MACROECONOMIC and MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS Assignment

MACROECONOMIC and MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS - Assignment Example Demand and supply factors Gazprom operates in the industry of natural gas. From the supply side the factors affecting sales of the company and its profitability are weather, demographics, economic growth, fuel consumption, storage and exports. From the supply side the factors affecting sales are pipeline capacity, storage, gas drilling, natural phenomena, technical issues and imports. The demand of natural gas has followed the cyclical pattern. It depends on time and season changes. The peak season of demand is the coldest months while demand is low in the hotter months although demand increases slightly in summer to meet the requirements of electric generators. The price of natural gas can affect demand of particularly those consumers who have the capacity to switch the fuel of their dependence. An expanding economy tends to give rise to more demand for the industrial consumers. (EIA, 2008). The supply and the price of electricity will affect the demand for retail consumers. Restruc tured electric industry is expected to keep stability in electricity price. Deregulation of market for natural gas and competition may reduce the prices in the long run. WPA report states migration of population from southern to western states. Supply of electricity is required for the nation’s space cooling agency, energy is used for space heating, and migration may reduce the demand in these sectors. Stringent regulations on total energy efficiency can serve as the helping hand in increasing demand of natural gas in residential and commercial appliances. Technological advancement in the form of application operated with natural gas may compete with the electrical ones providing a huge increase in demand. Market Structure A straight forward market structure characterized the market for natural gas prior to deregulation and unbundling of pipeline. (Natural gas, n.d.). The industry has changed dramatically in the present times and exposed to choice and competition. Free market regulates the prices. Interstate pipelines offers on the components of transportation which is under the regulation of the federal. LDCs are continuing to offer bundled products although many states allow the use of distribution network but only for transportation. Producers or LDCs are the supplier to the end users. Marketers are present in the existing market structure. They serve in the process of mobilizing natural gas from producers to end users. Marketers can have their mark in sale and transport of natural gas. The simplified market structure is presented diagrammatically as follows: (Natural gas, n.d.). The regulation of the environment also has its effects on constructing the market structure. The actions taken by the federal and the related agencies can have significant impacts on the functioning of natural gas market (The Natural Gas Supply Association, 2006). Requirements to compete in the market The market for natural gas tends to be profitable as they enjoy monopoly p ower. To maintain the profitable positions the company should prevent discriminatory and preferential service. Investments which are inefficient and strategies of unfair pricing should be avoided. The company should ensure service of high quality. Measures can be undertaken to prevent wasteful duplication of facilities. The company can act as a substitute where

Artifact Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Artifact Assignment - Essay Example Jesus Christ was also in a tomb for some days after his death. Many people fear death and avoid it at all cost. The process speaks about secularization of place and collective memory. It also speaks about the role death had in mobilizing the nation’s identity and construction. In the current world and generation, tombs still exist and have the same functions that were in the past. Since the year 2002, Lomondside village has made promotions and developments in tourism. In the 21st century, explorations in sacred places and they are current in the modern world. The promotion of sacred places means a lot to the sacred places and sites together with their objects. In the ancient times, sacred places were special places of worship and thanksgiving. They are significant elements in the explored mythic traditions. The sacred places presence in the myths of the world makes stories important as they offer myth breaks and relay them in the current world. The stories revolving around sacred places embody all the boundaries to practical thinking. The fact that sacred places exist, they offer prove and evidence in stories and history since they are felt, touched and talked about. They offer mythic truth in the contemporary world of inceptions and reality. Without the sacred places, it would be difficult for people to have memories of how they should behave and conduct themselves in the world of today. Though it may appear overblown, the mainstream members should be realistic, practical and down to earth. All this in courtesy of sacred places and stories related to them. The Tomb in Poland remind people every day on how to become down to earth, respect the origin places, honor, revitalize and remember the essential connections to the natural world and earth. Sacred places help a lot in distinguishing between the past and the present. The Tomb in Poland help people in associating the spiritual world and the

A Basic Model Of Consumer Decision Making Marketing Essay

A Basic Model Of Consumer Decision Making Marketing Essay The demographic environment is defined as the demographic factors that marketers used to analyze market trends by segmenting the targeted population. BusinessDictionary.com, 2013. It consists of six factors which are; population ethnic mix, education levels, population size and rate of growth, age distribution and migration shifts and attributes. According to statistics, Singapore Residents Growth Rate has decreased from 0.9 to 0.8 from 2010 to 2011 (Department Of Statistics Singapore [DOSS], 2012). However, the growth rate is insignificant as compared to the Non-Residents which grew from 4.1 to 6.9 ( DOSS, 2012). As most of the non-residents are workers that cater to the low end jobs in Singapore, they do not earn high income and may find Singapore Airlines (SIA) too expensive. Therefore, SIA view it as an opportunity to launch a budget airline service to cater to this group. The age distribution of the Singapore population also affects the marketing strategies of SIAs decision to launch Scoot. Singapores population percentage for ages between 45 and over accounted for 38.4% (DOSS, 2012). This is a significant result and it indicates a trend to an ageing population. It is projected that by 2030, there will be a 2.1 replacement ratio to each citizen above age 65 (Our Demographic Challenges And What These Mean To Us, n.d.). Therefore, compared to SIA, the lower cost fare of Scoot is able to cater to this group of consumers