Marketing Plan and Strategy for Online Company

Marketing Plan and Strategy for Online Company The marketing plan explains the creation of an on line T-shirt Company by the name of The T-shirt. It explains on what grounds the company is made and the tactics to run the business. The situational analysis explains the background of the business. The marketing plan explains how the product will be made acceptable by the audience and the methods of awareness that will used to make the product know to the market in Karachi, Pakistan. It also explains the ways that will help the product to capture the market in lesser time period. The total amount for initiating the business is $100,700/= (I need about 40,000 pounds investment)- this amount is apprx 63000 in pound, please let me know if we have to only consider the exact amount of 40,000 punds. Kindly confirm this so that we have to change the change our costing sheet. The T-shirt Companys ( the name of the company is T-Shirt company mission is to offer far above the ground superiority t-shirts to target audiences with a plan to expa nd in future moving into further product categories. It has been anticipated that the business will grow in the coming three years with gradual increases in the revenues. (And also try to set a target market like Pakistan, dubai etc, because we cant serve whole world there are different rates like currency and postage rates which will confuse us,so it is imposible to serve whole world)- Karachi is mentioned in the report now 1. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS The availability of internet makes it incredibly easy to instigate an apparel Web site comparatively promptly. The initiative to start the business will start with the assembly of an internet based on line shop for the propagation and the development of the business. Similar to a physical, bricks-and-mortar T-shirt business, the establishment of the company is backed by research and planning for future penetration and to capture market in less time (Woerndl 2007). The online company by the name of The T-shirt Company is an innovative and exciting business that will help the customers to wear a designed- shirt of their own choice based in Karachi, Pakistan. The business will be aided by latest computer technology to help in customized printing o T-shirts in small bulks. This online company will accept orders from anywhere at any time. The option to choose the material, style and design will be always there. The front and back designing can be chosen by the customer. Hence the customer can express himself ultimately. The T-shirt with the customized designs will help a person the inner feeling of be a fanatic or a sportsman or a musician or the customer can feel the celebrity feeling by wearing a T-shirt having a picture of a celebrity imprinted on it. The T-shirt may be imprinted with a social message or a causative clause to capture the attraction of others (Urban 2004). 1.1 Marketing and Brand Strategy The company will provide a number of options for the T-shirt wearers. The business is solely meant for T-shirt ordering. The T-shirt Company will have ties with printing companies to utilize their printer sublimation technology. This will help in developing a computer image to be applied to a shirt in a high quality, high resolution, and economically feasible manner. The use of this technology will help the customer to use the shirt for a longer period of time with out any tension of the print to be washed away. The sublimation technology is cost efficient enough to offer customers the ability to order just one unit. The customer may choose from a wide-ranging collection of accessible imagery, provide their own image, or have an artist generate a representation for them (Ackerberg 2001). Marketing Sales Strategy The sales strategy will make putting the order to The T-shirt Company a pleasing experience. The sales team will continuously work for the website since it is the main portal for the purpose of ordering. The sales will work on the persistent development of the website which is considered as the main instrument used for ordering. Similarly, the website will be user friendly since it will be the direct source to come in contact with the customer. It is necessary since all the choices for the customer are available on the web portal. The sales will be performed directly on this portal. The directions for the usage of the site will be easy to understand so that the customer will not get frustrated. It will be important to have a responsive, comprehensible web interface for two major reasons. First, there are so numerous choices accessible that it could turn into daunting to the patron and the second reason is that a large segment of sales will be positioned on the website. It is essentia l to create it so uncomplicated that people dont impede part way throughout ordering process due to cumbersome (Cateora and Graham 2007). The T-shirt will also incorporate the following techniques for boosting the sales. The priority is extraordinary customer service. The second technique is to fulfill the order giving the customer a feeling of furnished product and giving the customer a sense that the business is meant for the customer. Sales can be enhanced by providing high quality products (The Finance Resource 2010). Competitive Edge The T-shirt Company has following dominant competitive advantages. The strategic partnerships with companies that have existing graphic image libraries, The T-shirt Company is able to offer an extraordinary number of options. Other competitors costs proscribe printing custom shirts in one-off manufacturing runs while the T-shirt Company offers single item order (Gauzente and Ranchhod 2002). The T-shirt Company is a unique online T-shirt company that offers a wide range of customized products. It uses the sublimation process to put the prints on the fabric of T-shirts. This is a cost effective method since the T-shirt Company offers the option of small production runs. The use of recent technology has made the use of sublimation process cost efficient (Eighmey 1997). As specified and prà ©cised by the name, there will mainly be an emphasis on T-shirts. Organic fabrics, Long sleeves, Short sleeves and a variety of styles will also be offered (The Finance Resource 2010). Corporate strategy The corporate strategy of The T-shirts Company focuses its customers and peers keeping in view the idea to bring innovation and style in the world of T-shirt market. Build connection with consumers Bring affordable products with the demand the customers Make our online company a competitive advantage, through regulation and distinction Speed up growth through focused implementation The corporate strategy is meant to leverage the brand strategy (Johnson 1998). Brand Strategy Our brand reflects youth and style hence the tag line will be Wear the style with comfort. This reflects an impact of the target audience that is youth goes for style while adults prefer comfort (Greenwald, Anthony and Leavitt 1984). The brand strategy of The T-shirt Company is Brand Extension. Brand extension means coming up with a new product line along with the existing one. Initially we will emphasis on our core product that is the T-shirts. With the passage of time as the profitability of the current product increases we will go into line extension that is the manufacturing of other shirts for casual and formal wear (The Finance Resource 2010). Marketing and Brand Communication Our imaginative approaches guarantee engagement, and an occupied, considerate audience will be far more approachable to our message. We can create a communications strategy to maximize the impact, by communicating with your audience prior to, and following to any marketing event. All pre-event communication will be created in-brand our website, and other media methods we are adopting. This will build up expectation. All tactics designed to enhance the brand (Laroche, Michel, Zhou and Kim 1996). 