About Steroids

Many people have had their lives ruined by the use of illegal steroids, yet the desired effects are so overwhelming that people tend to overlook the consequences. Steroid users believe taking anabolic steroids will enhance their performance, strength, size,etc. They regard the use of them as legitimate as any other aspect of training. To begin with, the term  «anabolic  » means  «to build tissue, » therefore anabolic steroids tend to increase constructive metabolic pathways within the body. Also, anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the natural male sex hormone, testosterone. Testosterone was the first steroid developed, a natural occuring hormone in many plants and animals. The first clinical use of testosterone occured in 1958 when physicians injected it into underweight and ill patients to simualte weight gain. The first reported use of steroids in a non-medical setting occured during World War II. Steroids were adminstered by Nazi doctors into German soldiers to enhance their aggressiveness. The Soviet Union noted the Nazis’ use of the drug and recognized that enhanced aggressiveness, increasing in strength, and size could be desirable in athletic competition. The Soviets experimented with steroids in the early 1950’s and it is believed that they were used in the 1952 Olympic games. The introduction of steroids into the United States is often attributed to the late Dr. John Ziegler, the team physician for the United States weightlifting team at the last Vienna World Power lifting championships. A Soviet physician told Ziegler that some of the members fo the Soviet team were using testosterone as an aid to enhance their strength. Ziegler was impressed with the results and began conducting some studies on American lifters. The results were the development nd introduction of the steroid Dianobol, an anabolic steroid with fewer masculinizing properties than testosterone. Dianobol became well known in the athletic world. By the 1956 Melbourne Olympic games, steroid use had escalated to the point that many Olympic competetors in the strength events were either using them or were aware of their performance ehancing abilties. Anabolic steroids are all derivatives of the male sex hormone testosterone. With the use of steroids a person will receive two types of effects from the use. The first is the androgenic effects or masculinizing. These are the unwanted ffects such as the enlarging of the prostate, growth of male sex glands, deepening of the voice, and increased facial hair(other steroids were developed in an attempt to separate these effects of testosterone from the anabolic). The other effect is anabolic effects, the wanted effects. There are three major benefits that are wanted from steroid use and they are: Frist athletes will attain a greater increase in lean muscle mass and strength when it is used with a combination of rigorous training and the drug. The second major benefit of the steroid use is that the athlete’s body suffers less breakdown. This decrease in muscle breakdown and ecovery time permits more frequent training sessions at higher intensity and for longer periods of time. The third benefit is the increased aggresiveness they are believed to simulate. This increased aggresssiveness may drive athletes to train harder and longer without the usual fatigue. Other positive effects of using steroids is increases in; storage of muscle glycogen, blood volume, a general boasting of the immune system, and the reduction of body fat percentage. The effects are maintained as long as the athlete continues the steroid use. Anabolic steroids also have a number of potentially harmful side effects. The introduction of synthetic hormones results in decreased levels of other natural hormones. This worsens acne and accelerates baldness. This can also result in the decrease production of sperm and testosterone by the testes, which can lead to atrophy of the testes. Increased incidents of liver tumors and abnormal liver funtions have been noted in patients using anabolic steroids. Liver, prostate, and testicular cancer have been linked to steroid use, particularly oral steroids. Increases in high density cholesterol is noted in people using steroids, suggesting hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, and blood-clotting disorders. Also, athletes using steroids seem to be suffering many more muscle and tendon injuries. Some doctors wonder if it is the drug-induced brittelness of the muscle or tendon or the heavier weights that is being lifted. Others think the increased aggressiveness causes lifters to ignore warning signals from an overworked body and they train harder than they should. In adult women, severe masculinizing effects have been documented including hair growth onthe cheeks and the chin, male patern baldness, irreversible deepening of the voice, shrinkage of the breast size, uterine atrophy, and menstrual irregularities. In pre-adults, anabolic steroids can cause the premature closure of the bone growth plates resulting in shorter structures. Another major side effect includes what has been popularly called  «roid rage ». For training and competition, the increased aggressiveness has been classified as a benefit of steroid use; however, with increasing dosage, the increased aggression will have an adverse effect. Wild aggression and paranoid delusions are common in some steroid users, and they may also suffer from major depressions and peroids of spontaneous violence. Steroids can also be both physicaly and psychologically addictive. Physcially many many athletes experience severe depressions following periods of not taking the drug, similar to that of any other drug addict. Psychologically, steroid use can be compulsive and unstoppable in what has been termed by the medical community as  «reversed anorexia ». The steroid users have an uncontrollable obsession with being big instead of skinny. This obsession results in the continuing or increased usage of anabolic steroids. The use of steroids in the United States has been estimated as high as one million persons, or one in every two hundred-fifty people. The major reason for his large amount of useage is that sports have envolved from recreational pastime to a lucrative money-making venture at the professional level. Speed and strength have opened the door to financial opportunities and a bond has been formed between sports and steroids. The concept of sports as a fun recreational activity has been surpassed by sports as a business. Many athletes will sell their bodies to steroids for an opportunity to win a spot on a professional roster or winning a gold medal in the Olympics. Since the introduction of steroids to sports, the reason for their use has remained the same; the pursuit of the winning edge.

Barriers Erected By Health Care Systems

Health is fully available in every moment as one of the most accessible of life’s biological forces. Health is a feeling of basic and fundamental goodness, wholeness and uncompromising strength. Health care systems are designed to help maintain the health of individuals by eliminating disease, illness or injury from the body system. However there are barriers that limit health care systems from achieving their goals. The barriers may include shortage of health workers, unaffordable health care services, lack of health care equipments.Shortage of health workers in hospitals especially during weekends occurs because of inadequate funding which compromises the ability of providers to provide a quality and affordable health care services. Some of the barriers of health care are erected by our divisive and dualistic western culture, others by our own habits to separate rather than unify. Making health care affordable is one way of eliminating most barriers of health care this ensur es that every one can visit a health center or clinic without fear of being overcharged.Setting up health savings accounts (HSAs) gives workers the opportunity to save tax-free routine expenses, the security of insurance against major illnesses and the freedom of knowing you can take your account with you whenever you change jobs. Barriers erected by health care personnel Shortage of health care personnel /workers creates a barrier to accessing quality health care. Quality health cares are services offered by people caring for other people. Patients and the general public are unaware of this critical problem and always blame the health workers for insufficiency.Recently accompanied by grand mother for her appointment to the hospital and I was very disappointed, we reported very early for her check up since she was using a pace maker for breathing, we had to wait for three hours before being attended. This was very frustrating. I thought this was worse but and elderly man was brought to the waiting bay with epilepsy. He was convulsing after every two minutes but no one seemed to notice. The nurses and other workers seemed so busy taking care of other patience so we assumed they were ignoring those on the waiting bay.Barriers created by health care systems In most health centers of hospitals health care equipments are insufficient. This results to poor health care administration many patients die due to lack of special equipments and drugs. I went for my practical in a certain health center and witnessed and elderly woman die from muscular dystrophy. This is a rare disease with very devastating symptoms. Her muscles would contract and remain in situ and this affected her breathing patterns. The doctor said there were ho resources to treat her unless if transferred to a state hospital.Her family could not afford to transfer her to a bigger facility. In such situations the public tends to blame the health worker for insufficiency and at times negligence. The state should be responsible for funding health care centers and hospitals to provide enough resources, equipments and drugs. Lack of affordable health insurance policies is also to blame in this case because if this patient had health insurance, she would access health care services from any health facility. Plans to change the barriers to reflect an environment of wellnessRising health care costs are imposing a burden on families and small businesses and put health coverage out of the reach of many Americans. Employing more health workers makes health care provision easier and better. This ensures that the ratio of health workers to patients is even. Reducing the rising costs of health care while improving quality and safety, makes health care accessible to more people especially those with minimum wages. Having a free health centre or clinic in every poor country in America. This will ensure that the jobless also have access to quality health care.This will increase the number of peopl e served by health centers by approximately 35%. Fighting health care fraud and waste by cutting wasteful spending out the Medicare and Medicaid programme. Affordable health cares for low-income families and individuals. High healthcare costs are the reason why many Americans are not insured. The state could help them by contributing to buy their insurance. Affordable health cares for all children. This ensures that all children are born in hospitals and immunized immediately after birth.Association Health Plans (AHPs) for civic groups and other community organizations. Local groups should be allowed to bond together through their regional or national organizations to negotiate low-priced coverage for their members. Maternal child health care should be improved and made affordable to reduce child and maternal mortality rates. This should be coupled with decreased post partum stays to an average of seven days. Hospitals should not overcharge patients for long stays in the wards. They should aim at providing affordable quality services to all patients.Public health awareness should be encouraged to educate the public on the importance of buying health insurance, routine medical checkups and the importance of vaccinations. National market place to shop for health insurance should be established, individual consumers should have the freedom to shop for health insurance in a competitive market place across the state lines to increase the availability of health care coverage and drive down costs. State run insurance pools to help low income Americans get the most of their credits. Free health care for all children should be established.Strengthening competition between generic and brand name drugs will help American consumers save more than $35 billion in drug cost over the next 10 years. There should be more school-based enrollment where parents are informed of the availability of health coverage for the children through medicaid. Grants to faith based and communit y organizations to join with their state medicaid To enroll targeted low-income children. Home visitation should be encouraged and enough funding put into this policy to provide transport and enough medication for the home visits.This should be coupled by the strengthening of the community follow up for the mothers and newborns by public health nurses. Direct accountability for implementation should be assigned by the policy to public health care professionals who believe in the initiative. The support of public health practitioners who advocate for this approach is required for implementation. . How the book changed my personal thinking The book changed my thinking by making me realize that the public is very ignorant to routine check ups such as pap smears, breast examination and eye check ups.Our attitude towards health workers especially nurses and doctors determine how we receive health services. Some people believe that doctors should be men with big bodies and so if treated b y female doctors, they have a negative attitude. We should always be positive about the treatment we receive. It quickens the recovery process. Giving them incentives allowances should motivate health workers or salary increments to encourage them provide better quality health services. In the hospital sector, a major barrier, which appears to have influenced implementations, is that of organizational context.These include lack of beds to allow for longer stays in hospitals and lack of funding to purchase hospital equipments. Direct funding flowed to heath units targeted for provision of special health services, eliminates barriers of health resources and medical equipments. The book made me realize that acquiring health insurances made it cheaper to access health care services. Public health units should receive additional recourses to provide a service they have long wanted to offer to the community and should be trained to provide it professionally. ConclusionPolicy enactment is sometimes in adequate to stimulate practice changes and barrier elimination in health care systems. However policy as a tool must thoughtfully address the organizational, professional and social contexts within which it is to be implemented. To reflect an environment of wellness, all players need to be included. Consumers need to know about health policies and should be informed about their health care options. Policy implementation in any health care system relies upon provider commitment. Providers, consumers and policy makers share the common goal of positive health outcomes.Consumers of health care need to be informed and prepared to hold both providers and policy makers accountable in the making and implementing of health policy. Providers must be convinced that the policy can be implemented and that the outcome will be positive. While health care is often described, as a product health services are fundamentally people caring for other people, therefore, health workers must be devoted to their work to serve and treat patients equally despite of their financial status or racial backgrounds.When barriers to policy implementations exist the policy may fail to meet its objectives to achieve quality affordable and accessible health care services. Health care should be made accessible by ensuring that every county has a health facility or a clinic to serve the community members. All health facilities should charge minimum fees to ensure that all individuals are able to visit health centers without fear of being overcharged. Health workers such as nurses and doctors should be encouraged to be polite and friendly to all patients despite the type of their conditions.Doctors should be encouraged to diagnose a patient’s condition well before prescribing any form of treatment. This ensures that patients are treated for the illnesses. Health system administrations must be established to serve every patient equally despite their races or financial affordability . Health care systems must be designed in such a way that they are able to treat any form of disease or illness. Crucial medical equipments should be provided to the hospitals by the state to make-work more efficient and also to save more lives.This is because patients won’t need to be transferred to bigger facilities for treatment. Health care administration systems should encourage the health workers to encourage both patients and the public to buy health insurance so as to make assessing quality health care easier and cheaper for them and their families. For health care provision to be efficient the general public should be involved in decision-making concerning the health system. REFERENCES Milio, N (1988). Primary care and the public’s health; Ann Arbor, Michigan, university press.

Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Supply chain management - Essay Example Businesses make plans based on the time it takes to ship or airfreight goods from one place to the next. The time it takes from order to delivery is factored into the lead time and in arriving at a re-order level for inventory supplies. Some firms do not have enough warehouse space to store goods and so they depend on the goods to come when they are needed by the customer. Tang (2006) indicates that systems such as reducing the supply base, just-in-time (JIT) and vendor managed inventory, and outsourced manufacturing are some of the supply chain initiatives that have been used to increase revenue and reduce assets. However, Tang (2006) also indicates that although these are great initiatives in a stable environment they have created longer and more complex global supply chains which increase their vulnerability to disruptions. Although, the implementation of such systems are represents measures that firms employ in their attempt to become cost effective and therefore competitive. How ever, Lee (2004) indicates that there is generally a very large hidden cost which accompanies cost efficiency measures when disruptions occur. Therefore, cost efficiency needs to be balanced with agility, adaptability, and alignment. Lee (2004) also indicates that the objective of agility is to respond to changes in demand and supply that occur in the short term expeditiously; in the case of adaptability it is to make the necessary adjustment to the design of supply chains in order to accommodate changes in the market; and in terms of alignment, seek to improve the performance of supply chains by establishing incentives in order to motivate partners. Lee (2004) also suggests methods that can be used to achieve these objectives. When these disruptions take place there is loss of revenue as firms often run out of supplies. In the case where the supplies are finished goods it means that customers will be inconvenienced. This inconvenience is even greater when there is no other source o f supply. If the goods are raw materials it means that production may have to be halted until a new supplier is found or until the supplies of goods arrive. Therefore, customers will also have to wait longer before their demands can be satisfied. Firms also face increasing costs because of the fact that when supplies have to be sourced temporarily to fill demand it usually comes at a higher price than normal. While this is taking place permanent employees have to be paid even if they have nothing to work with. In most cases workers who are employed temporarily are laid off until things return to normal. Though the firm may be able to charge the customer based on the increased price, it is not normally possible especially when the price was already quoted. Additionally, increasing the price may result in the loss of customers. There may also be issues relating to reliability as customers do not expect firms to run out of stock without giving due notice. If the customer is dependent o n only one supplier then this will definitely have a negative impact resulting in a total loss of business from specific customers or a partial loss of business. This partial loss or reduction in demand from specific customers may result from their (the customers) application of various strategies to prevent any reoccurrence of this type of scenario. Therefore, instead of using one supplier the

Total Operating Cost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Total Operating Cost - Essay Example Population, Revenue Ton, Ton-Mile load factor, capacity, assets and Investments and Special Funds are all significant at ÃŽ ±= 0.05 level of significance. Population, Revenue Ton, and Investments and Special Funds affect total operation cost positively while Ton-Mile load factor, capacity, and assets seem to affect the total operation cost negatively. Discussion and conclusion Capacity, Assets, Daily Flight Time, and Flight Length in miles were suspected to be the main variables that determine total operating costs. The correlation and linear regression, however, indicate that only capacity and assets have a significant effect on the total operating cost. When studied together with other variables, Daily Flight Time and Flight Length in miles do not seem to have a significant effect on operation cost. To further investigate if the two variables have an effect on the operation cost, a marginalized study should be conducted. There is a negative linear relationship between total operati on cost and capacity and speed of the plane. The relationship is a negative one as shown in Figures 1 and 2 in the appendices. The ANOVA results in Table 5 in the Appendices indicate that there is at least one variable that has an effect on operation cost. The linear regression model, however, proves this by indicating that Population, Revenue Ton, Ton-Mile load factor, capacity, assets and Investments, and Special Funds are all significant. The limitations of these findings should be noted. Only linear relationships were explored.

Case studies questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case studies questions - Essay Example Furthermore, the company has transitioned over several years from a captive provider to a non-captive providing third party services. Poland’s competitive strategy has enhanced its expansion across the globe. It has recognized business opportunities based on its market aptitude and study. A basic methodology in a basic operational level at BPOLAND involves numerous steps such as understanding clients’ solution identification, pilot operations, existing processes and service delivery. Sandeep Mirchandani the current vice president of BPOLAND requires a lot of knowledge within and without BPOLAND for effective management at BPOLAND. This study intends to answer the following questions related to the BPOLAND Company. Analyze the key HR challenges faced by BPOLAND There exist numerous challenges that face BPOLAND. They include employer turnover, workforce strategy and composition, level of skills and work place change. It is significant to note that, BPOLAND is diversified its operations across the globe since 2004 (Lakewood, 2003). The change of work place has created dynamism in the whole structure and training practices of the company. The significance diversity of consumer’s needs exhibited in the third party firms has presented complex challenges, which include, the necessity to revolutionize the verbiage used in the captive environment. The employee turnover is another challenge facing the BPOLAND Company. The high rate affects the provision of training large numbers of recruits. The workforce strategy and composition poses a key challenge to BPOLAND due to its complexity and numerous steps followed to ensure complete implementation. In addition, the training becomes sophisticated as it entails numerous divisions. On the other hand, levels of skills required by diverse departments of BPOLAND are relatively high, and the process of recruiting such high skilled workforce is long and cumbersome since the recruits must pass through different interviewers and panels before recruited. What are the key problems or issues for Engstrom Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant is faced by several problems, which include motivational breakdown of the workforce throughout the down turn in the Auto Mirror industry. The company was not able to uphold and manages the bonus issue spur plan, which was in place before the crisis. This saw majority of the workers loose morale of working and this situation contributed immensely to the slow rate of the company’s economic growth. It is noticeable that, the failure of the Scanlon Plan caused other issues within the company. These issues revolved around trust and fairness (Lakewood, 2003). The employees did not have full trust on the company management particularly on the future endeavors. In addition, the issue of unfairness on bonus sharing was evident between supervisors and workers. The workers opted that; they could receive a lion’s share since they worked for it, but instead the supe rvisors allocated themselves large shares and distributed fewer shares to the workers. This did not arguer well with the employees, and it further enhanced the unmotivated working spirit. Other issues included lack of planning and considerable possibility of some clients loosing certification. What are the key challenges facing HCL Technologies when Vineet took over? HCL faced key challenges like narrowing of the domestic market. The domestic market narrowed du to

