Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories Essay

In these stories we have three totally different villains, all with their own motives. Before we actually meet Dr Roylett we hear about him from his step-daughter, Miss Stoner. She describes his violent past and his current behaviour. Then, subsequently, we see his violence for ourselves as he storms in to Holmes’ office and bends the fire poker, threatening Holmes. During the di nouement , when we are told of his crime, we realise how clever and cunning he is, and how he had organised the murders; with the bell pull and ventilator. We can take from this that he was a very cold-hearted man who cared more about money, than his own kin. In â€Å"The Cardboard Box† Jim Browner commits a double murder out of jealousy. Miss Cushing gives a description of him. She says that â€Å"a little drink would send him stark, staring mad†. This makes us think that he could be a dangerous man. When he finds out that his wife is having an affair he threatens to kill her lover if he is ever seen in her company again. When he sees them together he goes mad and carries out his threat, in a spur of the moment, jealous rage. The villain in â€Å"Silver Blaze† is a different kind of criminal. We believe, at first that John Straker, is the victim of a brutal murder. At the end we find out that, in fact, he was attempting to sabotage the horse in his care, so he would win a bet that he had against him. Therefore, the motive in this story is money. John Straker never did win the bet because whilst trying to injure the horse, Silver Blaze put up a struggle and he was struck in the head by the horses hoof. The Sherlock Holmes stories all follow the classic structure of detective stories. The clues are set out throughout the stories so that the reader can try to work out the crime too. Red Herrings are often used, to throw the reader off the scent and make sure we don’t work it out too soon. These stories all have a di nouement, where Holmes explains the crime, and tells how he solved it. These three stories, especially â€Å"The Speckled Band†, have an emphasis on exotic features which would have intrigued the Victorian audience. The British empire in that time took up a large percent of the globe so they would be interested in the lands that their country owns. Things such as Dr Roylett’s â€Å"pets† would have fascinated them because in Victorian times, the majority of people didn’t travel, so they had no contact with exotic things. The reference to gypsies in two of the stories would have had an effect on Victorian readers because in those times, gypsies were believed to cast spells and would frighten the reader. For a Victorian reader justice would have been more important than how it was executed and in these stories, justice is always given. Although, Holmes sometimes takes the law into his own hands and becomes the judge and jury. â€Å"I am no doubt indirectly responsible for [his] death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience. † The world that Holmes lived in is very different to the world we live in now. The methods of detection were very nai ve and weren’t nearly as accurate as the forensic detection we use today. Holmes is an upper class citizen as most detectives may have been in those days whereas the modern detective is either a member of the police force or a professional private detective. The age of the talented amateur has passed. Even though the Sherlock Holmes stories might not be as successful today as they were in Victorian times because of the difference in societies due to time, Sherlock Holmes is still one of the most famous fictional detectives of all time. I believe that this is because his stories set the basis for modern detective novels and films. I also think, that because it was one of the original detective stories it is more compelling. Overall, the likeable characters, intriguing plot, gripping climax and the sense of realism have made the Sherlock Holmes stories very successful, in the past and present. Kathryn Thompson Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Case Study Product Innovation at Bank of America

