A Short Story Essay

During Maytag’s final surrender to Whirlpool, appliance parts are now in surplus. As a result, the warehouse has been shipped an overabundance of parts. The likes of which we rarely see. Because the market has gone down in flames, the demand for appliance parts is sky-high. Thus we have a beautiful supply and demand ratio between our suppliers and our customers. Since no one has the capital to go out and purchase a brand new washing machine or refrigerator, in spite of Obama’s Energy Star credit stimulus, more and more appliances are being serviced. This allows servicers to keep in business and increase profits. Their increase in business requires that they purchase more parts from us, of which we are consistently replenishing due to the business deals made by our suppliers. Thus the servicer is never thrown into hysteria over a lack of parts. Thus we keep in business. Thus we keep our jobs. We even manage to allocate overtime on occasion. I know all this because the warehouse hides nothing from me. The warehouse needs me. The warehouse is me. Or else I’d like to think. By the end of the shift we are all manifesting the last of the packages that are to be shipped out via UPS and FedEx. The trailers are closed. The semis drive off. The workers go home. I stay to close shop. I print the manifest reports and shut down the computers. I record our shipping quantities and turn out the lights. The doors are locked, the security enabled. I shut the last door before I stroll to the bus stop. The driver sees my monthly pass purchased online at the warehouse’s very own computer, addressed to my own PO box. The driver lets me on. There are a couple of folks onboard. One works at Chili Works not too far from the warehouse. The other is a Wal-Mart employee. We are all considered workers of the underclass. The only difference is that I have approximately ten grand in my savings. Most people are ten grand in dept. Of course, not too many take microeconomics as seriously either. When my girlfriend cheated on me and insurrected herself from our apartment, I decided to take control of my cash. I realized that I was spending nearly six thousand dollars a year in rent money. When the lease was up, I took the capital gained from the security deposit, including the five dollar interest they were required to give, and invested in a bicycle. Of course, I invested in the bicycle after I totaled my Pontiac grand prix. I did this because for the next year I would have to spend three thousand dollars in car payments and two-thousand dollars in gasoline. The insurance forked me four grand. At this point I was a bit of an alcoholic anyway so I decided that the car was an opportunity cost. If I wanted to continue to go to the bars each night and have my juicy burger and tray full of cigarette butts, I would need to sacrifice the Pontiac. This capital was generally inadequate when compared to my personal entrepreneurship. My taverns, my coffee and reading clubs, my model-crafting. I’m getting to the point at which I can sell World War II naval ship recreations for a profit. No one would know my storage cell housed the Battle of Midway. Then there are my books that I buy and sell later to used book stores. It may be cheaper to go to a library, but the city doesn’t give cards to homeless folk. Still, I manage. The only real resources I depend on is my own personal entrepreneurship, my labor, and the permanence of the land. The capital built up over the years is strictly a luxury. Since my supply of bar beverages is at a constant growth, the supply of such beverages usually comes at a low cost. More and more I see laid off engineers and factory machinists come night after night, drowning their miseries away. Winter approaches, so the construction jockeys are hitting Bourbon Street like an army from hell. Meanwhile, the bars are ordering more and more of their stock. More than probably necessary, as I feel they have built a surplus. Everyday I see trucks stocked with Miller products and Coors make dock. By Tuesday night the bartenders are giving drinks away, they have so much. If their bands of laid-off workers don’t make a buck soon, the bars will start to run into a massive deficit without having a stable consumer base. An unemployed man can only spend for so long. Still, I reap the benefits. And if ever there is a time when someone may ask me why it is I chose my life without shelter; perhaps an intrigued lady aroused by such mystery or a confused little boy who was always taught to work with what they got; I shall tell them both that I live in the market of the free. My entire essence is dedicated to what I want and how accessible it is to make such an acquisition. Everything else is simply an unnecessary expenditure. A Short Story Essay The cold hit him straight way, and he turned to the see the appealing glow of the gas lamp that cast silhouettes on the walls, the shadows dancing with each flicker of the small flame. The wind blew quiet but harsh and found its way through the gaps in his woollen overcoat. He turned up the collar and regretted that there was no button to keep it in place. He scurried down the well-trodden path, passing withering plants and whatever else lay in the darkness. Without warning, the headlights of an approaching illuminated him against the darkness of the forest; he threw himself to the hard ground, scurrying towards the relative safety of the undergrowth. He didn’t dare to move, terrified that any shuffle or scratching might give away his position, as the truck stopped at the side of the road. He heard the slamming of doors and the shuffling of feet. The man could see nothing but the very top of the trucks canvas roof, but he could hear their voices. One shouted out to another in German; the reply was a harsh laugh that seemed to pierce the very core of the wildlife; a large bird that has been making its way cautiously over to the man suddenly opened its wings out and took off violently from where it stood with a loud shriek that filled the deadly quiet. The man stopped breathing, covered his head with both of his hands and screwed his eyes tightly shut, willing the other men to go away. He could hear them walking over, their hard-soled boots thudding, again and again, as they made their way closer. He had attempted to bury himself in the plantation, but it was to no avail. A narrow, white torch beam, moved across the perimeter of the forest, and slowly made its way down to his level. He shut his eyes tight and willed them to leave him be, to go away. And just like that, the beam of light vanished, and the footsteps gradually died away. With the slam of two doors, the engine started, and the truck moved off. The man lifted his head slightly, just in time to see the terrifying symbol of the Swastika that would be engrained in his mind for the rest of his life.

Cricket Essay

History of Cricket Early cricket was at some time or another described as â€Å"a club striking a ball†. The ancient games of club-ball, stool-ball, trap-ball, stob-ball†. Cricket can definitely be traced back to Tudor times in early 16th-century England. Written evidence exists of a game known as â€Å"creag† being played by Prince Edward, the son of Edward I (Longshanks), at Newenden, Kent in 1301 and there has been speculation, but no evidence, that this was a form of cricket. Many other words have been suggested as names for the term â€Å"cricket†. In the earliest real reference to the sport in 1598, it is called â€Å"creckett†. Given the strong old trade connections between south-east England and the County of Flanders when the latter belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy, the name may have begun from the Middle Dutch kricke, meaning a stick ; or the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff. In Old French, the word criquet seems to have meant a kind of c lub or stick. In Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, he derived cricket from â€Å"cryce, Saxon, a stick†. Another possible source is the Middle Dutch word krickstoel, meaning a long low stool used for kneeling in church and which resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket. According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, â€Å"cricket† derives from the Middle Dutch phrase for hockey, met de krik ket sen â€Å"with the stick chase†. Dr. Gillmeister believes that not only the name but the sport is of origin. During the 17th century, numerous references indicate the growth of cricket in the south-east of England. By the end of the century, it had become an organized activity being played for high stakes and it is believed that the first professionals appeared in the years following the Restoration in 1660. A newspaper report survives of â€Å"a great cricket match† with eleven players a side that was played for high stakes in Sussex in 1697 and this is the earliest known reference to a cricket match of such importance. The game went through major development in the 18th century and became the national sport of England. Betting played a major part in that development with rich  patrons forming their own â€Å"select XIs†. Cricket was popular in London as early as 1707 and large crowds flocked to matches on the Artillery Ground in Finsbury. The single wicket form of the sport attracted huge crowds and wagers to match. Bowling became popular around 1760 when bowlers began to pitch the ball instead of rolling or skimming it towards the batsman. This caused a revolution in bat design because, to deal with the bouncing ball, it was necessary to introduce the modern straight bat in place of the old â€Å"hockey stick† shape. The Hambledon Club was founded in the 1760s and, for the next 20 years until the formation of MCC and the opening of Lord’s Old Ground in 1787, Hambledon was both the game’s greatest club and its focal point. MCC quickly became the sport’s premier club and the custodian of the Laws of Cricket. New Laws introduced in the latter part of the 18th century included the three stump wicket and leg before wicket. The 19th century saw underarm bowling replaced by first roundarm and then overarm bowling. Both developments were controversial. Organization of the game at county level led to the creation of the county clubs, starting with Sussex CCC in 1839, which ultimately formed the official County Championship in 1890. Meanwhile, the British Empire had been instrumental in spreading the game overseas and by the middle of the 19th century it had become well established in India, North America, the Caribbean, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In 1844, the first international cricket match took place between the United States and Canada, although neither has ever been ranked as a Test-playing nation. Cricket entered a new era in 1963 when English counties introduced the limited overs variant. As it was sure to produce a result, limited overs cricket was lucrative and the number of matches increased. The first Limited Overs International was played in 1971. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) saw its potential and staged the first limited overs Cricket World Cup in 1975. In the 21st century, a new limited overs form, Twenty20, has made an immediate impact. Equipment and Changes over Time Ball- A red or white ball with a cork base, wrapped in twine covered with leather. The ball should have a circumference of 23 cm (9.1 inches) unless it is a children’s size. Bat- A wooden bat is used. The wood used is from the Kashmir or English willow tree. The bat cannot be more than 38 inches (96.5 cm) long and 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide. Aluminium bats are not allowed. The bat has a long handle and one side has a smooth face. Stumps- 3 wooden poles known as the stumps. Bails- Two crosspieces are known as the bails. Sight screen- A screen placed at the boundary known as the sight screen. This is aligned exactly parallel to the width of the pitch and behind both pairs of wickets. Boundary- A rope demarcating the perimeter of the field known as the boundary. History of the Cricket Bat- (The only known piece of equipment that has changed, has only been the bat.) 1624 – This is the first time that we have any mention of a cricket bat. An inquest was carried out after a fielder was killed. The batsman had tried to prevent him from catching the ball, and had presumably whacked him on the head in the process! Originally bowlers used to bowl the ball underarm. The cricket bat was therefore shaped very much like a hockey stick. 1770’s – The laws were changed to allow â€Å"length bowling†, which was still performed underarm. The cricket bat became roughly parallel with a maximum width of 4.25†³. This is still the same today. They were extremely heavy, with the â€Å"swell† at the bottom. 1820’s – Round arm bowling was allowed, instigating more bounce so the cricket bat became lighter with a higher â€Å"swell†. 1830’s – Until this period all cricket bats were one piece willow. However, because of increased breakages and shock as the ball travelled faster, cricket bat makers started to â€Å"splice† handles into bats. Handles were either solid willow or ash. 1835 – The length of a cricket bat  was restricted to 38†³, which is still the same today. 1840 – The first recorded use of a â€Å"spring† being inserted into the handles of the cricket bat. These were initially whalebone (as used in ladies corsets) and some years later India rubber. 1853 – Thomas Nixon, a Notts cricketer, introduced the use of cane in handle making in cricket bats. 1864 – The laws were altered to allow over- arm bowling so there was a further lightening and more refined shaping of the blade. Handles became intricate constructions and were nearly all made of cane with Indian rubber grips. 1870’s – The shape of today’s cricket bat evolves.