2. MARKETING AND BRAND OBJECTIVES 2.1 Marketing and Brand Objectives Brand forms the foundation of a marketing activity and Brand plays the biggest role in creating space in the minds of a customer. The strength of the brand is critical to our companys long-term business health and profits (Griffin and Pustay 2009). The utmost objective of The T-shirt Company is to make The T-shirt preferred brand among the target audience (Greenwald, Anthony and Leavitt 1984). The brand will reflect the Recognition among the competitors Targeting the audiences so as to capture Attaining a number of new clients in the next year Positioning the brand as an industry leader in the next five months Employ a local promotion with the Companys targeted audience through the use of newspaper advertisements, flyers and word of mouth promotion and internet blogs. Develop the websites to fully attain the attention of the customers who are the ultimate people to be served (Woerndl 2007). The power of our brand lies in its ability to focus on its target audiences as the specificity of the products full supports to the brand. The objective of our brand is to gain customer loyalty in order to incline the customer to come for repeat purchases. The brand development clause will be incorporated in the corporate strategy to strengthen the impact for brand in future development (Jagdish and Sheth 1971). 3. MARKETING AND BRAND STRATEGY 3.1 Market Analysis Summary The T-shirt Company has segmented this market into two groups. The first target group is one who prefers already made designs. The second group prefers the customized designs. The basis of segmentation is again based on the demographic of the buyers as there are two separate groups of buyers (Laroche, Michel, Zhou and Kim 1996). 3.2 Market Segmentation The market has been segmented into two groups on the basis of the following two characters. By product type Age group 3.3 Target Market Segment Strategy The T-shirt Company has selected two market segments i.e. follow demographic segmentation and the second is based on Psychographic segmentation. The reason is that the customers will chose according to their lifestyle (Ackerberg 2001). 3.4 Business Analysis The T-shirt industry is brick and mortar based. This business is mostly niche but The T-shirt Company is meant to cater to the general market. Most of the associate in the industry fall into two major categories which include those that sell to individuals and secondly those that vend in multi-unit production (Brister 1991). 3.5 Competition The T-shirt will face local as well as international brand competition. Along with the online competitors brick and mortar competition is also prevailing in the market. Large numbers of companies are involved in computer based techniques to cut costs. The T-shirt Company is able to influence proprietary expertise as an aggressive edge to produce much higher quality computer sublimation (Gauzente and Ranchhod 2002). 3.6 Promotion Strategy We will adopt the push strategy making use of a companys sales force and trade endorsement activities to create consumer demand for a product (Laroche, Michel, Zhou and Kim 1996), 3.7 Price and pricing strategy The per unit price of each item i.e. one t-shirt is $ 20 which is very competitive as compared to the market. The price charged for products and services is set synthetically low in order to gain market share. Once this is achieved, the price will be increased. This approach will help in attaining the market share initially (Johnson 1998). 3.8 Strategy and Implementation Summary The T-shirt Company will influence its two competitive edges on rivals to quickly grasp and gain market share. These two competitive edges are wide range of graphic designs and the cost efficiency of the technology. Student groups and Youth events will be targeted. The same way, the sales campaign will attract the customers through word of mouth referrals (The Finance Resource 2010). Here you just define the things but you didnt explained what our company will do. I think if you read the details properly, you can find the proper procedure regarding the companys working 4. ACTION PROGRAM 4.1 Market Segmentation The market has been segmented into two groups on the basis of the following two characters. Market will be segmented on customer age basis. Ages 12-25 will be in more focus Market will be segmented on the basis of students because students will be our main customer Segmented to all those customer earning accumulative $ 8000 The marketing campaign will emphasize to promote the online shop as giving the customer a customized product (The Finance Resource 2010). There are few of the tactics to inform the customers about the venue of the product .The message can be spread as follows. 4.2 Promotion through Events Different events will be sponsored which includes sports events and music festivals along with the innovative kind of tremendous sporting events as a means of growing visibility. 4.3 Promotion through Kiosk The store will have a computer kiosk for customers to access the design book. The customer can then put the order online or take the information to a worker to place the order (The Finance Resource 2010). 4.4 Promotion through Student groups The T-shirt Company will involve student groups to actively participate in increasing the awareness about the product. The demographic and psychographic both factors will be visible in this tactic. 4.5 Product The major product is the t-shirts which will be promoted to the customers through the above mentioned media. 4.6 Logo Creation Our company will choose a logo for its branding. The logo will be source of recognition for the company since the emblem comes to the mind of the audiences. 4.7 Sales Forecast and sales Action plan The sales output will be conservative in the first year in order to fulfill the set targets. The sales forecast will be divided on the basis of the two factors that graphic design and the product type. The sales will be performed directly on the website portal. The directions for the usage of the site will be easy to understand so that the customer will not get frustrated (Urban 2004). The T-shirt will also incorporate the techniques for boosting the sales. The priority is extraordinary customer service. The second technique is to fulfill the order giving the customer a feeling of furnished product and giving the customer a sense that the business is meant for the customer. Sales can be enhanced by providing high quality products. 4.8 Website Optimization The website will be essential in The T-shirt company marketing effort is a key sales tool for both distant and customers. The access address will be used in promotional material and by heartening people to explore the company products. Good quality promotional t-shirts T-shirts printed with your logo or message. Branding is all done by sprinting. Graphics approves through e-mail. No hidden charges Free delivery to customers (I noticed you are giving references in every paragraph, but this is the plan in which we have to write our own company plan, so there should be more words(plan or strategies) from our side) You are absolutely right but This is the same way we asked you in HR assignment if you remember.. but we were asked to insert the reference in every part of the assignment 4.9 Market Audit The audit will include psychoanalysis of the companys marketing strategy, marketing association and marketing efficiency. It must be organized in order to give concrete conclusions based on the analysis. To make certain impartiality, this market audit is best done by a department, person or organization that is independent and is away of the marketing program. Marketing audits must not to be done when the value of a current marketing plan of a company is in problem; it has to be done sporadically to isolate and resolve problems prior to they arise. Marketing audit will be held in case if the existing marketing plan fails to operate effectively. The audit will be run accordingly to solve the problems in advance. It means that marketing audit will help the company in gauging its profitability and effectiveness (Xiaofen and Yiling 2009). The company will actively look, make possible, and give confidence for feedback, both encouraging and pessimistic by creating friendly and omnipresence of complaint and suggestion systems (Woerndl 2007). 