The NASCAR Market Essay Example for Free

The NASCAR Market Essay I love to watch NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Racing) races on television.  Ã‚   The action is fast paced and the thrill and anticipation, the waiting for the next crash is addictive.   Although sporting events are great venues for advertising, NASCAR events are pure marketing heaven. If you ever watch one and analyze the production, you can not miss the fact that even the cars themselves are commercials that compel you to stare at brand names of products every second. Car related industries profit greatly by paid commercial breaks in television programming and â€Å"on car† endorsements.    This type of on car advertising is ideal for the racing circuit, effectively presenting a product advertisement that is clearly seen and focused upon throughout the entire racing event. In his article, Dale Zooms to the front of the endorsements, Bruce Horovitz writes that since the drivers themselves are the stars, driver endorsements actually pay them more than winning the races.   He also says that marketing sales jumped from $50 million in 1990 to $2 billion in 2003.   With these statistics in mind, marketing research is essential in order to present a product, at a sellable price to a demographically correct market. Chris Jones states in his article, NASCAR Sponsors: Drive-By Marketing that â€Å"on car† advertising is viewed as a sure thing with guaranteed return of investment since 189 million households viewed televised NASCAR Winston Cup series races in 2003, advertisers can count on both high exposure as well as a wide geographic range of that exposure. Since these racing are so saturated with advertising and marketing, right down to cars being identified by their sponsors (i.e. the NAPA car), and the target audience is usually the male American blue collar worker, scheduling of the race days are usually planned and televised on weekends, with the sponsors in mind. With over $50 million in marketing sales being seen per year due to NASCAR sporting events, it is a certainty that the four P’s (product, pricing, place and promotion) are being utilized better in the NASCAR arena better than just any other venue today. BIBLIOGRAPHY Horovitz, Bruce  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2/12/2004 Dale Zooms to the front of the endorsements,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   USA Today, McLean, Virginia Jones Chris  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3/7/2004 NASCAR Sponsors: Drive-By Marketing, Las Vegas-Review Journal, Las Vegas, Nevada