BANKING STRATEGIES Case Study: Product Innovation at Bank of America By Cindy Murray What ? nancial institutions can learn from inventions and innovations in other industries. owhere is innovation more essential to survival than in the banking industry. In the payments domain, for example, nonbank competitors less constrained by bank regulations and therefore more agile are changing the banking industry’s grip on the public perception of banks as the only trusted brand for holding and moving money. However, innovation is challenging for banks. Many products, like payments, are a commodity.A vast number of products and a complex infrastructure require continual upgrades to keep apace with technology advancements and comply with evolving regulations and security requirements. This article describes how Bank of America fosters a culture of innovation. Pivotal to an innovative culture is the direct engagement of clients in the innovation process. We highlight some of the ways that Bank of America achieves this. But ? rst we’ll look at the role of innovation process in building brand loyalty. N Build Brand Equity Through Progressive Transformation Change can occur by rede? ning a problem or rede? ing a solution. According to Robert Sternberg, a leading creativity expert,1 creativity is the ability to rede? ne a problem. Innovation can be viewed as the ability to rede? ne a solution. Successful innovation is a process over time—one that typically happens in increments rather than leaps. Rarely is a single innovation a game changer. In banking, 90 percent of innovation focuses on core competencies (that is, business-as-usual innovation), seven percent on game-changing innovation MAY–JUNE 2009 within core competencies and only three percent on leaps that signi? cantly shift the client experience.Outside of banking, an evolutionary approach to innovation is also the rule, not the exception. Continual improvements throughout a product’s life cycle build brand equity. Take the case of Nabisco’s Oreo cookie, the bestselling cookie in the United States. In 1912, Nabisco came up with the idea of two chocolate disks with cream ? lling in between. Since then it has released Double Stuff cookies with more ? lling; fudge-covered Oreos; holiday cookies, including Halloween and Christmas cookies; bite-sized Oreos for children; and reduced-fat Oreos. Oreos illustrate two important aspects of product innovation.First, Nabisco stayed close to its customers. It understood how needs varied among consumers and changed over time. The company developed its product to meet the needs of a continually broader set of consumers. Second, the example illustrates an incremental approach to innovation that focuses on advancing core products. The iPod was at once the next step in an evolutionary process and also a creative leap. This product integrated a number of capabilities in a portable device, but it was not the ? rst MP3 player. However, the concept of iTunes was a new business model that changed the way consumers could store and listen to music.The iPod was transformative, too, because it aligned with changing consumer behavior re? ected in trends of mobility and customization. Technology enabled a tipping point. Consumers were ready to embrace a leap. Cindy Murray is Head of Product Innovation at Bank of America. Contact her at cindy. [email  protected] com. COMMERCIAL LENDING REVIEW 35 Banking Strategies way that stays close to customers’ evolving needs. For example, through ethnographic research, we discovered a common practice among consumers of rounding up when writing checks. We took the idea of rounding up and turned it on its head—rede? ing Innovation is a process over time—an evolutionary the problem by associating payments with savings. path. An incremental approach to innovation mirrors How can we foster increased saving? With Keep the the gradual way in which people chan ge. Consumer Change, each time a customer pays using a Bank of behavior tends to change gradually. Successful innovation is customer driven. It gets as America check card, the bank rounds the payment close as possible to the customer’s current process. to the nearest dollar and transfers the extra change A deep understanding of how customers operate to the customer’s savings account. oday—and why they do what they do—gives inNow, instead of check writers rounding up, the sight into how to improve the process; how to create bank does it for them—but in a way that builds their a step forward for the customer. savings. The solution also facilitates increased use of Further, by directly engaging customers in the indebit cards, thereby supporting retailers’ efforts to novation process, they become deeply committed discourage check payments. It was also a timely soluto, and invested in, a solution, which took advantage tion’s evolutionary p ath. f evolving consumer beThis makes innovation a havior toward increased primary differentiator, ancard usage. Change can occur by rede? ning a other way of creating value Ethnographic research problem or rede? ning a solution. for customers by enriching has also been key to improvtheir experience and reining our electronic banking forcing loyalty over time. platform, CashPro, over Staying close to the customer is one of the most importime. For example, we designed an enhancement based tant attributes of a successful innovation process. on a typical client work ? ow for handling exceptions.By closely watching how 15 companies were posting their receivables, we identi? ed a common practice of Get Close to the Customer placing a sticky note on invoices when they did not match payment. Staff would then fax an invoice to At Bank of America, customers play a key role at the salesperson to inquire about the discrepancy. We every stage of the product innovation process. There incorporate d an electronic sticky note with email capaare a number of ways in which we directly engage bility in CashPro, so that clients could maintain their our customers throughout product development. ork-? ow process in the online environment. We use a range of formal techniques for idea generation. Formal techniques focus on gaining deepened client insight and are important when Amplify the we have limited information about an opportunity Voice of the Customer and the related customer need. Formal idea mining typically requires expertise through our internal innovation group or external specialized vendors. CashPro is a great example both of innovating in Ethnographic research is an important tool for increments to improve a product over time and of engenerating innovation ideas.Observation provides gaging clients in an evolutionary innovation process. insight into customer behavior and needs. ReturnWith CashPro, we established a customer advisory ing to the Oreo example, the idea for a bite-sized board, which has been closely involved in the prodcookie began to germinate when Nabisco researchers uct’s development. With CashPro, the innovation watched young children grapple with dunking the process becomes part of the client experience, thereby full-sized cookie in smaller cups. increasing customer satisfaction.For example, with Ethnographic research helps Bank of America CashPro, clients prefer self-service for upgrades. understand how to advance our core products in a They are fully vested in the change process. Engage Clients in the Evolutionary Path 36 COMMERCIAL LENDING REVIEW MAY–JUNE 2009 Banking Strategies Our strategic client program, Treasury Exchange, At the other end of the spectrum, responsibility serves to amplify our voice of the customer research. for innovation can be centralized in a shared serClients are long-term program members in senior vice center.At Bank of America, we have dedicated treasury and/or ? nance roles within their o rganizastaff focused on game-changing innovations. At tions. They meet regularly—at frequencies varying the same time, our entire organization recognizes from once per quarter to yearly. The program enables the importance of ongoing process improvement participants to share insights on best practices and and enhancements. learn from each other, while helping us to better understand their challenges and needs. A detailed executive Work with Peers summary that identi? s key discussion themes helps pinpoint areas for deepening discussion and exploraTo maintain a competitive edge, banks increasingly tion. Conference calls exploring priority topics serve will look for ways to work with clients, technolas touch points between in-person meetings. ogy companies and other ? nancial institutions We also look to Treasury Exchange members to to combine strengths. For example, in May 2008, validate and ? esh out new product ideas and to Bank of America announced a partnership with provide validation at points in the product develWells Fargo called Pariter Solutions LLC.The opment cycle. Treasury 50-50 joint venture will Exchange members have operate the commercialsubmitted innovation ized ACH platform that ideas under the auspices will be leveraged by the An incremental approach to of the program. Customer two banks. The goal is to innovation mirrors the gradual way advisory boards and spegain economies of scale in which people change. cial client programs like and better position both Treasury Exchange augbanks to develop future ment our extensive voice products with a single of the customer research. nvestment in the underlying processing engine instead of duplicative investments. It’s a platform for growth and innovation. Cultivate a Culture of Innovation It’s important to be open to ideas from all sources. That’s part of cultivating a culture of innovation. At Bank of America, all associates are invited to collaborate in the innovation proce ss. For example, associates can submit their ideas online via IdeasZone, an internal intranet site. These ideas are funneled into the idea stream and receive equal attention within our innovation process.Collaborate with Technology Innovators In banking, technology is an enabler of innovation. Therefore, it’s important that banks collaborate with their technology providers. Bank of America’s collaboration with Microsoft is a great example of how we work with technology companies to develop innovative applications. Cash positioning and forecasting continue to be key client challenges. We spoke with clients to determine how they perform cash positioning and forecasting. Treasurers might use a treasury workstation, an Excel spreadsheet or a combination of tools.However, treasurers who rely on treasury workstations typically supplement their process with an Excel spreadsheet. Our research also con? rmed that many clients have dif? culty building a historical database of in formation for trend analysis to support forecasting. COMMERCIAL LENDING REVIEW Foster Employees There are different options for organizational structure to foster an innovative environment. At Google, it’s part of everyone’s job to innovate. There is a decentralized approach to innovation in which all employees are engaged and given incentives.It’s built into their objectives and re? ected in their salary increases and bonuses. MAY–JUNE 2009 37 Banking Strategies Bank of America worked with Microsoft to develop CashPro Accelerate. This tool accepts information feeds across all of a client’s bank accounts and automates the cash-positioning process. It also builds a historical database that clients can use for forecasting. Keep Moving Forward â€Å"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Thomas Edison With an inventor’s mind-set, the idea of failure is a fallacy.Some who know best ha ve even looked at failures as a continual path forward. Besides being the still-unrivaled record holder of 1,093 U. S. patents, Thomas Edison broadened the concept of the invention to what’s known today as â€Å"innovationinvention,† R & D and commercialization. 3 Innovative companies ? nd ways to leverage new insights to keep moving forward. The creation of 3M Post-it notes is a classic story of turning failure on its head and using creativity to rede? ne a problem. Spencer Silver was working on developing a strong adhesive but invented a weak one instead.Silver’s colleague Arthur Fry came up with a novel application for the weak adhesive, which became the basis for Post-it notes—a new vehicle for communication—which Bank of America used in its CashPro innovation. Sometimes the leap is in how we look at things. Build a Brain Trust In a September 2008 issue of H ARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, Ed Catmull, cofounder of Pixar and the president of Pixar and D isney Animation Studios, talked about how Pixar fosters collective creativity. One of Pixar ’s core operating principles is that, â€Å"We must stay close to innovations happening in the academic community. 2 It’s part of the company’s effort to eliminate boundaries between different disciplines. Earlier this year, Bank of America and MIT’s Media Laboratory announced the creation of the Center for Future Banking. Over the next ? ve years, Bank of America will contribute $3 million to $5 million annually. The center is a prototype for how business and academia can work together to invent the future of an entire industry. It will bring together researchers with radically different perspectives, including behavioral economists, social scientists, computer scientists, psychologists, designers and others.The goal is to trigger unexpected new ideas that lead to innovation leaps in banking. Test, Learn, Evolve This inventor mentality is at the heart of our test and-learn environment, in which we deploy an initial solution design to get ? rsthand feedback from clients on its usability and value. At this stage, the intent is to address any issues or opportunities in the next iteration of the design. The process enables us to evolve our product design before we get to the pilot stage. As an iterative process, the test-andlearn environment is a microcosm of the broader innovation process focused at a certain point in the development process.The Intelligent Cash Manager, a new end-to-end Bank of America solution, gives a live example of the test-and-learn approach. The solution concept germinated in a series of Treasury Exchange meetings, where clients identi? ed cash handling and deposit as a major pain point. It’s an ATM-like machine that counts cash, accepts it for deposit and provides safekeeping. An issue related to jamming surfaced in the test-and-learn environment, which will inform a solution redesign. MAY–JUNE 2009 Choose Winning Concepts Vetting ideas and building a business case are key steps in the innovation process.Bank of America uses a scoring technique as part of our process for vetting ideas. Scoring criteria include whether a concept matches to plan objectives, whether it has wide applicability, its level of innovativeness and complexity and the potential magnitude of its impact. At Bank of America, for example, out of 919 ideas received this year, 10 have been submitted for funding in 2009. Building a business case is a key step. An effective business case must describe the opportunity and its alignment with strategy and also describes the target client and market within the context of the competitive landscape.Finally, it outlines the proposed approach, the risk and the ? nancial opportunity. 38 COMMERCIAL LENDING REVIEW Banking Strategies Storyboarding is a creative technique used in the early stage of ? lmmaking. Storyboarding can help speed time-to-market. By not building the entire p roduct—but rather using storyboards and prototypes in a test-and-learn environment—we retain ? exibility even as we move further into the product-development process. Flexibility enables us to prioritize the most important features and integrate feedback and new insights from customers.It helps us to make smart choices with our investment dollars as products take more tangible form. The Next Leap in the Innovation Process The ability to synthesize information into insights will be an increasingly important part of creating a valuable client experience—not only banks connecting to customers—but of customers connecting to each other for insight. Incubation and the cross-fertilization of ideas are important to the creative process. Bank of America is integrating online networking into its innovation process. For example, we are connecting participants in the Treasury Exchange program to an online forum.Our long-term vision is to link our various Treasury Exc hange client groups—which are based on industry, function and geography—into a clientcentric global collaborative network. We also plan to introduce online ideation as a way to collaborate with Treasury Exchange participants on innovation. More broadly, the idea of integrating social networking into the bank’s innovation process holds tremendous promise. With our consumer base of 59 million households, social networking can be a powerful tool for engaging customers ? rsthand in product development. hen the next step integrates multiple aspects to transform the end-to-end client experience. To cite an earlier example, the iPod integrates communication speed, mobility and storage capacity. All of these come together, along with consumer readiness for change and the introduction of the iTunes business model. Within the banking realm, clients increasingly want banking solutions to integrate into their flow—whether flow constitutes, for example, a mobile consu mer or the workflow related to a treasurer’s broader financial processes.The need to integrate payments in the broader customer experience will involve mobile technology in some form and the analysis of information to provide insight. For corporate customers, banks are already delivering time-sensitive information to personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cell phones. Information analysis and synthesis could help treasurers to improve broader ? nancial processes (for example, accounts payable or receivable), help optimize working capital and minimize cost and use payment information to deepen insight into customer behavior.We are already seeing merchants, for example, use consumer payment information to tailor coupons to a customer ’s buying preferences. Banks can deliver robust information to consumers, for example, to help them weigh product features and engage in ? nancial planning to evaluate a purchase within a desired spending budget. Perhaps, ultimately, clients will want to take their bank accounts with them, storing virtual money inside their mobile phones. Banks have an opportunity to reassert their unique role as the trusted brand in storing and moving money.Innovation will be critical to our success. What Might Be the Next Leap in Banking? Successful innovation continuously improves aspects of the customer’s experience. Leaps occur Endnotes 1 2 3 Professor at Tufts University; research focuses on creativity. How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity, HARVARD BUS. REV. , Sept. 2008, at 71. The Edison Papers, http://edison. rutgers. edu/biogrphy. htm. MAY–JUNE 2009 COMMERCIAL LENDING REVIEW 39 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Essay Example for Free