Role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy Research Paper

Role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy workplace - Research Paper Example The research â€Å"Role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy workplace† investigates the professional work of healthcare workers in ensuring healthy workplaces. In the healthcare setting, the main players are hospital administrators, doctors, nurses and patients. Nurses play a particularly important role in the provision of healthcare services to patients the other stakeholders not necessarily playing a lesser role in this respect. One of the main concerns of nurses in the course of fulfilling their duties is maintaining a healthy working environment. Indeed a healthy environment plays a key role in ensuring that health workers, doctors, patients and other people visiting the hospital face less risk of getting infected with diseases that they previously did not have. At this point, however, it must be noted that maintaining a healthy working environment is not limited to a clean environment. Instead, a healthy working environment (HWE) encompasses a w hole set of factors including skillful communication and accountability as noted by Medscape. Indeed according to AACN, a healthy environment means an atmosphere that is â€Å"productive, able to give quality care, satisfying, and able to meet personal needs†. In fact, maintaining a healthy environment also helps in ensuring positive patient-staff outcomes according to Laschinger and Leiter. On the contrary, an unhealthy environment negatively impacts on nurses’ willingness to continue offering services in the workplace and patient safety Medscape. (2001). Apart from hospital staff, professional nursing organizations play an enormous role in the maintenance of a healthy work environment. This paper will focus on the role played by professional nursing organizations in the maintenance of such environments. Strategies used by Professional Nursing Organizations to Foster Healthy Work Environments The safe care of people who are sick is positively correlated with the quali ty of the work environment that nurses encounter (Alspach, 2009). Furthermore, HWEs are practically linked to the retention and satisfaction of patients, reduced job stress among healthcare workers, increased job satisfaction as well as heightened attraction (Kramer & Schmalenberg, 2008). There are numerous professional organizations that have established strategies to ensure that the healthcare environment remains a healthy workplace. Some of these organizations include the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Hospitals, Institute of Medicine, American Nurses’ Credentialing Center, Nursing Organizations Alliance, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), and American Organization of Nurse Executives (Kramer & Schmalenberg, 2008). In ensuring healthy workplaces become a reality, these organizations commonly focus on instituting systems, policies, structures and programs that reflect the domain and point of view of nurse s in executive as well as leadership roles (Kramer & Schmalenberg, 2008). Training programs for example may be established so as to equip nurses with skills that will help them be at the forefront of establishing a healthy work environment. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (2005) states that the ingredients for achieving a healthy work environment successfully are effective decision making, true collaboration, proper staffing, good communication, authentic leadership, and meaningful recognition. The organization has developed standards to help hospital and other healthcare centers achieve healthy work environment standards. The standards developed by the organization focus on quality improvement, evidence based practice as well as informatics (AACN, 2011). Instead of providing exhaustive dimensions of nursing practice that already are addressed by regulations and professional agencies, the standards are presented as a basis for engaged dialogue and thoughtful reflect ion about the work environment. Skilled communication as a strategy for creating a healthy work environment involves two way communication in which individuals

Existentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Existentialism - Essay Example This begins with the aspect that religion is a problem that afflicts humanity in daily struggles of life. For example, he asserts that religion has played the fundamental role of brainwashing and confusing people instead of providing light. This suggests that it has stopped being a necessity for humanity in their common endeavors to find meaning. There is also a disconnect between religion and nature that affects the existence of human beings amicably (Nishitani 339). This means that religion has a contradictory spectrum that conflicts with its necessity for the masses especially the poor. The writer makes some implications that people can always do without religion in their regular roles and responsibilities. This is through seeking the purpose of religion and aligning it with the essential needs of humanity especially in the understanding of life. Learning and arts in some aspects are not necessities as viewed by humanity in the context of sociological indoctrination. For example, in existentialism, the concept of the absurd affirms that humanity has nothing to gain from the world except the meaning they attach to its happenings. Additionally, the concept continues to add that there is a lot of meaningless in most of the things people value. This is also reflected in the futility of life whereby tragic events occur at the split of seconds without any warning (Nishitani 340). Therefore, the obsession with arts and learning in the context of education should be dissociated with the meaning of life to help humanity cope. Alternatively, even in the concept of authenticity in existentialism, it is upon the individual to find him/herself without making attachments to creations of other human beings. This suggests that a person should exercise his freedoms according to his wishes without getting affected by the demands of humanity. There are several consequential effects of attempting to force religion in the view of its purpose for the masses. This implies that it is a case of futility in attempting to understand the meaning of religion because it is not a necessity. It is also sociologically incorrect to subject it an existentialistic argument because it is devoid of human appeal. Another perspective deals with the issue of evaluating the merits and demerits of religion because it is also useless. This is because the seeking of religious quest leads to confusion in the search of the meaning of life. In other words, according to most of the existentialism concepts, there is no rationality in reaching decisions based on things defined by man (Nishitani 340). These include religious devotion and its eventual evaluation to derive some of meaning for humanity. It also connotes the sense of anger and despair in human beings on things that lack meaning in their daily existence. Religious quest is also paramount in terms of helping people to define themselves within the broader spectrums of nature. However, there are certain conflicting obstacles th at deter people from attaining the level of religious horizon or pinnacle. This is known to breed a sense of nihility and the questioning of self-being through doubts and indecisive moments (Nishitani 341). Therefore, in Nishitani’s assumptions, the ways become unblocked through the comprehension of nihility in its sense of unblocking the sense of self. The author defines nihility as a thing that attaches meaninglessness to the

Mohammed ali clay Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mohammed ali clay - Research Paper Example As a professional athlete who popularized the sport and who remains one of the most well-known boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali was a three-time world heavyweight champion as well as an Olympic athlete. The following will explore the life and times of Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali and discuss the important contributions that he has made to the boxing world as well as to the United States of America (About Muhammad 2009). Cassius Clay grew up in the 1940s Louisville, Kentucky, a community in which blacks and whites intermixed but there was also an undercurrent of racism which pervaded all aspects of society. Accordingly, racial segregation was a feature of the early boxers existence in Kentucky as the state practiced the infamous Jim Crow laws. Due to these restrictions on race mixing, education, healthcare, and a variety of other things such as rural road transport were segregated based upon race. Despite growing up in an era in which the color of his skin was a hindrance, Cassius Clay put whatever anger he had at the discriminatory and racist society in which he grew up towards boxing. As a young boy he began boxing and eventually won six Kentucky Golden gloves titles as well as an Amateur Athletic Union national title. Cassius Clay impressed boxing aficionados throughout the Midwest as well as nationally and he represented the United States in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Unknown to many, Cas sius Clay – later to become the world-famous Muhammad Ali - was an accomplished amateur boxer who won the light heavyweight gold medal for the United States in Rome in 1960. Racism was a serious problem in the United States during this time and the victorious Cassius Clay reportedly threw his gold medal into the river upon returning to United States and being refused service due to the existence of Jim Crow laws. Despite the fact that Cassius Clay successfully

Questions in History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Questions in History - Assignment Example very short period of time because by the end of like four months there was already the use of gas in vans as a form of automatic death with the aid of a senior commander named Herbert Lange (Fulbrook, 2001). In this article, the impacts of the ‘final solution’ have also been discussed i.e. impacts in the academic sector and the cultural effects of the same. The whole issue of brutally murdering the Jews and enclosing them in death camps is unimaginable and disturbed people’s minds such that even psychologists could not understand what could have been happening in the camps. Therefore, this left a great impact on the society because people lived in great fear of what would come next. In the academic sector, there have been many historical publications on dictatorship and such leaders and also on what happened during the killings of the European Jews. Many academic writers have also shown interest in how the Nazi concentration camps rose and also the Second World War; therefore these issues are still being taught in many learning institutions (Fulbrook, 2001). This happened between the years 1980 to 1990 and it tried to cover up the bad impression brought about by Nazism by trying to explain in a humane way. According to the holocaust, the Nazi concentration and death camps still existed just for a simple reason that the present people may remember what was happening in the past and not that they were sites for murder. However, the holocaust has faced much opposition from many historical analysts because they claim that it is difficult to understand such serious issues without the actual survivors. Furthermore, there is no common language that the survivors, if there were any, would use to pass the message whether in written or spoken form. Holocaust research is centred on information acquired from the actual victims of the final solution through video-taped testimonies and written literature (Fulbrook, 2001). The ‘final solution’ was accomplished by

