Coal Crimes of Buffalo Creek

Let us imagine that one day a natural disaster hits your town, you watched everyone you know lose their homes, and for some, their lives. Your life view most likely would be skewed for some time, but who could you blame? Nature? God? While tragic, an act of nature or god most often carries no great amount of blame with it. This is not the case in the Buffalo Creek incident however. It is important to note that the people of the Buffalo Creek area were deeply traumatized by this event, and their trust violated by those responsible for this incident. The Buffalo Creek incident is one of the most widely studied disasters in the U. S. and as Kai T. Erikson writes in his prologue to Everything in Its Path â€Å"It was a fairly contained disaster, as such things go, having taken place on a scale small enough to allow one to see it whole,†. There were a number of variables leading into that day, the day the â€Å"dam† gave way, and throughout the course of this paper I intend to trace the pattern back to the source of this disaster, the creator of a situation that certainly does deserve blame. What it comes down to in the aftermath of this disaster is whether to cast the guilt on the coal company that created the environment for this disaster, or the people of the valley who some might say had failed to save themselves. The coal company would trivialize the loss that the people of this valley community had undergone and try to label the flood an â€Å"act of God†. (Stern) I however, soundly took the side of these mountain people as I read about the coal industry’s molestation of their land, and the destruction of WV life as they had once known it. The coal industry creeped its way into the lives of West Virginians over the better part of a century. Although coal had always been rich in West Virginia’s land and it was know for sometime to be that way, coal companies did not gain access to most areas of WV including Logan County until the very early 1900‘s as railroads invaded the hills and valleys. Coal Company employment greatly changed the lives of W. Virginians over time, bringing them down from the mountain farms they used to live on, to factory like homes constructed in crowded valley mining towns. The miners of Logan County were also influenced heavily from the company to remain non-union workers which is to the ultimate benefit of the industry rather than the miner. The popularity of the studies into this disaster are not only beneficial to our response to disasters that are both man made and acts of god, but also to promote the protection and safety of a company’s workers through stricter safety guidelines. On the morning of February 26, 1972 132 million gallons of black water and coal waste forced its way through the impoundments that the Buffalo Mining Company had built in three stages over the span of two or three years. The Pittston Coal Company did not feel they needed to say sorry or offer retribution for the damages caused by their poor management and supervision of dam construction, this act is what sparked the defiance in the people victimized by the flood. (Erikson) Immediately following the disaster Pittston began doing damage control for the protection of the company and tried to place all of the responsibility away from themselves during the ensuing legal battles. Pittston lawyers immediately began treating the people left behind in the wake of the disaster as â€Å"potential adversaries in court action†, questioning them not about the state of their living conditions but instead about their ill will against the company (Erikson). During one of the interviews included in Everything in Its Path a former mine worker said Lawyers had asked him â€Å"Do you have any hard feelings against Pittston? † and â€Å"Do you believe they’ll talk to people? †. While these actions may have seemed like sensible legal maneuvers in Pittston’s legal team, they proved to seed a deep resentment toward the coal company in the minds of Buffalo Creek’s residents. The second mistake Pittston made, as described in The Buffalo Creek Disaster, was them stating that â€Å"the break in the dam was caused by flooding—an Act of God. (Stern). Throughout the works of both Kai T. Erikson and Gerald M. Stern there is a general consensus that the valley community being a largely religious group of people were provoked by this statement. In this respect Pittston ultimately did more to embolden their â€Å"adversaries† than they did to protect themselves from monetary loss in the end. Pittston Coal Company and the Buffalo Mining Company are the responsible parties for this man made disaster from the beginning of it’s creation until the day of the flood. The Buffalo Mining Co. nd Pittston both failed to learn from past mistakes during the construction of the dam system. Pittston ignored the poor quality of the dams built, previous complaints about the lack of emergency run off systems, and multiple previous failures of the dams which were simply patched and reinforced in the same faulty manner as the original was made. In March of 1971 several Coal Company officials noted that there was a significant slumping in dam 3 and it was estimated at â€Å"150 to 200 feet wide across the face of the dam and 20 to 30 feet from the face back. by testimony of Ben Tudor, General Superintendent, Buffalo Mining Company. Later that same month it was recorded that a West Virginia Department of Natural Resources inspector had listed a â€Å" â€Å". . . lack of emergency s pillway or overflow system from upper impoundment. † (In this instance, â€Å"upper impoundment† refers to Dam No. 3. )†. Despite these and many other alarming findings, no significant improvements were made before the dam system’s failure in 1972. (Kelley). On the day of the disaster, citizens of Buffalo Creek Valley had little or no warning from Pittston or the Buffalo Mining Co. f the impending danger until the wall of water had descended upon them. â€Å"Pittston Coal neglected to warn The Mining Bureau, the National Guard, the State Police, and even the Logan County Sheriff’s office. † (Stern). In Everything in Its Path Erikson includes several accounts of victims who had been given no warning at all that there was danger of a flood at that time. The importance of this disaster and its aftermath has permanently touched the way we handle disaster prevention, relief, post traumatic counseling, and hopefully future litigation. While the magnifying glass initially was held over the coal industry and specifically on the legal battle that the people of Buffalo Creek eventually would win, its scope has continued to broaden over years and will remain an important learning tool for use in varieties of disasters on the earth and humanity. Consider the lessons to be learned by all companies and corporations in respect to how they monitor the safety of their employees and the communities they have potential impact on. I ask you to consider the victims of the Buffalo Creek flood as brave pioneers into the world of disasters, and appreciate the advancements that have been made possible by their bravery. References Erikson, K. T. (1976). Everything in its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Kelley, J. H. , Dr. (1973). The Buffalo Creek Flood and Disaster: Official Report from the Governor’s Ad Hoc Commission of Inquiry. West Virginia Archives & History.