Health care provider Essay

Greg Wilson, a 65-year-old man, is diagnosed with pneumonia. He has a history of congestive heart failure. His physician has ordered an antibiotic for the pneumonia and he takes digoxin every day. As the health care provider, which question would you ask first before administering his antibiotic? Why is the first dose of the antibiotic twice as much as the maintenance dose? Which variables may slow his metabolism and excretion? You should submit your initial response to each discussion question by Wednesday at 11:59 pm (MT) each week. You are also required to respond to a peer and/or their instructor on one other day of the week. LP2.1 Discussion: Medication Effects As a health care provider we must ask the right questions especially before administrating any medication. In the case study for Greg Wilson, the first and most important question his health care provider should ask is â€Å"have you ever had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic?† The reason for this question is imperative because it helps the provider to determine which antibiotic is best for him. If Greg Wilson has had a reaction before, the health care provider can avoid and more complications to Greg. Sometimes a provider will prescribe a prescription that will have instructions that instruct the patient to take two doses on the first dose, and after the first dose to take only one dose. This form of administrating medication is known as the loading dose. The loading dose is when a patient takes the initial dose that is often the maximum dose and then continues taking the medication using a smaller dosage. The reason for using this method is to quickly elevate the level o f the drug in the blood. The health care provider that is responsible for Greg Wilson’s prescription must also factor in other variables regarding the patient. The following variables must be known in order to administer the correct medication and dosage for it to be effective. * Age – as we get older our metabolism and excretions become slower, which can cause effects on how the medication is absorbed and excreted. * Weight – many drug doses depend on the weight of a patient. In most cases the heavier the patient the higher the dosage. * Gender – Men and women have different factors that cause them to respond differently to medication. Some factors are pregnancy, ratio of fat per body massdiffers in men and women, and hormone levels are also different in men and woman These factors are important because they all have some effect on how a patient’s body is going to react to the medication they were provided. The effectiveness and possible side effects of medication are all determined on many things, and it’s the health care provider’s responsibility to know a lot of important information about a pat ient in order to provide them the best care they can offer. Sources: Essentials of Pharmacology for Health Occupations, Sixth Edition

Business Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Business Decision Making - Essay Example The management focuses on the application of various research methods. Research companies shall interview tablet users in the South East market. The researcher will also use both structured and unstructured interviews to obtain information on the product. Interviews will provide both qualitative and quantitative methods. The researcher should minimize chances of nonrespondence by approaching the subjects appropriately. Flexibility will be integrated in the interview process in order to maximize information obtained (McKee, 2014, 1). Similarly, researchers will use questionnaires. Mailed questionnaires will be randomly sent to tablet users on a random basis. The researcher should consider the cost of sending feedback from the respondents (Elvis, 2010, 56). Prepaid stamps should be used to cushion the respondents on the mailing costs. Moreover, the researcher may obtain primary data on the market trends. A market analysis will provide quantitative and qualitative data. Researchers can request electronics’ suppliers to furnish them with sales records on tablets. Alternatively, researchers can use secondary data from electronic databases. Sales records will provide detailed information on consumer demand of tablets. Data on consumer preferences will be obtained. The company encourages researchers to apply any other research methods provided they avail adequate data. The objective of the proposed research is to obtain as much data from customers as possible. Particularly, qualitative data providing information on consumer taste and preference is of great importance. The researcher should obtain data on the prevailing market price of the various tablets available in the market. The information obtained will enable the management come up with a price that will maximize revenue for the company. Consumer demand pattern should also be obtained as it will help the company predict expected demand with a high degree of

Selling drugs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Selling drugs - Assignment Example Comprehending the best managerial practices to use in handling the challenge of drug selling in the workplace adeptly prepares me for the challenging managerial environment as well as imparts on me the ethical practices in the workplace. The Controlled Substances Act specifies that it is illegal for any person to distribute or be in possession of substances listed under the Act, including drugs. Through questionnaire and literature review, it is uncovered that many employees sell or use drug in the workplace. Since the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) prohibits an employer from discriminating against employees, industrial front-line supervisors should not discriminate any employee on the fact that they sell or use drugs in the workplace. They should: The paper wraps up by reiterating the importance of supervisors using nest practices in handling drug selling in the workplace. It emphasizes the importance of effective communication, and positive supervisor-employees, and supervisor-management relationships in curbing drug selling in the

I am a new manager for a failing division in a company Assignment

I am a new manager for a failing division in a company - Assignment Example To optimize the utility of the human capital asset business organizations must have effective communication among its employees. An important goal of all business entities is to maximize shareholder’s wealth. Introduction Sometimes organizations have business divisions that struggle. These divisions fail because of operational problems that are inhibiting the division from becoming efficient. Some of the problems the organization faces are outdated product lines, loss of market share, adversarial interdepartmental communication, and fierce competition for corporate funding. This paper discusses the main problems the organization is facing. Organizational structures are discussed in order to select the optimum organizational structure for the company. Suggestions are provided to help the transitional process between the old and new organizational structure. 1. The consumer marketplace has become extremely competitive due to the globalization movement. Corporations must use inno vation to achieve success since it is imperative to differentiate your product to stand out from the competition. Outdated product lines are a problem that can devastate a company. For instance during the past two decades the American car industry was not able to compete with Japanese manufacturers because the car models the Big Three were offering were outdated based on the consumer needs. The higher fuel prices increased the demand for fuel efficient vehicles. Outdated product lines are not attractive items. The sales of the corporation will decrease as a consequence of outdated product lines. Adversarial communication is an undesirable organizational problem. The employees of a company must display good communication skills when dealing with internal and external stakeholders. Three important stakeholder groups are employees, investors, and lenders (Tutor2u, 2011). Tensions associated with communication can hurt employee morale and reduce productivity. The resources of an organiz ation should be shared among the different profit centers. Fierce competition for funding is a problem because it can increase the interest costs to obtain capital. Under those conditions many small businesses are denied access to credit. Battle over the resources of a firm can lead to conflict. 2. There are different types of organizational structures that companies can use to run a business. Five types of organizational structures are matrix, functional, product, customer, and geographic (Patricia, 2002). Matrix organizations utilize teamwork and group projects a lot. Functional organizations are the most often utilized business structure. The customer structure is used by small firms that have a short list of customers where each customer generates the company a lot of money. The company has to change its organizational structure and fix its internal problems. I think that due to the lack of innovation demonstrated by the firm the best option is to choose a matrix organizational structure. 3. The old company must perform a complete overhaul. All the old divisions are going to be dissolved. The old divisional managers will become project managers. A new breed of managers will be recruited to lead new team formations. An emphasis will be place on R&D projects to create new ideas for new products and services. The old communication hurdles and employee conflicts will not impact the firm as much since the matrix structure will give the firm new life. 4. The external