The issue of ecology Essay Example for Free

The issue of ecology Essay The issue of ecology as a transnational issue has become highlighted with the intensification of world trade. As such, it becomes a global responsibility and a consideration in developing trade policies. As the primary governing body of international trade, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been one of the pioneers in equating environmental responsibility with trade (Deal, 2002). At the same time there, has been regional efforts to standardize environmental laws to mitigate the impact of development in shared environs as illustrated by the efforts of the European Union (EU), North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Sampson, 1998). One of the efforts made by the WTO is the development of the Kyoto Protocol which is aiming to mitigate environmental issue particularly global warming by establishing a trade system for emissions. However, there has been a difficulty in the implementation of the regulation because of varying views on the policies as well as difficulty in monitoring emissions. At the same time, there have been some issues regarding the institution of multilateral agreements that are contradicting or undermining the Kyoto Protocol or the status of most favored nations (MFN) (Brewer, 2004). Focus For WTO members, the use of energy tax adjustments could have significant implications. The issue raises difficult environmental, trade policy issues, economic issues. It also raise the internalization of environmental costs and the â€Å"polluter pays† principle, the effects on trade competitiveness and relationship between the multilateral environmental agreements and WTO agreements. The main issue that whether Article III: 2 first provisions of the 1994 GATT or the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade ponders the use of border tax adjustment (BTA) on â€Å"final† products for taxes on the manufacture of inputs. Albeit the decision in Superfund case, discussed in the latter of this section, the question will turn on a proper analysis of the taxes â€Å"applied, directly or indirectly, to â€Å"the like products to be compared, as opposed to the overall â€Å"fiscal burden† on producers from taxes on inputs. The Kyoto Protocol and the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade In December 1997, the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention was adopted. Under Kyoto Protocol, only Annex 1 countries are subject to legally binding emissions reduction commitments for the commitment period 2008-2012 in post-2000 scenario. Annex 1 parties or developed countries have to meet individual emission reduction targets listed in Annex B of the Protocol. Developing countries or non-Annex 1 parties are not subject to specific emission reduction commitments. Though over 120 countries have ratified the Protocol but the Protocol has yet to come into force. U. S. A and other developed countries have to date indicated an intention not to ratify the Protocol. Another contention is with regards to Article 1, II, VI and VII of the GATT and their potential implication with border tax adjustments. Further, energy tax adjustments may be challengeable under Article XXIII: 1 [b] of 1994. Finally, Panel approach to WTO-consistency will be governed by the reasonableness of the specific measure and its appreciation of the wider international implications. Energy tax adjustments as per Article III: 2 first sentences could offer potentially broad scope for countries to apply energy tax adjustments as disguised barriers to trade. Such results would do little to serve the objectives of either the WTO multilateral trading system or the international response to climatic change. Border Tax Adjustment Border Tax Adjustment [BTA] is a tax levied on imported products to adjust or compensate for taxes levied on domestic product. The main goal of BTA is to ensure trade neutrality of domestic taxation and thereby safeguarding competitive equality between imported and domestic goods. BTA is not necessarily levied at the border and imports may be taxed at the point of sale or consumption. Sales tax, consumption taxes or excise duties, value added taxes are examples of domestic taxes that might be subject to BTA. Likewise, a BTA on imported energy products such as imported natural gas or diesel fuel and other fossil fuels for domestic excise duties would fall within this group. Though the taxes on energy have been levied by governments for fiscal purpose for long time, now there has been a change in trend to levy â€Å"energy tax† mainly for â€Å"environmental† purpose. Energy tax is being levied on energy inputs such as coal ,electricity or gasoline which in turn calculated in value terms , or on the basis of its content of carbon of fossil fuels which is also known as â€Å"carbon taxes†. As of now, there exists no border tax adjustment scheme in place for taxes on energy inputs employed in the production of final products. However, European and other high energy taxing governments are contemplating to introduce such measures in near future due to the pressure exerted by environmental and industry groups. But there are increasing pressures from environmental groups to enforce strictly trade measures to enforce Kyoto Protocol objectives against non-signatories like United States. These environment groups regard the U. S. rejection of the Kyoto protocol is unfair as it places the European business at a disadvantage. They argue that Europe has the right to penalize the U. S goods for the pollution they cause under â€Å"Polluters pay â€Å"policy. Cases for Consideration A BTA can be applied on final goods or on inputs used in the production process. An example is the border tax adjustment on imports of aluminum’s for taxes on energy used in the production process as taxes are being levied on embodied energy in the final good that are adjusted, as opposed to taxes on the final goods itself. These measures are regarded as contentious with linkage to WTO trade and environmental debate. Albeit the Appellate body’s findings in the United States – Shrimp dispute, the exercise of trade measures applied on the basis of process and production methods (PPM) – in this case embodied taxes, carbon or energy –remains highly contentious. BTA for domestic taxes on energy inputs also raise significant equity and sovereignty concerns on the use of trade measures to inflict domestic environmental or taxation systems on other countries. Super Fund The case is against levy of superfund tax by U. S. A on petrochemicals and other chemicals and inputs when imported and sold in U. S and no tax is levied when it is exported out of U. S. U. S claimed that the aim of the tax was to compensate the cleaning up cost of hazardous waste sites and towards public health programs. When an importer fails to provide the details of input which he imported, then a penalty tax rate of 5 % was imposed. The GATT panel ruled that the tax on imported substance was a tax ‘directly imposed on products’ and hence eligible for border tax adjustments. The panel held the US super tax would be consistent with the Article III: 2 first sentence as long as it is equivalent to tax borne by the like domestic substances. The U. S direction to provide the information of inputs may make such information available to trade competitors and would have a real effect in discouraging trade. In this case, it appeared that neither the GATT Panel nor the parties sought to distinguish between the tax applied to the imported products, the like domestic products or the chemical products used in the production of the like domestic products. The Panel seemed to accept the US argument that the imported product and that the like domestic product was subject to the same â€Å"fiscal burden†.

