The Gap Between Scientist And Practitioner - 990 Words

The gap between scientist and practitioner seems to be increasing due to the increase in unsubstantiated treatment techniques. This increase contributes to be one of the primary concerns for clinical psychology because these unsubstantiated treatment techniques are being implemented in practices when they lack scientific research. In the majority of these cases, these questionable treatments or practices lack critical evaluation. Additionally, self-help programs that produce books, manuals, and audiotapes (or even talk show hosts on television) promise solutions or offer advice to complex life problems without proper scientific validation. The issues and concerns with these emerging questionable practices branches into the psychological assessment and diagnosis of a patient as well. While statistical formulas are superior to clinical judgment, most practitioners continue to use their sole judgment and interpretations based on assessment instruments that are questionable from a scien tific perspective. While some of these questionable practices may actually be effective, the claimant is responsible for the burden of proof. However; in other cases, these questionable cases can be ineffective and produce harm to clinical patients. These questionable practices or pseudoscientific techniques can produce harm in three primary ways. The first issue is that the pseudoscientific techniques can harm or cause death to the patient. It is important to note that doing something may notShow MoreRelatedEssay on Pci Assignment1686 Words   |  7 PagesExploring the scientist-practitioner (SP) ideal Student name: Sara Van Hooydonk Student i.d: 800452214 Due date: 25.5.2012 word count: 1,503 Exploring the scientist-practitioner ideal The scientist practitioner model has been particularly helpful towards the professional training of psychologists since its formulation in 1949 (HayesRead MoreThe Science And Practice Gap Essay964 Words   |  4 PagesClosing the science-to-practice gap requires that research is accessible and useful. But, practitioners must also have knowledge of what constitutes â€Å"good research† and know how to make use it in their particular settings. In this view, the science-to-practice gap is co-constructed by scientists and practitioners. Scientists are often not explicit about the implications of their research for practice or how to make the findings applicable in â€Å"the real world.† Practitioners are often not proficient inRead MoreThe Relevance Of Translational Research1555 Words   |  7 Pagessocial significance. Translational Research A statement made by Jong-Wook (2005) sums up very well the problem gap that is between research and practice, that is, to act upon something without having knowledge and understanding is a lost cause and to have knowledge without acting upon it is a waste of resourcefulness. The aim of translational research is to bridge the gap between what we have discovered in basic science and implement them into clinical application to improve human condition.Read MoreRole And Responsibilities As A Dnp Practice Scholar1704 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to the national leaders in major healthcare fields, mentioned a gap between research and practice and the importance to apply research findings and engage in evidence-based practice. In order to translate this knowledge, the clinician must understand the healthcare delivery in order to help narrow the research-to-practice gap and transform health care. DNP-prepared nurses are trained to reduce the research-to-practice gap. Because most nurse la ck knowledge to critically appraise research studiesRead MoreCommunity Proposal For A Community975 Words   |  4 Pagesinternationally recognized experts in infectious disease research and strengthen long-lasting partnerships with Indigenous communities, newcomer organizations, and industry and health practitioners. Through culturally-informed approaches, the NCE will generate solutions for some of Canada’s most urgent health challenges and fill critical gaps in infectious disease research surrounding tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, chlamydia and gonorrhea, to more effectively translate and accelerate early discovery and clinical researchRead MoreThe Role Of Scientific Research On The Performance And Health Of Athletes953 Words   |  4 PagesGlasgow (2003) suggested that there is a gap between research and practice, and can be a consequence of issues such as limited resources and time of the practitioners and/or the lack of incentives for the use of evidence-based practice. Evidence-Informed Research and Applied Practice Only the presence of staff with scientific background within sports organisations confirms the influence and importance of research in today’s sport. Sport and Exercise Scientists (SES) and performance consultants areRead MoreHuman Wildlife Conflicts in Kenya1511 Words   |  7 Pages 2004, and was attended by approximately 3,000 protected area experts, practitioners, and decision makers. The 5th WPC brought human–wildlife conflict (HWC) to the global stage as part of an effort to address current challenges facing protected area management and conservation. The HWC recommendation was informed by a technical workshop that was part of the WPC proceedings. The workshop entitled â€Å"Creating Coexistence Between Humans and Wildlife: Global Perspectives on Local Efforts to Address Human-WildlifeRead MoreThe Evolution Of Medicine And Healthcare1181 Words   |  5 PagesThe main point of the reading is to show the evolution of medicine and healthcare. As a result from r esearching HeLa, scientists were able to contribute to the development of vaccines and cures to disease. Some examples of these discoveries are the polio vaccine, HPV vaccine, and different links of cancer to other illnesses. In addition to these discovers, regulations and standards were implemented in health policies. These contributions to medicine lengthened overall life expectancy and improvedRead MoreThe Psychology Of Childhood Social And Emotional Development1103 Words   |  5 Pagesbehaviors in any given situation. My research is based on the psychology of childhood social and emotional development, and adolescence. Like a lot of things in psychology and this world, this has led my research to prove their is a direct correlation between social and emotional development in children and the entirety of adolescence. Emotional development during childhood is a crucial step in the early stages of life. This process is needed for success in adulthood and throughout life. EmotionalRead MoreThe Crisis Management Of Philippines Essay894 Words   |  4 Pagesauthor stated that there was an absence of solid foundation, inability to distill foreign values, and the â€Å"disconnects† between national culture and local articulation have resulted in the â€Å"adulteration† of Philippine management culture. This culture gap might have been the responsible for the country’s slower pace of development. The adulteration being referred to is the stark between Asian traditions and Western practices. Hechanova’s (2012) journal article was published by Philippine Journal of

The Theory Of Morality And Moral Subjectivism - 1055 Words

Caleb Nassar Prof December 7th, 2014 Intro to Philosophy Morality Since the beginning of time man has questioned and debated how we as humans should conduct ourselves within a society. As time passes more theories are created, and adjusted. The interesting element about morality, as in all philosophical subjects, is that although some theories may seem more logical or correct than others, there is no absolute answer. The most basic theory about morality is moral subjectivism. This theory believes that each individual holds the ability to say what is morally correct or acceptable and what is not morally correct or acceptable. Those who believe in moral subjectivism have no room for criticism, because their belief is that each individual determines what is right and wrong in each situation. So according to their beliefs they cannot say that their opinions are more â€Å"correct† than another’s opinion. Cultural subjectivism believes that what is right and wrong is decided by a set of rules that are relevant to a culture at the current time. What connects moral subjectivism to cultural relativism is that one culture cannot comment on the moral actions or rules of another culture. So according to their moral philosophy each individual culture decides what is right and wrong, so another culture, according to cultural subjectivism logic, cannot comment on the moralityShow MoreRelatedAre Moral Claims Objective?900 Words   |  4 PagesAre moral claims objective? Roshni Dutta REC 006 According to the Oxford dictionary, Objective means not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts. Paradigm examples of objectivity or claims that are objective include statements made in math, science and history. A statement that is objective means that it is either true or false. Moreover, the objectivity of the statement does not depend on when it was said, who said it, whether anyone knows or believes thatRead MoreTaking a Look at Meta-Ethics Concepts1136 Words   |  4 Pagesbranches of ethical objectivism that will be discussed in the following passages are moral universalism, moral realism and moral absolutism. The next meta-ethics concept is ethical subjectivism. Subjectivism states that a claim is dependent on a persons opinions and beliefs. Lastly, the third and final meta-ethics concept is ethical relativism. Relativism involves culture. The following will reveal objectivism, subjectivism and relativism and the ramifications of his tory, strength and weaknesses of theseRead MoreWhat Is An Intuitive Moral Judgment Essay1281 Words   |  6 Pagesintuitive moral judgment? 5 points An intuitive moral judgment is immediate judgment that requires no thinking or reflection. In other words, an intuitive moral judgment is simply a judgment we make with a minimum of thinking about it. An intuitive moral judgment is an automatic response to our understanding of a situation or an action. Many moral psychologists believe that moral intuitions are mainly based on our feelings rather than reasoning. 2. What is the difference between a singular moral judgmentRead MoreThe Basic Principles Of Morality889 Words   |  4 Pages Morality in philosophy pursues to obtain a standardized understanding of the nature and what it expects from us. Philosopher, Socrates defines morality â€Å"how we ought to live† and the motives behind these systematic understandings(Rachels 1). The two basic principles of morality are impartiality and reason. Moral judgments must be supported by legitimate reasons and requires the impartial thought of each individual’s interest. Reason and impartially form the minimum conception of morality. EachRead MoreThe Moral Judgment On Human Behavior998 Words   |  4 Pagesdecision-making process, we often rely on our morals. One’s moral judgment on something is a reflection of what they believe is right versus wrong, good versus bad, and just versus unjust in regards to human behavior. Their morals are essentially shaped by their upbringing and their personal experiences. For example, social norms that society labels as acceptable, cultural practices that one is enga ged in, along with religious beliefs are all things that can shape ones morals and help create ones ethical judgmentRead MoreCultural Relativism Essay1475 Words   |  6 PagesMoral principles being determined by each culture can be described as conventional ethical relativism. Every culture is entitled to have their own moral laws, beliefs and values, and these will differ from culture to culture. What is moral in one culture could be considered immoral in another, which is something that we must accept. With subjectivism, every individual is given the ability to determine their own morals, which often lead to chaotic consequences. Ethnocentric, involves elevating otherRead MoreEthical Relativism, The Principle Of Tolerance, And Moral Relativism921 Words   |  4 Pagesoutlook or moral relativism and how he sees it as a confusing, unclear moral theory. I will discuss the strongest arguments about moral relativism, the principle of tolerance, Pojman’s argument about subject ivism and how it contradicts the idea of morality, and my outlooks on why I do agree with Pojman. First off, John Ladd mentions, that â€Å"Ethical relativism is the doctrine that the moral rightness and wrongness of actions vary from society to society and that there are no absolute universal moral standardsRead MoreLying to Patients and Ethical Relativism910 Words   |  4 PagesI. Lying to Patients and Ethical Relativism Ethical Relativism and Ethical Subjectivism Ethical Relativism - theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of ones culture. * a culture. i.e.: nobody should ever steal) Objective vs. Subjective (Telling right from wrong) Paternalism vs. Autonomy Paternalism – authority of restricting the freedom and responsibilities of those lower than them Autonomy is a binomial 1) Enlightenment ethics – celebration of the individual’sRead MoreMoral Relativism And Moral Truth1405 Words   |  6 Pages‘Is there such a thing as moral truth? What bearing does this have on law?’ Some would say that moral truth is another word for moral objectivism, since if something is true, then it means it’s an unchanging fact, hence it’s objective. Moral objectivism is the view that what is right or wrong is not dependent on individual or societal opinion, but instead is grounded on facts that are external to human society. It’s opposite is moral relativism which states that what is right or wrong varies accordingRead MoreNormative ethical subjectivism and the four arguments aganist it with examples1418 Words   |  6 PagesNormative ethical subjectivism is an ethical stance that attempts to specify circumstances under which an action is morally right or wrong using four distinct arguments that try to prove this claim. Normative ethical subjectivism claims that an act is morally right if, and only if, the person judging the action approves of it. Stemming form this view on ethics a normative ethical theory has been made. An ethical theory is a theor y of what is right and wrong. This stance on ethics is the opposite