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Essay ? Charles Dickens wrote this novel because he was keenly touched by the lot of poor children in the middle decades of the 19th century. This is the reason which motivated Dickens in doing this, before writing this novel. Before he decided to this he thought of publishing leaflets instead. On the other hand some critics have suggested that Scrooge’s redemption underscores what they see as the conservative individualistic and patriarchal of Dickens Carol Philosophy. Dickens own experiences influenced him a lot in why he wrote this novel and how he cares so much for the children, who were forced to hard labour in the workhouses from such young age as 12. Before the â€Å"New Poor Law† was introduced in 1834, a high percentage of young children were forced t work to make sure that them and their families did not die of starvation. There was a well known prison called the â€Å"The Marshelsea†, it became know in the 19th century around the world through the writing of the English novelist Charles Dickens. His father which was there in 1824 for a debt of ? 40 and 10 shillings however Dickens most traumatic experience was when he was forced to leave school at the young age of 12 to work in a factory instead. Dickens already had ideas of how to use these types of experiences in a novel. Some of the social conditions such as the new poor law have been shown in the â€Å"Christmas Carol† in this particular quote: â€Å"The Treadmill and the the poor law in full vigour then? † â€Å"Both very busy sir†` This quote proves to us that Dickens used his novel to express the social conditions through it. Dickens used Scrooge as the main character to show that wealthy people always have a responsibility to help those less fortunate. He clearly shows this view at the end of the novel where he gives a young boy money to buy a turkey for the Crachit family. The family isn’t the richest but has a really warm heart. Crachit tries showing Scrooge that life is not all about money and also that he should try to move on and forget about Bella. Scrooge had a really bad experience when Bella marries someone else because she told him that he cares about money more than her. Scrooge somehow had to overcome this tragic event in his life and since then he has not been able to celebrate a successful eve without thinking of her for even a moment. In much earlier in the novel 3 old men come up to Scrooge asking for money to donate to people for Christmas, however Scrooge is a cold hearted person so instead of donating a few shillings he says â€Å"Bah Humbug. † The main character of â€Å"A Christmas Carol† is Ebenezer Scrooge. He is an elderly man who lives in London, his sister died leaving a son whose name is Fred. In addition to this Ebenezer has no family. He is a very rich banker. Scrooges clerk Bob Crachit is a middle–aged man who has six children. Ebenezer is thin and has a slight hunchback, coal grey hair and a wrinkled old face, on which he has reddish eyes, a long pointed nose and thin blue lips as cold as ice. Like his employee Bob is very well dressed. Let’s take a look at Scrooge first, before he got visited by the spirits he was a very stingy person and only cared about his own interests. He couldn’t manage to share his money and was not sensitive to the suffering of others. Ebenezer was even harsh to his employee who never cheated, is reliable, hardworking and had to endure the bad behaviour on him. Bob is satisfied with not owning anything and having no money at all. Bob is satisfied with not owning anything and having no money at all, however the only things that matter for him and make him happy are the small but the most important things in life which is his family. After Scrooge got visited by the ghosts he changed positively and you could even say that was similar to Crachit. Just like he likes Christmas, is a good and open to others, joyous and happy. He even started to share money with the poor and expressed his feelings by helping others. In my opinion Scrooge turned into a better character and I admire his sudden transformation into a better human being. Bob Crachit’s characteristics are that he is poor, has a big family, young and takes care of his close ones, joyful and nice. The crachit family live in a small cosy home but they don’t have enough money to decorate it with luxuries because the most important thing for them is too have enough money for coal/fire so that they would be warm, however most importantly all they want to happen is for Tiny Tim to be a healthy again. The miraculous transformation that Scrooge has made makes us aware that good change is never too late. Also that money cannot buy happiness you just have to share it with other people to make something good of it. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. (2017, Feb 22).

Marketing Research and Information Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Research and Information Needs - Essay Example Companies still mishandle 'line extension' projects that fail. It is imperative that new products for development be carefully chosen, "product strategy calls for complex decisions, among others, on product mix and product line" (Kotler and Armstrong, 1991, pp. 512-513). There has been a continuous rise in the demand for healthy snacks all over the world. This trend was essentially started in the United States as a result of a new health craze and obesity scare due to rising number of weight levels. Consumers now want to minimize their fat intake as well as reduce ingestion of other potential damaging sugar - substitute substances. This tendency to buy only 'healthy' foods has extended to the snack - food and drink sector where consumers want to enjoy snacks but at the same time not feel guilty or worried about potential damage to their health. The new trend towards healthier choices in snack - food was revealed by the speedy swap from carbonated drinks and carbohydrate ridden foods to 'non- carbs', "But with worldwide sales growth of carbonated beverages slowing, the growth lately has been found in non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water, teas, sports drinks, energy and health drinks, and ready-to-drink coffee" (Ashton, 2000). Health snacks had resulted in an entirely new mar... Carbonate- free drinks eventually led to a rise in the sports and energy drink sector. This market was originally dominated by PepsiCo's Gatorade and laid back SoBe. However, Coca Cola saw the potential in this sector and followed PepsiCo into energy drinks. Coca cola launched its original attempt in energy and sports drinks with PowerAde. PowerAde was declared a competitor to Gatorade and was marketed accordingly. Reaction to PowerAde in the market was feeble and Gatorade continued to lead. After several re - launches and alternations and modifications in the ingredients, PowerAde is now second runner up in the sports drink sector while Gatorade persists in remaining the first. Coca Cola started an energy drink brand, KMX, but still felt a gap in the market. Reactions to KMX were far from warm and Coca Cola required a product to fill up the space. In the first quarter of 2005, Coca Cola introduced Full Throttle, an energy drink. Full Throttle will compete with strong brands such as Red Bull as well as PepsiCo's SoBe range. External Pressures Leading to Change Requirement PepsiCo is swiftly gaining force in the international snack food market. Their success is credited largely to their lack of sentiment for their star performers, as Brady (2004) puts it, "What distinguishes PepsiCo from some competitors is an intense lack of sentimentality about its principal brands". PepsiCo asserts that it is keener to satisfying its customer's needs than preserving its existing product lines. New product introduction is PepsiCo's strategy of staying competitive, "By defining its mission as serving the customer rather than protecting its venerable brands, PepsiCo is hoping to stave off a stagnant middle age" (Brady, 2004). In order to continue to be innovative and to

Organisations Design - Approaches and Applications Essay

Organisations Design - Approaches and Applications - Essay Example What attracts job seekers to want to join Google is the one of a kind working environment at the company. Google employees have coined a phrase to explain their modes of work – Googley. As reported by the NBC news, the company has also been rated by fortune magazine as the best American company to work for (Larson, 2011). The interesting thing about Google is that it has an organization structure that is flat as opposed to the traditional hierarchical system. One would expect that such a structure would prove counterproductive but Google has clearly proved management experts otherwise. Google is a company that embraces a work ethic that is anything but conventional. According to an NBC reporter, the employees at Google are â€Å"way too happy.† When doing an interview with the human resource personnel, the reporter posses a rhetoric question, â€Å"these people are too happy†¦.seriously, can’t I see a frown here? (Larson, 2010)† It is hard to have a frown as an employee of Google. The company offers the workers such a friendly working environment by providing them with all the luxuries they will need at no extra cost. For instance, the employees have access to a physician right at the office incase they fall sick, there is a gym at the office, they have chefs that fix them five star meals free of charge, they have luxury lounges and even beds to rest if they need to take a nap†¦the list is endless. This is arguably the epitome of mixing business with pleasure but contrary to what one would expect, it has worked to continue to make Google one of the most profitable companies Google’s structure seems to answer to the contingency theory. The contingency theory states that there is no blanket solution to management of a company. It is thought wise to allow different organizations to develop their own different structures that will work for them in their different environments (Sibbet,

Healthcare organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare organization - Essay Example According to ISMP survey on non punitive culture, results of the prevailing environment are stunning. Awareness on system-based reasons of error is increasing. Organizations still need to tackle accountability of related staff in a non punitive culture. The survey points out the need to whole-heartily adopt the culture on all platforms, particularly front-line staff who may not be as conscious as doctors, nurses, and other Para-medical staff about the main principles of non-punitive culture. Deming’s Total Quality Management (TQM) principles hold the key to follow the processes that adhere to the principles of TQM. Non punitive culture necessarily points towards a paradigm change from individuals to processes; processes need to be foolproof so that there is no scope for any individual to commit errors. Here, it would be logical to quote the case analysis (Lagasse 1995) of quality of preoperative care by statistical process control and its adverse results. Out of 116 anesthetics errors, 9 were human errors and 107 were system errors. It definitely shows that the major deciding factor is the system, which should be robust enough to be measured. The big question arises – Is health care an ethical organization? Safety audits are held very often in health care organizations. Take for example the audits in neonatal unit (L Lee 2008). It is a must in clinical governance. It helps health care organizations to get high turnover and closing loopholes. Such audits help in better and efficient practice. Audit helps in maintaining standards as in the case of NHS. Regularity in conducting safety audits ensures that they are effective. It involves making of checklists for all known error-prone activities. Any of the checklist is selected and the process is followed to any point so that relevant staff performs an instant review of the ongoing work to the end number of the

