Sculpture and Donatello - 1480 Words

#9; Donatello (1386-1466) was a master of sculpture in bronze and marble and was considered one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists of his time. There is much more to know about him, though then the name alone. He has created some of the greatest works of art, not only in the Italian renaissance, but human history as well. A lot is known about his life and career but little is known about his character and personality. Donatello never married and seems to be a man of ‘simple tastes. Patrons often found him hard to deal with and he demanded a lot of artistic freedom. #9;Early career. #9;Donatello, born Donato di Niccolograve; di Betto Bardi, was the son of Niccolo di Betto Bardi, a Florentine wool†¦show more content†¦Francis are outstanding and the finest of the reliefs are the four miracles of St. Anthony. Donatello was great in handling large numbers of figures (one relief has more than one hundred), which predicts the construction standards of the High Renaissance. Donatello was not doing much work the last three years at Padua, the work for the S. Antonio altar was unpaid for and the Gattamelata monument not placed until 1453. Offers of other places reached him from Mantua, Modena, Ferrara, and even Naples, but nothing came of them. He was clearly passing through a crisis that prevented him from working. He was later quoted as saying that he almost died among those frogs in Padua.quot; In 1456 the Florentine physician Giovanni Chellini noted he had successfully treated the master for a protracted illness. Donatello only completed two works between 1450 and 1455, the wooden statue St. John the Baptist and a figure of Mary Magdalen. Both works show new reality; Donatellos formerly powerful bodies have become withered and spidery. When the Magdalen was damaged in the 1966 flood at Florence, restoration work revealed the original painted surface, including realistic flesh tones and golden highlights throughout the saints hair. #9;Late Florentine period. #9;During his absence, a new generation of sculptors who excelled in the treatment of marble surfaces had rose in Florence. With the change in Florentine taste, all ofShow MoreRelatedArt And Its Impact On Art Essay1023 Words   |  5 Pages That’s where the name â€Å"Renaissance† got it’s meaning: â€Å"rebirth†. The European civilization rose after its downfall, and it was reborn. There are many artistic styles, many of which were around in the Renaissance. Donatello, a famous Italian Renaissance sculptor, made sculptures using the Gothic style. But before the Renaissance was the time of Medieval art, which mainly focused on the spiritual realm. This affected early Renaissance art, as artworks from the 14th and 15th centuries exhibitedRead MoreDonatello The Famous Italian Painter1425 Words   |  6 Pages Introduction: Donatello, the famous Italian sculptor’s real name was Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi. As an expert of sculpting bronze and marble, he quickly became one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists of his time. There is a lot to be known about his life and career but there is little to be found about his personality. It is said that Donatello never married, and he was a man who lived a simple lifestyle compared to his peers. His friends often found him hard to deal with, and he alsoRead More Donatellos David Essay1427 Words   |  6 PagesDonatellos David Donatello was one of the most important and influential artists of the fifteenth century. As a master artist, he sculpted some of the most beautiful pieces of the Italian Renaissance. His innovations impacted many artists of his time, and set the standard for centuries of sculptors to follow. Donatello’s style is clearly defined and easily recognized in nearly all of his pieces. An exception is the bronze, David, dated 1425-1430. David strays from the traditional style ofRead More David Essay916 Words   |  4 PagesGoliath with stone and a sling. Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Bernini each designed a sculpture of David. However, the sculptures are drastically different from one another. Each one is unique in its own certain way. Donatello, whose David was the first life-size nude statue since Classical times, struck a balance between Classicism and the realism by presenting a very real image of an Italian peasant boy in the form of a Classical nude figure. Although Donatello was inspired by classical figuresRead MoreEssay Comparing the Three Statues of David 955 Words   |  4 Pagesart I will be comparing and contrasting are the three statues of David, by Donatello (Donato di Niccolà ² di Betto Bardi), Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni), and Bernini (Gian Lorenzo Bernini). The statues are modeled after the biblical David, who was destined to become the second king of Israel. Also most famously known as the slayer of the Philistine giant Goliath with a stone and a sling. The sculptures are all based on the same biblical hero, but differ from one another. EachRead MoreJohannes Gutenberg and Donatello:Two Important Figures of the Ranaissance643 Words   |  3 Pagesliterature and mus ic. Two figures that impacted this period in numerous ways were Johannes Gutenberg and Donatello. Donatello was an early renaissance Italian sculptor who lived in florence. Johannes Gutenberg was a printer and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. These two figures had effects on Science/Technology, effects on art, and effects on culture/society. Donatello and Johannes Gutenberg are two figures with opposing views that profoundly challenged and shaped politicalRead MoreDavid by Donatello and Michelangelo1199 Words   |  5 PagesDavid by Donatello and Michelangelo When thinking about a triumph over an unimaginable feat, the story of David and Goliath comes to mind. During the Italian Renaissance, Florence was under constant change and turmoil however David remained a consistent symbol of endless possibilities for the people. â€Å"For the Florentines, David represented the essence of civic virtue-courage, fortitude, and faith† (Murray, 39). Various artists have revealed their own depictions of the young shepherd boy butRead MoreEssay on david1102 Words   |  5 Pageshe killed the Philistine giant, Goliath, with a sling and a stone. Many artist during the Renaissance designed sculptures of David. These artists include Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Bernini. Each of these artists chose to create David in their own special and different way. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The first artist who chose to create a sculpture of David was Donatello. Donatello’s David was the first life size nude statue since the classical times. His creation found a median betweenRead MoreDonatellos Annunciation1646 Words   |  7 PagesIn your own words, explain how Donatello has told the story of The Annunciation in sculpture and why contemporaries were so impressed with his achievement. Donatello is considered to be one of the most influential artists of the 15th century. A member of the innovative group of painters, architects and sculptors that revolutionised art in Florence at the beginning of the 15th century, he succeeded in becoming perhaps the most successful in his field due to his understanding of theRead More A Comparison of Michelangelos and Donatellos Sculptures of David1281 Words   |  6 PagesDonatellos Sculptures of David Michelangelo and Donatello were the most respected and inspiring artists of their time. Michelangelo of the High Renaissance and Donatello of the Early Renaissance both hailed from Italy. Both tell the biblical story of David versus Goliath, as told in I Samuel 17:28-51, in their sculptures David. David was a Shepherd boy who killed the giant Goliath with nothing but a slingshot in his hands. Michelangelo displays David before the battle while Donatello shows

The Texas Criminal Justice System - 852 Words

The Texas criminal justice system has several key objectives: discover the truth, provide for public safety, assist the victims of the crime, punish the guilty, and promote positive change in the offending behavior. The purpose of the Criminal Justice System is to deliver justice for all, by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them stop the offending, while protecting the innocent. Once arresting, officers must inform â€Å"the accused† that he has the right to remain silent, anything he says can and will be used against him in the court of law. He has the right to an attorney or have an appointed attorney if she cannot pay for one; and have an attorney present during questioning. If he wants to assert these rights, he must affirmatively say so. The process of reading the defendant his rights should take no more than five minutes. Within forty-eight after an arrest, he must be taken before a judge. The judge must inform the accused of the charges against him and wh ether there is an affidavit supporting the charges. The judge also must inform the defendant of his rights as well. The initial appearance before a judge can last anywhere between one to two hours. Next there are time limits on filing charges. If he cannot post bond and remains in jail, the prosecutor must file charger against him by complaint, which can take fifteen to ninety days for any felony. Then the prosecutor must file the charges against him by complaint. If he is not in jail, then the prosecutorShow MoreRelatedShould The Texas Criminal Justice System Be Legal?1375 Words   |  6 Pages Texas has always been known to have a strict criminal justice system. The justice system in Texas used to hang criminals for serious crimes they were convicted of doing. Texas has never been faced with the question we face them with today. Should the Texas criminal justice system be able to charge juveniles as adults in trials when faced with serious charges? Prosecutors are using both sid es of this argument to their advantage. In Texas, the Juvenile Law states that, â€Å"a juvenile is defined as aRead MoreEssay on The Texas Judicial System1414 Words   |  6 PagesThe Texas Judicial System The Texas Judicial System The Texas judicial system has been called one of the most complex in the United States, if not the world. It features five layers of courts, several instances of overlapping jurisdiction, and a bifurcated appellate system at the top level. The structure of the system is laid out in Article 5 of the Texas Constitution. The Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Appeals has a bifurcated appellate system at the highest level. Civil case appealsRead MoreHistory And The Texas Judiciary System1516 Words   |  7 PagesThe history of the Judicial System in Texas began in the early nineteenth century, specifically in 1836. Since then, it has gone under many changes in structure, the importance of certain roles, and many constitutional amendments. Because of all of these adjustments and layering, the Texas Judiciary System is one that is very complex and intricate with many separations and overlapping areas. One unique feature about Texas’s system is the bifurcated appellate system. This means that there are twoRead MoreTexas Constitution Vs. U.s. Constitution Essay1362 Words   |  6 PagesAs far as the Texas Constitution in comparison to the U.S. Constitution, they are much different. There has always been much talk about how the Texas Constitution is very long and poorly put together. I believe Texas and the people in it have tried to keep Texas very traditional and old school as possible. In my opinion, they have continued to add things to the Constitution to keep away from progressivism and to not allow the U.S. government to dictate what they will and will not do. There is alwaysRead MorePolicing1068 Words   |  5 PagesEthics in Criminal Justice Administration Analysis Perla M. Flores CJA/484 Criminal Justice Administration Capstone March 10, 2014 Fran Hart Ethics in Criminal Justice Administration Analysis Ethics in criminal justice administration is a very important aspect because professionals within the criminal justice system make important decisions every day that involves critical thinking, and the choices they make will have an impact in society;Read MoreThe Devastating Impacts Of Illegal Immigration1368 Words   |  6 Pagesrising number of illegal immigrants in Texas must not be overlooked any longer. Its adverse economic impacts are felt from the hill country to the gulf waters. These fiscal repercussions are felt most significantly in education, health care, social services, and criminal justice systems, to start the list. The harsh reality is that illegal immigration has had a profoundly negative impact on the economy in Texas. A battle has been raging in politics across Texas because this Beast called illegalRead MoreWhy Ut Nor Atm Would Slingshot Me Into A Career Of Law Enforcement1532 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Where are you going to college?†, or in Texas, â€Å"U.T. or A.T.M.?† For most, it is a simple answer, but for me. Neither UT nor ATM would slingshot me into a career of Law Enforcement. Only Sam Houston State University will do. Sam Houston State founded in 1879 and is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. It is located approximately one hour north of downtown Houston in the hills, lakes, and forests region of East Texas in Huntsville. It is one of the oldest purpose-builtRead MoreA Case of Juvenile Justice Essays1116 Words   |  5 PagesCharlie – A Case in Juvenile Justice Melissa Thomas CJ420 – Juvenile Justice Prof. Amy Ng December 4, 2012 Abstract Children are gifts from above and need guidance and love. If either one is absent then they are at risk of becoming juvenile offenders or career criminals. The juvenile justice system has many players that facilitate the tools for a juvenile to use an offense as a learning experience. The juvenile encounters three important individuals; the juvenile police officer, probationRead MoreThe Deterrence Of Death Penalty1160 Words   |  5 PagesThe Deterrence of Death Penalty in Texas Almost a month ago, I accidently came across the Stanford Prison Experiment documentary, which is available to view on Youtube. The document based on real event in Stanford University. It is an experiment to study psychology of imprisonment on prisoners and guards by dividing selected Stanford students into two groups. As the time passed, the researchers have discovered some drastically changes in both groups within days. At the end, Dr. Philip ZimbardoRead MoreThe Appellate Process Essay1417 Words   |  6 Pagesissues of law. An appeal is not the time to retry the case or to reargue the facts. In civil matters, either party can appeal the decision of the trial court. Usually in criminal matters, however, only the defendant may appeal a criminal conviction and the state is not allowed to appeal a not guilty verdict. The sentencing in criminal cases with a guilty verdict, however, may be appealed by either the defendant or by the prosecution (uscourts.gov, 23). Proceedings in appellate courts are very different

