Alternative Drink Industry Analysis

Alternative Drink industry analysis 1. Do a complete five-forces analysis of competition in the global alternative drink industry, then tell me which of the five competitive forces is strong, weak, and why. Especially in the force of rivalry (one of the 5 forces), you must identify the market size, growth rate, profit margins, what are the main categories in the alternative drink industry, who are the major competitors and their relative sizes, the competition scope, the main competition weapons) 2.Briefly identify 6 to 7 key success factors in the alternative drink industry 3. What are the other economic traits that are outside the industry but still can affect all competitors (for example, overall economy trend, long term innovation, globalization, maturity stage of the industry, relevant legislation, etc. )? Briefly explain how these factors can affect the industry. Notes: 1. —————————————â €”——- What are the strategically relevant components of the global and U.S. beverage industry macro-environment? How do the economic characteristics of the alternative beverage segment of the industry differ from that of other beverage categories? Explain. The strategically relevant components of the global and U. S. beverage industry macro-environment: †¢ Global beverage companies such as Coca Cola and PepsiCo had relied on such beverages to sustain in volume growth in mature markets where consumers were reducing their consumption of carbonated soft drinks. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and other beverage companies were intent on expanding the market for alternative beverages by introducing energy drinks, sports drinks, and vitamin drinks in more and more emerging international markets. †¢ Beverage producers had made various attempts at increasing the size of the market for alternative beverages by extending existing product lines and developing altogether new pro ducts. Expanding the market for alternatives beverages and increasing sales and market share, beverage producers also were forced to content with criticism from some that energy drinks, energy shots, and relaxation drinks presented health risks for consumers and that some producers’ strategies promoted reckless behavior, the primary concern of most producers of energy drinks, sports drinks, and vitamin-enhanced beverages was how to best improve their competitive standing in the market place. Rapid growth in the category, coupled with premium prices and high profit margins made alternative beverages an important part of beverage companies’ lineup of brands. The Alternative Beverage Segment Help Companies to Sustain Volume Growth in Mature Markets Where Consumers Were Reducing Their Consumption of Carbonated Soft Drinks. Also the Alternative Beverage Industry Offered 2. What is competition like in the alternative beverage industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants?Competition from substitutes is substantial. There were many substitutes to alternative beverages such as tea, soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water and tap water. Even though substitute products had a bigger market share in the US, consumers had tended to buy more alternative beverages. This change in customer preference had weakened the competitive power of substitute beverages. Convenience store, grocery store, and wholesale club buyers had substantial leverage in negotiating pricing and slotting fees with alternative beverage producers because of their large purchases.New brands with low market shares were most vulnerable to buyer leverage since shelf space was limited while top brands such as Red Bull were almost always assured of shelf space. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were least vulnerable since they offered a wide var iety of beverages that convenience stores, grocery stores, and wholesale clubs wished to offer to consumers. As a result of this certain appeal, the two companies’ alternative beverage brands almost always found shelf space in retail stores. The bargaining power and leverage of suppliers was the weakest competitive force.Many suppliers for alternative beverage ingredients and they fight with the others to sell their products. Packaging is readily available from many suppliers and is like a commodity. However, some rare ingredients providers had a moderate amount of leverage in negotiations with energy drink producers. Additionally, the producers of alternative beverages are important customers of suppliers and buy in large quantities. The threat of new brands varies by market maturity of each alternative beverage category. It has low threat for mature categories and moderate to strong in young categories.During the early stages of developing a category, when famous brand lead ers had not been established, the threat of entry in alternative beverage categories remained strong. As a result, entrepreneurs launching new beverages with novel formulas or well-developed image campaigns could quickly gain market share among consumers. However, as the category matured, consumer preferences developed and shaped retailers’ purchasing decisions. Once the category had established, its brand leaders, it became much more difficult for new entrants to gain shelf space in convenience stores, supermarkets, and wholesale clubs.Therefore, in 2010, the threat of entry should be lower for all types of alternative beverages except energy shots and relaxation drinks. The competence among sellers of alternative beverage could be considered as the strongest competitive force. Among the sellers of energy drinks and other alternative beverages, competition is so strong and will grow stronger each year. Competition among major brands centers primarily on brand image, an appea ling taste, attractive packaging, new product R&D, sales promotions and endorsements, and gaining better access to shelf space and strengthening distribution capabilities.As for 2010, there was no evidence of strong price competition in any of the alternative beverage categories, which makes it difficult to argue that competitive rivalry is fierce or brutal. Factors that increase the strength of competitive rivalry included efforts on the part of industry rivals to expand the number and types of alternative beverages in their product lines, low switching costs on the part of consumers, active and aggressive efforts on the part of sellers to establish consumer brand loyalty, and strong emphasis on advertising, sales promotions, and endorsements.MLA â€Å"Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drink, and Vitamin-Enhanced. † StudyMode. com. 28 Sep. 2011. . â€Å"Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drink, and Vitamin-Enhanced. † StudyMode. com. September 28, 2011. http://ww w. studymode. com/essays/Competition-In-Energy-Drinks-Sports-Drink-788697. html.

Self-Defense Law

Post | Self-Defense Law | A WSJ Article by Joe Palazzolo and Rob Barry | | Robert Hallam| 4/1/2012| LAW-13 Paper #2 | Self-defense laws, also known as â€Å"stand your ground laws†, have been a significant aspect of many court cases. However, like most other laws, these laws can be used improperly and cause excess controversy around a case. Joe Palazzolo and Rob Barry’s article titled â€Å"More Killings Called Self-Defense† from the March 31st edition of Wall Street Journal brings attention to these self-defense laws.The case discussed in the article is an example of self-defense laws causing controversy, as many protestors believe these laws were used improperly. This is also a common issue as the number of justifiable homicides seems to be on the rise. Are these â€Å"stand your ground laws† truly being abused? This is the main issue causing the debate surrounding cases around the country. The article describes a case of homicide in which 17-year-old Tr ayvon Martin was shot and killed by supposed neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman. This case has become very controversial for several reasons.Much debate has been sparked as to whether this homicide was actually an intentional hate crime, as Martin was a black teenager, who supposedly posed no real threat to the killer. Despite lack of evidence against Martin, Zimmerman still claims that his act was out of self-defense and he has not been charged or arrested. Zimmerman claims he was walking to his car and Martin approached him and punched him in the face, breaking his nose. Recent evidence shows that there was virtually no damage inflicted on Zimmerman’s face or nose.Zimmerman also claims that Martin had bashed his head into the ground, leaving him with serious head injuries. New video evidence goes against his claim, revealing no head injuries (Zerlina, 2012). His lawyer has yet to make any further comments. Although it cannot be assumed that race was a main factor in th is case, it is still the cause of much debate. Since Martin supposedly posed no real threat to the killer, protestors believe that this is not considered justifiable homicide and the self-defense law is being used improperly.The article provides statistics regarding justifiable homicide and self-defense laws, as well as the relationship between the two. According to the information provided in the article, the data on the relationship between the two has not been sufficiently studied, thus many questions surrounding the issue are still left unanswered. For instance, according to criminal scientists, â€Å"the data on justifiable homicide and their relationship to â€Å"stand your ground laws† has not been rigorously studied†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ So the question remains unanswered if â€Å"a rise in justifiable homicides reflects killings that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. Other questions are left unreciprocated as well. What is the typical relationship between the killer s and the victims in these sorts of cases? These types of questions remain debatable, according to the statistics and data provided. Many other statistics are mentioned in the article, such as data regarding methods of murder (weapons; guns being the most popular in cases of justifiable homicide), age of victims, and as mentioned previously, race. It appears that many self-defense laws are far too susceptible to abuse (Richard A Mann, Barry S Roberts , 2010).The newer concept commonly seen in stand your ground laws follow the obscene Florida variation that â€Å"not only eliminates the duty to retreat, but also presumes that a person who uses deadly force in his home or vehicle had a reasonable fear of harm, and it immunizes the killer from civil lawsuits† (palazzolo, 2012) ; as opposed to the common standard â€Å"Castle Doctrine† system in which individual home owners were perfectly justified in using deadly force against home intruders.The opposition to these new la ws asserts that a legal statute was even included in said doctrine that â€Å"you can shoot to kill if your life is in peril, period. † However that does not give you the right to pursue possibly innocent non-immediate threats and that those situations are best handled by notifying authorities. According to the legal definition of self-defense, the harm of another person is only justifiable †if a person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm† (lectric law ).So, according to this definition, homicide is only justified if there is a present danger and an attack is being made to avoid such danger. The defense must be done to prevent a crime which would amount to a felony if committed (lectric law ). These laws are intended to allow an individual to prevent real harm on his or her self. In short, was the case concerning the murder of Martin truly a case of self-defense, or should Zimmerman be charged with homicide? Here is where the debate comes into play.In this case, it appears that there is no evidence collected against Martin, and so the homicide should not yet be considered justifiable. This is an example of the self-defense laws being too susceptible to abuse. If an act of homicide is going to be deemed justified, there should always be a sufficient amount of evidence. The possibility of Zimmerman’s case being a hate crime still exists, but there is not enough evidence to support this either. Although self-defense laws are helpful to many cases, these powers can clearly be abused.Since proper evidence has not been provided, it is improper to make official conclusions, but it seems that Zimmerman’s case may be an example of the self-defense laws being too susceptible to exploitation. Zimmerman’s case does not seem to follow the legal definition of self-defense, yet he was not charged or arrested. Protestors are fighting for Zimmerman’s arrest, as not enough evidence has been found against Martin, the victim of gunfire who supposedly presented a threat to the attacker. These protestors are rallying nationwide in support of Zimmerman’s conviction.Works Cited (n. d. ). Retrieved april 2, 2012, from lectric law : http://www. lectlaw. com/def/d030. htm palazzolo, j. (2012). more killings called self defense. wall street journal , 1-2. Richard A Mann, Barry S Roberts . (2010). Essentials of business law and the legal environment . Mason: Sout-Western Cengage Learning. Zerlina. (2012, march 29). feninisting. com. Retrieved march 25, 2012, from http://feministing. com/2012/03/29/george-zimmermans-self-defense-story-of-trayvon-martin-shooting-falls-apart/

