Barton Corbin Case

Barton Corbin Case On Dec. 4, 2004 Jennifer Corbin was found shot once in the head in her Buford, Georgia home with a handgun beside her. Her 7-year-old son discovered her body and reportedly told police that his dad, Dr. Barton Corbin, had killed his mom. While authorities were investigating the death of Jennifer Corbin in Gwinnett County, a Richmond County grand jury on Dec. 22 indicted Barton Corbin for the 1990 death of Dorothy (Dolly) Hearn, who was Bartons girlfriend in dental school in Augusta. Hearn was found shot to death in her apartment with a gun in her lap. Latest Developments Georgia Dentist Pleads Guilty to Two Murders Previous Developments Judge Allows 1990 Evidence in Gwinnett Trial Hearing Set in Georgia Dentists CaseDec. 20, 2005Attorneys for a Georgia dentist, who is accused of killing is wife in 2004 and his girlfriend in 1990, will argue that jurors in one trial should not hear about charges his faces in another in a hearing set for Feb. 17. Attorneys for Georgia Dentist Fight Murder ChargesOct. 10, 2005Attorneys for Barton Corbin, the Georgia dentist accused of the murder of his wife in December and his former girlfriend 15 years ago, have asked that the charged be dropped in the 1990 case because they said the state waited too long to indict him for the death of Dorothy (Dolly) Hearn. Corbin Pleads Innocent in Wifes DeathJan 27, 2005Barton Corbin entered a not guilty plea in his wifes death, after waiving his right to an arraignment. Georgia Dentist Investigated in Third DeathDec. 7, 2005Dr. Barton Corbin, who has been indicted by two Georgia grand juries in the connection with the Dec. 4 death of his wife and death of his former girlfriend 14 years ago, is now being investigated in connection with the death of a Georgia woman who disappeared in 1996 and was found a year later in her vehicle at the bottom of an Alabama Lake. Barton Indicted for Wifes MurderJan. 5, 2005A Gwinnett County grand jury has indicted Georgia dentist Barton Corbin for murder in the shooting death of his wife Jennifer Corbin, who was found dead in her bedroom with a handgun by her side. Investigators Await Gunshot TestsDec. 28, 2004Prosecutors are waiting for crime lab tests in connection with the shooting death of Jennifer Corbin. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is performing gunshot residue tests on both Jennifer Corbin and her husband, dentist Barton Corbin. Corbin Indicted in Former Girlfriends DeathDec. 22, 2004The husband of a woman who was found shot in her home two weeks ago has now been indicted for the death of his former girlfriend who was found under similar suspicious circumstances 14 years ago.

101 They Say Summary Professor Ramos Blog

101 They Say Summary Break Quick Write Take 3 minutes and find a quote or important point from the article we read for today. Anything that stood out to you that you can add to our conversation? MICHAELA CULLINGTON â€Å"Does Texting Affect Writing?†Ã‚  p. 462 The Art of Summarizing Chapter 2 explains how to write an extended summary. We will be working with this today moving into beginning our essays. Careful you do not write a list summary or â€Å"closest cliche†. The book treats summary and paraphrase similarly. Keep in mind that you will also be using quotes. What argument is Cullington responding to? What other arguments are they responding to? Are they disagreeing or agreeing with the issue? Break Be back in 10. Timeline Take a piece of paper and turn it on its side. On the left put the year you were born. On the right add in today. Fill in as many different literacies that you have learned. Literacy Sponsors According to Deborah Brandt,  sponsors of literacy are â€Å"any agents, local or distant, concrete or abstract, who enable, support, teach, model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or withhold literacy- and gain advantage by it in some way.†Ã‚  Source In other words, sponsors can be anything that helps or hinders your literacy. For this class, I would like you to focus on positive sponsors. Multivocal Arguments A great way to explore an issue is to assume the voice of different stakeholders within an issue. Who are the stakeholders in the Cullington article? Assume a voice of one of the stakeholders and write for a few minutes from this perspective. We will discuss this briefly. Now we will assume a different voice on the issue. Write briefly from this perspective. Discuss. Quick Write What does assuming different voices help us with in regards to an issue? What are current issues where this approach would help us? 101 They Say Summary Kelly â€Å"Better Than Human† Quick Write Kevin Kelly argues that machines will eventually take over many jobs that we now perform. Depending on how you are looking at this scenario, this could be a good or bad thing. How do you see machines taking over our jobs? Can a machine replace your job? The Art of Summarizing Chapter 2 explains how to write an extended summary. We will be working with this today moving into beginning our essays. Careful you do not write a list summary or â€Å"closest cliche†. The book treats summary and paraphrase similarly. Keep in mind that you will also be using quotes. Kelly â€Å"Better Than Human† In small groups, find statements in the articles that explain their attitudes. Find a positive and negative statements from both the Carr (424), â€Å"Is Google Making us Stupid?† and Kelly, â€Å"Better Than Human† articles. Carr Positive Statement Negative Statement Kelly Positive Statement Negative Statement Nicholas Carr is less optimistic about the future impact of technology. Who do you find more persuasive, Carr or Kelly? Audience Who are you writing to? Why are you writing to them? Narrative Structure Focus on events in your story. What events help you to tell your story? First Event Next Event Next Event Final Event Do tell us what you went through. Show us what happened. Place us there with you. Free Write What literacy are you going to write about? What moment are you going to focus on? or Tell us about a moment in your literacy? Who was there, how did it happen, where were you? Homework Turn one of the free writes you have written into a longer shitty rough draft.

