Kudler Fine Foods Problem Statement free essay sample

The following is a problem statement explaining what is currently wrong with Kudlers plans on expansion, and how they can improve these plans. Introduction After reviewing the strategic plan for Kudlers Fine Foods it is obvious there are several issues that will stunt the growth and success of the organization. The company is suffering from a lack of management and poor organization planning. The issues that will be discussed are the poorly developed expansion and growth plans, and the lack of risk management in preparation of a competitor entering the market. Problem Statement The management at Kudler Fine Foods is planning on opening a new location when all of the current locations are not successful, and the company has not done a proper analysis of the need for their services in the area. Also Kudler is not prepared for factors that may decrease the profitability of the company, or factors that can contribute to the failure of a new location. We will write a custom essay sample on Kudler Fine Foods Problem Statement or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Solution With the Del Mar location not producing profit as expected this is the location management should use to create a market research and analysis plan. By using this location they will be able to determine the factors that are hindering the success of this location and then develop ways to counteract those factors. The benefit is they will improve the business done at that location before opening a new location. By looking at factors like population, socio-economic status in locations surrounding area and health factors in the area can determine what the need are for the community. Management should also look to see where people are purchasing food in the community and what types of food and products are selling at the local grocery. If there are gourmet products selling out of the supermarket than that is a factor that needs to be accounted for. Once the market research is done Kudlers management can the focus on a risk management plan. Before a risk management plan can be established they must know what risk are out there and the market analysis and research will help the company determine what risk and challenges they face. Risk management is a part of a basic business plan, I see where threats are outlined in the strategic plan but there are no alternative plans to minimize each threat nor are there any plans for how to be competitive should a competitor arise. Kudler only considers other gourmet shops as competition they should also consider, grocery stores that sell gourmet foods a competitor. Then they should focus on how to maintain their existing book of business. If Kudler developed their website so customers could place orders online that would give them a way to expand while working on the risk management plans and the online based business would also help with the market research. A high concentration of orders coming from a specific location may be an indicator used to determine where to open a new store. Desired Resolution Kudler Fine Foods will be able to expand all facets of the business and have a risk management plan in place to counter act competition entering the market. Kudler will expand in to locations where they will be successful. Kudler will also have an effective and efficient model for future expansion and growth. Conclusion The goal of Kudler Fine Foods is expansion and growth while increasing profit and the current book of business. By doing the extra research and implementing a risk management program before opening a new location will increase the success of all three current locations and ensure the success of any future locations. It will also help Kudler organize and develop other facets of the business like the website. A little extra work goes along way and with the risk management plan in place and a new location market analysis model being used Kudler Fine Foods should be able to grow and meet all the organizations goals.

Challenges and Opportunities for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Essays

