Power Corruption. It Is A Never A Leader’S Ideal Is To

Power Corruption It is a never a leader’s ideal is to cause harm are any wrongdoing to his people. Sometimes in his or her attempts to protect their country, some go to the extreme in efforts to shield from external forces. In the end though as history has proven, power is perception. Corruption is due to happen when those who govern separate themselves from whom they govern. In the novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, George uses an allegorical reference between the animals in the story to symbolize actual humans. In Animal Farm the animals overthrow their human leaders in order to set up a life style where all animals are equal. In their act the very human cruel ideals and practices they revolted against ended up being the same they†¦show more content†¦Snowball was the leader at first before being overthrown by Napoleon, an allegory towards Joseph Stalin. Napoleon uses whatever it takes to get his way including killing those who oppose his rule. Just like Stalin did during his rule over Russia. Socialism in Soviet Union was nothing more than a hypocrisy because socialism is a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole. (Dictionary.com). Just like Animal Farm the Soviet Union started as socialist but turned their government towards a brutal dictatorship. Animal Farm’s manipulative nature was shown through the rule of the pigs over the animals. Napoleon decide among himself to change the commandments to manipulate the animals that the crimes he committed was clear from any accusations. â€Å"No Animal shall kill any other animal. Without cause† (Orwell 105.) Days after Napoleon viciously had some animals executed for attempting to plot against him and confessed their plans the animals cowered in fear because no animal had been killed since the human owners left. Napoleon changed nearly all of the com mandments in order legalize the crimes he was committing. Napoleon used fear and his power to manipulate the other animals to follow under his leadership. Animal Farm personifies the manipulative nature from human in the leadership of theShow MoreRelatedThe Seven Commandments In Animal Farm, By George Orwell1347 Words   |  6 PagesOrwell. The pigs’ ideals that are first established when the animals overthrow Mr. Jones, slowly evolve as the pigs gain more authority over the other animals. Simultaneously, the Seven Commandments that were established at the founding of Animal Farm suffer from multiple revisions. The progression of the pigs’ characters shows the theme of Orwell’s story and his views on how one is affected by power. By examining the evolution of the Seven Commandments, one can see how unchecked power leads to the corruptionRead MoreA Leader : A Machiavellian Leader1141 Words   |  5 Pages The Philippines does not need a perfect Machiavellian le ader in the present. I believe a great leader would be opposite of that of a Machiavellian leader. I also believe that a prominent leader would have good morals and ideal principles. A Machiavellian leader could care less about his/her citizens, since his only two options when governing states are either benevolence or destruction. He/She only cares about his/her state, which is ill-advised, since a leader cannot lead without the people’s approvalRead MoreVladimir Putins Speech Analysis1706 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough which President Putin expresses his ideals falls in line with the five â€Å"bedrock assumptions† Mearshiemer makes reference to in his book Tragedy of Great Power Politics; â€Å"The first assumption is that the international system is anarchic, which does not mean that it is chaotic or riven by disorder. It is easy to draw that conclusion, since realism depicts a world characterized by security competition and war. The second assumption is that great powers inherently possess some offensive militaryRead MorePlato s Theory Of Government2042 Words   |  9 PagesThe central belief that binds these dialogues together is that justice and happiness are intertwined, not because of good outcomes, but â€Å"because justice itself is so great that nothing gained from injustice could be greater† (Boyle 2007). Plato’s ideal city is a reflection of the individual’s soul, which is divided into three parts: the first being a desire for wisdom and truth, the second for honor, and the third for gains. The portion that desires wisdom and truth is the basis for the guardian’sRead More Crisis of Conscience1754 Words   |  8 Pages Jose ph Heller creates a surreal world of irrationality to illuminate madness and corruption. Through the satirical characterizations of the novels leaders, Heller criticizes not just the institution of war but all forms of bureaucratic establishment. The authority figures in the novel are portrayed as selfish and deranged maniacs without any sense of morality, driven purely by their desires to expand their power and reputations. These leaders are able to skew reason to their benefits through theirRead MoreSocrates And Machiavelli s Views On Politics1464 Words   |  6 PagesMachiavelli advocated for realism. Their differences of their beliefs are rooted in a conflicting perception of morality. Socrates believes morality is based on an individual’s attainment of goodness and truth, while Machiavelli concerns himself with a leader’s achievement of glory and honor. Because of their moral differences, Socrates would oppose Machiavelli’s concept of a prince and the pol itical system he