Mickey and Eddie Essay

As part of our Drama GCSE unit on Blood |Brothers we were requires to use a vast amount of sills and drama techniques in order to improve our understanding of Blood Brothers; in order to do this we completed various exercises to develop our explorative skills. One of the improvisations we had to partake in was the re-enactment of the finale scene in Blood Brothers. As we had already seen the Blood Brothers production, this acted as both an advantage and a hindrance. This acted as an advantage as we had an idea of both characters and therefore an insight into how we could perform this re-enactment, however the disadvantage was that this may prevent us from having our control over the character, this may also prevent us from using our own imagination to interpret the character and their actions as we would have been heavily influenced to mimic what we had already seen. However though we already had familiarity with the production, as it had been a considerable amount of time from when we had seen the production, our drama teachers refreshed our memories by establishing a class discussion on the subject, and the main themes of Blood Brothers. As a group discussed the main themes, scenes and then discussed the finale scene into depth; while doing this we discussed what body language and facial expressions were used and what we all found particularly effective in the scene. Once we had completed our discussion, we were then given a time frame to work towards. Once we had dispersed into our groups we divided the roles in the scene amongst ourselves; Adrian as Eddie, I was Mickey, Tamara was Mrs Johnston and both Zion and Emma acted as the police officers. I felt that this particular exercise was particularly interesting and beneficial for us all; this is as we had a new insight and understanding of Blood Brothers on a higher level. Through the re-enactment of the Blood Brothers production I also found a new knowledge of each character, particular Mickey (the character I played), this is because as you take on the role and you’re in a maximum involvement level you absorb the character and believe in the scene although it is actually happening. This lead to me felling more empathetic towards Mickey as I really felt able to relate to his feelings and his situation, therefore understanding what made him react in the way he did. Mickey reacted in the way he did as he was angry and felt completely betrayed by Eddie, his feelings weren’t helped by what he’d already been through in prison and with him now having to be on medication. Our own re-enactment was fairly accurate to what we had seen in the reduction, however I genuinely feel that we added our own input and originality into the way the final scene was devised and appeared to be (this is inevitable as when you relate to a character, your own feelings and opinions are bound to show through). In our own finale, Adrian (Eddie) opened the scene by thanking the audience for being elected as councillor, while doing so my character then interrupts by running down the stairs and onto the stage. I felt that y my character (Mickey) running down the tiered seating stairs, the audience became more involved in the scene. My character then started pushing Eddie and shouting about his infidelity with Lynda, Eddie then tries to reassure Mickey and justify himself by claiming that both him and Linda are only friends. At this point my character becomes enraged and grabs him by his collar. In our re-enactment there was more physical violence and confrontation on Mickey’s part, I felt that this would portray his rage more effectively. I also took a conscious decision to make Mickey’s tone of voice, behaviour and body language very erratic; this was in order to portray t the audience that he wasn’t in a completely stable state of mind. As b5h character continued in their confrontation, Eddie continues to try and make peace with Mickey and when it reaches the heightened tension of Mickey raising a gun to Eddie’s head, Mrs Johnston shouts stop and runs onto the scene. At this point both police officers run to the bottom of the stage from separate sides, a voice then circulates the room, saying â€Å"we have you surrounded, put the gun down†. At this point my character then starts to look around, suspicious about where the noise is emerging from; at this point I lower the gun. I feel this part of our re-enactment is particularly effective and original as all the other groups used the same approach as the one used in the production whereas in our own improvisation we devised it to appear as though the police have surrounded the building on the outside and are ready to burst in at any time. At this not Mrs Johnston (Tamara) then reveals to both Mickey and Eddie that they are literally ‘Blood Brothers’ as they are twins that were separated at birth, at this point both brothers ask why, at this point Mrs Johnston continues to explain. However in the middle of her explanation Mickey makes his final outburst screaming that because of being with her he’s ended up with no career or money whereas Eddie has managed to become some great councillor; Mrs Johnston then tries to calm Mickey down and t this point his voice raises, as does his hand and gun and he screams It should be me, at this point the gun goes off and Eddie’s killed. Meanwhile at the same point one of the police officers (Emma) emerges on scene and reacts to the sound of the bullet by shooting Mickey. I felt particular sympathy for the police offer that shot Mickey as she only reacted to the gun shot she had heard. I also feel that this particular situation gives the audience a real understanding into how difficult the job of a police officer can really be as they are often put in compromising situations in which quick instinct decisions have to be made. Another improvisation we re-enacted was the ‘kids play’ scene. Our drama teachers explained that the purpose of this is to enable us to lose all inhibitions and feel in essence what it’s like to be a child again. We were then told about Starkravski’s theory on the three essential skills tat needed in order for a person to be a god actor, the most important factor being that of naivatiae. This means to be in a child like state, oblivious to anyone there and t feel completely free, this is as children are extremely nai ve and innocent and with this they can believe in anything, allowing them to have a vivid imagination.

Introduction to Duty of Care in Health Essay

1.1 Duty of care is your responsibilities and legal obligations of an individual or organisation. We must adhere to a standard of reasonable care in our work role. 1.2 The duty of care affects my work role as it is a requirement that I am aware of the policies and procedures in place within my department and in the Trust as a whole. It is important that I participate in regular training events to ensure my knowledge of these policies and procedures is relevant and up-to-date. This includes manual handling, fire safety, safeguarding, clinical skills, infection prevention and information governance. 2.1 Dilemmas that could arise between the duty of care and an individual’s rights in my role are if a patient were to divulge information of abuse, I would have a duty to pass this information on to relevant staff members even if the patient told me in confidence. If a member of staff was doing something that could compromise the care of a patient, it would be my duty to report such behaviour to management. Also, if I was asked to do something that I was not competent at doing or using a piece of equipment in an unsafe way, it would be my duty and my individual right to refuse as it could result in harm to a patient, myself or colleague. 2.2 I would be able to get additional support and advice about how to resolve such dilemmas by talking to my line manager. If the dilemma involved a colleague and I thought there could be negative attitudes against me, there is a whistleblowing policy in place. If the dilemma was concerning safeguarding, I could talk to the safeguarding team about my concerns. I could also use InSite to look at policies and procedures and I could speak to senior members of staff. see more:explain what it means to have a duty of care in own work role nvq 3.1 If someone is making a complaint to you or has asked to speak to someone about making a complaint, it is important to stay calm, be polite and listen to them, there may be a way of resolving the issue without making a formal complaint. Do not be patronising or sarcastic, don’t quote policies or lose your temper. 3.2 The main points of agreed procedure for handling complaints are: †¢Listen carefully and show empathy. †¢Confirm and agree the detail of the complaint. Record the complaint formally using the verbal complaint record and ensure a copy is passed on to your line manager and the complaints office. †¢Be alert to confidentiality issues – seek consent as necessary. †¢Always offer an apology – this is not acceptance of liability. †¢Confirm what you will be doing to resolve the complaint. If the complaint will be more appropriately managed by another member of staff, explain this to the complainant and ‘hand over’ to the appropriate staff member. †¢Agree the timeframes within which you will be reporting back to the complainant – Within the target of 48hrs. †¢Respond to the complainant within the agreed timescale. †¢Indicate clearly the detail of any action that will be taken as a result of the complaint. †¢Should the complainant request a written response, ensure your line manager is aware and response action, as appropriate agreed with the complaints office. †¢Facilitate implementation of any agreed action.

Business Success Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Success - Assignment Example In order to satisfy customers, products should be competitively priced and should have the desired quality. This is the only was a firm can build up long term relationships with the customers. The goal of conducting the internal analysis is to find the answer to the question that why the economic performance of some companies are better than the others in the competition. Internal analysis of a particular firm analyzes and lists out the relative weaknesses and strengths of a company as compared to its competitors. By conducting Internal Analysis, the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the firm can be analysed. This helps to compare the strengths and weaknesses with that of other firms, too. Internal analysis also helps determine the resources along with the capabilities required that may help sustain the company in the competitive market. According to Porter's Internal Value Chain, the primary activities required for the internal analysis are production, inbound logistics, sales and marketing, warehousing and distribution along with the dealer support and customer service. The support activities required are infrastructure, procurement, human resource management and r esearch and development technology. (Barney and Hesterly, n.d., A) Human resource is one of the key factors that influence a firm's success in the competitive market. ... If a particular firm has rare and valuable resources that are difficult to be replicated by competitors, then the firm is at an inherent advantageous position. However, the firm should strategies in place to leverage these strengths to generate competitive advantages. A business organization also needs to pay due attention to the intangible assets along with the tangible ones like brand equity, Intellectual Property and the knowledgebase residing within the employees of the company. This is highly beneficial while implementing and conceiving the strategies. If a company's co-operative relationships are better, then quite naturally that firm is at an advantageous position. (Barney and Hesterly, n.d., A) However to maintain a smooth and uninterrupted supply of human resource, companies need to make sure that the employees in general are happy and the labourers in particular. It is seen from the past records that industries were there is a high tendency of labourers forming unions; the net profitability is comparatively much less, as in steel, airlines and automobiles. Companies irrespective of their size and domain of operation should strive to keep the tendency of forming labour unions at the lowest best to yield maximum profit. Fig. 1 shows how the percentage of profitability decreases with an increase in the percentage of employees unionized. Fig. 1: The Impact of Unionisation on Profitability (Source: Robert M. Grant, 1998) Another important factor responsible for a company's success is the marketing skill. It might happen that the products offered by a firm are of superior quality and is also offered at competitive prices, but the customers might be unaware of the particular product. So, it is very much necessary to know the art of

