Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 194

Assignment Example lps in advicing the dest way to use these devices and on the other hand, it gives some kind of products that are very hard to use in this type of connectivity. Amazon.com is an American International electronis commerce company, the largest in the world online retailer founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos in 1994. MIS and IT look similar while they are not. MIS majors in business problems like marketing and accounting while IT focuses on the better understanding of technology (Laudon, Kenneth and Jane p. 6). When you walk out of the store, the radio waves are picked up by the coiled metal aerial in the label.The chip modifies the waves incoming and sends them back again by transmitting a unique identifier code as the receiver picks up the identifier code then sounds the alarm and so you can caught when you try stealing at the store using RFID. Critical path in a project is simply all errands that determine the end date in your project schedule. In case one of the errands is late by even a day , then the project will have to be extended by a day. Social Engineering Attack refers to the psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or even divulging very confidential

Schoolsand Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Schoolsand Community - Essay Example Members of the congregation use the congregation and synagogue to nurture their souls and connection to God, to educate our children as well as themselves, to cultivate leadership among all congregants, to celebrate our joys, to comfort those among us who are suffering, to serve the community and the world at large, and to promote peace and understanding in everyday actions and overall personnel and professional lives. The great traditions of Judaism are preserved, responding to the current concerns of our community and the world with a plan for a future of sacred engagement for generations to come. Any community needs education in order to provide conformity in belief systems and practices. Socialization provides for a part of the development of focus and meaning within the members of the community on what values are treasured and what is in violation of those values. Specific education also provides an opportunity for the congregation to develop a set of beliefs that supports the o verall well-being of each of the members as they function within the society as productive and supportive members. The mission of the intended program will be to meet some of the needs in the congregation through keeping up on advancement of skills for educators so that the efforts to draw in community members to the congregation can be supported. Two specific and critical areas that are currently in need of solutions to fill the observable gaps in the current structure have been identified. These critical areas are: 1. Enhancing each teacher’s ability and resources for critical thinking, self-reflection and improving teaching methods. 2. Discovering ways to engage new families and new members to join and engage in religious school and synagogue involvement in order to keep the synagogue’s mission of a vibrant community which is based on sharing the lessons from Jewish history. These two concepts have been used to frame the mission of this program so that specific obje ctives and goals could be identified. The following objectives and goals will help to define the process of designing the program towards an overall successful outcome. Objectives 1. To determine the best possible structure through which to educate teachers and mentors within the synagogue so that they can then use that knowledge in the teaching opportunities within the synagogue’s community 2. Determining the factors that need to be assessed on a regular basis in order to define how an assessment program can be developed to support the needs within the educational program. 3. Developing a budget for the educational programs. Goals 1. Keeping teachers educated in current trends in early childhood development and using this knowledge to enhance the education offered at the synagogue to parents and the wider congregation in support of developing Jewish Life educational opportunities. 2. Creating an assessment program in order to determine the success or gaps in the educational programs, maximizing the reflective process in order to fully understand if the programs are on course or need adjustment. 3. Optimize appropriate fund raising opportunities to support the budget. In order to develop a foundation from which to design this program, the following values will help to guide the development of the program. These are the six pillars of faith that support the development of all of the functions within the community, defining the members as a people and supporting their values and belief systems. These are the core values and they represent what the synagogue holds sacred. †¢Torah (â€Å"Teaching†): We nurture meaningful connection to God and to the core ethics and values