Principles of CNC Machine Operations

Question: Describe about the terms for the Principles Of CNC Machine Operations. Answer: Computer Numeric Control Computer Numeric Control (CNC) is the automation of machine tools. These tools are operated through programming and encoding. Automation here replaces the mechanical or manual operations done either by levers, wheels or hand, etc. (Reintjes, Francis, 1991). The major application for the automation of the manual or mechanical tasks is the design of the mechanical products. CNC systems are automated through Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) for the design of the end-to-end component. Principle Of Operation The automation of the mechanical and manual tasks is done, by considering the following principle of operation. Figure: Architecture of CNC machines Any kind of motion is the movement controlled in two dimensions, majorly X and Y axes and sometimes in the third dimension, Z, which is the depth. The tools position has to be driven by a motor, and usually, stepper motor is used as direct drive to ensure that the movements are very accurate and less likely with the step down gears, in series. The conversion of the energy is taken place through the transducer. The forces are kept precise or smaller, as these speeds are not much more. In such cases open loop control is used, to maintain the forces to be smaller (Leweis Kenneth, 1959). However, multiple parameters, like accuracy, reliability and speed are to be controlled, with the help of the closed loop. The closed loop is used for the applications, such as commercial metalworking machines. All these parameters are now electronically controlled, for 100%. CNC Milling Machine the modern CNC milling machines are available with compact designs with the material, titanium, ceramic and many other composite materials. Stone granite is used for the base construction that gives better kinematics, stability and overall quality of the machines. These modern machines are usually vertical mills that consist of spindle that moves along the Z axis, vertically. The end to end design of the component gets automated with the help of the automated CAM / CAD programs (Smid Peter, 2008). They have the tooling applications like, tapping, reaming and drilling and usually these tools are combined in a single cell. The cell is rotated and moved with the help of the AC servo motor for performing the required application. The structural features vary from the conventional system, as it makes use of the computer controlled robots and also sometimes with minor human interventions. Unlike the conventional milling, the CNC milling machine gives the final design, almost perfect to the CAD design. These machines were programmed with paper tape, earlier and now are computerized with the augmentation of the computers, digitally. High speed steel is usually used in cutting tools and tool bits (Boccalini Goldenstein, 2001). Alternatively, cemented carbides are also used. Tool management is done automatically, by the consideration of the specified parameters. Figure: Modern CNC Milling Machine The modern CNC milling machines are effective in swarf management. These machines make use of the ball leadscrews to translate the rotational motion, enforced from the AC servo motors to the accurate and pre-defined linear motion, so that the accurate outputs can be obtained. The modern milling machines enable the rigidity of the product to be within the pre-set strengths, without the deterioration and quality and strength. References Boccalini, M. H. Goldenstein. "Solidification of high speed steels".International Materials, 2001. Encyclopdia Britannica,diesinking, 2011. Smid and Peter,CNC Programming Handbook(3rd ed.), New York, Industrial Press, 2008. Nguyen, et al.,STEP-compliant CNC Systems, Present and Future Directions, Springer, 2009.

Traditions of Qin Han Dinasty China Essay Example For Students

Traditions of Qin Han Dinasty China Essay The Qin dynasty created the first unified Chinese empire. They did this by utilizing a legalistic approach to government. The Qin believed that the nature of mankind is inherently evil and only through a strict code of laws with severe punishment could the government achieve reliability and stability. Because the emperor feared the people and the inherent rights and privileges established with the teachings of Confucus, he ordered all books on Confucianism burned and beheaded everyone opposed to the government including their families. All weapons owned by private citizens were confiscated; the metal from these weapons were used to cast the gigantic metal statutes and bells that adorned the imperial palace. The severe punishment for committing minor offenses, distrust and oppression of the people contributed to the ultimate down fall of the dynasty. Executing an individual for being late to a military formation is an example of the unfairness of the governmental control of the Qin. During this time many roads were built linking the empire with coastal regions. We will write a custom essay on Traditions of Qin Han Dinasty China specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This included construction of a complex system of locks that connected two rivers separated by the high southern mountains. Another group of several hundred thousand constructed Shihuangdis tomb containing precious stones and carvings. All the workers were either executed or buried inside the tomb when it was finished to keep them from revealing the secrets of the tomb. Economy was encouraged and successful businessmen were honored with a position on the imperial court. Wealthy families were ordered to move to the capital so that the imperial court could keep them under control. Many peasants achieved great success as businessmen and merchants. The standardization of currency and writing, construction of highways, and regulated axle-widths and measurements contributed greatly to the Qins centralized economy. After fifteen years of rule this dynasty was overthrown by the Han dynasty. Legalism without the balance of humanism creates fear, low self worth, tension and a displaced value system. Although the Qin government was condemned for its Totalitarian rule, the Han and later dynasties adopted many of the government institutions established by the Qin. The Imperial authority served as a bureaucracy, an administration of provinces and counties supervised by imperial inspectors and the separation of civil and military branches of the government. The Han dynasty rule represented the high point of Chinese culture in the east. The intellectual and cultural foundations were a powerful influence on Korea, Vietnam and Japan. In restoring Confucianism to China, the Han government put their faith in the good of humanity. Under this system moral living by the people was paramount in the health of the government. The people were punished fairly (punishment fit the crime) for wrong doing but were encouraged to treat each other fairly, honor your parents, teachers, bosses, and governmental leaders. As an upper class, commoner or slave you were all important to the success of the government. Strength of the people and increased knowledge were stressed to create a more stable viable society. Each class of people had their place in the government and should not aspire to reach any higher than their current status. The agriculture was important during this time, wheat and millet were grown in northern China and rice was grown wherever farmers could get enough water to do so. Chinese farmers drained swamps, dammed streams and built irrigation canals. During the reign of the Han dynasty some of the natural and political barriers that separated China from the rest of the world were overcome. Greater commerce and territorial expansion brought the Chinese into contact with new states and people. Merchants passed from China through central Asia to the Parthian kingdom in Persia and the Greek cities on the shores of the Black Sea. Chinese goods, chiefly silks and furs, reached the cities of the Mediterranean via the Silk Road. .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d , .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .postImageUrl , .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d , .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d:hover , .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d:visited , .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d:active { border:0!important; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d:active , .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udff41513058b247ba4a38789415c3f2d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Minds Are Opened When Our Hearts Opened EssayIn return, The Han received horses from central Asia, glass, ivory, precious stones and fine woolens. The Han created many of the institutions that made China distinctive. They expanded the boundaries of the state, Confucianism was elevated to the official state philosophical-religious system, Buddhism became an important religion, literature and arts flourished and agriculture expanded and with it the size of the population. The harsh laws under the Qin period were rescinded, taxes reduced and almost all the Han territory was placed under imperial rule. The Chinese and the Greco-Roman Traditions were similar in their dedication to a centralized structured government, development of irrigation systems and their dedication for education. Rome developed into the social, economic and cultural capital of the Mediterranean world. Like China, Rome expanded her borders and the empire included the entire Italian Peninsula and the Mediterranean basin. The Greco -Roman Culture influenced the Western Culture in political system, agriculture, architecture, military training and education as China had done for the eastern Asian Culture.

Definition and Examples of Received Pronunciation

Definition and Examples of Received Pronunciation Received pronunciation, commonly abbreviated as RP, is a once prestigious variety of British English spoken without an identifiable regional dialect. It is also known as  British Received Pronunciation, BBC English, the Queens English, and posh accent.  Standard British English  is sometimes used as a synonym.  The term  received pronunciation  was introduced and described by  phonetician  Alexander Ellis in his book Early English Pronunciation  (1869). History of the Dialect Received Pronunciation is only around 200 years old, said linguist David Crystal. It emerged towards the end of the 18th century as an upper-class accent, and soon became the voice of the public schools, the civil service, and the British Empire (Daily Mail, October 3, 2014).   Author Kathryn LaBouff gives some background in her tome, Singing and Communicating in English: It was standard practice until the 1950s for university students to adjust their regional accents to be closer to RP. RP was traditionally used on stage, for  public speaking, and by the well-educated. In the 1950s, RP was used by the BBC as a broadcast standard and was referred to as BBC English. Since the 1970s, the BBC label has been dropped and RP has slowly been more inclusive of regional influences throughout the United Kingdom. By the turn of the twenty-first century RP was spoken by only 3 percent of the population. Today BBC broadcasters do not use Received Pronunciation, which actually today now sounds out of place; they use a neutralized version of their own regional accents that is intelligible to all listeners.  (Oxford University Press, 2007) Characteristics of RP Not every dialect in Britain has a pronounced h sound, which is one difference between them, among differences in vowels.  The prestige British accent known as received pronunciation (RP) pronounces  h  at the beginning of words, as in  hurt, and avoids it in such words as  arm. Cockney speakers do the reverse;  I urt my harm, explained David Crystal.  Most English accents around the world pronounce words like  car  and  heart  with an audible  r; RP is one of the few accents which does not. In RP, words like  bath  are pronounced with a long  a (bahth); up north in England it is a short a. Dialect variations mainly affect the  vowels  of a language.  (Think on My Words: Exploring Shakespeares Language. Cambridge University Press, 2008) Prestige and Backlash Having a dialect or manner of speaking  associated with different classes is called a  social dialect. Having esteem or social value to a manner of speaking is called linguistic  prestige. The flip side of that coin is called accent prejudice. In Talking Proper: The Rise and Fall of the English Accent as a Social Symbol, author Lynda Mugglestone wrote, Adoptive RP, a common feature of the past, is in this sense increasingly a rarity in modern language use as many speakers reject the premise that it is this accent alone which is the key to success. Reversing the polarities still further, RP... has regularly been deployed for those roundly depicted as villains in, for example, Disneys films The Lion King and Tarzan. (Oxford University Press, 2007) Afua Hirsch wrote in  The Guardian  about the backlash in Ghana: [A] backlash is growing against the old mentality of equating a British accent with prestige. Now the practice has a new acronym, LAFA, or locally acquired foreign accent, and attracts derision rather than praise.In the past we have seen people in Ghana try to mimic the Queens English, speaking in a way that doesnt sound natural. They think it sounds prestigious, but frankly it sounds like they are overdoing it, said Professor Kofi Agyekum, head of linguistics at the University of Ghana.There has been a significant change now, away from those who think sounding English is prestigious, towards those who value being multilingual, who would never neglect our mother tongues, and who are happy to sound Ghanaian when we speak English. (Ghana Calls an End to Tyrannical Reign of the Queens English. April 10, 2012)

