Thursday, October 31, 2019

Pollution and Lake Erie Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pollution and Lake Erie - Term Paper Example With increase in population a lot of things changed for this lake. This increase gave rise to pollution in the form of human waste, sawdust, agriculture chaff, oil etc. The forests around this lake were cut down in order to get wood for construction purposes. Around 1960s the whole outlook of the lake changed due to this pollution caused mainly by industrial waste and untreated sewage. Rivers that flowed into this lake were also much polluted. This problem became so serious that warnings were given to the residents against the contact with the water. All of this made life in this water impossible; hence, this lake was declared ‘dead’. Lake Erie is considered dead, as a consequence of eutrophication (Gilpin 1995). Lake Erie is one of the lakes in the world which has a very large dead zone. The area which lacks oxygen is called a dead zone. According to scientific researches done by scientists dead zone works in two distinct layers. There are two separate layers of water i n the lake; one is on the top and the other at the bottom. Temperatures in these two layers are mostly different except in the springtime where the temperature in both layers is the same. In summers, the water in the upper layer warms up and the bottom layer remains the same. This results in a significantly colder layer of water at the bottom of the lake. This difference in temperature between two layers is called thermocline. All the activities in the water takes place in the upper layer as all the sunlight and nutrients are present here. When the algae and animals present in the upper body die, they fall at the bottom and decomposition takes place. The process of decomposition uses up all the oxygen in these areas, hence, giving rise to dead zones. This problem is really bad in Lake Erie because the water here is not very deep and there is less oxygen in it so the oxygen is depleted very quickly. Scientists are making efforts to reduce this problem of oxygen depletion in Lake Erie . There are a lot of nutrients present in this lake and the sources of these nutrients are divided into two categories. These categories are called point sources and non point sources. Point sources are the sources through which the nutrients that are released into the water can be measured like wastewater treatment plants. On the other hand non point sources are the ones which cannot be measured for example agricultural runoff and the amount of fertilizers cannot be calculated accurately. It is still not possible to completely evaluate whether the dead zone is expanding or is recovering. It varies from year to year, according to the temperature. The great lakes national program office of USEPA is playing a vital role in repairing the Lake Erie. Surveys are conducted annually by these people to check the level, degree and occurrence of oxygen depletion in the lake basin. They also track the trend in which this occurs. These also check the phosphorus level in the water so that it doe s not exceed its level. Phosphorus changes water chemistry and can lead to changes in water oxygen levels that eventually impact aquatic plants and animals that feed off them (Davies & Mazurek 1998). The information gathered cannot be same for every year as weather is variable that changes every year so the level of oxygen and phosphorus varies each year. To do all this data is collected and EPA research is used. Side by side biological and geological surveys are also taken into consideration.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Write-Up on the Negotiation of Teachers’ Association with Board of Education Essay Example for Free

Write-Up on the Negotiation of Teachers’ Association with Board of Education Essay Negotiation is a process of entering into dialogues which are intended (i) to resolve disputes, (ii) to produce an agreement upon courses of action, (iii) to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or (iv) to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The essence of negotiation in this case therefore is to bargain for individual or collective advantage.   We, the Teachers’ Association appeared before the Board of Education for a negotiation on workload and benefits and this write-up presents the salient points discussed and finalized during the negotiation process. 1. Workload Workload section is usually a less important area that our association would care to negotiate. Therefore we agreed for the proposal of 51 layoffs at Day 1 on the hope of getting a better deal in other terms of negotiation. It was our thinking that normally teachers will be required to work extra hours so that they can take better care of students as it was expected of us. Therefore, it is thought reasonable to accept their proposal of increasing 55 minutes of working per day. Similarly we accepted their offer of reduction in â€Å"prep† time so that teachers will be able to adjust their own time efficiently. Thus we can say that the negotiation process for issues relating to workload went on very well without any hard arguments or hesitation on either side. Although we were made to give up on some points, the Board of Education was ready to accept our offers on duty-free time and emergency assignments by Board. Our strategy in this section was to align our interests with those of the Board so that we both could figure out the best ways to achieve best results. We understood their true interest in changing the teacher/student ratio from 32:1 to 37:1 so that they could solve their primary problem. During the negotiation in this area, both the Teachers’ Association and the Board of Education were very much willing to work together. It was not the case that