Newspaper Industry

Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 THE DISTRIBUTION NETWORK DEVELOPEMENT IN PRINT MEDIA Assoc. Lect. Loredana Iordache Ph. D University of Craiova [email  protected] fr Lect. Radu Criveanu Ph. D University of Craiova [email  protected] com Assoc. Prof. Cernaianu Nicolae Ph. D Titu Maiorescu University, Bucharest [email  protected] com Abstract: In this article, we identify the characteristics of the distribution networks in print media and the features of marketing in mass media, emphasising the attempts initiated by the press in the context of the financial crisis.The research was conducted through a case study on regional newspaper,, Gazeta de Sud† The main problems analyzed were decreasing newspaper circulation and advertising. The research taken into account trends and developments worldwide print media as well as print media particularities of Romania, with a focus on identifying factors that contribu ted to the closure of a significant number of newspapers, or their transition from printed version online format.The paper is mainly focused on some practical issues related to the way of organizing the print media sales networks, the authors elaborating proposals for the implementation of certain measures to increase the circulation, on the one hand, and on the hand, to increase the sale of ad space in the newspaper. Compared with other products, the newspaper has unique characteristics caused by daily changing content, and therefore the product itself. Having a highly perishable, the content of media products should always seen in relation to time, which requires more rapid distribution and continuous production.Key words: distribution networks, advertising, marketing strategies, print media JEL Code: L11,L22,M37 Introduction: The way in which the economic crisis has influenced the distribution policies differs from one company to another and from one activity domain to another. I n order to understand the application procedure of the distribution policy at the level of the media institutions, it is necessary to clarify the content of the media products and of the specific elements that favors or limit the application of marketing concepts, methods and techniques. One of the main characteristics f the media selling network is the fact that it generates profit, not only by an increase in the number of sold newspapers, but also by an increase in the number of readers, which determines a growth in the newspaper space sold for advertising. Fixing the selling price of ad space depends on several criteria mainly related to audience size and its socio-economic profile. Advertising buyers invest in newspaper ad space in terms of achieving a certain number of users or buyers (Bertand, 2001). Type of distribution networks is different from one country to another depending on a number of features.Thus in France and Italy press is bought mainly from newsstands, in Sweden is generalized newspapers home delivery while in U. S. besides newspapers home delivery are mainly used newspapers vending machines. The study analyzes the current situation of media products market with special emphasis on the print media in Romania and proposes a series of measures for development and improvement of distribution networks. The importance given to this activity consists in the need for information on the paper available to the readers. 1.Current trends in print media The economic crisis caused a serious decline in the print media circulation, contributing to a great extent to the dissolution of many important papers, a part of which can only be found online. The print media industry finds itself in a critical moment. In the last few years, the media institutions have tried to develop online products and to find new income sources to provide for the transition from the printed paper to the digital one. Although the access to the Internet is continuously growing, the value of the revenues generated by the Internet newspapers is still very low.According to the data presented on different specialized websites [11] in 2011, in the USA the revenues from advertising in the print media format were still in decline for the sixth year in a row. Thus, according to the study by Amy Mitchell and Tom Rosentiel of The Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) the losses generated in 2011 by „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 141 Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 the advertising decrease on the print paper were ten times higher than the revenues generated by the online advertising [12].The situation is as critical in Europe as it is in Romania where a number of papers closed or remained only with their the online version. An analysis of the Romanian press situation shows that the advertising revenues for the online newspapers are low, despite having register ed a sudden improvement lately [7]. Thus, the central papers register a higher income than the local papers, which have insignificant revenues that do not compensate for the revenues obtained from the print version of the newspaper, though more and more readers have access to the Internet [6].As far as the online market for the local publications is concerned, we consider that the strategy adopted should be differently approached, because the local companies, as faithful clients for advertising, have not been interested yet in online advertising. In addition to this, the integral online version of the paper has an increased number of readers, but reduces the number of print version buyers and therefore decreases the revenues. It is probable that the general tendency of the media is to be published online.But, we should not forget that the online version is not accessible to important categories of the population, at least not yet to the rural population. From our point of view, the main reasons why the sale of advertising spaces in the online version of the newspaper did not have the estimated results are the following: a) Firstly, the most important national papers, which impose the trend on the market, have a wrong marketing strategy, offering the online content of the paper to the readers free of charge.At the same time, there is no solution found to financially evaluate the new audience gained on the internet. In other words, by consciously moving the readers from the print version to the electronic/online version, the papers have lost important sums of money. b) Secondly, the financial crisis has determined a budget adjustment in advertising, which had subsequently an impact on the entire print media in Romania. The important advertising clients have focused only on TV lately, by allocating their budgets to the TV stations as a media vehicle and completely eliminating the newspapers from the marketing mix. ) Thirdly, another reason for this situation is t he fact that, once moved on the internet, the newspapers became direct competitors for the advertising budgets together will the other websites. Before the technological revolution brought about by the Internet, the papers were in competition with the other media (TV and radio stations etc. ) . Nowadays, the newspapers compete for the online budgets not only with the other media, but with the entire spectrum of websites, from Google to Facebook and Yahoo. ) Another reason, as mentioned above, is the distrust of the faithful clients of the local advertising in the impact of the digital version of the paper. In Romania, the number of publication have dramatically dropped, the audience rates have become half of the 2008 value and the editorial offices have to constantly take measures to reduce costs [5]. The number of employees is continually decreasing, leading to a reduction in the number of quality articles that may be produced.Moreover, the reporters are asked to produce more and t o increase the content for all the platforms: print, digital, mobile, but also to promote this content on the social networks. This fact led to a general dissatisfaction among the reporters. At the same time, the revenues from the paper selling and from the advertising spaces in the print version have decreased, and values from the online revenues could not compensate for the difference. A major part of the paper circulation is determined by the distribution costs.The circulation of a newspaper represents the number of copies distributed for a paper edition and it is formed of the papers sold by piece, with subscription, in promotions or for protocols etc. A new approach in the case of many regional newspapers is to concentrate on the most profitable zones, thus reducing the costs. The marketing strategy is based on the fidelity of the readers and not on approaching new markets. As opposed to other goods, the paper is a perishable product which is quickly replaced by another one.On account of this, the selling price is low in order to assure its accessibility, a quick selling and implicitly the market clearance for new products. However, the costs are high and the profit share is low under these circumstances. For the production of a newspaper, the producer needs a series of resources, such as: raw material and equipment, qualified workforce and something specialised for the mass media institutions, namely information and cultural creation.Economic crisis determined higher costs for the raw material (especially for paper) and for specialised and wellqualified workforce The selling price of the newspaper is set taking into consideration the following items: – the editing cost of the newspaper; – the printing cost of the newspaper; – the distribution cost of the newspaper; – the commissions paid to the media distribution companies, respectively the selling workforce; – the percentage of the assumed returned copies (the number o f printed but not sold copies).Starting from the data presented above and targeting a certain profit, the selling price is set per piece/copy (the cover price). Regarding the subscription price, alongside with the editing, printing and distribution prices of the newspaper, we have to take into account the commissions owed to the post office and to the agents and distributors. Some research studies about the Western European press market show that the investments necessary for launching a publication pay off in 3-4 years.In comparison with other activity domains that assure their profit from the direct sale of the product, the press institutions cannot survive based on the exclusive paper selling activity. „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 142 Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 The revenues of the print media institutions are varied and unequal, depending on the type of paper and its impact on the market. The mass media market is a dual market of the mass-media products as far as the revenues registered in massmedia are concerned.The revenues come from two categories of buyers: the media products buyers and the massmedia advertising buyers (Coman, 2007). The revenues of the press institutions are obtained from the following types of activities: a). the retail or subscription selling; b). the advertising space selling for the clients who want to publish their own messages on the support offered by the press institutions; c). the selling/renting of the access right on the newspapers websites (advertising on the online version of the newspaper); d). the amounts obtained from different sources as sponsorship.Each type of these revenues contribute more or less to the success of the company's activity and are tightly interconnected and reciprocally supporting. 2. Selling strategies in print press One source of revenue is provided by the newspaper selling, but the most important source, as we previously mentioned, is the advertising spaces sold. The advertising is divided in two categories: – the small ad, which included small sized announcements narrowly targeted to different categories (job offers and demands, selling and buying real states, vehicles or other products, service provisions, renting offers and demands, commemorations, deaths and condolences etc. ) whose price is set according to the number of words, the font and the number of daily publications requested. – the display ad (the larger ad), which includes those medium or large sized announcements, and can include even a whole newspaper page and whose price is determined by the page position, by the display size, the number of editions, the number of colours used (black or multicoloured).Many of the large ad announcements are commissioned and mediated by the advertising companies. The advertising advantages in the print media are determined by the fact that this type of media advertising is flexible both in dimension and in price, with opportunities for coloured advertising, smaller or bigger or with different inserts. So that the profits from advertising to be really relevant for the company owners, it is first necessary to understand that, by attracting a bigger volume of advertising, regardless of its type, is correlated with the paper circulation and audience.The individual persons, but especially the big economic agents and advertising agencies are well aware of the fact that the advertising impact in the newspaper is in direct ration with the number of that paper's readers and when they take the decision of publishing an ad, they analyse very carefully, by comparison, both the tariffs, and the circulation or the number of readers of the papers with the profile and the coverage area they need.BRAT (The Romanian Office of Circulation Audit) is the authority able to certify the circulation number for a newspaper or a publication for certain aud ited periods, and SNA (The National Audience Study) is the authority which, on the basis of surveys, measures the audience number of a publication, that is the average number of readers per edition of that publication (in general, a copy of a newspaper is read by 4-5 people) .Taking into consideration the facts mentioned above, it is obvious that a bigger selling volume, even when it does not directly generate profit, brings about higher revenues from advertising, which in their turn, bring considerable profit for the editor. Thus, the selling objectives of the company become extremely important. In this study we used a comprehensive approach to examine different aspects of distribution networks in press. In order to achieve the purpose we used as research method the case study of the biggest regional newspaper in the country. Data ollection was performed using as investigative tools interviews with distribution and advertising managers, direct observation and also analysis of archi val documents and data. The research findings have resulted in measures aimed at developing sales networks in print but also to redress those in free fall due to the economic crisis. According to BRAT studies newspaper Gazeta de Sud from Craiova is the most widely read regional newspaper in Romania, having over 100,000 readers / day and an an average circulation number of over 16. 