Week One Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week One Discussion Questions - Essay Example Without these estimates, it would be impossible for the company to make the changes necessary today to keep the companys finances on solid ground tomorrow. By the time the hard data was in, it might be too late. Many stakeholders, internal and external, rely on a companys accounting estimates as a basis for the decisions that impact their business activity. Shareholders may make a decision to buy or sell. Vendors may increase or decrease the production of raw materials. Plans for expansion may be made based on revenue estimates. For these reasons, it is imperative that the accountant provides an accurate, and ethical, estimate based on the information available. There may be a temptation to exaggerate, overlook, or manufacture the data in an effort to unfairly benefit a specific stakeholder, such as the case at Enron and its unethical practices. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in response to Enrons unethical and deceptive estimates, now requires all publicly held companies to have a "financial expert serving on its audit committee" and have a set of "written standards reasonably designed to deter wrongdoing" (Green, 2005, p.239). 2.) Internal controls are a set of processes and procedures that a company has in place to protect and insure solid management practices, and reduce the potential for unethical activity. Internal controls help prevent a careless, intentional, or malicious act from impacting the company in a negative fashion. For example, requiring that two different people sign all checks can help prevent the unauthorized use of a specific bank account. In addition, multiple experts, that can all agree and form a consensus as to their probablility of being accurate, should review all estimates. Internal controls are generally placed at points of transactions where money and goods are most at risk. The accounts payable account could be at risk if a malicious employee manufactured false invoices to be paid to their personal account. An internal

How political, economic, and other ideologies affect America, China, Essay

How political, economic, and other ideologies affect America, China, and Japan's societies - Essay Example The rise of China also presented strategic challenges to Japan, and the effects were deepened by the economic recession – necessitating the painful restructuring and reform of the economy and system. Areas requiring restructuring include that the Japanese economy is suffering from the effects of an aging society. The US economy, similar to that of Japan, suffered from stock market and real estate bubbles that deflated, ushering in an anaemic growth (Wiseman and Ellig 866). The US is facing a similar fate as Japan, mainly because low interest rates and monetary measures have hindered the proliferation of imbalances. This paper will compare and contrast the economic systems of America, Japan and China, and also explore the effects of their respective economic, political and other ideologies. The similarities between the two countries include that the national cultures and the economic ideologies of the three countries are predominantly shaped by their historical values and national heritage. For example, individualistic values are more predominant in the US and in China; the collective outlook is predominant (Ralston et al. 9). On the other hand, Japan has an individualistic-inclined economic ideology, but a collectivist national culture, which distinguishes it from the rest. The second area of similarity between the three is that individual work values have been shaped by their cultural and social heritage. For example, in China, poor performance at work is not enough grounds to fire an employee, the case of Japan is relatively less extreme and in the US, the individualistic outlook makes it very easy for one to lose employment due to poor performance (Ralston et al. 10). Despite the fact that the Chinese and the Japanese share many characteristics, including religion, philosophy and culture, some political and economic-based factors make the two societies distinctive. To start with, Japan and China

Impacts on the financials of Compass Group Essay

Impacts on the financials of Compass Group - Essay Example Such is the information that is normally available to many users of the statements and the entire statement. The information is considered insufficient hence a recommendation that the adjustments be made repeatedly and even severally while measuring the same amount. This results in uniformity and quality decisions being made, in the process the populace would be in the position of rationalizing their information (Bell 2000). Â   Â   Â  Secondly, it is argued that enhancing disclosure is never enough given enough consideration and those boards of most companies think and take such disclosures in a manner that it does not appear a substitute. The ED proposes that corporations report assets and liabilities as the failure to report or make such disclosures. The proposals further demand that the leased assets and liabilities always be computed and measured on a discounted basis. The proposals require under this ED that the lessee reports all the assets and liabilities of an aggregate of the leases that have existed for a period of not less than 12 months in the balance sheet. This has the impact of a faithful representation of the lessee’s financial position (Fields 2002). In addition to such disclosures, there is an enhancement of transparency concerning the leverage of the lessee. Â   Â   Â   Â   The ED proposals demand that leases be classified as either Type A or Type B leases depending on whether they are a property such as land and building and land or the leases are other than property such as equipment, aircraft, cars or tracks. For Type A leases, the right of use of the asset and the lease liability is recognized and the unwinding of the discount will be recognized separately from the amortization of the right to use. Type B leases, on the other hand, are recognized as Type B with a difference being on the recognition of the unwinding of the discount which is recognized as a single lease cost (Walton 2009).

Globalisation - Challenges and Opportunities in China Essay

Globalisation - Challenges and Opportunities in China - Essay Example It is under the prevailing circumstances that the behavior of Chinese market is studied in context with latest confidence building measures being taken up by the Chinese government, the trend of international investments, views of the international community and the ‘threat’ perception from the cheap Chinese manufacturing sector. Having inspired the marketers, with a vision of billion people consuming international brand in downtown, China is now recognized as a capable global competitor in its own right. And it has ambitious expansion plans - not only for Asia but also for the Europe, United States and elsewhere. Traditionally, the problems of doing business in China, in general, can be categorized into four main categories;It is under the prevailing circumstances that the behavior of Chinese market is studied in context with latest confidence building measures being taken up by the Chinese government, the trend of international investments, views of the international c ommunity and the ‘threat’ perception from the cheap Chinese manufacturing sector. Having inspired the marketers, with a vision of billion people consuming international brand in downtown, China is now recognized as a capable global competitor in its own right. And it has ambitious expansion plans - not only for Asia but also for the Europe, United States and elsewhere. Traditionally, the problems of doing business in China, in general, can be categorized into four main categories.

Textual Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Textual Analysis - Essay Example Victor’s father’s death is the central event that unites Victor and Thomas. Without this death, in Phoenix, Arizona, both men would have continued to live their lives unchanged. As the trip begins, Victor wants only money from Thomas to make this trip alone. When Thomas stipulates that Victor can only have money for the trip, if he is allowed to come along, Victor reluctantly agrees. As the journey unfolds Victor finds that Thomas is worth much more than the money for the trip. Although it is no exaggeration to say that the trip is the most important event to accomplish in the beginning, in the end the trip itself was the important event. The use of flashback in this story helps the reader understand the past between Victor and Thomas. Without the understanding of Victor and Thomas’ past, the reader would be unable to grasp the importance of the trip for Victor’s father’s ashes. Since they are both Native Americans, death and life are perceived differently on the reservation, than in the white community of Spokane, Washington. Thomas’ storytelling relates the foundation of both young men in order for the reader to understand the importance of the trip. Not only Victor, but Thomas had a special relationship with Victor’s father as well. Thomas told Victor of the remembrance with his father during the long journey. He was thirteen years old, having a dream to get to Spokane. He stood there for awhile to have a vision at the falls waiting for the vision all Native American men have around that age. Instead of a vision, when he opened his eyes Victor’s father appeared. He took Thomas to a Denny’s restaurant, fed him and drove him home to the reservation. And then Thomas realized Victor’s father was his vision and dream that people are living under taking care of each other. He almost thought his dream betrayed him before that, but he was salvaged

How can technological change have an impact on the operating Essay

How can technological change have an impact on the operating environment of a global business - Essay Example The multinational organisations should work and invest on the research and development activities in order to come up with different innovative ideas to create competitive edge over other competitors in the industry (Amable, Barre, & Boyer, 1997). Operating Environment of a Global Business: The operating environment of a global business can be classified as internal business environment and external business environment. It is important for the organisations to carefully analyse and evaluate the overall operating environment and come up with strategies which facilitate the organisations in the process of enhancing and improving their internal environment and competencies on the basis of the changes in the external environment. There are different strategic tools and methods used for the evaluation and analysis of the internal and external environment of the organisation (Freeman, 2010). For instance the internal environment is analysed with the help of the VRIO framework and resource based view. This framework allows the organisation to identify the internal competencies and skills which can be converted into competitive advantage (Freeman, 2010). On the other hand the external environment is analysed with the help of the PESTEL framework and Porter’s five forces. ... factors can act either on national level or international level, at the same time the influence of each of these factors is directly dependent on the nature of the market (Freeman, 2010). Hence, it is important for the multinational organisations to carefully plan and execute the strategies on the basis of the external environment factors. On the other hand Porter’s five forces try to evaluate the impact of competitors and other important forces in the organisation including suppliers’ power, customers’ power, competitive forces, substitutes, and potential entrants (Freeman, 2010). Hence, it can be said that the strategic choices of the organisations are dependent on the environmental factors along with the availability of the resources and internal competencies. These elements allow the organisation to evaluate the technological changes and the resulting innovations. Along with this the bases of competitive advantage allows the organisation to decide that whethe r they will be innovation leader or innovation follower. The choices regarding the sustaining competitive advantages allow the organisations to manage the overall process of innovation along with the issues of the globalisation and intellectual property rights. Lastly, there are decisions related to the competition and collaboration (Freeman, 2010). Technological Changes and Innovations: Out of the all macro environmental factors the impact of the technological changes and innovations on the operating environment of the organisations is being increasingly discussed. The technological changes and innovations have been forcing the organisations to continuously change and enhance the products and processes (Christensen, 1997). There are several reasons behind the technological changes, for instance it can be

