Beowulf – Defining God

BEOWULF: Defining God The epic poem of Beowulf is truly one-of-a-kind. What other old world poem can lay claim to withholding its own pagan roots and references while being transcribed by a Christian poet? Like other poems of the ‘old world', Beowulf's story has its beginnings in oral tradition. Around 850 AD the stories were culminated and written down in the Anglo-Saxon language of the time by a Christian poet. The poet doesn't let the fact that they were Christian severely affect the poem either. That does not mean that his opinions are kept quiet. There are plenty of references to the Christian God throughout the entire poem. It makes you wonder exactly how many different ways can someone refer to â€Å"Almighty God†[1314]. And let us not forget the ubiquitous Bible lesson; â€Å"And from Cain there sprang misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel, the banished and accursed†[1265-1266]. But our poet does not loose sight that these people are pagans with this reference; â€Å"†¦ s he advanced, hurrying to address the Prince of Ingwins†[1318-1319]. Ingwins are the friends/worshipers of the god Ing; in other words the Danes of this poem. Being pagan, they are also unaware of the origins of the ‘misbegotten' as noted when Hrothgar says: â€Å"They are fatherless creatures, and their whole ancestry is hidden in a past of demons and ghosts† [1355-1356]. Give credit where credit is due, the poet remained true to both religions without compensati ng for the other; â€Å"praise God†1398. OK, which one?

Network Operating System Essay

A Network Operating System is an operating system that includes special functions for connecting computers and devices into a network. The term network operating system, however, is generally reserved for software that enhances a basic operating system by adding networking features. Network operating system implements protocol stacks as well as device drivers for networking hardware. This paper will identify the Domain Name Server (DNS), Web Server, Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), and the Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS). Domain Name Server (DNS)Domain Name Server, also known as DNS, is an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. All addresses in the internet are bases on IP addresses. The job of the DNS is to translate the IP Addresses into domain names. DNS are very important but completely hidden from the internet. For example instead of typing 69.147.11.210 we can type www.yahoo.com and get the same result. The Domain Name Server (DNS) distributes the responsibility for assigning domain names and mapping them to IP networks by allowing an authoritative server for each domain to keep track of its own changes, avoiding the need for a central registrar to be continually consulted and updated. DNS is a database system that translates a fully qualified domain name into an IP address. If a DNS does not know how to translate a particular domain name it will asks another DNS until the correct IP address is returned. Web ServerA web server is a computer that delivers Web pages. Every Web server has an IP address and possibly a domain name. For example, if you enter the URL http://www.yahoo.com in your browser, this sends a request to the server whose domain name is yahoo.com/mail.html. The server then fetches the page named mail.html and sends it to your browser. Any computer can be turned into a Web server by installing server software and connecting the machine to the Internet. There are many Web server software applications, including public domain software from NCSA and Apache, and commercial packages from Microsoft, Netscape and others. Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)WINS is a service run on Windows NT servers to provide Windows clients a way to find other Windows computers. WINS (Windows Internet Naming Service) resolves Windows network computer names (also known as NetBIOS names) to Internet IP addresses, allowing Windows computers on a network to easily find and communicate with each other. Using a WINS server is essential for any Windows client computer to work with other Windows computers over the Internet. In addition, using a WINS server is essential for any Windows client computer at Indiana University that intends to use Microsoft network resources. To use WINS services, you must insert into your TCP/IP networking configuration the IP address of the WINS servers you wish to use. Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS)One of Cisco’s strongest commitments in technology has been Internet Protocol (IP). Internet Protocol routing is the foundation for the internet. It is probably the most important technology in the past twenty years. Creating efficient use of network bandwidth by forwarding packets of data to the appropriate networks is what Internet Protocol routing is all about. The management team at Cisco is planning for the future with products like its Internetworking Operating System (IOS) software, which was created to provide the intelligence on the network, a basis for quality of service, and security on the internet. Services like Cisco’s IOS software help to drive the growth of the internet by creating new applications like real time trading, interactive support, and on demand media (Cisco Innovation & Technology News). Cisco IOS is a package of outing, switching, internetworking and telecommunications functions integrated with a multitasking operating system. Cisco IOS is the most common software used on most of Cisco routers and switches. Most Cisco products that run IOS also have one or more â€Å"feature sets† or â€Å"packages†, typically eight packages for Cisco routers and five packages for Cisco switches. One of the main characteristics of Cisco IOS is that it is command line interface (CLI). This style has been copied by other networking products. It provides a fixed set of multiple-word commands. The set of command available depends on the privilege level of each user. ConclusionNetwork Operating Systems are essential part for todayÂ’s network. This paper only covered some of these operating systems that are currently used and most of them are invisible to the regular user. Most users donÂ’t even know that they existed or how they work. References Webopedia retrieved November 19, 2007 from:http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/DNS.htmSearchnetworking.com retrieved November 19, 2007 from:http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci214124,00.htmlAbout.com retrieved November 19, 2007 from:http://compnetworking.about.com/od/softwareapplicationstools/l/bldef_nos.htmIndiana University retrieved November 19, 2007 from:http://kb.iu.edu/data/adeo.htmlCisco retrieved November 19, 2007 from:http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/iosswrel/ps1818/products_tech_note09186a008015083e.shtml andhttp://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/iosswrel/ps1828/products_white_paper09186a008018305e.shtml#t14

Eight Amendment of the U.S. Constitution - Freedom from Cruel and Research Paper

Eight Amendment of the U.S. Constitution - Freedom from Cruel and unusual Punishment - Research Paper Example The cruel and usual punishment case laws and statutes have helped to define our current application of the law with respect to the 8th amendment. George Cole (2006) emphasized cruel and unusual punishment includes death penalty, torture, inhuman and degrading punishment, and excessive fines and excessive deprivations. Such punishment is unpopular because it unnecessarily imposes excessive torment or embarrassment on the convicted criminals. Historically, the law makers of the English Bill of rights if 1689 coined the words cruel and usual punishment in its crafting of the English version of the bill of rights. William Schabas (2008) states the United Nations General Assembly included in its international bill of rights the phrase â€Å"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumn or degrading treatment or punishment† in Article 5 of its Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Following suit, the United States included the same provisions in it 1787 Amendment to the United States Constitution. In 2008, Greg Roza (2011) reiterated the United States Supreme Court ruled that cruel and usual punishment wa s meted by American soldiers when they use waterboarding to torture the Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Likewise, the American soldiers mistreated and forced the prisoners to participate in humiliating activities. According to the Eight Amendment, the law preventing the implementation of cruel and unusual punishment was enforced to eliminate prior methods of punishments classified as cruel and unusual. For example, impalement was form of cruel and unusual punishment becauese the punishers should pierce the person’s body with a long killing tool. Here, the person would suffer a painful and slow death. This type of European and Asian punishment was popular during the time of Ivan the Terrible. Other forms of cruel and unusual punishment included drawing and quartering, embowelling alive, public dissecting, beheading, and burning alive [Wilkerson V. Utah, 99 U.S. 130, 135 (1878)]. The courts allowed electrocution to be excempt from the list of cruel and unusual punishment [In re Kemmler, 136 U.S. 436 (1890)]. Complaints about cruel and unusual punishment had been voiced in 1789. Back then, the bill rights proponents included the fight to eliminate cruel and unusual punishment. This is fou nd in the Annals of Congress 754 (1789). English history laid the path to the inclusion of the â€Å"cruel and unsual punishment† clause in its 1689 bill of rights. This is shown in E.g., 2 J. Elliot, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Constitution 111 (2d ed 1836); 3 id.at 447 -52 (Ref: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment08/03.html#1). Likewise, the Supreme Court rulings include Granucci, â€Å"Nor Cruel and Unusual Punishments Inflicted†: The Original Meaning, 57 Calif. L. Rev. 839 (1969). The term without proportionality had been used by the Court in the case Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349 (1910). Greg Roensch (Roensch, 2007) agrees it is vague that the ``unusual'' can be included under the term cruelty Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 276 n.20 (1972) ( with Justice Brennan seeing eye to eye)], even though it may be significant in Weems, 217 U.S. at 377, and in Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 100 n. 32 (1958) (plurality opinion), and it was significant in the case of Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 994-95 (1991) (``severe, mandatory

Looking back over the span of American history since 1607, what Essay

Looking back over the span of American history since 1607, what historical evidence supports Kinzer's assertion - Essay Example They vary in heritage and their ancestors came from different coasts. However, they share commonalities in valuing enjoyment of rights, liberty, fairness, and equal treatment of people which serves as purposive guide in their way of life. It is from this context that America has been historically intervening in varied nations in the name of freedom. It’s also from this political purview that Stephen Kinzer, prominent writer author of Kinzer, Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, pointed that America perceived itself as ‘a peculiar, chosen people, the Israel of our times.’ Kinzer (2006), a political analyst, perceived that most of the intervention done my American government in other sovereign nations is motivated to protect its business interests from possible restriction and regulations-- such as demands for taxation, labor laws and environmental protection, through geopolitical strategies. Kinzer (2006) pointed that these rest rictions imposed by nations, where American multinational companies are operating, are perceived anti-American, repressive or probably dictatorial. When conflict is heightened, the intervention could either be considered economic, political or an operation for liberation from perceived tyrannical governments. He cited that US lead-participation in overthrowing governments was evident in Hawaii in1893 to Iraq in 2003. Kinzer (2006) also contended that American-led or supported coups d'etat in Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Nicaragua, Honduras, Iran, Guatemala, South Vietnam, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq was a result of similar causes and motivation. Critical of its view, Kinzer argued that in 1898, US helped local rebels in Cuba to overthrow the Cuban government. Is this messianic political view of America indeed evident in the anal of its history? In the 16th century, under Colonial America, it was reckoned that Europeans traversed to America for economic r easons, to escape religious persecution and they settled at what they called the New World. Many of them lived with the assistance of Native Americans and started farming to produce corn grains and tobacco. They also engaged themselves in mercantilism to increase political power and wealth—thus, the extraction of gold and silver from North America and subsequently brought to London market. Mercantilism was protected by government through trades’ regulation and by providing subsidies for emerging industries to develop exports and control imports. The period was however characterized with smuggling, an American way to dodge out trading restrictions of European nations. Conflict rose as pirates launched several attacks. Conflict heightened until Seminoles from Georgia killed the remaining Indian residents at Florida. The regions of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, California and Kansas were also explored by Spanish conquestadores. Missionaries were sent in these a reas to propagate Christianity and to declare historic claims. American conquered and recovered the sites