Partisan Comedies Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Partisan Comedies - Thesis Example Reviews done by various popular media outlets as well as people’s reactions on the show will be analyzed. In conducting such study, the researcher proposes that partisan comedies in the US have significant influence on the social and political views of the American people. Introduction Comedy is a form of entertainment art which primary purpose is to provoke laughter. It does not only include the elements of humorous dialogue or actions but also the elements of surprise, incongruity, conflict, repetitiveness, and the effect of opposite expectations. Actually, there are various forms of comedy based on their source of humor, the method of delivery, and the context in which it is delivered (Griffin, p.1). One of the most popular forms of comedy is satire. It is a composition that deals with the fragments of society. And the person who uses satire is called satirist. Certainly, the word satire was coined to describe a collection of literary poem or commonly known as poetic medley. Then, it may also mean a poem that was riddled with vices. It was widely used to describe many works of literature that exposes foolishness or vices in humans, organizations, or even governments. It is a form of entertainment which uses the art of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or humor/comedy in order to effect reaction, change or even to prevent it. It is widely available in written verse or prose, vocal and even in visual form (Griffin, p.1). Today, partisan comedy shows are becoming very popular in the US since it was revolutionized in media. In fact, it becomes an effective tool especially in exposing political and social issues. Thus, this research paper attempts to determine the specific publication or revi ews, or media perception of partisan comedy shows in the US as well as to analyze the influence of the show or comedy on published opinion and public reaction through review of published literature and to determine any link or consequential political or governmental action regarding the comedy or show. The researcher has found these objectives important in this study because these have significant contribution in the evolution of partisan comedy in the United States. Literature Review Evolution of Comedy in US Comedy is a popular literary or entertainment which usually use humorous performance, satirical tone, or jokes to amuse and make the audience laugh. It also includes the elements of surprise, incongruity, conflict, repetitiveness, and the effect of opposite expectations. Actually, comedy was used in varied forms of arts and entertainment. But, the development of each form also marked the conceptualization and development of another form i.e. the radio comedy leads in the devel opment of comedy in television (Rourke, 324). In the United States, partisan comedies can be traced back after the American Revolution when the country was already freed from worries and chaos and when the American citizen begun to appreciate the works of art such as comedy. At first, comedy was only used in writing and speaking but years later it expanded in other forms such as in literatures, cartoons, magazines, animation, theater, vaudeville, radio, recordings, television and films even in standup comedy (Rourke, 324). In literature, the earliest available material for comedy and satire was the work of Thomas Morton from Marymount, which was entitled the â€Å"New English Canaan† published and circulated in 1637. The author used humor and wit to compare the cultural values of native people and English Puritan colonists. Another was

Emi Group Plc In The Music Publishing And Recording Industry Essay Example for Free

Emi Group Plc In The Music Publishing And Recording Industry Essay Music and recording industry present interesting development due to the introduction of new artists and the development of new music genre, to name a few. In addition, the industry also experiences significant challenge due to the advancement in digital technology that drives the industry to find appropriate ways in winning the competition. The challenge occurs since there is a difference circumstances in the competition of media industry where previously the existence of new media does not eliminate the old media. The existence of commercial radio, for example, does not kill the print media like magazines and newspaper. Similarly, the existence of television broadcasting also does not eliminate the existence of radio and newspaper. In many cases, the television broadcaster also owns radio and newspapers companies to complement their media business. However, the situation may be completely different in the digital age where the existence of internet and the development of digital technology like file compression (MP3, mpeg, and file-sharing technologies etc) could completely kill the old model of music distribution such as compact disc. The so-called MP3, often refers to MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, is an audio encoding format that reduce the file size from tens of megabyte (when using WAV or compact disc format) into less than 5 Megabyte (MB) in MP3 format for one same song. Audio Galaxy and Napster are two companies that employ file-sharing technology that enables their members/customers to exchange their music or video with others members/customers (Karp, 2007). Immediately, the invention of new audio encoding format increases the sales of portable digital music players like iPod. Coupled with the increased international internet bandwidth, the exchange of MP3 files rises significantly. A number of websites that enable users or music lovers to download the desired songs in MP3 format also rises. Despite the attractiveness of MP3 technology for audio, MP4, and MPEG for video, the technologies causes severe violation of copyright as downloading music and video without paying royalties to the owners/singers of the music is considered as piracy in digital world/domains. Concerning the challenges in the music and recording industry, this paper will discuss about Emi Group plc, a giant in music and recording industry. In particular, there are several issues including the identification of strategic choices that EMI performs, EMI and its critical success factors in competing in the industry within the last five years, and the use of appropriate management concepts in evaluating the suitability of EMI’s current strategies to deal with future competition. 2. Aim and Objectives The objectives of this paper are to analyze current and future positions of EMI Group plc in the music publishing and recording industry. Systematically, we can derive the objectives into four points. First is to analyze the strategy of EMI Groups plc that positions the company in the music and recording industry. Second is to use the appropriate research methodology, this paper is to assess EMI Group plc and its critical success factor in the last five years. Third is to use the relationship of research approach, deductive, quantitative to explore key resources and capabilities of EMI in the next five years and assess whether they can create sustainable competitive advantage. And fourth is to use the non-participant observation method, collecting data and analyzing qualitative information from journal, books, magazine and online materials, this paper is to adopt the management concepts to evaluate the appropriateness of EMI’s current strategies for the future. 3. Porter’s Five Forces This section will discuss Porter’s five forces on EMI Group the recording industry which details the threat of new entrants, power of buyers, power of suppliers, rivalry among existing competitors, and the threat of substitute products for market place organizer or transaction service provider industry satisfy following diagram: Figure 1 Diagram of Porter’s Five Forces Source: Porter, 1998 3. 1 Rivalry In music publishing and recording industry, competitive advantage plays a significant role in winning a competition. This is because it represents not only the greater benefits in terms of products but also in other Ps of marketing mix (place, promotion, and price). The possession of specific competitive advantages increasingly important since nowadays, customers use emotional side than rational side when decide which products or services they want to use (Manjoo, 2003). The rivalry in recording industry is quite intense since EMI Group does not only compete with similar company like Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group but also illegal distribution both in traditional and web-based distributors through several kinds of file-sharing program like Napster. Napster becomes the catalysts of online music service (Rupley, 2003). In order to prevent the distribution of illegal copy of music, Hodges Shaw and Brian B Shaw (2003) says that government has persuaded users regarding importance of not using file sharing for copyrighted materials over the Internet by considering it as illegal actions. 3. 2 Barriers to Entry One of common barriers to enter a new market is brand loyalty or in terms of multinational business, the main barrier could be the nationalism. In music industry, one significant challenge that continues gains popularity is iTunes, a legal web-based music distribution from Apple Company. In music industry, especially regarding the competition between EMI Music and p2p companies and iTunes, the brand loyalty is obvious since the fever for iPod products has driven the use of iTunes to download legal music (Manjoo, 2003). The entry to some markets like educations gets fiercer as Jason E. Lane and Margaret A Healy (2005) revealed in their article File Sharing, Napster, and Institutional Responses: Educative, Developmental, or Responsive Policy that file sharing (including music, video, and file sharing) has been parts of students activities. They usually use the internet to share their favorite music and movies illegally. In addition, Scott (2001) and Dong et. al (2002) reveals that file sharing remains a popular services due to their offering free downloading music and video. 3. 3 Products Substitution Impact of product substitution is possibly the most overlooked factor although its impact is damaging. Therefore, it is imperative that business must not only look at what the company’s direct competitors are doing, but what other types of products people could buy instead. The products substitution for EMI Group is the introduction of various digital formats like MP3 and MP4 that easily downloadable that enables customers to convert the CD format to MP3 and distribute it by e-mail. This is because EMI Group mostly still relies on the distribution of music in CD format that they believe is still better than others do. Figure 2 Music Format Source: RIAA, 2006 3. 4 Buyer Power In music distribution and recording industry, there are some factors that influence buyer power including size of buyer (larger buyers will have more power over suppliers), number of buyers (when there are a small number of buyers, they will tend to have more power over suppliers), and purchase quantity. 3. 5 Supplier Power Concerning the supplier power in recording industry, we find that digital format developer that invent MP3 and p2p technology continue gain popularity that further drive the customers to increasingly avoid the use of products distributed by recording companies (Manjoo, 2003). 4. EMI Groups plc Strategic Position in Music Publishing and Recording Industry Realizing the fierce competition that occurs in the music and recording industry, EMI Group develops several strategies such as the selection of new talents that will hit the market and develop sustainable distribution strategy to speed up the existence in new market. Among the distributions system, EMI Group appropriately conduct joint venture with foreign companies in order to smooth their distribution. One of them is with EMI Televisa joint venture that helps EMI Group to distribute Celestial and other English language album (EMI Group, 2006). The decision to conduct joint venture is a good strategy to be implemented for EMI Group since it is a model in business that composes of two or more enterprises that join hand-in-hand to increase their competitive advantages. In this scheme, joint venture is somewhat similar to partnership but joint venture is derived from one business transaction. Joint venture is preferred because it can help companies to divide potencies, reduce threats, and raise competitive advantages in the market. Joint ventures can be formed as separate business units or cooperation between businesses (â€Å"Corporate Venture Strategies†, 2001). Developing a joint venture properly can obtain many benefits and advantages, such as dividing expenses and risks, enhancing right of entry to monetary resources, admission to innovative knowledge and consumers, and admission to new decision-making performs. Moreover, companies are able to have some bearing on structural development of the business. Conduction of knowledge and skills are also accomplished easily (â€Å"Corporate Venture Strategies†, 2001). 5. EMI Strategic Choice EMI Group plc is a well-known company in music and recording industry. The company is currently perceived as the fourth largest recording company in the world behind Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group. The company main business is the distribution of compact discs, videos, and other formats under the auspices of their subsidiaries and partners including EMI Records, Capitol, and Virgin (Yahoo Inc, 2008). The label company is behind the success of many famous artists such as Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, and The Beastie Boys. Currently, the company also handles more than one million songs. The strategic position of the company has attracted many larger companies such as Warner Music Group (WMG) to takeover EMI Group plc. Although many acquisition attempts, the company finally bought by Terra Firma, a private equity firm, for $4. 9 billion in 2007 (Yahoo Inc, 2008). 6. EMI and Its Critical Success Factor The winning strategy of EMI Group exists since the company is suitably conducting several strategies that benefit the company in the long term. One of popular strategy is the decision to outsource their CD manufacturing in Australia. This decision occurred in 2004 where EMI Music and Warner Music conduct agreement with Summit Technology Australia Pty Ltd to own CD Manufacturing business together (EMI Group, 2006). This strategy provides great benefits for EMI Group since the company significantly obtains costs reduction and helps the company to insulate the business from the effects of changing volumes. Figure 3 Reasons of Outsourcing Source: Outsourcing World Summit This is in line with the general benefits of outsourcing where costs reduction becomes the main issues that companies perceive. When discussing the outsourcing business model, the images refer to advantages that organizations obtain, especially refers to costs reduction. However, the benefits of outsourcing do not merely the cost reduction. Figure 3 shows six main reasons of carrying out outsourcing in an organization like EMI Group according to Outsourcing World Summit. Similarly, to costs reduction, outsourcing also provides benefits of helping the company to focus on core competencies. In theory, outsourcing is only used for delegation of non-core activities concerning the mission statement of the company. Nevertheless, many corporations outsource some of their core functions to gain more value in competitive advantage. Furthermore, many if an organization is able to develop a good relationship with its outsourcing partner, the long-term effect would be a sustainable competitive advantage. Another critical success factor is the decision of EMI Group to take benefits of digital technology. Previously, the company relies on tradition supply chain as shown in the Figure 4 below. In traditional supply chain (figure 4), we witness that recording companies make huge revenue and thus the profits from the two elements (in blue boxes). However, this model soon changes considering technology advancement in music like MP3 that immediately spawned illegal peer-to-peer music download over the Internet. Concerning the issue, coupled with wide coverage of high-speed Internet access, recording labels realize that they should change their supply chain to adopt the advancement in information technology as described in the following section. However due to the benefit that digital distribution provides, the company also offers the digital option for the supply chain (Figure 5). By developing the digital distribution, the company starts receiving significant growth on digital revenues. In 2006, digital revenue contributed about 8. 5% of total Group revenues. In addition, digital revenues also experienced significant growth by 78. 2% in 2006, providing more opportunity to receive more revenue from this technology (EMI Group, 2006). In this web-based supply chain model, we witness that recording labels are massively legalize licensing strategy that significantly fire up a legal digital music subscription (in contrast to Napster that was illegal). 7. Key resources and capabilities of EMI in the last Five Years and Suitability, Feasibility, and Acceptability Concepts There are several key advantages and resources the company possessed within the past five years. First is EMI Music keep finding new talents that bear success in UK and North America, in particular, and in the world, in general including Letoya, 30 Seconds to Mars. This strategy represents the feasibility of strategy taken by EMI Group since competitions between recording industries is mainly regarding the artists that the company manages their music creation. Second is the success of current managed artists including popular artist such as All Saints, Keith Urban, Norah Jones, Robbie Williams, and Depeche Mode. This artist management represents the suitability to manage the popular artists and release the unpopular one. Meanwhile, EMI Music Publishing successfully finds songwriting talent that result in the attractive performance revenues that represents the acceptability (EMI Group, 2006) 8. Conclusion In the basic marketing management study, four factors characterize the successful marketing; they are product, place, promotion, and price. In the recording industry while product represented by the artists, distribution or place factor also provides significant contribution to the company. This is in line with O’Brien and Springman (2004) suggestion that say companies should balance supply and demand since focusing entirely on the supply side may result in unnecessary capital expenditures, inventory investments or suboptimal solutions. Concerning the challenges in the music and recording industry, this paper has discussed about Emi Group plc, a giant in music and recording industry. In particular, there are several issues including the identification of strategic choices that EMI performs, EMI and its critical success factors in competing in the industry within the last five years, and the use of appropriate management concepts in evaluating the suitability of EMI’s current strategies to deal with future competition. Reference: Carlson, Scott. (2001). Napter Was Just the Start of the Bandwidth Invasion. Chronicle of Higher Education, v47 Corporate Venture Strategies’, [Online] Available at: http://www. 1000ventures. com/business_guide/venture%20strategies. html Daugherty, Tyson. 2002, ‘Creating a Digital Music Marketplace’, [Online] Available at: elab. insead. edu/publications/mbareports/ Creating%20a%20digital%20music%20marketplace. pdf Elizabeth Scott, M. S. 2008, ‘Music and Your Body: How Music Affects Us and Why Music Therapy Promotes Health’, [Online] Available at: http://stress. about. com/od/tensiontamers/a/music_therapy. htm EMI Group Limited. 2005, ‘EMI Group Overview’, [Online] Available at: http://www. emigroup. com/About/Overview/Default. htm EMI Group. 2004, ‘EMI continues manufacturing outsourcing strategy with agreement to sell Australian CD plant’, [Online] Available at: http://www. emigroup. com/Press/2004/press18. htm . 2006, ‘EMI Group plc results for the six months ended 30 September 2006’, [Online] Available at: http://www. emigroup. com/Press/2006/press70. htm Forness, Megan J, ‘Copyright and Fair Use’, [Online] Available at: http://lrs. ed. uiuc. edu/students/forness/copyright. html Freeman, Jillian S. 2005, ‘The Pros and Cons of Sharing Music on the Internet’, [Online] Available at: http://www. angelfire. com/de3/jfreeman/termpaper. htm Harcourt, Robert H. and Robert W. Hutchinson. 2004, ‘Sup