Benchmark Analysis Comparing the AMD 910e and Intel 2400s Processors Essay

Benchmark Analysis Comparing the AMD 910e and Intel 2400s Processors - Essay Example For example, businesses require processors with appropriate architecture that will allow a maximum use of their IT environment, yet stable at the same time (Moore p. 169). For this paper, two of the stiffest competitors in microprocessor manufacturing will be featured: Intel with its Core i5-2400S, and; AMD’s Phenom II X4 910e. These processors were launched in the market in 2011 January and 2010 January, respectively. Table 1 shows the comparative specifications of these two processors. The Benchmarks and their Analysis A. Integer Math Test This test measures the speed and capacity of a processor to perform mathematical non-fractional numbers operations by using random 32-bit and 64-bit integers for basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication at integer buffers of 240kb per core (CPU Benchmark 2010). Intel Core i5-2400S: 28456 MHz AMD 910e: 18925 MHz In the above stats, Intel Core i5-2400S was tested using AIDA64-CPU Queen, which p erforms a high memory read/write traffic and therefore not ideal for more than a single thread system because of the possibility of creating a bottleneck leading to low scores (Vortez2011). AMD 910e was tested using the Everest Ultimate Edition (higher is better), using Vincent Rijmen, Antoon Bosselaers and Pablo Barreto’s public domain C code in ECB mode, which uses 48MB memory and fundamental x36 instructions (Wu 2010, p. 7). B. Compression Test Using memory buffers of 16kb per core, the compression test gauges how fast a processor can compress large blocks of data into smaller ones without any original data being lost in the process. The ability to compress is an important function in software application. The result of this test is in kb/second (CPU Benchmark 2010). Intel Core i5-2400S: 125 kb/sec AMD 910e: 133 kb/sec Intel Core i5-2400S was tested using the WinRAR 4.0 utility (Gavrichenkov 2011, p.4) while the AMD was tested using the WinRar Workload utility where data i s randomly generated containing deliberately introduced redundancy to increase the load in the CPU and memory. The algorithm then compresses and decompresses the data (Wu p. 5). C. Prime Number Test The Prime Number Test gauges the speed of the processor in searching for prime numbers or numbers that are divisible only by 1 and by itself such as the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11. The algorithm used for this operation uses the same loops and operations that are standard in most computers without any memory buffer (CPU Benchmark 2010). D. Encryption Test This test gauges the speed of the computer to encrypt blocks of data, an operation employed by users to store data, which can be accessed only by the user with the encryption key. It uses the blowfish algorithm and shares many of the operations used in the math test except for the large binary data manipulation and mathematical operations such as ‘to the power of’ (CPU Benchmark 2010). Intel Core i5-2400S: 372733 (traditio nal DES) AMD 910e: 93.4 The Intel 2400S was tested with John the Ripper v1.7.8, which uses the blowfish algorithm (OpenBenchMarking 2011), while the AMD 910e was tested using TrueCrypt, which is an open-source encryption package. Two hundred MB was used to run the utility that gives back an AES-Twofish-Serpent mean score. E. Floating Point Math Test A similar test to the integer math test, the floating point test measures the speed of a processor to perform basic mathematical oper

IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment Essay

IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment - Essay Example 263). The nutritive value of food is derived from the ability of a food to supply energy to the organism (McDonald et al. 263). To calculate the quantity of chemical energy present in food, it is necessary to convert it into heat energy and calculate the amount of heat it produces (McDonald et al. 264). This conversion is conducted by oxidizing the food by burning it; the amount of heat that is created from the complete oxidation of the unit weight of food is identified as the gross energy (McDonald et al. 264). The central determinant of the gross energy content of a food is its degree of oxidation as conveyed in the ratio of carbon plus hydrogen to oxygen (McDonald et al. 264). Carbohydrates contain approximately the same gross energy content of 17.5 MJ/kg DM while triglyceride fats contain lower amounts of oxygen and have a higher energy content of approximately 39 MJ/kg DM (McDonald et al. 264). Proteins have a higher level of gross energy values than carbohydrates due to the fact that they contain the oxidizeable element nitrogen (McDonald et al. 264). The present study was conducted in order to determine the energy content of four different samples of food that includes a cracker, a Mars chocolate bar, bread, and a 'Flips' chip. The researcher hypothesized that the mass of food will have no effect upon its energy content. In addition to this, it is hypothesized that the food with the highest energy content is the 'Flips' chip followed by the bread, cracker, and Mars chocolate sample. The researcher determined the energy content of the food by calculating the amount of Joules per mass in grams of each sample. Method: The researcher chose four different food samples to test for energy content. The quantities of food included a 2-gram sample of cracker, a 5.6-gram sample of Mars chocolate, a 10.4-gram sample of bread, and a 0.8-gram sample of a 'Flips' chip. There were three variables in this experiment. The first variable was the variety of food type, the second variable was the temperature of the water, and the third variable was the difference of mass of each sample of food. All other factors of the experiment were be consistent including the distance of the bunson burner from the test tube, the volume of water in each test, and the environment in which the experiment was conducted. The researcher used a beaker to measure 25cm^3 of water into each test tube. Five tests of each food were conducted in order to determine a mean value of each sample. The mass of each food sample was determined as well as the temperature of the water in each test tube before heating. Each food sample was attached to a pin and burned with a bunson burner. When the food sample burned, it was placed under the test tube until the flame burned out. During this time, the water in the test tube was stirred in order to evenly distribute heat transfer from the flame. After the flame burned out, the Celsius temperature of the water in the test tube was measured. The mass in grams of the food sample was then measured. The following formula was used in order to calculate the amount of energy each food sample contained in Joules: 25g * temperature rise of water (C) * 4.2 (J/g/C)/ mass of food (g)= Energy (J/g) This process was repeated for each food sample Results: Food Mass (g) Volume of water (cm3) Temperature after heating (oC) Temperature before heating (oC) Rise in water Temperature (oC) Energy content of food (J/g) Cracker 2 25 34 20 14 735 Mars

Evaluation of Course and Professor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evaluation of Course and Professor - Essay Example I also feel that topics that have practical applications need more comprehensive service learning initiatives to ensure that students understand and acculturate involved concepts. The curriculum should therefore incorporate a formal schedule for service learning. My opinion follows my experience in service learning that improved my understanding of theories of health education. I therefore believe that service learning in more specialized facilities such as nursing facilities or organizations that specializes in health education is necessary. More time should also be allowed for service learning because it is an effective strategy. Further, priority for service learning should be given to topics that are directly applicable care environments. Such topics include application of professional and ethical issues in provision of health education. The learning process has therefore been successful and I have identified the benefit of service learning. I therefore recommend that more attention be paid to service learning to facilitate understanding of practical application of concepts of the

Trends in Arabic Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Trends in Arabic Music - Essay Example Trends in Arabic Music Music The Arabic music that is now heard is known for the rich styles, evolution of popular trends and different implications within the entertainment industry. Recently, the popular music has expanded into international reaches that are able to present the ideologies of the culture. This moves into the folkloric elements, which use specific instrumentation and rhythms which are known throughout Arabia. These musical productions are combined with the newer elements of technology, specifically with the ability to present the music through performances, television and other multimedia images. Combining these factors has allowed the trends in Arabic music to expand and to move into the popular ideologies that reflect the culture while allowing the music to be one which is equal to the popular concepts that are now used within society (Aziz, 1). There are several divisions with the popular Arabic music which continue to set trends throughout the region. The first is known as Rai, which i s the most accepted type of music in the world today, specifically because it associates with the folk type instruments and rhythms while combining with the technology of today. . This is combined with the Sudanese and Nubian rhythms that are within the society, both which consist of fast paced rhythms, polyphonic accents and movements in the music that are specific to the Arabic culture. The rise of Arabic popular music; however, was led by the Egyptian style music through pop stars such as Amr Diab. This has created a hybrid of the Rai and specific rhythms while combining the tribal sounds with the up to date electronics known to many as the new world music (Werner, 1). Creating a Musical Style The overall trends in popular music have also led to specific styles which are now identified as Arabic in nature. This consists of both images and sounds which are used among Arabic music and which distinguish the various features of those that are listening to the music. The first part of this is based on combining the current situations with the ideologies of musical style within the region. The strong commitment to religion, secular beliefs with love and fulfillment in life and leisure activities is the main themes which are presented among those interested in the popular music. This is combined with the ideologies of art, leisure and entertainment as reflecting the ideas of society specifically with making statements about the beliefs and conditions which are in the region. The musical style is then able to create a hybrid component with the folkloric elements that drive the rhythm and sound while creating a style that is reflective of the themes of religion and relationships within the Arabic world (Neiuwkerk, 169). Another component which is now reflected in the musical style is coming from the ideal of moving into globalization. Many of the musical styles are now reflecting the elements of hybrid forms of art and transcultural realities. There are several popu lar trends which are showing this with the musical styles that are present within society. For instance, reality TV is creating a sense of critical transculturalism, which is based on political, economic and cultural changes of the time. Politically and economically, the Arabic world has changed into one which is intertwined with the associations of the Western world and

Legal Age for Alcohol Consumption Essay Example for Free

Legal Age for Alcohol Consumption Essay Different governments have age limits for legal consumption of alcohol. For instance, in most western states individuals below 18 years of age should not consume alchohol. Other countries have an age limit of 15 years (Miller, 2010). All these governments have reasons for setting this age requirements for alcohol consumption. For example, some argue that raising the legal age limit may not have an impact on society, if people do not have the will and zeal to stop irresponsible drinking. Others argue that raising the legal age limit would allow individuals to drink when they are mature and responsible (Kolander, 2011). This would reduce chances of irresponsible drinking. I believe governments should raise the legal age requirement for alcohol consumption, as an effort to reduce the negative impacts of alcohol to society. I support the idea of raising the age limit for alcohol consumption. However, I also believe that this cannot be a successful measure to deal with the negative impacts of alcohol to society, without using other avenues. For instance, governments should implement a program to educate the youth on the negative impacts of alcohol. According to reports from a number of police departments, most youth consume alcohol when they have not met the age limit. This implies that raising the age limit can only be effective if parents instill morals in their young children (Miller, 2010). Therefore, the religious groups and the family have a massive role to play in regulating early consumption of alcohol. Secondly, raising the age limit for consumption of alcohol will reduce the harm of alcohol on the health of consumers. Individuals suffer from chronic effects due to alcohol consumption when they have access to it at early ages. For instance, the danger that an individual who started consuming alcohol at the age of 18, is more severe than that of an individual who started drinking at 25. Health experts have claimed that early exposure to alcohol consumption has drastic effects on key internal body organs, compared to individuals who start consuming alcohol at late ages. In addition, raising the legal age for alcohol consumption reduces chances of addiction, due to less exposure (Billings, 2010). Early exposure to alcohol consumption has also led to a deteriorated culture in society. Families have broken up due to irresponsible drinking by children, who end up indulging in other criminal activities such as burglary, to finance their alcoholic behavior. At the current legal requirement of 18 years, most youth may not have the finances to finance their consumption of alcohol. This makes them depend on their parents by lying to them, to get money. In the event that the parents are not able to meet the financial demands of the children, the children look for other options to financial stability. Some go to the extent of stage managing kidnaps to get money from parents. This has eroded the positive values of society, especially the youth, who are the largest group of the world’s population (Kolander, 2011). In conclusion, the above illustrations indicate that early exposure to alcohol consumption has more negative effects than positives. For example, individuals have a high probability of acquiring health complications, such as lung and kidney infections. Secondly, early access to alcohol consumption also erodes the morality of society. In addition, early alcohol consumption may also affect the academic life of young adults, who end up as addicts to alcohol. These young adults also face the threat of joining illegal gangs in society. Thus, it would be reasonable to suggest that governments should consider revising the legal age limit upwards. However, other institutions in society must also aid in alleviating the negative impacts of alcohol to society. Religious groups and the family should provide advice to young adults on the dangers of early alcohol consumption. References Billings, S. (2010, October 24). Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Raised to 25 to Eliminate Deadly College Partying? Retrieved July 19, 2012, from christwire.org: http://christwire.org/2010/10/should-the-legal-drinking-age-be-raised-to-25-to-eliminate-deadly-college-partying/ Kolander, R. W. (2011). Drug Abuse Prevention. New York: Jones Bartlett Learning. Miller, W. R. (2010). Rethinking Substance Abuse: What the Science Shows, and What We Should Do