Wave Motion - Pest in the Pool Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wave Motion - Pest in the Pool - Assignment Example This natural frequency was calculated to be. Stationary waves commonly referred to as standing waves are waves that appear to be moving back and forth on the same sport i.e. they oscillate instead of making linear motion. This phenomenon can take place if two waves of equal wavelength and frequency travelling in the opposite directions superimpose on each other (Jerry, 2006). On the water, two water waves travelling in the opposite direction can be produced by sending a wave against a barrier that will block further propagation of the wave. Hence reflect the wave back in the opposite way. This reflected wave which is a counter-propagating wave is of the same amplitude, wavelength and frequency as the incident wave. Thus, these two waves will interfere both constructively and destructively (Halliday, Robert & Jearl, 2006). Standing waves being oscillations nature other than linear motion; they take on basic parameters related to oscillations such as; angular frequency and period. The angular frequency, , and period, T, are related according to the formula below; Where  is the velocity of the wave,  is the linear frequency and  is the distance between two successive crests of the incident wave (Feynman, Leighton, and Sands, 2013). The frequency of the propagating wave is the same as the frequency of the wave marker. The frequency can also be obtained from the period of one complete cycle as; Where the crest of one wave and trough of the other wave meets, they cancel out creating a node at that point. Halfway between two nodes the two waves superimpose constructively building an antinode. Antinodes are the points of maximum displacements. The distance between two nodes, L, is related to the wavelength of the wave by; By using a buoyancy board, water waves are generated and sent to the other end of the pool at same interval. The wall of the opposite side of the pool will act as a barrier and reflect the periodic wave back in the opposite

Financial Services Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Services Law - Essay Example The Securities and Investment Board (SIB) was the over-all regulator of the investment businesses in the United Kingdom under the Finance Services Act 1986. The SIB is assisted by several-self regulating organizations and recognized professional bodies. The self-regulating bodies used to be: the Securities and Futures Authority Limited (SFA); Investment Management Regulatory Organization (MRO); Financial Intermediaries, Managers, and Brokers Regulatory Association (FIMBRA); and Life Assurance Unit Trust Regulatory Organization (LAUTRO).5 Because of the many regulatory bodies involved, many rules and regulations were enacted, thus confusion in the enforcement of Old Act did arise. There was a fear on the part of the those involved in the selling of financial services and they cannot give advice to their clients the way they want because of the fear that they will contravene the regulatory code and there was a heavy fine on the part of the financial service firm in case of bad advice given to clients.6 Another negative effect may be is that there was confusion on what procedure to apply in the investigation of offences and the enforcement of appropriate actions the Old Act considering the number of regulations produced by the number of self-regulating bodies involved The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 In the year 2000, a new legislation was passed replacing the Old Act. The New Act is called the Finance Services and Markets Act 2000 (hereinto referred as the New Act or FSMA). It received Royal Assent on 14 June 2000 and was brought into force at midnight on 30 November 2001, commonly known at that time as N2. Under the FSMA, the Securities and Investment Board (SIB) and the supporting regulatory bodies under the Old Act were replaced with the Finance Services Authority (FSA) as the over-all regulator of the Act. The FSA became the super-regulator of the Act, being fully in force from 30 November 2001. Under the FSMA, the FSA has four objectives: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; the protection of the consumer; and fighting financial crimes.7 Key Changes under the FSMA The FSMA retained the fundamental principle of the Old Act8. Aside from establishing the FSA as the super-regulating body, the FSMA also introduced significant changes to UK financial services law, to include9: 1) a revised Financial Promotion Scheme; 2) powers to impose penalties for market abuse; 3) regulation, marketing and promotion of collective investment schemes; 4) recognition of investment exchanges and clearing houses; 5) delegation to the London Stock Excahnge of the relevant powers to regulated listingactivity and to approve all prospectuses; 6) establishment of a Single Ombusdman and compensation scheme, replacing thevarious schemes already in existence, to provide further protection to consumers; 7) establishment of a Financial Services and Markets Tribunal (FSMT) to hear appealsagainst decisions of the FSA. For European or International considerations, the

Childhood Obesity in the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Childhood Obesity in the US - Research Paper Example There is no agreement on the definition of childhood obesity. The Body Mass Index remains the most commonly used method to measure obesity. Other professionals also assert that a 20% higher weight of an individual of a certain height and age constitutes obesity. Others also maintain more than 25% for boys and 32% in girls (Emedicine Health, n.d). Obesity is not a problem of the under developed world. People in third world countries face the problem of malnutrition. Obesity, therefore poses health risks to the lives of people in the industrialized world. In United States alone, sixty percent of adults and fifteen percent of children come under the definition of obesity (Tessmer, Hagen, Beecher, 2006). The health hazards related to obesity create problems not only for adults, but also for