Mrs. Compton on the Five-Forty-Eight Essay Example for Free

Mrs. Compton on the Five-Forty-Eight Essay When Mr. Blake’s eyes met mine on the five-forty-eight, I smiled and could tell it did not affect his mood a bit. Of course it was my usual smile—sweet and slightly welcoming—but I knew Mr. Blake was a harder shell to crack than I encountered on a daily basis, and it did not bother me the least that he neither returned nor politely acknowledged my own outward kindness. It did not surprise me, either, since his wife and I had what I would consider a mutual relationship in regards to womanly confessions and the general outrage we keep inside until the right person (usually myself) ends up—coincidentally or not—in the other person’s life. I do have a keen eye for the â€Å"suffering,† and while anyone with a husband such as Mr. Blake had to be in all sorts of pain, Louise Blake just radiated the emotional pain I was familiar with hearing and, in effect, relieving by that very same act of just listening. So was I surprised to hear that Mr. Blake had given Louise another one of his childish â€Å"I’m not talking to you† fits? Hardly. Neither was I shocked to learn from his feigned indifference that he disapproved of my relationship with his wife, as most men did. Now I do not particularly enjoy being a â€Å"busybody† as some might put it, but when the woman asked Mr. Blake if she could sit beside him, I was slightly intrigued. Not so much in the woman posing that question in an only half-full car, but in Mr. Blake’s once more feigned, but convincing, approval. He tried to hide his shock, or maybe it was nervousness, but I could Mr. Blake’s comfort level had certainly been violated. I am an optimist, but certainly know when a man is disturbed by a woman. There was nothing platonic about this â€Å"meeting.† I unfortunately could not hear, being several cars ahead, but kept myself facing forwards so he could not gauge how closely focused I was. Louise is my friend, and I felt it was my duty as such a friend to keep her out of harm’s (emotional and physical) way. So I had no issue with trying to grasp the situation. Mr. Watkins, who is Mr. Blake’s neighbor and a man he dislikes far more than me, did not show any sign of acknowledging the pair, though he could have been hiding it as well as I do. It was not long before I took a quick peak back and realized Mr. Blake’s face, which had a habit of glowing bright red as a furnace when he was angry—and so, a good portion of the time was burning—had suddenly turned as white as a heavy snow. Not just thick, either, but blanketing. Something Mr. Blake wanted to keep hidden was stowed away beneath that layer of pale, perhaps even cold, skin. Even the gloom and shadow of the rain and graying clouds outside could not veil it, and instead probably intensified it, because snow is always stronger in a dark environment. Over the next while I managed to sneak glances at the two, and it was obvious whatever conversation they were having was neither a happy one nor entirely forgiving upon Mr. Blake’s complexion. I could just imagine the conversation though, and Mr. Blake’s frustration building up until he realized the woman was planning on blabbing to the wife about their after-work adventures. Then she slipped him a letter, and as he glanced up at me I pretended as if I had seen nothing, not the look of fear in his eyes or the flash of devils in hers. This is how it went for the next while: folks boarded and I snuck more glances back to see how the two were acting. She was whispering something into his ear. Must be trying to blackmail him now. Or force him to divorce Louise. Poor Louise! â€Å"Shady Hill, next, Shady Hill.† The conductor’s voice brought me back to the image of the car and the rest of the world. Again, I try not to be a â€Å"busybody† but this was an exception. Louise’s husband had not only cheated on her, but was now plotting to leave her for the woman! Maybe I am getting ahead of myself, though. It really could be nothing. But the look on his face, and the fire in her eyes†¦ The train stopped and I forgot all the parcels I had with me, and quickly gathered them with my mind still drawn to the awkward couple behind me. As I stepped off the train, I questioned what I should do. Tail them and see where they go? Confront him, perhaps? I kept my eyes straight so as not to give myself away. The rain stung my eyes and face with its cold little bodies. Should I call Louise as soon as I arrived home? Tell her what I saw? And could I be the one to break her poor little heart? I suppose I could; it would be better from me than him. With all the pain he has put her through, she was likely to kill him.

