Assessment of Levi Advertising Campaign Essay - 1189 Words

Assessment of Levi Advertising Campaign Levis have been around for more than a century. The company was established in 1853. In 2003, Levi Strauss Co. was 150 years old. In 1873 their founder, Levi Strauss created the first blue jeans. From the mid 1950s onwards, jeans have been especially associated with particular types of male American youth heroes, including James Dean, the young Marlon Brando, their Sixties followers - heroes who have become symbols of youth rebellion in almost all areas, spanning over 5 generations of American global culture. When Levis were first brought out, their target audience was youths, teenagers. Unfortunately as time went on, the teens that had†¦show more content†¦To keep this idea their target audience was teenagers, younger, fresher, with more money to spend. Young people had their own spending power as consumers, following the hard times of the war, when, it seemed, everyone had a lot more money than anticipated and wanted to spend it on fashions and lifestyles. A new group of people to suck into the ever expanding trade, looking for heroes to follow, and interests to pursue, Levis used this opportunity and has drawn repeatedly on the idea of the rebel. Levis new advertising campaign introduced a creative new idea, involving a man and a woman recreating the impression of 50s America. All the advertisements in this series revolved around this same idea of people finding the person wearing the jeans desirable. The scenarios ranged from launderettes to beaches, all featuring an emphasis on physical attraction and most of them set in a public place. However Levis didnt predict what sort of impact this commercial campaign would bring to the population of teenagers. The result was massive, the number of Button Fly 501s sold in 1987 was over 20 times that of 1984, due to this break through in commercial advertising. Everyone wanted to get their hands on a pair of 501s. The adverts denote that wearing Levis is cool, sexy, stylish and, although being a casual fit, they are versatile in the senseShow MoreRelatedFailed Products4804 Words   |  20 PagesLevi’s Type 1 Jeans A clothier, such as Levi Strauss, that has been around for 150 years is bound to have their share of hits and misses because fashion is terribly fickle and largely unpredictable. But this doesn’t mean you should ignore your target audience. In late 2002, Levi Strauss began a massive marketing push to launch what was being touted as one of the company’s most significant launches in history, Type 1 Jeans. The line unnecessarily went to great lengths to accentuate all those signatureRead MoreMarket Analysis of Jeans Industry in Surat17928 Words   |  72 Pagesthat are offered. INTRODUCTION: Levi Strauss Co. (LSCO.) is one of the world s largest brand-name apparel marketers with sales in more than 110 countries. There is no other company with a comparable global presence in the jeans and casual pants markets. Today, the Levi s ® trademark is one of the most recognized in the world and is registered in more than 160 countries. The company is privately held by descendants of the family of Levi Strauss. Shares of company stock are not publiclyRead MoreA001426205 Bellamy Charles STMK Essay2945 Words   |  12 Pagesto be submitted, to AIB, I have not plagiarised any other person’s work in this assignment and except where appropriately acknowledged, this assignment is my own work, has been expressed in my own words, and has not previously been submitted for assessment. CHECKLIST Please complete the following checklist before submitting your assignment to AIB  Have you completed all sections of this Assignment Cover Sheet?  Is your assignment in ‘word’ format? AIB will not accept assignments in any otherRead MoreMarketing Literature Review11908 Words   |  48 PagesStatistical analysis, Implications.] 4 The Impact of Affect on Memory of Advertising. Tim Ambler and Tom Burne, Journal of Advertising Research, 39 (March/April 1999), pp. 25–34. [Literature review, Model testing, Hypotheses, Experiment, Brain locations, Recognition and recall, Propranolol, Placebos, Assessment, Managerial implications.] 5 A Multivariate Analysis of Web Usage. Pradeep K. Korgaonkar and Lori D. Wolin, Journal of Advertising Research, 39 (March/April 1999), pp. 53–68. [Literature review; ConsumerRead MoreInfluence of Culture in Marketing7448 Words   |  30 Pagescompany’s objectives. Another important element that needs to be taken in consideration is risk assessment, relating the probabilities of the success of various courses of action to the company’s overall objectives and acti vities. An essential component of such an assessment is an analysis of the company’s assumptions about the stability and prospects of the markets in which it plans to operate. Risk assessment is important in order to minimize and prevent the risks of several projects failing at theRead MoreProduct Placement12588 Words   |  51 PagesJr. Southern Connecticut State University ABSTRACT Product placement is the purposeful incorporation of commercial content into noncommercial settings, that is, a product plug generated via the fusion of advertising and entertainment. While product placement is riskier than conventional advertising, it is becoming a common practice to place products and brands into mainstream media including films, broadcast and cable television programs, computer and video games, blogs, music videos/DVDs, magazinesRead MoreBrand Building Blocks96400 Words   |  386 Pagesprivate label brands at the high end of the business. Such brands are competitive with na tional brands in quality and marketing support but have substantial cost advantages - in part because the cost of the brand management team, sales force, and advertising is lower and can be spread over hundreds of product classes and in part because of logistical advantages. The result is more price pressure. Sales