4.10 Management Our influential online entrusted management system can make possible all communication; this includes organization of enticement and registrations, ensuring all delegate necessities are met 5. PROJECTED PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT 5.1 Financial Look Up The sales forecast is sensibly conservative so that goals will be attainable. Sales will be slow at the start, a function of the fact that The T-Shirt Company is just a start up organization and it will get time to build an ample foundation. The total budget we assume $100,700/- approx here we take assumption of increase in sale and percentage of taxes and interest rates. 5.2 Assumptions Percentage Increase in Sale 147% Percentage Cost Of Sale 147% Inflation Rate 21% Increase in Rent per Year 10% Payroll Tax 15% Interest on Debt 10% Tax Rate 30% Total Equity 25200 Total Debt 75500 5.3 Sensitivity Analysis The company can also faces any declines in terms of revenues in economic downtown and our product which basically considered as a non-essential item and therefore company can also faces any issues in profitability and income due economic recession. So considering the fact Company has to pay attention and focus on the sales and the profits earning should remain same or even better in any economic stage (The Finance Resource 2010). 5.4 Income Statement Year 1 Year 2 $ $ Sales 117882 291169 Direct cost of sale 58941 145584 Other Cost of Goods 0 0 Total Cost of Sale 58941 145584 Gross Margin 58941 145584 Percentage of Gross Margin 50% 50% Expenses Payroll 68400 82764 Sales, Marketing and other Expenses 2500 3025 Depreciation 996 996 Rent 11000 12100 Utilities 3300 3993 Insurance 3000 3630 Payroll Taxes 10260 11799 Total Operating Expenses 99456 118307 Profit Before Interest and Expenses -40515 27277.27 EBITDA -39519 28273.27 Interest Expense 6045 5700 Taxes Incurred 0 5743 Net Profit -46560 15834.27 Net Profit/Sale -39% (set it at -25%) 5%(this is ok) Note: 1$ = Rs. 85 (PKR) 6. CONTROL METHODS The control method comprises of the following efficiency calculating techniques. 6.1 Sales Analysis Monthly sales forecast and the target meted will be matched to find the accuracy of the promotional campaign .It will help in comparing the sales target and the discrepancies (Urban 2004). 6.2 Market-share analysis Market share will be analyzed keeping in view the sales of other competitors (Gauzente and Ranchhod 2002). 6.3 Expense-to-sales analysis It will clearly demonstrate the range of costs that are explicit and implicit of achieving the company sales target (The Finance Resource 2010). 6.4 Financial analysis Strict financial accountability will exist. It will calculate various performance ratios such as profit margin, Expense-to-sales analysis, sales to assets and profits to worth (Cateora and Graham 2007). 6.5 Customer satisfaction It is the eventual pointer of tracking goal accomplishment. Recurrent satisfaction and customer constancy surveys should form an essential part of any marketing drive (Gauzente and Ranchhod 2002). 6.6 Profitability control There is no point in extravagant limited resources on marketing efforts that guarantee nothing except name appreciation. The company will focus and check what products and consumer groups give in the most profits and assessment of running campaigns (Cateora and Graham 2007). 6.7 Efficiency control The local picture is important. The company will scrutinize if there are any divergence between the feedback of consumer types and various market niches (Brister 1991). 6.8 Strategic control The accompaniment of effectiveness control is tactical control. It counts for the overall and long-term marketing plan: It will clearly bring to the front the weaknesses, and market opportunities (Gauzente and Ranchhod 2002). 6.9 Marketing audit The marketing audit is the raw matter for the tactical control. It will ensure that the marketing plan highlight the companys strengths that are well-matched with shifting market reaction, events, fashions, predilection, needs, and precedence of consumers (Cateora and Graham 2007).

Contrasts in the Great Gatsby

Tyler Simms Great Gatsby Essay Accelerated English 11 Mrs. Cameron F. Scott Fitzgerald constructed his novel, The Great Gatsby, by sculpting numerous situation and character contrasts together through out the novel to create and deliver a magnificent work of art. Although Fitzgerald contrasted numerous characters and situations through out the novel, there are three that are very pungent; the characters Tom Buchanan and George Wilson and Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. Not only were there Character contrasts, there were also situations that Fitzgerald contrasted against each other. One of them was the contrasting of the concept of the Old Money life style and the New Money life style. Tom and George not only have physical contrast, they also have contrasting lifestyles as well. Among other things, Daisy is very statuesque and â€Å"up-in-the-air† where as Myrtle s pragmatic and â€Å"down-to-earth. † Fitzgerald uses the concept of Old and New Money to contrast lifestyles and characters in the novel. Tom is Old Money, which means he inherited all of his riches from at least two generations into his family and does not flaunt his money. George, on the other hand, is very low class and has to work to provide for himself and his wife, Myrtle, who is committing an affair with Tom. Aside from the money aspect, Tom is â€Å"†¦ a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner† (Fitzgerald 11). It is also made clear by Fitzgerald that Tom beats his wife and Myrtle, giving him the element of being robust and controlling. George is a pushover from the time he is introduced until he makes a decision that ruins everything for some, and revised for others. Tom deceived George into believing that he is going to sell him a car, with no intention of doing so, but with every intension of seeing Myrtle. Not only is he a pushover, he is very gaunt with not even half the audacity of Tom. Tom's audacity and ill temper hurt the people around him, particularly Daisy and Myrtle. Their personalities are very much apart from each other. Myrtle is a very forward-looking person who knows {text:soft-page-break} what she wants in life, she is endowed with a strong character and vitality which distinguishes her from Daisy. Daisy's superficiality extends to her personality. She is fragile, unstable and a confused character. While talking to Nick she said: â€Å"†¦ I woke up with an abandoned felling and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. ‘Alright,' I said, ‘I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful fool† (Fitzgerald 21). They also married their husbands for different reasons. Myrtle says she married George because she thought he was a gentleman. She also thought he knew about good â€Å"breeding. † On the other hand, Daisy married Tom because rich girls had to marry into money and good social status. Marrying Tom, Daisy married into the Old Money life style. The people who live by the Old Money lifestyle inherited all of their riches from at least two generations back in the family. They also don't flaunt their money with buying and having extravagant cars, houses, parties etc. Fitzgerald differentiates Old Money and New Money by placing them on separate sides of Manhattan. Old Money on East Egg and New Money on West Egg. Tom and Daisy live on East Egg and prefer small get-togethers. Tom and Daisy had a party and the only people who were invited were Nick and Jordan. Whereas Gatsby, who lives in West Egg and is New Money, has very extravagant parties every weekend. By seven o'clock the orchestra has arrived-no thin five piece affair but a whole pit of oboes and trombones ad saxophones and violas and cornets and piccolos and low and high drums† (Fitzgerald 44). The contrast of the two lifestyles along with the characters brings the novel to a whole new level of interest. It also makes the story more interesting. Any novel that contrast any two or more subjects from with in itself, such as two or more characters or different life styles, is indeed a work of art. {text:soft-page-break} Works Cited Page Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. , 1953.