as many of the aged are retirees who may not be able to afford the standard flight fare. This may be due to reasons such as not having stable incomes, high medical and living expenses. The other group of consumers that may opt for cheaper ticket fares are the young adults. They are aged between 15 to 34 and accounted for 28.4% of the population (DOSS, 2012). They represent an opportunity for Scoot as their commitments to family, work and study means they may have to control their expenses. Thus, they may have lower purchasing power and might be unable to afford SIAs travel fares. In addition, foreigners are projected to take up half of Singapores population by 2030 (Singapore Population Half Foreigners By 2030, 2013). This trend can be attributed to the migratory movement of foreigners from developing countries such as India and China to Singapore. They come from different parts of China and India and pose an opportunity for Scoot. Thus, this provides a wider targeted consumer group for marketers to promote their services. Citing from the case study, it states that Scoot, which will compete in the growing low-cost travel sector, will fill a gap that now exists within the group. This group of commuters may travel back to their own countries annually for festive seasons or visiting of families and would not desire an expensive trip to exotic countries for holidays such as Europe or Japan. Therefore, SIA launched Scoot to provide low cost travels for these expanding targeted consumers to increase its profitability. To further maximize its market potential, the c ase study also states that Scoot will do longer flights, to Australia, China, India and eventually Europe. Thus, SIA aims to create more opportunities by increasing services to this group of people. The political-legal environment is defined as the legal and political factors that affect marketing decision making strategies. The factors are; changes in business legislation and laws, the number and strength of special interest groups and market reforms and corruption. The recent growth of special interest groups over the years may have contributed to SIAs decision to launch Scoot to serve the lower income consumers needs. The groups such as CASE (Consumer Association Of Singapore) serves to protect the consumers interest, educate and inform the consumers. It also ensures business ethics within the company by advocating fairer legislation. Since SIA is a private competitive firm with no government intervention, it has to maintain constant good services to consumers. Since such consumerist movement is increasing and SIA being one of largest airline company, it will need to establish relationships with consumers and formulate policies to increase consumers interest and reduce custom er complaints. With regards to the political-legal factor, Singapore is liberal in its aviation policy and has continue to adopt this policy in recent times by signing agreements with more countries such as United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates , New Zealand and other countries (The impact of international air service liberalization on Singapore, 2009). This allows Scoot with its bigger aircrafts to fly to more destinations and longer distances where other budget airline competitors cannot reach. The economic environment is defined as the economic factors that affect the marketing decision making strategies. The economic factors include income distribution and savings, debt and credit availability of the population. As per reported, the income levels of all classes have risen over the years. The median monthly household income has risen from 5,600 SGD per month per household in 2010 to 6,310 SGD per month per household in 2011 (DOSS, 2012). Although median income has increased, majority of the increment is due to a raise in the income for the higher income group. The middle and lower income groups might not have higher income and might even be worse off due to inflation. The rich are getting wealthier and the poor are getting poorer. Hence SIA can cater to the wealthier consumers who want premium air travel services and Scoot can cater to people who need to travel at a budget air fare (Scoot: Asias Newest Low-Cost Airline, 2012). The other factor is Singapore populations savings, debt, and credit availability. The Singapore economy has contracted in the 2nd quarter in 2011 triggered by the economic crisis that happened in 2008 (Singapore may escape technical recession but downside risks remain, 2011). This uncertain outlook of the economy combined with inflation rate at 5.7%, (Global recession likely, Singapore says, 2011) may have contributed to SIAs launch of Scoot. With higher inflation rate and slower economic growth, people may be worried about the future and cut back on unnecessary expenditures. Consumers may choose to travel by other cheaper alternatives hence, demand for SIAs flight services will decrease. However, the trend of Singapores future economy and inflation rate remains uncertain as economists have forecasted that for 2013, median inflation rate for CPI would be high at 3.0% (Monetary Authority Of Singapore, 2012). Singapores GDP forecasted growth is expected to be between 1% to 3% indicating a slow economic growth ( Singapore economy expected to grow 1-3% in 2013, 2012). Thus, majority of the people in Singapore are most likely going to save more and spend less on luxury goods and services like expensive air fares which will lead to a decrease in the demand for SIA air travel. As disposable income reduces, more people would opt for budget airlines such as Scoot, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia for air traveling. This presents an opportunity for Scoot to expand its services. However, it might be a threat if competitors pricing of tickets are comparatively lower and economy continues to shrink in the future. Question 2 All companies which render services to customers should be highly sensitive to their own service quality and achieved level of customer satisfaction. Service quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs (Kotler, Keller, Ang, Leong, Tan, 2009). Companies performances may fall short, meet or exceed customers expectations. Therefore, companies performances and customers expectations determine customer satisfaction which is customers feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a product or services perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations (Kotler et al., 2009). A business entitys main aim should be to generate consistent profits for its shareholders or owners. Sustained profitability is achieved when companies yield revenue streams that exceed the cost streams of attracting, selling and servicing the customers over time (Kotler et al., 2009). Scoot is a budget airline which strives to be sustainable, at the same time retaining and expanding its market share through ensuring desired service quality and achieving customer satisfaction. For cost reduction purposes, Scoot emphasizes to its customer that they are no-frills. With the removal of