Advertising and Pepsi Refresh Free Essays

COMPANY Case Pepsi: Can a Soda Really Make the World a Better Place? This year, PepsiCo did something that shocked the advertising world. After 23 straight years of running ads for its flagship brand on the Super Bowl, it announced that the number-two soft drink maker would be absent from the Big Game. But in the weeks leading up to Super Bowl XLIV, Pepsi was still the second-most discussed advertiser associated with the event. We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising and Pepsi Refresh or any similar topic only for you Order Now It wasn’t so much what Pepsi wasn’t doing that created such a stir as much as what it was doing. Rather than continuing with the same old messages of the past, focusing on the youthful nature of the Pepsi Generation, and using the same old mass-media channels, Pepsi is taking a major gamble by breaking new ground with its advertising program. Its latest campaign, called Pepsi Refresh, represents a major departure from its old promotion efforts in two ways: (1) The message centers on a theme of social responsibility, and (2) the message is being delivered with a fat dose of social media. At the center of the campaign is the Pepsi Refresh Project. PepsiCo has committed to award $20 million in grants ranging from $5,000 to $250,000 to organizations and individuals with ideas that will make the world a better place. The refresheverything . com Web site greets visitors with the headline, â€Å"What do you care about? † PepsiCo accepts up to 1,000 proposals each month in each of six different areas: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods, and education. Then crowdsourcing takes over, as consumers vote for their favorites. Pepsi awards the grants each month. One-third of the way through its one-year run, the company had funded more than 100 projects, giving approximately $5 million back to local communities. The company stated that the project was right on target to award the full $20 million by the end of the yearlong effort. INTEGRATING DIGITAL THROUGHOUT THE PROMOTIONAL MIX The Pepsi Refresh campaign has been a groundbreaking effort, in part because of its heavy use of social media. PepsiCo is capitalizing on a growing trend in a way that no other major brand has done so far. The company is quick to point out that Pepsi Refresh is not a social media add-on like almost others, where an ad simply directs people to a Web site for reasons that may or may not be relevant to the message. Nor is it a social media campaign as such, where the entire campaign takes place through social media. Rather, social media are the glue that holds together a truly integrated marketing communications effort. â€Å"It’s not about digital as its own channel anymore,† says Bonin Bough, director of digital and social media for PepsiCo. â€Å"It’s how do we infuse digital across all of our marketing programs? For starters, although PepsiCo bypassed the Super Bowl, it is not ditching broadcast media. To the contrary, Pepsi is running spot ads on the main networks as well as 30 different cable channels. The ads initially informed people about the Pepsi Refresh campaign, directing them to the refresheverything. com site. But shortly after the first grants were aw arded, ads began highlighting projects that had been funded. Traditional media efforts extend to 10 print publications as well. And PR plays a role through agreements such as the one with NBC Universal for paid pitches on the â€Å"Today† show. But this campaign underscores a shift in how PepsiCo is spending its advertising dollars. According to CEO Indra Nooyi, the world’s number two soft drink seller is shifting as much as one-third of its marketing budget to interactive and social media. This move involves not only the Pepsi brand but also Mountain Dew, Doritos, Sobe, and PepsiCo’s other brands. Certainly, PepsiCo is not alone in the trend toward digital and social media marketing. But analysts point out that its approach, moving away from high-profile spots in favor of heavy spending on a digitally focused social responsibility campaign, is both compelling and risky. I applaud Pepsi for embracing social media and technology,† said Marc Lucas, an advertising executive. â€Å"On the flip side, I think it’s very bold to not be in a place where you know you’re going to have an audience. † The refresheverything. com Web site is just one component of the brand’s online efforts. PepsiCo is spreading the message through the big networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, and even partnering with them for advertising opportunities. For example, Pepsi Refresh held the lead ad position on Facebook during the Super Bowl. Pepsi has also partnered with Hulu to sponsor its first original series, the reality show If I Can Dream. â€Å"It amplifies an advertising campaign by making it something people talk about, more of a social conversation,† said Jean-Paul Colaco, senior vice president for advertising at Hulu. PepsiCo even partnered with Spin magazine, music festival South by Southwest, and two Indie bands in a Web-based contest where music lovers could vote for their favorite. Metric beat out Broken Social Scene for a $100,000 grant that it gave to the Women’s Funding Network. As another component of the integrated campaign, the company has not shied away from using celebrity endorsers. Through clever network spot ads that place celebrities inside a life-sized, threedimensional laptop made of tagboard, Kevin Bacon appeals to people to vote for his cause, SixDegrees. org. He is quick to point out that this has nothing to do with the cult trivia game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Rather, he proposes using a $250,000 grant to hand out â€Å"good cards† that people can use to donate to any of more than a million different charities. But Bacon goes on to explain that the power of SixDegrees comes from the social networks of good card recipients. They buy more good cards and pass them on to others, and as social networking works its magic, that $250,000 grows into millions. Among various other celebrities, Pepsi has also recruited Demi Moore; NFL players Mark Sanchez, DeMarcus Ware, and Drew Brees; and NASCAR veterans Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. , and Jimmie Johnson to apply for grants and act as spokespersons for the project. These celebrities are vying for votes to award grants to such organizations as the Girls Education and Mentoring Service, the American Cancer Society, and the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. PepsiCo is also getting its message out to consumers at the point of purchase. Cans, bottles, and multipacks feature updated graphics that minimize an all lowercase Pepsi logo written vertically and highlights a new Pepsi brand mark: a large circle with swaths of red, white, and blue. That symbol replaces any â€Å"o† in Pepsi’s packaging and promotional materials. Thus, both â€Å"Do Some Good† and â€Å"Doing Good 101† each carry four of the new Pepsi circles. To draw people into retailer outlets to see the pointof- purchase (POP) materials and hopefully buy its soft drinks, Pepsi has partnered with Foursquare, the social network that connects people through GPS in real time. Foursquare members are directed to Pepsi retailers and given offers as an