Moral Value Essay Topics: No Longer a Mystery

Moral Value Essay Topics: No Longer a Mystery It's thus the duty of the parents and teachers to behave properly to demonstrate fantastic values so the children inculcate the exact same. The company owner wanted to lay off workers to cut back on costs and boost the company profits. In the modern society, individuals are much too influenced by money and class. Business ethics are extremely critical in the daily running of the company. Informative essays are somewhat more descriptive. An argumentative essay requires you to choose a topic and have a position on it. It's important to select debatable argumentative essay topics as you need opposing points you could counter to your own points. Moral argumentative essay topics are a few of the simplest to get carried away with. Religion is among the most crucial sources of moral values. Morality is a rather broad and complicated topic on account of the simple fact that it's based primarily on individual opinions. The Importance of Moral Value Essay Topics For instance, in college, you might be requested to compose a paper from the opposing perspective. An increasing number of people perceive life and business for a game. The choice to be selfish or unselfish isn't just a selection of the moment but is a fundamental portion of character, as it is among the very first, if not the very first, value that's formed by the increasing intelligence of a baby. When you're picking your topic, remember that it's much simpler to write about something which you presently have interest ineven in case you don't know a good deal about it. Ethical dilemma refers to a scenario where the principles that guide morality can't determine if it's the plan of action isn't right or right. Terrorism is only a word in English, but it's a hazard for mankind. Quite simply, it's the behavioral code that must be maintained by the followers of a religion. The Moral Value Essay Topics Trap Actually it is quite challenging to limit voluntarily parental control, even more difficult to locate the correct balance. Loss of moral values is an immediate loss of the nation. There's been gradual erosion in these types of values. The worth of education is a significant tool which induces the rise of young folks to a more sophisticated level. So far as design goes, the C310a is completely gorgeous. The procedure for learning for a youngster isn't magical. He or she must be given moral education at an early stage. The 5-Minute Rule for Moral Value Essay Topics Writing essays gives you one approach to demonstrate and express your comprehension of the training course material. Regardless of what genre you would like Business Studies, Microeconomics, Business Management and Financial Accounting, we're here to se rve your needs. Writing is a present that comes naturally. Now you can get genuine college essay online, one that is going to fit your financial plan and get your work done also. So should you need to employ college essay writer online, we're just the people that you want to contact. While it's true that there are a few excellent writers in college some find it extremely challenging to write. Residing in the nation essay risks. Things You Won't Like About Moral Value Essay Topics and Things You Will Some people may argue it would be better to opt for the 1 individual and select this path without hesitation. So for people who need assistance with writing, we've only the people they require! Some students utilize the very first idea that arrives in their head and work on it, but the outcome isn't profitable. The issue, nevertheless, is that often terminally ill folks aren't capable of ending their life in a painless, dignified fashion, and for that reason require the aid of a relative of close friend. Morality has a collection of un solved problems, the solution on which usually presents a decision. The most important goals of education ought to be enabling students to get knowledge and moral values. Teaching moral values is quite essential for the all-round development of an individual. Teaching moral values is quite necessary for the all round development of someone. Moral Value Essay Topics at a Glance Ethically, abortion isn't right. From the childhood itself, people are predicted to behave in a way that's morally accurate. It's said that individual reasoning is affected by the differences in ideologies towards ethical circumstances and problems. Ethical dilemmas face people in various professions and in a number of situations. The True Meaning of Moral Value Essay Topics Simply take a stand and be prepared to defend it Research your arguments. In the event you are in need of a moral value speech, you should produce the presentation of the principal points using speaker's notes and add the sente nces addressed to your audience. Courage can arrive in subtle forms. Use examples to inspect the conflict. Life After Moral Value Essay Topics The main aim of topic choice for a proposal essay is to demonstrate the idea can be put into place in practice. It is essential for the fulfillment of life's purpose. Therefore, to compose a great essay you've got to brainstorm all thoughts concerning your life experiences. Ethics are different for each individual, but for the large part, individuals are interested in being known as a fantastic individual.

Understand the Philosophical Theories of Nominalism and Realism

Nominalism and realism are the two most distinguished positions in western metaphysics dealing with the fundamental structure of reality. According to realists, all entities can be grouped into two categories: particulars and universals. Nominalists instead argue that there are only particulars.   How Do Realists Understand Reality? Realists postulate the existence of two kinds of entities, particulars, and universals. Particulars resemble each other because they share universals; for example, each particular dog has four legs, can bark, and has a tail.  Universals can also resemble each other by sharing other universals; for example, wisdom and generosity resemble each other in that they are both virtues.  Plato and Aristotle were among the most famous realists. The intuitive plausibility of realism is evident. Realism allows us to take seriously the subject-predicate structure of discourse through which we represent the world. When we say that Socrates is wise it is because there are both Socrates (the particular) and wisdom (the universal) and the particular exemplifies the universal. Realism also can explain the use we often make of abstract reference. Sometimes qualities are subjects of our discourse, as when we  say that wisdom is a virtue or that red is a color. The realist can interpret these discourses as asserting that there is a universal (wisdom; red) that exemplifies another universal (virtue; color). How Do Nominalists Understand Reality? Nominalists offer a radical definition of reality: there are no universals, only particulars. The basic idea is that the world is made exclusively from particulars and the universals are of our own making. They stem from our representational system (the way we think about the world) or from our language (the way we speak of the world). Because of this, nominalism is clearly tied in a close manner also to epistemology  (the study of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion). If there are only particulars, then there is no virtue, apples, or genders. There are, instead, human conventions that tend to group objects or ideas into categories. Virtue exists only because we say it does: not because there is a universal abstraction of virtue. Apples only exist as a particular type of fruit because we as humans have categorized a group of particular fruits in a particular way. Maleness and femaleness, as well, exist only in human thought and language. The most distinguished nominalists include Medieval philosophers William of Ockham (1288-1348) and John Buridan (1300-1358) as well as contemporary philosopher Willard van Orman Quine. Problems for Nominalism and Realism The debate between supporters of those two opposed camps spurred some of the most puzzling problems in metaphysics, such as the puzzle of the ship of Theseus, the puzzle of the 1001 cats, and the so-called problem of exemplification (that is, the problem of how particulars and universals can be related to each other).   Its puzzles like these which render the debate regarding the fundamental categories of metaphysics so challenging and fascinating.

Niccolo Machiavelli was One of the Leading Writers During...