certain features which are prominent in full-service airlines, it is unavoidable that customers will make comparisons and mark down the service quality of Scoots flights. Scoot has made conscious efforts to distance itself from its parent company Singapore Airlines (SIA), as well as to create deeper impressions in its customer that it is a budget airline, by having its cabin crew to wear casual crew uniform (Kaur, 2011). With the use of Boeing 777 aircrafts, Scoot provides its customers with more leg space and rooms in the aircrafts to maneuver. This gives Scoot a comparative advantage over its budget airlines, which usually operate smaller aircrafts. Air travelers are expected to be more hands-on when they travel on budget airlines. With no dedicated customer service platform available to these air travelers, they have to navigate the budget airlines websites and online systems themselves, in order to obtain information or make amendments to their bookings. With large pool of available resources and experience, SIA has an efficient and comprehensive online system for its customer. Through the introduction of SIA, Scoot can discuss with SIAs service providers on how to design and implement a user-friendly online system, which is cost effective at the same time. Even though Scoot will not respond to complaints from its customers, they must take note of the complaints and implement corrective and preventive measures, in order to maintain or even improve service quality. Additionally, Scoot can also provide Feedback forms to its customers. This will give quick and accurate information on their service quality, at relatively low costs. Like most if not all budget airlines, Scoot does not offer flight packages which include free in-flight entertainment, food and drinks. With the limited services provided, it is difficult for Scoot to achieve customer satisfaction. Therefore, Scoot has to focus on constantly improving its performances, as well as to mitigate the expectations of its customers. SIA is world renowned to provide great services to its customers, therefore meeting or even exceeding the expectations of its customers. Scoot can leverage on SIAs experiences and methods, as well as the trainings regimes provided to its staff, in order to achieve similar results and have a pool of well-trained staff. Scoot has vigorously tried to shed the public impression of it being a subsidiary of SIA. The marketing strategy of Scoot has to continue in this line, that is to distance itself from premium, full-service carriers and to be in the same market as other budget airlines. Scoot can distance itself from full-service carriers, by having its customer to board and alight from its aircrafts in the same airline terminals also utilized by other budget airlines. This could also prevent customers from using full-service carrier expectations, to judge the performances of Scoot. Scoot will be able to achieve fuel-efficiency by using Boeing 777 aircrafts. This allows Scoot to have lower costs than its competitors who are using older and less fuel-efficient aircrafts. With greater savings from less fuel consumption, Scoot should pass on some of the cost-saving benefits to its consumers. For example, Scoot can afford to reduce its air ticket prices due to lower costs. This will enable Scoot to maintain and capture a bigger market share through securing new customers from its competitors. With the advancement in technology and the popularized use of social media, many companies have turn to social media and internet to advertise their products and services. Scoot has actively tried to portray a lively and young image. Therefore, they should further strengthen this image, as well as to reach out to greater market of potential customers, by exploring and utilizing the social media platform. For example, Scoot can engage fresh-faced foreign celebrities with positive images who are active on the social media platforms, to be their spokespersons in destinations where they wish to gain greater market share. This couples with more online advertising spending, could assist Scoot to reach out to greater diversity of air travelers who are not based in Singapore. Budget airlines like Scoot face mammoth tasks in achieving desired levels of customer satisfaction and service quality, while cutting costs and maximizing revenues to ensure sustained profitability. With concerted efforts in providing basic and necessary services, as well as improving performances and lowering expectations, Scoot can secure its customer base and reduce operating costs which will in turn result in Scoot meeting its main aim of earning consistent revenues and profits. Question 3(a) With the availability of a wide range of choices for air traveling, which includes budget and full-service airlines, air travelers will make thorough comparisons to decide on the most value for money option for leisure travel and business purposes. The procedure from recognizing a need to fulfilling it is shown in Figure 3.1 which is a form of cognitive learning that depicts the five-stage decision making process model. The definition of consumer learning is the process by which individuals acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experience they apply to future related behaviour (Belch, Belch, Guolla, 2011). Figure 3.1 A basic model of consumer decision making. (Source) According to Bauer, Consumer behavior involves risk in the sense that any action of a consumer will produce consequences which he cannot anticipate with anything approximating certainty, and some of which at least are likely to be unpleasant (1960, p. 24). Thus, consequences and uncertainty are the two basic factors that are used to determine the level of perceived risks. Bauer stresses that his main concern is only with subjective (perceived) risk and not real world (objective) risk. This is because consumers will only buy a product that he believes to be good and trustworthy. Perceived risk might not be actual risk but the amount of risk a consumer believes that could be incurred when he buys a certain product from a certain vendor (Kotler et al., 2009). The risks include functional, physical, psychological, financial and time risks. Functional risk occurs when the product is not up to consumers perceived level of service. As Scoot is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), most of us will expect it to be exceptional. However, Scoot is a budget airline and hence, like all other budget airlines, its main concern is to provide cheap air transportation. The basic air fare covers only transportation from one point to another. So, one has to pay for whatever is desired. The utilitarian approach is to ensure that all costs are reduced to the minimum which allows the air fare to be low, yet, profitable. Thus, consumers who expect regular amenities on budget airlines will be greatly disappointed. If a person thinks that consuming a certain product can be harmful to him or his loved ones, then this is a physical risk perceived and he would probably never consume that product. When