incentive for them to visit. DOING WELL BY DOING GOOD Despite the growth of cause-related marketing, PepsiCo’s effort is perhaps the first example of a major brand making social responsibility the main theme of its campaign, rather than an add-on. This does not downplay the efforts of companies like Target, which has given $273 million to local schools since 1997 through its RedCard program. But PepsiCo’s effort is built around a theme that drives the concept of â€Å"doing good† as much as it drives the brand. Coca- Cola’s response to Pepsi Refresh, donating a dollar to Boys and Girls Clubs of America each time a visitor to Coke’s Facebook page shares a virtual Coke gift, illustrates how most advertiser’s causerelated marketing efforts are peripheral to other advertising activities. Nooyi brings the centrality of Pepsi’s socially responsible message into perspective. The Pepsi Refresh Project is a platform, but at the end of the day, what we are doing is awarding the grants, we are enabling connections. It’s having a catalytic effect on people who are actually embracing these organizations. So, we’re not only benefiting the person who received the grant, we’re benefiting the people who are the recipients of the outcome of that idea. With schools, for instance, it’s not just one classroom that’s benefited. It’s all the kids who will be able to go to that classroom. And there have been people who have worked so hard to get this money that others have stepped in and matched the money they receive. Projects funded thus far are too numerous to list. But they include more than high-profile efforts like the celebrity campaigns. Many awards are being given to everyday people just trying to improve their own little corners of the world. Calvin Cannon received $5,000 for Clothe the N. A. K. E. D. Prom Date, his venture to sponsor low-income, upstanding dudes in Shelbyville, Tennessee, by paying for their tuxedo rentals for the prom. Jeanne Acutanza from Kirkland, Washington, got $5,000 for her children’s school so that it could manage a sustainable garden and give the harvest to local food banks. And the Associates of Redlands Bowl received $25,000 to support performing arts in the community of Redlands, California. â€Å"I’m proud of every idea we’re supporting, but it’s the simplicity of [these ideas that is] so innovative,† says Nooyi. â€Å"You would never have thought that one simple thing could bring about a big change in the community. † IN SEARCH OF THE HOLY GRAIL All this cutting edge promotion and the effort to change the world are wonderful. But at the end of the day, PepsiCo has to sell soft drinks. After all, it is the fiftieth largest publicly held corporation in the Fortune 500. Pepsi is also the 23rd most valuable brand in the world according to Interbrand. If this experiment fails to support sales of its core brand, PepsiCo will no doubt abandon its innovative promotion efforts and return to its old ways. As one social marketer states, â€Å"This is big, new, getting a lot of attention. It’s impactful; it’s innovative. What the industry is talking about now is, is this a gamble that was worth taking, in terms of a lift in sales? That’s the holy grail. † But PepsiCo remains extremely optimistic. In the first few months of the campaign, the number of Facebook fans doubled. The company formerly got a Twitter tweet every five minutes or so. Now, it receives more tweets per minute than a person can read. But just what is the value of a Facebook or a Twitter fan? Although many advocates of social networking say questions like that are irrelevant, budget-strapped chief marketing officers want to see return on investment. That’s why Bough and his team have developed a scorecard that ties different elements of the Pepsi Refresh campaign back to the health of the brand. Using standard research methods, PepsiCo will be measuring whether or not this campaign merits the expense. Pass or fail, many observers inside and outside PepsiCo will learn much from this first-of-its-kind social media and social responsibility campaign. Ana Maria Irazabal, director of marketing for PepsiCo, wants this campaign to become the model of the future. â€Å"We want people to be aware that every time you drink a Pepsi you are actually supporting the Pepsi Refresh Project and ideas that are going to move this country forward. We may be the first to do something like this, but hopefully, we’re not the last. † Questions for Discussion 1. Consider PepsiCo’s advertising throughout its history. (For a list of Pepsi slogans over the years, visit http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pepsi#Slogans. ) Identify as many commonalities as possible across its various ad campaigns. How is this campaign consistent with PepsiCo’s brand image? 2. List all the promotional mix elements used in the Pepsi Refresh campaign. What grade would you give PepsiCo on integrating these elements into an integration marketing communications campaign? 3. Describe PepsiCo’s target audience. Is the Pepsi Refresh campaign consistent with that audience? . As completely as possible, analyze the campaign according to the steps listed in the chapter for developing effective marketing communication. 5. Will the Pepsi Refresh campaign be successful? Why or why not? Sources: Natalie Zmuda, â€Å"Pass or Fail, Pepsi’s Refresh Will Be Case for Marketing Textbooks,† Advertising Age, February 8, 2010, p. 1; Stuart Elliott, â€Å"Pep si Invites the Public to Do Good,† New York Times, January 31, 2010, p. B6; Elaine Wong, â€Å"Pepsi Community Effort Finds Fans on Social Nets,† Brandweek, June 8, 2010, accessed at www. brandweek. com. How to cite Advertising and Pepsi Refresh, Essay examples

Sociology and Social Science Educational Institutions

Question: Discuss about theSociology and Social Sciencefor Educational Institutions. Answer: Introduction Observational trips are important in terms of practical experience. Visits to places of educational or historical institutions or settings can prove to be helpful to the students in a thoughtful and sensitive way. At the same time, the visits to the excursion sites can contribute to the development of personality and self-esteem of the students. Especially trips to the historical or religious places makes students aware of the timeline and the history of their own society and at the same time can awaken a sense of wonderment and awe. There are many and departments, dealing with various subjects, who prefer to undertake the off-campus training through the trips than classroom seasons (ari-edu.org 2016). The following essay, through a series of analysis and judging the aspects attempts to trace the prospects of an observational field trip to the ISCON temple at Melbourne. The essay analyzes the secular and religious prospect of the temple and the religious and secular prospects of the temple and the interrelation of the secular and religious observation in the area and thus brings out the appropriateness of the temple for the observational trip. ISCON as a place to visit for an observational trip is a best choice in terms of its atmosphere. Despite being a religious place, the temple does not impose any religious segregation or hegemony upon the visitors. The religion of Krishna exercises an open approach to everyone visiting and it is one of the great features can be accounted