Skydiving Essay -- Extreme Sports Skydive essays research papers

Why do we skydive?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skydiving has been around since ancient Chinese times as a form of aerial stunts. Leonardo da Vinci and the Chinese are both credited for creating the parachute, but it was really in the 18th century when France both created it and used it by basically throwing themselves out of planes. Little did anyone know that skydiving would be one of the craziest sports today. Jumping out of a plane two and a half miles up into the sky would not be someone’s idea of a normal day. As bad as two and a half miles up in the sky is, try doing it traveling at a rate of one-hundred and sixty miles per hour with just a parachute to save you. To many people this would be a nightmare; but to some of us, it is the biggest thrill of our lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people will sit and tell me that I am crazy for jumping out of a plane. I would just sit and tell them a quote I heard before I did my jump. â€Å"Skydivers know why the birds sing.† The experience doesn’t feel like you’re falling out of a plane, yet more like you are flying. Once you pull the parachute, the result is the most calming feeling. Words cannot even express it. You are totally relaxed and inspired after that chute is pulled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another reason why someone would jump out of a plane is that it actually is a stress reliever. You can still call divers crazy; but once you are up in the air flying, you are going to be stress free. The dive inspires such a complete focus of attention that all other worries, aggravatio...

Breakfast cereal market analysis

The term â€Å"breakfast cereals† covers a wide variety of grain products that are usually cooked or processed to improve their texture, flavor and digestibility. Although these products are often made from flours, they differ from breads and other baked goods in that they are not usually leavened; instead they may be toasted to crispiness like crackers. The modern ready-to eat breakfast cereals are only about 100 years old.They owe their development to the Seventh Day Adventists, an American religious sect for whom Dr. JH Kellogg invented a granola-like ready-to-eat breakfast cereal/ later Dr.  JH Kellogg and his brother WK Kellogg founded the cereal company which still bears their name. Interestingly yet another pioneer of the industry was CW Post who had been a patient and ate Dr. JH Kellogg’s cereal and was inspired by it enough to make his own version of the product.The establishment of the breakfast cereal industry came about the time the United States began a t ransition from a predominantly agricultural society to a more industrialized urban culture. A strong selling point of the ready-to- eat cereal was and still is, is their convenience (Ensminger, Konlande, 1993, p.261-262). There seems to be indication that there will be steady increase in the consumption of commercial cereal products around the world as the developing countries attempt to feed their burgeoning population. The present paper presents an analysis of the Breakfast cereal industry as well as market. Characteristics of the Breakfast cereal industry Brand History Breakfast cereals are not a homogenous product. The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry may be characterized by relatively low economies of scale and relatively low levels of technology.In other words, the entry into this industry is easy. Between the 1950s and the 1970s there was no entry of new firms in the industry even though all the incumbent firms such as Kellogg, General Mills, General Foods and Quaker Oa ts, made significant profits. Later however, there was the entry of new low-end companies in the markets and the number of brands sold by these firms also increased substantially from 25 to more than 80, and this number is still on a rise (Cabral, 2000, p. 265-266). Pricing trends For decades the breakfast cereal market was one of the most profitable in the United States.The industry had a consolidated structure dominated by Kellogg, General Mills and Kraft Foods with its Post brand. Strong brand loyalty, coupled with control over the allocation of supermarket shelf space, helped to limit the potential for new entry. Meanwhile the steady demand growth of around 3% per annum kept the industry revenues expanding. Also Kellogg, which accounted for over 40 percent of the market share, acted as the price leader in the industry for years in the industry. Every year Kellogg increased cereal prices, its rivals followed and industry profits too remained high.However, this favorable structure started to change in the early 1990s when the growth in demand slowed and then stagnated as the lifestyle and hence food patterns changed and the market saw the rise of powerful discounters such as Wal-Mart that started promoting their own brand of cereal. As sales of cheaper store-brand cereals began to take-ff, supermarkets no longer were as dependent on brand names to bring in traffic and hence they started to demand lower prices from the branded cereal manufacturers.Initially, the branded cereal manufacturers tried to hold against these adverse trends. However, in 1996 Kraft which was then owned by Philip Morris aggressively cut prices by 20 % for its Post brand in am attempt to gain market share. Kellogg son followed with a 19 percent price cut on two-third of its brands and General Mills quickly did the same. However, this too did not change the consumption pattern the