The Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka Essay

The Nigerian dramatist Wole Soyinka ( born 1935 ) was one of the few African authors to denounce the motto of Negritude as a tool of autarchy. He besides was the first black African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Wole Soyinka was born July 13. 1934 in Abeokuta a small town on the Bankss of the River Ogun in the western country of Nigeria. His female parent was a Christian convert so devout that he nicknamed her â€Å"Wild Christian† and he father was the scholarly schoolmaster of a Christian primary school whom he nicknamed â€Å"Essay†Ã¢â‚¬â€œa drama on his business and his initials S. A. Soyinka was educated through the secondary degree in Ibadan and subsequently attended University College. Ibadan. and the University of Leeds. from which he graduated with awards. He worked for a brief period at the Royal Court Theatre in London before returning to Nigeria in 1960. His drama. â€Å"The Invention† was staged in 1957 at the Royal Court Theatre. At that clip his merely published plants were verse forms such as â€Å"The Immigrant† and â€Å"My Next Door Neighbour. † which appeared in the magazine Black Orpheus. The declining political state of affairs in Nigeria was reflected in Soyinka’s subject for Kongi’s Harvest. foremost performed at the Dakar Festival of Negro Arts in 1965. The subject was the constitution of a absolutism in an African province ; and the corruptible politician. the uncommitted. corrupt traditional swayer. and the pitilessness of a adult male driven toward power were all displayed. In Idanre and Other Poems. published in 1967. Soyinka ceased being a ironist and became a glooming visionary. The rubric verse form. declaiming a creative activity myth. stressed the symbols of fire. Fe. and blood. which were cardinal to the poet’s position of the modern African universe. Soyinka became a vocal critic of Negritude. impeaching politicians of utilizing it as a mask for autarchy. His increasing usage of polemic against societal unfairness and his demands for freedom coincided with the military coup d'etat in Nigeria and the ulterior impetus toward civil war. Soyinka was arrested by the Nigerian authorities in October 1967. was accused of descrying for Biafra. and was kept in detainment in the North for two old ages. after which he returned to his place as caput of the play section at Ibadan. Much of his originative attending following his release went into shooting Kongi’s Harvest. in which he besides played the prima function. Soyinka’s Nigeria was a state in passage. trying to model itself out of a assortment of tribal civilizations and a disruptive European colonisation. Soyinka did non romanticise his native land. nor was he willing to see African civilization as a level symbol of crudeness. He was as willing to bear down Nigerian politicians and administrative officials with atrocity and corruptness as he was to reprobate the greed and phil istinism of the West. These attitudes were even more prevailing after his 2nd captivity on the trumped up spying charges. His work took on a darker and angrier tone. When he was released from prison in 1969. Soyinka left Nigeria and did non return until the authorities changed in 1975. Soyinka’s prison journal. published in 1972 The Man Died: Prison Notes of Wole Soyinka was a disconnected and inexorable history of the yearss he spent incarcerated. frequently in ironss. Along with his poetries that captured the kernel of his prison experience. The Man Died provided priceless context for Soyinka’s subsequent imagination in his plants. Soyinka’s post-prison plants striked readers as more angry and despairing than his earlier 1s. The drama Madmen and Specialists was about a immature physician who returned from war trained in the ways of anguish and patterns his new accomplishments on his apparently huffy old male parent. Charles Larson in New York Times Review of Books called the drama â€Å"a merchandise of those months Soyinka spent in prison. in lone parturiency. as a political captive. It is. non surprisingly. the most barbarous societal unfavorable judgment he has of all time published. † Yet non all his station prison plants were filled with desperation. Ake: The Old ages of Childhood and its prequel Isara: A Ocean trip around Essay were beautiful memoirs of both his ain childhood with its strong Yoruba background and his father’s young person in a changing Nigeria. Isara. published in 1988 after his father’s decease. reconstructed his father’s divided life and tried to accommodate two conflicting cultures–African and Western-that trapped him between. In 1986 Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in acknowledgment of his achievements. The choice commission recognized him for his committedness to render the full complexness of his African civilization In add-on to his literary end product. Soyinka had produced two essay aggregations that define his literary doctrine Myth Literature and the African World ( 1976 ) and Art Dialog and Outrage ( 1991. 1994 ) in which Soyinka asserted that critics must near African literature on its ain footings instead than by criterions established in western civilizations. African literature was non massive and needs to be seen as a assortment of voices. non simply one talker. In The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis ( 1996 ) . Soyinka looked at Nigeria’s absolutism and inquiries the corrupt authorities. the thoughts of patriotism. and international intercession. The Burden of Memory. the Muse of Forgiveness ( 1998 ) . Soyinka’s subsequence to The Open Sore. considered the whole of Africa and considers how there can be rapprochement between victims and oppressors. In 2001. the University Press of Mississippi published Conversations with Wole Soyinka In 1998. Soyinka ended a four-year self-imposed expatriate from Nigeria. His expatriate can be traced back to 1993. when a democratically elective authorities was to hold assumed power. Alternatively. General Ibrahim Babangida. who had ruled the state for eight old ages. prohibited the publication of the vote consequences and installed his deputy. General Sani Abacha. as caput of the Nigerian province. Soyinka. along with other pro-democracy militants. was charged with lese majesty for his unfavorable judgment of the military government. Faced with a decease sentence. Soyinka went into expatriate in 1994. during which clip he traveled and lectured in Europe and the United States. Following the decease of Abacha. who held control for five old ages. the new authorities. led by General Abdulsalem Abubakar. released legion political captives and promised to keep civilian elections. Soyinka’s return to his fatherland renewed hope for a democratic Nigerian province. Prejudice in Telephone Conversation and Dinner Guest-Me: In ‘Telephone Conversation’ and ‘Dinner Guest-Me’ each poet uses their poesy as a agency of facing and disputing bias. In ‘Telephone Conversation’ by Wole Soyinka. a phone conversation takes topographic point between an African adult male and a really unreal lady about leasing out a room. When the lady finds out he is African she becomes really prejudiced and racist towards him. Similarly ‘Dinner Guest-Me’ by Langston Hughes is about a black adult male traveling to a dinner party where he is the merely colored individual at that place. like he is the ‘token black. ’ Anger and a sense of temper are shown in both the verse forms. In ‘Telephone Conversation’ . the African adult male is angry at the â€Å"peroxide blond† and is disgusted at her for being so ill-mannered and racist towards him. â€Å"HOW DARK? ARE YOU LIGHT OR VERY DARK? † The capital letters emphasise the volume in her voice. whereas. in Langston Hughes poem the other dinner invitees are non being prejudiced to the lone black dinner guest straight. Although they would inquire him â€Å"the usual inquiries that affected him. it is full of biass. Wole Soyinka’s â€Å"Telephone Conversation† is an facile exchange of duologue between a dark West African adult male and his British landlady that inexorably verges on the inquiry of apartheid. The poet makes usage of the most articulate agencies to aerate his positions. through that of a telephone conversation. where there is instant and natural discussion. It exhibits a one-to-one correspondence between the two. The interaction between a coloured and a white person at one time assumes cosmopolitan overtones. At the beginning. the poet says that the monetary value seemed sensible and the location ‘indifferent’ . Note that as a word. even though it denotes being ‘unbiased’ . it is a word with negative intensions. However. as we come across the Landlady’s biased nature. the word ‘indifferent’ additions positive overtones ; it is better than being impartial. The lady swears that she lived ‘off premises’ . Nevertheless. the really facet of his coloring material poses a job to her. far from her promise to stay distant. Nothing remains for the poet. he says. but confession. It gives a image of him sitting in a confessional. when he hasn’t committed any offense. His offense is his coloring material ; his compunction is solutionless. He tells the lady that he hates a otiose journey. Possibly his words connote more than he literally signifies. The poet seems to be tired of his life conditioned by racialist biass. As he mentions that he is a West African. the lady is crammed with silence. but a silence that speaks volumes. A telephone is an instrument that chiefly transmits voices ; here it becomes a medium for silence besides. The alleged civilised universe has these soundless. powerful issues that need to be voiced. Here. the silence reverberations. It is a silence that is the effect of her sophisticated upbringing. However. her biass transcend her to primitivism life in the superstitious narrowness of caste and coloring material. When the voice eventually came. it was ‘lip-stick coated’ . good made-up and diplomatic to accommodate an affected ambiance. The inevitable inquiry eventually comes across: â€Å"Are you dark? Or really light? † The poet views it as button B or Button A. The inquiry places two options before him: dark or visible radiation. the truth or prevarications. The first option would evidently close off all doors to him. The term Button B besides is the button in the public telephone box to acquire the money back. Button A is the 1 to link the call. The poet first ponders on the Button B to acquire out of his quandary. He so realizes that escape is non the solution. and decides to confront the state of affairs. The words: â€Å"Stench /Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak† signify the claustrophobic nature of the inquiries instead than the ambiance ( i. e. . inside the telephone box ) . The coloring material ‘red’ in â€Å"Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered† forebode cautiousness. The inquiries were excessively naked to be true. The talker at last brings himself to believe them. His response is really witty: â€Å"You mean-like field or milk cocoa? † This is the most disposed response as dark cocoa is surely more alluring than apparent cocoa. Her disinterested blessing of the inquiry was like that of a clinical physician made immune to human emotions through experience. Human hurting and wretchedness has a impregnation point ; after a certain point people tend to jest at their ain torment. As the stating goes: Be a God. and laugh at Yourself. The talker therefore begins basking the state of affairs and confuses the lady on the other side. He asserts: â€Å"‘West African sepia’-and as an afterthought ‘Down in my passport. ’† . to farther confuse her. Silence for spectroscopic Flight of illusion. till truthfulness clanged her accent Hard on the mouthpiece. â€Å"What’s that? † professing â€Å"Don’t cognize what that is. † â€Å"Like brunette. † â€Å"That’s dark. isn’t it? † â€Å"Not wholly. Facially. I am brunette. but. dame. you should see The remainder of me. Palm of my manus. colloidal suspensions of my pess Are a peroxide blond. Clash. caused- Foolishly. madam-by sitting down. has turned My bottom raven black-One minute. dame! †-sensing Her receiving system raising on the thunderclap About my ears-â€Å"Madam. † I pleaded. â€Å"wouldn’t you instead See for yourself? † The last lines brink on coarseness. but merely out of indignation. The assorted feelings. the random and broken sentences. the deficiency of coherency is speech. the question-answer manner are all typical of a telephone conversation that reverberates more than it sounds. The verse form is genuinely astonishing. The sarcastic duologue adds temper to a topic that is otherwise non. The manner he presents the truth of racial favoritism in the name of skin coloring material. utilizing humour Tells the illustriousness of the poet and his fantastic manner. It’s certainly a nice verse form on racism supported by the graphic image that Wole Soyinka creates in the readers’ heads by showing his verse form in a free poetry conversation manner. It is a nice attack in exemplifying the racism in the Old English times. Subject: â€Å"Telephone Conversation† by Wole Soyinka is a poem that’s rubric is really insouciant and consecutive forward. The poem’s rubric shows the reader that what they are meant to read is realistic and free flowing. Like most verse forms there is a general subject that is carried on from start to stop. The verse form â€Å"Telephone Conversation† has two chief obvious subjects ; these are racism and the deficiency of instruction and apprehension that some people may hold. As the reader reads through the drama they become cognizant that the character is African and hence has a darker tegument tone than white skinned people. The poet has given the character every bit good as the landlady different signifiers of address. The character appears to talk a little more officially than the landlady and this could possibly be to miss of instruction and understanding towards the landlady or even that she feels the character is ill-defined of the English linguistic communication. The character tends to be more formal and uses more official ways of speech production.