Introducing New Coke Free Essays

In this case of Coca-Cola changing their well established Coke formula and introducing an new one in 1985 for the purpose of gaining more market share; the reason why such decision was made by Coke’s executives was mainly because of a series of marketing campaign conducted by their major arrival – Pepsi. During mid 1970s, Pepsi has ran a the famous â€Å"Pepsi Challenge† of blind taste tests on all the commercials to show that the majority preferred Pepsi than Coke based on its teste. By 1977, Pepsi had exceeded Coke’s market share in major restaurant chains and food stores. We will write a custom essay sample on Introducing New Coke or any similar topic only for you Order Now Under the threat of being taken over by Pepsi and losing the industrial leader position, Coke released their new formulated coke on April 23th, 1985. While the Coke’s new formula was preferred in the blind taste tests, consumers especially loyal consumers across the country had a strong and negative reaction to the fact that Coke was going to replace the original formula with this new. In the end, Coke had to reintroduce the original Coke under the name Coke Classic, and the new coke quickly faded away. And the once leading Pepsi during Coke’s transactional period, fell back to the second market place again. In my opinion what Coca-Cola got it wrong was that they focused too much on the taste of the Coke and neglected the emotional attachment that consumers had to the original flavour. Coca-Cola could have simply changed the direction of its campaigns by giving Coke a brand new image to attract the â€Å"new generation† if they felt they were losing market share to Pepsi in that specific consumer group because image is probably more important than taste in selling soft drink based on Pepsi’s success of their â€Å"New Generation† campaign . But if Coke was determined to change the recipe, it could probably have done it without letting anyone know. Alternatively, the new Coke could have been introduced without knocking out the original Coke off the shelves. Simply adding an new flavour to the Coke family and giving consumers one more option to choose from could have resulted a better outcome, for example, Coca-Cola’s launch of Vanilla Coke. But the company considered, and rejected, planed to keep the old-formula drink in circulation under the name â€Å"original† Coke. The taste question was crucial to Coke. But what Coca-Cola executives failed to realize was that there is more to marketing soft drinks than winning taste tests. More than any other product consumers had an emotional attachment to their soft drink brand. I believe from Americans’ point of view, Coke discovered fiddling with the formula of the 99-year-old beverage was probably an assault to their patriotic pride. Here I can quote a saying from Coca-Cola’s President Donald R. Keough to summarize what Coca-Cola has learned: â€Å"We did not understand the deep emotions of so many of our customers for Coca-Cola. † I think any marketer who plans a noticeable revision of a product must consider the loyalty of its consumers and the possibility that the change will be rejected. To prevent this possibility, marketers should realize that balking at change is a customer characteristic of specific product preferences. Also, in this case, a more sophisticated qualitative and quantitative research could have been conducted and prevented Coke from this mistake. Consumers resist changes for many reasons – brand choice results from a complex set of beliefs, buyers associate products with themselves, buyers do not fit into clear segments. I think the key to all the marketers is to realize the involvement of what a product actually does for the user, and what emotional attachment that links the user to the brand. How to cite Introducing New Coke, Essay examples

Attitudes Essay Essay Example

Attitudes Essay Paper The former does this by a ale narrator writing a poem to a female, using Imagery to entice her. The latter by using a duke, explaining the story of what happened to his previous wife whilst looking at her picture. Both the poems use imagery and other poetic devices but in different ways. The first uses them more often to impress her. The second uses them in a different sense as the better part of the poem is the description of his previous wife and how she died. Also they differ in their use of tone, language, style and devices. The poem His Coy is an argument and therefore structured like one. The poem has three stanzas; the first and second are premises, whilst the last Is used as a conclusion. This forms a logical argument; 1. ? we 2. 3. As the motive of the poem Is to convince his mistress to have sex with him the quotation shows this as It Is modeled as a persuasive argument. What this tells us about the narrator Is that he will do anything to get what he wants even If the other person In the time it was written it was a crime in society for a woman to have sex before she gets married, in the poem she is not as only his mistress. Attitudes Essay Sample We will write a custom essay sample on Attitudes Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Attitudes Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Attitudes Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Compare and Contrast the Attitudes and Values of the Two Compare and Contrast the Attitudes and Values of the Two Compare and Contrast the Attitudes and Values of the Two He is insensitive and selfish as he respect her values, it loud only be for his pleasure. In comparison Last is a dramatic monologue whilst using enjambment, Far hands/Worked busily a and is written in iambic pentameter. In the poem most of the lines do not end with any type of punctuation, enjambment. The poem being a dramatic monologue adds to the eccentric behavior, also this makes him seem like he was dominant over his previous wife which is his view on woman, that they are below him. In Dalton as he uses the enjambment this exaggerates the tone he uses. This makes him seem angry at her, which Is why he ended up taking her life. However at the end there Is more punctuation which suggests Tanat en NAS remnant mess T Tanat en NAS a violators Ana Decodes calmer. As the poem is written in rhymed iambic pentameter, it maintains an even beat throughout the poem. Iambic pentameter has been said to be the most natural cadence of the English language. It consists of an iamb, which is two syllables: an unstressed followed by a stressed. An example of an iamb might be the words â€Å"a heart,† drawn from the lines: â€Å"A heart-how shall I say? O soon made This shows that the duke sounds calm, using a standard English rhythm of speech. However this contrasts with the enjambment which makes his actions seem normal. Through the structure of the poems it shows that the two narrators attitudes are similar because they think that they have power over women, they are above them. However it also shows they are unlike as in the former poem he is being selfish and what he wants is only for his pleasure, whilst the latter narrator show this quality. In the first poem the speaker uses imagery, alliteration and different statements to try to impress and flatter his lover. It starts off with a hyperbolic statement to make an impact, we but world enough, and imagery constantly throughout, of vast eternity?C,-1?0 and alliteration This shows a sensitive side of the speaker, he uses these poetic devices to make a greater meaning and give the poem more feeling. Also some of the imagery he uses greatly appeals to the readers senses, this makes him seem very persuasive and sly as he purposefully chose these words to do what it does. The alliteration contributes to the euphony of the passage lending it a musical and more poetic air. This shows he knows how to write a love poem and he again he has all the right techniques for persuading a person. The second poem goes also use imagery, however in a different way and for a different purpose. The narrator is describing the duchess to the emissary my last duchess painted on the This shows he is only describing the painting but as he is using the imagery he describes what she was like and how she made him angry. However as he describes her it makes her seem like she is Just an object, which she was to him. This is his view of woman, that they belong to a man which was very common belief at that time. From the poetic devices used their attitudes are different because in the first he shows his sensitive side and tries to put a bit of nuance into it. However the imagery in the second goes against him as he believes that she was his object and belonged to him. In both poems there is the recurrent theme of irony. In His Coy Mistress?C,-1?0 the entire first section is ironic in the sense that the speaker knows he being genuine. The speaker uses words to his advantage and we can take little of what he says to be truthful. In Line 1, we but world enough, and The first section of the poem is a series of hyperbolic statements meant to impress and flatter the reader but the first word sets this section in the subjective tense. Essentially he is saying if they were to live forever he would promise her all of these things. However of course they live forever and the speaker knows this before he starts the flattery. Line 19, lady, you deserve this Part of the speaker irony here is the knowledge is that although the lady might deserve it, she is immortal so she cannot have it. All of his extravagant assertions throughout this section are put in perspective because they are only based on fantasy. What this tells us tout ten narrator Is Tanat en wall say anything, even IT It Is contracted Day enamels, just to get this woman to sleep with him. This shows he is very persuasive but sin? at all genuine. In comparison in Last Duchess?C,-1?0 verbal irony is demonstrated when the Duke says to the emissary, had you skill, In speech (which I have The Duke is not a modest man but this makes him seem slightly humble in the middle of his domineering speech, this establishes situational irony. This shows how the Duke needs control and complete power and he causes a weariness to overcome the reader through irony. From the irony used in the poems, they are different because in the first its shows that he is to genuine and that he only says these things to get his mistress to sleep with him. Only says these words to get what he wants and for his pleasure. Then in the second it shows the need of complete control over her and his dominance. His Coy Mistress?C,-1?0 is a poem in which the speaker tries to convince the listener to go to bed with him, as such we might expect the tone to be coarse, lusty or even insincere as the presumption is that the speaker will say anything to argue his case. There is a light hearted tone to the poem, which suffers when the concept of death is brought up. The overall tone is more melancholy than what would have been expected. The speaker says, hundred to adore each As throughout the entire first section of the poem, here the speaker flatters his lover to the point of exaggeration. This makes the tone in this section insincere and indecent. The poet speaks about death using the words, ? and What he says here alters the tone initiated in the first section through imagery associated with decomposition. These words institutes the realism of death. The tone here is sincere and melancholic and its effect lasting. Then the speaker increases the tempo and uses words like, and This is in the final section of the poem. These words give emphasis to the tone but they have been affected by the pensive mood which was set before. In comparison in Last Duchess?C,-1?0 the duke makes the poem about him by using words like, this makes the tone of the poem arrogant and possessive. However the sentence structure the Duke has used creates a conversational tone. It is the tone in which the duke speaks of his previous wife which displays the disturbing psychology behind his actions. From the tone the two poems differ. The former attitude is insincere at the beginning but then becomes nine yet melancholy. Whilst the latter is arrogant and possessive. In conclusion the poets attitude in His Coy Mistress?C,-1?0 is that he is a selfish man, who is only writing this for his pleasure. He is being romantic in the first section by complimenting her a lot and saying she is worth everything. But then he says she have it which makes him insincere and not genuine at all. He is also slightly melancholic towards the end. The aim of the poem was to persuade his mistress to sleep with him. I think he has done this rather well because he uses very rueful persuasive techniques and has used ways of appealing to the listener. The poets attitude in Last Duchess?C,-1?0 is that he thinks he has power over women and they are beneath him. He saw his last wife as an object which he was in possession of which bring with that a need of control over her. He is also moldering Ana arrogant. I en alma AT tans poem Is to explain ten plectrum AT Nils last duchess and what happened to her. He has done this, as it is only describing. However Browning shows us the traits of the Duke without ever mentioning them explicitly.

