The Elements of Persuasion Essay Example for Free

The Elements of Persuasion Essay Persuasion cannot be complete without the three main forms of rhetoric (the ethos, logos, and pathos), the basic purpose of the writer or speaker, the approach to the audience, as well as the style of delivery. The word ‘rhetoric’ pertains to â€Å"the art of speaking or writing effectively† (Carl D. Perkins Foundation 2005), and this is fixed in Barack Obama’s 2004 Democratic National Convention Address that was delivered at the Fleet Center of Boston, Massachusetts. With a context centered on Americans hearing the true political mission of the 2004 Democratic Party, the speech’s basic purpose was set mainly on three things: (1) delivering the basic mission and principle of the Democratic Party; (2) persuading voters toward the line of the Democratic Party; and (3) expanding the positive side of Obama and his party for political purposes. He magnificently used the elements of persuasion and influenced millions of American voters by operating the schemes of successful persuasion. Main Body With the speech entitled as ‘The Audacity of Hope’, Obama talks about big dreams and diversity in America through his family background, then about the greatness of America, the beliefs and values of John Kerry, what should be done, the unity of the country, and, lastly, the audacity of hope. In the overall, Obama’s speech can be divided into the following: (1) the greatness of his family line; (2) the greatness of the Americans; (3) the greatness of John Kerry; and (4) unity and hope. He starts with his self, then connects to his family, then to the other Americans, then points to John Kerry for hope and unity. It was organized that way because it points to the literal meaning of ‘unity’ and ‘connection’ that are among his basic themes. It is centered on the argument that, despite war, despair, shattered dreams, and social and economic hardships, there is still the existence of hope, care, and unity, which are what â€Å"makes this country work. It is what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family† (Obama 4). His argument is actually very significant because 21st century has unfolded with national catastrophe, such as wars, economic problems, deficiency of the government’s capacity in truly supporting the needs of the American people†¦ to name only a few. Pertaining to incidents that connect to present occurrences relate to audiences and energize them that, amidst the negativity, there are still much more left that can be the source of American hope and dignity. This talk centered on hope is what Obama could have perceived to be the basic thing Americans would want to hear about. They want to hear why they should trust the Democratic Party, why they should honor the Democratic Party, why they should vote for the Democratic Party. The National Convention Address reflects an audience that need to hear what they most aspire for in their lives. For this reason, Obama used ‘ethos’ that would emotionally touch the hearts of the audience. He established it by, first, trying to convince people that he is no different from the lowly ones and the colored ones (i. e. , his character, sentiments); and, second, by trying to convince people that what he dreams of is no different from what other Americans dream of (i. . , hope, unity, success). This makes the audience feel emotionally attached to the speaker, since what he conveys are things that are personally felt and experienced by the common people in America. As an effect, they are able to relate well to the message that Obama has had for them. As for his logical appeals, Obama made some key points, such as the following: Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our Nation—not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise†¦ that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (Obama 2) This logic appeals to diversity and equality of all men (most precisely the Americans). It points to the right to achieve a sustainable life, as well as happiness and liberty. Another logic is centered on the following lines: â€Å"It is that fundamental belief: I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family† (Obama 4). This logic conversely appeals to the significance of unity, brotherhood, and how they relate to success and achievement. The two statements appeal to the audience basically because it reminds them that the nation is merely one, and that the greatness of America sprouts from the fact that each one asserts to his brother’s dignity, protection, and custody. Conclusion Rhetorical persuasion refers to delivering a message effectively in order to persuade the audience into acting out a certain decree, deed, or pursuit that would primarily benefit the speaker or writer and, for most of the time, the audience, too, or the reader. Obama’s speech turned out to be really effective to his primary audience basically because the elements of persuasion are arranged in a manner that is apt to its context, its purpose, and its audience. The topics are clear and simple yet captivating, as it captures the heart and soul of those who hear it. Thus, it is evident that writing a persuasive rhetoric does not end up with what the speaker or writer would want to say; it also have something to do with what the audience or readers would want to hear given a specific state of environment. To connect to people, there has to be certain key points or ideas that mentally connect the speaker to the audience through the use of logic, emotion, style, and approach. Thus, the basic purposes are fantastically met.

The Survival Of Handloom Industy

The Survival Of Handloom Industy A device which is used to weave cloth is called loom. A part from being important source of livelihood, handlooms has remained saviors of the various traditional inherited skills of weavers over generations. The level of artistic ability and sophistication achieved in handloom fabrics are unparallel and only one of its kind. The handloom can meet up all needs from exquisite fabrics to everyday use. Spinning and weaving were the national industries of India down to the commencement of the nineteenth century. The spinning-wheel and the handloom were universally in use; and it is scarcely an exaggeration to state the nearly half the adult female population of India eked out the incomes of their husbands and their fathers by the profits of their own labour. It was an industry peculiarly suited to Indian village life. Each woman brought her cotton from village market, and sold her yarn to the village weaver who supplied merchants and traders with cotton. Vast quantities of piece goods, thus manufactured, were exported by the Arabs, the Dutch, and the Portuguese; and the European nations competed with each other for this lucrative trade with India. This paper talks about the survival of handloom industry in India, during 19th and early 20th century, by examining the multilayered structural shifts in Indias handloom industry initiated by Raj. Historians of Indian industrialization measured that the rich artisan tradition in the region had suffered a catastrophic distress in the nineteenth century, after imported European manufacturer began to flood Indian market. Taken as a whole in the time period covered in the paper, handicraft producing small firms and industries showed much turmoil and increasing isolation. While many industries lost the market, some of them managed to settle in by reconditioning old silks to apply new goods. The first section talks about slowdown in handloom industries due to policy followed by British government in Britain for promotion of her domestic industries and in India to meet the requirements of the manufacturers of Lancashire. The second section talks about transport revolution which lowered the prices of machine textile and helped in market penetration. The third section talks about survival of exquisite fabrics and high value added products. This paper also talks about the supply side harms due to the disbanding of Mughal supremacy in 18th century. The later section talks about the experience of famine and Swadeshi moment which forced the British authorities in India to resuscitating handloom industries. Policy followed by British government British, who initially entered in India as traders, established East India Company in 1600 AD and tried to acquire monopoly in trade of India. In 1765, East India Company got Diwani (right to collect tax revenue) of Bengal. Having right to collect revenue in Bengal, Company stopped importing of gold and silver. Gold and silver compensated for goods imported by Britain. The roused demand for cotton textile was curtailed by harsh protectionist measures during period 1700-1846. 125 years long commercial and unfair policy followed by British government is one of the grounds for reversal of pattern of trade in cotton textile between Britain and India in the early 19th century. First attempt was initiated in 1700 to ban Indian printed and painted clothes. This continued till 1846 to do all achievable to retain bullion with them. High tariffs to quantitative restrictions were levied on Indian textile. Only under such a ruthless commercial policy it was possible for them to reverse the pattern of trade by coping manufacture of the textiles. As textile market is segmented, they had to compel tariffs even after ban imposed in 1700 and 1721. Additional ad valorem duty was also imposed to avoid Indian export to Britain. The tariffs ranged between 27 and 71 per cent in 1813 and were further increased to 37-67% in 1824 and were completely abolished only in 1846. With this prejudice, Britain was not only able to take over the export market of India but also expanded to in domestic market of India. Tariff rates for import of muslins, calicoes other cotton clothes manufacturers in Britain  [1]   Year Tariffs (in %) 1813 27-71 1824 37-75 1830 30-10 1846 Abolished These procedures supported and atmosphere where innovation of textile machinery could take place. The machine made fabrics out-competed handloom fabrics of India. Meanwhile the Indian legislature passed various acts between 1833 and 1853 to regulate Trade and Navigation and to fix the Tariffs. The duties levied on some principal articles imported into India in 1852 are: Articles Imported Duty Cotton and silk piece goods, British 5% Cotton and silk piece goods, Foreign 10% Cotton thread, twist and yarns, British 3% Cotton thread, twist and yarns, Foreign 7% (Source: The Economic History of India Vol. 2, R C Dutt) In 1859 duties on all articles of luxury were raised to 20 per cent; duties on other articles, including cotton piece good, were raised to 10 per cent and those on cotton twist and yarns to 5 per cent, on account of the heavy financial pressure after the mutiny. The 20 per cent duty on luxuries was reduced to 10 per cent, and the 5 per cent duty on cotton twist and yarns was raised to 10 per cent by Mr. James Wilson the first Finance Minister of India, in 1860 so that the import tariff consisted a uniform rate of 10 per cent. [Dutt: 1956] This somehow protected the domestic market of handloom industries. The tariff on cotton twist and yarn was reduced to 5 per cent in 1861 which was further reduced to 3.5 per cent in later part of 1861. In 1874, a mandate came from England that old genuine proceeds, derived from a moderate import duty, should be forgone to meet the requirements of the manufacturers of Lancashire. When every civilized government on earth is endeavoring to help home manufactures, the Indian government had cruelly repressed the handloom industry. Rapid development of the cotton textile industry in Britain bust indigenous industry in India. No state assistance was rendered in response of the devastation of indigenous handloom in India. It is important to note that indigenous traditional handloom industry constituted enormous part of industrial sector in India. Jawaharlal Nehru  [2]  blamed squarely in colonial economic policy, which almost entirely eschew tariff protection and did zero to help nurture Indian industry. 