The Emperors Necropolis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Emperors Necropolis - Assignment Example There are many mysteries spoken of in relation to the tomb and First Emperor. The overall scope and detailed complexity of the tomb have been called astonishing and astounding. Why did he build it? Did he really seal up living people inside the tomb to prevent its secrets from being revealed? How in a time so long ago was such a thing able to be built? Truly, it is a magnificent accomplishment, but the Tomb of Shi Huang Di is less about mystery or mythology, but a product of armies of manpower over the course of decades. In order to understand the creation of the Mausoleum, we must understand the man who claimed the title of the First Emperor of China. Yin Zheng took the throne in 246 BC, at the very young age of 13, and managed to unite several warring kingdoms. With these successes, he took the name Shi Huang Di, or First Emperor. He was a force to be reckoned with, but not all of his contributions to China were militant in nature. The Emperor standardized a coin system, universalizing potential commerce in the different kingdoms. He also created a standard of weights and measures, commissioned roads, and waterways to connect the states and the first to conceive the Great Wall of China. He was a man of great and immense power, amassing more wealth and control than any previous ruler before him. Not long after unifying the feuding kingdoms, he conceived and commissioned the tomb that would be so much more. Shi Huang Di was fixated on the afterlife and believed that he would continue on when his mort al life was over. This is entirely not unlike the ideology behind the Pharaohs of Egypt. The Emperor entirely planned for his rule, his kingdom, his actual court, would continue into the afterlife.

