Ryanair Competitor Analysis Essays

Ryanair Competitor Analysis Essays Ryanair Competitor Analysis Paper Ryanair Competitor Analysis Paper The firms within the market engage in price wars where they cut prices to grab a larger market share. The firms maintain their customers loyalty by offering the low air fares and brand themselves through advertising. Some customers may stick to an airline provider for some reasons such as convenience, flexibility and brand loyalty. Therefore, when another firm sells at a higher price, it doesnt mean that the customer will switch airlines. However, it also isnt mean that the customers wont switch because are no restrictions or switching costs involved. A factor which may cause customers to switch is when the price difference is too high to tolerate. In this market there is a significant barrier to entry because of the high set up cost. It is also difficult to penetrate the market because of the 3 major firms which accounts for a huge market share. The LLC market also shows some characteristics of monopolistic competition because of there are many other LLC airlines. There are also no legal barriers to entry because there are legal restrictions to enter the market. Moreover, the governments show that they want to encourage competition in this industry when the Irish government rejected a takeover of Are Lingua by Ryan in 2009 (Reuters). Conduct Ryan conducts its business by cutting costs and lowering air fare prices. The company cuts cost through many ways such as using secondary airports, reducing the weight of their airplanes, reducing staff costs, removing bookings through travel agents and removing in-flight meals. The company commits to the basic service to their customer which is flying them from one place to another without delays. Any ore than that, the customers will be charged. Ryan charges the customers for various things such as in-flight meals, payment handling fees, wheelchair usage and online check-in (BBC 2009). The company also charges their staffs for training and interview sessions to reduce staff costs (Creator 2005). Since Ryan aims to provide the lowest air fare prices, they maximize airplanes capacity by removing business class and first class space. There are no pricing agreements arranged between other LLC operators, therefore, the prices of tickets varies. Non-price competition also exists in the LLC market.