sought to sustain him. To start, Machiavelli’s realist morality follows a form of consequentialismRead MoreBuilding Block Of A Community Essay2050 Words   |  9 PagesProblems Facing Ethiopia Today, 2014). Due to the Ethiopian leader’s nonchalant attitude towards education, the literacy in Ethiopia is at an all-time low with only about 43 percent of people above the age 15 being able to read or write (Major Problems Facing Ethiopia Today, 2014). This brings about even more poverty due to the lack of knowledge, therefore leading to less opportunities for job placement. Ultimately, poor governance and corruption are the leading problem to Ethiopia s economic crisisRead MoreKantian Triangle, By Immanuel Kant Essay2116 Words   |  9 Pagesand Kuwait) in the several decades since the UN security council was established. The security council was kept small to facilitate swift decision making but it still tackles the issue of deciding because each of the five permanent members have the power of veto. Thus, it leaves for certain disaster because the decisions must be unanimous. Accordingly, troops have only been sent twice, but economic sanctions have been used more frequently – i.e. Iran and North Korea. UN Peacekeeping/building haveRead MoreThe Current Sovereignty Dispute On Ukraine2693 Words   |  11 PagesChristopher Powell. The current sovereignty dispute in Ukraine raises many questions. Along with those questions, particular interests are peaked. From historians, to military strategists, even those who believe the Cold War never ended watch with a discriminating eye. Of particular interests is Russian President Vladimir Putin. Political and historical experts alike have compared his recent actions and tactics to that as someone reading and implementing the works of Niccolo Machiavelli. IndeedRead MoreThe True Essence Of Being Great Essay6020 Words   |  25 PagesDivision of Bayawan City. No matter how small that city division maybe, but if it will have the great leadership, it will make the difference. According to Maxwell, everything falls and rises in leadership ( Maxwell,2007). â€Å"Perhaps our greatest power in life is the power to choose. Without question, choices are the most determining factor in how our lives turn out.† ( Maxwell,2007). To be the best leader, that I can be is my greatest desire. Since that choice was made, I will give my best to be the epitome

The Testament Of The Bible - 946 Words

Paul explained to the Ephesians that when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son into the world to make known His will for the salvation of humanity. (Ephesians 1: 9-10) However, according to Paul, that plan had extended from the foundation of the world. â€Å"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.† (Ephesians 1: 4) And, it is mentioned in the very first book of the Bible. Some say that it can be traced back to the creation in the sentence that God placed upon the serpent; that in the words â€Å"He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel,† there is an intimation that God had in mind the plan of salvation that would eventually come in its completeness, And that might be so. We do know that it goes as far back as Abraham, because Paul said that was what He was talking about. (Galatians 3:16) Moses said, â€Å"The Lord our God will raise up unto you a prophet like unto me and ye shall harken unto Him in all things.† (Deuteronomy 18: 15) And, Luke said that Moses was referring to the Christ. (Acts 3: 22) Therefore, the call of Abraham and the giving of the Law were until the Seed should come. â€Å"Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Galatians 3: 19) Now, that word â€Å"added† simply means â€Å"appended to.† The Law was appended to all previous law that existed prior to that time andShow MoreRelatedThe Testament Of The Bible833 Words   |  4 PagesI have learned a lot in the New Testament. It’s important to know how the author intended the book to be interpreted. Also if we know the basic historical background, it could help comprehend the meaning behind the book being written. If we really want to understand the bible to help us grow spiritually, we must be informed in our history. It could tell us why our ancestors went through certain trials. We can then know why we still face dilemmas from their past actions today. History continues toRead MoreThe Testament Of The Bible933 Words   |  4 Pagesthem, â€Å"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is the verse most Jews and Christians turn to in an effort to justify marriage, committed sexual relations, and procreation within the ma rital relationship. Yet, the Bible teaches that the most prominent figure of the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth was a staunch practitioner of the celibate lifestyle. As a partner in the creation of the universe, Jesus Christ would understand the mandate given by God the Father to populate the earth. The ChristianRead MoreThe Testament Of The Bible1265 Words   |  6 Pages To some, believing that the Bible is trustworthy is near impossible. The reasons for not believing range from the fact that it was written by so many different authors over way too many years to the fact that there are too many different versions of the Bible today and was edited or changed too many different times. I believe that the words in the Bible are the words of God and Jesus as documented by the many different authors throughout the development of the Church’s history. One reason someRead MoreThe Testament Of The Bible Essay1967 