Personal statement for Ucas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal statement for Ucas - Essay Example My capability of handling this course can be traced back to my childhood. I have always enjoyed such subjects as, mathematics, and physics. More to this, I am a good team player, who corporate maximally with other members to promote the intended objective. Given that this field requires a lot of cooperation to enhance effectiveness, I believe that I shall find it easy to work with my fellow students and colleagues after graduation. In addition, I am a very curious person. I ask several questions, and analyze situations in detail, which I believe will help me achieve success in the course, and in my future career. Having worked as an intern in Balfour Beatty plc for three months, I am further convinced that mechanical engineering adds meaning to my life. During the period of the internship, I developed my analysis, and design skills, which encouraged me to pursue this course. My inspiration to undertake this course is intrinsic. First, I am a hardworking individual, as evidenced by my high grades. I purpose to be the best in what I do, and will ensure that I do my assignments well. Secondly, I enjoy engaging in challenging activities as they promote my problem solving skills. Taking this course will expose me to technical issues that will engage my mind, thus giving me a great time in school. In addition, famous mechanical engineers, such as, Leighton Sissom inspires my life. I admire his dedication into the field, and get encouraged that I can also make it in this field. His renowned leadership in engineering makes me realize that this course offers more than just course work. Additionally, he has published various works that contribute to the advancement of engineering (Ficarra, 2010, pp.696-697). Being in the company of professional engineers also encourages me to pursue the subject. My mentor, for example, is an engineer by profession. I admire what he does, and he encourages me to pursue the subject. He

Thchnology as a route to immortality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thchnology as a route to immortality - Essay Example Consequently, replication of human thought process brought about immortality of the mind transparently and comprehensibly, since reasoning could not just be replicated but also manipulated (148). Besides thinking without the body, technological advancements promote immortality through promotion of bodies that are impermeable to damage and aging given technology’s ability to health current diseases like cancer; mind uploading that permits existence in virtual reality, alternate bodies or robots, and deep space; and correcting global warming. Based on Cartesian arguments, technological advancements of as thinking machine aimed at relieving human’s immortal mind from its mortal captivity thus lending it a permanent existence both on earth and in heaven (148). Consequently, technology or machine represented secondary individuals with additional perfectionism that will be enhanced through improvements in transhumanism and nanotechnology. The search to imitate the human mind through inventions concluded that machines are thinking, imitate better than human interrogators implying that machines could also learn (151) and function autonomous of human intelligence to make decisions within military context where rational intelligence of artificial intelligence displaces human insanity and limitations (154). Minsky, a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence insinuated that the human interior could be depersonalized and independently replaced by thinking machines (156). Minsky also prophesied the symbiosis of man and machines where AI would accelerate human cognitive process hence promoting high performance machines (157) like voice actuated computers through advancements like ARPANET (158). Like the previous technology enthusiasts, human fascinations with computers incline to spirituality unlike utilitarianism with the brain freeing from the body making it immortal within the cyberspace (160).

Cash rate, loan rate, equity funding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cash rate, loan rate, equity funding - Essay Example This can be attributed to the increased cost of debt funding for the major banks in Australia. Study of major banks’ fund composition shows that the banks are shifting their focus towards deposits and long term borrowings more and there has been a decline in share of short term debt in banks funding. Amongst others, higher deposit rates have contributed significantly towards increase in debt funding costs for banks. Although the share of equity has also increased in the banks’ funding composition but it has not contributed much towards changes in housing loan rates, since they are less risky. Until recently, in 2011, the spread between standard housing loan rate and cash rate has reduced by about 10 basis points due to the increase in discounts offered by the banks on new mortgages, but it’s only a small reduction compared to the overall spread. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Widening of the spread between the major-banks standard variable housing loan rat e and the RBA’s cash rate since 2007 4 RBA’s Cash Rate 4 Variable Housing Loan Rate and Cash Rate 4 Composition of Banks’ Funding 5 Cost of Debt and Equity Funding 5 Pricing for Risk and Banks’ Housing Loan Rates 6 Conclusion 6 List of Graphs 7 References 10 Bibliography 12 Widening of the spread between the major-banks standard variable housing loan rate and the RBA’s cash rate since 2007 RBA’s Cash Rate The key objective of RBA’s monetary policy is to lower the inflation rate, targeting around 2 to 3%. Other objectives of RBA’s monetary policy include low unemployment rate and maintaining a stable growth of Australian economy. Cash rate is the primary tool which is used by RBA to regulate the monetary policy in the country. It increases target cash rate when the inflation pressure is in excess of the RBA’s target and it decreases the target cash rate when the economy can grow at a faster rate without creating any infla tion problem (Lowe, 1995, p. 3-15). If we look at the history of RBA’s cash rate, it can be inferred that there has been a steady increase in cash rate from 2007 till mid 2008, which was the beginning of Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Then there was a sharp decline in cash rate during the period of mid 2008 till April, 2009. The cash rate was as low as 3% and continued to be so till September, 2009. Since October, 2009, there had been a steady increase in cash rate (Graph 1). Until recently there had been minor cuts in cash rate and is at 4.25%, as of today (RBA, n.d.). Variable Housing Loan Rate and Cash Rate The trend of standard variable housing loan rates is believed to follow the trend of cash rate. It is so because the household cost of funds are driven by the cash rate. If we compare the standard variable housing loan rate with cash rate, we find an overall strong correlation between these two rates over the years but with some anomalies in between (Graph 2). If we wat ch closely, it can be found that there has been an increasing spread between the major bank’s standard variable housing loan rate and the cash rate since 2007. This increase in variable housing loan rate by major banks relative to the cash rate can be attributed to the increase in bank’s cost of debt funding. In addition to this, higher equity funding costs and increase in expected losses have also attributed to this widening of spread between the two rates. Until recently, in 2011, the spread has reduced by about 10

Handout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Handout - Essay Example The mediating agents intervene between the learners, the stimulus, and the manifested response so as to interpret, control, expound and strengthen the leaning experience of the learners (Feuerstein, 1980, 15-16). The theory was put forward by two theories; Feuerstein’s theory of Mediated Learning Experience and Vogotskian sociocultural theory which advocate for the significant role played by the sociocultural forces and the environment of learners in the development of the learners holistically and also in learning. Mediated learning is not planned as it occurs naturally and instantaneously when a child interacts with their parents or teachers in their environment Mediation theory is criticized for placing a huge responsibility on the adults as mediating agents for the learning process and the growth of a child but presents the child to play a very passive role in the process. The benefits of this theory is that they provide a learner with an opportunity of becoming responsible individually through connection, ordering and management of the knowledge that have gained in the learning process. The activity of a learner is also very important to ensuring that he grasps the response and employs it to gains more insights on their own developments and organization of knowledge which shapes their lives (Rhodes, 1987:59). There are twelve features of mediation theory. Three of them are essential and apply to all learning situation while the other nine are situation-specific. The three universal features are shared intention, significance and transcendence. The other nine features are a sense of competence, control of behavior, goal setting, challenge, an awareness of change, belief in positive outcomes, spirit of Sharing, individuality and a sense of belonging. Mediation theory helps the learner achieve all the features a learner with the help of the teachers. In the application of

Letter to the Editor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Letter to the Editor - Essay Example I am therefore writing this in the expression of my concern about the increased road accidents due to careless driving in Lawrence area. From the accident mentioned, the Kansas highway patrol reports have indicated that there are several state laws on road safety that are severely violated. In most cases, drivers choose to ignore these rules. It has been proved that that just 70% of drivers on the road belt up as opposed to the required 100%. In case of an accident, it is hazardous, and it has been established that the highest number of deaths occur to those that fail to belt up as opposed to those that belt up. The driving for that matter has been careless. There have been reports of over-speeding in which drivers go beyond the required speed. This has led to many drivers losing control and knocking over pedestrians on the road pavements. Apart from overspending, the other problem as has been established is that the drivers and the passengers hardly belt up. A high number of accidents caused by impact lead to deaths because of the drivers and passengers failed to belt up. Disregarding the traffic rules and road signs is a deliberate act that causes accidents. Consider the March 2nd, 2014 accident in which a driver along Douglas County Road 1061 failed to stop at the US-56 intersection. The vehicle ended up being hit by a GMC Denali XL sports car, and the two ended up landing in a ditch with one vehicle landing on top of the other. Hospital reports have indicated that there are some drivers that drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol in complete contravention of the Kansas traffic l aws. There are several solutions that need to be implemented to curb this reckless loss of lives on the roads. The first solution is that the highway patrol police need to implement laws on driving as well spelt out in Kansas Statutes Chapter 8 Article 10. In this, no driver is supposed to take the

The era of the weak state THE WEAK STATE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The era of the weak state THE WEAK STATE - Essay Example The fourteenth amendment (1868) that protected equality of all citizens before law and the fifteenth amendment (1870) that imparted voting rights to all were also partially circumvented in a similar manner by the South (Henretta and Brody, 440-456). All these had a negative and weakening effect on the consolidating process undertaken by the new state. The period, 1865 to 1890, on the contrary, was the era of agricultural growth, industrialization and urbanization but of course with environmental costs (Henretta and Brody, 430-446). And towards the end of the era of the ‘weak state’, that is between 1877 and 1900, the US began to grow into a full-fledged industrial nation (Henretta and Brody, 462). If it was the feudal social establishment that acted as a weakening element for the state during 1860s and 70s, towards 1900, the emerging corporate industries took over the same task. It is observed that the new America that emerged in 1900 was â€Å"a land of factories, corporate enterprise and industrial workers† (Henretta and Brody, 462). A market of mass dimensions and a wide consumer base grew (Henretta and Brody, 497). Infrastructure facilities were also developed to great extent thereby helping industry to grow better (Henretta and Brody, 495-497). The decades that preceded and succeeded 1900 saw an influx of immigrants from Europe culminating in thoughts about restricting the same and also extreme urbanization (Henretta and Brody, 502-585). On the political front, the era of the ‘weak state’ is marked by the people getting highly mobilized as political pressure groups but all the same, the government being the weakest in the US history in terms of power and national pride (Henretta and Brody, 600-606). Slowly, as the two-party system emerged, the possibility of a third voice was suppressed and a common understanding was arrived at to maintain the ‘weak state’ so as to further the capitalist society and its