Costcp vs Sams Club

Sol Price’s Price Club emerged as the unchallenged leader in member warehouse retailing, with stores operating primarily on the West Coast. Although he originally conceived Price Club as a place where small local businesses could obtain needed merchandise at economical prices, Sol Price soon concluded that his fledgling operation could achieve far greater sales volumes and gain buying clout with suppliers by also granting membership to individuals—a conclusion that launched the deep discount warehouse club industry on a steep growth curve. Price Club was eventually merged with Costco in 1984.The same year, Walmart adopted the Warehouse Club concept and launched its first Sam’s Club stores. The Club warehouses typically have concrete floors, sparse decor, and goods displayed on pallets or simple wooden shelves. The Warehouse floor plans are designed for economy and efficiency in the use of selling space, in the handling of merchandise, and in the control of invent ory. Warehouse Business Model Warehouse Clubs are â€Å"big box stores that sell groceries as well as general merchandise at lower costs† The basic model is to maintain very low prices, sell high volumes, and maintain very high Operating efficiencies.The business idea is that low prices on a limited selection of national brand merchandise and selected private-label products in a wide range of merchandise categories produce high sales volume and rapid inventory turnover. All current warehouse Clubs operate under the following model: (Refer Figure 1): * low Profit margins. * Low prices * Limited selection (around 4000 items) * Wide range of merchandise categories (tires to baby wipes) creates the rapid inventory turnover. * Volume purchasing * efficient distribution * reduced handling of merchandise * no-frills warehousesWarehouse Clubs comprise a very big business opportunity and a current market of 500B+ (including Costco $71B, Sam’s Club $54B, BJs $11B and Walmart Sup erCenters – $390B. ) There is a combined Membership base of more than 130 million paying members across the existing warehouse clubs who pay membership fees in exchange for the privilege of shopping at the warehouse clubs. The typical sales for each SKU is $12M per SKU at Costco and $10M per SKU. This allows them to order massive amounts from manufacturers. Bulk packages sell larger quantities to consumers. The huge warehouse clubs eliminate the need for actual warehouses.At the same time, they reduce the need for handling. This greatly enhances distribution efficiency. Their large-scale membership base makes them strong. Figure 1 Warehouse Clubs are very popular with households with higher incomes(Refer Appendix C). Costco – Background Costco was founded by Jim Sinegal and Seattle entrepreneur Jeff Brotman. The first Costco store began operations in Seattle in 1983. Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), with its subsidiaries operates membership warehouses that offer its members low prices on a limited selection of branded and selected private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.By offering quality merchandise at a low price, they attract mostly affluent shoppers. Its typical membership profile is a relatively well heeled customer with an average yearly income of $75K. Costco’s Strategy is to sell quality items at low prices and to create a treasure hunt like atmosphere with a set of variable famous brand items available at low prices each week that Its buyers had been able to procure. Costco's warehouse format averages approximately 141,000 square feet. Its warehouses operate on a seven-day, 69-hour week.It carries an average of approximately 3,600 active stock keeping units (SKUs) per warehouse in its core warehouse business. Many consumable products are offered for sale only in case, carton, or multiple-pack quantities only. It operates warehouses worldwide including countries such as Mexico, UK, Japan, Taiwan, Korea an d Australia. Costco and Sam’s Club are more similar than different. They have the same model. Costco is known as an Upscale Sam’s Club. Figure 2 Costco and Sam’s Club Comparison Memberships Offered: Costco offers memberships in the following formats. Gold Star Member = $ 55 Business Member = $ 55 Executive Member = $ 110Membership fees combined with its high member count (64M), allow Costco to maintain low prices. Sam’s Club Background Sams Club is part of the 3700 stores Walmart Chain. Walmart followed Costco into the warehouse club business and the first Sam’s Club store was opened in 1984. Sam’s Club has more products than Costco, but is smaller than Costco in total revenues. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) operates retail stores in various formats around globally. Everyday low prices (EDLP) is the Company's pricing philosophy under, which it price items at a low price everyday. The Company's operates in three business segments: the Walma rt U.S. segment, the Walmart International segment, and the Sam's Club segment. Its Sam's Club segment consists of membership warehouse clubs operated in the United States as well as countries such as Africa, Brazil, China and Mexico. Sam’s Club primary focus was Small Businesses until 2006. Currently, it targets all consumers, including small business. Many Sam’s Club locations are adjacent to Wal-Mart Supercenters. The concept of the Sam’s Club format is to sell merchandise at very low profit margins, resulting in low prices to members. Membership Offered: Advantage Member = $35 Business Member = $ 40 Plus Member = $ 100Membership cost less than Costco. Sam’s also has less members (48M versus 64M) Competition and Market Position of Rivals Sam’s Club has slightly more locations than Costco, but has overall lower revenues. This is due to Costco’s larger number of members and higher sales per customer per location. Costco maintains low margin s of less than 15% on each item as a strategy, to offer low prices to its members. In the discount warehouse retail segment, there are three main competitors—Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club. At the end of 2012, there were just over 1,200 warehouse locations across the United States and Canada.Figure 3 Market Positions of rival Warehouse Clubs Key Ratios Inventory turnover is an important metric in the wholesale club industry. Costco has the highest inventory turnover, but Sam’s Club and BJ’s, both are close. Costco has the lowest profit margin, due a combination of factors, including the high pay and benefits, it offers its employees. Figure 4 Key Ratios Comparison across Functional Areas We believe Supply Chain cannot be looked in isolation and it involves human capital, use of Information technology and Marketing. We compared Costco and Sam’s Club across 5 broad functional areas. We did not go deeply into the Finance a rea.Broadly, we found that warehouse clubs including Costco and Sam’s Club preferred to buy the real estate and buildings rather than lease it. 1) Human Capital Both warehouse clubs chose to * Promote from within * Empower Warehouse Manager. 2) Information Technology. Both warehouse clubs leverage technology to drive efficiencies and lower cost 3) Distribution and Supply Chain Both clubs broadly try to optimize and drive efficiencies in their distribution and supply chain processes. * Cross-dock, Planning and Forecasting, VMI. 4) Marketing Both do not spend as much on marketing. * Little to No marketing 5) Finance Own versus Lease of real-estate and buildings Even though the warehouse clubs are more similar than they different, differences do exist We will go through each functional area in more detail. 1) Human Capital Costco Employees are the highest paid in the industry with good benefits. They are well treated and are highly motivated. Costco covers 82% of its employers f or health insurance compared to only 47% by Sam’s Club Human Capital Advantage Costco: Costco is able to derive more benefits from keeping its employees happy. Costco has a higher sales per employee, Higher sales per store as well as a higher sales per SKU than Sam’s Club.This is clearly due to its highly motivated workforce. 