The Congress Of Vienna Essays - Knights Of The Golden Fleece

The Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna was an international peace conference for the countries of Europe. The goals of the Congress of Vienna were to have peace throughout Europe and have no wars or fights. The Congress was formed because there had been many wars in the past. The Congress of Vienna was made mostly of conservatives, but had some liberals as well. Some of the influential leaders were Czar Alexander I of Russia, King Frederick William III of Prussia, Lord Castlereagh who was the British foreign minister, and Prince Klemens von Metternich who was the Austrian foreign minister. The Congress of Vienna attained peace in Europe by doing a number of things. One way they attained this is using legitimacy, which is restoring the royal families to their throne. One example is that the Congress recognized Louis XVIII as the legitimate king of France. Another way they attained peace in Europe is restoring the balance of power between the countries in Europe. To do this, they reduced France to its 1790 frontiers, and they strengthened the countries on the borders of France. Also, to the north of France, the Dutch and Austrian Netherlands were united into a single country called the Netherlands, which was ruled by a Dutch king. To the east, 39 German states were loosely joined into the German Confederation, headed by Austria. The Congress also recognized Switzerland as an independent nation. It also strengthened the kingdom of Sardinia in northern Italy by giving it Piedmont and Genoa. All these variations helped Europe to obtain peace. The Congress of Vienna had kept its peace for nearly one hundred years. It maintained this peace by the Concert of Europe. To protect the peace settlement reached at Vienna, the Quadruple Alliance was formed with Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia; France was later added to the alliance. These countries met to deal with any threat to the peace and stability of Europe. Czar Alexander proposed a Holy Alliance that would bind all rulers to govern according to Christian principles. These two alliances acted together to preserve the peace along with the Concert of Europe which preserved the balance of power and prevented local conflicts from flaring into a major European conflict. Another way the Congress maintained the peace is the Metternich system. This is to defend the status quo, which is the existing state of affairs; and the Carlsbad Decrees, which are laws that imposed press censorship and suppressed freedom of speech. After Europe's one hundred years of peace, it had a downfall which cause the Congress of Vienna to break down into nothing. It broke down because of Europe's brief, localized conflicts, such as the Crimean and Franco-Prussian wars. Many rivalries among nations led to mistrust and even hatred, the countries came on the brink of war. The main reason for breakup was WWI, where Germany had become very powerful which upset the balance of power. The other countries then form alliances and there is a breakout of WWI which demolished the hundred years of peace. The Congress of Vienna was a great importance to Europe because of the great peace it provided to Europe for one hundred years. Factors such as the Concert of Europe, Metternich System, legitimacy, and the balance of power all provided help in forming and maintaining the Congress. The outbreak of WWI was the extreme termination of the great Congress. The Congress Of Vienna Essays - Knights Of The Golden Fleece The Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna was an international peace conference for the countries of Europe. The goals of the Congress of Vienna were to have peace throughout Europe and have no wars or fights. The Congress was formed because there had been many wars in the past. The Congress of Vienna was made mostly of conservatives, but had some liberals as well. Some of the influential leaders were Czar Alexander I of Russia, King Frederick William III of Prussia, Lord Castlereagh who was the British foreign minister, and Prince Klemens von Metternich who was the Austrian foreign minister. The Congress of Vienna attained peace in Europe by doing a number of things. One way they attained this is using legitimacy, which is restoring the royal families to their throne. One example is that the Congress recognized Louis XVIII as the legitimate king of France. Another way they attained peace in Europe is restoring the balance of power between the countries in Europe. To do this, they reduced France to its 1790 frontiers, and they strengthened the countries on the borders of France. Also, to the north of France, the Dutch and Austrian Netherlands were united into a single country called the Netherlands, which was ruled by a Dutch king. To the east, 39 German states were loosely joined into the German Confederation, headed by Austria. The Congress also recognized Switzerland as an independent nation. It also strengthened the kingdom of Sardinia in northern Italy by giving it Piedmont and Genoa. All these variations helped Europe to obtain peace. The Congress of Vienna had kept its peace for nearly one hundred years. It maintained this peace by the Concert of Europe. To protect the peace settlement reached at Vienna, the Quadruple Alliance was formed with Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia; France was later added to the alliance. These countries met to deal with any threat to the peace and stability of Europe. Czar Alexander proposed a Holy Alliance that would bind all rulers to govern according to Christian principles. These two alliances acted together to preserve the peace along with the Concert of Europe which preserved the balance of power and prevented local conflicts from flaring into a major European conflict. Another way the Congress maintained the peace is the Metternich system. This is to defend the status quo, which is the existing state of affairs; and the Carlsbad Decrees, which are laws that imposed press censorship and suppressed freedom of speech. After Europe's one hundred years of peace, it had a downfall which cause the Congress of Vienna to break down into nothing. It broke down because of Europe's brief, localized conflicts, such as the Crimean and Franco-Prussian wars. Many rivalries among nations led to mistrust and even hatred, the countries came on the brink of war. The main reason for breakup was WWI, where Germany had become very powerful which upset the balance of power. The other countries then form alliances and there is a breakout of WWI which demolished the hundred years of peace. The Congress of Vienna was a great importance to Europe because of the great peace it provided to Europe for one hundred years. Factors such as the Concert of Europe, Metternich System, legitimacy, and the balance of power all provided help in forming and maintaining the Congress. The outbreak of WWI was the extreme termination of the great Congress.

Introduction About Angiosperms

Introduction About Angiosperms Anatomy is a study of the internal structure of organs. There are between 200 000 and 300 000 different species of angiosperms (flowering plants) known. In comparison with other organisms, only insects number more species than angiosperms. Although a wide variety of flowering plants occur on earth, all have more or less the same structure and consist of three basic organs: roots, stems and leaves.Angiosperms are divided, according to certain characteristics which you studied in std.7, into two large groups, viz. Dicotyledoneae and Monocotyledoneae. In this section I shall refer to the former group as dicotyledons and the latter group as monocotyledons. In this chapter you will learn more about the anatomyRootsThe root system of a flowering plant begins its development from the hypocotyl of the embryo of the seed which gives rise to the primary root. Roots generally grow downwards into the soil (positively geotropic) and upwards (negatively geotropic).Figure 3Roots do not bear leaves and therefore no nodes are present.Two kinds of root systems can be distinguished in flowering plants: tap root systems andadventitious root systems. Usually dicotyledons posses tap root systems and monocotyledons adventitious root systems.Tap Root System: The primary root grows vertically down into the soil in the tap root system. Later lateral or secondary roots grow from this at an acute angle outwards and downwards, and from these other branches may arise. The main or primary root is known as the tap root; together with its many branch roots it forms a tap root system e.g. the bean.Adventitious Root System: The primary root usually dies at an early stage and is replaced by numerous roots that develop from the stem. These roots, which develop from the stem, are...