promotion is both a driver and an indicator of the price focus. In the 1950s, about 10 percentRead MoreBusiness Plan for Mustard Boutique9962 Words   |  40 Pagespersonal style services, which include a detailed Style Assessment, will ensure that our customers are well dressed. Mustard is a woman-owned business organised as a Sole Proprietorship. Clothing for stylish women Mustard will carry Ready-to-Wear (RTW) designer and casual/contemporary apparel and accessories for women, and will be the exclusive Korean style. Unique amp; innovative Boutique will provide services such as Style Assessments, alterations and personal shopping. There are stylistRead MoreDepartment Store Industry Analysis in Mexico Essay4995 Words   |  20 Pagesalso makes it more difficult to predict a competitor’s next move. As the middle class population grows in Mexico, the market becomes more attractive, but many possibly new entrants are kept out by the high barriers of entry. Porter’s Five Forces Assessment Competition There were many department stores that opened up in Mexico, but now less than ten competitors remain in the industry. With Grupo Carso and Liverpool dominating the market, companies in the industry must monitor changes in their strategiesRead MoreSears Holdings Analysis Essay10380 Words   |  42 PagesGeneral Environmental Forces 28 Porter’s Five-Forces Model 35 Key Competitors 40 Competitive Profile Matrix 43 General Discussion on Stakeholders 46 Top 70 Stakeholders 47 Nuttamp;Backoff Model 53 Finn stakeholder Model 55 Internal Assessment 57 HISTORY Sears was started by Richard W. Sears in 1886. While working as a North Redwood, Minnesota freight agent, a local jeweler gave him an unwanted shipment of pocket watches. He sold the watches to store owners who then sold them at

Climate Change And Its Effects On Society - 1840 Words

Climate change is a very real, and very present threat to countless of lives all around the globe. Temperatures are soaring in some areas, while they plummet in others. This drastic change in weather patterns can not only destroy the ecosystems of our planet, it also has the potential to wreak havoc on society with the smallest of changes. For example, it’s well known that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate due to rising temperatures. This causes ocean levels to rise, which will eventually engulf many shore side cities, leaving millions homeless. This will lead to mass migrations of refugees that will hurt the economies and social structures of multiple countries, due to the influx of people that the countries may not be fully equipped to handle. These situations may be hypothetical for now, but they are extremely close to becoming a reality. So, then it is completely understandable why so many countries are now implementing policies to help manage climate chan ge. However, are these policies enough? Many experts argue that not enough countries are committed to battling climate change. One could also argue that one lone country cannot possibly combat the effects of climate change, no matter how many policies they implement. Should there be a single committee, a single organization funded by any willing countries that will actively and more effectively combat climate change? Or should the individual countries try and solve this global issue on theirShow MoreRelatedClimate Change And Its Effects On Society Essay1702 Words   |  7 PagesClimate Change:  ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬A Threat to Nature and to Civilization Climate change is a threat to nature and to civilization. The rise of greenhouse gases are anthropogenic because they are derived from human actions. The combustion of fossil fuels, along with deforestation are causing an increase in carbon dioxide. These carbon dioxide emissions are being trapped in our atmosphere and are warming the surface of the planet. Climate change is occurring right now, and if no actions are taken, then thereRead MoreClimate Change And Its Effects On Society1475 Words   |  6 PagesClimate Change â€Å"We are living on this planet as if we have another one to go to.† (Unknown) This quote by an unknown source depicts the common mindset of the modern human. At the start of the 20th century America had had numerous major advancements in technology and business. These advancements helped to put America ahead, but at a cost. Emissions of Carbon Dioxide, other greenhouse gases and aerosols have been steadily increasing since this time period and show no signs of stopping soon (How DoRead MoreClimate Change And Its Effects On Society1223 Words   |  5 PagesThesis Climate change has been a highly controversial topic for the last couple of decades, in the last decade it has come more ever so pronounced under the public highlight. It is a very highly debatable topic in which many sides both scientific along with general public try to search for answers on if it’s a human caused one or one that just what mother earth herself continually goes though. I will be covering both the scientific reasoning on what might be causing climate change and how virtueRead MoreClimate Change And Its Effects On Our Society1545 Words   |  7 PagesFor many years, scientists have been doing research surrounding the topic of climate change. It has become a proven fact that our global ecological and weather patterns are changing in ways that occur at a much more rapid pace than natural cycles typically allow. According to a 2016 Monmouth University Poll, most Americans acknowledge, at least to some extent, that â€Å"the world’s climate is undergo ing a change that is causing more extreme weather patterns and the rise of sea levels.