Words   |  8 Pagesus by means of the Bible. Being able to decipher the Bible, in its own way is a task in itself. Growing up as a young child, I had attended church with my grandfather, but back then I was not really exposed to the Bible, as I have been exposed to it by taking this course. The purpose of this assignment, is to research Moses and the Passover in Exodus 10-15 of the Old Testament in the Hebrew Bible. By using various resources such as commentaries, dictionaries, and the Bible itself has helped meRead MoreThe Testament Of The Bible Essay1209 Words   |  5 PagesThe Bible is about the story of a missionary, Jesus Christ, sent by the Father to the world. Before leaving the earth, Jesus commanded the disciples to be missionaries. He gave the Great Commission and commanded the disciples to be witnesses. Believers today are not only targets of the mission, but also proclaimers of the mission. In order to finish the task, Jesus gave us the handbook of the mission. In and through the Bible, God prepares the missionaries and the mission messages. There are manyRead MoreThe Testament Of The Bible1231 Words   |  5 PagesThe Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah (or Pentateuch), and the third book of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Moses was the author of the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus contains the law and commandments that God gave to his newly sanctified people to obey as their part of their covenant relationship. (Reading the Old Testament, Page 69-70) It was written because the Israelites had been held captive in Egypt for 400 years, theRead MoreThe Testament Of The Bible823 Words   |  4 Pages The Bible simply says in Isaiah 55:9, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. God does work His wonders in ways that are beyond finding out! The congregation at Calvary has heard repeatedly about the classic book called Pilgrims Progress. In this timeless book there is a man named Mr. Worldly Wise. It doesn t take long for a Christian to realize that he shouldn t have listened to this man. Mr. Worldly Wise doesRead MoreThe Testament Of The Bible2673 Words   |  11 PagesThe Bible is a veritable catalog of the majesty and power of our creator, thy God and all of his works. Strictly from a literary standpoint, the Bible is seen as a masterpiece for its sheer diversity of form and content, for artistry, for affective power, and for the way in which no matter h ow well you think you know it, or how many times you’ve read it, you can always find new meaning in its text. The Bible isn’t just one book, but instead an anthology of 66 different ones written by various authorsRead MoreThe Bible : The Testament And The New Testament1425 Words   |  6 Pages The Bible is a collection of stories and teachings made up of two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament, as well as the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Bible. The Pentateuch and Old Testament follow the days of creation, the stories of Moses, and all that happened before Jesus was born. The New Testament follows the life, teachings, and death of Jesus. Before the Bible was written around 3000 years ago, it was told through narratives, poetry, and songs. Much like fairytales, whichRead MoreThe Old Testament Of The Bible1230 Words   |  5 PagesThere are several great leaders in the Old Testament of the Bible. However, there are some that deserve additional r espect, and there are others that do not even have the great appearance or qualifications of a leader. Just as there are leaders such as these, a person that is related to both of these types of leaders is our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament leaders of the Bible that deserve further respect or do not have the greatest appearances or qualifications of a leader are easily compared

Takeaway Coffee Shops

Question: Write about the "Takeaway Coffee Shops". Answer: Takeaway Coffee Cups Many people turn up for a daily cup of coffee at their favourite spots but what they do not take concern of are the take away cups that they dispose away in millions of numbers. Most of these cups are made of plastic and when they are carelessly disposed away, they pose a serious environmental challenge (Tan, 2015). The disaster that we are posing for is much dangerous than we think as the World Economic Forum of late stated that the number of plastics is going to outweigh the number of fish in the oceans with current rate of plastic disposal. Most people have not learned of the fact that the plastic cup they dispose is more likely to live longer than them. The coffee cups appear like they have been made out of paper but in real sense they have a plastic lining and when they are disposed, they are likely to end in landfills (Devitt, 2016). The paper part biodegrades into inert gas while the plastic part is not biodegradable and therefore stays there like a pollutant. These cups have become a key source of pollution due to the high numbers with which they are released into the environment. The worrying thing is that many consumers hold to the misconception that paper cups form part of the green choice. Coffee companies are not glad to challenge this notion as they understand the concept differently even though they do not reveal to the consumers. Nevertheless, the coffee companies keep insisting to the consumers that disposing the coffee cups in a litter bin does not help with conserving the environment (Devitt, 2016). It is worth noting that the coffee