Monday, September 30, 2019

Modernity/Post-modernity: has is brought more harm than good on institutions like the family?

According to Marshall Berman, modernity is a mode of vital experience of space and time, of the self and others, of life's possibilities and perils-that is shared by men and women all over the world today. To be modern, he suggests is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world-and, at the same time, that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything we are. Modern environments and experiences cut across all boundaries of geography and ethnicity, of class and nationality, of religion and ideology: in this sense, modernity can be said to unite all mankind. But it is a paradoxical unity, a unity of disunity: it pours us all into a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration and renewal, of struggle and contradiction, of ambiguity and anguish. To be modern is to be part of a universe in which, as Marx said, â€Å"all that is solid melts into air.† ( Marshall Berman, www†¦) Modern life has been characterised with great discoveries in the physical sciences, changing our images of the universe and our place in it; the industrialization of production, which transforms scientific knowledge into technology, creates new human environments and destroys old ones, generates new forms of corporate power and class struggle; (Marshall Berman, www†¦) According to Giddens, modernity refers to modes of social life or organisation which emerged in Europe from about the 17th century onwards. It is an era distinguished by discontinuities which separate modern social institution from traditional order. The characteristics of this era are; – the pace of change- rapid change in modernity i.e. technology – the scope of change – particular institutional forms (e.g. capitalism, nation state and the differences in the nature of institutions between modern and traditional ones. According to Giddens, the modes of life have moved us away from all traditional types of social order. This is because they have served to establish forms of social interconnection and they have come to alter some of the most intimate and personal features of our day-to-day existence, (reading). As we can gather, modernity is about change from traditional ways to modern ways of doing things. In this discussion, I discuss the impact of modernity on institutions most especially the family. Has modernity brought more harm than good? Traditionally as most of us believe, life at the very beginning evolved very much around Christianity and belief in God. This shaped people's lifestyles, ways of living and thus the society. Christianity and the belief in God is the tradition that has been abandoned as a result of modernity, as put by Kirk Thomas, â€Å"†¦the tradition which promised to become fruitful some 350 years ago proposed that the best hope for authentic human flourishing would come through diligent attention being given to two sources of truth; the word and the world of God. Human beings would understand their true destiny and be able to enjoy it to the full only as they read and lived on the basis of two books; the bible as both the record of both God's action within and the interpretation of the whole reality and nature as a source of human nourishment and pleasure, (K.T, www†¦). This tradition Kirk continues was ‘sabotaged from within and distorted from without'- from within, the tradition was vandalised by a ‘will to power' due to conflict between forces of the reformation and the counter reformation and from without, the tradition was deformed by the ‘will to independence', (K, Thomas). As time progressed, the word was not seen as the only source of knowledge or truth. Slowly there was the realisation that reasoning could occur without having to depend on faith- thus there was the development of scientific knowledge in the attempt by humans to separate truth from falsehood, reason from unreason and fact from fiction. This was seen as the way to examine causes of human problems and analyse them. As a result, human's dreams of the future dominated their imaginations- the dream of a society of social harmony free from oppression and ignorance. By contrasting such a bright future and the past- the dark ages to be overcome, it seemed development was irreversible, there was no turning back, (Catrell). Human's desire for reason made it become the sole action in society, then it became an autonomous power which carried other oppressive powers within its bosom- capitalism, colonialism, technology and state bureaucracy- this was the birth ob modernity. The book of the word was shut and the world became more important. Transition is ongoing, humans are striving to achieve more and more. What are the effects of this on modern society, institutions and the individual? Modern era exacerbates the changes triggered by the industrial revolution that mainly affect economic life, culture and the family. Postmodern life is characterised according to Peter Berg as; a) suffering from time- famine- this is because the requirements of capitalism are too demanding and occur at other spheres of life, i.e. leisure, spiritual life and the family b) because the other spheres of life become less important to man, he becomes hyper- individualistic where individual self- fulfilment is the life long quest and priority. Family therefore becomes less important than it was before ‘modernisation. As a result, it becomes more single headed as unwed parenthood becomes normal, where as during the pre- modern era, family was very crucial to people's livelihoods as they depended highly on each other. The community was much more important than the individual. People held close bonds in the beliefs they shared and the norms that they were careful not to break. Modernity therefore has been a complex cultural and social movement that has/is changing the shape of the society today. Let us look closely at the effects of modernity on the family. There is the dissolving of the nuclear family showing that people are not as highly dependent on each other as they were before modernisation. Today is mostly every man for himself, looking after mainly his immediate family because of the high demands the society has on the individual, the push it has for making the individual strive to better himself at all cost. Today there is an increase in the use of birth control and abortion. In the past, a young woman that fell pregnant had to be hidden from the society or chased from her home because she was seen as such a disgrace, but nonetheless, people, valued life so much that abortion even in the most difficult circumstances was not an option. Today in modern times, it is legal. Could it be because modernity has resulted into us putting such little value on children and family than our ancestors? The move from tradition to scientific has given a licence to man to play God. For example, there is the issue of cloning and an increasingly permissive attitude towards euthanasia. Whether these are ‘harms or good' brought by modernity, one has to decide. Modernity has provided us with a lot of choices that our ancestors didn't have. As put by Marshall Berman, â€Å"the promised land into which we have crossed flowing with rapid technological progress and endless consumer goods seems like a splendid world indeed- but is there an underside to the bewildering options before us? Does too much choice become unhealthy? Does choice ever become dangerous'. Our fundamental identities as men and women he writes are matters of choice and construction. He states that in our age, we have moved from fate or destiny to choice. Simply put, we have choices to make where our ancestors did not. We choose our education, our profession, our spouses and our places to live. ‘Modernity has made us turn our children into acquisitions. Modern technology has made a reality what the pre modern mind could only imagine as an utter oxymoron: planned parenthood and genetic engineering will soon manufacture for us the blonde- haired, blue- eyed designer child that we order. Modernity has seduced us into exploiting the institution of work and family to fuel the appetites of the self, but that appetite is impossible to satisfy'. The question therefore is, is it good or bad that the individual is slowly and rapidly achieving the perfection he strives for? He has so many alternatives than did our ancestors. It is clear that the family is one of the institutions that has been greatly affected my modernity. According to Gordon Anderson, in the modern era, four behavioural factors undermine the traditional family; * the distinction between primary and secondary groups- the former is the small intimate, effective group exemplified by the family and dominant in the pre- industrial society- the latter is the large scale, depersonalised, rational organisation illustrated by the modern corporation and modern state. Modernisation is essentially the progressive rationalisation of society and the gradual eclipse of primary by secondary relationships. Modern societies he states are planned economies. Bourgeois, capitalism and socialism are dominated by secondary groups and relations and in these case the family is less important. Family in modern times is characterised with low birth rates, high rate of divorce and abortion and weak family institution. * In the bourgeois society, family is also undermined because there is a drive to move private issues over to the realm of the public policy- that is deviant behaviour, personal relationships, family life and other areas of life that were private become objects of state concerns and involvement. * Anderson states that the weakening of the family in modern society stems from the growth of individualism- rather than group- centeredness * As a result of medical technology, demographic trends and the materialistic value of the system of modern society, sexual behaviour becomes less of a procreation activity and more of a recreation. For example, single women or gay people may choose to have children even without the attachment of marriage. Sex has become like taking a cup of coffee. Children today can start having sex as early as 12 years old whereas in pre modern times, courtship was the only thing to do before couples got married, ( Anderson) The causes of family change in postmodern era Technology and the economy- The family is changing because of the electronic transformation of the post modern era where information and misinformation are transmitted with increasing speed to increasing numbers of people thus also changing the nature of human communication. There is no need for families to stay together when they can easily communicate in a short time via emails telephone etc. Giddens also saw this in his characterisation of modernity under what he called the separation of time and space. He stresses on the difference between space and place. Place he says, refers to the physical setting of social activity as situated geographically and that unlike pre-modern societies where place and space coincide, the advent of modernity he suggests tears space away from place by fostering relations between absent others. In other words, modernity compresses everything; communication as a result is fast in reaching those people that one is not living with. Giddens also talks about time and space under the characteristic of modernity called, disembedding- this he says is the lifting out of social relations from local contents of interaction and their restructuring across indefinite spans of time and space. This he states occurs in two ways, through the creation of symbolic tokens and the development of expert systems. By symbolic tokens he means, the media interchange which can be passed around without regard to those that handle them. Expert systems, he states are systems of technical accomplishments or professional expertise that recognise large areas of test material and social environments in which we live today. All these only show us that the family will keep on changing due to modernity because the individual has other ways of getting by, i.e. through the use of symbolic tokens such as money, or through putting trust in expert systems. Another cause of family change is demographic, for example the decline in population of some countries I.e., Japan, Germany, Italy, etc. Even those countries that are over populated are also trying to reduce population by changing the structure of the family. Another cause in family change. In the realm of values the following transformations occur, these are; > The cultural and ideological elite of the postmodern world from old-fashioned economic politics to new identity politics. Social movements pursue psychological and cultural objectives such as gay pride and politically correct language. Feminism's goals increasingly combine economic equality and cultural equality > The search for self-fulfilment now assumes the forms of new age religious, environments and communal movements. All these transformations in society have resulted into changes in the family. Another cause is the reversal of home life and priorities. Due to the fact that in this era people are ‘time bind'- demands of work and parenting clash- the home becomes the arena for stress and work haven to which parents escape to socialise with friends and colleagues. As we can see, work which was once historically a survival necessity is turned into a good. In agricultural societies, work occurs at home on the farm, industrialisation and the rise of the factory pulls work out of the home thus causing a physical separation between home/family life and work/economic life, ( Anderson). Feminism in this era has also made the modern woman to see a job as not something to put up with, but something desired, a mark of liberation, a source of identity, meaning and self -esteem. Staying at home with babies and diapers is viewed as torture and oppression. Does this show the victory of corporate capitalism which seems to have taken over the working class and has triumphed finally over the family, the home and the private sphere? What are the consequences for the individual and society? When reality changes, humans have no choice but to redefine it, i.e. when the original concept family declines, other concepts are formed, i.e. families of gay parents and single parents redefine the family. The issue of whether or not changes of the family are good or bad is debatable. On one hand, one may say, pre industrial families in fact suffered from more severe pathologies that does modern evolving family including domestic violence, child abuse and marital rape- the patriarchy family was not kind to all its members, on the other hand to day, there is a lot of emphasis on individual freedom of choice. Consequences for children- less primary socialisation in the home as there is a lot of single parenting in the modern era and there is also a high emphasis on the importance of work and the increase in day care. Mothers also suffer as divorce causes them a decline in income and bad physical and mental health. What are the consequences of these for the society? The rise of mass society- where a society is polarised between a mass of atomised and alienated individuals on the one hand and an overbearing state on the other. In mass societies individuals pay allegiance to themselves and to their nation- nothing in between The rise of the nanny state- with high divorce rates, single parenthood and childlessness and increased freedom of choice, a substitute father emerges- the nanny. Decline of civility- Kirk suggests that the absence of effective socialisation agents will produce a stunted self, thus leading to a decline in civility because he states that the quality of an individual self depends on his/her socialization. The result of an increase in dysfunctional families is an increase in children with criminal activities and hobbies. Dysfunctional families he says produce stunted selves because they fail to do their job, (Kirk Thomas) Modernity and post modernity have brought a lot of changes to the family and the society as a whole. The major causes of family decline are deeply rooted in major social, cultural, economic and technological trends that have been underway for several centuries. However, whether the changes brought forward are positive or negative is up to the individual to decide.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Kraft Turn-Around