What to Know About Visual Basic

What to Know About Visual Basic In 2008 Microsoft stopped support for VB and declared it a Legacy software. Feel free to read this article written before that time. It provides good background for the current .NET software still in use today. Its a computer programming system developed and owned by Microsoft. Visual Basic was originally created to make it easier to write programs for the Windows computer operating system. The basis of Visual Basic is an earlier programming language called BASIC that was invented by Dartmouth College professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz. Visual Basic is often referred to using just the initials, VB. Visual Basic is easily the most widely used computer programming system in the history of software. Is Visual Basic Just a Programming Language? Its more. Visual Basic was one of the first systems that made it practical to write programs for the Windows operating system. This was possible because VB included software tools to automatically create the detailed programming required by Windows. These software tools not only create Windows programs, but they also take full advantage of the graphical way that Windows works by letting programmers draw their systems with a mouse on the computer. This is why its called Visual Basic. Visual Basic also provides a unique and complete software architecture. Architecture is the way computer programs, such as Windows and VB programs, work together. One of the major reasons why Visual Basic has been so successful is that it includes everything that is necessary to write programs for Windows. Is there more than one version of Visual Basic? Yes. Since 1991 when it was first introduced by Microsoft, there have been nine versions of Visual Basic up to VB.NET 2005, the current version. The first six versions were all called Visual Basic. In 2002, Microsoft introduced Visual Basic .NET 1.0, a completely redesigned and rewritten version that was a key part of a much larger computer architecture. The first six versions were all backward compatible. That means that later versions of VB could handle programs written with an earlier version. Because the .NET architecture was such a radical change, earlier versions of Visual Basic have to be rewritten before they can be used with .NET. Many programmers still prefer Visual Basic 6.0 and a few use even earlier versions. Will Microsoft stop supporting Visual Basic 6 and earlier versions? This depends on what you mean by support but many programmers would say they already have. The next version of the Windows operating system, Windows Vista, will still run Visual Basic 6 programs and future versions of Windows might run them too. On the other hand, Microsoft now charges big fees for any help for VB 6 software problems and soon they wont provide it at all. Microsoft doesnt sell VB 6 anymore so its difficult to find. Its clear that Microsoft is doing everything they can to discourage the continued use of Visual Basic 6 and encourage the adoption of Visual Basic .NET. Many programmers believe that Microsoft was wrong to abandon Visual Basic 6 because their customers have put so much investment into it over more than ten years. As a result, Microsoft has earned a lot of ill will from some VB 6 programmers and some have moved to other languages rather than move to VB.NET. This might be a mistake. Is Visual Basic .NET really an improvement? Absolutely yes! All of .NET is truly revolutionary and gives programmers a much more capable, efficient and flexible way to write computer software. Visual Basic .NET is a key part of this revolution. At the same time, Visual Basic .NET is clearly more difficult to learn and use. The vastly improved capability does come at a fairly high cost of technical complexity. Microsoft helps to make up for this increased technical difficulty by providing even more software tools in .NET to help programmers. Most programmers agree that VB.NET is such a huge leap forward that its worth it. Isnt Visual Basic only for lower skilled programmers and simple systems? This was something that programmers using programming languages like C, C, and Java used to say before Visual Basic .NET. Back then, there was some truth to the charge, although on the other side of the argument was the fact that excellent programs could be written faster and cheaper with Visual Basic than with any of those languages. VB.NET is the equal of any programming technology anywhere. In fact, the resulting program using the .NET version of the C programming language, called C#.NET, is virtually identical with the same program written in VB.NET. The only real difference today is programmer preference. Is Visual Basic object-oriented? VB.NET certainly is. One of the big changes introduced by .NET was complete object-oriented architecture. Visual Basic 6 was mostly object-oriented but lacked a few features such as inheritance. The subject of object-oriented software is a big topic by itself and is beyond the scope of this article. What is the Visual Basic runtime and do we still need it? One of the big innovations introduced by Visual Basic was a way to split a program into two parts. One part is written by the programmer and does everything that makes that program unique, such as adding two specific values. The other part does all of the processing that any program might need such as the programming to add any values. The second part is called the runtime in Visual Basic 6 and earlier and is part of the Visual Basic system. The runtime is actually a specific program and each version of Visual Basic has a corresponding version of the runtime. In VB 6, the runtime is called MSVBVM60. (Several other files are also normally needed for a complete VB 6 runtime environment.) In .NET, the same concept is still used in a very general way, but its not called a runtime anymore (its part of the .NET Framework) and it does a lot more. What is the Visual Basic .NET Framework? Like the old Visual Basic runtimes, the Microsoft .NET Framework is combined with specific .NET programs written in Visual Basic .NET or any other .NET language to provide a complete system. The Framework is much more than a runtime, however. The .NET Framework is the basis of the entire .NET software architecture. One major part is a huge library of programming code called the Framework Class Library (FCL). The .NET Framework is separate from VB.NET and can be downloaded free of charge from Microsoft. The Framework is an included part of Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. What is Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and how does it fit in? VBA is a version of Visual Basic 6.0 that is used as an internal programming language in many other systems such as Microsoft Office programs like Word and Excel. (Earlier versions of Visual Basic were used with earlier versions of Office.) Many other companies in addition to Microsoft have used VBA to add programming ability to their own systems. VBA makes it possible for another system, like Excel, to run a program internally and provide what is essentially a custom version of Excel for a particular purpose. For example, a program could be written in VBA that will make Excel create an accounting balance sheet using a series of accounting entries in a spreadsheet at the click of a button. VBA is the only version of VB 6 that is still sold and supported by Microsoft and only as an internal component of Office programs. Microsoft is developing a completely .NET capability (called VSTO, Visual Studio Tools for Office) but VBA continues to be used. How much does Visual Basic cost? Although Visual Basic 6 could be purchased by itself, Visual Basic .NET is only sold as part of what Microsoft calls Visual Studio .NET. Visual Studio .NET also includes the other Microsoft supported .NET languages, C#.NET, J#.NET and C.NET. Visual Studio comes in a variety of versions with different capabilities that go well beyond just the ability to write programs. In October 2006, Microsofts posted list prices for Visual Studio .NET ranged from $800 to $2,800 although various discounts are often available. Fortunately, Microsoft also provides a completely free version of Visual Basic called Visual Basic .NET 2005 Express Edition (VBE). This version of VB.NET is separate from the other languages and is also completely compatible with the more expensive versions. This version of VB.NET is very capable and doesnt feel at all like free software. Although some features of the more expensive versions arent included, most programmers wont notice anything missing. The system can be used for production quality programming and isnt crippled in any way like some free software. You can read more about VBE and download a copy at Microsofts web site.