† Since humans relyRead MoreThe Effects Of Climate Change On Society And The Environment1652 Words   |  7 PagesThe effects of climate crises are felt all over the globe, leaving harsh impacts on society and the environment. From typhoons to hurricanes to rising sea levels to rising atmospheric temperatures, cities around the world cannot escape the effects of climate change, but they are able to combat it. They are able to help the earth instead of continuing to harm it, and the way to do this is through implementing climate change programs. Even if one city chooses not to carry out such a program, it doesRead MoreThe Effects Of Climate Change On Our Society Essay1983 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Climate change is one of the biggest topics this generation will face, it is up to us to decide what conditions future generations ahead of ourselves will live in. I am going to show the science behind what is happening, but also how it effects me and other individuals in society and how they understand it. The Science and causes There is 1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 liters of water on earth and about 98% of that is situated in our oceans I’m telling you this because one of theRead MoreClimate Change And Ocean Level Rise And Its Effects On Coastal Societies1490 Words   |  6 Pages Climate Change and Ocean Level Rise and their effects Michael Estrada Florida Atlantic University July 19, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..3 Literature Review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 Climate Change†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Melting of Greenland and the Arctic and its effects on the Ecosystem†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Ocean level rise and its effects on Coastal Societies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.....5 Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreClimate Change : A Global Threat That Goes Beyond National Boundaries Essay1499 Words   |  6 PagesMichael Mann argued that globalization didn’t alter the nature of societies, as other hyper globalizers asserted, he, however, did say that globalization created two main threats that could alter societies in ways that were not known before. The first threat that he identified is warfare between nations using nuclear weapons. He argued that if nuclear and biological weapons were used, this could lead to the destruction of whole societies and countries. However, Mann also argued that warfare of that scaleRead MoreEssay on Global Warming1148 Words   |  5 Pagesand scientific breakthroughs improved in an outstanding way our well-b eing, they also provided us with some troubles that scientists had never foreseen or even imagined. One of the major setbacks of this technological evolution is the change of the World’s climate: the so-called Global Warming. Global warming is a very strange phenomenon which consists in the increase of the World’s average temperature. Scientists after very precise historical observations and measurements have reached the conclusionRead MoreHow Engineering Can Work Together With Anthropology1198 Words   |  5 Pagesanthropology to explore the effects of global climate change, due to increased carbon emissions. Political ecology, co-management, and tragedy of the commons are three concepts within anthropology which will be used to discuss this issue, and will be defined in detail further in this paper. Climate change can be defined as the change in global or regional climate patterns due to human activity. The World Wildlife Fund (2012) has found that the main contributor towards climate change to be the increased levels

Computer Upgrade Essay Example For Students

Computer Upgrade Essay With increasing popularity of computer games, and multimedia home PC users oftenneed an unexpensive computer system upgrade. By building a custom computer oneis able to combine componenets, and operating system to provide maximal gamingperformance. Computers are often called number manipulators, because of theirability to run millions of mathematical operations per second (White 43). Computers use binary system of numbers, which allows them to operate system ofmicroscopic switches called transistors found inside of computer chips. Binarysystem is defined as counting system that uses two digits one and zero (Gookin49). A transistor is a basic building block of microchips; transistors arecombined in formations called logic gates (White 39). Transistor can onlycreate binary information: one if current passes through or zero if current doesnot, to work with transistors(White 39). Computer software uses Booleanlogic, which is based on selecting true or false values used in computerprogramming (White 39). All personal computers have BIOS, which is an acronymfor Basic Input Output System. The BIOS runs every time the computer is started,and it basically tells the computer how to act (White 19). The BIOS is a part ofthe boot up process, or a complex set of operations checking hardware thatcomponents are working properly. Besides BIOS and several other operations thereis poweron self-test POST being ran. POST test runs at the start up, and ifit finds an error, it sends a warning message (White 5). Central processing unitCPU is the most important part of the personal computer, all othercomponents work as a bridge to CPU (White 59). The speed of the processor isusually defined by using units called megahertz (MHz, also million frequencywaves per second). CPUs are generally divided into two categories- CISC andRISC. CISC complex instruction set computing, uses many small instructionsto carry out a single operations. CISC is a standard in todays processors. RISC reduced instruction set computing, uses less complicated instructionswith simpler design. RISC microprocessors are cheaper, they produce less heat,and they are generally smaller in size compared to CISC. With less heat andsmaller size RISC processors have great advantage in reaching higher frequencieswith less danger of overheating. The major disadvantage and also reason why RISCmicroprocessors are not widely used, is less compatibility with availablesoftware. The earlier programs were written