Feminist Movement Essay Example for Free

Feminist Movement Essay Feminism is a significant theme addressed in many literary works of the contemporary period. In the 1800s and early 20th century, many women were oppressed and denied the right to equal opportunities that men were granted. However, after the active and significant role women played in World War II, a drastic change occurred. Women began to play a more respected and crucial role in society. Many women abandoned their expected roles as housewives and mothers and looked for other valued opportunities. This societal shift became a political movement and spawned the social theory of feminism. There was a momentous crusade for equal rights. Women were motivated to eliminate the gender stereotyped roles that were hindering their progression in society. Women began to openly voice their beliefs on equality. They fought for social, political, and economic equality. This movement inspired many female writers to challenge the sexist ideologies held against women and advocate the right for equality in their poems, stories, and novels. Two significant contemporary feminist writers of this period are Margaret Atwood and Sally Ito. Atwood and Itos literary works stress female empowerment, equality, celebrate womanhood, and portray the importance of the female role in society. Margaret Atwood conveys powerful and passionate feminist themes, issues, and conflicts through many of her literary works. Atwood portrays a realistic view and illustration of women in society, focusing on the ways in which females are hindered and victimized by gender-typing and stereotypes. In the prose, Happy Endings, Atwood mocks and argues against the traditional fairy tale of the ideal relationship between men and women. She challenges the stereotypical characterization of men and women through different scenarios, using satire to poke fun at societys flawed misconceptions about relationships between the sexes. In scenario A, the ideal husband and wife, John and Mary, live happily in their nice house, have interesting careers, two children, an active social life, and are able to retire living out the rest of their life happily (Atwood). Atwood mocks this scenario as the fairy tale life and argues that it is unrealistic to the lives of contemporary families and relationships. In another scenario, Atwood tackles the challenging task of displaying a more realistic relationship and the appalling way in which women are sometimes treated. Atwood illustrates the  character of Mary as weak and regarded by John as an object. Mary worries about pleasing John and is determined to get his attention by preparing him dinner and looking nice for him. John, however, does not care about Mary and . . . merely uses her body for selfish pleasure and ego gratification of a tepid kind (Atwood). Mary believes that she can use sex as a weapon to hold on to John. She is blinded by her love for him and refuses to accept or believe that she is treated badly by John. Atwood states that, John goes out the door with hardly so much as a good-night and three days later he turns up at six oclock and they do the whole thing over again (Atwood). Mary is trapped in a vicious loveless cycle with John. She is unable to find the strength to break this cycle and fears she is nothing without John. In another scenario, Atwood addresses freedom in relationships and the notorious double-standard theory. Mary is stuck in a relationship between two men, John and James. John is an older married man having an affair with Mary, but is in love with her. James is a wild young man free from lifes commitments. Mary is not impressed by John, but is infatuated by James free and unbridled life. James is often away seeing the world upon the seat of his flashy motorcycle. Atwood states that, Freedom isnt the same for girls, so in the meantime Mary spends Thursday evenings with John. Thursdays are the only days John can get away (Atwood). Marys life is insignificant and she is stifled into planning her life around John and James. This scenario displays the subservient and obedient roles women were expected to take on in many relationships. In the remaining scenarios of Atwoods prose, Happy Endings, two other characters are introduced, Fred and Madge. These characters illustrate more practical and equal roles in the male-female relationship. Atwood erases the sexist ideologies against women in these scenarios, concluding that whatever the relationship story may be . . . the endings are the same however you slice it (Atwood). The reality is men and women both die and that in life, women should not be considered submissive idealists. Sally Ito also celebrates womanhood and feminism in many of her literary works. Ito voices strong feminist themes, depicting women as empowering and compelling figures. She centers much of her writing on portraying women realistically and commemorating the bonds shared by women. In the poems,  Sonata for Three Sleeping Women and Sisters of the Modern Mind, Ito honors the bonds