Banished Words of 2009

Banished Words of 2009 Banished Words of 2009 Banished Words of 2009 By Maeve Maddox Every January Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie publishes a list of 15 Words to Be Banished from the Queens English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. This years losers (and some reasons given for banishing them): 1 Green 2 Carbon Footprint 3 Maverick 4 First Dude Skateboard English is not an appropriate way to refer to the spouse of a high-ranking public official. 5 Bailout Use of emergency funds to remove toxic assets from banks balance sheets is not a bailout. When your cousin calls you from jail in the middle of the night, he wants a bailout. 6 Wall Street/Main Street 7 -monkey (all-purpose internet suffix) 8 Icon/iconic 9 Game changer 10 Staycation (stay-at-home-vacation) 11 Desperate Search 12 Not so much 13 Winner of Five Nominations 14 Its that time of year again When is it not that time of year again? Any English speaker is eligible to nominate a word and give a reason for its banishment. Check out the LSSU site: Origins of the contest 2009 List and reasons for banishment Submit your choice for 2010 List Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph Examples50 Idioms About Arms, Hands, and Fingers20 Ways to Laugh

Fast food nation book by Eric Schlosser Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast food nation book by Eric Schlosser - Essay Example Yes, Mr. Schlosser you have proved it right. Pen is indeed mightier than the sword that the McDonald uses to slaughter the animals. America, wake up! A society that treats millionaires and billionaires only as part of their culture has no future. American courts will have a tough time in doing some real interpretations as to what food is good for the citizens of America. In the name of free economy, the powerful ones cannot hold the population of the country to ransom as for their eating habits. Agreed, the working mothers have no time to cook food at home; but that doesn’t mean they will watch silently when poison is fed to their children in the guise of fast foods. When the mothers wake up, McDonalds will feel sorry for their expansion plans and closure of the branches will be at double the speed of the inaugural tempo. The vigorous churning process is on, on all the above issues as a result of the publication of â€Å"Fast Food Nation†, by Eric Schlosser. He is the c ause of many a sleepless nights to the management of McDonalds! An inquiry commission perhaps cannot do better than the comprehensive ‘report’ that Eric has produced in the form of a book, â€Å"Fast Food Nation.† He has dealt with every conceivable issue social, cultural, political etc. that affects not only America, but the people of the countries all over the world. Eric makes his objectives of writing the book clear. He writes, â€Å"This is a book about fast food, the values it embodies, and the world it has made†¦.I am interested in it both as a commodity and as a metaphor. What people eat (or don’t eat) has always been determined by a complex interplay of social, economic and technological forces†. (3) The industry’s drive for expansion, consolidation, uniformity and speed has transformed the lifestyles of American people. The changes are unfortunately not for the better. What a revolution cannot

Tort Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tort Law - Essay Example This analysis will take into account the various damages that may be available to the plaintiffs according to the breaches of the Civil Code and tort in Common Law. The analysis of liability will therefore be pursued in a manner that will ensure that people that were harmed by negligence and battery will be justly compensated and the persons who breached the law are punished. Liability The Company Under common law, the company may be liable for battery since the chemicals that were ingested by the townspeople and the children originated from the company. The company is guilty since the elements of battery are present in the case. Offensive contact is proved by the coming into contact of the people and the chemicals through water, which resulted into injury in death. There is a lack of consent on the part of the townspeople on the dumping of the chemicals in the water. Additionally the company does not have the privilege of dumping toxic wastes in the public systems. The case for batt ery however lacks the element of intent since the company has proved that it educated its workers on proper disposal and as such not intended to careless dump of its chemical waste. In Garratt v. Dailey [1955] 2 d 46 [HL]1 the plaintiff brought battery charges against the plaintiff a five year old of pulling the chair she was about to sit on causing her injury. The issue was in question was whether battery charges are improvable since intent of the child is not easily proven. The company is therefore not liable for battery. The company may also be sued on negligence since it is because of its workers actions that the injury to the townspeople and children occurred. The three elements of negligence; duty of care, breach and proof of injury are all present in this instance. Duty of care entails that the company owes it to the community to be careful in the disposal of waste. A breach would entail the non-adherence to such care, which would result to an injury. This exemplified by the case of Talmage v Smith, 101 Mich. 370, 374, 59 N.W. 656 2 in which it was held that liability is proved upon the consideration of a reasonable man’s precautions towards the happening of an injury. The duty of care was breached when the company allowed its chemicals to infect the public water system resulting into injury for the townspeople3. The company did not ensure the proper disposal of chemicals by its staff and as such liable for negligence. Under strict liability, the company may argue that it was not aware that the tanks might leak chemicals into the system. It might also be argued that the company had trained its staff with regard to the handling of such chemicals. Strict liability usually has only one element; liability arises from the happening of an injurious event. Under strict liability there is no need top prove intent such as in battery but simply that injury occurred. Under strict liability doctrine, the company is liable in that even though it took all prec autions, under common law, it is still liable in tort. A good example of this is the case of Cambridge Waster Company v. Eastern Counties Leather [1994] 2 AC 2643 (HL) the rule is that even as people have a right of enjoyment of land, the keeping of anything on the land will result to liability if it escapes from the land4. The UAE Civil Code does not

Human History of the Grand Teton Essay Example for Free

Human History of the Grand Teton Essay Human history of the Grand Teton region dates back at least 11,000 years, when the first nomadic hunter-gatherer Paleo-Indians would migrate into the region during warmer months in pursuit of food and supplies. In the early 19th-century, the first Caucasian explorers encountered the eastern Shoshone natives. Between 1810 and 1840, the region attracted fur trading companies that vied for control of the lucrative beaver fur trade. U.S. Government expeditions to the region commenced in the mid 19th-century as an offshoot of exploration in Yellowstone, and the first permanent white settlers in Jackson Hole arrived in the 1880s. Efforts to preserve the region as a national park commenced in the late 19th-century and in 1929, Grand Teton National Park was established, protecting the major peaks of the Teton Range. The valley of Jackson Hole remained in private ownership until the 1930s, when conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. began purchasing land in Jackson Hole to be added to the existing national park. Against public opinion and with repeated congressional efforts to repeal the measures, much of Jackson Hole was set aside for protection as Jackson Hole National Monument in 1943. The monument was abolished in 1950 and most of the monument land was added to Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is named for Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The naming of the mountains is attributed to early 19th-century French speaking trappers—les trois tetons (the three teats) was later anglicized and shortened to Tetons. At 13,775 feet (4,199 m), Grand Teton abruptly rises more than 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above Jackson Hole, almost 850 feet (260 m) higher than Mount Owen, the second highest summit in the range. The park has numerous lakes, including 15-mile (24 km) long Jackson Lake as well as streams of varying length and the upper main stem of the Snake River. Though in a state of recession, a dozen small glaciers persist at the higher elevations near the highest peaks in the range. Some of the rocks in the park are the oldest found in any U.S. National Park and have been dated at nearly 2.7 billion years.

Advances in Medical Technology :: Medicine

Advances in Medical Technology Since the 1800s medical technology as made remarkable advances. The most basic instrument for a surgeon, which was a field in which Dr. Frankenstein was a pioneer, is the scalpel. There have been no drastic changes in the scalpel since it was first constructed. What has occurred are the refinements to the instrument. When Dr. Frankenstein wielded the instrument it was a simple steel blade with an ivory handle. Although the instrument was adequate it was not completely sterile because of the ivory handle. The fact that it was also kept in a velvet lined case did also prevented the scalpel from being 100% sterile. The scalpel of today is not only completely made from stainless steel, but there are now scalpels that are disposable. How the disposable scalpel works is" a one piece handle molding including a unique integral one-way hinge" (The Granton Knife Company). This one time use blade decreases the risk of cross infection. Even though scalpels are always disinfected after each use this is just an added precaution to prevent infection. The main reason that no drastic design changes have occurred to the basic steel blade scalpel is because " the physiology of the human hand and body have not changed since ancient times, surgical tools manifest a remarkable constancy". (The Science of Incision, Barry M. Katz) Steel blades are not the only form that a scalpel takes. Scalpels are now in the form of lasers. The use of lasers began with a laser knife. The CO2 laser was used to remove cancerous tissue. Later the Nd:Yag laser was used. Lasers knifes are not the only addition to new medical technology. The introduction of the computer-tomography (CT) scanner and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have greatly helped doctors to make a better diagnosis. When video imaging became available in the 1970s doctors discovered that by " inserting a fiber-optic endoscope through a cannula they could explore otherwise quite unimaginable places without invasive surgery". This technique led to the laparoscopic surgery "where the surgeon manipulates elongated tools through a cannula" (Katz), but instead of watching the patient the surgeon watches a video monitor. This type of surgery has forced the doctors to develop eye-hand coordination that is counterintuitive to the style in which these doctors were originally trained. The original question that was posed to me was how I felt about technology.

Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative Essay

Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative Standing at the front of a PepsiCo conference room, Bill Bruce gestured enthusiastically, pointing to the sketches at his side. Bruce, a copywriter and Executive Creative Director, headed up the creative team on the Mountain Dew account for PepsiCo’s advertising agency, BBDO New York. In fact, it was Bruce who devised the famous â€Å"Do the Dew† campaign that had catapulted Mountain Dew to the number three position in its category. With his partner, art director Doris Cassar, Bruce had developed ten new creative concepts for Mountain Dew’s 2000 advertising to present to PepsiCo management. Gathered in the room to support Bruce and Cassar were BBDO senior executives Jeff Mordos (Chief Operating Officer), Cathy Israelevitz (Senior Account Director), and Ted Sann (Chief Creative Officer). Each of the three executives had over a decade of experience working on Mountain Dew. Representing PepsiCo were Scott Moffitt (Marketing Director, Mountain Dew), Dawn Hudson (Chief Marketing Officer, and a former senior ad agency executive), and Gary Rodkin (Chief Executive Officer, Pepsi Cola North America). Scott Moffitt scribbled notes as he listened to Bruce speak. Moffitt and the brand managers under him were charged with day-to-day oversight of Mountain Dew marketing. These responsibilities included brand strategy, consumer and sales promotions, packaging, line extensions, product changes, and sponsorships. But for Moffitt and the senior managers above him, the most important decisions of the year were made in conference rooms with BBDO creatives. Each of the ads would cost over a million dollars to produce. But the production costs were minor compared to the $55 million media budget that would be committed to air these spots. Historically, PepsiCo management had learned that selecting the right creative was one of the most critical decisions they made in terms of impact on sales and profits. Mountain Dew had carried PepsiCo’s soft drink revenues during the 1990s as cola brands struggled. But now the Do the Dew campaign was entering its eighth year, a long stretch by any consumer goods baseline. Many other brands were now sponsoring the same alternative sports that Mountain Dew had relied upon to boost its image. And teens were gravitating to new activities and new music that Dew’s competitors had successfully exploited in their branding activities. Figuring out how to keep the campaign working hard to maintain the brand’s relevance with its target consumers had become a chief preoccupation of senior management at both PepsiCo and BBDO. At the same time, key competitors were raising their ad budgets as competition in both the Carbonated Soft Drink (CSD) and non-carbonated drinks categories was heating up, sending Dew sales below targets. Choosing the right ads to maximize the impact of Mountain Dew’s relatively small media budget was a make-or- break decision. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor Douglas B. Holt prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2001 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 502-040 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative PepsiCo and BBDO PepsiCo was widely considered to be one of the most sophisticated and aggressive marketing companies in the world. In North America, the company  had three divisions, each with categoryleading brands. Pepsi and Mountain Dew were the number two and three soft drinks. Frito-Lay dominated the salty-snack category with Ruffles, Lay’s, Doritos, and Cheetos. And the company had recently acquired Tropicana, the leading juice brand. In 2000, PepsiCo had acquired the SoBe line of teas and â€Å"functional† drinks from South Beach Beverages, which it operated as a stand-alone subsidiary. BBDO was one of the ten largest ad agencies in the world, with worldwide billings of about $15 Billion. Of the largest full-service agencies, BBDO was particularly renowned for the quality of their creative work. The roster of the New York office, BBDO New York, included many high-powered clients such as General Electric, Visa, M&M/Mars, Charles Schwab, and FedEx. Their top 10 accounts had been BBDO clients for an average of 32 years. BBDO’s relationship with PepsiCo dated to breakthrough campaigns for Pepsi in the 1960s. BBDO took over Mountain Dew from Ogilvy & Mather in 1974 and had held the account ever since. In 1998, PepsiCo hired Uniworld, the largest African-American owned ad agency in the United States, to develop a separate Mountain Dew campaign targeted to African-Americans. The Carbonated Soft Drinks Category Similar to most other countries, in the United States soft drink consumption was ubiquitous. And, until recently, soft drinks had meant cola. The retail carbonated soft drinks (CSD) category had long been dominated by the two cola giants, Coke and Pepsi. In the so-called cola wars of the 1960s and 70s, Pepsi directly attacked Coke with taste tests and with advertising designed to make Pepsi the hipper and more stylish â€Å"choice of the new generation†, implying that Coke was a drink for older and less â€Å"with it† people. The soft drink category, and colas in particular, boomed throughout the 1970s and 1980s as people substituted away from coffee to soft drinks as a source of caffeine. The industry also consolidated as once-important brands (RC Cola, Orange Crush, A&W Root Beer) faded into the background. By the 1990s, three companies controlled all of the major national brands: The Coca-Cola Company (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite), PepsiCo (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain De w), and Cadbury-Schweppes (Dr. Pepper and 7-UP). CSDs were a promotion intensive category. In most grocery stores, Coke and Pepsi controlled a great deal of shelf space and displays. They had so much clout that their bottlers were able to choose how to stock the shelves and what to display. Impulse purchase displays had become an important source of incremental volume. A substantial and increasing share of volume came from convenience stores, where most purchases were of single servings purchased for immediate consumption. The major brands ran seasonal promotions, such as â€Å"under the cap† games in which every tenth bottle had a free bottle give-away written under the cap. More junior brand managers spent considerable time developing and implementing these promotions. Product, promotion, packaging, and pricing innovations were constant though usually incremental, quickly diffusing throughout the category. In the last decade, one of the major innovations in the category had been the 20-ounce single serve bottle, usually priced at $.99 and sold as an impulse purchase. The margins on this bottle were higher than the twelve-packs or 2-liter bottles. Also, all of the large brands introduced 24-pack cases sold to heavy users. Brand managers worked to keep package design contemporary. For example, at PepsiCo, both Pepsi and Mountain Dew had substantial make-overs in the 1990s resulting in richer and more vibrant colors and 2 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative 502-040 simplified graphics. Other brands, including 7-UP and Sprite also executed similar packaging redesigns. For most of the twentieth century, PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company competed fiercely, each responding in tit-for-tat fashion to the other’s successes. Pepsi rolled out lemon-lime Slice in the 1980s to compete against Sprite, but soon withdrew support for that brand. Recently it was rumored that the company was plotting yet another new lemon-lime introduction. In the 1970s, Coca-Cola introduced Mr. Pibb to attack Dr. Pepper and Mello-Yello as a me-too competitor against Mountain Dew. With Mountain Dew’s national success in the 1990s, Coca-Cola launched a second frontal assault, introducing another copy-cat brand called Surge. In  addition, both companies had launched other new products without much success: Coke had flopped with OK Cola (the cynical retro cola), and Fruitopia (the neo-hippie fruit beverage). PepsiCo had similar problems with the introduction of Crystal Pepsi (the clear crisp cola), though was able to establish Pepsi One as a niche brand. In the 1990s, cola growth slowed and the â€Å"flavor† CSDs did very well. Sprite, Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper all enjoyed great success, although 7-UP continued to struggle (See Exhibit 1). In 1999, however, all CSD sales suffered as a result of customers’ sticker shock to a category-wide 5% retail price increase, and also a trend toward experimentation with noncarbonated drinks and bottled water as substitutes for soft drinks. Sports drinks were led by Gatorade, tea and juice blends by Snapple, Arizona, and SoBe, and the highly caffeinated â€Å"energy† drinks by Red Bull. These drinks, sometimes termed â€Å"functional† or â€Å"alternative,† often included a stimulant (caffeine or similar substance) and plant extracts reputed to have medicinal value (ginko, guarana, St. Johns Wort, ginseng). Many of these drinks were launched by small companies with grass-roots marketing efforts focused on music and sports sponsorships, on-site promotions, and non-traditional distribution (e.g., sandwich shops for Snapple, record stores for Red Bull). Industry rumors were circulating that CocaCola, Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo, and Cadbury-Schweppes were working aggressively to develop functional drinks to tap into this growing segment. Advertising and Branding Over many decades, Coca-Cola had become â€Å"America’s drink† (and later the preferred drink in many countries around the world) through advertising that conveyed that Coke served as a social elixir. Coke promoted the idea that the drink brought people together in friendship around ideas that people in the nation cared about. From 1995 onward, Coke had struggled as it experimented with a variety of new branding ideas. Pepsi rose to the rank of Coke’s loyal opposition in the 1960s with the successful â€Å"The Pepsi Generation† ad campaign, in which the brand harnessed the ideas and passions of the 1960s counterculture. More recently, Pepsi used celebrities—particularly musicians such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Faith Hill, Ricky Martin, and Mary J. Blige—to convey the idea that Pepsi was an expression of youth attitudes. Nonetheless, the Pepsi brand also had struggled to maintain sales in the 1990s. 7-UP was successful in the 1970s branding against the colas as the â€Å"uncola† in ads that used a charismatic Jamaican actor to describe the purity and naturalness of 7-UP in a tropical setting. Similarly, the sweet cherry-cola concoction Dr Pepper challenged the audience to â€Å"be a Pepper† with well-received dance numbers that encouraged consumers to do their own thing rather than follow the masses in drinking cola. From the late 1980s onward, 7-UP faded as the brand was used as a cash cow with ever-shrinking media investments. Meanwhile, Mountain Dew rose from its regional status to become a major â€Å"flavor† brand. The three major flavor brands dominated different geographic areas: Dr Pepper dominated Texas and the rest of the deep South, Mountain Dew dominated rural areas, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast, and Sprite dominated urban-ethnic areas. 3 502-040 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative Category advertising spending exceeded $650 Million (See Exhibit 2). PepsiCo spent substantially less as a percentage of sales than its competitors. Instead, the company relied on exceptional creative to make the advertising work harder for less cost. PepsiCo viewed the creative development process as a key organizational competency, a strategic weapon that was central to their financial success. Mountain Dew Brand History Mountain Dew was invented by the Hartman Beverage Company in Knoxville, Tennessee in the late 1940s. The bright yellow-green drink in the green bottle packed a powerful citrus flavor, more sugar and more caffeine than other soft drinks, and less carbonation so that it could be drunk quickly. The drink became a favorite on the Eastern seaboard, through Kentucky, Tennessee, and eventually spread up through the Great Lakes states (skirting the big cities) and into the Northern Plains of Minnesota and the Dakotas. PepsiCo, amazed by Dew’s success in what brand managers would come to call  the â€Å"NASCAR belt† (the stock car racing circuit that drew rural men as its primary audience), and in need of a â€Å"flavor† soft-drink to round out its line-up, purchased Mountain Dew in 1964. PepsiCo originally assigned Mountain Dew to the Ogilvy & Mather ad agency. The strategy for the new brand extrapolated from Dew’s origins and existing packaging. The beverage’s heartpumping caffeine and sugar rush were linked to its backwoods heritage to produce the idea of a comic â€Å"hillbilly† character named Willie who drank Mountain Dew to â€Å"get high† on the soft drink equivalent of moonshine liquor. The tagline, â€Å"Yahoo! Mountain Dew!