travelling with budget airlines, the usual complaint would be limited space and uncomfortable seats. When one has to sit in a cramped aircraft with little moving space for a few hours, it can be very uncomfortable and may cause backaches and other minor aches or even death (space adaption syndrome). These are physical risks of travelling with budget airlines that travellers might want to avoid. Psychological risk is defined as the product that affects the mental well-being of the user (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 186). Some conservative consumers may feel that flying in bigger aircrafts would give them more sense of security and comfort. Hence, they would avoid by travelling by budget airlines such as Scoot. If one purchases a product and it is defective, he will incur financial losses when he has to pay extra money to repair or find a replacement. Hence, the cost exceeds the value of this product. If one intents to travel by budget flight, then he must be prepared to carry extra cash in case he gets stuck in a foreign country when his flight is delayed or cancelled. This is because budget airlines do not provide any other recompense besides ticket refund. That means, one needs to pay for whatever expenses incurred, be it lodging or purchase of another ticket to fly to the next destination. It is believed that budget air flights experiences frequent delays and cancellations. Thus, it is commonly believed that one should avoid budget flights to avoid financial risks. Moreover, with frequent cancellations and delays for budget flight is time wasted. One needs to wait indefinitely or buy another air ticket, which requires extra time and effort. In addition, one could miss an important appointment which might have undesirable consequences. Question 3(b) In order to overcome the perceived risks, marketers should know that consumers are worried about risks that they believe are true and not necessarily real. As per Gordon Allport (1935), Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond to an object in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way.. Consumers hold attitude toward many things that are vital to the marketer. Moreover, their attitudes indicate their emotions, assessment and behavioral tendencies towards a product. Therefore, we need to change the consumers attitude regarding budget airlines. To overcome perceived risks, Scoot could publish statistics of the level of customers satisfaction, of light delays, cancellations and the amount of money saved compared to the cheapest flight available. This can be done through the market research process in which marketers could identify the problem caused by the five perceived risks and provide decision alternatives. When consumers realise that the level of statistics shown is actually similar to other regular carriers, plus the incentive of the amount of money saved, they will feel more encouraged to travel on Scoot. The proven performance will help to build customers confidence in Scoots ability to meet their expectations. Hence, the perceived functional risk is solved. The growth of competitors such as Tiger Airways, Jetstar , Airasia and Webjet may influence consumers purchasing decision with extremely competitive prices and numerous attractive promotions. Scoot marketers could identify the consumers needs and wants and apply differentiation strategies through product improvement, better services and well trained personnel. Some of the frequent complaints while flying budget airlines are poor services, cramped spaces and uncomfortable chairs. Scoot uses product differentiation by offering wider spaces in planes and more comfortable seats. Also, there are pictures of the aircraft interior posted in their website to allow people to see their offerings. Additionally, on-line forums or memo boards on Scoots website allows consumers who have used Scoots service to post their reviews and share their experiences. This marketing strategy could alleviate the conservative consumers psychological risk. These include good and bad experiences and tips when fly ing Scoot. The feedback and control system also allows Scoot to track its results such as customer satisfaction and retention rate and sales. This will also allow Scoot to adapt to a shift in consumers expectations such as better services or technological access. In this way, Scoot has addressed perceived physical risks of the consumers. The purpose of using budget airlines is to save money. It defeats the purpose if consumers have to pay extra money in order to proceed with the journey. However, occasional delays are inevitable and the worst case scenario would be stuck without accommodation. Since budget airlines sustain with minimum expenses, it is impossible to make allowance for lodgings. Thus, Scoot could make a list of cozy corners or cafes that offer comfortable resting venues at minimum or no cost for the passengers as a reference. Hence, the consumers will not need to spend extra money on contingency plans. This will reduce financial risk of a consumer. It is true that delays and cancellations are possible when flying on budget flights. This is because budget flight operates like a bus and travels the identical path to and fro many times daily. Minor delays could occur but, after a long day, the slight delays become significant when many delays build up into major time lapse and even cancellations. However, delays could also happen to any regular air flights. So, it should be made very clearly to passengers that punctuality is very important and any delays will affect subsequent flights. As Scoot target consumers are the young and young at heart, a comic strip could be used to illustrate this scenario to make it fun but not offensive. In conclusion, perceived risks are what consumers believe are true but not necessarily real. In order to overcome these perceptions effectively, we need to understand their worries and help them to correct their perceptions and gain a positive Scootitude. Hence, we gain attention from hesitant potential customers and retain current customers. Question 4 Every business needs effective strategies to meet ever changing demands of the market. For a business to be sustainable, it needs to satisfy its customers expectations and build a lasting relationship. This means it needs to fulfill the customers perceived value (CPV) which is the difference between the prospective customers evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 133). Hence, long term strategies must be implemented to cultivate strong customer relationships. Customer relationship management (CRM) is essential in cultivation of long term customer relationship. It is defined as the process of carefully managing detailed information about individual customers and all customers touch points to maximize customer loyalty (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 144). There are four ways to good CRM which are: identify its prospects and customers, differentiate customer in terms of their needs and their value to the company, interact