The Status of Women In the New Testament Essay Example for Free

The Status of Women In the New Testament Essay When assessing the history of womens role and position in society, it is notably the period of the New Testament which proved to be a major turning point in the status of women, and was the starting point for the near-equality experienced in todays society. Graham Stanton observes that The status of women was markedly inferior to that of men throughout the ancient world, including Judaism.1 Thus, by looking to the society preceding that of Christ, one can only understand what a profound influence Christ had on the previous Jewish and Greek customs of women. The society in which Jesus lived was strongly patriarchal; the worth and dignity of women was not recognized, the womens role was domesticated, to be a faithful wife and mother, and women who stepped outside this role were vilified. Women had almost no role at all in the wider arena of social life, in politics and religious affairs 2. By looking to the Old Testament the earliest evidence of such a society is indicated in the Book of Job, and arguably the Old Testament is a record of the mistreatment of women by men. Women were considered to be the cause of evil doing, a temptation to men, and a hindrance to his spiritual life. If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked by my neighbors door, then may my wife grind another mans grain, and may other men sleep with her. ( Job 31:10 -11) Better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good; It is a woman who brings shame and disgrace (Sirach 42:14) This patriarchal society which had no time for women in discussions, decisions or pleasures, left women as objects to fulfill the mens sexual desires and produce children, they lived their lives under the control of men, mainly their fathers and husbands. This belief came about from what was stated in Exodus 20:17, that a woman was a possession of the husband, You shall not covet your neighbours house; you shall not covet your neighbours wife Indeed in Jewish religious and social law, women, slaves and minors were often placed in the same category. The religious authorities had little respect or liking for women, the Rabbis were fearful of women as they were seen as a source of sexual temptation. Additionally, the Shema was not to be recited anywhere, where you could hear a womans voice or see her legs or her hair. However, there were exceptions to this 1st century treatment of women, E. Schussler Fiorenza argues that Although in rabbinic Judaism women are categorized with children and slaves for legal and religious purposes, the biblical stories about women indicate that women were not perceived as minors or slaves in everyday life. Such examples she uses are women including Ruth, Esther, Hannah, all of who are seen to have typical female roles and behavior, yet, they are not perceived as minors or slaves in everyday life.3 Certainly Deborah is also an important figure for the raising of the female status in the Old Testament, she was a Judge and was consulted by the Israelites over several issues, and it can be understood that the majority of her rulings were correct. In the face of threat created by Jabin, the Canaanite king, she roused Barak to lead the Israelites into battle, and ultimate victory. Thus she was clearly a heroine. Certainly then, as J and K Court observe, womens status was relative and could depend on various factors: family, employment, or religious background, and Jesus preaching and teachings of equality for all could only be possible in so far as such notions of equality are conceivable in the context of Jewish life and faith.4 However, through the scriptures of the Old Testament God asks his people to act compassionately toward those around you (Deuteronomy 24:17-22) but no account can be found of men respecting the human rights of women, thus they over look Gods commands. Such a corrupt system, constantly producing injustice and fear, was in true need of a change. Jesus overturned the social and cultural mores of this day and challenged legalistic traditions. 5 He showed no discrimination to others and treated all persons with respect, regardless of their race, sex, age, physical condition, political preference, economic status, or educational level. 6 He told all persons, You have worth and value, and there is rejoicing in heaven when you as an individual become part of My family (Luke 15:1-10). For God created both men and women in his image, both equal and complete, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27). He did not separate one from the other in the ruling of the world for one cannot function without the other, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. (Genesis 2:18). It is this concept which Jesus tried to revive in his teachings. Throughout the New Testament, there are many references to women that demonstrate how Jesus reacted differently to women, and how he promoted the status of women. Jesus talks to women even though they are outcasts-much to the surprise of his disciples, as he was offending all the normal conventions.7 Jesus presents women as worthy and faithful through acts of forgiveness and numerous miracles performed on them. He also removes from women the domestic image that society had previously molded them into, and presents them as disciples equal to men, as shown in Luke 10:38-42 where Jesus favors the sister Mary who sat at the Lords feet listening to what he said rather than her sister Martha who was pre-occupied with the traditional female obligation of house work. Also in Luke 11:27-28 Jesus states Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it rather than the woman who brings life into the world, here again specifically telling women they are bound to no duty except to that of the Lord. Jesus, within this passage is shown to view women as equal to men, he makes no distinction, since Jesus main concern is to teach those who are willing to learn. This is a radical move away from Jewish thought, since up until this point it was unheard of within Judaism for a religious teacher to teach women. It is the evangelist Luke, who seems to show the most interest in women using Jesus positive references to women which were so different to the views at the time and including many unique stories of Jesus encounters with women in his Gospel that the other evangelists omit. Luke 18:1-8 shows a man in a superior position as a Judge supposedly working for what is true and Godly, however, with no sense of true loyalty or justice, compared to a widow with real faith, totally committed to God. It is only through the Judges selfish need does he see that she gets justice. By putting this story in of two contrasting characters, Luke must obviously be aware of womens hard deal in society, and also aware of some mens response to the superior positions that they hold in the first Century world. Thus this story is used to illustrate the faithful and faithless. Most of the references to women in the Gospels are there to portray positive examples of persons with great faith. Jesus welcomed the inclusion of women as disciples with the understanding that they could respond with obedience and commitment to the word of God. Luke 8:1-3 states by name women who followed Jesus in Galilee and to Jerusalem where they were present as faithful and active servants at the crucifixion. The three women were named as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna, who had apparently left everything and became disciples of Jesus as a result of the healing they had received from him, and followed him until the end. As Fiorenza states, the women are thus characterized as true disciples of Jesus who have left everything and have followed him on the way, even to his bitter end on the cross. 8 All four Gospels report that it was the women disciples who first saw and believed Jesus resurrection, however in Luke 24:10-11 the male disciples did not believe them. Mark too, shows that in the New Testament writings the status of women has been improved. Just as in the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, he presents four leading male disciples who hear Jesus call to discipleship, so at the end of his Gospel he presents four leading women disciples. He mentions them by name which is demonstrating their importance, since one has previously noted from the story of Bethany (14:1-11) that the author of Marks Gospel did not always see it necessary to include the name. It is significant that in this passage of Mark 14:9 where Jesus pronounces that wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. This is in reference to the anointing of Jesus in Bethany by a woman. This verse shows to a reader two things, firstly that from the start Jesus treated women as equals since he is willing to identify and make clear the great act that the woman has performed. Secondly it shows to one that although Jesus realised the great act the woman had performed, the author of the gospel did not believe it was worth noting the name of the woman. Certainly Fiorenza believes the name of the faithful disciple has been lost since she was a woman.9 Hence, again highlighting what the early status of women was, even in the Christian world. Also in Marks Gospel it is included the idea that Mary Magdalene was the first human to have Jesus appear to her (Mark 16:9). Mark writes; He appeared first to Mary Magdalene but when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her they would not believe it. Therefore, here clearly one can argue that although Jesus himself accepted women and believed them to be equal. Nevertheless, 16:9 demonstrates that despite the fact his male disciples would like to believe they followed Jesus and all he taught them, they evidently did not for they refused to believe Mary Magdalene, thus one can state from studying Marks Gospel that the author was indeed keen to encourage women into apostolic and ministerial leadership, which was a drastic change to the status of women. This is the radical difference in Jesus ministry, and the gospels will not let the Christian Church forget this, although as Stanton observes, the early church did not always follow his teaching regarding women. However, this serves only to establish the increasing likelihood that Jesus teachings were authentic. 10 Jesus uses his power and authority to try to bridge the gap between men and women in society by his acts of compassion. He is not afraid to be touched by a ritually unclean woman who is suffering from a hemorrhage, or when he brings a widows dead child back to life in Luke 7:11-17 which shows Jesus genuine compassion for women as he shows with men and children alike, his heart went out to her 7:13 and he raised her son from the dead. Jesus challenged the Jewish mentality that women as witnesses to Jesus preaching had no value or significance by drawing women to be apart of his discipleship and thereby giving a value to their presence and making them effective witnesses to his life and message. And it was Finallythe women who, drawing close to the dramatic events of his crucifixion and death, when all the disciples deserted him and fled.'(Matthew 26:56) and when Peter denied him, followed him and were present at his crucifixion, death and burial11 they are portrayed as dedicated and f aithful follows who have been able to see through their suffering. The one woman who even at the time of Jesus birth through to today holds a superior position in the church is Mary mother of Jesus. Mary is shown as a dedicated and obedient disciple of Jesus, She agreed to accept Jesus birth and to be obedient to Gods will while knowing well that this would place her in a position of being a social outcast.12 The Gospel writers support her and highlight her considerable strength and bravery from the beginning of the Gospel- Jesus birth, through to his death at the end of the Gospel. It is telling that Luke compared to Matthew tells the birth story from Marys point of view rather than Josephs, as we have seen Luke is strongly aware of the difficulties which beset women in New Testament society and hugely supports Mary mother of Jesus who he feels represents the faithful and long suffering women and disciple. In the second century document called The Gospel of Mary, written about Mary Magdalene there are indications towards the role that she carried with the disciples that is ignored in her presentation in the New Testament. We find Mary Magdalene consoling the disciples after Jesus ascension Do not weep and do not sorrow and above all do not be indecisive. His grace will be with you and will protect you. Peter turns to her and says: Sister, we know that the Saviour loved you more than other women. Tell us those words of his, which you remember and know, not us. 13 This shows Mary holding a somewhat authoritative position towards the disciples and the passage indicates Mary had a personal relationship with Jesus outside that with the disciples, of such an authoritative position that she holds, however, was omitted or not specified in the New Testament, although the Gospels did write that Jesus accepted her for who she was and with her past, however, they failed to specify the closeness to which their relationship is suggested to be, and it can be deduced that she (and conceivably other women) had a much more significant role in the early church than is presented in the New Testament documents themselves. The evangelists throughout the different gospels are expressing their views about the role of women through the mouth of Jesus and his encounters with them. However, these views however honest they may seem considering the society they are writing for and are apart of, may still be somewhat constrained when deciding whether to write of a wom en having a greater and closer relationship with Jesus than men, would seem ridiculous and absurd to the people at that time. As Graham Stanton observes, the early church soon after Jesus time on earth did not always follow Jesus example in its treatment of women. Indeed it could be said that Paul and other later New Testament authors reverted back to a more Jewish approach to women and therefore distanced the early Church away from all that Jesus had done to promote the status of women. However, although it is true to say the Pauline teachings imply that in the worshipping congregation women should not have an authoritative teaching role, thus they should not have an equal status with men within the church. Nevertheless some of the teachings still keep the theme that in the kingdom of God any person baptized is a part of Jesus Christs kingdom and can no longer be differentiated from another Baptised believer, therefore all are a apart of one unity in Christ. Paul has thus understood Jesus essential message that all are welcome into Gods kingdom: There is neither Jew not Greek, slave nor free, male nor fema le, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.'(Galatians 3:28) However, he also establishes some rules that seem to diminish women but are actually aimed at creating order and dignity in the church. Although Paul clearly expresses his view that all people are equal in Jesus, in a letter to Timothy concerning the worship of men and women he does not deny the different roles both women and men should play, emphasizing clearly womans role of bearing children and prohibiting women to teach and lead a congregation or to have authority over a man'(1.Timothy 2:12). It is later in his instruction to the Corinthians that Paul places restriction on what women can do: women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak he then states that A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the women is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason the woman ought to have authority on her head because of the angels. (1.Corinthians 11:7-10) Pauls rules about the conditions for worship, although they may seem sexist, actually reflect the times. Women were usually covered apart from their heads and hands, however, to avoid distraction when worshipping it would be customary to cover their heads, so the only focus would be solely the Lord. Even though Paul has rules inside the equality of worship, he still stands by the view that In the Lord, however, there is neither woman without man nor man without woman. For as woman came from man. So also man is born woman, and everything comes from God.'(1 Corinthians 11:11-12)14 But it is passages such as Now as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:24) that have caused the most controversy and have been taken as literally wives being the husbands possession. For in traditional Western marriage services today the words I obeyARE often no longer included. It has been noticed that the Pauline and Petrine writers seek to limit womens leadership roles within the Christian community to roles that are culturally and religiously acceptable. However, ironically, these claims cannot allege the authority of Jesus. The status of women in modern times has a great deal to do with Paul and other later authors teaching. Certainly the practice of women covering their head before they went into churches was a common practice up until the II World War. This shows the long lasting effect of Pauls teachings in the church on the status of women. It is important that when looking at the texts written about Jesus teaching shortly after Jesus crucifixion that they must not be taken necessarily at face value, they must be interpreted in their cultural setting, so they may seem obscure to our standards and values in the twenty-first century. Even today, although huge developments have happened to the status of women since Jesus time, women are still thought in some countries to be of less social standing than their male counterparts, it is only in the developed countries that equal rights for men and women have been fought. There has been great dispute over the acceptance of women priests in the Church in the Western World. The argument against there being women priests within the Church of England, found much of its weight from the later New Testament authors, and much of what Jesus had taught was ignored. The main emphasis of the argument was placed on the idea that male and female were created to be equal but different, many against the ordination of women would have used this beginning to base the development of the role of priests as a male responsibility. Moreover, many scholars use the passage from 1Timothy:2:8-15, I permit no women to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep; silent, to suggest that women should not be in a position to teach with authority in the Church. They argue that Christ was male and chose male apostles and that females cannot form legitimate succession or play the crucial part in the sacrificial and sacramental acts of the Eucharist. 15 Peter Vardy argues that just as Christians misapplied Jesus essential message to the Jews, similarly Christian Churches and individuals have done the same to women Women in terms of the Roman Law were considered inferior to men, and it was the Roman law which became the basis of the churches law. Women were also considered to be responsible for bringing sin into the world and for being a continuous source of seduction, and they were considered to be ritually unclean because of their monthly blood flow, thus almost as definition to the Roman Law and understanding women could not be ordained simply because they were a woman, as it would be inappropriate for an inferior, sinful and unclean person to represent God. It was such strong feelings as these that became so deeply imbedded in the Churches thinking in past centuries that have remained up until today. The Church of England is currently paving the way for women bishop however there is strong opposition and splits within the church and so it could take another twenty years before a woman is made a bishop in Britain. Passages in the Bible emphasize the order of creation of men and women and reflect the household code of their positions in the family and home. Therefore although some traditionalists still believe that women have a different role from men and are subordinate to men by God, through the creation, others maintain that before God all are equal16. For women to be equal in the Christian church the very fact that circumcision was to be replaced by baptism was a very important factor. Since women now could become equal and have the same status as men did before God. Fiorenza REF? believes this generated a fundamental change in women, not only in their standing before God but also in their ecclesial social status and function. She bases this argument on the fact that previously in Judaism women could never be viewed as equal since they could not be fully initiated into the religion due to circumcision. Therefore although much of the New Testament writings show women to be subordinate to man , the actual initiation into the Church is balanced. The sense of oppression that women have felt for centuries in both religious and everyday life seems to have stemmed from the very roots of religion, in the creation story and also from the misinterpretation of Jesus words in the Bible Feminist groups both within and outside the church have accused the church of propagating a negative view of women.17 The Feminist Movement has developed today as a result of the injustices women have suffered in the past and their desire for equal rights and opportunity in the future in all aspects of life. Mary Wollstonercraft applied the principle of natural rights to women arguing that women have equal worth with men and therefore have the same rights. Today it is seen as an act of discrimination for women not to have the freedom to be ordained; the last few decades have witnessed increasing sensitivity regarding womans rights and the need to redress injustices committed in the past. This new freedom has opened up new roles in all fields of work. The church although slow and reluctant to incorporate a true evaluation of women (Galatians. 3:28) into its institutions and rituals has finally succumbed. The position of women in the church reflects the changes in society and so today women find themselves challenging men in all walks of life. In conclusion, the status of women in the New Testament has a great deal to do with how the individual authors of each book viewed women. Certainly the Gospels indicate to the reader that Jesus wished to depict women as having just as many rights as men in the eyes of God. Furthermore, he showed that he himself saw women as equal beings to men, since he allowed them to become his disciples, as in the case of the Galilean women. So the gospels project them as being Jesus true disciples. The period of the New Testament marks a significant change in the role and attitude to women, which seems to have been initiated by Jesus. It was this dramatic change in attitude to women (although the early church did not always reflect these teachings) that has finally become the standard to which modern day women aspire and society have accepted. People are welcomed by Jesus irrespective of race, status, or gender, and those who are called to leadership are chosen on the basis of Gods gracious spirit not on accidents of birth.18 1 The Gospels and Jesus Graham Stanton, 1989, p102 2 The Puzzle of the Gospels Peter Vardy and Mary Mills, Fount 1995 pg170 3 In Memory of Her E. Schussler Fiorenza 1983, pg 109 4 The New Testament World J. and K. Court, Prentice-Hall, 1990 5 Equal to Serve G.G. Hull 1989, pg85 6 Ibid 7 Puzzle of the Gospels Peter Vardy and Mary Mills, 1995, pg173. 8 In Memory of Her E. Schussler Fiorenza 1983 9 ibid pg 316 10 The Gospels and Jesus Graham Stanton, OUP (1989) pg202 11 Mary Magdalene and Many Others Carla Ricci, BURNS OATES (1994), pg144 12 The Puzzle of the Gospels Vardy and Mills, pg175 13 May Magdalene and Many Others Carla Ricci, pg147 14 information from Pauls teaching on the Ministry of Women P. Nelson, Whittles Publishing (1996) 15 The New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology IVP(1996) pg 595. 16 Paul and the Eschatological woman R. Scroggs. Pg266 17 Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology pg380 18 Oxford dictionary of the Bible W.R.F. Brownig. Pg 398

Importance of Family in the Short Story, Cakes Essay -- Salvatore La P

Confucius once said, â€Å"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.† The majority of people across the world deem family as the uttermost important aspect of their life. Family is something that often teaches us moral values, and helps shape the individuals we become later in our lives. In the short story, â€Å"Cakes† Salvatore La Puma conveys the prominence of family in Italian-American immigrant culture in the 1940’s industrial era. La Puma utilizes the first paragraph as mini-ethnography to portray the unity of the Vitale family. The introduction states, That summer he sweated from the humidity which in 1940 everyone in Brooklyn sweated from; then he sweated from the hot ovens at Carlo Amato’s pastry shop in Bensonhurst four or five nights a week; then he sweated from the hot ovens at a pastry shop Downtown every day of the week except on Sunday, when he usually slept until noon. From Downtown, Giovanni Vitale came home at the end of the workday on the BMT subway to his wife, Lisa, to their three kids Anna, Steve, and Johnny. After dinner they would all listen to the Philco. Then Giovanni and the eldest kid, Johnny, eleven, walked three long blocks and two short blocks, past the old people who fanned themselves on the stoops, to Carlo’s shop on Seventeenth Avenue (4). The first paragraph evokes the normal and typical structure of the Italian-American immigrant family in the 1940’s industrial era. In the Vitale family, everyone has their own role. The father, Giovanni Vitale has the duty of working long hours to provide for his family, the mother, Lisa has the role of a homemaker, to make dinner for the family, and the eldest child, Johnny has the dutiful role of helping his father at the pastry shop.... ...ma further underscores the importance of family in Italian American culture. In the final scene in the story, when Carlo dies, Martina comforts Johnny, â€Å"Martina seated herself beside him, put her arms around him, and before he knew what happened his eyes closed and his face went down on her breast where he was held like that.† (6). Recognizing Johnny’s naivety, Martina hugs Johnny in a way that a mother would caress her newborn. An indirect reference is made, where the scene between Martina and Johnny parallels the image where mother Mary is holding baby Jesus. Although Martina is not related to Johnny, her caring and nurturing behavior towards Johnny illustrates the deep and close relationship between Italian Americans By illustrating Martina as a mother figure, La Puma is able to show the familial bond that exists between friends in Italian American culture.