2) Information Technology Both the warehouse Clubs are able to derive benefits of tracking membership information and sales associated with members through the use of their IT systems. This allows them to effectively track and predict/forecast seasonal demand information. Since all customers must swipe card when checking out, clubs know exactly who is buying what. Costco uses information technology to connect all its warehouse locations to corporate HQ. It provides real time information and the effective use of its inventory and control systems.It has outsourced 75% of its IT department to an India location and built effective interfaces from Cost co. com to UPS and Fedex to facilitate shipping. Costco has also tried to reduce operating costs through reduction in energy consumption. It has incorporated skylights in all warehouses and solar panel in 40 of the warehouses. It has also incorporated an extensive Recycling Program. Sams Club uses information technology more effectively due to Walmart’s support. It is able to leverage Walmart’s size and scale to its advantage. It uses a satellite system to collect data and observer merchandize flow.Wal Mart’s satellite network sends point of sale (POS) data directly to 4,000 vendors. It also has very strong system that support the CPFR process and allow for collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment with its suppliers. Information Technology Advantage: Walmart Sam’s Club Figure 5. CPFR process(Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment 3) Distribution and Supply Chain Costco and Sam’s Club both use Cross docking (Refer figure 6 below) to derive efficiencies. Merchandise is shipped directly from manufacturers to Warehouse. This allows them to eliminate multi-step distribution channels and thus lower costs.Goods in depot are distributed within 24 hours. Merchandise is placed right on the sales floor, typically above. Both leverage their large scale operations to get lowest prices from Manufacturers / Suppliers. Warehouse Manager has decision making to run each individual warehouse as a Investment Center. No one manufacturer supplied a significant percentage of the merchandise that warehouses stocked and management believed that if one or more of its current sources of supply became unavailable, the company could switch its purchases to alternative manufacturers without experiencing a substantial disruption of its business.Costco Supply Chain Costco has 9 cross-docking distribution centers and has direct buying relationships with many producers of national brand-name merchandise (including Canon, Casio, Coc a-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Fuji, Hewlett-Packard, Kimberly-Clark, Kodak, Levi Strauss, Michelin, Nestle, Panasonic, Procter ;amp; Gamble, Samsung, Sony, KitchenAid, and Jones of New York) and with manufacturers that supplied its Kirkland Signature products. Sam’s Club Supply ChainApproximately two-thirds of the merchandise at Sam’s Club was shipped from the division’s own distribution facilities and, in the case of perishable items, from some of Wal-Mart’s grocery distribution centers; the balance was shipped by suppliers direct to Sam’s Club locations. Like Costco, Sam’s Club distribution centers employed cross-docking techniques whereby incoming shipments were transferred immediately to outgoing trailers destined for Sam’s Club locations.The Sam’s Club distribution center network consisted of 7 company owned and operated distribution facilities, 13 third party owned and operated facilities(3PL’s), and 2 third par ty owned and operated import distribution centers. A combination of company owned trucks and independent trucking companies were used to transport merchandise from distribution centers to club locations. Sam’s Club has Vendor Managed Inventory(VMI) relationships with many of its large suppliers such as P;amp;G, GE and Wrangler. Sam’s Club due to its relationship with Walmart is very strong in the Distribution and Supply Chain and is very efficient.It also has a practice of dealing with only Manufacturers. * Costco Strengths * Buyers scour the business world to find overstock brand items that can be sold at a discount to create a Treasure Hunt atmosphere. * Sam’s Club Strengths * leverages large Walmart Hub and Spoke Distribution Network. * Vendor Managed Inventory(VMI) relationships with many suppliers such as Wrangler, P;amp;G and GE. * Deals only with Direct Manufacturers. Supply Chain systems Advantage: Walmart Sam’s Club. What is cross docking?Cross-d ocking is a practice in logistics of unloading materials from an incoming semi-trailer truck or railroad car and loading these materials directly into outbound trucks, trailers, or rail cars, with little or no storage in between. This may be done to change type of conveyance, to sort material intended for different destinations, or to combine material from different origins into transport vehicles (or containers) with the same, or similar destination. â€Å"Hub and spoke† are arrangements, where materials are brought in to one central location and then sorted for delivery to a variety of destinations.Figure 6 Cross-docking What is Vendor Managed Inventory(VMI) Vendor Managed Inventory(VMI) is a means of optimizing Supply Chain performance in which the manufacturer is responsible for maintaining the distributor’s inventory levels. The manufacturer has access to the distributor’s inventory data and is responsible for generating purchase orders. Please refer Figure 7 To further define it, let’s look at 2 business models (Refer Figure 8): Under the typical business model (Purchase Order driven): When a distributor needs product, they place an order against a manufacturer.The distributor is in total control of the timing and size of the order being placed. The distributor maintains the inventory plan. Vendor Managed Inventory model (Demand driven): The manufacturer receives electronic data (usually via EDI or the internet) that tells him the distributor’s sales and stock levels. The manufacturer can view every item that the distributor carries as well as true point of sale data. The manufacturer is responsible for creating and maintaining the inventory plan. Under VMI, the manufacturer generates the order*, not the distributor. Note: VMI does not change the â€Å"ownership† of inventory. It remains as it did prior to VMI. Figure 7 Vendor Managed Inventory Figure 8 Demand driven (Vendor Managed Inventory) versus Purchase Ord er driven system. 4) Marketing – Advertising Costco limits its advertising to cut marketing cost. Both warehouse clubs are engaged in direct mailing to potential and current consumers But Costco does not have a PR department and believes the most effective advertisement is â€Å"Word-of-Mouth†. Sam’s Club does advertise and through television and Cable media.Marketing Advantage: Costco Known for its great customer satisfaction and service. High Customer Loyalty(87% renewal rate. ) Vertical Integration and Alternative Sales Channels Both the warehouse have created their own private labels and rely on other manufacturers and suppliers to manufacturer their products and provide top quality at a low price. Costco’s private label is branded under the â€Å"Kirkland Signature† brand which is considered as a quality brand. Sam’s Clubs have several private labels such as Member’s Mark, Artisan Fresh, Daily Chef and Simply Right.Costco and Sam ’s Club , both have websites, which allow them to sell products that are typical not in the warehouse. It also allow them to sell services such as insurance and travel which leverages the companies information technology rather than the physical supply chain. Alternative services offered * Consumer Services * Travel * Optical * Automotive * Financial Services * 401(K) * Loans * Insurance * Pharmacy * Recycle electronics Conclusion Costco Wins Round One , but the Battle Continues. Costco has 64 million very loyal members and is known as a provider of top quality merchandise at low prices.Its buyers are able to scour the world to get acquire overstocked premium goods at low prices to create a treasure hunt atmosphere in its warehouses. It private label is considered a premium branded product that has top quality. Its employees are exceptional and Costco has a high performance workforce. * Best-Cost Provider * 64 million very loyal members * Top-quality merchandise * Low price * Treasure-hunt items * Kirkland Signature * Top-quality in-house brand * Exceptional employees * Economies of Scale Appendix A – Savings for Members Warehouse Clubs offered low prices in comparison to supermarkets.A sample comparison of frequent buys at Costco versus a local grocery store is attached. Costco price for the list is $171. Grocery Store price is $538, a savings of $367. Appendix B – Porter’s Five forces (Warehouse Clubs) Appendix C – Warehouses Popular with families with higher income Appendix D – Costco derives value from paying its employees more Appendix E – Costco and Sam’s Club Websites Appendix F – References WAL MART STORES INC (Form 10-K). † WAL MART STORES INC (Form 10-K, Received 03-27-2012) COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP -NEW (Form 10-K, Received 10-14-2011) Costco Deploys EnFlexA? EWebConnect for Enterprise Facility Information Management – EnergyVortex. † Costco Deploys EnFlexA? s EWebConnect for Enterprise Facility Information Management. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www. energyvortex. com/pages/headlinedetails. cfm? id=1003>. Standard&Poor(S&P) Report on Costco and Walmart Corporation. Reuter’s Report on Costco and Walmart Corporation â€Å"Distribution: Channels and Logistics. † Distribution: Channels and Logistics. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www. consumerpsychologist. com/intro_Distribution. html>. Consumer Reports – Costco and Sam's Club. Received 10-27-2011

