delivered to a muscle during an MVC was measured before and after each task. Voluntary activation gives an indication of neural drive and was reduced after both tasks, indicating that CF had affected the elbow flexors. However, the reduction in VA was greater after low-force contractions (14%), suggesting a more significant CF impact than after high-force contractions (5%). In addition, the authors used Electromyography to measure levels of electrical activity in the elbow flexor muscles during and after each fatiguing task. Levels of electrical activity were increased, but measured less after the low-force task, again supporting the theory that CF is primarily responsible for task failure during lower intensity exercise. A key first hypothesis of the mechanism behind CF, the Serotonin-Hypothesis, was outlined in a 1987 paper.5 The authors predicted that during exercise, supra-physiological levels of serotonergic activity in the brain were the cause of lethargy and loss of drive during prolonged exercise. This link has been investigated, and it has been shown in rats that a reduced run-time to exhaustion is observed when a general Serotonin antagonist (Quipazine Dimaleate) is administered.6 This effect was not replicated when a Serotonin antagonist restricted to the periphery (Xylamidine Tosylate) was administered. This finding adds weight to the theory that serotonergic activity in the brain, and not in the periphery, plays a role in CF. The mechanism by which exercise causes increased levels of Serotonin is thought to be due to influences it has on the uptake process of Serotonin precursor, Tryptophan, across the blood-brain barrier (BBB).1 More recently, evidence has emerged through studies of amph etamine use 7,8 that dopamine also plays an important role in CF. For example, two papers have shown that a low dose of amphetamine increases endurance in fatigued rats, with endurance being assessed by measuring swimming time and treadmill time to exhaustion.7,8 The mechanism for Dopamines role in CF is not completely clear, but its involvement in motivation and reward could be significant.1 The modern theory of CF incorporates all of the above findings, suggesting that an exercise-induced increase in the ratio of Serotonin to Dopamine in the brain is responsible for feelings of lethargy during prolonged exercise.9 If correct, this means that there is the potential to artificially manipulate brain neurotransmitter levels, postpone the onset of CF and boost levels of performance. Unsurprisingly, given the potential benefits to sports medicine, a lot of research has been done investigating whether the impact of CF in exercise can be reduced. Management of nutrition can be used to artificially manipulate neurotransmitter levels. A number of studies have investigated the administration of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), which compete with Serotonin precursor Tryptophan for transport across the BBB, on prolonged exercise performance. One such study investigated whether administering a mixture of BCAA to participants during a 30km or 42.2km race could improve race times.10 Unfortunately, the studys field-based nature meant there was a lack of control over participants during the race. Nevertheless, the authors found that running performance was significantly improved in marathon runners (42.2km) who normally ran at a slower pace, completing the race in 3.05-3.30 hours. Runners who normally posted a faster time of under 3.05h showed no significant improvement, l eading to the authors suggestion that these runners had developed resistance to feelings of CF. This is a fascinating proposition which, if its mechanism can be understood properly, could lead to targeted fitness training for professional sportspeople to overcome the effects of CF. I havent been able to find any papers investigating this and believe it would be an interesting topic for future research. As well as managing nutrition, pharmacological manipulation of neurotransmitter levels has been attempted using Serotonin reuptake inhibitors11 and Serotonin Receptor antagonists.12 These papers, along with those investigating nutritional management, struggle to provide a clear consensus regarding the mechanism of Central Fatigue and more robust studies are needed before we can state beyond doubt the roles of Serotonin and Dopamine. Theories of Peripheral Fatigue Peripheral Fatigue (PF) describes processes taking place within a muscle, which reduce its capacity to exert force. It is considered responsible for task failure in high-intensity exercise,13 including most exercises performed to build strength. In exercise with high-energy demands on a muscle, anaerobic glycolysis occurs producing lactate. Rates of lactate synthesis outstrip its rate of conversion back to glucose, causing lactate build-up and a shift in equilibrium favouring lactic acid production. Many factors have been suggested as responsible for PF, with early theories citing lactic acidosis as the probable cause,14 although scepticism surrounding this link has since emerged.15,16 A good example of this scepticism is a study which used the Yo-yo intermittent recovery test to observe changes in muscle lactate levels and PH, along with other physiological responses, when exercising to exhaustion.16 Participants were asked to run 20m back and forth at progressively increased speeds , until fatigue caused them to twice fall short of the finishing line. Those who had muscle biopsies were sampled on two occasions. During a first run, all 13 were biopsied after exhaustion, with 7 participants also being biopsied at rest beforehand. During a second run on a different occasion, the remaining 6 participants were biopsied at what was calculated to be 90% of their time to exhaustion. The aim of this comparative measure was to observe any change in metabolite levels in the time between 90% and 100% exhaustion. As expected, muscle lactate levels increased eightfold after exhaustion (51.2  ± 7.6 mmol ·kg-1) compared to rest (6.8  ± 1.1 mmol ·kg-1), and the muscle was more acidic at exhaustion (PH: 6.98  ± 0.04) than at rest (PH: 7.16  ± 0.03). However, there was no observed change in either measurement between 90% and 100% of exhaustion. It should be noted that the samples of only 7 participants were measured for this comparison a nd a larger participation would have produced even more reliable results. Nevertheless, it is hard to ignore the number of other studies with similar findings15,17 and accordingly, lactic acidosis is no longer considered a determining factor for developing PF. That is not to say that it doesnt play a smaller role in PF, in combination with other mechanisms. For example, some evidence suggests that acidosis reduces