Water Scarcity is a Real Threat Essay Example for Free

Water Scarcity is a Real Threat Essay The next war ripping across continents may well be triggered by water scarcity. Already a third of the world is suffering from water shortages. Ironically, rainfall has been adequate. The water is there. But what has gone awry is its management. Water scarcity in Asia and Australia alone affects a fourth of the world’s population and is triggered by over-usage whereas in Africa, it is lack of adequate infrastructure that wreaks havoc. Water scarcity around the world has come about primarily due to quintessentially wasteful practices that have seeped into present-day agriculture which sadly mops up 80% of fresh water. Over the past 100 years, water usage has gone up by six times globally, and is threatening to double again by the year 2050, driven mainly by demands of irrigation and increased agricultural activities. Current methods of irrigation will have to be urgently revisited and more efficient means reinvented. Problems of water scarcity can best be addressed by better efficiency in its utilisation, recycling, pricing of water (and the electricity used for lifting and conveying the water) where not already in vogue, transportation without losses, leaks and pilferage, and through education of the perils of the dangers to all humanity that is presently straining at the tethers due to the current reckless abandon with which it has been mismanaged. Interestingly rich nations like Australia are not immune to water scarcity. An urban Australian on the average trashes 300 litres of water daily and the European notches 200 litres, while the sub-Saharan African makes do with less than 20 litres a day. On the other side, one never ceases to marvel at Israel, which has truly mastered the art and science of water and its sustainable utilisation, conservation and augmentation. For a country that receives a best average rainfall of about 700 mm annually (in the Zefat region in the northern mountainous terrain), its agricultural productivity puts to shame any other agricultural economy. Here, efficiency of farm production is calibrated against water used for irrigation and a deterrent placed on its wastage. With agriculture being the main culprit for abysmal water scarcity, one should look up to advances in genetic engineering that has notched a few successes in ameliorating this acute paucity of water by suitably altering the plantâ€⠄¢s architecture, reduced need for water through modifications of internal anatomy and adjustments of crop physiology, besides enabling plants to survive and succeed in saline, salty and harsh environments. Improving the efficiency of agricultural production and water use are fundamental to any blueprint for a sustainable and equitable growth. The Murray-Darling that runs through Australian agricultural heartland has been steadily receding, triggered in part by an unprecedented string of droughts and exasperated by incessant siphoning for irrigation purposes. The Mekong, running through Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam is another startling example of how a once life-sustaining force could threaten the very communities that it once helped found and nurture. Nearer at home the muffled rumblings that one hears from time to time in some high-fluted national seminar where the wind bags wax eloquently of the virtues of linking rivers to ward off a cataclysmic disaster in the making is all hog wash. The idea of ‘linking rivers’ is a dated notion, tracing its origins to Sir Arthur Cotton in the 19th century. Akin to Captain Dastur’s ‘Garland Canal’, Dr K L R ao’s proposal of a Ganga-Cauvery Link was another idea that was just as handsomely popular as it was ridiculously impractical! Rao’s plan envisaged the link to take off near Patna, pass through the basins of the Sone, Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Krishna and Pennar rivers before joining the Cauvery upstream of the Grand Anicut. Traversing 2,640 km, 60,000 cusecs of water were to be drawn from the flood flows of the Ganges for 150 days in the year. A substantial part of that water was to be lifted over 450 metres. The scheme was abandoned for its huge financial costs and large energy requirements, besides the colossal misery that it would have wreaked on hapless hamlets and populations of people in the millions along the trail of this grandiose link. Techno-economic viability apart, diversion of waters from the Ganges would have unfailingly embroiled India in an international dispute with neighbouring Bangladesh for such a flagrant violation. Based on environmental impact assessments, multi-criteria cost/benefit analyses, qualitative assessments of non-quantifiable considerations and rigorous investment appraisals, the National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development Plan summarily rejected all but one of the river-linking proposals with the conclusion that the â€Å"the assessed needs of the basins could be met from full development and efficient utilisation of intra-basin resources except in the case of Cauvery and Vaigai basins†. A PIL filed in the Supreme Court in 2002 elicited a direction to accelerate the ‘linking of rivers’ by the learned judiciary. Debatable as the propriety of judicial directions on such a subject might be, the process brought to the fore a staggering revelation of cost of the order of Rs. 5,60,000 crore, according to one estimate! As a country, we simply don’t enjoy that kind of a luxury. Instead of frittering away our limited resources on such grandiose s chemes, we’d do well to channel our energies on micro-projects that collectively aim at conservation of water and promote its sustainable use through judicious management. The success of rain-water harvesting schemes in some of our states and the resultant improvement of ground water is a case in point. Likewise, the de-silting and strengthening of temple tanks and community water bodies ought to be practiced beyond symbolic gestures of photo-ops for the politically inclined. Polluting users of water sources need to be provided alternate, technology-driven solutions and continued intransigence must attract severe penalties under the law. Populist measures of providing free use of electricity and water for agriculture must be weaned down and agricultural productivity must reflect efficient use of energy and water inputs. Water shortage hinders total sanitation project Though 50% of village panchayats have achieved 100% total sanitation and got the Nirmal Puraskar tag, defecation in the open still continues and is more evident in the plains areas of the district. According to total sanitation project officer Taranath, 65 village panchayats out of 226 have received this award from the Union government and panchayats with a population of 5,000 and above got Rs 5 lakh and panchayats below 5,000 got Rs 2 lakh cash awards with citations. He said 35 panchayats are ready to get this award as they have fulfilled all the required parameters. When TOI visited some village panchayats in the plains, the toilets constructed were being used for some other purpose and families still prefer defecating in the open. In many houses, toilets have been converted into small godowns to store agricultural seeds, manure or other materials. When asked why they werent being used for the original purpose, they attributed this to water scarcity. Many said they arent getting enough drinking water for domestic use itself. In Malnad region, this programme has gathered momentum and some villages have been achieved 100% total sanitation. Sringeri and Narasimharajapura taluk in this area have been declared total sanitation taluks. Koppa taluk is just short of three panchayats to get this prestigious tag. The project was started in 2005 and so far 1,44,808 families have shown interest in constructing their own toilets in the backyard but 1,33,362 families are yet to get converted to this idea. For BPL families, the government gives Rs.3,500 as subsidy to construct toilets but even these families are not ready to have their own toilets. Water scarcity affects business of 60% Indian companies: An overwhelming majority of Indian companies consider water scarcity an increasing business risk, prompting them to conserve the commodity, a survey has revealed. As many as 83% respondents identified inadequate availability of water as a major risk to their business, in a survey of 27 major industrial sectors conducted by the US-based Columbia Water Center in association with industry lobby FICCI. While 60% respondents said inadequate availability of water was already impacting their business, 87% said the scarcity would impact their business 10 years down the line.

