Comparing Dante s Inferno And Virgil s The Aeneid

There are many similarities between Dante’s The Inferno and Virgil’s The Aeneid, be it their characterizations or descriptive imagery, but foremost in their ideas of what the afterlife consisted of. Each each epic hero in the works here have descended in to the depths of hell, with The Inferno depicting Dante’s descent into the depths of hell and with Virgil in Book VI of The Aeneid depicting Aeneas’s decent into hell. It can be argued that although different, the knowledge acquired by each character’s descent was equally important to accomplishing their greater tasks at the ends of their journey. Had their descent into hell been skipped their outcomes would have concluded in a different way because their voyages to Hell each played a crucial role in the advancing each narrative. The Aeneid is a grand chronicle that charts Aeneas’ obstacles versus his accomplishments. Aeneas’s accomplishments entail escaping Juno’s wrath; leaving and finding love; and losing loved ones in war. Against all odds, Aeneas continued to achieve victory over all his potential downfalls. With some divine assistance, Aeneas continued to achieve victory over all his potential downfalls. With some divine assistance, Aeneas recognizes his need to help midway through his journey and needs to speak with his father, Anchises. In Book VI, he asks the Sibyl to grant him access into the underworld. Aeneas’ journey leads him to many discoveries. He discovers Leucaspis and Orontes are among â€Å"all in the nearby

Nokias Pricing Strategy free essay sample

Nokia’s pricing strategy Nokia is one brand name that inspires all those who are into the mobile culture. Of the entire brand that touches our lives, Nokia stand s out significantly. It has taken mobility a step forward by creating products with continuous innovations in this industry has made it imperative that every player keeps pace with changes. Nokia has been one step ahead in anticipating future market moves and strategizing accordingly. Interestingly the company prices its products so competitively that it not only ensures that its margins are covered but also assures revenue maximization. Let us see how Nokia leveraged it segmentation strategies, appealed to various segments with uniquely designed messages and differentiated between its products at every level to communicate and connect effectively with the intended target audience. When Nokia positions its product to the top end segment, it does it as a classy product. To the middle segment customers it is in the form of the best alternative. We will write a custom essay sample on Nokias Pricing Strategy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To the lower end segment, the carrot is that Nokia gives real value, as a high tech product, at low affordable price. The pricing strategy of Nokia can be better understood when the juxtaposed with the skimming strategy and further interposed on Philip Kotler’s nine price/quality strategies model. (Source: Philip Kotler, marketing management, 11 editions, PHI) With a vast family of brand that caters to every segment, one can clearly see how Nokia, yielding to the pressure due to the competitive and innovative mobile handset market, slides each brand down the segments, one at a time by reducing its prices carefully and consistently) Here are some live examples of Nokia’s skimming pricing strategy: Classic Nokia 8250 Nokia phone model 8250which was available with the vendors during the year 2000 was priced at Rs. 18000. It was without modern features like camera and MMS. The telecommunications infrastructure of the country was in its initial stages and so were the service provider’s fares. Hence only the premium segment could have afforded the phone. However with the easing of the government regulations and increased competition, market dynamics changed, and during 2004, the price of the model took a nosedive and was made available for Rs. 000-10000. Now the model has been completely phased out. Only second hand products are available. Here was one product which despite market forces maintains its price distinction and continued to carry a premium connotation to it. Neo Classic Nokia 6600 This model from Nokia was made available in 2003, complete with a color screen, integrated camera and other contemporary features. In the beginning the product was prices in the range o f Rs. 21000-22000. By November 2004, it was available in much lower, 15000-16000 range. The model is currently available for price of Rs. 9000-10000 only. Modern Nokia 9500 communicator This is known as the snazziest model ever launched by Nokia in India. The Nokia 9500 communicator comes with office features and a large screen, coupled with increase and Bluetooth technology. Available in the market since 2005, it was initially priced at 42,000, but currently can be bought for just 26,000. All the above models were produced in quick succession and Nokia’s strategy was to deliberately allow them to eat into each other’s market share. At the same time, Nokia proliferated the market with as many models as possible by 2006, at virtually every price point. Each one of Nokia’s model played a role in catapulting Nokia to the top of the heap, in the Indian mobile handset market. It would be apt to map Nokia’s pricing strategy on the line of the premium, high value, and super value strategy, especially on the price-quality model. On the flip side, consistent price cuts in rapid succession have the potential of smearing the brand image. But, in the buoyant telecom sector, where change is name of the game, the consumer is iscerning enough to have a rational outlook towards a particular brand and its attributes, irrespective of the pricing strategy. After all, skimming or no skimming, customer benefit is almost always guaranteed in the price sensitive competitive market. Questions 1. Discuss the segmentation strategy of Nokia and comment on its efficacy. 2. Explain how Nokia used the skimming pricing strategy for its products. Give your comments on the strategy. 3. What would have happened if Nokia had used the penetration pricing strategy instead of skimming?