myofibrillar sensitivity to Ca2+ as H+ ions also compete for binding with Troponin C.18 A more popular theory is that Inorganic Phosphate levels are a determining factor for PF. During skeletal muscle activity, Creatine Phosphate (CP) is broken down as part of a process generating ATP, leading to reduced concentrations in exercising muscle. A review of the relevant literature estimated that intense periods of exercise during football matches causes levels of CP to fall by 40%.19 This estimate came after considering the time delay between exercise and biopsy in which resynthesis of CP will take place. Dephosphorylation of CP unsurprisingly leads to increased levels of inorganic Phosphate (Pi) in muscle cells, and this has been shown to correlate with fatigue. One study electrically stimulated the human Tibialis Anterior muscle to induce fatigue and investigate how levels of metabolites changed in relation to reduced contractile force.20 A pneumatic cuff was used to keep the muscle ischaemic, based on the assumption that this would prevent metabolite levels changing betwe en contractions and measuring of metabolites using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Metabolites were measured at rest and after 3, 10, 15 and 20 induced contractions. The authors found that force declined to 63% of initial force after 20 contractions. Levels of Pi increased just over fivefold after 20 contractions (29.6 m.moles per litre of intracellular water) compared to at rest (5.6 mmoles) and Figure 1 demonstrates the correlation observed between Pi concentration and Force. Another study used genetically modified mice lacking Creatine Kinase (CK), which catalyses the reaction responsible for regenerating CP, in their skeletal muscle.21 This provided a good model for further investigating the association between Pi and fatigue. Skeletal muscle fibres from the genetically modified mice had a higher Pi concentration at rest compared to wild-type fibres and generated a significantly lower force upon electrical stimulation of tetanus. Additionally, they displayed no significan t reduction in force even after 100 induced tetanic contractions, whereas force was reduced to 2+ in the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum,22 meaning less Ca2+ is available for release during force production. The two suggested mechanisms for this are that either high levels of Pi inhibit uptake of Ca2+ by the SR,23 or that Pi enters the SR and precipitates with Ca2+.24 How fatigue develops over the course of a game in footballersA couple of techniques are used to collect data on footballers activity patterns throughout a match. GPS and accelerometer technology can be worn by players during matches to collect data on their locomotor activities.25 Alternatively, it is possible to analyse film of players and use computerised coding to discern their activity patterns to a high degree of accuracy and reproducibility.26 A 2003 study adopting this technique filmed eighteen top-level professional footballers over 129 matches, along with 24 footballers of a moderate standard.27 The authors recorded the frequency and duration of various levels of activity, which were categorised according to speed, and presented the data for every 5, 15, 45 and 90 minutes. This allowed them to compare different stages of the match and pinpoint when levels of athletic performance changed. As well as this, lots of comparisons were made between players of different standards an d playing positions which, whilst interesting, arent wholly relevant to the topic of fatigue. Top-level footballers ran for longer periods at both low and high intensities, and covered more distance in the first half (5.51  ± 0.10km) compared to the second half (5.35  ± 0.09km) of matches. Figure 2 gives a good visualisation of how distances covered during high-intensity running were unevenly distributed between halves. Distance covered whilst sprinting for top-level footballers was 43% less in the last 15 minutes than the first 15 minutes. Arguably, this could be put down to the fact that the outcome of matches had already been decided as the last 15 minutes approached. However, this is unlikely to be the case because the majority of matches observed had a score difference of only one goal or less approaching this stage, meaning neither team could afford to deliberately lower their intensity. It was also found that substitutes, in comparison to those playing the entir e match, undertook 25% more high-intensity running and 63% more sprinting during the last 15 minutes, presumable because they were not fatigued. A 2016 study which used GPS and accelerometer data, presented findings similar to the 2003 study when they observed a significant decrease in locomotor efficiency towards the end of each half in English Championship U21 footballers.25For this study, investigators used a new unit called PlayerLoadà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ per meter, suggesting that it gives a good representation of locomotor efficiency and may, therefore, be useful for informing decision making before or within a match. For example, squad rotation or training regime decisions could be made base on the locomotor efficiency shown by a player during training or a previous game. This is an example of a very important area of Sports Medicine which is the prevention of injuries by properly managing players outside of match-play. Overall, we can clearly see that footballers become fatigued t hroughout the course of a match, which Id like to suggest may be due to the gradual onset of CF. The authors of the 2003 study also wanted to establish whether a temporary fatigue effect existed.27 To do this, they identified 5 minutes over which each player covered their peak distance in high-intensity running, representing their most taxing period of exercise for each match. In the 5 minutes following this, on average, each player performed 12% less high-intensity running that the average for all 5 minute periods. This demonstrates that players are affected by a temporary fatigue within matches, potentially because they are experiencing PF induced by a period of very high-intensity exercise. The implications fatigue on injury risk Injuries represent a huge challenge for professional sports clubs, as players are rendered unavailable for selection whilst also costing money in wages. This problem is well illustrated by the fact that over 15 seasons for 50 elite football clubs, the average proportion of a squad available for match selection has consistently been below 90%.28 A number of huge epidemiological studies have been set up to investigated the incidence and nature of injuries in professional footballers, 28,29 the most prominent being