with individual customers and customize products, services, and messages to each customer (Kotler et al., 2009). When booking air tickets on-line, consumers are already giving their personal details to the airlines. The information includes: gender, date of birth, billing address, nationality, passport number and payment methods. We can use the customer data base to identify the different market types and establish effective communications to the respective consumers. Through such data mining, we can identify the trend and segments to forecast the needs and wants of different consumers. The consumers could be segmented into different nationality, gender and age distribution. With the market segmentation, Scoot could differentiate customers in terms of their needs and values brought to the company. Scoot has limited financial resources, so it needs to attract more good customers, and retain profitable existing customers. In order to build customer loyalty, Scoot need to implement special benefits for long term customers. The main objective for travelling with budget airline is to save money. Customers will have their personal accounts with Scoot upon successful purchase and they will be able to access this account to check their transactions. Hence, Scoot can emphasize this point by letting consumers know how much they have saved by frequently travelling with Scoot. The amount saved will be translated to reward points for reward redemptions. Loyal customers will be able to redeem rewards with Scoot and its overseas partners like getting free transportation at pick up points and drop off at desired destinations. This will make members feel privileged that they are rewarded for their loyalty. This also acts as a one-stop comprehensive portal that provides cost savings to these loyal customers by providing cheap lodging options and discounted ticket prices to places of interest in other countries, offered by working partners of Scoot. This is in line with Scoots objective of providing low cost and no-fr ills travel for consumers and maximise customer perceived value. Scoot needs to interact with individual customers in order to understand the requirements of different customers and implement changes where required. However, a budget airline is operating within budget constraints; hence it will not be viable to maintain a customer service department to entertain consumers enquiries and complains. Booking fees or administrative fees usually incurred when online transactions are performed. In order to encourage consumers to fill up questionnaires and survey forms designed by Scoot, Scoot can offer customers waiver of these fees when they book air tickets, after the completion of the questionnaires and survey forms. With incentives, consumers will be more willing to provide feedbacks which can help to enhance Scoots services. With data collected from these surveys, Scoot can customize communications to each customer by sending them information only for what they are interested in. This will allow Scoot to identify and differentiate customers in terms of their needs and wants. These include promotions for certain locations which are of interest, special occasions in certain countries and new exciting happenings in certain countries. As such, consumers will not feel frustrated when receiving mail trailers but will be anticipating what Scoot can offer them. In conclusion, while Scoot can lookout for potential consumers and offer them some encouragement to become its customers, the focus is still to establish and strengthen long term relationship with current customers. As such, Scoot needs to identify prospects and customers to differentiate their preferences and allocate resources effectively to enhance profitability and retain customers simultaneously. Interaction is essential to understand customers requirements which will allow Scoot to customize their services to loyal customers who will continue to patronize Scoot with its incentives and loyalty programmes which maximizes perceived customer value.

Feudal society in Champagne :: essays research papers

The fundamental institutions of medieval feudal society are something that many historians have researched at great length. One of the best existing windows into medieval institutions, society, culture, and other matters, is Feudal Society in Medieval France: Documents from the County of Champagne; One of the sections contained in this compilation of documents is on the Crusades. The documents contained in this section are of correspondence between various parties all pertaining to the Crusades.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Contained in this subsection, there are eighteen different compositions pertaining to the crusades, their subjects vary widely as do the motivations of the authors. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Work by William of Tyre describing the Templars, a group of Knights whose sworn duty was to protect pilgrims to the holy land and keep the routes safe for travel, also known as the Knights of the Temple. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Letter by Bernard of Clairvaux, in this letter he justifies the need for a â€Å"monastic military order† to protect the holy land and all pilgrims. He also writes this to show the benefit of knights who were out for nothing but protection of Christianity, instead of the usual Knights who were out for material gain and used protection of Christianity as an excuse. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Letter by Bernard of Clairvaux, to the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel Comneus, requesting that Henry, the son of Count Thibaut II of Champagne, be granted a Knighthood by the Emperor. He makes this request to make an impression on Henry and most likely also in an effort to strengthen ties between the two powers. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Letter from Louis VII to Count Thibaut II, praising his son Henry. This letter was written as a peace offering to Thibaut, with whom Louis had had extensive prior conflict. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Letter by Bernard of Clairvaux, to Abbot Suger of Sait-Denis, reminding him of the Church’s prohibition of tournaments and alerting him to an upcoming one staged bye Robert, Louis’ brother, as a direct provocation that could lead to an attempt to seize the throne. Bernard wants Suger to stop the tournament before it can happen. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Letter from Henry, son of Thibaut, to Abbot Suger, requesting a meeting to arrange the release of Anseric Lord of Montreal. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Letter by Bernard of Clairvaux, to Countess Mathilda, in response to her son Henry the new successor for Count of Champagne’s behavior towards her. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Statement by Josbert of La Ferte-sur-Aube giving his property to Clairvaux as part of his preparations for going on Crusade this also serves as a document proving title to the land.

