The Rise and Fall of Populism Essay Example

The Rise and Fall of Populism Paper The Rise and Fall of Populism The Farmer’s Alliance In the 1880s, as drought hit the wheat-growing areas of the Great Plains and prices for Southern cotton sunk to new lows, many tenant farmers fell into deep debt. Lenders, grain-elevator owners, and others with whom farmers did business were angered. Depression worsened in the early 1890s, and some industrial workers shared different views on labor, trust, and monopolies. If the various alliances between the North and South were able to unite, they would’ve created an astonishing mighty political force. Unfortunately, sectional differences and personality clashes quickly halted this idea. The Saint Louis meeting in 1889 formed a clear idea where certain alliances existed. Clearly, white southerners feared reprisals from landowners, and objected participation by blacks. They also rejected proposals that would have ended secret whites-only activities. Northerners also feared domination by more experienced southern leaders. The Republican Party mostly consisted of Northern farmers who wanted protective tariffs to keep out foreign grain. Democrats, who were mostly white southerners, wanted low tariffs to hold down the costs of foreign manufactured goods. Despite these differences, both parties did favor the governmental regulation of transportation and communications, liberal credit policies, equitable taxation, prohibition of landownership, by foreign investigators, and currency reform. Due to this confidence, the alliances drew more deeply into politics. Farmers had elected a number of officeholders in 1890. Alliance members controlled four governorships, eight state legislatures, forty-four seats in the U. We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise and Fall of Populism specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise and Fall of Populism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise and Fall of Populism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer S. House of Representatives, and three seats in the U. S. Senate. The Populist movement arose as a revolt against the special privileges of industrialism and the American banking system. The Rise of Populists In the Midwest, Alliance candidates often ran on the independent third-party tickets and achieved some success in Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. During the summer of 1890, the Kansas Alliance held a â€Å"convention of the people† Formation of the People’s party eventually began to call themselves â€Å"Populists† which derives from the Latin word populus meaning people. This American movement primarily stared to improve conditions for farmers and laborers. The Election of 1892 As the populists won over the state legislature of Kansas in 1890, William Peffer became the partys first U. S. Senator. Due to Peffer’s humorous figure, Easter journalists and politicians viewed the party as a joke. Despite their opinion, the party gained popularity and support. By 1892, the party was ready for independent action. They summoned a People’s party convention in Omaha on July 4 to draft a platform and nominate a presidential candidate. The new party’s platform was one of the most comprehensive reform documents in American history. Corruption dominated the ballot box. More importantly, corruption fostered inequality that threatened to split American society. The Omaha platform claimed â€Å"wealth belongs to him that created it†, and addressed the three central sources of unrest: transportation, land, and money. Populists demanded government ownership of telegraph lines and railroads and urged the federal government to reclaim all land owned for speculative purposes by railroads and foreigners. Others advocated a graduated income tax, postal savings banks, direct election of the U. S. senators, and shorter hours for workers. The party nominated an official founder through a merger of the Farmers Alliance and the Knights of Labor. James B. Weaver of Iowa was a former Union general and supporter of a liberally increased money supply. The Populist campaign roared of colorful speeches from â€Å"Sockless Jerry† Simpson, an unschooled rural reformer, and of Mary Ellen Lease, who urged farmers to â€Å"raise less corn and more hell† The South introduced Charles W. Macune of Texas, Thomas Watson of Georgia, and Leonidas Polk of North Carolina. The vigorous language on the Omaha platform derived from Minnesota’s Ignatius Donnelly, pseudo-scientist and writer of apocalyptic novels. Finally, the campaign presented James Hogg, the three-hundred-pound governor of Texas, and one-eyed Senator, â€Å"Pitchfork Ben† Tillman of South Carolina, who were not dedicated Populists, but rather used the campaigning for their own political needs. James B. Weaver and campaigned for the following:  ·Unlimited cheap silver money (they wanted a rate of sixteen ounces of silver to one ounce of gold)  ·Government ownership of all railroads and telephone companies  ·A graduated income tax Direct election of U. S. senators  ·Single-term limits for presidents  ·Immigration restriction  ·Shorter workdays Although Weaver gathered over a million votes in the 1892 election, and majorities in four states and twenty-two electoral votes, he lost badly. Rural dwellers still had emotional faith in the future. Even though Populists w ere flawed Democrats-they still wanted to fulfill their version of American ideals and stuck with their mistrust of blacks. Millions of people had begun to believe that a cooperative democracy could overcome corporate power. Between 1892 and 1896, however, the party failed to make further gains, in part because of fraud, intimidation, and violence by Southern Democrats. The Depression of 1893 An apparently minor but ominous event occurred shortly before Grover Cleveland took office for the second time in 1893: the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, one a profitable line, went bankrupt. Due to the heavy borrowing to lay the track and build stations and bridges, ultimately put the company into an unpayable debt. Manufacturers experienced a similar dilemma. McCormick farm machinery factories bought more machines to get more work out of fewer laborers. This strategy, however, only enlarged the debt and increased unemployment. The employers couldn’t pay their creditors. The failure of the National Cordage Company in May 1893 accelerated a chain reaction of business and bank closings. By June, the number of failed banks reached 128. Between 1893 and 1897, the nation suffered the worst economic depression it has ever experienced. The severe depression made Grover Cleveland, from the Democratic Party wildly unpopular. Between 1892 and 1895, New York policeman estimated that twenty thousand homeless and jobless people roamed the city’s streets. As the depression grew, the currency conflict reached a breaking point. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 had committed the government to buy 4. 5 million ounces of silver each month. Payment was to be in gold, at the ratio of one ounce of gold for every sixteen ounces of silver. The nation’s gold reserve soon fell below $100 million in early 1893. President Cleveland called a special session of Congress to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and was actually repealed in late 1893. At about the time Cleveland called the session, doctors had discovered a malignant tumor on his plate that required immediate removal. He kept his illness a secret in fear of the public’s attention. He eventually recovered, but those who knew of his surgery believed it had sapped his vitality. After improving slightly, in 1895, the economy plunged again. Farm income declines, factories closed, and banks that remained open restricted withdrawals. As in most hard times, the depression reached a limit. New gold discoveries in Alaska, good harvests, and industrial growth brought relief. Railroads had been the primary mover of the American economy in the 1850s ,which led to the opening of new markets. By 1890, many companies expanded too rapidly. People also under-estimated their debts driving five-hundred banks and sixteen thousand businesses into failure. Canadian and Russian wheat growers, Argentine cattle ranchers, Indian and Egyptian cotton producers, and Australian wool producers also complicated matters with American farmers. When farmers fell into debt and lost purchasing power, the economic health of railroads, farm-implements, manufacturers, banks and other businesses were affected. Over thirteen hundred strikes and riots took place in 1894, which led to the beginning of the era of protest in 1877. Throughout this time, societies began to establish a new socialist order of justice and inequality. It appealed to intellectuals because it promised an end to class conflict and crude materialism. Coxey’s Army American socialism lacked strong leadership and therefore suffered greatly. In 1894, the American Railway Union elevated a new socialist leader, Eugene V. Debs. Although he was never good at organizing, Debs captivated large audiences with his attacks on the free-enterprise system. Soon enough, however, Debs had to share his attention with a quiet businessman from Massillon, Ohio. Like Debs, Jacob S. Coxey believed the government should issue paper money unbacked by gold. Coxey started an army and gathered recruiters from industrial towns and rural villages. His march on April 30th, expressed the frustration of people seeking relief from uncertainty. The troops main focus was more jobs and better living standards. This group eventually became the Socialist Party by the 1900s. Democratic leaders wanted to destroy the third-party threat. Because of this, many Populists decided to maintain a middle ground between the two larger parties and not merge with either. Inside the Peoples Party, â€Å"mid-roaders† sought to schedule the national convention before those of the Republicans and Democrats. When they lost the fights, fusionists hoped that silver-Democrats would be victorious in the convention. When this happenedwith the nomination of William Jennings Bryan on a free-silver platformmid-roaders found themselves in a difficult spot. The Populists were underfinanced and underorganized in late 1894. Republicans and Democrats took turns to destroy the Populist voting strength. To do so, southern white legislators took steps into preventing all blacks from voting. In 1876, the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited states from denying the right to vote â€Å"on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. † Their second attempt was implying a poll tax eight months before voting, and to prove someone is literate, expecting many blacks to be incapable of such acts. Bryan and the â€Å"Cross of Gold† speech Democrats who were silver supporters went over to the Populists as the presidential elections of 1896 neared. The Democratic convention that year was witness to one of the most famous speeches in U. S. political history. Pleading with the convention not to crucify mankind on a cross of gold, William Jennings Bryan, the young Nebraskan champion of silver, won the Democrats presidential nomination but it presented the Populist party with a serious problem. Should Populists join Democrats in support of Bryan, or should they nominate their own candidate? Many reasoned that supporting a different candidate would split the anti-McKinley vote and guarantee a Republican victory. The Failure of Populism The results revealed that the political stand-off had finally ended. McKinley beat Bryan by over 600,000 popular votes and won in the Electoral College by 271 to 176. McKinley appealed to a wide range of Americans. Conservative Americans feared cheap money and inflation so much that they flocked to McKinley and the Republican camp. Wealthy businessmen in the East dumped about $6–12 million into McKinley’s campaign, making it the fattest campaign fund of any American candidate ever. Some Democrats quite reasonably claimed that McKinley had purchased the White House. McKinley ultimately killed the Populists’ dream of free silver in 1900 when he signed the Gold Standard Act to peg the value of the dollar to an ounce of gold. He also signed the Dingley Tariff in 1897 to set overall tariff rates at about 45 percent. Although Populists and fusion candidates won a few state and congressional elections, the Bryan-Watson ticket of the Populist party polled only 222,600 votes nationwide. Therefore, the Populist crusade collapsed in 1896. Historians regard the election of 1896 as one of the most important elections of the nineteenth century, and certainly the most significant election since the Civil War. First, it represented a victory of urban middle-class Americans over agrarian interests in the West and South. Populism had never really spread into the cities, and Bryan’s appeal for free silver and inflation had alienated even the poorest Americans in the cities who depended on a stable dollar for survival. The Bryan campaign thus marked the last attempt to win the presidency through appeals to rural voters. It also marked the death of the Populist movement, which lost steam when it supported the Bryan campaign, essentially merging with the Democratic Party. Works Cited A People and a Nation. U. S. A: Norton, Katzman, Escott, Chudacoff, Paterson, Tuttle, 1994. Agrarian Distress and the Rise of Populism. United States History. 1 Sep. 2008. http://countrystudies. us/united-states/history-81. htm. Argesinger, Peter H. Populism, Its Rise and Fall. Populism, Its Rise and Fall. 2007. 1 Sep. 2008. http://www. kansaspress. ku. edu/pefpop. html. The Populist Party. 1896: The Peoples Party. 2000. 1 Sep. 2008. ;http://projects. vassar. edu/1896/populists. html;.

