Cola Wars: Profitability of the soft-drink industry Essay

Historically, the soft drink industry has been extremely profitable. Long time industry leaders Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola largely drive the profits in the industry, relying on Porter’s five forces model to explain the attractiveness of the soft drink market. These forces allowed Coke and Pepsi to maintain large growth until 1999, and also explain the challenges that each company is currently facing. The relative duopoly that Coke and Pepsi share in the industry allows for higher profits, while also maintaining enough competition to promote firm improvement. The first of Porter’s forces is the threat of new entrants. Coke and Pepsi have been largely successful because of many barriers to entry that limits the risk of entry by potential competitors. Coke and Pepsi both have strong brand loyalty, made possible by their long history and adherence to tradition. When Coke strayed from its Coca-Cola Classic formula, its customers demanded a return to the original recipe. Pepsi and Coke also share an absolute cost advantage over others in the industry. They developed superior production operations by buying up bottling companies and performing the service in-house. These companies also have large economies of scale, as they both operate internationally and together control 84% of the market worldwide. Additionally, government regulations have prevented competitors from mimicking Coke’s secret formula, as evidenced by their relentless defense of their brand in court. All of these factors have made it difficult for competitors to enter the soft drink industry. The second of Porter’s forces is rivalry amongst established companies. The competitive structure of the industry has allowed Coke and Pepsi to sustain high profits. The industry is essentially an oligopoly, with Coke and Pepsi dominating the market. The firms are hurt by having similar products that are relatively undifferentiated. However, diversification of product lines into carbonated and non-carbonated beverages has created some product differences. High industry growth from 1975 to 1995 also provided a reprieve from the competitor pressure. Franchising and long-term contracts created higher switching costs, historically limiting the effects of rivalry on the two firms. Porter’s third force is the bargaining power of buyers. This has always been low in the industry, and continues to diminish over time. The low number of suppliers does not afford buyers much room to negotiate. Furthermore, the abundance of distributor options prevented the bottling plants from applying pressure on Coke and Pepsi. Exhibit 8 also shows that both Coke and Pepsi were among the top five consumer brands most important to retailers, suggesting that they were on the losing end of the transaction relationship. Porter’s fourth force is the bargaining power of suppliers. Coke and Pepsi have always set their price. Bottlers were forced to buy concentrate at set prices, usually negotiated in the favor of Coke and Pepsi. The small number of suppliers limited alternatives that could provide the necessary concentrate to bottling groups. Coke and Pepsi have continuously renegotiated contract terms to decrease their costs and enhance profitability. These contracts eventually eliminated marketing cost obligations for concentrate producers as well. Suppliers became so powerful that they eventually bought their own bottling plants. Porter’s fifth force is the threat of substitutes. Initially, other products that could fulfill the same objective of soft drinks (quench thirst) were very weak. According to exhibit 1, carbonated soft drinks were the most-consumed beverage in America through the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, bottled water has become increasingly powerful, cutting into U.S. consumption. A growing health awareness has led to higher demand for non-carbonated soft drinks. Coke and Pepsi have largely met this threat by diversifying into other product lines such as water, juice, tea, and sports drinks. A significant factor that has also allowed the soft drink industry to prosper is the success of the fast-food industry. By partnering with restaurants such as Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King, and Pizza Hut, soft drinks have become a complement to this other profitable sector. Pepsi has taken advantage of this trend in its merger with Frito-Lay. While these five factors all contributed to making the soft drink industry very profitable, the industry is more recently facing challenges that could lead to declining profitability. Industry demand is steadily decreasing, as the United States – the largest consumer of soft drinks in the world – becomes more health conscious. Furthermore, buyers are now threatening to produce soft drinks themselves, such as in-store brands at Walmart. This has increased the bargaining power of the buyer. Though the future profitability of the soft drink industry may be declining in America, Coke and Pepsi have taken substantial actions to spread their brands worldwide. Each has a long-term growth strategy to saturate new markets, whether domestically or abroad. Coke has already taken control of many international markets, while Pepsi claims that its progression to the snack industry provides synergy in its business. It is undeniable that the competition between Coke and Pepsi has resulted in a multitude of strategies employed by both sides.