Most serious hindrance to international cooperation regarding human Essay

Most serious hindrance to international cooperation regarding human development, climate change, and resource depletion - Essay Example At one end China is becoming the manufacturing hub of world’s big industries and at the other end, the role of China regarding climate change has become more important on international screen. In fact the process of internationalization and globalization has made the international cooperation through suitable channels a necessity for the economies. However, international cooperation which deals with the development in different fields of life has itself become a global issue. There are various concerns and problems which hinder the progress of international cooperation especially regarding human development, climate change and resource depletion. Much has been achieved through international cooperation however, many economies remain off track. It is very significant to learn the factors which have been contributing to hinder the progress of international cooperation especially in the area of human development, climate change and resource depletion. The world economy is a build ing block of various social classes which differ based on their income levels, races, religions etc. To reduce the conflicts and to ensure the sovereignty of every nation, the nation-state system has been introduced however; the increasing globalization is contributing to the unification of world. The major reason which is generally considered to be the major source of hindrance in international cooperation is the self-interest of every nation. When these interests conflict, the issues of inequalities and sovereignty become dominant. The developing countries in the pursuit of expanding their economic activities give very low priority to climate change and environment conservation. Therefore, the approaches which are being used by developed states cannot be used in the developing states and the collaboration gap expands. Dvorsky (2010) has identified the five reasons because of which the Copenhagen Climate Conference failed. He has identified that nation states do not like to be told what to do. Therefore, the economies who consider â€Å"maintaining trade balance† as their top priority and â€Å"climate change† as their last priority cannot change their priorities after an international conference on climate change. The cultural conflicts between the developed and developing states largely hinders the international cooperation especially regarding human development. Japan is actively involved in international cooperation regarding human development through technical cooperation and educational cooperation. From Japan’s perspective international cooperation in education is important because education shapes the foundation of an individual and at large foundation of a nation thereby, contributes to economic and social development. On the other hand, Kenya society identifies the various differences between modern education introduced by colonial government and traditional education formed by tribal societies. These differences are related to objectives, methods, contents and attitudes between two educational systems. The government of Kenya took this matter very seriously as it was increasing cultural conflict in the society. Like Kenya, the other countries which have been forced to adapt the modern education system have faced such cultural conflicts

Endangered Animals should be protect Essay Example for Free

Endangered Animals should be protect Essay ‘Would you like to see humans becoming extinct after sometime? Animals are as important as humans and then how can we see animals extinct. Mahatma Gandhi (1956) had a quote which was ­Ã¢â‚¬ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way animals are treated†. There are several animals who are on the line of becoming extinct. Animals that are on the line of extinction are called Endangered Animals. If the current Endangered animals became extinct then many resources that people use will also disappear. We should save Endangered Animals due to that animals maintain healthy ecosystem, and animals provide with food source and raw materials. Essentially, animals help maintain the healthy ecosystem. The ecosystem is the connected in chains known as food chains and food webs. If one of the animal becomes extinct the whole chain is disturbed and there would be increase of some animals and decrease of some animals. The animals also maintain the balance of the nature. Animals helps the humans in many ways directly or indirectly. A scientific research by the World Wildlife Fund shows that the Tigers helps us protect the forests and other endangered animals but tigers are on the edge of getting extinct. There are only 3,200 tigers left in the world. â€Å"Would you like to work for someone and in return getting nothing except getting being killed†? The above explanation explain us that we need to save the endangered animals and this is one of the reasons we should save them.