Causes and Impacts of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Causes and Impacts of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic and generally progressive disorder of unknown origin which affects connective tissues. RA is commonly manifested by inflammation of the synovial membrane of joints, immobility and general fatigue (1). Concurrent and symmetric polyarticular inflammation, which is its first clinical symptom, initially involves the small joints in the hands and feet (2). RA knows no geographical or racial boundaries and may occur at any stage of life. Its prevalence and incidence increases with age (3). According to other studies, its global prevalence rate is reported as 1% and such rate is the same worldwide (2, 4). According to the World Health Organizations 2002 annual report, RA accounts for 0.8% of total years lived with disability. Besides, the mortality rate of people affected is twice than that of general population at the same age. Also, the rate of its prevalence is significantly increasing in the recent years (2, 5). Furthermore, women are more likely to develop such disease than men as 70% of the patients suffering from RA are women. The disease, which mostly occurs in the fourth and fifth decades of life, can disrupt normal daily activities (2, 6). RA may cause numerous physical complications among which chronic pain, fatigue, impaired mobility and limb deformities are the major ones (7). RA-induced complications are not limited to apparent limitations in mobility and activities of daily living; but obscure systemic effects of such disease can also lead to organ failure, death or serious health problems such as pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance and changes in self-image. Such complications can cause disabilities and permanent changes in the patients (8). The chronic nature of rheumatic diseases necessitates obtaining the required knowledge about the disease to make sound decisions for managing the health condition and developing a treatment plan tailored to the patients lifestyle. Fundamental objectives and strategies to deal with such diseases includesuppressing inflammation and autoimmune response, controlling pain, maintaining or improving joint mobility and functional status as well as increasing the patients’ awareness of the disease process (8). Encouraging patients to adopt correct and proper self-care behaviors is an important factor which contributes to successful management of the disease (9). Self-efficacy also seems extremely important in managing RA.Unpredictable courses of the disease and its varying activity can make the patients find their disease uncontrollable which, in its own turn, can decrease their self-efficacy in managing it (10). Self-efficacy is a form of self-confidence defined as ones belief in ones own ability to successfully organize and accomplish a particular task, behavior or any changes in cognitive status regardless of the underlying terms and conditions (11, 12). It is also a prerequisite for behavior change which affects the amount of efforts and level of performance (13). People with higher levels of self-efficacy hold a belief that they are able to control their life events effectively. Such perception and belief, which can affect their behaviors directly, create a standpoint for them different from that of people with poor self-efficacy (11). Hence, self-efficacy is a critical factorcontributing to the success and failure of people throughout their lives. Individuals’ perceptions of such sense, is the most powerful predictor of their ability to change risky behaviors. It also determines how they face obstacles and difficulties. The people with low self-efficacy are easily convinced that their attempts are useless so they quickly stop striving. However, those with high self-efficacy not only can remove the barriers by improving self-management skills and persistence, but they also can stand against problems and have more control over their affairs. Besides, reinforcing self-efficacy can result in maintaining and preserving health-promoting behaviors (14). Its significant role in the initiation and maintenance of healthy behaviors,in case of occurrence of any disease such as arthritis, asthma and diabetes mellitus occurs, has been frequently reported by researchers (15). Previous studies have shown that using structured education can improve it in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well (16). It is also reported that increased self-efficacy could improve self-care skills and behaviors in the patients with diabetes mellitus (17). The evidence show that it is essential to enable the patients to take care of themselves using scheduled training programs, which are based on patient-centered approaches, including patients’ active participation in improving their quality of life.It is of extreme importance due to several reasons such as priority of prevention to treatment, the chronicity of the disease, shorter hospital stay and spending recovery period at home as well as the problems of access to health care (18-20). Atak et al (2010) reported the significant effect of education and subgroups of regular exercise, choosing healthy diet and controlling complications of the disease on the mean of total self-efficacy scores in the patients with diabetes mellitus (21). Furthermore, the results of another study revealed that education could significantly affect perceived self-efficacy in the patients with arthritis with respect to their ability to exert control over pain; however, it was not significant in terms of shin-related exercises. The researchers justified the lack of educational effects on exercise-related self-efficacy by explaining that training in a limited period of time cannot enhance the patients’ confidence in taking such action due to severe complications such as joint stiffness, pain and inflammation they experienced (22).Ø ªÃƒÅ¡Ã‚ ©ÃƒËœÃ‚ ±ÃƒËœÃ‚ §ÃƒËœÃ‚ ±Ãƒâ€ºÃ…’ Vikery et al conducted a similar study to examine the effect of self-care trainings on disease outcomes. The obtained results showed that self-care training could decrease morbidity, the number of medical visits required and consequently healthcare costs (23). Even a small percentage increase in the self-care of chronic conditions can have major effects on reducing the demand for specialized services in health care (24). Patrich (2008) believe that without training the patients and their participation in their self-care process, health care will be more costly and quality of life will be more impaired (25).Patient training is a vital aspect of nursing care for those with arthritis to enable them to live as independently as possible, take their medications correctly and safely and use assistive devices properly. Such training is focused on the type of disorder, possible changes resulting from the disorder, prescribed treatment regimen, side effects of the medications and strategies to maintain individuals’ independence and performance as well as patients safety at home (8). Several studies showed that training the patients can raise their knowledge and result in the improvement of self-management activities and health status so that they can prepare themselves for decision-making and compliance with the treatment regimen (26). It is worth mentioning that the aim of training the patients with chronic diseases is to sustain their behavior change for a longer period of time and even until the end of life.Due to the nature of the disease, immediate changesare not expected to be seen; for example prompt resolution of disabilities and difficulties is not expected to occur in case of chronic diseases such as arthritis. However, self-management training seems essential and profitable; so, the patients should obtain required knowledge and skills needed for decision-making and solving their own problems and those related to communicating with others (27).