Give a full critical account of the Copenhagen criteria. Consider, in Essay

Give a full critical account of the Copenhagen criteria. Consider, in particular, whether they might create double standards as some commentators have suggested - Essay Example Examination shows that the constitutional predicament of this enlargement causes the danger of double standards, as concealed methods are deemed to be used in order to protect the selectiveness of the EU. In order to have membership to the European Union, Member States and their institutions must expand on approaches that can manage the transaction connecting deeper integration between Member States and widening to include new candidate countries. Therefore, the debate is whether the European Union is providing generosity or has amplified these double standards [2]. The criteria developed at Copenhagen European Council (1993) requires that a country has to have the capacity to maintain democratic governance and human rights, have a working market economy, and be able to recognize and agree to the requirements and objectives of the European Union. Many of these fundamentals have been explained over the course of the last fifteen years by legislation of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament, in addition to European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice [3]. In spite of the dissimilarity among the old Member States of the European Union, the fifth enlargement was foreseeable as a new integrated Europe would not be able to limit itself to only Western Europe [4]. Therefore, the enlargement of the European Union can be seen as an amalgamated and incorporated development of Europe after the end of the Cold War, as the countries which were formerly linked to the Soviet Union or the Warsaw pact are now independent European countries, and also democratic, with a substantive market economy, and after working towards implementing membership criteria declared by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993, are able to join the European Union [2]. Therefore, the stipulations for membership of the European Union

Leadership style and theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership style and theories - Essay Example When what needs to be accomplished is clear, it is more likely that it will be communicated to the other employees. I also determine which tasks would be best to particular employees as I understand my juniors very well. There is always a need to match responsibilities to the strengths of every person. Giving person roles that are new to him/her will be a recipe for chaos. As a leader, I must ensure that I give individuals projects that they will be more enthusiastic to do. Many modern-day organizations use participatory leadership as their management style. Delegating leadership style relates to participatory leadership because decisions are made with the participation of people affected by the decisions. Just like delegating leadership style, participatory leadership style adds a democratic dimension in leadership. Participative leadership ensures that it consults other people, especially the employees in the process of making decisions. Although participative leaders may eventuall y make decisions on their own, consulting other people demonstrates consideration and respect for other people. This approach of leadership is appreciated by followers who reciprocate by showing their loyalty and commitment. Just like delegating leadership style, participative leadership leads to the development of employees and builds support for the vision of the organization. Participative leaders empower other people to make decisions and take actions that are within defined boundaries. I believe that all leaders are made, not born.

Counterfeit products Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Counterfeit products - Term Paper Example Millions of dollars have been earned in revenue by those involved in this kind of business. However, this happens in disregard of the underlying consequences. There are several risks that are associated by the consumption of these products and there is a lot of proof that the industry is growing big every year (David, 21). The value of counterfeit goods and the whole industry is said to be worth over US $200 billion. This is to take into account the everyday production of goods. The goods produced as counterfeit are often sub-standard which is considered to pose major health hazards. There are goods produced cross every product sector, including; tobacco, electronics, vehicles, alcohol, clothes and food products, the designer clothes, the wrist watches and several accessories. There is also production of counterfeit medicines, numerous chemicals and pesticides, perfumes, modern cosmetics and the body care products. Several CDs and DVDs, computer software products, computer games, vehicle and other spare parts power tools and household appliances. Fake products are at many times often tempting with many of them costing less than the price of the real product (Philips, 43). These goods are also of low and inferior in quality thus is always considered to be unsafe and mainly dangerous for human consumption. Mostly, many industrial products are sold with certain benefits. This always the case especially when you are handling genuine commodities. However, counterfeit products always don’t come with these kinds of benefits. They often don’t come with benefits like after-sales service or the after sale guarantees. These commodity sellers bank on the ignorance of the victims with majority of these consumers being unaware that counterfeit products or goods don’t undergo the same production methods and similar rigorous testing procedures that legitimate manufacturers often apply to their products in order to ensure they are

Airline Industry Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Airline Industry Analysis - Essay Example However, the industry is highly depended on the existing business cycles, weather, and political stability. According to industry data, Delta’s Cargo business contributes 40 percent of total revenues while Delta US contributes 27 percent of revenues with the rest coming from Delta International travel (Wood, 2008). Although Southwest Airlines has the highest market in US domestic travel, Delta has the highest revenue passenger Mile (RPM) and has reported the considerable increase in US domestic market share over the last six years. The company has undertaken measures in cost cutting through investing in aircraft that are more fuel-efficient and undertaking investments in technology in order to improve the efficiency of crew systems (Braun & Latham, 2014, p 56).  Five forces analysis The five forces model is essential in understanding the attractiveness of the industry, the drivers of competitive edge and profitability in the industry. Michael Porter’s five forces mode l includes the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers and degree of rivalry in the industry (Wood, 2008).  The threat of new entrants  Although the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 saw the entry of small low-cost carriers in the US market, the threat of new entrants remains high due to the high capital required to establish operations, the relative economies of scale of the international carriers and stringent regulatory and licensing process (Wood, 2008).

The violence currently facing Colombia's dispossessed is indicative Essay

The violence currently facing Colombia's dispossessed is indicative that the country could soon experience a revolution - Essay Example Observe, do not fulfill† (Brenner 8). From this background, different leaders arose and rebelled against the government: although these leaders had different agendas, the support of the Mexican masses lied on one desire: the desire to change the social structure, to implement reforms that would give economic and socio-political empowerment to the majority of the people (Brenner 35-40). From the above statement, the researcher of this paper thinks that a similar revolution is also brewing in Colombia: a revolution to empower the dispossessed and make radical reforms that would change society’s structure and give more opportunities to the poor. As the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s sought to overthrow the elites and give â€Å"Mexico back to the Mexicans† (Brenner 62), so will happen with Colombia, where several rebel guerilla groups, most notably the FARC-EP, are already there proclaiming itself as the army of Colombia’s poor and dispossessed. ... s â€Å"The Wind That Swept Mexico† and Alfredo Molano’s â€Å"The Dispossessed: Chronicles of the Desterrados of Colombia.† One of the main characteristics of Mexican society in the 1910s was the monopoly of political power by the elite. In the time of the dictatorship of Diaz, almost all of the positions on the government bureaucracy were given to the elites, either to the â€Å"biggest landowner or businessman† (Brenner 10). Such political tradition gave Diaz the support of the elite for much of his administration. In addition, this political; system was justified with the fact that Mexico is not ready for democracy, given that ninety percent of its people is dominantly Indian, viewed as â€Å"racially inferior† and â€Å"subhuman† (Brenner 10). While the idea of open elections was also dismissed by Diaz due to the fact that only â€Å"not even fifteen percent (of the population) can read† (Brenner 10), it was also declared that dem ocracy was a utopia that must not to be toyed with. In addition to political power was economic power: both the elites and foreign corporations controlled the Mexican economy (Brenner 14). Much of the economy was driven buy investments from foreign corporations, most notably the United States, using cheap Mexican labor that neither have control over their own land or their country’s national resources (Brenner 14). Most of Mexico’s industries where controlled by foreign enterprises, reaping much revenues, making Mexico a â€Å"bonanza land† for investors using a steady supply of Mexican â€Å"cheap and docile labor† (Brenner 15). Meanwhile, in the countryside, haciendas ruled the land, with them owning almost all of the arable lands, making the land reform of the previous Juarez regime useless (Brenner 19). In fact, it was actually

Animal Representation of Dogs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Animal Representation of Dogs - Research Paper Example This paper compares and contrasts three perspectives of dogs as represented in film, literature, and psychiatry. More specifically, the paper examines how the dog is presented as a teacher and father figure, as a helper, as well as, as a human in disguise. The paper provides an evaluation of the rationale behind these representations, as well as, the practical consequences of these representations. Â   The Novel, A Boy, and His Dog tell the story of Vic and Blood, two survivors of a war. Vic, the central human character in the film is in is the company of his dog Blood and they work together for their survival (Ellison and Corben 1-128). Together, the two characters search for food, clothes, and ammunition that is to be used for their survival. In the novel, the dog blood is represented as having telepathic abilities, which in turn, assist the two in their communication with each other. To understand the representation of the dog in the novel, one must also consider the human character Vic as his character assists in the representation of the dog. Accordingly, Vic is an orphan who understands neither the importance of ethics, nor the need for morality, and for that reason, he lives to satisfy his immediate needs (Lee 450). Portrayed as a telepathic dog, blood steps in to assist Vic in living a proper life. For that reason, the dog is portrayed as being a teacher and father figure. Blood educates Vic on and his sole purpose in life is identified as being the protection of Vic so as to keep him away from any possible harm or danger. Additionally, blood is highly intelligent, thus qualifying him for the representation s a teacher and father figure (Sanders 121). To build on his representation as a father figure, Vic is highly rebellious, a character that is common to children. In a way, Blood is represented as having superior characteristics to his human friend.