cups form the second largest form of pollution in regard to small materials. The fact that the cups that are mostly used by the companies are not easy to recycle makes the matters complicated. Thousands of people in Australia take coffee and therefore it is the mandate of each citizen to join the fight against these cups. What makes the coffee cups a nuisance is that they are not made out of recycled material as they are designed in a manner that the coffee comes into contact with a thin card made of seam which is found inside the coffee cup (Tan, 2015). This factor makes the cups to be made of original paper pulp. Estimations reveal that one billion coffee cups are released into the environment by Australians every year. Furthermore, statistics reveal that coffee cups come second to plastic bottles as the largest contributors of litter. Scholars reveal that nearly ninety percent of the disposable cups which is approximately sixty thousand kilograms plastic wastes settle in landfills every year (Xing et al., 2016). Furthermore, plastics form the largest world pollution menace in oceans and what worries more is that one coffee cup has the capability of turning into thousands of particles. These particles are very small yet dangerous as they get into the system of marine creatures (Tan, 2015). The fact that oceans are being turned into plastic soup is worrying as this is an indication of a looming disaster because oceans are the source of life in the world. Nevertheless, there is the option of recyclable plastic which are being made but they are really expensive and this may put away most caf owners (Xing et al., 2016). Presently, there are coffee cups which are sold with the claim that they are recyclable, compostable and biodegradable but the claims are not true. Bibliography Devitt, S.J., 2016. Programming quantum computers using 3-D puzzles, coffee cups, and doughnuts. XRDS: Crossroads, The ACM Magazine for Students, 23(1), pp.45-50. Tan, C.S.L., 2015, January. KeepCup: A young fast growth entrepreneurial company that disrupted the take away coffee cup industry. In United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Conference Proceedings (p. QQ1). United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Xing, A., Lai, E., Jin, J., Choi, M. and Qing, W., 2016. Effects of visual prompts on coffee cup and plastic bag disposal: research project final report.

Fundamental of Marketing Brand Positioning

Question: Discuss about theFundamental of Marketingfor Brand Positioning. Answer: Introduction Tesla motors is one of the most renowned car manufacturers of the world, who design luxury electric cars, which helps in providing its targeted segment with the most accurate product. Branding they product of the company is quite necessary as it would help in getting great amount of profits to be incurred (Tansel 2015). Brand positioning of an organization could be done by analysing the following: Product attributes Tesla cars are famous for their electrically affluent cars, with attractive looks. Benefits offered Tesla cars are manufactured by implementing technological facilities that creates an efficient product. Usage occasions the Tesla cars are luxury goods that are used by those who are willing to buy it. Users people with high level income can afford the luxury Model S car of Tesla, therefore, they are targeted by the organization while framing the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy. Against competitor- the competitors of Tesla are many. Many luxury brand cars like BMW with their one and only i8, Volkswagen Golf GTE and Mercedes B class Hybrid/Electric model are presenting the market. Product class Tesla Model S has been framed as one of the luxurious cars of the world, which is placed high in terms of technology and cost. The above mentioned attributes of the cars manufactured by Tesla shows that it is a luxury item, who has a unique selling proposition of ability to build fully electrically powered vehicles. The attributes of the cars manufactured could be analysed in the following table : Attributes Rate (Excellent, Good, Moderate, Bad, Neutral) Importance Good Distinctive Excellent Pre-emptive Good Unique Good Superior Good Communicable Excellent Affordable Moderate Profitable Excellent Table : Attributes Of The Products Of Tesla Model S (Source : As Created By Author) From the above table, we get hold of the attributes of the car manufacturer company and how do they place themselves among the others. As a positioning statement for the Tesla Model S, it can be stated that the consumers who are concerned about electrically powered luxury cars, Tesla Model S is the one that offers the unique selling proposition at a price that they are willing to pay (Moons and De Pelsmacker 2014). Figure : Brand Position Map For Tesla (Source : As Created By Author) According to positioning map for Tesla model 5, it can be clearly stated that the products of the company are technically powered and modern in nature (Teodorovic 2015). Thereby, it creates a unique selling proposition among its competitors to the buyers of the product. Conclusion Tesla motors Model S is one of the luxury brands in terms of car manufacturing industry. In this report, various marketing structures of the organization have been analysed, where the 4ps of marketing mix have been considered. Mix Current structure Recommendation Explain how the recommendation is both ethically and socially responsible Price Price of cars are high enough which helps in targeting only those