A analysis of of Friday the 13th, with works cited.

A analysis of of Friday the 13th, with works cited. Friday the 13th"It's strange how society has come to accept "superstition" so plainly and unquestioning" (The Superstition Behind Friday the 13th). Almost every hotel in the States, that is big enough, does not have a 13th floor its simply skipped. However, in Italy the 13th floor is not skipped. The number 13 in Italy is considered good luck instead of bad luck (Douglas). Why is the number 13 considered to be such a bad and unlucky number in the United States?There are many reasons for the number 13 to be considered bad luck, but it is only a superstition. "But the fear exists in every occurrence of the number. (The Superstition Behind Friday the 13th). Throughout the western world people can still be found numbering their houses '12 1/2,' to avoid living in number 13" (Douglas). The reason for this could be that Jesus was said to be the 13th at feast, occurring just before he was crucified.Friday the 13th Book iconOr perhaps even that some people have claimed to be a 13th tribe of Israel. Although, the bible says there are only 12, and most Christians and Jews deny that a 13th tribe even exist (The Superstition Behind Friday the 13th).Hopefully now you can see that Friday the 13th is just a silly superstition and not anything to be worried about it. Although, people never want to account for there own actions, anything that goes wrong Friday 13th will be blamed on the fact that it is indeed Friday the 13th. So mainly the reason for Friday the 13th being such a bad and unlucky number in the United States is because the people of the United States allow it to be.Douglas, Hill. MAGIC AND SUPERSTITION. Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1968.The Superstition Behind Friday the...

Buck Naked and Butt Naked

Buck Naked and Butt Naked Buck Naked and Butt Naked Buck Naked and Butt Naked By Maeve Maddox A reader has two questions about the idiom â€Å"buck naked†: 1. When did people start saying, â€Å"butt naked† instead of â€Å"buck naked†? 2. What does â€Å"buck naked† mean, anyway? buck naked, adjective: completely unclothed. In Old English, the word that is now spelled buck referred to a male deer. Later, the word also came be applied to the male of other species. For example, buck is the term for the male of the following animals: deer goat kangaroo mouse rabbit rat reindeer squirrel Not surprisingly, buck became a slang term for a male of the human species. The earliest OED citation for buck used to mean man or fellow is dated 1303. In the eighteenth century, buck was popular slang for a man who attended plays and other fashionable social events to be seen and admired. In Australia, buck was used to refer to male aborigines. In the United States, buck referred to both American Indians and men of African descent. Examples of this usage may be found in nineteenth-century entries in the US Congressional Record. Although various explanations have been offered, no one can say with certainty how the word buck came to be attached to naked. The earliest evidence of â€Å"buck naked† on the Ngram Viewer, which is based on printed sources, appears in 1914. â€Å"Butt naked† comes along in 1924, but doesn’t make much of a showing until 1980, when it begins to soar. Judging by a Google search, the newer term has taken over, at least on the Web: â€Å"buck naked†: 509,000 results   â€Å"butt naked†: 2,290,000 results    I prefer â€Å"buck naked,† because â€Å"butt-naked† strikes my ear as excessively vulgar. I cannot, however, argue that one is â€Å"more correct† than the other. Both expressions mean exactly the same thing. Both have found acceptance in colloquial speech. Neither, however, has a place in formal English. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About Hands3 Types of HeadingsEspecially vs. Specially