† was accompanied by â€Å"Thar’s a bang in ever’ bottle.† In 1973 PepsiCo assigned the brand to BBDO, its agency of record for Pepsi. For two decades client and agency worked to expand the brand’s reach from America’s hinterlands into the suburbs and cities of the major metropolitan areas. The major campaign of the 1970s—â€Å"Hello Sunshine†Ã¢â‚¬â€ sought to tie Mountain Dew’s distinctive product characteristics to a set of backcountry recreational images. The yellow-green product and strong citrus flavor are represented over and over by the gleaming sun sparkling in beautiful natural settings. The product name is represented in virtually every ad by mountains, dew drops reflecting in the sun, and condensed drops on cans to represent dew. The energizing effects of the caffeine and sugar are toned down and now are a refreshing part of an active outdoor lifestyle. Often the ads featured casual coed athletic activities that always ended in a plunge into a rural pond or creek. This campaign pulled the Mountain Dew brand into more contemporary terrain, but it was still too rural to get much traction in the suburbs. So in the 1980s, PepsiCo directly targeted suburban teenagers with a new campaign called â€Å"Country Cool.† The creative idea was to marry the popular athletic endeavors of suburban kids (cool) with Mountain Dew’s active rural lifestyle (country), all punctuated by the refreshing Dew plunge. Ads featured male teens performing on skateboards, mountain bikes, and BMX bikes. A new tune was crafted for the occasion: â€Å"Being cool you’ll find is a state of mind. Your refreshing attitude. Things get hot. Cool is all you got. Dewin’ it  country cool. So chill on out; when the heat comes on. With a cool, smooth Mountain Dew. Dewin’ it Country Cool. Mountain Dew. Dewin’ it Country Cool.† BBDO jettisoned the â€Å"country† component of the campaign in 1991 to build an entire campaign around athletic stunts. This advertising departed dramatically from anything that BBDO had produced in the previous sixteen years. The spots featured daredevil maneuvers of sports like windsurfing, rollerblading, motocross cycling, and paragliding. The closely-framed shots, which put 4 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative 502-040 the viewer in the middle of the action, also suggested excitement and energy. The spots were set to aggressive rock music rather than studio jingles. In 1992, a new song called â€Å"Get Vertical† is introduced with the lyrics â€Å"Ain’t no doubt about the power of dew, got the airborne thrust of rocket fuel.† Cultural Trends PepsiCo and BBDO managers paid close attention to cultural trends. They were particularly focused on track music and sports trends since these activities were so central to youth culture. Music. Three musical trends dominated the airwaves in the 1990s. Rap music exploded to become the most popular genre in the country. At first, gangsta rap, which flaunted misogynistic and violent lyrics, was said to represent the reality of life in the â€Å"hood† (the American ghetto). From 1992 onward, gangsta rap broke out with a lighter sound and slightly less aggressive lyrics, sometimes called gangsta-lite, that made the music much more accessible while maintaining the forbidding connotations. By 1993, media coverage of the travails of celebrity rappers like Snoop Doggy Dog and Tupac Shakur ruled not only the music magazines but People and Newsweek. Rap music, and the hip-hop lifestyle of which it was a part, permeated teen life. MTV’s program Yo! MTV Raps and specialty  magazi nes like The Source and Vibe became mainstream cultural venues. By 1999, rap remained very popular amongst male teens, especially in urban areas, though its Top 40 appeal had subsided somewhat. At roughly the same time, the alternative rock music scene, which throughout the 1980s existed as a small subcultural scene found mostly on college campuses, also exploded. Two Seattle bands—Nirvana and Pearl Jam—put CDs at the top of the charts with aggressive and emotive music that combined equal parts punk and heavy metal. The media tagged this music â€Å"grunge† and anointed Seattle as grunge headquarters. Grunge was marketed heavily by the culture industries— music labels put out dozens of grunge bands, films that displayed the grunge attitude appeared, and fashion runways and J.C. Penny’s stores were clogged with flannel shirts and clothes that had the look of the vintage Salvation Army gear that was the uniform of the grunge scene. Grunge faded in its influence in part due to the death of its most talented lead actor when Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1995. Later in 1990s, techno music began making significant inroads into American youth culture. Invented in the 1980s as â€Å"house music† in low-budget studios of Chicago and Detroit, this beatdriven dance music became the lifeblood of dance parties called â€Å"raves† in places like London and the Spanish island of Ibiza. Raves quickly spread throughout continental Europe and beyond. Raves were all-night dancing marathons often set up in warehouses, exotic outdoor locales, and other improvised spaces. Raves attracted young people, mostly teens, who danced for hours at a time, not in pairs, but in free-form groups. The highly rhythmic music and long-winded dancing combined to produce for some fans an ecstatic trance-like state. The music was produced almost entirely by disk jockeys sampling records with tape loops and other electronic tricks. Many sub-genres have since emerged that mix-and-match musical styles from around the world. Part of the scene was a drug called ecst asy, a drug that induces promiscuous affection, sensory overload, and euphoria. And, to keep the energy flowing all night, the dancers demanded energizing drinks. In particular, an enterprising Austrian company marketed Red Bull, a drink that was once an Asian hangover cure, as a rave stimulant. Either straight or mixed with vodka, Red Bull became the rave drink of  choice. Raves diffused rather late to the United States, but proved to be most popular in the major metropolitan areas. 5 502-040 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative Sports. The so-called â€Å"alternative sports† took off in the early 1990s. Teen enthusiasts transformed casual hobby activities—mountain biking, skateboarding, paragliding, BMX biking, and in-line skating—into highly technical, creative, and often dangerous sports. Snowboarding became an overnight hit with teens. Bungee jumping was a fad that disappeared quickly. As these sports became increasingly risky and creative, they began to attract spectators. So-called extreme sports— skiing down extremely steep terrain or jumping off tall buildings with a parachute—were covered by ESPN. ESPN also aggressively promoted circuits and tournaments to professionalize these new sports, which culminated in the Extreme Games in 1994, a non-traditional Olympics of sorts. Mountain Dew was one of the founding lead sponsors of the Extreme Games, which later became the X Games. Later, NBC followed with the Gravity Games, and MTV also began to cover these sports. Grung e music, more aggressive styles of rap, and various hybrids were prominent aural expressions of these sports. GenX Ethos. During the 1990s, teens and young adults evinced a growing cynicism toward the dominant work-oriented values of the previous generation and toward corporations more generally. They found that working hard to get ahead in terms of salary and occupational prestige was harder to swallow in an era of corporate reengineering. Their cynicism also extended to corporations themselves and their marketing efforts. As this cohort became increasingly knowledgeable about how marketing worked and increasingly jaded about why brands were popular, they were not interested in listening to â€Å"sales messages† that tried to persuade them into believing a particular brand of soft drink or beer was cool. Instead, these youth adopted a campy  interest in non-trendy products, television programs, and music of previous eras. As these odd new tastes became commercialized in programming like Nickelodeon cable channel’s â€Å"Nick at Nite† series—which featured less- than-notable programming from the 1950s-1970s– â€Å"retro† was born. The Do the Dew Campaign In 1992, senior management at PepsiCo sensed an opportunity to increase business on Diet Mountain Dew. Diet Mountain Dew’s distribution was limited mostly to the rural regions where the brand was strongest, even though regular Dew was now a national brand. Diet Mountain Dew performed very well on product tests versus other diet drinks in the category because the heavy citrus flavor did a better job of masking the undesirable taste of the artificial sweetener. So PepsiCo allocated money for incremental advertising to support an effort to expand Diet Mountain Dew distribution. Bill Bruce, then a junior copywriter working on several brands, was assigned to the project. The strategy statements that guided the initial creative idea and subsequent spots in the campaign are reported in Exhibit 3. Bruce came up with the â€Å"Do Diet Dew† tag line (which soon evolved into â€Å"Do the Dew† to support the entire brand) and several new ideas to embellish what BBDO had begu n with the Get Vertical campaign. The first breakthrough ad of the new campaign, Done That, features a hair-raising shot of a guy jumping off the edge of a cliff to take a free-fall toward the narrow canyon’s river bottom, set to throbbing grunge music. This was the first ad to feature the â€Å"Dew Dudes†Ã¢â‚¬â€four young guys who are witnessing the daredevil stunts presented in the ad and commenting on them. Done That became a huge hit, capturing the country’s imagination. The ad was widely parodied and the phrase â€Å"been there, done that† entered the vernacular. For 1994 and 1995, BBDO produced three carbon-copy â€Å"pool-outs†1 of Done That. By 1995, after two years of these ads, consumer interest in the creative was 1 The noun pool-out is derived from a verb that is particular to the advertising business– â€Å"to pool out.† The idea is to develop a pool of ads that are all closely related derivations from the same creative idea. Some advertisers feel that pools deliver a 6 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative 502-040 fading fast. According to Jeff Mordos, if the creative hadn’t moved to another idea that year, consumer’s flagging interest and the potential of a revolt by PepsiCo bottlers likely would have forced PepsiCo to develop an entirely new campaign. For 1995, three of four spots produced relied upon different creative ideas. One of these spots, Mel Torme, became the second hit of the campaign. The spot was a parody featuring the aging Vegas lounge singer Mel Torme, tuxedo-clad atop a Vegas hotel crooning â€Å"I Get a Kick out of You,† with lyrics altered to incorporate Mountain Dew references. He impresses the Dew Dudes with a base jump of his own. Similar ads followed. In 007, a teenage James Bond engages in a frenetic pursuit scene with typical Bond stunts, accompanied by the familiar Bond theme music. The Dew Dudes are not impressed until Bond comes upon a Mountain Dew vending machine. In Training, brash tennis star Andre Agassi performs extreme stunts as training exercises, and then plays an extreme game of tennis with the Dew Dudes as his coaches. In 1997, BBDO came up with two breakthrough spots. The director of Nirvana’s classic music video â€Å"Smells Like Teen Spirit† was hired to direct Thank Heaven, which mimics a music video. The spot stars the lead singer of an alternative rock band called Ruby. She sings a punked-up version of the classic song â€Å"Thank Heaven for Little Girls,† in which the grunge style suggests the â€Å"little girls† of old have been replaced by the feminine brand of aggressiveness presented in the ad. Jackie Chan deploys the Hong Kong movie star’s patented martial arts with humorous stunts into the campaign’s  jaded, â€Å"seen it already† motif. The ad begins in the midst of what seems like a classic chase scene from a Chan film with lots of harrowing action. When Chan faces down his enemy, the Dew Dudes magically appear as Confucian wisemen who assist Chan with cans of Mountain Dew. Other ads produced were significantly less effective. Scream , a high-speed amalgam of extreme sports shots that are organized to answer the lead-in question—â€Å"What is a Mountain Dew?