people with high income The high price of the car must be accompanies by a percentage of amount to be send on the environmental practices undertaken by the company. This would help in maintaining the ethical structure of the company (Milosheska 2013). The social responsibility of the company to maintain a better environment, thereby contributing a percentage amount of the product on these practices, would enhance the image of the company. Product One of the basic USP of the organization which provides the customer with fully electrified vehicles the product of the company must ensure the customers to reduce the emission of fumes, that would be an additional attribute for the product. This additional attribute would provide a scope of social responsibility of Tesla towards the environment. Promotion Promotional practices of the company for their products have not been up to the mark. Promotional activities of the organization must be well framed, in order to raise the demand of the products. No such social responsibility is aligned with this aspect. Place The product has been displayed all over the world. Being internationally marketed, this product must provide a scope for its customers to create a part of their price paid as a contribution towards the well being of the environment. This would create an important incentive towards the corporate social responsibility of the organization. By keeping the above mentioned attributes, and the alignment of the organization in maintaining better marketing mix strategies, the corporate social responsibility of Tesla has also been considered. This provides a complete analysis of the targeting, brand positioning, marketing mix strategy and the recommendations adhered to Tesla Model S Reference Tansel, A.K., 2015. Marketing Report on" Tesla Motors". Moons, I. and De Pelsmacker, P., 2014. Developing different types of anticipated experience positioning for electric cars.Journal of Brand Management,21(3), pp.216-235. Teodorovic, M., 2015. IMPACT OF SUSTAINABILITY ON BRAND POSITIONING AND VALUE.Economic and Social Development (Book of Proceedings), 5th Eastern European Economic and Social Development, p.291. Milosheska, D., 2013. Tesla Motors, The Reinvention Of The Luxury Sports Car Industry. InGlobal Luxury Trends(pp. 209-223). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Lenovo Brand Observation Portfolio Essay Example

Lenovo: Brand Observation Portfolio Essay Under the guidance of Prof. Ravi Shanker Submitted by: Ayush Goyal (17) Gaurav Singh(20) Karthik Raja(24) Nitesh Warke(33) Table of contents Introduction3 Understanding the market and competition4 STP Analysis5 Segmentation5 Demographic5 Psychographic5 Targeting5 Targeting Rationale5 Positioning5 Product Strategy7 Advertising11 Promotion13 Brands in the Lenovo space13 Promotion Strategy13 Impact of Promotion and Future Outlook13 Channel Strategy15 Channels of Distribution15 Physical Distribution16 Lenovo Customer Support17 Distribution Strategy18 Pricing Strategy19 Alternate Pricing Strategy20 Product Life Cycle and New Product Development Strategy21 References22 Shop Visits23 Introduction Lenovo is an ace Chinese computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures and markets desktops and notebook personal computers, workstations, servers, storage drives, IT management software, and related services has been a big player in the laptop and notebook market after acquiring the concerned business from IBM. Primary activities: Inbound Logistics; Operation; Outbound Logistics; Marketing and Sales; Service. Lenovo does all the operations from the cargo to the assembly production, from the product-sells to the post-sale service. This has helped company realize the large scale production and cost efficiency. In sales aspect, the company provides many kinds of purchases and the marketing channels. The customer can directly get the product through the on-line purchase and the store purchase way. Support activities: Procurement; Technology Development; Human Resource Management; Firm Infrastructure. Lenovo has formidable technical strength, especially in product research and development, and highly trained technical personnel. We will write a custom essay sample on Lenovo: Brand Observation Portfolio specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lenovo: Brand Observation Portfolio specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lenovo: Brand Observation Portfolio specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This superiority has guaranteed the company’s leading status in the market. Lenovos global research and development centers in China, Japan and the US have produced some of the worlds most important advances in PC technology. The company is rich in talent, with teams who have won hundreds of technology and design awards – including more than 2,000 patents – and introduced many industry firsts. And many more are on the way. Core competency After conformity with the PC department of IBM, the brand, the scale, the efficiency have become the new Lenovo the core competitive ability. In brand aspect, Lenovo continues to maintain IBM and the Lenovo brand inherent. High premium brand localization has helped the new Lenovo achieve higher profit levels. In scale aspect, Lenovo, the largest player in China and IBM have complementary strength. With the presence of IBM in various markets, the new Lenovo seeks to expand its foothold outside China in the other Asian markets and developed world. In efficiency aspect, The Lenovo at present has in the global first ten big PC merchant. Lenovo has the lowest core business running cost rate 6. 