The Oreo bicycle campaign in China was the idea of local managers, which Rosenfeld characterized as â€Å"a stroke of genius that only could have come from local managers. † She stated that local managers' opportunities to address local conditions will be â€Å"a source of competitive advantage† for Kraft. Do you agree? I believe that Rosenfeld's primary goal in making these statements were aimed at strengthening her strategic thrust of enabling local responsiveness by strengthening Kraft's values of supporting front line innovation, and empowering workers at all levels.The Kraft China website lists these values in these words: We inspire trust. We act like owner. We keep it simple. We are open and inclusive. We tell like it is. We lead from head and the heart. We discuss. We decide. We deliver. (1) Could the Oreo-bike-wheel idea have possibly come from some other source? Yes, but they also say that give an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters an d sooner or later, one of them will type the collected works of William Shakespeare.But if you do not have infinite resources and can't afford to wait, using people who understand the local culture, history, habits, and trends will find something brilliant much faster than taking the infinite number of monkeys approach. Is using empowered local managers a competitive advantage? At this point in time I would say yes. But this is a time-limited advantage. More and more companies have found that expat management is not a high success percentage path. According to research by Black and Mendenhall (1990), 16% to 40% of expatriate managers terminate their overseas missions ahead of time due to poor performance or mal-adaptation.Furthermore, 50% of them are unable to return to their original positions because of poor performance (Black and Mendenhall, 1990). In addition, based on a study of more than eighty transnational corporations, researcher Tung pointed out that in more than 40 compan ies, 10% to 20% of expatriate managers were repatriated or dismissed due to their inability to effectively carry out assigned missions (Tung, 1982). Numerous studies have attempted to pinpoint the exact reasons for failure in order to develop solutions that counteract these problems, boosting success rates and developing strategies to avoid failure (Hall and Yeaton, 2008).In my experience, many multi- and trans- national companies put people on an expatriate assignment with little expectation other than they become acclimatized to the uniqueness of the local market. Especially in the Asia-Pacific region, I have seen many expats ‘pay their dues' on their way up the corporate ladder, but personally view their time abroad as an extended, company paid vacation. Could it be that companies see the long term value of this cross-cultural exposure has value well beyond any immediate performance during the expat assignment?Kraft's strategy for future global growth involves a limited num ber of markets and products and focuses on going only where management believes the company can win a market share. How does this strategy align with Irene Rosenfeld's restructuring plan? The restructuring described in the text certainly does appear reflect a strategy to focus on a portfolio including fewer product categories and markets. The worldwide restructuring includes encouraging mature market growth in addition to emerging markets where larger growth may be possible.In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Rosenfeld noted 2008 figures of 3% growth in Europe, 5% in the US, and 28% in emerging markets (2). The strategy includes dropping certain product/brand types/markets and replacing them with others, eg. trading Post Cereals and Cream of Wheat for a the French cereal and cookie firm Groupe Danone. REFERENCES (1) Accessed from http://www. kraftfoodscompany. com/cn/en/about/values. aspx (2) Accessed from http://online. wsj. com/ad/article/wbf-rosenfeld Black, J. S. and Mendenhall, M. 1990), Cross cultural training effectiveness: A review and theoretical framework for future research, Academy of Management Review, 15(1), 113-136. Hall, N. & Yeaton, K. (2008), Expatriates: Reducing failure rates, The Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, March/April, 75-78. Tung, R. L. (1982), Selection and training procedures of U. S. , European, and Japanese multinationals, California Management Review, 25(1), 57-71. Essentials of Business Development 2, BUS5602 2nd Edition Edited on Saturday, November 24, 2012 – 6:37 PM

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Big Push Model Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Big Push Model - Case Study Example The UN Millennium Project, commissioned by Kofi Annan to assess how to meet the Millennium Development Goals set for 2015 emphasizing on the "poverty trap" of poor countries .The Millennium Project recommends a series of technical interventions, such as planting nitrogen-fixing leguminous trees, distributing bed-nets to protect against malaria, giving fertilizer to farmers, building health clinics, constructing battery-charging stations, giving each village a truck and a truck repairman, etc. (UN Millennium Project ,2005)(2) The emergence of big push, UN Millennium Project and subsequent MDGs may invite a massive response in relevant areas, but the name of Jaffrey Sachs, the main orator of this big push model and his contributions in this field are unforgettable. In this context we shall analyze the background of Jeffrey Sachs, its findings and the concept of big push in detail. Additionally we shall examine how far the views of Jeffrey Sachs on big push affect the substantial developments in Africa. As a special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Prof. ... Jeffrey Sachs and his worksAs a special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Prof. Goals, Jeffrey Sachs played a crucial role in the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015. Sachs is also President and Co-Founder of Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending extreme global poverty. (The Earth Institute Directory, 2007) (3)He is widely considered to be the leading international economic advisor of his generation. Professor Sachs has always been in the head of the challenges of economic development, poverty alleviation, and enlightened globalization, promoting policies to help all parts of the world .His view was there can be some benefit from expanding economic opportunities and wellbeing. Moreover he played a key role in combining economic development with environmental sustainability, and as Director of the Earth Institute leads large-scale efforts to promo te the mitigation of human-induced climate change. In his book "the End of Poverty" Prof. Jeffrey Sachs tried to explain his own strategies for eradicating poverty by 2025 effectively. (Easterly, 2005) (4) According to Prof. Jeffrey Sachs the new millennium model of big push must be extended so that the rich countries need to help poor countries to make certain practical investments that are often really very basic. This is the basic difference between the big push model of 1950's and 60's and new millennium model. Once the development issues are on light, there are tremendous things can be solved and also that can be done. (5)( mother (Jones,2005)He always speak enthusiastically other main goals

Friday, September 27, 2019

ENG DB 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ENG DB 5 - Essay Example In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, Hawthorne presents the idea that the Puritan religion, because of these beliefs, has lost all sense of meaning to the younger generations. In his journey through the dark woods and the events he witnesses there, Goodman Brown’s steps symbolize Hawthorne’s own doubts and observations about his religion based on his knowledge of what has gone before and the inevitable result of the Puritanical teachings he’s been part of. As Young Goodman Brown sets off on his dark journey, his young wife Faith implores him not to go, sensing some kind of immediate peril. The emphasis on young here indicates the journey Goodman Brown is proposing to undertake is a journey to find the necessary conversion experience deemed important in the Puritan religion of Hawthorne’s time. Without having gone through such a transformation, individual members were not considered to be full-fledged members of the congregation. As a newly married man, it would be among Goodman Brown’s chief concerns to establish himself as a member of the community and take his proper role as the head of a household. Yet, the fear expressed by Faith indicates there is a hidden peril in undertaking such a journey. Her warning, â€Å"may you find all well when you come back† (293), seems to indicate the peril does not apply strictly to Goodman Brown as he sets off on his journey, but for Faith as well in being left behind, alone in the darkness. The sense of foreboding in testing his own faith is further emphasized as Goodman Brown enters the forest â€Å"on his present evil purpose. He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind† (294). In this solitary journey, Hawthorne indicates that the doctrine of purposefully seeking challenges to a faith already weakened by church dictates is a highly dangerous proposition with the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Quantitative Research Article Critique Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Quantitative Article Critique - Research Paper Example Independent and Dependent Variables of the Study For this study, a set of independent variables were initially tested for statistically significant effect on the dependent variable; the dependent variable being the test-taker’s success or failure at first sitting in an NCLEX-RN examination. The independent variables initially tested included SAT / ACT scores, science grade point average (GPA) prior to admission to the nursing program, critical thinking test score, writing portfolio score, individual nursing course grades, number of nursing course failures, all standardized test scores, graduating GPA, and number of semesters taken to complete the nursing program (McGahee, Gramling, & Reid, 2010). Science GPA was taken from the participant’s anatomy, physiology, and chemistry courses; the standardized tests were made up of a critical thinking test, an end of course test for each nursing course, and an RN Assessment test designed to predict NCLEX-RN success; the regular n umber of semesters required to complete the nursing program after completion of general education courses and acceptance into the nursing program was five. ... However, it may be noted that these same variables were not given due operational definitions which resulted in a vague description of how data was quantified in order to represent these variables. Without proper operationalization of the variables, future researchers may have a difficulty replicating such a study (Coughlan, Cronin, & Ryan, 2007). There was not much information on the demographic structure of the participants for this study. Their only qualification was being a graduate of a baccalaureate nursing school over a period of three years between fall 2006 and spring 2009. No information was provided on the participants’ sex, age, race/ethnicity, or socio-economic status. In addition, relevant characteristics of the sampled baccalaureate school were not identified (McGahee, Gramling, & Reid, 2010). Research Design A retrospective correlation design was used for this particular investigation (McGahee, Gramling, & Reid, 2010). As this study looks into possible predicto rs of NCLEX-RN success, the sample was treated as a whole and the independent variables were simply tested on their predictiveness capability, looking into main effects, and interaction effects between and among predictors. One notable discrepancy of this study is that the predictors were not tested for collinearity with each other. Duffy (2005) points out that such a test is necessary in order to filter out the possible redundant effects of certain variables. On the plus side, this study was designed in a similar manner as a number of previous studies as identified in the Review of Literature section. The methodologies used for this study bears similarities with the previous studies except for the specific variables under

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

International Financial Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Financial Markets - Essay Example In the broader perspective, it is a place where in the investors (who have surplus funds) and security issuers (who require funds) can meet and fulfil each others’ requirements (Bailey, 2005, p.34). Stock exchanges provide investors the opportunity to invest in a broad range of securities such as stocks, bonds, commodities, derivative instruments, and so on. These exchanges also provides conveniences for issue and redemption of financial instruments and other securities including payment of dividends and other fixed bearing returns such as coupon interest (Madura, 2012, pp.3-5). It is important to understand that the stock exchanges have multiple roles to play for the development of economy by proper channelization of capital. But one of the most important functions is raising and mobilising capital for businesses. Stock exchanges provide these services and facilities by selling ownership shares to public. The process is also known as the initial public offering or IPO that al lows incorporated companies to list their shares in stock markets and allow external investors to invest in the company. The might require capital for expansion of existing facilities, launching new product or services, or diversifying products and services geographically. Whatever may be the reason for raising capital, irrespective of that the investors get the opportunity to mobilise their savings for investment (Samuel, No date, pp.26-31). For instance, when general public draw their savings and invest in shares of companies through IPO, the process actually leads to allocation of scarce resources of funds in most rational manner. This is because if the investors prefer to keep their surplus funds with them or idle deposits with banks, then the resources are stuck in the economy and is not utilised in best possible manner. But, when the investors prefer investing the funds trading in stock markets then their funds are redirected to help the management of the companies or respecti ve finance boards of the organisations. The benefit of such investment and mobilisation of funds is not only limited to the issuing companies and the investments benefit several other sectors in the economy that are linked to each other indirectly. The mobilisation of fund to different sectors such as agriculture, industry, and commerce ultimately results into higher productivity at all level of firms and promotes stronger economic growth (Bradley and Teweles, 1998, pp.329-348). The stock markets may be broadly classified into primary market and secondary market. The main function of the primary market is facilitating issue of new securities. Organisations, both in public and private sector have the opportunity to tap the primary market where they can offer their shares to public and raise capital. The securities are not limited to ownership capital or equity capital but business entities may also issue bonds through primary. The issue of security by any business entity would depend on the business strategy and the target capital structure that the management decides in the best interest of the shareholders. If the management prefers not to dilute ownership stake and retain significant control over the key management decisions then the entity is likely to prefer bonds over equity instruments. On the other hand, if the companies prefer to increase the earnings per share of the shareholders by leveraging their existing capital structure, then it might choose

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Theories and theorists with the causes and responses to problematic Literature review

Theories and theorists with the causes and responses to problematic behaviour in children - Literature review Example One of the most basic debates revolves around the respective importance of the features and qualities that a child is born with, and those that are acquired from the environment as a child matures in the company of other people. This is known as the nature/nurture debate (Eysenk, 1997, 305-309) and a number of psychologists have devised experiments to try and work this out, so that more can be understood about how a child learns to interact with others, absorbing the rules of society and finding ways to adapt to the demands of school. Clearly if scholars can understand how behaviour is acquired, then they have more chance of finding ways to intervene if problems arise in this process. Behaviourism is one of the most well-known theories of child development. The Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) conducted some very famous experiments on animals to research the way that learning takes place. He was primarily interested in physiology and his experiment with dogs showed that a random connection between a certain sound, and a reward of food, meant nothing to a dog at first, but with repeated association of the two, the dog could be trained to respond to the tone, in anticipation of the food, so that when the tone sounded, for the dog would salivate, even though there was no food in the room. Pavlov noted that this reflex action occurred spontaneously in the dog, whenever the stimulus was given, and this was called conditioning and it provided the basis for the theory of behaviourism. An example of the enduring truth of these theories can be observed in some typical behaviours in the context of education: â€Å"†¦ our actions may condition inappropriate a s well as appropriate behaviours, such as the automatic lack of attention to the lesson the moment the bell rings.† (Woollard, 2010, p. 12) Further work on this line of thinking was done by American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949), based on the way that cats learn to solve puzzles. Thorndike focussed on repetition of tasks, showing that the more frequently an action is required, and the more often a reward is offered for completion of this action, the more likely it is that the animal will learn the action. The implications for child behaviour are that learning should be provided in well structured, rather repetitive ways, with consistency in the reward system so that the child over time learns to fit in with what is expected of him. The psychologist John Watson (1878-1958) used the tools of scientific experimentation to demonstrate the validity of behaviourism: â€Å"Based on his research on higher order animals, Watson strove to bring to psychology the same me asure of objectivity that marked some of the other traditional sciences such as physics and chemistry.† (Hart and Kritsonis, 2006, pp. 2-3) The empirical method, based on experiments and data analysis were a major part of Watson’s behaviourism and he is credited with establishing the credibility of Psychology as a discipline. Continuing in this same vein, B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) developed these ideas using rats initially, and then drawing parallels with child development. He devised experiments in which rats were required to push levers to obtain food, and this was called operant conditioning, because the rats had to actively operate the equipment to achieve the desired result. The important factor which he applied to child behaviour, was that rewards and punishments could be used to condition children to behave in certain ways. Skinner’s behaviour modification theories hold that positive reinforcements, such as praise and encouragement will work more effectivel y than negative reinforcements, such as punishment, because the associations of past experiences will gradually persuade the child

Monday, September 23, 2019

Federal Express Canada Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Federal Express Canada Analysis - Case Study Example Contents Contents 3 Background 4 Statement of Problem(s) or Statement of Issue(s) 4 Situation Analysis 5 Marketing Mix 5 SWOT Analysis 6 Environmental Analysis 7 Analysis of alternatives 7 Recommendation(s) 7 Implementation or Action Plan 8 Reference 8 Background The case study revolves around FedEx’s customer service that it provides to its customer and need of assistance provided by the customers care. FedEx is one of the leaders in the air express cargo transportation and its business is based on the philosophy that â€Å"when people are placed first they will provide the highest possible services and the profits will follow†. FedEx is known to be a reliable shipper and is committed to get the package of its customers irrespective of the size to the required destination on time. The present case study analysis is based on the customer service of FedEx which they showed towards a small company by the name of Desktop Innovation. Anita Kilgour who was the office manager in Desktop Innovation had shipped two packets from Kitchener, Ontario to Simpsonville, South Carolina through FedEx. But only one of the two packets was received and there were no whereabouts about the second packets. Statement of Problem(s) or Statement of Issue(s) FedEx which was known for its services and has received many awards for its excellent services in the past but Anita was really disappointed with the way the company handled the situation. With respect to the case of Anita and her company Desktop Innovation, the main problem lied with FedEx was its customer service. Despite of Anita calling them several times to keep a track of the packets and to know about the whereabouts of the missing packets, the customer service department was least interests in informing her and the company about the missing packet and as promised they never called Anita back to provide the information. As stated by Anita that the customer service policies needs to be given an in dept analysis was however true for the situation where Anita and her company had to face issues because of FedEx. Situation Analysis Marketing Mix The marketing mix constitutes of four Ps but since Federal Express is a service industry, the marketing mix would include the remaining three Ps also that is all in 7 Ps. Thus the 7Ps are Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence. Product/ Services: FedEx is a courier service industry and delivers the couriers to the required destinations ion time and it has been known for its on time delivery system. Other services includes packaging and shipping of the products, hold at the location, local delivery, laptop docking stations, hotels and conventions and also provides services such as scanning, fax, passport and other office suppliers (FedEx, 2012). The products of FedEx includes posters, banners, displays and frames, cards and calendar, design services to name a few products (FedEx, 2012). Price: FedEx charges a premium price for its services from its customers. It also provides booking facility through the internet so that customer can book at an ease and at any point of time. Place: FedEx is geographically scattered all over the globe and provide services 24*7. FedEx is located in Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, North America and Latin America.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Teamwork, Collboration, and Conflict Resolution Essay

Teamwork, Collboration, and Conflict Resolution - Essay Example an help achieve collaboration through communication, stability, research and evaluation, as well as resources, leadership, group development and participation to help achieve collaboration in the work place. Collaboration is a process of participation through which people, groups and organizations work together to achieve desired results. It is important that communication is clear and established through a process. Resources are important to use because of their accessibility and credibility to provide results of tools that have been tried before and succeeded or failed or in process through research and evaluation. Management needs to be able to provide leadership and direction to promote and facilitate the workplace in order to develop a sense of collaboration. It is important for those that are in managerial roles to help support team building through this process. Group development helps address important issues along the way. It is important for mangers to identify personality types and the different groups of people that work best together to get the job done. This will help managers in developing a communication system to help achieve the goals and objectives that are put in place. Employees feel connected in formal and informal communication through network and group development, this is important for employees in their personal and professional development. Management is a very high position and takes a lot of understanding within the department or group they are leading. A manager has to be bias and also be able to resolve any conflicts that their employees may have. Looking over conflicts that can happen in the work will consist of using the five factors that come into play. The most effect to me would be to calibrate the ideas that are coming up in the conflict. Put in writing what each employee has to say and make an evaluation on what the next step will be. Each employee has a say so in any type of change or goal that each department is trying to

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Sneakers War Essay Example for Free

Sneakers War Essay Marketing Management SNEAKER WARS 2007 Nike never lacks for boldness. The Beaverton sneaker goliath recently offered the German National Soccer Federation $778 million to sponsor its national soccer team for 10 years in an audacious move to rattle its German rival adidas and long-time sponsor of the German team. Nikes new chief executive, Mark Parker, upped the boldness quotient again on Feb. 6, when he outlined an ambitious plan to grow revenues by $8 billion in five years. In his first major initiative since inheriting the top spot (Chief Executive) in January, 2006, Parker explained to investors at Nikes annual analyst conference how the company aims to grow to $23 billion in global revenue by 2011. The comprehensive long-term strategy calls for reshaping the management structure; redefining Nikes relationship with its fast-changing, digitally driven consumer; and adding 100 new company stores worldwide in three years. Were fundamentally changing the way we organize the company, Parker said. Nike is as hungry and as driven as weve ever been before and becoming more focused and more competitive. While analysts and investors applauded much of Nikes new strategy, some questioned whether the company could actually do it. After all, revenues would need to rise 53% over five years, or average about 9% a year, to reach the target of $23 billion. Its going to be challenging to achieve $8 billion in new sales without turning around slumping sales in Europe, Japan, and the U. S. basketball market a crucial $3 billion to $3. billion market segment. I think its going to be tough for them, said John Shanley, financial analyst for Susquehanna Financial. Basketball, for example, is shrinkin g in terms of sales. They have 96% of the market share in the $100 or more price point. How do you get high single-digit growth when you already have more than 96% of the market? Nike executives fell short in offering specific details to some of these questions and focused more on painting a broader picture of the new strategy. They stressed a multi-pronged approach that includes reorganizing the Nike brand into six main athletic divisions running, basketball, soccer, womens fitness, mens training, and sport culture that are expected to generate 75% of the brands growth. The company had previously divided the brand into three segments: footwear, apparel, and equipment. Growth is also expected to come from emerging markets and potential acquisitions. But Nike Brand President Charlie Denson said the company can reach the $23 billion target without new acquisitions. As for new markets, China is expected to become Nikes second biggest market behind the U. S. , potentially chalking up $1 billion in sales. Nike is building a strategy for growth across China that will foster new connections with Chinese youth, a market share plan designed to reap benefits far beyond the Beijing Olympics next year, top executives said last week. By tapping into swelling consumerism, label consciousness and new social freedoms among Chinas youth, Nike hopes to cement and expand its current position as the leading athletic footwear and apparel brand in the worlds most populous country, currently the companys fourth-largest market. With about $600 million in current annual sales, Nike believes China has the potential to be the companys second-largest market behind the United States with revenue of $1 billion within five years. The company estimates some 50 million Chinese youth play basketball. We think our opportunity there is to connect more deeply with local culture, Parker said, explaining Nikes overall China strategy. Parker said Nike will create products and retail and digital experiences designed to resonate with wired, hip and willing-to-spend Chinese youth living in different cities and regions. Ultimately, thats going to be our best foundation for growth going forward, Parker said. China is a prime component in the global Nike puzzle that will help push total sales for the Beaverton, Oregon-based company toward a target of $23 billion by 2011. Nike also views India, whose population growth rate is rising faster than China’s and Russia as potential $1 billion markets. Although the budget for Nik es 2008 Beijing Olympics strategy has not yet been planned, Nike Brand President Charlie Denson said that commitment would be major. But, Denson said, We are looking beyond Beijing. A recent Just Do It campaign that aired on Chinese television featured a young woman basketball player and a young male skateboarder who spoke of their lives and dreams through sports. A popular Internet-based advertising campaign that followed the television advertisements encouraged teenagers to send in their own stories. While soccer and basketball are the most popular sports among Chinese youth, Nike also sees a huge market for its sports culture footwear and apparel lines that capture the allure of sports without the performance aspects. Trevor Edwards, Nikes vice president of global brand and category management, explained that Nike is trying to encourage Chinese youth to find their individual voice. The Just Do It campaign and others, Edwards said, communicated that we were a brand about opportunity; we were a brand about hope. Nike sponsors 22 out of 28 Chinese sports federations. While the best-known Chinese athlete in the United States, basketball centre Yao Ming, is signed with Reebok, a division of Adidas AG , popular Chinese hurdler and Olympic gold medallist Liu Xiang is a Nike athlete. Even though much of Nikes marketing campaign in China is based on youth individuality, Nike wants to make sure their footwear fits the millions. To that end, Nikes engineers and physiologists back at their headquarters have been collecting data about Chinese feet. But the company will not say whether specific footwear lines will be launched for China. Nikes India business has grown 40% since last year thanks in part to its efforts in cricket. Nike executives also said they plan to invest aggressively in other potential billion-dollar markets such as Russia and Brazil. Back in the USA, Nikes efforts to add new retail stores and elevate its partnership with existing retailers is a big part of its new strategy. This effort comes at a time of sluggish sales from some of its biggest retailers mall-based chains Foot Locker (FL) and Finish Line (FINL). Nike executives said the company plans to grow its direct-to-retail business to 15% of total sales, or $3. 5 billion, from 12% today. The segment includes its own stores, factory outlets, and an e-commerce division, which executives expect to see a significant increase in revenues over the next five years. For the planned retail investment, Nike will increase capital spending to $475 million annually, up from just under $400 million, Nike said. Gary DeStefano, president of Nikes global operations, stressed its retail goal is to make Nike a better retail partner: This is not about Nike vs. the retailers, he said. This is a partnership. We believe this could be a growth strategy. But probably Nikes boldest bet is on the consumer. In the eyes of Parker, this new and evolving digitally driven consumer is reshaping the retailing landscape. The power is now in the onsumers hands, and Parker believes Nike and other consumer brand companies need to adjust to the new market dynamics. Consumers have never held as much power as they do today, Parker said. And clearly the power has shifted to consumers. Nikes Denson said this fundamental shift can be captured in the way the company studies its consumer profiles. In the past, managers used to consider 18- and 22-year-olds as part of the same demo graphic target. Now he says they are treated as separate and distinct markets when it comes to age, interests, and tastes. We spent the last 30 years trying to bundle things, and now its almost the reverse and we have to un-bundle things, Denson said, explaining Nikes new efforts to tailor products to individual consumers. Despite these fundamental changes in how Nike approaches its customers and its reshaped management structure, some things never change. Nike remains its audacious self and competitive juices still run strong. It still has goals to dominate markets where it is not already No. 1, and it’s redoubling efforts to unseat rival Adidas as the worlds top supplier of soccer shoes and apparel. Its recent bid to sponsor the German national team is part of its 2010 goal to dominant the football brand, said Nike marketing vice-president Trevor Edwards. We believe its time to create separation. This is not a game of chicken. Some things never change. Adidas expects growth overseas, particularly in Asia, to push sales at its Reebok division to US$5 billion ($7. 42 billion) over the next three to five years, up from US$3 billion, adidas chief Herbert Hainer said yesterday. The worlds second-largest sporting goods maker after Nike also said it expected to cut costs including at Reebok, which it acquired last year by about 87 million euros ($1. 6 billion) this year. That will more than offset integration costs, resulting in an overall cost savings of about 10 to 20 million euros, Hainer said. For the Reebok brand, the main growth driver will be Asia and to a certain extent Europe as well. Key markets like Germany and France are underdeveloped, as is Russia. Emerging markets have a huge potential and we will grow in the US, but by far not at the pace of Asia. Much of that growth will come toward the latter part of that period with the brand expecting only modest revenue growth, said Paul Harrington, president and CEO of the Reebok brand. Adidas, the German based sporting goods giant, bought Reebok in a US$3. 8 billion deal, looking to complement its strength in Europe with a major US brand that had greater strength in the fashion segment. But the Reebo k brand has been a drag on Adidass performance thus far. In November 2006, the German company lowered its 2007 profit growth forecast to 15 per cent from 20 per cent, citing trouble at Reebok. Adidas shares have slid almost 14 per cent since the Reebok takeover closed on January 31, 2006. Rival Nikes shares have risen about 24 per cent over that time. Reeboks sales have been lagging in the United States and the United Kingdom, though adidas plans a big expansion for the brand in Asia, including about 3200 stores in China, India and Russia by 2010. It is to open 200 stores in China and 90 in Russia this year. The brand is also eyeing an expansion in Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. In Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland and Spain, where the brand is still sold by third-party distributors, the company is working to buy out those contracts, but some may have to run their course through to 2012. At present, about 40 per cent of the Reebok brands sales come from North America and 40 per cent from Europe. Part of what makes the expansion outside the United States so appealing is that profit margins tend to be higher in the rest of the world, Hainer said. You have much higher quantity on the US market, but much more value, higher profit margins on the European or Asian market. Adidas plans to reposition its Reebok brand to target athletics apparel consumers who value individuality, with a goal of broadening beyond an urban youth target audience and re-emphasizing Reeboks roots as an athletics performance brand. The strategy comes as Germany-based adidas ramps up its investment in Reebok a year after acquiring the brand and then seeing Reebok sales fall into a slump. The revised brand strategy builds off the edgy I am what I am campaign Reebok adopted four years ago by embracing hip-hop culture and youth-oriented entertainment alongside its traditional athletics performance market. The new strategy will maintain the I am what I am theme in many of Reeboks advertisements. But it also will position Reebok as an American-inspired global brand that celebrates individuality in sport and life, according to Adidas. Reebok President and Chief Executive Paul Harrington said the brand will gently shift emphasis toward suburban consumers of all ages without abandoning the urban youth targeted by I am what I am. Reebok also will try to reconnect with consumers who value athletic performance over fashion. While I am what I am wont go by the wayside, It may not be as loud as it was when we first launched it, Harrington said in an interview at Reeboks Canton headquarters, where he was joined by Adidas CEO and Chairman Herbert Hainer. The street-influenced I am what I am campaign helped Reebok connect with youth by featuring endorsers such as rappers 50 Cent and Jay-Z. But some industry analysts said the campaign risked alienating customers who prize performance over fashion and marked too sharp a departure for a brand that gained traction pitching aerobics shoes to women in the 1980s. Were not going to move totally away from music, but were going to reach for a broader audience, Harrington said. Adidas hopes Reebok will double its U. S. business and narrow Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike Inc. s market leadership. But adidas said in November last year (2006) that sales of Reebok-branded shoes and other apparel fell 7 percent in the first nine months of last year, compared with the same peri od in 2005. Adidas also conceded that Reeboks profit growth this year would fall short of initial expectations, and it said it intended to increase Reebok investment this year. Among other things, Reebok has been hurt by a recent decline in the once-hot market for retro-styled sneakers that mimic styles from the 80s a trend that Reebok helped drive, said John Horan, publisher of Sport Goods Intelligence, a Glen Mills, Pennsylvania-based industry newsletter. Since Adidas completed the Reebok deal in January 2006, analysts have speculated as to how the one-time athletics sneaker and apparel rivals would position the two separately managed brands to avoid competing against one another in the same market niches. The strategy announced Thursday will be launched with two Reebok campaigns this year. The first is a Run Easy campaign beginning this spring emphasizing the fun and joy of running, rather than its blood, sweat and tears aspect and winning. Reebok plans to launch a broader campaign in August targeting a variety of athletes as well as lifestyle apparel consumers around the theme Best On/Best Off suggesting that Reebok products offer the best in apparel both on and off the playing field. New products Reebok plans to introduce this year include a running shoe created especially for women, a new Allen Iverson model basketball shoe, and an apparel collection endorsed by actress Scarlett Johansson. Andrew Rohm, a former Reebok marketing employee and now an assistant professor of marketing at North-eastern University, said the revised strategy reflects an attempt by Reebok to create a new niche to complement the Adidas brand, whose traditional strength has been in athletic performance, especially soccer. I think it may be a reflection of looking less at sheer sales volume, and more in terms of owning a unique space, and becoming more of a niche player than they have tried to be in the past, Rohm said. Reeboks Harrington said the revised marketing strategy will help position the brand for a comeback. It really positions us for growth in the back end of 2007, he said. Puma, the maker of athletic shoes, shirts and other sporting goods, said its fourth-quarter profit fell 26 percent as it tries to broaden its product base and expand into new regions. But the company, the worlds third-biggest maker of sports apparel behind Nike Inc. and adidas AG, said it expected sales and earnings in 2007 to increase in the higher single-digit figure range, largely on demand for its licensed products. Overall, we are very pleased with 2006 and our start to (the latest restructuring phase), as we set some ambitious targets and are on track or ahead on all accounts, Chief Executive Jochen Zeitz said in a statement. But more important than the past is the future and weve put ourselves in a solid early position to deliver on our objectives. Puma earned euro32. 8 million (US$43 million) in the last three months of 2006, down from euro44. 1 million in the same quarter of 2005. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a profit of euro34 million (US$44. 6 million). Sales rose 38 percent to euro480 million (US$629. 7 million) from euro349. 2 million a year ago, still less than the euro492 million (US$645. 4 million) analysts had predicted. For the year, Puma earned euro263. 2 million (US$345. 3 million), down nearly 8 percent from euro285. 8 million in 2005, just below analysts estimates of euro264 million (US$346. million). Sales rose 33 percent to euro2. 37 billion (US$3. 11 billion) from euro1. 78 billion in 2005, just under estimates of euro2. 38 billion (US$3. 12 billion). The sales increase was led, in part, by better-than-expected demand for its shirts and helped by the afterglow of the 2006 soccer World Cup, in which Puma sponsored the champion Italy. It is also a key supplier to many African teams. Since Zeitz was named CEO and chairman of the company in 1993, Puma has returned to profitability and increased sales and expanded its research and development, marketing and branding programs. Its latest restructuring effort is aimed at expanding the companys reputation as a maker of lifestyle brands clothes, shoes and accessories, such as eyeglasses and expand in more regions and categories. For the year, Puma posted strong sales in North and South America, with sales reaching euro724. 1 million (US$949. 95 million), up 51. 8 percent from 2005. In Asia and the Pacific, sales more than tripled to euro486. 5 million (US$638. 24 million). In Europe, the Middle East and Africa sale increased 5. 1 percent to euro1. 15 billion (US$1. 51 billion). The companys backlog of orders a key indicator for future sales performance was at euro1. 12 billion (US$1. 47 billion) at the end of 2006, up 4. 7 percent from euro1. 07 billion in 2005. Shares of Herzogenaurach-based Puma were up nearly 2 percent after the results were released but fell back more than half a percent to euro288. 01 (US$377. 84) in Frankfurt trading. References: Business Week Online Can Nike Do It? By Stanley Holmes 7 February 2007 Reuters News Nike striving to be brand about hope in China By Alexandria Sage 12 February 2007 New Zealand Herald Reebok to race in Europe and Asia 3 February 2007 Associated Press Newswires Adidas shifting Reeboks brand identity By MARK JEWELL 2 February 2007 Associated Press Newswires Athletic apparel maker Puma says 4th-quarter profit drops 26 percent By MATT MOORE 19 February 2007 Questions 1. Conduct a SWOT analysis of the key players in the sneaker industry and critically analyse their influence within the industry and the market. (25 marks) 2. Evaluate all significant trends in the environment and assess what impact each is likely to have on the sneaker industry. (25 marks) (Total = 50 marks)

Friday, September 20, 2019

Caffeine Coffee Stimulant

Caffeine Coffee Stimulant Caffeine Consumption Miranda Opolka Abstract Caffeine is the most commonly consumed ‘drug in the world that is said to have been discovered in the Paleolithic Period. It is found in basically everything that people consume including all types of food, soft drinks, energy drinks, coffee, tea, and chocolate. The purpose of caffeine is to help strengthen attentiveness and diminish exhaustion. Taking too much or abusing the use of caffeine, can cause side effects, but can all be avoided if taken in reasonable amounts. So many beneficial effects come with consuming this drug from helping people in sports, to losing weight, to increasing alertness, and repelling things such as snails and slugs. Testing is done often to find more ways that caffeine is useful in individuals lives. In the authors opinion it is believed that caffeine has many more positive effects that overcome the negative effects. Caffeine Consumption INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY Caffeine has been around for many years and is having an impact on more and more people everyday. A great deal of evidence denotes that the consumption of caffeine goes all the way back to the Paleolithic Period (Magkos Kavouras, 2005). Some may think that caffeine is bad for the body and does no good, however many Americans consume caffeine everyday in their diet. Although caffeine has both positive and negative effects, there are much more positive effects if taken responsibly. Caffeine is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system, which causes high alertness. Taking too much of any drug is going to lead to the chances of having side effects. The side effects can be prevented by decreasing the amount of caffeine that is taken into the body. Thus, from increasing alertness, mood, psychomotor performance, to helping as a dietary aid and extending exercise in people suffering from heart failure, to being used as a repellent for mollusks, caffeine is used in many ways and has many positive effects that go along with it. People need to have a better understanding of caffeine before making judgments. CONSUMPTION The main source of caffeine consumption comes from soft drinks. Caffeine is an additive used in such drinks to sweeten the taste. It can show no flavor depending on the amount taken, but the positive effects that come with it are an increased attention rate and better mood. Because of these effects, more people thrive off caffeinated drinks. Looking around, there are soft drink machines everywhere giving more people access to this stimulant. Yet, many people believe that they should not be in schools or places where it is efficient for kids because they say it is so unhealthy for them (Keast Riddell, 2006). Others will argue this in saying that caffeine is good for the body as long as its not abused. This is a true statement, and as a result educating more people on the effects of caffeine would be very helpful to everyone. Besides soda and other soft drinks, caffeine is also found in coffee. Coffee has many positive effects to it, such that coffee stimulates the brain and increases energy and mood, and can help in preventing diseases such as skin, liver, and colon cancer, and some others. Both the combination of daily exercise and a cup of coffee are said by scientists to help in the prevention of skin cancer. This has been tested and proven on hairless mice, which have extremely sensitive skin to the sun. Stated from The Times of India, one group was given caffeinated water to drink, another group exercised on a running wheel at its own convenience, while the third group both drank caffeine and exercised on the wheel, and the control group neither drank nor exercised. All of the mice were exposed to ultraviolet radiation, which the results in comparing all the groups to the control group showed that the caffeine drinkers showed an increase of 95% in ultraviolet radiation stimulating apoptosis. Apoptos is is the process where cells with damaged DNA are destroyed against illness. The second group showed a 120% increase, while the mice that both consumed caffeine and exercised showed close to a 400% increase (â€Å"Coffee May Prevent Skin Cancer,† 2007). A study was also developed to research the effects of caffeine on liver cancer. More than 90,000 Japanese were used in a study and it was found that people that drank coffee daily or close to every day had reduced the risk of liver cancer by nearly half compared to those who never drank coffee. â€Å"The American Cancer Society estimates that 18,920 cases of liver cancer were diagnosed in the United States last year and some 14,270 people died of the illness† (â€Å"Coffee May Help Prevent Liver Cancer,† 2008). As a result, it is well stated that caffeine can reduce the chances of liver cancer. According to many scientists, there is a highly antioxidant compound that is found in coffee that reduces the chances of colon cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. This compound found in coffee is called methylpyridinium, however is not found in raw coffee beans but is created during the roasting process. Tests were brought out to scrutinize this compound even more, so specially equipped extracts of the coffee were exposed to certain lab situations of human intestinal cells for three days and were compared to cells that were not exposed to coffee. In the experiment, coffee extracts were found to have increased the activity levels of phase II enzymes. Then, to determine whether it had the same effect in living systems, a group of twenty-four rats was evenly divided into three groups. Each group was fed different diets, either a normal diet, a diet mixed with coffee extract, or a normal diet containing pure methylpyridinium. The tests showed t hat rats that were fed the coffee extract had a 24-40% increase in phase II enzymes and the group with the pure methylpyridinium showed an increase in the enzyme activity levels (â€Å"Highly Active Compound Found in Coffee May Prevent Colon Cancer,† 2003). Results show that coffee is proven to fight cancer in living systems. Caffeine can help in such diseases as cancer in which caffeine and another substance called theophylline are found in many products like coffee, chocolate, and many soft drinks. It is said that they can block enzymes that are crucial for cell growth, which means that one day it could be used to stop cell growth all together and avoid blood clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes (â€Å"Caffeine Boost in Cancer Battle,† 2002). It is not just coffee that prevents cancer, it is the caffeine in coffee that is preventing this disease. As most know, there is no cure for cancer, although the tests above show the many ways in which caffeine can help prevent one of the leading causes of deaths. Despite the positive effects of consuming coffee, here in the United States, drinking coffee is consumed most by adults. However, in Guatemala, it is very common among children. It is one of the first liquids given to babies after milk in Guatemala, even though it may affect the cognitive function by damaging iron levels. It is also known to hinder with the iron absorption and iron status of pregnant women and their babies, which is why it is said that pregnant woman should give up coffee during the term of pregnancy because it could cause miscarriages (Engle et al., 1999). Nonetheless, not consuming coffee while pregnant and not giving coffee to such young children can avoid these negative effects. SPORTS AND DIET Caffeine is known as one of the most widely used pick-me-ups in sports because of its ability to increase alertness and mood. Many athletes depend on this stimulant to help them carry on with their game if they are feeling a little drowsy or incapable to perform in an expected manner. Using caffeine is often used to improve physical and mental performance. It improves physical performance by causing alertness and giving the athlete energy to perform and improves mental performance by stimulating the central nervous system. This helps the athletes have higher levels of concentration (Magkos Kavouras, 2005). Using caffeine instead of other types of steroids and drugs is much cheaper and has less health effects. It also has less ineligibility cases compared to many other drugs. Being cut from a team is not the only consequence if caught using steroids or drugs, but it is also considered a felony. Therefore, many athletes should take caffeine over steroids to increase energy (Magkos Kavouras, 2005). Unless caffeine is taken in substantial amounts, some side effects may occur. Taking in massive quantities of caffeine may trigger dehydration that could affect functioning. It may also cause gastrointestinal pain and other side effects, such that caffeine is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and spread throughout the tissues of the body. Athletes that are abusing the use of caffeine may notice an occurrence in nervousness or an increase in heart rate and may even lead up to seizures or a coma. Caffeine has to be taken with some caution, because of the possible negative side effects that could take place, but remembering to take in only what is needed will help bring out only the positive effects (Magkos Kavouras, 2005). Since caffeine is found in so many foods and over the counter medications, it is becoming to show an increase in all diets around the world. Many people that are trying to lose weight take caffeine pills or eat a diet that is high in caffeine for the energy, similar to those as athletes that use it to enhance performance. Though caffeine pills should not be taken everyday and should be taken early in the day to reduce the chances of losing sleep at night. They help in increasing energy levels and suppressing hunger. This is very helpful for people who do not have the energy to get up and exercise. Some people may need that extra boost to get them started (Striegel-Moore et al., 2006). On the other hand, it is not a fundamental nutrient, nor good for the health if taken too often. Too much can become addictive and cause problems like eating disorders, which is very common among young adults. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia are found more common among girls than in boys. Many girls in their teens have more pressure on themselves and feel the need to lose extra weight. Consuming large amounts of caffeine will enhance their energy and suppress the need for food, or hunger. Even though they may already be thin, they will continue starving themselves because they believe they are fat. Its a constant battle that never ends and it is a very difficult disease to fight (Striegel-Moore et al., 2006). EFFECTS ON SLEEP When caffeine is consumed in reasonable amounts, everyday consumption of it can be helpful and have many beneficial effects on human behavior and sleep showing more people with enhanced mental functioning. Imagine truck drivers who drive such long distances day and night, consuming caffeine can help stay alert and focused on the road. Many accidents occur in a year because of people falling asleep at the wheel. Taking caffeine for better functioning reasons while driving or other reasons can be very beneficial (Smith, 2002). Regardless of the positive effects of reducing fatigue and better functioning, there are the downfalls of consuming too much caffeine. Too much caffeine has a big effect on a persons sleeping ability. Sleep disorders are becoming more and more known to many children and adults because of the amount of caffeine they are taking in. Large amounts of caffeine taken at night will make it much harder to fall asleep. People face more problems like feeling tired when they wake up or waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. Although, the majority of people are very good at the amount of caffeine they take in to get the most out of the positive effects (Orbeta et al., 2005). EFFECTS ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR Rather than better mental functioning purposes and an increase in alertness, caffeine is also shown to improve many effects on human behavior. For instance, psychomotor performance is enhanced with caffeine intake. A psychomotor skill deals with being able to make movements that are essential to complete a task, however they are skills that are performed often without even thinking how they are done. Handwriting is an example of a very difficult psychomotor skill where as people have their own unique way of writing, some using the wrist more, or maybe the elbow, or moving the whole arm as they write. Caffeine consumption can improve handwriting and reveal a much larger improvement in handwriting skills if taken in moderate quantities (Tucha et al., 2006). When caffeine is consumed in so many different amounts in many types of foods, it will improve peoples talent to perform certain responsibilities requiring a lot of attention. Also, when dispensed in the same amount, caffeine increases alertness and reduces fatigue. The opposing effects take place when caffeine is consumed in unbearable amounts or by people who are overly sensitive to the drug (Smith, 2002). As a result, caffeine is very helpful in which it can improve vigilance tasks and help people become more focused, so multitasking can be done. USE AS A REPELLENT Caffeine is also used a repellent in which many people probably didnt know. Many products for the use of mollusk control include metaldehyde or methiocarb for the main ingredients. However, both of these ingredients are highly poisonous by inhalation and to all animals. Caffeine is an all-natural product that is categorized as a generally recognized as safe (GRAF) product by the United States FDA. There have been many tests to support that caffeine is a well-proven repellent as well (Hollingsworth, Armstrong, Campbell, 2002). According to Hollingsworth, Armstrong, and Campbell (2002) spray applications containing one to two percent of caffeine have been reported to kill slugs during a test that experienced caffeine as a toxicant against frog pests. Another test (Figure 1) took action upon orchid snails where as they were put into Petri dishes with caffeine while the heart rates were taken under a microscope. Snails with caffeine concentrations of .1% or more had vulnerable and uneven heartbeats after a 24-hour period. The snails with higher caffeine concentrations were dead after 96 hours, or four days. As a result, caffeine has been proven to kill off mollusks and would be a much safer alternative for food crops. Figure 1: Shows the effects of caffeine on orchid snails (Hollingsworth, Armstrong, Campbell, 2002). WITHDRAWAL Taking caffeine on an everyday basis will cause the body to become addicted to the substance and cause withdrawals if missing a day. Withdrawals may include headaches or may cause a change in mood. When the amount of caffeine that is taken in is reduced, the body will become very responsive to adenosine. The responsiveness will cause blood pressure to drop, causing an overload of blood to rush to the head, which leads to a headache. Headaches can last between one to five days and aside from such painful headaches, restlessness, irritability, and constant fatigue may occur (Smith, 2002). All of the negative effects come from consuming too much caffeine. For that reason, if caffeine were used correctly and more sensibly, the negative effects would not take place. Negative effects on any drug can be avoided by following simple directions of not overdosing and if sensitive to the drug, dont take at all. There are so many people that abuse it and take it for all of the wrong reasons. If they took caffeine for the right reasons, they would begin to see positive effects. CONCLUSION In conclusion, researchers are constantly exploring the many ways that caffeine is beneficial and has proven these effects in many cases. The main source of caffeine comes from soft drinks, in which it is an additive used to sweeten the taste. It is also very popular in coffee where it helps prevent against some diseases and has the effect of an increased attention rate and better mood. In sports, athletes thrive off caffeine to enhance performance because it is much cheaper and has less health effects than any other drug or steroid. Becoming an increase in all foods, caffeine is also used in many diets to help increase energy. The biggest factor in using caffeine is sleep. Sleep is unwanted in many situations such as driving and other vigilance tasks. Taking caffeine helps sleep by increasing alertness and mental functioning, while reducing fatigue. Other than increasing alertness and mental functioning, so many other effects take place in the behavior of individuals. Effects on hum an behavior include improving multitasking and developing psychomotor performance, such as improving handwriting skills. Another assured effect that caffeine takes part in is repelling things such as snails and slugs. It is proven much safer than other products and has been tested in many different experiments. Caffeine has much more positive effects that overcome the negative effects. The negative effects of caffeine all come from being abused or taken in too large of quantities, meaning that more people need to understand all of the effects. From athletes trying to enhance performance, people dieting, better functioning, an increase in alertness, to repelling things such as snails and slugs. Caffeine has many effects on the body to help improve behavior. Looking back at all of the beneficial ways in which caffeine helps, provides all the more reasons why it is used so often. References Caffeine boost in cancer battle. (2002, August 22). CNN News. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/08/21/cancer.research/ Coffee may help prevent liver cancer. (2005, February 15). USA Today. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-02-15-coffee-liver_x.htm Coffee may prevent skin cancer. (2007, July 31). The Times of India. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Coffee_may_prevent_skin_cancer_ /articleshow/2246470.cms Engle, P.L., et al. (1999). Effects of discontinuing coffee intake on iron deficient Guatemalan toddlers cognitive development and sleep. Early Human Development, 53, 251-269. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from ScienceDirect database. Highly Active Compound Found in Coffee May Prevent Colon Cancer. (2003, October 15). Science Daily. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases /2003 /10/031015031251.htm Hollingsworth, R.G., Armstrong, J.W., Campbell, E. (2002). Caffeine as a repellent for slugs and snails. Nature, 417, 915. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from EBSCOhost database. Keast, R.S.J., Riddell, L.J. (2007). Caffeine as a flavor additive in soft-drinks. Appetite, 49, 255-259. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from ScienceDirect database. Magkos, F., Kavouras, S.T. (2005). Caffeine use in sports, pharmacokinetics in man, and cellular mechanisms of action. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 45, 535-562. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from EBSCOhost database. Orbeta, R.L., et al. (2005). High caffeine intake in adolescents: associations with difficult sleeping and feeling tired in the morning. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 451-453. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from ScienceDirect database. Smith, A. (2002). Effects of caffeine on human behavior. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 40, 1243-1255. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from ScienceDirect database. Striegel-Moore, R.H., et al. (2006). Caffeine Intake in Eating Disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 39:2, 162-165. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from Wiley InterScience database. Tucha, O., et al. (2006). The effect of caffeine on handwriting movements in skilled writers. Human Movement Science, 25, 523-535. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from ScienceDirect database.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Hostage Rescue :: essays research papers

Hostage Rescue As a terrorist, your role in a hostage rescue level is to prevent counter-terrorists (CTs) from leading the hostages from where they are being held to the hostage rescue zone. Terrorists win hostage rescue rounds by eliminating the counter-terrorist force while preventing them from rescuing hostages. CTs win a round by finding the hostages and leading more than half of them to freedom. CTs can get the attention of a hostage by moving near him then pressing their ‘Use’ key (see Controls, Use). The hostage will now follow the CT back to the rescue zone. If a CT wants the hostage to stop following, they need to press ‘Use’ again and the hostage will stay put. Sometimes when you have a group of hostages following you, they may block you into an area; you can push them out of the way by simply walking into them. CTs can also win a round by eliminating the terrorists. Bomb/Defuse In a bomb/defuse map, the goal of the terrorist is to plant a C4 bomb in the designated area then prevent the CTs from defusing the bomb. Players must remember to stay well clear of the bomb when it explodes, as it has a large and deadly blast radius. The bomb is randomly assigned to a terrorist at the start of the round. Team members can identify the bomb carrier by the backpack they are wearing and the player with the bomb will see an icon on their Heads Up Display (see HUD, bomb carrier). To plant the bomb, the carrier must be in the vicinity of the bombing target. While having the bomb as their currently selected item, the player must then press and hold their fire key (see Controls, Fire) for three seconds for the bomb to be planted. The bomb will go off after a set period of time has passed (45 seconds by default). The level is won by the terrorists when the bomb explodes (maximum payoff) or if the CT team is eliminated (smaller payoff). CTs can win a defuse map in two ways: by defusing the bomb or by eliminating the Terrorists (if the Terrorists managed to plant the bomb before being eliminated, CTs must still defuse the bomb to win the round). To defuse the bomb, CTs must stand near the bomb, target it then press and hold their ‘use’ key until the bomb is defused.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Perversion of Dorians Soul in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian

The Perversion of Dorian's Soul in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The soul is thought to be an immaterial entity coexisting with our bodies which is credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion.   It is the part of our body which is believed to live on after the body dies.   In Oscar Wilde's, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the main character, Dorian Gray, destroys the innocence of his soul and becomes corrupt. He becomes corrupt by failing to live a life of virtue.   The main reason for his transformation can be attributed to a portrait painted of him that captured the true essence of his innocence.   This portrait is the personification of his soul.   At the beginning of the book Dorian makes a wish that inevitably changes his life forever.   His wish is that, "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!   For that - for that - I would give everything!   Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!   I would give my soul for that!" (Wilde, 40)   As Dorian's wish of staying young and beautiful forever come true so does the fact that he has given his soul away to the devil.   Another contributing factor to the perversion of Dorian's soul comes from his supposed friend, Lord Henry Wotton.   Lord Henry fills Dorian's head with his outrageous philosophies such as, "....youth is the one thing worth having. .... You have only a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully.   When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it..." (34) and "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.   Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous ... ... that Dorian has become a dissolute and perverse man who cannot understand that vanity and the thrill of "new sensations" are not what run the world.    Works Cited    Cohen, Ed.   Talk on the Wilde Side.   Great Britain: Routledge, 1993. Freidman, Jonathan (edited).   Oscar Wilde: A Collection of Critical Essays.   New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1996. Pearson, Hesketh (edited).   Essays By Oscar Wilde.   New York: Books For Libraries Press, 1972. Ransome, Arthur.   Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study.   London: Mr. Martin Secker, 1913. Weintraub, Stanley (edited).   Literary Criticism of Oscar Wilde.   Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1968. Woodcock, George.   The Paradox of Oscar Wilde.   London-New York: T.V. Boardman and Co., Ltd., 1950. Wilde, Oscar.   The Picture of Dorian Gray.   Denmark: Wordsworth Editions Limited, Reprinted V      

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Abuse of Power in Julius Caesar :: Julius Caesar Essays

Abuse of Power in Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was written in 1599 in England by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare has born in 1564 and died in 1616. Nobody really knows when exactly he was born but for the records it is assumed that he was born in April, creating an interesting coincidence with his death. He is the greatest writer of his century and probably of the modern era. He influenced many contemporary writers and created a new point of view in the poetry. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. In his work Julius Caesar Shakespeare shows us the change of power in Rome and the problems that Rome had there. Power is the ability to act with force. Shakespeare makes visible the abuse of power and the struggle to gain power in the biggest empire at the time. Shakespeare also shows that the power itself is more than a name or position. It is something that the people exercise. There is not absolute power, every power has limitations. Besides the servants every character in some way has his power. Although th e biggest argument in Julius Caesar is the change of power in the rulers of Rome, Shakespeare tries to show us many different kinds of power and the use of it. As we can see during the play, people with power use power just for their convenience. During the first part of the play, Shakespeare introduces the characters and the situations. He makes us notice how powerful everyone is. Throughout the different meetings and the dialogues we can feel the power of the personalities of some characters, which in the nearly future is going to make a difference. The rulers of Rome have so much power that they can control the freedom of the people as we can see when Caesar gave an order to Antony. "I shall remember. When Caesar says do this, it is performed" (1.2.12-13). Although this abuse of power made the conspirators act against him, Caesar did not have absolute power and in some situations Calpurnia, his wife, had control in him "The cause is in my will. I will not come. / That is enough to satisfy the senate.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Msc Accounting & Finance at LSE

During this dire economic times, the emphasis on quality accounting and finance practice is greater than ever. These two areas have been my area of focus in my education and career goals. I am looking to take another step towards my aspirations by gaining more knowledge through enrolling in the MSc Accounting and Finance program. I believe I have what it takes to do well as well as contribute to LSE during my graduate study. I was born and raised in Indonesia until I was ten when I went to Singapore seeking better education while my family remained in Indonesia. After graduating at the top of my class from my secondary school, I decided to pursue my college education in the US despite of my family's strong disapproval. In March 2009, I graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a Summa Cum Laude and College Honors after spending only three years, instead of the customary four years, pursuing my Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics with Minor in Accounting. I managed to stay on the Dean's List while being active in extra-curricular activities in clubs such as the Golden Key International Honors Society as well as the UCLA Student Accounting Society. I also volunteered at Special Olympics Southern California, a non-profit organization that provides activities to mentally challenged individuals. Here, I learnt the different accounting system involved in running a non-profit organization as compared to a for-profit. My initial interest in accounting and finance started when I was young. I observed how my parents, who were running an electrical supplies distributing company, struggled through the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Many businesses closed down and it finally led to a riot, as people demanded political reforms, which made it even more difficult for us, being a Chinese minority in a 90% Muslim population. After a couple of years, my parents managed to bring the company out of financial troubles through proper budget planning and restructuring. At UCLA, I had the privilege to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds through organizing events and project work. This gave me an insight to how people work and opened my mind to other perspectives. My professors are experts in their fields and the teaching programs are very flexible and diverse. My courses span across economics, finance, management as well as accounting. My passion in finance was further developed during my college years, particularly in hedge fund investments, real estate and currency exchange. I have been keeping track of the current updates through news and articles ever since. I always have a deep curiosity in the relationship between countries and how they interact for finance and business purposes. With the situation in the global market getting more complicated and volatile, it has become increasingly important to make informed decisions to minimize risks. When I graduated in 2009, the US was in the middle of the biggest financial meltdown and it was difficult to find a promising job when thousands were losing theirs each day. I was glad when I found one though not a well-known firm in my field of interest but it unexpectedly gave me a peek at the education system in the US. It was a supplemental education service provider that has contracts with government schools to provide extra tutorials to underachieving students with financial difficulties. The whole system looks good on paper, but on practice, I think the policy has numerous flaws. As soon as I learned the ropes and the business operations there, I decided to explore other opportunities. My professional goal is to have a strong career in financial consulting and finally able to run my own business. I will continue to seek and gain valuable experience through education and work experience. I turned to Singapore, which has increasingly become one of the strongest economies in the Asian region. I am now working as Accounts Consultant in a management services firm, providing accounting and corporate tax consultancy to small and medium enterprises. My work scope includes meeting clients, preparing financial reports, analyzing their financial conditions and giving tax-saving advices. From the job, I get to practice what I learned in school and apply it in real-world situation as well as gain skills in leadership, management and analytical thinking. The learning curve is very steep especially when I had to master Singapore's accounting and tax policies in a short time to make practical recommendations to my clients. Through my two years of work experience, the learning curve is very steep. I am glad that I have great supervisors that are willing to guide me. I am not afraid of hard work and I am very independent. I want to be able to make a difference one step at a time. With my knowledge, I hope to assist people to achieve better standards and help propel other businesses through proper practice. LSE is a leading world-class research institution that I believe will help me advance to the next step in my long-term goals. I thrive on challenges and having lived in many countries, I am used to being out of my comfort zone and adapt well to atypical situations. I have experienced the US and Asia, and now I am looking to delve into another region. What better way to do that than to immerse myself in the international community at the heart of London.

Your Favourite Hobby

YOUR FAVOURITE HOBBY Introduction: Hobby means any form of amusement or pleasant occupation. It is also a pleasant pastime, which breaks the monotony of routine life. It refreshes one’s mined as well as body after toile. Hobby is not one’s main profession but it is not less important than one’s main business. Man runs his main business out of sheer necessity but man pursues hobby for sheer delight. In our practical life, every man has a hobby and every man should have a hobby in his life.Choice of hobbies: Different people have different choice of hobbies. Example of some popular hobbies are such as, gardening, reading, fishing, hunting, painting, singing, sewing, doll making, flowering making, sculpture making, coin collecting, angling and so many. Hobbies of great men: If we study the history of great men of the world, we will find that almost every had a hobby. Depending upon that hobby everyman enjoys pleasure and refreshness. Many great men of the world had their hobbies.They took the hobbies as the ways of removing the monotony of their lives. Alexander, Washington, Napoleon, Tolstoy, Rabindranath, Bernard Shaw- all had their hobbies. My hobby – gardening: I am a student. Though my main function is to study, I have a hobby. My favourite hobby is gardening. There is a small piece of land in front of my reading room. I am very lucky to have a plot of land for my garden. I have decided to make a garden there. So I clean it and fence around it.I have to work hard for my garden. At first, I make the soil loose with the help of a spade. When the soil is ready, I plant various types of flower plants and sow seeds there. When many seasonal flowers bloom in my garden, fragrance fills the air and comes into our house. The pleasant hue of the flowers dazzles my eyes. It reminds me the lines: – â€Å"Mind is your garden, Ideas are your seedsLife is the season To sow all your needs. † My activities in the garden: I work in my garden in the morning and in the evening. I make the soil loose with spade and weed out the grass. I plant new flower plants in it. I water the plants and take good care of them. I am happy to do all these with my own hands. The reason foe selecting: Among all other hobbies, I have chosen gardening as my hobby because it gives me more pleasure than any other things.I need physical exercise because of making my body active and strong. If I work in the garden, I do not need extra physical exercise. Considering above-mentioned argument, I have selected gardening as my favourite hobby. Usefulness: I have got much benefit from my garden. Before making my garden, I was sick and weak. But now, my health has been improved as I work in my garden. As a result, I posses a sound health. I give flowers to my neighbours to decorate their houses and gates on some special occasions. Then I become very glad and happy.Besides, I grow vegetables in my garden, which saves a lot of family expenses. Con clusion: My hobby is a source of joy and pleasure, health and wealth to me. It makes my life enjoyable. Really, I am very happy and delighted choosing a hobby like gardening. So I think everybody should have a hobby to make his life happy and merry. But we should guard ourselves against those hobbies, which have no practical utility in life. This is why I keep a harmony between my hobby and duty so that my hobby would be meaningful in my practical life. THE END

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks in Intelligent Transportation Systems

Vehicular webs are going as a milepost of the coming coevals the Intelligent Transportation Systems ( ITSs ) , affecting a safer and more efficient transit by giving whole information on clip to drivers and several governments. By and large the moving vehicles are able to pass on with another vehicle through the vehicle to vehicle communicating or to the route side unit via vehicle to route side communicating. Particularly the Location of vehicle must be hint on its individuality on web [ 1 ] , [ 2 ] . Besides the traveling vehicle has its ain individuality depending on the other vehicle. The vehicles are ever anon. in the web. A big field of petition in web relies on association and information collection amongst take parting vehicles. Exclusive of individualities of participants, such applications are susceptible to the Sybil assault where a malevolent vehicle mask as legion individualities [ 3 ] , overwhelmingly act uponing the consequence. The effect of Sybil onslaught happening in vehicular web can be important. For case, in protection related contraption such as danger warning, smash turning away, and fliting aid, partial consequences caused by a Sybil onslaught can demo the manner to strict auto bad luck. Therefore, it is of great significance to feel Sybil onslaughts from the highly get downing of their happening. Detecting aggressor node in urban vehicular webs, however, is really demanding. Primary, vehicles are cryptic. There are no handcuffs of trust associating claimed individualities to reliable vehicles. Second, location privateness of vehicles is of great apprehensiveness. Locality information of vehicle can be really private. For case, it can be contingent that the rider of a vehicle may be under the conditions from cognizing the vehicle is parking following to a infirmary. It is inhibitive to do obligatory a conversation association among claimed individuality to genuine vehicles by formalizing the physical endurance of a vehicle at a proving place and clip. Third, conversations among vehicles are really bantam. Due to elevated mobility of vehicles, a running vehicle can hold merely more than a few seconds [ 4 ] to pass on with another periodically encountered vehicle. It is hard to establish certain dependability among pass oning vehicles in such a bantam clip. This makes it effortless for a malevolent vehicle to bring forth an aggressive individuality but really hard for others to legalise. Additionally, small treatment amongst vehicles calls for online Sybil assault exposure. The find proposal fails if a Sybil onslaught is identified after the onslaught has accomplished. To extinguish the bullying of Sybil onslaughts, it is undemanding to obviously adhere a dissimilar authorised individuality [ 5 ] , [ 6 ] , [ 8 ] to every vehicle so that all lending vehicle can match to itself merely one time during all communications. Using unambiguous individualities of vehicles has the likely to wholly avoid Sybil onslaughts but v iolates the enigma concern in urban vehicular webs. 1.1 Introduction of vehicular Network: The aim of ambient intelligence is to make an intelligent day-to-day infinite, which is instantly useable and integrated into our places, our offices, our roads, our autos, and everyplace. This new construct must be unseeable ; it must intermix in with our normal environment and must be present when we need it. One of the applications of this construct consists of supplying our autos and roads with capablenesss to do the route more secure ( information about the traffic, accidents, dangers, possible roundabout way, conditions, etc. ) and to do our clip on the route more gratifying ( Internet entree, web games, assisting two people follow each other on the route, chat, etc. ) . These applications are typical illustrations of what we call an Intelligent Transportation System ( ITS ) whose end is to better security, efficiency and enjoyment in route conveyance through the usage of new engineerings for information and communicating ( NTIC ) . Traditional traffic direction systems are bas ed on centralised substructures where cameras and detectors implemented along the route cod information on denseness and traffic province and transmit this information to a cardinal unit to treat it and do appropriate determinations. This type of system is really dearly-won in footings of deployment and is characterized by a long reaction clip for processing and information transportation in a context where information transmittal hold is critical and is highly of import in this type of system. In add-on, these devices placed on roads require periodic and expensive care. Consequently, for big scale deployment of this type of system, of import investing is required in the communicating and detector substructure. However, with the rapid development of wireless communicating engineerings, location and detectors, a new decentralized ( or semi-centralized ) architecture based on vehicle-to-vehicle communications ( V2V ) has created a really existent involvement these last few old ages fo r auto makers, R & A ; D community and telecom operators. This type of architecture relies on a distributed and independent system and is made up of the vehicles themselves without the support of a fixed substructure for informations routing. In this instance, we are speaking about a vehicular ad hoc web ( VANET ) , which is no more than a specific application of traditional nomadic ad hoc webs ( MANET ) . An illustration of an urban VANET web is illustrated in Following Figure. Fig 1.1. Example of VANET web An application sphere where those visions can go world in the close hereafter is wireless communicating in vehicular traffic webs in order to better traffic safety and to increase traffic efficiency, vehicle-to-X communicating ( V2X ) webs. The notations car-to-X communicating ( C 2X ) and vehicular ad- hoc webs ( VANE Ts ) are synonymously used. The â€Å"X† emphasizes that either entirely vehicles communicate ( vehicle-to-vehicle communicating ( V2V ) ) , or so do vehicles and substructure points ( vehicle-to-infrastructure communicating ( V2I ) ) . For both types of communicating similar engineerings may be used, and webs uniting both are expected. In this thesis we concentrate on direct V2V communicating. It is envisioned that by interchanging information straight between vehicles every vehicle should be able to observe vehicles in the surrounding and may cipher the current traffic state of affairs from collected information. Such co-operative autos warn their drivers if n ecessary, e.g. in instance of at hand dangers like possible hits with other vehicles or looking obstructions on the route, e.g. route works. The communicating hence has to carry through highest quality demands as precise information has to be transmitted with high dependability and short hold under inauspicious and extremely dynamic environmental conditions. A cardinal edifice block of V2V communicating is the periodic transmittal of position information by every single vehicle. These messages that are frequently called beacon messages contain information like current place, velocity, acceleration and way of driving. The messages serve as the information footing for the common consciousness of the vehicles. For vehicles in the close surrounding of a several sender, the response of beacon messages is of peculiar importance in order to obtain accurate consciousness of the stopping point environing. Beacon messages have specific and unusual communicating belongingss that have to be considered. First, beacon messages are transmitted by every equipt vehicle. Second, beacon messages that contain up-to-date information are transmitted in a periodic man- ner, i.e. several times per second. Third, the messages are transmitted in a broad- dramatis personae mode and do non hold one specific receiver. In effect, an effectual strategy to admit a succ essful message response is non easy applicable. Therefore, specific methods are necessary to look into this type of communicating that we call local broadcasts communicating. With regard to the mentioned belongingss it has to be identified how timely and dependable periodic beacon messages can be distributed in the local surrounding of each vehicle. A cardinal and precise cognition of the systems in usage, their behaviour and their public presentation is necessary to measure V2V communicating and to plan systems that work dependable under mundane conditions. Therefore, the end of this thesis is a comprehensive and precise public presentation rating of periodic local broadcast communicating in V2V communicating webs. Of peculiar involvement is the scalability of immense and heavy webs. It turns out that the concealed terminus job is peculiarly relevant as it causes interventions during the response of messages. We discuss the analysis of effects of mu- tual intervention on the public presentation of V2V webs and accordingly on their possible. Therefore, such webs are analyzed with a focal point on the possibilities and restrictions that the communicating m echanisms and the physical features provide for the particular type of informations traffic that is exchanged. Several undertakings worldwide have investigated the betterment of transit systems with regard to the positive consequence on traffic safety and traffic efficiency. In recent old ages, the specific function of V2X communicating came into focal point and broadened the research sphere to the interaction of vehicles and substructure. Be- bow, these spheres were frequently treated individually: while from infrastructure side adaptable traffic telematics applications were introduced ( e.g. variable message marks for velocity and figure of parking tonss, or adaptative traffic visible radiations for traffic flow optimisation ) , on the vehicle side, electronic systems were introduced to im- prove rider safety, the controllability of the vehicle in critical state of affairss, or pilotage systems. The possibility to interact via wireless communicating be- tween substructure and vehicles, every bit good as straight between vehicles, allows to develop wholly new application scenarios where coop eration of the different entities may be achieved. We now foremost present undertakings where such possible applications were discussed, before deducing the communicating challenges and so looking at the proficient systems that should supply the necessary communicating demands. A nomadic ad hoc web ( MANET ) is an independent system made up of nomadic Stationss interrelated by wireless associations devoid of the direction of a centralised substructure. Following gettable communications in the web, the nomadic Stationss ( or nodes ) can say besides the map of router to convey informations. In this chapter, we focus on the survey of the chief component in ITS systems which are inter vehicle communicating ( IVC ) and its correlative services. For route security services, the information on possible danger can be exchange in existent minute between vehicles to advise the drivers. Examples of services are non imperfect to route security applications but subsist for other types of map as good, peculiarly console applications ( portable Internet entree, set of autos, games, etc. ) offering interesting point of view for telecom operators looking for original service niches. Road security has been an of import anxiousness in the universe over the past few old ages w hile 1000000s of public dice every twelvemonth since of auto bad luck and many more are offended. gettable figures show that route dealing accidents in the Member States of the European Union per annum maintain about 39000 lives and escape more than 1.7 million people affronted, stand foring an predictable cost of 160 billion euros programmed public route systems and intelligent transit systems ( ITS ) were commence to rush up the development and employ of intelligent incorporated safety strategy that utilize information and communicating engineerings as an intelligent declaration, in order to escalate route safety and chair the figure of accidents in our prospect roads. In unsimilarity, as nomadic wireless attack became an of import portion of our life, and the omnipresent ‘anywhere, anytime’ connectivity strategy is further on magnetic attraction, Internet right to use from vehicles is in monolithic stipulate. The proliferation of cooperated system move in front for I TS and the focal point on information and transit engineerings services on one manus and the mounting figure of communicating infrastructure-enabled agencies of transit on the other manus has opened up fresh production theoretical accounts and cardinal market sections for legion stakeholders in the ITS-market. The Vehicular Communication Networks ( VCNs ) are a anchor of the envisage Intelligent Transportation Systems ( ITS ) . Through enabling vehicles to pass on with each other by manner of Inter-Vehicle Communication ( IVC ) every bit good as with wayside base Stationss via Roadside-to-Vehicle Communication ( RVC ) , vehicular system could provide to safer and extra competent roads. The juncture and territory of entry of VCNs are mounting quickly, with abundant vehicle manufacturer and cryptic establishment sharply prolonging investigate and enlargement in this field. The grouping with involved antenna systems, and the progressive dispersion of committed localisation systems ( GP S ) produce VCNs pertinent for the development of forceful protection applications, numbering knock into and concern systems, driver helper and bright traffic supervising system. On the other manus, inter-vehicular communicating ( IVC ) besides fuels the tremendous chances in online car break and enables the incorporation through Internet services and applications. In this Chapter, we nearby a comprehensive portraiture of the province of the art of this speedy traveling research country indicating to look into, undertakings and homogeny attempts that have been done. We discover the exceeding facial visual aspect and challenges that distinguish these extremely self-motivated webs every bit good as their necessities, peculiarly in footings of excellence of service, promote preface and sanctuary. We discuss diverse forwarding and routing attack concentrating on Location-based method including ‘anchor-based routing ‘ . We review miscellaneous ‘intelligent flooding†™ and information airing progress. We terminate by researching future investigate waies in this field. The first IVC surveies have emerged at the beginning of the 1980s in Japan ( for illustration: Association of Electronic Technology for Automobile Traffic and Driving ) with the addition of people or ware travelling, therefore exciting the geographic expedition of new solutions such as automatic drive, intelligent route planning, etc. Several authorities establishments throughout the universe have led an explorative stage from different world-wide undertakings, affecting a big figure of research units. These undertakings have led to the definition of several possible paradigms and solutions, based on different attacks. In this manner, traffic direction systems were installed in big Nipponese metropoliss and on most urban and intercity main roads. The Japanese have made big investings in the development of driver information systems. In the instance of a main road, the system electronically monitors the velocity and volume of traffic and gives drivers instant warnings on accidents and holds. Warnings and other information for drivers are displayed on different variable message marks. In the Nipponese AHS ( Automated Highway System ) undertaking, the end was to plan an automated main road system for independent drive: control of the vehicle is assumed by a computing machine on board. In the USA, there is the Intelligent Transportation Society of America ( ITS America ) , which is a group of makers, authorities bureaus, universities and other endeavors. This group focuses on research, publicity and development and deployment coordination of ITS applications throughout the USA. As in Japan, the American authorities besides implemented the NAHSC ( National Automated Highway System Consortium ) in 1995. In Europe, the PROMETHEUS ( PROgraM European Traffic with Highest Efficiency and Unprecedented Safety ) undertaking began in 1986 and included over 13 vehicle makers and several universities from 19 European states. In this context, several attacks and solutions refer ing ITSs have been developed, implemented and demonstrated. The consequences of this first measure were a elaborate analysis of the job and the development of a feasibleness survey to accomplish a better apprehension of the conditions and possible effects of using the engineering. Later, and with the technological promotion of communicating, computation and location equipments, other undertakings were carried out and have paved the manner for some IVC applications. Because of the importance of this field, new undertakings were initiated throughout the universe. In Europe, a certain figure of big scale undertakings have late emerged focussing on jobs related to IVC systems. Most of these undertakings were introduced in the context of research plans from the European Community ( 5thand 6ThursdayPCRD ) . However, a big bulk of these undertakings focus on the sole usage of bing substructure for implementing the IVC system, which can be highly expensive. Drive [ DRI 99 ] and GST [ GST 05 ] undertakings are first-class illustrations of these undert akings. DRiVE ( Dynamic Radio for IP Services in Vehicular Environments ) is meant to work on the convergence of different cellular engineerings and high throughput webs ( GSM, UMTS, DAB and DVB-T ) in order to implement the necessary foundation for the development of advanced IP services for vehicles. The GST ( Global Systems for Telematics ) [ GST 05 ] undertaking is besides intended for applications related to route safety. However, this undertaking focuses on the usage of the GSM web. It focuses on jobs in relation with procuring the web and service substructure, operation security and charge.