Challenges and Opportunities for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Essays Challenges and Opportunities for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Essay Challenges and Opportunities for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Essay Rick Suttle Rick Suttle has been composing professionally since 2009. printing wellness and concern articles on assorted web sites. He has worked in corporate selling research and as a copywriter. Suttle has a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Miami University and a Master of Business Administration from California Coast University. Business proprietors frequently face challenges with financing their companies. Business proprietors face many challenges when running companies. Competition can be stiff in any industry. Therefore. you must happen clip to maintain path of what cardinal rivals are making. Consumer penchants can besides alter over clip. so you must to the full understand what merchandises and characteristics your clients want. You besides will confront other cardinal challenges with respect to capital. employees and planning. 1. Financing the Business * Owners are faced with the challenge of financing their concerns - both when get downing out and during growing stages. Exclusive owners sometimes use nest eggs or investing histories to get down concerns. However. financing your ain concern can be hazardous. Make certain you have money for your life disbursals when financing your concern. as it may take months to gain a net income. It is frequently hard to acquire a bank loan. All Bankss will look into your recognition before giving you a loan. so get transcripts of your recognition study and do certain it is accurate ; mistakes can negatively impact your recognition mark. You besides can use for a loan through the SBA ( Small Business Administration ) . However. the SBA frequently charges higher involvement rates. the Microsoft Business web site notes. 2. Building Net incomes * It can take clip to construct net incomes in a concern. whether you are utilizing direct gross revenues or advertisement to turn your concern. You will necessitate reinvest a big part of your net incomes into extra advertisement. Companies that use publicizing physique net incomes by bit by bit increasing advertisement outgos each month. For illustration. you may necessitate to pass $ 500 to do $ 1. 500. a 300 per centum return on your advertisement investing. Assuming you can average similar returns. you may make up ones mind to put the full $ 1. 000 net income to do $ 3. 000. Keep in contact with your clients. Try to acquire repeat gross revenues every bit frequently as you can. which besides will assist you increase net incomes. 3. Finding Qualified Employees * Small concern proprietors will hold the challenge of happening qualified employees. Larger companies normally offer higher wages and better wellness benefits than smaller 1s. so you may necessitate to happen employees who recognize the built-in benefits of working for smaller companies. For illustration. employees can travel up more rapidly in a smaller organisation. Another option is offering some type of net income sharing. With a solid merchandise construct and concern program. some occupation appliers will acknowledge the pecuniary benefits of net income sharing. 4. Time Management * A smaller but still of import challenge for concern proprietors is clip direction. Small concern proprietors frequently need to multitask as they have fewer employees to execute everyday undertakings. The key to get the hanging clip direction is prioritising your undertakings each twenty-four hours. Complete the undertakings that are most important to constructing net incomes. For illustration. travel to the meeting with a client and work on your gross revenues budget subsequently. Challenges of Business Owners | eHow. com hypertext transfer protocol: //www. ehow. com/info_7847252_challenges-business-owners. hypertext markup language # ixzz2HY0QNYtL Common Challenges Entrepreneurs Face and How to Get the better of Them * 5 Most Common Challenges Entrepreneurs Face and How to Get the better of Them * My Personal Challenges as an Entrepreneur and How I Overcame Them†¦ * Armed for Battle: An Army of Entrepreneurs Book Review * How Far Are You Willing to Travel for Your Dreams? * Brenda Rivas: How She Used Her Unhappiness in Her Corporate America Job to Propel Her to Get down Her Own Business 1. Negative Mentality The conflict ever starts in the head! Our ain frights. alibis. and merely fundamentally any thing that paralyzes us from traveling frontward to our fate is cultivated in our head. Feelingss of insufficiency such as I don’t know if I can make this or I am non qualified plenty to get down this happen – these are frequently ideas that enterprisers trade with. This can frequently come from our ain low self-pride. deficiency of support. or our upbringing. How to Get the better of: a. Do non entertain the ideas. Remember that whatever you focus on gets magnified. If you pay no attending to it. it will non linger. But for every bit long as you are nursing it. it will turn in your caput and finally catch you! B. Surround yourself with positive people. Birds of same plumes flock together is a popular stating but it is true. If you hang with negative people who criticize other people and set them down and make commiseration party. so before long. you will happen yourself like one. See why it’s of import to environ yourself with positive people. c. Empower yourself by reading inspirational articles. success narratives. great books. films and anything that will promote you and actuate you. Attend seminars and workshops if you can! 2. Overpowering Feelingss There is ever a immense acquisition curve when you foremost get down a concern. Although you may hold tonss of experience in the corporate universe in your field. it’s wholly different when you’re the captain of your ain ship. Now. you have to be the foreman. the seller. the secretary. the client service individual. the shipper. and the list goes on! But these overpowering feelings certainly do non merely come to get downing enterprisers. Some experient and successful enterprisers tend to experience overwhelmed at times excessively so don’t be discouraged. How to Get the better of: a. Take short interruptions in between your undertakings. I find that taking 2 or 3 infinitesimal interrupt off from my computing machine helps. B. Pace yourself. Make a to-do list and do certain that you merely put whatever you can manage within a realistic clip frame on any given twenty-four hours. c. Outsource some of your undertakings. If you’re turning excessively speedy. engage a practical helper or a local individual who doesn’t head coming over to your place office to assist you out with some undertakings. d. Make certain to put aside two yearss away. A concern is a concern. nevertheless. this clip it is yours and you have the flexibleness to make your ain hours and put your yearss off without any job. It is ideal to hold a twosome of yearss off or more if you can afford it to avoid possible speedy burn out. e. If you’re enduring from information overload. 3. Lack of Support Some enterprisers have been blessed to hold supportive hubbies. household. kids. and friends. Some of this support group have the ability to assist do the entrepreneur’s concern grow but some could merely offer moral support†¦which. hey. it’s more than you could inquire for! While some of us are blessed like that. others lack both moral and concern support. How to Get the better of: a. Network with your local concern organisations and happen people that have the same vision and end as you do. B. Find a practical group of people in Social Media that support and advance each other. ( Shameless Plugging: Yes. this is what The Entrepreneur Chic Social Club is all about! Detailss coming shortly! *Wink wink* ) c. Invest in a wise man or a concern manager. 