Columbine High School Shooting Essay

Tuesday, April 20, 1999, was a turning point in the lives of many Columbine students and families. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two former students at Columbine High School, went to school on that day for one purpose, to annihilate the school building as well as the student body. Although Eric and Dylan’s bombs did not detonate, they still succeeded in destroying the lives and families of the twelve students and the one teacher that died. The Columbine High School shooting occurred because of the premeditation of the shooters, the event of the school, and the results of the shooting. Eric and Dylan were just like most kids now a days entering high school. They came not knowing what to expect and soon realized no one even cared that they were there. They were bullied and picked on all the time. Eric and Dylan started a club called the Trench Coat Mafia which was known for its violent and vulgar language. Sometimes they would walk around school wearing trench coats to make the m seem stronger and to â€Å"protect† themselves in a way. Entering tenth grade was sort of the same for them, but it seemed to get worse quick. They started to participate in drinking, smoking, and petty crimes to make them more popular. The only people they got popular with were the police because they were constantly arrested for breaking into cars, homes, and stealing from stores. Eric over the course of all this developed serious anger problems and began taking Zoloft, a depressant, to make it better, but he started abusing the drugs and selling them for money. They made videotapes in Dylan’s basement showing them making pipe bombs and other explosives and talking about killing sprees. When they finally decided that they were going to do a killing spree in Columbine, they made more videos apologizing to their parents and other people and showing their ammunition. On Tuesday, April 20, 1999, Eric and Dylan left their houses as if it were a normal day, but the night before they had packed their book bags and some duffle bags with guns, rifles, explosives, pipe bombs, and 7-8 actual bombs. It was a normal day until around 11:00 a.m., Eric and Dylan entered the cafeteria with two rifles in hand firing random s hots everywhere. People scrambled to get out of the cafeteria, some thinking it was a joke and others realizing it was real. When the cafeteria was empty, they set up two bombs at opposite ends of the cafeteria. When they did not detonate, they were mad. After this first mishap, they ran across the school campus looking  to shoot anyone in sight and then they reached the library. The library is where they kill 7 out of 13 people. They taunted and fired random shots to scare the students that scrambled under the tables trying to protect themselves. Some were successful and some were not. After the library they returned to the cafeteria and this is where they committed suicide with one of the pipe bombs. The result of the shooting brought a devastating feeling on all the families and thankfulness to the families of the students that were not harmed. â€Å"Eric and Dylan are responsible for what they did, but Columbine is responsible for creating Eric and Dylan†. The event of Columbine still haunts us today with some of the more recent school shootings such as Sandy Hook Elementary. We will always remember what happened that Tuesday and try to prevent this ring of school shootings that seems to keep growing larger and larger from occurring anymore. The Columbine High School shooting occurred because of the premeditation of the shooters, the event at the s chool, and the results of the shooting.

Prince Edward Island †Essay Essay

Executive Summary: Prince Edward Island Preserve manufactures and produced high- quality, high priced specialty food products. P.E.I.P.C. experienced rapid growth in its short history. In the first few years of its existence, founder Bruce MacNaughton expanded his company from one manufacturing and retail outlet in 1989, following a second retail outlet in 1991. The company also diversified and opened two restaurants in 1989 and 1990 respectively. It is anticipated that P.E.I.P.C. will continue to grow, with projected sales for the year ending January 1992, to reach one million dollars. In August 1991, MacNaughton, contemplated on future expansion. The two cities under consideration were in Toronto and Tokyo. Options under consideration include adding retail outlets in the aforementioned regions. Also under consideration is to increase wholesaling, and the use of distributors (hotel and airlines). Expanding the mail order business is also an alternative. Although MacNaughton has weighed some or all options to diversify P.E.I.P.C’s operations, it is unequivocally clear the company lacks clear vision, strategy goal and objective. MacNaughton’s business had been built on gut and emotion rather than analysis. However, this approach may prove to be insufficient for the future. It is difficult to execute a strategy if goals are not specific, can’t be described or understood. However, guided by the proper analysis of the external environment (SWOT), together with the firm-level analysis (VRINE Model), MacNaughton’s can improve P.E.I.P.C.’s long term competitive business position. Key Problems: This case highlights various strategic challenges MacNaughton face while contemplating expansion, and how to complete this objective successfully. The difficulty is to know when to close the gap between the firm’s aspiration and its current capabilities, resources and market position. The core issues identified in this case are: 1. Future Expansion 2. Product imitation 3. Product promotion – reluctance to explore the use wholesale and distribution networks 4. Financial Constrains– unable to secure suitable financing, experienced period of cash flow shortages 5. Managerial constrains 6. Seasonal Staff – inability to attract and retain quality staff due to the seasonal nature of the business Analysis and Evaluation: P.E.I.P.C.’s key resource is its geographic location. Prince Edward Island is most notable known for its pastoral beauty, slower pace of life, North Shore beaches and global image of Anne of Green Naples. Prince Edward Island’s well known reputation for the high quality of strawberries is the basis of P.E.I.P.C.’s marketing strategy and product differentiation. As the company grew, P.E.I.P.C. developed and achieved a diverse product line. This resource helped the company to establish a competitive advantage. In addition, P.E.I.P.C’s higher prices did not compete with low end products charges by competitors. However, this marketing strategy to differentiate their brand, introduced P.E.I.P.C to a variety of competitors. Another key resource is financing. Although previously listed as a core issue, the company has the ability to raise $100,000 of addition capital to finance future expansion by issuing preferred stock. P.E.I.P.C.’s manufacturing plant i s another key resource. Currently, P.E.I.P.C.’s production capacity is underutilized. The manufacturing plant operates five month a year, on a single, five days per week. Productivity levels can increase from fifty per cent to one hundred per cent by extending the hours of operation. Automating the bottling process could increase productivity substantially. The final key resource is its customers. Prince Edward Island and P.E.I.P.C. attracts thousands of tourists from over the globe. In additional to local marketing efforts, the reliance on tourists could increase P.E.I.P.C.’s global presence and raise consumer awareness of its products. A strategy must be formulated for the purpose of gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. MacNaughton should critically evaluate P.E.I.P.C’s performance measure for resources and capabilities by utilizing the VRINE model. The VRINE Model Value – A resource is valuable if it enables P.E.I.P.C to exploit opportunities to establish competitive advantage or negate threats. Japanese tourist comprises a large number of visitors to Prince Edward Island and Prince Edward Island Preserve, Co. outlets. The popularity of P.E.I and P.E.I.P.C’s products are well known to Japan. Essentially, the high level of spending by the Japanese, their fascination with P.E.I., traditions of gift giving and the amount of disposal income available to them, indicates that opportunities in Japan might be successful. Rarity – P.E.I.P.C can enjoy temporary competitive advantage, so long as the content of ingredients used to make its specialty preserves remain rare and scarce relative to it competitors. Inimitability/Non-substitutability – Other firms in P.E.I. has begun to retail specialty preserves in hopes to profit from P.E.I.P.C.’s success. Competitors might be able to imitate or substitute the value and resou rces quickly, at a low cost. Exploitability – With a solid vision, financial base, coupled clear strategy formulation and implementation of its objectives, P.E.I.P.C. can exploit their brand and products domestically and manufacture their products globally with the resources available. P.E.I.P.C can protect and increase competitive advantage by expanding its wholesaler and distribution network in Toronto. Initially, MacNaughton’s interest in Toronto was due to its size and local awareness of P.E.I. Successful expansion in Toronto can prove to be quite profitable for the company. Strategy planning for P.E.I.P.C. must also include a SWOT analysis in order to identify its internal and external factors that are favorable and/or unfavorable in achieving its objective. SWOT Analysis of Prince Edward Island Preserve Co. StrengthsWeakness Brand LoyaltySeasonal Business Structure Product DifferentiationAttract and Retain Quality Staff Local ReputationLimited Advertisement Broad Product MixCash Flow Shortages Ability to Raise Capital OpportunitiesThreats Expansion in Japan and TorontoProduct Imitation Extensive Distribution ChannelsVariety of Possible Substitutes Ability to meet Competitive PricingSupplier Power to Competitors Recommendations: P.E.I.P.C can also explore expanding its marketing reach in efforts to bring brand awareness through e-commerce and web based advertising. Additionally, plans should include hiring a sales and marketing team to assist in strengthening the company’s brand name and appeal. Emphasize on mail order sales by improving the quality of the catalogue and distribution reach. P.E.I.P.C. should consider automating the bottling process to increase production capacity and annual volume. The company should also analyze the profitability of large scale orders with wholesalers, hotels and airlines, and perhaps consider opportunities to expand in the U.S. Implementation: MacNaughton should take into consideration the use of additional key strategy formulation concepts such as, the strategy diamond, the five forces model off environment threats and the PESTEL model to help his firm establish and sustain competitive advantage.

