Edward Scissorhands Question Sheet

Discussion Questions on Edward Scissorhands As you watch the movie you will need to take notes to answer these questions. The purpose of this film is to get you ready for the next role we will look at in depth which is that of the artistic designer. You need to consider the needs of the director and work with set designers, costuming and other professionals in the film industry for this job. I would like a rough copy of your answers to these questions to be given to the teacher at the end of Friday’s class. 1. a The entire neighborhood is constructed, describe the colors used in the neighborhood scenes? . b What could be the desired effect in this use of color? 2. As the woman drives up to the haunted house there is background music playing. What is the desired effect of this music? Describe two other places in the film where the soundtrack or film score affected your viewing of that scene. 3. How does the costuming set the main character, Edward apart from the other community members and why do you think Edward is meant to be so visually different? How does this help the actor portray his role? 4. What is Tim Burton (Director) saying about the nature of conformity in this film?How does he use color and visual imagery to drive home this point? 5. Is Edward a tragic figure? Why or why not based on the outcome of the film. 6. What are some of the highlights, twists and turns of the story? Create a brief treatment for this film and hypothetically cast the roles of three characters in the film. Explain why you choose them for these roles. 7. Research online what people Tim Burton consistently works with for his productions and list three here. Discuss why creatively this might be important for a Director.

Essay about American Industrialization Essay

Industrialization between 1865 and 1920 had many different effects on American life. In some ways, industrialization improved American life. However it also created problems in American society. There are several advantages and disadvantages to industrialization. In the decades following the Civil War the amount of factory jobs and city jobs increased. Rural populations decreased as urbanization increased. (See Document 1) Education rates and steel production rates also increased during this time period. The growth of railroads made transportation easier and more available to the public. John D. Rockefeller argued that industrial combinations, such as trusts and monopolies, were a benefit to industry. (See Document 6) He stated that through industrial combinations a business could expand its markets, while producing low priced goods, and still making a profit for stockholders. Steel making entrepreneur, Andrew Carnegie, had donated much of his wealth to the building of public libraries and other charities. (See Document 7) There were several positive effects of industrialization on American society. Industrialization was also the cause for many problems in American society. With the rise of big business a huge gap was created between the rich and the poor. The rich business owners were very wealthy and always had the best of everything, while working man lived in poverty. (See Document 5) Many people worked in sweatshops for as little as 25 cents per day. (See Document 4) Workers organized into labor unions such as the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor. Under these labor unions, workers fought for higher wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. (See Document 2) The huge amounts of wealth created by the hardships faced by the workers is why this time period of industrialization came to be known as the Gilded Age. Industrialization between 1865 and 1920 had improved the national economy and the life of business owners. However millions of Americans suffered from low wages and living in poverty. Industrialization had a major effect on all Americans.

Top Quality Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Top Quality Management - Research Paper Example The leadership of the organization is therefore charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all the programs run as intended. Without doubt, the importance of this practice is seen in the success of organizations that have always been at the forefront in terms of quality and performance. Introduction The modern business environment demands more than conventional tactics and strategies. Globalization and economic liberalization have made the business environment more competitive and intricate to the extent that new strategies of operations become certainly imperative. In this regard, quality is one of the most important considerations as a way of creating a competitive advantage and retaining customers. The need to ensure high quality standards has become one of the core concerns for most modern organizations. In any case, Total Quality Management (TQM) calls for a number of strategies which can be adopted by a business in order to stay ahead of its competitors in the market. Con ventionally, TQM encompasses an agreed system of activities in the organization which transcends the operating structure, management of personnel and coordination of business activities in a manner that ensures high quality standards at the most economical budgets (Mizuno, 2004). ... It is a question of collectively involving everybody and everything in the organization through team work, commitment, empowerment of employees etc. The interventions in the TQM process have to be steered by four basic principles of change namely analysis, variability, work processes and continuous improvement. In this case, the production process must be enhanced, variance must be regulated and all the information on operations must be continuously collected and analyzed. In the same way, a continuous effort to improve the performance and the commitment of the employees must always be on course. A combination of these critical factors certainly creates a competitive advantage for the organization TQM and Corporate culture Most organizations have presently realized that in order to survive in the increasingly competitive business environment, they must always strive to become â€Å"total quality organizations† (Owlia, 2010). More importantly it should be realized that the esse nce of TQM is the concept of continuous improvement where innovation and change become central issues for management. TQM therefore employs a number of tools and strategies which are applied in the business in order to create a kind of behavior. Such behavior subsequently leads to such aspects like employee empowerment, an open culture in the organization and a sense of executive commitment. These aspects blend in to create the perfect innovation and change which ensures that quality is most ensured. The idea of corporate culture has been widely applied over time in many organizations. It is understood that the success of an organization is associated with the manner in which its employees feel, act and think. In any case, corporate culture includes the values, beliefs assumptions and

Project Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Project Leadership - Essay Example and implementation of the new training management system, as well as monitor company-wide training attendance and identify people who are â€Å"out of compliance.† Besides, I also predict the resistance that I may face from departments, such as manufacturing, who will be required to use tools they have never used or refused to use before. I am confident on my abilities that I will be able to overcome their resistance through a systematic approach. I know that the resistance is basically because as of now they were exposed to instructor-led training, and they often have shunned implementation of any web-based system. They also have a fear that their responsibilities as Department managers’ will increase. They will be required to learn how to use the system to assign courses to their direct reports and monitor the timely completion of the courses. Though my responsibilities during the initial stages will be challenging I am confident on my abilities and my strengths to overcome these situation. With my current experience as a Manager of the Information Technology department and also my previous experiences I am sure to rise up to your expectations. As a manager the following will be my roles. I will be solely responsible for this project and its successful completion. I will be working in close association with my associates and ensure that adequate resources are applied. I will also have the responsibility to utilize the resources in a most efficient manner and complete the project successfully on time. I will also take this opportunity to plan and tailor methodology to reflect the project needs. Besides I will also be responsible for regular reviews of project status, set standards for training, monitor progress, and also maintain records up-to-date. The most important qualities required by a manager are interpersonal skills, organizational skills, good communication, efficient problem solving skills and professional training. I am confident that with my

Public Relations, Publicity and Corporate Advertisement Term Paper

Public Relations, Publicity and Corporate Advertisement - Term Paper Example Others may request for more time to think about it. During product promotion, it is the duty of a salesperson to promote the products. The salesperson will employ various methods of promoting the products. These methods may include creating of trade shows that will demonstrate the product to attract distributors. They may also visit retailers to persuade them to stock their products. The salespeople will use all means to force the products into the market. The salespeople will also take charge of the presentation. They will talk about the product and give every detail concerning the product. During the presentation, the salesperson will convince the customers of the goodness of the product. Salesperson skills are required maximally during this phase. A salesperson is then required to propose the product to the consumer. He will inform them of the cost and the payment terms. The salesperson’s skills are required in convincing the customer that the cost stated is fit for the product. Objections usually arise, and therefore a salesperson is required in overcoming these objections. The objections that arise usually revolve around time and money. The customers do the request for time, to go and assess other alternative products. It will need a salesperson to convince them otherwise. Arguments about money are common since they do advocate for the price reduction. These reductions may come to a point that the business doesn’t make the profit. A salesperson is required during the negotiations to ensure that the products are purchased at the satisfaction of both parties. As also explained above, some customers accept the product, usually after a battle. During this battle, a salesperson is required to convince the customer to a point where he accepts the product. (Champy 2010) As a sales professional, a lot is expected for the ability and sales performance to exceed one's quota or higher personal goals that one has set for him.  Ã‚  

Final Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Final - Research Paper Example The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, students of Stanford University willing to create a web database that would help in listing webpages according to their requirements. Till date, Page and Brin hold 16 present of the total share of the company. The project was initially known as â€Å"BackRub† that used links to determine the importance of individual webpages. The company was incorporated as a private company in the year 1998 and was subsequently made public in the year 2004. The main mission of the company is to consolidate the world’s facts and figures and to make them universally available and accessible by the common people (1Google, n.d.). The rapid growth of the organisation is determined to be resulting from its continuous introduction of innovative products, procurement and cooperation outside Google’s basic search engine business. In addition, Google also provides online productivity software along with services such as email (Gmail) an official suite (Google Drive) and social networking sites such as Orkut and Goggle+. Furthermore, along with the mentioned products and services, Google also offers a wide range of desktop products like image editing and instant message service (Barr, 2013). It is worth mentioning that android considered to be one the most used mobile Operating Software (OS) is also owned by Google. The main objective of this paper is to provide a detailed evaluation showing the major reasons behind the rapid strides taken by Goggle in the IT industry. Additionally, it would also provide evidence and data that would reveal why the company is recognised as one of the world’s most secretive organisations (2Google, n.d.). Historical Performance of Google With the increasing internet users around the world, Google has become one of the most popular Information Technology (IT) based entities. Every individual who has been a regular under of Google tends to study the history on how the company w as established and what were the major reasons behind creating such a search engine that has unified every kind of vital information into a single place. The history of Google started in the year 1995. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were two individuals who met each other at University of Michigan, where both of them went to peruse their PhD degree in computer science. The idea of creating Google as a web page started in the year 1996 as a research project by Brin. In the year 1996, both Page and Brin collaborated to create a search engine which was first started by Page and named it as BackRub (3Google, n.d.). The website was developed in the same year and is believed to have operated on Stanford servers for more than a year. However, it has been viewed that the search engine eventually took up much bandwidth in comparison with other search engines available on the World Wide Web (WWW). Considering the growing issue of bandwidth as well as to convert the data gathered by BackRubâ€℠¢s web crawler assumed greater measure of importance for a given webpage. It was then when Page and Brin both developed the PageRank algorithm and realized that the platform can be used to build a search engine which could be far more superior to the entire users in the web. PageRank is a set of rules developed by Page that analyses the relevancy of the back links of a webpage and list them accordingly. The first version of Google webpage was launched in the

The Equitable Division of Labor Within the Home Essay

The Equitable Division of Labor Within the Home - Essay Example While one was a full-time job in the sense of being never-ending and the other was only full-time as defined by law and when in public, this was deemed a reasonable exchange. What was truly unfair about this arrangement was that neither party had a choice in the matter. If the woman wanted to work or the man wanted to stay at home with the children, neither one could do so and still retain the respect of the community. As times have changed and it is now necessary for families to have two incomes in order to survive, it is becoming increasingly more acceptable for men to take part in traditional ‘woman’ duties. As it becomes more acceptable for men to take part in these duties and more recognized that one person cannot do all things, more men are doing things that have been associated with women’s work. For example, there are many men today who will go to work in order to allow the wife to go to school and get an education. Although this is still usually after the man has managed to get an education and a good job, the idea of one half of the couple working while the other goes to school seems to be, today, more evenly split regarding which half is pursuing education. This can be proven by looking inside any college classroom where there are just as many young wives as there are young husbands. There are also many couples today where both halves are working and going to school at the same time so that both can get ahead in their careers without losing time. The sacrifice they make is not whether one will get an education and the other will not, but the lifestyle that they live while they’re getting their education, opting for smaller apartments in less expensive parts of town. There are also many of these equalizing activities taking part inside the home. Many men today are in charge of making sure the children have eaten a healthy meal, and sometimes the wife, too. You see just as many men in the grocery store as women and some of them  even have the children with them.

Immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Immigration - Essay Example African countries have been the world’s leading source of immigrants for centuries. As Okome (2005) states, the ceaseless civil wars, communal riots, famine and military sabotage in African countries including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra have been providing the world with thousands of refugees every year. Among these, a major portion is accommodated by the US. Nigerian civil war, Somalia conflict, Liberian civil war and the Eritrean-Ethiopian war also caused intense immigration to western countries and to the US (Okome, 2005). Since religious and ethnic conflicts have increased more than ever before, people in many parts of the world are under the threat of anytime forced migration. In other words, ‘ethnically and politically divided states, unstable and corrupt governments and political systems, and dictatorships, lack of civility, increased lawlessness’ (Cox & Pawar (2005 p.277), are the major causes of forced migration. In addition, certain environmental factors also cause massive migration in various parts of the world. For instance, natural phenomena such as sea level rise, hurricanes and typhoons, drought, wildfire, heat waves, volcanoes, and earthquakes make millions of people ecological refugees every year. Furthermore, governments’ infrastructure projects such as building of dams, roads or tourist resorts often demand forced migration. World Bank estimates that 90 million people were displaced in the 1990s as a result of infrastructure projects (Digby B, 2001p.167). Therefore a few causes of immigration such as globalization, financial policies, and infrastructure modification are closely associated with global change. The recent developments like globalization and the subsequent economic growth and downfalls also contributed to the extraordinary level of migration. Obviously, Globalization exposed a new world of opportunities to the people of African Continent and

CRM - Customer Relationship management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CRM - Customer Relationship management - Essay Example For instance, Dell, Acer, HP ranks at 77 percent and others lower than this despite of their improvements (OGrady, 2009). Over the past two years, the company has been able to expand its market across the world. This has been attributed to its effective customer relationship management strategies, which have made it possible for the business to retain its loyal customers and attract new clients towards its products and services. Apple Inc. takes the responsibility of putting up a store just for its products to eliminate the trouble of ill information of their products, which in turn has culminated an excellent move on their loyal customers. The store encourages PC and Mac users to explore and play with the company’s technology. The store space provides a quality service to Mac heads users where they can also hang out with the lovers of the Apple products. Therefore, by creating the stores, the company encourages existing and the newer customers enjoy the products they offer. Moreover, the products complement and complete the others such as incorporating other software’s in one product. For instance, with an iPod it is easier downloading the iTunes. In addition, with their varied products some which are relatively cheaper than others are, encourages customers to purchase them, and thus increases the likelihood of buying Apple products in the future. With the increasing cost of traditional media, i.e. audio, visual, and print media, the company has diverted to other strategies of creating a close relationship with the customers. For instance, Apple Inc. is using social media to collect the views of the customers. Through this platform, the company is able to understand different aspects that affect the consumption behavior of the target market. In addition, social media gives the customers an opportunity to interact direct with the company’s subordinates. Therefore, through this channel, they have been able to air their grievances concerning the products

The Impact of Disruption to Sleep Patterns in the Intensive Care Unit Essay

The Impact of Disruption to Sleep Patterns in the Intensive Care Unit - Essay Example One indisputable fact is that lack of sleep affects the health and progress of the healing for patients in the ICU. A study on the impacts of sleep disruptions in the ICU indicated that the nature of sleep patterns in a nursing environment has some significant associations with the mortality rates (Friese, 2007, p. 1210). Nursing institutions that promote good sleep habits for patients in the ICU have also shown significant reductions in the levels of mortality. On the other hand, nursing institutions that do not have any structures for promoting good sleep habits were also associated with high mortality rates. The findings of this study were consistent with other findings that showed a positive association between the states of health of patients in the ICU with the number of hours of sleep that the patients managed to get (Friese, 2007, p. 1212). For instance, these findings showed that most of the patients who managed to get uninterrupted sleep were able to respond faster and bett er to treatment than those who were occasionally interrupted by the nurses or other factors. Discussion Various studies have developed an association between the rate of patients’ readmission to the nursing homes and the disruptions to the sleep patterns (Patel, Chipman, Carlin & Shade, 2008, p. 309; Patel, Chipman, Carlin & Shade, 2008, p. 310). Some of the inferences drawn from this study are that the sleep patterns of the patients in the ICU promoted the natural defences of the body, thus, allowing the patients to develop long-terms health stability. These associations are also consistent with other studies that have established the existence of positive influences between long term health balances of individuals to the quality of sleep that they receive (Eliassen & Hopstock, 2011, p. 140). Opinions of some nursing experts suggest that the promotion of environmental conditions that support quality sleeping patterns is more sustainable than interventions that involve the us e of sleep inducers. Patients who are occasionally subjected to sleep inducers often lapse into delirium after a short while and may require stronger inducers in order for them to acquire the same amount of sleep (Patel, Chipman, Carlin & Shade, 2008, p. 310). Some of the studies have established a connection between the impairment of the body’s ability to combat infections (Eliassen & Hopstock, 2011; Friese, 2007). Quality sleep strengthens the immune system and provides the enabling environment for the functioning of the defensive mechanism of the body. Poor sleeping patterns are usually associated with prolonged healing and negative responses to the treatment processes. Patients who fail to get sufficient sleep are also likely to suffer from hallucinations and unstable psychological states. This is because the state of a patient’s mental balance is affected by the kind of pressure and strain that occur during the period of wakefulness. In order for a patient in the ICU to develop the necessary defences, it is necessary to develop a stable sleeping schedule with sufficient time that would allow for the release of the strain and pressure that operate at the mental level. The role of nurses in mitigating the adverse