US Stock Market and GDP Analysis

US Stock Market and GDP Analysis Stock Prices Definition Stock (or share) which is sometimes known as equity is a claim to partial ownership or holdings of a firm. Initially, the original owners of a firm sell their shares or stock to gain additional funds to finance the firm expansion which can be said as the owners sell part of the ownership of the firm to the stockholders. This is known as the Initial Public Offering (IPO). After the IPO, the stocks can be sold and resold by the stockholders in the stock market with the aim of gaining profitable returns through the price differences of the stock. Stock prices are determined through trading on a stock exchange such as NASDAQ, SP 500 and DJIA. Generally, stock prices reflect investor expectations for future corporate earnings and thus reflect for future economic growth. The Origin of the Stock Market The stock market originated in Europe prior the industrial revolution in the 1700s. Many traders in the market wished to make investment in huge businesses but this could not be affordable with a single trader. Thus, they gathered their funds together to invest in a new business as partners (Grazian, 2008). This is similar to the practice of shares nowadays and has inspired the origin of the stock market. In the beginning, the stock market trading started on an informal note. The traders met at coffeehouse which was used as a market place in the 1700s. The first exchange was created in Philadelphia during 1800 and in New York during 1817 and finally the trading rules were formed (Grazian, 2008). In the United States, the first stock exchange took place in Philadelphia over 220 years ago which was known as the â€Å"Board of Brokers† and the Board met at the coffeehouse. The Board of Brokers was later changed into the Philadelphia Stock Exchange in 1875 and it is now included in NASDAQ as NASDAQ OMX PHLX. The market became more structured without manipulative auctions and a fair commission structure was formed. The group of stock brokers was reorganized and known as the â€Å"New York Stock and Exchange Board† in 1817 (Terrell, 2006). In 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (or the Dow) created by Charles Dow and one of his business associate, Edward Jones was first calculated. Along with other stock market index, such as NASDAQ and SP 500, the Dow is one of the most closely indicator to track the stock market activity. Besides the Dow, SP Dow Jones Indices also determined the SP 500 in 1957 (Standard and Poor’s, 2009). The SP 500 is more preferable than other stock market indices as it is determined through a more diverse constituency and weighting methodology with 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping. It is recognized as the best representation of the U.S. stock market and also classified as a leading indicator for the U.S. economy. Thus, the stock indices from the SP 500 were used as the data in this study. c. Stock Prices As an Economic Indicator Economic indicators give us a better idea of where the economy is headed. There are two types of economic indicators, which are the leading indicators and the lagging indicators. Leading indicators often change before the economic adjustment and thus can be used to predict the future economy whereas the lagging indicators reflect the economy’s past performance and only identifiable after the economic adjustment. Stock market is a leading indicator. Most people will first look at the stock market performance first when talk about the economic trends although it is not the most important indicator. This is because stock prices mainly depends on the expected earnings of the domestic firms, thus it can indicate the economy trend if the estimated earnings are accurate. A strong market usually followed with economy expansion while a down market always leads to economic downturn. However, it is undeniable that here are inherent flaws for stock prices to act as a leading indicator for the future economy performance. Firstly, the estimated earnings can be inaccurate. Secondly, the vulnerability of stock market which is probably adjusted or manipulated. For example, the government can manipulate the market to keep it high via various strategies to avoid public from panicking of economic crisis and the traders and corporations can manipulate the market via high-volume trades or other strategies. Thus, the true underlying strength or value of stock prices may become unobvious due to its vulnerability to be manipulated. Thirdly, the stock market is also susceptible to the creation of bubbles (Binswanger, 2004), which may convey false information about the economy’s direction. Economic Activity Definition The goal of economic activity is to produce goods and services in order to fulfill the needs and wants as well as to improve the social welfare. Economic activities are related to production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services at all level in the society. Furthermore, economic activities can be defined as human activities which are performed in exchange for money or money’s worth, in other words, economics activities are those efforts performed by human to earn income, money, wealth and to maximize their satisfaction of wants with scarce means. The primary aim of the economic activity is to produce goods and services with an objective to make them available to the consumers. Thus, gross domestic product (or GDP) is one of the common ways to assess the economic activity. In this study, the economic activity is also represented by the indicator of GDP. The Origin and History of GDP The idea of gross domestic product (GDP) arose during the period post-carnage of the Great Depression and World War II in 1930s. GDP which was described as the ultimate measure of a country’s overall welfare, a window into an economy’s soul and the statistic to end all statistics was used widely and globally and become the defining economic indicator in the last century (Dickinson, 2011). Simon Kuznets, an economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research introduced a formula to determine GDP to the U.S. Congress in 1937.The original formulation of GDP was essential as it included all economic production in a nation. However, Kuznets’ formula was not being widespread utilized until the Bretton Woods conference created World Bank in 1944. After that, GDP was used widely as a tool to determine the nation’s economic condition. Although there are few economists questioned on the accuracy of GDP in measuring overall economic welfare, the GDP is still widely used now (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2008). GDP is also described as one of the great invention in the 20th century because without this invention, economists, researcher and policymakers could not have played their role effectively with the unorganized data. GDP As an Economic Indicator Unlike the stock prices which serve as leading indicator, GDP serves as lagging indicator which changes after the economy adjustment. Although lagging indicators do not show the direction of economic trend, they reflect how the changes in economy over time. GDP is a tool that typically recognized by economists to measure the economic welfare. Increase in GDP indicates that the economy is strong while decrease in GDP indicates that the economy is weak. As stated previously, GDP is not a flawless indicator, many economists questioned on its accuracy especially in the financial market as some strategies such as quantitative easing and excessive government spending could have been carried out by the government to boost up the GDP of a nation. Despite of the flaw, as a lagging indicator, GDP is still a good determinant to measure the economic condition of a nation. Theories on Predictive Power of the Stock Price for the Future Economic Activity There are two theories in the theoretical literature on the forecasting ability of the stock prices for the future economic activities. The first theory explains the forward looking behavior of the stock market while the second theory discusses the causal effects of the stock prices on the economic activity (Croux Reusens, 2013). Forward Looking Behavior of the Stock Market Based on the idea that the stock price is the present value of future dividends (Fama, 1990), the theory of forward looking behavior of the stock market arose. The purpose for the stockholders to own stock is to earn from the interest difference when the stock is resold or to earn the dividends from the corporation. The increasing stock prices reflect the higher expectation of stockholders to earn more dividends. As the dividend is a payment made by a corporation to its stockholders out of its profit, the increase in expectation of stockholders towards future dividends gained indicates that there will be a rise in the corporation’s profit. Furthermore, the corporation’s profit is known to be positively correlated with the GDP of a nation, thus the rise in corporation will bring increment to the nation’s GDP. Therefore, a rise in the current expectation towards the nation’s future economic activity will definitely result in increase in the stock price. However, several researchers have argued that the vulnerable property of stock market to be manipulated may affect its predictive power towards the future economic activity. Stock prices may deviate from their fundamental value due to the speculative bubbles (Binswanger, 2004). Speculative bubbles is a situation in which the securities’ pieces such as stock prices rise far above their actual value as a result of irrational exuberance rather than the basic underlying fundamentals of the market. This can attract investors or stock traders to invest in order to take advantage of the profits. After some time, the bubbles will eventually burst and causes the stock prices will drop below their market value before they reach the equilibrium again. Thus, from this phenomenon, stock prices may deviate from the fundamental value sometime and hence its predictive power will be reduced. Apart from that, the globalization of the investment market also may reduce the predictive power of sto ck prices towards the nation’s GDP (Mao Wu, 2007). This means that is foreign investment in the domestic activity which brings about increase in stock price, however, since it is the foreign investment, it may not bring direct impact on the nation’s GDP. Causal Effects of the Stock Prices on the Economic Activity The causal effects of stock prices on the economic activity can be seen through the activity of consumption and investment. The connection between the stock prices and consumption can be explained by the wealth effect (Modigliani, 1971). The wealth effect refers to the increase in spending which due to the increase in perceived wealth. The rise in stock prices will bring about an increase in the income and wealth of the stockholders, they may increase their consumption as a result from having higher purchasing power. Since consumption is positively correlated with the GDP, the increase in consumption as a result from the rise in stock prices will affect the nation’s GDP. However, Pearce (1983) argued that the wealth effect depends on the distribution of stock holders in the nation. For example, most of the stockholders in the United States are comprised of small groups of rich people who have lower propensity to spend out of wealth. Besides, the causal effect of stock prices on the economic activity can also be seen through the activity of investment which its impact is on the cost of capital. The cost of capital is the fund for a firm to finance its business. The sources for capital can be varied from company to company such as equity financing and debt financing. Generally, the cost of capital is the weighted sum of the cost of equity and the cost of debt. With the increase in the stock price, the effective cost of equity will be reduced as a result from overvaluation of the stock price (Fischer Merton, 1984). Besides, cost of debt also will be lowered due to high stock prices as it could give some positive signals towards the lenders and thus raise the creditworthiness of the firms which would result in better loan condition (Morck et al., 1990). The Economy of the United States There is lots of news recently about the rapid growth rate of China absolutely furious pace for over the last decade and may overtake the United States to be the largest economy in the world. Nevertheless, the United States still keep the place of the largest economy in the world by far in the year of 2013. The United States has been keeping the place of the world’s largest economy for at least a century. With one third of the world’s millionaires and 40% of the world’s billionaires stay in the nation, the United States become the wealthiest nation in the world. The diversify economy and open market in the United States helps the economy to stay strong. The United States is also considered the largest manufacturer and the most influential financial markets in the world. Stock Prices in the United States The United States is considered to have the most influential and largest financial markets in the world. Almost every large company in the US is traded on a Stock Exchange. This study employed SP 500 as the stock market indices to be analyzed as it is the best representation of the U.S. stock market with 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping through a more diverse constituency and weighting. Figure 1.1 Time plot for quarterly average of daily SP 500 stock price index in the United States (Source: Economic Research, 2013) Figure 1.1 shows the moving trend of stock prices in the period from first quarter of 1974 to third quarter of 2013. From the figure, the stock prices in the United States generally showed a fluctuating rising trend with a record of expansion from 1974 to 2000 with gradual increasing rate at the beginning and higher pace increasing rate later from 1993 to 2000. There were significant market downturns in 2002 and 2008. The stock prices reached the peak in the second quarter of 2000 and started to drop afterwards until the minimum point in the first quarter of 2003. This market downturn has been known as the market crash of 2000. The causes for this crash are believed to be the corporation corruption, overvalued stocks and the emergence of day-traders or momentum investors. Several strategies has been listed out by the government to overcome the crash, for example accounting reforms to have better disclosure of corporate balance sheet form and new rules are set for the day-traders to apply more restriction. Besides the market downturn of 2000, there was a market downturn in 2008 as well. From the figure, the stock price index continued to rise after the market crash in 2000 and reached at maximum point in the second quarter of 2007 but falls gradually afterward till the minimum point in the first quarter of 2009. This period was ranked among the most horrified financial market history in the United States. This market crash is believed to be caused by the corporate corruption and the mortgage crisis. The stock price indices continue to climb after the market crash of 2008. GDP of the United States The United States has been the largest economy in the world in term of GDP level for at least a century. Figure 1.2 Time plot for quarterly GDP in the United States (Source: OECD. StatExtracts, 2013) The figure 1.2 shows the time plot of GDP of the United States from first quarter of 1974 to third quarter of 2013. Generally, the GDP level in the United States showed a gradual increasing trend across the period. From the figure, there are slight decreases in the GDP level are shown in 1982 and 1991 as a result of economic crisis. In addition, a more significant fall of GDP level was shown in the third quarter of 2008 after a gradual increasing trend. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) declared that there was an economic recession since 2007. This economic fall is believed to be the result of mortgage crisis during that period. Relationship between Stock Prices and GDP of the United States The United States is famous to be the largest economy and the most influential financial market in the world. The tradition connection of stock prices and GDP of the United States has always be the topic of interest to be study among the researchers. Figure 1.3 Time plot for quarterly GDP and quarterly average of daily Stock Price in the United States (Source: Economic Research, 2013 and OECD. StatExtracts, 2013) Figure 1.3 shows the relationship between stock prices and GDP in the time plot from first quarter of 1974 to third quarter of 2013. In the tradition connection of the stock price and GDP, stock price is believed to contain the predictive power towards the GDP. From Figure 1.3, the stock prices generally moving in the same direction with GDP. However, the market crash in 2000 brought about economic expansion instead of the economic recession. This phenomenon goes against with the tradition relationship between stock price and GDP. However, the market crash of 2008 has successfully predicted the economic recession in 2008. Therefore, the contradict phenomena have again caught the attention of several parties to further study in the predictive power of stock price towards the GDP. Objective Although the theories and the tradition relationship state that the stock prices contain the predictive power towards the future economic activity, there are several theoretical and empirical researchers have contradicted opinions. Moreover, the historical data of stock prices and GDP of the United States also show a general similar moving direction of the stock prices and GDP but the market crashes in 1987 and 2000 resulted in economic expansion instead of economic recession. This issue has again prompted the further research in the tradition relationship of the stock prices and the economic activity. Hence, the purpose of this study is to determine the predictive power of stock price on the future economic activity, i.e. future GDP in the United States. Scope of Study This study focuses on the United States which the quarterly data is obtained with the sampling period from first quarter of 1974 to third quarter of 2013. The national stock price index of the United States, SP 500 is chosen. The quarterly average of the daily index is calculated because it is believed to be more representative for the entire quarter than the value at the end of quarter. Besides, quarterly nominal GDP is chosen as the representative for the economic activity. Both data is expressed in the domestic currency with CPI base year of 1982.