Niccolo Machiavelli lived during the Renaissance period and is considered to be one of the leading writers of this era. Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, historian, diplomat and humanist, based in Florence and is considered to be the patron of contemporary political science, including political moral code. His most famous work was â€Å"The Prince† which was printed in 1532, five years after his death. The main subject of this book is the philosophy of administration (carried out by the ruling class ‘’princes’’) and how, one should make use of any means including immoral, to retain complete power. The book was criticized substantially since it seemed that the author was encouraging immoral behavior in politics. I disagree with the line â€Å"Politics has no relation to morals† by Niccolo Machiavelli because this statement is a misquotation, it’s considered as satire by Enlightenment thinkers, politicians are expected to be honest by the people, although it is true that politicians employ immoral means to attain their goals however respected and loved leaders are those who stick to their morals thereby minimizing the possibility of reprimand for their actions. Research suggests that the line â€Å"Politics has no relation to morals† is a misquotation which was never written or spoken by Machiavelli in any of his works or in real life. 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It united the Greco-Roman civilization during the ancient times marking the beginning of a completely new era between 1350C.E. and 1550C.E. The Renaissance resulted in the birth of modern society concerned with the revival of antiquity and exaggerated secularismRead MoreIs It Better to Be Loved or Feared as a Leader?1774 Words   |  7 Pagesgovernments do however have one thing in common. All of these types of leaderships have one goal and that is to lead and rule the citizens under a â€Å"leaders† power which is established by the ruling parties and citizens. A leader controls everything in an organization, company, or group of people, and also knows exactly what is best for their followers. There are certain ways you can be a good leader, but sometimes these don’t work for everyone. Good leaders aren’t always the ones who are loved b y all,Read MoreThe Philosophical Point Of Humanism1733 Words   |  7 Pages intellect.gif (9933 bytes) Renaissance Humanism Humanism is the term generally applied to the predominant social philosophy and intellectual and literary currents of the period from 1400 to 1650. The return to favor of the pagan classics stimulated the philosophy of secularism, the appreciation of worldly pleasures, and above all intensified the assertion of personal independence and individual expression. Zeal for the classics was a result as well as a cause of the growing secular view of lifeRead MoreNiccolo Machiavelli s The Prince2212 Words   |  9 Pages Niccolà ² Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, politician, writer and philosopher who lived during the Renaissance period. He was a significant contributor to modern political science, specifically in the field of political ethics. 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The Hunters Moonsong Chapter Nineteen Free Essays

string(40) " out on different parts of the picture\." Nobody was going to lie to Elena Gilbert and get away with it. Elena marched along the path to the library, indignation keeping her head high and her steps sharp. So James thought he could pretend he didn’t remember anything about those V-shaped pins? The way his eyes had skipped away from hers, the faint flush of pink in his plump cheeks, everything about him had shouted that there was something there, some secret about him and her parents that he didn’t want to tel her. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Nineteen or any similar topic only for you Order Now If he wasn’t going to tel her, she would find out for herself. The library seemed like a logical place to start. â€Å"Elena,† a voice cal ed, and she stopped. She had been so focused on her mission that she had almost walked right by Damon, leaning against a tree outside the library. He smiled up at her with an innocently inquiring expression, his long legs stretched in front of him. â€Å"What are you doing here?† she said abruptly. It was so weird, just seeing him here in the daylight on campus, like he was part of one picture superimposed upon another. He didn’t belong in this part of her life, not unless she brought him in herself. â€Å"Enjoying the sunshine,† Damon said dryly. â€Å"And the scenery.† The wave of his hand encompassed the trees and buildings of the campus as Wellas a flock of pretty girls giggling on the other side of the path. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"I go to this school,† Elena said. â€Å"So it’s not weird for me to be hanging around the library. See my point?† Damon laughed. â€Å"You’ve discovered my secret, Elena,† he said, getting to his feet. â€Å"I was here hoping to see you. Or one of your little friends. I get so lonely, you know, even your Mutt would be a welcome distraction.† â€Å"Real y?† she asked. He shot her a look, his dark eyes amused. â€Å"Of course I always want to see you, princess. But I’m here for another reason. I’m supposed to be looking into the disappearances, remember? So I have to spend some time on the campus.† â€Å"Oh. Okay.† Elena considered her options. Official y, she shouldn’t be hanging around Damon at al . The terms of her breakup – or just break, she corrected herself – with Stefan were that she wasn’t going to see either of the Salvatore brothers, not until they worked out their own issues and this thing between the three of them had time to cool off. But she’d already violated that by letting Damon sleep on the floor of her room, a much bigger deal than going to the library together. â€Å"And what are you up to?† Damon asked her. â€Å"Anything I can assist with?† Real y, a trip to the library ought to be innocent enough. Elena made up her mind. She and Damon were supposed to be friends, after al . â€Å"I’m trying to find out some information about my parents,† she said. â€Å"Want to help?† â€Å"Certainly, my lovely,† Damon said, and took her hand. Elena felt a slight frisson of unease. But his fingers were reassuringly firm in hers, and she pushed her hesitation away. The ancient tennis-shoed librarian in charge of the archive room explained how to search the database of school records and got Elena and Damon set up in the corner on a computer. â€Å"Ugh,† Damon said, poking disdainful y at a key. â€Å"I don’t mind computers, but books and pictures ought to be real, not on a machine.† â€Å"But this way everyone can see them,† Elena said patiently. She’d had this kind of conversation with Stefan before. The Salvatore brothers might look col ege-aged, but there were some things about the modern world they just couldn’t seem to get their heads around. Elena clicked on the photo section of the database and typed in her mother’s name, Elizabeth Morrow. â€Å"Look, there are a bunch of pictures.† She scanned through them, looking for the one that she had seen hanging in the hal . She saw a lot of cast and crew pictures from various theatrical productions. James had told her that her mother was a star on the design side, but it looked like she was in some productions, too. In one, Elena’s mother was dancing, her head flung back, her hair going everywhere. â€Å"She looks like you.† Damon was contemplating the picture, his head tilted to one side, dark eyes intent. â€Å"Softer here, though, around the mouth† – one long finger gestured – â€Å"and her face is more innocent than yours.† His mouth twisted teasingly, and he shot a sidelong glance at Elena. â€Å"A nicer girl than you, I’d guess.