Free Essays on Dantes Inferno

Dante's Inferno Dante’s Inferno is one of the three parts of his Divine Comedy. The Inferno is divided into thirty-four cantos, each containing a description of a specific region of hell. Sinners in each area are punished for different sins. Sinners of lust suffer in upper hell, sinners of violence in middle hell, and the sinners of fraud in the lowest part of hell. The sufferings of these people are portrayed through Dante’s eyes as he descends lower and lower into hell with Virgil, his helper. The punishment for each sinner corresponds to the sin that they committed. In Canto 18, Dante and Virgil travel into the First and Second Pouch of the eighth circle of hell, also called Malebolge. This region of hell is divided into ten parts, or â€Å"pouches†, where sinners of â€Å"ordinary† fraud are punished. In the First Pouch, the panders and seducers are whipped by horned demons. Here Dante encountered Venà ©dico Caccianemico, a Bolognese who pandered his own sister, giving her to another man as a prostitute. These panders and seducers had forced other people to obey them, many times against their will, and had tortured them if they didn’t listen. As compensation for their sins, they are being held under the control of the demons, and are also being tortured continually. This continual suffering also accounts for the surplus time these sinners had in manipulating others. In the Second Pouch, flatterers are punished by being made to live in an abysmal pit of excrement. Flatterers are sycophants who try to use insincere and excessive praise to look good in other people’s eyes. These false attentions and comments are commonly called â€Å"bull-*censored*† in slang. This applies directly to what these sinners are condemned to live in forever. In the 23rd Canto, Dante and Virgil travel from the Fifth Pouch of Malebolge to the Sixth Pouch, where hypocrites are being punished. They are made to walk around in circle s... Free Essays on Dante's Inferno Free Essays on Dante's Inferno Dante's Inferno Dante’s Inferno is one of the three parts of his Divine Comedy. The Inferno is divided into thirty-four cantos, each containing a description of a specific region of hell. Sinners in each area are punished for different sins. Sinners of lust suffer in upper hell, sinners of violence in middle hell, and the sinners of fraud in the lowest part of hell. The sufferings of these people are portrayed through Dante’s eyes as he descends lower and lower into hell with Virgil, his helper. The punishment for each sinner corresponds to the sin that they committed. In Canto 18, Dante and Virgil travel into the First and Second Pouch of the eighth circle of hell, also called Malebolge. This region of hell is divided into ten parts, or â€Å"pouches†, where sinners of â€Å"ordinary† fraud are punished. In the First Pouch, the panders and seducers are whipped by horned demons. Here Dante encountered Venà ©dico Caccianemico, a Bolognese who pandered his own sister, giving her to another man as a prostitute. These panders and seducers had forced other people to obey them, many times against their will, and had tortured them if they didn’t listen. As compensation for their sins, they are being held under the control of the demons, and are also being tortured continually. This continual suffering also accounts for the surplus time these sinners had in manipulating others. In the Second Pouch, flatterers are punished by being made to live in an abysmal pit of excrement. Flatterers are sycophants who try to use insincere and excessive praise to look good in other people’s eyes. These false attentions and comments are commonly called â€Å"bull-*censored*† in slang. This applies directly to what these sinners are condemned to live in forever. In the 23rd Canto, Dante and Virgil travel from the Fifth Pouch of Malebolge to the Sixth Pouch, where hypocrites are being punished. They are made to walk around in circle s...