the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study which is updated every season. Over the 2015/16 season, injury data from 29 clubs comprising of an average of 59 matches and 218 training sessions per team was analysed. Over this period, the study found that that on average 0.6 matches and 2.1 training sessions were missed per player per month due to injury. Data from the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study can be used to analyse patterns of injury occurrence during matches. There is an increasing incidence of injuries occurring over time in both halves of football matches, a trend observed in the three most common injury types: strains, sprains, and contusions.28 This strongly correlates with the pattern by which fatigue has been shown to develop over the course of a game,25.27 and it is fair to say that fatigue almost definitely the cause of this increased incidence. A more specific example of how fatigue impacts injury risk can be seen in a 2009 study, set out to establish a link between fatiguing mechanisms and an increased risk of injury to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) of the knee.30 ACL injury is particularly devastating for a footballer, not least because of its long-term impacts. A follow up of 176 top level footballers in Sweden who had suffered ACL injuries, found that only 30% were still playing after three years compared to 80% in a control group.31Participation in the 2009 study30 was by 20 female student-athletes who had no history of previous injury to the knee or lower extremities. The biomechanics of participants lower limb joints were recorded as they performed randomly ordered, unanticipated jump landings, according to a light stimulus activated just after take-off. They then underwent a fatiguing task consisting of three single leg squats, after which biomechanics were recorded again. This cycle was continued until participants could no longer perform the three single leg squats unassisted, indicating maximal fatigue. Fatigue elicited a number of changes to biomechanics, importantly including a reduction in knee flexion and an increase in the angle of knee rotation, which promote the risk of ACL injury. Conclusion The importance Serotonin and Dopamine in controlling CF onset has emerged over time. A developed theory of CF is yet to be proven beyond doubt, despite there being lots of research investigating it. This could be because it is difficult, especially in humans, to structure a study with tight control over the levels of multiple neurotransmitters in the brain. It is also possible that there are more factors contributing to CF which are yet to be identified or supported by evidence. It has been suggested that resistance to CF can be developed through training, which could prove useful to Sports Medicine if investigate further. An early theory involving the build-up of lactic acid in muscle playing a key role in PF has been widely rejected by the scientific, but there is lots of evidence pointing towards increased levels of Pi being a determining factor. Ultimately, PF is probably a combined response to a number of intramuscular mechanisms. Some more potential contributors to this which I have not had a chance to touch upon include depleted glycogen levels in muscle32and altered muscle fibre membrane potentials.33 The influence that fatigue has on sporting performance is significant and can be clearly observed over the course of football matches. Tools exist, including measures of a players locomotor efficiency, which play an important role in preventing injury due to fatigue. Whilst there is evidence that fatigue has an impact on cognitive abilities,34,35 there are no studies I am aware of which investigate this in a footballing or sporting context. It would be interesting to see if there is a relationship between fatigue and the quality of a players decision making. Epidemiological studies have shown that there is a clear correlation between the onset of fatigue in football matches and a spike in incidences of injuries. There are many examples of injuries for which fatigue is a significant risk factor, with one example being ACL damage. This essay should provide a useful introduction to different areas of interest involving fatigue, all of which can be researched further. References Meeusen R, Watson P, Hasegawa H, Roelands B, Piacentini M. Central Fatigue: The Serotonin Hypothesis and beyond. Sports Medicine. 2006;36(10):881-909. Yoon T, Schlinder Delap B, Griffith E, Hunter S. Mechanisms of fatigue differ after low- and high-force fatiguing contractions in men and women. Muscle Nerve. 2007;36(4):515-524. Gauche E, Couturier A, Lepers R, Michaut A, Rabita G, Hausswirth C. Neuromuscular fatigue following high versus low-intensity eccentric exercise of biceps brachii muscle. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology. 2009;19(6):481-486. ZajƦc A, Chalimoniuk M, GoÅ‚aņº A, Lngfort J, Maszczyk A. Central and Peripheral Fatigue During Resistance Exercise A Critical Review. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2015;49(1):159-69. Newsholme EA, Acworth I, Blomstrand E. Amino acids, brain neurotransmitters and a function link between muscle and brain that is important in sustained exercise. Advances in Myochemistry. 1987:127-33. Bailey S, Davis J, Ahlborn E. Serotonergic Agonists and Antagonists Affect Endurance Performance in the Rat. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 1993;14(06):330-333. Bhagat B, Wheeler N. Effect of amphetamine on the swimming endurance of rats. Neuropharmacology. 1973;12(7):711-713. Gerald M. Effects of (+)-amphetamine on the treadmill endurance performance of rats. Neuropharmacology. 1978;17(9):703-704. Davis J, Bailey S. Possible mechanisms of central nervous system fatigue during exercise.. 1997;29(1):45-57. Blomstrand E, Hassman P, Ekblom B, Newsholme E. Administration of branched-chain amino acids during sustained exercise effects on performance and on plasma concentration of some amino acids. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. 1991;63(2):83-88. Wilson W, Maughan R. Evidence for a possible role of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the genesis of fatigue in man: administration of paroxetine, a 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor, reduces the capacity to perform prolonged exercise. Experimental Physiology. 1992;77(6):921-924. Pannier J, Bouckaert J, Lefebvre R. The antiserotonin agent pizotifen does not increase endurance performance in humans. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. 1995;72(1-2):175-178. Froyd C, Millet G, Noakes T. The development of peripheral fatigue and short-term recovery during self-paced high-intensity exercise. The Journal of Physiology. 