The Cask of Amontillado Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Cask of Amontillado - Essay Example He is insensitive to people’s feelings, but it does not seem to be coming from a place of malice, but more of a place of always thinking â€Å"what’s the big deal?† Burger is the opposite – he apparently was poor, worked his way up on the ladder, was not given anything, had to work for everything, and takes everything very seriously. So, both men came upon fame and fortune, but in very different ways. As indicated above, there is nothing in the early part of the story that would indicate that horror would be befalling Kennedy by the end of the story. This is in contrast to â€Å"The Cask of the Amontillado,† the story upon which this story was evidently based. In â€Å"The Cask of the Amontillado,† we know from the beginning that the narrator had a problem with Fortunato, who is the man who eventually has the same fate that Kennedy does in this story, for we know from the very first paragraph that the narrator is angry with Fortunato, althoug h we know not for what, and never do find out. However, in the â€Å"The New Catacomb,† there is initially not a hint that there is anything amiss. The two men are enjoying one another’s company, and there begins almost a casual conversation about two things – the fact that Burger has artifacts from a new catacomb that he has discovered, and the fact that Kennedy had had a scandalous affair, the details of which is not yet known. As the two men spar a bit – Kennedy is eager to know about the new catacomb, and Burger does not want to give up the secret – one does not necessarily get the sense that Burger has anything against Kennedy. Initially, the reader is led to believe that Burger is only asking Kennedy about the affair to prove a point – that, as Burger has a secret that he does not want to reveal, so does Kennedy. And, if Kennedy does not want to reveal the details of the affair, then Burger is not going to reveal the details about the new catacomb. Initially, it seems that this is all that there is to it. Of course, Kennedy does reveal the affair, and, in the process, the reader is brought into Kennedy’s mind. He comes across as callous and insensitive, for he had an affair with an engaged woman, all for the sport of it, and nothing else. Then he pretty much sealed his fate when he shrugged off the question about the woman’s other man by stating that it was simply survival of the fittest, and that if the other man would have been a better man, she would not have deserted him. Of course, the reader finds out at the end exactly who that other man was, but, at the moment, this information is not revealed, so the entire back and forth between the men about the affair does not seem to be foreboding. It is only when Burger states that he must take Kennedy to the new catacomb that the reader gets a sense of foreboding. Since most readers have read â€Å"The Cask of the Amontillado† at least once, th ere is, at this moment, a sense of dread for Kennedy. Although the reader does not know exactly why something will happen to Kennedy, there is immediately an â€Å"oh, no† when Burger offers to take Kennedy to the catacombs. Does Burger want revenge for the affair? If so, why is it his business? Or does he simply want a rival out of the way? After all, these men are rivals, even if they are friendly rivals. Whatever the motivation, the reader instantly can sense that this will not end well for Kennedy. As the

Implementing Measurements and Testing Models Essay

Implementing Measurements and Testing Models - Essay Example Sampling is done primarily because a population may be very large and diverse making it impossible for the researchers to study all of them given the available resources as well as the element of time. The Sloven formula is commonly used to compute for the desired sample size based on the total population and the margin of error or confidence level. The formula for computing the sample size is as follows: To determine the sample population for a study on drug use of prisoners in the State facilities, the researcher may use stratified random sampling. Stratified random sample involves subdividing the population into smaller homogenous groups to get more accurate information (Best, 2003). It is a commonly used probability method that is superior to random sampling because it reduces sampling error. A stratum is a subset of the population that shares at least one common characteristic. Examples of stratums might be males and females, or managers and non-managers. The researcher first identifies the relevant stratums and their actual representation in the population. Random sampling is then used to select a sufficient number of subjects from each stratum. "Sufficient" refers to a sample size large enough for us to be reasonably confident that the stratum represents the population. Stratified sampling is often used when one or more of the stratums in the population have a low incidence re lative to the other stratums (http://www.statpac.com/surveys/sampling.htm) Since prisoners are detailed in several areas spread all throughout Oklahoma, distributing the sample population according to the area or location of the facility and relative to the number of inmates in each area would ensure representation of each facility. Assuming that the survey research will be conducted in the facilities under the Oklahoma State Department of Corrections, and the desired margin of error is 1% or at 99% confidence level, we can compute for the desired sample size of a population such as 20,306 inmates as of December 8 figures in the OkDOC database using Sloven formula - n = N/(1+Ne2) n = 20,306 / 1+ [(20,306 ) (.01) 2 ] n = 20,306 / 1 + [ (20,306) (.0001)] n = 20,306 / 1 + 2.0306 n = 20, 306 / 3.306 n = 6,142.16 or 6143 Thus, the total number of respondents to the survey on drug use among inmates in the Oklahoma State Department of Corrections will be 6,142 inmates. This figure will be drawn proportionally from the different facilities throughout the State according to their actual count of inmates. Based on percentage share computed in Appendix A, the following will be the distribution of inmate-respondent in each facility. Table 1 - Distribution of Respondents per Facility FACILITIES NAME % of total pop'n # of respondent per facility** 1. Charles E. "Bill" Johnson Correctional Center 2.1 129 2. Dick Conner Correctional Center 4.7 289 3. Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center 3.7 227 4. Howard McLeod Correctional Center 3.1 190 5. Jackie Brannon Correctional Center 3.6 221 6. James Crabtree Correctional Center 3.9 240 7. Jess Dunn Correctional Center 4.8 295 8. Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center 3.4 209 9. John Lilley Correctional Center 3.6 221 10. Joseph Harp Correctional Center 6.8 418 11. Lexington A & R Center 2 123 12. Mabel Bassett Correctional Cent

