Powerful Parallels and Deep Divides: Pluralism in The Poem of the Cid a

Both The Poem of the Cid and The Song of Roland were written in a time period where great new developments were occurring in Europe, but none more crucial than the beginning of the Crusades and the ethnocentric viewpoint they propagated and were propagated by (Quinn). Of great interest is the manner in which both works deal with the nature of pluralism in European history. For the sake of this essay, pluralism will be defined simply as a state of more than one. Both works, written at approximately the same time (1130-1170 for The Song of Roland and approximately 1207 for The Poem of the Cid, as per the book's forewords) have astonishing similarities and stark contrasts, which when put in context are incredibly revealing of their respective author's/culture's attitudes about economic, cultural, and religious pluralism. An often overlooked place to begin evaluating these stories lies in their depictions of economic systems. The Song of Roland depicts a system that is primarily based on the giving of tribute, namely exotic gifts and treasure; clearly shown when Blancandrin counsels Marsilla to achieve peace with Charlemagne by promising him â€Å"bears and lions and dogs, 700 hundred camels and a thousand moulted hawks† (Burgess, page 30). However, it is important to note that the concept of paying with money is not entirely absent from the novel, â€Å"you will have enough gold bezants to pay your mercenaries well† (Burgess, page 33). In The Song of Roland we see our first evidence of a plural economy. The dominant system is the giving of lavish gifts in the form of tribute to one's betters or equals like Marsile to Charlemagne; which is followed by the less important/common payment of money to one's inferiors a la Charlemagne to his mercen... ...rfully with The Poem of the Cid and its multi-cultural and relatively accepting Spanish ideal of â€Å"convivencia† (Kahf) that embraced diversity in its many forms. While both works contain strong similarities due to the proximity of their geographic and temporal origins and the struggles that were occurring there, namely the Crusades; subtle nuances and seemingly minor differences between the two works reveal two very different views on pluralism. Bibliography: Burgess, Glyn S.  The Song of Roland. London, England: Penguin, 1990. Print. Hamilton, Rita, Janet H. Perry, and Ian Michael.  The Poem of the Cid. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984. Print. Quinn, William. "The Crusades 1&2." 8 and 13 March 2012. Lecture. Quinn, William. â€Å"Cantar del mio Cid Campeador.† 3 April 2012. Lecture Kahf, â€Å"Medieval Spain, Competing Narratives.† 27 March 2012. Lecture

Porters Five Forces Us Airlines Industry Case Study Essay

The year 2011 was another dismal one for US airlines in terms of financial performance. Despite an increase in both passenger numbers and revenues for the year, profits were down on 2010. In total, US airlines earned net profits of about $0.4 billion, representing a net margin of less than 1%. The dire financial state of the industry was underlined by AMR (the parent of American Airlines) entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2011. This ended AMR’s distinguished record of being the only one of the major legacy airlines to have avoided bankruptcy. In 2005, Delta, United, Northwest, and US Airways had all fi led for bankruptcy protection. The early months of 2012 offered little hope of improvement. Airline revenues were up by 8.2% during the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same quarter of 2011. However, as a result of higher costs, net income was down by 73.6%: net margins had deteriorated from –3.2% to –5.2%. 1 The woes of the US airline industry during the 21st century were typically attributed to the triple-whammy of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the high price of crude oil, and the 2008 financial crash. Certainly, each of these was a powerful force in boosting costs and depressing demand. Yet, the financial problems of the US airline industry predated these events. Even during the generally prosperous 1990s, the US airline industry had been barely profitable. Outside the US, the state of the airline business was little better. The IATA, the worldwide association of airlines, showed that the global airline industry had consistently failed to earn returns that covered its cost of capital