the other party in the process of integrating the strategies expected big and very important concessions from our side. 2. Benefits As compared to the workload section, the negotiation process for the benefits section was tougher. In fact it was necessary to have two short breaks during the negotiation to clear the air as there were heated arguments and discussions. The Teachers’ Association was looking for good results out of this negotiation to make teachers feel better and to bring more actual calculated cost benefits to the teachers for their hard work. We also knew that the concession from our side will pay off the deficits from the side of the Board of Education. The Board even though tried to solve their main problem, was not willing to accept our proposals without arguments. They presented their arguments and points very strongly. Therefore we had to adopt an assertive strategy to strongly present our proposals. We stood our ground and presented our standpoints more strongly and at no point of time we were willing to accept their offer. Although, it took more than 30 minutes for reaching an agreement, finally they accepted all of our proposals except the offer on childbirth leave. To reach an agreement on the childbirth leave, the Board of education had to reveal their bottom line with cost calculation. On the basis of the exact data of the costs required to fulfill the childbirth leave benefit, both the sides could find an agreeable point. In the whole negotiation process the Teachers’ Association showed the Board the precise interests of our side with an assertive strategy and the Board of Education extended their cooperation with their honesty.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Marketing plan and the strategies for small business enterprises

Marketing plan and the strategies for small business enterprises Small business enterprises (SBE) are normally started and owned by solely and is the way of entrepreneurs own marketing concept and is different other than business in global market. It is the widely spread and known business in western region of world, specifically in Europe and is contributing to worlds economy very efficiently. Though there is always lack of marketing specialists and the resources as well as skills, marketing approach are always based on sole decision makers as of entrepreneurs perceptions. It also cannot be separated from the marketing approach which includes relationship approach and is found that marketing is important as other functional areas of the small business organizations. The business is affected by marketing which includes, the location, pricing, sales techniques, advertising, promotional activities even the goal of the company. Marketing is all about the making its customers aware of the products or services, good value, good service and following up the customers are even more important which can be done better than the competitors. Introduction In general small businesses are run by the owner who owned the business privately. According to the Industry Canada, the business that has less than 500 employees is known as small medium enterprise. In addition, small business is defined as the business having less than 100 employees and if the business is based on service then the number of employees is even less than 50 and. According to SBEs industry published guidelines, for wholesaling the range of employees falls under 100 to 500 and for manufacturing, ranging from 500 to 1500. Thought the small businesses hold lesser number of employees and other resources, it holds the powerful position for the economic development. It is quite difficult to define the accurate definition for small business because of different varieties of firms, but finally according to the agreement, is defined differently in different parts of the world and according to the national needs. (Theng and Boon 1996). It plays the vital role as the contributors to the economic, development and the employment growth in the economy of Individual County as well as in the world economy. Mulhern (1995) concluded that, there is 99% of companies are small and medium sized in all over Europe whereas also generated 66% of employment. The idea of comparing the size of a business, to the size and power of a boat, provides an excellent analogy. A cruise ship may withstand storms and high waves much better than a small yacht, but it is not very manoeuvrable. A speedboat can go places a ship could never attempt. It is faster, agile, and can turn quickly to avoid danger. These comparisons are no surprise. Most people seem to realize these differences, but contemplating them well enough to seize their potential is what separates the weak from the strong. The small athlete, who could easily be crushed by bigger competitors, can still win by dodging them and outrunning them. For small business owners to adapt the same thinking as big business can easily bring disaster. You have the advantage if you think differently. Business models are changing fast, and a small agile company can adapt more quickly. There are big companies teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Some of them are so steeped in outdated business practices that they cannot adapt quickly enough to avoid hitting the iceberg. Every product or the services is worthless unless there are any customers to buy them and are the key factors for making any business towards the success or the failure. Here exists the essence or the importance of marketing for generating the customers for the business whether it is done online or offline. Marketing is none other than creating the demands for the products or the services provided by the business from the potential customers and even more additional demands from the existing customers. (www.theinternetbusinesscoach.co.uk) In