mwin kampf a book review essays

mwin kampf a book review essays After some debate, I decided to tackle Mein Kampf by Adolph Hitler, which I thought would be interesting to review. I have read this book when I was fifteen, and I came to an understanding that in order to really understand this book, you have to read it mre than once. Mein Kampf, which translates as "My Struggle," is divided into two volumes. Volume One is titled "A Reckoning." Which poses a question, what is Hitler reckoning with? The book reveals that he is reckoning with reality, basically, and the fact that the Jews are in that reality. It seems that Hitler struggles with the Jewish topic when he was young, and that made him wonder if they were not ultimately going to be a cause for the destruction of the White race. He was convinced that the Jewish people were set apart only by religion and not race. Hitler voices his dislike for the Jewish people quite clearly when he says; "The fact that they had, as I believed, been persecuted on this account sometimes almost turned my dist aste at unfavorable remarks about them into horror." Hitler figured that the Anti-Semitic publications at the time were a result of jealousy towards these people, and in order to better educate himself, he began reading anti-Semitic pamphlets, and began to feel absolutely uncertain on where he stood on the iccue. "Moreover, the tone of most of these pamphlets was such that I became doubtful again, because the statements made were partly superficial and the proofs extraordinarily unscientific. For weeks, and indeed for months, I returned to my old way of thinking. The subject appeared so enormous and the accusations were so far-reaching that I was afraid of dealing with it unjustly and so I became again anxious and uncertain. Soon, he had no confusion about the issue when he says "In short time I was made more thoughtful than ever by my slowly rising insight into the type of activity carried on the Jews in certain fields. Was there any form of filth or...

Miller and Modigliani Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Miller and Modigliani - Essay Example The higher the company is able to retain earnings, the lesser the dividends and the lower the retention, the larger the dividends. Finance managers then need to make a wise decision on dividends payments and investment fuelling funds from the net profit of the firm. Since the overall goal of doing business is profit maximization, organizations must know which of the two practices is better in terms of wealth creation. If it will not lead to wealth creation for the shareholders, the funds should be retained to support investment programmes. A conflict therefore arises on whether dividends payment impacts the value of the organization or not. Some critics argue that dividends are irrelevant in that the percentage paid to the shareholders does not impact the value of the business while others maintain that dividends are relevant as far as the value of the organization is concerned (Baker,2009). Modigliani and Miller Hypothesis (MM Hypothesis) Both are on the idea that dividends are irre levant in that they have no effect on the organization’s value and do not have serious repercussions on the firm. According to them, choosing an investment programme that will contribute to the firm’s profit is what is important in adding value to the business. The process of dividends sharing is less important. In the event of good markets, realistic investments, and proper tax allocation between dividend revenue and business capital, provided the organization’s investment programme, dividend sharing has no effect on the market price of shares. Their theory on irrelevance of dividends is grounded on the following assumptions; First is that the business is conducted in an environment of perfect capital markets characterized by availability of sufficient and free information at all times, no or less exchange expenses and realistic investments. The investors are not a threat to the market price of goods and services. Also the investors are assumed to be realistic, implying that the main and only goal of shareholders is wealth maximization without discriminations on dividends sharing. They need to be satisfied with the amount that they get from the shares. Modigliani and Miller assumed that tax is ‘non-existent’. Therefore there should be no tax disparities such that the tax levied on dividend is not the same with that of the earnings. If there is tax, it should be equal. The idea is to provide a differentiation between revenue from dividends and from capital earnings. Again, the investment programmes of the organization are assumed to be consistent, i.e. they do not change constantly. The investors most also be in a position to make an intelligent guess about future investment programmes and how much profit they will generate (Frankfurter, wood & wansley, 2003). The argument’s bone of contention is that provided the firm’s investment decision, it can keep its revenue for financing investment programmes or distribut e the profit to the shareholders. The market share increases from the payment of dividends while other added shares pose a drop in the value of shares. This means that the market price does not change with dividends payment. The external business support is said to affect the dividend payment on the wealth of shareholders which makes them indifferent in deciding between dividends and keeping the firm’s revenue to channel investment programmes. In this view, the business external support that is said to affect dividends payment fails to capture mm’s hypothesis of dividends irrelevance. If dividends were irrelevant, the organization’s capital expenses would rely on their rate of dividend distribution (Banarjee, 1990). The assumption on perfect capital m

MIH514 - Cross-Cultural Perspectives Module 5 - SLP Essay

MIH514 - Cross-Cultural Perspectives Module 5 - SLP - Essay Example 1 - 13). This shows how committed the government is to the expansion and development of health care. The number of older people in Malaysia is constantly rising, and as a result, the Malaysian Health Ministry has embarked on efforts aimed at attracting more foreign investment and overhauling the system. The system of health care in Malaysia is widespread and efficient. The private and universal health care systems in the country coexist. In 2005, the infant mortality rate was 10, which goes on to show that the overall healthcare in Malaysia is efficient (Ariff & Beng 2006, pp. 2-8). Malaysia’s population consists of three main ethnic groups that include the Malays, Indian and Chinese. Despite having remarkable modern rural health services, Malaysians use a wide variety of traditional healthcare systems. Traditional Malaysian medicine is inspired by the teachings from the three cultures mentioned above. Three aspects are included in traditional health practice. The first aspect is spiritual therapy where a patient receives treatment for spiritual and psychological conditions. These conditions include depression, obsession, magic spells, and insomnia. The second aspect is massage therapy that uses different methods, balms an instruments in different regions of Malaysia. The third aspect is herbs that are in the form of liquids, powders, leaves, tablets, oils or pills. These herbal remedies are primarily aimed at restoring the natural balance in the body’s systems. The traditional religious beliefs and superstitions of Malaysian people have an important impact on the health of the people. These beliefs include fortune telling, worshipping ancestors, historical heroic gods, Buddhist gods and Taoist gods. These beliefs have important influence, particularly among patients with subjective psychotic experiences such as

'Prison works and community sentences are a soft option.' Critically Essay

'Prison works and community sentences are a soft option.' Critically discuss - Essay Example Nevertheless, the public and the government remain divided on the issue of sentencing and punishments. On the one hand, there are people who believe that punishments are not as tough as they should be (Bowditch 2008). They believe that hardened and repeating criminals do not deserve mere slaps in the wrists through community sentences (Powell 1999, p.209). On the other hand, others insist that community sentences and prison works have worthy merits (Gibb 2006). They are cheaper than imprisonment and can be effective punishment alternatives on their own. Community sentences, if properly managed, can do more rehabilitation than custodial sentences (Edwards 2011). This paper explores the issue that asserts that prison works and community sentences are soft options and it also discusses dissent against soft options, especially in an era that demands stiffer penalties. This statement underscores that these soft options are only for minor crimes and not recommended in resolving penology an d social problems. This paper argues prison works and community sentences are soft options, compared to custodial sentences, but they can also be effective in addressing penal issues and decreasing the social concern of recidivism, as long as they are properly and strictly managed and implemented. Community sentences Notions of probation can be traced to local court practices in the early nineteenth century, where young offenders or those guilty with small offences could be discharged or bound if a suitable person offered to take accountability for supervising future conduct (Raynor 2002: 1172). In 1876, the Church of England Temperance Society started to create an active presence in some city police courts to promote moral reform of offenders and to keep them abstained from alcohol (Raynor 2002: 1172). From the 1950s to the 1980s, probation experienced two reformulations and rethinking, with major effects on the questions tackled by probation research (Raynor 2002: 1174). Wilkins ( 1958) and Radzinowicz (1958) asserted that the effects of probation can be located in the â€Å"treatment model,† where for Radzinowicz (1958), probation was â€Å"a form of social service preventing further crime by a readjustment of the culprit† (Raynor 2002: 1174). Wilkins agreed that the treatment model focused more on subsequent behaviour of offenders and not issues of the criminal justice system (Raynor 2002: 1174). As the 1970s ended, the â€Å"treatment model† faced strong criticisms. Empirically, the studies of the effectiveness of penal sanctions of different forms led to negative results and the general finding that â€Å"nothing works† (Raynor 2002: 1175). There were also moral and philosophical arguments against the treatment, such as the objectification and dehumanisation of subjects and resting on the unverified claims of superior professional knowledge† (Raynor 2002: 1175). Community sentences were first enacted by law in 1907 for th e â€Å"probation† of offenders (Ministry of Justice 2008: 1). They departed from the treatment agenda, because they focused on effects of systems, instead of people (Raynor 2002: 1177). During the 1980s, an emphasis on community sentencing emerged as part of crime policymaking (Charman and Savage 1999: 194). Community service and supervision orders took greater priority over prisons as ways of resolving crimes (Charman