Girls Like Us Essay -- essays research papers

Girls Like Us   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Girls Like Us is an intimate portrayal concerning four girls who grew up all with different ethnic backgrounds and various forms of parental guidence. Anna Chau is Vietnames with strict parents and good beliefs, Lisa Bronca is a Caucasion Catholic, De'Yonna Moore is African-American with strong goals who lives with her Grandma and Raelene Cox is a young white girl who comes from a broken home with little parental guidence. Girls Like Us shows examples of structural functionism, and conflict theory, as well as symbolic interactionalism. This movie really intersted me because I actually got to see each of these girls grow up. This film also contained implications for the science of sociology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that the main point of the movie Girls Like Us was to show examples of how different lifestyles could have an impact on young girls growing up today. It actually showed these different girls at different important stages in their lives so we got to see how strong their goals were at the beginning, and how they changed with time and maturity. It showed how family history and ethnic diversity has an important role in the lives of young girls. It was a good way to show how lifestyles in general impacted each of these girls futures in so many ways. It takes four girls all with different families and different religious beliefs and asks them about their goals and lives when they are young. Then we see them again each year and it shows the changes in personality as well as in their beliefs and goals. In this movie Elements of structural functionalism were definately present. For example, each of these girls were from the same society, but all their religious a nd ethical backgrounds varied. Depending on their history and family each girl had a different view on topics like premarital sex or college goals. I feel that because Raelene's mom didn't care much about raelene or how well she did in school, neither did Raelen. This probably led her to the path of dropping out of school and teen pregnancy. Then we meet Anna Chau who tells us she would never have premarital sex because it's not allowed and she plans to someday go to college. Anna's father and her culture would be the functionalist because they stressed education and religion. Co... ...weather or notl their children succeed. Anna's story has another example of this when she says she would get in trouble for kissing a guy, although she does have premarital sex, she says she doesnt like it, doesnt like her boyfriend and feels dirty afterwards. I think this is because she was brought up thinking it was wrong and will always believe that. Lisa's mother has been divorced 3 times and then Lisa's boyfriend cheats on her and she stays with him, they talk about marraige like its nothing. I think this is because she saw her mother do ti so many times it just seemed normal like it was no big deal. Her mother did however stress school was important and Lisa has never missed a day of school and goes on to attend college.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I really enjoyed the movie Girls Like Us. I liked watching these girls grow up and change their whole lives around. It showed how the science of sociology is present in everyday lives and relationships and how conflicts can change a person for the better or the worst. What a learned most from this movie was how structural functionalism really does play a major part of how we grow up no matter what our ethnic backgrounds may be.

Life Of William Shakespeare :: essays research papers

Life of William Shakespeare Around 1568, a group of actors visited Stratford and put on a play before the entire town, with permission from John Shakespeare, the mayor of the town. The people loved the play, especially the small children. All of them looked up to the actors, as they returned each year to perform different plays. They had dreams of one day becoming actors, but only one of these children fulfilled this dream. This child was the mayor's son, William Shakespeare. At this time, actors in England usually spent their careers traveling to new towns, performing plays at city buildings or local inns. However, with the help of James Burbage, this all changed. James Burbage designed and built the first theatre in England. The actors could then settle down in one place and perform in a place built for plays. The theatre was a huge success, and many more began popping up over England, but this theatre built by James Burbage was forever known as The Theatre. The layout of the stage consisted of five levels. The lowest level was for trap doors built into the stage. The next level was the main stage, where the actors did most of their performing. Above this was the balcony level, which could be used to represent anything from a city wall to a mountain. The next level contained pulleys which could raise or lower anything from above. The top level was used for creating sounds of rain or thunder, or dropping important objects from the sky. William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at age 18. In two years, they had three children, a daughter named Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith. He didn't stay in Stratford long after this though. He left his family to pursue a career as an actor in London. Shakespeare wrote his first play in 1592. It was a historical play called Henry VI, which was one of the biggest successes of the year. Some scholars criticized him because he did not have a university education like most playwrites, but probably the only reason he was criticized for this was because his play was so popular. After the success of his historical play, he wrote a tragedy called Titus Andronicus, and then The Comedy of Errors, a humorous comedy. Not many playwrites wrote so many different types of plays in so short a time, but Shakespeare was certainly not like any other English playwrite. Very early in Shakespeare's career, however, many theatres closed due to the plague in England, and playwrites were not in high demand. Shakespeare then turned to another type of writing and wrote a narrative poem entitled Venus and

Essay --

Mindy Pang Pearl Final (Analysis /Synthesis) 1. I think it is ironic that Kino is being followed by trackers because all throughout the story, Kino makes connections with animals. Kino and Juana are compared to being animals that are chased down by hunters. As Kino is supposedly an animal, it is ironic because trackers are known to follow animals. Just like animals, Kino and Juana try to escape the hunters, going to the mountains, where there is high elevation, something an animal would do. Another example of Kino’s comparison to an animal is when Kino needs to find a strategy in which the trackers won’t see him, so he takes off his clothes (what us, humans wear), as an animalistic technique, since animals don’t wear clothes. His own son also â€Å"becomes† an animal, at least to the trackers, who think the baby’s cry was a coyote cry, and this causes Coyotito’s death by a gunshot from them. This also brings us to the irony of Coyotito’s name, and as readers, we find out why he was named this at the end of the story. Steinbeck also describes the characters literally as animals; for example, â€Å"Kino hissed at her like a snake, and Juana stared at him with wide, unfrightened eyes like a sheep before the butcher.† Not only does this help us picture what is going on, but the author is also trying to make more references to animals. These are only a few of the examples of when the author creates animal imagery/ reference, but because the author compares Kino and his family to animals so often, it is ironic how they is being followed by trackers. 3. The brief introduction connects to rest of the story very well. John Steinbeck explains the book’s parable. The introduction is pretty self-explanatory. The story is not just about Kino, it i... ...d to harm Kino, mugging him, injuring him, attempting many times to steal the pearl, destroying his precious pearl. Kino could no longer protect himself, like he used to. He tried his best, but now his protection â€Å"shell† has been cracked and he is no longer as strong as he used to be, just like an oyster without a pearl. The oyster protects its precious pearl on purpose, and has a shell to help protect it, but when the pearler forces the shell open, the protection is gone. The canoe had its wood, as a layer of protection, blocking out things on the outside that could potentially harm things that are inside the boat, but the canoe was destroyed and its protection is now useless. Kino, the canoe, and the pearl all caused and meant trouble. Now they all have lost, they have all shattered, they have been destroyed. Now, they all represent and have become something else.