general, most of the small businesses spend less on marketing but key for whole process is to focus on the right customers whether by adding value to the products or services which is directly perceived by the customers mind creating the brand loyalty which will be discussed in next section of this report. Customer as a Key Factor The mantra The customer is the king, is popular since the 1940s. The customers are being key factors for the success of the business since early age of business development. In every or almost all business enterprises, the ultimate goal of those organizations is to fulfil the demands or their wants and needs through products or the services to the customers. CRM as the solution for Small Business Customer relationship management widely known as CRM, as mentioned by (Chang, Liao and Hsiao, 2005) it is really an observable fact when came out after the occurrence of Internet and the web technology in order to facilitate for the implementation of CRM. It mainly focuses on the interaction between the customers and the service providers through the Internet and the web based applications. Customer Relationship Management is a comprehensive strategy and process of acquiring, retaining and partnering with selective customers to create superior value for the company and the customer. (J. N. Sheth A. Parvatiyar, 2001). The most important aspect of CRM is the selection of the customers. As many of the researchers has shown in their studies that, all the customers are not always profitable for any individual company. Some customers might be profitable for any individual company but not for all. So company therefore adopt the selective programme and marketing efforts by segmenting and selecting the most fruitful or profitable customers as the individual marketing programme. So as the size of small business and the available resources, it is very important to focus on particular customers from the particular section of the market, widely known as the segment of the market. The owner of the small business spends less on marketing and the strategy so, determining the profitable customers become very essential for the small business. Needs of Marketing for SBE The marketing needs of small business are very different but simple. He further added, local markets are mainly targeted for business advertisement of small business. The most common methods for advertisement flyers, yellow pages are used in local market. As it is the back bone of European business and many of other countries. In todays world economy, small business is contributing the most. The lack of perfect business plan and market strategies is squeezing the possibilities for the success so the adopting the marketing plan and strategies will definitely help the small business to grow satisfying the ultimate customers need and wants. It allows looking forward to plan the changing environment and the trend of the existing market even changes of the competitors. It is for helping to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of own company, its products or the services as well as the reviewing the available resources and the skills and to explore them to get fit in the market and to fulfil the companys strategic goal. SWOT Analysis of SBE It is the well known tool for analysing the strategic position of the business and the environment. The purpose of this tool is basically to find the strategy which is ultimately creates the specific business model. There are four factors in SWOT analysis which are as follows: Strengths: it is the qualities of any business organization which enables the business to survive and to gain the competitive advantage. It can be either tangible or intangible. As the small business are small in size but also have the strength of low investment risk and low investment on the advertisement. Weakness: these are the factors which is the standard of business organizations. Low product range, poor decision making, insufficient research facilities. In terms of small business, it does not need the massive numbers of resources but whereas the product is concerned, the small business focuses on very few ranges of products as well as limited services. Opportunities: It is the opportunities which are present in the environment where the business organization operates. As the small businesses are the back bone of the country economy, arise in market, increasing demand are the opportunities of the small business. Threats: this is the condition where the environment is not in favour of the business. In general there are some threats for small business because of the existence of large business occupying the market of small business. Market Planning for SBEs Product or Services There are two types of strategic market planning. They are as follows: Long-term market planning Short-term market planning Long-term market planning: the long-term market planning is set as the name suggest for the long term goal of the company as a scheduled day-to-day business and marketing activities. This is ongoing process and the marketing activities whereas is the essential part for new business. Short-term market planning: it is the process of developing and setting the specific goals. This is adopted by the existing businesses in response to the unexpected in the business and if is new in the marketplace. On the other hand, it is basically adopted when there is decrement in market share, launching new product, increasing in customers complaint, and change in government regulations and if new market is identified for the product or the service. Depending upon the market or the business whether it is existing business or the new business the marketing plan can be chosen out of two which both focuses on the companys strength and the weakness of the