2013;591(5):1339-1346. Allen DG, Westerblad H, Là ¤nnergren J. The role of intracellular acidosis in muscle fatigue. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1995;384(1):57-68. Bangsbo J, Juel C. Counterpoint: lactic acid accumulation is a disadvantage during muscle activity. J Appl Physiol. 2006;100(4):1412-1413. Krustrup P, Mohr M, Amstrup T, Rysgaard T, Johansen J, Steensberg A et al. The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test: Physiological Response, Reliability, and Validity. Medicine Science in Sports Exercise. 2003;35(4):697-705. Bangsbo J, Graham T, Kiens B, Saltin B. Elevated muscle glycogen and anaerobic energy production during exhaustive exercise in man. The Journal of Physiology. 1992;451(1):205-227. Shiraishi F, Yamamoto K. The Effect of Partial Removal of Troponin I and C on the Ca2+-Sensitive ATPase Activity of Rabbit Skeletal Myofibrils1. The Journal of Biochemistry. 1994;115(1):171-173. Bangsbo J, Iaia F, Krustrup P. Metabolic Response and Fatigue in Soccer. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2007;2(2):111-127. Jones D, Turner D, McIntyre D, Newham D. Energy turnover in relation to slowing of contractile properties during fatiguing contractions of the human anterior tibialis muscle. The Journal of Physiology. 2009;587(17):4329-4338. Dahlstedt A, Katz A, Westerblad H. Role of myoplasmic phosphate in contractile function of skeletal muscle: studies on creatine kinase-deficient mice. The Journal of Physiology. 2001;533(2):379-388. Kabbara Allen D. The role of calcium stores in fatigue of isolated single muscle fibres from the cane toad. The Journal of Physiology. 1999;519(1):169-176. Characteristics of phosphate-induced Ca(2+) efflux from the SR in mechanically skinned rat skeletal muscle fibers. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2000;278(1):126-135. Fryer M, Owen V, Lamb G, Stephenson D. Effects of creatine phosphate and P(i) on Ca2+ movements and tension development in rat skinned skeletal muscle fibres. The Journal of Physiology. 1995;482(1):123-140. Barrett S, Midgley A, Reeves M, Joel T, Franklin E, Heyworth R et al. The within-match patterns of locomotor efficiency during professional soccer match play: Implications for injury risk?. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2016;19(10):810-815. Krustrup PBangsbo J. Physiological demands of top-class soccer refereeing in relation to physical capacity: effect of intense intermittent exercise training. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2001;19(11):881-891. Mohr M, Krustrup P, Bangsbo J. Match performance of high-standard soccer players with special reference to development of fatigue. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2003;21(7):519-528. UEFA Union of European Football Associations. UEFA Elite Club Injury Study: 2015/16 season report. Nyon, Switzerland: UEFA; 2016. Ekstrand J, Hà ¤gglund M, Waldà ©n M. Epidemiology of Muscle Injuries in Professional Football (Soccer). The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2011;39(6):1226-1232. Mclean S, Samorezov J. Fatigue-Induced ACL Injury Risk Stems from a Degradation in Central Control. Medicine Science in Sports Exercise. 2009;41(8):1662-1673. Roos H, Ornell M, Gà ¤rdsell P, Lohmander L, Lindstrand A. Soccer after anterior cruciate ligament injury- an incompatible combination? A national survey of incidence and risk factors and a 7-year follow-up of 310 players. Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica. 1995;66(2):107-112. Ørtenblad N, Westerblad H, Nielsen J. Muscle glycogen stores and fatigue. The Journal of Physiology. 2013;591(18):4405-4413. Green H. Membrane Excitability, Weakness, and Fatigue. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology. 2004;29(3):291-307. Fà ©ry Y, Ferry A, Hofe A, Rieu M. Effect of Physical Exhaustion on Cognitive Functioning. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1997;84(1):291-298. Abd-Elfattah H, Abdelazeim F, Elshennawy S. Physical and cognitive consequences of fatigue: A review. Journal of Advanced Research. 2015;6(3):351-358.

Edna Pontellier’s Fall from Grace in Kate Chopins The Awakening Essay

Edna’s Fall from Grace in The Awakening      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells of Edna Pontellier's struggle with fate. Edna Pontellier awakens from a slumber only to find that her life is displeasing, but these displeasing thoughts are not new to Edna. The actions taken by Edna Pontellier in the novel The Awakening clearly determine that she is not stable. The neglect of her duties as a wife and mother and as a woman of society are all affected by her mental state. Her choices to have affairs and disregard her vow of marriage represent her impaired judgment. The change in her attitude and interests becomes quite irresponsible, and that change along with her final decision to commit suicide tell the reader that Edna Pontellier is not capable of making valid judgments. Had Edna Pontellier been of sound mind and body, she would not have ended her young life by suicide. The fact that she can clearly and easily turn to such an alternative suggests that she is depressed and obviously in opposition to the chu rch. The thoughts and actions of Edna Pontellier are solely determined by her manic depressive state, her apparent repressed abuse from her childhood, and her abandonment of Christianity.    Throughout the novel the reader gets a clear sense of Edna Pontellier's peculiar mind and her manic depressive state. She is continually plagued by the moment. Her mood shifts from highs to lows show the reader that a sadness is perpetually within her:    We are told there are days when she "was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with sunlight.." On such days Edna "found it good to be alone and unmolested." Yet on other days, she is molested by despondencies so severe that "... ...manic depressive state which leads her to her suicide. She no longer has a will to repress any untold secrets from the past or perhaps the past. Since she has strayed far from her Christian beliefs, she has given in to the evil that has worked to overcome her. She believes she is finally achieving her freedom when she is only confining herself to one single choice, death. In taking her own life, she for the last time falls into an extremely low mood, disregards anyone but herself, and disobeys the church.    Works Cited Franklin, R. F. "The Awakening and the Failure of Psyche" American Literature 56 (Summer 1984): 510-526. Platizky, R. "Chopin's The Awakening." Explicator 53 (Winter 1995): 99-102. Seyersted, P. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1969. Skaggs, P. Kate Chopin. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985.