of sisterhood and links the diverse stages and experiences of a womans life. The poem, Sonata for Three Sleeping Women, illustrates Itos feminist view of the remarkable journey from girlhood into womanhood. Ito relates the innocence and purity of childhood to a peacefully sleeping child, . . . dreaming of the nights darkness passing in grace of he who answers prayers forever (Ito). The child breathes easy and gently, sheltered from the world and its pain. Ito compares new love and passion to a young woman tensely sleeping anticipating, . . . the brink of loves summation (Ito). A picture is painted of the dreams of many young women and the beauty of everlasting love. Ito describes old age as the realization that life is not forever and the significance of every night and breath. Darkness signifies the end of each day and women are able to cherish their memories and Now breath for breaths sake (Ito). In the poem, Sisters of the Modern Mind, Ito describes the special and unique bond of sisterhood. She conveys that, in life, women can take many different courses. Some women are stimulated by the need for knowledge and intellectual growth. Other women seek out stimulating careers, while others long for the love and nurturing bonds of motherhood. Women have the freedom to take on many of these roles in society and are not to be hindered or pigeonholed into one stereotypical category. The diverse stages and paths of life are what link women together as sisters. Ito reveals that, . . . time and anatomy still wear at our bones like the tide upon the sand that tosses the jeweled shells, you and I, sisters, of the wave (Ito, 188). Women are affected the same by time and the experience of lifes journey. This is what Ito emphasizes as the remarkable bond of sisterhood. The literary works by Margaret Atwood and Sally Ito convey a very powerful, realistic, and feminist view of women in the contemporary period. They honor and celebrate womanhood in many of their writings helping to eliminate the sexist ideologies held against women in society. Atwood and Ito were significantly inspired by the feminist movement and its impact on modern society. Their literary works signify the crusade for equal rights and pay tribute to the emancipated female in contemporary times.

Boots ltd Current strategic position

Boots ltd Current strategic position Management Summary Introduction This report will examine findings and analyse Boots current strategic position in the industry. It will analyse whether or not the new IT system has had any impact in the organisation efficiency and financial wise. Here I will discuss the formation of one of the most biggest pharmaceutical and cosmetic company in Europe. Boots is one of the largest cosmetic high street and online retailer in the country, and in recently in continental Europe. It was founded by John Boot in 1849 when Mr Boot opened an herbalist shop in Nottingham. Boots as a company was formed in 1883 and they appointed their first pharmacist a year after. They opened their first flagship store in Nottingham in 1892. Since then it has been one of the most popular place to go get cosmetics and medicine. The companys chemists were taken over by UniChem Plc in 1991 and they started their global brand recognition by opening their first Boots store in Republic of Ireland in Dublin in 1996. Since the mid 1990s Boots faced heavy competition from many sectors of the retail industry. They had to restructure their brand in order to counter attack the competition it faced. In July 2006, Boots merged with their biggest rival Alliance UniChem. By announcing this deal, this made Boots the largest distributor in pharmaceutical and healthcare products. This also gave them continental recognition as UniChem was one of the largest pharmaceutical players in continental Europe. Like Wal-Mart bought Asda but they are known as Wal-Mart in America and Asda in Europe, Boots is known as Boots in England but UniChem in Europe. Alliance UniChem and the Boots merger allowed these two companies become the biggest pharmaceutical and cosmetic dealers in Europe, reaching out to more and more people, thus making a huge profit in the process. It elevated both companies to higher grounds and is still thriving to be more successful. Boots have a website setup for the American market, but do not sell online, and many of their products are only sold via department stores and pharmacies in America, but they do not have outlets for the average customer to come and look around. In 1997, Boots formed a loyalty card scheme, called the Advantage Card, a card which customers carry, get points when they purchase products and then reward them with special offers. This also allowed the company to find out the buying habits, and find out what customers normally would buy and then send them special offers regarding these in order to bring them back into the store and spend more. They estimated that they would sign up eight million customers, but by December 1998 they went over this estimate by signing up over