Strategic Management Analysis of Coca Cola Company Essay Example for Free

Strategic Management Analysis of Coca Cola Company Essay Candle. Three years later Mr. Candler and other associates formed a Georgia corporation named the Coca-Cola Company. The brand name â€Å"Coca-Cola,† was officially patented in the United States on January 31, 1893. The business continued to grow and in 1895, the Coca- Cola product had expanded in all states and territory of Unite State. The Company quickly outgrew its facilities and in 1898 was created the first headquarters building devoted exclusively to the production of syrup and the management of the business. One year later, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, secured exclusive rights from Candler to bottle and sell the beverage for the sum of only one dollar. In the year 1919, the Coca-Cola Company was sold to a group of investors for $25 million. Robert W. Woodruff became the President of the Company in the year 1923 and his more than sixty years of leadership took the business to unsurpassed heights of commercial success, making Coca-Cola one of the most recognized and valued brands in the 20th century. Today, the Company owns or licenses and markets more than 500 non-alcoholic beverage brands, has 3,500 beverage products including sparkling drinks and still beverages and sells 1. 7 billon servings per day in over 200 countries. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and employs 139,600 associates across the six operating groups. Approximately 78% of its products are sold outside of the Unite State. Although 2010 was a hard year for many of the multinational companies due to the economical situation, the Cocal Cola company recorded revenues of $35,119 million, 12% more that in 2009. The increase in revenue was primarily due to increase in sales of unit cases of company’s products from approximately 24. 4 billion in 2009 to approximately 25. 5 billion in 2010, the increase in the price and product/geographic mix also boosted the revenue growth. The operating income of the company was $8,449 million and the net profit was $11,809 million, increasing a 2, 6% and 5, 77% respectively over 2009 fiscal year. Business, now-a-days is vitally affected by the economic, social, technological and political factors. The Coca-Cola â€Å"is a marketing model not just for mega multinationals looking to share best practices from around the world but also a case study for how upstart and mid-size brands, of which Coca-Cola has amassed many, can use creative stunts and strategic partnerships to get a lot done on a smaller budget. †( Zmuda, 2011). The company has been faced the external factors such as: economic, social and competitive that has affected the majority of multinational companies during the last years, creating excellent strategic to find solution for them. The Coca- Cola’ Vision and Mission

William Butler Yeats’ The Magi Essay -- The Magi Essays

William Butler Yeats’ The Magi   Ã‚  Ã‚   Briefly stated, William Butler Yeats’ The Magi is a poem about people who, upon reaching old age, or perhaps just older age, turn to God and the spiritual world for fulfillment and happiness. We are told in the footnote to this poem that, after writing The Dolls, Yeats looked up into the blue sky and imagined that he could see "stiff figures in procession". Perhaps after imagining these figures, Yeats debated within himself whom these pictures could represent. Yeats then went on to write The Magi, a poem which is full of symbolism, a literary technique that he greatly valued.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In the first two lines of the poem, Yeats writes "Now as at all times I can see in the mind’s eye, / In their stiff, painted clothes, the pale unsatisfied ones". Yeats is saying that when he looks into the blue sky, towards heaven above, he is reminded of all those people who have spent their lives "playing the game". These people have achieved great success and have many wonderful things, such as their "stiff, painted clothes," but still they feel as if their lives are incomplete. Despite everything they own and the pride they feel in what they have accomplished, they are not quite happy with their lives as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The fourth line of the poem, "With all their ancient faces like rain-beaten stones," clarifies for me that Yeats is talking about people of an older generation. He is certainly not talking about unsatisfied twenty- or even thirtysomethings. Yeats uses simile in this line to describe faces that are well worn. These faces belong to people who have experienced the stresses and strains of life. They are no longer vibrant and distinct, but are instead bland and unremarkable. These are people who ... ...and successful and are turning to God for solace. They are choosing to honor and revere him in the hopes of finding everlasting peace and happiness.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps Yeats wrote this poem out of frustration with his own life. Maybe he felt that he also was one of the "pale, unsatisfied ones". He may have been struggling with the strains brought upon him by success. He may also have been going through a time of indecision in regards to his own spiritual life. Whatever the reason for his writing The Magi, Yeats wrote a poem rich in symbolism and imagery that many people could then, and can now, relate to on a very personal level.    References Ellmann, Richard and Robert O'Clair, eds. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 2nd edition.   New York:   W. W.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Norton, 1988. Urdang, Laurence, ed.   The American Century Dictionary.   New York:   Oxford UP, 1995.