growth rates of which remained flat and revenues then started going down for all the branded cereals (Hill, Jones, 2009, p. 52).The trend continued in 2000s also and the situation worsened with the private-label sales continuing to make inroads, gaining over 10 percent of the market. To top it all off, the sales of breakfast cereals started to contract at 1 percent per annum and the period between 1998-2001 saw the market leader Kellogg sliding down to the 2nd position for the first time in its history since its inception in 1906, by General Mills that continued to launch expensive price and promotion campaigns. To cover the rising cost General Mills raised prices in 2001 and competitors soon followed the trend.However, both Kellogg and General Mills tried to move further away from price competition in the industry by diversifying and focusing on brand extensions such as Special K on the behalf of Kellogg and new varieties of Cheerios. Special K was instrumental and helping Kellogg recapturing its market leadership position from General Mills and this renewed focus on non-price competitio n halted years of damaging price warfare (Hill, Jones, 2009, p. 52). Target markets The breakfast cereal industry targets several diverse markets but focuses upon two large ones namely the baby boomers and their children.Since a high proportion of the baby boomers are highly educated, health appeals are paramount. Thus many brands have placed emphasis on various types of oat-bran cereal. The other sizeable market, targeted to children is also highly developed. Various brands have successfully used sports personality and trade characters such as Tony the Tiger to attract the children towards their products and retain brand loyalty. The breakfast cereal industry has been adept at target market segmentation and promoting favorable brand images.The strategy of the overall industry especially Kellogg, the market leader, has been to provide a comprehensive assortment for the retailers targeting specific market segments (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 109-111) Competition Breakfast cereal indust ry faces competition from hand-held breakfast products such as bagels, muffins, doughnuts etc. These have in fact led to a decrease in the growth of the breakfast cereal industry. The industry also faces competition from frozen waffles, pancakes, and French toast brands which have proved to be a concern both in the past and the present.Many analysts consider that the competition is due to the change in dietary habits, though some also say that this has been due to th increase in cereal prices for the branded segment (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 112-113). Advertisements and Promotional activities From the time of WH Kellogg, the breakfast cereal industry has been dependent on marketing strategies and expensive promotions. In fact in 1909 itself the advertisement budget of Kellogg had reached 1 million per annum. Needless to say this is a major problem in the industry which has become price sensitive in present times.This activity has led to a decrease in profits and considering that the market share has not increased since the 1990s, this has become even more of a problem. There were also many insufficiencies generated by coupons and in-store promotions. For instance, more than 95 percent of the cereal coupons were thrown away and not redeemed and approximately half of the promotional expenditures did not reach the consumers in the form of lower prices. Because of these inefficiencies, as well as congressional investigations and competitive treats, the breakfast cereal industry has moved to lower prices.As the returns earned by the cereal manufacturers exceed most other grocery products, there is fierce competition among manufacturers (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 113-114). Factors contributing to success and failure There are a combination of variables that contribute to the successes and failure of the breakfast cereal industry. These variables and strategies include innovation, target-market segmentation, image, physical environment resources, and human resources. Such factors must be combined in various degrees for success. The breakfast cereal industry has shown innovation in product and packaging strategies.In addition to this, breakfast snack bars are a new innovation. The image of the breakfast cereal industry has been positive enough to withstand the assault of private-label brand sot a large extent. Also cereal manufacturers with their successful track records and huge advertisement budgets do not have much difficulty in convincing retailers to give their new product introduction a chance. In 1970s, Kellogg designed shelf space allocation programs for supermarkets. Sophisticated computers and programs developed by members of the breakfast cereal industry now help to allocate shelf space according to turnover.The breakfast cereal industry has also been successful in designing packaging for shipping and for display purposes. To sell their product brands and retain the company brand value, the breakfast cereal manufacturers have developed the strategy that links the brand name to the company name instead to identifying brand products by their individual brand names. For instance, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies and Special K, as well as General Mills’ Total Raisin Bran and Total Corn Flakes use this strategy. To fend off private brand competition by offering product line depth and high brand identification (Michman, Mazze, 1999, p. 114-115).