County profilenoxubee county(second part) Essay

County profilenoxubee county(second part) - Essay Example The population living below poverty is relatively around 28.6%, as per the 2004 statistics. Either, education is highly of looming standards due to the poverty standards which cannot provide adequate structures for child learning. With the various structures to reduce poverty however, the same continues to become exclusively growing from the various rigidities and inequalities. The school dropout is as low as 64% which continues to worsen the future state of the county. Either, the county depicts poor standards of housing and compounds of health inadequacies. There are street houses and other form of temporary and low standard housing structures which cannot provide better standards of living. High poverty has also been a threat for medical uprightness with the people suffering from various ill-health conditions. There is very little distinction between the urban and the rural population. However, they are both mixed with various structures of the society been shared by both the urban and the rural communities. The general economic activity is however supported by practicing low manufacturing mainly in agricultural products. The same output is however allied to various inadequacies such as low scale quality products above that of lack of production efficiencies. The mushrooming of poverty continues to increase in intensity as poverty conditions and inequal ities for the support of better living standards become a disadvantage. However, an adequate strategy would perhaps provide a support for the long held desire of out doing the poverty burden. The most appropriate strategy should not look down the resource dispensation of this area. The basic contributing factor towards this high poverty level is the scale with which the economic activity operates in. The community is compounded by both high scale poverty situation and substantially medium state economic standards. SWOT Analysis Strengths Current education system, increasing rate of employment Opportunities International trade relations, high consumption rate. Weaknesses High School drop outs, single motherhoods, risk of health problems Threats Poverty, possible disease outbreaks. Increase in manufacturing as a development strategy Manufacturing industry plays a predominant role in the growth and development of the county. Other economic boosters are the transportation and the retail trade. The manufacturing industry shows a high development where, various industries such as food industry, textile, accessories and others form a basic contributor to its economic activity. With the current trend of changing economic activity, various economic attributes such as change in technology for more exploitation of the available resources and growth in human resource capital form basic factors for the growth of this industry. Manufacturing industry is the biggest contributor in terms of provision of jobs for this county. Its contribution to the total employment population is 5.4% which is equivalent of 1227 people who are directly and indirectly employed by this industry. The best strategy for increased economic development would be through more rationalized modes of activity in this industry. Other major contributors of economic developm

World health organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

World health organization - Essay Example In order to achieve the accessibility of the health services, there must be a strong, well-run, and efficient health system. The health system is useful for accessing the essential technologies and medicines through motivated and sufficient health workers. Most countries are unable to expand health services in order to meet the growing needs due to limited resources (Terry 636). In spite of the commitment of developed countries such as USA to the universal coverage, there are still various unsolved puzzles on how to deliver access to health services and protection of financial risk across all people. Today, most research is devoted in new technologies without considering the essentiality of making use of the existing knowledge. Currently, research is required in order to turn the existing knowledge into practice. Various questions concerning the universal coverage need local answers. For example, the questions can be the health-seeking behaviors, how the system can be structured, and how to measure the progress of the health care in the USA (WHO, 2013). The questions imply that all member countries across the world are required to be their own producers of research. According to the 2013 report, WHO came up with three examples to enhance progress towards universal health. The examples include bed nets, cash payments, and affordability of the health care for the ageing European population. Surveys carried out in the US show that the U.S. health system spends a greater sum of gross domestic product on health services when compared to a survey in 22 African countries. In general, the survey was able to reveal that at least one fly spray treated mosquito net was able to reduce mortality rate of children under the age of five by 13-31%. Also, the surveys in America recommended that conditional cash transfer and the cash payment is made in return for offering health care services. The review

Rdms, phase2 db1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rdms, phase2 db1 - Essay Example Two types of integrity constraints entity integrity and referential integrity are taken in account for the design and development of database system. â€Å"An Entity is commonly thought of as a noun – a person, place or thing. In a real sense, Entities reflect Tables in the database† (Mickler, 2008). Entity integrity guarantees that there are no duplicate records within the table and that the field that identifies each record within the table is unique and never null. In general, Entity Integrity is the mechanism the system provides to maintain primary keys so that there is a unique identifier for rows in the table (database.dev.co.uk, 2008). It is good practice to have primary key in every table so that each row can be identified uniquely. â€Å"A primary key is typically only one field and that field is set to a special domain, or type† (Mickler, 2008). A primary key, composed of one or more columns, uniquely identifies each row of a table and eliminates the possibility of duplicate rows in a table (CTU Online, 2008). According to Hoffer, Prescott & McFadden (2007), â€Å"A foreign key is an attribute in a relation of a database that serves as the primary key of another relation in the same database†. Referential integrity maintains the consistency among the rows of two relations. The referential integrity rule states that for every foreign key value in a table, there must be a corresponding primary key value in another table in the database (CTU Online, 2008). Problems arise when we fail to relate the tables properly and inadvertently delete data in a particular table that would result in broken links or floating records (Mickler, 2008). For the new Student Class Registration System we have to make sure that entity and referential integrity constraints are applied. Entity integrity can be achieved by having a primary key not null field in each table of the database system that uniquely identifies each row. In case of our new Student Class Registration