4. Turning a Business The challenge in turning a concern largely lies in the deficiency of fiscal resources. Let’s face it. money begets money. If you have the money. it’s easier to set your merchandise out at that place in 100s of 1000s of people merely like the bigger trade names. the Fortune 500 companies. You see them on Television. wireless. hoardings. societal media. and sometimes possibly in your inbox! Unfortunately. for most little concern and starting enterprisers. this is non the instance. You have to work hard to do money so you can utilize that to do more money! How dry. isn’t it? But that’s where the challenge is! I truly do believe that this country of holding your ain concern Teachs you a batch about continuity and creates such an experience for you that molds you as a concern individual. How to Get the better of: a. Be patient. Turning a concern takes clip. The degree of attempt that you put in is straight tantamount to the degree of consequence you’re traveling to acquire but do non anticipate an nightlong consequence. It’s like seting a seed. it takes clip to go a tree. B. Learn every bit much as you could about selling ( including societal selling ) for every bit long as your encephalon can manage without overloading it! c. Research on ways you can get support. Be originative! ( possibly you can make your ain fundraising technique ) See if you might be qualified for a little concern loan. 5. Feelingss of Desiring to Give Up Because a concern takes clip to turn and it normally takes a batch of attempt to do it work. feelings of desiring to give up do come sometimes. particularly when you’re non seeing the consequences that you want when you want it. Possibly your financess are already get downing to acquire depleted or you’re acquiring physically and mentally drained. How to Get the better of: a. Do non entertain the idea. B. If you’re non seeing any consequences. measure your merchandise. service. mark market. and your selling schemes. Possibly your merchandise isn’t the right 1 for the group of people that you’re showing it to. Maybe it needs to hold a batch of betterment in its presentation/packaging or monetary value. c. Take some clip off. Sometimes stepping away gives you a better position of where things are at and thoughts flow better when your head is rested. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. entrepreneurchic. com/5-most-common-challenges-entrepreneurs-face-and-how-to-overcome-them/ 5 Types of Business Opportunities for Entrepreneurs Are you a ungratified enterpriser? Are you the type of individual who wants to travel into concern to be your ain foreman and win through your ain determination doing? Many people feel the call to go an enterpriser. but are non certain what type of concern to get down. There are many entrepreneur chances you could take. Here is a brief expression at different types of concern chances available: Buy a Franchise Many enterprisers like to hold a concern traveling full velocity right off the chiropteran. Rather than disbursement clip reinventing the proverbial wheel. an enterpriser will purchase a franchise chance. A franchise is an bing concern with a solid concern program and procedure already in topographic point. An enterpriser can run a new concern under a recognized concern name and receive support from the franchise central office with selling. promotional stuffs. new concern merchandises or services. etc. Good illustrations of popular franchises are McDonalds and Subway eating houses. place cleansing concerns. Dollar Shop. or fitness centres. Distributorship or Franchise Another topographic point to happen concern chance leads is with distributorships and franchises. A distributer is a individual or concern that has an understanding to sell merchandises or services produced by another company. Think of an Amway distributer or Avon distributer as a good illustration. A trader is much like a distributer. but more focused on one merchandise. An car franchise may sell merely Hondas. or an insurance agent might be considered a dealer’ in life insurance. Network Selling While an Avon lady might be considered a distributor. ’ there is much more to this type of concern chance. In add-on to administering the merchandises or services offered by the parent company. a web seller besides strives to enroll other distributers. By making a network of distributers. a individual can gain considerable income through residuary committees made from the distributers working under them. This enterpriser chance is besides known as Multilevel Marketing. Licensing You might besides happen enterpriser chances through licensing. Licensing is where you can be originative and invent merchandises. but use the name trade name. icon. or hallmark of a widely recognized concern. Think of Disney merchandises. An discoverer may come up with a great thought for a child’s plaything that would go a large marketer if the celebrated Mickey Mouse was associated with the merchandise. By obtaining a licence from Disney. the discoverer could bring forth his merchandise and net incomes would be shared by both parties. Filling a Niche While pre-made or other types of concern chances can be moneymaking through a parent or franchise company already basking great success. enterpriser chances besides exist for a individual to merely happen a consumer demand and detect a manner to work out it. Possibly you are a new female parent who finds a demand for a babe merchandise non on the market. and hence. you create and distribute one of your ain. Or you are a specializer who finds that other concerns will pay for your audience and expertness in bettering a concern map. Any enterpriser who wants to do a concern of his or her ain has many types of concern chances to research. Find the one right for you and bask the success you can construct on your ain. At the beginning of each twelvemonth. there is ever a small bombilation about what will be the following new large ticket. The universe is supposed to stop in 2012. so I hope you’ll bargain 50 brace of underwear. six months’ worth of nutrient rations and about 500 gallons of H2O. I hope you will do those purchases. non because I think the universe is traveling to stop. but because I’m get downing an underwear-manufacturing company. a food-rations-supply house and a water-supply concern. Each of these concerns will be hot in the new twelvemonth as craze boots into overdrive in 2012. Don’t believe me? Flash back to Y2K. Businesses spent about $ 500 billion to salvage themselves from impending day of reckoning. But nil happened. Not even a small Y2K post-mortem burp. Nothing happened. except that sellers in 1999 pulled in a cool half trillion! So if you’re looking for the following hot chance for enterprisers in 2012. support these five countries in he ad. 1. Aged consumers Because people are populating longer these yearss. a inundation of merchandises and services will be designed to provide to the older crowd. Businesss will present not-so-obvious services. New retirement small towns will jump up and new services that cater to the aged. such as chair lifts for acquiring into aeroplane seats. 2. Domestic buying With Europe on rickety fiscal land. expect concerns to make more domestic buying. There is volatility in front. so if you are based in the U. S. and have rivals overseas. you may hold an advantage in 2012. It’s safer to buy domestically. where purchasers perceive more stableness. even if it is more dearly-won. 3. Mobile buying If you are familiar with Square. you know that this is merely the beginning. In 2012. we will see a large rush in payments made with smartphones. Entrepreneurs who have non optimized their web sites and their concerns for smartphone minutess are giving money off. In fact. the research house Emarketer says that smartphone minutess are expected to transcend $ 6. 5 billion by 2015. That’s a batch of coin. 4. Familial Deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing It’s non the sequencing itself that enterprisers need to leap on. but maintaining it under $ 1. 000. Technological promotions continue at mind-bending velocity. As Moore’s Law predicts. every 18 months engineering doubles in public presentation and cuts the cost in half. In 2012. we should see familial decrypting available for $ 1. 000 or less. That monetary value point would do it available to the mean individual. Most people would hold the agencies to find their familial leaning to jobs. and to take immediate action to populate longer and healthier. This will make a roar in DNA-sequencing services and related wellness attention services. Jump on it now. before it becomes another Walmart offering. like flu shootings are now. 5. World stoping Not. My biggest. boldest anticipation is that the universe will non stop in December 2012 ( even though the Mayan calendar shows that it will ) . But that doesn’t mean there won’t be large chances to gain from the ballyhoo that will construct. It could stand for 1000000s. or even one million millions. in gross. People spent about $ 1 billion fixing for Y2K to hit. and nil happened. We are animals of wont and will probably make the same for 2012. So. if you believe the Mayan calendar may non be accurate about the universe stoping in 2012. consider ways to gain from these countries. They should be moneymaking and provide plentifulness of chance. Besides. the Mayan calendar besides predicted that the Kim Kardashian matrimony would last more than 12 months. and it was incorrect about that. excessively!