Prevention of Enzymatic Browning in Fruits and Vegetables

Prevention of Enzymatic Browning in Fruits and Vegetables Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is known to be a key enzyme in enzymatic browning of fruit, vegetables, beverage and seafood in the food industry. The browning of food causes a great quality loss and economic loss of food products. Inhibition of browning by physical treatments has well been developed and there are a wide range of chemicals can also inhibit enzymatic browning. This article overviews the various chemical inhibitors against enzymatic browning in food. Enzymatic browning is one of the major causes in quality loss of vegetables and fruit, beverage and seafood. It is roughly accounted for over 50 percent losses in fruit [1]. It is very important to control enzymatic browning so as to minimize losses and maintain the economic values of the food products. In animal tissues, melanosis is the process results in the formation of dark pigments. The products of melanosis sometimes cause similar visual perception as spoilage and this would make customers not select these products although they are not harmful and do not influence taste of the food. Browning causes many deleterious changes in the organoleptic and nutritional properties of food products that decrease their market values. However, enzymatic browning is beneficial for some of the food products such as tea, coffee, and cocoa. The consumption of fruits and vegetables has been increased due to the nutritional recommendations for health maintain. As a result, the market values of mi nimally processed fruits and vegetables production increases and this will trigger and encourage research in enzymatic browning. Enzymatic browning definition Cell disruption caused by mechanical injury or temperature changes may lead to physiological disorders or even cell death. This loss of cell integrity results in the decompartmentation of phenolic substrates and enzymes [2]. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is a critical enzyme catalyzing the oxidation of endogenous phenolic compounds to form grey or brown colors in the enzymatic browning process. PPO is a term which includes a large number of related copper-containing enzymes, including catechol oxidase, tyrosinase and laccase. In the presence of oxygen, PPO oxidizes mono- and di-phenols to o-quinones. Once the products are formed, they polymerize to form high molecular weight compounds or brown pigments as they are highly reactive. The brownish color could be enhanced when they react with amino acids and proteins [2]. Importance of browning inhibition It is essential to control enzymatic browning in order to reduce the economic loss during fruit and vegetables processing. It is essential to control enzymatic browning for the better development in the food industry. The most common way used for the inhibition of browning is the addition of sulfating agents to inhibit PPO. However, sulfite is a toxic molecule and can react with a variety of humoral and cellular components and can cause toxicity [3]. Due to the adverse health effects caused by sulfites, alternative compounds are investigated for anti-browning properties. The ideal compound would be the one which is effective, does not cause any quality loss (eg. taste, flavor, nutritional values) and toxicity, as well as low cost. Until now, many approaches are available to inhibit enzymatic browning, which include the use of ascorbic acid, sodium chloride, kojic acid, 4-hexylresorcinol etc. Enzyme inhibitors, reducing agents, acidulant agents, chelating agents and complexing agents are the common chemical treatments of antibrowning [4]. In order to have a better control of enzymatic browning, it is important to understand its mechanism of actions, the property of the enzyme, substrates, products and their interactions. Minimizing the negative sides of enzymatic browning can extend the shelf life and increase the market value of the food products. Physical inhibition Physical treatments are one of the common approaches in the control of enzymatic browning in the food industries. Hot-air drying, freeze-drying, canning and bottling are examples of some preventive methods. Browning is enhanced by wounding of plant tissue as it stimulates phenolic biosynthesis, hence minimizing the mechanical damage of fruit and vegetables reduce the degree of browning. Reducing the temperature can slow down the rate of enzymatic browning as enzymes are generally inactive at low temperature. However, color change still occurs at 0oc, hence it is important to allow the crystallization temperature of water to be reached as rapidly as possible [5]. Color change would be blocked during commercial frozen (-18oC). When the temperature rises again, browning starts and the rate will be greater if the cellular structure of the plant tissues is damaged by freezing, peeling and slicing [5]. Heating or blanching is the simplest method to inhibit browning by denaturing the enzyme PPO. Heating temperature and time are crucial to maintain the quality of the food products as heating will affects the texture, taste, flavor and nutritional value of the food. PPO is completely destroyed at 80oC [6], but sufficient time is required for the interior part of the fruit or vegetables to reach such temperature. Blanching the green beans for 3.5 minutes at 82 oC and above, inactivated catalase, lipoxygenase, and polyphenol oxidase activities completely[6]. Protection of the fruit and vegetables from oxygen can prevent enzymatic browning when the plant organs cannot be branched. A variety of methods are used in food industries, including airtight package, partial vacuum and oxygen-poor atmosphere. Chemical inhibition Chemicais are the most commonly used for the control of enzymatic browning, but their use in processed food products is restricted to compounds that are nontoxic, wholesome and that do not adversely affect the quality[7]. Inhibition of enzymatic browning can be achieved by hindering the enzyme or by binding to its active site which lower the PPO activity. Chelating agents which remove the copper prosthetic group from PPO can inhibit enzymatic browning. Removing the substrates is another way to prevent enzymatic browning. Substances which undergo complexation with the phenolic substrate and enzymatic modification of phenols are possible ways to inhibit enzymatic browning. Besides substrate, inhibition targeted toward the products, o-quinones, can also be an approach to control enzymatic browning. Chemical inhibitors of enzymatic browning in food will be discussed in detail in this essay. Polyphenol oxidase Definition PPOs are first discovered in mushrooms by Schoenbein in 1856. They are copper-containing proteins and belong to the group of oxidoreductases. A copper prosthetic group is required for its activity. In the presence of oxygen, polyphenol oxidase catalyses reaction of monophenols to o-diphenols (monophenol oxidase activity). It also oxidises o-diphenols to o-quinones (dipehnol oxidase activity). The enzyme in plants have both mono-and diphenol oxidase activity and the ratio of monophenol to diphenol oxidase activity is usually 1:10 to 1:40. [8]. PPO is present in a wide variety of plants and the activity varies from one organ to another and varies inside an organ, depending on the types of tissues or cells. The role of PPOs in plants is believed to resist the infection of microorganisms and virus and to extreme climatic conditions. PPOs are also in involved the development of dark pigmentation in animals. The biosynthesis of melanin pigments and other polyphenolic compounds which often provide a protective function [1]. Indeed, there are many studies concerning the prevention of melanin formation on the face by inhibiting tyrosinase activity, so as to develop whitening agents for the cosmetic industry. Nomenclature Nomenclature of PPOs is sometimes confusing due to their similarity in nature. Jaenicke and Decker write Probably there is no common tyrosinase: the enzymes found in animals, plants and fungi are different with respect to their sequences, size, glycosylation and activation [9] PPOs must have a dinuclear copper centre, in which type 3 copper is bound to histidine residue in their active sites, and this structure is highly conserved [10]. PPOs are normally classified into three types for the convenient use of the term: Catechol oxidase Catechol oxidase (1,2-benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductase, EC1.10.3.1) has both monophenol oxidase and diphenol oxidase activity. It is the most common form of PPOs in plants that when people talked about PPOs in food it normally refers to catechol oxidase. Reports on the molecular weight of plant PPO are very diverse and variable and it is estimated the molecular masses of PPOs ranges from 20 to 180kDa [2]. Most of the studies show PPOs have an optimum activity between pH 4 and 7, but some reports show that pH optima varies with the proportions of isoenzymes as well as phenolic substrates used [2]. The optimum temperature of PPOs ranges from 15 to 40 oC and this also depends on the same factors as pH. Tyrosinase Tyrosinase (EC1.14.18.1, monophenol, L-DOPA: oxygen oxidoreductase) refers to as monophenol monooxygenase and corresponds to the same enzymes as EC1.10.3.1 but which always catalyze the hydroxylation of monophenols. In aminals and fungi, PPOs are refered to tyrosinase as L-tyrosine is the major monophenolic substrate. It is very similar to catechol oxidase and sometimes tyrosinase is referred as PPOs. It catalyze two distinct reactions of melanin synthesis: the hydroxylation of tyrosine and the oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyphenalanine (L-DOPA) to o-dopaquinone. Tyrosinase has been a great concern in humans in the cosmetic industry as it plays a key role in mammalian melanogenesis, which leads to the formation of dark macromolecular pigments, melanin. Laccases Laccase (p-diphenol oxidase, E.C. 1.10.3.2)(DPO), has the unique ability to oxidase p-diphenols into their corresponding quinones, which allows it to be distinguished from catechol oxidase. The enzyme contains many subunits and there are three types of copper centers in each subunit. They occur mainly in fungi and higher plants while much less frequently in the plant kingdom than PPOs. They are glycoproteins with a carbohydrate content of about 15-41% and they have a molecular weight of about 60 to 80 kDa. Substrate Phenolic compounds are substrates for PPOs. There is a wide variety of phenolic compounds found in plants, but only a small number serves as direct substrates for PPOs. Degree of enzymatic browning varies widely from one plant to another. Not only content of PPOs contributes to the variation, quantitative and qualitative aspects of their phenolic content also affect enzymatic browning in fruit and vegetables. In the studies of enzymatic browning in various fruits such as apples, grapes, and peaches, the effects of phenolic content and polyphenol oxidase on the rate of enzymatic browning have been reported [11-13]. Phenolic compounds contain an aromatic ring with one or more hydroxyl groups, together with other substituents. The differences in species, ripening and environmental conditions of growth and storage influence the phenolic composition of plants. Phenolic compounds are essential in fruit and vegetables as they contribute to flavor, color and taste in fruits. Flavonoids are t he major phenolic compounds occurred in plants. Caffeic acid derivatives and monomeric flavan-3-ols often appear to be the best substrates [2]. In some cases, phenolic compounds which are not direct substrates can also take part actively in enzymatic browning by coupled oxidation reaction. Tyrosine, an amino acid, is a monohydroxy phenol and it is an important substrate for PPOs in animals. Caffeic acid derivatives, such as chlorogenic acid, the major diphenolic compounds in plants, act as substrates for polyphenol oxidases. Chlologenic acid is the main substrates for enzymatic browning in apples. On the other hand, some phenolic compounds may also act as inhibitors for PPOs. Apple polyphenol oxidases can be inhibited by various cinnamic acids acting as substrate analogues [1]. Mechanism of action Monophenol oxidase activity for the hydroxylation reaction is normally slower than the oxidation reaction for the production of quinine, which leads to the initiation of the polymerization reaction. Thus it is the rate determining step in the production of brown pigments from monophenols. One mole of oxygen is required for the reaction as shown in Figure 2. When there are only diphenolic substrates, production of the brown pigments will be faster due to their high catalytic rate in the formation of quinines. The primary products, o-quinones, are reactive and unstable compounds, which can undergo further oxidation to brown melanin pigment (figure 3). O-quinones are strong electrophiles which can suffer nucleophilic attack by water, other polyphenols, amino acids and proteins, leading to Michael-type addition products [14-16]. The final products have more intensive color than the o-quinones. Their color depends on the phenol from which they originate. Chemical inhibitors of PPO Plant Polyphenols Polyphenols are a diverse group of compounds having multiple phenolic functionalities [18]. Plants are a rich source of polyphenols which are almost free of harm effects. There are continued investigations of tyrosinase inhibitors from plant extracts, aiming to search what bioactive chemicals in plants have significant inhibitory effect. Flavonoids are one of the most common and best studied groups of plant polyphenols. Flavonoids can be further divided into six subgroups, which are flavanones, isoflavones, flavonols, flavanols, flavones and anthocyanidins. Some flavonoids such as catechin act as substrates for PPO while some of them, eg. quercetin and kaempferol have inhibitory effect on PPO [19, 20]. Isao Kubo studies the inhibition kinetics of kaempferol extracted from saffron flower and it is found that to be a competitive inhibitor, its inhibitory activity presumably comes from its ability to chelate copper in the enzyme [20]. This copper chelation mechanism may be applicable fo r all of the flavonols as long as their 3-hydroxyl group is free [20]. However, 3-o-glycoside derivatives, eg. kaempferol 3-o-glucoside, quercetin 3-o-glucoside, did not inhibit tyrosinase in high concentration [20]. This shows that the free hydroxyl group at C-3 may play an important role in the inhibition. However, some flavones which lack the 3-hydroxyl group, such as luteolin and luteolin-o-glucoside, still have tyrosinase inhibitory effect [21]. (−)-epicatechin 3-O-gallate(ECG), (−)-gallocatechin 3-O-gallate(GCG), and (−)-epigallocatechin 3-O-gallate(EGCG) in tea, especially green tea, are strong inhibitor of tyrosinase and it is found that GCG may act as a competitive inhibitor for the L-tyrosine binding at the active site of the enzyme [22]. It is believed that the flavon-3-ol skeleton with a galloyl moiety at the 3-position is required to inhibit tyrosinase effectively. When the hydrophobicity of gallates increases, the coumpounds are more resistant to be o xidized by tyrosinase as the tertiary structure of the enzyme is disrupted [23]. Structure-Activity Investigations of stilbenes and related 4-substituted resorcinols, obtained from Artocarpus incisus and other plants suggested that the 4-substituted resorcinol skeleton have potent tyrosinase inhibitory ability [24]. Oxyresveratrol, a stilbene isolated from Morus alba, exhibited 32 times inhibitory effect of kojic acid on tyrosinase and the inhibitors act non-competitively on the enzyme [25]. In the structure analysis of extracts from licorice root, glabridin exerts the strongest inhibitory effect on tyrosinase and the inhibitory effect was more effective against monophenol oxidase activity, the rate-determining step, than diphenol oxidase activity [26]. However, glabridins analog, glabrene, was 100-fold less active than glabridine while glyasperin C, isolated from the same part of the plant, was two times more active than glabridin [26, 27]. 