Healthcare Issues in America Essay

Some of the healthcare issues that share the limelight with politicians nowadays are the skyrocketing cost of drugs, health insurance system, the ever growing cost of hospitalization fees and the low coverage of insurance for malpractices for doctors. Debates and plans have been made so as to improve the quality of service to the people. But really, are these the real issues that an average American or a politician should give much emphasis on? There is a growing epidemic that is invading the country in silence†¦ And because it doesn’t make much noise as that of an aggrieved patient filing for a case against a physician, who by mistake, has distorted her nose in some way, that doesn’t mean this epidemic is not worth our time. For some reason these issues aren’t given much attention when in fact it threatens the very life of countless citizens therefore endangering the future of the country. Obesity, Alcohol Abuse, Mental Health, unhealthy foods†¦ These are real issues that could very well be the cause of more deaths and unhappy citizens of this country†¦Though these issues have been around for decades much of the efforts to address these problems are often not enough or simply useless. To further impress the gravity of the situation, it is therefore right to discuss these issues one by one. In the next few decades Scientists conclude that life expectancy for an average American could decline by as much as 5 years unless the government do something to decrease the rates of obesity (Dollemore 2005). With the rise of capitalism which gave way to consumerism, more and more goods make it to the hands of an average American. Life has also been fast phased which led to the success of over the counter dinners and lunches, ready to cook meals, watching television , playing video games, using computers and etc. The youth has been living a very sedentary lifestyle which lessens their interest in physical activities. Much worst is that there has been a sudden influx of quality computer games that has taken much of their time. They are also bombarded with fast foods, high fat, high sugar meals which are made available at every corner store. These factors lead to obesity that has taken the world aback with a staggering 20% increase in obesity rates among the youth. Diabetes is one of the complications that can sprout from Obesity. Cardiovascular diseases are also common to those who have diabetes. Emotional stress is also experienced by those who are obese are society tend to discriminate these people giving them less chances to enjoy life. The irony of it is that the government provides services to treat obesity rather than preventing it. It is a growing epidemic and unless we get to its roots, it will continue to rot away the future if countless American youth. According to surveys approximately 11 million current drinkers are in the ages of 12-20. Half of these drink excess to the point of losing total control to the outside environment. These drinkers are the American Youth who at a tender age finds solace in beer bottles. Alcohol abuse can lead to different kind of injuries such as alcohol related accidents, date rape, fire and etc. Automobile crashes, suicides, homicides, and unsafe sex leading to teenage pregnancies are one of the gruesome after effects of teenage drinking that are often overlooked by their fragile minds. Underage drinking is a widespread problem which can be attributed to the free access to liquor by minors. Substance abuse is very much widespread especially in impoverished areas in the country and this eventually lead to mental incapacity.   One need not look deeper to know that these issues are interconnected in someway. Teenage drinking and Obesity are discussed in detail to show that all the rest of the issues find its roots on the two events. The rest are just offshoots from these problems. Given the above issues, I guess it would be more appropriate for the government to give more attention to the cause of the problem rather than spending billions for rehabilitation facilities, diet programs and etc. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. It is indeed pretty much logical to answer the question on why the youth is engaging in substance abuse rather than put them in rehabilitation centers.   The thing is, the government is spending large amount of money to improve healthcare services to the populace not taking into consideration that these ailments that they are treating could not have found its way to the average American citizen in the first place. Now if by the end of the century this epidemic is not yet cured, then worst comes to worst, this country should expect more sickly citizens needing healthcare services to address their plight for good health. This is where my thoughts go in full circle†¦ if the government spend as much time, money and effort in addressing the problem of healthcare improvements and that of actually improving the health of its citizens, then I guess there is better hope for the future Americans. Come to think of it, if the epidemic is not stopped, more and more citizens will need healthcare services from the government. As a consequence, no matter how we try to improve the healthcare services and insurance system it will never be enough. Laws of supply and demand holds true even in this situation. More sick people, more hospitals, more doctors, more healthcare services, more chances for politicians to exploit the scenario by adding â€Å"improved healthcare† in their platforms. This is a vicious cycle, and unless we recognize the need to focus on individual health rather than health care services, we will never be able to actually address the problem of healthcare in this country. References Dollemore, D. (2005). â€Å"Obesity Threatens to Cut U.S Life Expectancy.† Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/mar2005/nia-16.htm.