in its appropriateness as a place for the concerned trip. At the same time, the place can give the students the experience of touch, taste, smell, seeing and hearing. The atmosphere of the place in itself is peaceful and serene. This will be able to give the students a peace of mind and a meditating feeling which when continued will be able to provide the students a development in the personality and a spiritual feeling (Ammerman 2013). Most importantly, the spiritual feeling the place provides does not impose the spirituality of a particular religion. The temple practices a secular religion of love that has a vast and open air of acceptance in it. Th us, the spirituality does not give birth to orthodoxy rather love and openness of mind. This aura of personality and openness in present times is important to develop in all students in present times. Therefore, ISCON temple, Melbourne can serve as an appropriate destination for an observational trip (Cusack 2012). The outlook of the temple itself is graceful and worth a visit. The students will be able to learn the architectural qualities of different religions. Situated in Melbourne, Australia the students have already got to see a number of churches like the Scots Church, Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne to mention a few. Therefore, the students are well aware of the architectural features of a church, the students must have a holistic approach towards their knowledge so they must know about the different religions as well. The quaint houses, Indian architecture of the main temple area, the reception of the guests, the foods, and the treatment of the people will give the students a glimpse inside the culture and religion (harekrishnamelbourne.com.au 2016). Educationally, ISCON adopts a secular approach towards every religion. Throughout the temple, there is no material or element documenting any biased opinion towards any religion. Moreover, their approach is much unbiased. Their educational plans as their official website indicates is learning-centered and favoring experiential and interactive learning (iskconeducationalservices.org 2016). Therefore, the place can be accepted as a religious place of unorthodox and unbiased view. This secular approach would be much helpful for students since, in a group of observational trip students from differing religion can be a part of. Therefore, secular places must be the preferable. ISCON temple is such a place that gives the visitors a solace of mind, which can be provided only through a spiritual approach but without any biased or partial approach. Moreover, from the descriptions of the visitors, it is well evident that the place contains a secular and spiritual approach with an unbiased reli gion that all can adopt and accept (myyatradiary.com 2016). However, before delving deep in the further discussions of secular, spiritual or religious atmosphere of ISCON it would be much fruitful to identify the terms in terms of social science. To by definition Secularism in social science indicates to a system or organization that does not allow religion to influence the government, or strongly follows the belief that government should not be influenced by any religion (Davie 2013). However, the definition involves a wide area to adhere i.e. the nation and the government. Therefore, to contextualize the definition in the discussion the government can be taken to be the governing body of an organization that does not allow any religious influence to affect them. Thus, the ISCON temple, at Melbourne can be termed to be an appropriate example of a secular organization. From the official website of the temple as well as the visitors review in several websites, it is well evident that the temple does not adhere to any certain religion or influe nces the people to adopt one. Students would be much helped in such an atmosphere to find a mental peace and at the same time a secular (unbiased) approach towards religion. From the discussion of secularism, another question comes out; what is religion? As sociologist Emile Durkheim mentions, religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community( Durkheim 2008). Religion distinguishes between the sacred and the profane. However, the ISCON temple has established sacredness in the profanity of daily life. Which gives rise to spirituality must be learnt by all the students to practice in their everyday life for it is the atmosphere and practice of spirituality that gives one the feeling of solace in turmoil (Davie 2013). However, in the atmosphere of the temple, all the students must learn a serene blend of spirituality and secularism in the present times. However, an Indian temple by origin, ISCON practices the culture and spirituality that is common and a driving factor for all the religion. Nevertheless, it would be appropriate to mention the place as a secular temple where the governing body is bereft of the influence of any unified system of beliefs and practices called religion. By definition, the term adheres to the concept of secularism. Therefore, the temple encourages all Indians as well as Australians, Hindus or Christian or Buddhists to enter and involve in their exercises of cultures and celebration. However, spirituality cannot be gained without the influence of the beliefs and practices related to sacred things (Edles 2016), but at the same time spirituality does not involve orthodoxy and above all fundamentalism of any religion. Spirituality does not contain any tangible definition. H owever, sociologists define spirituality to be the search for the sacred (Berg-Srensen 2016). Different religion distinguishes sacred differently but the essence and the search remains the same. Thus, spirituality sociologically is not different for any religion. Moreover, ISCON practices spirituality in the profanity of daily life. This makes it an appropriate place for all student to visit. Reference: Asian Rural Institute. (2012).Observation Trips. [online] Available at: https://www.ari-edu.org/en/our-training/%E3%82%AB%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A5%E3%83%A9%E3%83%A0/%E8%A6%8B%E5%AD%A6%E3%83%BB%E7%A0%94%E4%BF%AE%E6%97%85%E8%A1%8C/ [Accessed 28 Sep. 2016]. Berg-Srensen, A., 2016.Contesting secularism: Comparative perspectives. Routledge. Cusack, C.M., 2012. Religion in Australian Society: A Place for Everything and Everything and Its Place.Modern Greek Studies (Australia and New Zealand),13. Davie, G., 2013.The sociology of religion: A critical agenda. Sage. Durkheim, E. and Swain, J.W., 2008.The elementary forms of the religious life. Courier Corporation. Edles, L.D., 2016. Sociology of Religion and Beliefs.The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Sociology, p.357. Harekrishnamelbourne.com.au. (2016).Hare Krishna Melbourne | The Centre of the Bhakti Yoga Movement. [online] Available at: https://www.harekrishnamelbourne.com.au/ [Accessed 28 Sep. 2016]. Iskconeducationalservices.org. (2016).Temple Visits IES. [online] Available at: https://iskconeducationalservices.org/temple-visits/ [Accessed 28 Sep. 2016]. Krishna, H.K.H., Hare, K.K.H., Rama, H.R.H., Hare, R.R.H., Samadhi, P. and Vrindavan, V.I., History and belief. profile, V. (2016).My Yatra Diary.... [online] Myyatradiary.com. Available at: https://www.myyatradiary.com/ [Accessed 28 Sep. 2016].