Nature in Literature Essay

Nature plays a huge role in many pieces of literature, but especially Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North and Voltaire’s Candide. There is a major difference between the two forms of literature and how nature is incorporated into each. This Japanese form of literature has a much lighter tone than that of the European style of literature. You can see a calmer, more relaxed intention into the nature that is in Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North. On page 413 in Basho’s piece, it says â€Å"As the year gradually came to an  end and spring arrived, filling the sky with mist, I longed to cross the Shirakawa Barrier, the most revered of poetic places. † From this section, you can see that Basho gets his inspiration for his literature and poetry from the places that he travels, and this resulted in his linked-verse sequence. Even though Basho had a long, tough journey of travels; the nature takes his breath away. On page 416 of Narrow Road to the Deep North, it says â€Å"my body and spirit were tired from the pain of the long journey; my heart overwhelmed by the landscape. † This statement  shows that regardless of the struggles, he could find a poetic sense in everything he went through. In Narrow Road to the Deep North, Basho also found religion to accompany the bright nature in his literature of his travels. On page 418, Basho writes, â€Å"the green of pine is dark and dense, the branches and leaves bent by the salty breeze—as if they were deliberately twisted. A Stalker 2 soft, tranquil landscape, like a beautiful lady powdering her face. Did the god of the mountain create this long ago, in the age of the gods? Is this the work of the Creator? † The landscape was so beautiful to Basho, that he couldn’t figure out how it came about to be what it was. He questioned if the Gods had created it. From the passages, you can tell that Basho found much beauty in nature on his journey, even though it was a tough one. Voltaire had a much different take on nature compared to Basho. After reading both passages, you can tell that Voltaire’s Candide has a much darker feel to the literature. In the opening paragraph on page 454, Voltaire writes â€Å"Once upon a time in Westphalia, in the castle of Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh, there lived a young boy whom nature had endowed with the gentlest of dispositions. † This opening sentence makes you believe that it could have a similar feel to Basho’s story. When you reach page 460, there is a line that says â€Å"While he was presenting his argument, the air grew thick, the winds blew from the four corners of the earth, and the ship was assailed by the most terrible storm, within sight of the port of Lisbon. † his passage not only shows you that the nature of the story is a lot more dramatic, but it also shows you that Voltaire is  more focused on the weather instead of the landscape. There is a dramatic earthquake and a storm that destroys the ship that they are on. Page 461 says â€Å"Whirlwinds of flame and ash covered the streets and public squares: houses disintegrated, roofs were upended upon foundations, and foundations crumbled. † Voltaire writing this in his passage just shows the reader how awful and destructive the earthquake actually was. While you understand that they encountered a massive destructive earthquake, they do actually see some light at the end of all the horrible events. On page 467, it says â€Å"’All will be well,’ was Candide’s reply. ‘Already the sea in this new world is better than those we have in Europe. It’s calmer, and the winds are more constant. It is assuredly the new world which is the best of all possible worlds. ’† This statement Stalker 3 shows that the opening statement remains true, that Candide did see nature as gentle, rather than destructive. Overall, reading these two works of literature gives you a great sense of how different Japanese nature in literature is compared to European nature in literature. Japanese nature in literature has more of a Zen feel to it than European nature does. Japanese literature focuses more on trees and landscapes, while the European literature has a great focus on the weather. Regardless of the occurrences that happened in both stories, both ended with the character looking at the brighter side of things. Nature is a beautiful thing, and both Japanese and European literature acknowledge this as you read in Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North and Voltaire’s Candide.

Texts in Time: Heart of Darkness vs Blood Diamond

Leukocytes Salmon's situation he schemes to use him to get his hands on an extremely valuable diamond; the Diamond of Salmon's eye (his son Did) for the large conflict stone. During the first half of the movie Danny is inconsiderate and self-centered; however he is influenced by Salmon's love, Maydays passion and Benjamin philosophy and slowly transforms into thoughtful man who can see further than the simplistic principles of greed and wealth. 010 Troy Greater pappy, but at great cost to the African civilians. But now we know the truth and we're not so happy anymore. We should thank Kick for opening our eyes and questioning how far is too far? An obsession with wealth is the driving force for not only antagonists Captain Poison and Van De Kappa but for the star-of-the-show, Danny Archer, too. Danny was born in Rhodesia, the country we know today as Zanzibar and lost his parents when he was seven. His mother was violated before murdered along with his father and Danny was adopted int o he army.After serving his country and being robbed of his family and childhood he felt he deserved to be wealthy and became involved in the illicit diamond trade. As he never had the opportunity to value something other than money, wealth was his highest priority. Lear inning o f Of course, these particular stories are fictional, but they have been created to inform us that these horrific events happen, and have been taking place for over one hundred years. Kick as described his movie as ‘holding up a error to the world, to remind the world of itself, even if this image is unflattering. He has commented shifts in the paradigm only come about when people are willing to do this. Conrad and Kicks works comment on values like wealth, power and family and issues such as exploitation, discrimination and violence. In both stories something small like the desire for a sparkly ring can have a powerful and ongoing unintended effect. The film's negative situations and human suffering a re meant to outrage us so hat we will take action, thereby producing a positive outcome from the film.This is true for Conrad and Kicks creations, as a single book/ movie has sparked awareness of the horror and inspired people to reach out and make a change. Please Join us in our crusade for a brighter future. Feature Article Not So Crystal Clear The truth about diamonds and proof our values haven't changed in one hundred years. BY HOLLY SMITH Over time, our core values have remained relatively unchanged, even if attitudes towards them now differ.