The Wetherspoons company in UK

The Wetherspoons company in UK JD Wetherspoon PLC is a UK based company involved in the development and management of public houses in the UK (REUTERS). The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates its business through 793 pubs all over the UK (WETHERSPOON). It provides food and a variety of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks to its customers at competitive prices. Wetherspoon is known for its cheap drinks and food promotions. It also focuses heavily on its breakfast and coffee menus. In addition to traditional pubs, the company also operates newer styled bars providing a more vibrant and contemporary atmosphere under the Lloyds No 1 brand name. It also operates a relatively new hotel chain consisting of 16 hotels. Wetherspoon was founded by Tim Martin in 1979 with the first pub in London. In its early days, the company grew by opening pubs in unusual former retail locations. Over the 80s the company differentiated itself from other pubs by ridding itself of music, television and games and thus created a unique identity. In 1992 it was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a UK wide chain of around 40 pubs. Going public, provided wetherspoon with the required funding to expand and within the next four years the number of pubs in the chain quadrupled to 160. In the late 90s, the company diversified into the lodging business which still represents a very small proportion of their revenues. Over the past ten years wetherspoon has continued to expand and has successfully established a reputable network of pubs throughout the U.K. This report focuses on critically analysing JD wetherspoons strategic, financial and stock market performance over the past five years in comparison with its competitors and the industry as a whole. In conclusion the report will attempt to make recommendations to a potential investor regarding potential in the company. Strategic Analysis Pubs lie at the heart of British life and culture. Going to pubs has been one of the primary sources of entertainment in the country. According to the Social Issues Research Center (SIRC), an Oxford based not for profit social research organisation, over 75% of the adult British Population goes to pubs and over a third are regulars who go to pubs at least once a week (SIRC). This represents an industry with a customer base of roughly 37 million people. Broad business environment The broad business environment in the UK has changed drastically over the last decade. There have been about 300 pieces of government regulation in the public house sector along with tax increases, smoking ban, and changes in consumer lifestyles and attitudes towards going out and drinking. Pubs have needed to change with the times in order to retain their margins and remain profitable. Those successful have adopted an active strategy of evolving their business with the changing times. A detailed PESTEL analysis has been conducted to analyse the broad business environment and its effects on the Pub industry. Please see Appendix A for the full analysis. The most significant factors responsible for shaping the business environment in the pub industry have been discussed below. Political Factors The UK pub industry has been highly regulated over the past few years. On the other hand, alcohol duty is rapidly increasing and is many times more than in other European nations. This coupled with the rising VAT and increased government activism against binge drinking and alcohol abuse has made it difficult for the pub operators to operate and maintain their margins. Economic Factors The Global economic crisis has led to consumer spending cuts, thereby leading to a decline in pub sales. Moreover rising national minimum wage and aggressive price competition with supermarkets are narrowing pubs margins and leading to reduced profits. However government intention to ban sale of below cost alcohol might come as a slight respite to the pub industry. Social Factors The rising national concern over Britains alcohol habits, have manifested itself in a number of ways. People are beginning to fully understand the problem and the government is taking steps to curb binge drinking and alcohol abuse. The UK drinks industry has launched a huge campaign to address this concern and to make people more aware about the problems associated with irresponsible drinking. Technological Factors The advent of technology has changed societys idea of entertainment, shifting it more inside the confines of the household. This has led to declining public interest in pubs. Pub operators have also increased their investment in technology considerably, in order to enhance the pub experience. These include among others, investments in television systems for sports, electronic point of sale systems and refrigeration systems to store alcohol at precise temperatures. Environmental Factors Pub retailers are becoming environmentally conscious and have taken steps to recycle most of the waste products particularly food, in order to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites. This is a great opportunity for pubs to portray themselves as socially responsible. Legal Factors The Licensing law allowed licensed pubs to potentially open 24 hours a day. This has been a huge opportunity for the pub industry and has increased competition. The law is currently under scrutiny by the government. Any changes to it might have a major impact on the industry. The drink driving laws over the past few years have also been made stringent. This has resulted in consumers avoiding driving to pubs and preferring to drink at home in order to avoid committing a drink driving offence. The above factors have had a very profound impact on all the major pub operators. They have responded to the environment and adjusted their strategy in order to succeed in these conditions. There has been a strategic focus on innovation in the pub industry through food development, skills training, interior enhancement etc. With growth in alternative forms of entertainment, socio-political pressures on pub operator margins, and tough economic climate, most of the market players are looking to diversify into the relatively less volatile and high margin businesses. Industry analysis With over 50,000 pubs catering to over 35 million customers, the pub sector represents a highly fragmented industry. The industry consists of a few big players with a chain of pubs throughout the UK. The six biggest pub chains own only about 42% of the total number of pubs. The biggest players in the industry by turnover, along with their main brands and number of outlets are as follows. Source : Mintel Pub Catering UK September 2010 While wetherspoon operates only managed pubs at city centre locations in major towns and cities throughout the UK (MINTEL, 2010), the business models for some of the other major players in the industry are very different and diverse. Punch Taverns operated both leased and managed pubs. Although a major proportion of their business comprises of leased pubs, they still have over 800 managed pubs in the UK. Enterprise Inns on the other hand only operates leased and tenanted pubs. Greene King has a much more segmented business model wherein its operations are divided into over 2400 managed, leased tenanted pubs and restaurants, two breweries, and a number of wholesale depots. Marstons has a similar mix of activities with over 2100 managed and tenanted pubs and bars, five breweries and wholesale facilities. Mitchells and Butlers (MB) operates managed pubs and pub restaurants mainly in the UK, but also has a small number of pub restaurants (43) in Germany. A very small proportion of their total estate consists of leased and franchised sites. They are the largest operator of managed pubs with over 1800 managed pubs in the UK. Competition for the smaller 58% of the pubs is largely limited to players in the local market. For example an individual pub in Leeds only competed with other individual pubs in Leeds. In order to analyse the pub industry in detail a full analysis has been conducted based on Porters five forces framework (Appendix B). The major outcomes of the analysis are as follows Threat of Entry Starting up a pub is reasonably easy process due to an undifferentiated market, and fairly low set up costs. Obtaining the individual pub license is fairly straightforward. Besides easy access to supply channels and low cost capital, have led to a significant threat of entry. However, a large scale of operations, popular brand identity, experience in the industry and established distribution channels are essential to operate competitively in the industry. Moreover increased government legislation and extraordinary levels of taxation in the sector have made it unattractive to new entrants, thus restricting the threat of entry to some extent. Threat of Substitutes Supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and off licensing shops represent a group of substitutes to public houses. Supermarkets in particular enjoy huge economies of scale and are in a position to undercut pub-prices. The perceived performance to price ratio to the consumer defines their choice between pubs and their substitutes. Although supermarkets cannot replicate the value added services provided by pubs, with the global financial crisis affecting disposable incomes, consumers have become highly price sensitive, thus increasing the threat of substitutes to a moderately high level. Bargaining power of buyers Buyers bargaining power has traditionally been moderately high due to low switching costs and easy availability alternatives. Recent trends categorised by declining alcohol consumption, low consumer disposable incomes, consumer preferences of drinking at home have further increased buyers power. Bargaining powers of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is quite high as the industry due to the dominance of a concentrated group of suppliers. A number of suppliers own powerful brands and hence pubs have to buy from them in order to satisfy consumer demands. Moreover, supply agreements such as tied house contracts give the suppliers an upper hand. The high power suppliers mean that pub operators, who have their own breweries and wholesale depots, have an obvious advantage. Competitive Rivalry The industry has traditionally been a growth industry with most major players looking to expand and open more pubs. However, pub margins have declined over the years and large volumes have become increasingly critical for pub companies to survive. The threat of competition from supermarkets has also become significant and combined with moderately high threat of entry, and strong bargaining power of customers, has led to increasing levels of competitive rivalry. The industry is categorised by low levels of product differentiation and aggressive price wars between competitors. The declining alcohol consumption, sluggish market growth, high taxes and pub closure rates have resulted in aggressive competition for retaining revenues. The pub industry is in a state of consolidation. The business environment has been tough and falling margins has made it difficult for pubs to meet their costs. With pub closure rates having reached record levels in 2009; all the major pub chains are in the process of reviewing and reorganising their business in order to adapt to the changing conditions. Wetherspoons Strategy Wetherspoon has adhered to simple principles of cleanliness, cheap drinks and good value food. With no music, wetherspoon pubs are seen as places where people can interact with friends over a round of drinks or food. The principle strategy that separates wetherspoon from most of its competitors is its focus on the consumer. Whilst a number of competitors lease their pubs out and are therefore less concerned about the ultimate consumer, wetherspoon makes constant efforts to innovate and enhance the consumer experience. This has given them the competitive edge over their competitors and hence they have chosen to stick to the 100% managed pubs business model. Wetherspoon has traditionally been quick to foresee impending changes in the business environment and strategise in order to adapt. They have stuck to their low price high revenue pricing strategy. Their efforts to provide products at the lowest price possible has been considerable success in recent times as customers have become highly price sensitive and are looking for value for money. They expect their promotions to remain a key driver to high revenues. Wetherspoon is aiming at rapid organic and inorganic growth by opening up new pubs and developing and refurbishing the existing ones. The economic downturn has provided it with the perfect opportunity to expand given low property prices and continued profitability of their pubs. Wetherspoon plans to open 250 new pubs in the period 2009 2014 (RICHARD WACHMAN, 2009). Their expansion strategy involves taking over underperforming bargain pubs and turning them around to profitability. The company rents most its pubs as opposed to buying them in a bid to keep its debt levels low. This has approach has enabled them to reach a position where they have considerable amounts of money to invest whilst their competitors are finding it very difficult to service their rising debts. Wetherspoon is focussing on developing their high margin food and coffee business. Wetherspoon started opening their pubs at 7A.M. to capitalise on early morning coffee and breakfast demand. This has also led to increase in overhead costs but having been rewarded with a 40% increase in coffee and breakfast sales, wetherspoon will continue to focus on the diversified product mix to stabilise and improve their overall margins. The company have invested significantly towards improving their service and standards. They have focussed on personnel and training and are making efforts to enhance customer experience in order to further boost the value provided for the money they charge their customers. Their strategy involves a number of efforts to portray themselves as a responsible business by taking on ethical business practices such as proper implementation of Challenge 21, conserving resources, recycling waste and reducing energy consumption. Wetherspoons chairman, Tim Martin owns around 23% of the company. This helps to reduce agency costs as the objectives of owners and management are likely to be more closely aligned. His 31 year long experience in the industry gives wetherspoon a strategic advantage over its competitors. The companys CEO John Hutson, has also been with the company for more than 20 years. There have been a few problems with the companys management in the past, most significantly the technical breach of the Companies Act 2006 in 2008, when the company failed to file the interim accounts with the registrar of companies prior to paying the 2007 final dividend and repurchasing its shares from the market (JD WETHERSPOON, 2008). Such incidents lead to financial and reputational losses and dent the public image of the firm. More recently, the unexpected resignations of the companys finance director Keith Down and its cheif operating officer Paul Harbottle have raised concerns about the managerial longevity of its board of directors. Financial Statement Analysis This section will analyse wetherspoons financial performance over the past five years as compared to its competitors and the industry in general. Of the competitors identified in the above section, Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns have a more similar business model