6-hydroxydaidzein (6,7,4-trihydroxyisoflavone), one kind of hydroxyisoflavones isolated from soybean koji fermented with As pergillus oryzae, had 6-fold more than kojic acid acting competitively on the tyrosine binding site of the enzyme [28]. It is found that an isoflavone with hydroxyl groups at both the C6 and C7 positions in the A ring would increase both inhibitory effect and affinity to the enzyme more than 10 times [28]. Chalcones, with two aromatic rings in trans configuration, have strong inhibitory effects on tyrosinase. Licochalcone A isolated from the roots of glycyrrhiza species competitively inhibit tyrosinase and the effect was 5.4 times more active than kojic acid [29]. Kuraridin, isolated from Sophora flavescens, was 34 times of the activity of kojic acid in inhibiting monophenolase activity of mushroom tyrosinase [30]. It is believed that the 2,4-dihydroxyl groups in the aromatic ring of chalcone structure was the important substituted group to exert strong tyrosinase inhibitory activity as some simple 4-alkylresorcinols were found to exhibit the strong inhibitory effect [24, 31]. Chelating agents Chelating agents are chemicals that bind to metal ions and remove them from their sphere of action. EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is a chemical preservative permitted for food industry use. It is a chelator and it is believed that EDTA inhibits PPO activity by either binding to the active copper site of PPO or reduces the availability of copper for the enzyme [7]. the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Calcium disodium EDTA and disodium EDTA to be used as a food additive [32]. EDTA is usually used with other chemicals such as reducing agents (ascorbic acid) and acidulants (citric acid) to prevent enzymatic browning in food. Polyphosphates are another common chelating agent for anti-browning of fresh-peeled fruits and vegetables, but it has low solubility in cold water [7]. Sporix, containing citric acid, ascorbic acid, sodium acid pyrophosphate and calcium chloride, is a powerful chelator and also an acidulant. Browning prevention in apple juice a nd cut surfaces was obtained by Sporix [33]. However, it is not approved in U.S. for food use. Kojic acid (C6H6O4; 5-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-pyrone), always being use as a standard to compare and study the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of various chemicals in research, is produced by several species of fungi, especially Aspergillus oryzae. Kojic acid possesses both antibacterial and antifungal activities. It is a good chelator and antioxidant that can prevent browning in both plants and seafood. It is commonly found as a food additive and in cosmetic products due to its tyrosinase inhibitory effect. In the phenolic acids tested (caffeic, chlorogenic, cinnamic, coumalic, ferulic, gallic, kojic) for inhibition on PPO, Son et al. reported that kojic acid showed the highest inhibitory activity on apple slice browning [34]. Kojic acid may inhibit the enzyme acting as a reducing agent. If high dose of kojic acid is given to rodents, the level of tyrosine stimulating hormone increases [35]. However, there is inadequate evidence showing that kojic acid would cause cancer in human . Consumption of kojic acid at levels normally found in food does not present a concern for safety [36]. Reducing agent Reducing agents can act as antibrowning agents by reducing the o-quinones back to o-quinones. Ascorbic acid is a good reducing agent and antioxidant which removes oxygen in polyphenol oxidase reactions. As the reaction resulting in the formation of o-quinones is reversible, in the presence of excess reducing agent, o-quinones are reduced to their original o-diphenols. Ascorbic acid is the most widely used antibrowning agent in food due to its reducing property as well as low pH. Since reducing agents act on o-quinones to prevent browning, the effectiveness of ascorbic acids would be decreased if their use is delayed until after the enzymatic reaction has started. In practice, about 0.1-0.3% of ascorbic acid can have protective effect against enzymatic browning. However, one of the drawbacks of ascorbic acid is that it can be oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid irreversibly during the reaction. As a result, it disappears rapidly and browning would occur again upon its depletion (figure 4 ). To overcome its rapid depletion, some derivatives, such as ascorbic acid-2-phosphate (AAP), or ascorbic acid-triphosphate (AATP), are used as substitutes. They are not reducing agents, but when the action of PPO presents they release ascorbic acids. Therefore they will not be oxidized by oxygen rapidly as AAP and AATP can remain stable in the presence of oxygen. Erythorbic acid (EA) has a similar effect and action as Acorbic acid in the inhibiting enzymatic browning. However, it is destroyed at a faster rate than ascorbic acid. Sulphiting agents including sulphur dioxide (SO2) and sulphite are very popular browning inhibitors used in the food industry. It is one of the most effective chemical inhibitors of browning and it is effective even in low concentration. Also, it is inexpensive and hence many food manufacturers use it to inhibit microorganisms growth and enzymes. Sulphur dioxide has three actions to inhibit browning. The first one is its reducing property to reduce o-quinones to its original o-diphenols. The second mechanism involves the formation of colorless products with o-quinones and the last one is that SO2 denatures PPO, resulting in the loss of functionality of the enzyme. Madero and Finne [37] reported that bisulphite could bind to the sulphydryl group at the active site of the enzyme so as to exert competitively inhibit the enzyme. Ferrer et al. [38] proposed that bisulphate inhibited PPO irreversibly by forming sulphoquinones when sulphites react with intermediate quinines, causing complet e inactivation of the enzyme. In addition, it also inhibits non-enzymatic browning that reduces pigmentation of the fruit and vegetables. Sometimes sulphur dioxide treatment is applied before deep-frozen, drying or freeze-drying of fruit and vegetables. In deep-frozen products of apples and apricots, fruit slices are soaked for 3-4 minutes in 0.4-0.5% sulphur dioxide solution. Sulphites are regulatory restricted in food products as it may cause potentially adverse effects on health. There are many reports showing that sulfites are genotoxic in vitro but not in vivo [39]. In the report of the safety evaluation of sulphites as food additives by World Health Organization (WHO), it concluded that when a suitable alternative method of preservation exists, its use should be encouraged, particularly in the applications in the food industry that the use of sulfites is extensive which may lead to its high intake as high level of sulfites in the body may cause life-threatening adverse reactions [39]. Thiol containing (sulfhydryl) compounds are compounds that an oxygen atom in the compound has been replaced by a sulphur atom. Many studies showed these compounds such as cysteine, N-acetyl-L-cysteine and reduced glutathione are able to inhibit enzymatic browning in fruits and vegetables [40]. In this group, cysteine is the most effective anti-browning agent. The proposed mechanism was that it reacted with the quinone intermediates to form stable colorless compounds. The cysteine-quinone adducts are also the competitive inhibitors of PPO. Nicolas et al. showed that cysteine directly inhibits PPO by forming stable complexes with copper [40]. However, use of cysteine is not so encouraged in the food industry because concentration of cysteine used to achieve significant inhibitory effect on PPO would have negative effects on taste. It has also been shown that Maillard reaction products (MRPs) are potential inhibitors enzymatic browning. Amadori rearrangement products, key intermediates in the first states of the Maillard reaction, has chelating, reducing and oxygen-scavenging properties and it might inhibit enzymatic browning [41]. The MRPs derived from glucose with sulfhydryl amino components (cysteine or the tripeptide, glutathione) could be considered as potential natural inhibitors and this was supported by Billuad et al.s study [42]. In a further study conducted by Hesham A. et al., the inhibitory effect of the thiol containing compounds was comparable with 4-hexyl resorcinol and being significantly (p < 0.05) higher than ascorbic acid. The MRPs derived from cysteine/glucose model system were more active than their counterpart derived from cysteine/ribose model system [43]. In a study examining various types of MRPs for their tyrosinese inhibitory effect, monosaccharide-glutathione was more active than glutathione [44]. However, MRPs are unstable and they may negatively affect the sensory quality of the food products as there was unpleasant odor formed from t he apple slices treated with MPRs [44]. Acidulants Most enzymes especially oxidative enzymes activity is very pH-dependent. Extreme pH can denature the enzymes that lead to the loss of the catalytic function. The groups in the active site of the enzymes are ionizable. In the environment of high proton concentration, the structure of the active site may be affected and there may be conformational change that decreases the binding of substrate and catalytic activity. A pH below 3 can effectively inhibit PPO activity [45]. In addition, under extreme pH, substrates may be degraded or change its conformation; as a result, the degraded substrates share the molecular features of the substrates that they may act as enzyme inhibitors [46]. Common acidulants use for PPO inhibition are citric acid, organic acids such as malie, tartaric and malonie acids and inorganic acids such as phosphoric and hydrochloric acids. Citric acid is an acidulants which widely used in the food industry as it is cost effective and highly available. 0.5-2% of it has protective effects against enzymatic browning in fruit and vegetables. The use of 100mmol/L citric acid combined with 10mmol/L glutathione was found to give a great control of browning in litchi fruits and it is recommended this combination can be a good way applied to control litchi fruit quality [47]. Since it is difficult to achieve efficient browning inhibition through pH control solely, citric acid is frequently used in combination with other anti-browning agents, such as ascorbic acid to chelate the copper of the enzyme. However, when the pH is lowered to a level the taste of the food products may be affected and it only can be applied in acidic foods. Complexing agents Complexing agents are able to form complexes with PPO substrates or reaction products, so as to reduce the browning effects. Cyclodextrins and cyclic nonreducing oligosaccharides of six or more D-glucose residues are examples of complexing agents. The hydrophobic central core of cyclodextrins can form inclusion complexes with phenol compounds, leading to the depletion of PPO substrates. Due to the limited space in the core of cyclodextrins, larger guest molecules only partially bind to it and form relatively weak complexes. However, chemical modification of cyclodextrines increases the binding and hence increases the inhibitory effect on PPO. In a study using chlorogenic acid as a substrate to compare ÃŽ ±-, ÃŽ ²- and ÃŽ ³-cyclodextrins in the formation of inclusion complexes, ÃŽ ²-cyclodextrins are more effective in inhibiting browning in apple juice [48]. The internal cavity of ÃŽ ²-Cyclodextrins is non-polar that it induced inclusion complex formation with the phenolic substrates of polyphenol oxidases, preventing them oxidizing to quinones and hence stop the subsequent polymerization to brown pigments. However, complex formation by cyclodextrins is not specific and it may remove the desirable color and flavor compounds of the food product. Cyclodextrins are insoluble in water, so it is better to be used in volatile or insoluble food ingredients in the food industry. The use of cyclodextrins in fruit and vegetable juice are patented, but it have not been approved to use in food by the FDA [49]. Chitosan, a naturally abundant polymer of ÃŽ ²-(1-4)-linked -D-glucosamine, is obtained from the chitin of shellfish. It is widely used in agricultural and horticultural as natural biocontrol and elicitor, water filtration and biomedical. Chitosan is a kind of dietary fibre that have an effect in reducing the absorption of bile salts in the small intestine, hence lowering the blood cholesterol level. It also helps to stop bleeding and has anti-bacterial effects. It is safe and non-toxic, and may even gain health benefits to the body. It has been reported enzymatic browning was inhibited by adding 200 ppm chitosan to Mcintosh apple juice [50]. When 2% of chitosan was treated with shrimp during storage, the incidence of melanosis was reduced [51]. Another study showed that chitosan coating can inhibit enzymatic browning in longan fruits and it can improve shelf life and quality of the fruit [52]. The effect might be due the formation of protective barrier on the surface of the fruit, p reventing the supply of oxygen to PPO. Therefore it is applicable that chitosan can be used in the combination with other agents to control browning and improve quality in fruit and vegetables during post-harvesting and storage. Enzyme inhibitors 4-hexylresorcinol is the one of the most potential PPO inhibitors apply to fresh-cut products. It has obtained the GRAS status for use in the prevention of shrimp melanosis and it proved to be more effective than sulphites in the inhibition of melanosis [7]. Due to its specific mode in the inhibition of enzymatic browning and effectiveness at low concentration, it may be a potential substitute to sulphites. The combination of it with ascorbic acid improved browning control in apple slices [53]. In a study investigating the combination effect of cysteine, kojic acid and 4-hexylresorcinol on the inhibition of enzymatic browning in Amasya apple juice, the interaction of kojic acid and 4-hexylresorcinol was found to have a positive effect on the inhibition of enzymatic browning [54]. Everfresh, a patented product containing 4-hexylresorcinol as the active ingredients and sodium chloride, showed better stability to blackspot formation than sulphites and it is proposed to be use for the in hibition of enzymatic browning in fruit and vegetables [55]. Sodium chloride, or saline water, is widely used in daily life as an anti-browning agent in freshly cut apple. It can also slow the microbial growth in the food products. Its effects on PPO increase when concentration increases. In an experiment examining the effects of salinity on PPO and peroxidase activity, increasing levels of salinity  reduced both oxidases activities immediately after cutting and throughout 7  days of storage [56]. Samples cultivated under high  salinity had also the lowest change in colour and showed the lowest reduction in total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity after 3  days of storage [56]. However, due to its inadequate protective effect at low concentration and unwanted salty flavor at high concentration, its application in the food industry is limited. When it is used with ascorbic acid and acidulants such as citric acid, the inhibitory effect is enhanced and prolonged. However, as the pH is getting higher, the inhibitory effect would dec rease. Its inhibition to PPO might be achieved by interacting with the copper at the active site of the enzyme. Sodium chloride at a concentration of 2-4% is usually used to inhibit browning in the food industry. At 1-2% concentration soaking for less than 1 minute, it can afford temporary protection from surface browning of sliced peeled apples for freezing, or ready-to-use fresh food. Other chemical inhibitors Sodium chlorite is an effective sanitizer inhibiting microbial growth. It can generate chlorine dioxide in acidic environment. Chlorine dioxide is a very powerful oxidizing agent and found to have inhibition in browning reaction. The anti-browning effect of sodium chlorite was gr