Research about Life

The trip was known in advance only to a few and not announced to the public until the president had left Baghdad alarm space; he was accompanied by only a few select reporters and a small official entourage. The month ended with a spate of violence, much of it aimed at non-American foreigners. Seven Spanish intelligence officers died south of Baghdad Novo. 9 when their Subs were attacked by rocket- propelled grenades and a rifle fire. Separate attacks the same day also killed 2 Japanese diplomats and a Colombian OLL worker, and 2 South Korean contractors were killed in ambush Novo. 30. For all of November, guerrillas killed 104 coalition troops, Including 79 Americans. When they came under attack In Samara, Novo. 30, U. S. Forces struck back, killing 54 Iraqi fighters according to U. S. Military sources, although bodies were not recovered and Iraqi sources claimed many fewer were 1 OFFS largely Muslim nation that supported the U.S. Invasion of Iraq. On Novo. 15, 2 Truck bombs explode d outside 2 synagogues in Istanbul, killing 25 people and wounding more than 250; most had been attending Sabbath prayers. On Novo. 20, Truck bombs exploded in Istanbul, at the British consulate and Turkish headquarters of HASH bank, killing 30 and injuring 450; the British consul general, Roger Short, was among those killed. An anonymous caller attributed the bank attack to al-Qaeda and the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient, a Turkish group that had also claimed responsibility for the synagogue bombings.A car bomb that exploded Novo. 8 in a residential compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, claimed 17 lives and wounded more than 120. * Bush Visits Britain- Pres. Bush arrived in London Novo. 18 to begin a state visit to Britain. The next day he was welcomed by Queen Elizabeth lat Backing palace; in a speech he urged Britain to stand with the U. S. In a long term effort to defeat terrorism and bring democracy to Islamic nations of Middle East. Bush's movements were sharply rest ricted for security reasons; the usual procession trough the streets was scrubbed, and he did not address Parliament.Ata meeting between Bush and Prime Min. Tony Blair Novo. 20, the 2 deplored terrorist attacks that day in Turkey. The same day a crowd of anti Bush protesters estimated by authorities at 100,000 to 110,000 marched through London streets. President of Georgia Resigns – Pres. Eduardo Spearheaded resigned his office Novo. 23, after mass protest in Georgia. On Novo. 20, the Central Election Commission had certified that his supporters won the parliamentary election of Novo. 2, but international observers had reported instances of fraud, On Novo. 2, protestors had broken into Parliament, forcing Spearheaded, the last foreign minister of Soviet Union, to flee. His decade-long rule had been marked to ward the end by national economic collapse and charges of official corruption. General U. S. Episcopal church consecrates Gay Bishop- The Rev. V. Gene Robinsons consecrat ed Novo. 2 as bishop of New Hampshire, becoming the first openly gay prelatic The Episcopal Church U. S. A. The consecration went forward despite warnings from Anglican primates in Africa, Asia, and Latin Americana it could cause a schism in church.Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, issued a statement Novo. 2 that recognized the right of the American branch to choose its bishops, but expressed regret that the concerns of other church leaders had not been given consideration. On Novo. 3, Anglican leaders in Africa declared that they were in State of â€Å"impaired communion† with the U. S. Episcopalian. Man admits killing 48 women in†Green River† case- Gary Ridgeway, a resident of a Seattle â€Å"(WA) suburb pleaded guilty Novo. 5 to killing 48 young women, most of them prostitutes or runaways.Since the sass authorities had been seeking the so-called Green River Killer, who had strangled the women after having sex with them and left many of their bodies near the river. Ridgeway confessed the crime in an agreement with prosecutors that spared him the death penalty; no other serial murderer in U. S. History had been convicted of so many killings. On DCE. 8, Ridgeway was sentenced to 48 consecutive life terms. 2002 DC Sniper Convicted – A Virginia Beach (VA) Jury Novo. 17 found John Muhammad guilty in sniper attacks that plagued the Washington, DC, accomplice, Lee Mallow, currently on trial separately.He was convicted of 2 counts of capital murder, one for committing multiple murders over 3 years and one for killing Dean Meyers in Cot. 2002 to further a terrorist scheme aimed at extorting $10 mil. Muhammad was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and illegal use of a firearm. Prosecutors relied on strong circumstantial evidence, including a rifle mound in his car that ballistics tests showed had been used in 13 shootings. The Jury Novo. 24 recommended a death sentence, which was imposed by the Judge Mar. 9,2004. Mi chael Jackson Arrested for Child Abuse- law enforcement officials in Santa Barbara, CA, Novo. 9 issued an arrest warrant for singer Michael Jackson on multiple counts of child molestation. They said that the pop star would be charged with â€Å"lewd and lascivious conduct† with a child under age 14. Allegations a decade earlier that he had molested a 13-year- old boy had been resolved out of court with a multimillion-dollar settlement. Jackson was booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail, Novo. 20, and released on $3 mil bail; he was formally charged DCE. 18. Jackson rejected the charge as unfounded. DECEMBER 2003 NATIONAL Bush Lifts Tarries on Steel Imports- Pres. George. W. Bush reversed one of his state policies DCE. When he lifted tarries on sport imported steel, effective DCE. 5. His administration had imposed the tarries in March 2002, and they were scheduled to be in effect for 3 years. However, the World Trade Organization Novo. 10 had upheld an earlier ruling declarin g the tariffs illegal, and the European Union and a number f countries had threatened to retaliate against them. South Dakota Congressman Resigns After Conviction- Rep. William Jackson (RED), a former governor of the state, was convicted DCE. 8 of 2nd-degree manslaughter and other charges, and announced he would resign from Congress in January.In August, Sandlots car had struck and killed a motorcyclist. Gore Endorses Dean for democratic nomination – Former Vice Pres. AH Gore DCE. 9 endorsed Howard Dean for a Democratic presidential nomination. Gore, the party's presidential nominee in 2000, passed over another candidate, Seen . Joe Lieberman (CT), his 2000 running mate, and was redirected by some specially for having failed to notify Lieberman of his decision before it was made public. In DCE. 9 speeches in New York and Iowa, Gore praised Dean for being the only leading Democratic contender who had consistently opposed the Iraq war.The 9 Democrats seeking the nomination deba ted that day in Durham, NH. On DCE. 14, Lieberman remarked, â€Å"If Howard Dean had his way, Sad Hussein would be in power today, not in prison. † On DCE. 15, Dean asserted,†The capture of Sad Hussein has not made America safer. † On DCE. 23, consumer advocate Ralph Ender, the Green Party presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000, said e would not seek the party's nomination for 2004. Democrats elected in San Francisco, Houston- In a nonpartisan election, businessman Gavin Newswomen, a Democrat, won a runoff election for mayor of San Francisco DCE. , defeating Green Party member Matt Gonzalez, 53% to 47%; this was the best showing yet by a green in a U. S. Biscuit mayoral election. Newswomen was to succeed outgoing Mayor Wily Democrat and a former U. S. Deputy energy secretary, won with 62% of the vote, defeating Cuban-born Ronald Sanchez, a Republican. Supreme Court Upholds Campaign Finance Law- A 5-4 majority on the U. S. Supreme Court, DCE. 10, upheld the 2002 cam paign-finance law as a constitutional approach to combating spending abuses in a political process.The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act had been challenged on first-amendment grounds by a number of desperate organizations; they objected to the ban on unlimited â€Å"soft money' contributions to the political parties and to a ban on certain advertising Just prior to elections. California Governor Declares Fiscal Crisis- Gob. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R,CA) DCE. 18 declared that his state was in a fiscal crisis. This proclamation would allow him, he said, to cut pending by $1 50 mil without having to get the legislature's approval.Californians bond ratings had been reduced to near Junk-bond levels, and a state deficit of $15 bill was projected for 2004. Terror alert in U. S. Is Raised to ‘High'- Tom Ridge, secretary of homeland security, announced DCE. 21 that the U. S. Antiterrorism alert status was being raised to â€Å"high† (orange) from â€Å"elevated† (yello w). Ridge said that the danger of a terrorist attack was â€Å"perhaps greater now than at any point since Swept. 11, 2001 . † He cited unspecific new intelligence information that suggested plans to strike during the holiday season. On DCE. 24, Air France, responding Tao U.S. Request, canceled 6 flights between Paris and Los Angles; U. S. Officials reportedly suspected that the passengers on the flights could have links to terrorism. On the same day the FBI circulated a warning to law enforcement organizations to be on the watch for almanacs, since they could be used by terrorist â€Å"to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning. † Some media reports noted the warning humorously, since these general reference works, official the largest * selling is The World Almanac and Book of Facts, are read by millions of people each year. On DCE. 9, the Department of Homeland Security announced a Rule requiring armed air marshals on certain foreign carriers' flig hts entering U. S airspace that intelligence suggested were at special risk of terrorist attack. When a British Airways plane landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC, DCE. 31, authorities held the passengers, interviewing some, and rescanned the luggage. U. S. Bans Use of Weight Reduction Pill- the Bush administration DCE. 30 said it would prohibit use of Phaedra, a herbal supplement used by millions of Americans to lose weight or to improve athletic performance.Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and Human services, said the supplement â€Å"was too risky to be used. † Phaedra had been linked to heart attacks, stokes, and sudden deaths. In February 2003, Steve Bechtel, a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, died after taking Phaedra tablets, and a medical examiner said that the supplement was a factor in his death. Special Council to Investigate Leak of Agent's Name- Tatty. Gene. John Ashcroft DCE. 30 removed himself from any role in the investigation int o the leaking of a CIA name Tao journalist.At issue was whether anyone in the Bush administration had violated the awe by revealing the name of the agent, Valerie Blame, to columnist Robert Novak, who published her name in July. The Justice dept. Said DCE. 30 that a special council would head the investigation. Blame was the wife of Joseph Wilson, a former U. S. Ambassador who had publicly cast doubt on an administration assertion of nuclear for 3 years in a row, investors had much to cheer about DCE. 31, as major stock indexes showed large gains for 2003. The DOD Jones industries average has risen 25%to 10,453. 92.A broader measure, Standard and Poor's 500-stock index, posted a 26%gain, moving up to 1. 92. The tech-Agave NASDAQ index advanced 50%, to 2003. 37. Averages were still below their all-time highs of the late sass, however.. Forces Strike Back in Iraq- U. S. Forces continued the tactic of launching massive raids targeting insurgents resisting the occupation. On DCE. 2, 1,0 00 troops raided Hajji, west of Kirk, in an effort to capture an aide to former Pres. Sad Hussein. Ata meeting in Iraq DCE. 6 with U. S. Sec. OF Defense Donald Remorseful, Lit. Gene. Richard Sanchez said that attacks on U. S. Ores were running below 20 a day, half the rate of a few weeks earlier. Remorseful Visits Afghanistan- Amid reports of a growing number of attacks on u. S forces in Afghanistan

Taxation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Taxation - Assignment Example But at the same time you must keep in mind that starting out in self-employment poses many difficulties and you would have to work very hard with no guarantee of a regular income. But first of all you must assess for yourself if you are suitable for self-employment which requires total self commitment, ability to work long business hours which in turn requires physical and mental strength and, last but not the least, complete support from your family. Then you have to do market research to identify the opportunities available in your selected field. Since you are currently employed with a computer software company it is obvious you have the technical skills, but do you have the business skills to run your business. If you lack these skills you shall have to learn them fast from the information that I am about to provide you and from other sources. When you start out on your own in business you can do so as a sole trader, in partnership or by setting up a limited company. You have indicated that you wish to start your business as a sole trader, which means, you intend to set up your business on your own. Starting out as a sole trader is relatively easy and straightforward but if your business fails your liability is unlimited or in other words all your assets will be legally available and can be used to pay your creditors. If you intend to start your business from your home you are likely to be requiring Planning Permission. In case you are going to use one or two rooms in your home you would need to apply for a partial change of use from domestic to commercial purpose. In case you intend constructing a shed or additional room for your business you may require planning permission for which you shall have to contact your local authorities. Market research is very important before you set up your business in your chosen field but let me caution you that no amount of research will guarantee you success. However, your market

Working women more likely to seek divorce Research Paper

Working women more likely to seek divorce - Research Paper Example me than their husbands will be less tolerant to low-quality marriage and, therefore, the divorce rates in this section of the society would be higher. Various possible reasons for divorce like age, employment status, education level, wage and salary have been taken into consideration for the purpose of the study. Since the dependent variable in the study is dichotomous, probit regression has been used. The odds ratio has been calculated and analyzed for each of the stated variables. Since time immemorial, the man of the house has been considered as the bread earner for the family while the woman has been assigned the task of managing the household chores. However, over the years there has been a definite rise in the number of women constituting the country’s labor force. There are two schools of thought women’s participation in the workforce. While one view, backed by empirical studies, suggests that this increased participation of women in workforce has led to increase in divorce rates, the other school of thought opines that there is no material impact on divorce rates by such participation. People who subscribe to the latter view contend that women adjust their working hours and balance their personal and professional lives to avoid incidence of divorce. The study aims to check if working women who have an income equivalent or more than their husbands’ tend to become so broadminded that they shun a low-quality marriage. Thus, the divorce rates in this section would be higher. There is empirical evidence that suggests that once a woman leaves the threshold of the house and ventures out to work, it reduces the efficiency on the household front. At the same time, her employment bestows on her financial independence (Becker 1981). This study established that if the woman felt that the time spent by her at home was practically of no value, she would go in for a job. Becker, in his study, compared the age and wage rate profiles of men and women and carried