to wetherspoon and hence their performance has extensively been used as a benchmark in this section. Year 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 Revenues (Â £million) 996.33 955.12 907.50 888.47 847.52 Table: Wetherspoons revenues for the past five years Turnover and Profitability Wetherspoon has experienced consistent growth in revenues over the past decade. Rebasing the revenue at the 2006 levels, wetherspoon seem to have outperformed most of the competition in terms of revenue. Although its revenue growth is one of the highest in the industry, it is still far behind Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns in absolute sales numbers. A significant proportion of Wetherspoons revenue comes from its new pubs. Over the past few years absolute revenues from new pubs has remarkably increased with wetherspoon opening more pubs year by year. In 2010, an extraordinary 97.68% of the growth in revenues was attributable to revenues from new pubs while like for like sales only accounted for 2.38% of the revenue growth. This is up from new pubs contributing 77.13% of revenue growth in 2009 and 57% in 2006. This indicates saturation in the revenue capacity of the already established pubs and exemplifies the importance of wetherspoons growth strategy to its revenues. Wetherspoons cost of sales (COS) is the highest amidst the competitors. Over the past five years, the wetherspoons average COS has been over 80% of revenue. This combined with other operating costs leads to an average operating profit of just under 10%. This is considerably low, compared to its competitors specially Enterprise Inns which has an average operating profit of over 55% in the 5 year period. The big difference in operating profit is to a large extent representative of the differences in business models of these companies. As JD Wetherspoon operates managed pubs only, the cost of retail sales is significant. On the other hand, the revenues of some of the competitors like Enterprise Inns, Marstons and Greene King are composed of the less costly rent, lease receipts and proceeds from the wholesale sales from their breweries and other alcohol manufacturing facilities. Since wetherspoons activities are more direct cost intensive, the higher cost of sales is understandable. A unique factor which distinguishes wetherspoon from its competitors is the low and stable debt interest levels. Wetherspoons interest expenses on debt were lower by over 210 million as compared to Punch Taverns for the financial year 2009-10. Besides lower levels of total debt, a low effective weighted average rate of interest on debt has contributed to the smaller interest charge. While wetherspoon are able to borrow at an average of 5.47%, the weighted average interest on debt for Punch Taverns in 6.8% on secured loan notes and 6.5% on finance leases. This is either due to relatively good swap management of interest rate, a safer credit profile, or lower principle amount and maturity period of the loans. This gives wetherspoon a big competitive advantage and enables them to retain a sizeable proportion of their operating profit as Net profit. Excluding the interest charge, Punch Taverns net profit would have been higher than that of wetherspoon. This illustrates the real impact of interest on debt on the relative profitability of these firms. Wetherspoons exceptional items solely comprised of impairment of property and fixed assets and amounted to 10.6 million this year. This represents a steep reduction of 47% from last years figure of 19.9 million and is primarily attributed to no litigation costs and property related write downs. Wetherspoons net profit has been very consistent over the past few years as opposed to its competitors. The tough global economic climate and the hostile business environment in the pub sector have led to a sizeable decline in profits for both Punch Taverns and Mitchell and Butlers. On the other hand wetherspoons consistent growth in revenue combined with low relative impairment losses and interest on debt has enabled it to maintain a profit of 40.78 million in 2010. This is a 61% rise from its profits in 2009. This compared with losses of 84 million and 159.90 million from Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns, reflects an overall superior performance by wetherspoon in terms of profitability. As per the chart above, wetherspoons return on assets and return on capital invested are immensely higher than both of its competitors. The two ratios rose 37.42% and 48.78% respectively from their 2009 levels. These jumps are primarily because of the 61% jump in earnings and represents excellent management of resources by the companys management. Wetherspoon rents a majority of its pubs and hence has a low level of noncurrent assets. This is the primary reason for the high asset turnover and return on assets. Wetherspoons revenues are 1.12 times of their total assets as opposed to Punch Taverns 0.22. This astoundingly high ratio represents wetherspoons highly competitive pricing strategy and its low margin, high volume operations. Wetherspoons ability to extract over 3-4 times more revenue than its competitors, gives it a clear competitive edge. Liquidity A majority of the assets in pub businesses tend to be non-current and hence the short term liquidity ratios tend to be lower. Moreover since the current assets in managed and operated pubs are mostly cash and other very liquid items, slightly lower current ratios are not deemed to be very risky. Wetherspoons current ratio of 0.37 is amongst the lowest in the industry. This has been fairly stable over the past five years with a standard deviation of a mere 0.064. Mitchell and Butlers and Punch Taverns have much higher current ratio of 0.64 and 1.27 respectively. Similarly, Wetherspoons quick ratio of 0.18 is nearly a fifth of Punch Taverns ratio. Wetherspoons current and quick ratios are both the lowest and the most stable in the industry with standard deviations of 0.064 and 0.036 respectively. The incredible stability of the ratio indicates a strategic approach to business operations. Very low liquidity ratios generally mean trouble for businesses, as they are indicators of inability to honour short term obligations. Theoretically, if all the current liabilities need to be paid off, wetherspoon will not have to resort to selling its fixed assets in order to arrange for the payment. However, cash payments from its customers along with favourable and stable credit terms with suppliers ensure that wetherspoon are able to manage will low current and quick ratios. They attempt to keep the current ratio at a reasonably low level in order to extracts maximum value from their current assets. Nevertheless, a current ratio of 0.37 is too low compared to the competitors and hence liquidity issues are more likely. Punch Taverns liquidity ratios are a lot higher primarily due to a high amount of receivables mainly caused by its leased and rented pub business. In those businesses, punch taverns tenants are likely to have a payment period within which they can settle the rent/lease payments. This leads to a significant amount of trade receivables. On the other hand almost all of wetherspoons revenues are retail cash revenues and hence the receivables are either due to prepayments or accrued income Wetherspoons receivables are only about 10 of Punch Taverns which it converts into cash within 1.64 days. This is many times lower than its competitors. Moreover inventories held days is a mere 8.5 days representing a quick and highly efficient cash cycle. Gearing Wetherspoons business model of operating with low level of debt is quite unique in the pub industry. The company enjoys the lowest level of long term debt amidst its competitors. Wetherspoons long term debt of 411.64 million is just 8.6% of that of Punch Taverns. MB and Punch Taverns on the other hand have debts of over 2 billion pounds. A low level of debt despite an active growth strategy and a consistent rise in its plant property and equipment (PPE) is a rare phenomenon. Wetherspoons managed to make this happen by renting quite a few of its pubs and managing debt efficiently. The extraordinarily low levels of debt at wetherspoon are matched by an almost equally low relative level of common equity. As a result wetherspoons Debt equity ratio is not as different from its competitors. Wetherspoons total debts are 2.56 times its equity as compared to 2.89 for Mitchells Butlers and 2.42 for Punch Taverns. The ratio used to be 1.83 in 2006, before the company initiated massive share repurchase programme which was largely financed by additional debt. As per the above table, their Total Debt to Earnings before interest and tax ratio has been the lowest in the industry. Over the years, as other companies have taken more debt relative to their earnings, wetherspoon has continued to utilise its debt with the same efficiency in order to generate earnings. Dividends Wetherspoons dividend payout ratio is incredibly high for a company which is in the growth stage of its lifecycle. In 2010 wetherspoon paid 64.19% of its net income as dividends. This represents a 292% jump from the 2006 dividend payout and is the highest in the industry. While Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns havent paid dividends in the past two years, wetherspoon has continued to pay dividends at an average of about 39% of their net profit in the past 5 years. Wetherspoon declared a yearlong dividend freeze in during the financial year 2008-09 in order to direct its cash flows towards debt reduction. The freeze was ended in March 2010 once the new 530 million banking facility was renegotiated. Now with the financing issues sorted, a progressive dividend policy can be expected from wetherspoons management as a measure to signal a bullish future outlook. Cash Flow Analysis In 2009, the pub industry experienced a sharp decline in cash flow as most of the players make efforts to deleverage themselves post the credit crunch. Wetherspoons went from being a cash generator of 7.15 million in 2007 to a cash sink of 2.6 million in 2008. The financing outflows jumped threefolds mainly due to dividend payments of 17.38 million and repurchases of one million shares from the market. The net cash flow continued to be negative in 2009 primarily due to the repayment of long term debts to the tune of around 45 million pounds. Since then the cash position of the company has recovered and the company was a cash generator of 2.48 million in 2010. Wetherspoons has a positive growth in cash inflow from operating activities, but the overall level of operating inflow is low. While Punch Taverns operating inflows are declining due to dwindling revenue and profits, Mitchells and Butlers in contrast, enjoy a much better cash flow from operating activities and hence has access to a bigger pool of funds for its investing and financing activities. Wetherspoons growth policy has led to increased cash outflows from investing activities by over twice the amount in 2006. On the contrary Mitchells Butlers has decreased their cash outflows in investing activities. This is due to their strategic sale of a number of pubs in order to concentrate on the high margin food business. Wetherspoons repayment of the USD 140 million private placement was accompanied by a further advancedment of 96.68 million pounds of long term loans. As a result the cash outflow from financing activities decreased significantly from last year. The total cash flow position would have been much worse, if the company hadnt put a freeze on dividends in 2009. Wetherspoons decision to not declare a final dividend for the financial year 2008-2009 ensured prevented a further cash deficit, given the high levels of capital expenditure in 2009. Accounting policies and Problems in Comparison Given the immaterial size of the companies hotel business, and no international operations, wetherspoon doesnt split its results by business or geographical segments in accordance with the IAS 14. Wetherspoon follows a historic cost model and does not revalue its non current assets. Punch Taverns follow the same method, however Mitchells and Butlers actively revalue its assets. This can lead to distortions in actual value of non current assets and makes them uncomparable. For example Wetherspoon unlike Mitchells Butlers ignores the effect of inflation on the value of its assets. While wetherspoon depreciates fixtures and fittings over a time period of 3-10 years, Mitchells and Butlers do it over a period of 3-20 years. This can further make the asset values uncomparable. Stock Market Analysis The FTSE 350 index seems to be very highly correlated to the FTSE 350 Travel and Leisure index. Prior to the subprime crisis, the travel and leisure index seems to be doing marginally better, while post crisis, the FTSE 350 has slightly outperformed the FTSE 350 travel and leisure index. JD Wetherspoon has outperformed both the indices almost all the time during the last 5 years except for a brief period in 2008 because of the immediate effect of the economic crisis. As per the above graph, JD wetherspoon has consistently outperformed Punch Taverns throughout the past five years. It has also better than Mitchells Butlers since the middle of 2008. This is primarily due to relatively higher revenues and profits at wetherspoon. Wetherspoons expansion strategy has enhanced its future outlook and given a boost to the companys share price. January 06 March 07 The period from Jan 2006 until the beginning of 2007 saw a very sharp increase in wetherspoons share price. While the travel and leisure index only rose up by around 25%, wetherspoon rose by a phenomenal 120%. The football world cup kick-started the 8 month long rally in the travel leisure index. Wetherspoon took advantage of the opportunity by abandoning its no television policy and showing the matches in its pubs. Moreover, they also started to establish a very strong foothold in the coffee and breakfast market. Besides strong financial performance in 2006, wetherspoons purchase of 800,000 of its own shares in September 2006 (REUTERS, 2006) , the interest of Schroder Investment Management in 12.05% of its total common shares, along with significant interests from Aegon UK and Global Value fund Sicav, were one of the primary reasons why wetherspoons rose to its all time high level of 761 pence in March 2007. April 07 September 2008 The smoking ban was implemented in the UK with effect from July 2007. As expected, the ban put immense downward pressures on pub revenues, thereby leading to a crash in share prices. The travel and leisure index crashed around 30% by the end of the year and wetherspoon lost 50% of its value. 2008 presented even worse economic conditions for the pub industry with the advent of the credit crisis. All major pub operators continued to face loss of revenues and hence saw a significant decline in their share price. The extreme volatility in credit markets forced Mitchells Butlers to shelve a 4.5 billion pound property deal (BLAND, Ben, 2007) leading to losses of 274 million pounds on hedges tied to the transaction. Moreover, failed efforts by Punch Taverns to acquire Mitchells Butlers, led to further decline in share prices of both companies. On the other hand Wetherspoon continued to strengthen its revenues due to increased revenues in its food business. In September 2008, wetherspoon d eclared a 5.5% increase in sales and a 12p per share dividend as opposed to zero dividends and huge losses by punch taverns. As a result wetherspoons share price started to consolidate and by the end of