Lifestyles Inventory Essays

Lifestyles Inventory Essays Lifestyles Inventory Essay Lifestyles Inventory Essay Personal Thinking Styles The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) was designed to help assess effectiveness in relationships on the job and support the development of interpersonal skills. This â€Å"road map† to self development was the brainchild of Dr. Clayton Lafferty. This survey of questions measures 12 key thinking styles, that are regarded to promote performance change and improve personal understanding of how our thinking affects our behavior. The 12 styles are categorized into three general clusters: Constructive, which includes Achievement, Self-Actualizing, Humanistic-Encouraging, and Affinitive thinking styles, Passive/Defensive, which includes Approval, Conventional, Dependent, and Avoidance thinking styles; Aggressive/Defensive, which includes Oppositional, Power, Competitive, and Perfectionist thinking styles. I must admit, I was quite hesitant about doing another self evaluation as they sometimes do not accurately reflect who you know yourself to be. After all, who knows you better than you do? Nevertheless, the purpose of this exercise was to help me discover how my thinking styles may or may not directly influence my behavior as a manager and could be a great asset in my endeavors for advancement. Primary and Backup Thinking Styles After taking this self assessment, my circumplex shows the two styles with the greatest influences falls under the Constructive style and Passive/Defensive Patterns as displayed in Figure 1. It focuses in on my primary thinking style is Humanistic-Encouraging (1 o’clock position) and my back up thinking style is being Dependent (5 o’clock position). Humanistic-Encouraging Style I can identify with the Humanistic-Encouraging style because it does describe who I am in both my professional and personal life. This style measures our interest in people, our tendency to care about others, and our ability to accept without others without criticism. It is optimistic about what people can achieve and has the ability to inspire and motivate people around them. I have always been genuinely concerned about people in my life and I always want to focus on how I can help them grow and develop their skills. I see potential where other managers do not see and support aspirations that no one else thinks exist in people. I can’t help but nurture others. It is simply who I am. Dependent Style I somewhat disagree with the backup being Dependant as I do not believe this style of thinking is a true depiction of the way I think or see myself as a whole. This style measures the degree to which we feel our efforts do not count. This type of behavior derives from a need for security and self protection. People who fall under this style typically feel helpless with very little control over their lives. They lack self respect and always want to please others. This part could not be further from the truth about who I am. However, it does mention that dependent style people are passive which I am, and sometimes have a difficulty making hard decisions. A lot of this has to do with sudden changes or set back in our life. The latter can be found more in relation to my person life and not so much professional. Limiting Style It was hard to determine which style is limiting my effectiveness from looking at the chart. The obvious would be to select Oppositional; however, says that I an aggressive and like to argue would contradict me â€Å"Dependent quality of passiveness. I decided to go with is Conventional Style. This style I feel is most limiting in that being passive, causes me to want to simply blend in and conform even though my heart says I was made to stand out. The measure that best describes me is â€Å"the preoccupation of appearing normal and unquestioned obedience†. ( survey-server2. com/lsiuniversity-sso/rpt4. sp) This style is most difficult for me because it is not who I am personally, but professionally it speaks truth. Coming from a managerial position to that of a subordate role at my current job had a dramatic affect on me. I have adapted and conformed to the conditions of the culture in my office because it seems to be the easiest way to remain employed in this company. I have watched colleague be terminated for speaking their minds or having different of opinions fro m that of our direct report who is new to this role and wants to flex her power. It is disheartening and discouraging for me. This is a style that needs to be addressed. Impact on Management Style Most of my life, I have successful in maintain balance between my personal and professional life. But as we all know, they overlap and are intertwined. Our management styles whether good or bad reflect our ability to lead other. To be an effective manager you must have the four basic management functions: 1) the ability to Plan; 2) Organize; 3) Lead; and 4) Control. Planning I am not big on procrastination, so planning is very important to me. I need to know the why, when, how, what to generate a plan and effectively execute it. There is always that need to establish a goal and a plan of action to accomplish this. This is a process that must be seen through to the end. Organizing No plan successful plan can be executed with proper organization. As a manager it is imperative to be able to organize the plan for which a goal has been set. Organization is very broad. For me, as long as there is a plan where it is personal or in my professional environment, I strategically put resources in place, which will best efficient way to accomplish the plan of action I set up. Lead Not everyone has the ability to lead or has the know how to do so. Sometimes people get lead and managed confused. Nevertheless, using simple directives set for people to follow is what has always worked for me. I have always been able to influence my employees because I lead by example. I never tried to manage or use power to have my way or force something to be done. Leading is influential. Control Control is about making sure policies and processes are in line with the goals and objects you have. I think for me, it wants to always make sure everything is close to perfection. So that requires periodically monitoring progress, revisiting structural issues and talking to everyone involve for input and their opinions on whatever we are working to accomplish. I don’t really look at control as being in charge; it is more so just making sure everything goes smooth. Genesis of Personal Style My personal style is who I am. It was defined by my character, my values, my life experiences, role models, education and trainings. Over the course of my life, my family’s heritage, the environment I grow up in and even the people I kept close to me all affected who I am today. My values developed more and as I get older. I continue to hold in high regard traits like humility, respect which I was taught as a child. Growing up in the West Indies, it was always about respect, having manors and knowing your place. I heard the Proverb’ â€Å"Children should be seen and not heard† more times than I could remember. But it put in retrospect, it made me realize, that there was a time and a place for everything. I always want to lend a helping hand no matter the cost. Knowing when to speak up for injustice and knowing which battle to fit because we can’t win them all. I was always a bit shy and passive growing up, but had big dreams and an even bigger heart. My grandfather would always ask me, â€Å"Why do you always try to fit in when you were made to stand out†. He along with my entire family has been my inspiration for my life and has help shape who I am. Since then, I have made it a life choice that in whatever I do, to be it personal or professional, I want to shine. I joined Toastmasters at a young age to help work on my shyness which allowed me to reach deep within myself find the confidence and strength hidden. I became more active in student governments and youth foundations where I began to see who I wanted to be; A leader. I worked in an Industry where people were my business and found new respect and strength in optimism. I despise people who are arrogant and have no compassion for others simply because of their position. I never paid much attention to achievements as I do to character. This is where I find value. Conclusion and Reflection The purpose of this exercise was to discover how thinking styles may influence my behavior as a manager. No management style is the same, perfect or fits every situation. What I may see as a strong management style to have, may very well be contradictory of what the other staff thinks it should be. When it comes down to it, my primary style Humanistic-Encouraging patterns, I cannot refute this theory. I claim it proudly because I wear this style every day. It has given me the ability to develop others and help them grow without the need for recognition. I take much gratification in knowing that I have helped, encourage or improve the quality of life whether professionally or personally for my employees. Not everyone can say that and it is displayed in the appreciation the show towards me. Although the Dependent style was my back up, I did not find anything substantial that related to me. A bit of stress here and there, changes in company ownership and job security issues may be the cause for the score in this. But lack of self respect is definitely not who I am. I would rather focus my attention on Conventional style as recently in my professional life, I have take a back seat far from the strong voice that carried over a reign of applause during one of my speeches. I have conformed if only to get along. But this is not the way to achieve my goals. I want to be able to be me; A woman once so positive and willing to go the mile. I want to once again be successful not only in my personal life where I have full control, but also in my professional life where I should be more assertive with my needs and desires as a part of my team. Everyone should have autonomy over their lives and the ability to fully stand behind your Life Style.

Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary Timothy Leary "Turn on, tune in, drop out." That saying has turned into the slogan of Timothy Leary's mind-expanding movement. Although a graduate of both West-Point and Berkley, and a Harvard professor, these were not his greatest lifetime achievements. Throughout his publicized life, he became the spokesperson of the psychedelic age. His devotion to the belief that LSD and marijuana were gateways to enlightenment resulted in a new church, numerous prison sentences, and a following of both celebrities and the general public. When people think of Timothy Leary their immediate response is "Turn on, tune in, drop out," his trademark line, although the meaning of it has often been misinterpreted. Playboy Magazine had thought that his message was advocating, "getting high and dropping out of school," (Marwick 311). When asked by the magazine to explain the meaning of the phrase he responded, " 'Turn on' means to contact the ancient energies and wisdoms that are built into your nervous sy stem.Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out (Original Movie Soundtr...

Seven Essential Ingredients of a Good Working Relationship

Seven Essential Ingredients of a Good Working Relationship While it’s not always easy to get along with your coworkers, it’s a worthwhile endeavor: good working relationships are more important than ever in today’s increasingly collaborative work environments. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be easier said than done. It’s not impossible, however. Get a proactive jump on forming positive workplace relationships by implementing these seven simple yet productive methods. 1. Communication CountsOpen lines of communication are critical to all relationships - both in and out of the office. Different people have different needs and preferences. Understanding your co-workers’ needs and delivering on them can help you not only enjoy a better working relationship, but also maximize productivity.Does he/she prefer email, phone or face-to-face meetings? Are daily check-ins preferable to weekly updates? Establishing ground rules for how and when you’ll communicate eliminates confusion, irritation, and other ne gative emotions in the workplace.2. Show RespectJust as your work is your top priority, so are your fellow co-workers’ roles and responsibilities of equal priority to them. Be on time to meetings, treat everyone with courtesy, and honor the time and space of others.3. Be PositiveWhile there’s a time and place for venting, the workplace during work hours is not it. Avoid complaining about your boss and co-workers on the job. Not only does this damage others’ perception of you as a professional person, but it also promote a culture of negativity.Rather than becoming part of the problem, commit to becoming part of the solution. If workplace problems are prevalent, brainstorm ideas toward their solution. This is far more productive than griping to anyone who will listen and risking your own reputation in the process.4. Listen UpEveryone has the potential to make a difference in the workplace - regardless of level or position. Encourage and welcome ideas from others , and refrain from disparaging or belittling them.This doesn’t mean you have to accept and implement bad ideas, but it does mean treating people - and their ideas - with the same courtesy with which you’d want to be treated.Plus, you never know when someone’s idea will turn into an unexpected solution for an ongoing challenging.5. Speak UpYou have a unique set of knowledge, expertise and ideas. Sharing these with your team members not only has potential to make positive change, but also gives your co-workers a better sense of who you are and what you have to offer.In addition to sharing your ideas, it’s also essential to share your gratitude. If a fellow employee has helped out with a task or made a positive contribution to a project, acknowledging their efforts can go a long way to building a sense of teamwork.6. Be AccountableAs Big Bird himself famously crooned, â€Å"Everyone makes mistakes.† Errors are a fact of life. In most cases, theyâ₠¬â„¢re recoverable. What’s not recoverable? Making a mistake and putting the blame on another co-worker. If you miss a deadline or mess up an assignment, own it.Conversely, when co-workers miss deadlines or mess up assignments, don’t sell them out to management. Give them the opportunity to remedy their mistakes, and offer your assistance along the way. Your support when they need it now may mean their support when you need it later.7. Follow UpAlong the same lines as being accountable, it’s also essential to follow up on your obligations. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you’re unable to complete the promised task, promptly inform your co-worker or boss. Again, missing deadlines is understandable, but attempting to cover up or run from setbacks may lead to disaster. Trust between co-workers is paramount, and following up on your commitments is an essential component in developing trust.While you and your co-workers may never be b esties, there’s no reason you can’t overcome personal differences and work together as a team. These seven tips and tricks can get you on track to professional relationships which aren’t just tolerable, but fulfilling.