children (Caprio et. al., 2008). The issue of childhood obesity remains a very challenging one. The problem of childhood obesity is of increasing prevalence. Obesity does not only affect the weight of a person, it destroys the self-esteem of a person. â€Å"Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, and depression are some of the dangerous risks of obesity† (Tessmer, Hagen, & Beecher, 2006). Different reasons are associated for this ever-increasing problem. The paper attempts to discuss those various factors. Certain factors that deserve due respect include that of cultural factors, biological factors and socioeconomic ones, as mentioned in the topic. However, these factors are not solely responsible for obesity. Specifically, parental influences and attitudes also account for an increase in youth Obesity. Many experts claim that the environment that individuals live in play an important part in determining the lifestyle of a certain person. The environment consists of culture. Sociologically, culture is a system formed by a common understanding. It also shapes the perspectives of different individuals inhibiting a certain society. With regard to obesity, different cultures have different interpretations. Some may consider obesity as a health problem, while others may not. Culture also shapes the eating and working habits of individuals (Caprio et. al., 2008). Illness and deviance form a major part of culture, therefore obesity has a strong cultural background. In some societies, obesity may come under consideration of deviance. Deviance is a divergence from certain norms and values of the society. Different ethnic groups also form different societies within a certain society, in this case the United States. Different cultural factors of various ethnic groups play a major role in a div erse society such as the US. In a country like United States, which supports different types of ethnic groups, different perspectives are most likely to occur. Culture variation therefore occurs due to migration. In addition, in the increasingly globalised world of today, culture has had a profound impact. Certain eating habits have developed because of increased international trade. Promotional food marketing has also occurred due to increased communication. Such patterns have contributed to unhealthy eating habits in the US (Caprio et. al., 2008). Values remain an important part of the culture of different societies. Although the definition of body size is generalized, different ethnic groups and populations have different perceptions about body size. Different ethnic groups reside in the US, for example, African Americans, Fijians, and sub-Saharan Africans among others. Generally, these groups prefer larger body sizes compared to Europeans. Therefore, perceptions of obesity diffe r. These perceptions have led to an increase in child obesity

Cat Food Industry In The UK

Cat Food Industry In The UK By using environmental analysis, it is possible for organizations to recognize existing opportunities and threats for companies, define strategies to best utilizing opportunities and also to minimize the bad consequences of threats (Arabi Parsaeian, 2001). And the most important, the analysis can provide a rational future prediction as a base for future strategy adjustment. The company can forecast the consumer tends in next decade and rearrange its products in order to capture the volatile market share in a long-term perspective. The remote environment has the origin of factors that influencing operating environment. In industry-level analysis, it is necessary to analyze a macro environment of a company and access its performance of competitors responding to external elements. The object of this paper is to analyze remote environment and operating environment of cat food industry at United Kingdom. Part Two will be industry definitions. The industry background will be introduced in Part three at three levels, global market, Western Europe market and UK market. Part Four will be remote environment analysis by using PEST model, followed by operating environment analysis in Part Five by using Porters Five Forces Model. 2. Industry and Product definition200 211 Wikipedia defines Pet food as plant or animal material intended for consumption by pets. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_food) Mintel defines pet food as any foods that are specifically formulated and marketed for pets, including treats (Mintel, 2009). In legislation, pet food means a feeding stuff for pet animals. To achieve the appropriate balance of nutrients pet food, manufacturers blend mixtures of ingredients including meat and fish, with vegetables, cereals, vitamins and minerals to produce foods that will satisfy the nutritional requirements of a pet(PFMA). It is typically sold in pet stores or supermarkets. And pet food is divided into three categories (Figure 2): dog food, cat food and other pet food (i.e. fish food, bird food). Pet Food sells in the form that either prepared or non-prepared. Figure 2 Pet Food Segment In this paper, cat food intends to be defined as food product specifically formulated for feeding of cats. For the purposes of this paper, some further definitions used by Mintel reports are as follows: Wet cat food C including wet canned cat food with a moisture content of 60-85% and semi-moist food with a moisture content of 25-30% and includes complete foods. Dry cat food C has a moisture content of around 10% and includes complete foods Treats and MixersC food supplement for cat. 3. Cat food industry Background 200 475 3.1 Global Cat Food Market Figure 3 (Source: Euromonitor International) According to data from Euromonitor, in 2009, the Global retail value sales of cat food reach US19.6 billion dollars, at a growth rate of 4%. Although Dog food continues to occupy nearly half of pet food and pet care market, cat food market posted a comparable CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 5 % during the period 2004-2008. This indicates that the economic downturn had slight impact on this industry. However, the rising rates of house repossessions contribute