How A Roller Coaster Works

How A Roller Coaster Works Free Online Research Papers Roller Coasters originated from the ice slides built in Russia during the 1400’s, today we see these large structures at Amusement parks across the country. Some roller coasters are those large steel or wooden structures that people like to sit in a cart or car going up and down the humps and hills giving them a thrill of a ride. The ride may not last all that long, but for some the time seems forever when you are quite scared and your stomach seems to be caught up in your throat. Many of us may or may not want to know exactly how a roller coaster works, because we may not want to ride one again. For some, the understanding of â€Å"How does a roller coaster work?† is thrilling in itself. Let’s use physics to further understand this exciting ride. You may or may not know this, but as your cruising down the roller coaster structure at a high speed of 50-60 miles per hour, there is no engine. Let me further explain. The train of cars is initially taken up the lift hill or the first hill by a chain. The energy flows from the electric field (the space surrounding an electric charge) into the mechanical turning of the motor driving the chain. The chain lifts the cars; the kinetic energy of the motion of the chain is given to the train. This energy, in turn, flows into the gravitational field (the force field that describes the acceleration of gravity in a region of space) while the coaster makes it way to the highest point or top of the roller coaster structure, then the chain disengages. The train is moving quite slow at this point. Its maximum energy for this ride is stored in the gravitational field. Eventually, the train of cars will begin to fall, the kinetic energy (motion of the train of cars) increases as the gravitational potential (gravitational field) energy decreases. As the train of cars hit the bottom of the first hump or hill, the velocity and the kinetic energy are the greatest and the gravitational energy is spent. Inertia is what takes the train cars though the rest of the track. The weight of the train car is what gives it inertia. Without that it would not have any speed to get up the next hill this is sometimes known as momentum. As the train of cars climbs the next hill, most of the kinetic energy is transferred to the gravitational field. The velocity decreases. This continues for some time. There is friction, wind resistance, track friction causing some thermal heating along the way. All the humps or hills after the first one are successively shorter. Ultimately the gravitational and kinetic energies used at the top of the lift hill move into thermal energy by the end of the ride. This energy is no longer available to roller coaster system. Roller coasters are really heaters, allowing for the flow of electrical energy into heat, by way of kinetic energy and the gravitational field. We mentioned there are two types of roller coasters, wooden structures and steel coasters. You will usually see wooden coasters with no looping. They are also not as tall and fast as steel coasters. Wooden coasters do offer one advantage to the roller coaster junkie; they sway lot more than steel structures. Steel coasters allow for a bit more creative designing of loops, steeper hills and the exciting drops, rolls and of course the speed. There does happen to be wheels on the train cars and they do have a huge part in the success of your roller coaster ride too. There are several different types of wheels to help keep the ride smooth. Basically, there are three sets of wheels, top, bottom and side. The top wheels are referred to as the rollers, the bottom wheels are the up-stop and the side wheels are the guides, assisting in the moving from side to side or swaying of the cars. The wheels can be made out of several different materials, including steel and neoprene. If plastics are used, the coaster is electrically grounded just before it goes through proximity sensors. This will keep the sensors from shorting out. In addition, we need to be concerned with the braking system. Yes, there is a braking system designed with a roller coaster. The common one has a fin of steel hanging from the center of each train car. The brake pads are between the tracks. As the fin passes through the pads, the fins are squeezed to slow the train. When the pads are open, the train of cars moves freely through the track. Roller coasters overall are quite simple in how they operate, but there is much more to make the ride as thrilling as possible for the many patrons and roller coaster junkies that ride them. Designers today are constantly looking at how they can â€Å"add† to the ride. We now have more roller coasters today with more loops and hangs; some even have sound and visual effects. ? Bibliography 1) Franks, jack. Ask A Scientist. D.O.E. June 3, 2007 . 2) Blonghtf, Lee. Roller Coaster. June 3, 2007 . 3) Smilkins, Jude. X-tream Science. U Of Wisconsin. June 3, 2007 . 