Should animal be used for scientific experiment Research Paper

Should animal be used for scientific experiment - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, to describe tortures of animals in laboratories is rather complicated; it is much easier just to imagine it. Experiments on non-human creatures started long time ago and were notable among many famous scientists. However, lately a query about rightness of such tests has aroused considerably. Dispute on the efficiency and appropriateness of animal experiments continues to stay rather controversial. There are a large number of different organizations such as â€Å"The International Association against Painful Experiments on Animals†, â€Å"The Human Society of the United States† or â€Å"British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection†, which propagandize refusal of any tests on animals and condemn those companies that do not go along with them. In the list of the firms that still haunt rats, mice, rabbits, cats, monkeys and other creatures for trying out their output you can find so world-known brands as Dove, Sunsilk, Rexona, Timotei, Axe, Speed Stic k, Colgate, Max Factor, Pantene, Braun, Ariel, L'Oreal Paris, Lancome, Maybelline, Vichy, Givenchy, Kenzo, Кleenex et cetera. There is the biggest laboratory in Europe named  «Huntingdon Life Sciences » that specializes on testing chemicals. Every year millions of innocent and harmless animals die for the sake of scientific research. It is quite understandable if people use animals to create medicine from AIDS or cancer, for example. Then you can easily say that these scientists serve for saving people from dreadful diseases and deaths. But when poor animals are tormented by painful effects of cosmetics testers then a question about reasonability of the mentioned deeds becomes sharp extremely. Animals are compelled to sacrifice themselves loosing their lives and stipulations of normal existence for making people satisfied with a new detergent or night cream, for instance. In this respect, there are several aspects and arguments that support the idea of animal experiments proh ibition. They are the following: Killing animals for experimentations is ethically wrong, because it displays cruelty and callousness of human nature; Animals have their rights that should be respected and protected by people; Carried out researches often do not give required results, that is why they do not worth all expenses and losses. Therefore the main goal of humanity is to decide whether it is more relevant to continue experimentation or fight against it. The solution of that problem can be considered essential, because it refers to the lives of not only people but non-human animals also. According to Monamy (2009), today every student and researcher involved in animal experimentation should consider a number of ethical questions (Monamy, 2009, p.37). A man is the most powerful entity on the planet. That is why his major task is protection of plants and animals that are not able to take care of themselves for saving and passing on this world to the future generations. However , making experiments on helpless animals, people cut, burn, and drown their bodies, feed them with chemicals and drugs that influence on health and comfort dangerously. Moreover, to be able to observe animal’s reaction often researchers damage skin of the creature deliberately and lubricate it with experimental substance, or treat animal’s eyes with a new drops that in the result causes blindness of the poor animal. Sometimes for testing

Management Problem Solving - Facquier Gas Company Case Study

Management Problem Solving - Facquier Gas Company - Case Study Example After making inquiries from the design engineer, Pat Wilson, it became evident to Murphy that the new project would require pipes of different specifications from those used in previous projects. In his opinion, Murphy considered the time span from January to June sufficient in conformity to the mill’s lead-time. However, Murphy had not received such details in April, although the project was scheduled to commence in June, and due for the conclusion in September. The supply management, construction and design organizations were under the headship of the vice-president of operations. The design engineer, Pat Wilson and construction engineer Sam Law fail to approve the pipe specifications in good time, compelling Murphy to inquire from Wilson, only to realize that the pipes required were of different specifications. Time had lapsed until April 14, leaving Murphy worried about the limited time for the procurement process of the materials required in a bid to meet the June deadline, the scheduled time for the onset of the project. One of the possible solutions would involve Murphy consulting with Clive Byers, the project manager and highlighting that the specifications were yet to be communicated. This would compel Murphy to schedule a meeting with Byers as soon as possible. Byers would then inquire from Sam Law and Pat Wilson. After receiving information from them, he would strive to ensure that the specifications are communicated to Murphy. In this solution, Murphy would have acted wisely by not overreaching Byers, since he heard the initial information about the project from him. Byers has the capacity to inquire from the Wilson and Sam Law because he is the project manager, and has the mandate of ensuring that execution of projects occurs within the set timelines. Moreover, this would serve to solve the problem at the lower level without involving higher authority. Alternatively, Murphy would approach the Charlie Buck, the design superintend, and inquire from him.  

American Literature Exam question Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Literature Exam question - Coursework Example Linda is denied the right to raise her own children, as are many other black women. Slaves are not allowed to marry whom they choose, and a black husband and wife sometimes are not allowed to live together. White men father children with black women, but lack absolutely any kind of parental obligation towards the children, and in some cases, like with Mr. Sands, may be tempted to sell them to get out of financial trouble. We see that the hatred slavery enforces distorts the most basic of all emotions: that of a parent towards his child. The lack of freedom and basic human rights does not affect only individuals, but all social structures. Normal human relationships inside and outside of a family cannot survive the devastating influence of the slavery system which deliberately dehumanizes black people, shamelessly stripping them off their dignity and rights as human beings.

SHAREHOLDER STRUCTURE AND RISK PROFILE OF BRITISH PETROLEUM PLC Essay

SHAREHOLDER STRUCTURE AND RISK PROFILE OF BRITISH PETROLEUM PLC - Essay Example One of the most important objectives of corporate finance function is to maximise the shareholders’ value. There are many avenues by which the shareholders’ value can be increased. A company can invest in those projects which would fetch them a return, greater than the minimum hurdle rate. In compliance with that the company is committed to maximise the value for their shareholders. Their strategy is to create value by investing in exploration and production business because they offer sustainable growth with high returns through out the operational activities. To sustain the momentum which increases the firm’s value, the company intends to reinvest in exploration and production while carrying out their target acquisition for expansion of their business activities. They are expected to make investments in their assets through out the business cycle to increase the operational productivity of the company. All these attempts have been put forward so that a sustaina ble growth can be attained in future. This would even help the shareholders to attain an enhanced continual growth in their earnings from this company. BP’s aim is to strike a balance for their shareholders between the earnings involving the dividend, persistent investment in long term growth opportunities and maintain a careful risk return level. The company has a proper dividend reinvestment for the shareholders who are willing to have their dividend in the form of stocks rather than in cash. The company also have dividend reinvestment plan for their US and Canadian shareholders. All these approaches have been taken in accordance with the shareholders’ interests. They have committed to a remuneration policy which is in accordance with the interests of the shareholders. In the current volatile scenario it is quite important to have talented as well as committed

Marketing Communication of Adidas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Communication of Adidas - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Adidas. Created in 1925 by Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler, Adidas has dominated the sports apparel and footwear market for over 80 years. Adidas started off as a sports footwear company that designed special shoes for athletes, however, over the years Adidas expanded into sports goods as well. After its success in Germany Adidas expanded to the United States in 1968, and captured the American market in a matter of few years. Adidas’ success worldwide can be attributed not only to its unmatched quality and innovation but also to its marketing strategies. Being a premier sports brand, Adidas has been prominent in the sports world at all levels which has been a huge success factor for the brand. The broad product offering of Adidas has enabled it to capture a global market for itself; the product categories include Football, Basketball, Running, Training and Outdoor sports. Customization and innovation are key growth drivers for the bra nd. Adidas is identified with performance and in order to uphold that brand image it serves its consumers five performance benefits through its products which are designed to be faster, stronger, smarter, cooler and natural. Marketing communication plays a pivotal role when it comes to establishing brand name, loyalty and engaging consumers. The marketing communication of Adidas seeks to achieve three main objectives: creating brand awareness, identifying a need that the brand or product fulfills and finally encouraging action from the audience. It achieves these by employing seamless marketing and communication leadership strategies, rendering authenticity through strategic partnerships and extending brand reach through endorsements and partnerships. A very important growth driver is the brand’s history with athletes and Global sports which has not only created a favorable brand image but also brand awareness and loyalty in the Global arena. Endorsements and sponsorships hav e been the central marketing communication tool of Adidas. By virtue of its nature, the brand has the power to dominate the world of sports through strategic partnerships and celebrity endorsements. The most crucial perhaps, have been endorsements by athletes such as Ian Thorpe, Andre Agassi, Kaka, Zidane, David Beckham et al who embody the brand image and product philosophy and consequently create very favorable attitudes in consumers towards the brand. The brand is, therefore, not only preferred by athletes across the world but also by ordinary consumers who have a passion for sports and who idolize those athletes. Another marketing tool of the brand is associating the brand philosophy to tangible outcomes. This not only renders legitimacy to the brand but also sensationalizes it and therefore leaves a very far reaching impact by creating a brand appeal that is second to none. The ‘golden ball’ for instance was the official football for FIFA World Cup 2006. The brandà ¢â‚¬â„¢s association with major sporting events, leagues, clubs and sports associations as partner, sponsor and licensee has also been a central pillar in propping its marketing communication. Among many such associations some mention worthy partnerships and sponsorships include; the