Ancestry DNA Tests for Genealogists

Ancestry DNA Tests for Genealogists DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a macromolecule that contains a wealth of genetic information and can be used to better understand relationships between individuals. As DNA is passed down from one generation to  the next, some parts remain almost unchanged, while other parts change significantly. This creates an unbreakable link between generations and it can be of great help in reconstructing our family histories. In recent years, DNA has become a popular tool for determining ancestry and predicting health and genetic traits thanks to the increasing availability of DNA-based genetic testing. While it cant provide you with your entire family tree or tell you who your ancestors are, DNA testing can: Determine if two people are relatedDetermine if two people descend from the same ancestorFind out if you are related to others with the same surnameProve or disprove your family tree researchProvide clues about your ethnic origin DNA tests have been around for many years, but it is only recently that it has become affordable for a mass market. Ordering a home DNA test kit can cost less than $100 and  usually consist of a cheek swab or a spit collection tube that allows you to easily collect a sample of cells from the inside of your mouth. A month or two after mailing in your sample, youll receive the results- a series of numbers that represent key chemical markers within your DNA. These numbers can then be compared to results from other individuals to help you determine your ancestry. There are three  basic types of DNA tests available for genealogical testing, each serving a different purpose:   Autosomal DNA (atDNA) (All lines, available for both men and women) Available for both men and women, this test surveys 700,000 markers on all 23 chromosomes to look for connections along all of your family lines (maternal and paternal). The test results provide some information about your ethnic mix (the  percentage of your ancestry that comes from Central Europe, Africa, Asia, etc.), and helps to identify cousins (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) on any of your ancestral lines. Autosomal DNA only survives recombination (the passing down of DNA from your various ancestors) for an average of 5–7 generations, so this test is most useful for connecting with genetic cousins and connecting back to more recent generations of your family tree. mtDNA Tests (Direct maternal line, available for  both men and women) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is contained in the cytoplasm of the cell, rather than the nucleus. This type of DNA is passed by a mother to both male and female offspring without any mixing, so your mtDNA is the same as your mothers mtDNA, which is the same as her mothers mtDNA. mtDNA changes very slowly, so if  Ã‚  two people have an exact match in their mtDNA, then there is a very good chance they share a common maternal ancestor, but it is hard to determine if this is a recent ancestor or one who lived hundreds of years ago. It is important to keep in mind with this test that a males mtDNA comes only from his mother and is not passed on to his offspring. Example: The DNA tests that identified the bodies of the Romanovs, the Russian imperial family, utilized mtDNA from a sample provided by Prince Philip, who shares the same maternal line from Queen Victoria. Y-DNA Tests (Direct paternal line, available for males only)   The Y chromosome in the nuclear DNA can also be used to establish family ties. The Y chromosomal DNA test (usually referred to as Y DNA or Y-Line DNA) is only available for males, since the Y chromosome is only passed down the male line from father to son. Tiny chemical markers on the Y chromosome create a distinctive pattern, known as a haplotype, that distinguishes one male lineage from another. Shared markers can indicate relatedness between two men, though not the exact degree of the relationship. Y chromosome testing is most often used by individuals with the same last name to learn if they share a common ancestor. Example: The DNA tests supporting the probability that Thomas Jefferson fathered the last child of Sally Hemmings were based on Y-chromosome DNA samples from male descendants of Thomas Jeffersons paternal uncle, since there were no surviving male descendants from Jeffersons marriage. Markers on both mtDNA and Y chromosome tests can also be used to determine an individuals haplogroup, a grouping of individuals with the same genetic characteristics. This test may provide you with interesting information about the deep ancestral lineage of your paternal and/or maternal lines. Since Y-chromosome DNA is found only within the all-male patrilineal line and mtDNA only provides matches to the all-female matrilineal line, DNA testing is only applicable to lines going back through two of our eight great-grandparents - our fathers paternal grandfather and our mothers maternal grandmother. If you want to use DNA to determine ancestry through any of your other six great-grandparents you will need to convince an aunt, uncle, or cousin who descends directly from that ancestor through an all-male or all-female line to provide a DNA sample. Additionally, since women dont carry the Y-chromosome, their paternal male line can only be traced through the DNA of a father or brother. What You Can and Cant Learn From DNA Testing DNA tests can be used by genealogists to: Link specific individuals (e.g. test to see whether you and a person you think may be a cousin descend from a common ancestor)Prove or disprove the ancestry of people sharing the same last name (e.g. test to see if males carrying the CRISP surname are related to each other)Map the genetic orgins of large population groups (e.g. test to see whether you have European or African American ancestry) If youre interested in using DNA testing to learn about your ancestry you should start by narrowing down a question you are trying to answer and then select the people to test based on the question. For example, you may wish to know if the Tennessee CRISP families are related to the North Carolina CRISP families. To answer this question with DNA testing, you would then need to select several male CRISP descendants from each of the lines and compare the results of their DNA tests. A match would prove that the two lines descend from a common ancestor, though would not be able to determine which ancestor. The common ancestor could