4) SCI, FI. Tech. NASA. June 3, 2007 . Research Papers on How A Roller Coaster WorksLifes What IfsThe Fifth HorsemanTwilight of the UAWBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThe Spring and AutumnThe Hockey GamePETSTEL analysis of IndiaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementMind TravelThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) created one of the worlds most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes. But in some ways, the Scottish-born author felt trapped by the runaway popularity of the fictional detective. Over the course of a long writing career, Conan Doyle wrote other stories and books he believed to be superior to the tales and novels about Holmes. But the great detective turned into a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic, with the reading public clamoring for more plots involving Holmes, his sidekick Watson, and the deductive method. As a result Conan Doyle, offered great sums of money by publishers, felt compelled to keep turning out stories about the great detective. Fast Facts: Arthur Conan Doyle Known For: British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes.  Born: May 22, 1859Died: July 7, 1930Published Works: More than 50 titles featuring Sherlock Holmes, The Lost WorldSpouse(s): Louisa Hawkins (m.  1885; died  1906), Jean Leckie (m.  1907)Children: Mary Louise, Arthur Alleyne Kingsley, Denis Percy Stewart, Adrian Malcolm, Jean Lena AnnetteNotable Quote: When the impossible has been eliminated, all that remains no matter how improbable is possible. Early Life of Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle was born May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The familys roots were in Ireland, which Arthurs father had left as a young man. The family surname had been Doyle, but as an adult Arthur preferred to use Conan Doyle as his surname. Growing up as an avid reader, young Arthur, a Roman Catholic, attended Jesuit schools and a Jesuit university. He attended medical school at Edinburgh University where he met a professor and surgeon, Dr. Joseph Bell, who was a model for Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle noticed how Dr. Bell was able to determine a great many facts about patients by asking seemingly simple questions, and the author later wrote about how Bells manner had inspired the fictional detective. Medical Career In the late 1870s, Conan Doyle began writing magazine stories, and while pursuing his medical studies he had a yearning for adventure. At the age of 20, in 1880, he signed on to be the ships surgeon of a whaling vessel headed to Antarctica. After a seven-month voyage, he returned to Edinburgh, finished his medical studies, and began the practice of medicine. Conan Doyle continued to pursue writing and published in various London literary magazines throughout the 1880s. Influenced by a character of Edgar Allan Poe, the French detective M. Dupin, Conan Doyle wished to create his own detective character. Sherlock Holmes The character of Sherlock Holmes first appeared in a story, A Study in Scarlet, which Conan Doyle published at the end of 1887 in a magazine, Beetons Christmas Annual. It was reprinted as a book in 1888. At the same time, Conan Doyle was conducting research for a historical novel, Micah Clarke, which was set in the 17th century. He seemed to consider that his serious work, and the Sherlock Holmes character merely a challenging diversion to see if he could write a convincing detective story. At some point, it occurred to Conan Doyle that the growing British magazine market was the perfect place to try an experiment in which a recurring character would turn up in new stories. He approached The Strand magazine with his idea, and in 1891 he began publishing new Sherlock Holmes stories. The magazine stories became an enormous hit in England. The character of the detective who uses reasoning became a sensation. And the reading public eagerly awaited his newest adventures. Illustrations for the stories were drawn by an artist, Sidney Paget, who actually added much to the publics conception of the character. It was Paget who drew Holmes wearing a deerstalker cap and a cape, details not mentioned in the original stories. Arthur Conan Doyle Became Famous With the success of the Holmes stories in The Strand magazine, Conan Doyle was suddenly an extremely famous writer. The magazine wanted more stories. But as the author didnt want to be overly associated with the now-famous detective, he demanded an outrageous sum of money. Expecting to be relieved of the obligation to write more stories, Conan Doyle asked for 50 pounds per story. He was stunned when the magazine accepted, and he went on to keep writing about Sherlock Holmes. While the public was crazy for Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle devised a way to be finished with writing the stories. He killed off the character by having him, and his nemesis Professor Moriarity, die while going over Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Conan Doyles own mother, when told of the planned story, begged her son not to finish off Sherlock Holmes. When the story in which Holmes died was published in December 1893, the British reading public was outraged. More than 20,000 people canceled their magazine subscriptions. And in London, it was reported that businessmen wore mourning crepe on their top hats. Sherlock Holmes Was Revived Arthur Conan Doyle, freed from Sherlock Holmes, wrote other stories and invented a character named Etienne Gerard, a soldier in Napoleons army. The Gerard stories were popular, but not nearly as popular as Sherlock Holmes. In 1897 Conan Doyle wrote a play about Holmes, and an actor, William Gillette, became a sensation playing the detective on Broadway in New York City. Gillette added another facet to the character, the famous meerschaum pipe. A novel about Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, was serialized in The Strand in 1901-02. Conan Doyle got around the death of Holmes by setting the story five years before his demise. However, the demand for Holmes stories was so great that Conan Doyle essentially brought the great detective back to life by explaining that no one had actually seen Holmes go over the falls. The public, happy to have new tales, accepted the explanation. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes until the 1920s. In 1912 he published an adventure novel, The Lost World, about characters who find dinosaurs still living in a remote area of South America. The story of The Lost World has been adapted for film and television a number of times, and also served as an inspiration for such films as King Kong and Jurassic Park. Conan Doyle served as a doctor in a military hospital in South Africa during the Boer War in 1900 and wrote a book defending Britains actions in the war. For his services he was knighted in 1902, becoming Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The author died on July 7, 1930. His death was newsworthy enough to be reported on the front page of the next days New York Times. A headline referred to him as Spiritist, Novelist, and Creator of Famous Fiction Detective. As Conan Doyle believed in an afterlife, his family said they were awaiting a message from him after death. The character of Sherlock Holmes, of course, lives on and appears in films right up to the present day.

Life of Cochise, Apache Warrior and Chief

Life of Cochise, Apache Warrior and Chief Cochise (ca. 1810–June 8, 1874), perhaps the most powerful Chiricahua Apache chief in recorded times, was an influential player in the history of the U.S. southwest. His leadership came during a critical period in North American history, when shifting political relationships between Native American and European Americans resulted in a complete reconfiguration of the region. Fast Facts: Cochise Known For: Chiricahua Apache chief from 1861–1864Born: ca. 1810 in southeastern Arizona or northwestern SonoraDied: June 8, 1874 in the Dragoon Mountains, ArizonaSpouses Names: Dos-teh-seh and a second wife, whose name is not knownChildrens Names: Taza, Naiche, Dash-den-zhoos, and Naithlotonz Early Years Cochise was born around 1810, in either southeast Arizona or northwest Sonora, Mexico. He was destined for leadership: his father, most likely a man named Pisago Cabezà ³n, was the head chief of the Chokonen band, one of four bands in the Apache tribe. Cochise had at least two younger brothers, Juan and Coyuntura (or Kin-o-Tera), and one younger sister. As is traditional, Cochise received his name Goci as a young adult, which in the Apache language means his nose. There are no known surviving photographs of Cochise, who was described as a striking-looking man with black hair to his shoulders, a high forehead, prominent cheekbones, and a large, handsome Roman nose.   Cochise wrote no letters. His life was documented during a series of interviews conducted during the end of his life. The information from those interviews is somewhat contradictory, including the spelling of his name (variations include Chuchese, Chis, and Cucchisle). Education The Apaches of the 19th century followed a traditional hunting and gathering lifestyle, which they supplemented with raids when hunting and gathering alone could not feed their families. Raiding involved attacking ranches and ambushing travelers in order to steal their supplies. The raids were violent and often left victims wounded, tortured, or killed.  Although there are no specific records about Cochises education, anthropological studies and oral and written histories from the Apache community describe the learning processes for prospective warriors, which Cochise would have experienced. Young boys in the Apache world were separated from young girls and began training in the use of the bow and arrow at the age of six or seven. They played games which emphasized speed and agility, physical strength and fitness, self-discipline and independence. At 14, Cochise likely began training as a warrior, starting as a novice (dikhoe) and practicing wrestling, bow and arrow contests, and foot races. Young men played the role of trainee at their first four raids. During the first raid, they performed menial camp chores, such as making beds, cooking, and standing guard. After completing his fourth raid, Cochise would have been considered an adult. Indian–White Relations At the time of Cochises youth, the political climate of southeastern Arizona and northeastern Sonora was fairly quiet. The region was under the control of the Spanish, who had skirmished with the Apaches and other tribes in the region but settled on a policy that brought a kind of peace. The Spanish aimed to replace Apache raiding with the provision of rations from established Spanish outposts called presidios.   This was a deliberately planned action on the part of the Spanish to disrupt and destroy the Apache social system. Rations were corn or wheat, meat, brown sugar, salt, and tobacco, as well as inferior guns, liquor, clothing and other items designed to make the Native Americans dependent on the Spanish. This did bring peace, which lasted nearly forty years, until near the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1821. The war seriously depleted the treasuries, rationing broke down slowly, and disappeared entirely when the Mexicans won the war.   