to the decline in the pet populations, especially in western economies. The recession caused the lack of consumer confidence which lead to backward sales of the whole cat food market at 2008, but the global market is still growing in 2009 as the ongoing trend of pet humanization that consumers want value-added products that extend both the quality and length of the pets life. 3.2 Western European Cat food Market Figure 4 The Western European market is the biggest in cat food consumption. In this region, there has been seen a strong tend towards polarisation between premium and economy cat food brands, with mid-priced products increasingly being squeezed between them. (Euromonitor) However, as shown in Figure 4, the trend of polarization eased during 2007 and 2009. Although premium cat food still bear a large portion, Consumers tend to be prices-sensitive that economy cat food ranges grow rapidly. Figure 5 Wet products remain dominant in Western Europe but dry products sales are growing. According to data from Euromonitor, the gap between wet and dry cat food continues to narrow. In 2005, wet food accounted for 55.5% of all cat food retail sales, but this figure is predicted to decline to 51.1% in 2009. 3.2 UK Cat food Market In 2009, the value sales of the whole cat food market reach ?996 million In the UK (Euromonitor). It is the largest market of Europe in the cat food sector. The consumer base for cat food is significant with 9.7 million cat owners. And cat population rose up to 10.5 million in 2009, from 10.2 million in 2008. The growth rate is mere 0.4% largely due to the real estate crisis in 2008. A large number of homeowners opt to give up houses that they can no longer pay off the mortgage, and some of them have to give up their pets since they have no ability to take care of them. This is also the case happened in dog food market. As a result, UK suffered great in dog and cat population (Figure 6), while Germany take the advantage and grow rapidly in this segment. Figure 6 However, the volume of product sold was flat, because consumers preferred smaller portion sizes as pouches to cans. Premium and super premium foods took increasing shares of the market, causing the general increase in the unit price. 4. Macro environment Analysis (PEST) 2500 4.1 Understanding PEST model 364 Understanding the macro environment of a certain business is vital for the reason that the managers can forecast the market tends and take advantages of the opportunities and minimize the threats by strategy adjustment. In the analysis of the macro-environment for an industry, it is of importance to identify the major factors that the companies are facing and that might influence the organizations internal operation such as supply and demand levels and its costs (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1991; Johnson and Scholes, 1993). Some models are developed to indentify the vast number of possible issues that might affect an industry. The PEST analysis is a useful tool to understand the whole trend of the environment in which the industry is operating. PEST analysis stands for factors as Political, Economic, Social-culture and Technological forces to influence the business macro environment. Sometimes two other factors (environmental and legal), can be added to form a PESTEL analysis model. In PEST analysis, Political factors include government policies and regulations to the industry, taxation, laws, trade restrictions and tariffs etc. The economic factors concerns changes in the wider economy such as economic growth or decline, interest rates, disposable income, exchange rates and inflation, etc. Social-culture factors refer to demographic, age distribution, social welfare, population growth rate, changes in lifestyle and consumer buying patterns, etc. The technological factors relate to the development in technology such as application of new inventions, RD activity, automation, etc. PEST analysis can be effective for business and strategic planning, marketing, product development and research reports. Kotler (1998) claims that PEST analysis is a useful tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. The analysis examines the impact of these factors on the industry. Byars (1991) believes that PEST analysis results can be used to take advantage of opportunities and to make contingency plans for threats when preparing business and strategic plans. Porter (1985) also indentifies by using PEST analysis, the company can be aligned positively with the powerful factors of change and making decisions to fight against. Therefore, in this part, PEST analysis model will be used to explore the remote environment of the cat food industry at United Kingdom. 4.2 Apply PEST to Cat food Industry and Results 4.3 Understanding External Competition 4.3.1 Political 500 643 Cat food enjoys the political policies under the pet food category. Pet food industry is highly regulated and follows a number of industry codes and guidance to help manufacturers fulfill their obligations to manufacture safe pet food. (PFMA) There are more than 50 pieces of legislation governing the manufacture of pet food. As pet food is manufactured and distributed in the same way as human food, some legislation governing human food is equally applicable to pet food. Manufactures must ensure products are safe for cats, required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). All legislation applicable to pet food originates from the EU in the form of Regulations, Directives and Decisions which are subsequently implemented into UK national law. (PFMA) It is indicated that Pet foods are subject to stricte legislation in the UK. It is able to ensure the safety and quality of products. For example, The Feeding Stuffs Regulations 2005 and The Animal By-Products Regulations 2005. A nd the legislation covering pet food ingredients requires that pet food involving meat based ingredients from animals should take veterinary inspections to make sure that it is qualified for pet consumption. The cat food market has been benefit for those regulations and the market predicts to be stable