Super Bikes Essay Example for Free

Super Bikes Essay John Jones built an excellent business that named JJ Motorbikes five years ago. John Jones uses his initial of his name, JJ, as a brand for his business. Ten years before, he had been the world champion in the â€Å"Super Bikes†. John Jones. By changing an old car showroom, John Jones built a successful business. On the other hand, this business has getting larger and become a new â€Å"Bike City†. Lying on two miles from the near place, this place is being built neighboring to the main motorway on the outskirts of the city. According to the plan, the place and its all the new facilities are being prepared to open in June 2006. II Situation Analysis Because of the good standing and strategic location of JJ Motorbikes, this place has grow to be a reliable place to buy motorbikes, and all at once become a place for the bikers to gather and chitchat in the biking community. The small coffee machine that placed outside of the service centre becomes a place for bikers to meet fellow riders to have a chat and they can browse some accessories in the shop during that time. Become part of this business, the accessory shop is one of the main profit midpoints, although the bikers do not always buy something there. Besides selling good and new motorbikes, JJ Motorbikes is also selling second-hand motorbikes, exclusive with a JJ Motorbikes guarantee. To create good marketing relationship with the bikers that enthusiast in this pastime, JJ Motorbikes must know how to deal this business well and keep it glowing. JJ Motorbikes have to win the customers by making a selection of the newest and most exciting performance bikes. For example, nowadays, customers appreciate the small display of classic motorbikes. These experiences have been built into the plan for the new JJ Motorbikes. II. 1 Macro environment (including PEST Analysis) JJ Motorbikes should make helpful and facilitating macro-environment to achieve the success of their business activity. The place of JJ Motorbikes needs a government and populations that understand well about the enthusiasm of this hobby as a positive activity and key indicator of local development to provide such an environment. JJ Motorbikes need to plan and apply a promotion to create public responsiveness. The highlighting of the promotion should be focus to the customer’s interest. JJ Motorbikes can use radio, television, and newspapers to emphasize the good side of the activity and remind about the negative consequences that identified in customer’s consideration. JJ Motorbikes should make specific activities that connected to the activity within the program they are appraising. Political factors can have a direct impact on the way business operates. Decisions made by government affect our every day lives and can come in the form of policy or legislation (Quick MBA. 2006). In a global industry is an industry, where a company’s strategic position is influenced by their global position as a whole (Kotler, 2000). The political decision in the area is having an impact on JJ Motorbikes businesses. JJ Motorbikes businesses are affected by economical factors too. Interest rate policy and fiscal policy will have to be set as a result. Within the area, the climate of the economy says how consumer may behave within society. Whether an economy is in an explosion, depression or recovery will also affect JJ Motorbikes consumer’s confidence and behavior. Inside people forces such as family, friends, and media affect our attitude, interest, and opinions. These forces figure who we are as people and the way we behave and what we ultimately purchase. Within the people near JJ Motorbikes, attitudes are changing towards their activity of hobby. Consequently, JJ Motorbikes is seeing an increase in the quantity of people joining this interest activity. Changes in technology are changing the way of JJ Motorbikes operates. The Internet is having a deep impact on the marketing mix strategy of JJ Motorbikes. Consumers of JJ Motorbikes can now shop 24 hours a day comfortably from their homes. II. 2 Micro environment JJ Motorbikes should strengthen community involvement by provide a club society in groups to facilitate them to organize the activity better. They also need to make use of local cultural practices whenever possible. JJ Motorbikes can also build in social appreciation programs to give confidence and support individual and community initiatives. JJ Motorbikes have to make other components of the activity program to make sure that every families and communities are able to participate. They may need also to seek additional financial support for this, and with the intention of reach remote, isolated communities and households. II. 2. 1 Competition Differentiation is very important in JJ Motorbikes marketing. JJ Motorbikes have to offer better than their competitors do. They need to continue this differentiation over a period from their competitors. High-grade and in-depth-processed motorbikes, which can compete with international fashionable styles, will have broader market. JJ Motorbikes should redirect their marketing focus to towns and countryside. They started to establish and improve sales and service network in rural areas step by step. II. 2. 2 Market Demographics Demographic segmentation divides the market into groups founded on demographic variables including age, gender, family size, and life cycle. Nevertheless, JJ Motorbikes have set their highlights definitely at the other end of the scale, on the kids and teens market, as they increasingly segment products across all age groups. II. 2. 3 Market Needs This new product of JJ Motorbikes was designed from the ground up to take advantage of motorbike technology. It includes a patented and high performance suspension. The products of JJ Motorbikes are an innovative combination of performance and quality. The design flexibility incorporated into the body of the products allows the motorbike to be customized, branded, and built for specific market needs. This includes hobby, recreation and resorts, security, as well as many others. JJ Motorbikes labeling and packaging may have to alter to comply with the country’s labeling or environmental regulations. Presentation of their product is very important particularly for consumer goods. II. 2. 4 Market Trends In view of the fact that purchasing power in this areas take shape by stages, the demand volume for JJ motorbikes will maintain at about a half of the total output in the future year plan period. In addition, the market of JJ motorbikes will be gradually standardized and related. JJ motorbikes will pay more attention to technological renovation and own products development in the coming several years. The JJ motorbikes’s record of accomplishment and prolonged existence happens from its successful design of innovative consumer products for markets. Consumer can trust in a design, coupled with eagerly commercial awareness of global market trends. II. 3 SWOT II. 3. 1 Strengths Strength is one component of internal analysis. The component describes any resources and capabilities that support a company to achieve its competitive advantage such as patents, excellent reputation, low cost structure and many more (Tutor 2U, 2006). Concerning the JJ Motorbikes the strengths are: Good basic and support services provided by the government Conformity Control In place to handle commercial side II. 3. 2 Weaknesses The second internal factor is Weaknesses. This is simply in contrast to the strength in which the absence of specific strength might be considered as the weaknesses of the company (Tutor 2U, 2006). Concerning the JJ Motorbikes the weaknesses are: Main structure does not feed effective information Ideas good at start Intent/reasoning not always communicated to all customers Poorest families not reached