As a result, the Apaches resumed their raiding, and the Mexicans retaliated. By 1831, when Cochise was 21 years old, hostilities were so extensive that, unlike earlier times, nearly all of the Apache bands under Mexican influence participated in raiding and conflicts.   Early Military Career The first battle that Cochise probably participated in may have been the three-day battle from May 21–23, 1832, an armed conflict of Chiricahuas with Mexican troops near the Mogollon Mountains. Three hundred warriors led by Pisago Cabezà ³n lost after the last eight-hour battle under 138 Mexican men led by Captain Jose Ignacio Ronquillo. The following years were punctuated by a number of treaties signed and broken; raidings halted and resumed.   In 1835, Mexico put a bounty on Apache scalps and hired mercenaries to massacre them. John Johnson was one of those mercenaries, an Anglo living in Sonora. He was granted permission to track down hostiles and on April 22, 1837, he and his men ambushed and massacred 20 Apaches and wounded many more during a trading deal. Cochise was not likely present, but he and other Apaches sought revenge.   Marriage and Family In the late 1830s, Cochise married Dos-teh-seh (something at the campfire already cooked). She was the daughter of Mangas Coloradas, who led the Chihenne Apache band. Cochise and Dos-teh-seh had at least two sons- Taza, born 1842, and Naiche, born 1856. His second wife, who was from the Chokonen band but whose name is not known, bore him two daughters in the early 1860s: Dash-den-zhoos and Naithlotonz.   Cochises son Naiche, Hereditary Leader of the Chiricahua Apaches, taken by Adolph F. Muhr about 1898.   Library of Congress According to Apache custom, men lived with their wives after they married. Cochise most likely lived with the Chihenne for six to eight months. However, he had become an important leader in his fathers band, so he soon returned to Chokonen.   A (Temporarily) Settled Peace In early 1842, Cochises father - Pisago Cabezà ³n, leader of the Chokonen - was ready to sign an armistice with the Mexicans. Cochises father-in-law - Mangas Coloradas, leader of the Chihinne - disagreed. A treaty was signed on July 4, 1842, with the Apaches promising to cease all hostilities, and the Mexican government agreeing to feed them rations. Cochise drew rations with his wife in October, and Mangas, seeing that the Chokonen treaty would hold, decided to negotiate a similar treaty for his own band. In late 1842, that armistice was also signed.   This settled peace would not last long. In May of 1843, Mexican troops at Fronteras murdered six Chokonen men for no apparent reason. In late May, seven more Chiricahua men were murdered at the Presidio in Fronteras. In retaliation, Mangas and Pisago attacked Fronteras, killing two citizens and wounding another.   Deteriorating Conditions By 1844, conditions among the Apache bands in the region had deteriorated sharply. Smallpox arrived in the fall, and the supply of rations for the communities had sharply decreased. Mangas Coloradas and Pisago Cabezà ³n returned to the mountains by February 1845, and from there they conducted several raids on Sonora. Cochise would have participated in these raids.   In 1846, James Kirker, a mercenary sanctioned by the Mexican government, set out to kill as many Apaches as possible. On July 7, under the protection of a treaty, he hosted a feast at Galeana (in what is now Chihuahua state in Mexico) for 130 Chiricahuas, and then had them beaten to death in the morning. It was an ill-chosen moment, because in April of that year, fighting had broken out between the U.S. and Mexico, and Congress declared war on Mexico in May. The Apaches had a new and dangerous source of support, but they were rightly wary of the Americans.   In December of 1847, a war party of Apaches attacked the village of Cuquiarachi in Sonora and killed a longtime adversary, seven other men and six women, and captured six children. The following February, a large party attacked another town called Chinapa, killing 12 men, wounding six and capturing 42, mostly women and children.   Cochise Captured Throughout the summer of 1848, the Chokonen band carried on a siege of the fort at Fronteras. On June 21, 1848, Cochise and his Chokonen chief Miguel Narbona led an assault on Fronteras, Sonora, but the attack went awry. Narbonas horse was killed by cannon fire, and Cochise was captured. He remained a prisoner for about six weeks, and his release was only obtained by the exchange of 11 Mexican prisoners.   Apache Pass, Arizona, as viewed from Fort Bowie facing north.   Mark A. Wilson In the mid-1850s, Miguel Narbona died and Cochise became the principal chief of the band. In the late 1850s, United States citizens arrived in his country, first settling at Apache Pass, a station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Company route. For a few years, the Apaches maintained a tenuous peace with the Americans, who now provided sorely needed rations to them.   