How Can We Measure the Economic Growth of a Country? Essay

Experts have proposed many techniques to assess the economic progress of a country. One of these techniques is to calculate the sum of all the goods and services produced in the country which is known as gross domestic product (GDP). The indicator was created in the wake of great depression in 1930s and still is used to measure individual countries’ economic performance. But now most of the economists claim that GDP alone cannot reflect the economic performance of a society because it has many flaws and does not acceptably measures the household productions, voluntary work, defensive and remedial spending and cash for clunkers. To begin with GDP does not account for the household productions which have sizable effect on the economy of a nation. Unpaid work for instance, causes fall in GDP as there is no value addition. For example, if a person cooks food for his or her family then it causes fall of GDP but if the family hires a chef then GDP boosts up. Let’s take the example of drying clothes in sunshine. If you let the sun dry your clothes, the service is free and doesn’t show up in our domestic product but if you throw your laundry in the dryer, you burn fossil fuel, increase your carbon footprint, make the economy more unsustainable — and give GDP a bit of a bump. This seems illogical that if a person reduces his or her consumption then it will cause GDP to drop, eventually resulting into reduced welfare of the nation. According to various studies carried out in France, domestic production could represent as much as 75% of standard GDP. If GDP does not accurately responds to domestic production then how it can be considered a good measure for the welfare of a nation? Moreover, GDP does not correctly respond to voluntary work and public administration resulting into imperfect measurement of the welfare of a nation. A bicycle repaired by a friend makes GDP fall if the work used to be done by a professional. Thus, a society where voluntary work is widespread will enjoy a higher level of economic well-being but a lower GDP. As far as public administration is concerned, GDP always underestimates the contribution of public services. They are generally not bought by anyone on a market. For example, public gardens maintenance or tax collection. By the same token, a free service resulting from a past public investment (a road, a fountain, a public park or a public sport facility) will not appear in GDP, contrary to its private equivalent (priced road, private sport facility, etc.). Besides household production and voluntary work, another major flaw in the estimation of economic growth by GDP is that it does not appropriately measure production and often just represent it as a compensation for a previous destruction. For example, reconstruction of a destroyed bridge or repairing of inoperative machinery causes a rise in GDP. Another similar example is a boom in the business cycle after the period of recession. Now consider the upsurge in the income of the lawyers. If lawyers prosper because there are more crimes and more offences, does that mean the country is richer? Obviously not, but GDP states country is richer because GDP does not count for these crimes rather it only takes the rise in the income of the lawyers into account. Moving further, production is the decline of human and natural capital. But while calculating GDP this definition is mistreated. This can be illustrated by the example of two countries having same GDP but depreciation of human and natur al resources are not same. It reminds us of those companies who report profits only by under-reporting depreciation of assets. The case is not just theoretical: Britain and France have roughly the same GDP but British workers work 25% more. Furthermore, the contribution of defensive and remedial spending towards GDP has many shortcomings. For example, expenditures on health care, pollution abatement, flood control and costs associated with population growth and increasing urbanization — including crime prevention, highway construction, water treatment and school expansion increase gross domestic product, although mostly what we aim to buy isn’t an improved standard of living but the restoration or protection of the quality of life we already had. (Polley) In this case, it’s clear that GDP indicates the growth in the economy but it’s only the maintenance of our standard of living. Thus GDP is not reliable to judge the standard of living of a community. What’s more is the cash for clunkers whose influence on GDP is also flawed. The new car purchases are added to GDP, but the destruction of the older vehicles is not subtracted. If instead we had a trade in program for new energy efficient homes that required destroying the older, less energy efficient home, we would reach a different result about GDP effects. The new home purchase would add to GDP as for cars, but the destruction of the old home would result in a reduction of GDP because imputed rent on homes is included in GDP unlike cars. In this case, the economic multiplier effects are different about two very similar programs and as a result our economic policies are affected. There are also hidden problems like underground economy which can’t be taken into account as there are hardly any statistics available. (Polley) If economic development is indicated by GDP, then our experts are proposing faulty policies because GDP is not an accurate measure for the economic growth. If we consider the problems in the calculation of GDP, then inaccuracy of the indicator clearly depicts that it’s not an adequate measure of economic progress. For an instance, let’s assume that GDP is a good indicator of economic well being. In this single number, you get an idea of whether the economy is expanding or contracting. Paul Samuelson, Nobel Laureate and author of many textbook references, once described GDP as â€Å"truly among the great inventions of the 20th century, a beacon that helps policymakers steer the economy toward key economic objectives†. But, we forget that how hard it is to accurately sum all of the goods and services produced in a country together, from bricks and tableware to banking and software. First of all, our definition of production is not clear. We often mix the restoration and production. Secondly, statistics for each component of GDP are not easy to gather. For example, there are no statistics available on black economy. Th ird, we need a sophisticated system that can add it all together, from the number of new cars and haircuts, to the volume of teaching etc. (Blades et all) Due to these problems, GDP cannot appropriately measure the welfare of a nation. Given the fundamental problems with GDP as a leading economic indicator, we should not consider it as a measurement of economic well being. Instead, it  is just a measure of economic activities within an economy and no where it is close of accurately reflecting the living standards of the people of that economy.