competitors and to improve the market position while increasing the sales and the profitability of the company. Marketing strategies for SBE The customers needs and wants can be fulfilled when the situation are analysed which are the key factors for the business success. The factors involved in marketing strategies are as follows: Market segmentation Market targeting Market positioning Value proposition Generally segmenting the market means grouping the people of same behaviour or the buying pattern of the customers. Whereas segmentation is concerned with the small businesses, it is very important to find out the right customers from the right place. Though the market is very small, finding the profitable customers and their needs is essential for the small businesses. Segmenting the market can be of different types: according to geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural. According to geographic segmentation, it is based on the region, size or the density of the population. It is benefit for the small business to segment the market according to the geographic location because of the popularity of the products or the services where the business can occupy its own market. On the other hand, demographic segmentation, it is based on age, gender, income occupation, religion, family size, education and so on. This can be another benefit for small businesses because of limited resources it is easier for small business to launch the new products or for the promotion of new products or the services. Next is psychographic segmentation which deals with the life style of the customers, their social class, values, and opinions, their interests, attitudes. Small business focuses on the customers of similar class rather than the high class, so that the products or the services will fit with all the general class. Final strategy of market segmentation is behavioural segmentation and is based on the pattern of purchase behaviour and also based on usage rate. This segmentation is somehow affecting the small business. Where the small business is concerned, the combination of geographic segmentation and demographic segmentation are best suited for the small business as targeting on very specific customers is fruitful and less expensive for small business organizations. After deciding the segmentation strategy, the next step is to target the right market. According to Ferrel et al, 2008, there are five strategies for targeting the market. The first is single segment targeting. This strategy is normally selected by the small business because of concentrating on specific segment of the market. On the other hand, selective specialization select the multiple segment of the market and is widely, known as differentiated strategy. Product specialization is another which specially deals with the particular specific group of customers. Mass market targeting is the one which is specially adopted by the large businesses and target the mass markets. Finally market specialization which expertise in one market and provides the solutions to the customers problems. Importance of positioning for SBE Positioning is not only to position any product or services in any location or in the place rather it is about to attract the attentions of the products while matching the customers needs and wants. It is about the position in customers mind against the competing products. Kotler (1986). For positioning the product or the services, Robert et al (2006) purposed some approaches where attributes of the product, and deals with brand loyalty of the products by delivering the better value than the competitors. Brand name and the value for the product by positioning in customers mind is known as price or quality approach. Product user and the product class is another one which deals with the specific group of products whereas use of application approach deals with positioning according to the uses by the customers. Competitor is the last one and deals with as the name suggests positioning directly to the market by distinguishing to each other. For small business, use of application approach will be best suited because of the same behaviour of customer buying pattern. For example McDonald is most popular for fast food but in competition to street fish n chips shop in UK. Though the fist n chips shop can also provides all the services to the customers as McDonald can but the trend of customers is highly follow the others. Pricing Strategies of SBE It is most important to focus on pricing strategy as it is the major factors affecting the marketing mix. It is the important factors for the product features, choosing the channel distribution for the products or the services and determines the whole resources of the business. There are different types of pricing strategy for the product or the services. They are: premium pricing, skim pricing, penetration pricing and economy pricing. Among of all the pricing strategy, it is suggested to adopt economy pricing strategy as the small business organization would cover all the customers in middle level neither high class nor the low class. The product or the services should be easily accessible to all level of customers satisfying the needs and the wants. The Pound shop or 99p shop in UK can be the best examples as they provide all the products for just a  £1. Distribution system for SBEs Products or Services It is the methods of providing the products or the services to the ultimate customers what they want or need. There are basically two types of channel that can be followed for the distribution of products or the services. The first one in Indirect Distribution and another is Direct Distribution. Among of two distribution channel, Direct distribution will be the best suited for the small business organizations. By adopting