The Term Comparative Advertising Marketing Essay

The Term Comparative Advertising Marketing Essay In the liberalized Indian economy, as entry into production and services is no more a barrier, the thrust of competition has shifted to aggressive and vigorous promotion of products and services. These practices raise questions about truthfulness and fairness of representation of products and services. In a competitive environment, every representation of a product or service, is about what others are not. In this sense, a study of evolution of law on comparative representation can give us insights in the working of law and business in the liberalized-globalised economy. The question is not be whether a consumer has adequate remedies and protection against such unfair trade practices of a corporation but whether the warring corporations have adequate law against unfair trade practices, and a justice delivery system to have some rules of the game for competing among themselves  [1]  . The term comparative advertising refers to any form of advertising in which a trademark owner attempts to enjoy pecuniary benefits from a comparison between his product, service, or brand and that of a competitor. Comparative claims may vary in nature. They may explicitly name a competitor or implicitly refer to him. They may either emphasize the similarities or the differences between the products. They may also state that the advertised product is better than or as good as the competitors  [2]  . In simple words; comparative advertising is a form of advertising in which two or more brands of same generic products are compared in terms of one or more products or attributes. These advertisements are designed to highlight the advantages of the goods and services offered by the advertiser as compared to those of a competitor. Although, comparative advertisement has not been defined in the Indian statute, the UK Regulations define it as an advertisement which explicitly or by implic ation, identifies a competitor or goods or services offered by a competitor   [3]  . Comparative Advertising is also used in political campaigns, where it generates more counterarguments and fewer source derogations than negative political advertising does. This result may be due to the different styles of information processing that the two types of messages encourage. However, consumers exposed to negative political messages find them less useful for decision making and have more negative attitudes towards political campaigns than do consumers exposed to political advertising.  [4]   A survey of advertisements conducted in US reveals that there are three categories into which all advertisements fall  [5]  : 1. Non comparative advertisements that do not refer to a competing product either directly or indirectly. 2. Indirectly comparative advertisements that refers to a competing product in an indirect manner. 3.Directly comparative advertisements in which a competing product is specifically named or recognizably presented. Advertising falling into the last two categories could be referred to as comparative advertising. while in some countries one or both kinds of comparative advertisements are allowed, some countries do not allow either of the two kinds. Accordingly, the well known tag line in the UK(which allows both forms of comparative advertising with certain restrictions) in the advertisements for Carlsberg lager-Probably the best lager in the world, cannot be used in Germany(which does not allow comparative advertisement at all), as it would lead to an implication that all other lager are inferior to Carlsberg, thereby falling into the category of indirectly comparative advertisements.  [6]   Comparative advertising generally possesses two components, puffery and denigration. Puffery is where the advertiser seeks to draw the consumers attention by making superlative claims about his product that are assertions of opinion, rather than verifiable statements of fact. Often puffery crosses the limits of tolerance and seeks to portray the competing product in a negative light. The same is then said to amount to denigration, which the courts have strictly prohibited. Thus, the material question that often arises is to what extent comparative advertising may be restricted. The answer lies in developing a clear understanding of the conflicting interests of the various stakeholders involved, including the advertiser, the competitor and the consumer. The advertisers objective herein is to present his products in a manner such that the consumer is most likely to purchase it. On the other hand the competitor would always try to prevent any advertising that aims at denigrating his pro duct or makes false claims, or uses his product as a standard which the advertiser claims to exceed. The hapless consumer finds himself in the midst of a cacophony of claims, and has the right to be accurately informed about the quality or utility of the products available in the market.  [7]   STATUTORY PROVISION IN INDIA- The onus of regulating advertising in India has been assumed by a wide array of governmental authorities and tribunals, but presently there exists no dedicated statutory mechanism to regulate the dissemination of untruthful or disparaging material through such medium  [8]  . Primarily, matters related to untrue and misleading advertising were adjudicated upon by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission, constituted under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act). The Act defined an unfair trade practice under section 36A to include any false representation of goods with regard to their quality, quantity or utility. The provision also incorporated the clause that a warranty or guarantee of performance or durability of the product, if not adequately substantiated, would amount to an unfair trade practice  [9]  . Further, to advertise a false or misleading fact disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person too was br ought within the ambit of the same  [10]  . However, the MRTP Act was subsequently repealed by virtue of section 66 of the Competition Act, 2002. The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission, with reference to intensifying competition in the post-liberalised India, was describing a case before it as another legal battle between two multinational corporate giants making this Commission as a battlefield for the purpose  [11]  . The Trade Marks Act provides that a registered trademark is infringed by any advertising of that trade mark if such advertising takes unfair advantage and is contrary to honest practices in industrial or commercial matters, is detrimental to its distinctive character, or is against the reputation of the trade mark  [12]  . Section 30(1) of the same act provides an exception to the above rule stating that such advertisement would not amount to infringement if the use of such mark falls within purview of honest practices. This implies that honest practices are mandatory for comparative advertising without which it would amount to trademark infringement In the absence of an established statutory mechanism dedicated to the regulation of advertising, the industry itself has sought to develop a model for voluntary self-regulation in the form of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)  [13]  . The same is a non-statutory tribunal comprising an association of advertisers established in 1985. The ASCI position on the form and manner of comparative advertising has been laid out in Chapter IV of the bodys Code for Self Regulation in Advertising  [14]  . It is stated herein that advertisements containing comparisons with competing manufacturers and sellers are permissible in the interests of vigorous competition and free dissemination of information, subject to the following requirements being satisfied: a) It is clear what aspects of the advertisers product are being compared with what aspects of the competitors product. (b) The subject matter of comparison is not chosen in such a way as to confer an artificial advantage upon the advertiser or so as to suggest that a better bargain is offered than is truly the case. (c) The comparisons are factual, accurate and capable of substantiation. (d) There is no likelihood of the consumer being misled as a result of the comparison, whether about the product advertised or that with which it is compared. (e) The advertisement does not unfairly denigrate, attack or discredit other products, advertisers or advertisements, directly or by implication.  [15]   COMPARATIVE ADVERTISEMENT AND TRADEMARK INFRINGMENT In an era where the whole world is considered as one global village, trademarks play an important role to distinguish the products of one business house from another. Trademark can be defined as a mark or symbol which distinguishes one product from other product of similar nature  [16]  . Its aim is to identify the source of a product and to distinguish that product from product of similar nature. It lends individuality to a product which helps the customers to identify the product placed with products of similar kinds. Trade mark not only identifies the product of its origin but it also guaranties its unchanged quality and further helps to build a brand image by advertises the products. In a rat race to present their products as the best, companies adopt advertising techniques that make use of trademarks, trade names, and other trade symbols combining informational and persuasive elements. Not only has the use of their own trademark gained popularity also the use of their counte rparts trade mark is fast catching up. In Advertising and Public Interest  [17]  , Ralph Brown argues that trademarks by themselves were worthless to the public; the publics interest inhered in the ability of trade symbol to inform and prevent confusion. He further asserts that the legal protection surrounding trade mark should be driven by analysis of the degree to which advertising itself served public interest. The law on comparative advertising and product disparagement, in relation to trademarks, in India, is based upon the law as laid down in Irvings Yeast Vite Ltd v FA Horse-nail  [18]  . Section 29(8) of The Trademarks Act, 1999 enunciates situations, when the use of a trademark in advertising can constitute infringement. It says that any advertising which is not in accordance with honest practices; or is detrimental to the distinctive character, or to the repute of the mark, shall be an act constituting infringement. At the same time Section 30 (1) makes comparative advertising an exception, to acts constituting infringement under Section 29. It provides that any advertising which is in accordance with honest practices, and does not cause detriment to the distinctive character or to the repute of the trademark will be permissible and will not constitute infringement. CONSTITUTIONAL VIEW- Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India protects the right to freedom of speech and expression. It is very important for us to analyze article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution in relation to comparative advertising. The freedom of speech and expression also has limitations but the same is restricted by imposing reasonable restrictions by the state under article 19 (2) of the Constitution  [19]  . Now the question is that whether the commercial speech can be protected under article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. In the case of Tata Press Ltd. vs Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.  [20]  , the Supreme Court held that commercial speech cannot be denied the protection of Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution merely because the same is issued by businessmen. Court took a very wide interpretation of the Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution Supreme Court held that advertising as a commercial speech has two facets. Advertising which is no more than a commercial transaction is, no netheless, dissemination of information regarding the product advertised. Public at large is benefited by the information made available through the advertisement. In a democratic economy, free flow of commercial information is indispensable. There cannot be honest and economical marketing by the public at large without being educated by the information disseminated through advertisements. The economic system in a democracy would be handicapped without there being freedom of commercial speech. Supreme Court also stated that the public at large has a right to receive the commercial speech. Article 19(1) (a) not only guarantees freedom of speech and expression; it also protects the rights of an individual to listen, read, and receive the said speech. So the Supreme Court held that a party has a right to advertise its product making commendation about its quality. Advertisement being a commercial speech which is a part of the freedom of speech is guaranteed under article 19(1). (a) of the Constitution and it can also be restricted under Article 19 (2) if it fulfils its elements. Court was of the view that publicity and advertisement of ones product with purpose of boosting sales is a legitimate marketing strategy. Court has laid down various principles in deciding about the extent of comparative advertisement. Comparative advertising must compare products meeting the same needs or intended for the same purpose. Comparative advertising should explicitly or implicitly make clear what comparison is made. A case of disparagement arises only if product in question is identifiable. Comparison with another or ordinary product that does not allude to particular brand, cannot give rise to disparagement. For disparagement, a direct reference to competitive brand is not necessary. Even an indirect referencing that can identify a particular brand may lead to a case of disparagement. Comparative advertising should not mislead consumers about competitors product with which comparison is made. A manufacturer is entitled to make exaggerations like his goods are the best, or in puffing manner compare his goods with competitors, and the same even if untrue, will not give a clause of action to other manufacturers of similar product, unless in doing so the manufacturer says that his competitors goods are bad, or disparages and defame them. This makes clear that freedom of speech and expression does not permit defamation and it would be a little far-fetched to say that an advertiser has the liberty to disparage the product of his competitor without any check, under the grab of freedom of speech. The irony remains, that although it is one thing to say that your product is better than that of a rival and it is another thing to say that his product is inferior to your product, still while asserting the latter, the hidden message may be the former, but that is inevitable in the case of a comparison. While comparing two products, the advertised product will, but naturally, have to be shown as better.  [21]   Comparative Advertising-Consumers Perspective Comparative Advertising if seen in a consumer perspective it tells the difference between two goods in the market and tell the consumer why he should opt for the advertisers product.  [22]   One of the most effective methods for advertising a product is to compare it with competitive offerings. Side-by-side or A-B comparisons can provide prospective customers with compelling reasons to buy from the company. They can also help build credibility for its product. Subconsciously, the prospective customer says: Who would risk making a direct comparison if they didnt have something truly superior? Johnson and Johnson found this out the hard way when Proctor and Gamble introduced Whisper with a direct comparison of the various features that were new in their product as opposed to Carefree without once naming Carefree directly.  [23]   The comparison of goods and services provides more information and thus educates consumers in taking a better decision. The advertisers in India generally compare the prices that cater to the status appeal of the maximum populations as 30% of Indians live under the category of middle class which is the most growing consumer market and they are also benefitted with the comparative advertisements. From the research done in India and abroad regarding the consumer reactions to the comparative advertising, it is clear that it helps in informing customers on the comparative features of two competitive brands. It is an effective positioning tool as well.  [24]  Few advertisers view the comparative advertising as offensive but from the practical experience so far, it is an accepted fact that consumers are being benefitted by the comparative advertisements. In Indian market, as mentioned above there has been a sea-change after the introduction of LPG policies. Brands that were considered to be of very high quality with practically no competition have lost out to other international brands, with the opening up of our markets and with the increasing awareness of the consumers about the products. Comparative advertisement truly gives an opportunity to help consumers not only to decide on which product is better but also what is best suited for him.  [25]   Consumers generally do not observe quality before purchase. Prices cannot signal quality. The firms compete for customers by advertising their quality. We first analyze a pure disclosure framework. If a firm advertises, it discloses the truth; it cannot falsify as such. Compare two scenarios. In the first firms can only engage in non-comparative advertising, i.e., a firm may disclose its own quality but not the competitors. In the second scenario, the firms can also engage in comparative advertising. In both scenarios advertising is costly and firms may, therefore, choose to remain silent.  [26]   Some studies have questioned the effectiveness of comparative advertising. Swinyard found that when it is one-sided, comparative advertising loses credibility and generates sympathy for the brand being attacked.  [27]  A study by Ogilvy-Mather, a large ad agency, found that consumers frequently confuse the sponsor for the competitor in many comparative ads. Furthermore, there was no persuasiveness of comparative and non-comparative ads.  [28]  On the other hand, other studies have found that if the source is credible, comparative advertisement is effective. For example, Gotlieb and Sarel found that credible comparative ads were more likely to be notices and were more likely to influence intentions to buy the advertised brand compared with non comparative ads. They also found that credible comparative ads were particularly effective for new products. Swinyard found that credibility can best be achieved by making comparative ads two sided-that is, a comparative ad that names a competitor, cites some of the advantages of the comparative brand, and then points out the arguments for the advertised brand.  [29]   Marketers should also consider consumers goal when preparing comparative ads. Promotion-focused consumers, whose goal is to maximise their gains and positive consumers, will be more responsive to claims that Brand X is superior to Brand Y; prevention-focused consumers, who want to minimize their loss and risk, will be more sceptical of superiority claims and more responsive to claims that Brand X is similar or equivalent to Brand Y. Note that positively framed comparative messages(Brand X performs better than Brand Y) are more effective for promotion-focused consumers, whereas negatively framed messages(Brand Y has more problems than Brand X) are more effective for prevention-focused consumers. Positively framed comparative messages encourage more cognitive processing and prompt consumers to consider other brand information-sparking their buying intentions if the additional information supports the positive arguments.  [30]   But the comparative advertisement should extent to the limit that it misleads the consumer. Any misinformation will be prejudice to the consumers. Abuses in advertising can obviously have unfortunate effects on consumers ranging from money on item that did not live up to the standard, expectation, quality and effectively but results in hazardous accidents resulting from the misrepresentation of faulty goods.  [31]   Humour In Advertising  [32]   Marketers use humorous messages because they attract attention and because advertisers believe that humour can be persuasive. The use of humour in advertising has been increasing to the point where the majority of ads use humour. one reason is that a 2002 survey by Roper, a large marketing research firm, found that 85 percent of respondents said they like ads with humorous themes. There are pros and cons for the use of humour in advertising. On the positive side, humour is likely to increase attention and memorability. It is also likely to enhance the advertisers credibility. Humour may create a positive feeling towards the advertisers and increase the persuasiveness of the message. It may also distract consumers who use competitive products from developing arguments against the advertisers brand and may lead them to accept the message. Humour may also be considered inappropriate based on the economic and political climate. When is the use of humour most effective? Researchers have found that humour is most effective in gaining message acceptance- when consumers are not involved- because humour is peripheral to the message, it is more likely to influence consumers who are not involved with the product than those who are. for existing products- advertising new products require conveying information. Humour is a more effective means of establishing a mood than of conveying information. When consumers have a positive attitude towards the brand- humour can reinforce positive feelings towards a brand, but is unlikely to reverse negative feelings. Why Consumer Protection?  [33]   Consumer has no voice in the product which is manufactured for his consumption. It is very difficult to effectively organize consumers in country as vast as India. A majority of the population is illiterate and ignorant. Poverty, lack of education, lack of misinformation, traditional outlook of Indians to suffer in silence, considering poverty and misery as a god-given things-all these negative sides of our life have enabled unscrupulous businessman to exploit consumers in India. The march of science and technology has increased the difficulties of the consumer along with his opportunities of selection from a very wide variety of goods. JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS Indian Judiciary has defined certain limitations for comparative advertising. Certain cases discussed below will help us to clarify more on this term. The role of puffery as a facet of comparative advertising was substantively dealt with by an Indian court for the first time in Reckitt Colman of India Ltd. v. M.P. Ramchandran and Anr.  [34]  In the concerned matter, the plaintiff and defendant were manufacturers of clothing detergent brands Robin Blue and Ujala, respectively. It was contended by the plaintiff that the defendant, in its advertisement, had intentionally displayed a container that was similar to the one in which the plaintiffs product was sold, and in regard to which the plaintiff had a registered design. A further insinuation to the product of the plaintiff was in the fictitious product being priced at Rs. 10, which was known to be the price at which Robin Blue was sold. The advertisement went on to state that the said product Blue was uneconomical, and depicted that the same was a product of obsolete technology and hence ineffective. There was also an implication that the product failed to dissolve effectively in water, and hence damaged clothes by leaving blue patches on them. It was argued by the defendant that the bottle depicted in the advertisement did not bear any resemblance to Robin Blue, and that the object of the portrayal had been merely to assert the technological superiority of Ujala over other competing products. Hence, it was denied that there was any specific disparagement of Robin Blue in the concerned advertisement. In M. Balasundram v Jyothi Laboratories  [35]  , A television advertisement promoting Ujala liquid blue showed that 2-3 drops were adequate to bring striking whiteness of clothes while several spoons of other brands were required though no label of any other brand was shown. A lady holding a bottle of Ujala was looking down on another bottle and exclaiming chhi, chhi, chhi! in disgust. The manufacturers of Regaul, a competing brand, approached the MRTP Commission that the advertisement was disparaging its goods. The Commission was of the view that-a mere claim to superiority in the quality of ones product by itself is not sufficient to attract section 36(1)(x) of MRTP Act. In the advertisement, the bottle did not carry any label. Further, the bottle did not have similarity with bottle of any brand. The Commission, thus, was of the opinion that it could not be a case of disparagement of goods. On a different note decision given by the court in case of Hindustan Lever Limited v Colgate Palmolive (I) Limited  [36]  and Pepsi Co Inc v Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd  [37]  , where both Colgate and Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd liable for disparaging their competitors products, respectively. Even though in both advertisements the competitors product name could not be heard but could clearly be made out from lip movement. Such a method of circumventing the law was held to fall clearly within the ambit of disparagement. The courts further stated that any claims made in comparative advertisements must be backed by verifiable statistical data. Precedents like the one laid down in Dabur India Ltd. v. Emami Ltd  [38]  . could severely curtail the scope of comparative advertising. Jurisprudentially speaking, the concept of defamation has to be specific or individualized in nature  [39]  . In the present case, the courts seem to have overlooked this premise, as the courts ruling in the case laid down that even a reference to a generic class of products could be potentially disparaging. This could be viewed as dangerous precedent as it would disallow a competitor to even make comparisons on a general basis. Hypothetically if the newly launched Tata Nano were to put out an advertisement giving out the impression that bike owners could progress in life by graduating to a car, then based on the ratio of this case, any bike company would be able to successfully sue Tata for disparagement  [40]  . CONCLUSION In India theres no doubt that the law regarding to comparative advertising is well settled, but is it settled in the required manner? By copiously allowing puffing up in marketing strategies, until a competitor is not adversely affected, the courts have turned a blind eye towards the equally important consumer and his interests. Today in the Indian sphere the focus only seems directed towards the grabbing of eyeballs, without providing any productive information for the consumer to utilize. The objective behind comparative advertising was not only being informative and an important tool to promote competition but for comparisons to serve as benchmarks to help consumers focus on the products main qualities. Compara