be their father, or it could be a male from over a thousand years ago. This common ancestor can be further narrowed down by testing additional people and/or additional markers. An individuals DNA test provides little information on its own. It is not possible to take these numbers, plug them into a formula, and find out who your ancestors are. The marker numbers provided in your DNA test results only begin to take on genealogical significance when you compare your results with other people and population studies. If you dont have a group of potential relatives interested in pursuing DNA testing with you, your only real option is to input your DNA test results into the many DNA databases starting to spring up online, in the hopes of finding a match with someone who has already been tested. Many DNA testing companies will also let you know if your DNA markers are a match with other results in their database, provided that both you and the other individual have given written permission to release these results. Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) When you submit a DNA sample for testing an exact match in the results between you and another individual indicates that you share a common ancestor somewhere back in your family tree. This ancestor is referred to as your Most Recent Common Ancestor or MRCA. The results on their own will not be able to indicate who this specific ancestor is, but may be able to help you narrow it down to within a few generations. Understanding the Results of Your Y-Chromosome DNA Test (Y-Line) Your DNA sample will be tested at a number of different data points called loci or markers and analyzed for the number of repeats at each of those locations. These repeats are known as STRs (Short Tandem Repeats). These special markers are given names like DYS391 or DYS455. Each of the numbers that you get back in your Y-chromosome test result refer  to the number of times a pattern is repeated at one of those markers. The number of repeats is referred to by geneticists as the alleles of a marker. Adding additional markers increases the precision of DNA test results, providing a greater degree of probability that a MRCA (most recent common ancestor) can be identified within a lower number of generations. For example, if two individuals match exactly at all loci in a 12 marker test, there is a 50% probability of a MRCA within the last 14 generations. If they exactly match at all loci in a 21 marker test, there is a 50% probability of a MRCA within the last 8 generations. There is a fairly dramatic improvement in going from 12 to 21 or 25 markers but, after that point, the precision starts to level off making the expense of testing additional markers less useful. Some companies offer more precise tests such as 37 markers or even 67 markers. Understanding the Results of Your Mitochondrial DNA Test (mtDNA) Your mtDNA will be tested on a sequence of two separate regions on your mtDNA inherited from your mother. The first region is called Hyper-Variable Region 1 (HVR-1 or HVS-I) and sequences 470 nucleotides (positions 16100 through 16569). The second region is called Hyper-Variable Region 2 (HVR-2 or HVS-II) and sequences 290 nucleotides (positions 1 though 290). This DNA sequence is then compared to a reference sequence, the Cambridge Reference Sequence, and any differences are reported. The two most interesting uses of mtDNA sequences are comparing your results with others and determining your haplogroup. An exact match between two individuals indicates that they share a common ancestor, but because mtDNA mutates extremely slowly this common ancestor could have lived thousands of years ago. Matches which are similar are further classified into broad groups, known as haplogroups. A mtDNA test will provide you with information about your specific haplogroup which may provide information on distant family origins and ethnic backgrounds. Organizing a DNA Surname Study Organizing and managing a DNA surname study is very much a matter of personal preference. There are, however, several basic goals which need to be met: Create a Working Hypothesis:  A DNA Surname Study is not likely to provide any meaningful results unless you first determine what you are trying to accomplish for your family surname. Your goal can be very broad (how are all the CRISP families in the world related) or very specific (do the CRISP families of eastern NC all descend from William CRISP).Choose a Testing Center:  Once youve determined your goal you should have a better idea of what type of DNA testing services you will require. Several DNA Laboratories, such as Family Tree DNA or Relative Genetics, will also assist you with setting up and organizing your surname study.Recruit Participants:  You can reduce the cost per test by assembling a large group to participate at one time. If you are already working together with a group of people on a particular surname then you may find it relatively easy to recruit participants from the group for a DNA surname study. If you have not been in touch with other researchers of yo ur surname, however, you will need to track down several established lineages for your surname and obtain participants from each of these lines. You may wish to turn to surname mailing lists and family organizations to promote your DNA surname study. Creating a website with information about your DNA surname study is also an excellent method for attracting participants. Manage the Project:  Managing a DNA surname study is a big job. The key to success is in organizing the project in an efficient manner and keeping participants informed of progress and results. Creating and maintaining a Web site or mailing list specifically for project participants can be of great assistance. As mentioned above, some DNA testing labs will also provide assistance with organizing and managing your DNA surname project. It should go without saying, but it is also important to honor any privacy restrictions made by your participants. The best way to figure out what works is to look at examples of other DNA Surname Studies. Here are several to get you started: Pomeroy DNA ProjectWells Family DNA ProjectWalker Surname DNA Project It is vitally important to keep in mind that DNA testing for the purposes of proving ancestry is not a substitute for traditional family history research. Instead, it is an exciting tool to be used in conjunction with family history research to aid in proving or disproving suspected family relationships.