Explaining Electoral Volatility In Latin America Politics Essay

Explaining Electoral Volatility In Latin America Politics Essay Abstract Many existing explanations of electoral volatility in Latin America have been tested at the country level, but they are largely untested at the individual party level. In this paper, I apply a hierarchical linear model (HLM) to test various explanations of electoral volatility on data of 128 parties in the lower house elections of 18 Latin American countries from 1978 to 2011. My most important finding pertains to the conditional effect of a partys incumbency status on electoral volatility. First, the results show that the effect of party age on reducing electoral volatility is stronger for incumbent parties. Second, an incumbent party has a lower level of electoral volatility than opposition parties during periods of stronger economic performance. Last, while an irregular alteration of political institutions is hypothesized to increase the level of volatility for all the parties in a country, the effect is more significant for the incumbent party. Explaining Electoral Volatility in Latin America: Evidence at the Party Level Introduction Concerns with party system institutionalization and its consequences in developing countries have grown in the past decade. Extant literature underscores that political parties play an important role in linking diverse social forces with democratic institutions, channeling societal demands, managing sociopolitical conflicts, holding government officials accountable to the electorate, and legitimizing the regime (Dix 1992; Sartori 1968; Schattschneider 1942). In this sense, political parties with stable and consistent support across elections not only ensure their long-term survival, but also help institutionalize the party system. A stable and institutionalized party system fosters more effective programmatic representation (Mainwaring and Zoco 2007, 157) and facilitates the institutionalization of political uncertainty (Przeworski and Sprague 1986). In contrast, a democratic country with a poorly institutionalized party system where electoral volatility is very high tends to produce populist leaders and discourage the incumbent party from making long-term policy commitments (Mainwaring and Scully 1995).  [1]   In comparison to Western Europe and the United States, the level of electoral volatility is exceptionally high in Latin America (Payne et al. 2002). In the 1990s, the overall electoral volatility in this region was about twice that in the developed world (Roberts and Wibbels 1999). Weak partisan identities of voters, rapid voting choice changes, and unpredictable election campaigns are prevalent political characteristics in this region (Baker, Ames, and Renno 2006), but what explains the variation in electoral volatility in Latin America? Previous work on electoral volatility has provided explanations about political institutions, national economic performance, social cleavages, ethnic heterogeneity, and historical factors (Hicken and Kuhonta 2011; Madrid 2005; Mainwaring and Zoco 2007; Roberts and Wibbels 1999; Tavits 2005). These explanations have been tested at the country level, but they are largely untested at the individual party level, even though that is the level at which th e effects of certain relevant explanatory factors are expected to work. Why do some parties have higher levels of electoral volatility than others? Do factors cause electoral volatility at the country level have the same impact on party level volatility? Does the incumbent party enjoy certain advantages that opposition parties do not have to secure electoral stability? This paper aims to address these questions by examining electoral evidence at the party level in Latin America. I generated a value of electoral volatility for each party between elections by performing Morgenstern and Potthoffs (2005) components-of-variance model on an original dataset of lower house electoral results at the district level for 128 parties in 18 Latin American countries from 1978 to 2011. I first demonstrate that the patterns of electoral volatility at the party-level differ from that at the country level. I then apply a hierarchical linear model (HLM) to test country-level, party-level, and cross-level hypotheses regarding why some parties are more electorally volatile th an others. The most important result of this study is that the incumbent parties and opposition parties have different behavioral patterns under certain conditions. Specifically, I find that a better national economic performance helps the incumbent party, rather than every party in the country, to reduce the level of electoral volatility. Moreover, I demonstrate that an irregular institutional change greatly increases the incumbent partys electoral volatility, rather than that of every party in the country. At the party level, I find that the effect of a partys incumbency status is contingent on certain party-specific characteristics. The results show that incumbent parties that were founded in earlier periods are generally less volatile than younger incumbent parties. These findings are robust after controlling for a variety of other explanatory factors that will affect electoral volatility, using a different sample of parties, or adopting a different model specification. In sum, relative to previous work, this study is distinctive in that it uncovers patterns of electoral volatility and provides a better understanding of the dynamics of party politics in new democracies. Why Study Party-level Electoral Volatility? I focus on party volatility in this paper, and I argue that examining electoral volatility at the party level facilitates a better understanding of the patterns of party development. In general, electoral volatility refers to the phenomenon in which voters switch voting choice in consecutive elections. Many previous have used the Pedersen Index  [2]  (Pedersen 1983) to operationalize the level of party system electoral volatility (Birch 2003; Kuenzi and Lambright 2001; Mainwaring 1999; Roberts and Wibbels 1999). However, as Mair (1997, 66) argues, aggregate volatility measurement such as the Pedersen Index explains little about the persistence or decay of political cleavages. Mainwaring et al. (2010) argue that the Pedersen Index fails to distinguish between the volatility caused by vote switches from one party to the other and the volatility caused by the entry and exit of parties from the political system. Morgenstern and Potthoffs (2005, 30) critique is that the Pedersen Index fails to account for the relative electoral movement of individual parties within the system; in other words, the Pedersen Index tells nothing about which party is more volatile than the others. This problematic feature may produce mistaken if not biased inferences. For instance, although the Pedersen Index indicates that Argentinas mean party system institutionalization is lower than that of Brazil and Mexico from the 1980s to the 2000s (Mainwaring and Zoco 2007, 159), it does not indicate that Argentinas electoral volatility is largely a result of the crisis of the Unià ³n Cà ­vica Radical (UCR) instead of the incumbent Partido Justicialista (PJ) (Levitsky 1998, 461). In short, aggregate electoral volatility is likely to mask patterns of party-level electoral volatility. The level of electoral volatility matters for a party because it is an important indicator of a partys long-term survival. Party volatility is also an indicator of party institutionalization (Dalton and Weldon 2007; Mainwaring and Scully 1995). According to Janda (1980, 26-7), an institutionalized party should have stable partisan support because it can secure stable representation by building strong and regular societal ties with the electorate. A more institutionalized party should have a lower level of electoral volatility and a higher probability to survive over time, and it also implies that this party has a stable, routinized organizational structure and/or supporters with strong partisanship (Levitsky 1998). As Randall and Svà ¥sand (2002) contend, a high level of party system institutionalization does not necessarily indicate that all the parties within the system have an equally high level of party institutionalization. In other words, it is not necessarily the case that a high level of country volatility implies that all the parties in this country are equally volatile between elections. Therefore, a more important research question needs to be addressed: Is a partys electoral volatility determined by country-level factors, features of the party, or both? In the next section, I will discuss and propose testable hypotheses for the empirical analyses. Explaining Party Volatility Party volatility considers the degree to which a partys average vote is stable across two consecutive elections. Previous studies about country-level electoral volatility have considered national economic performance, political institutions, and social structural factors as three competing theoretical explanations of electoral volatility. However, some of the tested hypotheses, particularly those regarding economic voting and institutional theories, are actually derived from behavioral patterns of individual parties. Thus, these hypotheses should be tested at a more appropriate level, that is, the party level. Unlike previous studies of electoral volatility that focus on country-level explanations, this paper focuses on explaining party-level volatility, and such a research design facilitates the testing of party-level, country-level, and cross-level hypotheses. In particular, I argue that the behavior of the incumbent party is different from opposition parties. Moreover, I contend that the effect of a partys incumbency status is contingent on certain factors. Next, I will discuss various competing theoretical arguments about party electoral volatility at different analytical levels. Party Age and Incumbency Status Previous studies have discussed how time affects electoral volatility at the country level. Roberts and Wibbels (1999) argue that an older system is likely to have deeper and stronger historical roots in society than younger ones. Therefore, the level of electoral volatility will decrease with the age of a party system. Adopting a similar approach, Mainwaring and Zoco (2007) propose a democratization timing explanation for why some party systems are more stable than others. The authors demonstrate that the level of democratic governance voters have experienced will affect the level of electoral volatility. In other words, what matters for accounting for stabilization of party competition is the timing when democracy began in the country. Voters in democracies that were created in earlier periods had stronger attachments to parties, so that can help forge stable patterns of party competition (Mainwaring and Zoco 2007, 163). In contrast, political elites in new democracies have less in centive to make efforts in party building, since they tend to depend on mass media and modern campaigns to win the elections. While Mainwaring and Zocos thesis sheds light on the relationship between democratic learning and party system stabilization, it ignores the variation of party age within a country. Clearly, old and young parties can exist in both old and new democracies in Latin America.  [3]  However, Mainwaring and Zocos argument might imply that party volatility will be higher in a newly-founded democracy, regardless of how old a party is in this country. To avoid this problematic inference, a more appropriate research strategy is to test Mainwaring and Zocos argument at the party level. Specifically, if Mainwaring and Zocos argument holds at the party level, we may expect that political parties that were founded in earlier periods will have lower levels of electoral volatility, because their supporters have much stronger partisan attachments than the supporters of younger parties. In contrast, younger parties will have higher levels of electoral volatility because the elites of these parties will have less incentive to delve into party building. Accordingly, the following hypothesis is generated: H1: A party that was founded in earlier periods will have a lower level of electoral volatility than a party that was founded later. The second testable hypothesis of this study is about a partys incumbency status. Some scholars argue that institutions such as states and parties might have their own strategic goals and behave as political actors in their own right (Cox and McCubbins 1993). While parties can be different in terms of various characteristics, whether or not a party is the presidents party is a crucial for explaining differences in party behavior. Incumbency advantage generally implies that incumbents are more likely to win an election than the counterpart nonincumbents (Erikson 1971; Mayhew 1974). Cox and Katz (1997) and Levitt and Wolfram (1997) decomposed the concept of incumbent advantage into three elements: (1) direct officeholder effect, such as opportunities for providing constituency services (Fiorina 1977; King 1991) and using legislative resources such as personal staff for performing casework (Cover and Brumberg 1982); (2) the ability of incumbents to scare off high-quality challengers (Kr asno and Green 1988); and (3) the generally higher quality of the incumbents due to their experiences and campaign skills (Fenno 1978). The literature on incumbent advantage provides useful insights for this study. Since presidency is often considered as an extraordinarily important political institution in Latin America (Mainwaring and Shugart 1997), it is expected that the presidents party has advantages that opposition parties do not have. In particular, the incumbent party is more likely to receive access to public funds and more capable in allocating targeted resources to secure its survival (Calvo and Murillo 2004). Although being an incumbent party does not necessarily indicate a higher probability of winning an election in the contemporary Latin American context, it is reasonable to expect that an incumbent party should have a more stable electoral performance than opposition parties. However, an incumbent party in a new democracy might not have a stable electoral performance under certain circumstances. The experience in Latin America suggests that, when a country is governed by a new party, the patterns of electoral competition will become more unstable. In Peru, Alberto Fujimoris self-coup in 1992 and the adoption of a new constitution in 1993 helped to dramatically increase votes for the incumbent Cambio 90 in the 1995 election. However, Fujimoris 40-point plunge in public approval ratings in mid-1997 (Roberts and Wibbels 1999, 586), and the demise of Fujimoris party in the 2000 and 2001 elections, not only suggest a high level of unpopularity of Fujimoris neoliberal structural reforms, but also a high level of fluid electoral preference when a country is governed by a new party. Although the effect of a partys incumbency status on party electoral volatility might not be clear, it is possible that this effect is conditional on other factors. In particular, if party age helps to reduce electoral volatility, it then makes sense that the effect