19th century nationalist Dadabhai Naoroji, D D Kosambi and R C Dutt have made similar arguments in their work. The newly independent Latin American, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand raised their tariffs to enormous height on imported manufacturers which made the matter worse [Williamson : 2005]. Transport Revolution From about 1810 to 1860, productivity advance resulting from the adoption of the factory system drove down the relative price of textiles world-wide, a trend that was magnified as a world transport revolution lowered the price of European textile imports even further everywhere in the periphery. By the 1830s India transformed into exporter of raw cotton, opium, indigo, etc like raw materials. There was a gigantic fall in her share in world manufacture production. The share in 1750 was 24.5% which declined to 6.9% in 1830. American civil war (1861-1865) led cotton prices to rouse high. It also led Indian farmers to turn towards cultivation of raw cotton. New high tariffs in old open export bazaar, European factory based productive intensification and unable to shield own markets with tariffs, the Indian handloom industry became less profitable. As if this were not enough, another powerful global event-transport revolution- induced negative price shock [Shah Mohammad and Williamson: 2004] Railway rates created incentives not only for the geographical reorganization of Indias economic activity but also for the types of production on which it could specialize. That industry was put at a comparative disadvantage was soon recognized. Nationalists complained bitterly about the impact of the structure of rates on infant industries, particularly those not located at the ports. It was not only the structure of rates but their high level that hindered the development of Indian industry. High transport charges increased costs and made competition with foreign industry more difficult. Survival of handloom producing high value added products The power driven looms was on an average four to six times faster than the hand-driven loom. Why, in the presence of such a wide productivity gap, did the handloom survive at all? Technological improvements and organizational changes led cost to decline. Unless traditional industry tailored its manufacturing process to the new know-how at least partially to internalize these cost returns, it could not prolong as a viable system. Such adjustment itself wasnt an adequate form to guarantee the survival of cottage industry against competition from mass manufactured goods. The former could carry on only when the circumstances existed in the home market which put a premium on feature other than lower prices, as was strikingly visible in the case high quality, luxurious cotton fabrics and silk. For high value added products, labour incentive techniques sustained to be competitive, while they could not position up against mass consumption produce with economies of large scale production. In the case of textiles which were closely recognized with the socio-cultural ethos of particular regions of populace, pattern of continued existence was visible. But it is important to note that none of these products catered to a high income market. Roy says, Craft traditions in India were extremely diverse. They contained intermediate good (for example, cotton yarn and dyes), tools for the peasants (ploughshare or hand implements), consumer goods for the poor (coarse cloth, pottery for daily use, grain milling) and commodities for well-off consumer or the export market (decorated cloth, silk, brassware, carpets, leather goods). The industrial revolution more or less decimated the first three classes. These goods were standardized in quality and could be produced in masses with machines.  [3]  Interestingly, the surviving artisans gained from globalization by obtaining access to imported raw materials, distant markets, and useful knowledge. These adaptations, however, didnt happen everywhere, but remained concentrated in certain towns and cities. Supply Side Forces We have already looked in to enhanced British productivity, first in cottage goods and then in factory production, led to declining world textile prices, making handloom production in India increasing unviable. Declining sea freight rates and expansion of railway in India also toughened these forces and served to foster trade and specialization for both Britain and India. As a result, Britain first won Indias export market and in due course took over of its home market as well [Roy: 2002]. Terms of trade improved significantly in Indias commodity export sector compared to textile, which led the former draw workers away from textile. But we have not yet considered the local supply side forces like rising incidence of drought and political fragmentation. The disbanding of Mughal supremacy in 18th century led to aggregate supply-side harms for Indian handloom manufactures, even though producers in some area benefited from the fresh order. Profound secular corrosion in climate conditions in the century or so following the early 1700s led greatly to slump in agricultural productivity. Jeffrey G. Williamson believes handloom manufacturing could have been affected through several channels following the dissolution of Mughal hegemony. The first is a decline in overall agricultural yield through an increased rent burden, shifting of settlements due to insecurity, and warfare. Increased of the prices of grain (key non-tradable) and therefore in relative prices of non-tradable to tradable (textiles) was reflection of reduced agricultural yield. Grain being dominant consumption good for workers and grain wages being close to subsistence must have put an upward pressure on the nominal wages in handloom which was being exported [Chaudhary : 1978, pp 299-300]. Downward pressure on profit from both above and below was put by declining textile prices and rising nominal wages. As a result of increased rent burden productivity must have suffered and there is no reason to believe revenue lumber to turn down when British became rules of the successors state. Engagement in territorial disputes by rules of the successor states may also have increased the rent burden reflected by military expenses. Disturbance in Indias major trade routes and increased insurance and transportation cost was because of political fragmentation and warfare. The scarcity of bullock, medium of long distance transpiration, power resulting from warfare must have increased transpiration costs. Fragmentary evidence that insurance rates must have gone up during 18th century has also been argued by Irfan Habib (2003). So, we can say that long before Britain flooded the overseas textile bazaar with factory made products, the rise in nominal wages would have slowly eroded the long standing sources of Indian competitiveness in those markets. After 1800, Indian textile exports could not withstand the competition of English factory-produced cotton in the world market [Moosvi: 2002] The problems faced by handloom industry in survival can be explained in two main eons. The first eon which was direct result of poor climate conditions and indirect result of the fall of Mughal hegemony ran till mid 19th century. The weakening of climate conditions raised nominal wages and thus lowered Indias competitiveness with England and other textile producers of world. Further expansion of revenue farming led to increase in the rent burden, warfare increased the prices and regional trade with the sub-continent declined. Indias competitiveness in export market was hut all more by the increase in nominal wages. Also the inter-sector terms of trade moved against Indian handloom production, encouraging a shift to agricultural commodity production like raw cotton, opium, indigo etc. In the second eon, productivity advancement resulting from industrial revolution drove down the relative price of textiles world-wide. Also the transport revolution in world and expansion of railway in India lowered the prices of European textile imports everywhere. Comparative advantage factor According to K N Chaudhary comparative advantage, which has been strengthened by productivity advance on the land or by increasing openness in world economy or both, in agricultural export sector was another possibility of deindustrialization of Indian handloom industry. Increased openness and unambiguous terms of trade improvement are the causes of comparative advantages. In the latter stage this causes lack of competence, little incentive to maximize prospective output and limitation of market of handloom industry. Thus, India lost its manufacturings output share to Britain. Special Case of Central Province of India The rise of British Power, competition from British imported cloth which was because of spread of British imperialism and railway combined with supply constraints led to decline of handloom products. But this decline didnt occur simultaneously or affected all weaving castes equally. British export laced the detailed understanding of Indian tastes in matter of fashion, style and color which would enable to enter the bazaar effectively. The examination of Indian handloom goods was ordered by Secretary of State for India to see which of them could be supplied by British manufacturers and remedy absence. This official, J. Forbes Watson, had samples of all key handloom products that were in the Indian Museum in London collected into 18 large volumes. Apart from knowing fabrics worn in India, it was also crucial