the direct distribution, the mediators in between the business and the customers can be eliminated and can save the further expenses. Small businesses are not relying on traditional marketing methods, where marketing was used to like work-of-mouth or just printed advertisement. The time has been changed now so instead of traditional marketing internet marketing are in existence today. Internet has become as an integral part for the shopping by the customers. It is very difficult to find the customers for small business just depending upon the traditional marketing. Through the internet the business can attract many of new customers and is even cost effective and even the customers can save their valuable time and money. It is also noticed that the research activity output in E-Marketing had decreased significantly between 2003 and 2008 . The availability of information about the products and 24 hours service can give the advantage to the small business as well Conclusion To conclude, it is found that marketing is an important aspect for any kind of businesses whether it is small or big. The size of the business does not matter while adopting the marketing but the strategies of marketing plan may differ from one business to another. SWOT analysis or the use of Four Ps can be helpful for determining the specific marketing plan or for the marketing process. Whether it is segmenting market or the promotion strategies, for the small business there is the importance exists for satisfying the customers needs by providing the right product for right value. On the other hand, maintaining the relationship with customer is equally important to retain the customer within the business organization. It is not all over by only selling the product to the customers. Actually its the start of good relationship and the business opportunities from the profitable customers.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Dealing With Drugs :: essays research papers

My mother knew sports were the most important thing in my life. She tried to use my love of sports to keep me away from drugs. She told me drugs would keep me from performing at my best when I played football. But I had been reading the sports page since I was a little kid. I knew some of the best athletes in America were using drugs. Guys who could run a hundred yards in less than ten seconds were using drugs. They were doing great. Drugs weren’t hurting their performance. So I didn’t pay any attention to my mother’s warnings, and I started using drugs when I was fifteen (qtd. in Perkins and McMurtrie-Perkins 25-26). On the weekends, there is at least one party planned. Teens will find someway, no matter what to get either drunk or high. Many will lie, steal, or cheat so they can use. Some teens even spend an entire day trying to obtain their drugs of choice. Although many teens don’t use drugs because it is unacceptable, there is an increase in drug use among teens today, because sports athletes, movies, and music make it appear acceptable. It is true, of course, that athletes will and do get reprimanded for the use of drugs, but many still run the risk, and don’t get caught. They either use substances that are illegal in the sport or on the street. Steroids were first used by the Germans in World War II, then the Soviets started using them in sports in the late 1940’s(Cox). It seems that if an athlete gets caught with drugs they receive more publicity, young people see this and think that if they do drugs too then they will get more attention. Furthermore, Many young people consider athletes, actors, actresses, and musicians as role models. They try to model their lives after them, this, many times includes the celebrity’s drug use if they have used before. There are many biographies on television that deal with a celebrity and their drug use. Young people see these bios and think that drug use is just a part of growing up and that they will have to do it sometime so why not get it out of the way (Duncan). Undoubtedly, many actors and actresses have been involved in anti-drug campaigns; still many have been caught or confessed using drugs. They also play many roles in movies and shows in which they use drugs, granted older people know that they are only playing a role, but many younger viewers don’t.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Real Madrid

1. What is the Real Madrid business model? Is it unique? The Real Madrid business model is unique as it changed 360 degrees the concept of sports. They focused on converting Real Madrid into the new Disney of sports.. The club has been owned by its cardholding members and non-cardholding members. A network of fans has promoted the club’s name and ensured the flow of information. At first, by realizing that they can become content providers, Real Madrid aimed to be the best soccer club in the world. As a matter of fact the Real Madrid brand was desired to turn into an international brand. In order to be able to achieve this, its managers identified the following brand drivers: â€Å"(1) size of audience; (2) frequency with which the audience engaged with the brand, as a measure of commitment; (3) socio-demographic characteristics of the audience; and (4) bridges (usually in the form of local fan associations) that could be built to link the brand and the audience†. To get a large audience, passionate about soccer required a commitment to good players, commercialization of the brand and distribution of content (players and games). Real Madrid needed time and financial flexibility, in order to bring the top players and a variety of channels to bring the club’s brand on the market. For financial flexibility, Real Madrid managed to do the rezoning of the club’s old training pitches, recapturing exploitation rights sold off to various