Economic Analysis of Burberry Essays

Economic Analysis of Burberry Essays Economic Analysis of Burberry Paper Economic Analysis of Burberry Paper 1. 0 Introduction There are tools and techniques that can help owners and managers make decisions. However these decisions are based on purely estimations where the costs and profits will come to a breakeven point. The common breakeven analysis is Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis. This analysis shows that how the cost and profit changes when the volume change. It analyses the effects on profits of changes in variable costs, fixed costs, selling prices, volume, and the products sold. However, there was a downside for this analysis which it only focuses on the breakeven point. In this paper, I mainly analyses Burberry’s performance and describing some of the companies’ background. Besides that, I also did some research on the structure and the competitiveness of the luxury fashion industry. Burberry had built their position in the market since 1856. Burberry Group is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. The company has branded stores and franchises around the world, and also sells through concessions in third-party stores. It runs a catalogue business and has a fragrance line. 2. 0 Burberry Background The Burberry brand was well-known for the authentic British heritage, unique democratic positioning within the luxury arena. They are the largest retailer in United Kingdom. Their founding principles are quality, function and modern classic style. The trench coat, trademark check and Prosum horse logo are their globally recognized icon portfolio. By year 2000, Burberry operated 58 company-owned stores. 2. 1 History 154 years ago, a 21 years old draper’s apprentice, Thomas Burberry, opened a small outfitter’s shop in Basingstoke Hampshire, England. By year 1870, Burberry focused on the quality and innovation in fabric and outwear design which expanded the shop into an ‘emporium’. Ten years after that, they invented Gabardine. Gabardine is a breathable, weatherproof and ‘tearproof’ fabric. In 1891, Thomas Burberry Sons expanded their emporium in the West End of London at 30 Haymarket. They developed a predecessor of the trench coat, Tielocken, which was adopted by British officers during the Boer War in 1895. In 1904, the Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo was developed containing the Latin word â€Å"Prosum† meaning forwards and registered as a trademark. Burberry was then commissioned by the War Office to adapt its officer’s coat, to suit the conditions of British contemporary warfare, resulting in the modern day â€Å"trench coat†. In the 1920s, they added a lining to the trench coat, The Burberry Check, which was registered as a trademark of Burberry. In 1955, Burberry was awarded a Royal Warrant by Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the second Royal Warrant in 1989. With these reputation built, they became an international well-known luxury brand. 2. 2 Products Burberry has various kinds of products. All products are to do with fashion. The products they provide can be seen at the pyramid shown below. Burberry brand uniqueness is the patented Burberry Check. It is a combined red, black and white check pattern. It was created in 1924 and was used as lining for the trench coats. It was then used for other merchandise including handbags, umbrellas, and scarves. Other than the Burberry trademark check, their signature icons also includes trench coat inspired D-rings, quilting and the Prosum equestrian knight logo. The Ansoff Matrix Market Penetration Classic Garments for existing target market (Trench coats, outwear, etc. )Product Development Burberry Accessories . e. stadium hats, handbags, toys, fragrances, etc. Market Development Diffusion ranges in mid 1990s for wider audience (Younger Consumers) Diversification N/A 3. 0 Industry 3. 1 Luxury Industry Background Fashion is normally built up from the creativity aspects of people’s personality. This is an industry where people can express their full potential of their creativity which reflects ones persona. Fashion industry is too based on each country’s culture which gives the designers instinct and the uniqueness of the fashion. The United Kingdom (UK) fashion industry had given a great impact to the UK economy. The direct value of the UK fashion industry to the UK economy is around ? 21 billion which is equivalent to 1. 7% of the UK GDP. This direct impact includes manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing of a range of fashion goods. Purchasing from the textiles sector, advertising and public relations spending, the economic contribution of the fashion education and fashion media sectors also the direct impact of the UK fashion industry. One of the main influence is the Value Added Tax (VAT) paid by consumer while purchasing fashion items. It consists of ? 13. 2 billion from the ? 21 billion. As for the indirect and induced impact of the UK fashion industry is calculated as more than ? 16 billion. This impact relates to the spending in other industries, ranging from IT to tourism. The total contribution from the UK fashion industry is more than ? 37 billion. Logically, Burberry belongs to the fashion industry. However, theoretically, Burberrry belongs to a typical traditional luxury industry. Luxury goods are one of the few truly â€Å"global† brands that are able to gain from global efficiency in marketing and producing the product exactly the same in any market that they enter. In UK, this market had grown into a mature market. It is a market of the changing factors of demographics, consumer and fashion trends and the demands of new generation. Most of the apparel production of the players in the industry outsource to other countries. 2 of the main outsources are China and Hong Kong. However, UK has a host of other cost centers including Vietnam, Turkey and Bangladesh. 3. 2 Products in the industry There are various products in this industry. Infact, this is sort of like people’s daily needs. The following chart defines the luxury sector and the products produced in this industry. These product segments can be divided in geographical segments 3. 3 Industry Structure The competition in this industry is monopolistic competition. There are thousands of firms in this industry competing with each other. Examples of firms are, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci, Prada and etc. These are few of those well known luxury fashion brand. The nature their products are differentiated and they have their own uniqueness which makes them have the control over the price. 3. 3. 1 The Porter’s Five Forces Model This model can explain this industry in detail. Threats of New Entrants It is believed that new entrants will not really be a threat to the current established brands. However, new designers that start their own brand with the correct growth infrastructure, they can grow quickly. In this case, they can attract volatile middle market customers. But they normally cannot attract the stable HNWI customers. Competing with those well-developed companies they will need high capital for the latest technologies to keep their goods up to quality. Secondly, it is very difficult to estimate consumers’ tastes which also include their various profiles, and symbolic needs or expectations. Small firms do not only design, manufacture, and sell their products, they also interact with their customers and systematically segment their markets and channels of distribution. This will give the new entrants the advantage during the process of design, manufacture and sales. The reason being is they understand their consumers better and try their best to fulfill their needs. As for large firm, they will have trouble understanding their consumers because of the hierarchy in the firm. Bargaining power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers supposable to be low because this market has not reach their consistency. It is different from the ordinary brand where consumers have their confidence on those brands. Luxury brands need to build their consumers’ confidence with marketing which will cost them a high budget. Bargaining power of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers is very high. The firms need to fulfill their consumers’ needs. If the consumer requires a product but the store, the store will need to call up some their branches in order to fulfill the consumers’ needs. Threat of Substitutes There are no substitute for the luxury fashion industry unless of not buying it. Luxury industry usually use their own branding to attract their consumers and keep their loyalty on the brand with their uniqueness. 3. 4 Industry Performance The luxury industry is growing extremely well throughout the years even during economic slowdown. In year 2009, the luxury goods retailers stand 23% of new store opening. According to a global real estate adviser, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), luxury retailers operate in over 25 countries and 50 cities worldwide on average. Comparing that with the global top retailers, CB Richard Ellis had mapped 294 world’s top retailers across 69 countries which make the luxury retailers have the largest global presence of all retail sectors. Hong Kong is the most popular destination for luxury retailers. They attract 91% of luxury brands surveyed as part of the CBRE study. Followed by London (87%), Dubai (85%) and lastly in total eight of the top 15 luxury Asian cities including, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore. In the United States, they spend around $324. 3 billion on apparel, accessories, and footwear in 2002 and increased by 2. 9% ($315. 3 billion) in 2001. The employment under this industry had decreased because most of the production had moved overseas for the reason of lower cost. The number of employment had dropped from 537, 000 in December 2001 to 507,000 in December 2002. 3. 5 Competitive Strategy used in Luxury Fashion Industry Luxury Conglomerates Being in the luxury industry, they can benefit from the integration in a luxury conglomerate. It is easier to have a much easier access to financial means and a solid business structure which can boost their development. The conglomerate can have the advantage of having cheaper cost of capital to finance their development. They also enjoy the bargaining power and lower operation costs. All new creators and designers will be desperate to go into the companies in this industry which help to keep their uniqueness. Designer brands With this strategy, they compete with their uniqueness of their products which makes them different from other brands. The main issue here is their designers’ creativity and research and development. Without research and development, they might not know what their environment want most. Besides that, a good marketing skill can go a long way. It depends on how the company wants to show their image with the public. Selecting the right market will be very important and can seriously affect their sales. Industrial brands By using this strategy, it is the build the brand strength by focusing on the business model that delivers on the brand promises and brand values. It is very important to give a clear message through good advertising. If the message is successfully send to the public, they can build their brand equity by extending their brand values through the entire business so that they can deliver on what they promise. Retailers The retailers base their business models around the strength of their stores. Their stores are all their consumers will lay eye on the goods and services. So, the companies must give the first best impression to their consumers. 4. 0 Burberry’s Performance Analysis The total revenue had been growing throughout the past five years. For the past year, the total revenue growth was ? 