college :: essays research papers

My First Year at Lewis My college experience started about two years ago. I knew it was not going to be easy, but I was unsure of what was ahead of me. The one word that describes the feelings I first had during my first year at Lewis is responsibility, which I experienced academically, socially and even economically. My college experience was not like any other college student would describe it. Most college students say that you have a lot of time on your hands because classes are so spread out, but things did not go this way for me. Aviation Maintenance at Lewis University has a different way of doing things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  everybody knows that college is academically a step higher than high school. I grew more responsible academically because my classes where very straight to the point, and the teachers spoke with great knowledge. Aviation Maintenance has a different schedule here at Lewis University. For me that meant 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. classes with one hour break. I had to keep up with tests and homework in very short periods. It took a lot of responsibility for me to accomplish this. I felt I had to change many things in my life. I had to get more sleep, finish homework fast, and make time to study for tests. Everybody in my class felt the same pressure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I also grew more responsible socially as I met more friends and became more acquainted with them. My classmates felt the same tough schedule for Aviation Maintenance as well. Everyday we had â€Å"shop† class from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. This meant we had to get along in order to get work done. Shop classes where very interesting and involved a lot of hands on and group work. Responsibility becomes a big roll in helping each other and accomplishing our tasks especially when it comes to these classes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, I became more responsible economically as I commuted to school every morning and felt the pressure of keeping a close budget. My first class was at 8:00 a.m., which meant getting up at 6:00 a.m. and leaving at 6:30 a.m. Sleep became a necessity, while at the same time getting studies done was also necessary. Time was an issue that had to be controlled well and this became hard for me because time was never an issue before.

From marketing to image, to branding Essay

Introduction My presentation is based on branding as a business tool for marketing. The presentation will provide the concept of brand based on the strategies, importance, and influence of branding and to the consumers and towards the end provide a case study of McDonald’s Company for the case study of branding. Firstly, Hill (2002, p. 79) defined brand as a symbol or a name that businesses use in order to identify their products and use them to separate from the competitors. He further argues that brand development forms a foundational piece of the business marketing communication industries cannot do without. Reasonably, speaking, there are numerous brand types that may either represent a corporate or personal brand. We must note that in the current globalization and technology driven world, branding has become increasingly significant than over the previous decades. My research on business branding features the collection of science and psychology to form a premise mark as opposed to a trademark. The brands of the business convey the information of credibility, uniform quality, and experience of the business. Brands have life cycles, valuable and outlive the products. Today, numerous companies invest the value of the business in their brand and it has appeared in their balance sheet. The world has become online and numerous markets are growing across nations that have seen the consumers use brands in their purchases. The importance of brands is, therefore; Assisting in the identification of the business. The business that uses branding can clearly be seen, quickly identify and sought after-products. Branding allows time and energy saving through practicality through loyalty and identical purchasing. The customer is guaranteed of finding the same quality irrespective of time and place of buying the product Branding provides common self-image that is presentable to others It allows for satisfaction brought through intimacy and familiarity with the brand that the consumers have using for years. Branding provides ethical standards in business due to satisfaction linked to the responsible brand behavior in its societal relationships. Branding Strategy This refers that firms mix and match the name of their brand and the products they offer. The degree of synergy between the product brand and the corporate brand depends on the architecture of the brand (Hill 2002, p. 124). I found the following brand strategies as identified by scholars; Corporate and individual branding House of brand and brand house, including sub-brands and endorsed brands Weak endorsement, no endorsement, strong endorsement, and medium endorsement. Delineated three types of brand strategy, continuum monolithic strategy, branded strategy, and endorsed brand strategy. Endorsement brand strategy, token endorsement, and weak endorsement. Influence of Branding to Consumers and Business The legally protected brands are significantly important in the modern marketing. Branding has several influences on the business and the customers. Firstly, branding brings psychological effect that affect the consumers by urging them to choose a specific product over the other based on perception rather than hard facts. I read from the work of Hill (2002, p. 143) that indicated that brands can automatically activate the goals of purchase in individuals without conscious or awareness intent. Likewise, Hill (2002, p. 143) further writes that brands offer promise of performance by the business by assuring the customers of the quality, safety, and other ethical obligations of the product. Further, it is indicated that the socio-culturally based brands present the role of brands through research. Brand satisfaction is a good reason for a customer to choose a specific product over the other. Case Study of McDonald’s Branding Success The case study I used was a well-known industry across the globe. With the globalization era, currently; it is easier for brands to show their presence globally in various cultures. Reading from Hill (2002), business operation in a foreign cultural atmosphere comes with changes in the strategies of the business, advertising, functioning and branding campaign. A case study of the McDonald’s different marketing strategies can best exemplify the global marketing strategy. The company originated in the U.S. in 1940 as a street restaurant and currently serves in 199 countries across the globe. According to Kulkarni, Lassar, Sridhar and Venkitachalam (2009, p. 12) the company’s brand is supported by a highly successful brand campaigns.   In each of all the branding campaigns of the McDonald’s Company, it has prioritized on social values of the target audience that has made functioning as a resilient possible. The comparison of the branding campaign in two completely economically and culturally diverse countries, India and Australia, shows the company’s effective resilience. My investigations reveal that the company ventured in India in 1996 and in Australia in 1971, but there exists a considerable gap in chronology. It is understood that the company adopted the dissimilar marketing strategies using similar brand values that were quality, service, cleanliness and value (QSC & V). Using this strategy, the company excelled in both the markets in a way that the societies never thought that it was an American brand. The reasons for brand success of the case study company were, perhaps, numerous (Encyclopedia of global brands 2013, p. 677). However, excellent market research tops the list. The ever-growing process of market research has assisted the marketers to analyze the environment of marketing and define the marketing strategies and product-market fit. Through market research, Light, Kiddon, Till, Heckler, Mathews, Wacker, Brunner, Emery and Hall, (2012, p. 67), writes the company realized the obligation to involve in the local culture. Social marketing, according to McDonald’s (2013, p. 221) assisted the company develop the socially accepted product and satisfies the customer needs better than that of the competitors. Currently, the company runs 780 outlets in Australia and 300 outlets in India. Therefore, the best achievement of the company is through its branding that successfully transformed itself into the local image and fulfilled the brand promises. The people believed in QSC & V that was fulfilled and the TV campaigns often focused on customer relationships. References Encyclopedia of Global Brands. (2013). vol. 2, K-Z,  Ã‚   2nd edn, St. James Press, pp. 675-680 Hill, C. W. L. (2002). International business competing in the global marketplace. New York, McGraw-Hill Irwin. KonecÃŒÅ'Nik Ruzzier, M., & Ruzzier, M. (2007). From marketing to image, to branding. IV Seminari Internacional D’InnovacioÃŒ  I Turisme â€Å"Turisme & Branding: La Clau Per Al Desenvolupament TuriÃŒ stic†, Palma De Mallorca, 26, 27 I 28 Setembre 2007. Kulkarni, S, Lassar W, Sridhar C & Venkitachalam A. (2009). McDonald‟s OngoingMarketing Challenges and Social Perception in India‟, Online Journal of International  Case Analysis, vol. 1, Issue 2, last viewed 23 Sept 2013,  http://ojica.fiu.edu/index.php/ojica_journal/article/view/19/18  11. Light, L., Kiddon, J., Till, B., Heckler, D., Mathews, R., Wacker, W., Brunner, R., Emery, S., & Hall, R. (2012). Branding strategies for success. [Upper Saddle River, NJ], FT Press. http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/?fpi=9780133039030.