Prejudice in Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Prejudice in Of Mice and Men Essay Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart. Marguerite Gardiner. In society, both modern and in the past, prejudice has been a tool of thinking and labeling a group of race, people, class and culture in order to distinguish ones superiority and dominance from one another, but is simply a way to judge without gathering valid facts. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, we see that prejudice was just as rampant in the 1930s. In the novel, prejudice is demonstrated on 3 different levels: racial, sexual and social. It is shown how these prejudices generate false perceptions that although meant to aid, do no such good as their end result is clouding the truth. Racial prejudice is most significant when describing Crooks, who happens to be the stable buck for the farm. Crooks is also a Black man with a back disability, hence the reason he is called Crooks. While most of the other workers live in the same area and attend to jobs that are quite similar, Crooks is forced to live by himself, work alone in the stables and is almost never in contact with any of the other characters. People such as Curlys Wife go as far as to ridicule Crooks and even look down at him simply for the fact that he is a Black man with a disability who is a laborer. In one instance, Curlys Wife threatens Crooks by telling him Listen, Nigger, you know what I can do if you open your trap, I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint funny (Steinbeck, 98). The open brutality of this comment shows that even a woman, who would normally not have much or any say during this time in the 1930s, is still considered higher in social class than an African-American man. Nothing is known about him as a person by any of the other farm attendants, but the prejudices that in this case are completely false help propel a gap between them, when one does not need to be. Although he may be physically handicap, he is just as capable as any of the others. As a result of being an outcast at the farm, Crooks has become very isolated and disengaged with the other members. When Lennie enters Crooks cabin in order retrieve the puppies, Crooks lashes out and tells Lennie I aint wanted in the bunk room and you aint wanted in my room (Steinbeck,124). This comment shows that Crooks has become bitter and alone because of the prejudice constantly being aimed at him when there is no reason for the way he is treated. He is a great overall example of racial prejudice in Of Mice and Men and society, both past and present, in which a African-American male, who is as capable as any man of another color is denied the same opportunities because of stereotypes and perceptions which can only be supported with biased false facts. Sexual prejudice is strong when Curlys Wife is a part of a scene. Curlys Wife also happens to be the only female that is currently occupying the place of work that the novel is set in. Curlys Wife is presented as a character who tends to be very friendly with all the men on the farm and enjoys the attention she gets because her husband, Curly does not give her the amount of attention that she wants, so she finds it with others. Curlys Wife is often avoided by all other who work at the farm because she is a woman who could get them in a lot of trouble. Curly is the boss son and Curlys Wife being the daughter-in-law always gets her way and can have any man in the farm fired without reason. She got the eye goin all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck they eye. I dont know what the hell she wants (Steinbeck,51). Being a woman, there is already significant amount of sexual prejudice directed to her and the fact that she is very flirtatious with the other men further strengthens their perception of her. They all try to remain as calm as possible, careful not to give her the wrong idea cause they know the trouble that she could get them in. In actuality it appears that Curlys Wife only craves attention from the other men and nothing sexual because of the lack of her husband to give her the attention that she wants. The idea of her wanting something only sexual and not spiritual shows the prejudice associated with gender in this novel and how its falsehood prevents a lonely woman from engaging and connecting with others on a mental level. Equally important is the Social prejudice towards characters such as Candy and Lennie in Of Mice and Men. Candy is very old and not capable of doing much around the farm but is still kept around to do the simple chores that the others are seen as more of a waste of time for others. These simple chores are envied by others and this jealousy helps create a division between Candy and the others. Candy also has a dog that in many ways is similar to him [The] dog aint no good to himself. I wisht somebodyd shoot me if I got old an a cripple (pg. 45). They are both described as being old, withered, confused and in many ways more of a nuisance who would do more good dead than alive. Socially being hated by the majority of the men at the ranch shows the prejudice that is directed without any reason, but simply motivated by jealousy. In the instance of Lennie, social prejudice is strongest evident in the perception others have of him because in their eyes, all they see is a big oaf incapable of accomplishing anything intelligent and only kept around for his strength. Before meeting Lennie and even engaging him in conversation, his position has already been established at the Ranch. With Curly we see that [Hes] like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. Hes alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like hes mad at em because he aint a big guy (pg. 26). Regardless of his ability to be of help at the farm, Curly already establishes his position on Lennie even though he has had no significant direct contact or enough time to accurately depict Lennie as a person and not just a big man physically. Not only Curly, but other members of the farm also have decided Lennies place at work before fully knowing him. He is left out of card games, left back at the ranch when George and the others go out to hand more important jobs. Being considered a simple minded men with little use who spend their days playing with and day dreaming about rabbits or sweeping after others, Lennie and Candy have become outcasts in the sense that one of them is perceived to be mentally unstable and added to the fact that he is physically strong, while the other one is a nuisance who many could live without, make them both isolated and all the more reason to be avoid and singled out. Of Mice and Men is a brilliant novel in demonstrating that prejudice is a tool that people use to become more familiar with other individuals in order to overcome the fear of uncertainty. However, the ending result is that it puts distance between the person and the one they judge because it is not fact, but perception that is completely untrue. Prejudice is simply the reasoning of a fool to make themselves feel secure.