†Ã¢â‚¬â€did not fare well. And Michael Johnson, a spot developed to broaden Dew’s appeal in the African-American community, did not meet the company’s expectations. By 1998, PepsiCo managers worried that the advertising was becoming too predictable. In particular, they were concerned that the use of alternative sports was becoming less impactful due to oversaturation. Many other brands, including companies like Bagel Bites, AT&T, Gillette Extreme Deodorant, and Slim Jims beef jerky snacks, were now major sponsors of alternative sports. To keep the campaign fresh, they needed to find alternative ways to express Mountain Dew’s distinctive features. Parking Attendant, produced in 1999, was a solid effort at advancing toward an alternative expression. The spot features a parking attendant who takes liberties when parking a BMW handed off by a stuffy businessman. The kid drives as if in a police chase, flying from one building to another, accompanied by a frenetic surf instrumental that had been featured in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction a few years prior. Mountain Dew Market Research Mountain Dew’s distinctive demographic profile reflected the brand’s historic popularity in the NASCAR belt (see the Brand Development Index Map in Exhibit 4 and lifestyle analysis in Exhibit 5a). And Mountain Dew had much lower penetration of the total population than its major competitors. But its consumers were the most loyal in the category. Mountain Dew had the highest â€Å"gatekeeping† rating of all CSDs—it was the drink that mothers tried the hardest to keep out of the  more consistent campaign while others feel that the ads become too formulaic when they are so similar. Regardless, there is a great temptation when an ad breaks through and becomes a hit to develop pool-outs to extend the popularity. 7 502-040 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative stomachs of their children. Periodically, the PepsiCo research department fielded a major study to assess the â€Å"health† of the brand, and to direct any fine-tuning. A 1997 â€Å"brand fitness† study profiled the status of the Dew brand versus its major competitors (Exhibits 6a-d). PepsiCo monitored both the effectiveness of individual ads, as well as the cumulative impact of advertising on the overall health of the Mountain Dew brand. The contribution made by a single ad toward building brand equity was notoriously challenging to measure. Both quantitative and qualitative research provided data from which managers make useful inferences. But Pepsi managers had yet to find a research method that was accurate enough to rely upon to provide definitive judgments on ad effectiveness. PepsiCo routinely gathered a wide variety of data that hinted at an ad’s impact. In addition to formal research, managers monitored â€Å"talk value† or â€Å"buzz†Ã¢â‚¬â€the extent to which the ad has been picked up by the mass media. In particular, The Tonight Show and David Letterman were useful barometers. Feedback from the Mountain Dew website, unofficial websites, and the brand’s 800 number were important gauges as well. In addition, PepsiCo carefully monitored how the salesforce and bottlers responded to the ads, since they were getting direct feedback from their customers. PepsiCo managers used all these data as filters. But, ultimately, the evaluation of advertising rested on managerial judgement. Based on their past experience with the brand and with advertising across many brands, managers made a reasoned evaluation. However, PepsiCo managers did rely on market research to assess the cumulative impact of advertising on the brand. Because many other factors—especially pricing and retail display activity—had an immediate short-term impact on sales, it was often difficult to draw causal relationships between advertising and sales. But advertising campaigns do  directly impact how the brand is perceived. And these perceptions, in turn, drive sales. So PepsiCo had assembled a set of what they termed key performance indicators (KPIs), intermediate measures that were directly impacted by advertising and that had been proven to significantly impact sales. Managers tracked KPIs, also referred to as brand health measures, both for teens and for 20-39 year olds. But managers were particularly concerned with brand health amongst teens because at this age soft drink consumers often moved from experimenting with a variety of drinks to becoming loyal lifetime drinkers of a single soda. The latest study, conducted in the spring of 1999, reported Mountain Dew’s teen KPIs. Dew improved 6 points on â€Å"Dew Tastes Better† (to 48% versus a year ago). Unaided brand awareness had dropped 5 points (to 39%). â€Å"For someone like me† had increased 5 points (to 53%). And â€Å"Dew Drinkers are Cool† increased 5 points (to 64%). 2000 Planning In 1999, Mountain Dew became the third largest carbonated soft drink at retail, overtaking Diet Coke. However, part of this success in gaining share had to do with the sustained weakness of Pepsi and Coke. In 1999, the problems that the colas were facing seemed to be spreading to Mountain Dew, Sprite, and Dr. Pepper. All of the leading CSDs began to show real weakness as alternative non-carbonated drinks began to attract a great deal of trial, especially amongst teens. While Mountain Dew sales began to lag, all of the â€Å"brand health† indicators remained strong. And the advertising continued to significantly outperform competition. In planning for 2000, Moffitt and his senior management were particularly concerned with two dilemmas: –  How to keep the â€Å"Do the Dew† campaign working hard to build the brand given that extreme sports were becoming overexposed –  How to respond to the growing threat of non-CSDs, especially Gatorade and the new highlycaffeinated and sugary energy drinks like Red Bull Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative 502-040 A detailed strategy statement was developed by Moffitt’s team at Pepsi-Cola North America, in conjunction with the account team at BBDO New York led by Cathy Israelevitz. This strategy was boiled down to a single sentence to focus the development of new creative: Symbolize that drinking Mountain Dew is an exhilarating experience. This document was used to brief Bruce and his creative team (Exhibit 7). Exhibit 7 Mountain Dew FY 2000 Brand Communications Strategy Objective: Expand appeal of Mountain Dew to new users while reinforcing it among current users Positioning: To 18 year old males, who embrace excitement, adventure and fun, Mountain Dew is the great tasting carbonated soft drink that exhilarates like no other because it is energizing, thirstquenching, and has a one-of-a-kind citrus flavor. Communication Strategy: Symbolize that drinking Mountain Dew is an exhilarating experience. Target: Male Teens—18 year-old epicenter –  Ensure appeal amongst 20-39 year olds (current users) –  Drive universal appeal (white, African-American, Hispanic, and other ethnic) Product Benefits Energizing Emotional Benefits Exhilaration Personality Irreverent Quenching Excitement Daring Great Taste Fun Source: PepsiCo Super Bowl In addition to these strategic issues, Moffitt had to consider carefully where these ads would be broadcast. Mountain Dew’s national media plan focused on a younger audience. Typical buys would include MTV, The Simpsons, and ESPN during alternative sports broadcasts. However, with its long run of sales increases in the 1990s, Mountain Dew was becoming less of a niche brand. Partly in recognition of this expanding customer base and partly to celebrate within the company Dew’s arrival as the third most popular CSD, top management decided to feature Mountain Dew rather than Pepsi during the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl had for decades been a hugely influential event for advertisers. The game drew the biggest audience of the year and the ads received an amazing amount of attention. In recent years, the frenzy around the advertising had grown disproportionately to the game itself. The media paid almost as much attention to the ads shown as to the teams and players. The networks interviewed the advertisers and the stars of the ads, and even replayed the ads on their programs. So a Super Bowl ad now had a huge ripple effect in free public relations. In addition, the Super Bowl was an extremely important contest for advertisers and especially for ad agencies. To â€Å"win† the 9 502-040 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative Super Bowl (to be voted the top ad in the USA Today Ad Meter poll reported in the newspaper the following day) was a prestigious honor within the industry. Finally, Super Bowl ads provided a powerful sales tool to motivate retailers and distributors. PepsiCo and other grocery products advertisers used their annual Super Bowl advertising to sell in retail displays. Super Bowl advertising, as a result, had become a distinctive genre within advertising. The demographically diverse audience demanded advertising with hooks that were easily understood. Insider humor did not work. While MTV ads could talk in a colloquial language to teens, Super Bowl ads could not afford this luxury. Second, the heated competition to win the affection of the audience had led to â€Å"big† productions that would stand out against an ever-more impressive set of competitors. The New Creative Bruce and Cassar had just finished presenting ten new ad concepts for PepsiCo to evaluate. For each concept, PepsiCo managers were given a â€Å"storyboard†Ã¢â‚¬â€a script and a set of rough pencil sketches that depicted the most important scenes. Bruce and Cassar talked through each storyboard to help the client imagine how the ad would look if it were produced. The storyboard served as the skeletal outline of the ad. The creatives put flesh on these bones by describing in detail the characters, the action, how the scene is depicted, and the music. Of the ten new concepts, Moffitt and his senior managers hoped to select three ads to produce. The two best ads would run on the  Super Bowl and then all three ads would be broadcast throughout 2000. It was already October, so there was barely enough time to produce the ads presented to get them on the Super Bowl. Asking Bruce to try again was not an option. The ten initial concepts were quickly whittled down to five finalists. 1) Labor of Love. A humorous spot about the birth of a Dew drinker. The doctor in the delivery room calls out â€Å"code green† and retreats to catch with a baseball mitt the baby as it shoots out of its mother like a cannon. 2) Cheetah. One of the Dew Dudes chases down a cheetah on a mountain bike. The cheetah, running on the African plain, has stolen his Dew and he wants it back. He tackles the cat, pulls the can out of the cat’s stomach, but finds that it’s empty and full of holes. 