1, 202 million which is around 7% of the growth. However, the total revenue growth had a massive decline at 2009 compared to the past years. It can be seen at the KPI table the total revenue growth had dropped 61% from year 2008 and around 53% from 2007. It can be seen from the figure below that the major increase from the 7% total revenue growth, retail is the main income which is around 14%, 2% increase in wholesale, but 9% of licensing. Figure: Total Revenue growth divided by channels Most of the Burberry revenue came from Europe which is around 34% of the total revenue. The runner up is America (27%), Asia Pacific (21%), Spain (13%), and the rest of the world (5%). The emerging market China, Middle East, Russia and India contribute 9% of the sales. Burberry has been operating in these markets with their local partners who can provide esources and knowledge to help Burberry increase their sales in each region. Since these regions had provided quite an amount of sales through wholesales and retails, they had been expanding their stores. The following figure can show the number of stores they opened in different regions. By year 2009, they already open 91 stores in the emerging markets. Overall, Burberry had opened 419 stores in the world which is an increase of over 50 stores in 2009 compared 2008. These stores include a net of 22 more mainline, 22 more concessions where majority of the mainline is in Americas and Middle East. As for the revenue from the product segments, womenswear gain the most revenue compared to other products. They gain around 37% of the total revenue. Coming up is non-apparel (33%), menswear (26%), and childrenswear or others which is around 4% of the total revenue. the revenue from the non-apparel segment is around ? 366 million which is 12% more than year 2008. Non-apparel accounted for 33% of retail and wholesale revenue, compared to 32% last year. The above figure is the financial review of Burberry comparing year 2008 and 2009. It can be seen above that even though the total revenue but profit had dropped massively. This is caused by the costs of restructuring, impairment changes, negative goodwill credit on the formation of the Burberry Middle East joint venture, impact of one-off tax credits, relocation of global headquarters and group’s infrastructure redesign initiative. These costs had increased from ? 4. 5million to ? 190. 7million which made their profit from positive to negative. This cost had rose 102% compared to 2008. The following is the summary of the costs and the amount of each cost. Costs included in the costs above: Restructuring charge – Cost efficiency program including redundancy and other direct costs with the balance being asset write-offs and provisions. Goodwill impairment charge – reflects on the increasingly challenging economic environment in the market. Store impairment and onerous lease provisions – half of the cost is split in Europe and half in the United States Negative goodwill – it is the cost from the formation of the joint venture in Middle East Relocation of headquarters – the deterioration in the London commercial property market during the last year. About 70% of these charges are non-cash items, except for part of the restructuring charge and onerous lease provisions. Besides that, there is a decline on the operating profit which is caused by the massive increase on the cost of sales and a little effect on the increase on operating expenses in 2009. This is probably caused by the 2008 economic crisis. A terrible recession happened during 2008 which causes them whole lot more of costs and expense which will decrease their profit or even making a loss. The cost of sales had increased around ? 200million in a year. 5. 0 Shareholders’ Wealth The adjusted diluted EPS declined 4% (30. 2 pence) in 2009. This is due to the decline in profit caused by a lower tax rate. The reason being is probably caused by the 2008 economic crisis. Burberry put their concentration on the Total Shareholder Return where it measures the growth in value of a shareholding assuming dividends are reinvested to purchase additional units of stock. There are a few elements to measure the remuneration. These elements represent the total potential of the remuneration. Those elements are base salary, the annual bonus, benefits and service agreements. 5. Sustainability of shareholders’ return Despite the decline of profit in year 2009, Burberry’s profit had been growing throughout the years. The reason that 2009’s profit had decline is mainly because of the recession had affected their costs. It is quite sustainable that the profit had been quite constant. The sustainability can be attained by looking at the corporate responsibility. Corporate Responsibility Burberry had been serving the highest quality standards since 1856. They did a very well job on building their brand image and bringing the operational excellence to the luxury products. The following is the results from 2009. Clear Management Burberry has a clear management. Every year they have 3 meetings. The Group employs a Corporate Responsibility team of nine people which will manage the supply chain, environmental and community management and draws on external independent advice. Besides that, the executive management will review on the Environment, Ethical Trading, Employee Volunteering and Exotic Materials Policies. Healthy Business Partnerships Burberry believes in healthy business ethics. They believe that employing local labour and environmental laws with a safe and hygienic environment. They also have a policy based on ethical trading with internationally accepted codes. -There are 487 factory visits to assure compliance with the Burberry ethical trading policy. -Engagement of active member of three BSR working groups -25 key suppliers took part in long term capacity building programs focused on training for productivity, human resource management systems and better communication -Roll out of the Burberry confidential worker hotline in its suppliers’ factories. -New suppliers are approved by the CR team prior to working with Burberry Environment care Burberry has the largest environmental impact areas include carbon emissions (linked to energy use, travel and distribution network) solid waste and the use of bulk materials -Burberry lauched a packaging project to reduce the amount of transit packaging used -Relocated to new Corporate headquarters designed with energy-saving features, reduced cleaning chemicals, and more recycled stationery contents -Installation of energy-saving compressors -Waste reduction -Launched a sea vs air shipping initiative which resulted in significant savings and reduced environmental impacts Organization Development This includes attracting and retaining talented employees and customers which give the best results for the organization. -E-recruitment website and corporate intern program -Talent review, development program, and evolving the organization with strategic themes -New global headquarters, Horseferry House, provides a safe efficient and responsible working environment for employees and visitors -Piloted global education and training program designed for and delivered to all retail staff to ensure that the customer experience is in line with Burberry’s brand standards and Burberry’s luxury positioning Health and safety By retaining talented employees, Burberry will ensure a fully healthy and safe environment for them. Products and supply chain standards Burberry has strived to achieve the highest quality standards in all components and stages of its supply chain process since 1856 -More efficient with the use of raw materials -Usage of SAGA furs in Finland rather than natural hides -Issues licenses to ensure no harmful chemicals are used or contained within Burberry products Contributing to society Burberry had been practicing the give corporate sponsorship worldwide which includes cash and product donations. Supports on London, New York City, and Hong Kong to identifies unique local challenges to successful youth development and supports charities with proven programs to address them -Burberry’s employees serve as mentors to young people and volunteer for a range of programs -2008 Christmas Coat Donation saw more than 500 coats distributed in London, New York City, Hong Kong, and Seoul acro ss 12 different charities, ensuring that the coats went to job training students in time to help them begin their job search with confidence -Redundant office furniture and equipment from Burberry’s old offices were made available to the Foundation supported charities for their offices and programs 5. 2 Risk volatility By looking at the risk, it can give shareholders value. This analysis can be integrated by the evaluation of strategy. Burberry is challenging with five key strategic themes. They are: Leveraging the franchise -Maintaining brand momentum -Reinforcing outerwear heritage and leadership -Further reshaping the product pyramid -Capitalizing on menswear opportunity -Building childrenswear -Enhancing marketing -Optimizing licensing Intensifying non-apparel development -Further growth in division of product: oHandbags oShoes oMen’s non-apparel -Continue receiving marketing and PR focus via prominence on the runway, editorial priority and heightened presence in global advertising -Initiated its partnership buy model for non-apparel with the Autumn/Winter 2009 season -Japanese non-apparel joint venture Accelerating retail-led growth -Reorientating design and merchandising toward more disciplined, style-efficient and balanced collections -Increasing the frequency of new goods flowing to stores -Developing a more extensive and responsive replenishment program in all product divisions, while evolving in-store visual merchandising and processes to support -Enhancing store productivity -Accelerating new store openings -Continuing e-commerce development -Upgrading store image Investing in under-penetrated markets -Increase market share in America -Entered joint venture with Middle East and opened four stores in 2009 Pursuing operational excellence Announced global cost efficiency program in January 2009 -Global IT program implementation based on SAP technology in Hong Kong and United States Looking at the strategy and past years profits, Burberry’s risk volatility is quite low. 6. 0 Cost-volume-profit analysis (CVP Analysis) Assumption: -Only apply to one product -Fixed costs same in total and unit variable costs same at all levels of output -Sales prices constant at all levels of activity -Production equals to sales -All amount taken from 2008 is from the sale from one product -Volume sold in 2008 is 6million units -Net operating expenses and cost of sales are variable costs Sales at 6 million units Total Revenue = ? 1279. 90million Total Fixed Cost = ? 150. 40million Net Operating Expenses = ? 416. 0million Cost of sales = ? 475. 90million Variable cost = ? 591. 9million 7. 0 Conclusion Burberry has its own uniqueness which a lot people will not just simply change their taste to other brands. This is one main reason that the revenues of Burberry kept on rising and also they kept their position in the market. However, if Burberry wants to keep their position in the market, they have to continue designing and express their creativity. Without this, consumers will sooner or later get tired of their old products and hence the sales will drop. Same to the competitor in this luxury fashion industry. Besides that, good marketing can go a long way. With the right marketing, sending the right message to the right market, Burberry can save a lot of money and yet increase a lot of sales. References: ACCA – Strategic Business Planning and Development 2005/06, FTC Foulks Lynch. Burberry 2009 Annual Report Burberry Investors Official Website: burberryplc. com Casciato, P. 2010, Fashion worth more than $30 billion to UK economy, Reuters, cited at 24 October 2010, available at: reuters. com/article/idUSTRE68F3UX20100916 CIMA Managerial Paper P2 – Management Accounting – Decision Magement, 2010, BPP Learning Media, London. Fashion History Industry Analysis, 2009, Eurbanista, cited at 28 October 2010, available at: eurbanista. com/introduction-to-fashion-history-industry-analysis/ Nguyen, V. , Analysis of the Luxury Goods Apparel and Footwear Industries, cited at 28 October 2010, available at: uwlax. edu/urc/JUR-online/PDF/2004/nguyen. pdf Sloman, J. 2006, Economics, 6th edn, Pearson Education Limited, England. Smith, J. 2008, Worldwide luxury goods market growth projected to slow substantially by end of year and head into recession in 2009, according Bain Co study, Business Intelligence Middle East, cited at 27 October 2010, available at: bi-me. com/main. php? d=28646t=1c=3cg=2 Strategic Analysis – Luxury Goods Industry Analysis, 2009, Thinking Made Easy, cited at 26 October 2010, Available at: http://ivythesis. typepad. com/term_paper_topics/2009/05/strategic-analysisluxury-goods-industry-analysis. html Welch, P. J Welch G. F. , 2010, Economics Theory Practice, 9th edn, John Wiley Sons , Inc, United States of America. Worldwide luxury goods market growth projected to slow substantially by end of year and head into recession in 2009, Bain Company, cited at 26 October 2010, available at: bain. com/bainweb/about/press_release_detail. asp? id=26657menu_url=for_the_media. asp