ten million customers to the Advantage Card scheme, and by this their estimate of the four percent sales growth actually succeeded. The cost of the scheme was  £25 million therefore the sales growth was an important part of this scheme. The IT system was a huge part of the organisations card scheme. Boots is a long-established IBM customer, but they were researching other companies in regards to their new customer analysis system before deciding to stick with IBM. The reason they went for the IBM solution was because they offered the complete package as well as their own technical support teams and experience. This would obviously save them time due to the fact they do not need to train up a new person to train more people therefore the ones that create this will be able to train the Boots employees into how to use the IT system. The database project started in spring 1997, 6 months before the card launch. This is because the company would need to make sure the database is right before they can officially launch the cards otherwise there would be a system overload, or even a backlog which would cost a lot of money, this would also enable the structure being right from the start. The size of the database eventually went up to 1.6 TB (terabytes) which held more than 2 million card holder details and some non card holder buyer behaviours in order to contrast between the two buying behaviours. The analyst team at Boots analyse these customer buying behaviours, thus finding out what type of products intrigue the card holders, as well as the non card holders. By doing this, they can create a report for the marketing team, and tell them what can be done to entice non card holders to join the Advantage Card scheme. They can also find out what products are selling the most between the two categories of buyers, and find out new ways to sell their products to the four groups of promotion buyers, the deal seekers (only seek promotion deals), stock pilers (who buy in bulk when the items in promotion then dont bother coming back when they are not), the loyalists (the ones that buy the products a little more when they are on promotion then revert back to their normal buying habits) and the new market (customers that buy the product when they are on promotion and then continue buying the products when they arent. This report will now analyse the Boots strategic position by evaluating using different methods. Strategic Evaluation Swot Analysis Using Swot Analysis, I will now analyse the organisations current position. Strengths Boots is a powerful pharmaceutical and cosmetic retail brand. It has a reputation of having great deals compared to other stores, and has a wide range of products in store. It has grown substantially from being a one-store shop in a city to being a continental brand (by merging with Europes biggest cosmetic and pharmaceutical brand Alliance UniChem). By merging, the company has become the biggest cosmetic brand in Europe, and has the entire infrastructure in place to make it a successful and big brand. The company has a good IT system which was created and run by IBM which is one of the worlds biggest IT company in the world, and uses its IT infrastructure to analyse what products are being sold the most, the most popular and customers buying behaviour, using the loyalty card scheme the backbone of this. By doing this, the analyst team at Boots use this information to give these loyal shoppers deals and it therefore eventually makes profit. The company uses its vast financial profits to invest time and money in training people and retaining a development team. By doing this they have people who know what they are doing, therefore have an advantage over other brands who do not consistently train and invest in their employees. The companys online shopping is a great help to people who cannot go to the store because of their disability/being old. Their online prescription feature allows the user to order their prescription drugs online and delivered to them. This reaches out to more people, and especially to those with disability who cannot go to their local pharmacy, and get it delivered to their door the next working day. Weaknesses Though Boots is one of the biggest brands in UK and Europe, it still is not Global like some of the companys rivals. The system that is in place could cause error hen external influences such as recession affects shoppers. It may set the trends of customers and forecasts but not necessarily forecast the trend for recession and other external influences. Like most other companies, the year of 2009, which was mostly hit by recession and VAT went down to 15% to help people with this downfall, affected businesses. Their loyalty card system is showing the customer buyer behaviour, but is it really taking into account the recession period? People are buying less and less and therefore targeting customers that used to buy these products, and offering them deals that they may not buy due to the recession, will adversely affect them, the buyer and