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Brief: This book is one of â€Å"Four Great Classical Novels† of Chinese literature; it is the first river novel writes by chapters in China . It is a Chinese historical novel based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of China, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in 280. The whole book has 120 chapters, and a total of 800,000 words and 1,798 dramatic characters and nearly 40 battles. The story begins with the end of Eastern Han Dynasty. The government becomes extremely corrupt on all levels, leading to widespread deterioration of the empire. During the reign of the penultimate Han emperor, Emperor Ling, the Yellow Turban Rebellion breaks out under the leadership of Zhang Jiao; And finishes with the early Western Jin Dynasty, the three regimes return to a unified national. During those 100 years, there were many conflicts among the various warlords and nobles, then the three kingdoms were appeared on the stage of the history, we cal l them ——Cao Wei (Cao Cao), Shu Han (Liu Bei, Zhuge liang), Eastern Wu (Sun Quan). This book focuses on describing the three countries competing for the land, people, people in the process, there are many scenes of great wars, and ups and downs in the story as if it can help people back to thousands of years ago where a bloody battlefield, to give readers a thrilling sense of deep. The wits of the strategy of heroes in the book is very fascinating, whether it is good ideas, or intrigue, all of them are make readers feel the great wisdom and wonderful imagination of our ancient. There are many main characters in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, however the main focus is on the hero, Liu Bei(Shu Han), who is a distant relative of the reigning family. The story opens up with the decline of the Han Dynasty, the ruling dynasty of all of China for the past 400 years. As the royal throne begins to crumble and lose power, a rebellious cult arises that brings together wonderful and terrible generals to fight off the rebellious menace. This sets the stage for the heroes of the Han army to make a name for them and to gain power. As the story unfolds over many, many chapters, the throne eventually loses all power and is basically controlled by one of its ministers, a former hero of the rebellions, Cao Cao. He ends up being the villain of the story as he forms the Wei kingdom that manipulates the throne and the Emperor for personal gain. In fact,the 70% of the story is real history, and the other 30% is besides unofficial historical records, folk stories and Sanguozhi Pinghua(another historical book about Three Kingdoms), some were created by the author on his own. So I want to show you two differences between the stories of the real history. Hua Rong Dao(a name of place) Story In the book, it described that Guan Yu intercepted Cao Cao on the Hua Rong Dao after Cao Cao loss the Chi Bi War. And at that time, Guan Yu had very high chance to kill Cao Cao. If that, it won`t happen the situation that there are three countries. But Guan Yu remembered out some past and liberated Cao Cao finally. He lost the chance. But in the reality, the person who went to intercept Cao Cao is not Guan Yu. While it`s Liu Bei. And it`s too late when Liu Bei got there. So Cao Cao run away. This story is mainly in order to play down Cao Cao and set up the perfect image of Guan Yu. Zhou Yu Story In the book, Zhuge Liang angered Zhou Yu three times and Zhuge Liang died finally. In the reality, Zhou Yu is smarter than Zhuge Liang. For example, the strategy of Chi Bi is thought out from Zhou Yu, not Zhuge Liang. At that time, Zhou Yu even didn’t pay attention to Zhuge Liang. They have less chance to meet each other. From Chi Bi War to two years after Zhou Yu’s death, Zhuge Liang were doing the logistics and had no chance to see Zhou Yu. Even in the memorial meeting, the representative of Shu Country is Pang Tong, not Zhuge Liang. The course of death of Zhou Yu is overwork. The preferred country of author is Shu country. And the most preferable people of author is Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang. So at here, the author played down Zhou Yu and enhances the image of Zhuge Liang. When I was a middle school student, my father asked me to read this book, but it was hardship and boring for me, I just read it without thinking. But now I like it better with age, I love Cao Cao’s cunning, Guan Yu’s loyalty, Zhuge Liang’s extremely intelligent; I love Lu Bu’s single-minded, I love Zhao Yun’s brave, Zhang Fei’s impulse. All of them are vivid and interesting. I think the biggest advantage of this book is that everybody can learn something from it. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms,there are a lot of knowledge about military science, psychology, science of resourcefulness, public relations, science of personnel and so on. The schemers of the three kingdoms use various sorts and varieties of knowledge to help their lord to win the wars and earn the lands. And by reading this book, I realized that a lot of truth in life, for example, in this book the author always stressed a sentence: ‘This world will separate after long time united. Also it will do the opposite after long time of plighting. ’ This sentence has been verified many times in Chinese history after that. And in China, we have many Chinese proverbs in use today are derived from the novel, like â€Å"Three reeking tanners (are enough to) overcome one Zhuge Liang. † The meaning is three inferior people can overpower a superior person when they combine their strength. Because Zhuge Liang was very smart, but if we can make us unity, we can overcome Zhuge Liang. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is definitely a challenging book, but is really a hidden treasure as most people who interested in Eastern culture. Mainly being a popular book in the Asian countries, it is a great book for those that enjoy historical fiction books with a twist of fantasy or for those that enjoy war/strategy novels. This is a great book and is highly recommended for anyone looking for something different to read.