to know how the garments was worn, for what purpose, by which sex, why certain provision of ornamentation were adopted. Watson pointed out that Europe would in all probability by no means be able to make such items as handloom brocades and embroideries cheaper than India. He commented, This leads us to remark that there are certain fabrics which will probably always be best and most cheaply manufactured by hand. British manufacturers met the requisite of Indian bazaar from survey and collection of specimens. At the very time Watsons exertion became accessible, the price of cotton was brought down by end of American civil war and railway from Bombay Nagpur was completed (February 1867). These events were followed by flood of British imports. End of nineteenth century Two decades years later, it is understandable that the handloom industry was facing rigorous competition. The volume of imports was piercingly up and volume of export of country cloth even more stridently down. What is more important to note that average prices of textile were down in both classes, but they were more so for the native products. As if this were not enough, the indigenous products also started to face some competition from Indian machine made clothes by the end of nineteenth century [four power looms were operating in Central Provinces, two of them in Nagpur, one in Hinganghat and one in Jubbulpore]. Then with the arrival of twentieth century, imitation silk cloth in large quantities from Japan entered the Indian bazaar. The imitation silk cloth was cheaper than both Manchester and Indian cloth. Since better off classes still bought fine clothes with silk borders, the section of industry that specialized in producing these clothes survived, but with diminishing production. Because of cheapness and appearance of English cloth, it supplanted the products of country handloom. The handlooms were again hit hard in famine of 1899. Edgar Thurston  [4]  stated that there was a favorable public response to these cheap imitations of Indian material. He also comments that good taste was the least significant amongst the factors in determining demand. The following two tables talks about average consumption of available yarn by sector from 1906-07 to 1908-9 and from 1916-17 to 1918-19 and sources of cloth supply from 1906-7 to 1908-9 and from 1916-17 to 1918-19. This gives us concrete evidence on fall of handloom industry. Annual average consumption of available yarn by sector 1906-7 to 1908-9 and 1916-17 to 1918-19 (Million lbs.)  [5]   1906/7-1908/9 1916/17-1918/19 Total available yarn 689 (100%) 685 (100%) Consumed by Cotton Mills 162 (23.5%) 338 (49.4%) Handlooms 282 (40.9%) 194 (28.3%) Export 245 (35.6%) 153 (22.3%) Sources of cloth supply 1906-7 to 1908-9 and 1916-17 to 1918-19 (Annual averages in million yards)  [6]   1906/7-1908/9 1916/17-1918/19 (%) (%) Total available cloth 3839 (100) 3418 (100) Produced by: Indian mill 667 (17.1) 1301 (38.0) Imports 2154 (55.3) 1397 (40.9) Handlooms 1072 (27.6) 720 (21.1) Per capita availability 12.6 yards 9.8 yards Home handloom output suffered significantly, between the two periods it felled by one-third. This is clear from second table. Handloom sector never fully recovered from this blow. Dharma Kumar in The Cambridge Economic History of India says, We dont know how the curtailment of Indian yarns sales affected foreign handlooms, but second table makes it clear that domestic handloom output suffered substantially, falling by one-third between the two periods. This was a blow from which the handicraft sector never fully recovered. Finally, when the English imports fell off. That finer market was partly taken over by Japanese mills using American cotton. Some good news at the end The incident of famine forced the government to discard its dogmatic loyalty to laissez-faire doctrines of non-intervention policy in the economy and caused the British establishment in India to breathe new life into cottage industries. At the beginning of the twentieth century two factors caused the British authorities in India to consider resuscitating cottage industries such as handloom weaving. One was the experience of the famines which forced the government to abandon its dogmatic adherence to laissez-faire doctrines of non-intervention in the economy. Encouragement was also provided by the Swadeshi (home-produced) movement launched by Indian nationalist in 1905. Low  [7]  wrote, following the blows wreaked by the cycle famines, handloom industry had undergone something of revival. In the first decade of twentieth century, harvest was generally good. Prices for agricultural produce were in general high and because of famine and plague mortality, there was demand for labour, which was in short supply. Increased spending on public works and railways, sudden extension of the mining industry were undertaken to make good. For all these grounds wages rose, trade flourished, and there was a boost in demand for better sort of handloom goods. 3.5 per cent duty on imported and Indian mill manufactured cloth was imposed in February 1896. Because of this duty, some price advantage was received by handloom industry. Bread and Butter The machine made fabrics were cheaper then hand looms fabrics but still complete washout was not possible. The rationale for this was that a number of the fragment could by no means be produced. Other people have also argued that sustained attachment to the coarse cloth by poor and unskilled labors wage was much below that of the weavers and fulltime weaver did the weaving job as part time jobs. Land in England was owned by great landlord; the agriculturists were mere farmers and laborers. Where as in India land belonged principally to small cultivators who have their own hereditary rights in their holding. The landlord, were he existed, cannot get rid of those cultivators so long as they paid their rents. Similarly, the various industries in Indian villages were carried on by humble artisans in their own villages and huts. The idea large factories, owned by capitalist and worked by paid hand, were foreign to the Indian mind. An individual man- in dignity and aptitude, in prudence and sovereignty- is at his best when he labour in his own field or his own loom, rather than when he is paid laborer under big landlord or wage earner in huge factory. And every Indian believes that landlordism cannot replace the small cultivation and that home industries will survive the assault of capitalism (which is true even today in twenty first century). Conclusion R C Dutt articulated nearly 100 years ago that Britain had transformed India from an exporter of manufactured goods to an importer of cloth, using political power to keep down a competitor with whom the British manufactured could not have completed on normal terms. For the craft production in India, the late 19th century can be designated as a period of structural crisis when industrial organization were in direct confrontation, and the survival of handicrafts depended on their ability to compete in terms of cost and price advantages, superiority of the quality or the artistic merits of handicraft products. The crisis point reached only in the last quarter of the 19th century when the discovery of chemical dyes resulted in significant economies of scale, and mass-produced cloth began to compete with indigenous materials in Indian markets. Later on, when power-looms had entirely supplanted hand-looms in Europe, Indian capitalist began to start cotton mills in their own country. If the pre-industrial (pre-colonial) production system failed to evolve into a modern industrial structure due to colonial policies, it then had the inherent potential to so evolve, and to compete with the technologies and large scale economies of production during transitional stage, before transforming into a modern, capitalist system.

Analysis of NFL Injuries

Analysis of NFL Injuries INTRODUCTION Achilles tendon (AT) ruptures are increasing in incidence across all populations[1-9]. Recent large-scale analyses put the incidence as high as 7-40 ruptures per 100,000 person-years[3-5, 10]. A 33-year study from Finland discovered from 1979 to 2011 the injury rate increased from 2.1 to 21.5 ruptures per 100 person-years in all age groups and activities[6]. Even in the athlete population, the number of athletes suffering AT ruptures is increasing which poses a potentially career-altering and even ending injury[1, 6, 11-13]. Nearly a third (27.5-32%) of all National Football League (NFL) players who suffer an AT rupture are unable to return to competition[13, 14]. In the NFL from 1980-2001, around 4 AT ruptures that required surgical intervention occurred each year[11]. From 2009 to 2014 in the NFL, there was an average of 14.67 (Standard deviation: 4.13) AT ruptures each season[15]. These ruptures are seen most frequently in running, jumping and cutting movements[6, 12, 16]. Achilles tendon ruptures typically occur from a non-contact mechanism during explosive acceleration or a sudden change of direction with an eccentrically loaded foot[14]. The AT has elastic properties that are required for locomotion and is the strongest tendon in the human body[12, 17, 18]. This elastic nature and strength allows it to transmit high forces, up to 12 times ones body weight[17, 19, 20]. Durability requirements of the AT create a unique set of challenges in proper treatment decisions. Current reconstruction concepts differ behind the ideal treatment strategy[9, 21]. The recovery process from all surgical techniques is an arduous challenge involving significant physical therapy and medical treatment. Unfortunately a majority of patients, especially those in the general population are able to return to a pre-injury level, with the current exception being elite athletes[22]. Although several studies evaluate AT ruptures in multiple populations, including professional athletics, studies that assess trends in professional football are scarce. NFL athletes provide an interesting patient population due to the intricate details and variables reported for every game where data is archived and widely available. A recent NFL Injury Surveillance System (ISS) analysis by Mai HT et al., discovered only a 72.5% return to play rate for athletes who suffered an AT rupture. If the athlete was able to return, the average return was 375.1 days, similar to the recovery period for ACL reconstruction (378.1 days)[13]. Athletes fortunate enough to return to competitive action frequently experience a significant decline in performance, and their competitive athletic longevity may be shortened[13, 14, 23]. The potential devastating effect on high-level athletes has required the development of ideas to optimize treatment management and improve return to play