Biography of Akbar the Great, Emperor of Mughal India

Biography of Akbar the Great, Emperor of Mughal India Akbar the Great (Oct. 15, 1542–Oct. 27, 1605) was a 16th-century Mughal (Indian) emperor famed for his religious tolerance, empire-building, and patronage of the arts. Fast Facts: Akbar the Great Known For: Mughal ruler famed for his religious tolerance, empire-building, and patronage of the artsAlso Known As: Abul-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Akbar I  Born:  Oct. 15, 1542 in Umerkot,  Rajputana  (present-day  Sindh,  Pakistan)Parents: Humayun, Hamida Banu BegumDied: Oct. 27, 1605 in Fatehpur Sikri,  Agra,  Mughal Empire  (present-day  Uttar Pradesh,  India)Spouse(s): Salima Sultan Begum, Mariam-uz-Zamani, Qasima Banu Begum, Bibi Daulat Shad, Bhakkari Begu, Gauhar-un-Nissa BegumNotable Quote: As most men are fettered by bonds of tradition, and by imitating ways followed by their fathers...everyone continues, without investigating their arguments and reasons, to follow the religion in which he was born and educated, thus excluding himself from the possibility of ascertaining the truth, which is the noblest aim of the human intellect. Therefore we associate at convenient seasons with learned men of all religions, thus deriving profit from their exquis ite discourses and exalted aspirations. Early Life Akbar was born to the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and his teenaged bride Hamida Banu Begum on Oct. 14, 1542, in Sindh, now part of Pakistan. Although his ancestors included both Genghis Khan and Timur (Tamerlane), the family was on the run after losing Baburs newly-established empire. Humayan would not regain northern India until 1555. With his parents in exile in Persia, little Akbar was raised by an uncle in Afghanistan, with help from a series of nursemaids. He practiced key skills like hunting but never learned to read (possibly due to a learning disability). Nonetheless, throughout his life, Akbar had texts on philosophy, history, religion, science, and other topics read to him, and he could recite long passages of what he heard from memory. Akbar Takes Power In 1555, Humayan died just months after retaking Delhi. Akbar ascended the Mughal throne at the age of 13 and became Shahanshah (King of Kings). His regent was Bayram Khan, his childhood guardian and an outstanding warrior/statesman. The young emperor almost immediately lost Delhi once more to the Hindu leader Hemu. However, in November 1556, Generals Bayram Khan and Khan Zaman I defeated Hemus much larger army at the Second Battle of Panipat. Hemu himself was shot through the eye as he rode into battle atop an elephant; the Mughal army captured and executed him. When he came of age at 18, Akbar dismissed the increasingly overbearing Bayram Khan and took direct control of the empire and army. Bayram was ordered to make the hajj- or pilgrimage- to Mecca, but he instead started a rebellion against Akbar. The young emperors forces defeated Bayrams rebels at Jalandhar, in Punjab. Rather than executing the rebel leader, Akbar mercifully allowed his former regent another chance to go to Mecca. This time, Bayram Khan went. Intrigue and Further Expansion Although he was out from under Bayram Khans control, Akbar still faced challenges to his authority from within the palace. The son of his nursemaid, a man called Adham Khan, killed another adviser in the palace after the victim discovered that Adham was embezzling tax funds. Enraged both by the murder and by the betrayal of his trust, Akbar had Adham Khan thrown from the parapets of the castle. From that point forward, Akbar was in control of his court and country, rather than being a tool of palace intrigues. The young emperor set out on an aggressive policy of military expansion, both for geo-strategic reasons and as a way to get troublesome warrior/advisers away from the capital. In the following years, the Mughal army would conquer much of northern India (including what is now Pakistan) and Afghanistan. Governing Style In order to control his vast empire, Akbar instituted a highly efficient bureaucracy. He appointed mansabars, or military governors, over the various regions; these governors answered directly to him. As a result, he was able to fuse the individual fiefdoms of India into a unified empire that would survive until 1868. Akbar was personally courageous, willing to lead the charge in battle. He also enjoyed taming cheetahs and elephants. This courage and self-confidence allowed Akbar to initiate novel policies in government and stand by them over objections from more conservative advisers and courtiers. Matters of Faith and Marriage From an early age, Akbar was raised in a tolerant milieu. Although his family was Sunni, two of his childhood tutors were Persian Shias. As an emperor, Akbar made the Sufi concept of Sulh-e-Kuhl, or peace to all, a founding principle of his law. Akbar displayed remarkable respect for his Hindu subjects and their faith. His first marriage in 1562 was to Jodha Bai, or Harkha Bai, a Rajput princess from Amber. As did the families of his later Hindu wives, her father and brothers joined Akbars court as advisers, equal in rank to his Muslim courtiers. In total, Akbar had 36 wives of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. Probably even more important to his ordinary subjects, Akbar in 1563 repealed a special tax placed on Hindu pilgrims who visited sacred sites, and in 1564 he completely repealed the jizya, or yearly tax on non-Muslims. What he lost in revenue by these acts, he more than regained in good-will from the Hindu majority of his subjects. Even beyond the practical realities of ruling an enormous, predominantly Hindu empire with just a small band Muslim elite, however, Akbar himself had an open and curious mind on questions of religion. As he mentioned to Philip II of Spain in his letter, he loved to meet with learned men and women of all faiths to discuss theology and philosophy. From the female Jain guru Champa to Portuguese Jesuit priests, Akbar wanted to hear from them all. Foreign Relations As Akbar solidified his rule over northern India and began to extend his power south and west to the coast, he became aware of the new Portuguese presence there. Although the initial Portuguese approach to India had been all guns blazing, they soon realized that they were no match militarily for the Mughal Empire on land. The two powers made treaties, under which the Portuguese were allowed to maintain their coastal forts, in exchange for promises not to harass Mughal ships that set out from the west coast carrying pilgrims to Arabia for the hajj. Interestingly, Akbar even formed an alliance with the Catholic Portuguese to punish the Ottoman Empire, which controlled the Arabian Peninsula at that time. The Ottomans were concerned that the huge numbers of pilgrims flooding into Mecca and Medina each year from the Mughal Empire were overwhelming the resources of the holy cities, so the Ottoman sultan rather firmly requested that Akbar quit sending people on the hajj. Outraged, Akbar asked his Portuguese allies to attack the Ottoman navy, which was blockading the Arabian Peninsula. Unfortunately for him, the Portuguese fleet was completely routed off of Yemen. This signaled the end of the Mughal/Portuguese alliance. Akbar maintained more enduring relations with other empires, however. Despite the Mughal capture of Kandahar from the Persian Safavid Empire in 1595, for example, those two dynasties had cordial diplomatic ties throughout Akbars rule. The Mughal Empire was such a rich and important potential trading partner that various European monarchs sent emissaries to Akbar as well, including Elizabeth I of England and Henry IV of France. Death In October 1605, the 63-year-old Emperor Akbar suffered a serious bout of dysentery. After a three-week illness, he passed away at the end of that month. The emperor was buried in a beautiful mausoleum in the royal city of Agra. Legacy Akbars legacy of religious toleration, firm but fair central control, and liberal tax policies that gave commoners a chance to prosper established a precedent in India that can be traced forward in the thinking of later figures such as Mohandas Gandhi. His love of art led to the fusion of Indian and Central Asian/Persian styles that came to symbolize the height of Mughal achievement, in forms as varied as miniature painting and grandiose architecture. This fusion would reach its absolute apex under Akbars grandson Shah Jahan, who designed and had built the world-famous Taj Mahal. Perhaps most of all, Akbar the Great showed the rulers of all nations everywhere that tolerance is not a weakness, and open-mindedness is not the same as indecisiveness. As a result, he is honored more than four centuries after his death as one of the greatest rulers in human history. Sources Alam, Muzaffar and Sanjay Subrahmanyam. The Deccan Frontier and Mughal Expansion, ca. 1600: Contemporary Perspectives, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 47, No. 3 (2004).Habib, Irfan. Akbar and Technology, Social Scientist, Vol. 20, No. 9/10 (Sept.-Oct. 1992).Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1996).Smith, Vincent A. Akbar the Great Mogul, 1542-1605, Oxford: Clarendon Press (1919).

Service learning and high school diploma Research Paper

Service learning and high school diploma - Research Paper Example Service learning and high school diploma Service learning wouldn’t benefit the students’ education. Indeed, many students would be unable to volunteer in their field. This negates any argument that service learning would help the students’ education†. The above argument is also illogical. The aim of education is to prepare the children to meet all sorts of life challenges effectively in future. In other words, it is ridiculous to argue that a science student should get practical experiences only in science topics. It should be noted that for conducting a successful future personal, professional and social life, he should acquire all sorts of knowledge even if he is specifically studying the science or arts during his school days. Service Learning programs must have specific goals in mind, and a system to support them. It should connect community services to the learning goals. In some cases, people develop service mentality because of genetic reasons. However, genetic reasons alone may not help a student to acquire service mentality. Suitable environment will help the students to develop more service mentality. In order to develop the suitable environment for service learning, planning and preparations are necessary. To conclude, service learning should be made mandatory in order to prepare the students better equipped for meeting the life challenges in future. Theoretical contents learned from the classrooms will become meaningful only when the students were able to apply it in the practical context. Service learning will help the students in doing so and therefore service learning should be made compulsory to earn a high school diploma. ... In their opinion school is a place in which learning should take place rather than servicing. However, such people have forgotten to realise the fact that learning by doing is the most efficient method of the learning process. Students may get lot of contents from their text books; however they will never realise the importance of such contents in the absence of practice. For example, students may learn more about Mother Teresa and her contributions from text books. But only those who take part in the community servicing will learn more about the depth, breadth and greatness of Mother’s services. According to Jonathan Sims, the student representative of Maryland state board of education, â€Å"students who are forced to community work may view the work as something to get out of the way and they will become clock watchers† (Morris, p. 4). The above arguments seem to be meaningless. In my opinion, when planned properly, service learning allows students to utilize their c lassroom learning, and use it in a real life situation.  It is difficult to create a wall between education and servicing. In fact the ultimate aim of education is servicing. Whatever the knowledge acquired by a student while learning, becomes meaningful only when he applies it in his personal, professional and social life. In other words, service learning will help the students to apply their knowledge learned from the classrooms. According to Ron Peiffer, Director of communication and special projects at Maryland state department of education, â€Å"when opponents argue that we cannot mandate volunteerism, they are ignoring the basic goal of required service programs ie, education† (Morris, p. 4). â€Å"Training throughout the mentoring experience would have helped to make