Organised Crime in Films 'City Of God' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Organised Crime in Films 'City Of God' - Essay Example ThÐ µ moviÐ µ shows how thÐ µ rÐ µlativÐ µ frÐ µquÐ µncy of juvÐ µnilÐ µ gun usÐ µ and possÐ µssion, whÐ µn combinÐ µd with thÐ µ abovÐ µmÐ µntionÐ µd situations, complicatÐ µs thÐ µ futurÐ µ furthÐ µr, and all of thÐ µsÐ µ situations togÐ µthÐ µr form organizÐ µd crimÐ µ as a sort of culturÐ µ of dÐ µlinquÐ µncy that prÐ µsÐ µnts a dangÐ µr for thosÐ µ juvÐ µnilÐ µs who do not havÐ µ morÐ µ fulfilling ways with which to occupy thÐ µir timÐ µ. So many pÐ µoplÐ µ comÐ µ to thÐ µ wrong conclusions about juvÐ µnilÐ µs and automatically assumÐ µ that thÐ µy don’t want to do productivÐ µ activitiÐ µs such as sports and clubs, but would rathÐ µr join a gang. This may bÐ µ wrong in thÐ µ long run, bÐ µcausÐ µ of problÐ µms of accÐ µss to thÐ µsÐ µ morÐ µ productivÐ µ activitiÐ µs in somÐ µ arÐ µas. Making thÐ µsÐ µ activitiÐ µs and organizations availablÐ µ to a widÐ µr rangÐ µ of studÐ µnts could producÐ µ signi ficant bulwarks against thÐ µ downward spiral into thÐ µ abovÐ µmÐ µntionÐ µd pattÐ µrns of dÐ µstructivÐ µ bÐ µhavior, chiÐ µf among thÐ µm bÐ µing gang violÐ µncÐ µ. This typÐ µ of â€Å"violÐ µncÐ µ oftÐ µn rÐ µsults from a complÐ µx intÐ µraction of Ð µnvironmÐ µntal, social, and psychological factors such as thÐ µ lÐ µarnÐ µd bÐ µhavior of rÐ µsponding to conflict with violÐ µncÐ µ, thÐ µ Ð µffÐ µcts of drugs or alcohol, thÐ µ prÐ µsÐ µncÐ µ of wÐ µapons, thÐ µ absÐ µncÐ µ of positivÐ µ family rÐ µlationships and adult supÐ µrvision† (PosnÐ µr, 1998). Many juvÐ µnilÐ µs who do not havÐ µ positivÐ µ family rÐ µlationships and structurÐ µd timÐ µ undÐ µr supÐ µrvision during thÐ µir hours away from school may sÐ µÃ µ that by pursuing positivÐ µ Ð µxtracurricular activitiÐ µs that accÐ µntuatÐ µ thÐ µir futurÐ µs rathÐ µr than throwing thÐ µir futurÐ µs away by indulging in pattÐ µrns of organizÐ µd crimÐ µ mÐ µmbÐ µrship such as gangs, violÐ µncÐ µ, and drugs, thÐ µy may put thÐ µmsÐ µlvÐ µs into a situation in which thÐ µsÐ µ positivÐ µ rÐ µlationships supÐ µrvision arÐ µ sÐ µÃ µn as positivÐ µ and prÐ µsÐ µnt and productivÐ µ in thÐ µir

How do African American Women with Hypertension verbalize their Article

How do African American Women with Hypertension verbalize their understanding to their condition - Article Example In evidence based medicine (EBM) recommends that clinical questions should be formulated in terms of problem or population, intervention, comparison and outcome (PICO). PICO questions are important in conducting search regarding a hypothesis that is relevant to the researcher’s practice (Huang, Lin, Demner-Fushman, 2006). It describes a process that is useful in making a suitable research question. In designing a research question, one must hypothesize how the topic affects the search for relevant information. A researcher should be able to think of a wider context of the topic and do explore preliminarily to find out relevant scientific aspects. The topic can then be narrowed to a specific group or condition which is a population such as a study based study on African Americans. Narrowing the search is strategically done by understanding the causal efficacy of a clinical intervention. In research question development, the researcher should ask a good question and choose the r ight study design (Bragge, 2010). First, the problem was identified among African American women with hy. These were the chief attributes used in the search. The other aspect is how they verbalize their understanding to the condition. This is also important since the researcher aims to find the relationship between chronically elevated blood pressure and their verbal expression of their understanding to their condition. It is important since it can help medical practitioners help the patients manage their condition. This study was aimed to develop a research question using PICO so as to perform a database search for relevant literature. In developing a good question, the second step is intervention where one needs to identify what they plan to do for the patient. In order to manage the condition among hypertensive African Americans, the best intervention is to determine how they understand their condition

John Maynard Keynes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

John Maynard Keynes - Essay Example If the existing aggregate expenditure level is not adequate to acquire the whole supplied real GDP, output will be reduced until real GDP level is equivalent to the aggregate expenditure level (Morton 2003). Thus, according to Tucker (2008), if the existing aggregate expenditure level is not adequate to acquire real GDP’s normal level, then the real GDP’s equilibrium level will fall at some point below the normal level. If the falling of prices is prevented, then to prevent too much inventory accumulations supplies should cut back the supplied quantity, even though they would be eager to provide bigger volumes at the existing market prices (Morton 2003). This scenario is a case of equilibrium merely in the quite narrow logic that the ‘quantity actually supplied of final goods and services is equal to the quantity demanded’ (Truett & Truett 1998, 71). The multiplier theory determines an exact correlation between the rate of investment and aggregate income, g iven the slight tendency to consume (Morton 2003). Keynes coined the term ‘investment multiplier’ to refer to that internal factor innate in the economic system which transmits, incorporates, and absorbs an outside ‘shock’ (Truett & Truett 1998, 72).

Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in Service Industries Case Study

Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in Service Industries - Case Study Example Most of the companies always have the door to door service after purchasing a product from their organization. This is always a relief of the transportation issue as some commodities are always bulky and difficult to transport. The online shopping is always time convenient and a customer can get a good or service at any time he or she orders as the organizations always operate in 24 hours (Anderson & Young, 2001). Another important factor that consumers always like in the e-commerce organizations or rather the online shopping is due to the fact that there are always a variety of commodities and services at different prices thus every customer will always get an opportunity of selecting what he or she desires at a price affordable to the consumer. The BlueFly incorporation is one of the top online businesses in the United States of America. It is known for its great sales of designer shoes and accessories for both men and women within the United State and internationally (Innes & Mitchell, 2010). It is widely known for its best services thus it always sells greatly across all nations. The Company experiences high sales since it offers its customers with a perfect and superior shopping experience by providing value and a high level of customer service that creates loyalty in the customers. The BlueFly incorporation is always using one of the modern technologies available thus it has developed electronic commerce innovations such as personalization of shopping services and the browse and search features are easy to use making even the illiterate customers able to use. Doing shopping at the BlueFly incorporation is always absolutely fast and safe as there are systems of simple procedures, the credit transactions are very secure plus a convenient communication of customers through their e-mail addresses and the shipping of bulky goods is also done directly without any inconveniences

Qwest International Communications Research Proposal

Qwest International Communications - Research Proposal Example Qwest International Company is a public telecommunications company that provides services such as wireless services, video and internet services as well as short and long distance communications to both individual and wholesale consumers. It has achieved its objective in conjunction with other players such as Verizon wireless and Direct Television. The company is also involved in sub letting of properties such as warehouses and offices. Its headquarter are located in Denver, Colorado but operations are well spread out to over fourteen states in the United States some of which are South Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming, Minnesota, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Mexico, Nebraska, Utatah and Montana. The company is headed by a Chief Executive Officer by name Edward Mueller who also serves as the chairman to the Board of Directors of the company, and under him are over 38,000 employees. These employees are involved in provision of services that are world class in nature. Qwest International Company has been listed in the stock exchange and with a symbol of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): Q and revenue of over $13.8 billion in the financial year 2007 (Handley 264). Qwest Communications International specializes in ... Chapter 2 Qwest International Company. Vision To be the company of choice that provides telecommunication services that include teleconferencing facilities, both post and pre-paid calling cards, provision of fiber optic networks and long distance telecommunication facilities to their customers. Mission The company's mission has been to ensure that employees' strengths are utilized as a means of ensuring future success of the company's business activities. Background Qwest International Company is a public telecommunications company that provides services such as wireless services, video and internet services as well as short and long distance communications to both individual and wholesale consumers. It has achieved its objective in conjunction with other players such as Verizon wireless and Direct Television. The company is also involved in sub letting of properties such as warehouses and offices. Its headquarter are located in Denver, Colorado but operations are well spread out to over fourteen states in the United States some of which are South Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming, Minnesota, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Mexico, Nebraska, Utatah and Montana. The company is headed by a Chief Executive Officer by name Edward Mueller who also serves as the chairman to the Board of Directors of the company, and under him are over 38,000 employees. These employees are involved in provision of services that are world class in nature. Qwest International Company has been listed in the stock exchange and with a symbol of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): Q and revenue of over $13.8 billion in the financial year 2007 (Handley 264). Literature review Products & services Qwest Communications International specializes in three major areas of service provision the