Alternative Volatility Forecasting Method Evaluation

Alternative Volatility Forecasting Method Evaluation For many financial market applications, including option pricing and investment decisions, volatility forecasting is crucial. Therefore, the research of volatility forecasting has been an active area of study since the past years. In recent years, the emergence of many financial time series methods for volatility forecasting has proved the importance of understanding the nature of volatility in any financial instruments. Often, people will think price is used as an indicator of the stock market performance. Due to the non-stationary nature of price series of the stock market, most researchers actually transformed series of price change (return) or absolute price changes (absolute return) in their studies. There is a difference between the term return and the term volatility. The term volatility is used as a crude measure of the total risk of financial assets. Actually, volatility is the standard deviation or the variance of returns whereas return is merely the changes of prices. An increasingly commonly adopted tool for the measurement of the risk exposure associated with a particular portfolio of assets known as Value at Risk (VaR) involves calculation of the expected losses that might result from changes in the market prices of particular securities (Jorion, 2001; Bessis, 2002). Thus, the VaR of a particular portfolio is defined as the maximum loss on a portfolio occurring within a specified time and with a given (small) probability. Under this approach, the validity of a banks internally modeled VaR is backtested by comparing actual daily trading gains or losses with the estimated VaR and noting the number of exceptions occurring, in the sense of days when the VaR estimate was insufficient to cover actual trading losses, with concerns naturally arising where such exceptions frequently occur, and that can result in a range of penalties for the financial institution concerned (Saunders Cornett, 2003). A crucial parameter in the implementation of parametric VaR calculation methods is an estimate of the volatility parameter that describes the asset or portfolio, or more accurately a forecast of that volatility where the simplifying assumption of constancy is relaxed and time-varying volatility is acknowledged. While it has long been recognized that returns volatility exhibits clustering, such that large (small) returns follow large (small) returns of random sign (Mandelbrot, 1963; Fama, 1965), it is only following the introduction of the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model (Engle, 1982; Bollerslev, 1986) that financial economists have modeled and forecast these temporal dependencies using econometric techniques, and a variety of adaptations of the basic GARCH framework are now widely used in modeling time-varying volatility. In particular, the significance of asymmetric effects in stock index returns has been widely documented, such that equity re turn volatility increases by a greater amount following positive shocks, usually associated with the leverage effect, whereby a firms debt-to-equity ratio increases when equity values decline, and holders of that equity perceive future income streams of the firm as being more risky (Black, 1976; Christie, 1982). Such variance asymmetry has been successfully modeled and forecast in a variety of market contexts (Henry, 1998) using the threshold-GARCH (TGARCH) model (Glosten et al., 1993), and the exponential-GARCH (EGARCH) model (Nelson, 1991) in particular. Problem Statement While risk management practises in financial institutions often rely on simpler volatility forecasting approaches based on heuristics and moving average, smoothing or RiskMetrics techniques, symmetric and asymmetric GARCH models have also recently begun to be considered in the VaR context. However, the standard GARCH model and variants within that class of model impose rapid exponential decay in the effect of shocks on conditional variance. In contrast, empirical evidence has suggested that volatility tends to change slowly and that shocks take a considerable time to decay (Ding et al., 1993). The fractionally integrated-GARCH (FIGARCH) model (Baillie et al., 1996; Chung, 1999) has provided a popular means of capturing and forecasting such non-integrated but highly persistent long memory dynamics in volatility in the recent empirical literature, as well as its exponential (FIEGARCH) variant (Bollerslev Mikkelsen, 1996) which parallels the EGARCH extension of the basic GARCH form, an d therefore provides a generalization capable of capturing both the volatility asymmetry and long memory in volatility which are potential characteristics of emerging equity markets. Research Objectives This paper therefore seeks to extend previous research concerned with the evaluation of alternative volatility forecasting methods under VaR modeling in the context of the Basle Committee criterion for determining the adequacy of the resulting VaR estimates in two ways. First, by broadening the class of GARCH models under consideration to include more recently proposed models such as the FIGARCH and FIEGARCH representations described above, which are capable of accommodating potential fractional integration and the associated long memory characteristics of return volatility, as well as the more simple and computationally less intensive methods commonly used in financial institutions. Second, extending the scope of previous research through evaluative application of these methods to daily index data of nine stock market indexes. Significance of this study The extensive research of volatility forecasting plays an important role for investment, financial risk management, security valuation, and also business decision-making process. Without a proper forecasting tools and research on this field, many financial decision making process will be difficult and risky to be implemented. The positive contribution of volatility forecasting in the field of finance is no doubt a fact as it given many practitioners a mean of guidelines to estimate their management risk such as option pricing, hedging and estimating investment risk. Therefore, it is crucial to study on the performance of different approaches and methods of forecast model to determine the best suitable practical application for different situation. The most common form of financial instrument is the stock market. The stock indices consist of a particular countrys most prominent stocks. Thus, in this study our aim is to focus on forecasting the stock indices volatility of eight different stock indices that provide us the ability to test the forecast approaches. There are quite a number of forecast models since the recent years. However, the new concern is on the performance of these forecast model when incorporated with higher frequency data with the realized volatility method. There are still gap for researching the intra-day data effects on forecasting model which is comparative new as compared to daily data volatility forecasting. The significant role of this study also include whether intra-day data can really help at improving the performance of forecast model to estimate volatility for the stock index. Review of Chapters In this proposal, the report is mainly subdivided into three chapters. Chapter 1 is about the overview of this research which includes the background of the study, the research objective, problem statement, and the significance of this study. Chapter 2 presents the literature review of volatility forecasting, GARCH models, exponentially smoothing and realized volatility. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Volatility forecasting Volatility forecasts are produced by either market-based or time-series methods. Market-based forecasting involves the calculation of implied volatility from current option prices by solving the Black and Scholes option pricing model for the volatility that results in a price equal to the market price. In this paper, our focus is on the development of a new time series method. These methods provide estimates of the conditional variance, à Ã†â€™2t = var(rt | It-1), of the log return, rt, at time t conditional on It à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1, the information set of all observed returns up to time t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1. This can be viewed as the variance of an error (or residual) term, ÃŽÂ µt, defined by ÃŽÂ µt = rt à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" E(rt | It à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1 ), where E(rt | It à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1 ) is a conditional mean term, which is often assumed to be zero or a constant. ÃŽÂ µt is often referred to as the price à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shockà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“newsà ƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. 2.2 Overview of standard volatility forecast model 2.2.1 GARCH model GARCH models (Engle, 1982; Bollersle, 1986) are the most widely used statistical models for volatility. GARCH models express the conditional variance as a linear function of lagged squared error terms and lagged conditional variance terms. For example, the GARCH(1, 1) model is shown in the following expression: à Ã†â€™2t = à Ã¢â‚¬ ° + ÃŽÂ ±ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µ2t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1 + ÃŽÂ ²Ãƒ Ã†â€™2t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 1, where à Ã¢â‚¬ °, ÃŽÂ ±, and ÃŽÂ ² are parameters. The multiperiod variance forecast, , is calculated as the sum of the variance forecasts for each of the k periods making up the holding period: where is the one-step-ahead variance forecast. Empirical results for the GARCH(1, 1) model have shown that often ÃŽÂ ² à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  (1 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" ÃŽÂ ±). The model in which ÃŽÂ ² = (1 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" ÃŽÂ ±) is term integrated GARCH (IGARCH) (Nelson, 1990). Exponential smoothing has the same formulation as the IGARCH(1, 1) model with the additional restriction that à Ã¢â‚¬ ° = 0. The IGARCH(1, 1) multiperiod forecast is written as Stock return volatility is often found to be greater following a negative return than a positive return of equal size. This leverage effect has promted the development of a number of GARCH models that allow for asymmetry. The first asymmetric formulation was the exponential GARCH model of Nelson (1991). In this log formulation for volatility, the impact of lagged squared residuals is exponential, which may exaggerate the impact of large shocks. A simpler asymmetric model is the GJRGARCH model of Glosten et al. (1993). The GJRGARCH(1, 1) model is given by , where à Ã¢â‚¬ °, ÃŽÂ ±, ÃŽÂ ³, and ÃŽÂ ² are parameters; and I[.] is the indicator function. Typically, it is found that ÃŽÂ ± > ÃŽÂ ³, which indicates the presence of the leverage effect. The assumption that the median of the distribution of ÃŽÂ µt is zero implies that the expectation of the indicator function is 0.5, which enables the derivation of the following multiperiod forecast expression: GARCH parameters are estimated by maximum likelihood, which requires the assumption that the standardized errors, ÃŽÂ µt / à Ã†â€™t, are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). Although a Gaussian assumption is common, the distribution is often fat tailed, which has prompted the use of the Student-t distribution (Bollerslev, 1987) and the generalized error distribution (Nelson, 1991). Stochastic volatility models provide an alternative statistical volatility modelling approach (Ghysels et al., 1996). However, estimation of these models has proved difficult and, consequently, they are not as widely used as GARCH models. Andersen et al. (2003) show how daily exchange rate volatility can be forecasted by fitting long-memory, or fractionally integrated, autoregressive and vector autoregressive models to the log realized daily volatility constructed from half-hourly returns. Although results for this approach are impressive, such high frequency data are not available to many forecasters, so there is still great interest in methods applied to daily data. A useful review of the volatility forecasting literature is provided by Poon and Granger (2003). 2.2.2 Exponentially Smoothing Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is simple and well-known volatility forecast method. The method is based on the simple average of past squared residuals to estimate its variance forecasts. The EWMA allows the latest observations to have a stronger weighted impact on the volatility forecast of past data observations. The equation for the EWMA is shown and written as exponential smoothing in recursive form. The ÃŽÂ ± parameter is the smoothing parameter. The equation: There is no proper guideline or statistic model for exponential smoothing. Generally, literature suggested using reduction in the sum of in-sample one-step-ahead estimation of errors (Taylor, 2004 cited from Gardner, 1985). In RiskMetrics (1996), volatility forecasting for exponential smoothing is recommended to use the following minimisation: In the above equation, ÃŽÂ µ2t is the in-sample squared error which acted as the proxy for actual variance whereby it is said to be not observable. By using ÃŽÂ µ2t as a proxy for variance, the actual squared residual, ÃŽÂ µ2t, is said to be biased and noisy. In Andersen et al. (1998), the research showed the evaluation of variance forecasts using realised volatility as a more accurate proxy. The next section would discuss more on the literature of realised volatility. The usage of high frequency data for realised volatility in forecast evaluation can be applied in parameter estimation for exponential smoothing with the following minimisation expression: . 2.2.3 Realised volatility The recent researchs interest in using a comparative volatility estimator as an alternative has emerged a significant literatures on volatility models that incorporated high frequency data. One of the emerging theories for a comparative volatility estimator is the so called Realized Volatility. Realized volatility is referred as the volatility calculated using a short period time series or using higher frequency periods. In Andersen and Bollerslev (1998) showed that high frequency data can be used to compute daily realize volatility which showed a better true variance than the usual daily return variance. This concept is adopted in Andersen, Bollerslev, Diebold Labys (2003) to forecast the daily stock volatility which found that the additional intraday information are provide better result in forecasting low volume and up market day. The application of realized volatility has also been employed by Taylor (2004) in parameters estimation for weekly volatility forecasting using realised volatility derived from daily data. An encouraging result were showed by using the smooth transition exponential smoothing method whereby the research used eight stock indices to compare the weekly volatility forecast of this method with other GARCH models (Taylor, 2004). The concept of realized volatility has been employed by many researchers in forecasting of many other financial assets such as foreign exchange rates, individual stocks, stock indices and etcetera. One of the early application of realized volatility concept has used spot exchange rates of Deutschemark-US dollar and Japanese Yen-US dollar to show the superiority of using intraday data as realized volatility measure. The sum of squared five-minute high frequency returns incorporated in the forecasting model proved to outperform the daily squared returns as a volatility measure (Andersen et al., 1998). Another similar study done by Martens (2001) has adopted realized volatility in forecasting daily exchange rate volatility using intraday returns. The results showed that using highest available frequency of intraday returns leads to superior daily volatility forecast. Furthermore, realized volatility approach has also been extended to studies for risk and return trade-off using high frequency data. In Bali et al. (2005), the research provided strong positive correlation between risk and return for stock market using high frequency data. The usage of daily realized which incorporated valuable information from intraday returns produce more accurate measure of market risk. In addition to this study, Tzang et al. (2009) as applied the realized volatility approach as a proxy for market volatility rather than squared daily returns to assess the efficiency of various model based volatility forecast. Finally, the findings from a research done by Andersen, Bollerslev, Diebold Labys (2001) shown that realized volatility in certain conditions is free for measurement error and unbiased estimator for return volatility. The proven research has prompted many recent works in forecasting intra-day volatility to applied realized volatility for their studies. This can be observed in McMillan Garcia (2009), Fuertes et al. (2009), Frijns et al.(2008) and Martens (2001). Many researchers exploit the advantage of realised volatility as an unbiased estimators measure for intra-day data and also as a simplified way to incorporated additional information into other forecast models. McMillan et al. (2009) utilised realised volatility to capture intraday volatilities itself as opposed to most researchers that uses realised volatility for daily realised approach. The study showed Hyperbolic Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasity (HYGARCH) as the best forecast model of intra-day volatility. 2.3 Forecast Models used in this study The forecast models that are presented in this study include: Random Walk (RW) 30 days Moving Average (MA30) Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) with =0.06 (RiskMetrics) Exponentially Smoothing with ÃŽÂ ± optimised (ES) Integrated General Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedastic using daily data (IGARCH) Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (Riskmetrics) on daily realised volatility calculated from intraday data. (EWMA-RV) Exponentially Smoothing with ÃŽÂ ± optimised on daily realised volatility calculated from intraday data. (ES-RV) General Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity model with intraday data using realised volatility approach (INTRAGARCH) Integrated General Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity with intraday data using realised volatility approach (IGARCH) General Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity with daily realised volatility (RV-GARCH) CHAPTER 3: DATA AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 Sample selection and description of the study Various comparative forecast models are used in order to evaluate the performance of incorporating intraday data. This study used dataset from nine stock indices include Malaysia (FTSE-BMKLCI), Singapore (STI), Frankfurt-Germany (DAX30), Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index), London-United Kingdom (FTSE100), France (CAC40), Shanghai-China (SSE), Shenzhen-China (SZSE), and United States (SP 100). These series consisted of daily closing prices and also the intraday hourly last price of their respective indices. The daily closing prices were retrieved using à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“DataStream Advance 4.0à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and also from Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com). Whereas, the hourly intraday last prices of these stock indices were retrieved from Bloomberg Terminal from Bursa Malaysia. Each stock index has their respective trading hours last price which produced a different number of observations for each series. The total number of trading hours within the day differed among different stock index. However, the sample period used in this study spanned approximately for 300 trading days, from 15 October 2009 to 15 March 2011. In order to simplify the study, the focus is based on a one-step-ahead volatility forecast. The first 200 trading days log returns were applied to estimate the parameters for various forecast models which is known as the in-sample forecast. The remaining 100 trading days log returns were used for post-sample evaluation. This study aimed to forecast volatility in daily log returns for various forecasting methods and used daily realised volatility as proxy for actual volatility. The next subsections presented the data description and the 10 forecast methods which will be considered in the study. 3.2 Data Analysis 3.2.1 Forecasting Methods This subsection describes the methodology to forecast the in-sample and out-sample performance of various forecast models. The forecast model includes Random Walk (RW), Moving Average, GARCH models, and Exponential smoothing techniques. 3.2.1.1 Standard volatility forecast model using daily returns This project paper adopted the simple moving average of squared residuals from the recent past 30 daily observations which is labelled as MA30 and the Random Walk (RW) for the standard volatility forecast model as performance benchmark. The 30 day simple moving average is given by: Whereby, ÃŽÂ µ2 = (rt ÃŽÂ ¼)2 shown in the previous section. The moving average is able to smooth out the short running fluctuations and emphasize on the long run trends or cycles through a series of averaging different subsets of datasets. On the other hand, the Random Walk (RW) is explained as the forecast result is equal to the actual value of the recent period. The actual value in this study used is the squared residual denoted as, ÃŽÂ µ2t. The equation is as shown below:à ¯? ¥ Tomorrows forecasted value = yesterday actual value ()à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ½ 3.2.1.2 GARCH models for hourly and daily returns There are many different GARCH models for forecasting volatility that can be included in this research. However, the consideration in this study is limited to 2 forecast GARCH models which are the GARCH and IGARCH for practicality. The GARCH models in this study have applied GARCH (1, 1) specifications. The three forecast model used were labelled as IGARCH, INTRA-IGARCH, and INTRA-GARCH models. The IGARCH model is estimated using daily residuals as daily data is easily obtained from the source mentioned above. The general IGARCH forecast model used is given by: à ¯? ¢Ãƒ ¯? ¥ à ¯? ³ But, the parameter estimate generate by EVIEW 7 will be using the following expression: à ¯? ³ à ¯? ¢ à ¯? ¡Ãƒ ¯? ¥ à ¯? ³ However, the INTRA-IGARCH and INTRA-GARCH models used hourly residual data to estimate the forecast for daily realised volatility. The forecast for volatility of these models over an N-trading hours span period would be recognised as the forecast of daily volatility. The N trading hours span period is dependent on the trading hours of a specified stock index. In order to calculate the daily realised volatility, the equation is for N trading hours in a day for a particular stock index is given by: Where period i is the higher frequency of hourly data and the ÃŽÂ µ2t, is the squared residual of the particular hour. For example, if KLCI index has a 7 trading hours per day, the realised daily volatility is calculated from the sum of squared residual of these 7 hours. Additionally, forecast models such as INTRA-IGARCH and INTRA-GARCH applied equation 3 to obtain the daily realised volatility by replacing the squared residual, ÃŽÂ µ2t with values that is forecasted using these models. 3.2.1.3 GARCH model using realised volatility The GARCH model can be estimated using daily realised volatility which is derived from the hourly squared residual with equation 3. In order to apply RV for GARCH forecast model, equation 3 has to be modified to be squared root to be able to obtain the parameter estimates that is needed using EVIEW 6. The equation is as follow: As for this project paper, the GARCH model that used daily realised volatility as input data is labelled as RV-GARCH. 3.2.1.4 Exponential smoothing and EWMA methods The forecast model for exponential smoothing method has been implemented into two approaches. The first is by using minimisation of equation 3 to optimise the parameter and it is labelled as ES for this project paper. The actual value (squared residual), ÃŽÂ µ2t is obtained from the daily data. The second approach which is said to be the better proxy variance forecast has applied equation 4 for the minimisation. The forecast model for this exponential smoothing method is termed as ES-RV which adopted daily realised volatility from hourly data. Apart from that, the study also considered the smoothing parameter ÃŽÂ ± as a fixed value of 0.06 as recommended by RiskMetrics (1996) for model using daily data and daily realised volatility data derived from hourly data. The forecast model is termed as EWMA and EWMA-RV respectively. By using equation 2 as shown previously, the EWMA used daily squared residual as ÃŽÂ µ2t 1 parameter input while the EWMA-RV used the daily realised volatility as the ÃŽÂ µ2t 1 parameter input. 3.3 Research Design (Gantt Chart) Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Literature Review Methodology Research proposal Data collection Data analysis Discussion and conclusion