In the Eye of a Boy Back into the Childhood

Definition and Examples of Sermons

Definition and Examples of Sermons A sermon is a form of public discourse on a religious or moral subject, usually delivered as part of a church service by a pastor or priest.  It comes from the Latin word for discourse and conversation. Examples and Observations For many centuries, from the early Middle Ages onward, sermons reached a far larger audience than any other type of non-ritualistic discourse, whether oral or written. They are entirely in the oral tradition, of course, with the sermonist as the speaker and the congregation as the hearers, and with a live relation between the two. The sermon gains in potential effect because of the hallowed nature of the occasion and the religious nature of the message. Moreover, the speaker is a figure endowed with special authority and set apart from the willing hearers who are listening.(James Thorpe, The Sense of Style: Reading English Prose. Archon, 1987)I have been rather reluctant to have a volume of sermons printed. My misgivings have grown out of the fact that a sermon is not an essay to be read but a discourse to be heard. It should be a convincing appeal to a listening congregation.(Martin Luther King, Jr. Preface to Strength to Love. Harper Row, 1963)The various means through which heare rs are gratified implies, of course, that a sermon may answer to very different needs. . . . In a sense, these motives for audience attendance correspond with the threefold aim of classical rhetoric: docere, to teach or persuade the intellect; delectare, to delight the mind; and movere, to touch the emotions.(Joris van Eijnatten, Getting the Message: Toward a Cultural History of the Sermon. Preaching, Sermon and Cultural Change in the Long Eighteenth Century, ed. by J. van Eijnatten. Brill, 2009) St. Augustine on the rhetoric of the sermon:After all, the universal task of eloquence, in whichever of these three styles, is to speak in a way that is geared to persuasion. The aim, what you intend, is to persuade by speaking. In any of these three styles, indeed, the eloquent man speaks in a way that is geared to persuasion, but if he doesn’t actually persuade, he doesn’t achieve the aim of eloquence.(St. Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana, 427, trans. by Edmund Hill)It was perhaps inevitable that Augustines opinion would have a strong influence on the future development of rhetoric . . .. Moreover, the De doctrina provides one of the few basic statements of a Christian homiletic prior to the emergence of the highly formalized thematic or university style of sermon about the beginning of the 13th century.(James Jerome Murphy, Rhetoric in the Middle Ages: A History of Rhetorical Theory From Saint Augustine to the Renaissance. Univ. of California Press, 1974)Excerpt fro m the most famous American sermon:There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Mens hands cant be strong when God rises up: the strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands.He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly prince meets with a great deal of difficulty to subdue a rebel that has found means to fortify himself and has made himself strong by the number of his followers. But it is not so with God. There is no fortress that is any defence against the power of God. Though hand join in hand, and vast multitudes of Gods enemies combine and associate themselves, they are easily broken in pieces: they are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind, or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so tis easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by; thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies down to hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down!(Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, delivered at Enfield, Connecticut on July 8, 1741)

Understanding the work of financial markets Essay

Understanding the work of financial markets - Essay Example Therefore, borrowers might end up putting the blame that the unfavorable outcome is as a result of bad luck rather than taking the correct action. A fixed cost has to be paid so that lenders can monitor the actions of borrower. This is not possible because no one would be willing to pay a monitoring cost as they want a free- ride. The solution to this problem is to hire a single monitor to monitor the actions of the borrowers. A single monitor cannot solve this problem alone thus he uses a model of delegated monitoring called diamond model (Diamond 1996 pg 41). They monitor borrowers by promising lenders a fixed return from the diversified portfolio which the intermediaries offer. The diamond model demonstrates how banks have an incentive to act as a delegated monitor and produce the necessary information for efficient resource allocation. Thakor (1996 pg 917) also build another model in view of banks delegated role of monitoring borrowers. This model assumes that there are three typ es of information problem. To begin with, there is incomplete information regarding future projects a firm has or is available. Secondly lenders do not observe how borrowers invest their funds. Lastly, the possibility of borrowers investing in risky projects is very high. The argument of Thakor (1996 pg 917) is that the first problem can be solved by the financial market while the second and third problems can be solved by intermediaries. Thakor also argues that the emerging financial system will be predominated by the banks and the informational advantages of the markets may allow them to develop mature financial system. According to Allen (2002 pg 398), market –based systems such as U.S have... The essay clearly discusses the role of the banks in bank-based system and market-based systems and the informational problems. Market based systems eliminate informational problems. You find that most information is publicly displayed in the market for public listed companies. Then the essay talks about the possible solution. The solution to this problem is to hire a single monitor to monitor the actions of the borrowers. A single monitor cannot solve this problem alone thus he uses a model of delegated monitoring called diamond model (Diamond 1996 pg 41). Then, risk sharing is discussed. Sharing of risks is one of the most important functions of the financial systems and is often argued that the financial markets are well suited in achieving this goal. Afterwards, the essay talks about the corporate governance role. In most countries, the role of corporate control or agency is weak, and as a result banks have been appointed to act as monitors for a large corporation. Financial cris es is another topic that the essay discusses. Banks collect deposits and raise short term funds in the capital markets and invest them in the long term assets. Another important aspect would be that close and durable banking relationships provide better access to clients and eliminate some of the information problems associated with lending. Banking relationships can either be multiple or single. In this report, we have pointed out and discussed the role of banks in the financial systems, comparisons between bank –based and market based systems and their merits and different.