Causes and Impacts of Workplace Conflict

Causes and Impacts of Workplace Conflict Workplace Conflict Executive Summary Conflict is something familiar to our daily life. It would happen in workplace, family, school and any other places. This report will focus on conflict in the workplace: Why is necessary to know how to deal with workplace conflict? How to manage and ravel out the workplace conflict? This report will discuss implication of conflict, causes result in conflict, importance of resolving workplace conflict, managing conflict, conclusion and a recommendation for workplace conflict. Introduction Conflict is a part of work. It is a disagreement resulting from individuals or groups that they have different attitudes, beliefs, values or needs. Conflict also a typical phenomenon of people’s relationship in workplace. Sometimes the individual is not aware of the need and unconsciously starts to act out. In the workplace conflict is one of the biggest problems for managers and employees to face. It is hard to find out conflict before it become a difficulty and resolve completely. Conflict does not go away if ignored. Causes result in conflict Causes of conflict are complex. Understand how conflict arises at work can be very helpful for anticipating situations that may become trouble. There are six major causes will lead to a workplace conflict, include (G Corkindale 2007): Different cultures and assumptions Differing values, opinions and beliefs Lack of sensitivity to race, gender, age, class, education and ability Poor people skills, especially communication Volatile, fast-changing workplaces Limits on resources, physical and psychological These are the most direct causes result in conflict. The real causes of conflict may be deep lying, other forms of conflict may not be so easily identified. Find out exactly conflict is the first step to resolve the conflict. Implication conflict Conflict is mutual. It includes two different types: individual and group. Sometime it is obvious, but generally it is conceal. How can the managers recognize symptoms before the conflict take place so that the damage becomes the least? Here are some symptoms of conflict. They might include (Allagi Consulting 2008): Not completing work on-time or to quality goals Gossip Not returning phone calls or e-mails Passive/aggressive behaviors Not responding to requests for information Hoarding information that should be shared Finger pointing Not attending required meetings Absenteeism The sooner the managers see the sign, the sooner they can intervene and resolve the problem. Resolve the problem as soon as possible is helpful to reduce the damage and losses. Managing conflict As say before, conflict is a normal and natural part of workplace, it influence the work can be done or not, well or bad. Dealing with workplace conflict can be rewarding. Conflicts that arise because of personality clashes can be exacerbated by organizational structures and personalities. But addressing conflict in the workplace and resolving these issues can result in creative ideas, improvements, enhanced work relationships, and a healthier work environment. After recognize the reason of conflict, there are five steps to managing conflict. These steps are: Determine the cause. Collect data enough data. Ask for information and be sure to involve the individual in discussions. Do not become defensive or personalize issues. Collaborate on solutions. Use a â€Å"yes†¦ and† response to build on potential solutions. Avoid using a â€Å"yes†¦ but† response, which wants to change focus back onto the problem and away from solutions. If possible, always engage key stakeholders in developing solutions. This will help more easily to make the decision how to solve the conflict. Provide alternative options. People more likely to feel empowered when they are a part of a decision making process. This always helps to abate the conflict, make people more satisfaction. Communicate key decisions. Choose the most appropriate way to communicate with others. This might include meeting one by one with those involved, Be sure to involve who will support to solve the conflict. Implement solutions. When challenged be calm, re-focus on the main problem, depend on the situation, discuss the argument and tell the truth. Don’t get angry or rude, this will only make position weaken and hard to solve the problem. (Red Ladder 2006) There are many important skills involve in these five steps. Importantly, just follow the theory is not enough, a good method for resolve work conflict must be ‘adjust measures to local conditions’. Conclusion Workplace conflict exists between individuals and groups, it may lead to a series of negative influence to the organization. When people work together, cultural differences, gender differences, style differences, all kinds of differences occur. Resolve and avoid the conflict in workplace may increase effectiveness for work. Effectively managed work conflict has many positive results for the organization even our life. Create a harmonious workplace is a win-win situation. Now a day’s workplace makes conflict management more important, also, more difficult. After all, interpersonal skill is necessary, to communicate is one of the best ways to solution a conflict. Recommendations When a conflict take place, it is not just a sign for ‘bad’, sometimes, it means innovation and a more harmonious workplace has found. When be in a conflict in workplace, do not ‘hide head in sand’, try to face it and resolve it. Improve communication skill, develop emotional intelligence, respects others, these are all helpful to avoid conflict. References Gill Corkindale, 2007, ‘How to Manage Conflict’, viewed 22May 2008, Allagi Consulting, 2008, ‘How can you recognize conflict in your team’, viewed 23 May 2008, Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), ‘Managing Conflict’, viewed 23 May 2008, Red Ladder, 2006, ‘Five steps for handling work conflict’, viewed 23 May 2008,