Public Fear of Terrorism

IntroductionTerrorism has become a global challenge, which must be fought by collaborative efforts.   Indeed the war against terrorism takes many forms and shapes.   For instance while traditionally the homeland security has been concerned with fighting terrorism from a military point of view; there is a need for it to be empowered to better deal with terrorism from different dimensions. A new challenge is emerging; that is, the way the media is handling the terrorism and especially how it reports and covers terrorism incidences.Media plays a very important role in shaping public opinion in many issues including terrorism.   Media coverage of terrorist activities shapes how terrorism events are constructed in the minds of the public.   Of late there are clear indications of general fear in the public to the extent that, whatever the media reports, is seen as a representation of the real situation on the ground.   There is alot of freedom in the media. With so many freelance journalists who are eager to make an extra dime at the expense of the general public.Indeed, there is little control over the journalists especially the freelance journalists.   The criminal justice has little control over the sifting of information to the general public.   The seemingly free-flow for news in the media means that, whoever comes out with the ‘best’ news is likely to receive the most attention.   The craving for news has seen the freelance journalists keen on making quick money violate journalism code of conduct and therefore failing to put into consideration professionalism but become only concerned about getting the most enticing news.Unlike in the past when the media would take the time to censor the news they released to the public, nowadays some television channels air some uncensored images.   This has greatly impacted negatively on the media authenticity.   Some media houses are less concerned about the moral implications of such images to the general public. Irresponsible coverage of terrorism activities affects the public by inflicting fear amongst the public especially the uncensored images and broadcasts zoomed by television channels and the internet.   The consistency with which such images are aired has also come to have a bearing on the increased fear levels amongst the general public.Indeed most media houses flout media rules and are only concerned with getting the mission accomplished.   The criminal justice has largely become incapable of reigning on the media.   This can be explained by lack of effective laws to deal with emerging challenges.   One area where law enforcers are facing challenges when it comes to reigning on offenders who violate the media laws is the fact that, some of the sources of the media images and reports which turn out to have negative effect on the general public originate outside the US and those local media houses which air them bear no responsibility as they act as thi rd parties and are in no way responsible for the contents of the reports (White, Jonathan, 2006).With globalization the world has become a small village whereby information is exchanged within a very short time. As a result, most of the information which reaches the American public, does not necessarily originate within America media.   The truth of the matter is that, Americans have a choice to tune into any media channel they feel free to. This is not in any way regulated by the state and as such, what the public consumes in terms of information cannot be filtered by state law enforcement agents (Nicholas, William, 2005).Taking the example of international media houses, which broadcast, to the whole world, they are in the first place not bound by the American laws nor can the American public be denied access to such.   As a result, whatever information they broadcast concerning terrorism ends up being consumed by the American public.   This is very hard to regulate.   The advancement of the Internet has brought with it very complex challenges especially in terms of authenticity.It is very hard to know which source to trust.   With the craving for news, the public tends to search for any site, whether incredible or not which purports to inform the public.   There are many bogus websites which go to the lengths of capturing live some terrible terrorism activities such as beheading of those captured by terrorists.   As a result, this has really formed a great avenue for fear amongst the general American public.   In addition, there are not many programs or efforts designed to pre-empty the propaganda which some websites linked to terrorists desire to perpetrate in the American public.The other major problem is the fact that, the laws governing the internet use are at best lax and are not effective to deal with those who decide to use the internet as a media of perpetrating fear amongst the general American public.   Efforts of the government t o curb the use of Internet as a propaganda tool led to the introduction of amendments to the privacy acts.   As a result, the government has come under fierce criticism for infringing on the rights of people to access information.   This shows how challenging the fight against the phenomenon has become.In addition the media has strong unions here in the US which means that, it is not easy for the criminal justice to intervene even in cases where it is evident that, the media is causing a great measure of suffering to the public through the broadcasting of information which is uncensored.   The homeland security has a duty to intervene in the dilemma but only to the extent whereby the source of such negligence lies within its jurisdiction.   Globalization and a culture of consumerism in the American society makes it impossible for the homeland security to impose any meaningful checks and balances to protect Americans from suffering from the fear that has gripped the general A merican public (Nakaya, Andea, 2005). Indeed, the public cannot be practically protected from the effects of bad media practices today.   It is up to the public to learn to choose what they can listen to or watch.Recommendation for solving the above problem include; the enactment of tough laws which would see only the most professional media houses get the licence to broadcast in the US.   In addition the homeland security should engage in awareness campaigns meant to make the public to understand that, not every media source has credible and correct coverage on terrorism and that some media sources are actually being used by terrorists for propaganda purposes and believing in them is giving credibility to the terrorists.   In conclusion, there is a need for the criminal justice to work with the information department to reign on the media houses which if unchecked are likely to continue inflicting fear on the public and therefore affect public support on the war against terro rism.ReferenceNakaya, Andea, C. Ed (2005).   Homeland Security.   Detroit:   Greenhaven Press pp. 191.Nicholas, William C. ed. (2005). Homeland Security Law and policy.   Springfield.   Pp. 377.White, Jonathan. (2006). Terrorism and Homeland Security.   Wadsworth (5th ed.).   California:   Thomson.