Red Bull strategy

Red Bull strategy Red Bull is one of the biggest soft drink successes over the past the years. The slim blue silver can has developed a following among those who claim that it helps them with virtually everything to work better and play better. Yet Red Bull has a 70 to 90 percent market share in over 100 countries worldwide. During the past 15 years, the drink has been copied by more than 100 competitors, but such companies as Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch have been unable to take market share away from Red Bull. [Selling Power (September, 2004)] In 1982, Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull became aware of products called tonic drinks which enjoyed wide popularity in Asia. Energy drinks containing taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine and important vitamins and carbohydrates are claimed to help with physical endurance, improved reaction, speed and concentration and a feeling of well being. We can see that in the present days more than a billion cans of Red Bull are consumed each year around the world. Red Bull was launched in the UK in the mid-1990s of Austrian parentage. According to a Zenith International 2001 survey that, in 2001, it was the UKs third biggest soft drink by value, behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. In the energy and sport drink sector, estimated to be worth  £750mn, it had an 86 per cent brand share by 2000, more than double the combined sales of Lucozades energy and sports brands. The advertising slogan of the Red Bull is The Drink That Gives You Wings and focuses on the stimulant properties of the drink. The functional sector concentrated on energy drinks, with brands such as Red Bull dominated. Meanwhile, the focus for sports drinks is replenishing carbohydrates and electrolytes quickly, and rehydrating the body after exercise. This subsector is still dominated by Lucozade Sport with  £34 mm in sales in 2000, but Coca-Cola intends to prelaunch its Powerade brand to capture a significant share, using Get Up, Stay Up as its campaign theme. Lucozade Sport in creating a new sector that is in tune with changes in lifestyles and reflects the development of sport physical activity. [Hawkes (1997), Johnson (2001), Newnham (2001)]  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Analysis of the external and internal environments of an organization influence strategic choices and compare the marketing proposition that, The UK total cold drinks market is large and competitive area in which, many powerful and famous brands with large marketing budgets competing for share. In the cold drinks market, increases in the soft drinks category have been slowing. However, growth has been driven considerably by the energy drink sector, which was worth an estimated  £940 million in 2003 and more than  £392 million in 2004 and still has grown 26% since 2003. (ACNielsen) The Energy drink category continues to grow at pace with brand extensions and new entrants to the market emerging every year. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the categorys leading brands. [Mintel Energy Stimulant drinks Market Report August 2006]. The Product Red Bull improves emotional status and vigilance, increases performance, reaction speed and concentration. Customers drink Red Bull for such benefits as these.   In times of long school hours, stressful work, and very tiring days, customers look to a product that vitalizes body and mind. Red Bull does just that!   Red Bull even supplies a sugar free version for the average health-concerned user.   The Target Audience (Market) At this point, the concept of market segmentation, targeting and positioning are key to the success of firms marketing efforts. Red Bull targets an active audience, especially those between the ages of 17 and 23, male and female.   Characteristically, 17- to 23-year-olds are either thinking about college, in college, or just recently graduated from college.   It is currently in a consumers life that dramatic schedule changes are happening.   High school atmospheres are considerably slower than the pace of college atmospheres. Sports, education, clubs and part-time jobs are far more challenging in a college setting.   Red Bull is targeting customers across the world that it is at the turning point in their lives when energy is a necessary component to successfully make it through any given day.   Red Bull is a perfect solution for 17- to 23-year-olds who live fast-paced, hectic lifestyles while hardly making it through long days and nights of classes and studying. Segmentation is also important because firms cannot appeal to all customers at once, especially not with the same offering.   Rather, firms need to design products and services that fit with particular groups of individuals. Firms can segment their market in a number of ways, including geographical which is mainly people who are situated in the city, as they are likely to be really busy and tired. Red Bull seems to have a cooler in most bars and clubs in the city as well as in convenient stores.Demographic, mainly concentrate on men and women of all ages but focusing on people aged 16-29. Psychographic for example, the people who are tired or stressed and want to relax and have fun and finally behavioural segmentation especially students and young professionals to boost energy during work long day at work. The type of marketing strategy that should be employed will vary on the target market. Choosing an appropriate target-marketing strategy will depend on a number of factors. Once a firm has selected the segment within which it wishes to compete, it must then choose a specific position within said segment where it will distinguish itself [Kotler and Keller, 2006; Kotler, 1980, 1985]. The requirement of market positioning refers more broadly to the notion of competitive advantage. The Proposition Red Bull is The Drink That Gives You Wings. This is Red Bulls international slogan for its energy drink. Red Bull is a popular drink amongst men in particular, with its largest consumers consisting of athletes, students, and night-clubbers in need of a late night lift.   However, the brand is marketed to opinion leaders and hard-working people with active lifestyles, as the companys website claims. Red Bull succeeds by remaining exactly the same. Consumers can choose with sugar or without. There is no other choice. As founder Dietrich Mateschitz says We dont bring the product to the people, we bring people to the product. Red Bull marketing maintains a sense of product mystique that makes consumers feel special. Customers can relate to the experience they were having when they encountered the drink and they adjust their values to the attributes of the product. The Competition Red Bull is competing with major competitor Lucozade in the soft drink market and they are the driving forces in the rapidly increasing energy drink market. A close assessment of their websites reveals that they have a similar focus in their messages, so they seem to be competing for the same customers. However, the message delivery is very different. This would seem to indicate that they are not concentrating their strategic objectives on stealing market share or overall market share growth. Instead they recognize that the whole market share pie is rising. For that reason it seems logical that each company would be concentrating on bringing in a greater number of the consumers new to the energy drink market. Red Bull is also competing with some companies such as show below; Vault -Markets product as a hybrid: Drinks as a Soda, Kicks like an Energy Drink The Taste. The Quench. The Kick. -A Coca-Cola product -Product Variations: Vault Zero (diet version) -Commercial advertisements display men doing extraordinary things while drinking Vault. Monster -Tagline: Unleash the Beast -Green and black themed product and website -Product variations: Lo-Carb, Assault(soda drink), Khaos(juice drink) -Khoas slogan: 70% Juice, 100% Monster -Promote Supercross racing events -Promote mixing Monster with alcoholic beverages, website provides mixed drink recipes. Rock Star -Edgy tone -Rock music plays on the website; Rod Stewart, Fernando Vargas and Snoop Dogg are pictured on the homepage of the site, Party Like A RockStar -Product variations:   Diet RockStar, RockStar Energy Cola, Get Juiced -Get Juiced slogan- 70% Real Juice, 100% Energy -Website sells merchandise: t-shirts, hats, wristbands, etc. -Youthfully imaged founder CEO Advertising Objectives Red Bull campaign strategy is to redirect the advertising from the former extreme sport athlete audience to a demographically larger target audience college students.   What will Red Bull campaign do for the target? Red Bull campaign will hit a soft spot and plant their product deep in to the minds of the target audience by using a childhood cartoon character for instance, Popeye the Sailor Man who has recently been missing in action on current television.   Their focus group study revealed that the targeted college student audience often wishes they could turn back the hands of time and relive their childhood when life was easy and they had all the energy in the world to laugh and play.   The goal is to reach their targets soft spot by using a childhood cartoon character pleasant childhood memories.   The Ad Pyramid (AIDA) Attracting Attention: Using a cartoon character, which the target market has not seen since childhood, to promote Red Bull will grab the attention of the 17- to 23-year-old audience.   Holding Interest:   The tagline, Tastes Better Than Spinach, pokes fun at the taste of Red Bull, using the technique of humour to keep the consumers interested in the product.   Sparking Desire:   The target market will also long for the desired energy results of Red Bull who long to return to the days of childhood.   Influencing Action: The interest in and the desire to drink Red Bull will add enough fuel to the consumers flame to make the target need and/or want to go out and purchase their product. Overall goal of Advertising Campaign: Red Bull wants to have at least 75-80% of all college students in the country drinking or highly aware of their drink.  Ã‚   The Media and Creative Requirements Creative Brief/Copy Platform Red Bull will reach out to the college student market by using humoured advertising, along with product benefits to prominently put Red Bull on the college campus map.   Our strategy is to implement pulse advertising to stress Red Bulls importance through midterm and final times by way of the following media:   MTVs the 10-Spot, People Magazine, and college radio stations nationwide. Red Bull is bringing Popeye back into the spotlight!   Popeye and his infamous love, Olive Oyl, will use their persuasion skills to remind the target market of sweet childhood memories, as a result, aiding in the desire to drink Red Bull for strength and energy.   What is Popeyes message, you ask?   Tastes Better Than Spinach is the hot button tagline we will use to reach the target market.   In the print and broadcast advertisements, Popeyes character will appear in various college settings, while studying and drinking Red Bull to gain energy, instead of eating what he is famous for, cans of spinach.   The Red Bull cans and website promote the specific product benefits increasing performance, concentration and reaction speed, improving vigilance and emotional status, and stimulating the metabolism.   We plan to stick with the effective strategy of humoured animation advertising to sell Red Bull Energy Drink across the United States.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Production requires the hiring of animators, scheduling studio time for voiceovers, hiring actors for the voiceovers, and obtaining the rights to use Popeye and Olive Oyl in advertisements.   Final edits are expected within the production elements. Popeyes strength and energy will flow into the college students of America. The result:   sky-rocketed Red Bull sales! Media Rationale People Magazine Many young adults within our target market read this weekly magazine.   People Magazine, constantly available for reading, is our chosen media outlet that can reach our target at nearly any time of the day.   People Magazine often sits in the lobby or waiting area of schools and businesses, giving us the opportunity to reach out to the consumers in many places and at many times of the day.   The creative vision of having the popular cartoon character, Popeye, drinking Red Bull in college settings will scream to our target that Red Bull Energy Drink is a necessity for the average college student.   MTVs the 10-Spot College students, far and wide, take a break from studying to tune in to the popular MTV 10-Spot.   Red Bull commercial advertisements during the highly rated Real World/Road Rules Challenge will clearly remind our audience of the energy they crave to make it through many hours of homework after their much needed break is over.   A constant reminder with three commercial slots during this half hour television show will have the target market running out to the nearest venue to buy Red Bull Energy Drink.  Ã‚  Ã‚   College Radio Stations What better way to reach our target audience than by pouring our product advertisement right into the heart of their schools media college radio stations!   Students are exposed to the sound of college radio in general public campus areas, such as cafes, restaurants, hallways and lounges.   Advertisements are to run between the times of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.   Surveys reveal that the target market prefers to drink Red Bull in the evening.   The evening targeting strategy will reach students after dinner hours when they are getting ready for gruelling night classes and/or long nights of studying.   Conclusion I can say that, advertising is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services by an identified sponsor to a targeted audience and delivered primarily through the mass media. Advertising has much strength. It can reach a large mass audience to intensify broad-based demand for a product, build brand awareness, create long-term brand images and brand positions, and increase brand knowledge effectively. On the hand advertising has several weaknesses also. It is perceived as intrusive and as cluttering the environment. It is also wastes many impressions, so it may not be cost-effective, especially if the business is targeting a niche market.  Ã‚   If I want to critically evaluate how analysis of the external and internal environments of an organisation influence strategic choices and compare the marketing propositions of Red Bull this assessment show that, the energy drink market is competitive and rapidly increasing in the existing market sector. Therefore, selection of advertising media for Red Bull is one of the most important and complicated of all marketing communications decisions. Media planning must be coordinated with marketing strategy and with other aspects of advertising strategy. Bibliography Burnet, J. and Moriarty, S. (1998) Introduction to Marketing Communications: An Integrated Approach, by Prentice Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Geld, B. D., Hong, J. W. and Zinkhan, G. M. (1985) Communications Effects of Specific Advertising Elements: An Update in Current Issues and Research in Advertising, vol 11, ed. James H. Leigh and Claude R. Martin, Jr. (Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan.   Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2004) Principles of Marketing, (10th edition), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006) Marketing Management, (12th edition), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Mintzberg, H. and Lampel, J. and Kim, J.B. and Ghoshal, S. (2003) The Strategy Process: Concept Contexts Cases (4th edition), published by Pearson Education Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press Porter, M.E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press. Shimp, T. A. (2000) Advertising Promotion: Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, 5th edn,by Harcourt, Inc. Electronic sources: Superbrands Book 2004 www.red-bull.com www.redbullrampage.com www.bevnet.com/reviews/redbull www.hoovers.com/red-bull www.brandchannel.com www.lanceandeskimo.com/chefelf/bev_lucozade.shtml www.business2000.ie/cases/cases/case4.htm www.begleys.com/stats.html www.thelocalshop.com/default Selling power sep 2004 REFERENCES Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2004) Principles of Marketing, 10th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006) Marketing Management, 12th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press Porter, M.E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press. Superbrands Book 2004 Hawkes (1997), Johnson (2001), Newnham (2001) Mintel Energy Stimulant drinks Market Report August 2006 Selling power sep 2004 APPENDIX 1. FIGURE 1:   [Source: Nielsen value share data, MAT to December 27th 2006]. 2. FIGURE: Typical off-trade retail prices of energy and stimulant drinks and pack sizes, (2006). Red Bull Solstis Lucozade Original Energy Purdeys Red Devil Feelfine Tesco Kick Average price  £0.96  £0.90  £0.75  £0.70  £0.90  £1.09  £0.48p Pack size 250ml 250ml 380ml 330ml 250ml 250ml 250ml According to figure 1, Lucozade has been the market leader in the energy drink category with just under 60% value share of the category since its launch. The biggest competitors such as, Red Bull with 27% market share and PowerAde 4.5% market share respectively. In 2003 has also witnessed the introduction of several private label sport and energy drink launches from the major grocers. The rest of the market is made up with a plethora of smaller brands, predominantly operating in the stimulant drinks sector, and distributed via the impulse channel and the on-trade environment. [See figure 2: Typical off-trade retail prices of energy and stimulant drinks and pack sizes, 200 Appendix 2 Posters The Drink That Gives You Wings Even If you are a HERO!!! Tastes Better Than Spinach