000 copies [8]. Gazeta de Sud is distributed in Dolj, Olt, Gorj, Mehedinti and Valcea counties.The newspaper covers every possible editorial domains specific to a newspaper: local news, social problems, sport events, health issues, education, culinary recipes, TV programmes and recommendations, investigations, economy, culture, events and celebrities' life. Gazeta de Sud is a member of the Romanian Office of Circulation Audit. Gazeta de Sud consists of the editing board and the selling departments of the newspaper (the distribution department that deals with selling the newspaper by using newspaper sellers and the distribution news stands and the subscription selling department).The selling force of the company is supplemented by the advertising selling department which has the role to sell advertising space in the newspaper and in the online version of the paper. As market competitors for Gazeta de Sud in Oltenia we can mention other regional papers, such as Editie Speciala or Cuvantul Libertatii. The average daily circulation numbers of these newspapers, of 3. 000 – 4. 000 copies „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 143Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 (circulation numbers not audited by BRAT! ), are much inferior to the circulation numbers of Gazeta de Sud, despite having a selling price and a subscription price lower than the prices of Gazeta de Sud. Among its competitors, we should mention other regional weekly publications, such as Saptamana in Oltenia/The Week in Oltenia a nd Expresul de Sud/The Southern Express, but their circulation numbers do not exceed 2. 00 – 3. 000 copies. The content quality of Gazeta de Sud, the printing quality, the supplements offered and, last but not the least, the advantage of a very early distribution system and a very well organised complaints solving system greatly favour this newspaper in winning the competition with its local or regional, daily or weekly newspapers. As any other private company, this too aims at obtaining profit as a result of a superior value creation for consumers, satisfying better the consumers' needs.Based on analysis of data from several local newspapers, it was observed that during this difficult period the press efforts are centred on sales and special offers are created to attract more and more clients for advertising. The circulation of a publication represent the number of sold copies distributed for an edition and is formed of the copies sold as retail, by subscription, promotions and protocols etc. Part of these copies which are not sold return to the company and represent daily financial loss.The distribution system of the Gazeta de Sud newspaper is presented in the figure below( fig. no. 1): Fig. no1. The circulation components As observed in the figure above, the selling circuit of print media includes three main components, namely the retail selling and the subscription selling. a) The retail selling is divided in: – the retail selling by the press distribution companies; – the retail selling by the press distributors; The retail selling by the press distribution companies is done at the news stands.The disadvantages of retail selling by the press distribution companies are especially determined by: – the selling presentation mode of the newspaper – very often illustrating the exclusive preferences of the sellers from the news stand, only certain publications are exposed and made visible to the detriment of other rival publica tion. In order to avoid this situation, the appointed personnel of Gazeta de Sud monitors and permanently assures that the newspaper is exposed at sight, giving the possibility to the clients to easily read the headlines. the delayed cash collection from the press distribution companies for the sold newspapers (minus the commissioned charged by these companies) – the relatively hard collection of return papers (unsold newspapers), which requires material and time resources. As a main advantage of the retail selling by the press distribution companies we mention the fact that, in this way, the editor benefits from an efficient selling manner of its newspaper, due to qualified personnel and strategic locations placed in the area with intense traffic (the news stands).The retail selling by the newspaper sellers is an alternative to selling at the news stands, intended not to replace it, but to complete it. In general, the newspaper sellers are placed at: – traffic lights crossroads, a situation in which the clients are the car drivers that wait for the green light; – supermarkets, markets, train stations, bus stations, traffic ways with many shops and open-air coffee shops where there are many passers-by.The newspaper sellers try to adjust to their potential clients by attracting them into buying the product offered. If in the case of the news stands, the client is the one heading for the newspaper, in the case of the newspaper sellers, we can figuratively speak about the newspaper that come directly to the client, facilitating and providing a very comfortable sale.The advantages of selling the newspaper by the newspaper sellers are the following: – facilitating the newspaper selling process for the client, making it easy, comfortable and quick; – attracting undecided clients and transforming them, in many situations, in faithful clients of that newspaper seller; – covering areas where the press distribution companies do not own news stands, thus providing access to the newspaper for a larger number of potential clients; „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 44 Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 – prompt cash collection for the sold newspapers; – minimum returned newspapers, due to very meticulously and well organised daily orders and to the possibilities to supplement the order of a newspaper seller, that is giving to another seller the order left unsold in one area, according to the selling number of newspapers at a certain hour.As a drawback, we mention the often poor quality of the people willing to accept such jobs, there being situations when the clients were disturbed by the very insisting newspaper sellers (verbal aggression or not receiving the right change). Another form of retail selling, successfully practised in the United States of America and in many European Union countries is selling by newspaper vending machines. In Romania, there have been many attempts to implement such vending machines, especially in the supermarkets, given the advantage of eliminating the human intermediary from this distribution hain, whether it is the the news stand seller or the newspaper seller. However, by eliminating this intermediary and thus the disadvantages specific for these two types of retail selling, other disadvantages became obvious, such as: – the relatively higher price of the newspaper vending machines; – the building technique of these machines, which presupposes the opening of a door the moment one introduces the money, giving the possibility to take more than one paper.This does not represent a drawback for the civilised countries, but in Romania, for easily understood reasons, the editors prefer machines that give only one paper at a time. But, there are technical details to take into account here, such as the variable weight of a paper from o ne edition to the other and from one publication to the other. b) Selling by subscription Most of the editors prefer to offer the client this possibility too, that is to get the newspaper by subscribing to the system.The client's advantages are the following: – the client's safety that he'll get the right publication, avoiding the risk of not finding the newspaper at the news stands; – the subscription price is much smaller than the total price paid by the buyer for each item bought individually in a month; – the paper is received by the subscriber at the address mentioned, without being necessary to go and get it or to waste time doing it; – for the clients in the rural area, where the news stands are generally missing, it is practically impossible to get the wanted newspaper; Nonetheless, there are also disadvantages, such as: – the subscription has to be paid in full in advance, for the entire subscription period; – the paper is usually d elivered at late hours, when many people are already gone to work or to their daily activities, thus loosing one of the basic qualities (offering late, up-to-the-moment news and information); – the newspapers with weekend editions (on Saturday or Sunday) are distributed in the countryside on Monday; – the mail boxes, especially at the blocks of flats, are generally unsafe and easily allow for getting the newspaper by evil-minded people, which subsequently leads to a general discontent of the subscriber who thinks that probably the newsagent was not delivered.From the perspective of the press trust, the subscription price, in the case of Gazeta de Sud, does not always cover all these costs, but it is an accepted loss because the final profit is targeted and that is advertising (a profit which is direct relation to the circulation number of the newspaper and with the subscription number). However, the selling on subscriptions targets the fidelity of the clients, increasi ng the audience and implicitly the selling figures from advertising and much less the profit. Practically, the buyers by subscriptions are encouraged to buy a product at a much lower price per item than that bought daily from the news stands.Generally, the number of subscriptions represents a significant profit from the total circulation number of that publication. Moreover, the subscribers are usually those faithful clients that assure the safety for continuing to publish that publication and on which the editor bases the future planning. The anticipated payment of the subscription allows the editor to collect in advance considerable amounts of money, that would help organise the activities for the next period. The subscriptions do not usually generate significant profit for the editor. There are situations when the subscription price hardly covers the editing and printing costs form that publication.The starting idea is that a great number of subscriptions means a an increased cir culation number and thus a larger audience, this leading to obtaining more advertising clients from the specialised companies. The advertising companies carefully analyse the data given by the certified institutions, such as BRAT in the case of the circulation numbers, and SNA for audience, and their quantitative and value offer for large advertising is in accordance with the data. Given this fact, the editors do not necessarily target profit from subscriptions, but they calculate the indirect profit derived from advertising, due to the large audience of the newspaper. Subscribing at the post office is the most used form of subscribing to a publication. „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 145Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 The national company the Romanian Post covers the whole country and on an agreement basis, concludes contracts with the editors and distributes subscriptions to a series of publications. Another form of subscription, practised especially by several local and regional newspapers, is the subscription through their own subscribing network. Such subscribing networks have been created because the editors wanted to increase the number of subscribers, thus adding up to the subscriptions made through the post office. Taking into account the disadvantages of the post office subscription method, the newspapers subscription network aims at eliminating these disadvantages and thus earning more subscribers, even those who were initially unwilling to subscribe to these publications, given the drawbacks.Despite the higher price, the subscribers adhering to this network generally have the following advantages: – the newspaper is delivered early in the morning, offering the possibility to be read and get in touch with the latest information even before going to work or start the daily activities; – the paper is delivered even on Saturday, inclu ding in the rural areas where the network has collaborators and coverage; – there is also the possibility the payment throughout the first subscription days, especially for the new clients, to give them the possibility to appreciate the way in which the paper is delivered; – the claims and complaints are more promptly analysed and solved by the editor's personnel in charge of this aspect. Creating such subscription networks involves a considerable effort from the editor's side, being necessary to employ new people, both for the contracting part, and for the distribution of subscriptions part for the entire area to be covered. Alongside with these aspects, it is also necessary to have people that would coordinated this activity, that is to distribute newspaper packets in the locations where the subscription distributors come and pick them up and finally deliver them to the clients etc. c) Promotions and protocols A part of the total circulation number is represented by promotions and protocols.The newspaper Gazeta de Sud, but other newspapers, too, financially support this activity and have constantly resorted the so-called promotional subscriptions (subscriptions at reduced prices or even awarded free of charge), whose role is: – to achieve an intensive increase in the number of subscribers in the area where there is a deficit from this point of view; – to regain the lost subscribers; – to reward certain faithful readers; – to slightly raise the audience of the newspaper; There were many situations when a certain number of copies of a newspaper edition were given free of charge, with the purpose to promote the newspaper on the event of special occasions. In the case of protocols, these are represented by the newspapers regularly given, free of charge, to several public institutions or radio or television stations which broadcast shows about related to press reviews.Analysing the data at the end of 2011 the structure of the circulation number is the following: – 45% represent the subscriptions by the Romanian Post; – 25% subscriptions by their own distribution network; – 18% selling the newspaper at the news stands; – 8% selling the newspaper by the newspaper sellers; – 4% protocols and promotions; It can be concluded that 70% of the product buyers are faithful readers of the newspaper and that they regularly buy it by the subscription system, while the retail selling (at the news stands or by the newspaper sellers) provide only 26% of the total circulation number, additionally having the disadvantage to deal with the returned items (newspaper copies left unsold) which represent financial loss for the company. From the data analysed during 2008-2011 ( table no. 1), we note that there is a decrease in the newspaper selling figures with 43%, the most influenced being the subscription selling by its own network, which dropped with 76% and could not be compensated by the growth in the subscription rate by the Romanian post office of 36% as compared to 2008. Table no. 1. The sales evolution during 2008-2011 Year Subscription by Subscription by Retail selling at Retail selling by post network news stands newspaper sellers 2008 97. 