Faults of Woven and Knit Fabric free essay sample

Faults of woven fabric: Bar: It is a band running across the full width of cloth. Pick bar due ti difference in pick spacing Tension-bar due to difference in weft tension Weft-bar due to difference in material count, twist etc Box marks: The causes of box marks are – Dirty box Shuttle riding over the weft Dirty shuttle Dirty picking and ticks Broken pattern: It occurs due to wrong drawing of threads insertion of thee pick, incorrect lifting of warp threads. Broken pick: A pick missing of the fabric, due to rough shuttle eyes, poor winding and weft yarn breakage. Defective selvedge: Curled selvedge Cut selvedges Loppy selvedges Slack selvedges Pulled selvedge Tight selvedge Uneven selvedge Float stitches: A place where warp and weft yarns escape the required interlacement. If occurs for improper warp stop motion. Fuzzy: it occurs for the present of hairy and abraded yarns. Hang pick: A pick which is out of line and is a triangular shape. We will write a custom essay sample on Faults of Woven and Knit Fabric or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Missing ends: Gap of warp yarns is the main causes Reed marks: Due to this fault cloth shows irregular spacing between groups of warp yarns across the fabric width. Shuttle marks: Width way marks due to abrasion of warp yarns by the shuttle. Stain: Major problems on woven fabric Oil, Dust, Soil, Carbon particles in the air may cause stains. Uneven cloth: It produced when take up motion is faulty, broken ratchet wheel is also responsible. Some mechanical faults: Reed marks Shuttle flying out Shuttle trapping Loom hanging Loom stopping Weft cutting Bumping Knitting Faults: Holes: Holes are the result of yarn breakage. It occurs for the following causes – Uneven yarn Badly set of yarn feeder Knots, slubs etc in yarn Yarn tension is too high Yarn is too dry Drop stitches: Those are the result of a defective needle. It also occurs when a yarn is not properly fed during stitch formation. Cloth fall –out: it is an area consisting of drop sitiches lying side by side. Snags: It occurs when filament yarns are processing. It occurs for higher twist and lesser crimp elasticity. Double stitches: These occur due to badly knitted or non-knitted loops. Vertical stripes: It is observed as longitudinal gaps in the fabric. When the space between Wales is irregular it occurs. Horizontal stripes: Horizontal stripes are caused by unevenness in the courses. Soil stripes: Soil stripes can appear both in the direction of Wales as well as courses. Color fly: Color fly consists of singe fibres, brunches of fibre of yarn pieces in varying colors. Distorted stitches: Due to it if become unsettled fabric and fabric appearance is skitter. Write about BAN (Barium Activity Number): Barium activity Number = (? Ba(OH)? _2 Absorbed by mercerised cotton material)/(? Ba(OH)? _2 Absorbed by unmercerised cotton material) BAN is always greater than 100 Standard range of BAN 115 – 135 Highly mercerized range 140 – 150 possible If BAN 115, Mercerization wille be uneven Write ablout Water Hardness: Hardness is a term applied to water denoting a measurement of its PH and metal salt contest. Classification of water according to hardness – DescriptionTotal hardness (Degree) Very soft 0 – 40 Soft 5 – 80 Shild 9-140 Fairly hard 15 -180 Hard 19 -300 Very hard 300 Determination of water hardness: The following Reagents are required for hardness measermet Buffer solution EDTA (Ethelene Diamine Tetraacetate ) (. 02 N or . 01 M) Indicator solution 0. 05 gm (Solochromo black WDFA) Mixture of alcohol and tri-ethanol amine Calcium solution – Take 1 gm CaCO3 and dried at 1650C Cover with clock glass and add water (50-100 ml) Add 20. 5 ml HCl Warm and next Cool Transfer to one litre volumetric flask Determination of total Hardness: Total Hardness = (T? 1000)/V mg/L CaCO3 Where, V = Wt. f solution (50 -100) into conical breaker T = Total amount of EDTA used to get reddish tinge disappear. Weight loss in Pre-treatment: The weight of unscoured and scoured were taken separately at the same moisture content and then weight loos is measured in %. Weight loss = (Wt. of Unscoured fabric-Wt. of Scoured fabric )/(Wt. of Unscoured fabric) ? 100% Standard range of Weight loss = 4 – 8% Fabric and knit: (Questions) Faults of woven and knit fabric. Different variables of woven fabric. BAN (Bariem activity number) Hardness measurement of H2O. Wt. loss in pre-treatment (Scouring, bleaching, desizing etc)

Politics and Religion essays

Politics and Religion essays (This is about the Protestant Reformation, i believed that it has always existed strictly as a political event) Political and social struggles causes many religious uprising. Even though Religious Reformations are major breakthroughs in the Catholic Church, its premises remained strictly as a political event. Protestantism was a technique used by noble princes as well as emperors to break away from the control of the Catholic Church and also a reason to gain dominancy over other nations. However, the foremost reason that Reformations remains primarily as a political event is because it served as a reason for conflict between church and state. The first reason that the Reformation was a political event was the alliance between religious group and the state. Protestant groups, especially Lutherans and Calvinists, sided with national authorities to create international political upheaval. One mentionable historical event was the Hapsburg-Valois War. To gain control of Italy and the Burgundian realms, Francis I of France, being a Catholic, did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Protestants in his objective to crush Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, the fall heir of the Burgundian territories. On the other hand, the Protestant card was also played by Charles when he repressed Francis with the help of the Henry VIII, head of the Church of England. Thus, this showed that Protestants during the Reformation was created ideally to and was manipulated by strong political powers in their conquest to gain dominancy over other states. Another reason for the governmental event was its usage by the noble princes to gain political freedom for their states by breaking away from the control of the supreme governer. What was a religious struggles between the Protestants and the Church became a movement towards a politically freed state. One example would be the internal conflict between Charles V and his German pr ...