rates[23]. Previously, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries have been scrutinized due to their high incidence, long rehabilitative process and potential career-threatening nature of the injury[24]. A recent review by Balazs et al. identified four studies that found an increased risk of ACL injury on artificial playing surfaces in football cohorts, although these findings are not consistent across all studies[24]. Current research evaluates multiple variables in efforts to find potential contributing risk factors, including playing surface, that may increase the risk and rate of these devastating injuries[24, 25]. Identifying and understanding risk factors from prior research has been used to develop and improve protocols and outcomes after ACL injuries[24]. With the growing incidence of AT injuries, research is necessary to improve management and prevention of AT ruptures, especially in football players where the current literature is limited. This study performed an extensive review of reported NFL injuries from public injury records and injury reports during the 2009-10 to 2016-17 seasons. This data was compiled to monitor the incidence and injury rates of AT injuries that occurred during the regular season to evaluate the influence of playing surface on rupture rate. Additionally, further analysis to identify potential effects of position and frequency of injury at different periods of the season on AT ruptures was performed to guide future studies. Our hypothesis is that playing surface has no impact on the incidence and injury rate of AT ruptures in professional football players despite a recent overall increase in AT ruptures. METHODS A thorough online review was conducted by three co-authors to document AT ruptures sustained in the NFL between the 2009-10 and 2016-17 seasons. Online search criteria consisted of information acquired from Rotoworld.com, NFL.com, ESPN.com, SBNation.com, SI.com and from each teams local sports reports and blogs covering the team. Open searches through Google.com utilized combinations of the words Achilles and tendon along with the player, team and year of injury. Published weekly injury reports and team injury reserve lists were utilized to identify players who suffered injuries to their lower extremity or leg. Their names were added to the open internet search key words in attempts to improve accuracy of documenting all AT ruptures of NFL athletes. Only injuries with corresponding reports that confirmed the injury were included. Additional information gathered through the online search and acquired reports included player-specific details including team, position, approximate date of injury, activity at time of injury and other injury specific details including mechanism and playing surface when available. Injury incidence was recorded for each season. A season was defined as the day after the prior Super Bowl until the day of the Super Bowl in each given season. Descriptive statistics characterizing the injuries by playing surface, time in the season (broken up in to four game segments specific to each team considering their bye week) and players participating on offense, defense or being a specialist (i.e. kicker, punter, long-snapper) were determined for analysis. As previously described by Lawrence et al., injury rates were calculated per 100 team-games (TG)[26]. A TG is defined as one team exposure to a game[26]. One regular season or post-season game is equal to two TG as there are two individual teams participating in each game[26]. Mid-P exact tests were calculated to evaluate differences in IRs with statistical significance established at p Team and schedule information was gathered through Pro Football Reference and official team websites. The yearly team schedules and location of games played was recorded to help determine the home team and playing surface for all injuries suffered in games. Adjustments were made when games did not take place at the stadium of the home team and corrected accordingly. An analysis of the number of AT injuries per game for each variable was calculated. An NFL game in this study included the participation of two teams. Injury rate ratios were used to compare the incidence of AT injuries on different playing surfaces (i.e. natural grass and artificial turf). RESULTS Between the 2009-10 and 2016-17 seasons, there were a total of 45 Achilles tendon ruptures reported in the NFL during games (Figure 1). There was a subtle increase in the number of ruptures suffered each year. The most Achilles tendon ruptures occurred during the 2013-14 and 2016-17 season (N = 9) and the incidence of ruptures on grass was 24 (IR: 1.00 per 100 TG) compared to 21 (IR: 1.13 per 100 TG) on artificial turf playing surfaces (Figure 2). The difference in rate was not statistically significant (p = .67). Of the 45 Achilles tendon ruptured over the eight years, 32 (71.1%) were suffered by defensive players.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Offensive players only sustained 13 ruptures and specialists reported no ruptures over that time (Figure 3). Defensive players suffered the greatest number of Achilles tendon ruptures every season monitored except for 2015-16. Defensive players had a significantly increased IR (p = .005) compared to offensive players (Table 1). When factoring in the playing surface, offensive players suffered a higher percentage of their ruptures on turf (N = 8, 61.5%) compared to defensive players that sustained a great number of their ruptures on natural grass (N = 19, 59.4%). Achilles tendon ruptures were most likely to occur early in the season. The greatest incidence was reported in the 1st or 2nd 4 game segments of the regular season schedule (N = 17 and N = 14 respectively). These 31 ruptures in the first 8 games of the regular season made up 68.9% of all Achilles ruptures in games over eight seasons (Table 2). There was a significant rate difference between the first four games of the regular season with the last four games of the regular season (IRR: 3.40, p = .01). The second four games of the regular season also demonstrated a significant rate difference with the final four games of the regular season (IRR: 2.80, p = .04). DISCUSSION Previous studies have documented the increased incidence of acute Achilles tendon ruptures in the general population. After the NFL lockout, the increasing incidence of Achilles tendon ruptures in the NFL was noted and gained national attention[11]. The purpose of this study was to document the incidence and injury rates of Achilles tendon ruptures in games over eight NFL seasons. Using this data, we were able to evaluate the potential influence of playing surface on the rate of Achilles tendon ruptures between grass and artificial turf to improve our understanding of the growing injury. Game information provides playing surface details for each game for analysis. Since this injury compilation is from public records, the ability to accurately identify the playing surface for training and practice injuries is limited. Analysis of 4,272 regular season and playoff team-games reported 45 Achilles tendon ruptures. The overall game injury rate was 1.05 AT ruptures per 100 TG. As the current literature on AT rupture epidemiology in professional football is limited, this is one of the few studies in the past decade reporting IRs. The IR for artificial turf was 1.13 per 100 TG and 1.00 per 100 TG on natural grass. There was no demonstrated difference between rates on artificial turf and natural grass (p = .67). These early findings support that playing surface does not affect the rate of AT ruptures. Other studies evaluating injury patterns have confirmed that certain injuries are more likely during certain activities or periods of the season, like hamstring strains in the NFL preseason[27]. To further understand our findings, overall AT ruptures were broken down in to four game segments of the regular season and the post-season. The greatest IR was observed in the first and second four-game portions of the regular season (IR: 1.66 and 1.37 per 100 TG respectively). The only significant rate difference occurred between those two four-game segments with the final four games of the regular season (p = .01 and .04 respectively). These findings support the significantly increased rate of injury early in the season. A further analysis of all AT ruptures in practice and games is important to help understand the significance of these early findings. Previously between the 1997 and 2002 seasons, a total AT analysis reported that Achilles tendon ruptures sustained were evenly distributed[ 14]. Our game findings do not support this earlier analysis; however, the overall incidence has increased substantially since the previous study[14]. Further evaluation may confirm these findings and help identify risk factors that lead to an increased risk of AT rupture early in the season. Additionally, further evaluation should identify if this increase is only during the beginning of the regular season or is also distributed throughout pre-season training camps. Immediately following the NFL lockout in the 2011 season, there were 10 reported Achilles tendon ruptures in the first 12 days of training camp[11]. That off-season was unique for at least the last decade due to the elimination of rookie mini-camps and off-season training sessions (OTAs), but potentially highlighted the importance of adequate preparation for current physical demands of professional football players[11]. Ultrasound evaluation found that subjects who are less active have a thinner Achilles tendon compared to athletes[18, 28]. A recent meta-analysis of 27 studies identified that differences in the loading conditions affected the adaptive responses (tendon stiffness, Youngs modulus, and tendon cross-sectional area)[29]. Additionally, although shorter high intensity programs may induce adaptive tendon responses, intervention programs of longer duration appears to be more efficient and clearly demonstrated increased adaptive responses (greater than or equal to 12 weeks)[29 ].   