Air Transat Analysis Essay

Introduction: Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec. It was founded in 1987, and is owned by Transat A.T. Inc. According to Air Transat’s website, their mission statement is: â€Å"Air Transat is Canada’s leading holiday travel airline. Every year, it carries some 3 million passengers to nearly 60 destinations in 25 countries aboard its fleet of Airbus wide-body jets. The company employs approximately 2,000 people. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries. Air Transat was named World’s Best Leisure Airline at the Skytrax annual World Airline Awards, held in July 2012.† â€Å"Transat A.T. Inc. is an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries. A holiday travel specialist, Transat operates mainly in Canada and Europe, as well as in the Caribbean, Mexico and the Mediterranean Basin. Montreal-based Transat is also active in air transportation, destination services and distribution. (TSX: TRZ.B, TRZ.A)† Air Transat presents its products and services by stating that is a leading holiday travel airline that is owned and operated by Transat A.T. Inc. The types of customers served are international passengers within the 60 destinations that they operate in. Air Transat geographically covers 60 destinations in 25 countries. One of the ways Air Transat is distinguished from its competitors within the industry is by being give the world’s Best Leisure Airline two years ago in July 2012. Nothing has been mentioned about customer needs in their mission statement as well as they type of customers they are targeting. We could assume that Air  Transat is seeking holiday-oriented customer rather than business oriented customers for example. This mission statement shows no insight on how the firm will continue to compete with its competitors. According to Air Transat’s website, their vision statement is: â€Å"At Transat, we recognize the prime importance of the environment, host communities, cultural diversity, and our relationships with our employees, customers and partners. At Air Transat too†¦ Then, Air Transat is committed to reducing its ecological footprint, and has adopted an environmental policy.† This vision statement does not focus on the future they see in their vision with host communities, diversity, employees, customers, and partners. However, it focuses on the environment. It has done that by creating an environmental policy, which is committed to doing the following according to Air Transat’s website: 1. Complying with all applicable municipal, provincial, federal, and international legal requirements, exceeding compliance wherever practical and possible. 2. Certifying our environmental systems and performance to the highest standards, such as ISO14001, IENVa, LEED, ICI ON RECYCLE and Fly-360-Green. 3. Conserving natural resources, such as energy and water, and preventing pollution in our operations, buildings, and supply chains through source reduction, re-use, recycling and control. 4. Continuously improving our environmental performance by setting and reviewing objectives and targets, and by training and involving our employees and stakeholders whose activities have a significant environmental impact. 5. Collaborating with all of our key stakeholders (employees, suppliers, communities, governments and industry groups) regarding environmental, sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility initiatives and issues. Surprisingly, I did not find a strategic objectives statement on Air Transat’s website. There were no statements regarding how they will put their mission statement into action, or how their goals will be achieved.  However, there is a page that lists and summarizes all Air Transat’s awards, rewards, and recognition. PEST analysis: The definition of PEST analysis according to businessdictionary.com is: â€Å"A type of situation analysis in which political-legal (government stability, spending, taxation), economic (inflation, interest rates, unemployment), socio-cultural (demographics, education, income distribution), and technological (knowledge generation, conversion of discoveries into products, rates of obsolescence) factors are examined to chart an organization’s long-term plans.† POLITICAL ECONOMIC SOCIO-CULTURAL TECHNOLOGICAL Fuel taxation, and landing taxation Fear of terrorist attacks after 9/11. New European union regulations have led to higher levels of competition on European routes. Increase in the price of oil Increase in transportation costs Increase in disposable income due to rise in incomes and lower interest rates (people have more money to spend on leisure trips) Change in consumer behavior resulting from the aging population in Canada may affect the number of leisure trips taken Increased popularity in travelling abroad – Carbon dioxide emission – Emirates airlines launching double decker aircrafts (A380), serving 25 destinations – Wireless internet being launched in aircrafts – Frequent flyer programs The increase in the price of oil and the rate at which it is increasing is a global issue. For Air Transat, this means an increase in cost and expenditure. Since oil is essential in this industry, there is not much that Air Transat can do. The increase in the price of oil could cause force Air Transat to increase their prices for flight tickets. In more extreme cases, Air Transat may not be able to increase the prices for certain routes, and be forced to terminate their services to these routes. Air Transat could benefit from the change in consumer behavior resulting from the aging population in Canada by targeting the elderly population through advertising and promotions. For example, they could offer retirement packages, and certain promotions for specific destinations or at specific seasons of the year. Air Transat would need to conduct extensive market research about this matter to take into consideration that most retired people are on a fixed income or might not be healthy enough to fly etc. With the increased use of technology, wireless Internet is not only important for business traveler but also for leisure travelers. Even though it is not that common for aircrafts to offer wireless Internet during their flight, it being launched. Air Transat should consider offering this service, as it might be an attractive feature for many travelers. Porter’s Five Forces: According to investopedia.com, the definition of Porter’s Five forces is: â€Å"Named after Michael E. Porter, this model identifies and analyzes 5 competitive forces that shape every industry, and helps determine an industry’s weaknesses and strengths. 1. Competition in the industry 2. Potential of new entrants into industry 3. Power of suppliers 4. Power of customers 5. Threat of substitute products† The threat of new entry into the airline industry is very weak due to a few factors including very large capital required, major airports are highly congested, slow growth rates and with many reputable airlines already, brand loyalty may not be easy to establish due to the competition. This force is likely to remain weak. Competitive Rivalry is ranked as high because there are a high number of airlines operating both domestically and internationally with very competitive prices that Air Transat will need to constantly try to match. The fixed cost is very high such as the cost of oil, which cannot be controlled to a great extent. There is also a low product differentiation meaning that even though Air Transat is a leisure airline, there are still many other airlines that offer service to the same destinations at similar prices. Most airlines offer some type of frequent flyer program, which causes passengers who are members of these programs to be loyal to their airlines. This force could become even higher due to the increased competition. Bargaining power of suppliers is Moderate. Airlines are usually in a long-term contract with airline manufacturers, which also limit drastic increases in prices during that contract but because there are only two airline manufacturers; Boeing, and Airbus. They have a lot of power to make changes that Air Transat would be bound to accept. Labor my also be an issue because positions such as pilots, aerospace engineers, managers, and marketers may require high salaries and may not be easily found in the market. However, the salaries for labor in the airline industry are standardized over similar airlines. This force is likely to stay the same. Bargaining power of buyers is weak. Individual flyers, travel agencies, and online portals can all easily switch to different airlines due to low switching costs. However, the pool of customers is very large ranging from individual customers to large organizations. This force is likely to become weaker over time. Threat of substitutes is moderate within the airline industry because there are numerous airlines that offer service to the same destinations as Air Transat with similar prices, which does not limit the chance of customers switching to different airlines. However, that kind of standardization over the industry does not make other airlines more attractive than Air Transat. Threat of substitutes outside the industry is low because many destinations cannot be reached in a timely manner without flying, specially international ones. Flying is faster and safer than road, rail, or marine. I believe this force will become weaker over time. New Opportunities: Since Air Transat is well established in Canada, they have the chance to grow internationally beyond Europe. They can also take advantage of the current growth in the aging population in Canada by targeting that market and researching different ways to attract older customers. They could create a frequent flyer program specially designed for seniors. With Air Transat’s sold reputation, they could also have contracts with European organizations to provide them services. Air Transat could take advantages of the new developments in technology by providing wireless internet on their aircrafts and also by launching a new type of aircraft for European destinations such as the double decker plane that Emirates airlines launched. Threats: The main threat is the price of oil increasing is the highest cost for airlines now. A sudden spike in the price of oil could have negative impacts on Air Transat causing it to terminate service to one of their 60 destinations. There are other threats such as safety concerns due to the fear of terrorist attack, changes in government regulations and environmental issues. The airline/aviation industry overall is a great industry to be in for existing airlines, but a very hard one to get into for new airlines. Air Transat has a lot of potential to grow in the European market, and even  farther. Citations: Air Transat Environmental Policy. In Resp.Transat. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://www.resp.transat.com/_pdf/en/airtransat.environmental.policy.pdf?v=2. Emirates A30 News & Events. In Emirates. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://www.emirates.com/english/flying/our_fleet/emirates_a380/news_and_events/news_and_events.aspx External environment theory. In Business case studies. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/external-environment/pest-analysis.html#axzz2sW4YAx8I. Pest Analysis. In Business dictionary. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/PEST-analysis.html. Porter’s 5 Forces. In Investopedia. Retrieved Febuary 8, 2014, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/porter.asp. Porter’s Five Forces. In Mind tools. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_08.htm Porter’s Five Forces. In Sites google. Retrieved Febuary 8, 2014, from https://sites.google.com/site/admn703ai/the-team Profile. In Air Transat. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://www.airtransat.ca/en/About-us/Profile?ID=35&type=voyageur&tmpl=GEN.

Inquiries and serious case Essay

Serious case reviews are summoned when a child or a vulnerable adult is seriously injured and there is a suspicion that abuse or neglect has played a role in the outcome. When an incident occurs, a number of investigations are triggered to establish what has happened and who is to blame. In these situations serious case review and inquiries are undertaken in addition to the other investigations. According to Williams (Sarah, 2012), the purpose of serious case reviews is as follows To identify what the lessons are and how they will be acted on to improve practise. Improve local interagency working Review procedures and make recommendations for improvements Of all the procedures and stages of appointment of staff the most crucial factor is safety. It might sound weird but an error in this aspect might have wild consequences. Safer recruitment practice should include those persons who may not have direct contact with children, but because of their presence and familiarity in certain settings will still be seen as safe and trustworthy. The principles of safer recruitment should be included in the terms of any contract drawn up between the organisation and contractors or agencies that provide services for children and young people for whom the organisation is responsible. The organisation should monitor compliance with the contract, which should also include a requirement that the provider will not sub-contract to any personnel who have not been part of a safer recruitment process. Staff has to be kept informed about child protection responsibilities and procedures through induction, briefings and awareness training. There may be other adults in the school who rarely work unsupervised, more usually working alongside members of the school staff. However the supervisor will ensure they are aware of the school’s policy and the identity of the Child Protection Officer. Any member of staff, volunteer or visitor to the school who receives a disclosure of abuse, an allegation or suspects that abuse may have occurred must report it immediately. In Dubai and the United Arab Emirates there is currently no infrastructure of Educational Safeguarding and/or Social Care Services. Following cases which caused concern in the Emirati community, Sheikh Mohammed, the Ruler of Dubai, supported the drafting of a Federal law on child protection â€Å"to ensure a secure and stable future for children in the  U.A.E.† In April 2012, it was reported that Dubai had  "embraced a new policy to protect children against all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect and offer support and care for those in need.† The policy â€Å"aims to provide protection to Emirati and expatriate children under the age 18 who live permanently or temporarily in Dubai. In November 2012, the UAE Cabinet approved â€Å"Wadeema’s Law† to â€Å"protect children in the UAE.The law includes creating special units that intervene when children are at risk and stresses that all children have rights regardless of religion and nationality.† In conclusion, serious case reviews make an important contribution to understanding what happens in circumstances of significant harm. Their effectiveness can be improved and there are examples of promising approaches using the findings of serious case reviews to bring about improvements in safeguarding practice. However, achieving such improvements requires Local Safeguarding Children Boards to develop a much stronger learning culture within which serious case reviews are but one important source of knowledge for improving safeguarding practice. References Dubaicollege. (2012). Child protection policy. Available: http://www.dubaicollege.org/media/policies/Child%20Protection%20Policy.pdf. Last accessed 03rd May 2014. Willams, rutter, gary (2012). Promoting Individual and Organisational Learning in Social Work. london: SAGE publications. p99-102.

Epistemology and Knowledge Essay

For centuries philosophers have questioned whether knowledge exists and if we know anything at all. This discipline is known as epistemology. Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, is a branch of philosophy related to the scope and nature of knowing. The subject focuses on examining the nature of knowledge and how it relates to beliefs, justification and truth. It is actually quite hard to define knowledge. The dictionary defines it as a general awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles, but philosophers on the other hand define it as a belief which is in agreement with the facts. So what are the facts, and what do we know exactly? Christopher Norris, the author of Epistemology: Key Concepts in Philosophy, states that whatever we believe now, is only an approximation of reality and that every new observation brings us closer to an understanding. Therefore, knowledge is forever changing/evolving and not pertaining to one’s beliefs. â€Å"†¦ ‘water’ was once defined vaguely as the kind of stuff that fell as rain, filled up lakes, was liquid under normal ambient conditions, boiled or froze at certain temperatures, †¦ etc† (Norris 44). Due to evolution, we now know  that liquid; water, is made up of the molecular structure H20. We no longer believe that the liquid once vaguely defined is anything other than water (H20); now we are knowledgeable. Norris believes science must be integrated with the natural world and the social world to truly understand knowledge. â€Å"When we try to explain all our knowledge of the world as Descartes does we try to understand how the things we believe in science and in everyday life are connected with and warranted by the bases or grounds on which we come to believe them† (Stroud 209). Beliefs are things people have. They aren’t things that can be picked up along the side of the road. Just because a person believes they can fly doesn’t make it true. For many philosophers, this is important. It implies that what someone thinks, could be wrong. In other words, it implies that what one thinks about the world may not match up with the way the world really is. â€Å"†¦ truth occurs when ideas in the mind agree with external conditions or objects †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Soccio 322). Therefore, there is a distinction between belief and truth. Truth is not in your head. Truth is out there. Truth is factual. The molecular structure H2O is factual; therefore it is truth. Knowledge is a kind of interaction. It involves asking questions and inference. One can’t merely know because they believe. Although a person can believe that they know something, that isn’t legitimate knowledge. Knowledge is a belief which is in agreement with the facts. Works Cited Norris, Christopher. Epistemology: Key Concepts in Philosophy. New York: Continuum, 2005. Print. Soccio, Douglas J. Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. Print. Stroud, Barry. The Significance of Philosophical Scepticism. New York: Oxford, 1984. Print.