Violence in the Media :: TV Violence Music Movies Television

Many video games, television programs, adverts, films and music lyrics depict different forms of violence. Some people feel that there is too much violence exposed in the media. Many studies have made the claim that the media is responsible for much of the violence seen in the world we live in. However, people have choices and responsibilities we cannot allow ourselves to blame it on other things such as the media. The violence seen in our media has an impact on both adults and children. Since children are also exposed to various forms of media, there has been additional concern for how they process and think about the violence they see, read or hear. Excessive exposure to media violence can also affect people in many ways as they can become disturbed and develop serious fears of being victimized in real life. Nevertheless, the entertainment industry and those in favour of the media argue that censoring these images or music will not solve the problems of a society, which is already violent. Many areas of the media contain violence in different forms. There are four different types of violence shown throughout media-actuality, realistic fictional, choreographed and comic. Actuality shows the public images that have not been enhanced, altered or composed. These are mainly shown in TV news and newspapers and have stirred various opinions of its necessity to be shown. People feel that it is unacceptable to show these kinds of images, as some scenes can be of those in agony therefore pointing a camera on them is disrespectful. However some actuality images are less harmful as it may not be an extreme act such as tackles in football matches. Realistic fictional is when violence is acted out which can potentially happen in real life. This may be unacceptable to people as it can be influential and seem as exciting therefore there are temptations to copy it. Choreographed violence in the media are images that have been rehearsed and planned out, these are often found in films and cause a

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Analysis Essay

Introduction In the novel Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen identifies the key components of successful marriage – love, tolerance, affection and financial stability. The whole novel is written to underline the importance of marriage which shouldn’t be based on social status, wealth or affection of the youth. For her time the author was very radical as she strongly defended marriage for love, whereas in those times it was prestigious to marry for financial stability and social status. Through her characters – Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Darcy – she shows the right and wrong attitudes towards the ideal marriage. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy represent true love and true relationships, whereas Mrs. Bennet is motivated only by wealth when she decides to get her beloved daughters married. Through characters Austen makes readers believe that love and happiness can’t be bought. Character Analysis Mrs. Bennet is characterized as a miraculously tiresome character. Moreover, she is frivolous and too foolish. Mrs. Bennet is an irritating woman who becomes obsessed with idea to get her daughters married simply to improve her financial stability and social status as after her husband’s death she has been refused certain social entertainments. She cares for nothing in the world except money. Austen is willing to show that Mrs. Bennet does lack sense of virtue and property, and, what is more awful, she is not interested in intellectual and emotional education of her five daughters. Mrs. Bennet affects the attitudes of her younger daughters – Lydia and Charlotte Lucas – towards marriage. Mrs. Bennet is very pleased when Lydia gets married to an officer and she never reproaches her for shameful behavior. However, she can’t be blame as she was married only for beautiful appearance and she didn’t see another life. I think the author introduces Mrs. Bennet to highlight the necessity of marriage for young ladies. In contrast to Mrs. Bennet the author introduces the character of Elizabeth to show true virtues and necessity of love and happiness. Elizabeth is the most quick-witted and intelligent. Moreover, Elizabeth is clever, lovely and brilliant. Her positive character traits enable her to rise above shameful conduct of her mother and sisters. Elizabeth is strong enough to overcome all difficulties and to get married for love, not for financial stability or higher social status. Elizabeth is entailed with sharp tongue and ability for hasty judgments. She is the only character who manages to make Darcy love her for personality and who overcomes the power of prejudice: â€Å"My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you†. (p.35) We see that Elizabeth has pride in her abilities to express herself and to perceive the truth. Mr. Darcy is one more positive character in the novel who overcomes prejudice and finds his true love – Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy is a wealthy aristocrat being extremely conscious of class differences.   Nevertheless, he has sense of virtue and honor. Firstly, he is not interested in Elizabeth saying that â€Å"she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men†. (p.13) However, with novel progression his character transforms and he recognized his faults of prejudice and pride. His character affects the novel as, despite high social status and wealth, he manages to overcome prejudice and to show that marriage should be based on love. He proves that a man should love women for her intelligence and personality, not only for beautiful appearance. Conclusion Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy affect the novel in different ways. Mrs. Bennet symbolizes misconception of true marriage as she is obsessed with financial stability and social status. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy represent true virtues in the novel as they teach others that marriage should be grounded on love, happiness, and attraction. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. UK, London: Penquin Books, 2005.