Risk and return, portfolio diversification and the Capital Asset Essay

Risk and return, portfolio diversification and the Capital Asset Pricing Model; The cost of equity (Starbucks Co.) - Essay Example (Valuebasedmanagement.net, 2011) This paper will therefore provide computation and will also discuss the cost of equity of Starbucks besides computing the cost of equity for Nestle and McDonalds to make a comparison. Further, cost of equity will also be calculated by using dividend discount model as well as arbitrage pricing theory. The above calculations show that the overall cost of equity for Starbucks is 11.82% based on the data provided. This value is higher than the cost of equity of an average firm on the S&P 500 index thus indicating that the overall risk profile of Starbucks may be higher than an average firm. It may be due to the fact that the investors, considering the dynamics of the industry and particular performance of the firm in the industry, may not be willing to put their bets on Starbucks. The cost of equity should have been lower than an average firm on the S&P considering the overall market strength of Starbucks and brand power. The above comparison between McDonalds, Nestle as well as Starbucks shows that the return on equity for other two firms is lower as compared to Starbucks. The lower cost of equity of these firms suggests that these firms have relatively stable risk profile due to their stronger financial performance as well as fundamentals. What is also important to note that these firms are diversified in nature whereas Starbucks is only relatively focused on the sale of coffee only? It is therefore of no surprise that the cost of equity of such firms is relatively lower than Starbucks Dividend discount model is another important model to find out the fair values of the stock based on the dividends. (Investopedia.com, 2011 ). This model considers dividends as the future cash flows to be received and accordingly the price of the stock is calculated by using following formula: Thus the expected rate of return is obtained by considering a linear combination of different macroeconomic factors combined with

Drug Designing with the Aid of Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Drug Designing with the Aid of Computers - Essay Example Drug Designing is an exceptional Example of a field that has been benefited immensely by the use of computers. Molecular imaging has made great revolutions in the designing of drugs. DRUG DESIGNING: Drug Designing can be termed as a method whereby drugs can be invented by targeting a specific biological molecule and then designing new medications based on the relevant information. If narrated simply, the designing of a drug may involve the following generic processes: The cause of the disease to be identified The target to be attacked is identified The ‘Lead Compound’ is identified. Tests are carried out for the ‘Lead Compound’ Trial conducted in clinics Drug approved Present day drug design extensively relies on computer based molecular modeling techniques. Computer Drug Design has been known to have possessed exemplary technologies that conduct the drug development process speedily. Computer Based Drug Designing Methodologies are preferred over Traditional Drug Designing capabilities because: TRADITIONAL DRUG DESIGNING is: †¢ â€Å"Random trial and erroneous †¢ Time consuming, †¢ Comparatively much more expensive †¢ Very low in output (1 in 100,000)† (Huang, n.d.) In Comparison to the above mentioned properties of traditional drug design Computer Aided Drug Design Methodologies are thought to be: †¢ Structural in Nature †¢ Specifically Targeted †¢ Automatic †¢ Much Faster than the Traditional Methods †¢ Much lower in cost †¢ Having a comparatively much higher success rate than the traditional method. Molecular modeling is a popular method of drug design. It is a science by means of which molecular structures are represented numerically. Their behavior is then simulated by making use of the equations from quantum and classical physics. It is with the use of this molecular modeling via computers that computer aided drug designing finally gets executed. The first step in the approach towards drug design by this methodology is the identification of a molecule that may be critical to the pathogen of any specific disease. The molecular structure of the target molecule that has been identified is now resolute. Sufficient molecular information is essential in order to proceed further on with the designing of the drug. The structure of the target molecule, as discussed above, is used to construct a ligand. The recognition of the target protein is the next step followed by the ways by which it would be bound. The point of concern here is that the structure of proteins is very versatile in nature. Proteins change the structure of their molecule when they are undergoing different functions. Types of Molecular Modeling â€Å"Based on the type of information at hand, either ligand based or molecular based design methods are selected.† (Daharwal, 2006). The proposed combinations are very rapidly generated by computers that instantly display an entire list of the proposed molecules. Molecular Modelling screens through large databases of chemical ligands and molecules of compounds. In doing so, it identifies the molecules that may become potential drugs. The above process is termed as Molecular Docking. SIMULATIONS FOR DRUG DESIGNING Since protein structures are rapidly changing and cannot be predicted computers are essentially used to simulate the dynamically changing structure of molecules. Hihg performance computing is often used to assist. For example, at the

Hybrid Vehicles and Alternative Fuels