H.R. department at Coca-Cola :: essays research papers

Q1- Introduction, business profile of Coca-Cola, and its historical prospective. In May 1886, Coca-Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. The name was a suggestion given by John Pemberton’s bookkeeper Frank Robinson who was the first to script â€Å"Coca-Cola† into the flowing letters which has become the famous logo of today. Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut. As we know, every new product in its introductory stage faces a certain loss due to higher cost relatively to the revenue generated after sales, and that was the case when Pemberton started the selling process on May 8 of that same year, where he ended up with a loss of $20 as a result of costs equal to $70 and revenues equal to $50. By the late 1890s, Coca-Cola was one of America’s most popular fountain drinks. With another Atlanta pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler, the Coca-Cola Company increased sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900. Advertising was an important factor in Pemberton and Candler’s success. And by the turn of the century, the drink was sold across the United States and Canada. In addition, the company began selling syrup to independent bottling companies licensed to sell the drink. After 19 years of the invention date, the Coca-Cola Company started operating internationally and it became the world’s largest bottle of liquid, nonalcoholic refreshment. It took the company about 119 years to turn the $20 loss in 1886 into $596 million profit in 2004, and that implies a successful business strategy followed by the company. Coca-Cola Enterprises is the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler, selling approximately 43 billion bottles and cans each year. The company markets, distributes and produces beverage products of Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries. The products include Coca-Cola Classic, caffeine free Coca-Cola classic, diet Coke, Sprite, Cherry Coke, and Fanta. The company conducts its business primarily under agreements with The Coca-Cola Company, which own around 37% of the company's common stock. These agreements give it the exclusive right to market, distribute and produce beverage products in specified territories. This also provide the Coca-Cola Company with the ability to establish prices, terms of payment and other terms and conditions for the purchase of concentrates and syrups, in addition to other significant transactions and agreements including acquisitions of bottling territories, arrangements for cooperative marketing, advertising expenditures, purchases of sweeteners and strategic marketing initiatives.

John Winston Lennon :: Essays Papers

John Winston Lennon "You make your own dream. That's the Beatles' story, isn't it? That's Yoko's story. That's what I'm saying now. Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It's quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don't expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself. That's what the great masters and mistresses have been saying ever since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books that are now called holy and worshipped for the cover of the book and not for what it says, but the instructions are all there for all to see, have always been and always will be. There's nothing new under the sun. All the roads lead to Rome. And people cannot provide it for you. I can't wake you up. You can wake you up. I can't cure you. You can cure you." ~John John Lennon was known best for his music, but in addition to that he was a philosopher, artist, visionary, social leader and most importantly a common man with a dream. John Lennon was born October 9th, 1940 in the town of Liverpool, England. His father abandoned him at the age of two. Three years later he was also abandoned by his mother. He was raised primarily by a woman John affectionately called, â€Å"Aunt Mimi.† Later in his life, John reestablished a relationship with his mother only to lose her again when she was killed by a drunk off-duty police officer. As a teen, John formed a band called the "Quarry Men" with boys from his High School. After a performance, one of the members, brought his friend Paul McCarthy to meet John. After hearing Paul play he immediately asked him to join his band. Later Paul brought George Martin into the group and soon the band that would later take the world by storm, was born. One of the so called "5th Beatles" the best friend of John, Stuart Sutcliffe, left art school, at John's urging and joined the band.

Renaissance in Harlem City in the Viewpoint of Toni Morrison’s Jazz Essay

â€Å"Jazz†, a novel by Toni Morrison, is a chronicle of the lives and struggles of the African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance in the United States. The novel begins with an African-American community in Harlem New York in the year 1926. What makes it a credible commentary on that specific period in the history of the United States and that of the African-American people is the vivid description of the author of the â€Å"glittering city (Morrison 1992)† of Harlem, the setting of the novel. Not only was the description accurate and vivid in accordance to the historical account of Harlem Renaissance but most importantly it has become a novel that encodes the way of life of every African- American during the said historical period. In the novel, the â€Å"City† has always been very important in the representation of the Black community, not only as a city within the city but the very essence of Black existence during the 1920’s. The historical backdrop of this novel is the 1920’s United States better known as the â€Å"Age of Prosperity† for most Americans because of the end of the First World War. Americans lead a new way of living that is free from German Imperialism. After the war, the African American soldiers looked forward for their freedom but never had one. Even after slavery was abolished, African Americans still have to work in cotton and sugar cane plantations. During this period, about 90% of the African Americans in the South were suffering and they viewed the North as a place of dignity, opportunity, and freedom. This period paved way to â€Å"The Great Migration† where African- Americans migrated from south to north en masse particularly Harlem, New York. Even when they confronted another kind of racism in their new community, they somehow led a better and more decent life. The rise of the Harlem Renaissance heralds a paradise that is discrimination-safe for the African- Americans. The Harlem Renaissance as Depicted by Harlem City in â€Å"Jazz† As stated earlier, the city has become the sole instrument of the novel in making its account of the historical period vivid and interesting. The city represents many different aspects of the African-American life which makes this novel a credible account of the African-American life during the Harlem Renaissance. By using the Harlem City as the setting of the novel, it makes the novel more grounded to the historical period where it is based from. This essay will examine the importance of the â€Å"City† in the development of the novel as well as its effects to the reader’s interpretation of it. Our first account of the city is found in Chapter 1 of the novel. In the words of an omniscient narrator: A city like this one makes me dream tall and feel in on things. Hep. It’s the bright steel rocking above the shade below that does it. When I looked over strips of green grass lining the river, at church steeples and into the cream-and-copper halls of the apartment buildings, I’m strong. Alone, yes, but top-notched and indestructible—like this City in 1926 when all wars are over and there will be another one. The people down there are happy about that. At last, at last, everything’s ahead. The A&P hires a colored clerk. Big legged woman with pink kitty tongues roll money into green tubes for later on; then they laugh and put their arms around each other. I like the way the City makes people think they can do what they want and get away with it. I see them all over the place: wealthy whites and plain ones too, pile into mansions decorated and redecorated by black women richer than they are, and both are pleased with the spectacle of the other (Morrison 1992). The first sentence suggests that the narrator sees â€Å"this† city as different and unique among the cities that he has been as suggested by the article â€Å"a†. This city, he contends, makes him dream big things and actually keep in touch with it. Basing on the backdrop of the novel, the Harlem Renaissance has brought about changes in the lives of the African- Americans. The Harlem City in particular has become a new haven for the African-American migrants from the South to find a new and better life that is free of all the oppression and discrimination that they experienced. This dream is not specified by the narrator. However, I see dreaming (whether tall, big, or small) as something that is treasured by the African- Americans for only in this city that they were able to dream whatever dreams they have for themselves as an individual and as a group of people. To be able to dream is