Free Essays on Time Warner Aol Merger

As Time Warner management we are against the merger with AOL. We understand the Internet is not a fad and it’s an industry we need to move into to stay a large player in the media communications world. However, we feel that we can move into the Internet world on our own without AOL. To do so, we plan on pushing our broadband technology and Roadrunner to consumers. The FTC regulations put on the merger made us sign contracts with other ISP’s, besides AOL. By pushing our own broadband technology we don’t need an ISP at all. With broadband technology the consumer can be online all the time without tying up their phone line. They simply click on Internet explorer and they’re online, therefore they don’t need an ISP like AOL. It is also more cost efficient for us because it gives us the opportunity to bundle products for consumers in our cable regions. We can offer them cable, telephone, and high speed Internet on a single bill at a low price. Time Warner management recognizes that the Internet world is very different from the media world they’re use to. The management is use to being very structured and slow moving because they control so many different things it’s hard for things to happen really fast. The management is also much older in their thinking and knowledge of the media business. Time Warner has been around since 1922, this has given them many decades to figure out what works for them and what doesn’t work. The Internet craze, however, is much different from any other media that currently exists. Therefore, internally management plans on bringing in some young experienced managers to run the Internet segment of Time Warner. Due to the downward turn of many dot.com there are many very Internet experienced individuals with management experience out there looking for jobs. Young and experienced managers can bring a fresh look and knowledge of the Internet world to our Time Warner team. As manage... Free Essays on Time Warner Aol Merger Free Essays on Time Warner Aol Merger As Time Warner management we are against the merger with AOL. We understand the Internet is not a fad and it’s an industry we need to move into to stay a large player in the media communications world. However, we feel that we can move into the Internet world on our own without AOL. To do so, we plan on pushing our broadband technology and Roadrunner to consumers. The FTC regulations put on the merger made us sign contracts with other ISP’s, besides AOL. By pushing our own broadband technology we don’t need an ISP at all. With broadband technology the consumer can be online all the time without tying up their phone line. They simply click on Internet explorer and they’re online, therefore they don’t need an ISP like AOL. It is also more cost efficient for us because it gives us the opportunity to bundle products for consumers in our cable regions. We can offer them cable, telephone, and high speed Internet on a single bill at a low price. Time Warner management recognizes that the Internet world is very different from the media world they’re use to. The management is use to being very structured and slow moving because they control so many different things it’s hard for things to happen really fast. The management is also much older in their thinking and knowledge of the media business. Time Warner has been around since 1922, this has given them many decades to figure out what works for them and what doesn’t work. The Internet craze, however, is much different from any other media that currently exists. Therefore, internally management plans on bringing in some young experienced managers to run the Internet segment of Time Warner. Due to the downward turn of many dot.com there are many very Internet experienced individuals with management experience out there looking for jobs. Young and experienced managers can bring a fresh look and knowledge of the Internet world to our Time Warner team. As manage...