should be stronger for the incumbent party. An incumbent party with an older age suggests that it not only has more access to use state resources to enhance its electoral competitiveness, but it also has stronger party organizations and members. Put differently, an older incumbent party might have a lower level of electoral volatility than a young incumbent party. Therefore, I generate the following hypothesis: H2: The effect of party age on reducing electoral volatility is stronger for an incumbent party. Incumbency, National Economy, and Institutional Change Besides the party-level hypotheses, I also test cross-level hypotheses to see whether the effect of a partys incumbency status is contingent on certain country-level factors. The first cross-level explanation concerns the interaction between incumbency and economy. Economic voting theory argues that some citizens will respond to the waxing and waning of the economy by shifting their votes to reward or punish incumbent parties and officeholders (Lewis-Beck 1988). In other words, electoral volatility is driven by voters retrospective evaluations of economic performance of the incumbent government. More specifically, economic hardship can be expected to increase electoral volatility by undermining the loyalties and support for the incumbent party and by increasing the opposition parties votes. By contrast, in a better economic climate, one would expect that people prefer to maintain the status quo by continuing to support the incumbent party so that electoral volatility decreases. The proposition that economic conditions shape election outcomes in democratic countries is robust for studies using individual survey data (Lewis-Beck and Stegmaier 2000). In contrast, analyses of electoral volatility at the country level find inconsistent evidence about economic voting. Remmer (1991; 1993) and Madrid (2005) demonstrate that economic performance has a significant impact on the level of electoral volatility in Latin America. The evidence in advanced democracies also shows that economic performance strongly shapes electoral volatility (Bischoff forthcoming). However, recent analyses of new democracies in post-communist Europe (Epperly 2011) and Africa (Ferree 2010) show that economic voting is not a crucial factor in explaining party system volatility. One possible explanation for these inconsistent findings pertains to the appropriateness of the level of analysis. Specifically, since economic voting theory suggests that national economic performance will affect the extent of vote switches between the incumbent party and opposition parties between elections, it is more appropriate and necessary to test this argument at the party level. If the economic voting argument holds, it is expected that the incumbent party will have a lower electoral volatility than opposition parties when the economic performance is better. Conversely, the incumbent party is expected to have a higher electoral volatility than the opposition parties when the economy is in crisis. Based on the logic of economic voting, I propose the following economic voting hypothesis on party volatility: H3: The incumbent party will have a lower level of electoral volatility than opposition parties when the national economy is better. The second cross-level explanation is about the interaction between incumbency and institutional change. As the literature of rational choice institutionalism indicates, institutions matter because political actors behavior is driven mainly by a strategic calculus facing the limitation and opportunities that particular institutional or organizational settings offer (Hall and Taylor 1996). The stable persistence of political institutions that regulate electoral competition helps political parties to socialize their voters over time, and upholds the legitimacy of a democratic regime. Therefore, a fundamental alteration or an irregular discontinuity in important political institutions is expected to have a shock effect on the competitive equilibrium of elections. Based on evidence from Latin American countries, Roberts and Wibbels (1999) and Madrid (2005) find that the electoral dynamics of a party system is greatly altered by the adoption of a new constitution, a significant enfranchisement, and/or irregular changes in the executive branch such as a presidential self-coup (autogolpe), or a forced resignation of the president. Although these dramatic and irregular alterations of existing institutions are found to increase electoral volatility at the country level, it makes sense that such shocks should also influence party-level electoral volatility. In particular, it is expected that such irregular institutional changes will increase the volatility of the incumbent party to a greater extent. Recent political developments in Latin America suggest that this hypothesis is reasonable. For instance, in Ecuador the adoption of a new constitution in 2008 helped the incumbent Alianza PAIS increase its level of voter support in the 2009 election. In contrast, irregular removal of presidents also leads to higher electoral volatility for incumbent parties, but in a negative direction. The 2009 Honduran coup dà ©tat with the removal of President Manuel Zelaya made his Partido Liberal de Honduras (PLH) suffer a significant loss in the election at the end of the year. Likewise, the resignation of President Alberto Fujimori in Peru in 2000 also led to an electoral fiasco for the governing Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoria. Based on the discussion above, I propose the following hypothesis: H4: The incumbent party will have a higher level of electoral volatility than opposition parties after a shock of an irregular institutional discontinuity. Alternative Explanations of Party Volatility In the empirical analysis, I control for a number of factors that are likely to affect party volatility. At the party level, I control for the size of a party. Party size may influence the stability of electoral performance. The literature of legislators party switching suggests that larger parties in the legislature are more attractive to potential party switchers because they generally have more political influence (Desposato 2006; Heller and Mershon 2008). Therefore, it is possible that a larger party should have a lower level of electoral volatility because it is more attractive to voters who are unwilling to waste their votes on parties with little chance to win the elections. However, it is also possible that smaller parties, especially those with strong regional base, may have low electoral volatility. It is because such parties are able to sustain their survival by securing a small but strong portion of the electorate over time. At the country level, I control for party system fragmentation and ethnic fractionalization. First, according to Pedersen (1983), electoral volatility increases with the number of parties in a system because a greater number of parties suggests that the ideological difference between the parties is small so that voters tend to switch their votes from one party to another between elections. In addition, party system fragmentation will destabilize democratic regimes because it tends to inhibit the construction of inherent legislative majorities (Roberts and Wibbels 1999, 578). Although the hypothesis of party system fragmentation has only been tested at the country level in previous literature (Bartolini and Mair 1990; Birch 2003; Roberts and Wibbels 1999; Tavits 2005), it is possible that a fragmented party system will increase electoral volatility at the party level. Another factor that may explain electoral volatility is social cleavages. Madrid (2005, 3) observes that the theoretical expectation that stronger ethnic cleavages help stabilize party systems (Lipset and Rokkan 1967) presumes that parties will provide quality representation of distinct ethnic groups and establish strong linkages with them. In Latin America, this expectation does not hold since most party systems have been composed principally of catch-all parties that have drawn support from a variety of social groups. Because minority ethnic groups would not feel well-represented under this context, the level of electoral volatility tends to be higher since it is unlikely for them to form strong partisan identities (Birnir and Van Cott 2007; Madrid 2005). In short, it is expected that Latin American parties in a highly ethnically fragmented social context will have higher levels of electoral volatility. Last, following previous studies of country-level electoral volatility (Roberts and Wibbels 1999; Tavits 2005; Madrid 2005), I control for a trend factor of party electoral volatility in the model. In a cross-sectional time-series design, Trend controls for the potential problem of spurious correlation when the values of the dependent variable and the independent variables vary independently but in a consistent direction over time. Measurement and Data The unit of analysis in this research is party-elections-country (e.g. Partido dos Trabalhadores 1994-1998 in Brazil). My conception of the dependent variable requires the collection of legislative electoral returns at the district level across time, differentiated by party or party coalition.  [4]  The data include 128 parties in the lower house elections of 18 Latin American countries from 1978 to 2011 (N=527).  [5]  Most district-level electoral data are compiled from official electoral results on the website of each countrys electoral administrative body.  [6]  For the countries that were democratized later in the 1980s or in the 1990s, only the elections after the first democratic election were included.  [7]  Since Latin American countries have different timing of democratization and term length, the data structure of this analysis is unbalanced. A party is selected for the analyses if the party once obtained more than 5% of votes in any legislative election hel d between 1978 and 2011 in the country. This selection criterion ensures the inclusion of a diversity of parties. To generate the value of party volatility, I adopted Morgenstern and Potthoffs (2005) components-of-variance model on district-level data between two consecutive legislative elections held within the same constituency border.  [8]  One major advantage of this components-of-variance model is that it simultaneously takes into account various features of a partys electoral performance when generating the value of party volatility. Specifically, Morgenstern and Potthoffs model enables the calculation of three components of a partys vote share in a particular election: volatility, district heterogeneity, and local vote. While Morgenstern and his colleagues have used the latter two components for the research about party nationalization (Morgenstern and Swindle 2005; Morgenstern, Swindle, and Castagnola 2009), I focus on the first component, i.e., party electoral volatility, in this paper. The volatility score assigned for each observation is a continuous variable with values that rang e from 0 to à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¾, where higher numbers indicate a higher level of electoral volatility for the party. My primary party-level independent variables are Incumbency, Party age, and Incumbency*Party age. Incumbency is a dichotomous variable, measuring whether a party was the presidents party in two consecutive elections. Following Mainwaring and Zoco (2007), I measure Party age as the natural log of the number of years from the year when the party was officially founded to the year of 2011. The value of this variable does not vary over time, but is constant for all electoral periods for a given party. The interaction term, Incumbency*Party age, examines whether the effect of a partys age on volatility is contingent on a partys incumbency status. To test the economic voting hypothesis, I use two economic indicators: GDP growtht1 and Inflationt1.  [9]  GDP growtht1 is lagged by one year to capture the short term economic impact on volatility. Inflation rate is operationalized as the logged value of the inflation rate for the year before the election year. The logged inflation rate is used to prevent cases of hyperinflation from skewing the results.  [10]  To test whether the effect of the national economy on party volatility is conditional on a partys incumbency status, I include two interaction terms: Incumbency*GDP growtht1 and Incumbency*Inflationt1. In addition, to test whether a shock of institutional alteration will affect the incumbent party to a greater extent, I include two variables: Institutional discontinuity and Incumbency*Institutional discontinuity. I use the index constructed by Roberts and Wibbels (1999) to measure institutional discontinuity. The index ranges from 0 to 3, assigning one point to each of the following types of discontinuities: the adoption of a new constitution; an increase in voter turnout of more than 25 percent due to the enfranchisement of new voters; and an irregular change in executive authority, including a presidential self-coup (autogolpe), a forced resignation of the president, the ouster of the president due to impeachment, or a failed coup dà ©tat attempt when the president was temporarily ousted from the office.  [11]   Finally, I control for several party-level and country-level variables in the model. Party size is measured as the vote share of the party in the previous election.  [12]  Party system fragmentationt1 is measured as the index of the effective number of parties (ENP) (Laakso and Taagepera 1979), lagged by one election.  [13]  Ethnic Fragmentation is measured as Fearons (2003) ethnic fractionalization index. Last, the variable Trend is measured as the number of years since the first election in which a party participated. Estimation Techniques To test the hypotheses about party-level electoral volatility, I employ a hierarchical linear model (HLM) on my three-level data. The three-level model is specified as a level-1 submodel that describes how each party changes over time, a level-2 submodel that describes how these changes differ across parties, and a level-3 model that describes how parties and changes differ across countries. An attractive feature of a multilevel models is its ability to model cross-level interactions in the estimation. Another important advantage of the HLM approach is being able to account for both fixed effects and random effects. In this study, the fixed-effects coefficients and parameters of the HLM estimate a regression line that describes the sample of parties as a whole, while the random-effect parameters reflect variation across parties and variation across countries. Application of the HLM in this study will specify three different levels of analysis: The level-1 submodel represents the rela tionship of time-varying characteristics on party volatility, the level-2 model will incorporate party-level effects that are fixed over time, and level-3 will introduce country-level effects that are fixed over time. I estimate the model using restricted maximum likelihood estimation (REML). In contrast to full MLE estimation, REML takes into account the degrees of freedom consumed by estimation of the fixed effects by eliminating fixed effects from the likelihood fu