Expression Of Recombinant Tick Histamine-Binding Protein Lab Report

Expression Of Recombinant Tick Histamine-Binding Protein - Lab Report Example To facilitate further studies regarding the structure and function of HBP, there should be an efficient means by which HBP can be made available. For this, Pichia pastoris expression system was assessed for its competence in producing recombinant HBP. This was chosen for its effectiveness in glycosylating recombinant proteins. On the other hand, the HBP gene sequence used for this particular study was from cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, which is considered to be an agricultural pest. If found to have therapeutic effect, the despised insect will be given a newly-discovered purpose. Culture and induction of transformed P. pastoris was able to produce c-myc epitope-containing proteins, potentially containing TC11485, as detected through dot blot and Western blot analysis. Future researches involve purification and characterization of the recombinant TC11485. Introduction Lipocalins 1. The structure-function relation in lipocalins Lipocalins are monomeric globular proteins compris ed of a single polypeptide with 150-200 amino acid residues, and ubiquitous in all life forms. In fact, these proteins are abundant in plasma, tissue and secretory fluids of humans. Despite its weak sequence homology, they are characterized by a tertiary structural level of a conserved ?-barrel configuration with an amino-and carboxy-terminal ?-helix attachment, contributing to their similarities in function, which will be discussed in the later sections. The barrel is shaped like a cone, in which the tip is a hydrophobic core that protects the parcel, and the base open to solvent acts as an entry point into the cavity. In fact, the term lipocalin is derived from ‘calyx’, which is the Greek and Latin word for drinking vessel (Cheng, 2010; Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005). Classification of lipocalins is based on variations in the length of the terminal segments. Aside from the highly conserved tertiary structure, lipocalins also exhibit similar arrangement of exons and intr ons in their genes’ coding sequences (Cheng, 2010). Understandably, each lipocalin has a distinct amino acid sequence. For human lipocalins, a single unpaired cysteine (Cys) residue allows intermolecular covalent binding of a lipocalin to another protein. Apolipoprotein D (ApoD) binds with apolipoprotein A-II, and NGAL associates with matrix metalloproteinase IX Other than being differentiated based on amino acid sequence, lipocalins vary in the shapes that their structures can assume. Logically, capability for such changes influences the function of the protein. For example, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) opens more widely to become more funnel-like, while the mouse major urinary protein (MUP) closes the opening of the barrel to totally encapsulate the ligand (Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005). 2. Physiologic role of lipocalins This family of proteins primarily functions to transport or store compounds that are insoluble or chemically sensitive. Among the compo unds transported by lipocalins are hydrophobic vitamins, pheromones, bilins, retinoids, lipids and steroid hormones, play significantly in transcription, enzymatic reactions and metabolism (Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005; Cheng, 2010). They deliver their ligands to the cell membrane receptor or to the targets (such as DNA) themselves. For example, the human plasma retinol-binding protein (RBP), the first lipocalin structurally characterized, transports the insoluble and highly oxidative vitamin A from the stores in the liver to the target tissues . ApoD transports progesterone and arachidonic acid, while NGAL has Fe(III)-enterobactin as its ligand (Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005). 3. Medical significance of lipocalins Because of their

The Management of Global Trade Distribution Assignment

The Management of Global Trade Distribution - Assignment Example DHL has a considerable market share of around 40% of the Asian market (The Economist, 2012). FedEx accounts for the market share of around of 49%Â  in USA as compared to around 50% by the competitor UPS. FedEx has developed the fleet and service base that has built a strong reputation of the company. For example, GPS tracking, Online Solution (FedEx, 2012a), SenseAware (Business Wire, 2014) are some of the leading services from FedEx. The industry in which FedEx operates is highly competitive and it has low switching cost for buyers and suppliers. Also, the industry is affected by high oil prices. FedEx, with its service to the global market, has focused on building competitive edge with technological innovation and is ranked at the 91st position on the Forbes Most Valuable brands (Forbes, 2013). Competitive information technology orientation has taken the place of absolute advantage for FedEx. Change in the global trade agreements and patterns have a direct impact on the FedEx. FedEx supports FTA for the removal of barriers from Panama, Columbia, and South Korea. Furthermore, FedEx has capitalised the growth in global demand for the Korean products where Korea in all has generated $3.8 billion in the year 2011 (FedEx, 2012b). FedEx has planned to establish logistic hub in Pudong considering the global trade patterns between China to Europe where Shanghai Pudong International Airport is to take the position of hub (FedEx, 2012b). Hence, FedEx is keenly developing the comparative advantage from the changing global trade patterns. Furthermore, the company is also directly impacted by the varying regulations from country to country. For example, FedEx launched SenseAware in different market upon receiving security clearance from the respective countries’ and related organisations (Leung, 2011). Most recently it has expanded to 14 European countries and Canada. Such str ong connectivity with the movement of sensitive products has developed