† â€Å"I’m nice,† Elena said, hurt, and quickly clicked on to find the picture she was looking for. â€Å"You’re too clever to be nice, Elena,† Damon said, but Elena was barely listening. â€Å"Here we are,† she said. The photograph was just as she remembered it: James and her parents under a tree, eager and impossibly young. Elena zoomed in on the image, focusing on the pin on her father’s shirt. Definitely a V. It was blue, a deep dark blue, she could see that now, the same shade as the lapis lazuli rings Damon and Stefan wore to protect themselves from sunlight. â€Å"I’ve seen one of those pins before,† Damon said abruptly. He frowned. â€Å"I don’t remember where, though. Sorry.† â€Å"You’ve seen it recently?† Elena asked, but Damon just shrugged. â€Å"James said my mother made the pins for al of them,† she said, zooming closer so that al she could see on the screen was the grainy image of the V. â€Å"I don’t believe him, though. She didn’t make jewelry, that wasn’t her kind of thing. And it doesn’t look handmade, not unless it was made by someone with an actual jewelry studio. That’s some kind of enameling on the V, I think.† She typed V in the search engine, but it came back with nothing. â€Å"I wish I knew what it stood for.† With another graceful one-shouldered shrug, Damon reached for the mouse and zoomed in and out on different parts of the picture. You read "The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Nineteen" in category "Essay examples" Behind them, the librarian thunked a book down, and Elena glanced back at her to find the woman’s eyes fixed on them with disconcerting intensity. Her mouth tightened as her eyes met Elena’s, and she looked away, walking a little farther along the aisle. But Elena was left with the creepy feeling that the librarian was stil watching and listening to them. She turned to whisper something to Damon about it but was caught again by the sheer unexpectedness of him, of him here. He just didn’t fit in the drab and ordinary library computer station – it was like finding a wild animal curled up on your desk. Like a dark angel fixing oatmeal in your kitchen. Had she ever seen him under fluorescent lights before? Something about the lighting brought out the clean paleness of his skin, cast long shadows along his cheekbones, and fel without reflection into the black velvet of his hair and eyes. A couple of buttons on the col ar of his shirt were undone, and Elena found herself almost mesmerized by the subtle shifts of the long muscles in his neck and shoulders. â€Å"What would a Vital Society be?† he asked suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie. â€Å"What?† she asked, confused. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Damon clicked the mouse and shifted the zoom, focusing this time on the notebook in her mother’s lap. Her mother’s hands – pretty hands, Elena noticed, prettier than her own, which had slightly crooked pinkies – were splayed over the open book, but between the fingers, Elena could read: Vit l Soci y â€Å"I assume that’s what it says,† Damon said, shrugging. â€Å"Since you’re looking for something that starts with V. It could say something else of course. Vital Social y, maybe? Was your mother a social queen bee like you?† Elena ignored the question. â€Å"The Vitale Society,† she said slowly. â€Å"I always thought it was a myth.† â€Å"Leave the Vitale Society alone.† The hiss came from behind them, and Elena whipped around. The librarian seemed curiously impressive framed against the bookshelves despite her tennis shoes and pastel sweater set. Her hawklike face was tense and focused on Elena, her body tal and, Elena felt instinctively, threatening. â€Å"What do you mean?† Elena asked. â€Å"Do you know something about them?† Confronted by a direct question, the woman seemed to shrink from the almost menacing figure she had been a second before to an ordinary, slightly dithering old lady. â€Å"I don’t know anything,† she muttered, frowning. â€Å"Al I can say is that it’s not safe to mess with the Vitales. Things happen around them. Even if you’re careful.† She started to wheel her book cart away. â€Å"Wait!† Elena said, half rising. â€Å"What kind of things?† What had her parents been involved in? They wouldn’t have done anything wrong, would they? Not Elena’s parents. But the librarian only walked faster, the wheels of her cart squeaking as she rounded the corner into another aisle. Damon gave a low laugh. â€Å"She won’t tel you anything,† he said, and Elena glared at him. â€Å"She doesn’t know anything, or she’s too scared to say what she does know.† â€Å"That’s not helpful, Damon,† Elena said tightly. She pressed her fingers against her temples. â€Å"What do we do now?† â€Å"We look into the Vitale Society, of course,† Damon said. Elena opened her mouth to object, and Damon shushed her, drawing one cool finger over her mouth. His touch was soft on her lips, and she half raised a hand toward them. â€Å"Don’t worry about what a foolish old woman has to say,† he told her. â€Å"But if we real y want to find out the secrets of this society of yours, we probably need to look somewhere other than the library.† He got to his feet and held out his hand. â€Å"Shal we?† he asked. Elena nodded and took his hand in hers. When it came to finding out secrets, to digging up what people wanted to keep concealed, she knew she could put her faith in Damon. â€Å"Pick up, Zander,† Bonnie muttered into the phone. The ringing stopped, and a precise mechanical voice informed her that she was welcome to leave a message in the voice mailbox. Bonnie hung up. She had already left a couple of voicemails, and she didn’t want Zander thinking she was any crazier or more clueless than he inevitably would when he saw his missed-cal list. Bonnie was pretty sure she was going through the Five Stages of Being Ditched. She was almost done with Denial, where she was convinced something had happened to him, and was moving quickly into Anger. Later, she knew, she would slide into Bargaining, Depression, and eventual y (she hoped) Acceptance. Apparently her psych class was already coming in handy. It had been days since he had abruptly run off, leaving her al alone in front of the music building. When she found out that a girl disappeared that same night, at first Bonnie was angry and scared for herself. Zander had left her alone. What if Bonnie had been the one to vanish? Then she began to worry about Zander, to be afraid that he was in trouble. He seemed so sweet, and so into her, that it was almost impossible for her to believe Zander would just be avoiding her al of a sudden. Wouldn’t his friends have sounded the alarm if Zander was missing, though? And when she thought that, Bonnie realized that she didn’t know how to contact any of those guys; she hadn’t seen any of them around campus since that night. Bonnie stared at her phone as fresh tendrils of worry grew and twisted inside her. Real y, she was having a very tough time moving on to Anger when she was stil not quite sure that Zander was safe. The phone rang. Zander. It was Zander. Bonnie snatched up her phone. â€Å"Where have you been?† she demanded, her voice shaking. There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Bonnie was almost ready to hang up when Zander final y spoke. â€Å"I’m so sorry,† he said. â€Å"I didn’t mean to freak you out. Some family stuff came up, and I’ve had to be out of touch. I’m back now.† Bonnie knew that Elena or Meredith would have said something pithy and cutting here, something to let Zander know exactly how little they appreciated being forgotten about, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Zander sounded rough and tired, and there was a break in his voice when he said he was sorry that made her want to forgive him. â€Å"You left me outside alone,† she said softly. â€Å"A girl disappeared that night.