Population Genetics (Molecular Epidemiology) of Eukaryotes

Population Genetics (Molecular Epidemiology) of Eukaryotes INTRODUCTION The study of the molecular epidemiology of parasitic infections and their vectors is meant to answer the same kinds of questions as those of bacterial or viral infections. As with bacteria, the molecular epidemiology of eukaryotic infections follows the distribution and dynamics of microbial DNA. The key difference, however, is precisely this biology, which defines a distinct approach to molecular epidemiologic investigation of infections caused by eukaryotic organisms. In bacterial reproduction, each individual passes down an identical copy of all the DNA to the next generation. Some eukaryotic pathogens behave reproductively in similar ways to bacteria and reproduce asexually, while others have sexual reproduction for at least part of their life-cycle. The individual is able to generate a clone of itself by binary fission to produce two identical organisms, and if successful, will produce large numbers to the detriment of its host. Asexually reproducing organisms can also exhibit p romiscuous horizontal gene transfer, which can be a major source of variation and adaptation (19), but this is not sex. Sex is the biologically necessary programmed recombination (crossing over) and random shuffling (reassortment) of chromosomal DNA in the process of reproduction. This results in an enormous reservoir of variation. Bacteria in nature are heterogenous conglomerates or communities (13, 19), but when they cause disease, especially in epidemics, it is generally a clone that is responsible and that we track (Chapter 2). Sexual reproduction in some protozoa, many parasitic worms and most vectors, however, never results in a clone with the exception of identical twins. There is genetic conservation, however, within a group of organisms that tends to breed together. In genetics, this is the working definition of a population. For sexually reproducing organisms, the population is the epidemiologic unit to track. Within the group, allele frequencies and thus traits are conser ved under well-defined conditions. The unique power of the genetics of populations is that it reflects not only present individuals but also the populations past and the future potential for subsequent generations (5). Many parasites exhibit both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction, but these life stages are distributed in different hosts. Treatment of their molecular epidemiology is doubly complex, but can be simplified for some questions by considering their biology just in the human host. The whole field of population genetics is perhaps the most complex area of genetics, but it arises from simple precepts. This chapter will outline the basic models used in population genetics and are directly applicable to problems of public health epidemiology. KEY POINTS Asexual reproduction usually produces a clone; sexual reproduction never does. A population is a group of organisms that tends to breed together Allele and genotype frequencies describe populations Allele frequencies and traits tend to be maintained within groups of interbreeding organisms (derived from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium) Allele and genotype frequencies can be used to infer population histories Indices and statistics can be used to compare assess population history and to project population dynamics DEFINING GENOTYPE IN EUKARYOTIC ORGANISM   Ã‚   Some terms may not be familiar to some readers, so it is important to define these early. One of the dividing lines between bacteria and sexually reproducing parasites and vectors of human disease is their physical structure and organization. Sexually reproducing organisms will pass some portion of their life cycle where their chromosomes (Figure 5.1) exist as nearly identical pairs (diploid). Some organisms, malaria in particular, also have only one copy (haploid) during their asexual stage, and this is the stage that infects humans. A similar location on each of the chormosomes is a locus, and differences between loci are alleles. The geometry of DNA also strongly differentiates bacteria from eukaryotes (Figure 5.2). Prokaryotes have a single[1], circular chromosome whereas even the simplest eukaryotes, yeast, have at least 16 linear chromosomes. A specific marker on a bacterial chromosome will always be transmitted at reproduction together with any other marker or trait. The same also occurs with an asexually reproducing eukaryote despite having multiple linear chromosomes. A marker on the genome of a sexually reproducing eukaryote, by contrast, will have a 50% chance of being transmitted away from any marker it is not very close to. The labeling of each allele present at the same locus on each chromosome constitutes the genotype. A locus with the same polymorphism at the same site on each of the chromosome is homozygous, and with a different polymorphism is heterozygous. Figure 5.2 OPTIONS FOR MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF EUKARYOTES Study asexual parasites Use a marker close to the trait of interest (if known) Use many markers throughout the genome or sequence Study the whole group of organisms in which the trait is present (population) HARDY-WEINBERG EQUILIBRIUM: THE POPULATION NULL HYPOTHESIS Populations have a mathematical definition based on allele frequencies, which ultimately contributes to the development of tools for key measures of differentiation and diversity. Allele frequencies can differentiate populations, and genotypic frequencies can do so with even greater resolution. The relationship between allelic frequency and genotypic frequency has a simple mathematical relationship which is the definition of a population. If we use the letters A and a to represent different alleles at a single diallelic locus and p and q to represent their respective frequencies, a population with p=0.8 and q=0.2 is clearly different from a population where p=0.2, q=0.8, especially where this kind of result is found at multiple loci. Allele frequencies are not always the most sensitive measure of differentiation. The same allele frequency may still be found in what are clearly distinct populations if assessed for genotypic frequencies. Alleles combine to form genotypes, so the genoty pic frequency is a function of the allelic frequencies. For a diallelic locus where we know the frequency of each allele, the sum of these frequencies is 1 or (p + q = 1). For sexually reproducing organisms the next generation arises from the combination of alleles from a pool of males with alleles from a pool of females. If we imagine that individuals from these pools will pair at random, the subsequent distribution of alleles in genotypes is equivalent to rolling a pair of dice. For independent, random events the probability of 2 events occurring simultaneously is the product of their frequencies [(p + q)female à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ (p + q)male = 1]. The genotypic frequencies of the offspring for such a population should be p2 + 2pq + q2, if all assumptions are met, where p2 and q2 are the frequencies for the homozygotes and 2pq the heterozygotes. This is the well-known Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). This simple quadratic equation is the basis for all population genetics even when it is not measured directly. It represents the expected genotypic frequencies from a given set of allelic frequencies. It is one of the most stable mathematical relationships in nature. It is so much the expectation that when not observed in sequencing projects, it can suggest sequencing errors. It is the null hypothesis and mathematical definition of a stable population. The relationship HWE describes is true under a set of 5-10 assumptions that represent the most important factors that influence population genetic structure. The 5 most common assumptions are that there is: 1) Random mating (panmixia, assortative mating) 2) No selection 3) No migration 4) An infinite population 5) No mutation It is rare to have any of these assumptions met in nature, but the proportions are so resilient that the assumptions have to be severely violated to disturb this relationship, and even so, the proportions will be reestablished within 1-2 generations once the population is stabilized. As with most models, the underlying assumptions are the most important aspects. They are the basis for most conversations in population genetics. MARKERS Microsatellites, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and sequencing are currently the genetic elements most employed in population genetics. Microsatellites are short tandem repeats of 2-8 nucleotides (reviewed in [Ellegren, 2004 #128]).  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Microsatellites have fallen out of favor in studies of statistical genetics or gene finding, since SNPs and sequencing provide better resolution at the level of individuals. Microsatellites, however, remain important in population genetics since they are mostly neutral for selection and have higher allelic richness and information content. Their rapid mutation rate (10-2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ 10-5 per generation) and step-wise mode of mutation can limit their application to questions that extend over short time scales and to certain statistical approaches. SNPs have lower rates of mutation (10-8) in eukaryotes, often are diallelic, are ten times more abundant (10, 22) and have high processivity and scorability. Sequencing essentiall y provides a very dense panel of SNPs and identifies rare variants as well as structural polymorphisms. Mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA markers are much less abundant, less polymorphic and thus less informative than microsatellites or SNPs. Some are under selection and in the case of mitochondrial DNA, the genome is haploid (only 1 copy of chromosomal DNA) and may or may not have sex-specific inheritance depending on the species. They are useful for phylogeny studies, may be more economical to use in laboratories with limited capabilities and are sometimes combined with other markers. MEASURES OF DIFFERENTIATION AND DIVERSITY Areas most often addressed using population genetics are evolution and conservation. These two areas deal with essentially the same phenomenon, but at different time scales, thus the questions, the approaches and the interpretation will differ depending on the nature of the problem. The relevant public health questions in population genetics focus on identity and dynamics of the group rather than individuals over short time scales and directed at the control or extinction of a parasite or vector. Whos sleeping with whom, modes of reproduction, evolution or the last common ancestor are all important in different contexts. They may be useful to help explain anomalies and can influence interpretation, but they are rarely answers to issues of control or intervention. Understanding how diverse a population is or the degree of difference between populations combined with good study design will contribute directly to determining the impact of control measures, host or parasite demographics, resistance, risk and resilience or fragility of the population. The field of population genetics depends heavily on mathematical analyses, some simple and some very sophisticated, to answer these questions. Mathematical treatments of all of the indices and statistics of differentiation and diversity can be easily obtained from textbooks or publications and will not be included here. Fortunately for the mathematically challenged, many open source, individual computer programs are available as well as modules in R. The risk that goes with all readymade programs is a failure to understand what is being asked or the assumptions and limitations of the approach being taken. A list of some frequently used programs is provided at the end of this chapter (Table 5.1). POPULATIN DIFFERENTIATION FST, GST, GST: In addition to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, populations can be further differentiated by other statistical tests.   This is a family of statistics developed as the fixation index (FST) in the 1950s by Sewell Wright and Gustave Malà ©cot to describe the likelihood of homozygosity (fixation in the terminology of the time) at a single diallelic locus based on heterozygosity of a subpopulation compared to the total population. Theoretically, values should range from 1 (no similarity-every individual is genotypically different) to 0 (identity-every individual is genotypically same). Nei (16) extended the FST to handle the case of more than two alleles and developed the GST[LR1]. Although the term FST is often used in the literature, formally most studies today will employ the GST. When highly polymorphic loci, such as microsatellites, are genotyped, the GST severely underestimates differentiation and will not range from 0 1. Hedrick (11) adjusted the range of va lues for the GST by dividing it by its maximum possible value given the markers used. This is the GST. The GST makes possible the full range of differentiation. FST and GST relate to inherent properties of populations and contain evolutionary information lost by the GST transformation. FST-like measures have been and continue to be widely used to describe population structure, and their characteristics and behavior are well-known. There are additional related statistics (e. g. à Ã¢â‚¬  ST (4), AMOVA, RST (20), ÃŽÂ ¸ (25)), that address other aspects of differing genetic models, unequal sample sizes, accounting for haploid genomes, mechanism of mutation and selection. D. [LR2]This is sometimes referred to as Josts D, since there are numerous other Ds related to genetics and statistics. There can be logical inconsistencies for estimating differentiation based directly on heterozygosity. Ratios of pooled subpopulation to total population diversities tend toward zero when the subpopulation diversity is high (12). Josts D is based on the effective allele number (see below). Unlike those based directly on heterozygosity, it has the property of yielding a linear response to changes in allele frequencies and is independent of subpopulation diversity. Unlike FST, GST and similar indices, Josts D does not carry information relevant to the evolutionary processes responsible for the present composition of a subpopulation. It is described by supporters and detractors as purely a measure of differentiation (26). It was never meant to do more. Whitlock provides one of the best comparisons of these 2 approaches: This (Josts) D differs from FST in a fundamental definitional way: FST measures deviations from panmixia[2], while D measures deviations from total differentiation. As a result, their denominators differ, and thus, the two indices can behave quite differently. D indicates the proportion of allelic diversity that lies among populations, while FST is proportional to the variance of allele frequency among populations. D is more related to the genetic distance between populations than to the variance in allele frequencies; it may be preferable to call D a genetic distance measure (26). There has been controversy about the use of these different types of indices. There should not be. They clearly address different questions and resolve different analytic problems. It should be recognized that the GST and Josts D yield fairly similar results when the number of populations is small and the markers have a small number of alleles. The GST and Josts D have given similar results in our own studies using microsatellites (2) and in simulation (26) with GST values slightly higher than those of Josts D. Some authors recommend calculating both GST and Josts D, in part to satisfy everyone and in part to obtain the useful information about population diversity their departure may provide. In relation to public health, most questions about parasites and vectors deal with near term events of DIVERSITY Diversity like differentiation has myriad formulations and interpretations. The simplest expression is mean heterozygosity (H). For microsatellite data this is usually high due to the intrinsically high mutation rate of these markers, and markers with higher variability are usually selected. Allelic richness (Ar) is simply a count of the number of alleles at each locus. Differences in sample size will necessarily result in differences in allele number. This is usually adjusted for by statistical methods such as rarefaction (15) to standardize sample sizes between comparison groups. The effective allele number (Ae) is also a measure of diversity, but is already adjusted for sample size. It represents the number of alleles with equal frequencies that will produce the same heterozygosity as that of the target population. The most informative measure of diversity is the effective population size (Ne), a concept also introduced by Sewell Wright. It is designed to address the essential reason that diversity is important, namely, it reflects the strength of genetic drift. Genetic drift is the effect of random transmission of alleles during reproduction to succeeding generations. When numbers of reproducing individuals are small, the genetic composition of the population of offspring can differ by chance from what is expected given the composition of the parents. If two coins are flipped, it would not be that unusual for both to come up heads. If a thousand coins are flipped, the ratio of heads to tails will always be very near the expected 50:50 ratio. Genetic drift is stronger when populations are small or reduced, and weakens the strength of adaptive selection. Like differentiation, there are several formulations for Ne that can provide different values and are designed to measure different aspects of the population. The breeding Ne is the probability of identity by descent for two alleles chosen at random. It is a retrospective assessment of population diversity. The variance Ne assesses the variance of the offsprings allele frequency, and is thus forward looking. It measures recent population changes that affect its genetic composition. Ne can represent the number of actively breeding individuals in the population or the number of individuals in an ideal population needed to reconstitute the diversity in an actual population. It is almost always less than the census population (Nc). It is a key value in conservation genetics and population genetics in general, since it reflects the history and future potential of a population. Increasing drift (decreasing Ne) tends to neutralize the force of directional selection, permits retention of del eterious mutations and hampers the ability of populations to adapt to stresses (9). Despite its importance, Ne can be difficult to estimate in wild populations due to uncertainties of the demographic, genetic and biological context (17, 24). It can be affected by sample size, overlapping generations, sampling interval, sex ratios, gene flow, age-structure, variation in family size, fluctuating population size or selection. Increasing the numbers of markers is less important than large samples for accurate estimates; as much as 10% of the Ne has been recommended [Palstra, 2008 #84]. Its interpretation can also be uncertain. Estimated Ne has been used as an aid in predicting extinction using the concept of a minimum viable population size. Some have suggested that at an Ne of 50-500 a population will experience extinction in the short- or long-run (7). Others have argued that this might occur at Ne = 5000 (14). While it is clear that lack of diversity has an impact on extinction (21), it is also clear that there cannot be a universally accepted number for the minimum viable population size (6, 23). In any case, theory suggests that there is a number defined by the amount of genetic drift below which populations are likely to go extinct on their own. The range for this number is context-specific and will require multiple species-specific studies under multiple conditions. This kind of analysis might contribute to developing a stopping rule as control measures approach elimination.         Ã‚   [1] Leptospira spp. are an exception with 2 circular chromosomes. [2] The condition where all individuals have an equal opportunity to reproduce with all other individuals [LR1]G? [LR2]Does it stand for something?