Parrot In the Oven essays

Parrot In the Oven essays Parrot in the Oven by Victor Martinez is a story told by a teenage Mexican American boy, Manny, who is attempting to find his place in a society full of disappointment. It is a story highly influenced by the race and culture of its protagonist. The crises and problems that Manny experiences like love, violence, sibling conflicts, gangs, family problems, and money shortage, are universal obstacles in teenage life. Set in the projects, Manny gives a very realistic account of what it is like to grow up as a minority in a poor, dysfunctional home. Receiving no real direction from his family, Manny battles with what type of man he should and will become. He is tempted by gang life, but at the same time, he seems to have a pure heart that prohibits him from falling too far. This is how life is spent everyday for a Latino boy like Manual Hernandez. Each and every day Manny learned something new about his family, and how to deal with the constant situations. He joined the gang thinking that theyre going to be his family, its good for him, and it can help him with his problems. Victor Martinez writes about a poor, destitute family, and how a little boy tries to live his own lifestyles. He was put in a position to do things he wouldn't normally do. When Eddie, one of the leaders of the gang, decides to steal an innocent lady's purse, Manual is suddenly confuses as to rather go with Eddie or do the right thing. Manual decides to do the right thing, and not go along with Eddie, and the reader is left with a relieving feeling. Victor's writing stays with you all throughout the book, and yet it seems to never leave. Victor Martinez puts hard , struggling emotions into his writing, and it takes his readers to another level. At the beginning of the story, Manny has the goal of buying a baseball glove and to achieve that goal he goes to pick chilies. After working for hours, he is able to pick enough chilies to buy himself a baseball gl...