Sony ericsson mobile company

Sony ericsson mobile company 1.0 Report Overview 1.1 Introduction The aim of this report is to deeply understand the importance of applying marketing essential strategies in order for the company to thrive in a dynamic changing environment. Sony Ericsson, the joint venture established in 2001, is an example to be thoroughly examined in this report. Its mobile T68i was revolutionary; it was the first GSM/GPRS color screen handset. Its Bluetooth technology was introduced for the first time in the market. Nevertheless, Sony Ericssons market share is only 13.65% in 2010 compared to Nokia, 51.40%! Why? (GetJar 2009) The report will focus on revealing the key issues that affect Sony Ericssons current and future situation in the market. After the great success of Sony Ericsson in selling its Walkman phones that were launched in 2005 (Smith 2006:77), it started to face new challenges in the market. The report will critically evaluate Sony Ericssons implemented strategies compared to the surrounding environment and highlight the challenges that face the company for this implementation. It is an important report because it will provide a better insight on how marketing strategies are put into practice in a company. It will also help in answering a very important question: what are the challenges the company should handle to maintain its competitive advantage now and in the future. 1.2 Report Structure and Approach This report will be structured as the following: Section Two: An introduction to the companys behaviour and the way it responds to changes in the market in order to understand the broader system it works in. Section Three: A deep analysis of the competitive advantage of the company to have a better understanding of its potentials in order to decide what is better for it. Section Four: Identifying the internal and external factors that determines the companys success or failure by evaluating its strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats using PESTEL and SWOT theories. Section Five: A conclusion. 2.0 Sony Ericsson Orientation Sony Ericsson, being in the mobile telephone industry, faces a lot of fierce competition and it has always strived to be a leader in this industry. To achieve this goal, It has adopted a four dimensional organizational orientation strategy which includes product, marketing, production and sales orientation (Schenker 2007). 2.1 Product Orientation Sony Ericsson has always maintained quality and differentiation in its products while expanding into new markets and making its brand known worldwide. It invests in research and development to develop new products that will satisfy its customers. For instance it was the first in 2005 (Sony Ericsson: 2008) to develop the walkman feature in cell phones. It also developed phones with digital cameras and cyber shot cameras which added value to its products. This company actually invests a lot of money in research and development; it has an office in Sweden which focuses only on researching into new product features and quality (Consumer Reports 2005). A key factor in the product orientation strategy of Sony has been its branding. According toColton, It is wide recognised that brands are one of the most valuable assets that firms own. This explains why Sony Ericsson always wants to improve on its product design so as to maintain its brand name and image which customers hold about its products. Sony Ericssons brand strength has helped in innovation and creation of value creation strategies that its competitors cannot implement or follow as the brand name Sony Ericsson has greater awareness andrecognition.Thus a strong brand name can result in a greater profit margin and the more an organisation achieves its objectives. Sonys brand names with their sophisticated features like the recently launched green heart cell phone has had a positive image in the minds of their consumers who has a high recognition for it as an environmentally friendly industry (Colton et al. 2010). Sony Ericsson has smartly differentiated products with the aim of targeting different segments of the market, since it is difficult for a single product to satisfy the needs of different consumers. For instance, it started by developing phones which were large in size with few options like text messages only. Later on it improved mobiles by producing very small size phones with camera options. Today it has phones with video recording, mp3 and cyber shot. Today, Sony Ericsson has expanded the market for its products operating in over eighty one countries of the globe; it no longer produces electrical appliances like electric irons, televisions and mp3 DVD players. It aims to gain leadership in the mobile phone industry using a strong brand name. 2.2 Marketing Orientation Sony Ericsson is a market oriented organization. Market orientation, according to Jobber, is when a firm gives priority to consumers preferences at all levels of their activities. Sony Ericsson highly values its customers so it develops all its phones based on customers specifications and preferences. It wants to satisfy its customers at all levels; always researching on what consumers desire and it greatly invests in this area as it sees them profitable investments. This can be clearly noticed when Sony Ericsson came with the walkman phones with mp3 in 2005 which paid it off and helped recover the losses it incurred before and resulted in a larger market share. Sony Ericsson has displayed number of market orientation characteristics; for instance, efficiency and effectiveness, segmentation and targeting, customer value and satisfaction and competitive advantage. Moreover, Sony Ericsson is an efficient and effective mobile phone company. Efficiency is seen through its ability to minimise its production cost while maximizing outputs and profit. Sony Ericsson has kept at all stages in production at low cost while maintaining quality and variety with sophisticated features (camera, video recording, and web browser). Also investing in new products and modern technology has been the spirit behind the success of Sony Ericsson in many occasions. Effectiveness, on the other hand, is seen by its ability to produce phones that people want to buy. At one point, the continuous increase in the profits of Sony Ericsson has been due to increase in demand on its phones which has resulted in more sales compared to other years. Sony Ericsson has divided its market into different groups of buyers and sellers. Some of the main segments are those who seek phones for value and those seeking sophisticated features like video recording, internet and mp3. Sony Ericsson has always sought to create pleasure and fun in its phones with the aim of providing customers satisfaction and value to its products. This is why it keeps developing new features like the touch screen, slides and internet facilities. Sony Ericsson has always strived to remain the market leader in the phone industry and to have a competitive edge over its competitors like Nokia and Samsung. This is why after making huge losses of over $10 000 it came up with the new walkman and cyber-shot phones in 2005 and maintained low prices which generated revenues of $31 687.2 million with a net income of $1 769.5 million. It has always put its customers in first position in all its marketing strategies. A typical model to show its marketing orientation can be shown below; Marketing orientation entails creating goods and services that will satisfy the needs of your customers and continuously researching into better ways of doing so and making sure this process has a positive impact on the goals of the company (Uncles 2000: 1). The growing importance of marketing orientation today is seen as firms try to build long lasting relationships with their customer. Firms now produce what the market demands not just producing with the hope that whatever they manufacture consumers will buy. Firms now use customer strategic marketing which is a process whereby they try to optimise revenue and profits while satisfying their needs (Dean et al. 2009). 2.3 Production Orientation Sony Ericsson produces mobile phones and most of the production is centered in China, India and Britain. Third of the production is in China and India as the cost of production in these countries is lower than in the United Kingdom and Sweden where its research and development office is found. The company is efficient in production and so tries to minimise production cost. In 2008, it reduced its work force by 2000 employees and consultants in and remains competitive in this industry which is very dynamic. Sony Ericsson produces phones (talk and text, camera, web and email, touch phones, music and games) and mobile accessories (head phones, battery charger, music transmitters and cables, car holders, Bluetooth headset, phone cases). These phones are designed in different sizes, styles and shapes. Besides, the company focuses its production of mobile phones based on the current market needs. Last year due to the global cry for climate change, it has launched the Go Green Heart Sony Ericsson phone. This shows that the company invests in the production of products that match with current needs of the population. (Sony Ericsson 2009). 2.4 Sales Orientation Sony Ericsson has witnessed rapid increases in revenue due to increased sales. It initially started operations in Britain, China, India and Sweden, but today it has expanded its market to over eighty one countries. Despite the recent recession that lead to reduction in profits, Sony Ericsson has embarked on sales promotions, aggressive and persuasive TV and Internet advertisement and sales promotion and reasonable prices of its products. Most of its adverts have had positive impacts. For example, when it launched the Walkman in 2005, there was a rapid increase in demand and high sales were recorded. Their major buyers are mobile communication firms and independent retailers. Over the years they have experienced increases in their sales and net revenue, yet lost market share. This can be seen below: Years 2005 2006 2007 2008 Net Sales (SEK Million) 7,268 10,959 99,129 12,916 Net Profit (EK Million) 350 997 1,114 1 769.5 Source: Sony Ericsson Company Research 2.5 Sony Ericsson Group Operation Sony Ericsson has different telecommunication through firms like other companies such as Orange, T-Mobile and MTN which carry out sales promotions and this strategy has off. With it launching of online sales it has increased sales as retailers can place their commands online and receive their goods wherever they are located. The coming up of the pricing strategy in 2007 was Sony Ericsson introduced reasonably priced phones with fewer functions equally lead to rapid penetration of the markets especially in Africa. 2.6 Evaluation and Recommendation Sony Ericsson has a positive product and production orientation. This has given it a competitive edge in the market as it always finds new ways and methods of innovation in the mobile phone industry. Its effort in this line has placed it in a supreme position most of time. However it still has to work more on the area of developing phone and accessories. Most of its accessories are not strong as a lot of customers have made negative complaints regarding their durability. The industry has however reacted to this by offering guarantees to customers who purchase its walkman and cyber shot phones. This step nevertheless seems unfair to other consumers who do not get any warranty when purchasing the company other low quality phones (Strategic Direction 2004). As regarding marketing and sales, a lot has to be improved .This is because despite its recent downsizing in labour force with the aim of cutting down cost and maximising profits, the company has still recorded recent losses in the fourth quarter of 2009 (BBC: 2010) of 167 million Euro from 187million Euro in the previous year. Sales in this same period fell by 40%. Sony Ericsson has been suffering from lower sales due to failures in their marketing team. A lot of improvements should be carried out to bust sales and profits. The company overall is doing well needs an extra force o rekindle its sales and profit margins. 