Clinton’s Captivating DNC Speech Essay Example for Free

Clinton’s Captivating DNC Speech Essay On September 5th 2012, former president Bill Clinton stepped on stage to address citizens at the Democratic National Convention and countless other Americans watching from home. Clinton’s speech took place prior to the Republican National Convention, and responds to many of the misleading claims that were made there. Clinton’s clear goal and objective is to inform and educate the American voters as to why he believes Barak Obama should be re-elected as opposed to Governor Romney. In doing this he not only gives the facts, but cements his ethos by referencing his own presidency and letting his record speak for itself on issues such as; jobs, the economy, healthcare, and even the constant bickering between parties. Clinton instantly dives in by pointing out the major flaw in politics: the fighting between parties. â€Å"Through my foundation, in America and around the world, I work with Democrats, Republicans and Independents who are focused on solving problems and seizing opportunities, not fighting with each other.† (Clinton 1) â€Å"Though I often disagree with Republicans, I never learned to hate them the way the far right that now controls their party seems to hate President Obama and the Democrats.† (Clinton 2) What Clinton does in this passage is put the constant fighting between parties in perspective. He has worked with Republicans before and after his presidency and gives credibility to the idea the compromising is possible. I think that in talking about how his foundation’s focus is â€Å"on solving problems and seizing opportunities, his is connecting to the everyday, average American who is tired of corruption and lack work being done by both sides. To further this argument he throws out a quote made by Reagan and even gets an applause for Bush by stating, â€Å"I worked with President George Hw.W. Bush on national education goals and am grateful to President George W. Bush for his efforts and work with PEPFAR† which is an organization that saves millions of lives in poor countries.† (Clinton 2) By referencing his republican predecessors he not only shows goodwill, but that he and other Democrats are willing to do something the Republicans aren’t; compromise. Before even speaking a word I held this man to great admiration and respect. The opinions that I already had of Clinton were based on the fact that I was a 90’s baby and grew up during his presidency. The economy was booming and both my parents had steady, good paying jobs like many other American’s. Its these economic times that produced four surplus budgets to which the former president references by saying, â€Å"People ask me all the time how we delivered four surplus budgets. What new ideas did we bring? I always give a one work answer: arithmetic.† (Clinton 6) This leads to the thought that it could happen again if only republicans would do the math. This insinuation also invokes many questions regarding the republican’s validity. Can their word be held truthful? In today’s politics it’s getting harder to tell. Taking this into account, Clinton does an excellent job as painting himself as the â€Å"truth teller†, and uses hints of logos to even further his ethos by using data and statistics. Clinton’s strongest and most powerful moment comes when he delivers a moment of silence to get people to listen and to signify that something important was about to be said, and there was. â€Å"I experienced the same thing in 1994 and early 1995. Our policies were working and the economy was growing but most people didn’t feel it yet. By 1996, the economy was roaring, halfway through the longest peacetime expansion in American history. President Obama started with a much weaker economy then I did when I came into office. No president- no me or any of my predecessors could have repaired all the damage in just four years. But conditions are improving and if you’ll renew the president’s contract you will feel it.† (Clinton 3) I believe that this statement alone helps persuade people in favor of Obama and gives really great insight to voters of the severity of the job he inherited due to the short comings of The Bush administration and republican policy. Clinton faced the difficult task of going before the American people and addressing one by one all the claims made against Barak Obama at the Republican National Convention. To wind down his speech he uses the typical presidential line â€Å"my fellow Americans you have to decide what kind of country you want to live in. If you want a you’re on your own, winner take all society you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibilities- a â€Å"we’re all in it together† society, you should vote for Barak Obama and Joe Biden.† (Clinton 6) He uses the term â€Å" my fellow Americans† to place himself as one of the people and not above them. This shows one of the many reasons why he is so relatable to the average person. There is no doubt that the role of president is the most powerful position that one person can hold, but with that title comes a great amount of responsibility and at times a certain kind of loneliness that nobody could possibly understand. In saying this I don’t think there could have been anyone better to argue Obama’s case then someone who has held the position and someone who is probably the most popular president of our time. While many may still be on the fence on who they should vote for, but my opinion is that if he is good enough for Bill Clinton then he is good enough for me. Clinton, Bill. â€Å"Democratic Nation Convention Speech†, ABC News: ABC news corp., September 5, 2012. Web.

Overseas Students Participate in Cultural Activities Essay Example for Free

Overseas Students Participate in Cultural Activities Essay Cultural activities are activities where people spend their leisure time attending cultural venues and events. For example, cultural activities include going to art galleries, museums, libraries, operas, concerts and the cinema. People want to get feelings of well-being and gain more knowledge by participating in cultural activities. Participation in cultural activities influences the development of students in many aspects, such as for entertainment and knowledge. The involvement of students in cultural activities can help them develop a well-rounded education. For overseas students in Australia, participating in native cultural activities can also help them reduce culture shock and provide a better way for students to understand more information concerning the history, customs and beliefs in Australia. In a survey concerned with participation in cultural activities among Australian people, it was found that about 85% of the Australian people who aged over 15 years old participated in at least one of cultural activity during the 12 months in 2005-06 (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (ABS) (2007). Going to the cinema was the most popular activity which had the highest percentages at 65% of people. Going to zoological parks and aquariums were the two second most common activities, at 36%; libraries and botanic gardens were at 34% (ABS, 2007). In addition, the same study found that people with higher educational background had considerably higher attendance rates than people with lower educational attainment at art galleries, museums, zoological parks and aquariums, libraries, popular music concerts, other performing arts and the cinema. Moreover, in previous research, it was found that about 25% of respondents went to the library over 20 times during the year. (ABS, 2007). However, little research has been done to compare differences in participation in cultural activities between overseas students in Australia and Australian people. The aim of this research is to find out whether overseas students’ cultural activity behaviors were similar to Australians. Methodology This research was carried out in Navitas English language school on 10th December 2010, and was concerned about the participation in cultural activities of overseas students. Data were collected through questionnaires in the school. The participants consisted of 50 overseas students (25 males and 25 females), who were aged between 18-24 and 25-34, just one person was over 35. The majority of the sample were Chinese; other subjects were from Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, and Japan. The questionnaire, which was administered informally and contained 8 questions, was made up of three sections: demographic information, the type and the frequency of cultural activities. Specifically, 4 questions were developed to record general information; one question was about which cultural activities students participated in; the other 3 items asked about how often students participated in cultural activities per year, involving all cultural activities, going to the library and cinema. The survey was conducted by several groups; each group consisted of 2-3 students. These groups respectively entered different classes to collect data using questionnaires. After collecting this, the data was shared by all groups. Data from questionnaires were then collated and converted to percentages. The results were compared according to gender, education and frequency in graphs.