Marketing Project Essay Example for Free

Marketing Project Essay China with its population of over 1.3 billion and the GDP growth rate of 7.7% is obviously a major player in the global market based on its size and growth potential. In recent years, the consumer food service industry in China has significantly grown, driven by the change in consumption patterns of urban Chinese consumers amid the robust Chinese economic growth. A number of Western-style franchise chains are increasingly crossing national boundaries and looking for growth among customers in China. In provinces and regions of better economic development and faster lifestyles, quick service restaurants make up a large share of the total food-service sector. Guangdong province can be chosen as a potentially profitable market where the fast-food market contributes about 90% of the total food service sectors revenue. Mad Mex, as a new entrant in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, is ambitious to penetrate this promising market with the goal to open the first franchise restaurant in February 2014. Situation analysis: ACMR-IBISWorld (Jan, 2013) estimates that the fast-food restaurant industry in China will generate revenue of $89.60 billion in 2012, up 14.1% from 2011. The pace of urbanization and the higher disposable income urge lifestyle changes and the increase in demand for fast-food. Chinese people have less leisure time to eat in traditional full-service restaurants and prefer to treat themselves in fast-food establishments. Moreover, the rapid development of fast-food service providers and new brands and food styles with improved chain store contribute to the strong growth of the industry in China. The geographic popularity of Chinas fast-food restaurants industry is consistent with Chinas economic development level. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong are three of the most developed provinces and regions in China, which account for about 45% of total industry revenue in 2012 (ACMR-IBISWorld, Jan 2013). These regions witness the relatively well developed franchise operation s. Porter’s Five Forces Industry Analysis Figure 1: Forces driving industry competition Source: Porter (1980) â€Å"Industry structure has a strong influence in determining the competitive rules of the game as well as the strategies potentially available to the firm.† (Michael E. Porter 1980, P.3) The Porter’s Five Forces Model introduced a concept of structural analysis as a framework for understanding the five basic competitive forces in an industry. These forces, which are shown in Figure 1- new entrants, rivalry among existing competitors, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of buyers, and bargaining power of suppliers, reflect that the competition â€Å"goes well beyond the established players† (Porter 1980, pp. 6). Both potential and established players can influence average industry profitability. The threat of potential entrants is balanced by the entry barriers like economic of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, access to distribution channel, etc. The intensity of rivalry determines industry attractiveness but figures out the extent to which the value created by an industry will be dissipated through competition. Sharon M. Oster (1999) asserts that subsitute products or services play an uneven role in industry dynamics. They can play a modest role in highly competitive industries or during periods of excess production. But subtitutes become significant when demand rapidly increasing or in markets with few competitors. In these cases, the availability of good substitutes influences the profits of the existing firms in a market. Buyer power is varied across markets and constituted by the most important determinants of buyer power in a market, which are the number of buyers and the distribution of their purchase, characteristics of product (for instance, standardization of products increases buyer power). In an industry, powerful suppliers can affect their bargaining power over firms by controlling prices or qualities of supply. Depending on each industry and the particular conditions of the industry, different forces will be more or less prominent in the industry competition. And the collective strength of these forces determines the intensity of competition in the industry and the potential profitability. â€Å"Knowledge of these underlying sources of competition in an industry highlights the critical strengths and weaknesses of the company, animates its positioning in its industry, clarifies the areas where strategic changes may yield the greatest payoff, and highlights the areas where industry trends promise to hold the greatest significance as either opportunities or threats† (Poeter 1980, pp.4). Once understanding these forces and their strategic implications, the company can formulate an effective competitive stratey, which enables it to defend itself from the existing array of competitive forces, affect them in its favour thereby improves the firm’s position in the market. Porter’s Diamond Model Figure 2: Porter’s Diamond Model The theorical framework, which examines the competitive position of a nation and its industries, consists of four determinants: factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and firm strategy and rivalry. According to Porter (1998), factor conditions refer to production endowment that players need to compete in