436 118. 994 1. 704. 162 200. 000 100. 347 1. 396. 995 175. 800 72. 162 1. 088. 833 94. 681 29. 581 963. 756 83. 04 Source( Internal Report of Organization) Among the factors that contributed to this situation, we mention: – the rise of the subscription price as a consequence of rising the price of the raw material and utilities; „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 2009 2010 2011 79. 634 91. 429 132. 694 146 Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 – the renouncement to certain distribution routes because of their lack of profitability; – the decrease of the population income, which made them unsubscribe the newspaper system. As a result of the data analysis, the greatest part of the population that subscribe to the newspaper are old people (over 55% of the subscribers are retired people) followed by the population of the age group 45-55 years ( approx. 30%).With the purpose of increasing the sale figures and the market quota, the press features may be used accordingly, namely by adopting or allowing for: – measures to keep the current clients faithful to the newspaper, materialised in flawless distribution, attractive price, gifts, prompt complaints solving of clients unsatisfied with the paper distribution by its own distribution system. The company has to take measures to revise the whole distribution system of the subscribed newspaper so that to improve the acquisition efficiency and the number of subscribers, because the recruitment value and number of subscribers are extremely important factors for the survival and profit generation in a business with a subscription sellin g strategy component. The reasons for not subscribing, as mentioned above, may become mostly known by surveys. The activity of attracting new clients is much more costly and given this fact new programmes should be created to keep the current clients. measures to attract new subscribers by setting up a telemarketing service, through which potential clients are contacted by phone and asked if they are willing to subscribe to the newspaper network, offering, together with other companies, promotional materials for the clients who subscribe for a longer period of time; – contacting the lost subscribers in order to establish the causes of their refusal to continue the subscription and to try, where possible, to remedy the complaints; there is also the possibility to offer reduced price subscriptions or even free subscriptions for short time intervals to make the client aware that the complaints were solved; – creating a prize awarding, extremely motivating for the newspape rs sellers and the subscription agencies that obtain very good results in their activity; – giving clients the possibility to subscribe by sending an SMS (the cost for the SMS is the equivalent price for the monthly subscription, and the client is contacted after the SMS in order to obtain all the information necessary for the delivery); ? rganising a retribution system for the post workers with good results in their activity to conclude subscriptions; ? organising a system for the so-called promotional subscriptions destined to certain locations where the paper can be read (open air cafe bars, medical cabinets, notarial offices etc. ) a situation in which the client pays the full subscription price and gets other 2-3 free subscriptions. – entering on a bigger market by a more aggressive advertising campaign; – improving the quality of the newspaper articles and actively involving the readers in the community life, a strategy that would attract a greater number of readers motivated by their involvement in the daily problems of their community.The company position is, also, seriously affected by the presence of a very high number of information sources and news that contribute to the decrease in the content value, but also to the impossibility of protecting the content; – rethinking the offer system for the online readers by paying a monthly subscription in order to have access to the content of the newspaper. The new payment model must be reorganised so that the media companies may sell packages of products that include subscriptions to the print newspaper and to the online version. Thus, the subscribers to the print version may have access also to the online version and to the smart phone /tablet version.This payment structure encourages readers to subscribe to the print edition and subsequently to support the maintenance of the circulation number. Furthermore, the attention of the clients is drawn, from the idea of restriction, to the idea of full access to the information, by any means. The strategies adopted by the press trusts for overcoming the crisis must be correlated with the resource strategies, especially since the costs for the workforce in this activity domain represent an important part of the final product cost. Given this fact, we consider that the analysis of the company's activity has to be drawn up in direct correlation with the human resource strategy for the selling component.We claim that the personnel restructuring and the dissolution of the distribution networks are supposed to be the last resort strategy, used only after all the other strategies have been analysed and eliminated, because, once the distribution network is lost, it can hardly be re-established due to higher costs. Recruitment and selection of the selling workforce in the domain are characteristics determined by the specific activity. When analysing the activity, one have to take into account a series of aspects, namely: a). the number of the current publications in the region; b). the recruitment and selection of the selling workforce, which is difficult since the revenues obtained from selling the newspaper is low; c). the geographical area where the publication is.With the purpose of winning the market, a series of major investments must be applied and, as opposed to other activity domains, we claim that the most important investment must be made in the human resources. It should not be neglected that a newspaper sells information. Some of the arguments in favour of the opinion that the human resource is the most important component are related to the quality of the newspaper articles, to the research methods „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 147 Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 and subject approach and to the manner in which the readers are captivated by the headlines.Another challenge is adjus ting to the new needs and reading behaviour of diverse segments of readers, but many did not understand this aspect, despite the market data reports about the focus groups present in each trust. Overcoming the crisis does not presupposes only restricting the activity. On the contrary, as we mentioned before, it involves the quality improvement of the product. Another strategy that should be adopted by the local publications could be the identification of new distribution channels and the improvement of advertising offers to atract important clients in need of advertising. We should not forget that the important local advertising clients were the real estate investors, the banks and the auto dealers.Once the crisis was installed, most of the private and public companies have reduced their advertising budgets. Many of these companies limited their activity or even disappeared from the market, others oriented towards different mass media channels: television or radio. Another option to increase sales is to withdraw from the advertising companies in which many newspapers sell their available inventory. These companies get big commissions, and sometimes the publisher gets 5-10% of the advertising list price. The dependence to third parties for advertising selling visibly affects the newspapers performance. Those who already have their own selling teams debate on the opportunity to use the same people both for selling print and online.There are opinions supporting these convergent views, but there are also those who consider that a separate team for online selling would be more efficient. They claim that it is very hard for a sales manager to motivate and train a team that is supposed to have different selling techniques and completely different financial expectations. Likewise, in order to be complete and functional, the selling strategy presupposes the elaboration of an entire set of specific forms: the report forms, the market reports regarding the competing news papers, the press monitoring reports, the buffer stock, the monitoring report for the selling agents routes, reports regarding the number of new activity routes or new clients etc.The marketing and selling strategy of the organisation implies finding solutions to attract clients, not only by offering appealing discounts, but also by providing better articles with a more interesting content, or, in the case of the press trusts that have the opportunity of using several media channels, by offering common packages for clients. For example, those publications that do not abandon their online version of the newspaper have to find new ways to attract advertising clients for its both versions, the print and the online, eventually using these common packages. First of all, a coherent marketing approach should be based on a clear definition of the market and the audience.When all the departments of a company work together to meet the needs and the interests of the consumer, the result may be a successful one. It implies that the action should unfold on two levels: firstly, it refers to the functional components of the marketing system – the selling workforce, the advertising, the relationship with the clients, the product management, the marketing research that need to work together. Secondly, marketing should be supported, understood and accepted by all the other departments. To support the team work in a inter-department team, the organisation has to apply internal and external marketing. The external marketing is directed to the audience outside the organisation.The internal one, refers to employing, training and motivating certain capable and talented employees, which will serve the interests and the needs of the clients. The internal marketing precedes the external marketing. For an organisation, there is no point in promising excellent services before being capable to actually offer them. A selling team that is not supported by the strategic marketing cann ot successfully accomplish the selling objectives. It is very difficult to build a selling team in print media and it is more difficult to motivate it. The company existence is dependent on the way in which the selling team interacts with the clients. The strategies for keeping the products on the market should be tailored to meet the new, continuously changing expectations of the consumers.The content quality and the reputation of the publication based on the professionalism of the journalists will be the basis for the future strategies in the media businesses. 3. Conclusions Should the press trusts want to develop future strategies, they have to to be aware of the globalisation effect, of the economic changes and the new technologies and their impact on the entire media industry. It is unnatural to offer common solutions for all consumers, especially under the circumstances brought by the explosion of the Internet. There is the need for separate offers, in accordance with the publ ic segments: traditionalist users, new media users etc.This segmentation is not easy to realise and all the needs that the publication has to meet should be clearly, honestly and precisely defined. Defining and targeting a clear value for the readers and the advertising clients will help the publication have better chances to resist on the market. At the moment, thousands of papers throughout the world are caught in a fight with the Internet. Nobody knows what will happen, which of them will win the fight, or how the survivors will look like after the final round. On one hand, the new technology has led to an audience increase, and on the other hand the selling figures of the print newspapers have significantly dropped.Thus, the most aggressive competitor of the traditional selling networks in the print press is the Internet. Despite the fact that the costs for the online version of the newspaper are lower compared to the print version, the editors still don't know or don't understa nd the online phenomenon and for this new competitor they have to find solutions to reinvent themselves. „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 148 Annals of the „Constantin Brancusi† University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 3/2012 In print press, the business model was almost identical regardless of the advertising type: creating and distributing informational content and attaching advertising to that content.The expenses generated by the printing, distribution and salaries were covered from the newspaper selling (30%) and advertising (70%) [13]. There has never been a profound relationship between the advertising and the articles. The advertising clients had no choice in the matter, lacking alternatives for the promotion of their products or services. Their only requirement regarded the number of sold newspapers and the targeted audience. Under the current circumstances, the Internet development furthers more and more the content of t he information and advertising. Practically speaking, we ask ourselves: Which are the reasons for selling a newspaper, given that all the information may be found on the Internet? and What determines the clients to allocate budgets for the print press?As long as there are readers who want to read the newspaper in its print form, no matter what the fluctuations are, there will a market for this product and therefore the press trusts will have to find the best methods to survive. The greater the challenges for the companies management, the more difficult it is to anticipate the future of the press, no matter how many surveys will be carried out. Nowadays, under the given circumstances, the selling teams have the task to find the best solutions to attract advertising clients on one hand, and to find solutions for keeping the distribution channels for the newspaper, on the other hand. 4. Bibliography [1] Bertrand, C,J- O introducere in presa scrisa si vorbita, Ed. Polirom, Iasi, 2001 [2 ] Coman, M, Introducere in sistemul mass media , Ed.Polirom, Iasi 2007 [3] Kotler, Philip, Managementul marketingului (traducere), Editura Teora, Bucuresti, 2000. [4] Stefanescu, Paul, Bazele marketingului, Editura Didactica si Pedagogica, Bucuresti, 1994. [5] *** www. activewatch. ro -Raport Free Ex 2011 pg. 7 [6] *** www. ancom. org. ro [7] *** www. business24. ro-Piata media iese din criza. In 2012 va inregistra primele cresteri dupa 3 ani de foc [8] *** www. brat. ro [9] *** www. hotnews. ro-media publicitate [10] *** www. journalism. org [11] *** www. mediaddict. ro [12] *** http//stateofthemedia. org – The state of the new Media 2012 [13] *** www. studiu-deloitte. ro-tendintele-media-2010 „ACADEMICA BRANCUSI† PUBLISHER, ISSN 1844 – 7007 149