operators and licensees, setting up a stand-alone legal entity for management purposes, receiving a loan from Caja Madrid and pursuing opportunities for licensing and sponsoring of its products. To assemble is team of winning players, Real Madrid drew superstars like Zidane, Beckham, Figo, Brazilian striker Ronaldo, team captain Spanish forward Raà ºl, and Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos as well as goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The selling concept was that only the superstars can draw new superstars. In terms of brand and content, Real Madrid expanded the reach of its Real Madrid TV, developed RealMadrid.com and 1 on 1 fan relationships (mobile, TV, internet), and distributed its Real Madrid merchandise through its own stores and retail networks. In order to capitalize on its inner strengths, Real Madrid expanded to Asia and North America by gaining as much elasticity on their brand. 2. Who are Real Madrid’s customers? How is the market segmented? The Real Madrid’s customer are its supportive fans, cardholding and non-cardholding members. They have a love relationship with Real Madrid as they support only the winners and care about their hobby needs. 3. Who has more power – Real Madrid or the players? Real Madrid has an empowering brand power as they set up a leadership flag for quality soccer teams. The players pay for themselves, but as long as they don’t have a leading brand to promote them, they won’t grow on popularity and increase their royalties. 4. What risks does Real Madrid face? Real Madrid cannot capture superstars overnight. The churn rate cannot be controlled. New wealthy investors offer higher salaries to the superstars. Overexposure and excessive commercialization receives already enough criticism. Also in the end soccer is an uncertainty game.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Was Chivalry in Decline During the 14th and 15th Centuries

Far from disappearing, chivalry during the 14 and 15th centuries it was actually going through somewhat of a revival, some historians even go as far to say it was experiencing a â€Å"renascence† in the late middle ages albeit an imperfect one. Even though it appears in this period of medieval history that chivalry was becoming all the more popular, fashionable even, the meaning and spirit behind chivalry that were so important during the first crusades were dilapidated, therefore one can see why it can be viewed that chivalry was in decline in the 14th 15th century. This is especially apparent seeing as Chivalry became a tool to be wielded by those privileged enough to have the money and influence to use it. Furthermore despite the large amount of bravado surrounding chivalry in the later medieval period, this just underlines the fact that chivalry in the 14th and 15th centuries was a hollow shell of what it had been in the time of the crusades. Kilgour indentifies chivalry in the early medieval period as the â€Å"First heroic age† where a â€Å"fusion of military glory and religion† was achieved for the first time. In his description of the glory of chivalry in its early days Kilgour only stresses the devaluation of chivalry in its time of decline in the 14th and 15th century. The writings of J Huizinga in which he describes the return of chivalry as †a rather artificial revival of things long dead, a sort of deliberate and insincere renascence of ideas drained of any real value† offer a clear analysis of chivalry and its decline as an ideal with any real meaning during the 14th and 15th century. Even though to a large extent he is certainly right to view chivalry as a hollow shell of what it was, his statement is slightly implausible because by no means were there no chivalric deeds performed that would not have seemed out of place some 200 years earlier during the crusades, for example: â€Å"A knight of the nation of Hainault named Sir Loys de Robessart. One day it happened that his enemies found him in a village with few of his people with him. There they attacked him and staged a fine skirmish. And although his enemies where great in numbers and much stronger he drove them out of he village. Thereupon a great force of his enemies renewed the attack, and although he sighted them at a distance, all the same he disdained to flee or to show any signs of fear. But with very steady, noble and virtuous courage sallied forth and in order to uphold the honour of this order of chivalry and of himself he determined to hold his ground, and there he died gloriously, for before he di ed when he saw he could not hold he made his men withdraw to the castle, for which act he was greatly praised both by his enemies and his own men. † From this example it is apparent that there were cases in which chivalric actions were not completely selfless, suggesting to one that chivalry was not in decline. Never the less mindful of Maurice Keens remark that the value of chivalry signified by the heroic ideals of the earlier romances has been lost to sight in a quest for imitative decoration, it is thus easy to see that perhaps even the most selfless cases of chivalry recorded by historians like the tale of Roberssart just suit to underpin the inherent flaws in late medieval chivalry with their â€Å"quest for imitative decoration. There is however one issue in the early medieval period that is conceivably the defining factor in best determining if there was a decline in chivalry in the 14th and 15th century, one that is not explored by Huizinga or Kilgour. It is whether the state of chivalry in its â€Å"first heroic age† was any different in its ideals and value before it had collapsed into a â€Å"mad, exaggerated display. One aspect that might prove this conclusion to be correct is raised by Maurice Keen who observes that some of the evidence describing