under political environment. Therefore, it will add confidence for consumers when purchasing these products for their cats. There are also a number of codes of practice to be followed by some association (FEDIAF, The European Pet Food Manufacturers Association) members in this industry which in some cases exceed legislative requirements. For example, since 2005, the EU Feed Hygiene Regulation believes that feed safety is considered at all stages of the production for pet food. The rules cover all processes relating to the manufacturing of the pet food, such as hygiene requirement, record-keeping, etc. The EU Feed Hygiene Regulation Commission recognized the FEDIAF Guide to Good Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Pet Foods and implemented the rules in 2010. These guides should be followed by all members of the community. It covers the detailed requirement of the nutritional needs for cats and dogs at different life stages. Members of the PFMA (UK Pet Food Manufacturers Association) follow the FEDIAF (The European Pet Food Manufacturers Association) Nutritional Guidelines when making pet foods. The guidel ines are updated at a regular frequency to include the latest nutritional research and are peer reviewed by independent nutrition experts throughout Europe. (PFMA) The new Animal Welfare Act came into effect in 2007 and was the first overhaul of pet law during the last 94 years. It sounds a piece of new to the cat food industry that pet welfare are becoming more and more important in the view of pet owners. BBC news broadcasted, The Act raises penalties for cruelty from the previous maximum of six months in prison or a ?5,000 fine, is the most significant new law on animal welfare for 94 years. For the first time, it legally reinforces the duty of care for pet animals. The duty of care includes that animals have a proper diet, are housed with or apart from other animals according to their need, have the ability to express normal behavior and are protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease. This rule is in accordance with the recent trend of pet Humanization that people tend to treat their pets as members of family. It indicates that cat food manufacturers are facing challenging that they need to forecast the trend of consumer consumption and make innovations. For example, it is the recent trend that consumers prefer organic food for pets. The new act also increases age from 12 to 16 for buying a pet. The cat food market sales will be suffered under this regulation; although no evidence has been released that to what extent it would be impact on the cat food sales. 4.3.2 Economic 500 378 (EURO) Strong economic growth drove surge in dog and cat populations in some markets According to Euromonitor International research, the cat populations have been rising steadily during the year from 2004 to 2009(Figure 7). The annual growth rate is 4% from 2004 to 2008. It is partly the result of strong growth in disposable income, and in large part as a result of rising residential property values. The real GDP growth averaged 2.7% in the UK between 2003 and 2007. There is a merely 1% growth from 2008 to 2009 as a consequence of real estate crisis. In the pet ownership, dog is the dominant pet in the percentage of owning households. But cat ownership has been increased from 21% to 25% of the total. However, the growth is not the possible future trend, for there is only 0.4% growth from 2008 to 2009. Figure7 Cat Population in the UK from 2004 to 2009 Figure 8 Cat Owning Households: % Analysis 2004-2009 During the latter part of 2008, economic plunged as the effects of steep decline in residential property values. Huge numbers of consumers who purchase houses at inflated prices found themselves unable to maintain the mortgages during 2007 and 2008. It caused the bankrupt of many financial services, and lead to economic recession. Millions of people lose their homes, and unemployment is rising rapidly in UK. This leads to the significant problem of pet abandonment in the UK. According to the reports of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the number of abandoned animals rose by 57% in 2008. The number of abandoned cats rose by 50% and has remained elevated during early 2009. This has impact on the cat population and forms the reason for the slow rate of growth of cat food sales during this period. Trends towards Premiumisation were apparent in the cat food market. Cat owners prefer to single serve pouches to feed their cats. This format gets popular due to its convenience through single-use disposable style. It can ease of storage and serving. It is reported to be more gently cooked in these products than canned food. They perceive these as offering better quality food. Consumers are becoming more concerned with value for money. Many manufacturers are adding value to their mid-range brands by introducing new gourmet recipes and revamping packaging. 4.3.3 Social-culture500 650 Figure ? UK Household size, 2003-2013 From 2003, one-person household grow rapidly. Although two person household have been the major style, there is a sharp increase in one person household at the average growth rate of 5.12 from 2003 to 2008. People keep pets in the feeling of loneliness and Pets are increasingly considered a valued member of the family. Owners tend to have stronger bonds with their cats and often more of a sense of guilt at leaving their pets alone for long periods of time. According to the research of PFMA, 31% people keep pets for love, and 27% for companionship. (Euromonotor)Therefore, the trend to humanize the pets has emerged. The increasing rise of humanization promotes sales in the cat food sector, either in treats or gourmet foods. And it continues to be a driving force in sales of pet food and product development. Owners are caring pet health and chose organic, natural healthy cat food. Premium and super premium foods continue to represent larger portions of the cat food market. The trend of Premiumization cause general increase in unit prices per kilogram. But the volume growth has been flat as consumers switched from