Essay --

Lower leg pain has been a mystery, with it being named by several different terms. Shin pain that most athletes refer to as shin splints is now being termed Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome or MTSS. Some atheltes under estimate the severity of shin splints by simply having a lack of knowledge. â€Å"In 1974, Clement was among the fist to postulate that â€Å"tibial stress syndrome† was caused by a periostitis that could progress to tibial stress fracture† (Craig, 17). Inflammation of the periosteum and also the tibialis posterior lead to MTSS and ultimately a stress fracture. In order to further research about the cause of MTSS, tissue biopsy was performed on 62 patients in a study by Johnell. According to Craig, 2008, Johnell found that there was an increased tissue metabolic activity, like osteoblast proliferation. Osteoblasts are bone cells that attempt to grow new and repair damaged bone. Osteoblast are present often with inflammation, which is a bodies response to in jury. Through this study, Johnell found that 2/3 of his patients had bone damage, which explains why osteoblasts were proliferating. In a later study by Michael and Holdner they suggested that instead of the tibialis posterior, the soleus was a major cause of MTSS. â€Å"They found that 1/3 of the MTSS patients had soleus fascia inflammation and 1/3 had bony inflammation just underneath the fascial attachment into the bone† (Craig, 17). Inflammation ultimately causes pain. This explains why the soleus is a contributor to MTSS. Athletes who participate in sports like Track and Field where they are in repeated plantar flexion put a lot of pressure on the gastrocnemius and soleus. The gastrocnemius and soleus are consistantly being contracted with every stride and take off for a ... ...8). With out an arch, the soleus is being stretched for long periods of time that causes it to become fatigued and strained which can put pressure on the tibia. It can not be concluded that excessive pronation causes MTSS, but is rather a risk factor. By taping an individuals arch, the amount of pronation can be decreased as well as the amount of pain experienced. Craig also suggests pool work outs once a week to allow for bone healing. I think this is a great idea, and more coaches should implement a pool work out into their weekly routine. Swimming still allows atheltes to have a cardiovascualr work out while giving their tibia's a break. Some atheltes have an extremely high pain tolerance and will continue to practice and perform, with or without treatment. Though with preventative measures like taping and rehab, the treatment of MTSS can hopefully be achieved.

Charles Darwins Theory of Evolution :: Natural Selection, Evolution Essays

In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin poetically entailed, "There is grandeur in this view of life . . .." Personifying Nature as the ultimate breeder, Darwin infers and hypothesizes what is arguably the most fundamental and profound scientific manifesto that governs what we now know about modern science and the science of discovering our past. His two theories of Natural Selection and Sexual Selection effectively bridge the gap that his predecessors could not. These concepts are imperative as their implications paved the way for Darwin's explanation of Evolution. The term "Survival of the Fittest" has been made synonymous with Darwinian ideology, yet to fully understand this idea we need to know what it truly means to be "fit." As discussed in class, being fit does not necessarily imply fitness on a physical or mental level. Rather, the principle entails how well-suited one is for its environment or a readiness for a species to adapt, whether to a new habitat or possibly changes in food, shelter, climate, etc. Through small, almost unnoticable change, over large periods of time, organisms develop physiological and/or anatomical features that invariably help the organism live or live easier. It is important to note that this does not infer that the process of adaptation takes place for the mere purpose of only "bettering" a species or self-improvement, rather modifications are a supplemental benefit. Darwin stated that, "if they be in any degree profitable to the individuals of a species, in their indefinitely complex relations to the organic beings and to their physical conditions of life, will tend to the preservation of such individuals . . .." In some cases this modification can be a detriment to a species. Take for example a species of like-moths in England preceding and during the Industrial Revolution. Before the manufacture of goods in large quantities, two types of moths, white and gray would rest on the bark of trees where birds would prey upon the m. The barks of trees were mainly white, which helped the white moths immensely in that they were camouflaged from their predators. Conversely, the gray moths were clearly noticeable and were thus preyed upon heavily. With the advent of machinery, dust and smoke turned the barks of trees from white to gray, which shifted the predatorial tendencies from gray moths to white. Thus we are able to infer that while the adaptation of color was beneficial to a group of species for a certain extent of time, it does not guarantee that Mother Nature will not shift her favor at some other point in time.