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 5

Business Ethics - Essay Example This case study aims to explain the ethically questionable behavior of sales representatives in the pharmaceutical industry. Medical Representatives of the Taiwanese pharmaceutical industry that deals in all kinds of biomedical medicines, and prescribed drugs have formed the sample of the study. Sales Representatives working at hospitals, and not pharmacies or clinics, were considered. 24 sales representatives are informed of the questionnaire, and then of the 16 scenarios, only one version was exposed to each respondent. In total, 328 respondents were analyzed (Hsu, Fang and Lee, 159). In this case study, the differences in the ethically questionable behavior are examined using four variables: â€Å"Frame Pattern†, â€Å"Commission Structure†, â€Å"Behavior Control Type†, and â€Å"Marketing Norm Perceptions.† The Medical Representatives are given a scenario, the background information, and the treatments. They now have to get into the character’s shoes, and arrive at a decision that if they were in that situation what they would have done. The background information given to them is as follows: In the pharmaceutical industry, sales personnel should invite clients to banquets in order to make the sales. The price should not exceed 3500 dollars in Taiwanese currency, but your client has chosen a restaurant that exceeds the bill of 3500 dollars in Taiwanese currency. The treatments are: (Hsu, Fang and Lee, 159). 1. â€Å"The sales representative’s profits (have already reached/are only at) 50%, and the probability of (receiving/failing to receive) the client’s deal, which will achieve the quota, (will increase considerably/is minimal)† (Hsu, Fang and Lee. p. 159). 2. â€Å"The base salary of the sales representative is (600/400) thousand dollars. If he achieves the annual quota, a bonus of (200/400) thousand dollars will be awarded to him. The ratio of this award to his base salary is (only 33%/ 100%)† (Hsu,

Going for Growth by Investing in People, Products and Plant Essay

Going for Growth by Investing in People, Products and Plant - Essay Example In addition, Hazlewood Sandwiches has invested ?25 million to build a factory site named Manton Wood in order to prepare several quantities of sandwiches. This factory site of the company is regarded as the largest sandwich producing plant in the world (Driver &Temple, 1999). Conclusion Investment appraisal is one of the crucial factors that for obtaining internal and external source of funds. Hazlewood Sandwiches has made two significant capital investments in the past years. The primary objectives behind the company’s substantial capital investments was to avail the prevailing opportunities in the UK sandwich market to gain higher rate of return on the capital invested and thereby to attain superior growth and expansion (Driver &Temple, 1999). References Driver, C. & Temple, P., 1999. Investment, Growth and Employment: Perspectives for Policy. Routledge. Gessinger, G. H., 2009. Materials and Innovative Product Development: Using Common Sense. Butterworth-Heinemann. Lumby, S. , 1988. Investment Appraisal and Financing Decisions the VNR Series in Accounting and Finance. Taylor & Francis. Question 2: Discuss the differences, advantages and disadvantages of the three investment decision techniques mentioned in the case. Introduction Hazlewood Sandwiches undertook three primary methods of investment appraisal namely payback method, Net Present Value (NPV) and Accounting Rate of Return (ARR) method in order to apprise and evaluate the value of the investment made by the company (Gotze, & et. al., 2008). Discussion The payback method critically considers the length of time in order to recover capital invested by the company. It is worth mentioning that the payback method takes into concern cash flow activities. The major advantages of this... This paper approves that investment appraisal is one of the crucial factors that for obtaining internal and external source of funds. Hazlewood Sandwiches has made two significant capital investments in the past years. The primary objectives behind the company’s substantial capital investments was to avail the prevailing opportunities in the UK sandwich market to gain higher rate of return on the capital invested and thereby to attain superior growth and expansion. This paper makes a conclusion that the three primary methods of investment appraisal and evaluation have their own distinctive advantages and disadvantages that facilitate the management of Hazlewood to select one of the any aforementioned methods. Notably, payback method can be considered as the simplest method of all the other two methods. This is owing to the reason that payback as well ARR method does not take into consideration the time value of money. On the contrary, NPV method expresses in dollars instead of percentage that often makes it difficult to appraise the investment. The role of workforce from both the functional perspectives of HRM and accounting is pivotal for any organisation. In this current business environment, workforce of any organisation is required to perform multiple tasks in order to conduct their business operations successfully. Thus, it can be stated that skilled and competent workforce in the business is the greatest asset of a specific organisation.

Creative PR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Creative PR - Essay Example Creative PR is a public relation company that was established by John Williams and Caroline Brown. Eventually, Margaret Sinclair and Fred Foster also joined them to establish the organization in the market during its developmental phase. According to the case scenario, the new employees were also motivated to become all-rounders pertaining to diversified work areas in Creative PR, which indicates to an informal culture in the organisation (Morgan, 1997). To be noted, such a structure is often argued as effective in the initial or foundation period of a business, as it helps in its proper functioning even with a limited number of human resources (Williams, 2008). Having knowledge about various specialized works enabled the employees to handle different situations efficiently. Such diversity in the workplace also enables the employees to manage their operations efficiently with minimum or no dependency on departmental structures making every individual efficient enough to take care of the given responsibilities (Lunenburg, 2012; Morgan, 1997). The organisational structure being followed was basically flattened and flexible in Creative PR. Each staff working within the organization developed reasonable competencies pertaining to all these key areas. In relation to the flexible organisational structure it represents the ability of an organisation to reactively embrace the change pertaining to its prevailing environment (Kirikova, n.d.). However, a theoretical perspective to the scenario revealed that due to the flattened work structure, employees used to be out of the work place for longer hours. This open structure and culture provided motivation to the employees in terms of diversified job responsibilities, but also added to perplexities within the organisational structure regarding the continuous interchange of job roles (Lunenburg, 2012; Morgan, 1997). Although the defined work culture proved beneficial in facilitating organisational development during the init ial performance, considering the later challenges and need for expansion, Williams and Brown were planning to change the prevailing organisational structure and culture in a more organised manner, applying a multi-layered matrix framework (Aguilar-Saven, 2004; Miles & et. al., 1978). Subsequently, Williams and Brown decided to follow the ‘Adhocracy’ organisational culture (Lunenburg, 2012; Morgan, 1997). 1.2 Implication of These Structures In relation to the open or flattened structure, as was applied and favoured by Sinclair and Foster, the case study reflects that socially there was a close relation between the management and the staff members that contributed to the mitigation of these limitations by developing a cohesive work culture within the organisation. As per the case scenario, major clients of the company were also involved in company celebrations, which contributed to a good reputation of the firm adding efficiency to its way of operations. Clients used to p articipate in the parties and get impressed by the interpersonal association existing between the management and staff members gaining confidence on the employees who had continuous interaction with them. As a result of this particular organisational culture the morale of the employees were also identified to be high that further augmented the efficiency of the organisation in

The failure of Ralph Lauren Rugby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The failure of Ralph Lauren Rugby - Essay Example Though Ralph Lauren is one of the most preferred luxury clothing brands, customer segmentation was completely different for its new arm. This had not only created confusion among customers, but also dissolved the overall brand identity of the Rugby brand. The objective of the current report is to analyze the failure of Ralph Lauren Rugby, an extended sports clothing line of the brand. On November 2012, the Rugby line of the brand had come to an end. Subsequently, website of the line was also closed down and the links were automatically directed to the parent site of Ralph Lauren. Known for high-end, bold and sassy styles, Ralph Lauren Corporation is one of the finest clothing retail organizations. The luxury retail chain was started in the year 1967 by Ralph Lauren, when he was funded by a manufacturer of clothing lines. He was asked to launch a line for men’s ties with the brand name, Polo. While studying in high school, Ralph had already started selling ties. Following that, he was approached by Norman Hilton and in the year 1969, he opened his first boutique in Manhattan (Ralph Lauren, 2014). The business was further expanded by selling tailor made women suits. The first solo shop was opened in the year 1971 in Beverly Hills. Ralph Lauren gained global recognition in a very short time period and by 1981, he was able to open his maiden international shop in London (Ralph Lauren, 2014). The brand has now expanded in various apparel and accessories sections, such as, semi-formal and formal clothing, luxury wear, fragrances, accessories and furniture. The brand has also ventured into restaurant business by opening a high-end restaurant in Chicago. The purpose of this report is to analyse various situations under which the sports arm of Ralph Lauren was pulled out from the market. Launched in the year 2004, Rugby Ralph Lauren was a famous clothing brand of America. The brand focused on preppy or rugby inspired apparels for women and

Problem of obesity in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Problem of obesity in America - Essay Example Studies have shown that obesity leads to type two diabetes, heart diseases and heat attacks, hypertension, Metabolic Syndrome, and Dyslipidemia. It is therefore imperative that healthier lifestyles are inculcated among young children ever since their childhood. Therefore, it is high time that obesity rate in US is reduced through effective measures and policies, and for this, one needs to have a thorough understanding of the reasons for obesity in the state. Genetics, changed life style of people, unhealthy eating habits, lack of required physical exercises, and food addiction are generally found to be the major causes for obesity. The consumption of high calorie snacks and fast food items can also lead to overweight and obesity. It is proved that most of the obesity cases are genetically inherited. Therefore, the children of obese parents are more likely to be obese compared to those of lean parents. But one cannot negate the other factors as there is a great increase of obesity rat e among people who cannot blame their inheritance for being so. The modern fast food culture, unhygienic food habits and people’s unwillingness or lack of time to take proper exercises to maintain their physical fitness have all immensely contributed to obesity in the United States.