Airplane Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Airplane Evolution - Essay Example The historical development of airplanes brought several trials and inventions that were trimmed down to create an aircraft that shall able to cope up with wind velocity and gravitational pull. Even before the inventions of the Wright brothers in the 18th century where gliding planes became the fundamental outline for modern planes, many engineers and inventors aspire in building an aircraft through their sketches and visual designs substantiated by mathematical equations. Nevertheless, modern planes emerged from collective efforts of inventors and engineers in the recent centuries. Part of the building and development of modern planes are previous inventions such as the windmill which will serve as the early plane propeller, the kite as wings, and definitely the modern helicopter. Modern airplanes today are significant equipment both on commercial used, military used and in space explorations. Also economic growth especially on export dependent countries, faster consignment of goods to countries with the use of private planes can create economic bombasts. Such is the achievement on the invention of airplanes. I. History. Body I. History. Part of airplane history is the desire of men to fly and glide in the air as birds do. Even in mythology, flying was then perceived. Daedalus the Greek prisoner in Greek mythology was imprisoned along with his son Icarus by King Minos in the Minotaur's labyrinth. To escape the devour of the Minotaur they decided to flee through flying. Using wax as wings they escape the labyrinth. With the joy of flying, Icarus flew through near the sun and this cause his death. The wax melted and he drowned in the Aegean Sea. Daedalus however managed to escape. This myth has become the aspirations of men that someday an equipment or a birdlike aircraft would be invented. Several centuries past and the myth became a modern tale, the Puritan fairytale. According to the tale, the period of experimentation on inventing airplanes is in its height during the 17th century. Leonardo da Vinci's brilliance is their epitome. Da Vinci's ornithopters were a piece of draft that was supported with math ematical equations. His mind was preoccupied with bird flight and with flapping-wing machines. It is in this premise that his flying machine focused. Da Vinci's work lack technical value, that is why his flying machine was not considered a great achievement but just a draft that needed further replenishment. In 1714 Emmanuel

Latino Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Latino Studies - Essay Example Keeping in mind of the extensive and porous border that the United States shares with Mexico, many people in the United States worried that, the violence in Mexico could extend to their country. Furthermore, Mexico, being the second biggest state in Latin America, it constitutes the largest portion of the total number of immigrants into the United States. Therefore, at first, the matter of child immigration in the eyes of the people was a Mexican issue (BBC 3). However, child migration from Honduras as well as from the other Central American nations has become a great matter of concern as the then small problem grew steadily to become a critical humanitarian condition according to President Barrack Obama. Soon after, all the discussions regarding immigration in the United States turned on to child migration into the U.S-Mexico border. The matter prompted president Obama to request for additional funds from the members of Congress to help mitigate the problem (BBC 5). There is a lot of controversy regarding the exact reasons that led to this rapid increase in child migration who mostly come from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Some people in Central America hold the false belief that children who make their way to the United States enjoy great autonomy in their lives. Many president Barrack Obama critics indict him for escalating the problem through his careless enforcement of the immigration laws of the United States (Hing para.5). Different leaders and influential people in the United States started expressing their opinions on the best ways of solving the problem. Hillary Clinton asked the Obama government to clearly, inform the Central American people that migrants of all age including children will have their way back to their respective countries. Biden, the vice president, with instructions from the government went to Guatemala to meet the Central American leaders and pass the message. With this step,

Discuss the eight bases of individual power Essay

Discuss the eight bases of individual power - Essay Example Power is very important within an organization as it helps the leaders in fulfilling their leadership responsibilities. It helps the employees within an organization in influencing others in the fulfillment of the organizational as well as the personal goals. The study discusses about eight bases of individual power. Finally the study will conclude with an insight into how the utilization of power would help in the maximization of the communication network which in turn would help in the accomplishment of the organizational goals and objectives. Introduction Strategic planning is an important part in the achievement of success for every organization. It deals with the formulation of strategy (Poister, 2010). It is very important to determine the middle term future of the strategic planning from the perspective of a manager over next decade. It has been stated that the strategic planning will function more critically in the public and non-profit seeking corporations in future as compa red to the present situation. Recognizing the importance of the public and other non-profit seeking organizations for the advancement of strategic planning is very essential. The strategic planning requires facilitating the understanding of the forces or the driving issues within the organization. ... Thus power is an important driving force within the organization. The study would deal with the exploration of how managers can utilize power within the organization. In the present days the organizations use their power in a different manner as compared to its usage in the past. The utilization of power has an impact on the uncertain environment and it focuses on the shifting to flatter team structures, hierarchies and employee empowerment. The power of an individual depends upon the organizational sources. Power Power is one of the pervasive realities in life processes within all the modern organizations (Michelson, n. d.). It is very important for the leaders within the organization to achieve power in order to successfully achieve goals and strengthen their position. Every interaction or social relationship within the organization requires the utilization or exercise of power. Leadership comes from the concept of the utilization of power for obtaining interpersonal influence. Eve ry leader pursues power and views it as an important part of the work within the organization. The nature of the work that is performed in the complex world of today requires power in order to achieve high organizational effectiveness, good job performance and success of the individual members within the organization. In the present world the concept of utilization of power acts as the main source of the ‘influencing behavior’ for making the organization much more responsive, responsible and competitive. Accomplishment of goals which positively impacts an organization needs effective leadership which should be linked to strong power bases and highly workable influence strategies. Power is

Undercover Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Undercover Operations - Essay Example They could play lovers, prostitutes, drug dealers or crime bosses. Undercover work has facilitated the prosecution of criminals operating in a complex setting and uncovering of operations of criminal gangs. Despite its benefits to the society, some people are against the use of undercover work as a means of collecting evidence of crime. Some of the reasons they give are that its increase crime, do not respect privacy, involves deception, allows the government to do what it is prohibiting others to do among other reasons (Pollock, 2004). Personally, I support the use of undercover work by law enforcement officials. Although it involves unethical actions, it is also ethically justifiable. When it is examined from the utilitarian viewpoint, it is a noble-cause corruption in which the end-justifies the means. It leads to the good of the greater population and thus it is justifiable if it is used to obtain useful and important ends. For example, it is important in the prevention of crimes when there are specific hints and reasonable grounds to suspect that some people are planning a serious crime or have done it. It helps to uncover the truth, collect evidence and make arrests. Victims of some serious crimes do not report their experiences and rarely are such crimes reported. These include pornography rings, drug distribution networks and fences of stolen property. In this case, underground work is the best investigation tool. Undercover work is ethical when the targets are individuals or gangs who commit crimes they are aware that they could call for the use of deceptive police practices for example drug distribution. It could also be risky for the law enforcement officers to investigate some of the crimes openly and thus underground work justifies the use of special risks. In this case, it is ethical and justifiable as the best means towards the collecting of evidence and making arrests in some crimes. Pollock

Christopher Columbus a Villain Essay Example for Free

Christopher Columbus a Villain Essay Should a man whose actions created a wave of genocide and killed thousands of innocent natives be considered a hero? In today’s time, Christopher Columbus is known through the United States as the one who found the country we currently live in. But is that actually true? Over many years, his history has sparked a day that is a remembrance of his â€Å"discovery†. I believe that he is the mastermind behind the genocide of over 250,000 Native Americans, while others believe that he was only a man with a passion for exploring. I personally believe that Christopher Columbus had not a single good intention when he first stepped foot on the Americas back in his time and showed negative glory for his nation, discovery and personal glory. Christopher Columbus found the Americas, but today he takes credit for discovering a new world. Native Americans had been living in civilizations across North and South America long before Columbus had discovered it. This journey has now ruined many of those enslaved, and impacted as well as his precious reputation. With his expedition, he exposed countries to new disease, violence, and slavery. His â€Å"discovery† led him to ruin the America’s of its natives and its resources. These horrible actions should be added to Columbuss reputation, which shows him to be a villain in American history. Christopher Columbus had evil intentions from the start of his voyage when he promised to repay, Spanish monarch and founder of Columbuss travels, with gold, spice, and other servants. When he first arrived in what he thought was Asia, he quickly gathered the natives and introduced them to slavery. He also returned to Europe with the Native Americans possessions. In a resource I studied clearly and bias freely I read the following:† †¦, a sailor called Rodrigo saw the moon shining on white sands, and cried out. It was an island in the Bahamas, in the Caribbean Sea. The first man to sight land was supposed to get a large reward, but Rodrigo never got it. Columbus claimed that he had seen a light the evening before. He got the reward. We humans today know that when something new comes into the picture, something old must come out. No matter which side people choose, they all agree that Columbus made a major impact on the Americas.