Bascom Affair, or "Cut the Tent" In early February 1861, U.S. Lieutenant George Bascom met Cochise at Apache Pass and accused him of capturing a boy who had in fact been taken by other Apaches. Bascom invited Cochise into his tent and told him he would hold him as a prisoner until the boy was returned. Cochise pulled out his knife, cut through the tent, and escaped into the nearby hills.   In retaliation, Bascoms troops captured five members of Cochises family, and four days later Cochise attacked, killing several Mexicans and capturing four Americans whom he offered in exchange for his relatives. Bascom refused, and Cochise tortured his prisoners to death, leaving their bodies to be found. Bascom retaliated by hanging Cochises brother Coyuntura and two nephews.  This event is known in Apache history as Cut the Tent. The Cochise Wars (1861–1872) Cochise became the dominant Chiricahua Apache chief, replacing the aging Mangas Coloradas. Cochises rage at the loss of his family members led to a bloody cycle of revenge and retaliation between the Americans and Apaches for the next 12 years, known as the Cochise Wars. For the first half of the 1860s, the Apaches maintained strongholds in the Dragoon mountains, moving back and forth attacking ranchers and travelers alike, and keeping control of southeastern Arizona. But after the U.S. Civil War ended, a massive influx of U.S. soldiers put the Apaches on the defensive.  Ã‚   By the late 1860s, the war continued sporadically. The worst event was an ambush and massacre by the Apaches of the Stone party in October of 1869. It was likely in 1870, when Cochise first met Thomas Jeffords (Red Beard), a stage driver for the Butterfield Overland Stage. Jeffords, who would become Cochises closest white friend, played a significant role in bringing peace to the American southwest.   Making Peace On October 1, 1872, true peace efforts were established at a meeting between Cochise and Brigadier General Oliver Otis Howard, facilitated by Jeffords. Treaty negotiations included a cessation of hostilities including raiding between the U.S. and Apaches, the safe passage of his warriors to their homes, and the creation of a short-lived Chiricahua Apache reservation, located initially in the Sulphur Spring Valley of Arizona. It was an agreement not on paper, but between two highly principled men who trusted one another.   The brigadier general Otis Howard made a lasting peace agreement with Cochise on October 1, 1872.   Hulton Archive/Getty Images The agreement did not include cessation of raiding in Mexico, however. American troops at Fort Bowie were prohibited from interfering with the Chokonens activities in Arizona. The Chokonens kept the terms of the treaty for three and a half years, but continued conducting raids in Sonora until the fall of 1873. Quotes After the Cut the Tent affair, Cochise is reported to have said: I was at peace with the whites, until they tried to kill me for what other Indians did; I now live and die at war with them.   In a conversation with his friend Thomas Jeffords, then the agent for the Chiricahua reservation, Cochise said: A man should never lie... if a man asks you or I a question we do not wish to answer, we could simply say I dont want to talk about that. Death and Burial Cochise became ill in 1871, probably suffering from abdominal cancer. He met with Tom Jeffords for the last time on June 7. In that final meeting Cochise asked that control of his band be passed on to his son Taza. He wanted the tribe to live in peace and hoped that Taza would continue to rely on Jeffords. (Taza went on to keep his commitments, but eventually, the U.S. authorities broke Howards covenant with Cochise, relocating Tazas band out of their homes and into Western Apache country.) Cochise died at the Eastern Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains on June 8, 1874. The Eastern Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains of southeastern Arizona. Mark A. Wilson   After his death, Cochise was washed and painted in war style, and his family buried him in a grave wrapped in blankets with his name woven into them. The sides of the grave were walled up about three feet high with stone; his rifle, arms and other articles of value were laid beside him. To give him transportation in the afterlife, Cochises favorite horse was shot within 200 yards, another killed about one mile away, and a third two miles away. In his honor, his family destroyed all the clothing and food stores they had and fasted for 48 hours. Legacy Cochise is known for his significant role in Indian-White relations. He lived and prospered by war, but died in peace: a man of great integrity and principle and a worthy leader of the Apache people as they experienced massive social change and upheaval. He is remembered as a fierce warrior as well as a leader of sound judgment and diplomacy. Eventually, he was willing to negotiate and find peace despite suffering the great loss of his family, tribe members, and way of living. Sources Seymour, Deni J., and George Robertson. A Pledge of Peace: Evidence of the Cochise-Howard Treaty Campsite. Historical Archaeology 42.4 (2008): 154–79. Print.Sweeney, Edwin R. Cochise: Chiricahua Apache Chief. The Civilization of the American Indian Series. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. Print.- -, ed. Cochise: Firsthand Accounts of the Chiricahua Apache Chief. 2014. Print.- -. Making Peace with Cochise: The 1872 Journal of Captain Joseph Alton Sladen. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997. Print.