The Economic Impact of the Horse Industry Essay Example for Free

The Economic Impact of the Horse Industry Essay People often view the equine industry as nothing more than simply an expensive hobby. However, in actuality it is far more than just that. The horse industry has an enormous impact on the United States economy and covers a vast horizon of different areas. From top-notch Thoroughbred racing to the simplicity of a backyard companion horse, the industry provides about 460,000 full-time equivalent jobs and has a direct economic effect on the United States of about 39 billion dollars annually. After taking into account the money multiplier effect of spending by suppliers and employees in the industry, this number grows even larger to create about 1. 4 million full-time equivalent jobs nationally with a 102 billion dollar annual impact on the United States economy (â€Å"National Economic Impact†). Studies show that the equine industry has a direct effect on gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States. Between the different areas of the horse business, including but not limited to racing, showing, and leisurely riding, about 38.8 billion dollars of goods and services are produced, leaving an impact of 101.5 billion dollars on US GDP. Taxes paid by the equine industry also affect the economy in the United States, with approximately 1.9 billion dollars total in taxes coming from this industry. Federal taxes amount to 588 million dollars, state taxes are 1,017 million dollars, and last but not least, local taxes are equal to 275 million dollars (â€Å"National Economic Impact†). Many studies have been done in different states to determine the economic impact of the horse industry, including a study from the Rutgers Equine Science Center (â€Å"New Jersey Equine†), a study from Alabama AM and Auburn Universities (McCall, Molnar, Pendergrass, and Broadway), and a study conducted by the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service (â€Å"Virginia Horse Industry†). The state of Arizona even went as far as to hold an event regarding the equine economic impact. The event, titled â€Å"the Economic Impact of the Equine Industry in Arizona†, was held in February of 2012 and government officials from all over the country attended. The Arizona horse industry amounts to a 1.8 billion dollar industry and provides the opportunity to bring in many new equine-related companies into the state. There were many different topics covered at the event, including the WestWorld Equidome expansion project and ways to carry more rodeo locations into the state. There was also discussion of an equine property tax bill that was recently passed by the state. The bill relieves equine businesses from extreme property taxes by categorizing them under agricultural businesses. The great impact of the Quarter Horse, Arabian, and Thoroughbred associations was also discussed at the event, determining that their effects on the US economy are approximately 4.5 million dollars, 52 million dollars, and 134 million dollars respectively (â€Å"Arizona State Officials†). Other states have also taken measures and actions to determine the effect of the equine industry on each state. Rutgers University conducted a study in 2007 determining the economic effect of horses in the state of New Jersey. They determined that the industry had a total economic impact of 1.1 billion dollars each year, taking into account racing-related operations not including racetracks, non-racing operations, equine owners without operations, and New Jersey racetracks. The industry creates 13,000 jobs in the US, between jobs generated by racetracks and jobs not generated by racetracks. About 160 million dollars is paid annual in taxes by the New Jersey equine industry (â€Å"New Jersey Equine† 1). It is definitely evident that New Jersey racing operations have the most economic impact on the state, accounting for a total economic impact of 278.2 million dollars out of the 647 million dollar total economic impact from all equine operations and owners. Non-racing operations come in a close second with an impact of 262.4 million dollars and horse owners falls in last with an impact of 117.8 million dollars. Annually, New Jersey race tracks impact the economy of the state by 502.3 million dollars (â€Å"New Jersey Equine† 2). The expenses of horses are numerous, including but not limited to equipment purchase and depreciation, capital improvements, health, training fees, boarding fees, feed, taxes, farrier, etc. These expenses total around 376.8 million dollars a year in the state of New Jersey (â€Å"New Jersey Equine† 3). Rutgers University was not the only university to complete a study on the impact of the equine industry in a specific state. Alabama AM and Auburn Universities also partook in their own study in 1993 with the intention of pointing out the importance of the equine industry in Alabama. There are quite a few different horse-based activities in Alabama, categorized by locality (horse clubs and groups not based on breed), sport (groups generally open to any breed formed by riders with a common interest in a specific horse sport), and breed (groups open to one specific breed for many different horse sports) (McCall, Molnar, Pendergrass, and Broadway 1). To determine the economic impact of the horse industry in Alabama, the study uses the direct impact, which is the actual dollars spent, and the aggregate impact, which is the direct impact multiplied by an income multiplier (which for this study, was 2.9). In laymen’s terms, for every one dollar of direct impact, there would be 2.90 dollars of aggregate impact. An employment multiplier was also used, concluding that for every job created in the equine industry, 1.74 jobs are created through the economy. Expenses for horses are one way that the industry affects the economy. Expenses for showing horses totaled 11,005 dollars per horse, for racing horses totaled 15,390 dollars per horse, and for recreational horses totaled 3,140 dollars per horse. The expenses calculated are the chief ways that equines impact the economy (McCall, Molnar, Pendergrass, and Broadway 2). The horse industry also generates a great deal of tourism in Alabama. Owners of show horses spend approximately 1,500 dollars for every horse when travelling to shows. The direct impact of equine tourism equals 9.7 million dollars. Spectators at equine events, such as rodeos, shows, and horse races also generate money and impact the economy by about 4.2 million dollars. The race tracks in Alabama generate about 42.6 million dollars, with about one quarter of the money won from races going to horse owners and trainers in the state (McCall, Molnar, Pendergrass, and Broadway 3). According to the study, four percent of the â€Å"pari-mutuel handle† is paid in taxes (McCall, Molnar, Penderg rass, and Broadway 4). In addition to the tourism brought into Alabama, the horse industry also impacts Alabama employment, creating a great number of jobs. Racing stables, showing stables, breeding stables, and recreational horse owners all contribute available employment positions to the state. Around 2,000 to 2,800 full-time job equivalent positions are created on account of the horse industry and the aggregate employment is equal to around 3,480 to 4,872 jobs in the state. In total, the aggregate impact of the horse industry on Alabama’s economy is estimated to be 1.6 billion dollars. It is evident, as stated in this study, that the horse industry is extremely important to the economy and that it should not be disregarded when determining key parts of the economy (McCall, Molnar, Pendergrass, and Broadway 4). The University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service is yet another university that conducted a study on the economic impact of the horse industry. It was determined that the yearly economic impact of the horse industry in the state of Virginia was equal to 1.2 billion dollars. Economist Dr. Terance Rephann gave his opinion on the economic importance of the horse industry, stating that the industry creates â€Å"a very positive effect on jobs, recreation, tourism, retail sales and state and local taxation†. Just as in New Jersey and Alabama, the Virginia horse industry creates a great deal of employment within the state and brings in about 65.3 million dollars in state and local taxes. In 2010, over 16,000 jobs were created in Virginia due to the equine industry. Horse shows are a large part of the industry, bringing in about 25 million dollars in revenue in 2010 (â€Å"Virginia Horse Industry†). The substantial amount of revenue, tax money, employment opportunities, and the total aggregate impact of equines in the three different states mentioned above clearly show that the horse industry is quite an important par t of our country’s economy. The industry greatly affects the United States economy in so many different ways. From the 13,000 jobs created by the industry in New Jersey (â€Å"New Jersey Equine† 1), to the 9.7 million dollars generated from tourism created by the industry in Alabama (McCall, Molnar, Pendergrass, and Broadway), to the 1.2 billion dollar economic impact that the industry has on Virginia’s economy annually, it is obvious to see that though many people view equestrian sports as nothing but a hobby, it is far more than just that. In the wise words of Matthew J. Lohr, The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ commissioner: â€Å"Horses add so much to our lives on a personal level, but when I look at the big picture, I see just how much they contribute to our state’s economic well-being, as well† (â€Å"Virginia Horse Industry†). Breeding is a large part of the equine industry and the rules and regulations of the breeding process vary with the price elasticity of demand for foals. Artificial insemination, which is the act of artificially placing semen into a mare to impregnate her, is a popular breeding technology that has suffered through great debate of whether or not it should be accepted in certain breeds or horses. Regulation for the use of artificial insemination technologies is an example of a breeding process that varies with the price elasticity demand for foals. In breeds with a price inelastic demand for foals, it is probable that the practice of artificial insemination will be regulated. Oftentimes, with certain circumstances, cartel agreements may arise between industry members for an intervention of government regulation in the breeding industry. The act of this government regulation raises prices and incomes in the industry (Ray 1). Breed registries are an example of cartels that limit the supply of horses. Horse owners of horses of a specific breed may choose to register their animals with that breed’s registry. These breed registries gi ve owners an economic advantage over other owners whose horses are not registered with any breed. Part of the money made from memberships is spent on promoting a specific breed and advertising the breed registry (Ray 3). Oftentimes stallion owners partake in price and non-price competition. Breeding farms are extremely big on advertising and price for studs range from hundreds to millions of dollars. Because of this, the equine breeding industry can be categorized under the monopolistically competitive industries (Ray 3). In the past, most breed associations have shunned the idea of artificial insemination. Breed registries can tend to be extremely strict on their regulation of breeding techniques, and many times registries will have rules against artificial insemination. Horses that have been artificially inseminated are often banned from competition in certain breed events, which prevents them from ever having any improvement economically. Though many breed registries do not allow the use of artificial insemination, there are a few that are far more tolerant to it (Ray 2). Generally, the breed registries that forbid the use of artificial insemination feel that the practice of it could be a thread to the quality and pureness of the breed. However, there are many economic costs and benefits that contribute to each breed registry’s decision on the regulation of artificial insemination (Ray 4). There are quite a few economic advantages to the use of artificial insemination technology for breeding. While live cover breeding methods can only impregnate one mare for every one ejaculation from a stallion, the use of artificial insemination makes it possible to impregnate fifteen to eighteen mares for every one ejaculation. This means that one stallion can be used to impregnate more mares through the use of this technology, which reduces the risk of overworking a stallion throughout the breeding season. Using artificial insemination also allows a breeder to more efficiently use semen to inseminate a mare during her ovulation period. This reduces the amount of veterinary and breeder labor required to impregnate a mare. In addition to this, naturally breeding can be a very dangerous process for the horses. Artificial insemination provides