The Distribution Channels Of Movies Media Essay

The Distribution Channels Of Movies Media Essay The  distribution of a  movie is the process through which a  movie  is made available to watch for an  audience  by a  film distributor. The current entertainment market is plagued by the abundance of product, platform and technology. In order to gain a footing in the new world of cinema, it is necessary to have an understanding of each of these elements. World trends indicate that younger generations are consuming digital content at an unprecedented rate. New technology is changing the way people consume media. With on demand technologies offering an unprecedented level of consumer control over content and viewing platform, traditional media advertising and marketing campaigns can no longer reach the masses. Movies have to be distributed through a scattershot approach to reach the consumers through different medium. The motive behind doing this project was to understand the end to end distribution system of movies. There are a lot of channel partners as well as stakeholders involved in the distribution of movies from the producers to the end viewers. We have discussed the different distribution methods which include On Demand, Internet Distribution, Home Entertainment and Theatres. Secondary Research has been done on how there has been a rise in overseas distribution as well as internet distribution of movies. We have discussed the pros and cons of different kinds of distribution methods and also how physical distribution is losing out to the others due to certain factors. Piracy in movies has been a major deterrent in recent years and a lot of preventive steps have been taken by the theatre owners as well as the government to prevent them as it cuts down the overall revenue that a movie generates. With the advent of digital distribution, a lot of new channels have come across such as home video, internet and mobile thereby opening new sources of revenue for the film industry. We have discussed how these new channels can be leveraged upon by the movies industry. INTRODUCTION The  distribution of a  movie is the process through which a  movie  is made available to watch for an  audience  by a  film distributor. Although distribution is one of the end points in the value chain of the film business, it is of utmost importance because goofing up at this stage means that the film, however well made, will be a flop at the Box Office. A number of different distribution methods have come up which include the following: On Demand: Here in the consumer is able to access the particular media they are interested in and purchase it or rent it at the time and device of their own choice. On demand platforms include Television and Set up Boxes. Internet Distribution of Feature Films: The main types of distribution are downloading, downloading rental and streaming. In Downloading and Downloading Rentals, consumers can store the movie in their hard drive permanently or temporarily respectively. Streaming involves viewing of the movie as long as the device is switched on. Home Entertainment: DVDs and Blu ray disk are major source of revenues for film producers to recoup production, publicity and advertising cost for their feature films. Consumers can enjoy the experience of watching the movie in their home theatres. Theatres: This is the traditional method of making the movie available for the masses. Typically a distributor buys the right for a particular territory and recovers his cost through the exhibition of the movie in theatres. A new development is happening in this space with the invention of digital copies of the movies replacing the traditional reels. It brings in a lot of flexibility and convenience for transporting and reproducing movies and also maintaining the same movie quality throughout various territories. In addition, it even brings about considerable monetary and time savings. LITERATURE REVIEW title OBJECTIVES Gaining distribution is believed to be a problem for marketers of products sold in retail stores. But this issue impacts many businesses including companies selling goods in the business-to-business market and those selling services. Marketers also face problems when seeking distribution channels for their products. Yes, the products here are movies, which in some ways are really classified as services (i.e., entertainment) when shown in movie theatres and then become goods when made available for purchase (e.g., DVDs, digital download), but the problems experienced here are common to many types of marketers. Our main objective in the project is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To understand the various stake holders in the process of distributing movies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To understand the various channels in the end to end process of distribution à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To understand the role of digital medium in movie distribution RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research methodology requires gathering relevant data from the various documents, websites, film journals from whichever sources possible and compiling them in order to analyse the material and arrive at a more complete understanding of movie distribution and answer following Isssues: How Digital medium changing movie distribution. How TV is impacting movie distribution How online streaming eg. Youtube etc. are changing face of movie distribution How above points can be leveraged by movie distributors to improve their distribution http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/movie-distribution-flow.gif SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION India has about 15,000 theatres enjoying a weekly admission of about 100 million people or 5000+ million per year. Distributors are the last link in the movie chain which takes films to the people. With post production accounting for 20% of the film budget and taking 20% of the total time, any savings in this would go directly to the bottom line. Digitalization has the potential to bring in the desired savings and drive up profits substantially. Current Movie Distribution Model Piracy in Movie Industry A new report `Economic Contribution of Indian Film and Television Industry by PricewaterhouseCoopers  said the film industry was in fact significantly impacted by online piracy. In 2008, piracy cost the Indian film industry $959 million and about 571,000 jobs. KPMG has also placed the film piracy rate at 60%. Report 1 Analyses the digital distribution of films movies Digitization is helping film makers reach out to a wider audience; distribution of content across many platforms like home video, internet and mobile apart from conventional theatrical platforms leading to higher revenue generation Digitization across the distribution value chain has enabled content repurposing across platforms, making distribution of niche content feasible Distribution of revenues across the value chain has become more transparent Availability of digital prints has significantly reduced the release window for each delivery platform; Helped in reduction of the time taken to reach tier 2 and tier 3 cities through theatrical release Report 2 Report talks about Collaboration with International Studios. For e.g. In 2011, Viacom18 entered into a deal with global movie company Paramount Pictures to market and distribute Paramounts movies in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka International Collaboration helps local film production by expanding their international reach and incorporates enhanced project planning and cost controls For e.g. My Name is Khan was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures in unexplored markets like USA, with innovations such as taking the lead actors to ring the opening bell of NASDAQ stock exchange ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Digital distribution is enabling distribution across various platforms such as home video, internet and mobile along with the traditional theatrical platform. It helps up in opening new revenue models for the film industry. In addition to the economic benefits brought about by the digitization of films, there are logistics issues which are being simplified with the advent of this technology. CONCLUSION Through this project study, not only the various channels for distribution of movies in India have been studied but the impact of technology on the distribution methods adopted has also been gauged. It can be very well inferred that the cost of distribution has gone down and the penetration of the product (movies) has increased; the distribution has become economical and convenient without any damage to the quality. With the advent of technology, movies are now available even on the TV through channels like Video on Demand. However, piracy still looms large and the current distribution channel is yet not robust enough to curb the evil practice completely. Future scope of the project can include a quantitative analysis of the costs revenues that existed in the distribution channel before digitization and comparing the same with the costs revenues after digitization came into existence. Also, the channel of film festivals, where the potential blockbusters are released, has remained unexplored in this study.

Income Tax in India :: Tax Taxes Taxation

Income Tax Estimator Income tax is a tax imposed on any individual or by a corporate by the government who earns income. In simple words, it is the tax paid on income. A survey says that paying Tax has been in existence for more than 2,500 years. People need to pay tax based on their profession. India is a pioneer in developing a stable tax system. The source for the income may be from salary, House/Property, Business and Profession, capital gains, and income from other sources. This tax is the contribution by an individual or group of individuals for the development of the Country. Income from Salary: All income received in the form of salary can be taxed. It is the money received by an individual from an employer. †¢ Medical reimbursements (up to INR 15,000 /yr) are tax free when it is supported by necessary bills. †¢ Conveyance allowance (up to INR 800/month) is tax free and no bills are required. Income from House / Property: Income from House or other property is estimated from the Annual value. The annual value includes the Rent received, Municipal Valuation and Market value. Capital Gains: Capital gains are form of income acquired from selling capital assets. The capital assets include real estate, equity, shares, bonds, Jewellery, art work and paintings etc. Sale of capital assets is a form of income. Income Exempt from tax: †¢ Any Money received from an Insurance company by maturity of an insurance policy is an income which has tax exempt. †¢ Income from Public Provident Fund (PPE). †¢ Some deduction also comes under tax exempt if the total limit of the deduction is not more than INR 100,000. The deductions can be from any one of the following: †¢ Contribution for Provident Fund †¢ Money paid for life insurance scheme. †¢ Investment in pension plans. †¢ Investments in mutual funds. †¢ Investment in National Savings Certificates. †¢ Re - payment of housing loans or any registration fee paid. †¢ Payments made for tuition fees for children paid to school or college or any other educational institution. Medical insurance: Medi-claim policies provide us a deduction from tax up to INR 15000 and for the senior citizens it is INR 20,000. This deduction is not applicable only for the amount paid for them but also for the amount paid for their spouse, parents or children. Interest paid on Housing Loans: Interest paid on a housing loan up to INR 150,000 per year is tax free. Tax brackets: Income tax brackets for individual is divided into three slabs Income tax is not applicable for individuals whose annual income does not exceeds INR 110,000 and for women it is INR 145,000 and INR 195,00 for senior citizens.

Essay --

Almost all young men hit a point in life where his mindset transitions from the imagined indestructability to the comprehension of humanity. Many see it as a steady change with no definite stage of illumination, nonetheless a sequences of open-minded phases or â€Å"the stepping stones into maturity.† For a select few, there is an insight, bounded by a catastrophic occurrence that incites a renovation in one’s outlook on something. Whichever comes to play, the unavoidable renovation subsists. The short story â€Å"Greasy Lake" by Thomas Coraghessan Boyle exposes this rational alteration in three young but â€Å"undeveloped† men as they face a chain of faults, penalties, and reiteration. â€Å"Greasy Lake" is an extremely polished short story that hints the proceedings rising up to the young men’s major transition. This coming of age story can definitely be realistic to comparable tales of men all throughout the biosphere as an imprinted transitional event leading to maturity. For the individuals in this story, a domino effect of problems reveals probable and definite penalties rising to this transition. In the very beginning of this short story, the author lays one of the most significant foreshadows, that depicts immature to mature, and how the characters think they are tougher than they actually are. Describing the â€Å"bad† things the boys do the narrator states, â€Å"We wore torn-up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths, sniffed glue†¦we drank gin and grape juice†¦. We were nineteen. We were bad" (306). It was almost as if Mr. Boyle wanted the reader to think the boys were full of themselves; and to think that the boys were trying to act older than what their mindset holds. The boys perceived their mirror image as the archetype o... ...ble.† (309). The character’s repetition of their pristine clarification of life originates in the arrangement of a second chance contribution to justify their â€Å"malevolent guy† identity that they preferred previously. As the characters assemble their views and mirror on the previous happenings, two older ladies in a Mustang enter into the lot. The girls were not looking for the decease body that was lifelessly bobbing up in down the lake. No, that would make the ending too non-predictable; the girls from the Mustang epitomize an alternative chance to satisfy the boys’ malevolent behaviors. Beforehand stand simple takings, girls in â€Å"tight jeans [and] stiletto heels" (310) holding a vast number of narcotics and enticement in which they were in desperate exploration for one long night earlier, but with the dark’s happenings still new in their attention, Digby declines.