The combination of findings after an NFL Lockout off-season preventing team-affiliated practice and the meta-analysis findings stress the significance of adequate player preparation[29]. An adequate player preparation programs involves sufficient high level intensity training of significant length that prepares the athlete and allows for tendon adaptations to prepare them for training camp exposures. Continued efforts to identify the best training protocols to prepare athletes for the demands of football training camp is crucial for optimal injury prevention. Additional analyses identify specific positions or position groups most likely to sustain specific injuries[14, 27]. We were interested if the reactive nature of defensive players increased their likelihood for injury. Of the 45 AT ruptures identified, a majority (N = 32, 71.1%) were sustained by defensive players that demonstrated a significantly increased rate in games compared to offensive players (p = .005). Eccentric movements increase the tendon length[29, 30]. The Achilles tendon functions as both a spring and a shock absorber[18]. Previously, athletes have been found to have a thicker Achilles tendon than subjects who are less active[18, 28]. Currently, ruptures are believed to be caused due to the overloading of the taut tendon, but other studies have also discovered degenerative changes within the ruptured tendon[8, 29, 30]. Although research demonstrates a genetic influence on the predisposition of a person towards an Achilles tendon injury[31], these findings clearly demonstrate an additional risk experienced by defensive players.   We suspect one factor that increased the incidence of AT injuries for defensive players is the reactive nature of the position and movements required of defensive players compared to the movements utilized by offensive and specialist players. A further analysis may be able to confirm this hypothesis and if practice injuries are included may be able to provide an adequate sample size to identify specific positions more susceptible to injuries. CONCLUSION Utilizing game data, there is no apparent correlation between playing surface and rate of AT ruptures. Our findings identify significant rate differences in AT ruptures in the first and second four game segments of the regular season compared to the final four games. Additionally, our findings are some of the most recent published game IRs for AT ruptures. Defensive players suffered a majority of ruptures compared to offensive or specialist players. Further analysis to identify an overall IR including practices and additional analysis of player position and time of the season of injury will improve our understanding of AT ruptures in professional football. LIMITATIONS This analysis of the NFL relies on publicly available data. We are aided in our analysis as the NFL requires all teams to report and publish injury reports each week of the season in addition to every game of the season televised. This allows the accuracy of game data to be of increased accuracy compared to practice information that is not as widely publicly available. Even with the precautions, there are possibilities for AT ruptures to not be documented. With the current attention to long-term injuries, there is potential bias from an increased attention and publication of athletes who sustained AT ruptures compared to the beginning of our study. REFERENCES [1] Fox G, Gabbe BJ, Richardson M, et al. Twelve-month outcomes following surgical repair of the Achilles tendon. Injury 2016; 47: 2370-2374. [2] Ganestam A, Kallemose T, Troelsen A, et al. Increasing incidence of acute Achilles tendon rupture and a noticeable decline in surgical treatment from 1994 to 2013. A nationwide registry study of 33,160 patients. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 2016; 24: 3730-3737. [3] Huttunen TT, Kannus P, Rolf C, et al. Acute Achilles Tendon Ruptures: Incidence of Injury and Surgery in Sweden Between 2001 and 2012. Am J Sports Med 2014; 42: 2419-2423. [4] Mattila VM, Huttunen TT, Haapasalo H, et al. Declining incidence of surgery for Achilles tendon rupture follows publication of major RCTs: evidence-influenced change evident using the Finnish registry study. Br J Sports Med 2015; 49: 1084-1086. [5] Jacobsson J, Timpka T, Kowalski J, et al. Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Swedish Elite Track and Field Athletes. Am J Sports Med 2012; 40: 163-169. [6] Lantto I, Heikkinen J, Flinkkilà ¤ T, et al. Epidemiology of Achilles tendon ruptures: Increasing incidence over a 33-year period: Clinical relevance level IV. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2015; 25: e133-e138. [7] Sheth U, Wasserstein D, Jenkinson R, et al. The epidemiology and trends in management of acute Achilles tendon ruptures in Ontario, Canada: a population-based study of 27 607 patients. Bone Jt J 2017; 99-B: 78-86. [8] Wertz J, Galli M, Borchers JR. Achilles Tendon Rupture: Risk Assessment for Aerial and Ground Athletes. Sports Health 2013; 5: 407-409. [9] Ververidis AN, kalifis KG, Touzopoulos P, et al. Percutaneous repair of the Achilles tendon rupture in athletic population. J Orthop 2016; 13: 57-61. [10] Raikin SM, Garras DN, Krapchev PV. Achilles Tendon Injuries in a United States Population. Foot Ankle Int 2013; 34: 475-480. [11] Myer GD, Faigenbaum AD, Cherny CE, et al. Did the NFL Lockout Expose the Achilles Heel of Competitive Sports? J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2011; 41: 702-705. [12] Gajhede-Knudsen M, Ekstrand J, Magnusson H, et al. Recurrence of Achilles tendon injuries in elite male football players is more common after early return to play: an 11-year follow-up of the UEFA Champions League injury study. Br J Sports Med 2013; 47: 763-768. [13] Mai HT, Alvarez AP, Freshman RD, et al. The NFL Orthopaedic Surgery Outcomes Database (NO-SOD): The Effect of Common Orthopaedic Procedures on Football Careers. Am J Sports Med 2016; 44: 2255-2262. [14] Parekh SG, Wray WH, Brimmo O, et al. Epidemiology and Outcomes of Achilles Tendon Ruptures in the National Football League. Foot Ankle Spec 2009; 2: 283-286. [15] Hoffman J, Krill M, Hewett T. Anterior Cruciate Ligament And Achilles Tendon Injuries In The Nfl From 2009-10 To 2014-15 Seasons: 3075 Board #140 June 3, 3:30 PM-5:00 PM. Med Sci Sports Exerc; 48: 873. [16] Hess GW. Achilles Tendon Rupture: A Review of Etiology, Population, Anatomy, Risk Factors, and Injury Prevention. Foot Ankle Spec 2010; 3: 29-32. [17] Joseph MF, Lillie KR, Bergeron DJ, et al. Achilles Tendon Biomechanics in Response to Acute Intense Exercise: J Strength Cond Res 2014; 28: 1181-1186. [18] Malvankar S, Khan WS. Evolution of the Achilles tendon: The athletes Achilles heel? Foot Edinb Scotl 2011; 21: 193-197. [19] Lorimer AV, Hume PA. Achilles Tendon Injury Risk Factors Associated with Running. Sports Med 2014; 44: 1459-1472. [20] Oda H, Sano K, Kunimasa Y, et al. Neuromechanical Modulation of the Achilles Tendon During Bilateral Hopping in Patients with Unilateral Achilles Tendon Rupture, Over 1 Year After Surgical Repair. Sports Med. Epub ahead of print 3 October 2016. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-016-0629-3. [21] Gulati V. Management of achilles tendon injury: A current concepts systematic review. World J Orthop 2015; 6: 380. [22] Egger AC, Berkowitz MJ. Achilles tendon injuries. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. Epub ahead of print 13 February 2017. DOI: 10.1007/s12178-017-9386-7. [23] McCullough KA, Shaw CM, Anderson RB. Mini-open repair of achilles rupture in the national football league. J Surg Orthop Adv 2014; 23: 179-183. [24] Balazs GC, Pavey GJ, Brelin AM, et al. Risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Athletes on Synthetic Playing Surfaces: A Systematic Review. Am J Sports Med 2015; 43: 1798-1804. [25] Hershman EB, Anderson R, Bergfeld JA, et al. An Analysis of Specific Lower Extremity Injury Rates on Grass and FieldTurf Playing Surfaces in National Football League Games: 2000-2009 Seasons. Am J Sports Med 2012; 40: 2200-2205. [26] Lawrence DW, Hutchison MG, Comper P. Descriptive Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Injuries and Concussions in the National Football League, 2012-2014. Orthop J Sports Med 2015; 3: 232596711558365. [27] Elliott MCCW, Zarins B, Powell JW, et al. Hamstring Muscle Strains in Professional Football Players: A 10-Year Review. Am J Sports Med 2011; 39: 843-850. [28] Emerson C, Morrissey D, Perry M, et al. Ultrasonographically detected changes in Achilles tendons and self reported symptoms in elite gymnasts compared with controls An observational study. Man Ther 2010; 15: 37-42. [29] Bohm S, Mersmann F, Arampatzis A. Human tendon adaptation in response to mechanical loading: a systematic review and meta-analysis of exercise intervention studies on healthy adults. Sports Med Open 2015; 1: 7. [30] Pedowitz D, Kirwan G. Achilles tendon ruptures. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 2013; 6: 285-293. [31] Maffulli N, Margiotti K, Longo UG, et al. The genetics of sports injuries and athletic performance. Muscles Ligaments Tendons J 2013; 3: 173-189. FIGURES Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Table 1. IncidenceIRaIRRbp-value Defense320.752.46 (1.31-4.85).005 Offense130.30 a Injury rate based on 4,272 TG (4,096 regular season and 176 post-season TG) bInjury rate ratios with 95% confidence limits Table 2. IncidenceIRaIRRbp-value 1st 4 games171.66 1.21 (0.59-2.51)c.60 2.13 (0.93-5.21)d.08 3.4 (1.30-10.31)e.01 2.92 (0.53-61.68)f.29 2nd 4 games141.37 1.75 (0.74-4.40)d.21 2.80 (1.04-8.67)e.04 2.41 (0.43-51.37)f.42 3rd 4 games80.78 1.6 (0.52-5.38)e.42 1.38 (0.22-30.76)f.85 4th 4 games50.49 0.86 (0.12-20.45)f.83 Post-season10.57 aInjury rate based on 4,096 regular season (1,024 each 4-game period) or 176 post-season TG bInjury rate ratios with 95% confidence limits Compared with c2nd 4 games of the regular season, d3rd 4 games of the regular season, e4th 4 games of the regular season, or fpost-season

Longitude Essay -- essays research papers

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time is written by Dava Sobel. The book is called Longitude because it is about a clock maker who was able to determine longitude. Determining longitude was the superlative scientific question in the eighteenth century that Galileo and Newton were not able to resolve.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The principal inspiration behind the invention completed in this book is that many sailors were lost at seas as a result of their ignorance regarding longitude. So, without the competence to determine longitude, many innocent lives were disintegrated at seas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  England’s Parliament was desperate for an answer to this problem. So, in 1714 England’s Parliament offered 20,000 pounds to anyone who invented a method or a device for measuring longitude and then proved successful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a result, a Frenchman, sieur de St. Pierre, frowned on the moons of Jupiter as means of determining longitude. He theorized that longitude could be found by the position of the moon and select stars. At the time, Dr. Edmond Halley proved this theory wrong. After many observations, Halley concluded that the moon’s rate of revolution around the earth was accelerating overtime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Harrison was a simple clockmaker and a self-educated person who was accredited for finding longitude by means of a timeke...