Tesco Fail in Japan

Management Decision Case : Tests Serves Up Japanese Expansion Given the highly competitive nature of the Japanese retail food market and failure of global leaders Wall-Mart and Careful to successfully penetrate the Japanese market, do you believe Deco's decision to open Tests Express is a good idea? Why or why not? Not a good idea. Why? Cultural differences between the I-J market and the Japanese market for groceries. Japanese doesn't want change (even Walter and Careful failed).So, it s difficult to penetrate into Japanese market Tests needs volume (to make profit) due to the operation cost. Japanese only wants their local product (since there is already 40000 convenience store in Japan) Quality & Standard. The reason of Walter n Careful failure was the quality since Japanese is willing to pay for higher-quality food that is convenient. Come with express first but no capability since their model works with bigger supermarket (risky) Japan, the world's third-biggest grocery market re mains a difficult country to make money from as International retailersHow would you describe the retail strategy for Tests Express as it expands in Japan? Unique mix of convenience store and supermarket featuring higher-quality fresh food, ready-made meals, and certain supermarket items found in its larger, traditional Tests Supermarket. Convenience store offering quality, ready-made food and limited supermarket items (not currently served by traditional Japanese convenience stores such as 7- eleven, Lawson, Circle-K Skunks, or the larger more traditional grocery stores such as Neon and Aide) Focuses on the delivery of fresh ready-made foods.

Homeland Security and Terrorism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Homeland Security and Terrorism - Term Paper Example Terrorism is a global problem and the emergence of terrorists groups is a threat to the international security. The Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is known by many individuals worldwide following its brutal actions and violent tactics in an effort to establish Islamic state in Iraq, Syria and beyond. ISIS is a major threat to America because it has a territorial base, which makes it easy for them to plan and organize terrorism against the U.S. More so, ISIS recruits American citizens who have travelled to Syria and Iraq to support them and help them fight, and this makes them dangerous and able to commit acts of violence upon their return. This paper explores the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria as one of the major terrorist groups threatening America. It also covers new homeland policy designated to prevent and respond to terrorism and protect citizens. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)The Islamic state of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIL, is a rebel group that is popular worldwide because of its violent tactics to create a caliphate. This group is based in Iraq and Syria in the Middle East and its major aim is to establish an Islamic state in majority regions of Iraq and other Muslim-inhabited regions worldwide. This group claims religious authority over all Muslims globally and have absolute control over Islamic states. The United Nations and many countries have recognized the ISIS as a terrorist organization because of its violation of human rights.

Revise Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Revise Paper - Essay Example Some of the examples include the differences in algorithm and heuristic rules. In my opinion, I find that he has a subjective view since the conclusions provided do not have enough groundings and contain only general observations. Still I find it to be an interesting article full of views that are believable and worth reading. Anne Lamott also demonstrates a clear point, that; writing does not occur naturally, even to the most experienced writers in the world. There is use of words such as â€Å"child’s draft† (which she regards as primary attempt to express the ideas, whereas secondary polishing still needs to be done) and â€Å"shitty first drafts† to make her argument more valid, which makes it easier for readers to understand that writing naturally is a misconception. I always notice that my first draft expresses mains ideas, but words selection and language in general requires amendments. Basically we can distinguish 2 steps of writing: expressing ideas and building proper linguistic structure of the text. An excellent illustration is in page 1 of her book where she asserts that there are no writers that write elegant first drafts. I agree with her view because it reminds me as a student that I should never feel embarrassed for writing my first drafts with so many mistakes. Compl eting the final draft requires analysis of all components which form one’s assignment: checking the smooth transition between ideas, logical structure of writer’s thoughts and language, which includes grammar, punctuation and stylistic analysis of the text. What helps is when the writer starts looking at a topic from different angles to get to the right ideas, hence the final draft. By making a conclusion I would like to say that creative requires balancing between one’s inner thoughts and ideas and they way those ideas are expressed via

ELL Concepts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ELL Concepts - Research Paper Example The notion of â€Å"providing practice† is generally defined as the praxis of supplying practice-based items so that learners have â€Å"multiple opportunities† (Lanin-Thompson & Vaughn, 2007). A guided practice includes the finding of, or comprehending, the subtle distinction of the words â€Å"downpour,† â€Å"drizzle,† and â€Å"sprinkle,† which according to Lanin-Thompson & Vaughn are different descriptions of the fall of precipitation. Since the characteristic of explicit skill instruction is routine or repetitive, English Language Learners are gradually able to acquire these words. Giving this kind of learners an ample time for them to practice is undoubtedly empirical. Muniz-Swicegood argues that students who received explicit skill instruction and guided practice â€Å"can then practice the skills and strategies they have learned† (as cited in Lanin-Thompson & Vaughn). This practice could be done substantially through group discussion or interaction. Such strategy certainly increases the interaction among English Language Learners. Question 2 The basic stages of second language acquisition have great implication both to the teacher’s pedagogy and to the L2 student.

Economic History Of The United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic History Of The United States - Essay Example Under normal water draft conditions, a barge can carry 2200 tons of dry cargo. Typically a train of 15 barges is pulled through the river by a tow. A one-foot fall in water level requires the loading of each barge to be reduced to 1600 tons to prevent the barges from running aground on sandbanks in the river. This reduced capacity has already caused spot market prices for barge transport to rise by $ 4 a ton. River transportation carries over 60% of US grain exports and 22% of the domestic petroleum and petroleum products. A single train of 15 barges carries as much material as 70 trucks and road transport would not only be far more expensive in fuel cost but also in terms of increased air pollution.  Previously, in 1988, there was similar disruption of river transportation due to drought which led to the construction of dikes on the Mississippi river to release water into the river in the summer months. This year, the Congress has authorized $ 120 million for dredging. River trans portation which is so vital for US commerce still remains subject to the vagaries of the weather.  In our course on The Economic History of the United States, we have learned how the invention of steamboats caused a surge in river transportation of agricultural produce that helped settlers in the mid-west transport farm produce to the population centers in the eastern United States. This improvement in river transportation of materials also led to the development of navigable canals to improve connectivity to the north east.