Psychology and Best Friends

What is you most prized possession? A prized possession is something that makes you happy the most above all else. Your most prized possession can be an item or a person. One of my most prized possessions would be my best friends, because they are what makes us believe in ourselves, make one of the biggest influences in life, and let us have the ability to stay strong. Without our best friends I would not be the same person I am today. Our mental and physical abilities are essential in life, it can build us strive and become driven into our success.People should not be dependent on computers because, this can damage a person’s mental and physical ability. It can affect someone physically by having the habit of bad postures, back/neck aches, and eye pain. These body parts are essential for us to live comfortably and be able to work efficiently. Also it can affect a person’s mental health, some of the different causes are, poor concentration, poor attention span, not bein g able to multi task, no use of own knowledge, as well as sleeping disorders.If This possession is more valuable to me than other possessions because, this is what brings us happiness for me and for everyone. Best friends support us and are what help us to move forward in life. This possession is something that anybody can receive but only in one condition, show different character traits so that he or she will give you the same respect. I need this possession because whenever we are feeling down, I can depend on my friends easily.

Disadvantages of Labor Unions Essay

Ever since their initial establishment, there has been much dispute whether labor unions are a positive or negative social economic force in the United States. There are many disadvantages that labor unions pose on the individual, the organization, and society as a whole. This paper discusses the negative effect of having labor Unions in the United States. The union’s top weapons, strikes, can be self-disastrous. The reason being is that â€Å"employers of striking workers have the legal right to continue to operate their business with permanent replacement employees who need not be discharged once the strike ends.† In this case, employees on strike are not eligible to return since their previous jobs have been occupied. They would then have to wait until there is eventually an employment vacancy, if any. Striking employees also will destroy people’s every day routines and habits. On December 20, 2005, The Transport Workers Union Local 100 in New York City went on strike. New York City Transit Authority personal had observed the strike. The 2005 strike, which took place during the busiest shopping week of the year, had significantly affected the local economy since many people had then chosen to avoid shopping in New York. These shoppers chose to shop online, or postpone shopping. The strike was ended on Tuesday, December 27, 2005. The number of strikes and their effectiveness has decreased tremendously. The following figure from Hunter’s report, taken from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides us with the evidence: Walter Williams, professor of economics at George Mason University, emphasizes the above in his article â€Å"Where Union Power Lies†. He gives an example of the failed â€Å"air-traffic controllers’ strike during the Reagan administration†. The union in this case was simply not able to prevent the Federal Aviation Administration from employing new workers. Unfortunately, in such instances, unions may tend to violence as a means of eliminating competition. Williams illustrates this during several incidents. Back in 1987, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers struck an Anchorage Alaska utility plant. Non-striking workers were routinely attacked and had their tires slashed. One employee had to move after union members threatened to rape and murder his wife. In his report â€Å"Freedom from Union Violence† released by Cato Institute, David Kendrick, program director at the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, affirms that there have been 8,799 incidents of violence reported since 1975, with only 258 convictions. Obviously this first disadvantage of union representation impacts not only the individual, but the organization through acts of vandalism and society by victimizing innocent people. Another disadvantage of union representation is discussed by Hunter as â€Å"loss of individuality†. When a union is an exclusive employee representative in a workplace, the employees then become part of a collective bargaining unit where the majority rules. This majority may not be concerned with the individual needs or demands of each employee. Individual agreements between employees and management are not allowed because each employee has to deal with the union. After all, members of a union become part of a collective bargaining unit in which the majority rules, regardless of any affiliate’s best interests. Union leaders often operate based on their self-interest, which basically means expanding union membership regardless of the members’ benefits; they do so to gain more power and even enjoy some of the extra money. Hunter states â€Å"Loss of individuality is of prime concern for many employees, as well as the loss of the opportunity to negotiate for themselves an individual arrangement†. Student assistants at Yale asked to be heard as individuals and not part of a union as they didn’t see union representation as beneficial. Hockfield commented â€Å"†¦individual voices are more effective than that of a union.† â€Å"Many faculty members voiced concerns about the implications of unionization, asking questions about strikes, union dues, and the loss of individuality. Loss of individuality is inevitable when labor unions represent a majority. Another disadvantage of union representation that Hunter discusses is â€Å"cost to employees†. Collective bargaining units require all employees to support the union financially as a condition of their employment. â€Å"Federal law provides that employees may, regardless of the language in the agreement, opt not to formally join the union; however, they may still be required to pay certain dues and initiation fees.† Every union member is required to financially support the union by paying dues, and can face penalties that amount to his/her discharge for failing to do so. That is, the union can demand the discharge of any employee who fails to pay required dues and fees, unless a right-to-work law has been enacted in the state where the business operates. The costs of union membership differ but the average Michigan union employee pays hundreds of dollars in dues a year. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, â€Å"In 2007, 30 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below that of the U.S. average, 12.1 percent, while 20 states had higher rates.† That means that the average cost to union members is above 12.1%. This union representation can be quite costly to employees and in some cases defeats the purpose of fringe benefits. Other disadvantages of labor unions that Hunter argued is â€Å"Penalties by labor unions† employee can be fined or disciplined for involving in activities that violate union code. Such activities include, but are not limited to: crossing strike picket lines, surpassing set production quotas, and seeking representation by other unions. Unfortunately for union workers, these fines are enforced by the law. This is not the case however for nonunion employees who are exempt from all the declared restrictions. Although Robert Hunter raises excellent points, disadvantages of union representation exceed the individual to adversely affect the society and the economy. With regards to society, Terry Moe, underlines in his article â€Å"EDUCATION: Taking on the Unions† that the teachers’ union have interests that are â€Å"often in conflict with the public interest†. Moe raises the concern that the union does not permit the riddance or even the evaluation of bad teachers, which apparently is not good for the kids and schools. As for the economy and organizations, Thomas Sowell touches on this issue by explaining that union contracts have helped put American automakers at a disadvantage compared to its Japanese competitors, resulting in General Motors â€Å"going from selling about half the cars in the country to selling about one quarter today†. The UAW simply did not exhibit flexibility at a time when change was needed most. The consequences were terrible to the econ omy and organizations like The Auto industry: numerous plants closing, hundreds of thousands of employees being laid off, the moving of plants to states that have no union control, and the moving of plants overseas. From all of the above, it is easy to conclude that labor unions are a negative social economic force in the United States. Unions simply forgot their main purpose of existence which is to be fair to all parties: workers, companies, and the society. Instead, unions have become like businesses interested in maximizing membership count regardless of consequences. That is why the unionized share of the total U.S. labor force has declined tremendously since the 1970s till our present day. According to Richard Vedder, distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, replied in an interview with The Austrian Economics Newsletter by â€Å"Americans now realize that we don’t need labor unions† The continuous decline in union membership over the past years serves only to solidify Vedder’s statement. Also, according to Hunter, â€Å"the labor movement will have to add nearly 700,000 members per year just to maintain its current levels of employee representationâ₠¬ .

Human Goodness & Beauty Essay

You ever wonder why people can be so harsh but yet still do good things for people? Do things they wouldn’t normally do that’s nice, but they did it anyways or are not suppose to do? The Book Thief is a book that describes lots of this and this paper will explain the main theme of the book. The Book Thief’s main theme is Human Goodness and Beauty because the book has lots of goodness in people, people looking out for one another, and bring each other joy through actions or words. With people showing Human Goodness they do good deeds to help other people or animals. This can go from helping a dog stuck in a fence to a person in a car accident. Even a guy/girl that is a real pain all the time will help someone that is in danger because they don’t wanna be the witness of a death or something/someone being hurt. Say for example that someone doesn’t have anything to do, and a person talks with that person finds something to give them to do they will usually grab it for them shown here, â€Å"the weekly edition of the Molching Express, she lifted it out took home, presenting it to Max,† (Zuzak 221). This shows the expression by someone getting someone something for another person that they don’t normally have and giving it to them. Most of the time they will be happy for you doing this. In the world there is good/bad people but that doesn’t matter because they will still do something good for someone eventually no matter what it is. In the book Rosa Hubermann is a good example of this, â€Å"Rosa Hubermann, brown hair, in a bun, atrocious cooking, washes clothing for the rich, and hard headed but soft hearted women,† (Zusak 34). This quote shows that even though Rosa is a mean person, she is still nice to people at times. So Even a bad person will look out for a good person at times as well. For example they will save someone in a life or death situation because they are a nice person and don’t care if that person is mean, they are saving someones life and inturn thats what matters to them. Also people can bring other people joy through actions or words by, saying something that is really nice, or helping someone out that might be in the  need of it, but doesn’t ask. Even just doing a simple action that someone is not expecting can make them feel happy and overjoyed. â€Å"The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of derision, but he watched with everyone else as Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread, like magic,† (Zusak 394). This action of Hans shows that certain small things can bring people joy and peace. His action showed that small things can bring people joy because the jew was never expecting this, but the jew took it joyfully and thanked him for the bread. Not only does this show kindness but also shows that good people will sometimes not care what other people think and do what feels right. In conclusion, The Book Thief’s main theme is Human Goodness and Beauty because the book has lots of goodness in people, people looking out for one another, and bring each other joy through actions or words. Like lots of people have done and said it doesn’t madder if you’re nice or mean everybody will help someone, somewhere, and at sometime in life no matter how old or young you are. The body was created for many purposes and one of those purposes is helping another human being no matter the situation, or if its words or actions they are helping with.