Forgetting and Hope :: essays research papers

Forgetting, as defined by the Webster dictionary, means to be unable or fail to remember. There are many theories as to why people forget. Some of which include encoding failure, decay theory, interference, consolidation failure, motivated forgetting, and prospective forgetting. Encoding failure happens when the information was not stored in long-term memory in the first place. If information did not transfer from short-term memory to long-term memory, most likely the information will not be retained. Probably the oldest theory of forgetting, decay theory, assumes that memories, if not used, fade with time and ultimately disappears entirely. The â€Å"neural trace† or physiological record of an experience may decay within a very short period or over a much longer period. (Boyd, D., Wood, Ellen Green, & Wood, Samuel E. (2004). Mastering the World of Psychology, Pearson Education, Inc.) Another cause of forgetting is interference. There are two types of interference forgetting. The first, proactive interference happens when information already stored in long-term memory makes the tasks of remembering newer information difficult. For example, you may already know a particular version of software and an upgraded version may not have the some â€Å"short cut† keys that have been stored in long-term memory. The second type of interference forgetting is retroactive interference. Retroactive interference occurs when new learning interferes with the ability to retain previously learned information. The more similarities there are to the new learning’s, the more interference there may be When memories are being encoded into stores memory, a process called consolidation is occurring. If a tragic incident, such as a car accident leading to the loss of consciousness during the time of the consolidation process happens, the memory may not make it to long-term memory. Therefore, there many be loss of memory or events taking place before the accident, referred to as consolidation failure. Occasionally events happen in our life that we may choose to forget because the even was painful or unpleasant. Forgetting that these events took place is called motivated forgetting. There are two types of motivated forgetting. Sometimes a person is still aware that an event happened even after making an effort to put it out of their mind, referred to as suppression. Other times, during repression, a person is able to remove the memory from consciousness and are not longer aware the event occurred. Lastly, prospective forgetting happens when people forget to so something that may seem unpleasant, like going to the dentist.