Organizational Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Development - Assignment Example Diagnosis is argued to help draw conclusions crucial in designing potential change that would help the organization improve. Diagnosis helps OD practitioner and client jointly determine organizational issues to focus on, identification of the process involved in the collection and analysis of data, and also enables both OD practitioner and the client to work together in order to develop action steps obtained from the diagnosis (Cummings and Worley87). In fact, it is believed that when diagnosis is done clearly, it provides knowledge of the organization needed to design appropriate interventions. Why getting diagnosis correct is so important It is crucial to get the diagnosis in order to have an effective intervention scope (Cummings and Worley 87). Diagnostic models are used to point out areas required to examine and questions to ask. This ensures that there is no biased diagnosis. A biased diagnosis can lead to wrong or ineffective intervention scope. In some instances, some diagnos tic models may limit the kind of questions to ask from the interviewee, and this may lock out vital information. Diagnosis is considered to be effective when it comprehensively addresses the area of concern without leaving out some information. Importance of conducting a thorough diagnosis prior to beginning any intervention activity As discussed earlier, as OD practitioners enter into a contract with a client, the main objective is to look for solutions to existing problems affecting the organization. In this regard, it becomes vital that the OD practitioner need to understand the trend in which the organization has been following, and this may call for a need to understand the whole system or some parts, or feature of the organization, which all this falls under the phase of diagnosis (Cummings and Worley 88). Besides, it would be unlikely that appropriate interventions would be identified if no clear picture of the organization and articulation of the problem are done. Additional ly, although the client may not see any need of the diagnosis phase, it is obvious that the next phase would be collection and analysis of information that help in coming up with intervention scope. Bearing such deliberations, it is understandable that collection of information involves collecting information based a specific problem, which is identified in the diagnosis phase. Therefore, it is true to argue that diagnosis phase is crucial in the OD intervention and can not be ignored or skipped. Part 2 The level at which to conduct diagnosis to change M&DDiv’s documentation processes and procedures Since PolyProd has exponentially grown thus leading to much documentation, it is obvious that documentation process and procedures have been overwhelming in the Manufacturing and Distribution Division. It is also apparent that documentation process and procedures in PolyProd are quite vital and covers almost every step right from the manufacturing stage to distribution level (Cumm ings and Worley 242). Another important aspect to consider is the distribution process, which is done from the headquarters and then distributed to other locations. With this in mind, it is correct to argue that organizational level would be the appropriate level to

Open Japan to the World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Open Japan to the World - Essay Example Japan opened its ports and the Western countries slowly expanded their influence to trade and settlement in the treaty ports, The Japanese government underlines that the opening of the country did not mean any change in its policy and strategic goals. Japan was opened for contact with the rest of the world, including Christianity; missionary work was started in the open ports; but Christianity was still proscribed as an evil religion. As Japan emerged from more than two centuries of seclusion, feelings of past interactions with the West mingled with new information and feelings (Konishi 2007). For Japan, the past proposed a unique model for interpreting what was happening with the nation, and new developments to a certain extent changed traditional values. In 1856 Consul-General Townsend Harris was sent to Japan to negotiate a treaty of commerce, which was signed two years later (Miyoshi 82). In 1860 a Bakufu envoy was despatched to America to exchange ratifications of the treaty. It was the first time that a Japanese ship crossed the Pacific. At the same time with the conclusion of a treaty with the United States, Japan negotiated commercial treaties of commerce with Holland, Russia, England and France. Japan's trade with the West was officially started. It is possible to sayt hat the Bakufu was forced to open the state to foreign intercourse signified, in the eyes of the people in general, a lowering of its prestige. As a result anti-foreign movements were launched here and there, movements which finally came to be seen on as a means of attacking the Bakufu. The Bakufu was no longer powerful enough to rise the state out of the collapse into which it had fallen; all it could do was to make the best of the bad bargain by taking makeshift measures. This helped to speed up the downfall of the Bakufu. "To return to the initial question, the Embassy men were all too eager to accept the American welcome as genuine. As they once wanted to believe that Japan was China 's equal, so they now wanted to regard Japan and the United States as on a similar footing" (Miyoshi 64). For more than two decades the centralized power of the Tokugawa shogunate tied to establish and maintain an unprecedented political and social stability in the country. In order to maintain political stability a policy of social stability was introduced. All aspects of social life were managed, even minute details concerning food and clothing. As the Western countries began to search for new contact with Japan in the early nineteenth century, the great danger of trade and Christian propagation was again used as a powerful tool against such transformations. Considering that the Western nations in the mid- nineteenth century were quickly expanding their impact in the Far East through military force, trade, colonization, and Christian propagation, the Japanese doubt was reasonable. For instance, the Opium War in 1842 and the forced opening of China especially alarmed the shogunate and stimulated the improvement of military defense in Japan (Murase 273). In spite of this basic principle of noninterference, which was officially adopted in the following period if time, the presence of the Western countries in Japan was accompanied by consistent and even embarrassing demonstrations of their concern for the cause of Christianity (Konishi 2007). The following description of

The Life of Yukio Mishima Essay Example for Free

The Life of Yukio Mishima Essay Yukio Mishima is a pseudonym of Kimitake Hiraoka, a famous Japanese novelist, playwright and short story writer, actor and social activist, Radical and aesthete, who is considered to be one of the most talented and influential Japanese artists of the 20th century. Mishima was a very prolific writer, who worked in various literary styles and genres and whose creative legacy amounts to more than hundred literary works including 40 novels, 18 plays and screenplays, as well as traditional Kabuki and Noh style theatre dramas, etc. Mishima was born in Tokyo in 1925 to a family of aristocratic samurai ancestry. Future writer was raised by his paternal grandmother, Natsuko Hiraoka, who separated the little boy from his mother for some years. She was a very tough and authoritarian woman, who was keeping the boy in severe discipline. At the same time, she developed in the heart of her grandson a true love for Japanese and European cultures, as well as for theatre, literature and art: in particular, for the works of Izumi Kyoka. He was back to the family at the age of 12. Being a student of the Peer’s School, Mishima started writing the first stories inspired by his favorite Japanese classic writers and Oscar Wilde. Some of this works were published in school magazine and received positive reaction from students and teachers. But, unfortunately, his father, a governmental officer, was strictly against such literary â€Å"exercises† of his son. Therefore, couple of years later Mishima decided to take a pen-name in order not to be revealed by his anti-literary parent. After finishing high school Mishima studied law in Tokyo University. In 1947 after the graduation he worked as an official in the Ministry of Finance, but a year later he made up his mind to resign and completely dedicate himself to writing. His first conceptual work, a semi-autobiographic novel Kamen no kokuhaku (Confessions of a Mask), which was exploring the difficulties of homosexual culture in Japanese society, was published in 1949 and marked a start of bright career and great worldwide popularity of Mishima. In his works Mshima was discussing the issues of love, death, suicide, human beauty and sexuality, personal and religious values, etc. The novels which are the most known in America and Europe include The Sound of Waves (1954), The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1956), After the Banquet (1960) and, finally, the trilogy The Sea of Fertility (1969-71), which describes the fall of Japanese culture in the beginning of the 20th century. His writing style can be characterized with unique presentation and paying a lot of attention to details, along with engaging some exclusive allegories and elements of paradoxes. But certainly, Yukio Mishima was greatly esteemed on his own lands for his numerous theatre plays. With his pieces The Damask Drum, Hanjo, Kantan and others, he is supposed to be the first writer of modern times who worked in old-fashioned Noh theater style. Several dramas, including Madame de Sad and My Friend Hitler, were written in modern genre Shingeki. Besides, Mishima wrote a number of plays in traditional Kabuki style, which requires some special talent and very rich cultural background. It is necessary to mention that traditional Japanese values were of great importance for Mishima, influencing significantly his life and works. He was particularly disturbed by global imagination about Japan as â€Å"a nation of flower arrangers†, so he devoted his life to reviving of bushido, the traditional code of conduct and values of samurais. Also, he was a fierce antagonist of any Westernization of Japan, arguing in public to spend every effort on preserving Japanese culture and traditions. (Schoenberg Trudeau). As a real Japanese patriot, Mishima had a reputation for discipline, order and self-organization. He used to work on his literary masterpieces from sunset to dawn, spending the daytime in his various social activities. Mishima was three times nominated for the Noble Prize for Literature. He died in November 1970, committing a spectacular ritual suicide seppuku after his unsuccessful speech against the existing pro-American Japanese constitution and anti-emperor regime. Bibliography: †¢ Liukkonen, P. (2003). Yukio Mishima 1925-1970. Pegasus. Kuusankosken kaupunginkirjasto, Finland. Retrieved May 29, 2007, from http://www. kirjasto. sci. fi/mishima. htm . †¢ Schoenberg, T. L. Lawrence J. Trudeau (Eds.) (2006). Mishima, Yukio:   eNotes. com. Retrieved May 29, 2007, from http://www. enotes. com/twentieth-century-criticism/mishima-yukio/introduction? print=1. †¢ Yukio Mishima. (2005, November 18). UXL Newsmakers. 5-6 (1): 87-88. †¢ Yukio Mishima: A 20th Century Warrior. (1995, January March). New Dawn Magazine. 29 (1): 23-24.