Lewis Acid-Base Reaction Definition and Examples

Lewis Acids A Lewis acid-base reaction is a chemical reaction that forms at least one covalent bond between an electron pair donor (Lewis base) and an electron pair acceptor (Lewis acid). The general form of a Lewis acid-base reaction is: A B- → A-B where A is an electron acceptor or Lewis acid, B- is an electron donor or Lewis base, and A-B is a coordinate covalent compound. Significance of Lewis Acid-Base Reactions Most of the time, chemists apply the  Brà ¸nsted  acid-base  theory (Brà ¸nsted-Lowry) in which acids act as proton donors and bases are proton acceptors. While this works well for many chemical reactions, it doesnt always work, particularly when applied to reactions involving gases and solids. The Lewis theory focuses on electrons rather than proton transfer, allowing for prediction of many more acid-base reactions. Example Lewis Acid-Base Reaction While  Brà ¸nsted theory cannot explain the formation of complex ions with a central metal ion, Lewis acid-base theory sees the metal as the Lewis Acid and the ligand of the coordination compound as a Lewis Base. Al3 6H2O â‡Å' [Al(H2O)6]3 The aluminum metal ion has an unfilled valence shell, so it acts as an electron acceptor or Lewis acid. Water has lone pair electrons, so it can donate electrons to serve as the anion or Lewis base.

Changing Careers Avoid These 5 Biggest Mistakes

Changing Careers Avoid These 5 Biggest Mistakes You think you’re ready to change careers. You’ve got all the right stuff to make a change: you’re extremely good at what you want to do, confident in yourself and your abilities, clear about your expectations and goals, and you have the courage necessary to take the leap. Before you do, however, make sure not to make any of the following mistakes:1. Don’t wait until you’re desperateIt’s never a good idea to make a giant life-changing decision from a place of desperation or despair. If you’ve gotten to the point where you absolutely hate your job and can’t stand going to work, that is- counter-intuitively- the absolute wrong time to change careers.See if you can improve your situation and your day-to-day enjoyment of your work first. When you’ve stabilized a bit, that’s when to take a step back and decide what direction you’d most like to go in. It will save you a lot of backtracking if you quit your corporat e finance job to join the circus on a whim and need to find that middle ground. No need to go through this taxing process twice.2. Don’t forget you need to eat to liveCourage and pluck and a big fat dream are not enough to pay the rent. Before you embark on this crazy life-changing change of course, make sure to lay some solid financial groundwork to support you throughout your transition. Make sure you have enough of a safety net, and that you can make enough to maintain your lifestyle once you make it to the other side of the chasm.3. Don’t lose sight of what you wantIf you’re going to shake things up, make sure to do it right. This will help you avoid going through this process twice. Make sure you really examine- first and foremost- what you want. What values matter to you, what sorts of parameters are deal-breakers for you, what you want to accomplish with your career, etc. Then figure out the kind of actual work that will satisfy those needs. Then, and onl y then, pursue that work. Guesses are not your friend.4. Don’t forget to ask yourself the tough questionsDig deep. Revisit mistake #3. Have you really figured out your motives? Are you looking to make a drastic change for the wrong reasons? Would there be ways to accomplish everything you want and get everything you need within your current field? Even your current position? Figuring out what’s workable about where you are right now is a very useful skill, and it will save you being dissatisfied wherever you end up.5. Don’t give upBig transitions like this don’t come easily. If no one hands you a new career on a silver platter, don’t get too discouraged. Remember to persevere. If you’re not working hard enough to make this happen, it might be because it isn’t really what you want. But if it is? Just keep keeping at it.

5 Great Part-Time Jobs for College Students

5 Great Part-Time Jobs for College Students Let’s face it: college isn’t cheap. From tuition, room and board, and books to incidentals like travel expenses, social activities and the occasional beer or two, the costs add up. You could sell your organs, but there are easier ways to make a quick buck. Not only that, but the right part-time job looks terrific on your resume and just may position you for career success after graduation. Let’s take a closer look at five of the best part-time jobs for college students. 1. College Tour GuideJust how good is this gig? USA Today actually ran an article on the many perks of being a tour guide. Not only do you get great swag and access to exclusive events and social networking opportunities, but you also have the opportunity to hone your communication skills. This practice will come in handy whether you’re delivering an in-class presentation or undergoing a job interview.The competition may be steep for these jobs, but the rewards are big, and will continue to pay off in professionalism, confidence and leadership.Even better? According to some reports, college tour guides make as much as $13/hour - not too shabby for backwards walking through the hallowed halls of your institution.2. Library/Computer Lab MonitorLove books? How about peace and quiet? If so, a library monitor position may be the ideal fit for you. Library monitors have a number of different responsibilities - from checking out books at the circulation desk to scanning, sorting and shelving them. Organization is a helpful trait for library monitors, as is helpfulness: you will likely be frequently called upon to help other students do everything from use the school computers to find information on academic topics.If library stacks feel like home to you, a library monitor job may be the perfect fit.Computer monitors and library monitors share many common responsibilities, although computer monitors should also have strong computer literacy.And while library monitors and co mputer lab monitors might not haul in the biggest bucks, they typically come with an ample amount of downtime meaning the opportunity to pursue your own studies while on the job.3. Fitness InstructorIf fitness is already a large part of your life, why not get paid for it? Whether you are devoted to your yoga practice or enjoy the energy of Zumba, university recreation centers are always on the lookout for enthusiastic talent. If you love helping people discover their own personal passion for health and fitness, this job offers the perfect opportunity to make a different while honing your leadership skills and making more than $15/hour.4. Residential AssistantToday’s employers are always on the lookout for tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators. One way to stand out from the crowd? Apply to be a residential assistant (RA).RA positions are coveted, and with good reason: not only is your room and board typically covered as compensation, but this job also gives you the tremendous opportunity to play an important role in the lives of incoming students. You will also have the chance to learn the ins and outs of everything going on around your campus while interacting with diverse people and learning valuable life skills in the process.5. TutorWherever there are students, there are people in need of some extra academic help. Whether you’re an ace at math or a whiz with the written word, there are plenty of opportunities for tutoring jobs - both on and off campus. The hours are flexible and can be done either online or in person.An added benefit? Parents are willing to fork over big bucks to help their kids succeed in in their academic studies. Tutoring is also a great way for you to revisit past materials for mastery.Get paid to share your smarts.There are many great-part time jobs for college students depending on your strengths, skills and interests. Want a jump start on finding the perfect one? Sign up for the TheJobNetwork’s Real- Time job matching, which connects job seekers with employers based on your individual needs and preferences.

Why the New Hampshire Primary Is so Important

Why the New Hampshire Primary Is so Important Soon after Hillary Clinton announced to the world Im running for president  in the 2016 election, her  campaign made it clear what her next steps would be: She would travel to New Hampshire, where she won in 2008, well ahead of the primaries there to make her case directly to voters. So whats the big deal about New Hampshire, a state that offers up only four electoral votes in the presidential election? Why does everyone - the candidates, the media, the American public - pay so much attention to The Granite State? Here are four reasons why the New Hampshire primaries are so important. The New Hampshire Primaries Are First New Hampshire holds its primaries before anyone else. The state protects its status as first in the nation by maintaining a law that allows New Hampshires top elections official to move the date earlier if another state tries to pre-empt its primary. The parties, too, can punish states that try to move their primaries before New Hampshires. So the state is  a proving ground for campaigns. The winners capture some early, and important, momentum in the race for their partys presidential nomination. They become instant frontrunners, in other words. The losers are forced to re-evaluate their campaigns. New Hampshire Can Make or Break a Candidate Candidates who dont do well in New Hampshire are forced to take a hard look at their campaigns. As President John F. Kennedy famously said,  If they dont love you in March, April and May, they wont love you in November.   Some candidates quit after the New Hampshire primary, as President Lyndon Johnson did in 1968 after winning only a narrow victory against U.S.  Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota. The sitting president came within just 230 votes of losing the New Hampshire primary - an unprecedented failure - in what Walter Cronkite called a major setback. For others, a win in the New Hampshire primary cements the path to the White House. In 1952, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower won after his friends got him on the ballot. Eisenhower went on to win the White House against  Democrat Estes Kefauver that year. The World Watches New Hampshire Presidential politics has become a spectator sport in the United States. Americans love a horse race, and thats what the media serve up: Endless public-opinion polls and interviews with voters in the run-up to Election Day. The New Hampshire primary is to political junkies what Opening Day is to Major League baseball fans. That is to say: Its a really big deal.   The Media Watch New Hampshire The first primary of the presidential election season used to allow the television networks a trial run at reporting results. The networks compete to be first to call the race. In  Martin Plissners book The Control Room: How Television Calls the Shots in Presidential Elections,  the February 1964 New Hampshire primary was described as a  media  circus and, therefore, the center of the political worlds  attention.   Over a thousand correspondents, producers, technicians and support people of all kinds descended on New Hampshire, its voters and its merchants to confer the special franchise they have ever since enjoyed ... Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, New Hampshire was the first test in every cycle of the networks speed in declaring winners of elections. While networks continue to compete against each other to be first to call the race, they are overshadowed by digital media in reporting the results first. The emergence of online news sites has only served to add to the carnival-like atmosphere of news coverage in the state.