already a dream come true for the African- Americans who sought for another world for cultural recognition and self identity. Though the dream was not specified, it can be deduced that this dream is that of the freedom to actually dream. Moreover, it is freedom to live in a place where they can be who they are. The second sentence further speaks of the African- Americans newfound life. The narrator speaks of the city as the reason of his strength. This presupposes the fact that the narrator felt that he was weak prior to his arrival in the city. In placing the novel into the historical backdrop of Harlem Renaissance, African- Americans especially in the South were treated as inferiors in relation to the Whites. They were seen as weak and a lesser class of humans by the Whites. Furthermore, they were reduced to slavery as if brandishing them that role as their only role in America. However, as the passage suggests, this inferiority and weakness has been replaced by pride and strength. As a matter of fact, not only was the city a haven where discrimination and oppression among the African- Americans were inexistent, it has also become a place where they can dwell and live like normal Americans as suggested by an employment of an African- American woman as a clerk in A&P. The role of slaves as a stereotyped job of African- Americans is already eradicated in the city. As a matter of fact, Blacks and Whites are in the city devoid of any differences and were living harmoniously with each other as suggested by the last sentence of the passage: the Whites and the Blacks are pleased to just accomplish their roles (richer Black women decorating the houses of the Whites). The words â€Å"top-notched† and â€Å"indestructible† in the third sentence suggests the confidence that the African- Americans gain in living in Harlem. They see it as the end of their struggle for equality and the end of every possibility of oppression. As told by the narrator, even when he is alone he felt that the city is with him. Because of this, both of them (the city and the narrator) feel indestructible. The city has become a sanctuary for African- Americans from all the oppression and discrimination. If we look back in history, the Harlem has been the place where most of the African- Americans from the south migrated for they found the city as a place of greener pastures. They find Harlem City as a place where they can start new lives and celebrate their unique cultural identities. Lastly, the fourth sentence sums up the real feeling and sensibilities of the narrator and the African- Americans in general on living in the City. The narrator says that the people are really happy not only with the end of the war and the struggles but also of their newfound freedom in the city. The phrase â€Å"at last† suggests that this happiness and freedom have always been yearned by African- Americans. They finally experienced the happiness that they always sought for in Harlem City. In this sense, the city has become an embodiment of an emancipated African- Americans from their battle for equality. The Harlem Renaissance has always been considered as the spiritual coming of age of the Black community where African-Americans were able to foster group recognition and self determination. The Element of Setting in Historical Fiction The difference between settings and events that are based on historical facts and those based on the imagination of the author is mainly objectivity. Events in a historical fiction are always patterned in real and hard facts of history. While other elements of the story such as characters and plots might be different, there would always be a cast from which the author will based his or her settings, characters, and plots. It is not a requisite that the whole set of facts should be accurately depicted such as writing histories, it is already enough that the facts are presented accurately to serve the purpose of a historical backdrop for the development of a work of art such as fiction. Historical novel need not lie in the historical worlds they create but in the relationship between the world and the chief actors. Historical novels can be meticulous in depicting the larger contexts of an era while creating either the chief actors in that world or giving them undocumented thoughts and actions (Berkhofer et al 1997). † In the novel, Morrison patterned the event to that of the Harlem Renaissance. From the beginning of â€Å"The Great Migration† as illustrated by most of the major characters moving from the South to the North. Moreover, it is also evident in the passage cited above that the narrator is new to the place which indicates that he is a migrant. He sees the place as something different and strange which suggests that he is new in the place. However, there is no indication that the characters were patterned into some particular historical figure. But it is apparent that even though there were no particular persons involved in the development of the characters, they are still patterned towards possibilities and tendencies of the people that lived in that particular era, that is, African- Americans during the Renaissance. The sensibilities and actions of the characters are always influenced by the happenings and the circumstances of the times. For instance, the narrator’s attitude and feeling towards the city is a typical African- American reaction to a place that has brought freedom to their community. On one hand, events and settings that are based on the imagination of the author are highly subjective. They are basically unrestrained and unconfined that the author is free to just create and invent any event, setting, plot, and characters without having to sanction these elements to facts or history. The possibilities are endless so that authors would not need to concern themselves with accuracy nor loyalty to any source. Historical Literary Criticism as a Tool in Understanding â€Å"Jazz† It has been argued that historical point of view or knowledge as a method in literary criticism would render our interpretation of literature more objective. With historical literary criticism, our interpretation of the text is sanctioned on the subject’s relevance, relationship, and influence of the historical period where it is written. It is not merely a baseless interpretation; it is an interpretation with a historical ground. This is for the reason that history is â€Å" a bedrock of objective facts and data that give credence to any empirical discipline. † It is believed that literature that is based on history would be more realistic. â€Å"The objective ground of history is precisely that which enables the subjective elements which constitute literary texts to function beyond the aesthetic (Green 1995). In other words, our knowledge of the historical events, figures, and background would make our interpretation more accurate for it is more objective. Not only would it provide a ground for the understanding of the facts and events of the past but also of that particular period’s attitudes, perception, thoughts, and ideologies about the world. In the novel, Harlem Renaissance is not just used as a historical background to quantify or justify the tendencies of the characters and the vividness of the setting and events, but also the commentaries and ideologies that the African- Americans have during the period. For instance, the novel incorporated the historical event of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance not only to give the novel more accuracy and objectivity but also to assert the Black’s attitude towards racism and their yearning to assert their identities through music and other forms of art with the help of the â€Å"glittering city (Morrison 1992)†. The reader’s knowledge of the historical background of a work of fiction would help him/her understand the contexts of the novel that would render his/her interpretation in an objective path. As earlier mentioned, historical background and details would make a work of literature more grounded. However, this is not the case with anachronism. This is the worst sin that a historian or a historical fictionist could commit. To represent something outside the supposed context of the historical period would thwart the interpretation and knowledge of the readers upon the text and the historical event itself. In the novel, there are no cases of anachronism for Toni Morrison is a reliable source of the lives of the African- Americans as she is one of them herself. As far as the city life is concerned, she has not only depicted it clearly but also reflected its ideologies very accurately as stated in earlier paragraphs. Though it would be difficult to avoid anachronism for every writer will always interpret historical facts in their own subjective ways, it is highly recommended that writers especially historical fiction writers which has purposes of being objective rather than just being aesthetic should stick to the original. In this way, they would not only remain faithful to history where it is basing its vividness, accuracy, and reliability but also serve a higher purpose of informing readers the ideologies and sensibilities of every historical period and figure that has shaped the world.