Online Shopping

Since the rise and popularization of internet, many websites provide a platform for purchasing things online. These store Apps are designed to assist the user in purchasing the things online while sitting at home and viewing a variety of products. Product categories that are typically targeted by such applications include products from every field of life. Our application will incorporate the effort of common people who have organic farming or the talent of making 100% organic things. The application will provide a platform to the sellers to sell their products with their own identity and price the products accordingly. Our designed platform will help the customers to buy the organic product regarding many fields of life. We will also deal in herbs and a wide range of herbal products will also be sold. Both seller and buyer would be able to communicate with each other using our platform. IntroductionIn history agriculture was done without the use of chemicals but now a day a huge amount of different type of chemicals are used in agriculture to grow things faster. It is causing harm to the environment. With increasing urbanization and modernization there has been an increase in prevalence of using inorganic products that contain harmful material and have several bad effects with some benefits as well. Globally, around 23% of adults aged 18 and over were not active enough in 2015 (men 20% and women 27%) due to inorganic farming. Inorganic farming is a key risk factor for most of the diseases now a day such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes and many more. Globally, 1 in 4 adults is the patient of multiple serious diseases. Considering the public health implications it is essential to promote Organic Farming in context of an individual's health and environment. The emerging popularity of Online shopping Apps has presented an interesting challenge to mobile application developers. Applications like these have the potential to motivate its users in saving time and money and breaking a trend of taking out time to go to market and waste so much time to look for product.With the help of our application we will target the common people effort and hard work. The feature that distinguishes our application from others is our target that is common people selling all products made of completely from organic thing not a single amount of chemical is added. We will describe the design, development, and evaluation of an app that will help people to buy products that are made of 100% organic things and of herbs. The common people hard work is targeted and has given a platform where they will buy and sell the organic products and easily get rid of many diseases. This chapter describes the background, problem definition, purpose, goals, scope, methodology and the limitations of this project.BACKGROUNDInorganic and chemically formulated products are significant public health problems worldwide with serious health consequences. Globally, 1 in 4 adults is not active enough due to many diseases. More than 80% of the Pakistan's population is insufficiently physically well. Moreover, Research approves that the causes of many new diseases is this Inorganic farming. But there are some people who work hard in organic farming and make 100% organic things but they don't have any specific platform to bring their talent in-front of the world. This creates a need of online shopping website that will help users to display their products so that the people who want to buy fully organic products could buy from here. Similarly it allows people to buy different products made organic things and herbs regarding different field of life. Moreover, people who don't know how to make organic things at home would be easily able to buy their required products with complete assurance of the products to be organic. Motivation and ScopeThe main motivation of this project is to provide a platform to both sellers and buyers to provide access to homemade things of several different kinds at one place of sellers to sell and buyers to buy.PROJECT SCOPEThe application will be designed to serve in all over Pakistan. Everyone can get benefit from our website irrespective of age and gender.Login- Only the authorized users will be able to access the system through proper log in.Product Category and Items- The admin will add organic items and herbs categories to the system. The seller will add different products to the selected category. The same information could be updated and deleted.View details- The buyer will be a ble to view details of the selected item.Shopping cart- The buyer will place order for more than 1 item and add this information to the cart. The buyer will also be able to modify the information in the shopping cart.Online shopping- The system will allow the user to place order for the selected items regarding his need.Cost calculation and payment- The system will calculate total cost of the item placed in the cart and provide payment options.Seller Profile- This module will allow the user to be registered as seller and will display their products on the platform given by using their own identity.Buyer Profile- This module will allow the user to be registered as a buyer and can view different items uploaded on the website and avail the opportunity of getting different offers and they don't need to give their complete information every time while placing order it would be stored in the system.Feedback- The system will allow the buyer to give their response about the product that the y have used. But only this option will be given to those who have purchased that particular item from the website. There will be no fake feedback.Search- It will be easy for the customer to search the products based on his interest. The search will be done on different categories like seller name, category, price etcRelated Work1.ConaturalSourcing solely the best and most strong ingredients, they select minerals from the Dead Sea, the best plant biological sciences and essential oils and also the highest quality botanical actives to formulate the merchandise. They apprehend that the simplest skin and hair care merchandise square measure made up of minimally processed botanicals: organic or responsibly wild crafted, pure, raw, live, unrefined, and handled fastidiously to not diminish their efficiency. Advantages:-i. They provide organic products in one category i.e. hair and skin care organic products.ii. They provide advice regarding problems of hair and skin. Disadvantages:-i. The range of products available is limited.ii. The products are not 100% organic. And also not products only related to organic is been given. 2. PansariPANSARI on-line store was planned when an exploration and realization that however seasonal medication is vital and the way will we tend to connect back to the current kind of pharmacy that is distant currently. This heritage has virtually been lost and up to date pharmacy took over and folks most well-liked choosing speedy results instead of set their malady during a correct manner and some way that isn't harmful in any suggests that. Nature has most future for North American nation which may profit North American nation in marvelous ways that. Nothing during this universe is while not a value, and this can be what PANSARI is functioning at, to supply quality herbs and remedies to match your needs. Advantages:They provide herbal and related products.They help user to buy multiple things like food supplements, honey, dry fruits and Arq.They also provide Hakim online where people could contact with them.Disadvantages:They provide multiple things that also contain some amount of chemical in them like in supplements and beauty products. That means not 100% organic.A huge variety of things made from organic farming related every field of life is not present.  Organic JiyoOrganic Jiyo was supported to get an easy resolution to a true problem: obtaining reliable organic merchandise was too exhausting and too valuable for thus several in Pakistan; these merchandise weren't without delay offered in grocery stores. Advantages:They provide beauty, grocery, dairy and salads and herbs products.They provide different offers and recipes regarding these products.Disadvantages:The product they provide is not 100% organic.They only work in Lahore.Deals in limited amount of product.  OrganicshopinOrganic Shop is India's largest on-line merchant of organics and natural merchandise. With a baton of over 220 trustworthy organic brands in Asian nation like right down to Earth, Organic Asian nation, Rustic Art, does one Speak inexperienced, seasonal Hills and plenty of additional certified organic and natural brands. Organic look has the simplest assortment of organic, natural, seasonal and ayurvedic merchandise in Asian nation. Advantages:They provide a wide range of organic items related every field of life.Different sorts of offers are also given on itemsDisadvantages:The product present are sold by the brands own name not by the seller's name who have done the hard work to make those product.They only work in India.It cannot be called only organic store different other things like bed sheets, gels, towels, clothes and etc.It is a sort of general store.Goals and objectivesOur goal is to help everyone in recognizing their talent in the field of organic products and to reduce diseases from society. Our target people are those who are looking to perform better in their daily life and to earn some money by having an appropriate platform. This project is about the goodwill of the people. The more people benefit from this project, the more we feel achieved and honoured.? To develop the attention in the organic and herbal products.? To motivate the interest of people who can make herbal and organic products by their knowledge and can easily start getting income from it by staying at home.? To facilitate a connection between seller and buyer directly. We plan to move this project on large scale outside the Pakistan that means world-wide every-one would be able to avail the opportunity of buying 100% organic products and paying in their currencyWe will manage to arrange Hakeem, Doctors and Nutritionist so that people could consult them online. In this way, the tradition of inorganic farming will be replaced by organic farming using modern tools integrated with computation and networking. Online Shopping Since the rise and popularization of internet, many websites provide a platform for purchasing things online. These store Apps are designed to assist the user in purchasing the things online while sitting at home and viewing a variety of products. Product categories that are typically targeted by such applications include products from every field of life. Our application will incorporate the effort of common people who have organic farming or the talent of making 100% organic things. The application will provide a platform to the sellers to sell their products with their own identity and price the products accordingly. Our designed platform will help the customers to buy the organic product regarding many fields of life. We will also deal in herbs and a wide range of herbal products will also be sold. Both seller and buyer would be able to communicate with each other using our platform. IntroductionIn history agriculture was done without the use of chemicals but now a day a huge amount of different type of chemicals are used in agriculture to grow things faster. It is causing harm to the environment. With increasing urbanization and modernization there has been an increase in prevalence of using inorganic products that contain harmful material and have several bad effects with some benefits as well. Globally, around 23% of adults aged 18 and over were not active enough in 2015 (men 20% and women 27%) due to inorganic farming. Inorganic farming is a key risk factor for most of the diseases now a day such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes and many more. Globally, 1 in 4 adults is the patient of multiple serious diseases. Considering the public health implications it is essential to promote Organic Farming in context of an individual's health and environment. The emerging popularity of Online shopping Apps has presented an interesting challenge to mobile application developers. Applications like these have the potential to motivate its users in saving time and money and breaking a trend of taking out time to go to market and waste so much time to look for product.With the help of our application we will target the common people effort and hard work. The feature that distinguishes our application from others is our target that is common people selling all products made of completely from organic thing not a single amount of chemical is added. We will describe the design, development, and evaluation of an app that will help people to buy products that are made of 100% organic things and of herbs. The common people hard work is targeted and has given a platform where they will buy and sell the organic products and easily get rid of many diseases. This chapter describes the background, problem definition, purpose, goals, scope, methodology and the limitations of this project.BACKGROUNDInorganic and chemically formulated products are significant public health problems worldwide with serious health consequences. Globally, 1 in 4 adults is not active enough due to many diseases. More than 80% of the Pakistan's population is insufficiently physically well. Moreover, Research approves that the causes of many new diseases is this Inorganic farming. But there are some people who work hard in organic farming and make 100% organic things but they don't have any specific platform to bring their talent in-front of the world. This creates a need of online shopping website that will help users to display their products so that the people who want to buy fully organic products could buy from here. Similarly it allows people to buy different products made organic things and herbs regarding different field of life. Moreover, people who don't know how to make organic things at home would be easily able to buy their required products with complete assurance of the products to be organic. Motivation and ScopeThe main motivation of this project is to provide a platform to both sellers and buyers to provide access to homemade things of several different kinds at one place of sellers to sell and buyers to buy.PROJECT SCOPEThe application will be designed to serve in all over Pakistan. Everyone can get benefit from our website irrespective of age and gender.Login- Only the authorized users will be able to access the system through proper log in.Product Category and Items- The admin will add organic items and herbs categories to the system. The seller will add different products to the selected category. The same information could be updated and deleted.View details- The buyer will be a ble to view details of the selected item.Shopping cart- The buyer will place order for more than 1 item and add this information to the cart. The buyer will also be able to modify the information in the shopping cart.Online shopping- The system will allow the user to place order for the selected items regarding his need.Cost calculation and payment- The system will calculate total cost of the item placed in the cart and provide payment options.Seller Profile- This module will allow the user to be registered as seller and will display their products on the platform given by using their own identity.Buyer Profile- This module will allow the user to be registered as a buyer and can view different items uploaded on the website and avail the opportunity of getting different offers and they don't need to give their complete information every time while placing order it would be stored in the system.Feedback- The system will allow the buyer to give their response about the product that the y have used. But only this option will be given to those who have purchased that particular item from the website. There will be no fake feedback.Search- It will be easy for the customer to search the products based on his interest. The search will be done on different categories like seller name, category, price etcRelated Work1.ConaturalSourcing solely the best and most strong ingredients, they select minerals from the Dead Sea, the best plant biological sciences and essential oils and also the highest quality botanical actives to formulate the merchandise. They apprehend that the simplest skin and hair care merchandise square measure made up of minimally processed botanicals: organic or responsibly wild crafted, pure, raw, live, unrefined, and handled fastidiously to not diminish their efficiency. Advantages:-i. They provide organic products in one category i.e. hair and skin care organic products.ii. They provide advice regarding problems of hair and skin. Disadvantages:-i. The range of products available is limited.ii. The products are not 100% organic. And also not products only related to organic is been given. 2. PansariPANSARI on-line store was planned when an exploration and realization that however seasonal medication is vital and the way will we tend to connect back to the current kind of pharmacy that is distant currently. This heritage has virtually been lost and up to date pharmacy took over and folks most well-liked choosing speedy results instead of set their malady during a correct manner and some way that isn't harmful in any suggests that. Nature has most future for North American nation which may profit North American nation in marvelous ways that. Nothing during this universe is while not a value, and this can be what PANSARI is functioning at, to supply quality herbs and remedies to match your needs. Advantages:They provide herbal and related products.They help user to buy multiple things like food supplements, honey, dry fruits and Arq.They also provide Hakim online where people could contact with them.Disadvantages:They provide multiple things that also contain some amount of chemical in them like in supplements and beauty products. That means not 100% organic.A huge variety of things made from organic farming related every field of life is not present.  Organic JiyoOrganic Jiyo was supported to get an easy resolution to a true problem: obtaining reliable organic merchandise was too exhausting and too valuable for thus several in Pakistan; these merchandise weren't without delay offered in grocery stores. Advantages:They provide beauty, grocery, dairy and salads and herbs products.They provide different offers and recipes regarding these products.Disadvantages:The product they provide is not 100% organic.They only work in Lahore.Deals in limited amount of product.  OrganicshopinOrganic Shop is India's largest on-line merchant of organics and natural merchandise. With a baton of over 220 trustworthy organic brands in Asian nation like right down to Earth, Organic Asian nation, Rustic Art, does one Speak inexperienced, seasonal Hills and plenty of additional certified organic and natural brands. Organic look has the simplest assortment of organic, natural, seasonal and ayurvedic merchandise in Asian nation. Advantages:They provide a wide range of organic items related every field of life.Different sorts of offers are also given on itemsDisadvantages:The product present are sold by the brands own name not by the seller's name who have done the hard work to make those product.They only work in India.It cannot be called only organic store different other things like bed sheets, gels, towels, clothes and etc.It is a sort of general store.Goals and objectivesOur goal is to help everyone in recognizing their talent in the field of organic products and to reduce diseases from society. Our target people are those who are looking to perform better in their daily life and to earn some money by having an appropriate platform. This project is about the goodwill of the people. The more people benefit from this project, the more we feel achieved and honoured.? To develop the attention in the organic and herbal products.? To motivate the interest of people who can make herbal and organic products by their knowledge and can easily start getting income from it by staying at home.? To facilitate a connection between seller and buyer directly. We plan to move this project on large scale outside the Pakistan that means world-wide every-one would be able to avail the opportunity of buying 100% organic products and paying in their currencyWe will manage to arrange Hakeem, Doctors and Nutritionist so that people could consult them online. In this way, the tradition of inorganic farming will be replaced by organic farming using modern tools integrated with computation and networking.

Income Measurement and Profitability Analysis

Chapter 5 Income Measurement and Profitability Analysis exercises Exercise 5–1 Requirement 1 Alpine West should recognize revenue over the ski season on an anticipated usage basis, in this case equally throughout the season. The fact that the $450 price is nonrefundable is not relevant to the revenue recognition decision. Revenue should be recognized as it is earned, in this case as the services are provided during the ski season. Requirement 2 November 6, 2013 Cash450 Unearned revenue450 To record the cash collection December 31, 2013Unearned revenue ($450 x 1/5)90 Revenue90 To recognize revenue earned in December (no revenue earned in November, as season starts on December 1). Requirement 3 $90 is included in revenue in the 2013 income statement. The $360 remaining balance in unearned revenue is included in the current liability section of the 2013 balance sheet. Exercise 5–3 Requirement 1 2013 cost recovery %: $234,000 = 65% (gross profit % = 35%) $360,000 2014 cost recovery %: $245,000 = 70% (gross profit % = 30%) $350,000 2013 gross profit:Cash collection from 2013 sales of $150,000 x 35%=$52,500 2014 gross profit: Cash collection from 2013 sales of $100,000 x 35%=$ 35,000 +Cash collection from 2014 sales of $120,000 x 30%= 36,000 Total 2014 gross profit $71,000 Requirement 2 2013 deferred gross profit balance: 2013 initial gross profit ($360,000 – 234,000)$126,000 Less: Gross profit recognized in 2013 (52,500) Balance in deferred gross profit account$73,500 2014 deferred gross profit balance: 2013 initial gross profit ($360,000 – 234,000)$ 126,000 Less: Gross profit recognized in 2013 (52,500)Gross profit recognized in 2014(35,000) 2014 initial gross profit ($350,000 – 245,000)105,000 Less: Gross profit recognized in 2014 (36,000) Balance in deferred gross profit account$107,500 Exercise 5–4 2013 Installment receivables360,000 Inventory234,000 Deferred gross profit126,000 To record installment sales 2013 Cash150,0 00 Installment receivables150,000 To record cash collections from installment sales 2013 Deferred gross profit52,500 Realized gross profit52,500 To recognize gross profit from installment sales 2014 Installment receivables350,000Inventory245,000 Deferred gross profit105,000 To record installment sales 2014 Cash220,000 Installment receivables220,000 To record cash collections from installment sales 2014 Deferred gross profit71,000 Realized gross profit71,000 To recognize gross profit from installment sales Exercise 5–5 Requirement 1 YearIncome recognized 2013$180,000 ($300,000 – 120,000) 2014- 0 – 2015- 0 – 2016 – 0 – Total$180,000 Requirement 2 Cost recovery %: $120,000 ————- = 40% (gross profit % = 60%) $300,000 | | | | |Year |Cash Collected |Cost Recovery(40%) |Gross Profit(60%) | |2013 |$ 75,000 |$ 30,000 |$ 45,000 | |2014 | 75,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | |2015 | 75,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | |2016 | 75,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | | Totals |$300,000 |$120,000 |$180,000 | | | | | | Requirement 3 | | | | | |Year |Cash Collected |Cost Recovery |Gross Profit | |2013 |$ 75,000 |$ 75,000 | – 0 – | |2014 | 75,000 | 45,000 $ 30,000 | |2015 | 75,000 | – 0 – | 75,000 | |2016 | 75,000 | – 0 – | 75,000 | | Totals |$300,000 |$120,000 |$180,000 | | | | | | Exercise 5–11 Requirement 1 20132014 Contract price$2,000,000$2,000,000 Actual costs to date 300,0001,875,000 Estimated costs to complete 1,200,000 – 0 – Total estimated costs 1,500,0001,875,000 Gross profit (estimated in 2013)$ 500,000$ 125,000 Gross profit recognition: 2013: $ 300,000 = 20% x $500,000 = $100,000 $1,500,000 2014:$125,000 – 100,000 = $25,000 Requirement 2 2013$ – 0 – 2014$125,000 Requirement 3 | | | | | |Balance Sheet | | | | |At December 31, 2013 | | | |Current assets: | | | | |Accounts receivable | |$ 130,000 | | |Costs and profit ($400,000*) in excess | | | | |of billings ($380,000) | |20,000 | | | | | | | * Costs ($300,000) + profit ($100,000) Exercise 5–11 (concluded) Requirement 4 | | | | |Balance Sheet | | | | |At December 31, 2013 | | | | |Current assets: | | | | |Accounts receivable | |$ 130,000 | | | | | | | |Current liabilities: | | | | |Billings ($380,000) in excess of costs ($300,000) | |$ 80,000 | | | | | | | problems Problem 5–2 Requirement 1 2013 cost recovery % : $180,000 = 60% (gross profit % = 40%) $300,000 2014 cost recovery %: $280,000 = 70% (gross profit % = 30%) $400,000 2013 gross profit: Cash collection from 2013 sales = $120,000 x 40%= $48,000 2014 gross profit: Cash collection from 2013 sales = $100,000 x 40%= $ 40,000 +Cash collection from 2014 sales = $150,000 x 30%= 45,000 Total 2014 gross profit $85,000 Requirement 2 013 Installment receivables300,000 Inventory180,000 Deferred gross profit120,000 To record installment sales Cash120,000 Installment receivables120,000 To record cash colle ctions from installment sales Deferred gross profit48,000 Realized gross profit48,000 To recognize gross profit from installment sales Problem 5–2 (continued) 2014 Installment receivables400,000 Inventory280,000 Deferred gross profit120,000 To record installment sales Cash250,000 Installment receivables250,000 To record cash collections from installment sales Deferred gross profit85,000 Realized gross profit85,000 To recognize gross profit from installment sales Requirement 3 | | | | |Date |Cash Collected |Cost Recovery |Gross Profit | | | | | | |2013 | | | | |2013 sales |$120,000 |$120,000 |- 0 – | | | | | | |2014 | | | |2013 sales | $100,000 | $ 60,000 |$40,000 | |2014 sales | 150,000 | 150,000 | – 0 – | | 2014 totals |$250,000 |$210,000 |$40,000 | | | | | | Problem 5–2 (concluded) 2013 Installment receivables300,000 Inventory180,000 Deferred gross profit120,000 To record installment sales Cash120,000 Installment receivables120,000 To record cash collection from installment sales 2014 Installment receivables400,000 Inventory280,000 Deferred gross profit120,000 To record installment sales Cash250,000 Installment receivables250,000To record cash collection from installment sales Deferred gross profit40,000 Realized gross profit40,000 To recognize gross profit from installment sales Problem 5–5 Requirement 1 201320142015 Contract price$10,000,000$10,000,000$10,000,000 Actual costs to date 2,400,000 6,000,000 8,200,000 Estimated costs to complete 5,600,000 2,000,000 – 0 – Total estimated costs 8,000,000 8,000,000 8,200,000 Estimated gross profit (loss) (actual in 2015)$ 2,000,000$ 2,000,000$ 1,800,000 Gross profit (loss) recognition: 2013: $2,400,000 = 30. 0% x $2,000,000 = $600,000 $8,000,000 2014: $6,000,000 = 75. 0% x $2,000,000 = $1,500,000 – 600,000 = $900,000 $8,000,000 015:$1,800,000 – 1,500,000 = $300,000 Problem 5–5 (continued) Requirement 2 | | | | | | |2013 |2014 |2015 | | | | | | |Construction in progress |2,400,000 |3,600,000 |2,200,000 | | Various accounts 2,400,000 |3,600,000 |2,200,000 | |To record construction costs | | | | | | | | | |Accounts receivable |2,000,000 |4,000,000 |4,000,000 | | Billings on construction contract |2,000,000 |4,000,000 |4,000,000 | |To record progress billings | | | | | | | | | |Cash |1,800,000 |3,600,000 |4,600,000 | | Accounts receivable |1,800,000 |3,600,000 |4,600,000 | |To record cash collections | | | | | | | | | |Construction in progress | 600,000 | 900,000 | 300,000 | |(gross profit) | | | | |Cost of construction |2,400,000 |3,600,000 |2,200,000 | |(cost incurred) | | | | | Revenue from long-term contracts (1) |3,000,000 |4,500,000 |2,500,000 | |To record gross profit | | | | | | | | | (1) Revenue recognized: 2013: 30% x $10,000,000 =$3,000,000 2014: 75% x $10,000,000 =$7,500,000 Less: Revenue recognized in 2013(3,000,000) Revenue recognized in 2014$4,500,000 2015: 100% x $10,000,000 =$10,000,000 Less: Re venue recognized in 2013 & 2014 (7,500,000) Revenue recognized in 2015$2,500,000 Problem 5–5 (continued) Requirement 3 | | | | | |Balance Sheet | |2013 | |2014 | | | | | | | |Current assets: | | | | | |Accounts receivable | |$ 200,000 | |$600,000 | |Construction in progress |$3,000,000 | |$7,500,000 | | | Less: Billings |(2,000,000) | |(6,000,000) | | |Costs and profit in excess | | | | | |of billings | |1,000,000 | |1,500,000 | Requirement 4 01320142015 Costs incurred during the year$2,400,000$3,800,000$3,200,000 Estimated costs to complete as of year-end 5,600,000 3,100,000 – 201320142015 Contract price$10,000,000$10,000,000$10,000,000 Actual costs to date 2,400,000 6,200,000 9,400,000 Estimated costs to complete 5,600,000 3,100,000 – 0 – Total estimated costs 8,000,000 9,300,000 9,400,000 Estimated gross profit (actual in 2015)$ 2,000,000$ 700,000$ 600,000 Problem 5–5 (concluded) Gross profit (loss) recognition: 2013: $2,400,000 = 30. 0% x $2,0 00,000 = $600,000 $8,000,000 2014: $6,200,000 = 66. 6667% x $700,000 = $466,667 – 600,000 = $(133,333) $9,300,000 015:$600,000 – 466,667 = $133,333 Requirement 5 201320142015 Costs incurred during the year$2,400,000$3,800,000$3,900,000 Estimated costs to complete as of year-end 5,600,000 4,100,000 – 201320142015 Contract price$10,000,000$10,000,000$10,000,000 Actual costs to date 2,400,000 6,200,00010,100,000 Estimated costs to complete 5,600,000 4,100,000 – 0 – Total estimated costs 8,000,00010,300,00010,100,000 Estimated gross profit (loss) (actual in 2015)$ 2,000,000$ (300,000)$ (100,000) Gross profit (loss) recognition: 2013: $2,400,000 = 30. 0% x $2,000,000 = $600,000 $8,000,000 2014: $(300,000) – 600,000 = $(900,000) 2015: $(100,000) – (300,000) = $200,000

American Politics in the Context of Obama’s Election and First 100 Days Essay

The election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States is a watershed in the history of American politics. In a country were blacks were once prohibited from voting just because of the color of their skin, his ascent into the White House is indeed a milestone. Obama’s victory is often attributed to several factors, including changes in voting behavior and public opinion and constant media exposure. Popular support of his regime did not end with the election hype – a 2009 Associated Press-GfK poll revealed that about 48% of Americans were satisfied with the economic outcomes of the Obama presidency’s first 100 days (Philstar. com n. pag. ). The rise of the Obama regime had a tremendous impact on American politics. It brought about the prospect of women and minorities gaining a greater voice in political institutions. But Obama’s first 100 days in office told a different story. His first 100 days revealed that the substance of his regime remained largely the same as that of George W. Bush’s. This just goes to show that in the context of Obama’s election and first 100 days, American politics changed its style but retained its hegemonic and elitist nature. Winning the nomination proved to be a greater challenge for Obama than winning the general elections. Because of a national political machine attached to her and her husband, Hillary Clinton was initially chosen by the Democrat Party to become its presidential candidate (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 15). Although Obama was young, charismatic, cerebral and self-assured, the Democrats were apprehensive about his lack of experience in the political scene (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 16). This weakness would probably not sit well with the American electorate, who were desperate for a leader who could rectify the damaging mistakes of the Republican administration (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 15). But shifts in the economic and demographic profile of American voters rendered Obama a more suitable presidential candidate than Clinton. As of 2004, about 56. 6% of American voters were below 30 years old (Dahl n. pag. ). Majority of these individuals grew up using the Internet as an indispensable tool for work, study and leisure. When the Clintons staged their last national campaign in 1996, the Internet was just a fledgling industry. Obama’s youth and tech savvy (he kept a Blackberry with him at all times), therefore, would make him more appealing to the aforementioned voter’s age group than Clinton (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 106). Obama must have been aware of these advantages of his – his election campaign involved mainly the utilization of the Internet. By April 2007, he already had 1,543,000 â€Å"friends† in his account in the social-networking website MySpace. com. In sharp contrast, Clinton only had 41,500 people in her network (Dupuis and Boeckelman 123). In the spring of 2008, Obama had at least 1 million â€Å"friends† in Twitter, while Clinton only had 330,000. Although they had the same number of Facebook â€Å"friends† during this period, the website’s largest pro-Obama group had over 500,000 members, while the largest Facebook group that supported Clinton only had 30,000 members (Tapscott 252). Furthermore, Obama’s rhetoric reflected the American public’s disillusionment with traditional political ideologies. His slogan, â€Å"Change You Can Believe In,† appealed to voters because it did not bombard them with highfaluting dogmas. Rather, it showed them that â€Å"change† meant exploring for new solutions to problems. The American people did not have to make do with traditional solutions which Obama believed have already failed them in the past. For instance, he is constantly criticized for his relative youth and limited high-level government inexperience. Obama downplayed this attack by claiming that â€Å"Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld have an awful lot of experience, and yet have engineered what I think is one of the biggest foreign policy failures in our recent history† (Dupuis and Boeckelman 123). Through this argument, he pointed out that adherence to convention is not always the best for the nation. There are instances when the government and the people must work together and come up with new solutions. In addition, Obama created a firm connection between himself and the people by letting them know that he also underwent their plights. In his campaign speeches, he often used his experience as the son of a working woman and as the husband of a working woman in order to show to the people that he knew how it felt to be in their shoes (Leanne 52). He knew how it was to be poor, marginalized and to work hard just to keep ends meet. Thus, his cynicism towards conventional ideologies – he and so many other Americans remained impoverished despite their application. Given such a populist and down-to-earth campaign strategy, it was no longer surprising if Obama won a landslide victory in the 2008 national elections. But his first 100 days in office revealed that his regime was essentially the same as that of George W. Bush’s. Obama’s first 100 days revealed the â€Å"right-wing character of his administration and the class interests that it serves† (Eley n. pag. ). If there was any difference at all, it was the approach – Bush assumed a warmonger-like stance to obtain the presidency, while Obama adopted a populist one. Obama continued the Bush administration’s militarist and aggressive foreign policy. Although he promised that he will all American troops out of Iraq, troop levels in Iraq remained virtually unchanged. Furthermore, Obama expanded the war in Afghanistan and even extended it to Pakistan. Worse, he proposed a defense budget worth $664 billion – believed to be the largest appropriation for military spending in American history (Eley n. pag. ). The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay remains open, despite Obama’s pledge to eventually close it down. As a result, its inmates are at risk of being shipped to US military prisons such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they can be tortured and or killed in secret. Under the guise of â€Å"moving on,† he blocked all investigations and or criminal prosecution of parties that were responsible for the torture of detainees in US military prisons across the world. Obama’s government also intervened in the procedures of several court cases in order to deny habeas corpus to detainees in US military prisons in Afghanistan (Eley n. pag. ). While Obama was busy perpetuating Bush’s foreign policy, the American economy further deteriorated. Mounting layoffs took place, along with wage cuts, home foreclosures and depreciation of real estate value and retirement savings. These developments, in turn, resulted in escalating hunger and homelessness. But instead of creating concrete solutions to put an end to these calamities, the Obama administration used billions of dollars in public funds to bail financial institutions such as AIG, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch out of bankruptcy. Worsening the situation was that these banks were discovered to have been doling out huge portions of the bailout money to their executives as â€Å"bonuses† (Eley n. pag. ). It is very ironic that Obama, a black man who experienced growing up poor and marginalized, would end up perpetuating the repressive and anti-poor policies of his predecessor. But what Obama did reflected the recourse that the US most probably resorted to in order to steer itself from the economic crisis – tighten its grip over the Third World. It is during the current economic crisis that the US needs unlimited access to the natural resources of the Third World more than ever before. Thus, the Obama administration’s promise of â€Å"change† was replaced with the de facto continuation of the Bush regime. Works Cited â€Å"AP Poll: After Obama’s 100 Days, US on Right Track. † 24 April 2009. Philstar. com. 4 May 2009 . Ceaser, James W. , Andrew E. Busch, and John J. Pitney. Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Dahl, Melissa. â€Å"Youth Vote May have been Key in Obama’s Win. † 5 November 2008. MSNBC. 4 May 2009 . Dupuis, Martin, and Keith Boeckelman. Barack Obama: The New Face of American Politics. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. Eley, Tom. â€Å"Obama’s 100 Days. † 29 April 2009. GlobalResearch. ca. 4 May 2009 . Leanne, Shel. Say It Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008. Tapscott, Don. Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is changing Your World. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008.