chivalry, although being less plentiful in the 12th century is remarkably similar to what is being said two or three hundred years later. This example is enough to convince one that there was little difference in the spirit of chivalry at its beginning in the 12th and 13th centuries, suggesting that there was not a decline in chivalry due to it losing its meaning because that meaning was unchanged in some two hundred years. Despite her argument there is some evidence which disproves Maurice Keen’s notion of a chivalric spirit unchanged over two hundred years, which apart from being implausible, is proved to be inaccurate due to the evolution of chivalry as a tool to be used for selfish ends further undermining the ideals for which chivalry stands. The best illustration of chivalry being used as a tool is when it started to be harnessed for means of propaganda. This can be seen most prominently at the Vow of the Pheasant and the banquet held at Lille in 1445, in which the banquet was used to lavishly display a sense of chivalry with the intention of trying to gain the adequate support to initiate a crusade along the Mediterranean. However this was no excessive imitation of the past but was a calculated move by King Philip the Good, a move which perfectly illustrates the decline of chivalry in the late Middle Ages. What one also needs to understand is that this was not an isolated case. Chivalry was used as a tool in other ways as well. For example many Dukes’ Counts and court officials hoped that by exploiting the genuine respect for chivalrous values and conduct they could â€Å"solidify† respect for their rather â€Å"shaky† ducal authority. This point is interestingly supported by Maurice Keen who despite her previous argument explains that â€Å"chivalry was something secular princes could exploit† mainly because it was taken so seriously by â€Å"a very important sector of people. What makes her statement even more plausible is that it is reinforced by Raymond Kilgour, whose view is that an event such as these pageants evolved without a â€Å"deeper value to society† such was the extent to the dilapidation of chivalry, and its decline in the 14th and 15th centuries Despite much evidence to prove that chivalry was in decline in the late medieval period of the 14th and 15th centuries, some events just do not lend themselves to be interpreted it in this way. Especially when taken into account that a definition of the word decline is â€Å"the period when something reaches its end† this is particularly interesting as there are some documents which raise the question whether chivalry actually ever reached a period of definite decline at all in the 15th and 14th centuries, despite its withering spirit. One such piece of evidence that supports this view is a table listing all books printed in Venice in reference to military affairs. This specific document is useful because of all the works devoted to military affairs or dealing with them, the most prevalent category of book published was that of the laws of war and chivalry. The fact that this table lists books on chivalric warfare as being so popular this late on in the 1400’s must denote that chivalry was not in decline, for if it was going through a tangible Decline it would surely not have been such a popular subject for publishing. However if we are to take Huizinga’s view that chivalry was nothing more than â€Å"a rather artificial revival of things long dead† this would explain why even though chivalry exercised a â€Å"disastrous† affect on wars in this period of late medieval period it was still so wrote about. Another interpretation which supports Huizinga’s view is that litterateurs of the time where probably trying to capitalize on chivalry as a popular subject, similar to the way that secular princes used chivalry as a tool as Maurice Keen pointed out. Chivalry in practise was obviously not in decline in the late medieval period however in spirit it was, a perfect exhibition of this is shown through the disastrous effect chivalry had on the outcome of wars and on France itself. This was mainly the doing of King John the Good whose reign was â€Å"disastrous† to France because of his â€Å"chivalric prejudice†, as is pointed out by J Huizinga who rightly claims that it was King Johns â€Å"chivalric stubbornness† and carelessness which cost him the battle of Poitiers in 1356, as well as one of his most celebrated chivalric knights Geroffroi De Charny. This use of chivalry almost seems as though it’s being used to keep up appearances with what was fashionable at the time no matter the cost, and as a result underlines the decline in the spirit of chivalry and therefore the decline of chivalry itself. In conclusion the â€Å"cult† of chivalry as it is sometimes called in the later middle ages is generally considered by the majority of historians who deal with it indirectly or directly as meaningless, and therefore it has to be perceived as being in decline. Karl Brandi labelled the elaborate protocol at play in chivalric court as an â€Å"impressive, sumptuous yet wholly meaningless shell. † Similarly J Huizinga described chivalry as â€Å"naive† and â€Å"imperfect. † Raymond Kilgour on the other hand stated that chivalry was an â€Å"extravagant† illusion to try and maintain a feeling of â€Å"significance. † All these statements overwhelmingly point at a chivalry in a dire state of decline in the late medieval period, however in reality it was going through a revival. Despite this revival, chivalry was weak in spirit and had disastrous effects on society, the outcomes of war and on France itself. From this assumption it’s hard not to see that although chivalry in practise was not in decline in practise its meanings and ideals were, hence why one can see that chivalry was in decline in the 14 and 15th century.