Lincoln Hospital Case Study Essay

Introduction This case describes a crisis situation that unfolds at the Lincoln Hospital, a 400-bed for-profit facility. At the root of the crisis is a dysfunctional relationship between the newly elected chief of surgery, Don, and the Operating Room (OR) director of 13-years, Mary. As a result of their discord, multiple exacerbated issues are occurring throughout the hospital. These issues are impacting the ability of the hospital to successfully perform the planned surgeries without incurring significant issues. The hospital has lost forty percent of the experienced OR nursing staff during the previous eight months, lessor experienced OR nurses are inefficiently replacing the more experienced nurses, physicians are threatening to conduct their surgeries in different hospitals, physicians are arriving late for scheduled surgeries, the staff is divided, and the necessary equipment is either not available or not the correct size resulting in delays and impacts to performing the surgeries. The president of the hospital is facing a daunting dilemma in trying to figure out how to bring this discord to closure and remedy the perturbating effects of this hostile relationship. He believes the discord is responsible for  the other systematic issues seen throughout the hospital. He considers firing Mary but quickly realizes she is an invaluable asset that he cannot afford to let go. At the same time, he realizes he needs to be accommodating to the surgeons or they will take their patients to another hospital. The competitive market adds complexity to the situation since the hospital is facing escalating costs, changes in regulations, and strict accreditation standards. The president realizes the surgeons are loyal to the new chief of surgery and that he cannot afford to alienate or oppose the newly elected chief of surgery for fear of losing the surgeons to his competition. The president conducts his own initial investigation by speaking with both nurses and doctors. He tells Mary and Don that they must resolve their conflict by meeting with each other until they resolve their issues; the meetings would begin immediately. To ensure Mary and Don follow through with his mandate, the president selects an impartial observer, the new executive vice president and chief operating office, Terry, to mediate the meetings. Both Mary and Don also ask their respective vice presidents to sit in on the meetings to ensure fairness in the process. Neither Mary nor Don wants to participate in these meetings and as such, the results of the meeting are less than fruitful. The initial meeting results in a hostile free-for-all. The president of Lincoln Hospital ultimately contracts with an Organizational Development (OD) consultant to remedy the situation. The OD consultant meets with Mary and Don separately to obtain answers to the following three questions: 1) What does he or she do well? 2) What do I think I do that bugs him or her? 3) What does he or she do that bugs me? Mary and Don were able to see the positive characteristics about the other person through the process of answering the questions. Neither Mary nor Don had openly attributed their respect and admiration for the skills of the other person. Prior to participating in this exercise, their answers revealed the existence of ongoing and escalating frustrations concerning their inability to effectuate good interpersonal skills. As Mary and Don continue to participate in these meetings, they become better equipped to address their confrontational issues. They are better positioned and able  to follow through with identifying specific problems, altering their reactions and their behaviors to effectuate co-existence in a productive way. Contracting and Diagnosis Stages The case did not elaborate much on the contracting stage between the president and the OD consultant. The case stated the president was in communication with the OD consultant. The president described a high level overview of the problem and subsequently hired the OD consultant with the expectation that the consultant would champion resolution of the dysfunction between Mary and Don. The OD consultant did not have the opportunity to talk with either Mary or Don prior to establishing a contract with the president. There was no agreement regarding the time to resolve the issues, or the acceptable solutions versus unacceptable solutions, other than the solution must include ongoing employment for both Mary and Don. The output of the contracting process is make a good decision about how to carry out the effort, define the resources needed to accomplish the tasks and document the assumptions, risks, and constraints. The contract ensures all parties are in agreement regarding the necessary commitments, support, and resources. Suggestions for establishing an effective contract would include carefully approaching the contracting process by laying out a model of how the OD process should flow. The contracting process should include all parties, which would be inclusive of Mary and Don. This ensures they all have an input into establishing expectations for the process in terms of the desired outcomes, establish ground rules that all parties could abide by, and agree upon the time and resources that would be devoted to completing the goals within the given constraints. In addition, the OD consultant should state what his expectations are regarding the process. All parties involved need to be clear about their commitment of time and resources to the effort. In addition, Mary, Don, and the OD consultant should agree upon how they will work together. Some conversations may require confidential conversations or information. This type of information should be part of the contract. The diagnosing process began largely from the description given to the OD consultant by the president and not as a collaborative effort among all affected stakeholders. As stated earlier,  Mary and Don, as well as other affected members of the organization, were not engaged in the early meetings. The OD consultant may have a skewed view of the problem since he did not diagnose the problem but rather received the information second hand. His ability to identify the issues to focus on, how to collect data to measure the progress of a proposed implementation, and how to obtain agreement upon the process for assigning action steps is largely from the president’s view. Suggestions for implementing a better diagnosing process would include engaging all affected parties, in a collaborative fashion, to understand all the issues, analyze them, and draw conclusions for action planning and intervention. They should be involved in actively developing appropriate interventions and implementations. An assessment, of the current state of the organization, will identify ways to enhance the organization’s existing functioning. A diagnostic model will point out what areas to examine and what questions to ask in assessing how they are operating. The diagnostic model should include inputs, design components, and outputs. Third-Party or Other Types of Intervention The third-party intervention is an appropriate intervention. It successfully generated positive results and reduced the friction between the two parties. However an element of tension still exists between Mary and Don. The consultant was able to get Mary and Don see past their differences and work together to resolve the issues in a productive way. This allows Mary and Don to see a side of each other they did not know