an industry. These factors are discriminated into basic factors versus advanced factors, and generalized factors versus specialized factors. A basic factor is passively inherited, for example natural resources and unskilled labour. Meanwhile advanced factors include what nations can create during their industrial growth like capital, infrastructure and highly educated labour forces. The standard for production factors is gradually rising due to the improvement of knowledge, science and technology. A nation can possess competitive advantage in an industry when it is able to create new competitive factor conditions and/or upgrade the needed factors. Demand conditions refer to the nature of home-market demand for an industry’s product or service considering in terms of quantity and quality. The size of the home market, the presence of demanding and sophisticated domestic buyers pressure companies to innovate and upgrade, meet high standards in order to respond to more diverse and higher levels of customer needs. â€Å"The presence of suppliers and related industries within a nation that are internationally competitive provides benefits such as innovation, upgrading, information flow, and shared technology development which create advantages in downstream industries† (Porter 1998). A nation thereby gains competitive advantage in an industry when it has competititve edge in the number of related industries. Another determinant is firm strategy, structure, and rivalry, referring to firms’ organizational structure, management situations and the performance of competitors in domestic market. The presence of intense rivalry in the home base is important, because it is powerful stimilus to creation and persistence of competitive advantage. Two external factors are chance and governments. Chance can discontinue the possibility of some companies to gain competitive position and some lose. Governments have an overarching effect on all the players. In many industries, government is a buyer/ supplier and can influence the competition of the industry by its policies. Government can also affect the relation between an industry and subsitutes through regulations and other means. They play a role in shaping the context and institutional structure surrounding companies and in creating an environment to support companies to gain competitive advantage. SWOT Analysis Internal analysis: Strength: Mad Mex is known as a gourmet restaurant with a healthy, fresh approach to Mexican cuisine. Its philosophy is to offer food servicing in a fast paced environment to create a high volume takeaway business but a unique and high quality product offer that is sufficient to command a premium price point. This concept will bring it the competitive advantage in food service industry relative to other global QSRs in China at present. By remaining true to the founding principles: Fresh and Healthy, Fast and Delicious, Authentic and Exciting, Mad Mex gradually broadens its business with 15 stores opened in just over four years and makes effort to arm itself with a team of business savvy, hands-on, franchisees. Weakness: Established in 2007, Mad Mex is still a baby to global giant fast-food restaurants like Mc Donald’s or KFC with its limited presence in three states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland within Australia. It is regarded as a strange brandname to the worldwide food service industry and particularly the Chinese market. External analysis: Opportunities: Chinese consumers are believed to have a positive image of quick service restaurants (QSRs) and good perception of their meal quality and customer services. The average level of consumer satisfaction yet high loyalty of Chinese customers is attracting to Western fast food restaurants franchise to engage their business in this market. According to a study on International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management regarding perceived service quality in the fast food industry in China, â€Å"reliability, recoverability, tangibles, and responsiveness were all significant dimensions of perceived service quality†( Hong Qin, 2010). As the study mentioned, all these positive perception in turn influenced the customer behavioral intentions in the industry. Despite the increasing customer preference for Western-style â€Å"to-go† restaurants in the Chinese market, the QSRs market share accounts for only 9.8 percent of Chinese sales for outside meals (Datamonito r, 2007). This means the unprecedented opportunity for Western restaurant chains to operate in China. Threats: The segmentation of QSRs in China is witnessing a tougher competition between international brands like MacDonald’s and KFC and myriad domestic companies like Yum!Brand and Ajisen. Besides, Asian QSRs are the largest sub-sector in the QSRs in China, in which Chinese cuisine is dominant. It is explained by the fact that Chinese people prefer their tradition rice-based dishes and their price sensitivity when choosing the lower dishes in the Chinese restaurants. Furthermore, for the first time penetrating foreign market, the inability or unwillingness of the company to face dietary and cultural challenges will lead to the failure in the image of Mad Mex in the global market. To succeed in the Chinese market, Western-style QSRs are required to examine Chinese customer behaviours and develop marketing strategies that adapt to the Chinese cultural environment.