Fire Safety in Buildings Essay Example

Fire Safety in Buildings Essay Example Fire Safety in Buildings Essay Fire Safety in Buildings Essay Essay Topic: To Build a Fire Fire Safety in Buildings Name: Lecturer: Course: : Date: Fire Safety in Buildings In today’s world, it is essential for people to take the necessary precautions to ensure that their safety is not compromised. Fire has been known to destroy a lot of property. In addition to that, many people have succumbed to fire so many times. This has made it top priority for fire safety regulations to be followed. Buildings should be protected most of all as people are always in them. They serve as homes, restaurants and living space for people. It is estimated that there are at least six fires in a week in the United States. With the number of fires in buildings, increasing every day, people need to be more careful. It is important that people take extra precautions to ensure that their lives are secure. This is why most buildings are fit with equipment that protects them from fires. There are sprinkler systems to fire extinguishers. All these things are meant to either slow down fire or completely put it out. It is also important to find ways to reduce fire occurrence . This is why a number of researchers that have written papers that talk about the safety measures of fires in buildings. ‘Smoke and fire in building Atria’ a paper written by Robert N. Meroney and David Banks, is about fire in building atria. The writers talk about how fire starts in atria and ways in which they can be contained. Atria are constructed in buildings to provide air and sunlight. Since these areas are in direct sunlight and climatic conditions, there is special need for them to look after carefully. The wind environment makes it particularly hard for fires to be controlled. This is because since the atrium is in an open area the environmental elements make it had to contain the fire. It is therefore important for fire protection engineers to find special ways to contain fires in this area. Using different buildings as the sample study, the authors were able to find how an atrium affects fire (Meroney Banks, 2004). A case study of a building atrium was made to show how fire spreads through a building using wind as a factor that helps it to spread. It was found that depending on the design of the atrium in a building, a fire could spread either too fast or slow. Enclosed empty spaces are considered as too restrictive when a fire occurs. Thus, it is advisable that newer models of atrium should be connected partially or fully to adjacent spaces. It ensures that there is less space for wind to enter the building and control the fire. The authors came up with a number of solutions to lessen fires that are caused by atria in buildings. For one it was not advisable for buildings to have simple zone models. It was found that these models impinged smoke on the ceiling and consequently produced wall jets that made fires spread more rapidly. Secondly, there should be a field modeling study that will ensure that incase of a fire the building will be secure. This is also done to ensure that smoke can be detected in a building faster thereby lowering the risk of a fire occurring. The study also highlighted the importance of a hybrid combination of physical, zone and field model. This ensures that a fire engineer has adequate knowledge of how to put out a fire in a building without the weather influencing this decision. Another study carried out by Francine Battaglia, Ronald Rehm, Howard Baum, Mohammed Hassan and Kozo Saito looked at the different paradigms of combustion. All of which are influenced by circulation flows. The study hoped to show how fire patterns are influenced by circulation of air. The study was purely theoretical with the researchers concentrating on the elements of fire. They looked at the gases that support combustion under a controlled environment. They wanted to learn more about the patterns of fire. They also wanted to find out how combustion is affected by different elements. The governing factors that they used are Froude, swirl and Reynolds’ numbers. Using these parameters, they were able to find how combustion takes place. From the study, they were able to examine the effect of a swirl on combustion-driven flows. They were able to find how much buoyancy is needed to make a fire burn. Several discrepancies on the length and mixing were cited in the paper and subsequent researches. This was because of experimental conditions that the study was based. Depending on the way in which the swirl is imposed on the flame brings these differences. The rotating device and its position to the flame is also of importance. After analyzing the fire whirls, it was found that there are certain conditions that a fire has to have for it to burn. It was found that there was a correlation between swirl and combustion. This study shed light to how boundary conditions play a major role in the behavior of a swirling flame. The experiment also addressed obvious gaps in parametric space unlike previous studies (Battaglia et. al., 2001). In the paper, ‘Thermal and Fluid dynamic structures of a Laboratory-scale fixed-frame fire-whirl, researchers Mohammed Hassan, Helali A. and Kozo Saito tried to explain fires even further. They felt that a fire whirl was very destructive during fires. Their study was purely based in the laboratory. They used the help of different apparatus in the laboratory so that the experiment did not go out of hand. Using different propane, JP-8 and diesel fuel burning separately, they were able to study how a fire whirl behaves in different conditions. The velocity of the fires changed with different conditions. From the experiment, they were able to calculate their findings numerically. They found out that there was a two-dimensional azimuthal velocity profiles. The type of fuel used is also of importance as fires burnt in different velocities. They were measured by PIV each at different heights. The fires all burned at different velocities when exposed to different conditions (Hassan et. al., 2001). The researchers also wrote a paper titled, ‘Propagation characteristics of flame spread over propanol, butanol and JP8.’ The study was to show how a flame spread over the three fuels would behave over different ranges of temperature and different amounts of fuel. The range of temperature was between eight to thirty degrees Celsius. The different amounts of fuel were between five to forty millimeters. The flame spread pattern in the tray that was wider tended to be more pulsating than the narrower trays. The narrower trays had a tendency of forming a pseudo-uniform, which meant that the tray width had a significant effect on the flame pattern. The flame of the JP8 fuel was found to be different from that of the other fuels in the study. It required higher ignition energy than those of the alcohols used in the study. JP8 fuel showed an unsteady mode of flame compared to the others (Hassan Saito, 2003). The experiment parameters are tray size, fuel chemical structure, and fuel ignition temperature and ignition source. The results from the alcohol-based fuels showed minor differences as compare to those of JP8. The tray’s size played a major role in the experiment. They found that detailed flow and temperature structure played an important role in how a flame reacts over fuel. They recommended that understanding how a fire spreads over a liquid fuel surface at certain conditions is important. ‘Flow Structure of a fixed frame type fire whirl’ was a study to find out how fire whirl reacts. The study was both experimental and numerical. The frame was made up of two cylinders placed in an off-center l0ocation. It was found that at different heights the fire whirl has a transient 2-D radial and a tangential velocity. The fire whirl creates its own unique tangential velocity and this in turn increases its radial flow to approximately three times its width. There was a qualitative agreement between the calculated and measured velocity. This means that the proposed model captured all the required characteristics (Hassan et. al., 2000). Reference Meroney R. N., Banks D. (2004). Smoke and fire in building Atria. Wind Effects on Buildings and Urban Environment. Battaglia F., Rehm R., Baum H., Hassan M., Saito K (November 11-16, 2001). Paradigms of combustion-driven Flows with circulation. Asme Publication Htd. Hassan, M. I., Helali, A., Saito, K. (January 01, 2001). Thermal and Fluid Dynamic Structures of a Laboratory-Scale Fixed-Frame Fire-Whirl. Asme Publications Htd, 4, 129-132. Hassan, M. I., Saito, K. (2003). Propagation characteristics of flame spread over propanol, butanol and JP8. Asme Publication. Hassan, M. I., Kuwana, K., Wang, F., Saito, K. (2000). Flow Structure of a Fixed-Frame Type Fire Whirl. University of Kentucky.