Hybrid Vehicles and Alternative Fuels Hybrid vehicles alternative fuels are a key part in reducing pollution. Many people do not realize what might happen if alternative methods of transportation are not developed in the near future. Development of hybrid vehicles is growing more important with each passing day. With no end in sight for lower prices of gasoline much of society is beginning to feel the economic squeeze. Hybrid vehicles could help reduce emissions, and reduce dependence on foreign oil thus taking society out of crude oil chokehold. Hybrid vehicles, when one thinks of them many things may come to mind, things such as small, ugly, not â€Å"cool,† but one needs to look beyond the exterior and what the benefits are. Hybrid vehicles could possibly be one of the most important elements to the future habitation of this planet. Resources are being depleted and used up. Resources that are everyday occurrences for society such as oil, coal, and many other resources that are being depleted, and need to be replaced with other viable solutions for energy. Energy sources such as wind fields, solar panels, and many other new option are growing more and more important each day. However, nothing seems to be more daunting than the oil crisis that looms over most of the world. Oil prices continue to grow every day, causing an economic squeeze on many lower income families. â€Å"Over the next 30 years oil demand is expected to grow by 60%† (Dooly, Fitzpatrick, Lewis, 2007, p.657). Also, not to mention the pollution problem that continues to grow daily, with pollution rates rising steadily and no end in sight society is swiftly approaching crisis mode. â€Å"With the introduction of modern passenger cars and vastly increased demand for power, the twentieth century saw rapid increases in the use of fossil fuels† (Dooly, Fitzpatrick, Lewis, 2007, p.657). This may not surprise many people, as it is widely known that sport utility vehicles (SUV’s) have been the option to fulfill societies need for power. This increase in vehicles is promoting the growing pollution problem; the increased burning of fossil fuels has pollution rates growing high er with each passing day. Nevertheless, as it is thought that the increase of use of fossil fuels has only been a problem for the past twenty years, this problem was getting a head start over 150 years ago. According to Dooly, Fitzpatrick, and Lewis (2007, p.657) â€Å"since the industrial revolution in the mid 1800s worldwide energy consumption has been growing steadily.† This is shocking to think that that long ago pollution was already beginning to grow. With the growing talk of global warming and its effects on the earth, and its surroundings, the thought thereof is intimidating alone. Over the past several years scientists have done extensive research into global warming. Research has varied greatly from scientific group to group, one side saying that it is real and is happening, and the other saying that there is not enough supporting evidence to confirm the theory of global warming. Yet on the other hand, the majority of society does know one thing, that pollution, whether from factories, cars, or any other business establishment belching out smoke, cannot be a good thing. In contrast to the gloom and doom of pollution and how it can affect the earth, and several aspects of life, now begins the adventurous quest to make the world a better place. Not only for the present, but also for the future inhabitants of this earth. Reversing pollution problems cannot and will not be done overnight, and it will most certainly not be done by just one person. To reverse this deepening rut that has been dug, it will take a combined effort of nations to make a difference. One might ask why the word adventurous is used to describe reversing this cycle of pollution. As of now there really is no catalyst to begin ending the cycle and begin with the newer greener lifestyle. There are still, however, many things that can make a great impact. To give an example on how far things have gone in the wrong direction in the mode of travel and vehicle use is best summed up by Briggs, Hoogh, Morris, and Gulliver (2008, p.12) â€Å"nationally the trips made on foot has declined by more than 20% since the early 1990s† this is a good example how the vehicle use has grown by a great margin in the past ten years. When there is a decrease in trips made on foot, bicycle, or even subway or train, there has to be an increase somewhere in travel. This increase more often than not occurs in an increase made by a motor vehicle. The increase in travel has made a global impact on many things. The increase in demand of oil, and increased emissions affects many other elements of everyday life. Obviously asking to completely reduce trips made by vehicle is a lot to ask. It may be too much, especially with the fast paced lifestyle. It cannot go unnoticed by society; trips are being made more frequently, and for longer distances. It is expected that European transport is to grow greatly in transportation, in both road, and air transport (Van Mierlo, Maggetto, 2006). On the upside of all of this negative talk, rest assured that there is something being done. Over the past fifteen to twenty years many advances have been made to reduce emissions in vehicles. Many new fuels are being tried and developed in an effort to find viable solutions to gasoline (crude oil). This process is a slow moving operation amid much trial and error, and brick walls, nonetheless breakthroughs have been experienced. As of now there is not only one, but several fuels that have potential for being the next gasoline. Talk of methanol, ethanol, hydrogen, electric, and many other lower priority fuels that have essentially not been given the recognition that the others have. Not only would a new fuel such as ethanol. Help reduce dependence on foreign oil, but the other advantage would be lower emissions. Romm stated: Alternative fuel vehicles (AFV’s) face two central problems. First, they typically suffer from several marketplace disadvantages compared to conventional vehicles running on conventional fuels. Hence, they probably require government incentives or mandates to succeed. Second, they typically do not provide cost-effective solutions to major energy and environmental problems, which undermines the policy case for having the government intervene in the marketplace to support them (2006, p. 2610). These are important issues to the hybrid cause because it is an opposition, which will make it tougher to make hybrid vehicles and have them catch on. The road for hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels is not going to be an easy one. Ethanol is probably one of the alternative fuels that is at the forefront of the race, and making the strongest bid to become the next solution to gasoline. Ethanol has done several good things since it has started. Ethanol is taken from corn. This alone most likely is going make the market for corn better than it has been in the past couple of years. Corn is also expected to reach peak prices in the near future. However, there are two sides to the story of ethanol. While none of it has been confirmed as of yet, it is claimed that cost of production of ethanol and transporting it that it actually ends up being more expensive to use. Farrell et al., (2006, p. 506) also said â€Å"whether manufacturing ethanol takes more nonrenewable energy than the resulting fuel provides. It has long been that the calculations of net energy are highly sensitive to assumptions.