Mind Body Problem Essay

Why is the mind/body problem within Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness studies indeed a problem? Well the mind body problem is a metaphysical issue about the relationship between what is mental and what is physical. (â€Å"mind-body problem,† 2009). I believe that this issue is and will continue to be a problem until there is enough evidence to fully prove one theory or disprove all but one of these theories from being true. At this point in time I feel that the monistic approach of physicalism best sums up the mind body relationship as it states that everything supervenes on, or is necessitated by, the physical(Stoljar, 2009). To put it in simpler terms relevant to the mind body problem the mind is a physical part of the body. I feel this way as it currently has the most supporting evidence. The other main view on the mind body problem is dualism and its theory of interactionism which holds that mind and body, though separate and distinct substances, causally interact. (â€Å"interactionism,† 2009). It isn’t the numerous theories that cause this mind body problem to be such a problem though it’s the evidence supporting these theories that makes this a highly debated topic as depending on your viewpoint the evidence could support multiple theories at once. This makes deciding what can be classed as evidence for and against different theory’s very difficult. The term materialism, sometimes called central-state materialism, asserts that states of the mind are identical to states of the human brain(â€Å"materialism,† 2009). Scientific testing has shown that when people are asked to picture doing certain tasks mentally that specific areas of the brain are stimulated. They tested this on numerous people and found that in all of the subjects the mental stimulation caused certain areas of the brain to become active. Two years ago Adrian Owen published an article in Science in which he used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to examine the brain function of a young woman in an apparent vegetative state. During the study she was asked to either imagine herself playing tennis or to imagine herself walking through her house. These two distinct thoughts created distinct patterns of activation on the fMRI The terms ‘physicalism’ and ‘materialism’ are interchangeable. But the two terms have very different histories(Egnor, 2006). t is this such research that points in the direction of solving this mind body problem and emerging with one clear truth as to how the mind and body coexist. The term ‘materialism’ is very old, but the word ‘physicalism’ was introduced into philosophy only in the 1930s by Otto Neurath (1931) and Rudolf Carnap (1932)(Stoljar, 2009). People argue that this new termanology has helped to more clearly define the concept as materalism refered to matter which is still a relativly indefinable substance whereas physicalism refers to the physical which is a very clearly defined substance. The idea of physicalism is that everything exists in the physical sense even feelings and thoughts have a physical root according to this theory. So when the previously mentioned study using a fMRI to scan the brain as people are thinking gives evidence of thoughts occurring as similar brain states among a large group of people including people in a â€Å"vegatative state† gives hope that this proplem could be resolved quicker than previously expected. Dualism proposes this idea of interactionism in which the mind and body are separate yet they causally interact was first proposed by Rene Descartes who could not satisfactorily explain how the interaction takes place, apart from the speculation that it occurs in the pineal gland(â€Å"interactionism,† 2009). This of couse was later proven to be false as the true function of the pineal gland was discovered but the theory still remains that the mind and body are separate. One of the examples given for this theory is that if you where to touch a flame your body would tell your mind that it was in pain then your mind would tell your body to move your hand and therefore your mind and body are causally linked. But in real life if you put your hand in to a flame accidentally your body wouldn’t wait for your mind to register what had happened an then tell you to remove your hand that’s why humans have developed reflexes which happen at a spinal level the signal never reaches the brain or mind to be acted upon. This does serve to help both arguments though as a dualist would arue that this proves that the body and mind are separate but a monist would argue that the mind although physical encompasses a small part of the brain and isnt involved in every decision that you make for example breathing and your heart beat which proves that this example of dualism at work is flawed and suppports both arguments. This is why without hard evidence there will always be a mind body problem. The identity theory of mind holds that states and processes of the mind are identical to states and processes of the brain. â€Å"Identity Theory,† 2009). The montreal procedure developed by Dr. Wilder Penfield in the 1940’s in which the patient was given a local anaesthetic so they would remain conscious during the operation. Penfield then removed the skull cap to expose the brain tissue. As he probed the brain, the patient could describe his feelings. This technique also allowed Dr. Penfield to create maps of the sensory and motor sections of the brain, showing their connections to the various limbs and organs of the body. This technique is quoted extensivly to back up monistic theories that the mind and brain are one due to the ability of Dr. Penfield to accuratly map areas of the brain to specific regions such as speech, sensory and sight(â€Å"Dr. Wilder Penfield,† 2006). But a dualist would argue that although the states and process are identical and that different regions are responsible for different areas of the body it does not prove by any stretch of the term that the brain and mind are one. It mearly states that they are doing the same thing at the same time which could just as easily be an argument for parallelism. This I believe is one of the reasons why this mind body problem will always be a problem, as there are so many inter-linking theories that without difinitive proof of one theory being true there will always be a problem. As you can se from this paper there are many different theories and all have some form of evidence to back up their claim of being the correct theory. But at the same time the evidence given for one theory in most cases can also be used as evidence for another theory all depending on how you look at it. Which I one of the reasons that the mind body problem is a problem. As evidence is given to support one claim but if you shift your viewpoint that same piece of factual evidence then becomes evidence for a different theory. Now the evidence dosent change but the viewpoint does and this is what causes one of the problems. The other issue is the ammount of theories there are and that new theories are constantly being made. Take the case of physicalism for example physicalism is a relative new theory based on an old theory yet they are basically the same. So you can see that this stream new theories are being produced and the ability of multiple different theories to share evidence to back up their claim all depending on what view point you have on a topic is what I think makes the mind body problem such a problem. This problem will continue to be debated until someone can prove without a shadow of a doubt that their theory is true which will take a while.

History 1A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History 1A - Essay Example The narrator argues that slavery especially in Africa had denied him the chance to live peacefully and in harmony with her family members. As Europe grew, the relationship between Africa and Europe came into focus. The description of African religious theories was essential in the evaluation of histography of European academic orientations. The triple religious African heritage, which includes indigenous religion, Islam and Christianity, were the pivot that formed the three main themes of discourse. The accounts describing religion in African or the superficial terms lead to an influence in the perception of philosophers who were enlightened about Africa. In turn, perception about Africa was influenced by progress and reason. The European occupation was often legitimized because of the argument that Christian civilization was introduced, officials in the colonial government realized that changes in African societies may lead to stability loss. The states that he witnessed the sale of slaves to Dutch people while in West Indies. At that time, he was not bought but instead, transported and sold to North America where he was assigned to work in the Virginia plantations doing house chores and light field works. He did not stay for long in time Virginia when a British royal navy lieutenant bought him as a present to his friends in England (Equiano 94) The spread of Islam was neither simultaneous nor uniform, but followed an adaptive and gradual path. However, aesthetic and political influences on the African community are difficult to access. Islamic resistance to representation of animals and people, its interaction with the Africans visual arts was one of the forms of Islam that were accommodated by the local residents. Islam also helped in the reinforcement of the fondness of Africans to geometric design. It was also evident in textile decorations and objects that were crafted. Weaving by the locals was also