canned products to pouches with smaller portion sized. As their emotional attachments with their cats, owners want to care for the health and longevity of their cats by turning to this healthy recipe. In the UK this overall performance was largely driven by the wet category while the dry format is not popular and facing heavy discounting activity within supermarkets. In contrast with the global trend, wet cat food performs better than dry, with the wet cat food representing 74% of the overall cat food market. Its dry offering just has 22% in comparison. The popularity of wet cat food may relay on the different eating habits between cats and dogs. Similarly, the different eating preference lead to the popularity of single serve pouches that in line with the preference of cat food by cats. However, this single-use disposable format is providing the convenience to cat owners. It also offers the owners with a wider range of flavors to select for their small cat. But due to overfeeding and under-exercising, Pet obesity is rising with an estimated one in three household pets now overweight. The changing busy lifestyle of people causes the pets to be confined within home for long periods, and without enough exercise. Pet obesity is rather serious in cat for the gentle nature of cats than dog. In this case, Low-fat versions of products emerged such as specialized calorie controlled foods, foods according to levels of activity, and dietary supplements. (Mintel) Furthermore, prepared cat food sales remain high at 88%, even outperforming the sales in dog food market. The eating of cat is not easy to catch that the cat owners seek to convenient options to satisfy the cats. The prepared gap1 ratio in the UK is very high compared with other market, that it indicates a mature cat food market with less space for potential growth than that in developing market. According to Euromonitor, the high purchase of prepared products suggests little room for renewed growth in economy and mid-priced categories, since it is hard to develop new owners left to promote the sales. Convenience is a major driver for many owners in busy lifestyle. In terms of distribution within cat food market, the vast majority of pet foods continue to be distributed by large supermarkets as consumers seek convenience in one-stop shopping venues. Grocery retailers dominate the channels with 75% of value sales in 2008.People can select all arranged cat food in supermarkets, either premium or economy offerings. However, the sales of premium cat food is largely due to pet superstores and veterinary clinics, for the reason that the face-to-face recommendation of a pet expert is a key factor in encouraging pet owners to trade up to more premium products for their cats.(Mintel) 4.3.4 Technological500 419 It is acknowledged that the market was driven by technological innovation. Although economic recession has impacted new product development, it also brings challenges and opportunities. The pet food market has proved to be less impact by economic downturns, as the recent report says that consumers tend to not turn to cut the budget for their pets in case of the distressing economic circumstances. Consumers will cut down the spending over holidays, travels, and luxury buying habbites other than considering the already tiny budget in cat food. Report says that those who used to purchase premium pet food will continue this buying, while those used to purchase mid-priced and economy products are likely to be suffered. They are more price-sensitive. Pet food manufacturers respond to this trend by adding value to customers and give more benefits in their cost base. Cutting price is not usually a good idea in pet food in terms of establishing brand loyalty. Manufacturers are focusing on innovation by adding more value to mid-ranged products to maintain the sales from this group. However, premium and super premium foods continue to represent larger portions of the cat food market. The trend for owners to humanize their pets shows that human food trend leads the innovation of pet food trend. New technology focused on making production more natural, with more organic ingredients, and more close to human tastes. Many pet food manufacturers are launching new products in line with this trend by adding resemble human meal ingredients to offer human grade product to pet consumption, especially in the sector of wet cat food(Euromonitor). For the customers with affluent buying power, they are willing to spend on the high qualified pet products and apply the nutritional needs in the pet diets. Manufacturers seize their attention by producing products with more organic ingredients, free of additive and ethical standardized. In 2009, the sales of cat treats have grown at a current value of 4%. The humanization trend to the pet indulgence results the pushing sale of functional treats (Euro. Mintel). It is aligned with the increasing specification of cat food in different age groups as well as the detailed categorization of pet food with different nutritional needs. Although the sales of cat treats in not a necessary product and shares only small portion of cat food industry, manufactures are extending this market by the real estimate of little future growth in the mature cat food market in the UK. Future innovations and technology are seen in this particular product range. 5. Micro Environment Analysis (Poters five forces Model) 2600 The micro environment analysis of a certain industry concerns the internal competition within the industry by evaluating the performance among competitors. The operational Environment of the companies can be analyzed through the structural analysis by using Porters five forces analysis. 