Affirmative Action Essay -- Discrimination Race Racism Essays

Affirmative Action Because economic, social, gender and racial inequalities exist within the American population, it is in the best interest of its people and government to take action to amend these problems. Since the U.S has a capitalistic based economy, there is little that the government can do to completely end all inequalities. However, it can try to remedy racial and gender discrimination. The most realistic and supported program is Affirmative Action, which has many key issues: does the government have the right to enforce â€Å"reverse discrimination† or is it right to take race or gender into account for purposes of diversity and equality when evaluating college or job applications? The United States has a history of treating minorities, women and immigrants like 2nd-class citizens while favoring affluent white males (Schrag). In 1857, the Scott vs. Sanford decision stated that blacks have â€Å"no rights which the white man is bound to respect† (Davis). However, changes were made in the legal treatment of women and minorities with the 1866 Civil Rights Act that guaranteed every citizen â€Å"the same right to make and enforce contracts†¦as enjoyed by white citizens† (Sykes) and the 14th Amendment, which â€Å"grants citizenship to everyone born in the US, forbids states from denying ‘life, liberty, or property’ without due process of law, and guarantees equal protection under the laws† (DCLU). Despite such legislation, a major setback took place in the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson court decision upholding that â€Å"separate but equal† accommodations were constitutional (DCLU). Because of this forced inequality, many et hnicities were kept out of upper levels of American businesses and educational institutions (Hudson). The mid-20th cent... ...parently credible} The Hopwood Aftermath. University of Texas. 1 May 1997. . {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable} Wydick, Bruce. â€Å"Affirmative Action in college admissions: Examining labor market effects of four alternative policies.† Contemporary Economic Policy. 20.1 (Jan 2003): 12-25. {primary scholarly; print via internet; reputable} US Census Bureau. â€Å"Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2001 and 2002.† {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable} US Census Bureau. â€Å"Table 1: Income in the United States: 2002† pg. 3. {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable} US Census Bureau. â€Å"Table 2: Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, 1983 and 2002 annual averages.† {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable} Affirmative Action Essay -- Discrimination Race Racism Essays Affirmative Action Because economic, social, gender and racial inequalities exist within the American population, it is in the best interest of its people and government to take action to amend these problems. Since the U.S has a capitalistic based economy, there is little that the government can do to completely end all inequalities. However, it can try to remedy racial and gender discrimination. The most realistic and supported program is Affirmative Action, which has many key issues: does the government have the right to enforce â€Å"reverse discrimination† or is it right to take race or gender into account for purposes of diversity and equality when evaluating college or job applications? The United States has a history of treating minorities, women and immigrants like 2nd-class citizens while favoring affluent white males (Schrag). In 1857, the Scott vs. Sanford decision stated that blacks have â€Å"no rights which the white man is bound to respect† (Davis). However, changes were made in the legal treatment of women and minorities with the 1866 Civil Rights Act that guaranteed every citizen â€Å"the same right to make and enforce contracts†¦as enjoyed by white citizens† (Sykes) and the 14th Amendment, which â€Å"grants citizenship to everyone born in the US, forbids states from denying ‘life, liberty, or property’ without due process of law, and guarantees equal protection under the laws† (DCLU). Despite such legislation, a major setback took place in the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson court decision upholding that â€Å"separate but equal† accommodations were constitutional (DCLU). Because of this forced inequality, many et hnicities were kept out of upper levels of American businesses and educational institutions (Hudson). The mid-20th cent... ...parently credible} The Hopwood Aftermath. University of Texas. 1 May 1997. . {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable} Wydick, Bruce. â€Å"Affirmative Action in college admissions: Examining labor market effects of four alternative policies.† Contemporary Economic Policy. 20.1 (Jan 2003): 12-25. {primary scholarly; print via internet; reputable} US Census Bureau. â€Å"Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2001 and 2002.† {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable} US Census Bureau. â€Å"Table 1: Income in the United States: 2002† pg. 3. {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable} US Census Bureau. â€Å"Table 2: Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, 1983 and 2002 annual averages.† {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable}

Saving a Friend from Suicide Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

Saving a Life My stomach weakens with a thought that something is wrong, what would be the answer I could have never been ready for. I call my best friend late one night, for some reason she is the only person’s voice I wanted to hear, the only person who I wanted to tell me that everything will be okay. She answer’s the phone and tells me she loves me, as I hear the tears leak through, I ask her what is wrong. The flood gates open with only the horrid words â€Å"I can’t do this anymore†. My heart races as I tell her that I am on my way, what I was about to see will never leave my thoughts. As I arrived at her apartment she didn’t answer the door, I just went in. I walked down the hall way into her bedroom where she had pills and a beer and a list wrote out to make sure this would be her last recipe, a recipe of death. All I could do was yell, â€Å"What the hell are you thinking, he is not worth your life!† I started grabbing the pills, putting them back in a container and taking the beer. I hid the pills in my purse and went to get water. I begged with her to drink the water and remind... Saving a Friend from Suicide Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays Saving a Life My stomach weakens with a thought that something is wrong, what would be the answer I could have never been ready for. I call my best friend late one night, for some reason she is the only person’s voice I wanted to hear, the only person who I wanted to tell me that everything will be okay. She answer’s the phone and tells me she loves me, as I hear the tears leak through, I ask her what is wrong. The flood gates open with only the horrid words â€Å"I can’t do this anymore†. My heart races as I tell her that I am on my way, what I was about to see will never leave my thoughts. As I arrived at her apartment she didn’t answer the door, I just went in. I walked down the hall way into her bedroom where she had pills and a beer and a list wrote out to make sure this would be her last recipe, a recipe of death. All I could do was yell, â€Å"What the hell are you thinking, he is not worth your life!† I started grabbing the pills, putting them back in a container and taking the beer. I hid the pills in my purse and went to get water. I begged with her to drink the water and remind...