† Zander sighed, a long sad sound. â€Å"I’m sorry,† he said again. â€Å"It was an awful thing to do. But I knew you would be okay. You have to believe that. I wouldn’t have left you in danger.† â€Å"How?† Bonnie asked. â€Å"How could you know?† â€Å"Just trust me, Bonnie,† Zander said. â€Å"I can’t explain it now, but you weren’t in danger that night. I’l tel you about it when I can, okay?† Bonnie shut her eyes and bit her lip. Elena and Meredith would never have settled for this kind of half explanation, she knew. Not even half an explanation, just an apology and an evasion. But she wasn’t like them, and Zander sounded sincere, so desperate for her to believe him. It was her choice, she knew: trust him, or let him go. â€Å"Okay,† she said. â€Å"Okay, I believe you.† Zander let out another sigh, but it sounded like one of relief this time. â€Å"Let me make it up to you,† he said. â€Å"Please? How about I take you out this weekend, anywhere you want to go?† Bonnie hesitated, but she was starting to smile despite herself. â€Å"There’s a party at Samantha’s dorm on Saturday,† she said. â€Å"Want to meet there at nine?† â€Å"There’s something peculiar going on at the library,† Damon said, and Stefan twitched in surprise at his sudden appearance. â€Å"I didn’t see you there,† he said mildly, looking out onto his dark balcony, where Damon leaned against the railing. â€Å"I just landed,† Damon said, and smiled. â€Å"Literal y. I’ve been flying around campus, checking things out. It’s a wonderful feeling, riding the breezes as the sun sets. You should try it.† Stefan nodded, keeping his face neutral. They both knew that one of the few things Stefan envied about Damon was his ability to change into a bird. It wasn’t worth it, though – he would have to drink human blood regularly to have Power as strong as Damon’s. Elena’s face rose up in his mind’s eye, and he pushed her image away. She was his salvation, the one who connected him to the world of humans, who kept him from sinking into the darkness. Believing that their separation was only temporary was what was keeping him going. â€Å"Don’t you miss Elena?† Stefan asked, and Damon’s face immediately closed off, becoming hard and blank. Stefan sighed inwardly. Of course Damon didn’t miss Elena, because he was undoubtedly seeing her al the time. He’d known Damon wouldn’t abide by the rules. â€Å"What’s the matter?† Damon asked him. His voice was almost concerned, and Stefan wondered what his own face looked like to get that kind of reaction from Damon. Damon who had probably just seen Elena. â€Å"Sometimes I’m a fool,† Stefan told him dryly. â€Å"What do you want, Damon?† Damon smiled. â€Å"I want you to come do some detective work with me, little brother. Real y, anything’s better than seeing this sulking, forehead-wrinkling brooding expression on your face.† Stefan shrugged. â€Å"Why not?† Stefan leaped down from the balcony with perfect grace, and Damon fol owed swiftly behind. As Damon led the way to their destination, he fil ed Stefan in on the details. Or rather, the vague scenario Stefan could gather from Damon’s explanation. Damon never was one for ful disclosure. Al Stefan knew was that some research at the library had prompted a sketchy warning from an old librarian. Stefan inwardly chuckled at the thought of a frail old woman squaring against Damon over library fines. â€Å"What were you looking at?† Stefan asked, trying to get any more substantial information. â€Å"What did she want you to stay away from?† He shifted on the rough branch of the oak tree they were both sitting on, trying to get comfortable. Damon had a habit of sitting in trees, Stefan realized. It must be a side effect of spending so much time as a bird. They were on a stakeout outside the librarian’s home, but what exactly they were looking for, Stefan wasn’t sure. â€Å"Just some old photographs from the school’s history,† Damon said. â€Å"It doesn’t matter. I just want to make sure she’s human.† He peered through the window nearest their tree, where an elderly woman was sipping tea and watching television. Stefan noted with irritation that Damon seemed a lot more at ease in the tree than Stefan did. He was leaning forward, resting graceful y on one knee, and Stefan could sense his sending questing strands of Power at the woman, trying to find out whether there was anything unusual about her. His balance seemed awful y precarious, and he was completely focused on the old woman. Stefan inched toward Damon on the branch, stretched out a hand, and suddenly shoved him. It was extremely satisfying. Damon, his composure shaken for once, let out a muffled yelp and fel out of the tree. In midair, he turned into a crow and flew back up, perching on a branch above Stefan and eyeing him with a baleful glare. Damon cawed his annoyance at Stefan loudly. Stefan glanced through the window again. The woman didn’t seem to have heard Damon’s shout or the crow’s caw – she was just flipping channels. When he looked back at Damon, his brother had regained his usual form. â€Å"I would think playing a trick like that would go against your precious moral code,† Damon said, fastidiously smoothing his hair. â€Å"Not real y,† Stefan said, grinning. â€Å"I couldn’t help myself.† Damon shrugged, seeming to accept Stefan’s playfulness as good-natured, and looked through the librarian’s window again. She had gotten up to make herself another cup of tea. â€Å"Did you sense anything from her?† Stefan asked. Damon shook his head. â€Å"Either she’s bril iantly hiding her true nature from us or she’s just a peculiar librarian.† He pushed himself off the branch and leaped, landing lightly on the grass far below. Either way, I’ve had enough, he added silently. Stefan fol owed him, landing beside Damon at the bottom of the tree. â€Å"You didn’t need me for any of that, Damon,† he said. â€Å"Why did you ask me to come with you?† Damon’s smile was bril iant in the darkness. â€Å"I just thought you could use some cheering up,† he said simply. Clearly, it wasn’t the librarian Stefan should be worried about acting peculiarly. How to cite The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Nineteen, Essay examples

The theatre of the

The theatre of the-wolf-at-the-door Essay Outline1 Theatre managers discuss the recession and prospects for the year ahead  2 Victoria Nolan, managing director, Indiana Repertory Theatre  3 Ron Himes, producing director, St. Louis Black Repertory Company  4 John Sullivan, managing director, American Conservatory Theater Theatre managers discuss the recession and prospects for the year ahead   Drowning isnt a sport. A drowning man isnt concerned with his form; his only thought is staying alive. He flails and gasps and kicks like mad. This may keep him afloat, but very few would mistake his plight for swimming. There are a lot of former swimmers in danger of drowning todaymajor corporations, once the stalwarts of industry, have foundered and local, state and federal governments seem ready to go down for the third time, threatening to take Joe and Joan Q. Taxpayer with them. Its not at all surprising, then, to hear that theatres across the country find themselves in an analogous situation. Its the nature of a vital art form that it will endure, even prevail; but the art of hardship is different (and only to hopeless romantics necessarily better) than that produced in times of relative bounty by artists at liberty to confront issues and ideas of their choosing. The theatre of the-wolf-at-the-door may be exciting and passionate, but it is still limited. One of the earliest effects of the emaciation that characterizes this theatre of lack is the phrase a one-man/woman show following a plays title in the season brochure, or a conversation/evening with preceding a famous name in the title of a play in the same brochure. Such ventures represent an often reluctant compromise struck by allies: the artistic director of the theatre and its managing director. It falls