Media Studies A2 Have Scorsese's gangster films become too violent Essay

Media Studies A2 Have Scorsese's gangster films become too violent - Essay Example He has been producing films since the 1970's - his most recent one is The Departed (2006). His films are notorious for reflecting New York's life, which imply organized crime and violence. Violence has always been a part of the gangster film genre. Already films like Scar face from 1932 highly contained violence in the plot as well as The Maltese Falcon from 1941. This key issue has maintained over the last decades and I would like to analyze whether the genre has become too violent, regarding to Martin Scorsese film repertoire. I further try to examine if this is a natural progression, because of what is happening to the modern society and as a result to the Films or if this is attributable to Martin Scorsese only. I am going to start with analyzing three films of Scorsese spread over nearly 30 years, to pinpoint this trend. I am therefore going to analyze a couple of main scenes from the films The Departed (00's), Goodfellas (90's) and Mean Streets (70's), which reflect three decades of his work. All three films are considered to be great gangster films. The first scene to be analyzed is from Mean Streets from 1973. The whole film contains a couple of fighting scenes but only two in which you can actually see blood. Also, there are two shoot-outs and in total two people die. The USK for Mean Streets is 18. The iconography in the mean streets is overtly religious. Perhaps the only more religious movie Martin Scorsese has made is the last temptation of Christ. The search of Charlie for redemption perhaps shows a simpler time when good was good and bad was bad. Charlie had no doubt where he stood in this equation. The scene I am analyzing is the end of the film which suggests that it can be seen as the main scene of the film. One of the main character gets killed in this part of the film and the fact that this is likely to be the main scene of the whole film gives the impression that these 53 seconds of violence are the climax of the film and hence the climax of violence as well. There was certain clarity in this film on the morality which was again perhaps a reflection of the times In goodfellas, the ante on the violence is definitely raised. There is the Murder of the Innocent Spider and the brutal murder of Billy Batts. And the murder of Billy Batts is Jarring. First Billy Batts is beaten up, thrown in the trunk of the car, then stabbed later and then buried. And while it is graphically shocking it is done extremely nonchalantly as if it is commonplace. None of the actors were widely known yet for their acting of gangster roles in 1973 so there were no suggestions that the film may contain high violence as Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel or David Proval (main actors) were not associated with brutality in films at that time. It starts off with three main characters driving in a car. You can hear the sound of squealing tyres and another car appears in the dark. A man is holding a gun out of the window. One of the passengers gets shot and you can see the blood coming out of the victim. However the lighting is very low and you can barely see any details. The car th en crashes. The lighting plays a major role in this scene as it "censors" the whole villainy. The narrative of the film is mainly four men acting as loan sharks. The murders have a storical background which fit into the

SWOT Analysis assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SWOT Analysis assignment - Case Study Example As for the screen particular The Galaxy S2 set the stage for astounding colour and vibrancy and the S3 takes that and includes additional land. The HTC One Xs screen is superb, yet preparation issues make it miss the top spot. In the event that we are speaking about electric storage device longevity, the HTC One X offers a somewhat nippier processor than the Galaxy S3. On paper, at any rate, it dominates the competition. Concurring to the polaroid specifications, iphone 4s. The rich, even tone gave by the 4s puts it somewhat in front of the One X. We havent had the ability to appropriately test the S3s Polaroid yet on paper in any event, It isnt putting forth any significant upgrades over the S2. Without having not less than a couple of hours to play around with the S3 , it’s challenging to know exactly how accommodating its additional programming characteristics will be. Were quick to perceive how the new Touchwiz contrasts with Sense 4.0, however were still enormous devotees of ios straightforwardness. The study has found that Apple is the ruler of the market at present. As the CEO of this company the Analysis of this vertical it is recommended that the company should focus more on its strengths and leverage on available market opportunities. Some of the options available at present include diversification of products as well as geographical diversification into emerging economies; increase market share by adopting to low pricing strategies. Apple Inc. has found High demand of iPad mini and iPhone 5, and with the launch of iTV, a higher market penetration can be observed in the near future. A Strong growth of mobile advertising market and increasing demand for cloud based services will increase its overall market share

The Influence of Technology on Contemporary Strategic Marketing Essay

The Influence of Technology on Contemporary Strategic Marketing Management Practices - Essay Example This essay also explores how strategic marketing management practices have been strengthened by conventional and latest information technologies. Examples from the health care organisation are used to support the arguments. An Overview Above all, it is important to consider the concept of ‘strategic marketing management’ to examine how technology has influenced marketing. As defined by Jobber (1998), strategic marketing management is â€Å"the approach a firm takes to securing and retraining profitable relationships with its customers.†2 It was demonstrated by Leverick and colleagues (1998) that numerous organisations have transformed their marketing strategies through the influence of technology.3 For instance, in the manner an organisation communicates with or approaches its customers and the way it carries out marketing activities. Technology, in particular, information technology (IT), helps an organisation build competitive advantage, enhance managerial outco mes, and attain more accurate and wide-ranging environmental scanning. As stated by Porter and Miller (1985), â€Å"the usage of IT enables companies to increase internal efficiency.†4 The application of information technology in marketing strategy has been talked about since the 1960s. Yet, it is only recently that strategic management has been gradually reinforced or remodelled by information technology5 (e.g. Internet marketing, database marketing, decision support systems (DSS), etc). Gaur and colleagues (2003) supports the earlier assumption that â€Å"the technological revolution is changing the nature and activities of the marketing function.†6 Traditional and emerging technologies allow the customer to communicate efficiently, directly, and openly with the marketers. By means of technology, companies are becoming increasingly informed about their customers in a more cost-effective way, which allows them to carry out direct marketing, particularly via interactiv e technology. According to Foskett (1996), the Internet has transformed marketing ‘from mass marketing to customised one-to-one marketing’7; the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) views e-marketing as a quantum leap for marketing because it facilitates genuinely customised and individualised marketing, availability of lower costs and the mass market for smaller companies.8 However, in the 1980s and 1990s, oversupply of information/data became a crucial problem. Data overload resulted in less accurate and appropriate management data. Technology created the groundwork for a better data management to work out this issue.9 Information technology provides ingenious processes of data gathering about customers’ needs, behaviour, and character. Examples of these data collection methods are online surveys or electronic mail surveys. Database methods, in addition to the Internet, have a considerable effect on strategic marketing as they help marketers refine outcomes i n seven major areas10: (1) understanding customers; (2) managing customer services; (3) understanding the market; (4) understanding the competitors; (5) managing sales operations; (6) managing marketing campaigns; (7)

Quantative methods report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Quantative methods report - Essay Example of categorical variables 2. The measures of centre includes arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, median and mode where as the measures of spread are given by range, mean deviation, quartile deviation and standard deviation. The measures of shape are skewness and measures of position is kurtosis. 3. Event: Any activity subjected to experiment is called as an event. For example in tossing of an unbiased coin (experiment) the occurrence of head and tail are events. Since in any unbiased coin either head or tail can occur, they put together in a set is known as sample space. The sample space in a coin tossing experiment is S={H,T}. Similarly the sample space in throwing of a die is S={1,2,3,4,5,6}. Marginal probability is a measure of occurrence of an event keeping the occurrence of the other event as constant in jointly occurring events. The probability of joint occurrence of two events either independent or dependent is p(x,y)=pij where i=1 to m; j=1 to n; when x and y are d iscrete or else f(x,y)=fxy where x and y are both continuous. 4. The return is an expected value for an investment involving normal percentage values whereas the risk is the measure of uncertainity usually having a negative impact on return. The risk as per standard norms is 1 and if the value of risk is below 1 it is considered to be less risky and if the value of risk is above 1, it is considered to be highly risky. Suppose the return and risk involved in an investment is given in the following table as Table 2: Sample table indicating nature of investment Investment nature Stocks Bonds Real Estate Probability for investing 0.4 0.25 0.35 Return % 13% 8% 10% Risk 1.2 0.85 1.25 Note: The total investment is 250,000 (say), we can formulate a strategy to maximize the return based on the risk and return involved. Discrete distribution is concerned with the distribution of a variable which is countable or finite. For example in tossing of a die, the outcome is a discrete random variable and its distribution of the outcomes 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 can be described in the form P(X=x)=pi= where x takes any value 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 whereas a continuous random variable takes any value between a range of values (in an interval); for example if the frequency of arrival of a bus is 30 minutes and if we define the waiting time for a bus as a continuous random variable x, then the distribution of waiting time is given by f(x)= 0?x?30 =0 otherwise. 5. The sampling distribution is a distribution of the sample measures where the sample of size n is drawn out of a population of size N. If any random sample of size n is taken from a normal population of size N, then the sample mean is x and the distribution of sample mean is having expected value ? and variance ?2/n. ie. if the population is normal with mean ? and variance ?, then the sample will be having mean  with E()=? and SD is SE()= . The central limit theorem says that if a sample of size n having values x1, x2, x3....... ,xn follows normal distribution with mean ? and v

Asian Business - Case Study of Mitsui Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Asian Business - Case Study of Mitsui - Essay Example The prevailing procedure during that era was that products were made to order, and Mitsui defied common business sense by making products first and then selling them. Mitsui’s initial foray into the banking and finance industry came in the late 17th century. Moving money between cities during that feudal era was extremely risky, so Mitsui established â€Å"money exchanges† in Edo. Much like a primitive precursor to a Western Union, these establishments accommodated the transfer of funds and reduced the amount of risk involved in the transaction( Shinjo, 1962 11) By 1876, the company had established Mitsui Bank, which was the nation’ first private bank. Running up to the early 20th century, the company came to be known as one of the largest zaibatsu in Japan. A prominent feature of pre-World War II Japan, a zaibatsu can be loosely defined as â€Å" a business entity composed of several diversified enterprises owned and exclusively controlled by a single family â €Å"( Morikawa, 1970:62) These ironclad monopolies enabled the company to be a central business figure in pre-war Japan. Picking up the pieces after the war, the remnants of the companies from the dismantled Mitsui zaibatsu reformed themselves into the so-called economic miracles of the postwar era, the keiretsu. Resembling the functional equivalent of a western conglomerate, the reformed business group was launched with a capitalization of 195,000 yen and roughly 35 employees. Its forays into foreign trade greatly furthered the country’s post-war economic rebirth. In the 1960’s Mitsui took advantage of rapid trade liberalization, and was successful in securing a stable supply of food, oil, and coal for domestic use coursed through its overseas holdings. An investment into natural gas resources in the 1970’s shielded the company from the decade’s oil crisis, and helped blunt the effects of the worldwide economic downturn. (Mitsui,