How do humans interfere with biogeochemical cycles Essay

How do humans interfere with biogeochemical cycles - Essay Example This nitrogen then travels to animals and humans when the plants are eaten, and is excreted as urine, which contains ammonia. Ammonia is poisonous, but autotrophic or nitrifying bacteria have the ability to oxidize it into nitrites and nitrates, which is the form of nitrogen that is most usable for plant metabolism.(CSuros, 1999:61). Similarly denitrifying bacteria have the ability to reduce nitrates to nitrous oxide and nitrogen, which can then be released back into the atmosphere. All of the above activities disturb the natural balance of nitrogen in the atmosphere and present within the soil. Human beings have interfered with the natural progress of the nitrogen cycle by dumping large amounts of untreated sewage into water bodies, which when coupled with the urban runoff has produced an overload of nitrogen in aquatic systems. The net result of this excessive nitrogen in water is eutrophication, or the excessive growth of algae that in turn draw out all the oxygen in the water, so that other forms of marine life, such as fish, are unable to survive. (www.library.thinkquest.org). This also upsets the delicate, natural ecological balance of nitrogen that is maintained through the nitrogen cycle, which generally ensures the amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere at about 79%. When eutrophication persists, then it produces a phenomenon referred to as the red tide, wherein the lack of oxygen in the water ca stifle and kill off any forms of life in the water. Atmospheric nitrogen is used by plants and the nitrogen excreted through the urine of plants and animals is fixed back into nitrates and nitrites using the nitrifying bacteria. But when excessive nitrogen is released through the dumping of too much sewage, it complicates issues by reducing the oxygen levels and thereby disturbing the balance of atmospheric gases as well. Since oxygen is necessary for living beings to survive and the percentage of atmospheric oxygen needs to be maintained in order to

Reflective learning log Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflective learning log - Essay Example 62). The first part of the article talks about how to put culture into context and is largely based on the work created by Geert Hofstede, described as a "Dutch academic". Hofstede believed that culture is "learned and not inherited" and that it is "somewhere between an individuals unique personality and human nature" (p. 63). Hofstede saw that there were several layers where culture is related to other people in a "mental programming activity". He describes the inner layer as the organization where an individual works, and an outer layer that is the countries or country where an individual lives or has lived. These factors create the first aspects of how people will get along in a leadership capacity. Social class, gender, age, ethnicity and religion are factors that will influence leadership in addition to the others. From this standpoint, the chapter begins to define "organizational culture" and how peel are more apt to define this as "the way we do things around here." (p. 64). There are several theories within this process. Schien suggests that leadership is responsible for the creation, management and sometimes destruction of organizational culture (p. 65). This section of the chapter describes how organizational culture is molded and shaped by different leaders as they also explore culture in the context of what Hofstede sees culture and they attempt to merge the two. The next part of the chapter explores the concept of how organizational culture relates to individuals versus groups in lieu of their own ethnic culture. They begin with a study of individualism and collectivism that explains the difference between groups who only are concerned with the individual versus those who are more socially oriented. They suggest that they way that these two differ may be due to how an individual or group perceives