to the managing director, by some combination of discipline and alchemy or as Victoria Nolan, managing director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis put it, by magic and thumbscrews to convince the wolf to try another door. Early in January, Barbara Janowitz, Theatre Communication Groups director of management and government programs, looked back over 1992 and offered a preview of the recently completed survey that will be the basis of the special Theatre Facts report in the upcoming April issue of American Theatre. According to Janowitz, this years findings are the bleakest in the 20-year history of the TCG survey, as expenses outpaced income and contributions failed to compensate for inflation. Sadly, the kind of control over expenses theatres were forced to exercise included serious losses in artistic and human resources theatres produced fewer plays throughout the season and suffered staff cut-backs. The survey reveals the first erosion in what was always a consistently growing subscription base. Cutbacks in programming designed to minimize deficits seriously affected such key areas as developmental workshops, readings and touring. Staff downsizing and salary freezes resulted in a below-inflation increase in total salaries. And, increased contributions from individuals and foundations were offset by a decline in corporate support and plummeting government grants, Janowitz said. As the grim year drew to a close, managers of five very different theatres spoke frankly about their institutions financial situations and conjectured about the year to come, as a new U.S. President was about to take the helm and the economic outlook showed signs of change. Not all of them were experiencing the disastrous effects of the recession. But, despite considerable differences in mission, geographical location and budget size of their respective institutions, their messages had definite points of intersection. Plotting these on a prescriptive graph may help shape the art and the policies that affect it in the year ahead. Margot Harley, executive producer, The Acting Company, New York We are the last professional touring repertory company in the country, and a unique problem of our kind of theatre is that we have no individual constituency, which is normally a huge portion of the fund-raising pie. Consequently, we are more at the mercy of the National Endowment for the Arts, and weve been hit worse than most by the recession. We made a decision to stop touring for the year and take a hard look at whether or not touring is possible. Weve received an Arts Forward Fund grant for long-range planning, which will enable us to decide whether or not we should change what we were doingdo it better, more efficiently or change the thrust. I would hope that funders would see the importance of underwriting general support for the arts. Having funding only for specific projects forces people to do things they may not be as interested in doing. I dont see how we can continue without general operating support. In our company we have extremely low overhead; most of our budget goes into the touring. Were not supporting a building, were supporting our programs, but without that support for general operating expenses, there are no programs. All in the timing: six one-act comedies. EssayOur support went up from all the public funding agencies, mainly because they knew we were making the move to the new space with increased expenses and wanted to show their support for our growth. With the higher visibility the move has given us, we have acquired more corporate underwriting for productions, and if we continue the path were on, there will be a lot more sponsors jumping on the corporate bandwagon. Were going through a transition after having done a lot of big shows now were dealing with budget constraints, so were doing small shows. But theres still a balance. The March show, Black Eagles, has a cast of 13; Jar the Floor has 5, and the last show will have a cast of 20. Im optimistic about an upswing in the economy in the coming year. Now the task becomes finding out what will interest the corporate sponsor. In the current climate, that has become much more important for us than just going in and asking for a gift. When weve found projects that have interested them and will give them visibility, theyve come up big. Im hoping that we will finally, truly, have a kinder, gentler Administration. I expect that there will be a lot of stimulation of business, of the private sector, and that rejuvenation should begin to spill over. I hope to see the Endowment begin to assert itself as a leader in advocacy and support for the arts establishing an environment that will encourage and stimulate growth. John Sullivan, managing director, American Conservatory Theater Its been a tough market to sell tickets in, but weve also got a fairly complex situation here in that were in the midst of an artistic transition. So Im not sure how much of a factor the economys been. I dont think the economy can be blamed for all of the current difficulties; something more fundamental is at work that I dont pretend to understand: I think it has something to do with the hyperactivity of life these days and how people think of culture in the midst of that hyperactivity or dont think of it. Thats a fairly subtle and complex circumstance we have to address; it comes down to more than the economy or just the price of tickets. Weve had the highest renewal rate that weve ever had coming into this year, almost 84 percent; our subscribers have really stuck with us, but new subscribers were difficult to get, and single tickets are quite soft. Were looking at restructuring, but wed be doing that regardless of the economic situation. Carey Perloffs now on board as artistic director, and weve had a chance to see how she and the institution mesh. Were a theatre doing a lot of new work: We did the new Dario Fo piece, were in the midst of the new adaptation of Duchess of Malfi, and were working on a project with ATT and the New York Shakespeare Festival, a production of Elizabeth Egloffs The Devils. But when projected income is off, the difficult part is to try to structure some sort of vaguely authentic dialogue between the board and the artistic staff. In times of difficult ticket sales, the normal board prescription not specific to our board, but any board comes out something like, We need some happy plays, plays that will make us feel good, plays that will sell. Of course, we hope every play we do will sell and make people feel good. But the work has to grow out of our singular artistic expression. Thats why Ive felt its important to try to create a dialogue that engages people, its important to focus on the fact that something far greater and more general than just an economic recession is happening. Were just one small se gment of a world in enormous change. I dont care if you sell cars or commodities or theatre tickets; no matter what business youre in, the market is changing in ways we just dont understand. Thats what makes the dialogue interesting, that equal footing. While its much more difficult to get corporate sponsorship, I think until the arts community redefines why were important, why what we do is important, we cant expect the private sector to offer general support. Ronald Reagan really redefined things, in effect, he completely marginalized the arts. The collectivity of our minds and souls was essential to his ideal of building a consumer culture and the arts are about creating an environment where individuals can flourish. In that marginalizing process, we lost the language that enabled us to characterize what we are doing and its worth to our society. So all I really ask of the new Administration is the opportunity to find the words and the meaning to express why what we do is important.