The failure of Ralph Lauren Rugby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The failure of Ralph Lauren Rugby - Essay Example Though Ralph Lauren is one of the most preferred luxury clothing brands, customer segmentation was completely different for its new arm. This had not only created confusion among customers, but also dissolved the overall brand identity of the Rugby brand. The objective of the current report is to analyze the failure of Ralph Lauren Rugby, an extended sports clothing line of the brand. On November 2012, the Rugby line of the brand had come to an end. Subsequently, website of the line was also closed down and the links were automatically directed to the parent site of Ralph Lauren. Known for high-end, bold and sassy styles, Ralph Lauren Corporation is one of the finest clothing retail organizations. The luxury retail chain was started in the year 1967 by Ralph Lauren, when he was funded by a manufacturer of clothing lines. He was asked to launch a line for men’s ties with the brand name, Polo. While studying in high school, Ralph had already started selling ties. Following that, he was approached by Norman Hilton and in the year 1969, he opened his first boutique in Manhattan (Ralph Lauren, 2014). The business was further expanded by selling tailor made women suits. The first solo shop was opened in the year 1971 in Beverly Hills. Ralph Lauren gained global recognition in a very short time period and by 1981, he was able to open his maiden international shop in London (Ralph Lauren, 2014). The brand has now expanded in various apparel and accessories sections, such as, semi-formal and formal clothing, luxury wear, fragrances, accessories and furniture. The brand has also ventured into restaurant business by opening a high-end restaurant in Chicago. The purpose of this report is to analyse various situations under which the sports arm of Ralph Lauren was pulled out from the market. Launched in the year 2004, Rugby Ralph Lauren was a famous clothing brand of America. The brand focused on preppy or rugby inspired apparels for women and

Recommendation from IT department to CEO about SARS Virus-2013 Essay

Recommendation from IT department to CEO about SARS Virus-2013 - Essay Example ymptoms: Provided that SARS outbreak is confirmed, it is possible, regardless of whether a case is identified or not for the IT department to research from various medical databases the symptoms of SARS virus. This approach would ensure the company can conduct a diagnosis process to isolate the health stakeholders from the infected and to contain farther spreading of the virus (Berkman, 2007). b. Research on virus management: Since the virus is reported to have been detected, the IT department is responsible for researching virus management strategies to aid in the containment of the virus from spreading to healthy individuals (Berkman, 2007). c. Quarantine procedures and specifications: The IT department can play the role of researching and developing models of quarantine units within the organization to aid in isolating infected cases from uninfected ones. In addition, this process would ensure that no infected cases leave the premises without professional examination (Berkman, 2007). d. Developmental analysis for virus scan: The IT department in collaboration with medical professionals can research, design, and develop a program for scanning stakeholders of the virus to ensure new cases are not introduced into the premises and current sufferers do not elude quarantine (Berkman, 2007). Berkman, BE. (2007). Ethical and Legal Considerations in Mitigating Pandemic Disease: Strategies for Disease Containment. Accessed online on February 17, 2015 from

Blood Diamond - Film Essay Example for Free

Blood Diamond Film Essay I agree with this view because key ideas are an important part of a film to make it more interesting for the audience. In the film Blood Diamond directed by Edward Zwick some of the key ideas are: What is valuable and important, the devastation of war and exploitation of people and resources. These key ideas in the film help viewers to understand the film better. The key idea of what is valuable is an important one in the film. The three main characters Maddy, Danny and Solomon all have something different that is valuable to them. Maddy is a journalist who travels around the world in search of a good story. She ends up in Sierra Leone to get a story about what is going on with the civil war over the diamonds but when she gets there she finds it hard to get any information about the diamond smuggling so she focuses on the welfare of the country and the people. In the film Maddy is shown to value the welfare of the Sierra Leone people. This is shown when Maddy is writing a story on her laptop and then Danny walks in. Maddy lets Danny know how important the welfare of the country is to her when she says, â€Å"Its not going to be enough to make it stop. People back home wouldn’t buy rings if they knew it cost someone else their hands. † Writing her stories does not have a big effect on the people in the western world they are too selfish to help the country out in their time of civil war. Another text I read is A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah in that text the main character of the non-fiction text is Ishmael who is in the civil war in Sierra Leone at the same time as Maddy. He is a forced child soldier and he values his freedom. Another key idea in Blood Diamond is the devastation of war. The film shows how war is devastating because many lives are lost and most of the lives lost are civilians who arent involved in the war at all. An example of the devastation of war is when the rebels burst into Solomon’s village and kill nearly everyone while on their violent shooting rampage. The rebels don’t care who they shoot or how many they shoot which is devastating. Another example is the way the rebels force children to become soldiers. They steal the children away from their families and make them shoot people. They make them say the chant â€Å"shed their blood† which is forcing the children to kill. There is devastation when the rebels burst into the city and and start blowing it up and catching it on fire and shooting people in the street who have no defense against the rampage. The army try to fight back but they are outnumbered and have no chance against the Rebels. Everyone is scared of the rebels and the survivors go into hiding. A camera shot is used to show how scared the civilians are and how powerful the Rebels are is when Danny looks through a the hole in the fence and the camera shows what the scene is outside the fence through the hole from Danny’s point of view. The scene on the other side of the fence is of some army guys getting shot at by Rebels. â€Å"People back home wouldn’t buy rings if they knew it cost someone else their hands. † Maddy This shows the devastation of war. My final key idea is the exploitation of people and resources. The film shows us that children were exploited to become soldiers by the rebels. There are scenes in the film showing the Rebels bursting into villages and snatching children from their families and taken to the rebel camps. In the text A Long Way Gone children are also expiated to be soldiers for the Rebels. Ishmael was found by the Rebels and taken to a camp and forced to be a soldier or he would lose his own life. These are examples of how people were exploited in texts during the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990’s. Also during this war some resources were exploited one of them was diamonds. Diamonds are mined by unpaid workers who are forced to work with no benefits then they are illegally taken across the border to tother countries who then sell the exploited diamonds, one country they do this in is Liberia. Danny is a good example of taking the diamonds across the border when he stashes some under a goats skin and makes up a story to tell the authorities but it doesn’t work. With all the corruption going on in the country Solomon says, â€Å"perhaps we were better off when the white man was ruling us. This shows that since they have become republic the country has become corrupt and Solomon thinks that if they were ruled by the commonwealth they would be better off and not have war. Blood Diamond explores the key ideas of: What is valuable and important which is the welfare of the Sierra Leone people, devastation of war which is when the RUF kill innocent citizens. And the exploitatio n of people and resources which is when the RUF force children to become soldiers. Exploration of these issues certainly contributes to making this one of the best films.