A Look at Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay

A Look at Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find In the short story A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O’Connor uses many different tactics to accurately portray the south in the 1950’s. O’Connor uses her style, themes, and point of view to tell a story of a family outing gone wrong. The story involves a grandmother, her only son and his wife, and their two bratty children, June Star and John Wesley. On their way to Florida, the grandmother convinces the family to detour to see an old house, and while heading towards their destination, the car overturns. The much-feared criminal, The Misfit, an escaped murderer, encounters the family, and offers to help them. The Grandmother immediately notices the man as The Misfit, and verbally acknowledges that fact. â€Å"‘You’re The Misfit!’ she said. â€Å"I recognized you at once!’† (p. 687) The Misfit has the husband and son killed relatively quickly, and even after much conversation and pleading, he kills the rest of the family. A Good Man is Hard to Find includes a lot of character development, a unique point of view, and the use of foreshadowing. O’Connor does this through her characters, setting, and details in the story. The grandmother is a classic old southern woman, who is eccentric and who may come off as a racist. However, the woman may not be racist, but rather just naive and too set in her ways to deal with the changes present at the time. As the grandmother said, â€Å"Oh look at that cute little pickaninny! †¦ Wouldn’t that make a picture now?† (p. 681) When O’Connor was writing she might not have meant to show that the grandmother was a racist, but rather just that she was out of tune with the rest of the world. The grandmother was also portrayed as Christian, one who was displeased with others who did not act in a Christian manner, and with the society as a whole. She discusses this with Red Sammy, a restaurant owner and war veteran. Red Sammy said â€Å"Eve rything is getting terrible. I remember the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more.† (p.683) O’Connor often shows through the story the degeneration of the nuclear family. She does this not only through the incident at Red Sammys, but also through the child characters, John Wesley and June Star. The father, Bailey, tends to ignore the grandmother, and has failed to teach his children respect and manners. â€Å"T... ...hance of survival. Other mentions of death throughout the story include when the grandmother made sure to dress in her best clothing in case â€Å"anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.† (p. 680) This turns out to be just as the story goes, the grandmother being the only one who is actually left by the side of the road. An additional reference is the mention of â€Å"five or six graves† (p. 681) at the side of the road and the town name â€Å"Toombsboro† (p. 684) and the â€Å"hearse-like† (p. 686) automobile are use to remind everyone of the ultimate outcome in life. The gruesome and surprising ending not only shocks readers, but also it may cause them to think about their life more in-depth. The comment from The Misfit may allow people to connect themselves, and realize that they may not be as far away from the grandmother as they may think. â€Å"‘She would have been a good woman,’ The Misfit said, ‘if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.’† (p. 692) Many people might reflect on this statement, and realize that they, too, are guilty of being, as so called, a â€Å"good man† or â€Å"good woman,† only when they are required to do so.

Thomas Batemans Ten Years Diggings :: Archaeology Archaeological Essays

Thomas Bateman's Ten Years' Diggings Thomas Bateman at Brushfield, Derbyshire, 1850 On the 3rd of August, we opened a finely shaped barrow near Brushfield, upon Lapwing Hill, overlooking Cressbrook valley, measuring seventeen yards across and four feet high in the centre, composed of earth, with a few stones in the middle, where a shallow grave, about a foot deep, was sunk in the rock. In it lay extended the remains of a human body, so very much decayed as to be almost undistinguishable, but which we ascertained to have been deposited with the head to the west. Beneath the remnants of bone were many traces of light-coloured hair, as if from a hide, resting upon a considerable quantity of decayed wood, indicating a plank of some thickness, or the bottom of a coffin. At the left of the body was a long and broad iron sword, enclosed in a sheath made of thin wood covered with ornamented leather. Under the hilt of the sword, which like most of ancient date is very small, was a short iron knife; and a little way above the right shoulder were tow small javelin heads, 4 1/2 inches long, of the same metal, which had lain so near each other as to become united by corrosion. Among the stones which filled the grave, and about a foot from the bottom were many objects of corroded iron, including nine loops of hoop iron about an inch broad, which had been fixed to thick wood by long nails; eight staples or eyes, which had been driven through plank and clenched; and one or two other objects of more uncertain application, all which were dispersed at intervals round the corpse throughout the length of the grave, and which may therefore have been attached to a bier or coffin in which the deceased was conveyed to the grave, possibly from some distant place. The only specimen of a Saxon sword, which was the weapon of the thegn, previously found in this part of Derbyshire, was singularly enough found with the umbo of a shield on the same farm in 1828; thus indication the connection of a noble Saxon family with Brushfield in the age of Heathendom, the name of which is perpetuated in a document of the 16th century, preserved in the British Museum. On the same afternoon, we examined a mutilated barrow nearer Brushfield, called the "Gospel