5.1 Understanding Porters Five Force Model 400 There are many methods concerning the analysis of organizational economic competitive advantage. The most popular and available tool in the operating environment analysis is Porters five forces analysis. It is developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. Porters five forces analysis is a framework for the industry structural analysis and business strategy development. According to Porter (1980), the five forces are served in understanding the micro environment of industry, in which the company is influenced in its ability to serve the customers and maximize the profit. As shown in Figure ?, the model identifies five factors of pressure within an industry including intensity of rivalry, threats of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, substitute threats and bargaining power of suppliers. It uses concepts that derive the five forces to determine the competitive intensity and the possible changes among industry competitors. It will provide evidence for company to reassess the volatile marketplace. Figure? Porters Five Force Analysis Pattern As is discussed above, the competitive nature of an industry is strongly affected by suggested Porters five forces. The detailed evaluation elements of each factor are shown in Figure ?. However, it is not the five factors that determine the structure of the industry, but to indentify it and make use of the markets. The structure of the industry itself plays a vital role in the environment. By recognizing this fact, I am going to explore the operating environment of cat food industry at United Kingdom by using Porters Five Forces analysis model. The objective of this task is to present the micro environment inside the industry and competitive arena among competitors. 5.2 Applying the five forces model and Results 200 A five forces analysis allows an organisation to consider the relative attractiveness of different industry sectors when making strategic choices about exiting or entering particular sectors and markets. Close analysis of these forces can allow an organisation to find a position in the sector where it can best defend itself against them or, most effectively, influence them 5.3Understanding the internal competition 5.3.1Competitive Rivalry 400 Porter describe that competitive rivalry was to analyze the intensity of competition between existing companies within an industry. Industries with high competitive pressure will impose pressure on prices, sales margins, and even on profitability for the single unit in the industry. According to the data collected from the Euromonitor International, the UK cat food market was dominated by the two companies, Nestl Purina Ltd and Masterfoods UK Ltd, as shown in Figure?. In 2008, Nestl Purina contained about 35% value share, followed by Masterfoods with approximate 33%. They are equally balanced in the UK cat food market. Figure ? Cat Food Company Shares at UK in 2008 It means that the competition would be very high in this industry for the two giant retailers: Nestl Purina Ltd and Masterfoods UK Ltd. The entry barriers in the cat food industry are very high. As a result, the potential growth of individual company would be largely depending on the RD (PFMA 2009). The pressure coming from the market and looking for opportunities for progress is the main reason that companies in this industry initiates the competition. Nestl S.A. is a global organization with headquarters based on Switzerland. Nestl Purina Pet Care Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nestl S.A.. As undoubtedly the global leader in this market, the company reported sales at US$3 billion during 2008, with 11.5% organic growth and 5% internal growth at an annual rate. (Mintel) It is largely due to the sales of resilient market for premium and super-premium Purina brands. Nestl Purina led the UK cat food market with a 35% share of cat food with the brand as Felix, Go Cat and Purina ONE. Nestl Purina attributes its success to continued innovation and new product development across a range of price brackets. This behaviour attracts those consumers who are pursuing the specialized and healthy food for cats. It is viewed as a key driver of market growth. As a family owned company, Mars Incorporated operates six business segments including Chocolate, Pet Care, Wrigley Gum and Confections, Food, Drinks and Sym-bioscience. The company is also operating a global business, generating annual revenues of over US$28 billion. Masterfoods Pet Care followed closely to Nestl Purina at the second place with a 33% value share at UK cat food market. According to the Mintel reports, the success of Mars is supported by its key brands of Whiskas and Kitekat with brand shares of 26% and 4% respectively in 2008. Figure ? Cat Food Company Shares 2004-2008 As shown in Figure?,the seller concentration in this industry is very high. The major tow competitors are equally balanced. Mas has been performed better than Nestl Purina during the period form 2004 to the mid of 2007. There is no obvious gap between them. However, the Mars lose some shares in the market at 2008. The sales of the two companies are fairly static, giving out an impression of little space to grow. Moreover, other firms are struggling in this sector with mere share growth in the market. Fortunately, the competition in this market is stable, and the general unit price on cat food product is modest without massive fluctuations. It would be a very good aspect, since if price reduction happens in one firm, it will be rapidly followed by other competitors and consequently have impact on all companies income (Sadeghi, 2004). Given an increasing demand for more natural and convenient products in the market, the competition inside is very high. Exiting firms mainly focused on innovation to achieve expansion. Nestl Purina Ltd increased its market share by 0.7% from 2004, due to its launched premium brand Purina One. (Euromonitor 2009a) Hills Pet Nutrition Ltd, with 1.2% growth in its market value from 2004, launched series products in kitten, adult and senior range. (Euromonitor 2009a) It also had some innovation in packaging (Mintel 2006). Firms won better market position through advertising and promotion as well. Town and Country Petfoods Ltd twice its market shares since 2004, based on TV campaign and promotion. (Mintel 2006) It launched a premium brand HiLife with adverting and promotion more than ?1m in 2005. (Mintel 2006) Furthermore, incumbents worked on improving service. Oscar Pet Food UK provided face-to-face service, even home visit. (Precision 2003) In 2005, Town and Country Petfoods Ltd re-laun ched its website to delivery product information and professional advice online. (Mintel 2006) In addition, firms achieved expansion by merger and acquisition. Early 2001, Nestl bought Purina for ?10b, and then launched Purina One in the UK market.