Structure of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young Goodman Br

Structure of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚         â€Å"Almost all literary theorists since Aristotle have emphasized the importance of structure, conceived in diverse ways, in analyzing a work of literature† (Abrams 300). This essay will explore some interesting points in the structure of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† considering the time-frame, foreshadowing, suspenseful incidents, climax and denouement (Axelrod 337).    The narrative in this tale is straightforward until the narrator, late in the story, asks the reader: "Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?† This query gives the reader the option of believing that the story is mostly a dream. The tale encompasses a period of time from sunset, when the young Puritan Goodman Brown leaves his wife in the doorway of their home, till the next morning when he returns to Salem village after spending the night in the woods.    As Brown leaves the house at the beginning of the story, his wife Faith foreshadows coming events with her reference to dreams:    "Dearest heart," whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear, "pr'ythee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed tonight. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she's afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!"      Faith’s use of dreams as an excuse for her husband to stay home on this particular evening is anticipatory of Goodman’s experience in the woods, which turns out to be possibly a dream; in other words, the bulk of the narrative could be only a dream. The devil, furthermore, introduces the ... ...ith Goodman until his dying day: â€Å"And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave, a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a goodly procession, besides neighbors, not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom.†    In this essay we have seen some interesting points in the structure of   â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† including the time-frame, the use of foreshadowing, suspenseful incidents, climax and denouement.    WORKS CITED    Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.    Axelrod, Rise B. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† 1835. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/goodman/goodmantext.html   

Actions to Reduce Fixed Costs Essay

   †¢Increase volume such that the fixed costs become a smaller proportion of the cost base. †¢Derive value from sweating the assets by working them as much as is safely and practically possible. For example, airlines plan their schedules to maximize night-time flying between 11pm and 6am when there are often legal restrictions on landings and take-offs. †¢Outsource on a unit cost basis, thus making the cost variable rather than fixed. For example, buying in a component at a cost per unit rather than paying for a machine and staff to make them yourself. †¢Use standard platforms (such as one type of asset), thus minimizing the amounts of spares that need to be held. For example, logistics companies generally have only one manufacturer of trucks, and airlines select either Boeing or Airbus. †¢Use temporary staff to manage peaks in demand and thus avoid carrying the cost of staff throughout the year when demand is lower. For example, hotels often call in temporary banqueting staff for large functions. †¢Use an element of profit-related pay rather than a fixed salary, thus aligning the employment cost to the performance of the business. Similarly, sales commission not only provides a sales incentive but also makes the cost variable. †¢Assess the full life-cycle cost of an asset. A cheaper asset may over its useful life involve higher maintenance and ultimately faster replacement than a more expensive version. For example, a cheap printer may do the job, but soon its quality deteriorates and within a short while a new one is required. †¢Develop products that can use the waste from manufacturing the primary product. For example, Marmite, a yeast extract spread, is made from the residue from brewing beer, thus making the brewing waste a revenue earner rather than a disposal cost. †¢Employ staff with accountable hour’s contracts rather than standard hours and overtime. The process is that the staff works the hours they are required, but only 1,600 hours in a year. Operationally, this requires one-twelfth of the staff to have their accountable hours year ending each month. This makes sure that all the staffs do not run out of hours at the same time. †¢Simplify the product or service. Cut out a stage in the process that reduces costs but does not result in customers perceiving any loss in quality. For example, Kit Kat, a chocolate bar, used to be wrapped in foil with a paper sleeve. The packaging now is just a single outer wrapper. Some organizations describe this action as â€Å"squeeze†, which is the process of reducing the unit cost of production with no discernible loss in quality.