Bell Rock Lighthouse: Signal and Guide to Fishermen and Travelers

I’ve always been interested with lighthouses even before I watched this documentary film that’s why it wasn’t hard or boring for me. I’ve always wanted to go to a lighthouse and see how it flashes lights towards the sea. It’s amazing how it saves many lives of people and even animals that live underwater. I find it wonderful learning how to build a lighthouse, well, technically. This Bell Rock lighthouse was built in a rock, a very dangerous rock according to people who came across it. The man behind this rock, Robert Stevenson, built this rock between 1807 and 1810. And it’s amazing that this certain lighthouse still stand even to this day! Awesome, indeed! The history of Bell Rock was amusing and interesting as well in my opinion. How many ship wrecks had happened there before, I had no idea. Robert Stevenson, a man full of dreams, wanted to pursue building a lighthouse on Bell Rock. Although many people were against his plan, he stayed determined and thought of many ideas how to build a lighthouse without the waves crashing the base. That was one of the disadvantages since the lighthouse will be built in the sea. He based his idea to some already built lighthouses and hired almost sixty men to work on this project. They went to the sea, with a steady ship floating not so far away from the rock, they went with the ships to the rock and started digging for the base of the lighthouse. One thing I noticed about this story, the laborers were all religious men. They pray before and after working which is very admirable. The going back and forth routine has been a disadvantage to Stevenson as he were already behind time working with the base of the lighthouse. He decided, together with his men, to build a beacon in the rock which they can stay to. They started with the beacon not long. The question would be how long will it stay standing? Storms can sweep away the beacon and they were still behind schedule. Fortunately, there weren’t any super storms during the days they put the pieces one by one. The workers stayed loyal to Stevenson as he instructs them to do so. Of course, more dilemmas had befallen to Stevenson as his workers didn’t want to work during the Sabbath days. Some of them had lost faith to him and that made Stevenson’s task harder. They believed that doing work on a Sabbath is against God. It’s disrespectful and disloyalty. They continued working for him though despite the lack of faith. Another dilemma came, two of the men died (not consecutively) while working. Their bodies weren’t found at all. It diminished the worker’s self-esteem as they work with the lighthouse in the Bell Rock while still staying in the beacon. After all the difficulties relating to the building of the lighthouse in Bell Rock, they finished after three years with pure diligence and teamwork and of course, faith to God. However, Robert Stevenson, the man behind this magnificent project, had continued facing problems which seemed to be beyond his limit. Unfortunately, his twin and a daughter had died of whooping cough. That was the sad part here. If I were in his shoes, I’d probably die of depression. That was tough. But Stevenson was a tough man from the start. Even though he had a huge loss on his part, he still continued with the Bell Rock Lighthouse project. His work became his only focus. And after they finished it, it’s as if they have produced a work of nature. Something deeper in the lighthouse has touched many people’s lives. It was also considered as a tourist spot. Kudos to Stevenson for it! On the other hand, John Rennie, whom Stevenson had asked opinions about before, ranted that Stevenson didn’t deserve his popularity since he was the one who suggested about the curve base of the lighthouse which wasn’t true at all since Stevenson was there all the time and he based it through another’s work. A lighthouse serves as a signal, a guide to all the fishermen and to all the travelers using the sea as their way of commuting. It serves as guidance for everyone who wants to go home and take the right path. Same for what happened to Stevenson and what he had went through by building this lighthouse on a risky rock.