( David 2004) Six month later, Masterfood bought EUs largest nutritional pet food manufacture, Royal Canin. (David 2004) 5.3.2 Threat of substitute400 5.3.3 Buyer power400 Entrenched brand loyalty provides challenges and opportunities for retailers While tentative signs of economic stabilisation have begun to emerge during the second half of 2009, global consumer sentiment remains for the most part fragile. With unemployment continuing to rise (albeit at a slower pace than previously), household debt levels elevated and disposable household income still depressed, consumers are likely to retain a heightened sensitivity to price for some time. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for retailers, particularly in pet food, as consumers in this segment are unusually brand loyal. As a result, larger retailers, particularly pet superstores, may continue to gain market share by leveraging the economies of scale they enjoy by offering consumers their favourite pet food brands at a cheaper price, rather than attempting to market cheaper alternatives to them. 5.3.4 Supplier power400 Private label remains vulnerable to rising costs Nor has the ability to raise prices been confined to the upper end of the market. Canadian-based private label pet food manufacturer Menu Foods scraped back into profitability during the first quarter of 2009 for the first time since the March 2007 recall. It earned US$54,000 (compared with a year-earlier loss of US$2.2 million) on sales of US$84.1 million, up 51.3% year-on-year. This increase was largely due to three price increases that totalled almost 14%. However, these price increases may not be sustainable in the short term. According to the company, as a consequence of our price increases, a number of customers whose volume represented 6.7% of total volume in the first quarter advised that they will stop buying from Menu during the second quarter. This demonstrates that private label manufacturers remain at a fundamental disadvantage to manufacturers of branded products in terms of their ability to sustain higher pricing. In Europe, private label manufacturer Provimi Group is experiencing similar difficulties. Provimi, which sells pet food throughout Western and Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine, reported a 9.9% year-on-year increase in pet food sales during the first quarter, attributing this increase to a growing demand for private label products. However, it stated that its profit margins on pet food were negatively impacted by a sharp increase in the cost of cans that the Group was not able to pass on to its customers. 5.3.5 Barrier of new entry/threat of entry400 A few firms achieved to enter the cat food market successfully during the last decade. They operated mainly in three ways. First, these firms expanded into this market on the base of their original business. They are enjoying the benefits of the background in the pet products industry before. For example, Butchers Pet Care Ltd originally produced dog food only. In 2000, it successfully entered the cat food market by introducing new cat food product. (Euromonitor 2009f) Second, they entered by ways of merging or acquiring incumbents. In 1999, PG entered UK pet food market through acquisition of Imas, which is a historical pet food company established in 1946. (Mintel 2006) Third, they accessed to the market using own brand and labe

Picasso :: essays research papers

1881: Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain, Son of Jose Ruiz Blasco, an art teacher (1838-1913) and Maria Picasso Lupez (1855- 1939) 1884: Birth of the first sister, Dolores (Lola) 1887: Birth of the second sister, Concepcion (Conchita) 1888 / 89: Started painting tutored by his father. 1891: Translated La Coruà ±a, where his father worked as an art teacher. The death of his sister Conchita. 1892: Enters school of Bella's Arts in La Coruà ±a. His father taught him. 1895:He was an Advanced student of the Barcelona Academy of the fine arts from the age of 14 , He experimented in his youth with hardly all of the avant-garde styles current at the turn of the century, an early demonstration of his life long ability to assimilate aesthetic ideas and to work in a variety of styles. He painted " Girl with bear feet" (Paris) 1897: He transferred to Madrid for advance training ; but he was an unimpressed by his tuition, and spent a great deal of time in Cafes and brothers. 1898 : He won a gold medal for " Customs of Aragon" , which was exhibited in his native town. He painted " Gypsy girl on the beach" 1901: Known as the " Blue period" because of the blue tonality of Picasso’s paintings were a time of frequent change of residence between Barcelona and Paris. During this period he would spend his days in Paris. Studying the master works at the Louvers and his nights enjoying the company of fellow artist at cabarets like the Lapin Agile. 1903: In works such as the old guitarist ( 1903;art institute, Chicago) he created evocative portrayals of blind, impoverished, or despairing people in a predominantly blue palette. His use of blue as a motif was apparently derived from the symbolic importance of that color in the contemporary romantic writings of Maurice Maeterlinck and Oscar Wilde, whose work often derived its force from the depiction of madness or illness. 1904: Picasso entered into a relationship with Fernande Oliver, who inspired many of his pre-cubist works, such as the painting " woman with Loaves" End of the Blue Period. 1905: Marked a radical changing color and mood for Picasso. He became fascinated with the acrobat, clowns and wondering families of the circus worlds. He started to paint. in subtle pinks and grays, often highlighted with brighter tones. This was known as his "Rose period"