Ports Of Coromandel Coast History Essay

Ports Of Coromandel Coast History Essay When we talk about the term Coromandel, we see that it is generally believed to have hand and very early historical past and the term Coromandel, widely held to be derived from the classical Tamil regional name Colamandalam, when applied to the eastern coast of India has come to embrace a wider geographic area than that for which it was originally used. The visitor of the 19th century would be struck by the description given to Coromandel by the 17th-century writers. What exactly distinguishes both these sets of observations is that the 17th-century idea of Coromandel is too vast and wide than that of the 19th century and secondly it divides the Coromandel into two neat parts with the Godavari river as the dividing point. For contemporary visitors of the seventeenth century to the area, the Coromandel Coast was the wide expanse of Indias eastern coast from point Calimere, where the coastline takes a sharp northerly drift, to near the 200 N latitude or the port of Ganjam. It was divid ed into two parts, the north and the south, with the Godavari point being the dividing the between the two. In later times the Coromandel Coast proper was held to be to the south of this Godavari point and the north was known as the Gingelly coast or Golconda coast. By the seventeenth century usage, the term embraced the coastlines of the modern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (Telugu Desam) and the southern tip of Orissa  [1]  . Contemporary visitors to the area looked upon the entire coast as forming one trading region, with common patterns of trade, common characteristics of seafaring and a broadly similar hinterland. The extent to which they were justified in this will become clear in the succeeding pages, where the trade of the region is considered  [2]  . This justice is the whole point that the geographical regions do not have an inherent constitution and are not defined merely by physical phenomena like rocks Rivers, mountains and many other such naturally occur ring features. On the contrary, the human interaction with the region produces the region and thus we see that during the pre-modern period the Coromandel was region whose prime importance to outsiders was trade, whereas in the centuries preceding the mediaeval period no such large-scale trading activity was found. Therefore the constitution of the region of Coromandel by the Europeans was based on trade that took place during the height period of capitalism in Europe. Another striking feature of the Coromandel cost and in general the western coast of India was the absence of natural harbours and also naturally occurring features conducive for shipping. This is one of the reasons that for trade to take place in the Western coastline of India was easy though the continental shelf was very deep. In the eastern coast, the low continental shelf and lack of deep harbours hindered the moment of big vessels from the reverse to the ocean. In the whole Coromandel coast, there were only very few points that are very favourable for shipping and it is only logical that, these points have become the major ports. A brief description of the ports would help us in understanding the nature of the moment of vessels and consequently the trade patterns. The western shores of the Bay of Bengal were generally inhospitable for shipping. There were no naturally endowed havens on the coast comparable to the Trincomalee Bay in eastern Ceylon. Kakinada, the place that came n earest to such a natural harbour, did not have other favourable characteristics as a trade outlet and was not one of the major ports of the area in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Most of the ports of outlet were either exposed to the full force of the elements of the ocean or were sheltered behind mouths of rivers and creeks with problems of entry and exit created by shifting channels and sand bars. The coastline was generally flat and sandy with the exception of its northernmost parts, where it is somewhat undulating and less sandy. There were no soundings to help incoming ships outside half a degree from the coastline, a situation that contrasts with the eastern shores of the Bay of Bengal which had soundings 4 degrees from the coast. The northernmost port of Coromandel with some significance in coastal and oceanic trade in our period is Ganjam, situated at latitude. 190 22 N, longitude 850 3, at the mouth of river Rushikulya. It is better known in the records in the eighteenth century than it is in the seventeenth, but this may be because of increasing European interest in it. Ganjam was typical of the river mouth ports of Coromandel, with shifting sand banks and narrow channels. The banks were of sufficient depth to allow country vessels through and the river was navigable for some distance inland, being of considerable size. The surf was heavy and large vessels anchored on the roadstead. They were reached by the many local boats that operated from the river. The port derived its strength from the fertile Rushikulya valley, from where and from neighbouring Orissa rice was transported there for export. It was an important port in the coastal trade southwards to Madras, Paleacat and other places where rice was in demand. In the eighteenth century, as the south became an area deficit in food grains, Ganjam became the starting point of a provisions lifeline to these places. Ganjam was also proximate to textile producing centres. There is no evidence that it was prominent in the oceanic trade in our period, but appears rather to have been a feeder port to some of the neighbouring export centres of Golconda.  [3]   About twelve miles south of Ganjam is the port of Gopalpur, a port not of any great significance in our period, though it grew in importance in the nineteenth century. It does not find a mention in the contemporary travellers accounts, nor does it feature in the trade of the companies. In the nineteenth century it seems to have been looked upon as the principal port of the Ganjam district and to have become prominent in the export trade in rice, probably drawing trade away from Ganjam port. About twelve miles south of Gopalpur is the port of Sonapur, about which little is known, though there are enough hints of its undoubted commercial activities. There was a tradition related by merchants of Sonapur late in the eighteenth century that, because of a caste disputes among merchants at Ganjam, komatties decided to leave that port and settle in Sonapur. The shift seems also to have been caused by the need to escape oppressive taxation at Ganjam. Near it inland was the important market to wn of Berhampur. It appears that there were some major suppliers of textiles among these merchants, from which it could be inferred that the port was a fedder of export piece goods to other larger ports in the area  [4]  . The next port in the south of any significance was Kalingapatnam at the entrance to the Vamsadhara river, known to contemporaries as the Kalingapatnam river. It was an open roadstead, protected on the south by a sandy point and some rocks, and provided safe anchorage. It is referred to occasionally in contemporary records, but little is known of its trade except that it drew on the rich rice growing and textile producing hinterland. About fourteen miles south of Kalingapatnam, on the Langulya river, is the town of Srikakulam known among the contemporary Europeans as Chicacole. It was situated about four miles upstream on its northern bank. Its port of outlet was Mufaz Bandar at the mouth of the river. Srikakulam was a district administrative capital under the Golconda kingdom and later under the Mughal empire. It was an important market for the supply of textiles from several weaving villages all around. Over time, however, the entrance to the river Langulya got choked and the port w as not functional any more. There is evidence that this was happening in our period, since much of the cloth of Srikakulam was being transported by land northwards to Kalingapatnam or southwards to Bimilipatnam. A prosperous hinterland based on a surplus of rice cultivation and craft production with the primary emphasis on textiles mark to some of the ports like Kalinga Putnam. The rich land was very conducive for rice cultivation and the prosperity of this agricultural base led to diversification into production of cotton and textile production. With the increase of time, many of the weavers who worked part-time due to the uncertain nature of demand became full-time weavers and and did not participate in agriculture. This shift in patterns of production was mainly due to the development of the port over the centuries. Bimilipatnam, situated on latitude 170 53 N, longitude 830 27 E, was an important trading port in our period. It was more important than the major modern port of Visakhapatnam, which lies about fifteen miles to its south. The coastline between Bimilipatnam and Kalingapatnam is dangerous and inhospitable, with a submerged ledge of rocks within six miles of the shore. Nor did the hinterland provide opportunities for trade. Bimilipatnam, port, though an open roadstead was reasonably well protected by headlands and provided safe anchorage in both south-west and north-east monsoons, being thus one of the well weather ports of this coast. It was therefore the resort of a large native shipping fleet, both the small coasting vessels and the large ships that sailed to Bengal and across the Bay of South East Asia. It was above all the chief rice exporting port of this coast, the main supplier by sea to South Coromandel, Ceylon and the Malabar Coast. The Dutch physician, Daniel Havart, who live d for many years in Paleacat, called it a rice bowl for Ceylon and other ports. The large East Indiamen of the European Companies would resort here to pick up food supplies before sailing on long journeys. Dutch ships sailing from Masulipatnam to Malacca and Batavia called here on the way to stock up rice, meat and other foodstuffs for the journey. It was also a port for the export of textiles to South East Asia  [5]  . Among the small ports listed on the eastern coast was Visakhapatnam as it was only rudimentary stages of development, though it had very good natural harbour that was only waiting to be developed. To the south of Bililipatnam was Visakhapatnam, which as noted above, had not yet achieved its subsequent importance. Situated on latitude 170 42 N, longitude 830 17 E, it was recognized as a port with natural advantages. It lay on a river which was barred at the entrance but, with eight to ten feet at the shallowest, was capable of admitting boats and ships of some size. There were a number of recognizable landmarks in approaching this port. While considerable interest has been paid to trade, not much focus has been levied on shipbuilding and by extension the repairs of ships in the eastern coast of India, whereas the western coast traditionally hand been engaged in shipbuilding activities to cater to the Arabian African demand. It is in this respect that we see the race of Visakhapatnam a s a new port endowed with facility for both trade and shipbuilding. The convenience of the river le to the construction here of some dockyards, even in our period, for repairing ships, though the port was not yet the major centre of ship building on the coast. These facilities attracted European shipping increasingly to this port in the eighteenth century, when it began to grow in importance. Proceeding southwards from Visakhapatnam, the next point of interest on the coast is Coringa Bay and a number of points in it within close proximity to each other: Coringa, Kakinada, Ingeram, Bandarmalanka, Yanam, and Jagannathpuram. There is evidence of all these ports being in the use in varying degrees at various times. Yanam, Ingeram and Jagannathpuram are on branches of the Godavari river in its delta area and were approachable in small boats and country vessels which good brought goods through to ships anchored in the Bay. At the bar of these rivers the water was shallow and no vessels of any substantial size could get through. These ports do not feature prominently in the seventeenth century, though it is possible they were mainly places of indigenous trade. In the eighteenth century they were frequented by Europeans looking for supplies of textiles in the region. The English shipped goods from Ingeram, the French from Yanam and the Dutch from Jagannathpuram. The Dutch were qu ite enthusiastic about Jagannathpuram later in the eighteenth century, referring to it as a good port and convenient place to ships goods. In fact by the end of the eighteenth century, when Dutch fortunes on the Coromandel Coast had sunk low in the face of English expansion, this was one of two places they were keen to retain for their trade  [6]  . The rise of Jagannathpuram is an instance of the constant dynamism in the status and activities of ports along the coast caused by a variety of internal and external factors. To the south of this cluster of ports of the Godavari delta, on the west branch of this river, the Vasishta Godavari, also called Narsapore river, is the town of Narsapore with its port and docks. On the bar of this river was eight to nine feet of water at low tide, and inside the river, in the passage to the town, was three to five fathoms of water. The town is about six miles from the river mouth and could be entered by every type of vessel that was then in use. Adjoining Narsapore is the town of Madapollam, almost a suburb of Narsapore. Both these places, especially Nasarpore, were ship building centres, with excellently appointed dockyards for building, sheathing and caulking ships. Ships were built here for the Golconda royal merchant fleet, for native merchants and even for the companies and European free merchants. Bowery refers to a ship built in his time in Narsapore for the king of Golconda of 1000 tuns. European ships made use of these facilities in the seventeenth and ear ly eighteenth centuries and had vessels for their Asian trade built here. Ship building timber was shipped down river from the upper reaches of the Godavari river. The iron and steel foundries of the upper Godavari provided the raw materials for nails, couplings and anchors. Ropers and cordage were made there from coir imported from Ceylon, Malabar and the Maldives. The English and Dutch set up their own dockyards, employing their own personnel after some years . The Dutch, in particular, set about it with their customary thoroughness, bringing master carpenters, shipwrights and iron founders from the Netherlands and employing a large Indian skilled and unskilled labour force  [7]  . All the places did not develop based only on purely commercial considerations like trade, as we see that there are also many other considerations like good weather and fresh and clean air that captivated the British. This is more important for them when they needed to take a rest from places nearby. The two places were therefore not so significant as ports of trade, though there was some export of textiles from the neighbouring weaving villages, as for their ship building and repairing docks. They also had a reputation among Europeans for their clear fresh air, and company servants living in Masulipatnam (which was notoriously unhealthy) used to treat them as health resorts and have country residences there to which they would often retire. By the beginning of the eighteenth century the decline of these two river ports as centres of commerce and ship building had started. Madapollam was abandoned earlier because of the encroachment of the Godavari. The decline of Narsapore was more gradual, partly caused by the disturbed hinterland in which the raw materials for ship building were derived and partly by the rise of European controlled ports where dockyards and repair facilities were established. Masulipatna, situated on latitude 160 9 N, longitude 810 10 E, was the port with the great publicity on the Coromandel coast in the seventeenth country, largely because of its high visibility to those who have left behind contemporary records, though Orme refers to a tradition that this town was founded by a colony of Arabs in the 14th century.  [8]  Fernandez Naverett who visited Masulipatam in 1670, describes it as a populous place of great trade, and John Fryer estimates the population of Masulipatam at the close of the 17th century at two lakhs.  [9]  Besides natives it was also attracted a large numbers of foreign traders from different parts of the world. The city developed separate localities of different ethnic groups such as the French Peta, the English Palem and Holland Palem. By the end of the 17th century the port and city of Masulipatam had developed considerably on account of their flourishing textile industries and growing inland maritime trade.  [10]  The port had links with the ocean trade of Gujrat and the Persian Gulf and also with the South-East Asian countries. A large number of merchants who came from different parts of Golconda were a great market for the goods imported through Masulipatam. In the constant battle between man and nature and the role of man to master nature always leads to suppresses and in the case of instance of Masulipatam we see that the destruction that took place in the aftermath of the great cyclone would however be rectified by human effort. Many ports and declined or were totally neglected. However, the enterprise of the British and the resettlement of the traders saw the revival of Masulipatam. The port city of Masulipatam continued to grow and expand till it witnessed a devasting cyclone on 13 October 1779, which destroyed and damaged a great part of the citys houses, bridges and other buildings, besides the Dutch and English settlements. In addition to the loss of human life on the shore, several ships and boats sank during this cyclone. It was estimated that in Masulipatam and in the villages in its hinterland about 20, 000 people perished. However, soon afterwards, the wealthy merchants as well as the European factors reconstructed their establishments, and the inland and overseas trade of the port city revived.  [11]   About twelve miles to the south of Masulipatnam is Point Devy, and further to the south the Krishna flows into the ocean in many branches forming a promontory, crisscrossed by streams, rivulets and flood channels. Because this promontory was cut off from the mainland for most of the year by these rivulets, it was known to contemporaries as Devy Island. It was not a suitable place for a harbour or any form of outlet of trade, but it was extremely fertile on account of the alluvial deposits of the Krishna. The land there was well cultivated as well densely wooded, abounding in wild buffaloes and game. These features made it a great attraction to the larger European Companies facing provisioning problems. The Dutch first saw the potential of this place and made several attempts to get a grant of the island, first from the ruler of Golconda and then from the Mughals. They were more than once at the point of success but the cession was not confirmed because of the lucrative revenues the l and produced to local lessees. The Dutch had grand plants to shift their trade from Masulipatnam to Devy, where they were going to construct port facilities, deepen the channel to take vessels of some size and attempt to develop inland navigation to the weaving villages. The place had the advantage of being defensible from attacks from the mainland, and would have made them independent of the hinterland power. With the decline of the port of Masulipatnam the English also had the same idea, and when Sir William Norris went on his embassy to the Mughal court in 1699 one of his requests was for a cession of Devy to the English. The concession was not given and the English sought to achieve it later in the eighteenth century, always without success. If Devy had been conceded, either to the Dutch, or to the English, there is no doubt that an effective port of outlet could have been established there, a feature that would have been consistent with the dynamics of growth and development of ports and commercial centres in Coromandel. South of Devy Point is the port and town of Petapuli, lying on the estuary of a river. It was quite a substantial place of trade and traffic, situated close to a cluster of weaving villages. From the end of the seventeenth century the port was called Nizampatnam, a name it has retained since. The port was by all accounts good by contemporary standards, the river providing entry for vessels of up to 100 tons. Streynsham Master, when he visited this area in 1766, observed several vessels of 50 to 100 tons in the river. It was a port with a considerable country trade, besides providing goods for export for the oceanic trade. It was the home of a number of wealthy Telugu Hindu merchants). South of Nizampatnam, for some considerable distance, there are no major ports. There are some minor ports such as Motupally, Cottapatnam and Ramapatnam, which were shipping piece goods in small vessels to the larger ports of the north and the south. There is a suggestion that Cottapatnam, lying on the estuary of a river, was at one time a port of some importance. There was a tradition there, that after a quarrel between balijas and komatties in an adjoining port, the komatties migrated in a body to Cottapatnam and established their trade there. Likewise an early seventieth century European account talks of Motupally as formerly a famous mart and seat of extensive trade. So there seems to have been some shifting around of trade outlets in this area. The mouth of the Gundlakamma river, lying at latitude 150 27 N, is generally held to mark the northern boundary of the Coromandel Coast proper  [12]  . On the border between the district of Ongole and Nellore, at the mouth of the Menneru, on its right bank, is a port referred to in contemporary records as Karedu. This port appears to have been of some importance in the seventieth century, being linked directly by road to the capital city of Golconda. The bar of the river was always open to let in vessels of medium size. Customs duties were considerably lower here than in Masulipatnam, and merchants were importing and exporting goods here in some quantity. It must have been a port of some importance at one time and it is possible that it was one of the ancient ports of trade in Andhra. In Masters time it had already declined to it significance. South of Cottapatnam up to Palecacat, the only ports of any description are Kistnapatnam and Arumugam, the latter known to contemporary Europeans as Armagaon. This port is located on the eastern coast in the taluk of Gudur of Andhra Pradesh. Once, itwas a flourishing port centre stated by the Chola and Telugu Chola inscriptions. The port was referred to in the inscriptions as Kollitturai alias Kanda GopalaPattinam. Probably it could be named after the Telugu Chola king ViraRajendran dated in 1256-57 A.D. this port was engaged by the foreigners of various countries (pandine} bhumisamashaparadesigal and merchants. It also records that various types of vessels and boats were anchored in this port.They were referred to in the inscriptions as kalam, tonuru, tuli, kalavam, vidavu etc. Kalam is identical with kalam (small boat) mentioned in the Tamil literature and to}Uru probably identical with Tamil Toni. It has two words Toni+ Uru which ultimately became Tonuru. Uru is also a small vesse l used both for inland and coastal navigation for boarding a ship, loading a ship and fishing in the coastal areas in addition to their use in the rivers as ferry boats. It is not clear to give the meaning of tuli, kalavam and vidavu.During Irumadi Tirukkalattudevar (1279 A.D.) time, the merchants of various countries residing in this port donatedone fourth percent on the appraised cost of all he goods exported and imported at this port. During Vijayanagara period the port was renamed as Rajavibhadan Pattinam. About thirty-five miles south of Arumugam was the port of Paleacat on latitude 130 26N, longitude 800 20 E. In common with many other ports of the region it had no natural merit as a port, though contemporaries considered it better than Madras. The coast was shallow and there was a dangerous reef offshore, which larger ships of a later period were instructed to avoid. The main port was on the southern end of an island formed by the sea, and a lagoon or backwater called Paleacat Lake. A river flowed into the sear by the side of it but the bar was not deep enough to admit vessels of more than 50 tons. The island was called Sriharikota and a spit of sand separated it from the mainland. Ships anchored about a mile from the shore and had to be loaded and unloaded in small boats of the masoola type which were beached on the shore. Paleacat was an important port of Indian shipping dating back well before the seventeenth century, featuring prominently in the trade to South East Asia. Its hin terland, Poneritaluq, had several villages engaged in handloom manufacture, and Paleacat was the port of outlet for these goods. When the Dutch secured considerable rights and privileges here, they began to dominate the trade. They erected a fort, Fort Geldria, at the point where the river flowed into the sea, and dredged some of the sandbanks to enable the use of the river and the backwaters for transport in small boats. There were villages all round the port, some of which were ceded to the Dutch. They brought all these villages into the service of the port and developed the complex, by the end of the seventeenth century, into a substantial port town. The shifting of the river estuary, the sandbanks and coastal erosion appear to have made Paleacat less functional as a port in the eighteenth century. Outside the Dutch fort was a section of the port where Indian owned ships plied their trade. But they had to submit themselves to Dutch restrictive controls and appear to have moved ou t of Paleacat to other Coromandel ports. Under the Dutch, Paleacat was drawn in to the Dutch-Asian trading system and established close shipping links with important Dutch centres of trade such as Malacca, Colombo and Batavia. In the eighteenth century, in addition to climatic factors, political and economic events led to the decline of the port. In the nineteenth century Paleacat disappeared as a trading port and was not in use even in the coastal trade  [13]  . About twenty-five miles south of Paleacat is Fort St. George or Madras (originally Chennapatanam, situated on latitude 130 5 N, longitude 800 18 E. Generally recognized as among the worst harbours of the region in terms of physical situation, it has futures that were positively dangerous to shipping. It was not a place to which local shipping had restored before the foundation of the English settlement. Its precise origins are not clear but it appears that a town had been founded there a few years prior to its cession to the English. Whatever the origins, it is clear that the place was no more than a few fishing settlements when the English arrived there. The ruler though this a means to achieve his ambition of developing a commercial centre in his dominions. This proved eminently successful, though not in the way conceived by the ruler. Madras grew as yet another port along the coast with an open roadstead. In the beginning it was primarily used by English shipping. It later attract ed indigenous Indian shipping, though Madras in our period never became the home of a large Indian merchant fleet. Four miles south of Fort St. George is the port of San Thome, built by the Portuguese as a fort and town near the older Tamil port of Mylapore. Mylapore occurs as a port of significance in the trade to South East Asia, long before the Portuguese came to San Thome. After they settled there and built the fort, the better to control the trade and derive some tribute from it. Mylapore and San Thome seem to have functioned as an extended port, inland market and manufacturing town. Mylapore had settlements of weavers producing for an export market. The port was an open roadstead, much the same as Madras, though the rivulet of Adayar and the backwaters may have provided some facility for small boat traffic. The St. Thomas Mount rising just behind the port was visible from out at sea and was a good sounding point of sailors. Despite Portuguese presence, possibly because of it, Indian shipping continued unaffected by the English settlement of Madras. Like Madras, it drew from the Chingleput h interland for its textile exports and imported goods for that market. About seventeen miles to the south of Madras was Kovalam, which appears to have been use as a port of outlet at certain times. It never really grew to any importance, despite efforts by the rulers of the hinterland to achieve this in the eighteenth century. The obvious attractions of revenue from customs due on imports and exports persuaded the regional officers of the nawab of Arcot to foster the growth of this port and to initiate the construction of a town ship called Sadat Bandar. There is evidence that shipping was attracted to the port in the first decades of the eighteenth century. The Ostend East India Company was given permission by the nawab to establish a factory there with trading concessions. The company folded up and Kovalam never developed a trade of any consequence  [14]  . South of Kovalam, past Mahabalipuram and the so called Seven Pagodas, was the port of Sadurangapatnam, lying at latitude 120 32 N, longitude 800 10 E. It was an important port of oceanic trade in the seventeenth century, known to the Europeans as Sadraspatnam or Sadras. Though without a river, there was an outstretched headland that provided some protection to ships which could lie close to the coast. The temples Mahabalipuram just seven miles to the north were a good sounding point for ships sailing into this port. The port derived its strength from a well populated hinterland, with numerous weavers villages and with good access to internal markets by road. Indian shippers carried on an import and export trade from here across the Bay of Bengal. Its importance persuaded the Dutch to take the port and neighbouring village in lease in 1705, after which native shipping seemed to have moved elsewhere. The coastline south of Sadraspatnam was in our period a busy area of trade and traffic. It was littered with a number of ports situated within a few miles of each o