the company. Other external factors that contribute to their weaknesses are interest rates and inflation. By this going up each year, it makes the product prices go up also. This affects the trend in buying. Will people buy the same product they bought cheaper the year before? The loyalty card scheme may help towards this problem, but will casual buyers end up buying it here or go and buy it from a pound shop. In terms of company image, Boots are well known only in UK, whereas the company uses a different name in Europe due to Boots not being an universal word and Alliance is a universal word in Europe and UniChem is the name of the company they merged with, thus giving them profits but not actual name recognition. The company have recently moved their brand to the USA. The company is also known as Alliance Boots, and their pharmacy over there is called The DrugStore. They do not have shops in USA, but sell their products in department stores or normal drug stores/pharmacies. But because their American website does not allow online shopping, only advertising the brand, and they do not have any outlets in America, they are missing out on huge profits as America are one of the highest prescription drug users in the world. It may be good distribution but making outlets will sell more. If the company was to merge with an American pharmacy/cosmetic/pharmaceutical company, they could slowly intr oduce their brand to the American market and make it global. The IT system needs to be enhanced so it can cope with this expansion. The brand in the UK also only have shops in high streets, maybe making more stores like Tesco have with their Tesco Express branches, they can reach out to more people. Opportunities Boots should take the opportunity of merging with an American company so that they can break the American market. Also to do this same thing for Asia they can make their brand a Global brand. In 1997 they introduced Boots in New Zealand, but the store closed down in the same year due to slow sales. If an opportunity of merger for good companies in Asia and America come in, Boots could do well with this, that way they can focus their intentions of getting brand recognition in these markets where they could see their profits go above the scale. Boots are just a trade and distributor in America, this means they selling in department stores and pharmacies, but they do not have a store out there to show the market what the company actually does. New locations offer Boots opportunities to exploit the market development. Threats Being number one means that you are a target for competition, locally and globally. This means more and more companies will be competitively putting their prices down to compete with big companies, thus getting more and more people to shop with them rather than the big companies. The stores loyalty card scheme is helping this cause, getting more and more customers to shop with Boots so that they can be rewarded. By being a global retailer, if they expand their operations to the USA and further, means they are exposed to political problems in the country they do their business in. Political downfall and economy downfall means fewer shoppers, and they need to tackle this problem to avoid loss of profits. The cost of producing many products has fallen because of lower manufacturing costs, due to outsourcing to low-cost regions of the world. This has lead to more and more price competition between rivals, therefore resulting in price deflation. This is a threat because rivals are finding more and more ways to entice customers to shop with them rather than their competitor. Supermarkets in particular will name their rivals in advertisements, stating they are cheaper than them. Boots on the other hand do not tend to name their competitor, rather focusing on their own name recognition to sell their products, and using their loyalty card scheme to reward their loyal customers, whilst the casual customers do not bother signing up to the loyalty card scheme and tend to shop only when there are promotions in store as the loyalty card offers do not appeal to them. Their direct competition in terms of cosmetics AND pharmaceutical products are Superdrug. Superdrug sell from both categories, but Superdrug does not seem to carry such a large range as does Boots, but are slightly cheaper. Therefore when it comes to recession, Superdrug will tend to sell more due to them selling cheaper. When recession is over, will customer buying behaviour change? There is a chance of that, un less they are so used to buying cheap products it may change slightly. Superdrug have less variety than Boots, therefore Boots tend to sell more of the products that the average customer cannot buy in Superdrug. Price is normally higher on these due to the company knowing their competitor not selling the same product. Porters Five Forces Model Now I will use Porters Five Forces model for competitive analysis of the companys strategic position. The five forces allow the marketer to compare a competitive