† Could this be a futile enterprise to produce this fuel? While much of this has not been given proper analysis by prof essionals in the field, it is still something one would need to keep in mind, should a time of consideration of buying an ethanol burning vehicle arise. Another downside to ethanol is that when it comes to fueling arrangements, stations that carry it are mostly in the Midwest, after that, fill ups are few and far between. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel source that is being tested. Research continues to be conducted to improve it; it has already been tested and works. New ways to produce it are on the horizon. Producing it from soybeans is an option but not yet thoroughly researched and developed. â€Å"For the diesel engine seed-oil bio-fuels have been widely examined across the world, as a suitable alternative† (Crookes, 2006, p. 461). One of the neat things about biodiesel is that it can be made and refined at home. Used oil from deep fryers at restaurants can be used to make biodiesel. All of this sounds really great, but the bad thing with biodiesel is that it does not have the octane that comes with regular diesel. There are other disadvantages to biodiesel as well, For instance, in colder climates it does not function as well as regular diesel. The same can be said for towing with biodiesel it just does not have the power. While there are some cold hard facts about biodiesel, it is stil l a vital component to reducing dependence on foreign oil. â€Å"The hydrogen economy has received increasing attention recently† (Waegel, Byrne, Tobin, Haney, 2006, p. 288). This is for good reason too. Hydrogen is a fuel that if it is made to work will greatly reduce environmental impacts. Hydrogen has potential to be a great alternative fuel, if it pans out. â€Å"Whether the hydrogen is produced by steam reforming of natural gas, wind electrolysis, or coal gasification. Most benefits would result from eliminating current vehicle exhaust† (Jacobson, Colella, Golden, 2005, p.1901). Development however for hydrogen is not at its best. On a good note if hydrogen becomes a viable fuel, it would be a zero emissions fuel. If there is a significant number of people using hydrogen fuel vehicles in the future, a great decrease in emissions would inevitably follow. Although all of this sounds wonderful and dandy, there is a darker side to hydrogen. It is not fully developed, and this writer does not believe it will be in the near fu ture. Hydrogen is still extremely expensive. According to Waegel, Byrne, Tobin, and Haney, (2006, p. 289) â€Å"in terms of economics, hydrogen from natural gas is 50 % to 100% more than an equivalent amount of gasoline.† That is bad news for hydrogen, not to mention the price of transportation of hydrogen which also is expensive. Hydrogen most definitely has its work cut out for itself. Electric vehicles are next on the list of possible solutions as an alternative fuel. Even though it is not necessarily a fuel, it is still an alternate mode of transportation. Electric vehicles have many good qualities they do not put out emissions, and they are quiet. Both of those qualities are good for city living. Some experts believe that electric vehicles are going to be an integral part in reducing pollution. With proper engineering, this is quite possible. The most likely hybrid car in the foreseeable future is the electric vehicle with less fuel consumption, and reduced emissions. Minimal change in vehicle styles means that the safety would not be compromised, and nothing resulting in job loss (Romm, 2006). Electric most definitely has a strong place in this market. In fact electric cars may be starting to be seen more often. Especially in cities where transportation does not require going a great distance to do everyday tasks such as getting groceries, going to school, and things of that nature. With the new advantages in electric technology, businesses that need outdoor transportation are more likely to turn to electric vehicles rather than the traditional four-wheeler, or other all-terrain-vehicle. It is extremely plausible that electric vehicles will be popping up all over the world. Electric will be a contributor as an alternative fuel. Altogether there are various fuels that have a good chance of being the next gasoline. Ones such as electric do not have a chance to be a permanent option to gasoline. Electric will however be a large contributor. Keep in mind that these research efforts and new ideas for fuel are not intended to completely factor out gasoline. Gasoline will always be used for some application. What these new fuels are intended to do is reduce dependence on foreign oil, and help decrease gasoline prices while reducing pollution at the same time (Waegel, Byrne, Tobin, Haney). The next order of business is to get to the actual vehicles themselves. Contrary to what one might think, a hybrid car is not a new concept; in fact it is probably older than what most people think Many people think that hybrid vehicles are a very recent development, but many would be surprised at how old the concept really is. The history of hybrid vehicles goes back to 1665. Between that year and 1825, Flemish Jesuit priest and astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest created plans for a steam â€Å"car† for Chinese Emperor Khang Hsi, Frenchman Nicholas Cugnot built a steam-powered motor carriage capable of six miles per hour, and British inventor Goldsworthy Gurney built a steam car that successfully completed an 85-mile journey in ten hours. In 1839, Robert Anderson of Aberdeen, Scotland, built the first electric vehicle (Griffin, Shen, 2007, p.177). General Motors (GM) has made its mark on hybrid history. â€Å"Most of the early work by General Motors was due to the concern for increasing price of gasoline at the time of the oil embargo.