Coffee Bean Inc. Costing Analysis

Coffee Bean Inc. Costing Analysis Free Online Research Papers This report analyses the costs associated with two of Coffee Beans Inc. products, Moana Loa and Malaysian blends based on two different costing methodologies, namely the traditional job costing system that the company uses so far and the Activity Based Costing (ABC). ABC provides us with a more detailed and accurate estimation of the real cost of the products and it can serve as the basis for suitable strategic decisions, concerning products mix, pricing, suppliers and market positioning. A major issue that have to be concerned is the discontinuation or not of Malaysian blend. Appropriate recommendations and alternative solutions are being provided in order to facilitate the strategic decision process and help the Board of Directors to go to the right direction that will optimize our product mix, strengthen our position in the market and boost our operating profit. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1 2. Traditional Costing method 2 3. Activity Based Costing (ABC) 3 4. Comparison Between the Results of Traditional Costing and Activity Based Costing for Coffee Bean Inc. 5 5. Conclusions 6 6. Recommendations 7 7. Appendix 9 1. Introduction Traditionally, companies used costing based solely on direct labor or machine hours in order to allocate indirect costs to products. A more recent approach is the Activity Based Costing (ABC) that first accumulates overhead costs for each of the activities of an organization, and then assigns the costs of activities to the products, services, or other cost objects that caused that activity. The present report will investigate the costs structure of two products of Coffee Bean Inc., Moana Loa and Malaysian. Initially, the so far applied traditional method will be presented. Then, the refined costing system of Activity Based Costing will be examined. Following there will be a comparison of the two methods with an effort to locate points that will reveal inconsistencies in costing and subsequent pricing of the products. The aim is Coffee Bean Inc. to identify precisely which drivers dominate the cost of each blend and actively adjust its product mix, pricing, purchasing and marketing strategy. Conclusions and recommendations on possible routes of problems, solutions or strategies to follow will be thoroughly discussed and a crystal clear image of the â€Å"cause-effect† relationship of all stages and factors in each blend will be drawn. 2. Traditional Costing method The first method of costing used to evaluate the Coffee Bean products’ costs and profitability is the traditional costing method. This provides an initial base for comparison in order to assess the Malaysian and Moana Loa coffee blends against each other. The traditional costing method classifies all manufacturing costs of products into three big categories, these being direct materials, direct labor and manufacturing overhead. Direct materials and labor are straightforward in the case of Coffee Bean Inc. Company data provided breakdown these costs for both coffee blends in question. On the other hand, the third category of manufacturing overhead may not always be as accurate as it is applied based on a weighted average for the products. The calculation of all three categories is discussed in the following paragraphs. Data is provided for the direct cost of Moana Loa and Malaysian coffees as well as the direct labor costs (Table 1). In addition, a prediction of production in pounds for each product is 100.000 and 2.000 respectively. Given the above inputs, the following direct costs are extracted: Moan Loa Direct Material Cost Moan Loa Direct Labor Cost Malaysian Direct Material Cost Malaysian Direct Labor Cost The manufacturing overhead budget provides us with a schedule of costs for coffee bean products including all other costs other than direct labor and materials. In order to determine the indirect manufacturing costs, the overhead rate used to charge all the indirect manufacturing costs is determined. The product of the overhead rate along with the direct cost allocated to each coffee brand provide a figure of the indirect manufacturing overhead which can be allocated to each blend. Overhead rate = Total budgeted manufacturing overhead / budgeted direct labor cost ? Overhead rate = = 5 Having all three categories of conventional costing and the quantity of each blend required for production, a budgeted cost and price of each blend can be acquired ( Table 2). It is evident that the budgeted cost and price of Moana Loa blend is higher than that of Malaysian, reaching values of $6.00 and $5.00 respectively. Given that the direct material cost is the only different driver in value, and all other costs are found as a product of common rates with quantity, this result is expected. Higher direct material cost of Moana Loa, leads to higher price. This result is seen with skepticism since the data provided for the different activities does differ with blend choice, and to assign manufacturing costs based on weighted averages of production is a simplistic way to go. The effect the different activity costs provided per blend have on their budgeted costs is investigated in the following sections. 3. Activity Based Costing (ABC) The second method of costing used to evaluate the coffee bean products’ costs and profitability is the Activity Based Costing (ABC) method. This method will reveal the link between performing particular activities like purchasing, materials handling, quality control, processing beans which consist our indirect costs, and the demands those activities make on the organization’s resources. In contrast with traditional method, in ABC the expenses incurred to produce individual units of particular products (Malaysian and Moana Loa coffee blends) are separated from the expenses needed to produce these different products. Concerning the activities of roasting, blending and packaging, they have the same overhead cost per hour. Hence, they all can be included in a pool of processing costs since they are homogeneous with a cost allocation base or hours of processing. (Table 4). Activity Cost-Allocation Base Budgeted Activity Budgeted Cost Roasting Roasting hours 96.100 $961.000 Blending Blending hours 33.600 $336.000 Blending Packaging hours 26.000 $260.000 Processing Beans Processing hours 155.700 $1.557.000 In order to proceed to ABC method, the cost allocation rate is needed. Using data in table 4 of the appendix the following results arise. Purchasing Cost Allocation Rate =$579.000 Budg. Cost / 1.158 Budg. Activity= $500 Material handling Allocation Rate = $720.000 Budg. Cost / 1.800 Budg. Activity= $400 Quality control Allocation Rate =$144.000 Budg. Cost / 600 Budg. Activity= $240 Roasting Allocation Rate =$961.000 Budg. Cost / 96.100 Budg. Activity= $10 Blending Allocation Rate =$336.000 Budg. Cost / 33.600 Budg. Activity= $10 Packaging Allocation Rate =$260.000 Budg. Cost / 26.000 Budg. Activity= $10 In addition to the cost allocation rate, the rate per unit of each cost allocation base used to allocate indirect costs (activities) to the products is required. Activities are bonded with activity drivers. Thus, activities like purchasing, materials handling and quality control are linked with cost drivers known as transaction drivers where the number of times an activity occurs matters. On the other hand, processing activities are associated with duration cost drivers where the time needed for the completion of each activity is of importance. Each activity uses a specific cost allocation base. Retrieving data from Table 5 of the appendix, the amount allocated to the cost base used is found. Activity Cost-Allocation Base Moana Loa Malaysian Purchasing Purchase orders 4 4 Materials handling Setups 30 12 Quality control Batches 10 4 Processing beans Processing hours 1.600 32 Purchase Orders=Exp. Sales (pounds)/Purchase order size (pounds) Setups=Setups per Batch x Batches Batches=Expected Sales(Pounds)/Batch Size (Pounds) Processing Hours= Processing Beans*Expected Sales (pounds)/100 In order to proceed to the calculation of the budgeted costs and prices of the two blends, the contribution of each direct and indirect (activity) cost per pound are calculated (Table 6 of the Appendix). Purchasing Cost per Pound=Purchasing Orders Used*Purchasing Cost Alloc Rate/Setups per batch. Materials Handling=Setups Used*Set Up Cost Allocation Rate/Setups per batch. Quality Control per pound=Batches Used*Batches Cost Allocation Rate/ Setups per batch. Processing Beans per pound=Process. Hrs Used* Process. Hrs Cost Allocation Rate/ Setups per batch Having completed all the above steps we are in a position to find the total budgeted cost and price of each blend (Table 7 of the Appendix). It is deduced that budgeted cost and price of Moan Loa blend is lower that of Malaysian having values $4.82 and $6.27 respectively contrary to the values of $7.54 and $9.80 of Malaysian blend. The number of the outputs affects the budgeted costs and prices of the blends. Economies of scale are introduced in the production of Moana Loa contrary to Malaysian coffee. In the first blend the expectation of 100.000 pounds sales allows bigger distribution of cost per pound. At the same time forecasted sales of 2.000 pounds for Malaysian coffee do not let the product to benefit through this method as the cost and the price is higher. The contradicting results arising from the application of the two costing methods (traditional and ABC) are further analyzed. 4. Comparison Between the Results of Traditional Costing and Activity Based Costing for Coffee Bean Inc. The first evident difference which arises from the application of the two aforementioned costing methods is the significant gap between the final cost figure of each method (and consequently the big difference in the price of each blend). With traditional costing the cost of Moana Loa is 25% higher than in the case of ABC ($6.00 Traditional, $4.82 ABC) while for Malaysian blend the cost when calculated with the traditional method is almost 51% lower than what in the ABC case ($5.00 Traditional, $7.54 ABC). The reason for this cost (and consequently price) difference is the fundamental difference between the two costing systems which is the assumption in traditional costing that cost objects consume resources whereas in ABC it is assumed that cost objects consume activities. Another thing that becomes clear with the use of ABC but could not be observed with the use of the traditional costing method is the fact that the item with the lower material cost is actually the one with the higher price (the cost of the raw material for the Malaysian blend is 24% lower than the cost of raw material for the Moana Loa blend while the price of the Malaysian blend is 56% higher than the price of the Moana Loa blend). The above observation can be explained by the fact that in the case of the Moana Loa blend we have economies of scale, so the total cost per pound is lower than the total cost per pound of the Malaysian blend, even thought the cost for the raw material is higher for the Moana Loa and lower for the Malaysian blend. In general after observing the results of the two methods we may say that in the case of the traditional costing method the usually deceiving results that we obtain do not allow us to notice and take actions for cases of mispricing, do not always make clear the cases of economies of scale, do not make us wonder about the effectiveness of our product mix an so on. It is obvious that without accurate cost figures, management cannot make accurate observations and take actions regarding important issues. 5. Conclusions Following that comparison between the existing costing system, which is based on the direct labor cost for the production of each products, and the Activity Based Costing we can derive the following interesting conclusions: The actual cost of Malaysian coffee is higher than the price that it is currently sold ($7.54 vs. $6.50). Hence, a loss of $1.04 per unit is occurring from selling that product. The two products are both mispriced. Moana Loa is overpriced (the price should be lower than the current, after the addition of the 30% mark-up at he new cost). Malaysian is underpriced and a loss is incurring with every unit sold. It is almost certain that more of the remaining 13 products of the company will be also over- or underpriced under the existing costing system. That leads in a totally wrong pricing strategy and is a marketing drawback when the products take their position in the selves of the stores. The total operating profit will be lower in the case we decide just to adjust our prices to the new cost estimations and continue selling the products. Moreover, there is a high probability that the sales of Malaysian, will drop dramatically because it will be too expensive for the quality it offers. From the cost structure under the two different costing methods, it is notable that the indirect cost for Moana Loa is 25% with traditional costing and only 6.72% with ABC and for Malaysian the respective percentages are 30% and 53,6%. It is clear that there are economies of scale for Moana Loa that sells in high volumes and the cost of raw materials account for a very high percentage of the total cost (87.1%) under the ABC method. The indirect costs are allocated in large quantities of the blend, resulting in a very good product (raw seeds are more expensive than other varieties) with a reasonable price. 6. Recommendations The above conclusions make clear that some corrective strategic actions are absolutely necessary in order to re-launch our product mix in a more efficient way, offer value-for-money to our customers and take our business forward. Based on the cost analysis under ABC system and the conclusions that were derived, the following recommendations are made: We should discontinue the production and selling of Malaysian blend since it is currently a source of loss for our business. If there is a special reason that we do not want to discontinue the marketing of Malaysian coffee (ex. to cover the needs of some good and special customers that want a wide variety of products), there is an alternative solution that can turn Malaysian coffee profitable. The solution is to make an accurate sales projection and unify the sales orders throughout the year in only one order that will cover the demand for the whole year. The proper storing conditions will ensure the optimal preservation of the product. In order to illustrate that argument with numbers, if the budgeted 4 orders of 500 pounds each were unified in one order of 2000 pounds (total annual estimated sales) the cost per pound will drop from $7.54 to $4.63 per pound and there will be a profit. We can maintain the price at $6.50 (in order not to confuse the market) and have a profit of $1.87 per unit or decrease the price to $6.02 (30% mark-up) and gain market share with the competitive lower price of the product. Maybe, the reason that Malaysian does not sell much and has very low market share is that it is expensive in relation to its quality. We should examine the cost of all other 13 products in order to discover other products that may be inexpedient to continue producing. We should conduct a Market Research in order to gather information of the consumer behavior regarding the coffee consumption and determine their willingness-to-pay for more premium products. That will help us decide if we shall maintain the price of Moana Loa at $7.80 and promote it as a premium quality coffee in order to have a high mark-up (61.8%) or lower the price to $6.27% (30% standard mark-up), increase sales and gain market share from competitors. The need for change in our pricing policy will bring about the need for other strategic changes as well. We shall plan our tactics towards our strategy taking into account other relevant information. We have to make better sales projections based on historical data of our sales and on market intelligence. The proper market research will provide us with information about consumer preferences and needs, so we can fine-tune our product mix’ quality and price offered to the consumers. We will then proceed to a more detailed segmentation of the market and promote the right product to the right consumer segment (ex. premium coffee for willing-to-pay customers and less expensive blends to customers that consider coffee a commodity). Also, information about competitors’ moves that can come from our suppliers and wholesale customers would be extremely valuable for the mapping of the market field. Another aspect that we should look into is the origin of our raw materials and the location of our suppliers. We have 15 different raw materials (coffee beans) that come from various suppliers. If we could group suppliers together based on their location, we could design a coordinated purchasing plan that would unify the orders and decrease a lot the transportation cost. As an immediate result, we will have a higher operating profit per product. Overall, this new costing system will help us become more efficient, more productive, make better strategic decisions and our products will became more competitive with the new representative pricing that will be based on the real cost and the real value they carry to the consumer. That will strengthen our position in the market and empower the company to expand in other consumer goods market as well. 7. Appendix Direct Costs Moana Loa Malaysian Direct Materials (per pound bag) $4.20 $3.20 Direct Labor (per pound bag) 0.30 0.30 Table 1. Direct cots per coffee blend Traditional Costing Indirect cost allocation rate 5 Moana Loa Malaysian Total Total Direct Materials cost $420,000 $6,400 $6,000,000 Total Direct Labor cost $30,000 $600 $600,000 Total Indirect overhead cost $150,000 $3,000 $3,000,000 Total costs $600,000 $10,000 $9,600,000 Pounds produced 100,000 2,000 Cost per pound $6.00 $5.00 Price per pound $7.80 $6.50 Table 2. Traditional Costing figures allocated per coffee blend Traditional Cost Structure Moana Loa Malaysian Sales 100,000 $780,000 2,000 $13,000 COGS Direct Materials 70.00% 64.00% Direct Labor 5.00% 6.00% Gross profit Indirect overhead 25.00% 30.00% Table 3. Traditional Costing Cost structure Activity Cost-Allocation Base Budgeted Activity Budgeted Cost Cost-Allocation Rate Purchasing Purchase orders 1.158 $579.000 $500 Materials handling Setups 1.800 $720.000 $400 Quality control Batches 600 $144.000 $240 Roasting Roasting hours 96.100 $961.000 $10 Blending Blending hours 33.600 $336.000 $10 Packaging Packaging hours 26.000 $260.000 $10 Total manufacturing overhead cost $3,000,000 Table 4. Cost Pooling Moana Loa Malaysian Expected sales (pounds) 100.000 2.000 Batch size (pounds) 10.000 500 Setups per batch 3 3 Purchase order size (pounds) 25.000 500 Roasting time (hours/100 pounds) 1,0 1,0 Blending time (hours/100 pounds) 0,5 0,5 Packaging time (hours/100 pounds) 0,1 0,1 Table 5. Amount of Cost Base Used ABC: COST per pound Moana Loa Malaysian Direct Costs Direct Materials $4,20 $3,20 Direct Labor $0,30 $0,30 Indirect Costs Purchasing $0,02 $1,00 Materials handling $0,12 $2,40 Quality control $0,024 $0,48 Processing beans $0,16 $0,16 Total Cost per pound $4,82 $7,54 Price per pound $6,27 $9,80 Table 6. ABC:Cost per pound Moana Loa Malaysian Total Total Direct Materials cost $420.000 $6.400 $6.000.000 Total Direct Labor cost $30.000 $600 $600.000 Total Direct costs $450.000 $7.000 $6.600.000 Total Purchasing cost $2.000 $2.000 Total Materials handling cost $12.000 $4.800 Total Quality control cost $2.400 $960 Total Processing beans cost $16.000 $320 Total Indirect costs $32.400 $8.080 $3.000.000 Total costs $482.400 $15.080 $9.600.000 Total Cost per pound $4,82 $7,54 Price per pound $6,27 $9,80 Table 7. Budgeted cost and price of each blend Research Papers on Coffee Bean Inc. Costing AnalysisMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductDefinition of Export QuotasOpen Architechture a white paperThe Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaResearch Process Part One