3) Dew or Die. The Dew Dudes are called in to foil the plot of an evil villain who is threatening to blow up the planet. Performing daredevil maneuvers down a mountain, they get sidetracked in a ski lodge with some girls, but accidentally save the world anyway, powered by a spilt can of Dew. 4) Mock Opera. A parody of the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody sung by the Dew Dudes who mock the cover of the original Queen album. The ad portrays the story of the altered lyrics: alternative sports action in which the athletes just miss cans of Dew as they shoot by. 5) Showstopper. A take-off on an extravagantly choreographed production number that mimics a Buzby Berkeley musical/dance film from the 1930s. The dancers are silver-clad BMX riders and skateboarders who perform for the Dew Dudes posing as directors. PepsiCo viewed the evaluation of new creative as the most challenging aspect of brand management. Unlike decisions on new product ideas, consumer promotions, or product improvements, there was no market research or marketplace data to guide the decision. Junior managers typically did not sit in the agency presentations as they were not yet seasoned enough to judge creative work. PepsiCo believed that managers first had to gain knowledge of how advertising 10 Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative 502-040 worked to build brands through years of seasoning and tutorials on several of the company’s brands. So Scott Moffitt was the most junior person in the room. The skills and judgment that he demonstrated would be key to moving up the ladder at PepsiCo. Bill Bruce finished presenting his last storyboard and scanned the room to lock eyes with the PepsiCo executives who would be deciding the fate of his ideas. Scott Moffitt didn’t return the gaze. Instead he looked anxiously at his superiors, knowing that the spotlight would next focus on him. This was his chance to prove himself not only to PepsiCo senior management, but also to BBDO. BBDO’s senior managers had become influential advisors, whom PepsiCo’s top marketing executives routinely relied upon to help guide branding decisions. With six years of experience under his belt, this was Moffitt’s chance to earn their respect as a contributing member to these critical discussions. Moffitt was eager to make a strong impression with nuanced and well-reasoned evaluations. Following long-standing protocol in packaged goods companies, the junior manager at the table gets the first crack at evaluating the creative. Moffitt cleared his throat, complimented Bruce on the high quality of the new work he had presented, and began his evaluation. 11 502-040 Exhibit 1 -12- CSD Sales/Share (Million Cases/Percent Market) 1990 Coke Pepsi Diet Coke Diet Pepsi Sprite Dr. Pepper Mountain Dew 7-UP Surge Mello Yello 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 (Est.) Sales Share 1,565.5 20.1 1,370.0 17.6 726.9 9.3 490.0 6.3 295.0 3.8 364.8 4.7 300.0 3.9 Sales Share 1,597.9 20.1 1,338.0 16.9 741.2 9.3 500.0 6.3 313.1 3.9 385.3 4.9 327.5 4.1 Sales Share 1,613.9 20.1 1,327.3 16.5 732.6 9.1 509.5 6.4 328.1 4.1 414.0 5.2 351.1 4.4 Sales Share 1,680.4 20.2 1,305.9 15.7 740.6 8.9 491.5 5.9 357.6 4.3 445.6 5.4 387.6 4.7 Sales Share 1,776.7 20.4 1,310.0 15.0 767.6 8.8 511.2 5.9 396.3 4.5 485.1 5.6 455.0 5.2 Sales Share 1,868.6 20.8 1,344.3 15.0 793.0 8.8 521.4 5.8 460.3 5.1 515.0 5.7 509.6 5.7 Sales Share 1,929.2 20.8 1,384.6 14.9 811.4 8.7 541.5 5.8 529.8 5.7 536.8 5.8 535.6 5.8 Sales Share 1,978.2 20.6 1,391.5 14.5 819.0 8.5 523.5 5.5 598.0 6.2 566.8 5.9 605.2 6.3 Sales Share 2,037.5 20.6 1,399.8 14.2 851.8 8.6 529.7 5.4 651.8 6.6 599.4 6.1 665.1 6.7 Sales Share 2,018.0 20.3 1,371.8 13.8 843.0 8.5 503.0 5.1 671.5 6.8 630.0 6.3 705.0 7.1 211.5 2.7 207.7 42.9 2.6 211.3 49.5 2.6 209.9 59.5 2.5 64.0 221.5 2.5 64.6 219.9 2.5 61.6 217.7 2.3 59.0 216.7 69.0 46.6 2.3 210.9 51.8 42.4 2.1 204.9 26.7 41.6 2.1 Source: Maxwell Report Exhibit 2 Advertising Spending: Television Media Major CSDs ($MM) Coke Pepsi Mountain Dew Sprite Dr. Pepper 7-Up Surge 1990 $157.4 $129.8 $ 12.9 1991 $139.9 $141.3 $ 20.0 1992 $168.1 $137.8 $ 25.9 1993 $131.1 $144.0 $ 29.1 1994 $161.5 $120.6 $ 30.3 1995 $124.7 $133.1 $ 38.3 1996 $199.8 $ 98.1 $ 40.4 1997 $156.8 $133.1 $ 43.1 1998 $140.4 $140.5 $ 50.3 1999 $167.7 $165.9 $ 45.0 2000 (Est.) $208.3 $159.6 $ 55.9 $ 32.0 $ 32.2 $ 38.8 $ 0.0 $ 36.1 $ 49.3 $ 37.4 $ 0.0 $ 27.5 $ 50.1 $ 23.7 $ 0.0 $ 26.9 $ 52.8 $ 29.4 $ 0.0 $ 36.0 $ 61.5 $ 27.3 $ 0.0 $ 54.6 $ 65.4 $ 23.2 $ 0.0 $ 57.9 $ 67.9 $ 33.1 $ 0.0 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 69.9 $102.4 $ 38.7 $ 19.6 $ 87.7 $106.8 $ 45.1 $ 0.2 Source: Competitive Media Reports 60.6 81.0 38.7 15.5 56.2 86.8 27.0 21.0 502-040 Exhibit 3 Mountain Dew Brand Communications Strategies (1993-1999) Objective 1993-94 1995 -13- Increase awareness and trial of Mountain Dew Distinguish Mt. Dew within the competitive environment through contemporary communication of the trademark’s distinct, historical positioning Strategy Target You can have the most thrilling, exciting, daring experience but it will never compete with the experience of a Mt. Dew Male teens/young adults You can have the most thrilling, exciting, daring experience but it will never compete with the experience of a Mt. Dew Bull’s eye: 18 yr. old leading edge male Executional Direction -Distinct campaign with Dew equity consistency -Leverage â€Å"full tilt taste† and â€Å"rush† as point of difference Broad: 12-29 year olds -Shift to a unified trademark focus modeled after â€Å"Do Diet Dew† -Explore outdoor settings -Predominant male, mid-20’s casting -Preserve balance between â€Å"outlandish† and â€Å"realistic† actions/sports 1996 1997 Optimize Dew’s positioning equity among the target in a highly relevant and contemporary manner (You can have the most thrilling, exciting, daring experience but†¦) there’s nothing more intense than slamming a Mt. Dew Bull’s eye: 18 yr. old leading edge male Optimize Dew’s positioning equity among the target in a highly relevant and contemporary manner (You can have the most thrilling, exciting, daring experience but†¦) there’s nothing more intense than slamming a Mt. Dew Bull’s eye: 18 yr. old leading edge male Associate Mt. Dew with thrilling and exhilarating adventures in a light-hearted manner Bull’s eye: 18 yr. old leading edge male -Strengthen brand perceptions among AA Broad: 12-29 year olds Broad: 12-29 year olds -Bring â€Å"Do the Dew† trademark campaign to the next level -Continue â€Å"Do the Dew† trademark campaign and encompass the Mt. Dew experience -Encourage product trial where familiarity is low 1998 Build badge value and authentic, true Icon status for Mt. Dew in the world of youth-targeted consumer goods Broad: 12-29 male/female -Evolve the â€Å"Do the Dew† campaign against core target with fresh and relevant copy -Develop ethnically-targeted â€Å"crossappeal† spot -Enhance product perception 1999 Optimize relevance of Dew’s positioning among the target Associate Mt. Dew with the exhilarating intensity of life’s most exciting, fun adventures Male Teens (16 yr. old epicenter) Develop pool of â€Å"Do the Dew† executions -Invite teen girls while continuing as male CSD -Explore other metaphors beyond alternative sports to express â€Å"exhilarating intensity† -Maintain cross-over appeal among 2039 year olds -One execution should have AA/urban relevance -Communicate quenching -Inclusion of water-greenery elements not mandatory Source: PepsiCo 502-040 Exhibit 4 Mountain Dew Brand Development Index Map Source: BBDO New York -14- 502-040 Exhibit 5a Spectra Lifestyle Analysis MOUNTAIN DEW CONSUMPTION INDEX LIFESTAGE SPECTRA LIFESTYLE 18-34 W/Kids 18-34 W/O Kids 35-54 W/Kids 35-54 W/O Kids 55-64 65+ Total Lifestyle Upscale Suburbs 82 77 101 56 45 13 64 Traditional Families 118 121 160 79 42 35 96 Mid Upscale Suburbs 101 111 108 71 64 18 66 Metro Elite 139 85 141 47 47 21 72 Working Class Towns 237 139 242 121 67 42 139 Rural Towns & Farms 225 153 212 141 91 39 140 Mid Urban Melting Pot 148 104 97 52 49 31 74 Downscale Rural 309 142 291 127 87 43 158 Downscale Urban 99 98 107 73 55 32 76 Total Lifestage 171 112 165 83 61 31 100 Source: AC Nielsen Product Library 11/97 to 11/99 -15- 502-040 Exhibit 5b Mountain Dew: Selecting New Creative Lifestyle Glossary Lifestyle Glossary Upscale Suburbs â€Å"The American Dream†, a nice house in a nice suburban neighborhood. College-educated executives and professionals who index high on travel, eating out, playing golf, going to health clubs, buying imported cars, watching/reading business and news. Low African-American and Hispanic. High income. Traditional Families Like Upscale Suburbs, but lower socio-economic level. Mix of lower level administrators and professionals with well-paid blue-collar. Index high on: gardening, DIY home improvement, driving SUVs, camping, classic rock, sports radio. Low African-American and Hispanic. Mid-high income. Mid/Upscale Suburbs Live in first-generation suburbs that are now part of the urban fringe. Lower income than Traditional Families, but more college-educated and white collar. Index high on: baseball fans, casino gambling, using internet, attending live theatre, reading science and technology, listening/watching news. Low African-American and Hispanic. Mid-high income. Metro Elite Younger and more urban, college-educated, ethnically diverse. Very attuned to new fashions. Geographically mobile. Index high on: health clubs, bars and night clubs, fashion magazines, VH-1, music, film, computers. Middle income. Working Class Towns Well paid blue collar families living in suburbs of smaller cities. Index high on: auto racing, fishing, hunting, country music, camping, televised sports. Own trucks or minivans. Low African-American and Hispanic. Middle income. Rural Towns & Farms Small towns mostly in the middle of the country, dominated by blue-collar and agricultural work. Index high on: rodeos, fishing, woodworking, chewing tobacco, wrestling, camping, country music, TV movies, USA and TNN channels. Don’t read magazines and newspapers. Low African-American. Lower income. Mid Urban Melting Pot Urban multi-ethnic neighborhoods. Old European ethnic enclaves and new Asian immigrants, mixed with African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods. Index high on: menthol cigarettes, dance music, boxing, pro basketball, lottery, Home Shopping Network, heavy TV viewing, urban contemporary radio. Lower income, low college, service industries. Downscale Rural Poor rural areas in Appalachia, throughout the South, and the Plains States. This socially conservative and religious area is sometimes called â€Å"the bible belt:† While indexing high African-American, these are very segregated neighborhoods with little racial mixing. Lowest on education, occupation, income, housing. Index high on: trucks, chewing tobacco, belonging to veteran’s club, target shooting, tractor pulls, country music, fishing and hunting., daytime drama TV programs. Downscale Urban Same socioeconomic profile as Downscale Rural but very different cultural profile, more similar to Mid-Urban Melting Pot. Mostly African-American and Hispanic urban neighborhoods. Source: AC Nielsen Product Library 11/97 to 11/99 16 502-040 Exhibit 6a Brand Imagery – Mountain Dew Product Imagery *Too sweet Most entertaining ads Fun to drink Intense experience Lots of flavor When need energy boost In mood for something different *At a sporting event User Imagery (54%) Psychographic Imagery Adventurous Wild Active Daring *Courageous Exciting Free-spirited Rebellious Spontaneous Athletic Youthful Cool Hip *Out-going (Someone you’d spend time with) Source: BBDO New York -17- 502-040 Exhibit 6b Brand Imagery – Surge Product Imagery *Can’t relate to ads *Low quality product *Not always available Unique Intense experience *Tastes artificial When need energy boost In mood for something different Source: BBDO New York User Imagery (49%) Psychographic Imagery Wild Rebellious Daring Adventurous Active Up-to-date Athletic *Trendy Youthful *Leading-edge Exciting Spontaneous Individualistic *Powerful Hip In style -18- 502-040 Exhibit 6c Brand Imagery – 7 Up Product Imagery *Least fattening Lowest calories Low in sodium *Too little flavor *Not sweet enough *Not filling *Healthy/good for you Most refreshing Source: BBDO New York User Imagery (48%) Psychographic Imagery Sensitive Relaxed Peaceful *Healthy Feminine Kind *Nurturing (Nice) (Loyal) (Cooperative) -19- 502-040 Exhibit 6d Brand Imagery – Sprite Product Imagery Lowest calories Most refreshing *Thirst quenching *Goes down easy Low in sodium In a nice restaurant *After exercise/sports (In the evening) (In the morning) Imagery (56%) Psychographic Imagery Feminine Sensitive Peaceful *Nice Relaxed Free-spirited *Cooperative *Friendly *Happy Kind (Innovative)