Free Essays on A View From The Bridge

Kirstie Hartley Examine the ideas of Manliness, Hostility and Aggression in ‘A View from the Bridge’. How are these ideas connected? In this essay I am going to be examining the ideas of manliness, hostility and aggression in ‘a View from the Bridge’ a play by Arthur Miller. I will be looking at how these ideas are connected. Eddie Carbone, the plays protagonist, has very set ideas of what it is to be a man. His views are probably influenced by the era and culture he has grown up in. as an American of Sicilian descent, his views on being a man are probably even more rigid than other men’s in the 1950s. Eddies views on manliness are based around the ideas of protecting your family and loved ones, providing for your family and keeping your pride and dignity. Eddie tries his very best to keep to these things as he feels very strongly of being a man. He shows this by showing concern when Catherine buys a new skirt. He says, â€Å"Where you going all dressed up?† and, â€Å"It’s too short ain’t it?† He is concerned because he doesn’t want her attracting too much attention from other men, like when he says, â€Å"I don’t like the looks they’re giving you in the candy store†. This links in with the idea of protecting your family because he doesn’t trust other men and doesn’t want Catherine getting hurt. He tells her, â€Å"Don’t trust nobody†, and, â€Å"Believe me Katie, the less you trust, the less you’ll be sorry†. Eddie isn’t very happy when Catherine tells him she has a job, he thinks she should carry on at school and says, â€Å"What job? She’s gonna finish school. No- no, you gonna finish school†. I think he is more worried about himself and his pride than Catherine’s education because Eddie sees himself as the traditional manly man, he is the breadwinner, and he looks after his wife and niece. He is worried that once she becomes more independent, going out to work and earning her own money,... Free Essays on A View From The Bridge Free Essays on A View From The Bridge Kirstie Hartley Examine the ideas of Manliness, Hostility and Aggression in ‘A View from the Bridge’. How are these ideas connected? In this essay I am going to be examining the ideas of manliness, hostility and aggression in ‘a View from the Bridge’ a play by Arthur Miller. I will be looking at how these ideas are connected. Eddie Carbone, the plays protagonist, has very set ideas of what it is to be a man. His views are probably influenced by the era and culture he has grown up in. as an American of Sicilian descent, his views on being a man are probably even more rigid than other men’s in the 1950s. Eddies views on manliness are based around the ideas of protecting your family and loved ones, providing for your family and keeping your pride and dignity. Eddie tries his very best to keep to these things as he feels very strongly of being a man. He shows this by showing concern when Catherine buys a new skirt. He says, â€Å"Where you going all dressed up?† and, â€Å"It’s too short ain’t it?† He is concerned because he doesn’t want her attracting too much attention from other men, like when he says, â€Å"I don’t like the looks they’re giving you in the candy store†. This links in with the idea of protecting your family because he doesn’t trust other men and doesn’t want Catherine getting hurt. He tells her, â€Å"Don’t trust nobody†, and, â€Å"Believe me Katie, the less you trust, the less you’ll be sorry†. Eddie isn’t very happy when Catherine tells him she has a job, he thinks she should carry on at school and says, â€Å"What job? She’s gonna finish school. No- no, you gonna finish school†. I think he is more worried about himself and his pride than Catherine’s education because Eddie sees himself as the traditional manly man, he is the breadwinner, and he looks after his wife and niece. He is worried that once she becomes more independent, going out to work and earning her own money,...

The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Essay Example The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin focuses upon the overarching theme of self-motivation as he talks in detail about his experiences and intentions to serve as role model for the other people. In the autobiography he describes his life journey begun as a poor and unknown son of candle maker that turned to a successful businessman and started getting respectfully acknowledged in the American society. He tells the reader the key factors behind his success and talks about the virtues that he strived to acquire in order to foster the process of self-improvement. The autobiography reflects his thoughts and intentions towards self-improvement for which he developed a personal plan comprising of thirteen virtues. The thirteen virtues he identified as part of his personal plan of conduct include â€Å"temperament, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquillity, chastity and humility† (Franklin, p77-78). He explains the pr ecepts of these virtues and talks about the process through which he attempted to acquire these virtues in his life. Rather attempting to acquire all the virtues at a time he decided to focus upon them one after one. He tells "My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues, I judg'd it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time; and, when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on, till I should have gone thro' the thirteen" (Franklin, p78) Franklin explains his personal plan that he followed to acquire the thirteen virtues. In the beginning he realized that his personality needs much more improvements as he expected. He did thorough self-examination and realistically identified his personality fault to overcome them. He feel satisfied that following his plan resulted in diminishing the faults and flaws of his personality. He took one week to acquire one virtue and after t hirteen week he started the process again and repeated four time a year, then once in a year and then only once in several years. However, he followed and remained stick to these virtues throughout his life till his death. Franklin tells the story of his self-improvement mainly through the description of his personal plan and detailed explanation of the thirteen virtues and his quest to acquire those. The autobiography tells that his efforts of self-improvement were directed by self-motivation. He thinks realistically about his personality flaws and always remained eager to learn the ways for self-improvement. He read several books and texts to know about the virtues that could help in self-improvement and his reading and observations resulted in the formation of compact set of thirteen virtues. He was self-motivated to acquire the virtues to improve his personality. As he said " I wish'd to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural incli nation, custom, or company might lead me into" (Franklin, p77) The reading unveils that self-improvement plays key role in the life of Benjamin Franklin and his autobiography is great source of inspiration for the readers as it talks about the path of achieving self-improvement. The description of self-improvement plan led by Franklin affirms that he is not self-promoter but genuinely a benevolent man

Narrative Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Narrative - Assignment Example gold was brought from the Cherry creek placers after an advent to Omaha form the Rocky Mountains, whereby the precious metal was in goose quills (Morton, 2). Approximately 100,000 gold seekers had set out for Colorado in 1859, though less than a half of that number reached the pike’s Pike region. On the other hand, the invasion of the prospectors, merchants and promoters settled in Denver, which they considered a significant regional center. Therefore, this made the city a substantial destination point for immigrants and stage routers, since around nineteen guidebooks for immigrants were published during the period between 1858 and 1859. Bob Womack was the prospector who discovered the rich gold ore, which touched the off Cripples Creek Gold Rush, and this reached the country at the western slopes of Pike Peak that became the settlement area for other prospectus. After the discovery of gold in Colorado, there were substantial prospects of gold trading as an appearing business venture, other than the food and pack animals. In this case, people took a shovel, a gold pan, and they required to be determined in order to get in to the gold business. In this case, numerous gold seekers set out for St Louis, which was a bus trading and supply center at the meeting point of Missouri and Mississippi river. In conclusion, the paper has offered an overview of various accounts relating to the discovery of gold in Colorado, which relates to the location of the gold fields and the migration of miners searching for gold. Moreover, the story points out that discovery of gold in Colorado were a relief for the miners who were unsuccessful in their gold exploration, in California. Therefore, the story has covered all the significant events that relate to the discovery of gold in Colorado. Morton Sterling.  "The Discovery of Gold in Colorado".  Transactions and Reports, Nebraska State Historical Society. Available