a much safer way of breeding. Finally, it is far simpler, less expensive, and much less dangerous to ship out frozen semen rather than to transport the mares to the stallions (Ray 4). In short, this all means that the use of artificial insemination technologies reduces the costs of production and transportation of breeding. From an economic standpoint, the cost of breeding decreases due to the use of artificial insemination, and so the supply of foals increases. This causes market prices to decrease and the number of horses produced and sold to increase. As a result of this, total revenue will increase, decrease, or remain the same, depending on the price elasticity of demand for new foals. If the demand for a specific breed is inelastic, artificial insemination will cause breeders’ total revenue to decrease. However, if the demand for a specific breed is elastic, artificial insemination will cause breeders’ total revenue to increase. Elasticity of a breed can be determined by the task the breed is used for. The more specific the task, the less substitutability there is for the breed, causing the breed to have a more price inelastic demand. An example of this is the Thoroughbred registry. Artificial insemination is banned by this registry because the demand for Thoroughbreds is very price inelastic, since this breed is the only one to run in races such as the Kentucky Derby (Ray 5). The decision of a breed registry to regulate or not regulate the use of artificial insemination is dependent on the costs and benefits of the use of the technology. When the costs of artificial insemination exceed the benefits, the registry will regulate the use of the technology. Regulation can be determined by the theory of cartels. This theory helps to determine supply and demand curves and indicates that the regulation of artificial insemination is dependent upon multiple different aspects of a monopolistically competitive market, including but not limited to price elasticity of demand and the number of people that will possibly benefit from regulation. Generally speaking, the size of the breed registry determines the amount of the benefits of regulation of artificial insemination. If the breed industry is large, there will be less benefits of regulating artificial insemination, which causes regulation to decrease. In summation, the regulation of artificial insemination breeding technologies is primarily determined by the price elasticity of demand for foals of the specific breed and by the costs and benefits of regulating the technology. (Ray 6). Horse race gambling greatly contributes to the United States economy. In 1997, purse awards in California totaled 136 million dollars and the total pari-mutuel handle was equal to around three billion dollars. California race tracks receive large sums of money each year as breeding incentives. This money comes from the pari-mutuel handle (Smith 1756). It is believed that both the quantity and quality of race horses affects the demand for gambling on race horses (Smith 1755). Breeding incentives given to race tracks have a huge effect on the product that comes out of the race track. Attendance at the race track and the pari-mutuel handle are the two factors that determine demand. The quality and quantity of the horses racing affect both of these factors, and so affect the demand for horse race gambling (Smith 1758). Not only does horse racing affect gambling, gambling also affects horse racing. Many race tracks are going out of business as a result of local casinos (Zengerle 20). The argument at hand now is whether or not to introduce slot machines to race tracks, creating â€Å"racinos†. It is argued that adding slot machines to the track will bring in more business because it will give customers at the track a variety. The Kentucky horse racing industry has been fighting hard for the introduction of slot machines in race tracks. The industry has lobbied legislators and spent one million dollars in support of slot machines. The lobbying and money spent has paid off. The public is now in support of slot machines being added to race tracks and, on the legislative side, a slots bill was passed for the first time (Zengerle 21). One of the main reasons that Kentucky is fighting so hard for slot machines in their race tracks is because of their 500 million dollar budget deficit. Slot machines would create 300 million dollars in tax revenue each year, which would greatly help the budget deficit being faced by the state. Introducing slot machines to the tracks would bring about many fiscal benefits; however, they may not be great for the horse industry. According to Arthur Hancock, slots will make lots of money for people in the short term, â€Å"but in the long term†¦they’ll be bad for the horse business† (Zengerle 21). However, the introduction of alternate gambling games has been proven to save race tracks. In example, Mountaineer race track was on the brink of going out of business, but the introduction of video gaming at racetracks has caused the company to rank seventh on Forbes list of the best small businesses in America (Zengerle 23). Though introducing slot machines to Kentucky’s race tracks could be bad for the horse industry in the long run, it could greatly help to rid the state of its large budget deficit. Though for many people, horse racing is simply nothing but a fun sport to watch, for Kenny A. Troutt, co-owner of WinStar Farm and Thoroughbred breeder, it is an economic investment that has helped to escalate him to a billionaire (Lee 1). Many people involved in the race horse industry do not believe that you can make much money off it and are just in it for fun and for the thrill of a day at the races. However, Troutt is a completely different case. His primary goal with WinStar Farm is to make money. He has created business plans and budget projects and holds mont hly meetings to discuss the costs of breeding and to determine any ways to lower costs and become more efficient. By using a database, Troutt determines the price returns of each and every horse by taking into account all money and time spent on the horse (Lee 2). Troutt has spent over 70 million dollars on his farm. He has set aside a select number of mares whose foals are automatically sold. One of these foals was Funny Cide, out of a stallion named Distorted Humor, who is owned by WinStar Farm. Funny Cide was a contender for the Triple Crown, and though he did not win, simply the fact that he came close was enough to double Distorted Humor’s stud fee, which was already 20,000 dollars. Though most Thoroughbred farms generate about a five to ten percent return each year after ten years, Troutt believes that he will make profits in only five years. In the past, horse racing was never about making a profit. However, in the words of Kenny A. Troutt: â€Å"I am convinced you can make a lot of money doing this†. Taking into account some simple ideas of economics and business, he may pr ove this to be true as he claims that his farm has become â€Å"cash flow positive† after only being open for two years (Lee 3). Not only does the horse industry have a great impact on the United States economy, but the economy also has a great impact on the horse industry. There has recently been a large increase in the number of unwanted horses in the United States, and one of the reasons for this problem is the current economic recession. Horses are extremely expensive to keep, averaging around 1500 to 2000 dollars a year per horse and with the economy in the poor state that it is currently in, many horse owners can no longer afford to care for their horses (Lewis). Prices of hay and fuel are extremely high and with the current recession, many horses are being succumbed to starvation and neglect. Many abandoned horses are eventually euthanized because horse rescues cannot afford to continue to feed them and medically care for them. Sick horses at the rescue are the first to be euthanized, because it comes down to a choice between feeding a healthy horse and feeding a sick horse (â€Å"More Horses Starve†). Horses are extremely expensive to keep, between the costs of feed, veterinary care, farrier and dental services. In this bad economy, it is hard to keep up with the costs of horse ownerships, and this causes the sale of horses to also be difficult (â€Å"Economy, Weather, and Law†). The Texas horse industry is such a large business that it is close to equal to the Texas cotton industry. Unfortunately, the Texas horse industry is in a severe catastrophe due to the state of the economy. Owners are finding it difficult to feed and water their horses, for â€Å"forage and even water are in short supply†, according to Dr. Dennis Sigler. Large round bales of hay are selling for over 145 dollars and in this struggling economy, horse owners are having a very hard time coming up with the money to supply food to their horses. State assistance could potentially help this problem, however state budgets have been frozen and there is a large burden for states to cut back on spending. The current economic recession has a huge effect on the horse industry and is accountable for the growing number of starving and unwanted horses in the United States (Hawkes). The equine industry in the United States clearly has a great impact on the economy, and likewise the economy on the equine industry. Breeding businesses, breeding technologies, race tracks, gambling, and unwanted horse issues all affect the economy and are affected by the economy. The industry provides so much revenue and a large number of jobs in the United States. The national horse industry has a 7 billion dollar impact on the California economy, a 5.1 billion dollar impact on the Florida economy, a 3.5 billion dollar impact on the Kentucky economy, and a 5.2 billion dollar impact on the Texas economy. The California horse industry creates 54,200 full time equivalent jobs. The Florida horse industry creates 38,300 full time equivalent jobs. The Kentucky horse industry creates 51,900 full time equivalent jobs. The Texas horse industry creates 32,200 full time equivalent jobs (â€Å"State Breakout Studies†). All in all, the horse industry has a 39 billion dollar yearly economic effect on the United States and creates 460,000 full time equivalent jobs (â€Å"National Economic Impact†). This industry is far more than just a hobby and is extremely important to the United States economy. Works Cited Arizona State Officials Join Arizona Horse Council (AzHC) at Equine Economic Impact Event PR.com. PR.com: Directory of Businesses Jobs Press Releases Products Services Articles Find Companies. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. http://www.pr.com/press-release/390430. â€Å"Economy, Weather the Law Contribute to Starving Horse Cases.† KSEE 24 News. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/HorsesJWI-139755153.html. Hawkes, Logan. Texas Horse Industry Crisis Looms. Southwest Farm Press 38.23 (2011): 18. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. Lee, Josephine. â€Å"Arriviste†. Forbes. 172.7 (2003): 120-122. Business Source Premier. Web. 26. Mar. 2012. Lewis, James M. Survey Says Economy Top Reason For Unwanted-Horse Problem. DVM: The Newsmagazine Of Veterinary Medicine 40.8 (2009): 1-29. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. McCall, Cynthia A., Joseph J. Molnar, Robert A. Pendergrass, and Regina Broadway. Economic Impacts of the Alabama Horse Industry. Rep. Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0848/ANR-0848.pdf. More horses starve as economy struggles. WISHTV.com | Indianapolis, Indiana News Weather Traffic. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/indiana/more-horses-starve-as-economy-struggles. National Economic Impact of the U.S. Horse Industry | American Horse Council. Welcome to The American Horse Council | American Horse Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. http://www.horsecouncil.org/national-economic-impact-us-horse-industry. Ray, Margaret A., and Paul W. Grimes. â€Å"The Determinants of Breeding Regulation In The Horse Industry: An Empi rical Analysis.† Journal of Socio-Economics 20.2 (1991): 169. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. Smith, Maritn D. Breeding Incentive Programmes And Demand For California Thoroughbred Racing: Is There A Quality/Quantity Tradeoff?. Applied Economics 33.14 (2001): 1755-1762. Business Source Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. State breakout studies for the following states: | American Horse Council. Welcome to The American Horse Council | American Horse Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. http://www.horsecouncil.org/state-breakout-studies-following-states. â€Å"The New Jersey Equine Industry 2007.† Rep. Rutgers Equine Science Center. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. http://esc.rutgers.edu/news_more/PDF_Files/2007_Equine_Economic_Impact_Study_Report.pdf. Virginia Horse Industry Has $1.2 Billion Annual Economic Impact. Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. N.p.,