The Best Way to Write an Outline for a Compare and Contrast Essay

The Best Way to Write an Outline for a Compare and Contrast Essay The Best Way to Write an Outline for a Compare and Contrast Essay Nowadays written assignments are an important part of everyday life not depending whether you are a student or a professional writer. That is why being able to complete a great essay not only influences your grades but also your salary and professional success. An essay is the most common written assignment, which aims to research, analyze and evaluate a certain issue or matter. Depending on the type of skills a tutor wants to check, there are multiple essay types: argumentative, narrative, compare and contrast essays, and much more. Not depending on the type of essay you are going to complete, half of the success depends on its proper structure or an outline. That is why we have created this article and gathered all the necessary information you need to know on an essay outline. Outline of a compare and contrast essay As you understand from its name, a compare and contrast essay is a paper, which compares and contrasts certain subjects, matters or even events. Aims of this task include: To show that one matter is better than another; To describe misunderstandings; To provide a fresh outlook on the subject; To give the reader information on a certain topic; To work with credible and scholarly sources, and provide arguments on the topic. Depending on your goals, subjects and aspirations, there are two methods to create a proper outline for your paper. Organizing by criteria This pattern is also known as a point-by-point method and is used to complete an outline, when the items you compare are alike or when you need to evaluate only a couple of points. Here is a regular pattern, which is used to create a point-by-point outline: Here you should provide a thesis statement and introduce the reader to the matters that will be compared; Paragraphs, for example 1,2 and 3. Always start with a topic sentence and then write details to support your idea, argument or fact. Every paragraph should have its own topic sentence; Summarize thoughts, presented in the paper and write why your comparison and contrast are important. If possible, make prognosis for the future. Organizing by items This type of outline organization is sometimes called a block method and is applied, when described issues are completely different or you have a big number of criteria to discuss. In such cases a point-by-point method doesn’t work at all and can be considered absolutely ineffective. The main aim of such a method is to make the paper readable, so here is how an outline of such compare and contrast essay looks like: As usual, you need to give a general look at the subject and provide a thesis statement; Their number may differ depending on the quantity of arguments you need to discuss. Each paragraph should start with an item and continue with a number of points this item consists of; Give a summary of your topic and make predictions for the future, explaining how your comparison or contrast may influence the industry. Another way of structuring an essay, using the block method, is to make two separate paragraphs: one for comparison and one of contrasts. Once you have chosen a pattern to use, you can start with completing the essay. Introduction Introduction section is usually the same, not depending whether you are writing a descriptive or a compare and contrast essay.   In this section, you need to give the reader an overall idea of your paper and discussed matters. Try to introduce the audience to the items, events or definitions you are going to compare and contrast. Here are the features of an introduction section: Always start with the hook. It will intrigue the reader and will make him go on reading. Depending on the subject, it can be a joke, a quote or a question you are going to examine; Write down the subjects you are going to compare and contrast. It won’t sound right if you simply start describing similarities and differences of the subjects, so it is necessary to give their general definition and your motives; Complete a thesis statement. You need to close your introduction with a sentence or two on the main aim of the whole paper. Be brief and give only relevant information on the topic, without watery and meaningless texts. Once your introduction is ready, you can start working on body paragraphs. Body paragraphs There are no restrictions on how many paragraphs your main section should contain. Everything depends on the quantity of issues and points you want to discuss in your essay. For example, two criteria will require two paragraphs, three criteria – three, and so on.   In some cases, you will be given a certain amount of such issues to discuss but most of the times you will need to choose them yourself depending on the main goal of your essay. If you don’t know how many criteria to include, just take a blank piece of paper and write down all the similarities and differences of the issue. Then choose those, which you want to discuss. However, you should limit such items to maximum three or four not to bore the reader and to be able to concentrate on a specific topic. Here are the questions, which may help you to decide which criteria are important for your work and which are not necessary at all: Does it have anything to do with the subject I am studying? What matters am I given? What will make my essay interesting and useful? What is relevant to my course? Not depending on the issue you are studying, you need to start every body paragraph with a topic sentence. It aims to give a reader information on the thing, matter or event you want to compare or contrast. Then you need to give all the details on your research, backing with relevant information and all the necessary data. Remember that every issue you compare and contrast, should not only contain your personal opinion but also be backed with academic papers, researches and various credible sources. Moreover, you should always stay objective and give a side-glance on all the similarities and differences of the subject. It is not right to give the reader a chance to understand what side you are on. In addition, it will be useful to add connections to the text to make it smooth and readable. For example: Likewise, both, thus, nevertheless, compared to, same as, as well as, however, in contrast and so on. Conclusions When you have completed an introductory section and body paragraphs, you will find it quite simple to complete your conclusions, as you already know what to write about. However, there are still some secrets you need to keep in mind: Summarize key points. Start your conclusions with rephrasing all the key points you have learned throughout your essay. They need to correspond with your body paragraphs; Give an evaluation. It is important to make predictions and analyze what you have learned. You can also provide different solutions depending on the topic you choose; Importance of the research. It is necessary not only to explain why your topic is important but also to give the reader a chance to see why a compare and contrast essay gives a full understanding of your topic. When writing is completed Take a deep breath and congratulate yourself with completing such a difficult assignment. However, don’t rush to your tutor to deliver it, as there are a few things you need to do before submitting it. Spend some time on editing and proofreading your essay to make sure it has no mistakes or unnecessary parts. Some students think that typos are not important and neglect this important stage, willing to save time. However, the reader will easily distract from your essay, when seeing mistakes in the text and it may result in lower grades. Read your essay over and over again to make sure there are no grammar or lexical mistakes in the text. You can feel the temptation of downloading a software to check your mistakes or do it online but it will do you no good, because such programs don’t have a critical approach. Yes, you can use them as the first step but afterwards you need to check everything yourself. A great solution is to ask your relatives or friends to read your compare and contrast essay to see whether there are some mistakes left. Finally, complete references if you have forgotten about them and submit the essay to your professor! Closing thoughts A compare and contrast essay is more than just a paper, which aims to evaluate a certain subject. Here you need to analyze two different items, events or matters and back everything with credible data. We hope that our article helped you to understand how to complete such a difficult task and you won’t experience any difficulties, when completing it. Just follow our guidelines step by step and you will definitely write an outstanding compare and contrast essay.

Exchange Rate Regimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Exchange Rate Regimes - Essay Example The impact of the inherent volatility and unpredictability of exchange rates on macroeconomic conditions is central to the debate about fixed and flexible exchange rates. Real exchange rates are defined as nominal rates adjusted for price levels. Since prices for individual countries, when expressed in a common currency, are subject to the variability of exchange rates, bilateral real exchange rates based on individual-country price levels may be infected with measurement errors. The use of one reference country, such as the USA, gives rise to asymmetries. By definition, the exchange rate is a relative price of two assets and, like other asset prices, is determined in a forward-looking manner in which expectations concerning the future course of events play a key role. Consequently, exchange rates are very sensitive to the receipt of new information. The large and sustained changes in nominal and real exchange rates were among the most significant developments in the world economy in the 1980s. For example, in the first half of the decade, the US dollar appreciated by about 40 per cent against most other major currencies and then, in the second half of the decade, declined, reversing all the previous appreciation. These changes gave rise to international pressures associated with rapidly changing competitiveness of exports; intervention by central banks in foreign exchange markets; and intense debate regarding the extent to which these exchange rate changes interact with current account imbalances. Some economists feel that conventional measures of economic growth based on the output of goods and services (gross national product) do not satisfactorily reflect economic welfare, arguing that they ignore factors such as pollution and the negative externalities from congestion.