Fastest Finger First Project Report

Fastest Finger First Project Report Abstract In the buzzer round of quiz contests, the question is thrown open to all the teams. The person who knows the answer hits the buzzer first and then answers the question. Sometimes two or more players hit the buzzer almost simultaneously and it is very difficult to detect which of them has pressed the buzzer first. In television shows, where the whole event is recorded, the actions are replayed in slow motion to detect the first hit. Such slow motions are possible only where huge funds are available to conduct the show. For this reason buzzer rounds are avoided for quiz contests held in colleges. This project is an electronic quiz buzzer that is affordable by the colleges and even individuals. This project is useful for a 4-team quiz contest, although it can be modified for more number of teams. This system is sensitive. The circuit can detect and record the first hit contestant among all the contestants that may appear to be simultaneous Buzzer controllers for 4-team quizzes are readily available in the market. However, buzzer controller capable handling six or eight team are hard to find. The circuit presented here can be used for up to eight teams. It can be easily expanded to accommodated more teams through suitable cascading of latches and AND gates along with transistors, relays, etc. In the buzzer round of any quiz contest question are thrown open to all the participating teams. Each team has a push button switch to ring the buzzer. After hearing the question any member of a team who knows the answer and hits there switch first gets a chance to answer. In multiple cases who hit the switch first gets the opportunity to reply. For next round the quiz master reset the buzzer operation circuit by pressing the reset switch. For visual indication all teams have the lamp fitted on their desk. The lamps glow until the reset of buzzer controller indicating the eligible team for replying the question. For audio indication the buzzer rings and turns off automatically after a few second. The audio visual circuit is powered through actuation of relay contacts. Here 230v AC has been used. BLOCK DIAGRAM Figure:1 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM Figure:2 Figure:2 Working of Finger first indicator Fastest finger first indicators (FFFIs) are used to test the players reaction time. The players designated number is displayed with an audio alarm when the player presses his entry button. The circuit presented here determines as to which of the 8 contestants first pressed the button and locks out the remaining three entries. Simultaneously, an audio alarm and the correct decimal number display of the corresponding contestant are activated. When a contestant presses his switch, the corresponding output of latch IC1 (74373) changes its logic state from 1 to 0. The combinational circuitry comprising dual 4-input NAND gates of IC3 (7430) locks out subsequent entries by producing the appropriate latch-disable signal. Priority encoder IC2 (74147) encodes the active-low input condition into the corresponding binary coded decimal (BCD) number output. The outputs of IC4 after inversion by inverter gates inside hex inverter 74LS04 (IC5) are coupled to BCDto-7-segment decoder/display driver IC6 (7447). The output of IC6 drives common anode 7-segment LED display (DIS.1, FND507 or LT543). The audio alarm generator comprises clock oscillator (555), whose output drives a loudspeaker. The oscillator frequency can be varied with the help of Preset VR1. Logic 0 state at one of the outputs of IC2 produces logic 1 input condition at pin 4 of 555, thereby enabling the audio oscillator. 555 needs +12V DC supply for sufficient alarm level. The remaining circuit operates on regulated +5V DC supply, which is obtained using (7805).Once the organiser identifies the contestant who pressed the switch first, he disables the audio alarm and at the same time forces the digital display to 0 by pressing reset pushbutton S9 PCB FABRICATION PCB Designing is an important part of the project development, complexity size the PCB for our Project Buzzer Controller For 8-Team Quiz Contests is made by Photo chemical process on copper clad base materials the following steps are involved in Fabrication. Layout designing 1. Art work designing 2. Negative preparation 3. Eleclining 4. Cleaning 5. Coating of Protective layer 6. Drilling 7. Testing Figure:3LAYOUT DESIGNING:- First of all we have prepared the layout designing on graph paper according to the schematic diagram. To layout diagram shown in the tracks on PCB to join the components as per schematic diagram. Taking the consideration actual size (100%) of each components and pin to pin distance of the components. ART WORK DESIGNING:- Art work is the preparation after the layout Modification. Art work is prepared on clad shed by tracking the circuit. On it with tapes different width, circular pads, IC pads cutter 2. NEGATIVE PREPARETION:- For the preparation of Negative the photographic with feint is to cut to the six of the art work it is then place with film in the vertical photographic camera the developer used in the lithe developer. Which consist of A B developer mixed in same proportion. The film is then fixed through fixer which is the Sodium Thiosulphate solution the film then washed with the water and then dried. At least to clean the liquor thinner to protect the tracks from corrosion and moisture effects. Figure:4 4. ELECLINING:- It is the process in which extra copper is removed from copper clad sheet with heep Ferric Chloride(feels) solution. The copper clad sheet is dipped in the feels for about 3 hours. By this process we got the PCB with wanted tracks. 5. CLEANING:- Now remove the dye with help of thinner, wash it with water and dry it in sun light. 6. COATING OF PROTECTIVE LAYERS:- The PCB is now Coated with non-conducting solution. LAQUAR to prevent the tracks from environment hazards like corrosion and moisture effects. Figure:5 PCB LAYOUT FOR FINGER FIRST INDICATOR Figure:6 7. DRILLING:- Drilling is done to create the components lead holes Drill of 1mm.(Diameter) is used. 8. TESTING:- The copper tracks are tested with the digital multimeter if any track is open short can be repaired before mounting the components on PCB. Now PCB is ready for assembly. COMPONENTS LIST Semiconductors: IC1 -74LS373 IC2 -74LS147 IC3 -74LS30 IC4 -74LS00 IC5 74LS04 IC6 74LS47 IC7 -7805, 5V regulator IC8 NE555 timer T1 -BC547 NPN transistor 7- segment display- DIS.1, FND507 or LT543 Resistors (all1/4-watt, +/-5% carbons): R1-R8 -1kilo-ohm R9 -2.2 kilo-ohm R10 -R11 10-kilo-ohm R12-R18 560 ohm VR1 -2-mega-ohm preset Capacitors: C1 -0.01microF, 35V electrolytic C2 0.1microF, 16V electrolytic C3 0.01microF, ceramic disk Miscellaneous: X1 -230V AC primary to 12V, 500mA Secondary transformer S1-S8 -push-to-on switch S9 push-to-off switch BELL -230V AC electric bell Details of various components used Figure:71.74LS373 Figure:8 2.74LS147 Figure:9 Figure:10 3.74LS30 Figure:11 Internal description of 74LS30 Figure:12 Figure:13 5.74LS04 Figure:14 Figure:15 6.74LS00 Figure:16 Figure:18 Figure:17 Figure:19 Figure:20 7. IC7447 Figure:20 8 .Transformer Figure:21 Laminated steel core Transformers for use at power or audio frequencies typically have cores made of high Permeability (electromagnetism) permeabilitysilicon steel. permeability many times that of free space, and the core thus serves to greatly reduce the magnetizing current, and confine the flux to a path which closely couples the windings. Early transformer developers soon realized that cores constructed from solid iron resulted in prohibitive eddy-current losses, and their designs mitigated this effect with cores consisting of bundles of insulated iron wires. Later designs constructed the core by stacking layers of thin steel laminations, a principle that has remained in use. Each lamination is insulated from its neighbors by a thin non-conducting layer of insulation.indicates a minimum cross-sectional area for the core to avoid saturation. The effect of laminations is to confine eddy currents to highly elliptical paths that enclose little flux, and so reduce their magnitude. Thinner laminations reduce losses, Thin laminations are generally used on high frequency transformers, with some types of very thin steel laminations able to operate up to 10  kHz. One common design of laminated core is made from interleaved stacks of pieces, leading to its name of E-I transformer.Such a design tends to exhibit more losses, but is very economical to manufacture. The cut-core or C-core type is made by winding a steel strip around a rectangular form and then bonding the layers together. It is then cut in two, forming two C shapes, and the core assembled by binding the two C halves together with a steel strap. They have the advantage that the flux is always oriented parallel to the metal grains, reducing reluctance. A steel cores means that it retains a static magnetic field when power is removed. When power is then reapplied, the residual field will cause a high until the effect of the remaining magnetism is reduced, usually after a few cycles of the applied alternating current. Over current protection devices such as must be selected to allow this harmless inrush to pass. On transformers connected to long, overhead power transmission lines, induced currents due to during can cause saturation of the core and operation of transformer protection devices. The transformer converts the 220 V AC into 9 V AC. The Bridge wave rectifier converts the ( V AC into rippled DC. This rippled DC is given as input to the 7805/7809 Voltage regulator IC. A separate power supply is given for the Stepper Motor which has the same power supply setup for converting the 220 V AC into 9V DC. The DC Power Supply circuit is based around the 7805 voltage regulator. It has only 3 connections (input, output and ground) and it provides a fixed output. The last two digits of the part number specify the output voltage, eg. 05, 06, 08, 10, 12, 15, 18, or 24. The 7800 series provides up to 1 amp load current and has on-chip circuitry to shut down the regulator if any attempt is made to operate it outside its safe operating area. (If this happens to you, let the chip cool down attach the heatsink.) It can be seen that there are in fact two separate circuits in this power supply. One 7805 is directly connected as a fixed 5V regulator. The second 7805 has a resistor divider network on the output. A variable 500 ohm potentiometer is used to vary the output voltage from a minimum of 5V up to the maximum DC voltage depending on the input voltage. It will be about 2V below the input DC voltage.) The capacitor across the output improves transient response. The large capacitor across the input is a filter capacitor to help smooth out ripple in the rectified AC voltage. The larger the filter capacitor the lower the ripple IC-7805 One can get a constant high-voltage power supply using inexpensive 3-terminal voltage regulators through some simple techniques described below. Depending upon the current requirement, a reasonable load regulation can be achieved. Line regulation in all cases is equal to that of the voltage regulator used. Though high voltage can be obtained with suitable voltage boost circuitry using ICs like LM 723, some advantages of the circuits presented below are: simplicity, low cost, and practically reasonable regulation characteristics. For currents of the order of 1A or less, only one zener and some resistors and capacitors are needed. For higher currents, one pass transistor such as ECP055 is needed. Before developing the final circuits, let us first understand the 3-terminal type constant voltage regulators. Let us see the schematic in Fig. where 78XX is a 3-terminal voltage regulator. Schematic for obtaining low-voltage regulated output using 3-terminal Figure:22 voltage regulators. Rectified and filtered unregulated voltage is applied at VIN and a constant voltage appears between pins 2 and 2 of the voltage regulator. *The distribution of two currents in the circuit (IBIAS and ILOAD) is as shown. It is highly recommended to use the two capacitors as shown. Electrically regulator will be at a distance from the rectifier supply. Thus, a tantalum grade capacitor of 5mf and rated voltage is good. Electrolytic capacitor is not suitable for it is poor in response to load transients, which have high frequency components.At the output side a 0.22mf disc ceramic capacitor is useful to eliminate spurious oscillations, which the regulator might break into because of its internal high gain circuitry. Figure:23 These voltage regulators have a typical bias current of 5 mA, which is reasonably constant. By inserting a small resistor Rx between pin 2 and ground, the output voltage in many cases. By this method voltage increment of 5 to 10 per cent is practically feasible. However, if a high-value resistance is used to obtain a higher output voltage, a slight variation in bias current will result in wide variation of the output voltage. 8. BC547 Transistor In electronics, a transistor is a semiconductor device commonly used to amplify or switch electronic signals. A transistor is made of a solid piece of a semiconductor material, with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistors terminals changes the current flowing through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be much larger than the controlling (input) power, the transistor provides amplification of a signal. The transistor is the fundamental building block of modern electronic devices, and is used in radio, telephone, computer and other electronic systems. Some transistors are packaged individually but most are found in integrated circuits. Figure:24 Features à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ NPN Silicon Epitaxial Planar Transistors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ These transistors are subdivided into three groups A, B, and C according to their current gain. The type BC546 is available in groups A and B,n however, the types BC547 and BC548 can be supplied in all three groups. As complementary types the PNP transistors BC556BC558 are recommended. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ On special request, these transistors are also manufactured in the pin configuration TO-18. Mechanical Data Case: TO-92 Plastic Package Weight: approx. 0.18g Packaging Codes/Options: E6/Bulk 5K per container, 20K/box E7/4K per Ammo mag., 20K/box Figure:25 9.Ceramic capacitor: These are the disk-type ceramic capacitors. Because the high frequency characteristic is good, these are used as the coupling capacitors (It cuts the direct current but it lets through the alternating current. Figure:26 10.Electrolytic Capacitor: This capacitor is used as the ripple filter capacitor of the power circuit. There is polarity. So, be careful so as not to make a mistake when mounting it. Figure:27 Electrolyte Capacitor Figure:28 Metallised Polyester Film Capacitors With tolerance of 10%. Operating temperature -40oC to +85oC. Compact Size Non Inductive Design 11.RESISTANCE Resistance is the opposition of a material to the current. It is measured in Ohms ( -). All conductors represent a certain amount of resistance, since no conductor is 100% efficient. To control the electron flow (current) in a predictable manner, we use resistors. Electronic circuits use calibrated lumped resistance to control the flow of current. Broadly speaking, resistor can be divided into two groups viz. fixed adjustable (variable) resistors. In fixed resistors, the value is fixed cannot be varied. In variable resistors, the resistance value can be varied by an adjusteknob. It can be divided into (a) Carbon composition (b) Wire wound (c) Special type. The most common type of resistors used in our projects is carbon type. The resistance value is normally indicated by colour bands. Each resistance has four colours, one of the band on either side will be gold or silver, this is called fourth band and indicates the tolerance, others three band will give the value of resistance (see table). For example if a resistor has the following marking on it say red, violet, gold. Comparing these coloured rings with the colour code, its value is 27000 ohms or 27 kilo ohms and its tolerance is  ±5%. Resistor comes in various sizes (Power rating). The bigger, the size, the more power rating of 1/4 watts. The four colour rings on its body tells us the value of resistor value as given below. COLOURS CODE Black 0 Brown 1 Red 2 Orange 3 Yellow 4 Green 5 Blue 6 Violet 7 Grey 8 White 9 Figure:29 The first rings give the first digit. The second ring gives the second digit. The third ring indicates the number of zeroes to be placed after the digits. The fourth ring gives tolerance (gold  ±5%, silver  ± 10%, No colour  ± 20%). In variable resistors, we have the dial type of resistance boxes. There is a knob with a metal pointer. This presses over brass pieces placed along a circle with some space b/w each of them. Resistance coils of different values are connected b/w the gaps. When the knob is rotated, the pointer also moves over the brass pieces. If a gap is skipped over, its resistance is included in the circuit. If two gaps are skipped over, the resistances of both together are included in the circuit and so on. 12.The 555 TIMER Description The LM555/NE555/SA555 is a highly stable controller capable of producing accurate timing pulses. With a monostable operation, the time delay is controlled by one external resistor and one capacitor. With an astable operation, the frequency and duty cycle are accurately controlled by two external resistors and one capacitor. Figure:30 Features à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High Current Drive Capability (200mA) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Adjustable Duty Cycle à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Temperature Stability of 0.005%/ ½Ã‚ °C à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Timing FromÃŽÂ ¼Sec to Hours à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Turn off Time Less Than 2ÃŽÂ ¼Sec Applications à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Precision Timing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Pulse Generation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Time Delay Generation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sequential Timing Pin Description of 555 Timer Figure:31 Power supply: Pin 8 is used to connect the positive power supply (Vs) to the 555. This can be any voltage between 3V and 15V DC, but is commonly 5V DC when working with digital ICs. Pin 1 is the 0V connection to the power supply. Trigger and Reset Inputs: Pin 2 is called the trigger input as it is this input that sets the output to the high state. Pin 4 is called the reset input as it is this input that resets the o/p to the low state. Both pins may be connected to push buttons to control the operation of the 555.Sometimes the reset input is not used in a circuit, in which case it is connected directly to Vs to that unwanted resetting cant occur. Threshold and discharge: Pins 6 and7 (and sometimes the Trigger i/p, pin2) are used to set up the timing aspect of the 555 IC. They are normally connected to a combination of resistors and a capacitor. Offset: Pin 5 can be used to alter the timing aspect of the 555 IC in applications such as frequency modulation. Output: Pin 3 is the digital output of the 555.It can be connected directly to the inputs of other digitaICs, or it can control other devices Figure:32 When the low signal input is applied to the reset terminal, the timer output remains low regardless of the threshold voltage or the trigger voltage. Only when the high signal is applied to the reset terminal, the timers output changes according to threshold voltage and trigger voltage. When the threshold voltage exceeds 2/3 of the supply voltage while the timer output is high, the timers internal discharge Tr. turns on, lowering the threshold voltage to below 1/3 of the supply voltage. During this time, the timer output is maintained low. Later, if a low signal is applied to the trigger voltage so that it becomes 1/3 of the supply voltage, the timers internal discharge Tr. turns off, increasing the threshold voltage and driving the timer output again at high. Fig 33 :Monostable Operation Figure:34 Figure 34. illustrates a monostable circuit. In this mode, the timer generates a fixed pulse whenever the trigger voltage falls below Vcc/3. When the trigger pulse voltage applied to the #2 pin falls below Vcc/3 while the timer output is low, the timers internal flip-flop turns the discharging Tr. off and causes the timer output to become high by charging the external capacitor C1 and setting the flip-flop output at the same time. The voltage across the external capacitor C1, VC1 increases exponentially with the time constant t=RA*C and reaches 2Vcc/3 at td=1.1RA*C. Hence, capacitor C1 is charged through resistor RA. The greater the time constant RAC, the longer it takes for the VC1 to reach 2Vcc/3. In other words, the time constant RAC controls the output pulse width. When the applied voltage to the capacitor C1 reaches 2Vcc/3, the comparator on the trigger terminal resets the flip-flop, turning the discharging Tr. on. At this time, C1 begins to discharge and the timer output conver ts to low. In this way, the timer operating in the monostablerepeats the above process. Figure 10 shows the general waveforms during the monostable operation. It must be noted that, for a normal operation, the trigger pulse voltage needs to maintain a minimum of Vcc/3 before the timer output turns low. That is, although the output remains unaffected even if a different trigger pulse is applied while the output is high, it may be affected and the waveform does not operate properly if the trigger pulse voltage at the end of the output pulse remains at below Vcc/3 Fig 35 :Astable operation An astable timer operation is achieved by adding resistor RB to Figure 1 and configuring as shown on Figure 5. In the astable operation, the trigger terminal and the threshold terminal are connected so that a self-trigger is formed, operating as a multi vibrator. When the timer output is high, its internal discharging Tr. turns off and the VC1 increases by exponential function with the time constant (RA+RB)*C. When the VC1, or the threshold voltage, reaches 2Vcc/3, the comparator output on the trigger terminal becomes high, resetting the F/F and causing the timer output to become low. This in turn turns on the discharging Tr. and the C1 discharges through the discharging channel formed by RB and the discharging Tr. When the VC1 falls below Vcc/3, the comparator output on the trigger terminal becomes high and the timer output becomes high again. The discharging Tr. turns off and the VC1 rises again. In the above process, the section where the timer output is high is the time it takes for the VC1 to rise from Vcc/3 to 2Vcc/3, and the section where the timer output is low is the time it takes for the VC1 to drop from 2Vcc/3 to Vcc/3. When timer output is high, the equivalent circuit for charging capacitor C1 is as follows Fig 36 :Astable operation Waveform 12.Diode The simplest semiconductor device is made up of a sandwich of P-type semiconducting material, with contacts provided to connect the p-and n-type layers to an external circuit. This is a junction Diode. If the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the p-type material (cathode) and the negative terminal to the N-type material (Anode), a large current will flow. This is called forward current or forward biased. If the connections are reversed, a very little current will flow. This is because under this condition, the p-type material will accept the electrons from the negative terminal of the battery and the N-type material will give up its free electrons to the battery, resulting in the state of electrical equilibrium since the N-type material has no more electrons. Thus there will be a small current to flow and the diode is called Reverse biased. Thus the Diode allows direct current to pass only in one direction while blocking it in the other direction. Power diodes are used in concerting AC into DC. In this, current will flow freely during the first half cycle (forward biased) and practically not at all during the other half cycle (reverse biased). This makes the diode an effective rectifier, which convert ac into pulsating dc. Signal diodes are used in radio circuits for detection. Zener diodes are used in the circuit to control the voltage. Figure:37 Some common diodes are:- 1. Zener diode. 2. Photo diode. 3. Light Emitting diode. ZENER DIODE:- A zener diode is specially designed junction diode, which can operate continuously without being damaged in the region of reverse break down voltage. One of the most important applications of zener diode is the design of constant voltage power supply. The zener diode is joined in reverse bias to d.c. through a resistance R of suitable value. PHOTO DIODE:- A photo diode is a junction diode made from photo- sensitive semiconductor or material. In such a diode, there is a provision to allow the light of suitable frequency to fall on the p-n junction. It is reverse biased, but the voltage applied is less than the break down voltage. As the intensity of incident light is increased, current goes on increasing till it becomes maximum. The maximum current is called saturation current. LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED):- When a junction diode is forward biased, energy is released at the junction diode is forward biased, energy is released at the junction due to recombination of electrons and holes. In case of silicon and germanium diodes, the energy released is in infrared region. In the junction diode made of gallium arsenate or indium phosphide, the energy is released in visible region. Such a junction diode is called a light emitting diode or LED. LIST OF INSRUMENTS TOOLS TOOLS: Soldering Iron Tweezers Screw Driver Cutter De Soldering Pump INSTRUMENTS: Digital Multimeter OTHER MATERIALS: Solder Flux De Soldering Wick Soldering Iron Stand Image of project Figure:38 Applications: 1.Electronic Jam Is Commonly Used In Quiz Contests Figure:39 2.Finger First Is The Basic Principle 3.It Adds Beauty To Active Quiz Shows Contains Many Buzzer Rounds 4.Inputs Can Be Handle At A Time Figure:40 5.Uses Seven Segment Display Instead of LED/bulb For Visual Interface 6.This Electronic Jam Is Built With The View Of Making The Game Show Priority Less Advantages: Handy device Low power consumption More accurate Easy to use Visual interface adds its advantage Disadvantages: Input is limited to eight. Future scope: Instead of Seven Segment display LCD screens can be implemented Priority list of all inputs can be imparted in Output Conclusion: Project Aims the Implemenatation of Electonic Jam for making Quiz shows priority Less Seven Segment display included for more User nterface Cost of Project: S.No. Component Quantity Cost 1. IC74373 1 60 2. IC 555 1 30 3. IC 7430 1 60 4. IC 7447 1 35 5. IC 74147 1 65 6. IC7400 1 24 7. IC7404 1 20 8. Transistor 1 3 9. Diode 2 4 10. 7 segment display 1 20 11. Transformer 1 40 12. Ceramic Capacitor 2 4 13. Electrolytic Capacitors 1 5 14. Resistor 18 40 15. PCB designing 600 16. Misc(Solder wire, connecting wire, Connectors etc) 200 Total 1210