3.0 Competitive Advantage An advantage over competitors gained by offering greater customer value, either through lower process or by providing more benefits more benefits that justify higher prices (Armstrong and Kotler 2009:218). Sony Ericsson can be accredited for its innovation. Whether by T68i, the First GSM/GPRS enabled colour screen Handset, Bluetooth technology for file transfer or hand free and later with Music and Loud Speakers or High Mega Pixel Mobile Camera. At one time, Sony Ericsson Held the second largest market as a phone manufacturer in Europe. Below graph shows its market share of 20% which is quite dominant (Mintel 2010). Handset Market Share in Europe, November 2009 One of the main strengths of Sony Ericsson is diversity (Sony Ericsson 2010) and mapping this to the Poters Three Generic Strategies theory we reach the following Stuck In the Middle situation for Sony Ericsson. Competitive Advantage (Porter 1985) Turning this problem into opportunity, it is an advantage for Sony Ericsson to be in that situation, as it enables it to serve the vast mobile consumer market over competitors and the serve the three competitive advantages of Cost, differentiation and focus. 3.1 Cost Leadership To achieve cost Leadership Sony Ericsson has become low cost producers in mobile industry as compared to others offering the same mobile features and quality. Sony Ericsson prices are quite competitive and are available for big as well as small pockets. Brand  £0-20  £21-40  £41-100  £100 Total Nokia 4 4 6 7 21 Sony Ericsson 1 3 8 7 19 Samsung 1 2 6 4 13 LG 3 5 8 Availability of pay as you go phones, by brand and price, December 2009 Source: Mintel Analyzing the above data it clearly specifies that Sony Ericsson have competitive numbers of handsets in all ranges. This helps Sony Ericsson customer base to be 20% and growing continuously. 3.2 Differentiation From day one Sony Ericssons focus has been on Music functionality or camera. At early times when camera phones were just launched, the brand gave the feature to take, send and receive pictures quickly as cameras. Same for the Music Player, its Walkman Series had a dedicated button to allow switching between mobile and music functionality. Mixing the competitive price and leads in terms of multimedia usage across the handset brands (listed in the below table) makes Sony Ericsson so popular among youth (Mintel: 2010). Total% Nokia % Sony Ericsson % Samsung % Motorolla % Bluetooth 46 42 62 53 35 Camera less than 5 megapixel 43 36 55 46 50 Music player 37 29 58 46 16 Games 36 32 49 41 33 Video recorder 34 27 51 41 22 Video player 30 24 45 37 20 Web browser 28 25 38 33 20 Radio 25 25 41 27 6 Camera 5 megapixels or more 21 20 25 29 14 Fast web browsing eg 3G 17 19 21 14 6 Email 16 16 17 15 8 Touchscreen 11 5 11 17 3 IM chat eg Instant messenger 10 11 11 8 3 Wi-Fi 9 11 11 6 2 GPS/Sat-Nav 7 10 4 4 1 QWERTY keyboard 6 4 5 4 2 Ability to open Word Documents 6 6 5 3 2 Ability to open PDF documents 6 6 4 3 1 Ability to open Excel documents 5 5 4 2 2 Source: (Mintel Oxygen, 2010), Based on 2,000 Internet users aged 16+. Sony Ericsson had product of handset (included pay as you go and contract) owned by facilities on mobile used, October 2008. 3.3 Focus Focus strategy is to be successful; the organization must understand segments thoroughly; how their needs are changing and what range to offer. If Sony Ericsson doesnt serve the segment more effectively than competitors, then it will be in a poor position (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006: 972). Sony Ericsson obviously is the under-25s preferred handset (Mintel: 2010). The features such as High Mega Pixel Camera and music Players are symptomatic of entertainment and function-hungry younger market and these features are highly substitutable. Also Sony-Ericsson younger users perceive its interface as easier to use in connection to the features of their key interest. Although, the risk of operating in this segment is that this segment might fluctuate widely on the short run depending on fashion trends, Sony Ericsson market share may fairly remain same, Other possible threat is that this might be undetermined by competition (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006: 973). For Complete understanding of the Sony Ericsson competitive advantages, Poters five Forces of competitive advantages have further been used. According to the Porter, the state of competition in an industry depends on five basics competitive forces; the collective strengths of these forces determining the ultimate profile potential of the industry and the ability of firm in an industry to earn rates of return on investment in access of the cost of capital (Poter 1985). The five forces are as Follows: Existing Competitive rivalry between players. Barging power of buyers. Threat of new market entrance. Bargaining powers of suppliers. Threat of Substitute products. These five forces for Sony Ericsson is shown in the below figure. Porters 5 Force Model for Sony Ericsson. 3.3.1 Existing Competitive Rivalry among Players Sony Ericsson sustains the competition amount Nokia, Motorola, LG, Samsung, etc because of its Innovation strengths. This enables it to enjoy the total market share of 20%. To reach this figure, Sony Ericsson defiantly needs to maintain its technology as well and its competitive cost base to attract more customers. Also, the increase in social networking should be maintained, Sony Ericsson have already targeted most of them such as Facebook, Twiter and Myspace, as they are the current attracters and give a competitive edge. In current market trends, there is a big increase in the smart phone users and to cope up with the trend. In 2009, Sony Ericsson largely focused on the high-end segment of the market with the launch of Satio, Aino, W995 and Yari ranges. The Satio is a touch-screen with a 12MP camera and a Walkman; the Aino provides access to media content from a PlayStation3 console while on the move; and the Yari has a Nintendo Wii-like sensor for gaming (Mintel 2010). 3.3.2 Bargaining Powers of Buyers The degree which consumers can influence the demand is referred as bargaining power (Jobbar 2010). Sony Ericsson offers its customers a big range of handsets at competitive price to satisfy the vast mobile consumer market which are from basic phone users to top end latest technology buyers. This expands the market base for them not just within Europe but also enables them to serve this vast range in various economies. 3.3.3 Threat of new market Entrance New Entry means new rival that in turn means increased competition. Sony Ericsson need to be aware of all the big and small companies entering in various global locations into the mobile phone industry as the Sony Ericsson deals with all rang of handsets. Certain barriers should be put to inhibit new entrants. As Mobile market is very competitive the new entry and its survival is quite dull until as unless its a well know brand and good technology as what Apples iPhone did to the market share of smart phone of Sony Ericsson and other brands (Schenker 2007). The threat of new entrants to Sony Ericsson is quite low because of its established brand value and quality. 3.3.4 Threat of Substitute Products This is the ability of your customers to find an alternative way of doing what you do. As far as near future is concerned, an substitute of mobile handsets cant be think of, so Sony Ericson need not to worry about this threat but it needs to be open for viewing the new technologies coming in for communication so that it can incorporate in new models. 3.3.5 Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers can also be described as the market of inputs. Suppliers of raw materials, components, labor, and services can become power over the firm if there are few substitutes. Since the starting of Sony Ericsson in 2001, it operates under a corporate social responsibility code. Sony Ericsson insists to only works with suppliers who meet required stringent. This helps employees to make ethically correct decisions. Influencing product development and improvement from a CSR and environmental perspectives in the supply chain, which is a key reason in reaching industry leadership as well as compliance with those requirements. Also, All Sony Ericsson suppliers go under assessment to meet compliance with CSR and environmental requirements. These assessments prove that suppliers have procedures within place to control their supply chain (Sony Ericsson 2010). In this ways Sony Ericsson has developed loyalty from its suppliers and being a main market player, it has the power of looking at different suppliers in tough times. 3.4 Value Chain Its a method for locating superior skills and resources. All firms consist of set of activities that are conducted during product lifecycle, they are design, manufacture, market, distribute and after sales service for its products. The value chain categorizes them into support and primary activities (Jobber 2010: 787). The value chain (Jobber 2006: 788) Product differentiation defiantly provides competitive advantage, but on the other hand it also tends to increase the complexity, which increases supply chain risk. The challenge manufacturers face is making the correct tradeoff decision among the two. Sony Ericsson deals with this by deeply analyzing the total supply chain effect at various stages of design strategies (AMRresearch 2010) this might be internal or external to the organisation. Sony Ericsson has a tie up with ATCLE in US for packaging and final manufacturing touch until the products arrive in Texas with ATCLEs distribution Center. This gives Sony Ericsson two advantages: It gave them positive trade-off of cost benefit in transporting packed product from Asia compared to ATCLEs charges for assembling. This also gave them the opportunity of finally customizing the product in Dallas closer to the customer as per their desire. (SupplyChainBrain 2010). Similarly, the tie up of Sony Ericsson with Ingram for its nationwide sales and distribution in India brought a value addition to the company. (Kanter J 2009) Building up of the high quality of value chain makes Sony Ericsson more probable by customers because they get better service quality across the globe and it also concentrate more on the product and quality it is developing. Sony Ericsson certainly has a competitive advantage over its rivals because of its strong Value chain within the various operations without the organization and outside across the globe. 4.0 Marketing Mix Diffusion of a product depends on its positioning. It includes complexity, differential advantage, divisibility, compatibility with customers values, i.e. life style, experiences and behaviours, and communicability (Jobber 2010:384-409). Companies should be careful in choosing the target market and showing the differential advantage the product has. This could be achieved by a combination of successful brand naming, image, service, design, guarantees, packaging and delivery. All of those mentioned are included in the four marketing mix framework which will be discussed in this section (Jobber 2010:311). 4.1 Product Product is a crucial part of the marketing mix; its the element that the company starts to build and shape its identity and most importantly generates profit. All companies have products, whether tangible or intangible, but what differentiates their products from each other is the branding itself. Branding includes choosing a name, creating a design, insuring quality and the line of products. Positioning is created out of those elements, bearing in mind that they, together, should be clear in the message they deliver, credible, consistent and competitive. These elements augment the perceived value and performance of customers. It is also a barrier to rivals, gain for high profits and base for brand extension, quality certification and trust (Jobber 2010:305). We are going to discuss those important elements with reference to Sony Ericsson Company. 4.1.1 Brand Name Developing a distinctive name for the brand differentiates and distinguishes it from other products in the market. Brand naming should evoke positive emotions, be easy to remember and pronounce and suggest the benefit of the product (Jobber 2010: 319-320). Sony Ericsson always uses prestigious names for its brands that suggest sophistication and smoothness, like its newest mobiles Xperia, Xperia X10 and Vivaz. They are easy to remember and they provoke a kind of excitement for the customer to be introduced to those products. Also the company uses alphanumeric when naming its brands to emphasize technology which expand its targeted customers. Sony Ericsson choice of names is very successful when compared to other mobile names like Nokia 7230, Motorola Dext; the former combines the two essential elements of simplicity and technology. Another important aspect of brand naming is the brand heritage (Jobber 2010:315); it adds value to the positioning of the brand in the market. When looking at Sony Eri