Literature review for my dissertation which is in ( analysis and

Literature review for my which is in ( analysis and valuation of three companies in petrochemical industry) - Dissertation Example The hazardous materials transportation act and the pollution prevention act are significant among these. According to the first act, the Department of Transportation gets the authority to control the transportation of such materials including the petrochemicals. Furthermore, the USA government has become increasingly active and concerned about the safety and environmental areas for this petrochemical transportation. Adding to it, the state governments are also taking interests in the issues affecting the petrochemical industry such as the specific charges and taxes, reduction of toxic use and hazardous waste as well as state right-to-know statutes (U.S Department of Commerce, 1994, p.11-5). Economic Factors The recent recession has emerged as devastating for the leading economies across the globe including USA. The rise in the oil has also contributed to the rise of the Petrochemical product prices. As a consequence, the petrochemical organisations have been experiencing low producti on and profitability margins (Ismaiyatim, 2010). Furthermore, with the rise in the price of the petrochemical products, the demand for the same has experienced a decline leading to further shrinkage of the profit margins. Social Factors With the enhancement in the life styles of the habitants in USA, the usage of the automobiles has also been increased leading to the increase in the demand side. Technological Factors With the technological advancements, there have been changes in the mining of the petrochemical products. So, all these technological developments have been influential to decide on the mining and refining of the petrochemical products. Environmental Factors Environment is a significant influential factor to control the petrochemical industry. Federal government has come up with an act, The Pollution Prevention Act, to control the adverse effect of the petrochemical organisations. This act is a policy to eliminate or reduce the waste generation at a source, if that is f easible at that time. It directs its government to commence an appropriate program to collect the information, transfer the technology well as offering financial assistance to the states to execute this policy. In this way the federal government motivates the states to promote the waste reduction techniques at the source. Furthermore, even the state governments have become increasingly active to address the environmental and safety issues related to the petrochemical industry. European Petrochemical Industry European Petrochemical industry is one of the leading petrochemical sectors across the globe. A number of oil companies in there has dealt into the processing of raw materials using own oil refineries into some fundamental petrochemical products and even to the downstream products. The petrochemical industry in Europe is experiencing forward integration in this industry. A number of oil companies carry out petrochemical activities in several locations in Europe. Among the signif icant petrochemical companies, companies like DOW, ICI, DSM and BASF in Western Europe deal with the ethylene production in Europe. â€Å"After a series of reorganisations in the 1980s and 1990s, the changes in the European chemical industry have indeed continued: DSM’s petrochemical operations were acquired by Sabic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Camp, 2005, p.15). A PESTLE analysis has been carried out to understand different factors

Hot and Cold Essay Example for Free

Hot and Cold Essay Since time immemorial, Indians have been bombarded with snacks-to-go by street vendors; fastfood is neither a modern phenomenon, nor a western innovation. But as increasing numbers of international players enter the domestic market, there are bitter lessons to learn about what local consumers will and will not welcome. just-food.coms Debasish Ganguly reports from India on the evolving sector and the challenges facing new entrants into the fastfood market. Fastfood is not an alien concept to Indians; roadside shops have offered snacks-to-go since time immemorial and the country has a long tradition of indigenous fastfood served by a variety of street vendors. Whether the southern Dosas or the Phulkas in the north, the Vada, Samosas or Bhelpuri, this inexpensive cuisine is still going strong, and street selling is a low-cost method of food distribution. However, since the arrival of established fastfood chains such as McDonalds, marketing savvy and dollar power have given fastfood a very western orientation. The weekend stampedes outside any McDonalds restaurant are standing testimony to this fact. But the burger behemoths still have a long way to go. Local fastfood is not easily undermined by these interlopers, since methods of mass production have not been perfected and, in any case, they would have to compete with low cost artisan production. On the other hand, the reality is that established local fastfood chains, like Nirulas, Wimpys or Haldiram, are sensing competition by the growing popularity of McDonalds and other international chains. Though Nirulas does not admit to any drop in sales overtly, industry sources reveal that they have lost 18% of their original market share. So far, the fastfood chains have gained their popularity among the major metropolitan cities of India and some smaller cities, such as Pune or Baroda. Before the arrival of these fastfood chains, Nirulas was the market leaderin Delhi. In fact, Nirulas taught Delhi-dwellers what pizzas and burgers were all about. Nirulas was commanding a monopoly until western chains arrived in India.