Life, Death, and Cancer :: Essays Papers

Life, Death, and Cancer The vast majority of people go though life taking things as they are; they seem to never want to know how things work or why something happens the way it does. Think about it, how does a plan fly, or how does an engine run. These innovations were discovered many years ago and took much time and effort to discover and perfect. If a person were to look at the world, there is not much that they could say â€Å"I know how this works†, rather they say â€Å"I wonder why this happens as it does†. Well one of the most important things in the world is medicine, or the medical world. Without the past works of doctors, surgeons, and those who have helped pave the way, the world would be devastated. One of the most important and dangerous areas of surgery is that of the brain. The brain is one of the most complex parts of the body and takes much time and effort to understand. If a part is so complex that is controls actions, thoughts, feelings, contains knowledge and facts , just think about how hard it would be to really understand what this part is capable of doing. Such complex things such as the brain require more effort and time to understand than any engine or plane could ever have. Without the dedication that these people had, the information that we have today would never be possible. The technology that was present back in the day was nothing more then steel, a mirror, paper, and a pen. The way that this information was received is amazing; to just imagine what the possibilities are for the future is going to be outstanding and the risks will become nothing of the past. The past generations have set a standard for excellence and a need of knowledge; what the future holds is even greater. History is one of the most important things in success of surgery but to be better educated on the topic of cancer one must know what cancer is, the types of cancer, and the solution s to eliminate cancer in general. One of the most exciting things about the discovery brain cancer is the history behind the complex operation. To think that back in the eighteen hundreds physicians and doctors had the capability to open the human brain and surgically remove the tumor in the brain.

time management Essay -- essays research papers

Time Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The way a person manages time effects the efficiency of their life. There are many ways that will help in time management. College students for example have many responsibilities. The top priority being school. Students must have time to go to class and show their best of their abilities to finish all work that needed to be done. Some students may have to fit work into their daily schedule. As Rock-Richardson describes,  ¡Ã‚ §As an undergrad, I put my self through two solid years of full-tuition college by working as a daycare provider [ ¡K] ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Rock-Richardson 12). In order to be successful at the tasks the student must eat properly and get enough sleep. The one thing that should be learned is motivation and the famous saying  ¡Ã‚ §Never give up. ¡Ã‚ ¨ If a task must be done and it is felt that there is no time, that is just the misunderstanding of time. The first step in beginning better time management is to write it into an organizer. An organizer is the most helpful notebook a student can purchase. Carol Kanar says,  ¡Ã‚ §Your schedule is the result of the inward decision you make to control events instead of letting events control you ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Kanar 93). For a student to remember important dates such as test dates they must be written down and observed. Major dates to remember are exam dates. There will be numerous tests and assignments during one quarter, which cannot be memorized. This organizing will help in figuring out how much study time the...

Educational Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Educational Philosophy Webster’s dictionary defines the word educate as to develop and cultivate mentally or morally; train; instruct; teach. I would like to be someone who educates because educators, or teachers, help people and have an influence over their students. A teacher is someone who earns respect and is looked up to by others. I want to be a teacher because I want to be able to help people and make an impact on someone’s life. When I become a teacher, I want to have an orderly and structured classroom. I want the children in my class to be comfortable and in the best environment for learning. When the children come into the gymnasium, I want them to go into the locker room and get dressed to participate and come out and line up on a certain spot, which is assigned to them. Hopefully, by lining them up it will discourage discrimination and let the children make new friends. The walls in the gymnasium and the locker room will display all the rules and procedures of the class, the gymnasium, the locker room, and the school. It will also have the policies and various procedures of the school for the students to refer to. The activities will be appropriate. I will inform the students as to where and when equipment is and used. I will inform them as to when it is appropriate to get the equipment out and to put it back in its place. I see myself as a progressive teacher according to my styles of teaching. I will establish a non-authoritarian classroom. This means that I will be asking my students for help in making the rules and consequences for the gymnasium. We will decide the severity of the rule that was broken and match it with an equally severe punishment. We will decide as a group what kind of organization we will have in the gymnasium. There will be incentives for good behavior in physical education class. Rewards will vary for many reasons, such as weather, time of year, time, etc. I will inform my students as to what type of teaching style I liked when I was in school and ask them for their opinions on what type they would like, however that does not necessarily mean I will use what they suggest. I might integrate some of their suggestions into my own teaching style.

Why Was the Byzantine Empire Able to Expand to the East in the Late Ninth and Tenth Centuries?