Measuring Depression for Individuals with Chronic Illness

Measuring Depression for Individuals with Chronic Illness The main intend of present study was to develop a reliable self-report indigenous measure of depression in people with chronic illnesses. Early detection of depression may decrease the risk of increment of disease burden and may provide insight for future coping skills to manage diseases in patients with chronic illnesses. Currently used scales for screening depression in Pakistan originated in Western countries. These scales are used as in original version, translated and/or in adaptive version (Naeem, 1990). Regardless of the high reliability and validity of the scales, there have been certain limitations in their capacity to identify depressive symptoms in Pakistani population. That is because of many cultural and regional differences that have an effect on mental disorders. These limitations of presently used Western scales possibly will increase the risk of mislaid symptoms in local population. By keeping these reviews in mind, it becomes visible that there is need to develop a new measure to assess depression in people with chronic illnesses with multivariate psychometric properties. That enables the clinician or researcher to measure the depression and its complicated effects on various chronic illnesses or vice-versa. Therefore this study attempted to develop a culturally receptive scale to measure depression as well as the assessment of validity and reliability of this scale named Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale (DCIS). The Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale is a 31-item, four points rating scale. Results ascertain Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale as a reliable and valid apparatus with significant psychometric properties such as high internal consistency, test re-test reliability, sufficient convergent validity with other similar constructs and adequate discriminant validity with non-clinical population. The DCIS require respondents to report feelings that they experienced in last six months. Item number 10, 18, 26 and 31 are an Urdu adaptation of Beck Depression Inventory- (1961). The DCIS subjected to principal axis factor analysis. Factor analysis is most important method of test development because it provides the dimensionality of the factors and reveals underlying factors of the data (Field 2005; Widaman Floyed, 1995; Guilford, 1948). Consistency of the factor analysis reliant on the attribute of data that have to be checked its aptness before analyzing, and sample size is one of them. Sizes of the sample may vary according to the requirement (Field, 2005). Sample size of more than 200 cases is sufficient for the factor analysis (Guilford, 1956). Whereas another decisive factor for factor analysis is communalities after extraction will be greater than .5 (Field 2005). The present study fulfills these requirements (Table 2). Table 2 indicates that most of the items show communalities greater than .5. To test the sample adequacy and Sphericity, KMO and Bartlett’s test was also carried out. The acceptable range of KMO value must be greater than .5 (F ield, 2005). In present study the KMO value is .8 (Table 1) which falls within the moderate range (Field, 2005) and fulfill the requirement to produce reliable and distinct factors while analyzing. Finally Bartlett’s test of Sphericity is also highly significant (p Factor analysis was carried out to estimate the strength of the relationship of individual items with the concepts and to determine the possible essential structures of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale. Factor analysis quickly enables to take decision regarding item retention on the basis of good indicator of the construct and item deletion on the basis of poor indicator of the construct. After the assessment of decision making for factor analysis, specific criteria has been used that guide factor analytic decision making. That is based on the magnitude of the factor structure loading of one item on a factor opposed to another. When an item loaded on more than one factor the difference between the loadings must be at least .10 and an item needed .30 factors loading to be retained for further analysis (Nunnally, 1978). For the present study table 3 and 4 shows six distinct factors with Eigen Value greater than 1, whereas one strong factor with an eigen value of 11.01 that is expl aining 35.5% of the variance in the items. All items showed high loading on factor one ranging from .42 to .79. On the other hand rotation of factors extracted six factors by using Varimax Rotation Method. Though most of the items including items 1 (hopelessness), 2 (sadness), 3 (worthlessness), 4 (feeling of being rejected), 8 (pessimism), 12 (self-criticalness), 22 (hopelessness) are loaded on factor one which fall within the category of negative thinking. While items 5 (loss of energy), 6 (fatigue), 7 (fatigue), 17 (loss of pleasure) and 21 (loss of sleep) are loaded on factor two which is the category of lack of motivation. On the other hand third factor regret feelings comprised of item 9 (past failure), 18 (loss of pleasure) 28 (feeling of punishment) and 29 (loneliness). While item 10 (worry), 11(self dislike), 14 (hesitant), 15 (lack of confidence), 16 (uncertainty) and 19 (inability to make decision) are loaded on factor four fall within the category of indecisiveness. Whil e item 13 (feebleness), 20 (obsessed thoughts), 25 (crying), 26 (despondent) and 30 (self criticalness) are loaded on Factor five and this category is labeled as helplessness. While item 23(agitation), 24 (anger), 25 (crying), 27 (loss of appetite) and 31 (criticalness) are loaded on factor six and fall within the category of irritability. In present study item 25 (crying) loaded on factor five (helplessness) and factor six (irritability) simultaneously because the content of this item related to both factors. Almost all the item-total correlations of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale (Table 6) are highly positive within the suggested range of .30–.70 (Ferketich, 1991). Item number 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30 and 31 showed strong positive correlation with the total scores. Their correlations with the total scores ranging between .5 to .7 and considered to be better-quality items for assessing depression in chronically ill patients. Item number 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 16, 19, 21, 26 and 27 showed moderate positive correlation with the total score. Their correlations with the total scores ranged in between .49- .39. The reasonably high levels of item-total correlation suggest that the items are sufficiently related. Inter-item correlations of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale are also calculated. Result indicates that item 1 (hopelessness) is highly correlated with worthlessness to feeling of being rejected to pessimism to past failures to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to anger to crying to feeling of punishment to loneliness and to criticalness. Furthermore item 2 (sadness) is significantly correlated with worthlessness to feeling of being rejected to pessimism to past failure to self criticalness to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to obsessed thought hopelessness to agitation to crying to despondent and to feeling of punishment. Item number three worthlessness significantly related to feeling of being rejected to pessimism to past failure to worry to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to obsessed thoughts hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to feeling of puni shment to loneliness to guilt. Item 4 feeling of being rejected is highly correlated with pessimism to past failure to worry to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Item 5 loss of energy is related to fatigue to feebleness to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to feeling of punishment. Item 6 fatigue is highly related to feebleness to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to feeling of punishment. Item 7 fatigue is highly related to self dislike to feebleness to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to hopelessness to feeling of punishment. Item 8 is related to past failure significantly related to past failures to worry to self dislike to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decisions to obsessed thoughts to hopelessness to agitation to crying to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Item 9 past failures is highly related to worr y to self dislike to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decisions to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to crying to despondent to loss of appetite to loneliness to feeling of punishment. On the other hand self dislike, self criticalness, hesitant, lack of confidence, uncertainty, loss of pleasure, inability to make decisions, hopelessness, crying, feeling of punishment and loneliness are significantly relates with item 10 worry. Item 11 self dislike relates with hesitant to lack of confidence to loss of pleasure to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment. Item 12 self criticalness is highly related to feebleness to hesitant to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation crying to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment. Item 13 feebleness is highly relate d with hesitant to lack of pleasure to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to obsessed thoughts to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to despondent to loneliness to feeling of punishment. Item 14 hesitant is significantly related to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to despondent to loneliness. Item 15 lack of confidence is related to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to hopelessness to agitation anger to crying to loneliness. Item 16 uncertainty is significantly related to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to crying. Item 17 loss of pleasure is significantly related to inability to make decision to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to despondent to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Loss of pleasure (item 18) is moderately related to inabil ity to make decision to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Item 19 inability to make decisions are related crying and despondent. Item 20 is highly related to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to loneliness to criticalness. Loss of sleep (item 21) is significantly related hopelessness to agitation to anger to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment to self-criticalness. Hopelessness (22) is significantly related to agitation to anger to crying to feeling of punishment despondent to loneliness. Anger is significantly related to crying to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Crying and despondent are more closely linked with self punishment and self-criticalness. Moreover feeling of punishment made its significant link with loneliness and self-criticalness. Link can be explained in the way that feeling of punishment arises when people have critical attitude for self and others and this attitude inculcate more criticalness towards self and the person entrap in vicious circle. Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale displayed its strength by providing significant test re-test reliability (table 8). Test re-test reliability was estimated by administration of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale twice with the interval of one week between two administrations. Result establishes a high temporal stability of the scale i.e. a significantly high Pearson Product Moment Correlation of .716. It represents that the people with chronic illnesses maintain their relative position over a given period of time. Another reason of high test re-test reliability is those items that have significant item-total correlation in the Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale. Because those items momentously contribute in enhancing reliability of the scale. In addition people with depression usually consistent with their opinion about the feelings, experiences and illness. For estimation of internal consistency of the Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and split half reliability were computed. Cronbach’s alpha and split half reliability of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale was found to be .902 and .875 respectively indicate that Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale highly internally consistent. Moreover high alpha range indicate that every single item of the scale assess the same construct as the total does. Therefore Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale provides an excellent support for measuring depression in chronic illnesses. Convergent validity is demonstrated by high positive correlations between different measures of the same traits (Campbell Fisk, 1959; Domino Domino, 2006). The Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale indicated good convergent validity in that it revealed significant and strong correlations with previously validated scales such as the CES-D i.e. .823 and HRDS i.e. .718 (table 9). To assess convergent validity, scores of the DCIS were compared to the scores of CES-D and HRSD scales. A positive correlation was expected between these three scales because of the superior clinical relevance of the CES-D and HRSD. A positive correlation between the DCIS, CES-D and HRSD provides an empirical support of the convergent validity of the newly established scale. Discriminant validity of a scale corresponds to the extent to which a test does not correlate considerably with that variable from which it ought to diverge (Campbell Fisk, 1959; Domino Domino, 2006). In order to explore discriminant validity, means, standard deviations and correlations between the scores of clinical population and non-clinical population were assessed (table 10, 11). The results demonstrated that there is a considerable difference in the means and standard deviations for both groups. The results further demonstrated significantly poor correlations between them, suggested that the DCIS can discriminate well between patients with chronic illness and normal peoples. Conclusion Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale is constructing to provide a psychometrically reliable and valid self-report indigenous screening test for depression in people with chronic illnesses. There was no validated measure for screening the depression in chronically ill patients’ available indigenously. To fill that gap, the Depression in Chronic Illness Scale developed and is the first indigenous test which is culturally sensitive for screening depression in chronic illnesses. Findings of the study suggested that the DCIS captures several important areas of depression in patients with chronic illnesses. The scale will help clinician and primary care practioners to diagnose unnoticed depression missed due to the chronic disease burden. The scale has demonstrated good psychometric properties. Internal consistency for the overall scale was .902 falling within the recommended range, suggesting the scale is internally highly reliable. The factor analysis also supported the concept of depression as a multidimensional construct and consistent with the literature review. Significant input from chronically ill patients and health care professionals that guided in scale development. The scale is of four point likert type response system with high test retest reliability and sufficient convergent validity with Centre of Epidemiologic Study-Depression and Hamilton Rating Scale for depression. DCIS is a 31 items and 4 point likert type scale where each item scores on 0-3 rating system such as strongly agree 3, agree 2, disagree 1 and strongly disagree rated as 0. The collective sum of score is 93. The administration of the scale do not required much time i.e. five to ten minutes. Classificatory indices of the scores are, 0-30 indicates minimal depression, 31-41 indicates mild depression, 42-55 indicates moderate depression and more than 55 points indicates severe level of depression. The language of the DCIS is understandable and concise and does not require specific educational level. The only requirement is understanding and comprehension of Urdu language. Instructions of the scale are clearly stated without any ambiguity. The administration and scoring of DCIS does not need a skilled and trained interviewer. DCIS has hand scoring with little time consuming. In general, the DCIS is a useful test to provide a quick and proficient approach to assess depression in people with chronic illnesses. Furthermore, DCIS can also be use in research settings and will be as useful as in clinical settings. There are certain limitations that have a tendency to cloud the issue. The sample is to some extent small, containing only 220 chronically ill patients and the socioeconomic status of the participants is not accounted. However, as the DCIS was developed and validated only in Karachi, further studies need to evaluate its applicability in more demographically and culturally diverse samples of Pakistan. Gender differences may exist in terms of depression but present study did not address the issue. Future studies have to explore this possible gender difference. Another limitation of DCIS could be its applicability that is solely dependent on respondent’s mutual aid and their comprehension regarding Urdu language. Future studies can develop and validate the DCIS clinician rating scale to address this issue. There is need to control false positive and false negative responses from patients and the present study does not cater this issue. Further studies have to explore and control this issue.