environment. Existing Competitors The main existing competitor is Superdrug in terms of what gets sold in Boots. This is because Superdrug sells what Boots sell, but has less variety but is cheaper. Customers tend to shop at stores that are cheaper, but because of Boots selling more variety it counter attacks this problem. It also allows the customers to choose between the brands, which gives healthy competition for both, which is good for the company and customers, as it gives them new ways of ousting the competitor. Superdrug does not have a loyalty scheme, thus eliminating the need for a good IT system. Boots have an advantage over this as their IT system was created and developed by IBM, and they can monitor activities using their IT system, and this is a huge bonus for them. Other competitors are supermarkets and smaller stores, such as Asda and Tesco. Asda and Tesco do not have pharmacy facilities, but they sell cosmetic goods, which are most of the time are on offers. This tends to leash the customer to their store, but one main disadvantage of them is that they do not tend to sell varieties of these products. They may have their own loyalty cards, but people who tend to shop more and more on cosmetic products tend make use of their Boots Advantage card. Threats of New Entrants

America Underclass Essay -- essays research papers fc

It is believed that there is a tension between social classes in America. Typically, people of lower classes choose to imitate those of higher social status. As a result, advertisers have a tendency to take advantage of this tension in order to profit from people of the lower and middle classes. In â€Å"The American Upper Class,† G. William Domhoff says that â€Å"exhibiting high social status†¦ is a way of exercising power† (Domhoff p.34),† which is something important to all social classes. According to Judi Puritz Cook, author of â€Å"Consumer Culture†¦Sales Discourse,† advertisements in print as well as in visual media seem to create â€Å"the promise of status mobility through consumption (Cook p.373).† In the article, Puritz explains how television programs on channels such as the Home Shopping Network are examples of how the media exploits the anxiety caused by social standing. It is believed that American people in the lower and middle classes have needs for status mobility. For example, when browsing through a fashion magazine, one can find numerous sections that are dedicated to creating ways to look like the featured model or actress for half the price. The intention of the article, in most cases, is to give others the impression that you are of high social status. In addition, advertisers often use people in the entertainment business to model their products so that the viewer may purchase the product. For example, when mimicking the purchases of hotel heiress, Paris Hilton one may believe, â€Å"If I buy this, I’ll look cool just like Paris Hilton!† The fact that this method is usually successful is a product of the anxiety felt by lower and middle class families. For those reasons, it is likely that Domhoff’s statement that the upper class â€Å"creates respect, envy, and deference in others,† is true. It seems that many o f America’s lower and middle class families would like to create those same feelings of respect and envy in others. When flipping through Vogue, a well-known high fashion magazine, one can see that almost all the advertisement scream wealth and status. The magazine’s beautiful models as well as its expensive brands are major characteristics of the famous magazine. Members of the middle class skim through the magazine thinking, â€Å"Wow, if only I could look like this!† In Gregory Mantsios’ article â€Å"Class in America,† he says, â€Å"We are, on occasion, presented... ...consciously imitate† (Domhoff p.166). Various advertisers use the desperate need of people of the lower and middle classes to appear â€Å"rich† as a weapon. Domhoff’s statement is an explanation of why many people choose to emulate people of high social status. According to Domhoff, showing signs of high social status is one of the many reasons that the upper class generates feelings of envy and deference in those of lower social status. This seems to be the reason for the craze involving the imitation of celebrities as well as the wealthy. It is also believed that the lower classes attempt to look as much like the people in higher classes because of the feeling of significance that comes with the expensive clothes etc. As a result, advertisers use the tension between social classes to sell the idea of luxurious style. Works Cited Cook, Judi Puritz. â€Å"Consumer Culture †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Mass Communication and Society 3.4 (2000): 373-392. Domhoff, G. William. â€Å"The American Upper Class.† Great Divides: readings in social   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  inequality in the United States 2nd edition (2001): 159-167. Mantsios, Gregory. â€Å"Class in America: myths and realities.† Privilege (2003) 33-47.