Victory Junction Gang Camp Fund-raising :: Fundraising Donations Organizations Essays

Victory Junction Gang Camp Fund-raising For four years now, it has been Kyle Petty's dream to build a camp in his son's memory for chronic and life-threatening illnesses of children from ages 7 to 15. Kyle and the NASCAR community have been fund raising for over four years to make this dream come true. Actor Paul Newman and Kyle and Pattie Petty are the founders of Victory Junction Gang Camp (VJG).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The beautiful, natural setting for the VJG is seventy-two acres of land nestled in a hardwood forest. The camp is located in Randleman, North Carolina, approximately fifteen miles outside of Greensboro. Nestled in the foothills of the Piedmont Triad, this site offers a forest with several creeks and woodland streams running through the property. Richard Petty donated the land to VJG.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the ground was broken, it cost 3.9 million. This is where the fund-raising begins. Kyle Petty has a charity motorcycle ride that he founded over ten years ago. He has ridden over 31,500 miles and has raised over 4 million dollars. To keep the camp running, it costs 2.7 million dollars a year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The VJG has resources to raise funds, but it does take effort, time, and money to do this. Roshi Bull-Turner is the Development Associate of VJG, and it is her responsibility to manage the resources from the fund-raising events efficiently and effectively for the camp. This paper will look at the fund-raising aspects. Are there enough corporate donations to keep VJG running? Has VJG advertised enough for the employees of corporations to donate?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Roshi Bull who is an advertising specialist with VJG, ?It was hard work raising the funds to build this camp. The hardest part besides raising money, was speaking to the corporations. The corporations keep the camp running by donating time, money, and goods.? Statement of Problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem of the study is to investigate the raising of funds to keep VJG up and running for terminally ill children. Corporations need more information on VJG in order to make the decision easier. It takes knowledge, time, and money in order to make this happen. Setting of Problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting of the problem is how to raise 24.4 million dollars to keep the camp running. VJG will enrich the lives of children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses by creating experiences that are memorable, exciting, fun, empowering, physically safe, and medically sound. This camp is located 15 miles outside of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Trade in the 19th-21st Century

IntroductionExplain how the function of the Mercantilism pattern between 1500-to the late 1700s century has influence the International Trade Theories in the 19Thursday-21stcentury. ( one page )â€Å"Mercantilism† A school of economic idea developed in 16th-and 17th-century England, mercantile system argued that a state ‘s primary economic aim should be the accomplishment of a trade excess with the associated influx of gold. The cardinal thought was that trade was a zero-sum game and that a state could accumulate gold through a balance-of-trade excess merely at the disbursal of another state. ( Bowles, Paul, 2009 ) . Mercantilism had really of import influence to the organisation of Britain’s trade with other states particularly with its settlements. And there were assortment of rules for illustration, curtailing to provide the natural stuffs for Britain’s mill and prohibiting competed with some sorts of goods. The intent of mercantile system is to advance the economic strength of female parent state and acquire a trade excess. However, Adam Smith thought that mercantile system is incorrect. He believed free trade policy was better than mercantile system. In add-on to David Hume wrote essay â€Å" Of the Balance of Trade † ( 1752 ) suggestion that the balance of trade excess would take to domestic monetary value degree unstable. And, he developed early measure theory of money. In the mid- 18Thursdaycentury, hence, mercantile system had been proved unreasonable and was replaced by the theory of comparative advantage and the industry benefits from free trade that developed by David Ricardo. In 1840s, Mercantilism was eliminated and free trade and comparative advantage as the new economic policy for the economic system. Although free trade had become the chiefly theory in economic system, protectionist policies returned because of the economic catastrophe in the 1930s. Even Keynes believed that increasing the money supply could better domestic goods. Therefore mercantile system had new followings and so called â€Å"Neomercantilism† . Particularly in 1940 period East Asia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan – and in the 1990s and early twenty-first century, China – had taken the policies of â€Å" neomercantilist. † That enabled the East Asiatic economic systems to acquire quickly growing over a long period which impacted many other developing states, for illustration, Latin America, to take the same economic policies â€Å" neomercantilist † .Examinewhy states engage in tradeand the benefits of specialisation and trade between states.Nowadays, international trade is play a polar function in maintaining economic addition. People the universe over have profited tremendo usly from the cooperation across it, for illustration, developed states get inexpensive labour and big market, and developing states get engineering and increasing populating standing. It is win-win state of affairs. There are assortment of benefits for both states in footings of economic and societal advancement. For economic system, particularly for free trade, there are many states benefits from this economic policies such as Latin American state, Brazil, Chile, where fiscal and free trade has quickly change their economic system. First, free trade could better the life standing of domestic citizens. Several surveies has indicated successful trade could enable people out of poorness. Through free trade, by constructing an unfastened market, could profit for local economic because of the financess of international investing and trade. And there is possible chances to construct new industries and pull new engineerings. In add-on to which could make employee chances. Second, free trade besides can make a more competitory environment which really of import for development of domestic economic system for case China, duty rate â€Å"highest value over the past 19 old ages was 40.75 in 1992, while its lowest value was 7.69 in 2010.† ( China – Duty rate, indexmundi.com ) . During 18 o ld ages developing, the GDP of China had addition quickly. Of class, the increasing of GDP in China is the consequence of many factors while diminishing the duty rate and the barriers of import play a cardinal function for it. In fact, the political ground non merely find the economic system but besides the populating criterion of people. For societal advancement, by free trade, in one regard which can increase the financess for society, in other regard, the authorities can utilize the financess to put substructure and instruction. Equally far as we know, the societal advancement should establish on the fiscal development.When you sit down for your eventide repast attempt to gauge the figure of people andminutessthatare required to convey your repast to you-be as sidelong inventive and every bit specific as possible.Tonight, my flushing repast was rice and fish which made by myself. For rice, purchase it from supermarket, which is imported from Thailand. In Thailand, the rice need factors of merchandises to bring forth, which include husbandman, seeds, land and capital goods. First, husbandmans need purchase seeds from retail of seed and capital goods, in this measure, the store need staff to sell the seeds and capital goods. During period clip, the rice is produced which need to present to factory to treat and pack a nd so sell to wholesaler. Second, the employee of council would oversee the quality of rice whether fulfill the nutrient criterion. Wholesaler need staff to sell the rice to retail and supermarket. In the last measure, supermarket, need staff for illustration teller to sell the rice. For fish, it was imported from Australia. First measure, catching the fishes in the ocean. During this procedure, need person drive the boat and staff to catch the fishes. Second measure, presenting the fish to the mill. In this measure, the mill need staff to treat the fish, and packing. Third measure, export the fish to New Zealand, in this measure, the staff of imposts would oversee the quality of the fish. The forth measure, selling the fishes to the retail and the supermarket. And in this measure, need driver to transport the fish to supermarket. The last measure, in the supermarket, merely like the rice, need staff to shop and sell the fish. I cooked the rice and fish by the electric cooker. For the electric cooker, I think that more complicated than rice and fish. First measure, the mill demand to by the constituent which the made by natural stuffs, for illustration, plastic and metal. Both natural stuffs need to delve from land, in this procedure, need tonss of people to make it. In the 2nd measure, doing the natural stuffs into constituents. The 3rd measure, selling and presenting the constituents to the mills that make the electric cooker. The forth measure, the staff of mill industry the electric cooker. The 5th measure, selling and presenting the merchandises to the retail and supermarket. It seems that is a really simple eventide repasts, but behind it there are many people to work and bring forth, which is the amazing of trade and economic. And the most of import portion of the procedure, making many chances and financess. And it is power for development of society. Q2 Trade construction of your chosen statesAnalysisAustralia is an Oceanian state consisting the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and legion smaller islands ( Australia, en.wikipedia.org ) , in the South hemisphere. New Zealand is in the South hemisphere every bit good, hence, both states have the similar clime and agribusiness construction. However, the land country of Australia is 7,692,024 sq.km. larger than New Zealand land country 268021 sq.km. about 29 times. Australia’s GDP is 1560.60 USD, one million millions. New Zealand’s GDP is 182.59 USD, one million millions, in 2013, about 8.6 times. Australia is a affluent state ; it generates its income from assorted beginnings including mining-related exports, telecommunications, banking and fabrication. ( Australia, en.wikipedia.org ) . Because of affluent mineral resource particularly iron mine in Australia, hence mining-related exports has big proportion in its export. And she has really clo sely economic relation with China, every twelvemonth, China would import big Numberss of Fe mine signifier Australia. Turn to New Zealand, because of the land country is little and low population lead to domestic consume does non plenty, hence, international trade of New Zealand is really of import in its economic construction, peculiarly for agricultural merchandises. Exports has big proportion that is 24 per centum of its end product, which doing New Zealand vulnerable to international goods monetary values and planetary economic. And, because of agribusiness land is affluent so, the nutrient merchandises is the most important portion of its exports in 2014, doing up 55 % of the value. Because of the affluent forest resource, Wood is the 2nd largest merchandises ( 7 % ) in New Zealand. New Zealand is good know because of the film The Lord Of Rings and its beautiful environment. Therefore Tourism plays a important function in New Zealand ‘s economic system, lending $ 15.0 billion to New Zealand’s entire GDP and back uping 9.6 per centum of the entire work force in 2010. ( New Zealand, en.wikipedia.org ) . Every twelvemonth, there are tonss of international visitants to New Zealand to see the astonishing landscape, and the figure of visitants are expected to increase at 2.5 per centum yearly up to 2015. Therefore, the service industry is the largest industry in the New Zealand economic system, the 2nd one is fabricating and building and so farming and natural stuff.Datas tabular arrayData tabular array must include the undermentioned information in 2013: Table 1: Basic economic indexs and trade construction of state Australia and New Zealand in 2013AustraliaNew ZealandLand country ( sq.km. )7,692,024Land country ( sq.km )268021GDP ( current USD, one million millions )1560.60GDP ( current USD, one million millions )182.59GNI per capita ( current USD )43084.90GNI per capita ( current USD )32768Entire Trade ( X+M ) ( current USD, 1000000s )-661Entire Trade ( X+M ) ( current USD, 1000000s )473Entire exports ( current USD, 1000000s )10484Entire exports ( current USD, 1000000s )3969Entire Import ( current USD, 1000000s )11145Entire Import ( current USD, 1000000s )3223Trade to GDP ratio i % i?