Jane Austens Emma - Rebel or Conformist? Essay -- Austen Emma Essays

Emma - Rebel or Conformist?    Near the town of Highbury, a village located in the eighteenth century English countryside, sits the estate of Hartfield where Emma Woodhouse resides with her health conscious father who finds fault with all of life's necessities. When Emma's governess and close comrade, Miss Taylor, marries Mr. Weston, an affluent neighbor, and moves to his nearby estate, sociable Emma is forced to find herself a new companion. Harriet Smith, a naive teen who lives at Mrs. Goddard's boarding school, though of a lower class due to her illegitimacy, seems desperately in need of Emma's management and counsel. Sure that she was the cause of the perfect match between Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston, Emma is determined to find an equally exceptional match for Harriet. The young rector, Mr. Elton, seems the perfect candidate for a future husband, and Emma sets out to match her new friend with the young clergyman. The imaginative Emma views Mr. Elton as falling deeply in love with Harriet and greatly encourages Harriet's feelings for him to inflame. When an old friend of Harriet's, Robert Martin, who is equal to her in social status, sends her a marriage proposal, Emma quickly discourages it and helps Harriet write the letter of refusal. Mr. Knightely, Emma's neighbor and close friend is greatly disappointed by this action and tells Emma that Harriet made a formidable mistake in refusing such an offer. Emma does not care for this response for in her eyes Mr. Elton's feelings for Harriet are blossoming beautifully and are quickly being reciprocated. On the eve of a dinner held at the Weston's estate, Harriet comes down with a cold and Emma is disappointed in Mr. Elton's lack of sympathy for the invalid. The sno... ...y were so rigid of structure that a person's respectability was tarnished if they broke one of the standards. Emma Woodhouse tries to defy some of these codes, but finds that it is much easier to live up to the standards society determines. Works Cited and Consulted Austen, Jane. Emma. Ed. Stephen M. Parrish. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1993. Brown, Julia Prewitt. â€Å"Civilization and the Contentment of Emma.† Modern Critical Views: Jane Austen. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 87-108. Johnson, Claudia L. â€Å"’Not at All What a Man Should Be!’: Remaking English Manhood in Emma.† Equivocal Beings: Politics, Gender, and Sentimentality in the 1790s. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995. 191-203. Litz, A. Walton. "Limits of Freedom: Emma" Emma. 1972. Norton Critical ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993, 369-377

Clothing Is a Mode of Non-Verbal Communication Essay -- Nonverbal Comm

Crossed arms, dilated pupils, and fake smiles are all examples of nonverbal communication. However, the one that may have the biggest impact on a person’s opinion of the wearer is the type of clothing he or she is wearing. Clothing is often the first impression of a person that someone gets, whether it is accurate or not. People often use clothing to indicate their age, gender, political views, and economic class. Without even realizing it, most people make assumptions about a person based on their clothing. People make assumptions and pass judgment about other’s emotional, moral, education, and social prestige (Dynamism of Fashion Among Female Undergraduates and its Effects in the Sight of Beholders in a University of Education, Nigeria 2011). We commonly expect people to dress a certain way before we learn anything about them personally, or their qualifications. So often, people try to pick out their nicest outfits when they are attempting to make a good first impression before the employer ever ask them any questions. First impressions are very important and clothing is usually one of the prime factors in determining them (Pelham 2010). A person’s personality and cultural beliefs can be communicated through their clothing options. Clothing can also be used to tell whether the wearer is conventional or audacious, outgoing or aloof, casual or organized, a leader or a follower, or poised or insecure. However, making assumptions like the ones previously stated can be mistaken (Dynamism of Fashion Among Female Undergraduates and its Effects in the Sight of Beholders in a University of Education, Nigeria 2011). Clothing styles such as very tight clothes may be suggestive, showing off, or possibly even unappealing, while clo... ...be identified as an Indian or as Hindu while she may very well be neither (Pelham 2010). I am often told that people are watching me. Not to hear what I say, but to see what I do, how I do it, and even what I’m wearing. While they watch me, they are forming their own opinions. Whether or not their opinions are factual is not the point, the point is that they are basing their assumptions on nonverbal communication. The outcome is that nonverbal communication can be misconstrued at any time; it just depends on the person analyzing it. Works Cited "Dynamism of Fashion Among Female Undergraduates and its Effects in the Sight of Beholders in a University of Education, Nigeria." Academic Leadership The Online Journal 9, no. 2 March 2011. Web. 20 March 2015 Pelham, Libby. Clothing as a Form of Non Verbal Communication. July 12, 2010. Web. 20 March 2015

Vikings and the First American Colony Essay -- American America Histor

Vikings and the First American Colony The idea that Columbus did not provide Europeans with their first long term contact with America is now nearly universally accepted. Activists for the Irish monk, St. Brenden, and other early explorers are gaining support with new archaeological evidence. It is the Norsemen, though, that have the distinction of being the first colonizers of the Americas, whether or not chance meetings occurred before. The legacy they left the Americas is striking considering the short amount of time they actually spent here, and historians are baffled by nearly every aspect of their colony. The forces that made them abandon Vineland, their main colony, are the subject of an ongoing debate on both sides of the Atlantic. The nature, location, and inhabitants of the Americas the Vikings knew would all have been obstacles to forming a permanent settlement. The economy, the driving force for colonization, also affected the need for Vineland. The peninsula in the northwest corner of Europe known as Jutland has been inhabited by Scandinavians for centuries. Ptolmey writes about the area and Roman artifacts have been found during excavations of Norway and Sweeden demonstrating considerable contact with southern Europe (Wilson 21-23) Literacy is indicated by the Runes which first appeared at the beginning of the third century. The Runic alphabet has changed and evolved through the years, and claims of inscriprions dot the United States and are largey the basis on knowledge of Viking presence (Wilson 27). During the first century, Europeans embarked on a period of great migration, a time of great wealth and prosperity for the Scandinavians. One cause was the settlement of a new territory on the basis of "an eco... ...ed factual. Other sites in Greenland substantiate the sagas and we can rely on them for information regarding the Viking exploration of America. They do not, unfortunately, tell us the precise location of Vineland, so many aspects of the Viking adventures remain a mystery. For now, historians credit Vikings with the first European discovery of America. The colony was not permanent, but the legacy the Vikings left is seen in many places like Cape Cod where street names like Leif Lane and Viking Way dot the maps. Historians may never know all the details concerning why settlement did not last. For now the evidence points to skirmishes with the natives, the long distance from Greenland, the population shortage and the natural environmental factors. The Vikings were here for an instant and, for various reasons abandoned their settlement, leaving their mark forever.