The Meaning of Community :: Definition Essays Community

The Meaning of Community Community is defined in two different ways. The Universal English Dictionary describes a community as 'a society or body of persons living in the same place, having the same rights, privileges, and interests, and acknowledging the same laws.' Another definition by the Oxford English Dictionary describes it as 'common character or commonness.' Even though these are different ways to describe this word, their meanings are quite similar and are used greatly in their own ways with everyday life. Looking at the definitions and comparing it to how it is used in everyday life and conversation, there is not much of a difference between them. People use the word ?community? to describe the area where they live and what they can and cannot do in their community. The rules, regulations, and privileges are the same in their community just as described in the definitions. After reviewing what the word actually means, a main thing that sticks out would have to be that a community of people has "rules and privileges that must be followed and obeyed by everyone" (Merriam-Webster). It is almost as if it has its own little ?government? that sets standards and regulations for the people to follow. However, something that may have already been known would be the description of common character or commonness. A community has to have these things in order for peace and happiness to survive. Projects and readings for the class help with the understanding of a community. Working on the project is almost like working in a community with the rules and deadlines that must be followed and done properly. There have been readings about people working on, or helping with, communities if it needs help on certain issues. These readings have helped tremendously on the gaining of knowledge of the meaning of a community and how much a community needs help if it is in trouble. Community is a word that can be looked at in many different ways and have many different opinions to what it actually means in certain situations. People of communities realize that they must follow the laws and not misuse their privileges that have been granted to them by the ? The Meaning of Community :: Definition Essays Community The Meaning of Community Community is defined in two different ways. The Universal English Dictionary describes a community as 'a society or body of persons living in the same place, having the same rights, privileges, and interests, and acknowledging the same laws.' Another definition by the Oxford English Dictionary describes it as 'common character or commonness.' Even though these are different ways to describe this word, their meanings are quite similar and are used greatly in their own ways with everyday life. Looking at the definitions and comparing it to how it is used in everyday life and conversation, there is not much of a difference between them. People use the word ?community? to describe the area where they live and what they can and cannot do in their community. The rules, regulations, and privileges are the same in their community just as described in the definitions. After reviewing what the word actually means, a main thing that sticks out would have to be that a community of people has "rules and privileges that must be followed and obeyed by everyone" (Merriam-Webster). It is almost as if it has its own little ?government? that sets standards and regulations for the people to follow. However, something that may have already been known would be the description of common character or commonness. A community has to have these things in order for peace and happiness to survive. Projects and readings for the class help with the understanding of a community. Working on the project is almost like working in a community with the rules and deadlines that must be followed and done properly. There have been readings about people working on, or helping with, communities if it needs help on certain issues. These readings have helped tremendously on the gaining of knowledge of the meaning of a community and how much a community needs help if it is in trouble. Community is a word that can be looked at in many different ways and have many different opinions to what it actually means in certain situations. People of communities realize that they must follow the laws and not misuse their privileges that have been granted to them by the ?

Marvel Comics Research Paper

In October 1939, the world required heroes. Hitler had recently attacked Poland. Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand had proclaimed war. The US remained unbiased – but it was already taking the first steps towards the Manhattan Project and the making of the nuclear bomb. As Nazi Germany's shadow fell over Europe, it appeared the planet was on the edge of demolition. Who might save us? The response hit the newsstands when Timely Publications gave us Marvel Comics #1. Emerging between the usual romance, western and crime magazines that lined the racks, Marvel Comics was an alternate breed.Its cover demonstrated a gigantic orange figure, The Human Torch, melting bullets on his blazing chest. Inside, The Torch was joined by Namor the Sub-Mariner, an oceanic superhero from the Antarctic. The cover price was just ten cents. Over the past 70-odd years, Marvel Entertainment has evolved from that first issue of Marvel Comics into one of the industry’s leaders. Marvel Comi cs