†°0.04Trade to GDP ratio i % i?†°0.26Share of exports ( % )Agricultural MerchandisesAgricultural MerchandisesFuels and excavation merchandisesFuels and excavation merchandisesIndustriesIndustriesShare of Imports ( % )Agricultural MerchandisesAgricultural MerchandisesFuels and excavation merchandisesFuels and excavation merchandisesIndustriesIndustries Q3 Explain the theory Analysis of absolute advantage of Australia and New Zealand Absolute advantage is a state is said to hold an absolute advantage over another state in the production of a good or service if it can bring forth that good or service ( the ‘‘output’’ ) utilizing fewer existent resources ( like capital or labour, the ‘‘inputs’’ ) . Equivalently, utilizing the same inputs, the state can bring forth more end product. ( Van M. , Charles, 2009 ) To better the rule of absolute advantage, premise that there are two states ( the Australia and New Zealand ) bring forthing four agribusiness merchandises ( Meat, poulet, wheat, soya beans and tomatoes ) , and the labour is the lone factors of merchandises. Suppose that merchandises for illustration, soya beans can be traded without costs and labours are stable in the two states. All employee in Australia or New Zealand have the same productive. However, production engineering in Australia different from that in the New Zealand. Suppose that Australia requires four units of labour to bring forth one unit of wheat, nevertheless the New Zealand requires merely need three units of labour. As the same as above, Australia merely needs five units of labour to bring forth one unit of tomatoes, while the New Zealand needs seven units of employee. Because Australia is more efficient to bring forth tomatoes and the New Zealand is more efficient to bring forth wheat. So, there is decision, Aus tralia has an absolute advantage to bring forth tomatoes and the New Zealand has an absolute advantage to bring forth wheat. Because of absolute advantage that enable both states gain advantages in trading. And this is why there is tendency specialisation of production in planetary economic system. Just reference above in illustration premise that the Australia produces less wheat than New Zealand. If Australia frees up several units of labour from wheat to bring forth tomatoes, hence, Australia can now to bring forth more units of tomatoes ( chance cost of wheat production in the Australia ) . The Australia has now produced less wheat and more unite tomatoes. If premise that the Australia still need to devour the same units of wheat as earlier. It must import more wheat from New Zealand. To bring forth wheat New Zealand needs more units of employee. These employee should come from the tomatoes industry, therefore the production of tomatoes in New Zealand will drop. ( chance costs of tomatoes production in New Zealand ) . At last, the entire production of wheat keep the same, while the entire production of tomatoes has increased. These excess units of tomatoes is the additions from specialisation if both states focus on the production that they produce most expeditiously. This is win-win state of affairs. Datas Table Data tabular array must include the undermentioned information in 2013 0r 2014i?s Production: Four selected agricultural merchandises of India and Hungary in 2013 or 2014AustraliaNew ZealandMerchandiseEntire production ( tone )Output ( kg/hectare )Entire production ( tone )Output ( kg/hectare )PistachiosPistachiosAlmondsAlmondsBananasBananasCassavaCassavaQ4 Comparativeadvantage Explain the Theory Application and Analysis of comparative advantage of Australia and New Zealand The theory of comparative advantage is an economic theory about the possible additions from trade for persons, houses, or states that arise from differences in their factor gifts or technological advancement. ( Comparative advantage, en.wikipedia.org ) There are two states in the information tabular array, Australia and New Zealand, which produce four agribusiness merchandises chicken, wheat, soya beans and tomatoes. To exemplify the theory merely choose two merchandises, ? ? and? ? . For illustration, in Australia, it can bring forth? ? one unit of? ? by utilizing 10 units of labour to bring forth, or bring forth 4/5 units of? ? . And, in New Zealand could bring forth one unit of? ? by utilizing 9 units of labour, or bring forth 5/4 units of? ? . Therefore, New Zealand has an absolute advantage in bring forthing? ? because of fewer units of labour, while Australia has a comparative advantage because of lower chance cost. Suppose that absence of trade between two states, Australia need 20 units of labours to bring forth one unit? ? and one unit? ? , meanwhile New Zealand need 17 unites to bring forth the same units. If each state focal point on the agribusiness which it has a comparative advantage, the consequence is both merchandises increases, for Australia can pass all units of labour to bring forth? ? and New Zealand can pass all units to bring forth? ? . So, the entire merchandise measure addition. And base on the free trade, both states exchange one unit? ? and one unit? ? . Except consume the same units merchandise as earlier, there still staying more units of merchandises. Datas Table Data tabular array must include the undermentioned information in 2013 0r 2014i?s Production: Four selected agricultural merchandises of India and Hungary in 2013 or 2014IndiaHungaryMerchandisePrice per unitiUSDPrice per unit, USDPistachiosPistachiosAlmondsAlmondsBananasBananasCassavaCassavaQ5 Factor gift, trade and income distributionHecksher-Ohlin ( H-O ) theoretical accountExplain the Theory Application and Analysis of H-O theoretical account for India and Hungary Data tabular array Data tabular array must include the undermentioned information in 2013 Factor gift and form of trade of India and Hungary in 2013 or 2014IndiaHungaryFactorsFactorsAgricultural Land ( million hectares )Agricultural Land ( million hectares )Agricultural Land ( % of land countryAgricultural Land ( % of land countryLabour ( 1000000s )Labour ( 1000000s )Capital ( UDS, 1000000s )Capital ( UDS, 1000000s )Four major exported MerchandisesFour major exported MerchandisesFour major exported MerchandisesFour major exported MerchandisesPistachiosPistachiosAlmondsAlmondsBananasBananasCassavaCassavaStolper-Samuelson ( S-S ) theoretical accountExplain the theory Application and Analysis of S-S theoretical account for India and Hungary Student should utilize information old informations tabular array to reply this portion. Q6 Context of new trade theoriesEconomic of ScaleExplain the theory Application and Analysis of economic of graduated table for India and Hungary Datas tabular array Data tabular array must include the undermentioned information in 2013 0r 2014i?s Domestic ingestion and export: Four selected agricultural merchandises of India and Hungary in 2013 or 2014IndiaHungaryMerchandiseDomestic ingestion ( tone )Exports ( tone )Domestic ingestion ( tone )Exports ( tone )PistachiosPistachiosAlmondsAlmondsBananasBananasCassavaCassavaImperfect competition and market powerExplain the theory Application and Analysis of imperfect competition and market power power of four top bring forthing states on one selected agricultural merchandise Datas tabular array Data tabular array must include the undermentioned information in 2013 One selected agricultural merchandise in 2013 or 2014Agricultural merchandise name:Top four producing/exporting statesVolume of production ( tone )Share of universe production ( % )PistachiosAlmondsBananasCassava Mention Bowles, Paul. ( 2009 ) .The Princeton Encyclopedia of the World Economy: Essaies from the Business And Economics — Economic Situation And Conditions, , ( pp.757-759 ) . Princeton, Princeton University Press. Van M. , Charles. ( 2009 ) . Absolute advantage: Essaies from the Business And Economics — Economic Situation And Conditions, ( pp.1-3 ) . Princeton, Princeton University Press. World Trade Organization. ( 2015 ) . Retrieved from 1 April, 2015, from Wikipedia: hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization China – Duty rate. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.indexmundi.com/facts/china/tariff-rate Australia. ( 2015 ) . Retrieved from 28 April, 2015, from Wikipedia hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia New Zealand. ( 2015 ) . Retrieved from 28 April, 2015, from Wikipedia hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand # Economy Comparative advantage. ( 2015 ) . Retrieved from 11 April, 2015, from Wikipedia hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage # Ricardo.27s_example

Economics for Business Essay

When we speak about the UK market of postal services, its image is indispensably connected with the notion of monopoly. For more than 350 years the UK postal market has been dominated by the Royal Mail. However, since 2006 the market has been open to competitors, and the postal services’ market players strove for possessing equal business opportunities. It is essential to review the current trends in the postal services market within the UK through the prism of monopoly, competition, and their benefits/ effects for the consumer and the overall efficiency/ quality of postal services in the country. Monopoly Royal Mail in the UK has for long been referred to as â€Å"privileged and increasingly unusual position of being a state-owned company protected from the market place† (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 7). As a result, Royal Mail has become one of the brightest representatives of what monopoly is within the British economy as a whole. It is essential to understand that when we speak about the state of postal services in the UK market, it cannot be described other than monopolistic before the year 2006. Moreover, even in the light of the improving communication strategies, Royal Mail was not losing its position, and was even strengthening it: â€Å"we are still dependent on the efficient, speedy delivery of bills and payments to our homes and businesses in exchange for the price of a stamp† (Starkey 2006, p. 71). Despite the primarily negative attitudes towards the monopolistic position of Royal Mail, monopoly is an objective market notion, and as any other market structure, it possesses its benefits and its disadvantages. In order to arrive to relevant conclusions, we have to consider both. One of the major advantages of monopoly, and particularly in the postal services, is exercising the principles of the economy of scale: in smaller postal enterprises this task may become impossible to fulfill. Moreover, having more available free resources, monopolies are frequently viewed as being closer to innovation than any other smaller enterprises within the postal services sector. However, this assumption is rather argumentative, and economic professionals tended to evaluate Royal Mail’s position within the postal services market as â€Å"negatively monopolistic† (AICES 2006, p. 8). This simply meant that Royal Mail was not striving towards exercising its free resources to bring innovation into postal services sector; as a result, competition was viewed as the only resolution for that difficult economic situation. This is a well-known conflict, when one tries to assess the opportunities and drawbacks of the monopolistic market structure: while monopoly generates significant profits which could potentially be directed at innovations, it simultaneously lacks any incentives to make these innovations real. This conflict has become the major reason for opening the market of UK postal services to competition. It is even more interesting to bear in mind that competition is not always the best solution to all economic problems of monopoly, and the responses to opening the postal market in the UK are still dubious and extremely various. â€Å"Much of nonsense is due to the liberalization of postal services. Here commercial firms bid for, and take, the lucrative part, the business mail. We all know what happens then. My own bank envelopes come with a commercial firm’s logo; the various branches email the details to a central department, where statements are prepared, one truck takes it all away and they only have to deliver to main postcode areas. (Clark 2007) The monopolistic structure of the UK market was not connected with any type of competition: the market was dominated by Royal Mail, and this VAT exempt company served the only postal services provider in the country. With the Government being the major Royal Mail’s shareholder, it was understandable why this provider possessed multiple economic benefits and did not strive to improve the quality of its services (Sloman 2004, p. 45). For us to understand all implications of the UK postal services’ liberalization, we come to the description and evaluation of the current situation within the UK postal market sector. The new market structure of postal services in the UK It is very important to understand how the postal services’ market in the UK looks at present. It should be noted that Royal Mail currently faces the competition from other 17 postal companies, and this market structure seems to create favorable conditions for effective competition. The largest portion of mail within this market goes from businesses to consumers (Starkey 2006, p. 72). â€Å"Several companies have signed â€Å"access† agreements with Royal Mail, allowing mail they have collected and sorted to be fed into Royal Mail’s network for final delivery. Royal Mail made 2. 