Management roles in the military Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Management roles in the military - Essay Example After my high school, I joined the army and graduated as a junior training officer. During my days in the army, I not only learned how hard it is to be a military man but also discovered how mentally strong I had become. The army not only expects one to be just physically and mentally tough but also to discover sides of yourself you never knew. One such incident involved me supervising a platoon of medical aides in a war front. It was the onset of monsoons and our platoon was asked to provide logistic and medical support to the soldiers actually fighting the war in terrorist infested Sri Lanka. Since the M.I. room or the Medical Inspection room was situated at about three kms from the battle field, it was our duty to keep everything in the medical ready. The distance from the actual battle field is a diabolical affair. I say this because at such a distance we were not directly involved in the war and in a sense our lives were out of immediate danger. However, it also meant that the soldiers who returned back in critical conditions had lost out on precious time. Generally, the distance between the army camps and the actual war front is much lesser. However, in Sri Lanka, due to the slippery nature of the terrain and the fact that we were on the foot hills of our enemies, our seniors had taken a decision of maintaining the three kms distance. We were a group of forty-eight and I had strategically kept about ten of the aides, as what I termed as ‘free lancers’, meaning they were always on the move to protect our MI camp.... Since the M.I. room or the Medical Inspection room was situated at about three kms from the battle field, it was our duty to keep everything in the medical ready. The distance from the actual battle field is a diabolical affair. I say this because at such a distance we were not directly involved in the war and in a sense our lives were out of immediate danger. However, it also meant that the soldiers who returned back in critical conditions had lost out on precious time. Generally, the distance between the army camps and the actual war front is much lesser. However, in Sri Lanka, due to the slippery nature of the terrain and the fact that we were on the foot hills of our enemies, our seniors had taken a decision of maintaining the three kms distance. We were a group of forty eight and I had strategically kept about ten of the aides, as what I termed as 'free lancers', meaning they were always on the move to protect our MI camp. I know this may sound incredulous to many army professionals but in Sri Lanka, the enemy we were facing was of a different kind. It was more of a guerilla war rather than a conventional war, and I had to make sure that the MI remained intact from all enemy attacks. The strategic distancing from the enemy lines ruled out the range of the use of mortars by the enemy. What only remained was the use of stray fidayeen or suicide bombers who could manage to give our men at the front a slip. The freelancers had their jobs cut out. Since many villagers from the nearby villages generally collected wood from the nearby forests, it was our primary duty to keep them safe. It also meant that we had to be extra careful for the use of commoners as spies. Working in this sort of an environment I knew the

Anti keylogger techniques Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anti keylogger techniques - Literature review Example The recent increase in internet usage means that that the disadvantages of key-loggers outweigh its productive uses. The source amplifies how key-loggers are a serious threat to privacy and security, especially because they are barely discernible against anti-virus and spyware applications. Transient kernel control flow attacks are an innovative group of stealthy kernel-level malware that apply dynamic soft timers to attain considerable work while evading any continual alterations to kernel code or data (Wei, Payne, Giffin, and Pu, 2008). To defend against attacks such as stealthy key logger and a CPU cycle stealer, it is essential to examine the static analysis of the entire kernel. The source affirms that through this, one can identify and catalog all genuine STIR in a database. At run-time, a reference monitor in a reliable virtual machine allows the implementation of recognized and good soft timer interrupt requests and averts implementation of all unidentified STIRs. Schiffman and Kaplan (2014) present new SMM-based malware that usurps USB host controllers to interrupt USB events. System Management Mode (SMM) in x86 can manage physical hardware that the host operating system cannot notice virtually. It is a new class of malware with unbelievable power that helps to transform kernel data structures and trapping on I/O registers to execute PS/2 key loggers. In essence, it helps SMM root kits to manage USB devices straightforwardly without while denying the OS kernel from receiving USB-related hardware interrupts. Schiffman and Kaplan also discuss a proof-of-concept USB key logger, which are harder to identify than previous SMM-based key loggers that are activated by OS actions like port I/O. The source further suggests extra extensions to this technique and processes to avoid and moderate such attacks. Gupta, Sengupta, Bhattacharyya, and Chattrejee (2009) present a user verification

The Recent Expansion of Tesco into the US Case Study

The Recent Expansion of Tesco into the US - Case Study Example Tesco is based out of the UK, dealing mainly with grocery items and general merchandising retail chain. If the global sales and domestic market share of the company are taken into account then it is found that the company is the largest British retailer by far. The profit of the company exceeded  £2 billion for the year 2008 and it is believed that the profit will be much higher in the year 2009. The company mainly focuses on food and drink but it has also started dealing in clothes, financial services, internet services etc. The brand Tesco first appeared in the year 1924 when Jack Cohen supposedly bought a tea shipment from Mr. T. E Stockwell. The year 1929 marked the opening of a store in North London and the company rapidly developed from there on. The headquarters of the company was first established in North London in the 1930s. In the year 1932, the company became a private limited company, another feather in the cap of Tesco. The current success of Tesco is largely because of the favorable political climate, Tesco has managed to penetrate into nations which were previously considered difficult to penetrate into and this is certainly paved the way for success. Politically the organization has helped in solving the unemployment problem in the UK, the credit crunch has taken a toll on the employment rate but Tesco has still managed to provide job opportunities hence bringing down the unemployment rate in the UK. The EU laws largely favor Tesco, the EU laws tend to favor organizations that have a large presence in a country, Tesco not only has a large presence in the UK but it has also expanded rapidly in other countries as well and this has certainly worked to the advantage of the organization. The specialty of the organization was initially in drink and food business but the giants gradually decided to enter into consumer products like music players, CD players, computers and other products that sell like hotcakes.

X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) Orbit

X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) Orbit X-37B ORBITAL TEST VEHICLE COMPLETES 625 DAYS IN ORBIT Wg Cdr PA Patil X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), a spacecraft operated by the US Air Force was launched aboard the Atlas-V on December 11, 2012 and is stealthily zooming in orbit rising speculations on its clandestine nature of operations. Designed on the contours of Space Shuttle, X-37B is an unmanned spacecraft with a much smaller size fielding advanced technology in a compact airframe structure. X-37B is modified version in the series of X-37 space craft with the earlier version X-37A being used as an Approach Landing and Test Vehicle (ALTV). The USAF claims that this spacecraft is a technology demonstrator of robotic space plane aimed at validating and corroborating the endurance of reusable space vehicle technology. As on date a total of three X-37B missions have been flown. The first mission launched on April 22, 2010 spent a total of 224 days in space and this was followed up with a second mission launched on March 05, 2011 to complete 469 days in the orbit. The third mission continues to or bit in space and has spent in excess of 625 days creating a longevity record. The space craft conceived by NASA in the year 1999 was designed and developed as a reusable re-entry spacecraft by Boeing Integrated Defense System. The project in the year 2004 was transferred to Defence Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA) and was accorded a classified status by the US Air force. The X-37B is 8.9 meters in length, spans 4.5 meters in width, and is 2.9 meters tall weighing 4990 kg.[1] This mini-Space Shuttle like space plane is characterized by the likes of both an aircraft and a spacecraft has been designed for a vertical launch using an expendable launch rocket. The spacecraft is designed to operate in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 175 to 800 km and is slated to operate at a nominal speed of 7.4 to 7.8 km/s at these orbital altitudes.[2] Once released into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the X-37B can stay in orbits for a prolonged duration spread over months. It would derive the power from a specially designed solar array and also carries lithium-ion batt eries to conserve the propellant fuel.[3] Further, it has been designed for aircraft like maneuverability in space and thus would be capable of changing speeds and the altitude or orbits. As the speed of an object irrespective of mass and size at a given altitude in space is fixed, this space plane can continue in its orbit for an indefinite period till it is commanded to change its course or position. The space craft de-orbits from space under the command from ground and would autonomously re-enter the atmosphere in a glider configuration to land horizontally on a runway. As per the latest data extracted on Aug 16, 2014, the X-37B was found to be in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 313 km and an apogee of 327 km orbiting at the rate of 15.83 revolutions per day.[4] Further, observations of amateur satellite trackers indicate that the X-37B has made only one or two maneuvers. If these observations are true then the spacecraft would have conserved sufficient reserves of thruster propellant for future maneuverability.[5] The sustenance of X-37B in orbit for such a long duration also suggests that the spacecraft is maintaining a persistent orbital profile. The X-37B program from the very beginning has intrigued the world on the secretive nature of its mission and profiles. As per the X-37B OTV factsheet displayed on website of US Air Force, â€Å"the program is to evaluate and test technology of advance guidance, navigation and control, thermal protection systems, avionics, high temperature structures and seals, conformal reusable insulation and lightweight electromechanical flight systems†.[6] However, majority of these stated assessments involve the evaluations in the de-orbiting phase when the spacecraft will be subjected to the re-entry effects and would be required to glide for a controlled landing on the airstrip. Thus, the rationale for sustaining the spacecraft in orbit for such a prolonged duration defeats the proclamation of ‘developing and validating the reusable space vehicle technology’ by the US authorities. A space plane can be planned for numerous tasks that would include maintenance of space assets, extend logistic support for improving life cycle of satellites and space stations, carry out ISR missions, act as a platform for insertion of satellites or act as a space weapon platform. As the mission of X-37B has been closely guarded secret, a number of articles and reports have contemplated the use of this spacecraft as a space weapon platform. The payload bay of the OTV is limited by the size of 7 feet by 4 feet.[7] This size of payload bay would not be in a position to accommodate heavy and large weapon systems. While the platform could be designed to carry small automated weapon systems, the functionality of onboard weapon systems would entail additional payloads in terms of sensors and communication equipment. Further, use of X-37B as a weapon platform would not confer any kind of distinct advantage to United States as it is way ahead in space ventures when compared to its closest adversary. The probability of X-37B acting as an ISR platform is very high as the technologically advanced compact sensor systems can be suitably accommodated in its payload bay. Further, the ground track followed by the space plane is shown below in figure 1 indicates a comprehensive coverage of the middle east countries, the Chinese subcontinent and east Asian subcontinent. While, the exact mission of this space plane would be difficult to judge, the evaluation and experimentations with technology would definitely provide an edge to the United States for its future space ventures. Figure 1. Ground track of X-37B[8] [1]â€Å"X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle†, US Air Force, at http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104539/x-37b-orbital-test-vehicle.aspx accessed on Aug 26, 2014 [2] â€Å"X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle†, at http://www.boeing.com/boeing/defense-space/ic/sis/x37b_otv/x37b_otv.page [3] â€Å"X-37B OTV Spacecraft Information†, at http://www.spaceflight101.com/x-37b-otv-spacecraft-information.html accessed on August 26, 2014 [4] â€Å"X-37B Orbit†, at https://heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=39025lat=0lng=0loc=Unspecifiedalt=0tz=UCTcul=en accessed on August 26, 2014 [5] Mike Wall, â€Å"US Air Forces Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Passes 500 Days in Orbit†, at http://www.space.com/25611-x37b-military-space-plane-500-days.html accessed on August 26, 2014 [6] â€Å"X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle†, US Air Force, at http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104539/x-37b-orbital-test-vehicle.aspx accessed on Aug 26, 2014 [7] â€Å"X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle†, at http://www.boeing.com/boeing/defense-space/ic/sis/x37b_otv/x37b_otv.page [8] â€Å"X-37B Orbit†, at https://heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=39025lat=0lng=0loc=Unspecifiedalt=0tz=UCTcul=en accessed on August 26, 2014

The Toltec, Aztec, and Mayan Indian Tribes Essay -- Pre-Columbian Hist

The Toltec, Aztec, and Mayan Indian Tribes TOLTECS> The Toltecs were an Indian tribe who existed from 900 A.D. to 1200. They had a capital city of Tollan, and their influences reached south to the Yucatan and Guatemala. They were a composite tribe of Nahua, Otomi, and Nonoalca. The Tolt ecs made huge stone columns decorated like totem poles. AZTECS> Aztecs were an American Indian people who rule an empire in Mexico during the 1400's and early 1500's. They practiced a religion that affected every part of their lives. To worship the Aztecs built towering temples, created huge sculptures, and had human sacrifices. The center of Aztec civilization was a river valley in Mexico. The emperor of the Aztecs was called the "huey tlatoani" (great speaker). A council of high-ranking no bles chose him from the members of a royal family. The Aztec society had four main classes nobles, commoners, serfs, and slaves. The typical Aztec household consisted of a husband and wife, their unmarried children, and a number of the husbands relative s. Boys were educated by...

Responding to the Wii Essay

Kazuo Hirai, the chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) has encountered two large rivals in the video game industry this year. Nintendo and Microsoft have released advanced video game consoles that have left Sony sales behind. Nintendo especially, has broken the status quo for marketing in the video game industry by dramatically expanding its target market from 18-34 year-olds to 9-65 year-olds both male and female with its new video game console, the Wii. For years, Sony had gone head to head with Microsoft competing for the same market with their PSPs and X-Boxes consoles. Both Sony and Microsoft focused on using advanced technology to create cutting edge video game consoles whose purpose was more than just video games. Their target market was 18-19 year old males. On the other hand, the Wii is not as advanced as the PSP or X-Box. Its main attraction are its wireless, motion-sensing controllers that allow gamers to use their limbs (punching, swinging, batting) to control the actions of on-screen characters. Also, the Wii was designed with user- friendly capabilities that appeal to all audiences. Nintendo is threatening competition for Sony. There are five main forces that drive Video Game Industry competition: * Intensity of rivalry among Competitors * Threat of New Entrants * Threat of Substitutes * Bargaining Power of Suppliers * Bargaining Power of Buyers Strategic Issues Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors One of Sony’s largest threat and competitor is Nintendo. Nintendo sold 32.4 million units for the Wii, while Sony sold 15.5 million units. While Sony was occupied retaliating to Microsoft’s X-box video game console, Nintendo rose to take number one position in the video game industry. In 2007, Sony lost 9.7% of its Operating Margin, while Nintendo was up to 58.8% in millions of dollars. This is an important issue because Sony has been at the top of the industry for many years and is now suddenly is losing capital. Currently in the Video Game industry rivalry and competition is really intense. In Sony’s case, it is the way Nintendo’s Wii console is appealing to all audiences that has affected Sony the most. With Sony only reaching out to a closed market, it is difficult to increase sales. Also, Sony has to keep up working on new technology for the PSP to overcome Microsoft’s X-box. If Sony does not step up its g ame, then soon it will be left behind and sales will hit the floor. Threat of New Entrants Sony’s second rival in sales is Microsoft and their video game console, the X-box 360. Microsoft threatens to take control of the gaming market of 18-35 year olds. Microsoft brought out the new X-box live that allows players to play online with players from all over the world while video chatting with them at the same time. If Sony does not address the issue with the Wii, and does not improve sells, Microsoft could take over Sony’s target market. This force is moderately strong, and is another threat to Sony. Threat of Substitutes In Sony’s case, if Sony does not respond to the Wii or X-box and loses its target market new entrant s might join the video game industry to take advantage of the lack of motivation from Sony and their target market. Sony needs to make sure it keeps their current target market by providing improved technology and new games. If not, then there could be a possibility that new competitors come into play and take Sony’s position as lead video game provider for 18-35 gamers. Also, Nintendo could just take over the whole Video Game industry. Although, this force is not very strong it can definitely happen, especially with Sony’s sales loss. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Currently, Sony is not being affected by the bargaining power of suppliers. However, the companies that it does work with (Toshiba and IBM) could refuse to manufacture new products for Sony if they feel they are taking a risk based on Sony’s drop in sales. For example when Microsoft joined the Video Game Industry it attempted to do things differently, like not charging royalties to third parties, thus third party console makers declined to manufacture x-boxes. This is also a moderate force that must be kept on check because whatever Sony’s decision is to do in respond to the Wii, Sony will have to go to these third parties to manufacture the new ideas. Bargaining Power of Buyers For Sony, there is not a lot of bargaining power from buyers. The issue is that its market is not as large as Nintendo’s. This force is not an immediate threat to Sony but rather would happen in a case where a company was forced to reduce the price of its video game console to please its market. The main issue in the Video Industry is not the cost of the product but rather the quality and popularity amongst the market. Recommendations Of all these five forces that drive Video Game industry competition, the strongest forces are the intensity of rivals and threat of new entrants. Sony should not try to compete with Nintendo for the market, but should instead focus on its strongest facets in order to keep pleasing their current target market. Sony has become very popular amongst its target market and if it is not focused it can become weak and lose its market. If this happens then Microsoft would take Sony’s position and market and have no other main competitors. If Sony can improve sales by pleasing its target market, then the other four forces can be avoided. Sony should stay focused on finding new technology to improve its current game console to please its current target market. This market has been following Sony since its birth and should be Sony’s priority. Rushing into a larger market could damage Sony even more. The Video Game industry is definitely an attractive business for So ny, but Sony should be aware of its competitors and keep its product high quality.

Cancer Research UK television advertisement Essays

Cancer Research UK television advertisement Essays Cancer Research UK television advertisement Essay Cancer Research UK television advertisement Essay Cancer Research UK is Britains leading charity and is dedicated to the research, treatment and prevention of cancer. With a team of 3000 scientists, and an annual research budget in excess of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½130 million, they are the largest independent cancer research organisation in the world. In todays world, adverts have a great deal of influence over what we buy and do. Nearly everywhere we go some type of advert bombards us. For example, there are adverts on buses, on television, in magazines and on the street. This essay will identify the techniques used by the Cancer Research UK advertisement, by looking in great detail at the colours, music, fonts and other techniques. More than one in three of us will develop cancer at some point. Few of us go through life without coming into contact with the disease in some way either through personal experience or through that of a friend or family member. Cancer Research UK is an organisation set up to find new and effective treatments for cancer quicker than ever before. The genre of an advert will determine its audience and most adverts are geared towards a certain target audience. For example, if the advert were for Mountain Biking UK it could use a famous mountain biker and detailed technical terms, which would appeal to the target audience. They would therefore be interested in and could identify with the product and the message the advert portrays. However, the Cancer Research UKs advert doesnt seem to clearly indicate who the intended audience is, probably because cancer affects everyone. It does however convey the fact that cancer affects not only the victim, but also those closest to them. In the advert a women dies leaving a child mother-less, it is a potential sorrow that many can identify with and is immediately understood even by children. In the advertisement there is two scenes in contrast with each other. The first scene shows to the viewer the affects cancer can have over a family. In the other scene, there is a family who has benefited from the organisation. This shows to the viewer the big impacts they could create from donating a small sum of money. The advertisement uses a number of techniques to convey to the viewer why they should contribute 2 a month to Cancer Research UK. The music in the background makes the viewer feel mournful, empathetic, and sad. There are lots of other effects like the voiceover, which is slow and meaningful, together with powerful visual images.  The advert starts with a high angle over shoulder shot at a boy who looks to be about seven years old and his mother. The director has chosen the location of the advert to be in the hallway whilst the child gets ready for school. This is a vital part of a mothers role to prepare her child for the day ahead. This makes the boy so vulnerable because he couldnt cope with a loss of his mother. This is why it is so important that the viewer contributes a sum of money smaller than the cost of their daily coffee in a caf This is a technique used in many adverts where the viewer is made to feel guilty for not participating in the event. Eva Cassidy who is a singer became famous posthumously, writes the music in the background. She has a distinctive soft and delicate voice that is instantly recognizable. It is a well-known fact that she tragically died of cancer at the age of thirty-three. Her voice used as the musical backdrop in this advert, is particularly poignant and apt. The lyrics to the music Youll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley can also have a reminiscent and nostalgic affect upon the viewer. The hallway portrays family life with shoes on the floor and coats hung up. However the lack of colour in the hallway creates a stark sterile atmosphere that is bereft of the busyness of everyday life. The camera then pans across to the right, the cancer research logo appears on the screen, the camera now gives an over shoulder view with the mothers back to the camera. The mother leans forward and whispers softly into the boys ear Dont forget your hanky and slowly disappears into the mirror. At this point the voiceover says, We dont have a magic mirror, but at Cancer Research UK, were helping more and more people survive cancer everyday. The voice is emotional, saying that there is no magic mirror, nothing will bring someone back, but the organisation is developing the cures for cancer. Were helping more and more people survive cancer everyday. It sounds catchy, and suits the context. It also instills hope into that scene of loss and despair. It encourages the viewer to believe that their financial contribution could avoid such tragedy in the future. This is another technique, which demonstrates what the viewer is buying with their small contribution; hope.

Social Realism Essays - Art Movements, Art History, Modern Art

Social Realism Essays - Art Movements, Art History, Modern Art Social Realism Social Realism In Art Social realism, in art, describes both a specific stylistic approach and an overall attitude toward the subject. Social realism aims toward the not so lovely part of life. Its goal is not to amuse but to show the observer the evils of poverty , immorality and war. Social Realists believed that paintings should describe and express the people, their problems and their times. The roots of social realism lie in the 18th century. Some of the artists involved in the start of social realism are William Hogarth, Francisco de Goya and Honor Daumier. William Hogarth attacked drunkenness and foolish extravagance with his engravings of the 1730's to the '50's. Goya had a series of horrifying etchings titled The Disasters of War. Daumier had satiricial lithographs of the 1830's to '40's, that reflect deep social concern. Social realism painting declined, in France, after the 1860's which was the time it became important in Great Britian. Sir Luke Fildes's Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, Frank Holl's Newgate: Committed for Trial, and Hubert Herkomer's Pressing to the West depict grimy scenes of urban poverty. In the 1900's the British social realist tradition was carried on in the United States by the Ashcan school. After 1920 its emphasis was carried on by several major American painters. Ben Shahn was one of the artists in the 1920's and early '30's. He showed laborers and other victims of the Depression as well as scenes of the Sacco and Vanzetti trial and execution. Also Ivan Albright and Edward Hopper focused on the isolation of individual people in a society.

Evaluating systamtic reviews(evidence based medicine) Article

Evaluating systamtic reviews(evidence based medicine) - Article Example The search for the study was relatively complete and there was some validity to the study because it was shown that CBT was effective for 4 months, but there was no difference compared to GP by 1 year. Individual data was not used in the study rather it was grouped together in order to run statistical analysis to determine significance. CBT is more effective than GP at lowering depression by 4 months, but by 1 year there is no significant difference. 2. How effective is meditation in the treatment of exam anxiety? There was no exact clinical question. It was a randomized trial study to see if people with a diagnosable anxiety disorder would benefit from different types of meditation in comparison to their counterparts of: pharmacological treatment, other psychological treatment, other methods of meditation, or no intervention at all. This study does not have much validity due to the fact that there are many different types of anxiety that are being measured. Individual patient data w as not used specifically in analyzing the results. Meditation is effective at cognitive restricting which can reduce anxiety, but does not reduce the anxiety as a treatment solely by itself.

Food Properties Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Food Properties - Assignment Example However, even though the baking chefs love their gluten products, physicians are of the opinion that one needs to avoid gluten products. The reason being the adverse health effects the gluten has on human health. This projects aims to compare the characteristics and sensory evaluation of each bread product and discuss about the advantages and drawbacks of the final products. For the purpose of this project breads will be made using different types of flour- chestnut flour, white rice flour and wheat flour using different proportions of each in the recipes. Gluten is a protein that has a potential of causing health problems. Celiac diseases are a disease of the immune system and intake of gluten initiates an immunological response which leads to damage of the stomach lining (A.D.A.M. Medical Dictionary, 2014). Gluten is also a well known allergen (Guandalini,2007) and it has been seen that children exposed to gluten at an early end become increasingly susceptible to celiac diseases. Chestnut flour is today used as a healthier alternative to other gluten-containing flours. Chestnut flour is derived by grinding dried chestnuts. It has a grayish appearance and a sweet flavor. Chestnuts being low in both calories and fat content are used as an healthier component in many recipes. Chestnut flour is gluten-free flour which means that the breads and other products that are prepared from this flour do not rise and therefore are dislike by many. The spongy texture of bread is lost owing to the absence of gluten which is primarily responsible for making the bread rise. However, this flour has nutritional and health benefits. Firstly, being low in fat content it is much healthier than common flour. Chestnut flour addition to any flour increases fiber and ash content (Jozinovic et al,2012,p26). Chest nut flour contains a large amount of vitamins