Why was the Byzantine Empire able to expand to the east in the late ninth and tenth centuries? In the seventh and eighth century the Byzantine Empire was overwhelmed by Arab attacks resulting in the loss of Syria, Egypt and North Africa. The swift loss of the Empire’s lands and the continuous Arab sieges on Constantinople appeared to be signs of the end of the Byzantine Empire. In the late ninth and tenth centuries however this had changed, surprisingly within these centuries the Byzantine Empire experienced a period of revival.It was a period of increased trade and prosperity, a revival of the Empire’s economy. The Byzantine’s military had begun a process of transformation through new military tactics and reorganisation which made it a formidable fighting force. Simultaneously as these changes occurred, the Abbasid Caliphate had weakened significantly; a slave revolt and political divisions resulted in the split of the Abbasid Caliphate into three smaller Caliph ates. The combined factors resulted in the expansion of the Byzantine Empire in the east in the late ninth and tenth centuries.The most significant cause for this expansion was the army, specifically the use of new tactics and the reorganisation of the Byzantine army. The revival of the Byzantine economy was important as the increased trade and prosperity allowed greater taxation which could then be spent on the army for better weaponry and heavy Cavalry divisions. The revival of the economy is a contributing factor however it is subordinate to the army which was crucial. This is because the military success was stimulated to a greater degree by leadership and improved tactics rather than weaponry which was influenced by the revival of the economy.Without the introduction of new tactics and the reorganisation of the Byzantine army; the Byzantine Empire would not have been as successful in the expansion in the east. The decline and the splitting of the Abbasid Caliphate were contribu ting factors as the emerging Hamdanid Caliphate was weaker than its predecessor making it more exposable to attacks. This did not however mean the complete collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate. Its successor the Hamdanid Caliphate was still powerful, therefore it was the army reforms and new tactics which were the most significant reason in allowing the Byzantine to defeat the Arabs and make ains in the east. The seventh and eighth centuries were periods characterised by the ‘Themes’. These were military districts with their own military governor and individual militia to defend each province in response to the new Arab threat. In the ninth and tenth centuries there was a shift in this policy. There was greater need for a military force for offensive assaults rather than defensive purposes. This resulted in the creation of the Tagmata, a paid, disciplined and highly trained army.The Byzantine army â€Å"evolved into a much more offensive tactical structure the main causes being the need to operate effectively on campaigns which demanded more than the seasonally available theme armies. † The shift from regional militias to a professional and well-disciplined army was crucial for the Byzantine Empires expansion in the east. It gave the Empire the ability to launch offensive campaigns; thereby allowing the Empire to make gains in the east which would not have been possible using the thematic militias as they were not suited to such warfare.The introduction of new tactics and the reorganisation of the Byzantine army was a fundamental factor in the expansion in the east during the ninth and tenth centuries. Generals could utilise field manuals which produced â€Å"a flexible yet hard hitting force at their disposal that could respond appropriately to a range of different situations. † These field manuals also produced military drills to better prepare and improve the overall quality of their soldiers. The ‘De Velitatione’ is one example of these field manuals it states: There is no other possible way†¦for you to prepare for warfare except by first exercising and training the army under you command. You must accustom them to, and train them in, the handling of weapons and get them to endure bitter and wearisome tasks and labours. † The use of field manuals ultimately improved the quality of the commanders and the soldiers which he controlled. This produced a professional and disciplined Byzantine army which could launch attacks in the east; compared to the themed militias. The restructuring of the Byzantine army was important for increasing its ferocity and effectiveness in battle.There was a greater emphasis on the use of heavily armoured cavalry called the Kataphraktoi in the Byzantine army. They were required to have â€Å"iron helmets heavily reinforced so as to cover their faces †¦ so that only their eyes appear. They should also wear leg guards. They must have sturdy horses covered in armour †¦ of pieces of felt and boiled leather fastened together down to the knees so that nothing of the horse’s body appears except its eyes and nostrils. † The Kataphraktoi were the â€Å"elite strike force† within the army . The use of heavily armoured cavalry increased the destructive force of the Byzantine army when attacking.The reorganisation and new military tactics of the Byzantine army were important but this was assisted greatly by skilled leadership. In the ninth and tenth century the army benefited from strong leadership which was imperative for further expansion. The Emperor Nikephorous and the Emperor John I Tzimiskes are examples of excellent leaders. John I Tzimiskes appointed commanders who were â€Å"known for their skill and experience in military matters. † This was crucial as commanders who had experience and were skilful would be more able in battle; increasing the likelihood of victory in the east.Nikephorous is described as outstripping â€Å"every man of his generation for wisdom and intelligence. † Nikephorous understood the importance of a paid, highly-trained and equipped army. John Skylitzes notes that Nikephorous imposed additional taxes and even requisitioned supplies so that his army could be well paid and ready for campaign . This is vital as a paid and well supplied army will have greater morale for battle. The reform and the restructuring of the Byzantine army as well as its strong leadership was a decisive factor.The focus of the Byzantine military shifted from the thematic militias to a highly trained and disciplined army capable of defeating the Arabs on numerous occasions; including the capture of Crete in 961 and the siege of Tarsos in 965. The revival of the Byzantine economy is an important factor in the Empire’s ability to expand east in the late ninth and tenth century. A professional, large standing army would require a thriving economy to pay for it and in the ninth century â€Å"two-thirds† of state expenditure was spent on defence and the army .Constantinople was a major port for trade linking Europe to Asia. The Byzantine Empire produced valuable, high quality goods such as Byzantine Silk which was traded as far as modern England. There was a six-fold increase in the minting of bronze coins which is â€Å"evidence of a rise in trade. † The rise in trade within the Byzantine Empire increased the government’s resources as it benefited from higher tax revenue from imports and exports. Increased tax revenue resulted in greater military expenditure; providing the military equipment for the army which made it so effective in battle.This can be illustrated by the fact that although â€Å"average pay increase of some 62 per cent† and the rise in the army payroll of â€Å"140 per cent†, while the government still ran a surplus . The revival of the Byzantine economy was important, as it helped to finance and pay for the army yet this is subordinate to the reform of the Byzantine army. The revival of the economy allowed greater financing of the army for weapons and heavy cavalry. This is only a contributing factor to the Byzantine Military gains in the East.Greater emphasis of the Byzantine successes should be placed on the leadership, the reorganisation of the army and the use of new tactics; which caused the shift from the thematic militias to a professional army. The decline of the Abbasid Empire was a significant reason for the expansion of the Byzantine Empire in the east in the late ninth and tenth century. When the Byzantine Empire was experiencing a period of economic revival, the Abbasid Empire was experiencing economic decline. The richest area of the Abbasid Empire was Iraq and the â€Å"government was dependent on the revenue. The tax revenue of the Abbasid Empire was crucial for paying its army which had made the Arabs formidable. The Zanj rebellion of 869-883 was a serious slave r ebellion in south Iraq that â€Å"threatened the very survival of the caliphate and the struggle against them was a war to the death. † The Zanj rebellion was supressed, but the economic consequences were catastrophic for the Abbasid Empire. The slave farming and â€Å"large scale reclamation of land was never begun again and it seems unlikely that the city of Basra ever fully recovered. This rebellion caused the tax revenue of the Abbasid Empire to fall substantially in the long term from 100 million dirhams to 30 million dirhams by the beginning of the tenth century . The economic decline caused the Abbasid Empire to become increasingly unable to pay the salaries of its soldiers triggering instability, compared to the Byzantine Army which was paid regularly. The economic decline produced a â€Å"period when caliphs succeeded one another with bewildering speed: four different rulers being proclaimed and accepted as caliphs, of whom at least three were subsequently killed b y assassination or rebellion. The Abbasid Empire could no longer finance a large army as it had done in the seventh and eighth centuries and it was this inability to pay its soldiers that caused instability in the governing of the Empire. Ultimately the economic pressure caused the Abbasid Empire to split in the tenth century. In 929 the Independent Umayyad Caliphate in Spain was established and in 969 the Shiite Fatamids seized Egypt. What remained of the Abbasid Empire, closest to the Byzantine Empire was the new Hamdanid Empire. This had significantly less tax revenue and resources at its disposal which meant less revenue to spend on its army.Consequently the Hamdanid Empire was far weaker than its predecessor, making it easier for the Byzantine Empire to expand in the east in a period of economic revival and military reform. The decline of the Abbasid Empire caused the new Arab caliphate to be more susceptible to Byzantine attacks however it was the reform of the army which was the decisive factor for expansion in the east. Economic decline may have weakened the Abbasids ability to pay its army which caused discontent, yet it was still in a reasonably strong position at the beginning of the tenth century.The death of the Caliph Al Muktafi in 908 marks â€Å"the high point of the Abbasid revival. Not only were Syria and Egypt subdued but the treasury was full and the caliph left 15 million dinars. The army seems to have been effective and firmly under the control of the caliph and his civilian administrators. † The Abbassid Empire did not split until much later in the tenth century yet the Byzantine Empire was still able to inflict defeats including the battle of Lalakaon in 868 and at the Battle of Bathys Ryax in 872. Therefore the underlining factor which allowed the Byzantine Empire to expand to the east was its own army reforms.Even with the split of the Abbassid Empire and although the Hamdanid Empire was significantly weaker, it was still able to launch successful offensives against the Byzantine Empire. In 956 Saif al Daulah had â€Å"penetrated deeply into the Byzantine frontier region, caused a great deal of damage and dislocation to the local population and the military command, totally outmanoeuvred his enemy, outwitted them in a short, sharp field action, and returned safely laden with booty. † This emphasises that the Arabs were not weakened to such an extent where they could be easily beaten.It also highlighted consequences when the Byzantine commanders â€Å"failed to follow the strategy. † In the ninth and tenth centuries the Byzantine Empire was able to make gains in the east. This was a result of a period of Byzantine revival and the Abbasid Empires decline. The economic revival of the Byzantine Empire was beneficial as there was greater trade which increased tax revenue which in turn paid for the army. The Abbasid Empires economic decline in the long term caused the eventual split of the empire making it much weaker and open to Byzantine attacks.The most fundamental factor was the reform of the army, the use of new tactics and the reorganisation of the Byzantine military. The shift from thematic militias to a disciplined and highly trained army using heavy cavalry was crucial in the expansion in the east. Bibliography HALDON, J. , ‘Byzantium at War’, in The Fall of Constantinople: The Ottoman Conquest of Byzantium. Tempus, 2007. HALDON, J. , The Byzantine Wars. Tempus, 2001. HOURANI, A, A. History of the Arab Peoples. Warner Books 2009. KENNEDY, H. , The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century.Pearson Education, 1986. LEO THE DEACON, The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century, trans. A. -M. Talbot and D. Sullivan. Dumbarton Oaks, 2005. LUTTWAK, E. N. , The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire. Harvard University Press, 2009. Nikephoros II Phokas, Praecepta Milit aria in E. McGeer, Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1995. SKYLITZES, John, A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057. Cambridge University Press, 2010. TREADGOLD, W. , The Byzantine Revival, 780-842. Stanford University, 1988.