Blaine Kitchenware Inc. Essay

To review Blaine Kitchenware Inc.’s (BKI) current debt, equity and leverage levels with respect to the highly advisable repurchase of 14 million shares of stock at $18.50 per share and the related, necessary financing. BKI is currently highly over-liquid and under-levered. The firm can anticipate elevated tax rates due to the lack of debt held. BKI has also experienced falling earnings per share (EPS) due to the over issuing of stock. Similarly the large quantity of outstanding shares of stock has led to below average returns to shareholders and a return on equity (ROE) below the competitors’ ROEs. BKI can offset these downward trends by increasing leverage—i.e. increasing debt—and reversing the dilutive acquisitions. BKI is highly recommended to obtain a 25 year loan of $50 million at 6.75% with which to repurchase 14 million of its outstanding shares of stock at the price of $18.50 per share, $2.25 above current stock price. Balance Sheet Impact As shown below, under the appendix, the pro forma balance sheet demonstrates forecasted values if BKI continues without action to increase leverage and decrease outstanding stock. BKI can expect to have $ 510,624,920.99 in stockholders’ equity and $ 96,011,793.33 in cash and cash equivalents on which BKI will be liable at a 40% tax rate, significantly higher than previous fiscal years. Based on trends from 2004-2006, BKI can predict increases in current asset accounts and marginal decreases in fixed asset accounts. Without the pursuit of repurchase and increased debt, BKI’s current liabilities accounts will also experience marginal increases while other liabilities and deferred taxes decrease and long term debt remains at zero. Furthermore, before the repurchase of stock, BKI’s equity accounts may continue to increase. Applying the repurchase strategy to calculated three year trends, BKI’s forecasted balance sheet accounts have significantly lower cash and cash equivalent account, increased market securities, accounts receivables, inventory, and other current assets accounts. Fixed assets are expected to decrease based on three year trends while current liabilities increase. The repurchase will require financing which will be attained through a 25 year fixed rate loan of 50 million. At the end of the first year term, BKI will have long term debt of 50 million minus first year principal component of $819,345.59 equaling $ 49,180,654.41. Other liabilities and deferred taxes however, may decrease marginally. In addition, with the repurchase of 14 million shares, stockholders’ equity is expected to decrease to $ 251,624,920.99 from $488,363,000.00 in 2006. Income Statement Impact Three year trends suggest BKI will have increased revenue, increased cost of goods sold, thus elevated gross profits, rising selling, general, and administrative costs, and decreased depreciation and amortization expenses. Overall, trends indicate earnings before interest and taxes may be higher than 2006 EBIT. Without the stock repurchase strategy, BKI may experience tax expense of $ 34,922,882.71 as opposed to tax expense amounting to $ 29,355,346.62 (calculated using 2007 federal income tax brackets as shown under appendix below) if BKI undergoes the stock repurchase strategy. Without undergoing the stock repurchase plan, BKI will have no interest expense and net income of $ 52,384,324.06. BKI will have dividend expense of $29,230,740.00. By undergoing the stock repurchase, BKI will earn net income of $54,576,860.15 which takes into account the interest expense of $3,375,000.00 associated with the loan to finance the stock repurchase. Impact on financial ratios Operating performance impact ROE: BKI’s return on equity ratio currently below average and below competitors’ will continue to drop based on the firm’s performance trends in the last three years to a 10% level. The anticipated ROE with the stock repurchase plan is 22%, third highest ROE, and while not quite above the industry average, sufficiently above the industry median. EPS: Earnings per share is expected to increase to $1.21 with the stock repurchase plan while if the plan is forgone, BKI can anticipate earning a mere $0.89 per share outstanding. An EPS of $0.89 is lower than the firm’s historical EPS and unappealing to future investors. Leverage: Leverage will increase overall after the stock repurchase and withdrawal of the $50 million bank loan. As shown below, debt ratio increases with the addition of the long term debt which drives up total liabilities with respect to total assets. Long term debt to total capitalization increases as well as debt to equity since BKI will have a long term debt significantly higher than its stockholders’ equity suggesting long term debt is used for permanent financing. Interest Coverage: After the stock repurchase, BKI can cover its interest expense over 20 times with the operating profit earned based on the times interest earned ratio. Expected Cost of Financial Distress BKI may have concerns with financial distress and guaranteeing that all operational costs are covered when leverage is increased. The cost of financial distress for BKI is determined by subtracting the BKI’s weighted cost of debt, 5.22% from the the rate of interest paid by firms that are not in financial distress in the same industry, based on Moody’s AAA rating is 5.88%. This results in a 0.66% cost of financial distress or $100,452,019.96 after the stock repurchase and $ 67,992,788.05 before the stock repurchase.

Joseph Grand The Plague by Albert Camus

Joseph Grand The Plague by Albert Camus In this paper, I would like to discuss such character of Camus’ novel The Plague as Joseph Grand. Although it is too early for me to advance any far-fetched arguments, I can say that Joseph is very much similar to Sisyphus; he becomes accustomed to the routine nature of daily life, and his existence reminds us of Sisyphus’ attempts to roll a rock to the top of the mountain.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Character of Joseph Grand in The Plague by Albert Camus specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Albert Camus creates this character to show that the majority of modern people do not strive for intellectual or spiritual development, while focusing on the material side of their lives. If they do decide to make a difference to their existence, their attempts are usually very superficial. Another purpose which Grand serves is to prove that as a rule people do not search for good qualities within themselves, a nd only a sudden misfortune can force them to do it. In order to elaborate this argument, I need to discuss the behavior of this man, his relations with others and, most importantly, those expectations, he sets for himself. At first, one has to show how the author describes this person. Camus points out that â€Å"ambition was not the spur that activated Joseph Grand†¦ All he desired was the prospect of a life suitable insured on the material side by honest work† (Camus, 56). This indicates that he was quite content with his status in community and the quality of his life. In part, this lack of ambition explains why he has served his entire life as a clerk and why his wife left him. It should also be noted that Grand also attempts to write a book, most probably, a novel. However, he never even finishes the first line of this alleged masterpiece. In his defense, Conrad says that he struggles to find the most suitable words and phrases for this novel and this perfectionism prevents him from progressing further. At this point, an attentive reader has to ask oneself a question whether this behavior can ascribed only to perfectionism or to something else, for instance to the fear of a making a mistake, laziness, and reluctance to take risks. He changes his lifestyle only when the epidemic of plague breaks out in the town. This calamity helps Joseph to rediscover the traits of which he was unaware before, namely, fortitude and resolution. He is seen by others as the â€Å"embodiment of quiet courage† that raises the spirit of other people (Camus, 100).Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More During the plague, he stops being a Sisyphus, engaged in senseless labor. He becomes a person who realizes that his life must not be spent in vain. At the very end, we learn that Joseph resumes the work on his novel, but we do not know for sure whe ther he has ever completed the first line. The author leaves it for the readers to decide whether Joseph Grand is a changed man, who can take initiative and responsibility for his actions, or he is the same Sisyphus, who is more content with the safety of daily routine. It is quite difficult to determine how this novel would have looked like without him. Most likely, the plot of The Plague would have remained unchanged, yet the impression, produced by this literary work would have been different. The thing is that Joseph Grand embodies the strengths and weaknesses of modern people, including their aspirations, fears, and prejudices. Again, this character proves an idea that people usually do not attempt to change for the better on their own accord, unless there is a powerful external stimulus. This is why the character of Joseph Grand is important to this novel. Camus Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. 1955. Available at: nyu.edu/classes/keefer/hell/camus.html Camus Albert. The Plague. BookEden, 1967.