existed, which allows the tensions to subside between the two. This also allows the organization to benefit since Mary and Don appear to be the catalyst for subsequent symptoms appearing throughout the organization. Since much of the information, for diagnosing the situation, came from Mary, Don, and the other people affected by the discord, the diagnosis stage is utilizing accurate data to implement resolutions to the problems. This data is the basis of the intervention and as such it allows Mary and Don to make commitments regarding resolution of their issues. Mary and Don also have a new tool they can use in future meetings and interactions. Other possible interventions may include utilization of process consultations and  team building events. Process consultations focus on the interpersonal relations and the social dynamics between groups. The team building intervention assists groups in working to evaluate their processes as well as establishing solutions to resolve problems. Third-Party Effectivity and Next Steps The third-party intervention is an effective intervention even though not all of the problems were completely resolved; perturbating effects still exist and fuel the discord between Mary and Don. Other issues are still present that need to be resolved throughout the organization. This intervention allows both parties, Mary and Don, to take ownership for the issues that resulted and changes the way they relate and interact with each other. It allows Mary and Don the ability to collaborate in the solutions and accept mutual responsibility for their part in the situation. In addition, they are now able to focus on solutions versus their problems. Although there continues to be some conflict between Mary and Don, they are trying to work through their issues in a productive way. Process consultation should occur to ensure they are still making the needed progress. This method would allow flexibility regarding time commitments for all involved. In addition, repetitive practice in exercising these newly learned behaviors will result in institutionalized behaviors. References Cummings, T. & Worley, C., (2009). Organization development & change. In (Eds.), Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Classic Airlines and Marketing

Classic Airlines and Marketing MKT/571 – Marketing September 17, 2012 Classic Airlines and Marketing Classic Airlines, the fifth largest airline carrier, currently serves 240 cities with more than 2,300 daily flights. However, Classic Airlines has experienced over the past three years a decline in their frequent flier program Classic Rewards along with customer confidence declining as well and stock prices has decreased by 10% according to University of Phoenix, 2012. Marketing is assigned the task of revamping the customer loyalty program and increasing membership while operating under a 15% reduction in expenses across the company.The challenges that the marketing management is faced with include a downward turn of morale among the employees; retaining and recruiting of new members for Classic Rewards, and the lack of support from upper management. Marketing management is the process of â€Å"creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing custom er relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders† (Kotler & Keller, 2006, p. 6). Identifying Marketing ChallengesThe marketing management team has identified that the majority (60%) of its Reward membership are at the basic tier, 25% are on the Silver Rewards level, and only 15% are Gold Rewards members. Of these members 80% are business travelers with the remaining 20% leisure travelers. With this information, marketing instituted surveys to determine what the needs of the members are. The replies from the business traveler ranged from the dislike for connections and delays, the desire for quality service, and the idea that the frequent flier points are the result of the airline’s investment in the customer.Whereas, the leisure traveler is more interested in lower air fare and is more willing to have more connections if it will save the traveler money. Strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of Classic Airlines top thre e competitors—British Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines—were completed by John Hartman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Based on the SWOT analysis, all three competitors have a strong and successful loyalty program. A common weakness between the three companies is the union at each airline.An opportunity recognized by the three companies is the customers’ needs are constantly changing and the airline industry is rebounding. Fuel and equipment along with competition are considered weaknesses by the three organizations. Gathering input from the Classic Rewards members was the responsibility of Renee Epson, Senior Vice President of Customer Service. Interviews of 500 Gold and Platinum Classic Rewards members revealed that advertising campaigns are failing in conveying an accurate and meaningful picture of the airline.In regard to the Classic reward program only 30% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the program and upgrades avail able. When asked if the members flew on other airlines, all categories excluding those who fly seven to 12 times a year responded that they flew other airlines more often than Classic Airlines. Only 8% have been Classic Rewards members for more than five years with the majority been members for one to three years. Strategic Planning The marketing management team has been performing strategic planning to implement a value chain.A value chain states Kotler and Keller, (2006), â€Å"identifies nine strategically relevant activities that create value and cost in a specific business† (p. 38). The team has identified opportunities, weaknesses, strengths, and threats for Classic Airlines’ competitors and through surveys and interviews for Classic Airlines. The identification of the concerns of the Rewards program members enables the marketing team to address these concerns and implement recommendations for improving the Classic Rewards program.This is part of the new offering realization program that enables Classic Airlines to develop and implement new high-quality products while remaining within the budget. Another part of the value chain is the identification of new markets to attract new customers. Classic Airlines needs to rebuild its customer relationship management process this in turn will improve relationships and understanding with both internal and external customers. ConclusionClassic Airlines marketing management is working on improving the organization’s rewards program while remaining within the budget that has a 15% decrease with the result of increasing the profits. A major challenge for the marketing management team is the lack of support from upper management. However, the team has begun the strategic planning of implementing a value chain method. The use of a SWOT analysis, surveys, and interviews of current customers has provided the team with an insight of the issues that must be addressed.Marketing is a process of deliverin g value to its customers while managing customers’ relationships and producing revenue and profit for the company and its stakeholders. References Kotler, P. , & Keller, K. (2006). Marketing Management (12th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall. University of Phoenix. (2012). Scenario: Classic Airlines. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MKT571-Marketing website