Cadbury World Essay Example for Free

Cadbury World Essay Overview This case study explains the history and product development of Cadbury World; aspects of its operational and marketing functions, as well as providing some key numerical data. It is intended to provide students and other interested parties with a snapshot view of and insight into one of the UK’s leading leisure attractions. It is strongly recommended that the case study is used in association with a visit to the attraction. Cadbury World in Context Seen as a new venture into the leisure industry when it opened in 1990, Cadbury World began its life principally as a public relations tool, but quickly became a popular half-day venue for people of all ages looking for quality leisure time. The original attraction was very educational and historical-based, with mainly static displays. Over time, Cadbury World has grown to be a family attraction of much bigger dimensions. It has maintained visitor numbers comfortably in excess of half a million annually, and returns a healthy paper profit back into Cadbury UK as well as bringing value to the company in terms of public interface and direct communication to the consumer. The original vision for Cadbury World was to provide a tourist attraction experience and provide an alternative to the demands from the general public denied access to the Bournville factory tour, which ceased due to health and safety practicalities around the time of the merger between Cadbury and Schweppes in 1969. In setting up Cadbury World, in the face of strict health and safety and hygiene legislation, the vision was to underpin the central message of â€Å"Cadbury means chocolate means fun† with the interpretation of cocoa and Cadbury’s chocolate both past and present. Responding to these principles, Cadbury World was conceived as a continuation of the message â€Å"Cadbury means chocolate, means fun,† through the interpretation of cocoa and Cadbury chocolate both past and present.. The original vision for Cadbury World developed as follows: To significantly enhance consumers’ perceptions of Cadbury and develop long term brand loyalty by: †¢ Giving the visitor a memorable enjoyable, and unique Cadbury chocolate experience †¢ Offering high quality and good value for money †¢ Delivering Cadbury values of fun and quality, whilst achieving a break-even cost target for Cadbury Limited (at the time the UK chocolate operation of Cadbury Schweppes plc). The Early Years Opened on 14 August 1990, Cadbury World’s first weeks proved to be successful beyond initial projections and led to a number of operation concerns and issues. Huge queues built up at the start of each day and most visitors came with the expectation of taking part in the resumption of the Bournville factory tour (although it was thought by Cadbury World management that this perception had been overcome in its launch publicity and literature). Free samples were not deemed to be as freely available as the public expected, and prices in the retail shop were more ‘gift shop’ than ‘factory shop’. The team’s response to these initial problems were quick and comprehensive: including the immediate introduction of a timed-ticketing system (later a formal pre-booking system), and a greater access gained to a small part of the factory. Free samples gradually became more plentiful and – as today – are distributed to visitors at intervals throu ghout the tour. The prices in Cadbury World took longer to resolve as the Cadbury World ‘gift shop’ strategy needed to be aligned to serious and real business concerns relating to the threat to some serious and well-established commercial relationships. The belief from retailers in the Birmingham area was that unlike the Cadbury staff shop, the Cadbury World offering was open to the general public and would prove so successful that the it would represent serious competition to those local traders if prices and offers were misaligned with those available from other retailers. A policy was developed whereby there would be no more than a token reduction in the prices the Cadbury World gift shop charged, compared with prices in normal retail outlets. In reality, where the major retail organisations exerted substantial buying power, they were able to charge well below Cadbury World rates. Eventually, a ‘bargain corner’ (now called the factory area) was established, the ‘gift shop’. The retail offer developed and Cadbury World now has two retail outlets: ‘The World’s Largest Cadbury Shop’ and the ‘Essence Emporium’ offering themed gifts and merchandise, standard retail offerings from the Cadbury brand portfolio and exclusive chocolate novelties hand-crafted in Cadbury World’s ‘Demonstration Area’. In its early years, due to both visitor comfort and also health and safety provisions, Cadbury World’s limited capacity required a robust control on the numbers of visitors allowed inside at any one time, as well as their flow and passage through the exhibition. Initially, a system of timed ticket entry was introduced based on a first come first served approach and enabled visitors to have a known time when they would go into the main exhibition. As popularity for the attraction grew, even this measure proved to be inadequate to the increasing visitor numbers, and queues began to trail outside the main building once more. In March 1993, a reservations system was introduced, whereby visitors could prebook the date and time of their entry into Cadbury World, and eliminated much of the need to queue. From 1993 onwards, all publicity material for Cadbury World emphasised the reservations service and still strongly recommends that the visitor pre-book via the booking office telephone number or via the internet in order to avoid disappointment. Whilst the reservations system had an immediate benefit, around 30% of admissions on a busy day would consist of visitors ‘rolling-up’ (as awareness of the need to pre-book increased, the number of ‘roll-ups’ has fallen to a more manageable of no more than 20% during peak periods). Indeed, during school holidays and bank holidays, it is not unknown for a visitor arriving at 10am without reservation to sometimes have to wait four hours before being admitted into the main exhibition. Essence Launch, 2005 During these peak times, this allows the visitor to ‘reverse their visit’ and visit the Essence and Bournville Experience zones (accessed separately from the main building), enjoy any complimentary entertainments, utilize the outdoor play area for those visitors with children, or pick up a map from reception and take a walking tour of places of interest in the Bournville area. Within the main exhibition itself, the ‘smoothing’ of the visitor flow has been a key consideration in the development of Cadbury World’s features and shows with the introduction of new or updated sets in a process of continuous improvement to meet demands. Visitors are admitted to the exhibition at a maximum rate of 80 individuals at intervals of every 10 minutes. Thus, certain presentations such as The Cadbury Story and the following set: Making Chocolate, will accommodate up to 80 people seated, and last no longer than ten minutes including the audience’s entry to, and exit from, each set. The Cadabra ride is also carefully timed, to allow for an average of three passengers in each of the 12 cars (plus wheelchair-adapted car), and a circuit taking in the region of 5.5 minutes. All of this is careful orchestrated to ensure a steady and constant flow through the exhibition. On busy days, the delay from the slightest technical hitch on Cadabra is very difficult to recover, and this, with the queue of ticket holders in reception, is the main source of queuing nowadays in Cadbury World. Ongoing Development Continuous Improvement Early improvements to Cadbury World were more reactive, addressing the issues raised by a new product from a company whose traditional expertise was not in the leisure industry. As time progressed, and as would be expected from a business unit whose parent company is a leading consumer brand, improvements became more proactive as the needs of the visitor changed and were driven more by a desire to offer the same service any visitor or leisure attraction would adopt. The first significant development occurred in 1993 when parts of the exhibition were moved up onto the ground floor of the East Cocoa Block, and renamed The Cadbury Collection. Finally, some Cadbury-sponsored outdoor play equipment was recovered from the now defunct National Garden Festival of Wales in Ebbw Vale and used to expand the play facility. Early feedback indicated that Cadbury World was surprisingly adult in appeal, and, during 1993, plans were laid to create the first exhibition feature aimed specifically at younger children, up to age 10. â€Å"The Fantasy Factory† was opened in March 1994, to provide a child’s eye view of the production of liquid chocolate, from bean to bar, using interactive techniques, and, with the mirror room, to provide a grand finale. The Fantasy Factory, circa 1995 (removed 2000) In 1995, the child appeal was further increased by the installation of the Astros Set from the TV commercial that launched the brand in the UK, and then in 1997 with the opening of Cadabra, a Magical Cadbury Journey on specially constructed beanmobiles through various lands and scenes populated by the Cadbury World mascot – the Chucklebean With the launch of Cadbury Land in July 2000, in a separate building to the rear of the site, and the complete replacement of the play area with a state-of-the-art themed play area, Cadbury World had achieved a shift in appeal to encompass the entire age range â€Å"from 090 and beyond†. Feedback from visitors in 2001 indicated that the attraction had shifted from a very adult profile, to a strong child profile. The improvements made to the attraction since 2001 have been of more adult interest in order to re-address this balance, whilst more recent additions and improvements have attempted to be cross-generational. Attraction Structure – Spring 2009 Cadbury World is now divided into 14 distinct and separate zones each dealing with a unique aspect of the history of cocoa and chocolate, the origins of the Cadbury business and the vision of its founding fathers, the production of chocolate and popular Cadbury brands, or just fully immersing the visitor in a truly ‘chocolatey’ experience. Each zone broadly follows on from the previous one to give a logical and consistent story for the visitor’s self-guided journey. On entry to the main exhibition, the story of cocoa begins, in the jungles of Central America, in the area now known as Mexico. The Aztec Jungle zone was ‘re-laid’ in January 2005, to incorporate water features and a more detailed explanation of the culture and beliefs of the various peoples who lived there up to the time of the Spanish conquest. Moving on, the visitor goes into the Journey to Europe Zone describing the way that the taste for cocoa and chocolate eventually made its way to high society in England in Cromwellian times. This zone leads into the last remaining set from 1990, now known as Bull Street Zone, covering regency London and the earliest days of John Cadbury’s business in Birmingham in the 1820’s in a re-creation of Victorian Birmingham. Since 2001, the Cadbury Story Zone and Making Chocolate Zone, have controlled the visitorflow within the exhibition with automatic doors. Updated to include subtitles, these visually compelling Zones tell the story of the origins of the Cadbury business, the Factory in a Garden and the Quaker principles important to the development of the company, and the manufacturing processes involved in producing Cadbury chocolate. The Making Chocolate Zone is multi-sensory experience and was one of the first of its kind in the UK leisure industry. Exiting Making Chocolate, the visitor moves into the Manufacturing Zone (originally created in 2000) where they can select from a series of consoles’ various stories relating to the manufacturing of seven popular brands within the Cadbury product portfolio. Walking up stairs (or accessing via the lift provided), the visitor stops off for their first souvenir photograph opportunity next to an over-sized version of the Cadbury World Chucklebean mascot before moving through a time tunnel (constructed 2005) to commemorate the 100 years of Cadbury Dairy Milk. Moving onto the Packaging Plant Zone, subject to scheduling, the visitor gets to see a snapshot of the real Bournville factory in operation as various Cadbury Dairy Milk products move their way along the conveyor belt on their journey to the outside world. The visitor then makes their way to the Cadbara Zone (updated in 2008) – consistently voted as being one of the most popular Zones – and a second souvenir photograph opportunity Downstairs, the visitor has the chance to purchase their first two photographs before seeing a replica of a water well and learning more about Cadbury’s Ghana Well programme. Visitors often toss spare change into the replica well and to date, have helped Cadbury World to construct 15 wells to help improve the lives of the Ghanaian cocoa farming community (for more details on the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, Cadbury Corporate Social Responsibility, Fair-trade and a case study on the Ghana Wells Programme, please visit www.cadbury.com) Since mid-2004, the Demonstration Area Zone has allowed visitors to see how chocolate was made before mass-manufacturing methods were introduced. Here, the visitor can write their name in liquid chocolate and watch as skilled Cadbury World Chocolatiers hand-craft novelties which can be purchased later in the tour. As part of the programme of continuous improvement, in the summer of 2009, the next three sets comprising of the Happiness Room (2005), Coronation Street (built in 1996 and showcasing Cadbury’s ten-year sponsorship of ITV’s flagship drama), and the Advertising Room (constructed in 2001) will be replaced by the Advertising Avenue Zone. Advertising Avenue will give the visitor the opportunity to walk through a chronologically-themed lifesized street of chocolate houses, lampposts and trees as they enjoy the history of Cadbury’s advertising past from posters through to interactively-selected television commercials. In 2006, the Purple Planet Zone gave visitors the opportunity to participate in a uniquely interactive chocolate environment. Purple Planet allows the opportunity to play in chocolate rain, grow and care for a cocoa bean tree, and chase a Cadbury Creme Egg. Recent 2009 updates to Purple Planet see the inclusion of ‘Magic Planet’ – a touch-screen information terminal with content projected through an illuminated globe which provides an overview of Cadbury operations around the world and ‘Mould Me’, a capture of the visitor’s image digitally transformed to give the appearance of the visitor sculptured in chocolate. This provides the visitor with their third souv enir photograph opportunity which can be purchased at a later stage. Exiting the main exhibition into the World’s Biggest Cadbury Shop Zone, the visitor is presented with various retail offerings, merchandise and exclusive Cadbury World merchandise. In Spring 2009, various aspects of the shop were updated with specialised display units relating to Cadbury UK’s ‘Power Brands’ including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel, Cadbury Milk Tray, and Bassett’s Liquorice Allsorts and Jelly Babies. Upon leaving the World’s Biggest Cadbury Shop, the visitor has the choice of either purchasing refreshments from Cafà © Cadbury (a 240-seat visitor restaurant offering a selection of both hot and cold meals and snacks) or walking outside of the main building and following the yellow painted footsteps to the final two zones. The Essence Zone (constructed in 2005 and replacing Cadburyland) tells the story of the magical creation of Cadbury Dairy Milk before allowing the visitor to create their own confectionery concoction in a tub of liquid chocolate. Opened in 2007, The Bournville Experience Zone replaced the Cadbury Collection Museum and presents the unique creation of Bournville village through a series of models, multi-media view ports and videos as well as memorabilia from Cadbury’s past including John Cadbury’s original pestle and mortar used in his shop to create cocoa based concoctions in the early nineteenth century. With ample free parking space, an outdoor catering kiosk, the children’s play area, the Cadbury No. 14 train and a picnic area – the grounds of Cadbury World offer the visitor plenty to see and do (with easy access to Bournville village) whilst they wait for their entry into the main exhibition or enjoy any complimentary entertainments. Opening Schedule Cadbury World is generally open between 315 and 325 days each year which tends to be every day from early February through to early November, and four or five days a week outside that time. It is necessary for there to be complete closure to the visitor from New Year’s Eve through to the third week in January, in which time major installations, refurbishment and renovations take place. Originally, Cadbury World opened every day except Christmas Day, for the same length of time each day. However, experience of the natural patterns of business, and the waste of opening on a day when variable costs are likely to outweigh the marginal revenue from visitor attendance, has led to a distinctive schedule of opening times. At the quietest (offpeak) times, Cadbury World opens at 10.a.m. and ceases admissions at 3 p.m., or often 4 p.m., allowing the final visitors the opportunity to view the exhibition at their leisure, and browse the shop. Generally, closing time will be about 2 hours after the last admission. Average dwell time on site at Cadbury World is 3.5 hours currently. On busier days, particularly during the school holidays, opening hours are extended up to a maximum admission span of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The visitors are admitted at the maximum rate of 80 every ten minutes, which allows in excess of 3000 visitors. (For up-to-date information on Cadbury World’s opening times please visit www.cadburyworld.co.uk) Cadbury World Education Cadbury World is a company committed to education. Tracing back to 1879 and the move to Bournville, George Cadbury introduced the first employee and community education programme. Cadbury World has maintained this same enthusiasm and commitment to education to the present day. Whilst touring Cadbury World you will discover the history and heritage of the company and learn how it developed from a small Birmingham based business into a global company. Cadbury World feels that it is important to teach the young people of today about business and the way in which we operate. With the information we provide through visuals and exhibitions, we hope that it will give them a good understanding, which will then prepare them for the readily awaiting world of work. One of the first attractions to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge from the Council of Learning (www.lotcqualitybadge.org.uk), Cadbury World’s Education offers have gone from strength to strength. Cadbury World is committed to the education of young people and has tailor-made packages to support the education needs from Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 5 and beyond. Educators can bring their students for a standard visit around the exhibition – complimenting this with downloadable workbooks, or can attend one of a series of talks from Aztecs to Victorians aimed at a Primary-level audience through to talks supporting various GCSE subject’s national curriculum. Indeed, education talks have proved so successful over recent years that a second purpose-built education room was opening in January 2009 to accommodate growing demand. 9 Awards Over the years, Cadbury World has won a number of industry-recognised awards from its offers, its services, through to its marketing and advertising campaigns. Recent awards and nominations include: 2008 (Finalist Highly Commended) Access for All Category, Excellence in Tourism Awards 2008 (Bronze Winner) ‘Gordon’ Radio Campaign, created by BIG, Cream Awards 2008 (Winner) â€Å"You Can’t Eat the Exhibits in a Zoo† print campaign, created by Big, Roses Award 2008 (Runner Up) Recognition of Disability Facilities, Group Travel Awards 2007 (Finalist) Group Leisure Awards Marketing Cadbury World â€Å"In the early 1960s, Professor Neil Borden at Harvard Business School identified a number of company performance actions that can influence the consumer decision to purchase goods or services. Borden suggested that all those actions of the company represented a â€Å"Marketing Mix†. Professor E. Jerome McCarthy, also at the Harvard Business School in the early 1960s, suggested that the Marketing Mix contained 4 elements: product, price, place and promotion,† (Wikipedia). The â€Å"4 p’s† are good place to start when looking at any marketing strategy and its effectiveness. Overtime, the main concept of the â€Å"4 p’s† has developed to become the â€Å"7’ps† (with the inclusion of ‘Process’, ‘Physical Evidence,’ and ‘People’). As techniques and technology develops, even these ‘†7 p’s† have been deemed too restrictive in terms of marketing analysis and now some commentators have even point to a recently devised â€Å"Web 4.2 (the new 4 P’s)† including ‘Personalisation’, ‘Participation’, ‘Peer-to-Peer’, and ‘Predictive Modelling’. Whilst not giving a comprehensive overview into Cadbury World’s marketing strategy, broadly in-line with the relevant ‘P’s’ of the marketing mix, the below gives an insight into the way Cadbury World goes about talking to visitors, potential visitors and generating awareness for its products and services. Product As a leading tourist attraction, Cadbury World operates in a service industry and is almost unique in being owned by a major manufacturer. The product that Cadbury World delivers is â€Å"a memorable, exciting and great day out†; whereas for the main Cadbury business, the product delivered is chocolate, candy, gum brands and drinking chocolate products. The actual product Cadbury World delivers has been built up over nearly 20 years. As discussed in previous sections, it has changed, developed and evolved overtime. Whilst being intrinsically-linked to the main Cadbury business; Cadbury World as a profit-making business unit would not survive if it wasn’t for the desire to offer a quality day out.