Essay --

Have you ever wondered how one person can make such a substantial difference and inspire so much change? In The Hunger Games novels Suzanne Collins creates Katniss Everdeen, the main character and protagonist. She is the empowered female character who through her atypical qualities and actions inspires incredible change. Collins uses Katniss as a lead because she disrupts the natural order of power in Panem and she is the unconventional representation of a heroic figure. The Hunger Games take place in Panem, a dystopian society that is divided into twelve districts and ruled by the Capitol, a totalitarian power. The people of the districts are suppressed; they have no rights and no freedom of speech. In Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults, literary criticism by Patrick Smith, he contributes to the idea of a dystopian society saying â€Å"dystopias feature totalitarian regimes and shattered economies, global war, climate change, the lack of meaningful personal relationships and lost identities, and the underdog fighting against near-impossible odds. All current societies, dystopian novels suggest, are just one cataclysmic event away from collapse.† This accurately describes the occurrences in Panem. Every year a male and female tribute between the ages of twelve and eighteen are selected from every district in a ceremony called the reaping. They are then forced to fight to the death in the hunger games while all of Panem watches on screen until there is one left standing, the victor. The hunger games were created as a means of which to restore order after the â€Å"Dark Days†, a rebellion that happened decades ago. The people must watch their young be slaughtered on screen to pay for the rebellion. â€Å"Taking the kids from our districts, forcin... ...ames is the rebellion that breaks out in district eight. Katniss gets an unwarranted glance at a TV with updates on the action taking place there. She sees masses of people, flags with the Capitol’s emblem being burned and banners with her face waving from the tops of buildings. The disorder is ultimately traced back to Katniss. Collins uses Katniss as the protagonist because she is the unconventional representation of a heroic figure due to her strong characteristics and her powerful representation; she inspires many people and gives them hope because of her sincere and self-sacrificing nature. As she defies the rules of the Capitol others follow in her lead and over time the natural order of power in Panem is not only disrupted but turned upside down. Katniss shows that it is possible for one person to make substantial differences and inspire unbelievable change.