for CISC chips. In order to reachmaximal speed, and compatibility the major manufacturers of microprocessors suchas Intel, use some advantages of RISC technology, to improve the performance oftheir CISC compatible microprocessors (White 55). Computer microprocessor is themost important part of the PC, but it can not work by it self. One of the fewprimary components is BUS, also called a highway of the computer. BUS transportsdata among the processor, random access memory, and hard disk. Sp eed of the BUSdepends on the type of motherboard where it is installed (White 119). Randomaccess memory- RAM is also attached to the motherboard- base of all thecomponents, but unlike BUS, RAM can be easily removed and changed. Random accessmemory works as a staging area for the central processing unit (White 43). Capacity of random access memory is very important for the performance of acomputer. In case there is not enough RAM the software can create space on thehard drive to be used as temporary operating memory (White 31). Random meansthat any part of the memory can be accessed at any time, it is not necessary toread all of the memory to find one location. RAM is usually fast, temporarymemory where data is saved until removed or power is turned off on the computer(White 43). A hard drive is the workaholic of a PC system.(White 87)) Itis based on using magnetic plates; spinning at extreme speeds up to 7,200rotations a minute, which are 120 spins every second. Even with extreme speedand microscopic accuracy modern hard drives are unlikely to fail. The hard diskis a combination of electronic and mechanical portions, which makes it the oneof the slowest parts of the computer (White 87). A graphic card is usuallyplugged into one of the expansion slots, which are metallic contacts on themotherbo ard (White 119). One of the most common expansion slots is PCI peripheral components interconnect. PCI are most commenly white slots used toattach a graphic or sound card, also modem or network card (White 120). Latestexpansion slot used for graphic cards only is AGP accelerated graphic port,which is faster than PCI (White 121). Both PCI and AGP based adapters use SVGAsuper video graphics array as a modern standard, which added newcapabilities, such as higher resolution and color depth to the previous VGAinterface. Super VGA allows as many as 16 million colors also called 32-bitcolor, or true color(Stephen 1253). There are three major factors defining thespeed of a graphic adapter, overall performance depends on the chipset speed,performance and capacity of graphic random access memory and the expansion slotarchitecture (Stephen 1258). One of the other factors defining speed of a videoadapter is the software driver. Even the finest accelerator board hardwarecan bog-down when run wit h careless, loosely written code(Stephen 1259). Pearl Harbor EssayIts impressive test results in Glide interface based games are unbeatable by anyother graphic card, just because 3Dfx is the only manufacturer using Glideinterfacing. Using other interfaces such as Open GL or Direct 3D the Voodoo 33500 looses speed compare to TNT 2 Ultra based accelerators. One of the featuresof the high priced Voodoo3 3500 is a TV tuner that allows user to watchtelevision on computers monitor (Case 49) . Voodoo 3 supports all threeinterfaces- Open GL, Glide, and Direct 3D which makes it one of the fastest, andmost compatible graphic cards available. Only sixteen megabytes of graphicmemory does not allow Voodoo3 to run true color, three dimensional scenes inhigh resolutions, and that is what Nvidia TNT 2 Ultra does (Case 204). Severalgraphic card manufacturers use TNT 2 Ultra chipset. Well known, and one of thelargest is Diamond Multimedia producing Viper 770 Ultra, using previouslymentioned TNT 2 Ultra chipset. Viper 770 is a very fast graphic ac celerator withimplemented thirty-two megabytes of graphic memory, allowing true coloring inhigh resolutions. Retail version of the Viper includes a large software bundlewith several valuable games. Another feature is an excellent toolbar that allowsthe user to tweak up a lot of details improving performance, such as anoverclocking utility (Case 99). After all the hardware parts are assembled it istime to install the most important software, the operating system. The computeris unable to do anything unless it is running an operating system, which is abasic type of software that acts as a supervisor for all the applications (White9). Although the operating system is the most important software it is notincluded in computers, because of the need to upgrades. Operating system isloaded from hard drive to the random access memory before the CPU can performany operations. Operating systems were originally created to handlecommunication with other drives, because without an operating system programmerswould have to invent software with instructions to run the hardware (White 19). Currently the most popular operating system is Microsoft Windows 98 SecondEdition. One of the new features of the Windows OS is an upgraded version of USB-universal serial bus support, which allows to use USB compatible modems. Thefeature improvement since Windows 95 includes for example Disk DefragmentationOptimization Wizard, using the process of disk defragmentation to increase thespeed of the most frequently used applications (Stephen 53) The newest Microsoftoperating system Windows 2000 is still available only in beta test version. Impressive new features such as very complex plug and play detection devices, orperformance improvements due using the newest drivers are only few of the newimplementations (Cleveland 75). Todays reality like games require high-endPCs, sold for thousands of dollars. By building a custom computer a user isreally able to tweak up the best performance for the best price. Cheaper, custombuilt PC allows user to play any of the hundreds of games available, and reachthe best frame rates.