A Swot Analysis Of American Airlines Tourism Essay

A Swot Analysis Of American Airlines Tourism Essay INTRODUCTION: American Airlines was the U.S.s largest carrier in 1992. It had a fleet of 622 jet aircraft, flying 2,450 flights daily to 182 locations. It also had innovative technology and programs. They were the first to introduce a computerized airline reservation system called Sabre, Super Saver fares and frequent- flier programs. Despite these innovations, American Airlines and the airline industry as a whole was still not operating as profitably or providing customer satisfaction the way it should in 1992. There were two main reasons. First, the airline industry was suffering from the economic downturns in 1990 and 1991. In 1991 alone, the industrys cumulative losses were $1.87 billion, which exceeded the total amount of profits the industry had ever earned throughout its 60-year history. American Airlines itself reported losses of $77 million in 1990 and $165 million in 1991. In terms of customers flying, the dollar volume of pleasure travel grew only 8% in the 1989-91 period compared to 19 % for 1987-89. The comparable figures for business travel were a 9% increase for 1989-91 in contrast to 28% growth experiences in 1987-89. April 9th, 1992 American Airlines announced that their yields were too low and they were going to bring value back to air travel through a new pricing strategy termed, Value Pricing. SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths Market leader: American Airlines is the largest U.S. airline in 1992 with a 19.15 market share in 2001. Strong Innovation Technology: American Airlines created the first and largest Computer Reservation Service, SABRE, which was a valuable resource for yield management and extra profits. It was such an effective technological innovation that in 1992, 92% of domestic reservations were made through Computer Reservation Systems in the United States. Marketing Promotions: American Airlines were the first to create a frequent flier program aimed to increase brand loyalty with business customers in 1981. Distribution: The use of hubs meant replacing non-stop flights with a set of connecting flights, and this benefited both carriers and consumers. Airlines could serve more locations with fewer planes. American Airlines benefited by having six hubs in 1992, two of which are ranked as the largest airports in America: Chicago and Dallas. Market Growth: Between 1981 and 1991, passenger volume grew by almost   80%, the equivalent   of a compound annual growth rate of 6%. There are still opportunity gaps to further increase demand. Strong Brand Image: A survey that generated the ratings of domestic airlines on service quality, American Airlines had the joint highest satisfaction index of 76. This implies that American Airlines has a stronger image of high quality service, relative to competitors. Problems: There are high risks of delays and inbound flight delays of even a few will inevitably delay connecting flights and then affect large portions of the network thereafter. Enormous transaction costs from the extreme complexity of capacity planning, crew roistering, flight scheduling, ground handling and fare structures. High risk of missed connections and lost luggage with connecting flights Opportunity Increase the demand for air travel through reaching more customers and increasing the frequency of travel per customer: There is already a growing percentage of Americans is using air travel. In 1991, 76% of American Adults reported that they had flown at some time in their lives and 32% had flown in the past year. The increase in American air travel can be seen in the table below: Percentage of American adults who have: 1981 1989 1990 1991 ever flown? 65% 78% 74% 76% flown in the last 12 months 24% 34% 31% 32% The table implies that Americans are increasingly adapting to air travel and this means that their is an opportunity for American Airlines to continue their expansion. Price discrimination models: Price discrimination models provide an opportunity for American Airlines to capture the two main customer segments, business and pleasure travelers in the most profitable way. Using price discrimination models provides an increasing opportunity. Percent of American Adults traveling on: 1989 1990 1999 2001 Business 52 51 42 41 Pleasure 47 49 53 57 This provides an opportunity for American Airlines because the two segments have different demand fluctuations and buying characteristics and if American Airlines can capture both markets through different pricing fares then it will increase their yield per customer, smooth out overall demand fluctuations and achieve profit maximization. The differences can be distinguished by demand and buying values. Buying differences: Business travelers are more loyal to one particular airline because they have the ability to build up frequent flier miles. They are less pricing sensitive due to being more time sensitive. On the other hand, leisure travelers are less loyal, more price sensitive and more flexible in terms of time, date etc. Online Reservations: Like low cost airlines and adopt online reservations, which mean less need for travel agents, no paper tickets and convenient booking. American Airlines currently only serves 80 destinations worldwide, compared to 182 locations in the U.S. mainland and Hawaii. Therefore, there is a strong opportunity to focus on increasing long haul, international flights as opposed to short haul flights. Threats: After the deregulation of the airline, industry competition intensified as national and regional airlines grew or merged and became fixated on profit maximization. American Airlines major domestic competitors are United Airlines and Delta Airlines as they both operate with similar scope and service to American. American Airlines main competition from regional airlines includes US Air, America West, Southwest, TWA, Northwest and Continental. US Air serves primarily eastern and southwestern markets. American West and Southwest are discount carriers serving the Southwest and California areas. TWA that offered primarily coast-to-coast service, Northwest that served the Northern tier of the U.S. and Continental that served the southern tier. Furthermore, mergers meant that the combined market share of the four largest airlines rose from 54.2% in 1982 to 64.8% in 1987. Growth of low cost airlines: Low cost airlines are expanding rapidly. Southwest in particular is successfully promoting its bargain fares, low cost and no-frills approach to service and are the seventh largest U.S. carrier, though only operating in 15 states for local, and short haul markets. The low cost airlines are able to charge extremely low discount prices because: Distribution costs are reduced using direct selling through the internet or call centers and having no tickets Pricing segmentation only occurs on two variables: the date of booking and the effective demand of that specific flight so there are less complex fares and less restrictions imposed to increase customer satisfaction The operating expenditure passenger and their operating margin are also significantly higher. American Airlines does not have the ability to compete directly through matching such low prices because they could never achieve such low costs, nor does the brand image of American Airlines compliment this strategy. Airline Industry is vulnerable to price wars: Industries that have extra capacity, high fixed costs, and low differentiation and are price elastic are the most vulnerable to price wars. High Fixed costs and extra capacity are profit-damaging combinations because it means that airlines must have high yields through yield management in order to maintain profitability, which is very complex. Low Differentiation means customers see airline travel as a commodity- like business. In general, they simply want to get from one city to another in the shortest amount of time, at a convenient time that fits their schedule, and at a reasonable price. High Price Elasticity: Due to the combination of the above, airline travel is typically price elastic. Therefore, airline companies are becoming more inclined to lower prices in order to stimulate demand. Sensitive to economic downturns due to high fixed costs structure, for example in 1991 the industrys cumulative losses were $2.67 billion The dominant distribution channel is the travel agent. Therefore, the cooperation of travel agents with the Airline is necessary. Airlines get the agents cooperation through giving them commissions from ticket sales. Key Issues Develop a pricing strategy that will increase the demand of air travel and the long term profitability of the airline industry. Identify and evaluate alternatives by considering competitors reactions, customer impact on yield, costs and long term profitability. 1. Value Pricing The main objective of this pricing strategy was to provide simplicity, equity, and value for air travel, compared to the existing system with a multitude of ever changing fares and discounts. Value Pricing: Segmented Pricing: On any given flight, there would be only four different fares: First Class, Regular Coach, Discount Coach (booked seven days in advance) and Discount Coach (booked twenty-one days in advance). Each fare had different restrictions and offerings. E.g., Discount coach involved Saturday night stay over, advanced purchases (21 days), not refundable but they could be re-issued for another flight and priced 49% below the regular coach fares. New fares will be 38% below the levels of comparable existing fares and will be the same for everyone, meaning no need for special deals. Advertising: American Airlines would spend $20 million on media time and space over two weeks. They anticipated that revenue would increase additionally by $300-350 million annually and cost savings of $25 million per year. Pros  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business travelers will benefit from value pricing. The advantages for business travelers is that, they  no longer need to worry about inflexible restrictions attached to reduced fares, forcing them to pay higher prices. Now they can get the advantage of being able to book at short notice but ensuring that they will still receive the same 38% off full Coach with no restrictions with any time fares. Furthermore, if they can book in advance they can pay even less. Reduced Costs: American Airlines forecasts cost savings of $25 million per year through the reduction in the number of fares offered, as it will reduce its CRS from 500,000 to only 70,000. Secondly, as all flights will be priced based on the distance of the flight path, so the variable costs actually determine the prices, in theory providing higher revenue. Cons Price elasticity: Air travel has quite high price elasticity as a review found that the majority of estimates were between the range of -.8 and -.2, with the elasticity for business travel generally being less than unity, while that for pleasure travel typically exceeding unity. Therefore, leisure travel demand changes with changes in price more than business travel because of a price change. American Airlines, the price sensitive customers will be highly dissatisfied by the new value pricing and they will be encouraged to switch to low cost airlines. American Airlines will no longer benefit from the business travelers that were typically price insensitive but time sensitive and so prepared to pay the higher costs. This will have incremental affects on yield and profitability as the high fixed costs of airlines previously depended upon business travelers to buy higher priced tickets. Competitors Reactions: For air travel demand, which in turn creates the lack of customer brand loyalty to airlines, a 38% reduction in American Airline prices in theory would cause customers to switch to American Airlines. However, American Airlines has failed to consider competitors reactions in their value pricing. Lower their prices to match American Airline prices to guarantee the consumer the lowest fare without committing to a lower price but ultimately keeping their customers and sending the message to American Airlines that they should increase their prices. In turn, this will reduce the profitability of the Airline industry, as airlines will need to keep lowering prices in order to remain competitive, leading to a decrease in profit margins and economic growth. Competitors reactions will ultimately prevent American Airlines from reaching their forecasted revenue for 1992. Promotion problems: The travel agents are less likely to promote this reduced fare platform and the CEO only plans a one-time $20 million advertising effort. High Fixed Costs of Airlines: American Airlines has a high cost structure and as a result, they rely on high-yield and high traffic.   Therefore, it is not feasible and it will be disastrous for them to lower costs in the long term without reducing their fixed costs. They expect market share to increase by an additional one-half of 1% of the total  U.S.  market. They believe that in the second quarter of 1992, revenues could decrease by $100 million, but that revenues will increase by $300- £350 million for the entire year. They assume that the demand for air travel as a method of transportation will increase by 3-4% with the new pricing structure. American Airlines yield and revenue assumptions are flawed because the value pricing is assuming that all present factors in the industry will remain the same but in reality competitors will match prices and travel agents will not be so cooperative. Break Even changes: American Airlines would need to increase their sales dramatically in order to break even, which will be very difficult. Regular Coach 1990 1992 1992 Route: New York- Chicago Old New New (including $20m advertising) Selling Price $854 $500 $500 Total Revenue (assume sell 1000) $854000 $500000 500000% Variable Cost as a percentage of the total costs 3.60% 3.60% 3.60% Variable Costs per person $40 $40 $40 Total Variable Costs $40000 $40000 $40000 Unit Contribution= selling price- variable cost $814 $460 $460 Fixed Costs   as a percentage of the total costs 96.40% 96.40%   96.4% +    £20m Fixed Costs ( 96.4/3.6=26.77740000= 1071111.111) 1071111.111 1071111.111 21071111.11 Break Even=   fixed cost/ unit contribution 1315.861316 $2328.502415 45806.76328 Break Even sales change 1012.641099 44490.90196 Break Even Point % sales change 176% 3481%   Pros Product Differentiation will be valued: On long haul flights added frills are valued because passengers are on the plane for longer so they will require more services in order to feel comfortable. There are a range of services and products that American Airlines has the opportunity to offer customers to differentiate their fare prices.. Reduce the risk of a price war. Through concentrating on long haul flights and maintaining low but profitable prices, competitors will be less likely to reduce their costs because American Airlines is the market leader and every competitor wants to have profit maximization. Furthermore, it will increase the long-term profitability of the industry as demand and profitability will increase. Increase customer brand loyalty: American Airlines are differentiating their products from competitors and if these differences are valued then customers will be encouraged to be loyal to American Airlines, as they will receive the extra benefits from the products on top of their frequent flier program. Opportunity gap in the market: Expanding into new markets will increase their customer base and market share as long haul flights e.g. 15-18 hour will become more and more popular through increasing international business communications. It is impossible for American Airlines to match the leading low cost airline fares while at the same time operating at a profit due to their higher cost per seat mile. The current brand is image of a high quality service airline. Simplifies pricing without the need to price too low and curbs demand, so customers will be willing to pay more and also they will better maximize flight capacity through curbing demand and so they will not suffer from opportunity costs found in value pricing. Cons Increasing the number of services will increase their variable costs per customer. Fixed costs will rise dramatically from initial expansion. Risk of International Business Problems: As American Airlines expand they must ensure that they maintain good communication or else their costs could increase Foreign markets will bring more challenges when facing new competitors Currency differences American Airlines does not react to the growing number of low cost airlines by matching their low prices then they will expand further, increase their market share within America with price sensitive customers and decrease American Airlines competitive advantage. This could reduce the profitability of the U.S. air travel industry in the long term. Require heavy investment, funding, planning and advertising in order to implement and communicate the difference of services between flight fares to customers and get customers to value these differences. Recommendation:   Recommended that Value Pricing be adjusted and combined with alternative three, to focus on long haul flights and segmented pricing through service differentiation as despite Value Pricing being a very innovative pricing strategy it has many shortcomings. The value pricing must be embedded in a broader and consistent marketing strategy. The value pricing aim to simplify fares through offering four fare structures should be implemented as this will reduce CRS costs and increase customer understanding of fare prices. However, the restrictions imposed should be reduced on the discount fares, otherwise customers will go to low cost airlines. Instead, it is recommended that fences be built between the different fares to prevent customers from switching from higher fares to discount fares through service differentiation, not just the transportation and a few marginal restrictions. Furthermore, American Airlines should focus on long haul flights as opposed to short-medium haul flights within America because it is within these flights that service differentiation is highly valued. In addition, if American Airlines can expand into more markets it will increase their market share and long-term profitability. This will also prevent the erosion of profitability in the airline industry because it will prevent a price war.

Culture of Ancient Rome :: Ancient World Culture

The art and artifacts from the Karanis excavation provide a useful, summary statement about the culture of ROME, the great imperial city. Rome's greatness grew out of its imperial program of conquering others and establishing colonies. This military expansion at once brought great material benefit to the Roman state and guaranteed a pipeline of wealth for Rome, the imperial city. And Rome becomes a cosmopolitan capital where high-living and material wealth become synonymous with personal importance and success. Note how the Karanis exhibit displays extravagant wall paintings, which did not decorate the walls of churches or temples but rather the homes of wealthy citizens. The exhibit also includes coins, whose minting bespeaks the abiding concern for the tokens of wealth as well. What the Romans also did was learn from other cultures. You might wonder why APHRODITE, a Greek goddess, was memorialized in a fantastic sculpture in Roman times (and in Egypt, no less!). To their credit, the Romans recognized the richness of Greek art and architecture, and they sought to emulate the Greek masters -- and the Greek styles and themes -- in their own art. To a large degree, it was the Romans who brought Greek (and Hellenistic) culture to world attention. Romans patronized Greek artists and artisans in the glorification of a vast world of their own, Roman creation. It is no surprise, then, that the Roman poet VIRGIL (or VERGIL) turns to Greek mythology and to the Greek epics as he fashions his own description of the origins and destiny of the Roman state, The Aeneid. Virgil writes his extended poem, in part, to win the favor of

A Typical American Wedding Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

A Typical American Wedding Marriage. Are there any specifications to when someone gets married? When is it the appropriate time to get married? All these questions swarm my mind day after day as I envision my wedding. I don't believe those questions have a correct answer, but can only be answered by that person who is considering marriage. I on the other hand seem to answer those questions every day and develop a new answer everyday. As of right now I have been with my boyfriend, Forrest, for 3 years and two months. According to my stipulations of when to become engaged, I believe it should have already happened. We have each discussed it numerous times. My mom has subscriptions of wedding magazines that seem to arrive just as I walk into the door to visit, and my niece already refers to him as her uncle, yet I do not have a ring! I have thrown out every hint to him, from brochures of ring settings, to bringing up subjects of other friends who are engaged, but still no proposal. As the holidays and my graduati on approach, I anticipate the idea of an engagement. Although it may seem that I am eager to expedite this memorable event, it is also obvious to point out that there are many arrangements and a lot of stress that is tacked on to planning a wedding. First, I will have to acknowledge that I will have to deal with my family who has been sitting on pins and needles waiting for this day, possibly more so than myself, and of course there is the strategic plans. Since I have been waiting for this day, I have talked with my cousin's fiancà ©e, Lyssa, who has gone through this very similar delay of a proposal. I had to listen to her gripes and now she gets to listen to mine. But fortunately her time has come and she has gone from ... ... Two words of advice for brides-to-be. First, Be shacked up for at least a year because living with Kevin makes it so easy to marry him. I know what I am in for and I am marrying him with no doubts! Second, Have a lengthy engagement to make sure your wedding includes every detail you want. You'll have time to save needed money for all the extras and you'll have time to make everything happen. Last, I am adding a word for the grooms. If you are shacked up don't even think about surprising your girl with a ring, just do it within a year or your engagement will be an ultimatum." Personally I believe weddings are beautiful, but after witnessing many conflictions that Lyssa has gone through, I have learned that there are other aspects to planning a wedding. But in the end it is all worth it, and I anticipate watching the actual wedding of Kevin and Lisa on February 2nd.