Economics of Aquaculture United States :: essays papers

Economics of Aquaculture United States Aquaculture is the fastest growing "agricultural" industry in the United States. In 1990, there were over 100 species cultured; eight species accounted for approximately 70% of total culture, with over 3400 aquaculture operations in the United States. This trend is driven by increased demand for fisheries product and reduced yield from traditional fisheries landings (National Research Council, 1982). Given the increased demand, there is a significant potential for job creation in an expanded aquacultural industry. The estimated U.S. Total Aquaculture Production (including freshwater) has more than doubled from 139,887 metric tons with a total value of over $260 million in 1983 to an estimated 313,518 metric tons with a total value of over $724 million in 1992. (NMFS Statistics Division) The aquaculture industry supports an infrastructure of hatcheries, feed mills, processing plants, equipment manufacturers, and suppliers of specialty services and products, as well as enhancing the natural fishery with juvenile finfish and shellfish seed and spat. U.S. annual per capita consumption of fish and shellfish has increased since estimates were first made in 1909. At that time the per capita estimate was 11 lbs., in the 1950 and 60's it was well below 5 lbs., and in 1993 it was 15 lbs. (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1993). Most remarkable was the sharp rise in consumption from 1970 (about 4 lbs.) to 1990 (about 5 lbs.) The domestic seafood industry has identified a goal of increasing domestic seafood consumption to 20 lbs/per capita by the year 2000 although this appears unlikely. It is estimated that 10% - 14% of the fishery products currently consumed in the United States are aquaculturally derived. Changing consumer preferences combined with the reduction in the wild fishery appear to be the dominant factor in the growth of aquaculture. (FDA, 1990) Most of the United States' demand for seafood is met by imports. The value of imported fisheries products more than doubled during the 1980's, to $9.6 billion in 1989. This resulted in a significant trade deficit - $4.9 billion for all fisheries products and $3.1 billion for edible fish and shellfish in 1989. Imported fisheries products contribute more to the United States' trade imbalance than any other food or agricultural commodity. After petroleum products, imported seafood contributes more to the United States trade deficit than any other natural resources product.

Local Fundraising :: essays research papers fc

Running an election campaign is very strenuous and time consuming. In many ways it is a balancing act. One must deal with maintaining public visibility, appealing to the voters, developing a platform, kissing disgusting babies, and meeting as many people as possible. However, one of the most important and difficult parts of the job is raising money. Money is necessary for all parts of the campaign, and without it, a campaign can grind to a halt. In this paper I will attempt to explain how a candidate gets the money to campaign.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first thing to do, whenever one runs for any office, is to check all local laws pertaining to elections and contributions. In any county, there often are obscure laws that affect a myriad of subjects, elections being among them. These laws usually state who can give money to whom and how much can be given by any one person or organization. Violating these laws may result in an automatic forfeiture. Another important step is to make sure that you, yourself, contribute to your own campaign. It does not have to be much, as many candidates do not come from wealthy backgrounds, but enough to show that you are serious about winning the election. After all, if you are not confident enough to contribute your own money, how can you expect others to contribute for you? The third step that many hopeful candidates use is to approach their friends and family for money. While some may be hesitant to do this, one expert, who curiously did not leave his name (Basic Fundraising, n.d.), says that this is important. Your friends and family should be asked, firstly, for the reason outlined in the preceding paragraph, and secondly because this is where a candidate gets much of his or her initial seed money. A viral approach, according to Garecht, should be used when asking associates for money (n.d.e). Ask your family and friends to ask all their family and friends, who should, in turn, ask all of their family and friends. Of course, not everyone will contribute, but by playing the percentages, a candidate can expect to receive thousands of dollars, even if he or she is not from a particularly affluent social circle. If a person is unwilling to contribute monetarily, ask if he would like to volunteer either his time or services, or even there lawn for use as signage.

Intemidation

Intimidation is not an appropriate teaching method. Rosemary Parker, the author of the essay that we read in class, doesn? t think being mean and embarrassing is an effective way to teach. She thinks when people are intimidated they have more trouble learning. She says ? in any other scenario, it is not tolerated.? Only in coaching, is intimidation an acceptable method of teaching to most people. I agree that intimidation is not an appropriate teaching method with children. Children are too The Intimidating Female(Bible) The Intimidating Female in Genesis In the narrative in the book of Genesis, there are two main objectives.The first is a general goal to create a complex world †¦ young to be motivated by intimidation. Intimidation would only make a child react in a negative way. Why would we want our children go threw more than we would want to go threw ourselves? Intimidation is not appropriate in the work environment. Bosses aren? t aloud to scream and imbarress there employe es. There are rules and regulations that protect workers from bosses who intimidate. She supports her claims by explaining that other coaches are worst than her daughters. ?There is a The Intimidating Female In GenesisThe Intimidating Female in Genesis In the narrative in the book of Genesis, there are two main objectives. The first is a general goal to create a complex world designed †¦ coach at a neighborhood school who takes it right down to a foot stamping, bleacher-kicking tirade. And the boys get it worse than the girls. A band instructor preparing for competition screams threats of what will happen unless more precision is achieved, using words that shock even those kids whose language is an adolescent shade of blue.? She talks about other more serious situations and how not even they use intimidation. Not even the armed forces buys the old stress shity A message from Carlos†¦ David C. Amarasinghe Block 1-B Biology January 11, 2000 Quest: Cellular C’s Hola Am igos! Me llamo Carlos Plast, but my friends †¦ routine anymore, and drill instructors have been told to cool it a bit.? She says that the ? coach is cruel and intimidating. His behavior is very abusive.? She explains that it is everywhere in coaching and we allow it. ?The coach can yell at the little kids but not at the grown up referee.? She explains a lot about how

Brave New World and Ethics Essay

Barely peeking over the horizon the barren landscape sparkled as rays of light pierced the darkness driving away the aches and pain from their tired bodies. Straining his eyes he saw the river glowing far in the distance looking so harmless in daylight. Shuddering softly the dark churning waters of the previous night haunted him as he look at the serene form of his wife as she lay in fitful slumber. Turning around he allowed himself one last chance to partake in sweet memories of friends, family, his country, all left behind. As his wife stirred he turned around. He never looked back. Forward they walked towards opportunities untold. Forward they walk towards a new beginning. Forward they walked in America, home of the free. For centuries humans have forsaken the comforts of their current situations in search of a better existence for themselves and their families. From migrating thousands of miles to overthrowing governments humans have a knack for defying the odds successfully in pursuit of their morals and values. Descendant from a primitive apelike people, humans developed over thousands of years morphing into a super species where science is exalted in the quest to dominate nature. In the modern era, scientific and technological advancement are idolized as successes in these fields test the limits of our imaginations. With recent discoveries in genetics and the decoding of the human genome, scientists and politicians today work tirelessly towards complete control of the human body, plants, animals with dazzling results and further successes projected even up to the creation of synthetic life. However, many lines of research have sparked considerable controversy as society moves into an age of untold possibilities. The book Brave New World by Aldous Huxely portrays a futuristic society where humans have been molded into a cast system through chemical mutations, mind altering drugs, and psychological conditioning. With all classic philosophy, literature, and history destroyed as relics of the past, society stands static without any knowledge of a societal reality more primitive or advanced than the status quo. Despite current societal movement towards genetic modification and enhancement, the censorship and elimination of creative perspective present in Huxely’s utopia contradict the individualism and sense of self gave driving society forward. Modern society will never mirror Huxely’s utopia do to the innate spirituality and drive for growth that characterizes human nature. Brave New World depicts a society where humans control their bodies and environment through chemical treatments. Although scientifically impossible, this basic premise of environmental control becomes a reality when utilizing the principles of modern genomics. Over the last two decades scientists have gradually decoded every gene and strand of DNA that allows the human body to function. The gravity of this feat is insurmountable opening the door to limitless possibilities. But despite identifying several the causes of several common polygenic disorders (disorders in which several gene are implicated) and identifying the genes responsible for several Mendelian disorders, the promise of Gene therapy has â€Å"proved nothing but a pipe dream†(Kass). Beyond the elimination of disease, genetically enhanced and altered crops have increased in popularity. Several strains of crops such as cotton, corn, and soybeans have been enhanced with artificial genes that produce insecticides or resistance to herbicides. Furthermore, scientists are attempting to genetically modify plants, insects, and bacteria. Geneticists hope that in the near future genetically engineered plants will have the ability to feed on toxic pollutants. And certain bacteria have already been altered to produce chemicals valuable in manufacturing such as adipic acid, one of the ingredients in nylon, and teraphthalic acid, a component of a specialist polyester (Kass). With the possibilities of producing indestructible crops, plants that eliminate pollutants, and genetically modified fauna to produce chemicals, the economic stability and general prosperity depicted in Brave New World may become a reality in years to come. Furthermore, Huxley’s utopia presented a society where being a mother or father was considered vile and disgusting. Children were manufactured in â€Å"Hatchery And Conditioning Centers† where embryos were designed and enhanced with a complex cocktail of chemical additives in a manufacturing process. Currently modern technology has not developed a method of substituting natural birth conditions and genetically altering an embryo is close to impossible (Kass). But the prospect of genetically modified embryos dubbed â€Å"Designer Babies† lurks in the future. When these techniques develop society will possess the capabilities of genetically determining the capabilities of newborns despite whether artificial birth exists. From an ideological view, the extreme dehumanization in Brave New World may seem difficult to comprehend, but as generation builds on generation, the evolution of cultural practices and values inches society closer a similar state. As science allows society to conquer infertility or improve the genetic makeup of a child, birth moves one step closer to a manufacturing process (Carr). Even when moving beyond the technological transformations, the dominant explanation of organic life is the theory of evolution which directly undermines the value of human life (Carr). Rather than beings with spirits and a divine purpose, society diminishes mankind to nothing more than a meaningless collection of cells whose purpose is reproduction. Regardless of the technological and ideological influences that create a level of symmetry with Huxely’s utopia, our society can never reach the extremes presented in Brave New World because the core cultural values depicted directly contradict those our society ascribe to. Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning†. Brave New World depicted such a society where those not in a drug induced coma or suffering from purposeful cognitive damage were confined to a bland meaningless existence. Our society today is designed to award the innovative and talented as all struggle to achieve individual success. Emphasizing individual growth and achievement, our society will never sit static and unchanged as the world depicted in Huxely’s work.