† (Rajashekara, 1993, p.447) GM also had the first electric fuel cell vehicle in the Electro van, and also had an electric truck for military application. (Rajashekara, 1993) Contrary to what some people may think, research on hybrid vehicles started more than three-hundred years ago. Now evidently they began working with steam technology because they had no knowledge or the resources to create an internal combustion engine. When it is thought about for a short period of time, steam technology for the first steam boats had to have been tested on land before put to use on water. Therefore the first steam car advancements should not be thrown out as worthless for they did lay the groundwork for other future uses. Even when Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine, it was meant to run on peanut oil! This however did not turn out so that they ran peanut oil in it, because at the time diesel was cheaper to process. Now with the ever higher price of diesel, refining used restaurant oil to use in diesel engines is beginning to take on. Now that the history of hybrid vehicles is taken care of, it is time to get to the flesh of the issue, hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles will be the most essential component to reducing pollution, and end the vicious cycle that has been started. Hybrid vehicles have grown by leaps and bounds over the past ten years. New prototypes are being worked on researched, and developed daily. However they do not always get a good review. Hybrid vehicles tend to be somewhat smaller than conventional vehicles. This condition tends to make people think somewhat differently about them. â€Å"Hybrids pose no more danger in a collision than do conventional vehicles.† (Griffin, Shen, 2007, p. 178) Also people who drive them are wrongfully stereotyped, stereotyped into being some sort of environmentalist democrat wanting to ban firearms, impose noise ordinances, and do anything they can to keep people from having any fun. Well this is just not true. It is negative images like this that can thro w an effort to promote hybrid vehicles askew. Hybrids are important in every aspect of a green future. Fewer emissions, cleaner air, reduced dependence on foreign oil and better gas mileage, are all benefits that are at stake if hybrid vehicles never catch on. Research was done to by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by conducting a survey in the years 2003, and 2005, to find out influenced them to buy their hybrid vehicles, the survey results are illustrated below. Graph 1. Share of respondents The results appear to be not much different from year to year. These are however the most common reasons why hybrid vehicles are purchased, and with no surprises, saving money on gas at the head of the pack. The above results are promising ones. They show hope for the future of hybrid vehicles. Now what exactly makes a hybrid vehicle a hybrid vehicle? Hybrid vehicles are just that they are hybrids not only in a sense of how they are powered but also in other aspects in addition to having a power source other than that of gasoline or diesel. Many key elements and time consuming research go into developing a hybrid vehicle. For starters, weight reduction is a key component to making a hybrid vehicle. Even when using a conventional fuel, weight reduction should be given close attention. â€Å"The demand for weight reductions in automobiles has been increasing in recent years because of global environmental issues.† (Saito, Iwatsuki, Yasunaga, Ando, 2000, p. 516) Toyota has done something extremely great by making the Prius. The Prius is a type of hybrid car that runs on both electric and internal combustion engines. The Prius when starting from a complete stop runs solely on battery power, and at low speeds from 5 to 20 miles per hour, it also runs on battery. When it reaches higher speeds the gasoline engine kicks in to assist. The Prius is said to get 40 to 50 miles per gallon. The battery will not run dead because when the gasoline engine turns on it runs the alternator and charges the battery. While companies like Ford, Chevrolet, and others have made their mark on the hybrid economy, Ford with the Escape, and Chevrolet with the new hybrid Yukon, none of them have had quite the impact that Toyota has. When it comes down to it, it is hard to describe how very important hybrid vehicles will be to the future. Hybrid vehicles hold the key to a cleaner environment, and lessening dependence on foreign oil. As of now hybrids do not have the popularity in the world that is needed. If the world continues to pollute at the rate it is going at now, the implications will be serious. More effort is needed from everyone to make this world a better place, and while hybrid vehicles are going to be extremely important, that is not the only thing that can be done. If one is not in a position to be able to drive a hybrid vehicle, other opportunities are out there to help the environment. Recycling is something that always helps the environment, and doing things such as walking, riding a bike, or even taking the bus can have bigger impact than is thought. This writer concludes that hybrid vehicles are an integral part of making a greener environment. Without them, along with the increasing rate of po llution, many countries are headed on a crash course for disaster. References Briggs, B.J., Hoogh, K., Morris, C., Gulliver, J. (2008). Effects of travel mode on exposures to particulate air pollution. Environmental International, 34, 12-22. Retrieved February 30, 2008, from Science Direct. Crookes, R.J. (2006). Comparative bio-fuel performance in internal combustion engines. Biomass Bioenergy,30, 461-468. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from Science Direct. Dooly, G., Fitzpatrick, C., Lewis, E. (2008). Optical sensing of hazardous exhaust emissions using a UV based extrinsic sensor. Energy, 33, 657-666. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from Science Direct. 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