Macbeths Sinister Side :: Free Macbeth Essays

Macbeth's Sinister Side      Ã‚  Ã‚   When the audience experiences Macbeth by William Shakespeare, it is subjected to a large and heavy dose of evil in the form of intent and actions by the witches, by Lady Macbeth and by Macbeth.    L.C. Knights in the essay "Macbeth" specifies the particular species of evil present within the play:    Macbeth defines a particular kind of evil - the evil that results from a lust for power. The defining, as in all the tragedies, is in strictly poetic and dramatic terms. It is certainly not an abstract formulation, but lies rather in the drawing out of necessary consequences and implications of that lust both in the external and the spiritual worlds. Its meaning, therefore, is revealed in the expansion and unfolding of what lies within the initial evil, in terms of direct human experience. (93)    In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson describes the evil course of action within the drama:      At this point there is the brief interlude with the Doctor. The king's evil and its cure and the graces which hang about the English throne are briefly described. [. . .] It marks the turning point, and it introduces the notion of the appeal by faith to Divine Grace which will reverse the evil course of the action when Malcolm and Macduff learn to outrun reason in that way, instead of by responding to the Witches' supernatural solicitations as Macbeth has done. (110)    Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare interpret the main theme of the play as intertwining with evil:    While in Hamlet and others of Shakespeare's plays we feel that Shakespeare refined upon and brooded over his thoughts, Macbeth seems as if struck out at a heat and imagined from first to last with rapidity and power, and a subtlety of workmanship which has become instructive. The theme of the drama is the gradual ruin through yielding to evil within and evil without, of a man, who, though from the first tainted by base and ambitious thoughts, yet possessed elements in his nature of possible honor and loyalty. (792)    The Tragedy of Macbeth opens in a desert place with thunder and lightning and three Witches who are anticipating their meeting with Macbeth, "There to meet with Macbeth." They all say together the mysterious and contradictory "Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Confidential Industrial Application Form

Return completed applications to [email  protected] Co. UK Application for the role of: Date of Application Candidate Number (Office use only) Personal Title: First name(s): Last name: Address: Post Code: Home Telephone: Mobile: Textron: Email: Work We may need to contact you during office hours (with discretion) National Insurance Number: Do you have any friends or relatives who work for First Response Recruitment Limited?Please specify; Date of Birth: Emergency contact (Please give details of a family member or friend who we can contact if necessary) Education, qualifications and training Include qualifications obtained and any other training courses attended. Dates Professional Qualifications held Please give details (if applicable) Employment history Current or most recent employment first Please note; We need a minimum of 26 weeks employment history, Fill out a section for all periods of no work.If you have been working for an Employment Agency you need to complete a section f or each contract you have worked on for the agency. Start Date Finish Date Employment Status Permanent Temp Through Gag Temp with Company Contract No Work (provide Reason) Sick Jury Service Maternity Leave Other (please Sate) Company Name Company Address Contact Name Telephone Agency Name Agency Address Position Brief Summary of Duties Salary / Rate & Benefits Reason For Leaving Please ask for additional forms if required.I hereby confirm the employment details provided is a true and accurate reflection of my employment history to date. Signed Interviewer Initials (Please do not sign this now, we will run through your history with you first during your interview) References: First Response Recruitment Limited will not offer you any work at all, unless we can obtain two years worth of references, these will be taken prior to any work or role been offered, for temporary workers only. References (2) years worth is required, you must complete this section Please give details of two refe rees who are able to comment on your work ability.One referee should be your current or most recent, employer. References must cover the last two years of employment and must not be provided by a family member or relative. You will not be offered ANY role or assignment without these references being on file. Name: Employer's name and address: Postcode: Relationship of Referee to you: We need to obtain the reference prior to you working for us If you cannot complete this section, you need to advise the Consultant or the Administrator.We will have no option but to cancel the application if you cannot provide information that is vital to our quality checks and screening process. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DAD) & Amended Act 2005 First Response Recruitment Limited has a policy of interviewing applicants who have a disability and who meet the essential short listing criteria. The DAD 1995 & 2005 defines disability as a â€Å"physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and Eng-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities†.Do you consider yourself to have a disability, in accordance with the Act? Yes No Do you require any special arrangements if asked to go for an interview. We want to ensure you receive a fair interview, for example; a sign language interpreter, lip-reads, speech-to-text operator, audio transcription, wheelchair-accessible interview room etc†¦ Would you require any reasonable adjustments to be made if you were offered a position with First Response Recruitment Limited clients? Yes No If yes, please describe briefly what these adjustments would be: Confidential Industrial Application Form Return completed applications to [email  protected] Co. UK Application for the role of: Date of Application Candidate Number (Office use only) Personal Title: First name(s): Last name: Address: Post Code: Home Telephone: Mobile: Textron: Email: Work We may need to contact you during office hours (with discretion) National Insurance Number: Do you have any friends or relatives who work for First Response Recruitment Limited?Please specify; Date of Birth: Emergency contact (Please give details of a family member or friend who we can contact if necessary) Education, qualifications and training Include qualifications obtained and any other training courses attended. Dates Professional Qualifications held Please give details (if applicable) Employment history Current or most recent employment first Please note; We need a minimum of 26 weeks employment history, Fill out a section for all periods of no work.If you have been working for an Employment Agency you need to complete a section f or each contract you have worked on for the agency. Start Date Finish Date Employment Status Permanent Temp Through Gag Temp with Company Contract No Work (provide Reason) Sick Jury Service Maternity Leave Other (please Sate) Company Name Company Address Contact Name Telephone Agency Name Agency Address Position Brief Summary of Duties Salary / Rate & Benefits Reason For Leaving Please ask for additional forms if required.I hereby confirm the employment details provided is a true and accurate reflection of my employment history to date. Signed Interviewer Initials (Please do not sign this now, we will run through your history with you first during your interview) References: First Response Recruitment Limited will not offer you any work at all, unless we can obtain two years worth of references, these will be taken prior to any work or role been offered, for temporary workers only. References (2) years worth is required, you must complete this section Please give details of two refe rees who are able to comment on your work ability.One referee should be your current or most recent, employer. References must cover the last two years of employment and must not be provided by a family member or relative. You will not be offered ANY role or assignment without these references being on file. Name: Employer's name and address: Postcode: Relationship of Referee to you: We need to obtain the reference prior to you working for us If you cannot complete this section, you need to advise the Consultant or the Administrator.We will have no option but to cancel the application if you cannot provide information that is vital to our quality checks and screening process. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DAD) & Amended Act 2005 First Response Recruitment Limited has a policy of interviewing applicants who have a disability and who meet the essential short listing criteria. The DAD 1995 & 2005 defines disability as a â€Å"physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and Eng-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities†.Do you consider yourself to have a disability, in accordance with the Act? Yes No Do you require any special arrangements if asked to go for an interview. We want to ensure you receive a fair interview, for example; a sign language interpreter, lip-reads, speech-to-text operator, audio transcription, wheelchair-accessible interview room etc†¦ Would you require any reasonable adjustments to be made if you were offered a position with First Response Recruitment Limited clients? Yes No If yes, please describe briefly what these adjustments would be:

Brunos Change Essay the Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas

How does Bruno grow and change in the novel, if at all? Bruno does grow and change in the book but slowly; it is only in the end that he truly evolves. Does he change when he moves to Out-With? And the first time he sees the camp, does he see it for what it is? When he meets Shmuel that’s when he really changes. The writer has Bruno change so he develops personality. This is important because you need to get to know him when you read the book. Bruno does change a little bit when he moves to Out-With. He does get bored more easily (which anyone would if you had to move to the middle of nowhere) and he feels sad that he had to move away from his friends. So Bruno does change but it’s hardly noticeable. When Bruno first sees the camp he doesn’t know what it is. It is only near the end when he goes inside that he actually sees that it’s a cruel, dirty and racist place. Gretel is also confused by it at first, â€Å"A group of children being shouted at by soldiers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ËœIt must be a rehearsal’ suggested Gretel† (page 37) this shows how clueless she was but then later in the book she knows what it’s all about. When Bruno meets Shmuel he changes massively. He starts to forget what his three friends were called. He understands things more. But the main thing to make him change was FRIENDSHIP! Without friendship he wouldn’t have changed. When he finally sees the camp for what it is he changes in a way not many people would. When he dies he holds hands with Shmuel. That is true friendship. â€Å"He took hold of Shmuel’s tiny hand in his and squeezed it tight ‘You’re my best friend Shmuel, my best friend for life’†¦and despite all the chaos that followed, Bruno found he was still holding Shmuel’s hand and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go. † So Bruno Does grow and change throughout whole book. But in the end it was friendship that really changed him.