How Laszlo Biro Changed the History of Ballpoint Pens

No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, or more wise when he had. Samuel Johnson. A Hungarian journalist named Laszlo Biro invented the first ballpoint pen in 1938. Biro had noticed that the ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper smudge-free, so he decided to create a pen using the same type of ink. But the thicker ink wouldnt flow from a regular pen nib. Biro had to devise a new type of point. He did so by fitting his pen with a tiny ball bearing in its tip. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated, picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper.   Biros Patents This principle of the ballpoint pen actually dates back to an 1888 patent owned by John Loud for a product designed to mark leather, but this patent was commercially unexploited. Biro first patented his pen in 1938 and he applied for another  patent in June 1943 in Argentina after he and his brother emigrated there in 1940.   The British government bought the licensing rights to Biro’s patent during World War II. The British Royal Air Force needed a new pen that would not leak at higher altitudes in fighter planes the way fountain pens did. The ballpoint’s successful performance for the Air Force brought Biro’s pens into the limelight. Unfortunately, Biro had never gotten a U.S. patent for his pen, so another battle was just beginning even as World War II ended.   The Battle of the Ballpoint Pens   A lot of improvements were made to pens in general over the years, leading to a battle over the rights to Biros invention.  The newly-formed Eterpen Company in Argentina commercialized the Biro pen after the Biro brothers received their patents there. The press hailed the success of  their writing tool because it could write for a year without refilling. Then, in May 1945,  Eversharp Company teamed up with Eberhard-Faber to acquire exclusive rights to Biro Pens of Argentina. The pen was rebranded as the â€Å"Eversharp CA,† which stood for â€Å"capillary action.† It was released to the press months in advance of public sales. Less than a month after Eversharp/Eberhard closed the deal with Eterpen, a Chicago businessman, Milton Reynolds, visited Buenos Aires in June 1945.  He noticed the Biro pen while he was in a store and recognized the pen’s sales potential. He bought a few as samples and returned to America to launch the Reynolds International Pen Company, ignoring Eversharp’s patent rights. Reynolds copied the Biro pen within four months and began to sell his product by the end of October 1945. He called it Reynolds Rocket and made it available at Gimbel’s department store in New York City. Reynolds’ imitation beat Eversharp to market and it was immediately successful. Priced at $12.50 each, $100,000 worth of pens sold their first day on the market. Britain was not far behind. The Miles-Martin Pen Company sold the first ballpoint pens to the public there at Christmas 1945.   The Ballpoint Pen Becomes a Fad Ballpoint pens were guaranteed to write for two years without refilling and sellers claimed they were smear-proof. Reynolds advertised his pen as one that could write under water. Then Eversharp sued Reynolds for copying the design that Eversharp had acquired legally. The 1888 patent by John Loud would have invalidated everyones claims, but no one knew that at the time. Sales skyrocketed for both competitors, but Reynolds’ pen tended to leak and skip. It  often failed to write. Eversharp’s pen did not live up to its own advertisements either. A very high volume of pen returns occurred for both Eversharp and Reynolds. The ballpoint pen fad ended due to consumer unhappiness.  Frequent price wars, poor quality products, and heavy advertising costs hurt both companies by 1948. Sales nosedived.  The original $12.50 asking price dropped to less than 50 cents per pen. The Jotter   Meanwhile, fountain pens experienced a resurgence of their old popularity as Reynolds’ company folded. Then  Parker Pens introduced its first ballpoint pen, the Jotter, in January 1954. The Jotter wrote five times longer than the Eversharp or Reynolds pens. It had a variety of point sizes, a rotating cartridge, and large-capacity ink refills. Best of all, it worked. Parker sold 3.5 million Jotters at prices from $2.95 to $8.75 in less than a year. The Ballpoint Pen Battle Is Won   By 1957,  Parker had  introduced the tungsten carbide  textured ball bearing in their ballpoint pens. Eversharp was in deep financial trouble and tried to switch back to selling fountain pens. The company sold its pen division to Parker Pens and Eversharp finally liquidated its assets in the 1960s. Then Came Bic   The French Baron Bich dropped the ‘H’ from his name and began selling pens called BICs in 1950. By the late fifties,  BIC  held 70 percent of the European market.   BIC bought 60 percent of the New York-based Waterman Pens in 1958, and it owned  100 percent of Waterman Pens by 1960. The company sold ballpoint pens in the U.S. for 29 cents up to 69 cents. Ballpoint Pens Today   BIC  dominates the market in the 21st century. Parker, Sheaffer, and Waterman capture smaller upscale markets of fountain pens and expensive ballpoints.  The highly popular modern version of Laszlo Biros pen, the BIC Crystal, has a daily worldwide sales figure of 14 million pieces. Biro is still the generic name used for the ballpoint pen used  in most of the world.