4 billion access deliveries in 2006-07†³ (Starkey 2006, p. 72). Even with the 17 new postal companies becoming competitive to Royal Mail, the latter still provides 99% of all postal deliveries within the UK. â€Å"We can’t make the companies take advantages. We can just set the rules and put in a licensing regime, but Royal Mil will always be the major service provider† (Simpkins 2005). Other alternative postal service providers are currently capable of providing any types of postal services, with the exception of non-bulk items’ delivery, less than 100g in weight (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 8). Thus, is it possible to suggest that the postal services market in the UK has become as open as many had expected it to be? Of course, it is possible that the full effects of opening the UK postal services market are not yet perceived by the customers and businesses. However, it is also probable that there still exist significant barriers to competition within the postal market. â€Å"Postcomm is concerned that the competition so far has been too limited, and that this has allowed Royal Mail to get away with providing customers with a poor quality service† (Crew & Klenidorfer 2007, p. 9). Before 2006 the mail market of the UK was stated to lack competition, but possessing a considerable potential for growth; as a result many viewed competition and market openness as the best resolution to multiple issues postal monopoly in the UK traditionally rose (Falkenhall & Kolmodin 2005, p. 10). The opposition of Royal Mail to opening the market was natural and understandable: the company viewed this step as the direct pathway towards reduction of the profit margins, but the situation could not remain unchanged due to contemporary economic requirements towards competition. The efficiency of postal services after opening the market will gradually change. This process will be slow due to multiple barriers created on the way of potential Royal Mail competitors. However, some of the following results can be expected within the long-term period, and after numerous postal companies acquire fair access to different niches of the postal services’ market. First, the emergence of new services will increase the overall efficiency of the postal services in the UK. It is already evident that being surrounded by multiple competitors that strive for conquering and expanding their market share, even Royal Mail had to introduce a three-year plan of renewal: â€Å"changes have included the introduction of Single Day Delivery, reviews of its mail centers and transport and a significant number of redundancies† (Starkey 2006, p. 74). Second, the competition further increases efficiency by providing foreign market players with the opportunity to enter the market of postal services; as a result the efficiency of postal services at the international level also increases, which is especially important for businesses. Royal Mail was once blamed for being underdeveloped in terms of mechanizing its services, and making them more efficient (Falkenhall & Kolmodin 2005, p. 14). The current market processes in the UK postal services structure urge companies to reduce their workforce and to implement effective IT solutions for better services provision. Although, this does not mean that creating competition in the area of postal services inevitably leads to unemployment. With the creation and expansion of private postal operators, the amount of required qualified workforce increases, and we can state that competition only contributes into changing the balance of workforce between the operators. Competition is the best tool of increasing profitability and efficiency of national postal operators (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 44). One may suggest that the discussed changes in the market were long anticipated, and the fact of legal uncertainty and Royal Mail’s monopoly seriously hindered the process of investing into postal services by private operators. What one can expect now is the growing efficiency of the postal services along with the increase price control and the constant process of quality improvement in the structure of postal services in the UK. It should be noted, that the discussed improvements will and could occur in the ideal economic situation, when the openness of the market means providing real fair opportunities for competitors. However, the reality of the situation is different: â€Å"full competition in the UK postal market is blocked by two very fundamental issues: Royal Mail’s unique VAT exemption and the focus on downstream access† (Starkey 2006, p. 4). Private players of the postal market cannot access fair business opportunities and increase their efficiency against the zonal pricing introduced by Royal Mail not long before opening the market. Royal Mail has an access to changing its prices without being reviewed by Postcomm (Clark 2007). As a result, we face the challenge of competition vs. the realities of destabilization in the UK market of postal services. We cannot objectively state that the competition was introduced to increase efficiency, when Royal Mail creates unfavorable conditions for the rival operators (Starkey 2006, p. 5). While the efficiency of postal services changes very slowly, it is more than evident that the customers have already benefited from making the market of postal services competitive. First of all, private operators have changed the emphasis of their services from being business-oriented to being customer-oriented. As a result, â€Å"new entrants are building their products around their customers’ needs rather than asking their customers to fit in around their businesses† (Starkey 2006, p. 75). For example, numerous private customers have already perceived the benefits of later collection times (AICES 2006, p. 11). It is anticipated that private market players will keep expanding the range of postal services in case no barriers are created against these initiatives. The impact of competitive postal services on the customer is better to be viewed through the prism of Royal Mail achievements. The company has been the leading postal provider for almost 400 years, and its changing position and market attitudes can display the tendencies of economic development as a result of market openness. The major changes have taken place in company’s attitudes towards their customers: â€Å"although there is still some way to go to embed a culture of commercial customer focus throughout the organization, there is no doubt that Royal Mail has turned the corner† (AICES 2006, p. 18). Customers have acquired additional power in maintaining effective relations with the postal service: Royal Mail services turn towards being more attentive to their customers. They have displayed new abilities to listen to the customer, and to change in accordance with the customer’s requirements. Competition appears to be the matter of choice for the customer; consequentially, companies in the postal services sector have more incentives to pursue customer value through innovation and better customer satisfaction. The current situation in the UK market of postal services is still much confused and contradicting. On the one hand, we have the evidence of customers being completely satisfied with postal services being competitive. On the other hand, we cannot agree to the fact that the efficiency of postal services has increased even through the prism of growing profitability of some postal services. Certainly, the postal services have reached the stage at which costs are more comparable to the prices of postal services: the elimination of monopoly has opened the gateways to being more reasonable and more objective in setting the price for postal services. Simultaneously, it is difficult to disagree to the fact that Royal Mail still occupies 96% of the UK market (Starkey 2006, p. 6). The essence of competition is not in attracting rivals, but rather providing consumers with choice. In this situation efficiency of postal services is replaced by more important customer preferences. Monopoly is a â€Å"big, big issue, and it is a test of our society as to whether we are to organize everything to make a profit† (Benn 2007). Royal Mail is the embodiment of the economic paradox in the area of postal services in the UK. This paradox lies in connection with economies of scale. While with the large delivery volumes Royal Mail’s unit costs are low, but with Royal Mail being monopolistic the company can hardly be called efficient. Thus, with the price of Royal Mail’s services being extremely competitive and sometimes too low, it is simultaneously inefficient (Falkenhall & Kolmodin 2005, p. 29). Competition thus appears more beneficial for the customers, than for the companies in the postal services’ niche. It is essential that other private players can have access to similar scale benefits even if they cannot compete to the well-branched delivery network of Royal Mail. The efficiency of Royal Mail’s rivals cannot be increased until the issue of VAT exemption is resolved. â€Å"The VAT regime for post in the UK is a particularly pernicious barrier. Most people here will be aware that although Royal Mail is VAT exempt, its competitors are not, which causes pricing distortions especially for those customers that are also VAT exempt† (Starkey 2006, p. 76). Simultaneously, there is another serious concern about the rival companies’ behavior on the market. Some specialists fear that what takes place in Royal Mail is subsidizing lighter items with heavier mail, subsidizing social users for the account of business users, etc (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 51). In this situation competitive postal companies will strive for taking the most lucrative market niches, leaving Royal Mail without income from the most profitable services. However, this is where VAT exemption can serve for the benefit of the company: due to the lower prices, it is hardly possible that open competition will jeopardize the universal service and Royal Mail in general. In this situation one may possible predict the instability of the postal services market in the short-term period, and instability of the market structure is no better than previously existing monopoly. The UK postal services have appeared in the extremely essential stage of reconstruction – introducing competition cannot go smoothly for all market players. It should be noted that the issues of elimination or threat to the universal service are easily neutralized, and universal services can in no way be compromised by introducing competition. Any objective analysis shows that consumers, as well as businesses, have benefited from market opening through higher quality. In addition, prices have been substantially reduced for business customers while households have been protected from price increases† (Sloman 2004, p. 97). Yet, our objective analysis shows that competition in the UK postal services is in its initial stage. We have proved that customers evidently benefit from making the post market competitive, but the economic efficiency of the postal services is still to be achieved and increased. Conclusion We have come to conclusion that the effects of competition in the UK market of postal services are primarily viewed within the area of consumer satisfaction. The overall economic efficiency of postal services still leaves much to be desired. However, introduction of competition is the solid basis for providing consumers with choice, and expanding the market structure of postal services in the country. Certainly, monopoly possesses its advantages, but competition is the best perspective for both the new private players and Royal Mail in creating incentives for development and improvement.