weathered World War 2 (previous Editor-In-Chief Stan Lee took leave to do military service). It survived the opposition to comics in the '50s. It was restored throughout the '60s Silver Age.Troops in Vietnam carried X-Men comics in their rucksacks. Marvel watched the Berlin Wall fall, survived 9/11 and even commended Obama's electon by letting the president make an appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #583. So, is it an exaggeration to say that Marvel is an institution that’s impacted on American pop culture with a force heavier than Thor’s hammer? Probably not. Marvel’s creations are instantly recognisable icons. Without Marvel and their long-time rivals Detective Comics (DC) – the publishers of Superman and Batman – the superhero as we know it wouldn’t exist.And if superhero comics didn’t exist you could kiss goodbye to the last 10+ years of super-powered summer tentpole movies. â€Å"It’s been proven now in the world of mass media that Marvel characters mean money,† former Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada commented. â€Å"People are attracted to these characters. They love these characters. They’re becoming more and more relevant every day. They are now basically modern myths. † Consistent with Marvel Comics legend, the story starts on a golf course in 1961. Timely Publications head Martin Goodman was playing nine holes with one of the executives from comic merchant Independent News.This person specified that opponent DC Comics was creating sales from its Justice League Of America superhero title. It was a surprising bit of information to Goodman. Last he'd realized, superhero comics were taking a loss, their introductory prominence throughout WW2 having dissipated in the '50s as romances, westerns and horror comics took over the market. Back in the workplace, Goodman requested his Editor-In-Chief Stan Lee to arrange an opponent comic. Working with craftsman Jack Kirby, Lee made The Fantastic Four. It was the beginning of an unfathomably fruitful couple of years.Between 1961 and 1963 Lee also made The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, The Avengers, Iron Man and – maybe their most popular of all – Spider-Man. All of a sudden superheroes were back in vogue and Lee's remarkable brand of narrating revolutionised the comics business. The â€Å"Marvel Age of Comics† had begun. What separated Marvel’s superheroes from their peers was their humanity. Lee’s characters may have been able to turn invisible or set themselves on fire but they were real people first and foremost. They had foibles, they had weaknesses – and if they were Peter Parker they struggled to get a date.â€Å"I tried to give them authenticity by making them more realistic,† Lee says of his original spandex-clad heroes. â€Å"Who do you know who has a really perfect life? I mean, I don’t care how rich the guy is, how sexy his wife is. Thereâ€⠄¢s nobody who doesn’t have a hard time. I mean, when we were doing those books, Kennedy seemed to have a perfect life, and he got shot†¦ Everybody has problems and everybody has secret sorrows. † Since those early days, Marvel has gone from stength to strength – actually surviving filing for bankruptcy in the '90s.In any case there was, up to this point, one thing that evaded it: Hollywood success. The point when superhero movies first started to overwhelm the box office, from Superman (1978) to Batman (1989), they were all DC titles. Marvel never appeared to have the capacity to keep up, regardless of being purchased by film organization New World Pictures in 1986. Film rights were lashed to studios yet all we got was super-crap as The Punisher (1989) and direct-to-VHS Captain America (1990). At that point came sleeper hit Blade in 1998.â€Å"The character was basically obscure, didn't even have his own particular comic book, and had been part of Tombs Of Dracula,† reviews Arad. However the establishment went ahead to make $1 billion in income and prepared for X-Men (2000). X-men was a massive hit that put the Marvel Cinematic Universe where it is today. Suddenly Marvel Comics were contendors at the movies and the organization even set up its own film division – Marvel Studios – in the in the '90s. With such a rich back list to work with, it was a No-Brainer.Its multi-billion dollar deal with The Walt Disney Company demonstrates exactly how lucrative its characters are to Hollywood. Mouse House CEO Bob Iger depicts Marvel as a â€Å"Treasure trove† that â€Å"transcends sex, age and geographical barriers†. Disney, an organization that based fortunes on making franchises around notable characters, was a great partner. Previous Marvel studios CEO Avi Arad said: â€Å"I think this will look like a smart deal,† he says, â€Å"because Disney is a company that knows how to exploit a brand. † Since being aquired by Disney, Marvel has grown to be the dominating factor in theaters.With it's release of Ironman is 2008, Marvel took a big risk. Ironman set Marvel on a path, a 6-movie, 4-year path that led them straight to one of the most ambitious movies ever: The Avengers. Combining 5 franchises, 8 characters, preserving original cast members, keeping continuity in tact, and servicing fans of each character has to be one of the greatest feats ever hurdeled in movie history. Marvel has been a major influence on pop culture for 74 years and continues to grow. I personally connot wait to see what the future holds for Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios.