Monday, September 30, 2019

Government Essay

Government is an inevitable asset because human beings are savages and without government there would be total chaos. James Madison said â€Å"If men were angels, no government is needed†. People need a form of organized authority to create and enforce laws. Government plays a major role in everyday life, it provides people with public services, set goals and public policies, maintains tradition and culture, and resolves conflicts. In this essay, I will be discussing politics and public administration. I will further explain how both are intertwined and would never be able to be separated from one another. In hearing the word politics, what usually springs to mind are images of government, politicians and their policies or more negatively the idea of corruption, scandals and dirty politicians. The actual definition seems to have been obscured and almost lost by such representations and cliches that tend not to pinpoint the true essence which defines politics. Politics is a very emotive word and is used by different people to mean different things. There is no unifying theory of politics and hence no set boundaries of what can and cannot be said to be political. Politics is a broad term, which encompasses a wide range of activities and beliefs that help shape the modern world in which we live. The general contention is that politics is the preserve of government, either through influence, elections, or through the power and authority exerted by those who rule. In order to understand politics, and the role it fulfils, I feel it is important to backtrack to the beginning where the term politics originated. The word politics stems from the ancient Greek word polis, which means city-state. Ancient Greek society was divided into a collection of independent city-states each possessing its own system of government. Therefore, politics can be defined as â€Å"what concerns the state†, a view currently held by the public. The common belief is that if someone is to be involved in politics, then they hold a government office or position, whether it is in local government or the central government (Retrieved February 2, 2009, from http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Polis ). The Greek philosopher Aristotle identified the word politics is as â€Å"politike†, a practical science, which is concerned with the noble action of happiness of citizens (Retrieved February 2, 2009, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Politics_(Aristotle). Politics is the decision making process, the settling of conflicts and the enforcing of goals and interests of citizens. Politics and public administration are cl osely linked, because public administration is defined as government management and examines the practices of governance. The separation of them from each other is a completely impossible. Traditionally, public administration is thought of as the accomplishing side of government. It is supposed to comprise all activities involved in carrying out policies of elected officials and some activities associated with the development of those policies. How these responsibilities are carried out reflect on the legitimacy of the administration, as well as the legitimacy of the government (Fesler & Kettl, 2005). Public administration impacts everyone’s life in different ways. Public administration allows people working in government to make a positive impact on society. They are organizations and agencies that apply and control different areas of society. Public administration creates and changes public policy programs to respond to the needs and interests of our nation. Every aspect of our daily lives is impacted in some way by the actions of federal, state, or local bureaucracies that manage and organize the public lives of its citizens. Public administration controls everything from the way we travel, our health, our education and our law enforcement. The American Public Transportation Agency improves and advances public transportation. They provide safe, proficient and cost effective transit services, improve services to meet national energy, environmental, and financial concerns. They are responsible for planning, designing, constructing, financing and operating transit systems. The Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing important human services for those who are not able to help themselves. This public administration includes the FDA, Food and Drug Administration, that assures the safety of foods, cosmetics, safety of pharmaceuticals, biological products, and medical devices. The HRSA, Health Resources and Services Administration, provides access to important health care services for people who are low income, uninsured or who live in rural areas or urban neighborhoods where health care is limited. These agencies are just a few of the many agencies that impact our everyday lives (Fesler & Kettl, 2005). Politics and public administration are intertwined and can never be separated from one another, because they complement each other and are connected in numerous ways. Through politics, members of the government make decisions and public administrators carry them out. Politics are not governed by a single institution, but by a collection of institutions, many of which are specialized. Public administrations on the other hand, have an extensive focus on governance systems. In other words, politics can never be separated from administration, because their functions always overlap one another. Politics and administration functions both need to be performed to have a successful governance system. Public administration is created as a result of politics, although others might say that there is politics in public administration. Both of which are true. As new laws are passed and policies change, it is up to the public administrator to implement these changes and carry them out. It can be a police officer issuing a ticket for a new law that was recently passed or a building evacuation by Department of Buildings inspectors, because a new building code was passed and the building is deemed unsafe to live in. It is simply a vicious circle with politics and public administration. In conclusion, politics and public administration have essential functions which simply cannot exist without each other.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Inside Job

Where would we be today if the â€Å"decision makers† would have made more acceptable decisions that affected the economy prior to the market crashing? Millions of middle-class Americans have been left jobless, and even homeless, as a result of the major corporations getting bailed out, while certain individuals were benefiting millions of dollars in bonuses. Following the Great Depression, the United States did not have a single financial crisis. However, according to Charles Ferguson, who is the director of Inside Job, the progressive deregulation of the financial sector since the 1980s gave rise to an increasingly criminal industry. In fact, many executives and leaders that were involved in this meltdown refused to answer questions, and some refused to interview for the documentary all together. The financial crisis of 2008 left many of us with many unanswered questions wondering how the most powerful nation in the world ended up with a destructed economy. The documentary Inside Job hunts down the culprits of the major financial institutions that had the biggest effect on the nation’s economy. The film attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of the most important subject we have yet to face as a country; which is the worst financial crisis since the Depression, as well as holding those accountable who destroyed our financial system. Inside Job exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis. Throughout the film, you feel yourself cringing more and more by each interview. This documentary not once uses the word ‘capitalism’, although it is implied throughout the entire duration. The underlying message about capitalism in the movie is that it mainly benefits the elite, and that it is a corrupt world of finance. The big banks and financial institutions molded the government policies in their favor. As the economy came crashing down, the owners and leaders of financial institutions walked away from the crisis with their personal accounts untouched, and in superb condition for what the entire global economy was going to face next. Joe Boustead, of Socialist. et, states â€Å"The truth is that in a capitalist mode of production anarchy rules, this in turn led to a massive crisis of overproduction, there were simply too many commodities being produced to be consumed as the individuals could either not afford them or simply had no need for them. † One by one, the big banks came crashing down, and more debt was being added to what would become the worst economic crisis in history. Out of the various philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche would be inclined to agree with the behavior of the Wall Street moguls and the politicians who were responsible for the â€Å"Great Recession. Nietzsche is the philosopher of the will to power, seen as vital creation and fulfillment. He believed that humans and animals seek to live only to exert power and that each person should establish their own moral codes. As Nietzsche believed, â€Å"A living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength—life itself is will to power; self-preservation is only one of the indirect and most frequent. † As evidenced in the documentary, the government and executives sought to discharge their strength by partaking in self-preserving behaviors. While Inside Job exposed the criminal culture of Wall Street, a culture of lies, trickery, and corruption for power, it also exposed the widespread abuse of cocaine and prostitutes. Jonathan Alpert, a psychological counselor for Wall Street executives and professionals in the film, tells us that these practices â€Å"go right to the very top. † Nietzsche valued individualism above all else. He spoke negatively of anarchists, but he believed that only certain individuals should attempt to break away from the â€Å"herd. † That is the main reason I believe he would agree with the behaviors shown in this film. He would be inclined to believe that only certain individuals would be intelligent enough to take advantage of certain laws implemented by government, and somehow twist them into their own benefit, which is exactly what these Wall Street moguls did. If I were to propose legislation to address the problems and issues presented in the documentary, I would use John Stuart Mill’s philosophical view as a basis for the legislation. Mills believed in utilitarianism, which claimed that â€Å"one should assess persons, actions, and institutions by how well they promote human happiness. James Mill claimed: The desire, therefore, of that power which is necessary to render the persons and properties of human beings subservient to our pleasures, is the grand governing law of human nature [Essay IV; cf. Essay V]. I would use utilitarianism as a standard of conduct. Mills believed in the common good for the greatest number. This legislation would not have allowed the senseless, selfish acts that were committed which resulted in a recession that the entire nation had to deal with. Utilitarianism would have avoided the issues that were addressed in the documentary. It would maximize happiness and reduce the suffering of millions of people. I would also implement Sartre’s â€Å"bad faith†, or better known as his existentialism philosophy. Existentialism is a concept where a human would be under pressure from society and acts authentically. These CEOs and leaders knew what they were getting not only their institutions in, but also the economy. Instead of acting authentically and making decisions that would later on benefit the greater amount of people in the world, they chose to act unconsciously. It is a fact that the recession could have been avoided. The wrong decisions were purposely implemented in order to cover certain individuals and maintain power, and of course wealth. Jean-Paul Sartre believed that one should be held responsible for his own actions, and that all individuals should act authentically. From Sartre’s view, we are all â€Å"conscious† when we make decisions. He focused on three modes of being: being-for-itself, being-in-itself, and being-for-others. The â€Å"being-for-itself† would be better described as the being of consciousness. All of these problems that we are facing today, would not be occurring if the decision makers would have acted with consciousness, rather than cruelty, and greed. The people who purposely made calls to somehow sabotage the economy for their own interest should be held accountable, and prosecuted, just as any criminal. Inside Job does an amazing job of informing the audience of what happened behind closed doors to end up where our economy is today. It goes back in history far enough to explain where this economic downfall started, and who there is to blame. The economic crisis could have been avoided if the correct course of action were taken, but instead the middle-class ended up in a situation that was never thought of. Due to greed, this country has to work harder to clean up the mess of the power and money-hungry executives that allowed the economy to get to this state. Inside Job is an informing documentary that leaves us disgusted, but yet informed of the unethical moves people are willing to make in order to stay in power and wealthy. At the end of this documentary, we are left wondering, where would we be today if greed didn’t partake in people’s every move? What is next to come to America, what was once the most powerful country in the world? These moguls are roaming free enjoying their millions of dollars, rather than behind bars for leaving the nation in the worst state we have ever been in as a nation. While the less-powerful, and innocent, are figuring out where the next meal is coming from, or finding a way to get their children to college, the rich are feeding off of every dollar that was benefited and controlled. The truth always comes to light, and in this case, regardless of how hard these folks tried to hide it, the research was conducted to find out what exactly happened. Inside Job Inside Job Summary Inside Job is a documentary by Charles Ferguson, about the causes of the global financial crisis and revealed what was going on inside the U. S. financial industry during the first decade of the 21st century. The movie highlights the effects of a series of causes beginning in the Regan Administration. These causes most prominently include deregulation that allowed excessive and reckless actions in finance, fraud, and conflicts of interest. Deregulation allowed the financial sector more freedom and less discipline, which provided more opportunity for profit and risk.Reflecting the profit growth resulting from deregulation, investment banks went from small, private firms to public companies. The movie illustrates the growth of the financial sector beginning in the 1970s and continuing into the early 2000s, considering that from 1978-2008 the average salary in the United States in every profession other than investment banking rose by 25% and the average salary in inv estment banking rose by 150%. In early 2000 another method mortgage lending was developed that allowed for excessive risk and allowed for incentives to bet against the system for personal gain.The system was called the Securitization food chain and loans were mixed with other types of debt, such as car loans and credit card debt, given a rating, and investors would include these mixes in their funds depending to their rating. Since each party was removed from risk by selling the debt, lenders could extend absurd loans that were highly unlikely to be repaid, rating agencies could grade the absurd debts highly without consequence and the result was the opportunity for virtually anyone in the US to receive a home loan and purchase a home.Which sent home prices incredibly high and since the financial sector was profiting from this procedure through the Securitization Food Chain no one cared about who was holding the bag. The rest is history. The financial industry knew that the meltdown was going to occur. Records show that internally they were betting AGAINST their own offerings. The bubble bursts resulting in people losing their illusory homes and their previously tangible jobs. The financial sector lost their businesses.An incredible, sweeping wildfire of foreclosures and bankruptcies. The US government claimed that if these major financial institutions that caused the crisis were allowed to fail, the effect on the global financial system would be catastrophic. The US government said these firms were ‘too big to fail' and paid out several hundred billions of taxpayer money to save these firms. The unemployment and inflation from these rescues is still accumulating today.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Reducing Injuries in the Workplace Dissertation

Reducing Injuries in the Workplace - Dissertation Example ignificant increase in the implementation of safety incentive programmes, which have been ineffective many times since many employees are used to underreporting as a way of meeting safety goals. In this research study it was found that there is a clear divergence of views between employees and managers of the company under scrutiny in connection to safety measures in the workplace. There is a need of implementing safety training on a regular basis in order to make employees aware of the importance of creating a safe environment at work. This dissertation was grounded on secondary data from a literature review and primary data collected through an employee queestionnaire, a manager questionnaire, and safety reports and documentaton. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1.- Statement of the Problem. The issue of occupational safety has been a matter of concern for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and companies in general. HSA, HSE and OSHA require compliance with their regulations and many companies have established safety incentive programmes. The major problem has been related with underreporting in order to meet workplace safety goals. In this dissertation occupational safety is studied emphasising the need for reducing injuries, illnesses, and accidents in the workplace as well as the need of the companies to comply with safety regulations as established by HSA, HSE, and OSHA. 1.2.- Aim and Objectives. The aim of this research study is to investigate the issue of occupational safety and the reduction of injuries, illnesses and accidents in the workplace. To reach this aim, the following objectives are identified: -To critically review relevant literature about...Occupational safety is a very important issue that must be taken into account for all the companies in general in order to reduce the level of injuries, illnesses, and accidents in the workplace. At the same time it is necessary for companies in general to comply with the safety protocols established by HSA, HSE, and OSHA. Workplace safety cannot be underestimated, and a great deal of attention has to be given to this issue to improve working conditions for all of the employees in any company. 1.4.- Scope of the Dissertation. This research study is based on secondary data from the Literature Review and primary data from two sets of questionnaires and the analysis of safety reports of a given company. Injuries and accidents are studied with greater detail than illnesses in the workplace. Emphasis is made on the topic of safety incentive programmes and the common issue of underreporting in order to meet workplace safety goals. This research is limited to the study of occupational safety in one specific company and through a limited time frame. 1.5.- Dissertation Structure. This dissertation is structured as follows: The Abstract summarises the findings. The Introduction is divided in five sections: Statement of the Problem, Aim and Objectives, Relevance of the Dissertation, Scope of the Dissertation, and Dissertatrion Structure. The Literature Review is divided in seveb sections: Introduction. The Problem of Workplace Injuries, Injuries and their Causes, The Role of HSA OSHA, and HSE.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Complaints against the Police Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Complaints against the Police - Essay Example With regard to the budding growth of the concern, the essay also tends to provide a proposal for change policy that leads to increasing policing crimes. In this context, the proposal for a change in policing policy includes a set of effective recommendations that can enable policymakers to reduce different potential issues. Acts of corruption, brutality, and bribery by the people with legislative power have long been witnessed to radically weaken the public faith on the governments. However, the loss of public faith is often regarded to be acute when the legislative acts involved with the police. This is owing to the fact that public, irrespective of their locations relies upon the law enforcement officers in order to uphold legal commandments and ensure adequate protection of the communities and provide assistance when needed. With due regards to various law enforcement reports and analysis, police officers are often considered as the most visible governmental arm for the communities or the citizens. They are often considered to be a yardstick through, which they measure their appropriate authority. The illegal acts performed by the police officers often lead them, to be dishonored not only by himself, but the practices also disgrace the entire legal environment along with the judicial system that he/ she represents (Williams, 2002). Unfortunately, to the growing concern of police officer complaints, there is a number of crucial factors that lead or enable them to commit unethical or illegal practices. In this regard, the organizational culture is often regarded as one of the major aspects that encourage police officers to commit different types of corruption-related acts. Those acts often recognize to be practiced in the form of monetary bribes, misuse of their authorities, or concealing numerous criminal activities.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Explication of a poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Explication of a poem - Essay Example wen presents a poem which through its rich imagery, use of sounds and literary allusions, creates a picture of the soldier that is extremely different from the conventional portrait of the soldier. The most important contribution of this poem to one’s understanding of war is the fact that it breaks down the notion of war as an honorable occupation for men. Such accounts of war are almost always premised upon the masculine prowess of the people involved in the war. This poem, however, significantly, alters the view of the soldier as a masculine person. What the poem does is to introduce images of the soldier as a helpless weakling who is trapped in the hostilities between two nations. The sight of the soldier is that of a man â€Å"guttering, choking, drowning† and immersed in pain. The â€Å"desperate glory† (Owen) that he seeks turns out to be a mirage, something that is unattainable in modern warfare. What Owen seems to be indicating is the fact that the older forms of warfare that led to lesser numbers of casualties had given way to more dangerous and more impersonal forms of warfare that led to the numbing of the soldiers in question. One of the most important techniques that the poem uses in order to undercut the rhetoric of war and patriotism is the very rhyme pattern that it follows. The rhyme scheme is abab. This resembles the marching pattern of an army. The pattern, however, in the poem, only symbolizes death and decay. It represents the impossibility of progress and the boredom that accompanies a life as a soldier. Even instances of urgency and vigor are followed and accompanied by the clumsiness of wearing one’s â€Å"helmets just in time†. This is an example of a transferred epithet where the characteristics of one object are transferred to the other. The very basic act of marching is undercut and parodied in the poem, something that locates it in a canon of anti-war poetry. War is thus, something that stunts the growth of one human being and of the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The Wyre School Sport Partnership Programme The Changing Role of the Essay

The Wyre School Sport Partnership Programme The Changing Role of the Physical Education Teacher - Essay Example The programme illustrates the government's attempts to create a collaborative approach between the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Education and Skills, as well as other key agencies. The emphasis on such initiatives has gained momentum only since 1990's. There have been major investments made in sport in schools, which reflect a commitment from the Blair and Major governments. The success of this programme rests to a large extent, with the PE teachers who serve as a distribution channel for this initiative. Their new role as School Sport Co-ordinator confers on them, managerial and leadership responsibilities that they have not handled before. How PE teachers perceive their new role, their reactions and reflections, will impact the success of the implementation process of the School Sport Partnership Programme. The challenge that is posed for the PE teacher in the changed scenario is to not just supervise lessons, but also promote physical education to students. If PE staff is to work as a catalyst to ensure the success of this initiative, then they need to be encouraged to adopt a broader view of physical activity behaviour and understand their role in PE promotion. This calls for a study that will generate ideas to help PE staff don on the new role, and will provide an insight into PE staff's ability to manage change and successfully accomplish the conferred responsibility of leadership. To obtain an insight into the perceptions of the PE staff, and understand how the interpretation of the policy by PE staff impacts the realization of School Sport Partnership Programme's objectives, a qualitative research is proposed at the Wyre School. The study will be ethnographic in nature, based on interviews and data gathered through observations. The study will also influence my own role as a Partnership Development Manager by offering an insight into the motivations of the team that I work with, which will help in better management of the team to achieve common goals. The final research report will be presented in the form of a thesis. Review of Literature Sport Partnership Programmes The School Sport Partnership Programme is the government's initiative designed to raise standards in schools through an improved and coordinated delivery of PE and sport. School Sport Partnerships bring together multiple schools, clubs, local authorities, national governing bodies of sport and other community organisations under one umbrella, to provide opportunities in sport for students. Thus it increases sporting opportunities for young people by linking school PE and sporting opportunities in the community. The philosophy guiding the initiation of this programme is that of social inclusion, which encourages participation in sports of all young people, and especially those who have been under represented. It is planned that by 2006, every school in England will be part of one of 400 partnerships. The partnership comprises: Full time Partnership Development Manager (PDM) Teachers from secondary school who take on the role of the School Sport Co-ordinator (SSCOs) (allocated two days a week) Teacher from primary school to become

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Chinese Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Chinese Contract Law - Essay Example China views this as a way of enhancing political stability. Labor and business interest groups have been the most affected by the contact law. Many businesses have been forced to close as the cost of production increased. History and role of contract law Contracts are perceived to be the backbone of any market economy. China adopted a contract law in 1999. The law was divided into general and specific provisions. Besides, the contract law had supplementary provisions. The Chinese borrowed heavily from UNIDROIT principles. The laws had been drafted to cover a wide scope of contract issues. However, the Chinese needed a superior law that would sustain the economic growth. This led to enactment of another contract law in 2008. Contractual relationships are the essence of business transactions. Many countries agree that one of the keys of economic development is contact enforceability (Chow 2002). The usage of credit and capital is critical to the mechanism of market economy (Glinow & Te agarden 1988). Contracts are enforceable in a court of law, and this secures the possibility of credit sales. Weber argues that rationalization is one of the major characteristics of the modern society. Tasks are completed through broken down processes. The specialized rules are accessed in terms of the exact figures. Through this, future events are managed in a rational way. The process enables large-scale transactions to be conducted (Kitch 1980). A telling example is modern accounting. Accounts are broken down in balance sheets. This is followed by profit and loss accounts. The financial status of a business can be explained in terms of assets and liabilities (Zhang 2006). This explains when contract law is viewed as influential when it comes to economic and infrastructural development. China is no longer a place where cheap knock off products are developed (Jespersen & Skjoett-Larsen 2003). Although the practice of producing counterfeits continues, the quality of modern counterf eits is improved tremendously. The Chinese contact law puts immense emphasis on the clarity of contracts. Article 12 stipulates and describes what the contents of a written contract should be. Advantages of contract law China is nearly meeting the international standards when it comes to contractual legislation. The contract law has eliminated ambiguities when it comes to guidelines on entering into contractual agreements in China. Therefore, the outcome of foreign business contracts is predictable. Benefits The major provision of that gives credible interpretation to Chinese contact law is article 125. The contractual obligations can be supplemented through the provisions of the law (Yongping & Weidi 2008). This occurs when something vital fails to be captured in a contract. Some of those sources include the provision of laws, principle of good faith and transaction usage (Yongping & Weidi 2008). Articles 5 and 6 are firm on the concepts of good faith and fairness. These are some o f the benefits of the Chinese contract laws to the foreigners (Jespersen & Skjoett-Larsen 2003). There is an intentional move by the Chinese contract law to create a conducive environment for the foreigners. However, some of the provisions of the new law have an impact on the profitability of the foreign businesses. The article 92 of the Chinese contract law governs post contractual duties between the involved parties. The article suggests an employee is expected to act in a reasonable way

Monday, September 23, 2019

Open Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Open Topic - Essay Example Having this picture in mind as one would see fit or relevant, he may likely admit being overwhelmed at trying to rationalize from a political perspective which is mostly responsible on negotiating with this type of crisis. Along this line comes natural inquisition on the availability of feasible solutions and how they can be made capable in the long-term to chiefly target certain causes as high gasoline taxes, , war in the Middle East, civil and political unrests in nations involved, as well as insufficient number of refineries. Nevertheless since the end-users are consistently affected by the price adjustment on gasoline, it essentially matters to bring oneself in the scenario of maneuvering, no matter how implicitly, to effect a favorable balance. At his own rate, an ordinary consumer can for instance think of an alternative way of managing a personal task or operation without having to utilize an engine run by gas.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Care Provision in Long Term Conditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Care Provision in Long Term Conditions - Essay Example This work aims to identify the effect of such a condition on the individual, their families and carers, and identify the elements of a successful strategy in which their capability of self care is promoted. The patient here is Mrs. Gladstone, a 60 year old lady with breast cancer. She is a widow, retired, and lives with her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. This patient is fictional so that it does not breach confidentiality. Mrs. Gladstone was diagnosed with stage II infiltrating ductal carcinoma. In this case, the tumor is larger than 2 cm in size and has reached the lymph nodes under the arms. Macmillan Cancer Support (2013) points out that more than 500,000 people in the UK are suffering from a number of debilitating health conditions caused by cancer. Some of the problems mentioned are pain and discomfort, gastrointestinal problems, lymphoedema, chronic fatigue, and mental health issues (Cancer.Net). While the number of people living with chronic fatigue as a result of cancer is estimated at 350,000, approximately 240,000 people suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and moderate to severe anxiety or depression. Furthermore, nearly 200,000 of the cancer-survivors face moderate to severe pain after curative treatment, and 90,000 face gastrointestinal problems. Lastly, nearly 63,000 of them suffer from lymphoedema. Additionally, there are body image issues, persistent hair loss, swallowing and speech problems, nausea and vomiting, heart diseases, fatigue, and social and financial difficulties to be addressed (Carver et al. 2006). Mrs. Gladstone’s life is considerably influenced by the disease. The diagnosis of breast cancer was shocking for her. She felt too confused, powerless, and fearful because of the large number of negative effects on her life. Firstly, she was worried as she felt hot flushes and palpitations. Moreover, Mrs. Gladstone found the diseases

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Loneliest Character Essay Example for Free

The Loneliest Character Essay The loneliest character in Of Mice and Men is Crooks. Crooks is the loneliest character because he lives all alone and has no one to give him company. He is not allowed in the bunk house because he is black. In the depression era, blacks were segregated, keeping Crooks isolated and friendless. Crooks is lonely because of his race. He gets treated differently than others for example: Spose you didnt have nobody. Spose you couldnt go into the bunk house and play rummy cause you was black. Howd you like that? Spose you had to sit out here an read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books†¦ (Steinbeck 80). Crooks is treated differently in the smallest of ways. Many ways seem too small to affect some people, but they affect Crooks because of his isolation. â€Å"Maybe you guys better go. I aint sure I want you in here no more. A colored man got to have some rights even if he dont like em (Steinbeck 90). Crooks has few rights as a colored person and he desperately wants more rights. During the depression colored people were often isolated because of their race. Crooks never gets any company creating a feeling of loneliness. He even feels that he should not receive any company, for example, â€Å"You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got no right in here but me† (Steinbeck 66). Crooks pushes people away creating even more loneliness. Because of this he gets bored and finally lets Lenny in. â€Å"Come on in and sit awhile† (Steinbeck 68). When Crooks lets Lenny in he feels relieved that he has someone to talk to. It is a short lived feeling. As soon as Lenny leaves he is lonely again. The seclusion created by Crooks fuels his feelings of loneliness. Crooks has inadequate social relationships, some of which is caused by his race. He is also lonely because he has no family or friends on the ranch like George and Lennie do. Crooks is defiant ly the loneliest character in Of Mice and Men.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Technology of MRI Scanners

Technology of MRI Scanners INTRODUCTION Magnetic Instrumentations are the hardware in the system component of MRI that very significant in the production of Magnetic Resonance (MR) images. It act together with the software program such as pulse sequence and image formation program to complete the process including nuclear alignment, Radio Frequency (RF) excitation, spatial encoding and image formation. The example of hardware in MR imaging are magnet, RF source, magnetic field gradient system, computer system, and image processor. MRI INSTRUMENTATION 1. Define gauss, tesla, and electromagnetic spectrum: 1.1 Gauss Gauss (G) is the older unit of flux density or the unit of low magnetic field strength. 1 Gauss can be define as 1 line or flux per cm2 (Willis, 2009). 1.2 Tesla Tesla unit is the preferred SI unit in larger magnetic field and it can be define as the field strength of 1 Weber per m2. 1 Tesla is equal to 10 000 Gauss (Willis, 2009). 1.3 Electromagnetic spectrum Electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of all electromagnetic waves or energy arrange according to frequency and wavelength. In MRI, radiofrequency (RF) refers to that portion electromagnetic spectrum which can be generated by alternating current fed to an antenna (Hardiman, 2005). 2. Define paramagnetic, Diamagnetic and Super magnetic: 2.1 Paramagnetic Paramagnetic material such as Ferum, Magnesium and Gadolinium have unpaired electron resulting in positive magnetic susceptibility which induced small magnetic momen. Paramagnetic ion induced large fluctuating magnetic field in external magnetic field. Commonly, Gadolinium (Gd) is used as a MR contrast agent (Ballinger, 1998). 2.2 Diamagnetic Diamagnetic materials have paired electrons such as water, wood, glass, and gold which show no net magnetic moment with the absent of magnetic field. Non magnetic material quickly repels the field when placed in magnetic field, resulting in small negative magnetic susceptibility which contribute to the loss of signal in MRI (Ballinger, 1998). 2.3 Super magnetic Superparamagnetic materials such as iron oxide can be used as t2* as it has magnetic susceptibility slightly higher than paramagnetic (low positive) and lower than ferromagnetic material (high positive). It causes large magnetic moment in the presence of external magnetic field but no remnant magnetic moments when the field is zero (Ballinger, 1998). 3. Describe 3 types of magnet and give advantages and disadvantages of each: 3.1 Superconducting magnet Superconducting magnet have high field strength up to 3.0 T in clinical scanner while 9.4 T in research facility. It is also high in field homogeneity over largest volume. As it provide high field strength, it cause high signal to noise ratio and also fast scanning. It gives low power consumption as it always produce a magnetic field and electric current without primary source (Blink, 2004). Superconducting magnet is high in capital cost and cryogenic cost. It also produces acoustic noise, motion artifact and technical complexity as susceptibility effect is increased when imaging moves to higher field strength (Blink, 2004). 3.2 Resistive magnet The resistive magnets commonly have open designs which make it light weight and overcome claustrophobia among the patient. It been shut off when not in used to conserve the power (Blink, 2004). However, it has limited field strength which below than 0.2 T and low overall volume of homogenous field. It needs high power consumption and has large fringe field (Blink, 2004). Water cooling is required because large amount of heat are generated to produce the magnetic field by an electromagnet (Wang, n.d). 3.3 Permanent magnet Permanent magnets have low power consumption and low operating cost. It also cause small fringe field and does not use cryogen (Wang, n.d). Permanent magnets have limited field strength which is below than 0.3T and give no quench possibility. It is quite heavy and may require reinforced flooring to site the system, particularly if the magnet is not located at ground level (Blink, 2004). 4. Discuss field strength in relation to image contrast: In general, image quality is based on contrast resolution and noise which influence by the field strength of magnet. High field strength provides more signal-to-noise ratio than low field strength. It allows fast imaging that reduces patient motion so that better spatial resolution and image contrast (Thomas Magee, 2003). 5. Discuss purpose of gradient in MRI: Mainly, the gradient is used to either dephase or rephase the magnetic moment of nuclei (Guang Cao, n.d). It also used for slice selection, gradient refocusing, gradient echoes, and gradient moment nulling. It also can spatially locating (encoding) signal along the long axis of the anatomy called Frequency Encoding as well as spatially locating (encoding) signal along the short axis of the anatomy called Phase Encoding (ASRT, 2008). 6. Discuss the purpose of cryogen: Cryogen is used in MRI to supercool the electrical conductor in superconductive magnet. It is because a quench cause a rapid loss of static magnetic field in MRI (Blink, 2004). So, the cryogen usually liquid helium and some liquid nitrogen is used to ensure the temperature as low as -269ËÅ ¡c (-452ËÅ ¡c) are achieve (C.L. Dennis, 2009). 7. Discuss the type and purpose of shielding and shimming: In MRI, RF shielding use copper shielding or Faraday cage to reduce the transmission of electric or magnetic fields from one space to another. Meanwhile, magnetic shielding used to reduce the level of RF radiation that enter or leaves the shielded room (Hipskind, 2009). Passive magnetic shielding use a steel plate while active magnetic shielding employ additional solenoid electromagnet to reduce the area affected by the fringe field (ETS.LINDGREN, 2009). Shimming is used to remove small inhomogeneities which present in the magnetic field (Z. Ren, 2009). It uses metal discs or plates in passive shimming to get magnetic field to a particular level of homogeneity and additional solenoid magnet in active shimming to optimize for each patient examination (D. Tomasi, 2009). 8. Discuss construction, use and selection of linear, quadrature, phase array, multichannel, transmits or receive coil and receive coil only: Linear or surface coil consist of single or double loop of copper wire that use to improve SNR when examine the structure near the skin surface such as temporo-mandibular joint, orbit or shoulder (Blink, 2004). Quadrature or circularly polarized coils contain at least two loops of wire which commonly used today that produce √2 more signal than single loop coil (Zhou, n.d). Phased array coils consist of multiple surface coils which have the highest SNR but limited sensitive area (Zhou, n.d). Multichannel or Helmholtz coil have pair of circular coil that widely used in MRI because of its fairly uniform magnetic field (Zhou, n.d). Transmit/receive coil transmit RF then change to a receive mode to receive the MR signal. It allows acquisition of more slices and reduce artifact. It has complex design and decrease uniformity over volume of interest (Spring, 2005). Receive only coil design only receive MR signal using body coil as a transmitter and they include surface and phased array coil. It has simple design which used together with the transmit body coil to provide uniform excitation over the entire volume of interest (Spring, 2005). 9. Explain the principle of magnetism, the specific of MR instrumentation, and hardware required for MR imaging: 9.1 Principle of magnetism Magnetism not just occurs in ferromagnetic substances like iron. In an external magnetic field, magnetization can occur in tissue but it disappears when the field is removes (Michael N.Hoff, n.d). 9.2 Specific of MR instrumentation Ancillary equipment needs an additional instrumentation for scanning such as ECG leads and respiratory bellows as well as the power injector. It also supplies patient monitoring like ECG, pulse oximetry and fiber optic while patient transportation provide a wheelchairs, stretchers, patient table and step stool (ASRT, 2008). 9.3 Hardware required for MR imaging Other than magnet, gradient and radio frequency system, the hardware required for MR imaging is the computer. It controls all the system and has the pulse control unit as well as array processor for fourier transform and 2D and 3D imaging. Computer also stored the data in the hard drive as well as processing and handling it (ASRT, 2008). 10. Explain MRI imaging chain: Diagram1: Schematic diagram of MRI imaging chain (Anonymos, n.d). Mainly, the central computer controls the scanning operation. It specifies the shape of gradient and RF waveform as well as the timing to be used. Then, the information is passes to the waveform generator before the signal is passes to be amplified and sent to the coils. Once NMR signal has been phase, it is sensitively detected and turned to a digital signal by analogue to digital converter. The image is displayed on a monitor after digital signal sent to image processor for Fourier transformation (Anonymos, n.d). The signal before Fourier transformation called raw data is stored to enable the application of corrections in the post processing. Matrix sizes of 2n are usually used to allow the use of fast Fourier transformation (Anonymos, n.d). 11. Describe MRI quality assurance program: The evaluation of all MRI system should be done prior to and following installation. It must be monitor at least annually to ensure proper functioning and high-quality diagnostic images are produced (ASRT, 2008). For the performance evaluation, it should include the tests phase stability, magnetic field homogeneity, calibration of all RF coils, image signal-to-noise ratio and uniformity for all coils, inter-slice RF interference, artifact evaluation, hardcopy and softcopy fidelity, spatial resolution and low contrast object detectability, magnetic field gradient calibration, intensity for all volume coil, film processor quality control, physical and mechanical inspection, and evaluation of MRI safety (Geoffrey D. Clarke, 2002). In quality control program, the physicist/MR scientist should assist annually on the RF calibration and image SNR and uniformity for the head coil, film processor QC, physical and mechanical inspection, magnetic field gradient calibration, and hardcopy and softcopy fidelity. The corrective action is taken if the parameter falls outside control limit (Geoffrey D. Clarke, 2002). The protocol of acceptance testing include the evaluation of the coil and follow-up procedure or written survey report from the physicist/ MR scientist to the physicians and to the responsible professional (ASRT, 2008). CONCLUSION In MRI system, a magnet is required for nuclear alignment, radio frequency source for excitation, magnetic field gradient system for spatial encoding, computer system for image formation process as well as the user interface, and image processor to convert signal into images. This hardware plays important role along the software program like pulse sequence and image formation program to produce the MR images. However, to ensure proper functioning and high-quality diagnostic images produce, the MRI system should be evaluated through Quality Assurance (QA) program because if there are parameter falls outside control limit, immediate corrective action is taken.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Argument - The Voting Age Must be Lowered Essays -- Politics Political

The Voting Age Must be Lowered for Democracy to Exist in America Imagine for a moment that senior citizens were denied the right to vote. Imagine senior citizens being thought of as too incompetent to vote because some senior citizens are senile. Can you imagine such a large percentage of the American public being denied the right to vote – simply on account of their age? It cannot happen in America, right? Not in a free country, a country where the people control the government, not the other way around? It can happen. It does happen. Only, it does not happen to senior citizens – once they get the right to vote they keep it for life. It happens to young people – people below eighteen years of age. Youth are denied the right to vote solely on account of their age. America is not a democracy if youth are denied the right to vote. Democracy is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as "government by the people." If some of the people – youth – are denied the right to vote for government leaders than the American government is not "by the people." The Declaration of Independence says that governments are instituted by the consent of the governed, and that governments can be overthrown when the people don’t consent anymore. Laws that young people are forced to obey are passed every day throughout the nation. Some of these laws only affect youth, such as curfew laws and compulsory school attendance laws. Most of these laws affect the whole population and all American citizens. Yet young people have no say in these laws, no say in the legislators that make these laws, no say in politics, no say in the rules that they must abide by. According to the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, young people born in the United States are Am... ... lowered if America is to be a free and democratic nation and youth are to be granted their human right to take part in the business of their nation by being allowed to vote. Works Cited D.G. "Election Elective." Education Week on the Web. 10 Feb. 1998. http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-11/13boxh11 Franklin, Bob. "Children’s Political Rights." The Rights of Children. 10 Feb 1998. http://www.bconnex.net/~cspcc/crime_prevention/rights.htm St. Louis Post Dispatch, December 19, 1997, research provided by Keith Mandell. (12 Feb 1998). "Ten Questions, One Easy Answer: Q&A on Children’s Suffrage." ACS: Association for Children’s Suffrage. 16 Feb. 1998. http://www.brown.edu/Students/Association_for_Childrens_Suffrage/ "Voting." ASFAR: Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions. 11 Feb. 1998 <http://www.oblivion.net/asfar/declaration/voting1.html>

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Statement of Educational Philosophy Essay -- Philosophy of Education T

Statement of Educational Philosophy A person’s philosophy of education is important because it affects the way that their classroom will be run. To be a good teacher, a person should genuinely like the students and want to make a difference in their lives, giving them the confidence to succeed. There are many things that go into developing an educational philosophy: The nature of the students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of education, the method of education, and the curriculum. I believe that every student is very different. Each student should be treated as an individual and not be just grouped together without any personal identification of their own. Most children seem to learn better by watching adults rather than listening to them, hence the old saying, â€Å"actions speak louder than words.† Children seem to be pretty stubborn and want to find things out for themselves. For example, you can tell a child over and over again not to touch a hot stove but it may not really sink in until they touch it that one time and get burnt. This is also an example of children wanting to do their own thing. I agree with Foucoult in that most humans desire the power to have their own way. In my opinion, knowledge is both relative and absolute. Some things are constructed while others are discovered. For example, the sun rises in the east. This was discovered many years ago and is true everywhere and throughout time. A person that writes computer programs constructs knowledge. They take different pieces of knowledge and put them together to develop new things and new knowledge. Some knowledge is always changing because of the technological advancements in today’s society; however, some things never change. I... ...ing that everyone should know Calculus, but people should have a basic knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These basic skills are essential to everyday life and I think that everyone should be able to use them. In conclusion, I feel that education is a very important thing. Everyone should be educated at least in the basics. People should care about themselves and want to make themselves the best that they can be and not just settle for what they are. Education should instill the desire to achieve in our students. New things are discovered everyday. Keeping up with society can be difficult but I definitely think that it has its rewards. I feel that God has given me a gift for being able to help others by teaching. I want to do all that I can to help shape the future of our society by using my talent to the best of my ability.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Consequences of Postmodernism in the Movie

How the movie â€Å"American Psycho† relates to the post modern society of America in the 80†² IIS Postmodernism was first seen in the late nineteenth century, but after the second world war it was applied to people's everyday life. â€Å"American Psycho† portraits the reality and consequences of postmodernism through the mysterious life of Patrick Bateman as the â€Å"American Psycho†. Patrick Bateman is the main character of the movie, and the whole world is seen through his eyes. The moral in the movie is that there are no morals, it is one big twisted game fighting for status.Patriot's life comes focused on this goal through worshipping the surface through capitalistic, consumerist and narcissistic behavior. The â€Å"Business card† scene definitely displays that Patrick Bateman perceives the world as post modernistic. Nothing has meaning to it in Patriot's mind, as ideologies, goodness and love. What Bateman can relate to are the materialistic as pects for example the business cards where it meaner everything to him to have the best card which is only an illusion of himself.Bateman and the phenomenon, postmodernism are the idea that nothing is real Just an illusion and that everything is a copy of something that's already been duplicated. This movie has many different ways to look at it. Many have seen this movie and thought whether this is all real or if it's Just his crazy twisted mind, making it all up. One thing we can agree on is the fact that Patrick Bateman is a mentally disturbed person. Maybe all this violence and blood displayed in this movie, are the feelings of the author towards the post modernistic society that we have and do live in, this is him showing his hatred towards it.This is why it is irrelevant whether it is real or not, t is this feeling the author has towards this twisted society that you must understand and to feel it you must see it in action. When societies redefine, the people also redefine this is the process we see in Batsman's life. He is always thriving to redefine himself both through his physical body and through his materialistic belongings. This thriving for the idealistic image is the meaning of life for Patrick Bateman, all of his actions and thought are focused on redefining himself compared to the redefining society. Survival becomes a key point in this society.Bateman is trying to survive in his sick society. By surviving it meaner to keep up with all the materialistic ideologies of the perfect being. His survival for this we see when he does his regular morning exercise followed by a skin mask to the battle of business cards. One of postmodernists big aspects is the value given to the materialistic aspects of society, everything has lost its soul even people are described almost as if they were products. People are no longer Judged by their true selves but through what clothes they wear, what perfume they use and how much money they own.An example from he mov ie is the big importance of which restaurant to eat at. It is not whether the food is good, it is what image it represents to the surrounding people. Patrick Bateman is trying to sell himself all the time. He does this Just like you would advertise a bottle of coca-cola. He wants the surrounding people to associate him with the best restaurant, business card and even the look of his girlfriend. This is exactly how coca-cola tries to sell us this idea of happiness and fairytale world when you open a bottle of coca-cola, this they do through advertisements as we see it with Bateman, who becomes a product.Creating this image of yourself is pure postmodernism. The movie shows this to us in such a clear way though Patrick Bateman description of himself. â€Å"‘ have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. † and â€Å"there is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of ab straction. But there is no real me: only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable†¦I simply am not there†. To understand this you must understand that the soul is your true being. Through postmodernism the soul dies due to always having to manipulate and create this illusory image of one self, but by doing this the soul is getting buried so deep beneath this image, that it is almost non-existing. The whole point of a post modernistic life is trying to create this perfect picture of yourself, instead of finding your true self by removing all mindsets and ideologies given to you by this manipulative society trying to give you ideologies, norms and rules that bury our soul.This movie is showing postmodernism at its finest. All values, ideologies and norms have vanished and now they are meaningless. In the end the only thing you can really reflect on is one self. Bateman is wandering around a materialistic â€Å"yuppie society†, where people are so concerned and busy with their outer, status and themselves, that they don't see how gruesome and crazy Bateman really is. All the violence in itself is not that important for the meaning of the movie. What really is trying to be shown in this movie is this outrage towards the post modernistic society and how it can affect you.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Marketing Plan for a Premium (Branded) Product

Table of Contents No| Tittle| Pages| 1. 0| Executive Summary| 5| 1. 1~1. 2| Objectives ~ vision and mission| 5| 2. 0| Company Summary| 6| 2. 1| Background| 6| 2. 2| Company Locations and Facilities| 6| 3. 0| Products and Services| 7| 3. 1| Products Description| 7| 3. 2| Competitive Comparison| 8| 3. 3| Supply and Demand Details| 9| 3. 4| Technology Needs| 10| 4. 0| Market Analysis| 11| 4. 1| Target Market| 11| 4. 1. 1| Target Market Segment Strategy| 11| 4. 1. 2| Market Needs| 11| 4. 1. 3| Market Trends| 11| 4. 1. 4| Market Growth| 12| 4. 2| Industry Analysis| 13| 4. 2. 1| Industry Participants/Key Players| 13| 4. 2. | Main Competitors/Competitive Analysis| 13| 5. 0| Strategy and Implementation Summary| 14| 5. 1| Marketing Strategy| 14| 5. 2| Pricing Strategy| 15| 5. 3| Promotion Strategy| 15| 5. 4| Distribution Patterns| 15| 5. 6| Sales Strategy| 16| 5. 7| Sales Forecast| 16| 5. 8| Sales Programs| 16| 6. 0| Web Plan Summary| 17| 6. 1| Website Marketing Strategy| 17| 6. 2| Developmen t Requirements| 17| 7. 0| References| 18-20| 1. 0 Executive Summary 1. 1 Objectives My objective is to collect and research information to understand Audi Company better in terms of their company background, product and services and their marketing strategy.Examples are like their technology, competitors pricing, sales figures market growth and many more. 1. 2 Vision and Mission Vision: â€Å"Audi – the premium brand† Mission: â€Å"We delight customers worldwide† 2. 0 Company Summary 2. 1 Background Audi is under a parent company named Volkswagen Group which is a German automobile manufacturing company. Audi is a manufacturer of exquisite cars – beautiful, sophisticated machines that embody technological perfection. Audi is the Premium brand growing most rapidly and on course to become the world’s most successful Premium manufacturer.Audi has been recognised by the European Union for outstanding environmental protection, based on its long traditio n of minimising and reusing production waste. 2. 2 Company Locations and Facilities The worldwide network of Audi sites comprises the two German plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, as well as seven production facilities in Gyor (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Changchun (China), Aurangabad (India), Bratislave (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain) and Indonesia. 3. 0 Products and Services 3. 1 Products Description Type| Audi Q5 2. 0 TFSI Quattro (225PS)| Vehicle Type| Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)|Transmission| 6-speed manual| Year| 2011| Price(RM)| 328,000| Engines| 1,984  cc (1. 984  L; 121. 1  cu in) I4 turbo| Acceleration(0-60mph)| 7. 0 sec| Maximum Speed| 130 mph| Tank Capacity| 75| Weight| 1850| Audi Q5 2. 0 TFSI Quattro (225PS) is a sport utility vehicle (SUV). The transmission for the car is 6-speed manual. Not only that, the Audi Q5 engine is 2. 0 litre engines comes with a turbo system which boost its engine capability, the acceleration from 0-60mph is 7. 0 per second and the ma ximum speed is 130mph which is approximately 233kmh while the tank capacity is 75 litres and the weight is 1850kg. 3. Competitive Comparison Type| Range Rover Evoque| Porsche Cayenne| Vehicle Type| Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)| Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)| Transmission| Six-speed Automatic| Eight-speed Tiptronic S with Auto start/stop function| Year| 2012| 2012| Price(RM)| 363,888| 570,000| Engines| 2. 0L Si4 4-cylinder petrol engine| 3. 6L V6| Acceleration(0-100km/h)| 7. 6 sec| 7. 5 sec| Maximum Speed| 217 km/h| 230 km/h| Tank Capacity| 70| 100| Weight| From 1640| 2030| 3. 3 Supply and Demand Details Audi Q series Annual Sales in all countries Production (unit)| Year| Year| Vehicles (Audi)| 2011| 2010| Q5| 183,678| 154,604|Q7| 53,703| 48,937| Q3| 19,613| -| Total Audi Q series| 256,994| 203,541| Based on the table above, Audi Q series annual sales for the model Q5 had increase from 154,604 for the year 2010 to 183,678 for the year 2011. The different of annual sales between year 201 0 and 2011 is 29,074 which means the supply and demand for year 2011 had increase. The total annual sales of Audi Company for 2010 are 203,541 whereas for the year 2011 is 256,994. The table above show that the total annual sales of the company had also increase 53,453 which mean the supply and demand of the cars increase from the year 2010 to 2011. . 4 Technology Needs As technology needs for the model of Audi Q5 is the engine. The engine Audi Company use for Q5 is 2. 0 litre engines comes with a turbo system which boost its engine capability and turbocharging for more power and greater efficiency   is a development of the engine that powers the likes of the current Audi TT and Volkswagen Golf GTI. The engine’s power and performance will be from 0-60mph is 7 seconds and the top speed will be 130mph or 209km/h. The horsepower can up to 211hp or 4300rpm and the torque will be 258 Ib-ft. or 1500rpm. 4. 0 Market Analysis 4. 1 Target MarketThe following are the strategy for tar get market. 4. 1. 1 Target Market Segment Strategy Market segmentation for Audi Q5 will be psychographic segmentation which means Audi Company divide the buyers into different categories based on social class, lifestyles or personality characteristics. For the target market segment will be differentiated marketing strategy which means Audi Company produces several types of car such as SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle), Sedan and Sport each targeting its own segment of consumers. As for the product I choose Q5 target market is towards consumer’s lifestyles from higher level income.The target market will be consumers who finding for more comfortable, powerful and luxury option. 4. 1. 2 Market Needs Audi Company is providing customer comfort and luxury cars. Audi have a very good warranty and aftersales services for the customers. Now for all the new Audi models, the customers can choose whether you want to have three, four or five years warranty. So with the few years warranty you ca n enjoy your driving and also no need to worry about the unexpected repair bills. 4. 1. 3 Market Trends Market trends for Audi Q5 is the technology its use for the engine. Audi Q5 has automatic start and stop function for greater fuel.Audi Q5 comes with the Driver’s Information System (DIS) can help consumer to save fuel. Not only that, the market trends for Audi Q5 is because comfort and luxury. 4. 1. 4 Market Growth Production (unit) Production (unit) Year Year Figure: Production of vehicles Audi Q5 Figure above shows the Audi Q5 pass four years production from 2008 to 2011. The models of Q5 have a production of 20,320 in year 2008. Then the production increase from 20,320 to 105,074 in year 2009. The different of both years are 84,754. The productions still continue increase from 2009 to 2010 which mean from 105,074 to 154,604.Lastly for year 2011, the production for the year is 183,678. Compare to the pass four years the production of Audi Q5 is continues increase. 4. 2 I ndustry Analysis 4. 2. 1 Industry Participants/Key Players The industry participant for Audi Q5 is Stefan Sielaff. He is the head of design in Audi Company. He joins the company in year 2006. The key player for Audi Q5 is towards the consumers with high level of income and age above 40. Not only that, Audi Q5 can also be for family uses because it is 7 seaters car. 4. 2. 2 Main Competitors/Competitive Analysis The main competitors for Audi Q5 are Range Rover Evoque and Porsche CayenneRange Rover Evoque: * The main strength of Range Rover Evoque is that it is the sport utility vehicle (SUV) with the engine turbocharged inline four-cylinder which can boost up to 240 horsepower, six-speed automatic transmission and impressive acceleration which is 7. 6 per second. Porsche Cayenne * The main strength of Porsche Cayenne is that it is also sport utility vehicle (SUV) with the engine 8-speed Tiptronic S which can boost up to 380 horsepower, Eight-speed Tiptronic S with Auto start and stop function and impressive acceleration which is 7. 5 per second. 5. Strategy and Implementation Summary 5. 1 Marketing Strategy Marketing strategy for the Audi Company is to hit the annual sales target or increase sales and profitable get back. Audi Company will choose the best strategy to gain profit in order to create customers value. Audi Company market segmentation will be psychographic segmentation which means for the model Q5, the segmentation will base on the individual lifestyles. Audi Company market target will be age above 40 and consumers with high level of income. The target market segment will be differentiated marketing strategy.This is because the Audi Company is going to target on few market segments and provide few models such as A4, TT and Q5. By setting the market targeting, company hope can get higher sales. The market position for Audi Q5 is to combine both aspect in terms of luxury and performance in order to make the Audi Q5 to become a perfect sport utility veh icle. With high quality and luxury car and have also good performance with high tech engine, better interior and exterior are more attract the consumers compare to others competitors. 5. 2 Pricing StrategyIn terms of pricing strategy, marketers have to look into competitors’ strategies and prices to make comparison. The pricing strategy for Audi Company is by cost-based pricing which is convincing consumers of the vehicles value. The company profit will be the most important issue in pricing strategy. Audi Company is using psychological pricing which means it is consider about the pricing but not the world economics. The higher the price of car is, the higher quality of the car is. 5. 3 Promotion Strategy The promotion strategies for Audi Q5 are advertising and public relation.In terms of advertising, Audi Company has to make decisions when setting the advertising budget which is objective, budget decisions, message and media decisions and advertising evaluation. The marketer had chosen the advertising budget by using competitive-parity method in order to prevent promotion war and know what the competitors plans. Public relation is that Audi Company builds a strong relationship with the customers. The public relation company will organise a special event for example car show to promote the cars. By organising the car show public relation people can introduce the benefit of Audi Q5 and the specifications. . 4 Distribution Patterns The distribution patterns for Audi Company will be wholesaling. Audi Company is the wholesaler and the Audi Company will hire selling agents to help the company to gain the sales. The selling agents will sell the cars direct to last consumers. The wholesaler will set the segmentation and targeting consumers in order to identify the consumers and build a strong relationship with them. Selling agents have to explain about the cars specification and pricing to the customers in details to make the customers understand about the car concept. 5. Sales Strategy Sales strategy for Audi Company for model of Q5 is Audi Company have a very good aftersales services and warranty. Each of Audi cars has a warranty of at least 3years. Then, consumers no need to worry about the high repairing cost. Let’s say a customer with an Audi car model of Q5 send his or her car to service and he or she is busying with the job he needs a car to go work while the car repairing. In this case, Audi Company will decide to give the particular customer a same model of car to use while the car is doing services. 5. 6 Sales ForecastThe annual sales for Audi Q5 in year 2011 are 183,678 units so the marketers aim that the next annual sales in year 2012 for Audi Q5 will be 500,000 units. The reason why the marketers aim for more annual sales is because the Audi Company objective is to get benefits. To gain more annual sales the marketing strategy have to be improve in order to have more supply and demand of Audi Q5. 5. 7 Sales Programs T he sales program for Audi Q5 is the marketers will set market segmentation, market targeting, market position and market differentiation to concentrate on a market to increase the annual sales.In terms of pricing, the marketers will consider the target market income level and needs to get an Audi Q5. The marketers also will consider about the consumer judgement on the product. The marketers have to do some promotion in order to introduce the product to the target market. In this case, the product is Audi Q5 so the marketers have to consider the suitable premium product promotion strategy. After all, the marketers have to set a distributer to sell out the product. The distributer is by wholesale which means the Audi Company has to hire a selling agent to distribute the product to the last consumer. 6. 0 Web Plan Summary 6. Website Marketing Strategy Website marketing strategy is something similar to marketing strategy but is only available in online business. First of all, the market ers have to select the target market for Audi Q5. The target market for Audi Q5 is basically on consumers which is with high level of household income and with age 40 above. Audi Q5 is a premium product so for online marketing the consumers have to look into more about details of the company and also the car. Furthermore, the marketers have to look into the competitor’s online advertisement make sure the competitor’s online marketing did not reduces the confident of the consumers.Then, the marketers have to improve the Audi Company advertising skills. In terms of pricing, the marketers have to look into the market target needs. By using psychological pricing which means the consumers thought that the higher price of the car means the higher quality of the car. The consumers buying Audi Q5 is to show status and personal characteristic. The marketers have to create an advertisement either create by own or by hiring the graphic designer. For Audi Company normally the mark eters will hire the famous graphic designer to create a fabulous website page.And the graphic designer will helps to create the content of the advertising which is the slogan of the Audi Company by giving consumers message about the car comfort and luxury. In addition, the marketers have to monitor the advertising in terms of maintaining the latest news of the website. 6. 2 Development Requirements The marketers have to make sure the budget of the advertising did not over the cost so that the company did not lose any profit. The costing by hiring a famous graphic designer are very high so the marketers have to make sure that the online marketing are successful and hit the target of sales.List of References Audi. com (n. d. ) Corporate strategy > Audi at a glance > Investor Relations > Audi Worldwide. [online] Available at: http://www. audi. com/com/brand/en/company/investor_relations/audi_at_a_glance/corporate_strategy. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012] En. wikipedia. org (1937) Volkswag en Group – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Fleetdirectory. co. uk (2012) Audi profile and Audi company details. [online] Available at: http://www. fleetdirectory. co. k/audi/ [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Audi. com (n. d. ) Careers > Audi Worldwide. [online] Available at: http://www. audi. com/com/brand/en/company/careers. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Models. audiusa. com (2012) Detailed Specifications > Features and Specifications > Audi Q5 > Audi of America. [online] Available at: http://models. audiusa. com/q5/detailed-specifications [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. En. wikipedia. org (2009) Audi Q5 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Audi_Q5#Transmissions [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Models. audiusa. om (2012)  Engines > Features and Specifications > Audi Q5 > Audi of America. [online] Available at: http://models. audiusa. com/q5 /engines [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Landrovermalaysia. com. my (2011) Land Rover – Media. [online] Available at: http://www. landrovermalaysia. com. my/media_rangerover44tdv8. asp [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Topgear. com (2012) Porsche Cayenne GTS unveiled in Malaysia – TopGear Malaysia. [online] Available at: http://www. topgear. com/my/7667-porsche-cayenne-gts-unveiled-in-malaysia/ [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Porsche. com (2012) Technical Specs – Cayenne Diesel – Cayenne Overview – Dr.Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG. [online] Available at: http://www. porsche. com/pap/models/cayenne/cayenne-diesel/featuresandspecs/ [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Annualreport2011. volkswagenag. com (2011) Volkswagen Group – Annual Report 2011 – Audi. [online] Available at: http://annualreport2011. volkswagenag. com/divisions/audi. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Audi. com (n. d. ) Corporate strategy > Audi at a glance > Investor Relations > Audi Worldwide. [online] Availab le at: http://www. audi. com/com/brand/en/company/investor_relations/audi_at_a_glance/corporate_strategy. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012].Models. audiusa. com (2012) Detailed Specifications > Features and Specifications > Audi Q5 > Audi of America. [online] Available at: http://models. audiusa. com/q5/detailed-specifications [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. CNET (2009)  Audi Q5 delivers sports car handling. [online] Available at: http://reviews. cnet. com/8301-13746_7-10309171-48. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Topgear. com (2012) Porsche Cayenne GTS unveiled in Malaysia – TopGear Malaysia. [online] Available at: http://www. topgear. com/my/7667-porsche-cayenne-gts-unveiled-in-malaysia/ [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012].Audi UK (2012) Saving you fuel < Q5 < Q5 < Models < Audi UK. [online] Available at: http://www. audi. co. uk/new-cars/q5/q5/saving-you-fuel. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Babyrr. com (2012) babyRR. com – The Range Rover Evoque Forum – Negative Consumer Reports Revie w. [online] Available at: http://babyrr. com/forum/archive/index. php/thread-2845-1. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Porsche. com (2012) Drive – Features – Panamera S Hybrid – Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG. [online] Available at: http://www. porsche. com/usa/models/panamera/panamera-s-hybrid/detail/drive/ [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. speedonline. com (n. d. ) PDK vs. Tiptronic – 6speedonline. com Forums. [online] Available at: http://www. 6speedonline. com/forums/cayenne-958/273697-pdk-vs-tiptronic. html [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. About. com Small Business: Canada (2000)  Part Two of the 5 Step Internet Marketing  Plan. [online] Available at: http://sbinfocanada. about. com/od/onlinebusiness/a/netcampaignpp_2. htm [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012]. Marketing, An Introduction ARMSTRONG, G. and KOTLER, P. (n. d. ) Marketing, An Introduction. 11th ed. United State of America: Pearson Education

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Key characteristics and the pioneers in avant-garde music

Minimalism originated in the sass, as a movement that sought to stray from the previous decade of self-expressionism as well as the contemporary trends of intellectual complexities found in serial music. Marked by repetitive mitotic and rhythmic patterns, it sought to emphasize simplicity in both melodic lines and harmonic progressions. In contrast to serial music's favored chromatic compositional techniques, minimalist music was wholly diatonic and consonant in nature. Textural consistency and layered melodies/rhythms gave way to gradual changes, highlighting the ‘process' of music, tater than a particular musical goal or specialized form.Seemingly lacking a climax, each composition unfolded by a series of repeating motives and additive rhythms extended over long periods of time. Influenced by Asian and African music, minimalism understated dramatic structures and sounds, instead emphasizing the reduction of musical structures. During the sass, a group of young American compos ers vouched for the return of basic elements of music, without dramatic structures and abstract expressionism. Many were influenced by the compositions of John Cage, including several leading gurus of the minimalist movement: Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.A graduate of Berkeley, Riley opposed the chromatic and twelve-tone writings of serial music. Like many of his contemporaries, Riley experimented with tape loops in his compositions and bridged the gap between the new avian-garden and the piqued interest of rock music. Riley was specifically interested in composing works for â€Å"live† audiences, as these proved more effective in conveying the so-called avian-garden sounds. Successful in its reception, this kind of experimental music appealed to the public as t grew in popularity and acceptance; his music was inclusive and non-elite.Varying degrees of musical experience and backgrounds were encouraged. An excellent example of this can be found in his compositio n, In C. Written in 1964, In C did not necessarily require the skills of highly trained musicians to be performed. The piece lasts 44 minutes, although one would not suspect it to be so lengthy as it only contains fifty-three â€Å"modules† in total. Any number of instruments could play at a given time either at the original pitch or at any octave transposition. Each of the fifty-three modules were to be â€Å"looped;† in other words, they should be repeated ad labium before moving on to the next module.Moreover, articulations and dynamics were to be performed ad labium. The work finally concluded when all of the performers had arrived at the last module. While it appears that Riley music contains a sort of â€Å"anything goes† mentality, it is quite the contrary in some respects. In choosing instruments for the actual performance, Riley suggested that all players maintain an eighth-note pulse, which was audibly heard by an instrumentalist who played the top oct ave of CSS, most likely plan n a piano or xylophone. Furthermore, Riley favored more homogeneous sound; thus, instruments that consisted of specific timbres and ranges were discouraged.In C was a prime example in proving that minimalist music was not music void of regulations and rules; rather, it stemmed from â€Å"algorithms. † Riley considered these algorithms fundamental to his music even if they appeared loose by nature. Interestingly enough, the C-pulse in Riley work was not his own idea, but instead that of another contemporary, Steve Reich. Reich was born in 1936 and his compositions were heavily influenced by non- Western traditions. He studied African drumming, which involved complex counterpoint, and Balinese gametal music, with its complex layering and fast interlocking patterns.Quite different in background from Riley, Reich was born into wealthy and high-class family in New York. Having had traditional piano lessons growing up, an impressive education at Cornell with a major in Philosophy, and graduate studies at the Jailbird School in traditional' composition, Reich eventually found his path in composing twentieth-century music. Upon listening to recordings of Stravinsky Rite of Spring, Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, and bebop in succession, Riches developed a new musical obsession, what theorists would call, â€Å"subtractive pulse. † It is steady, audible pulse that is practically palpable (found in, In C).Eventually, Reich experimented â€Å"phase shifting. † with multiple tape loops, Just as Riley did, and the idea of gradual Phase shifting is a compositional technique in which a repetitive motive is played on two instruments, in a steady but not identical tempo. Eventually, the instruments ‘shift' out of unison and the musical result resembles a ringing or echo effect, but ultimately, returns to unison. The gradual ‘shifting' is initially subtle, due to the fact that the beginning Tempe are virtually identica l, but over time, the differences in Tempe increase and become much more apparent.In some live performances, the gradual phase shifting is entirely too subtle, thus forcing the performer to either add or remove a note, resulting in a shift by a single beat. Piano Phase was Riches first attempt at gradual phase shifting in a live performance. Later, Reich experimented with more immediate and less gradual changes in his Clapping Music. Philip Glass, also influenced by African and Indonesian music, collaborated with Reich for many performances, as they both sought to ‘minimalism' the compositional techniques of Western music, counterpoint, and part-writing.Maintaining commonality in elements of limited range of pitch and accentuation on constant melodic and rhythmic repetitions, Glass's music initially resembled Riches in many ways; however, his compositional techniques differed somewhat towards his latter years. While Reich used melodic and rhythmic repetition to gradually trans form his music, Glass utilized â€Å"additive Hitachi† processes, a technique that augmented small melodic units over the course of the piece. This was distinctively different from Riches ‘phasing' strategies.For instance, in Glass's Music in Fifths, the original eight-note motive is expanded by the addition of several notes and subsequently grows to two hundred notes. Similar to Reich, Glass's compositional style began simpler, but eventually evolved into slightly more complex minimalist techniques. At first, his choice of textures were limited to unison and octave doubling, as evidenced in Music in Fifths but later, he rated more complex textures in choral voices found in his Music in Similar Motion.His more recent music has evolved using simple harmonic progressions of a traditional style, but still adheres to the idea of reduction and perpetual repetition. During the sass, Glass began scripting works for the stage, including several operas: Einstein on the Beach (19 75), Straight (1980), and Keenan (1983). At this time, skepticism surrounded the existence of opera in modern times. Nonetheless, Glass's operas were tremendously significant in re-igniting enthusiasm for this genre. Of course, anthropometry opera contrasted greatly to those of Western traditions, as it consisted of non-narratives and musical theatre settings.Glass often performed in his own ensemble, the Phillip Glass Ensemble, mainly consisting of amplified woodwinds, keyboard synthesizers, and solo vocals. Minimalist music revolutionized the way listeners heard music during the twentieth-century. Due to its simplistic sonorities, repeating rhythms and melodies, minimalist music could often be heard as a type of trance' music. Its pulse unwavering, audible, and undeniably transparent, the listener is brought into an almost ‘hypnotic' Tate of mind. This sort of listening results in a somewhat passive participation, rather than active aural and emotional involvement.Undoubtedl y, minimalist music has an almost static quality to its sound, with its pulsating rhythms and steady tempos. Oriel's fascination with subtractive pulses, catapulted the interest of avian-garden music amongst amateur and professional musicians alike. A pioneer in the minimalism movement, Philip Glass certainly understood the intent of this music to its listeners. To fully grasp his compositional works, he required the audience to hear music as a ‘presence,' free room any sort of structural expectation or dramatic form.It was often heard as anti- climatic, and worked best for dramatic actions on stage or on screen. Common among the composers of this period was the ideology of ‘less is more. ‘ Reduction and striping of the ‘old' styles were accentuated in performances, and listeners were subject to a new kind of musical experience compared to previous centuries past. Taking advantage of current technologies including records, broadcasts, and electronic instrumen ts, Riley, Reich, and Glass incorporated these technological advances into their music.Typically, electronic instruments and pitches were utilized in minimalist music, as these particular sounds highlighted the monotony and reiteration of melodic and rhythmic ‘cells. ‘ Prior to the twentieth-century, instruments were played and heard by way of inflection and nuance, whereas minimalist music omitted any sort of variance in expressive sound. Academic surrealist composers often dismissed the work of the non-academic avian-garden minimalists, but to the minimalist composer, music could be void of numbers and musical ‘maps. ‘ Past Western traditions were based on rules and structures, cost of which minimalist composers rejected.The ideology that music should stem from reduced musical elements, and that their growth should be gradual and rather organic, pinned this musical genre as experimental and innovative. Transformation was marked by gradual processes and supe rfluous elements were disregarded and deemed unnecessary. The â€Å"process† of development was more important than the end result, much like the idea that Joy and self-evolution is found in the Journey and not Just in achieving it. Minimalism opposed the conservative or nostalgic and sought no return to older styles.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Horses Anatomy Essay

The respiratory system of the horse is well adapted to athletic exercise, with unrestricted upper airway diameters, and a large lung capacity afforded by 18 ribs. These combine to enable air intakes of up to 1800 litres per minute in a galloping horse. Volumes of up to 300 litres of blood are pumped at high pressure through small lung capillaries surrounding 10 million air sacs to take up and deliver over 70 litres of oxygen per minute to the working muscles at the gallop. As a result, any restriction in upper airway diameter, obstruction of the airways, diseases or stress related conditions that reduce efficiency of oxygen uptake from the air sacs, can have a great influence on athletic capacity. The large lung surface and high blood flow rates also provide the additional function of heat loss during and after exercise, with up to 20% of the muscle heat generated during exercise being exchanged across the lung surface to supplement sweating and other skin surface heat loss mechanisms. The respiratory system is continually challenged by a large amount of foreign material, including viruses, bacteria and fungi inhaled in air from track and arena surfaces during exercise, or from dusty bedding, feed and stable environments. The horses circulatory system is a very large and complex system made up of veins and arteries. The blood is the pumped under enormous pressure from the heart along the arteries which have thick muscular walls to deal with the pressure. It oxygenates the body and the internal organs The circulatory system is based upon the heart – a hollow, muscular organ in the chest cavity. It pumps the blood around the body and is divided into four separate compartments . Blood from the right ventricle goes to the lungs to be oxygenated and then is returned to the left ventricle. Blood from the left ventricle is pumped all through the body in arteries. Arteries repeatedly branch and diminish in size until they become microscopic capillaries. Capillaries permit necessary interchange between blood and tissue. They eventually join up to produce veins, which convey blood to the right atrium and from there to the right ventricle. A horse of average size has approximately 50 pints (28 litres) which circulate through his system every 40 seconds. Excretory system Depending on size, age, and productive status (work, sport, pleasure, breeding, pregnancy, lactation, retirement), a horse will digest about 60% of most feedstuffs. Feed that is 60% digestible indicates that if a horse is fed 25 pounds of dry feed, 15 will be digested and 10 pounds will be excreted as manure (feces). This will vary by feed. Feeds that are higher in fiber such as hays and grasses have a lower digestibility. Conversely, concentrate feeds that contain grains such as corn, oats, and/or barley, usually have a higher efficiency of digestion and less fecal excretion. Nitrogen (N) is a major component of protein. Horses need protein for maintenance, growth, reproduction, lactation, and work. Phosphorus (P) is a macromineral needed for maintenance, growth, and other physiologic functions. Water is also essential for bodily functions. Water is lost from the body primarily in the excretion of feces and urine, sweat, evaporation from the lungs and skin, and in the case of lactation, from milk. It also affects the consistency of manure. All nutrients that are digested (absorbed) are metabolized in the horse’s body. Some of these, especially nitrogen in proteins, are excreted in the urine. After being digested and metabolized in the body, waste nitrogen is converted to urea in the liver and excreted in the urine. Additional  undigested nitrogen is excreted in the feces. Overfeeding protein will increase the excretion of nitrogen. Overfeeding phosphorus will increase the excretion of phosphorous, most of which is excreted in the feces. Horses should be fed a diet that is digestible and formulated to meet nutritional requirements, while avoiding excesses. Overfeeding can result in higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure. Horse farmers should feed horses according to their nutritional needs. Specific recommendations for nitrogen (protein) and phosphores.

Assess the Global Role and Local Impact of Multinational Companies.

Assess the global role and local impact of multinational companies. A multinational company is often defined as a corporation whose operations and investments are broaden across a number of countries. They are also referred to as transnational companies. Therefore given this definition it would be expected that if a company operates over such a large territory that it would indeed have many effects and impacts, locally and globally, and its role would also be quite significant as it can have a direct influence on an economy, the environment and general effects on society. However, changing the way they run things in order to accomidate society could break there business down and they could eventually have no impact on society so looking at the situation is they impacts worth the change? ‘Theory has evolved over the years regarding social concerns, society’s expectations and corporate responsibility. Indeed, early management and economic theorists viewed the corporation as having a strong fiduciary responsibility to shareholders, but stopped short of considering any real obligation to other stakeholder groups’ (Friedman 1962; Teece 1984) (Corporate social responsibility, Accountability and Governance; Istemi Demirag). This statement I think is very true, due to the fact that, as time continues people’s opinions of what is deemed socially responsible in both corporate and everyday society varies, as it is a sensitive topic that is very opinion based. Corporate social responsibility is when companies realise that their activities have economic, social and environmental influences. However, to put it simply it can be divided into two broad categories; one-off activities and larger issues of policy and strategy. One-off activities basically cover things such as charitable donations of money and time given to charities or community projects, all of which are at the discretion of the owners of the company. Larger issues of policy and strategy is where the company needs to have a much more devoted awareness to the firms moral, social, ethical and environmental acts within its operations. This requires the company to take a look at other external influences that directly affect the business, such as pressure groups. This could be seen as a type of contingency planning as it helps a firm avoid future conflicting interests with the outside world. Acting socially responsible brings many benefits to both the company and society, if the correct approach is used. So by a firm accepting social responsibility, everyday problems can be reduced such as unemployment and pollution. Therefore you would also see a vast improvement in the quality of life, as society would be factored into the day to day decision making process of the company. A business which includes this approach is most likely to see more of a tangible outcome, as they will probably benefit from increased financial performance from activities such as reduced operating costs from recycling instead of waste disposal. The company could also enhance its brand image from a good reputation and gain the ability to attract capital and trading, so will therefore see the benefits from increased sales and customer loyalty. However, this could also be a case for firms to not accept this responsibility, as they can suffer from lack of customer interest if they haven’t found the right approach for them. This is because various businesses see corporate responsibility being relatively constricting, as in some cases it has lead to products having a lack of sales, or makes the product less profitable. This is due to the fact that introducing some of these socially responsible policies into a firm is very costly, so this can lead to an increase priced products for the customers or a smaller profit margin on the product for the company. However, during the recent economic crisis companies are less likely now more than ever to not act socially responsible as they are more focused on profit and survival. On the other hand there could be a contrasting theory as corporate responsibility can just be used by a firm as a marketing ploy, as a company’s overall strategy is to make profit by responding to what their consumers want, so they may just use this method in order to maximise their product life cycle therefore increasing its revenue. Contradictions of corporate responsibility have been seen many times over the years within companies such as; ‘Barclays Bank CLAIM: We have the skills, resources and determination to make a positive and lasting contribution to the communities in which we operate. ’ (Barclays social review, 1999) ACTION: Barclays bank closed 172 branches in April 2000’ ‘Proctor & Gamble CLAIM: An employee should be able to answer â€Å"yes† to the questions: is this the right thing to do? With this action uphold p&g’s reputation as an ethical company? (Proctor & Gamble code of conduct) ACTION: Proctor & Gamble continues to trade in Burma, while other companies have pulled out because of the appalling record of the Burmese government on human rights. ’ ‘BAT (British American Tobacco) CLAIM: its corporate social responsibility report defines targets for reducing energy use, water consumption and waste products, and describes its commitment to enlightened employment practices. ACTION: it markets its tobacco products ruthlessly to young people – it was caught on television handing out packets of Benson & Hedges cigarettes to teenage volley ball players in the Gambia. ’ (All three examples used is from AQA AS Business studies, John Wolinski & Gwen Coates) Number of companies using corporate social responsibility reporting, 1994 – 2006 Source: EarthTrends, 2008 using data from UNPE, 2008 The chart above does in fact show that business are starting to realise the importance of corporate responsibility and meeting their customers’ needs by adapting to it. As the chart show continuous growth overall from 1994 to 2006 which does show the significance of the topic to society and the business world. Overall, positive externalities are created for society by companies that except corporate social responsibility as well as direct benefits to the firm. However, a lot of multinational companies are based in more of the westernised countries, so there main offices are seen as socially responsible some of which could be just due to the law in which it is governed by. Some of these companies may on the other hand have ‘back offices’ from outsourcing operations in counties such as China and India, where it is not ensured that these socially responsible factors are being kept, which is an increasing problem as more and more companies do it each year. Multinational companies also have to be aware of their global role in terms of business ethics. Business ethics can be defined as the entwining of ‘morals or a principle of what is right or wrong in human behaviour’ (business and society, Edmund Marshall) into a business’s activities. Every company starts with some kind of ethics whether intentional or portrayed by the owners or employees. These ethics are what help structure the way the business is run, even if they are not generally the right ones for society. However, all firms do have to have ethics which coincide with the law of which it is governed by. This does in fact make it trickier for multinational companies to obtain ethics which both abide by the laws of each country its company occupies, and have them be socially correct so that they are morally respected. Although, not doing so could have major effect on the businesses reputation, as multinational companies are more commonly known as they are generally larger. Therefore, it could result in heavy dents in their consumer base which would later affect the company’s revenue. Throughout recent years businesses have been forced to notice their participation and effects on the environment, mainly due to societies pressure to do so. However, responding to such pressures can give a firm many advantages such as, marketing opportunities, financial advantage and human resource opportunities. When a company is being ‘Environmentally friendly’ it portrays t its customers a very good reputation which is a very positive marketing tool. This can help achieve brand recognition more powerfully and even persuade a customer to choose them over a competitor. So could overall increase a business’s sales as well as give them stronger brand loyalty. This could even give a firm the opportunity to increase their products profit margins, so that the costs occurred from the change that would benefit the environment will be covered. However, although this change can have a beneficial effect on a company they do have to make vast changes on their operations so that it doesn’t have adverse effects on the environment. Such as, such as the use of raw materials and energy, many companies use finite resources like coal and oil as they are cheaper, but they will eventually run out and leave negative chemicals behind. So firms need to find more of a renewable energy resource that suits them. Another environmental impact that occurs often is the disposal of waste and by-products. Currently gases may be released into the atmosphere, liquids into rivers and solids into landfills all of which are extremely harmful to the environment. On the other hand, I do see that it is costly to find other ways of disposal so i think the company should focus more on changing the ways the waste is produced so that less is created. Also when obtaining environmental responsibility, a company needs to make a contingency plans, mainly so that negative externalities do not occur. By doing this if an environmental disaster occurs they can minimise risks and costs so that both the company and society will have less of an effect from t. However, if multinational companies are to take this seriously they are also to look at how their day to day operations effect the environment, such as using private jets instead of flying with normal airlines. They could also offer company cars that give out less carbon emissions. Therefore large companies like multinationals will most likely benefit from environmental audits. Overall, over recent years society has began to realise that all businesses have effects on the world locally and globally, even more for multinational companies. Although businesses already realised this, but have just began to take notice more increasingly due to the pressures of society and recent changes in the law. Every aspect of a business has a knock on effect and not just on the economy which some people is lead to believe. The ethics of how the company is run or the ethic they portray are being mirrored on to society. So for the general public to react is not that uncommon whether it is positive or negative. However, I do think that people should force a company to have corporate responsibility; so that they know their actions will not just be affecting society without any consequences. Finally, I think that multinational companies have one of the biggest influences on society as they are both global and local too many countries as they are transnational. Therefore they should respect the people of the community they are in and try there hardest to impact lives positively not negatively. . However, changing the way they run things in order to accommodate society could break their business down and they could eventually have no impact on society at all, so looking at the situation is they impacts worth the change? References Books Harvard Business school press, Harvard business review, business and the environment Edmund marshall, Business and society Hans, gunter, transnational industrial relations Istemi demirag, corporate social responsibility, accountability and governance, global perspectives Sally eden, environmental issues and business, implications of a changing agenda John wolinski & gwen coates, a2 business studies, aqa John wolinski & gwen coates, as business studies, aqa