Exchange rate policies suitable for developing countries

Exchange rate policies suitable for developing countries Exchange rate is one of the central factors that influence the monetary policies in developing countries. A country can choose to make use of a fixed exchange rate (Single or Multi-currency peg), intermediate regime like (Adjustable or Crawling peg) or adopt a flexible exchange rate depending upon the supply rate of money and her monetary self-sufficiency. In any developing country where institutions are weak, the exchange rates are generally determined by relaying in comparative measures with currencies from other sound economies. In this essay attempt is, to look at the options available to developing countries in deciding what exchange policy might be most suitable for them .The effects of adopting dollarization or currency unions in developing countries will also be examined. According to the IMF approximately 85% of developing countries had fixed exchange-rate arrangements  [1]  before the collapse of Bretton Woods fixed system. A sharp shift of exchange rate systems was obs erved when fixed exchange rate system collapsed in 1970. The purposes of an exchange regimes is to have a sustainable current account deficit, trade competitiveness, keeping inflation in check, to have high employment and achieve microeconomic efficiency in resources to maximize income levels. But empirical observations reveal that there are many trade-offs between these objectives. Floating exchange rate is where the government do not have an exchange rate target. It allows the economy to pursue an independent monetary policy strategy such as inflation targeting and the market determines the exchange rate level. The regime helps to facilitate real adjustment. Exchange rate movement provides a buffer against real shocks that may arise from adverse terms of trade development for developing countries. There are two types of floating rates an independent float and lightly managed float available for consideration. The difference between the two exchange rates is that independent float its operated freely with no intervention from the monetary authority and the exchange rate will determine the supply and demand but in lightly managed exchange rate system their will be occasional intervention direct and indirect from the monetary policy to moderate excessive fluctuation. In recent years many developing countries have adopted market determine floating system. They include Uganda in mid 1982, Uruguay in late 1982 that was followed by Dominican Republic in 1985. As Friedman argued in the early 1950s,if prices move slowly, it is both faster and less costly to move the nominal exchange rate in response to a shock that requires an adjustment in the real exchange rate  [2]   There is also an argument against floating exchange rate policy for developing countries know as fear of floating as labeled by Calvo and Reinhart (2002)  [3]  . It is argued that floating exchange causes rapid movement often undesirable, in real exchange rates. Inflation targeting under floating system is problematic given the fiscal dominance and weak financial system in developing countries. For example Brazil faced problems in inflation targeting under floating exchange policy due to the volatility nature in exchange rate brought as effected by external shock and expectations. Its currency in 1999 depreciated from R$ 1.20 to R$ 2.06  [4]  Other examples are of Indonesia and Thailand that displayed considerable instability in the 1970s and 1980s. The huge fluctuation caused by volatility of the nominal exchange rates, which in turn may be caused by the increased volatility of capital flows.  [5]  As the diagram shows below  [6]  : www.fondad.org/uploaded/%20Imbalances/Fondad-imbalances-Part3.pdf Fixed exchange rate policy is another policy where central banks will protect exchange rate. In this case, policy maker will allow value of currency to move within certain band limit with reference to other country or basket of currency, that is usually their leading trading partner. It is seen as an anchor against inflation that is important for a developing country that have tendency to hyper inflate. Furthermore if nominal shocks prevail in an economy, fixed exchange rate regime can accommodate money demand or supply shocks while minimising output volatility in a country. That helps to bring a more stable environment for international trade and also benefits from investment due to absence of a currency risk premium. For example China operates under a fixed exchange rate regime and has benefited from the competitiveness that its goods have, due to its currency being undervalued and not being allowed to appreciate. It resulted in an increase of foreign exchange reserves to $514.54 billion for China. The drawback from a fixed exchange rate is that central bank will lose last resort lending power. Central bank lending activities will only be effective if the backing of a credible institutional setting is available. Therefore, even if adopting a regime that allows the central bank to print money, a non-credible banking rescue operation is likely to trigger inflationary expectations and increase the probability of observing a devaluing currency. This is due to exhaustion of reserves and collapse of the fixed exchange rate system implying a big political cost for the policy makers as evident by Bretton Wood fixed exchange rate system collapse in 1970. Given the problems of both fixed and floating exchange rate systems countries have tried to adopt various intermediate regimes in an effort to combine the advantages of the two systems. It is where country can either use adjustable peg system or crawling peg regime that both defend the peg. But the only difference is that under adjustable peg monetary policy can alter the exchange rate and crawling peg reserves the right to change the peg in steps, which are small but discretionary in size and timing. The pegs allow country to maintain stability and competitiveness. On the basis to reduce inflation by moderating inflation, a problem faced by many developing countries. As Williamson (2000) has argued that such intermediate regimes could, in principle, allow countries to reap the benefits of fixed and flexible regimes without incurring some of their costs.  [7]   This intermediate regime also faces problems such as currency crisis if the country is open to international capital markets and is seen to encourage foreign debt. For example Argentina and Chile who implemented crawling peg regime in mid 1960s to deal with high inflation, managed to relax the balance of payment constraint and experienced acceleration in economic growth  [8]  . There are also adverse effects related to crawling pegs regime in the form of inflation as evident in Argentina that saw inflation around 30% per year and Colombia whos inflation around 5-10% before crawling pegs to 25% after crawling pegs was implemented by the late 1970s and early 1980s  [9]  . This would impact country growth as Khan and Senhadji estimated that inflations negative impact on growth in for developing economies that seems to happen for inflation rates exceeding 11-12%  [10]   Countries with macro economic instability can adopt alternative currency such as dollar known as Dollarization. The adopting of dollarization will help bring credibility to the countrys financial system, remove currency risk, eliminate currency mismatching and stop exchange rate attacks due to mismatching currency that causes adverse balance sheet affects of large devaluation. Countries have options where they can adopt a Full Dollarization system that would mean country would surrender its ability to issue currency like Panama and Ecuador in 2000. They can also adopt a Partial Dollarization if a country is suffering from high inflation and there is a history of economic instability like Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay in 1980  [11]  . In circumstances where there are monetary weaknesses, instability and loss of confidence, Investors would be reluctant to invest in that economy, as they would like to hold safer assets. Dollar is more dominant and creditable as U.S Federal Reserve backs it. Therefore removing speculations or hedging against currency is not possible. Dollarization attracts Foreign Currency Deposits that stops any reverse capital flights. Thus by adopting the currency of a credible economy, a country is effectively tackling the inflation bias problem studied by Barro and Gordon (1983)  [12]  . For example Ecuador contracted -7.3% in 1999, saw its economy grow by 2.3% in 2000, the year dollarization occurred and 5.6% in 2001  [13]  . The costs of dollarization are, the loss of independent monetary policy, lack of a lender of last resort (and thus the need for additional dollar assets), and the loss of seignior age. Currency union is similar to dollarization with minor difference, as some countries keep their own currency. Members of currency union surrender their monetary independence for significant trade increase and stable exchange rates. Countries benefit at a micro level due to sharing of currency. That brings a deeper integration of financial sector, as they are sharing single money like those operating under the Franc Zone in Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). Research indicates that there is no clear choice on what exchange rate regime works best for developing countries. As one exchange rate might be beneficial for one country but could be problematic for another. It is because all countries have different policy objectives and different economic environment. As important consensus on the choice of exchange rate regimes is that no single exchange rate regime is best for all countries or at all times (Frankel 1999, Mussa 2000)  [14]  . Exchange rate policy has its benefits like it absorb adverse shocks, brings credibility, ease currency attacks by adopting alternative currency and currency unions that increase trade. But there are tradeoffs when country joins an exchange rate policy, such as losing monetary independence. Furthermore the country would need to look at whether it has adequate financial system in place to deal with shocks. The choice of policy would be determined by what macroeconomic factors are given more weight. Words: 1592 Refrences: Books Micheal G. Hall, (2005), New Developments of The Exchange Rate Regimes In Developing Countries, The Political Role of The Banking Sector, P87 Subrata Ghatak, Josà © Roberto Sà ¡nchez-Fung, (2007), Monetary Economics In Developing, 3rd Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, P139, P176, P192, Internet www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp16.pdf www.carnegie-rochester.rochester.edu/April04-pdfs/regimes_cr.pdf www.fondad.org/uploaded/%20Imbalances/Fondad-imbalances-Part3.pdf (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() ideas.repec.org/a/aea/aecrev/v90y2000i2p71-75.html ideas.repec.org/p/unc/g24pap/5.html http://www.mindspring.com/~tbgray/dollar.htm Journals Anoop Singh, Agnà ¨s Belaisch, Charles Collyns, Paula De Masi, Reva Krieger, Guy Meredith, and Robert Rennhack, (2005), Stabilization and Reform in Latin America A Macroeconomic Perspective on the Experience Since the Early 1990s, P80

Simple Networking :: essays research papers

Simple network wiring Thesis statement This report is to include the basics of the physical wiring of computer networks. Outline I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction A. Professional wiring. B. Using hubs. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Body A. Saving money. B. Tools needed. C. Proper placement. D. Connectors. III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusion A. Plug in and go. B. Good luck -Page 2 Simple network wiring Professional wiring can cost hundreds of dollars per connection and there never seems to be enough drops. A year after most companies upgrade their network wiring, they find themselves needing to once again rebuild. With three to six drops per office, this can be a healthy bill for the company. There is a better way. Use hubs anywhere you would have put extra drops. Drops are the actual runs of wire that run into the room. Each cable that comes from the main backbone cable, or central point of connection is the â€Å"Drop†. Use the hub to plug everything into. For simple nets you won't need a filtering bridge or router, just a plain unfiltered hub. If you have a DSL or cable model connection, you may want a firewall. In large nets routers are crucial so that heavy internal traffic in one group does not slow down people in other groups. But hubs can be added most anywhere, and are a great way to save on extra wiring. Hubs are available from most any computer mail order, or a good local shop. It is a good idea to get more ports than you need now. Hubs can be 10 or 100 Megabit per second, or able to auto-switch between the two. An 8-port 10/100MB Ethernet hub is now about $37.00. That is far less than a single drop. It is less than -Page 3 just the wire and connectors for the 7 added drops you get. 100MB hubs are a bit more, around 50.00 for the Linksys 8 port. But it is still less than wiring. The general principle is to pull one or 2 drops to each relevant wall, and when you need more just stick in a hub. If you use a hub and put the drops into the inside walls between the rooms, or in the corners they will reach two, or in the center, four interior walls from one point. By doing this you can get by with fewer â€Å"real† drops and save the company money. Say a company wanted 150 drops. A realistic figure for an average first time drop is around $350.00. That would come to $52,500.

Civil war Essay -- essays research papers

Causes & Results of the Civil War The Civil War, in U.S. history, was a conflict that pitted the Northern states of the American Union against the Southern states. The war raged for 4 years (1861-65) and was marked by some of the fiercest military campaigns of modern history. Large armies were involved in large movements, and entire populations were engaged in supporting the war efforts of both sides. The war had international impact, not only because of the growing international stature of the United States, but also because war threatened world access to the South's cotton. Britain and France had particular interest in the war's outcome, but other nations were also affected by it. The chief and immediate cause of the war was slavery. Southern states, including the 11 states that formed the Confederacy, depended on slavery to support their economy. Southerners used slave labor to produce crops, especially cotton. Although slavery was illegal in the Northern states, only a small proportion of Northerners actively opposed it. The main debate between the North and the South on the eve of the war was whether slavery should be permitted in the Western territories recently acquired during the Mexican War (1846-1848), including New Mexico, part of California, and Utah. Opponents of slavery were concerned about its expansion, in part because they did not want to compete against slave labor. By 1860, the North and the South had developed into two very different regions. Divergent social, economic, and political points of view, dating from colonial times, gradually drove the two sections farther and farther apart. Each tried to impose its point of view on the country as a whole. Although compromises had kept the Union together for many years, in 1860 the situation was explosive. The election of Abraham Lincoln as president was viewed by the South as a threat to slavery and ignited the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second of the three S’s that caused the civil war was sectionalism. During the first half of the 19th century, economic differences between the regions increased. By 1860 cotton was the chief crop of the South, and it represented 57 percent of all U.S. exports. The profitability of cotton, known as King Cotton, completed the South’s dependence on the plantation system and its essential component, slavery. The North was by then firmly establi... ...al debates. As the 19th century closed, they faced a rigidly segregated life in the South and hostility across most of the North. Despite the destruction, the war did settle the question of secession. Since 1861 no state has seriously considered withdrawing from the Union. In addition, the war brought slavery to an end. After the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, there was widespread acceptance of the fact that Union victory would mean general emancipation. Since the proclamation was a war measure that might be held unconstitutional after the war, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, was passed by both houses of Congress early in 1865. It was ratified by three-fourths of the states and was formally proclaimed in effect on December 18, 1865.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war also set the South back at least a generation in industry and agriculture. The invading armies devastated factories and farms. The labor system fell into chaos. Not until the 20th century did the South recover fully from the economic effects of the war. In contrast, the North forged ahead with the building of a modern industrial state.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Huanted House :: essays research papers

I could not sleep that night, for I was not given the chance to. For numerous times I had been yelling at my cousin to lower down the volume of the Compact Disc player. He insisted on testing out every single disc of my brother’s heavy-metal music collection at a certain volume that made my heart jump too fast or choke my mind with angry thoughts. My tired eyes shifted to the alarm clock, which stood, on my computer. Eleven, another hour to a brand new day. The next day, I will be bringing my cousin to have a view of the things we have in stall for him in the small neighborhood of mine, but before that can be possible, I will require my beauty sleep! â€Å"Hey, you moron! Are you finished with those trashy sounds?† I yelled, throwing the blanket over my head. I then grabbed my soft-toy dog, and threw it at him, aiming for his head. He responded, launching the toy back at me, hard at the bum. â€Å"Self-defence,† he reasoned out, reaching for the power switch of the player, finally. I heaved a sigh of relief, dropping dead on the pillow. As soon as I was about to enter the dream world, someone tapping at my shoulder awakened me. â€Å"I cannot sleep,† my cousin explained. I felt like strangling him. Thinking of what the family might say for destroying or killing a potential family name-bearer, I guessed it was not a very healthy idea after all. I sat on my bed, rubbing my eyes as I looked at my cousin through blurred eyes. â€Å" I remembered the last time you stayed overnight when you were around eight, you slept like a pig,† I muttered, reaching out for my spectacles. It hurts to be shortsighted. â€Å"I am thirteen now,† he reminded his ‘meet-once-a-year-during-Chinese-New-Year’ cousin. â€Å"So? Can’t thirteen-year-old don’t act like nocturnal animals?† I gave up, and soon the both of us were in the living room, with freshly brewed cups of coffee in our hands. It reminded me of how I drowned myself in caffine in order to stay awake for last minute examination preparations. My cousin strolled his way over to the television. â€Å"Don’t switch on that. The rest of the them are sleeping, mind you,† I warned him, recalling the time when my father threw down my radio on the ground, for blasting it during his sleep.

Sordaria Lab

Effects of Crossing Over in Sordaria fimicola Abstract Sexual reproduction in organisms is a cause for genetic variation. This can be seen through the process of meiosis in Sordaria fimicola because of the effects of crossing over and independent assortment that occur in meiosis I. Before performing this experiment we hypothesized that we would be able to see that crossing over did indeed occur in the S. fimicola. We tested our hypothesis by growing our own culture and observing it under a microscope. By counting and recording the types of asci we were able to find that our hypothesis had been correct.This has now led us to know that sexual reproduction causes an increase in genetic variation in organisms such as, Sordaria fimicola. Introduction Organisms reproduce in two ways: asexually and sexually. Sexual reproduction can be defined as the reproduction involving the union of gametes or when genetic material from two parents combine to form offspring (Cyr). Offspring produced from sexual reproduction have a unique genetic make-up, which can either be beneficial or destructive to them (Saleem). Close to all known organisms use this kind of reproduction during some moment in their lifetime.If this is true, however, why is not every species seemingly genetically identical? To answer this, one must observe the chromosome behavior during the sexual reproduction life cycle also known as meiosis. Meiosis is the process of cell division in which gametes are produced. It results in four haploid (IN) cells from two diploid (2N) cells (Cyr). In meiosis I, crossing over and independent assortment of the chromosomes occur. These two processes increase the genetic variation within the cell either benefiting or hurting the cell’s ability to adapt (natural selection).After these two events have occurred, the chromosomes will then proceed through all four stages and produce two daughter cells (Cyr). In meiosis II, the two daughter cells each again proceed through all f our stages and produce a final four distinctly different daughter cells (Cyr). Sordaria fimicola allows us to see observe the process of meiosis. This is because its life cycle is rapid and allows scientists to observe many generations in a short amount of time (Meiosis). Also, the size of S. fimicola makes it easily viewable under a microscope.Experiments with â€Å"Evolution Canyon† have shown exactly how S. fimicola is a representative organism for crossing over. Evolution Canyon represents the whole idea of different locations in Israel containing two mountain slopes exposed to vastly different climatic conditions that converge with a valley between them (Meiosis). In each of these cases, one slope has been exposed to harsh conditions while the other has been exposed to temperate conditions (Saleem). Because each slope undergoes different conditions, we can observe how genetic variation is affects the S. imicola that live on each slope. Scientists gathered samples of the organism living on both slopes and analyzed the differences in crossing over and the differences in crossing over frequencies. The purpose of our lab is to observe the different cross over frequencies. We want to compare and contrast the crossover frequencies in different color strains of S. fimicola. We hypothesize that in this experiment we will observe crossing over occur in the Sordaria fimicola after two weeks of growth in the agar plates.To test our hypothesis, we will grow our own asci spores in an agar plate and observe the organism under the microscope while recording the different ascus types which can either be type A (4:4), type B (2:4:2), or type c (2:2:2:2). Materials and Methods From the ‘Meiosis and Genetic Diversity in Sordaria’ handout, we found the materials and procedure for this experiment. Equipment that we needed to perform the first part of this experiment were two agar plates, a marking pen, a scalpel, and two different color strands of S. imico la. The first step in this lab was to mark two separate agar plates with the marking pen in such a way as to create four separate quadrants on each agar plate. Second, each plate needed to be labeled, identifying it as either the plate with tan fungi or gray fungi. Next, using the scalpel, a small piece of the samples of S. fimicola had to be sliced and placed in the corresponding spots in the agar plates. The plates then were taped and allowed two weeks to grow. After two weeks, the samples had flourished.We first scooped up small portions of each of our samples and put them on a slide with a drop of water, creating squashes, to be viewed under the microscope. When viewing under the microscope, each of the four group members counted and recorded their own twenty asci. While recording, each member categorized whether the asci they found had represented type A, type B, or type C recombination type. Last, when each member had attained their individual data, we combined our data to cre ate a total data for our entire group. Then we proceeded to combine our data to find a section and a course total.Results Four separate sectors analyzed the data of this experiment, the individual, the group, the class, and the section. The results were as follows: Cross Over Frequency Percent of Cross Over = (Number of Recombinant Asci / Total Number of Asci ) X 100% Individual Cross Over Frequency = 12/20 X 100% = 60% (gray) Combined Group Cross Over Frequency = 24/40 X 100% = 60% (gray) Combined Group Cross Over Frequency = 28/40 X 100% = 70% (tan) Combined Section Cross Over Frequency = 128/220 X 100% = 58% (gray) Combined Section Cross Over Frequency = 163/260 X 100% = 62. % (tan) Combined Course Cross Over Frequency = 4054/7066 X 100% = 57% (gray) Combined Course Cross Over Frequency = 8277/13946 X 100% = 59% (tan) After examining the cross over frequencies of the four sectors of data, we can see that for both the gray and tan spores an average of 60% were recombinant. This me ans that on average, 60% of the time S. fimicola will cross over resulting in spores of type B (2:4:2) or type C (2:2:2:2) Map Distances Map Distance from Cross Over = Percent Cross Over / 2 Individual Map Distance = 60%/2 = 30 mu (gray) Combined Group Map Distance = 60%/2 = 30 mu (gray) Combined Group Map Distance = 70%/2 = 35 mu (tan)Combined Section Map Distance = 58%/2 = 29 mu (gray) Combined Section Map Distance = 62. 6%/2 = 31. 3 mu (tan) Combined Course Map Distance = 57%/2 = 28. 5 mu (gray) Combined Course Map Distance = 59%/2 = 29. 5 mu (tan) Again, the map distances for both the gray and tan spores averaged about 30 mu. This means that on average there were 30 units between the cross over and the centromere of the chromosome. The fact that all of the map distances are around the same number also helps to represent the accuracy in our results. Discussion After observation of the Sordaria fimicola, we were able to depict the different types of crossing over.This supports our hypothesis– crossing over did occur in the S. fimicola. Because we were able to see that crossing over did occur and examine the three different cross over types, we can now say that sexual reproduction attributes to increases in genetic variation. We can see this by the 60% cross over frequency of the recombinant (type B and type C) spores in both the gray and tan strands. This example of the process of meiosis shows us that independent assortment and crossing over attributes to the variety of offspring that are produced in Sordaria fimicola.This large variety leads us to know natural selection plays a large role in the life cycle of fungus and especially S. fimicola. Our experiment showed baseline data under the same conditions as ‘Evolution Canyon. ’ While ‘Evolution Canyon’ showed the effects of cross over frequency as the two spore strands adapted to their different environmental conditions, our experiment showed the cross over frequency of S. fimicola under normal conditions. This baseline allowed for the comparison of the strand types that had become adapted to their different environmental conditions on ‘Evolution Canyon. ’Errors that could have occurred during this experiment were the recounting of asci. There may have been replication of certain asci strands. The experiment, however, is still reliable due to the large number of spores counted. This large number of 7066 gray spores and 13946 tan spores allowed for a reliable average to still be found. Future experiments may find this information useful because it gives insight into the how often crossing over occurs and therefore at what rate genetic variation is happening. By knowing more about genetic variation rate, we can learn more about evolution and how that effects natural selection.Experimenters could use this information to compare the rate of genetic variation to the effects it has on natural selection. References Cyr, R. 2002. Heredity and the Life Cycle. In, Biology 110: Basic concepts and biodiverity course website. Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University. http://www. bio. psu. edu/ Meiosis and Genetic Diversity in the Model Organism, Sordaria. Written by Hass, C. and Ward, A. 2010. Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. Saleem, Muhammad. 2001.Inherited Differences in Crossing Over and Gene Conversion Frequencies Between Wild Strains of Sordaria fimicola   From â€Å"Evolution Canyon†. University of Haifa, Israel. Figures and Tables Table I. Individual Data Non-recombinant| Recombinant| Recombinant| Total # of Asci| Total # Recombinant Asci (B +C)| # of Type A Asci| # of Type B Asci| # of Type C Asci| | | 8(gray)| 7(gray)| 5(gray)| 20(gray)| 12(gray)| This represents the 20 asci counted individually. Of these twenty, twelve were recombinant meaning crossing over took place. The other were not recombinant and therefore crossing over did not occur.The cros sover frequency was 60%. Table II. Combined Lab Group Data Non-recombinant| Recombinant| Recombinant| Total # of Asci| Total # of Recombinant Asci (B+C)| # of Type A Asci| # of Type B Asci| # of Type C Asci| | | 16(gray)| 15(gray)| 9(gray)| 40 (gray)| 24(gray)| 12(tan)| 13(tan)| 15(tan)| 40 (tan)| 28(tan)| This represents the spores counted for our entire group of four people. Of the 40 gray spores counted, 24 were recombinant meaning crossing over took place while 16 were non-recombinant. The crossover frequency for the gray spores was 60%. Of the 40 tan spores counted, 28 were recombinant while 12 were non-recombinant.The crossover frequency was 70%. Table III. Combined Section Data Non-recombinant| Recombinant| Recombinant| Total # of Asci| Total # of Recombinant Asci (B+C)| # of Type A Asci| # of Type B Asci | # of Type C Asci| | | Gray Spore 92| 67| 61| 220| 128| Tan Spore 95| 72| 91| 260| 163| This represents the spores counted by the entire class. Of the 220 gray spores count ed, 128 were recombinant and crossing over took place while 92 were non-recombinant. The crossover frequency was 58%. Of the 260 tan spores counted, 163 were recombinant while 95 were non-recombinant.The cross over frequency was 62. 6%. Table IV. Combined Course Data Non-recombinant| Recombinant| Recombinant| Total # of Asci| Total # of Recombinant Asci (B+C)| # of Type A Asci| # of Type B Asci| # of Type C Asci| | | Gray Spore 3012| 2081| 1973| 7066| 4054| Tan Spore 5669| 4301| 3976| 13946| 8277| This represents the spores counted by the entire section. Of the 7066 gray spores, 4054 were recombinant while 3012 were non-recombinant. The cross over frequency was 57%. Of the 13946 tan spores, 8277 were recombinant and 5669 were non-recombinant. The cross over frequency was 59%.