9%. Going into the future it will fully display the highly effective operation platform superiority which it has already established in China, in the purchase, supply chain, research and development and service. With the support area being strengthened with the coming of IBM, there are going to be further efficiencies resulting from economies of scale. Understanding the market and competition In China, Lenovo has a 30% market share and is the biggest player there. In India, its market share was 6. 7% last year and currently is at 7. 2% ending March this year. It is ranked 5th in the Indian market after Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and HCL Infosystems, according to research firm IDC In the laptop market there is a huge competition as Dell now has overtaken HP as the ace seller of laptop in India. The annual sales of PCs are expected to be in the range of 10 million by 2015, of which the laptop market is expected to occupy nearly 50% of the pie by 2012 alone. Lenovo, going forward sure wants a double digit market share in one of the largest market in Asia. The market itself is growing at a greater than 50% rate for the past couple of years. STP Analysis Segmentation: The segmentation for laptop market can be done on the following three parameters: * Geographic: North America, Europe, Asia. * Demographic: Size of the customer, region of the customer. * Psychographic: Preference of the User, basic or advanced usage. Demographic * Size of the customer: It can be divided as being further classified into the large users, the small and the medium businesses (SMBs) and individual users. * Region: The major region for a laptop comes from the big cities and educational and employment hubs. Apart from there, the upcountry markets are a major growth area. Psychographic * Preference of the User: The users can be further segmented on the basis of the high end models which are style and configuration conscious and users which are mid end users and use the laptops according to their needs. * Usage: This pertains to users who use laptops for advanced application development, network users and software professionals. The other user segment has a usage for fun purposes, net browsing, office applications and social networking purposes. Targeting Lenovo targets users based on the demographic segmentation. It targets in China and India users who belong to two segments * Relation: These are the large institutional users. * Transaction: Combining SMBs and individuals. Targeting Rationale The market in India is comparatively the same as that of China. Lenovo identifies India as China ten years ago. The strong relational business, accounting 60% in India is on the same lines as of China. The after sales spread that Lenovo enjoyed in China bodes similar prospects for the company in India. It currently is concentrating on consolidating the distribution network in India to take on the market. Positioning Tagline:†New World. New thinking. † The focus of the company in positioning its laptop can be gauged by their mission statement: â€Å"We are now one company with one goal: To build the best, most innovative products in the world. To use world-class economics to put new and better technology in the hands of more people, by innovating on cost the same way we innovate on technology. To focus our energy and our commitment on the success and trust of our customers. † The company positions itself as a manufacturer of computer laptops that innovate to suit the requirements of its users. This is further bolstered by the launch of its new range of laptop: The Ideapad, alongside its range of Thinkpad –positioned as business laptops and Essential Notebooks- positioned as laptops engineered for value. The main contention, says Amar Babu, is to provide power to consumers in terms of value, not cheap computers. Product Strategy Lenovo has a diverse range of computing products on offer. As our focus is on only Lenovo laptops, we are only considering the category â€Å"Notebooks Netbooks†. This category has three product types; ThinkPads, Ideapads and Essentials. Each of these product types has several product lines popularly known as series, each line trying to target a particular segment of consumers. Some business analysts consider Lenovo product lines to be improperly defined. To Quote Mac McCarthy of AllBusiness. com, â€Å"Lenovo prices are competitive, and the Web site is clean, but of course there are a confusing number of confusingly positioned and confusingly priced business product lines like the ThinkCentre A, M, E, and S lines. † This probably follows from each line having a very high variance in prices thereby confusing the target segment. The ThinkPad which IBM has targeted towards business users looking for high quality and reliability has now some product lines targeted towards small business users as well and low quality machines with low cost. This has diluted the ThinkPad identity as a high quality business machine. Below is a brief analysis of the Product types and the associated lines. Lenovo * Desktops * Notebooks Netbooks * Thinkpads Originally an IBM Brand of Business notebooks, Lenovo overtook it in 2005. This was brand addition for Lenovo. Entire range of notebooks was retained and the name as well. Gradually new products were introduced under the same brand name. Laptops designed for businesses, schools and power users everywhere. ThinkPad notebooks are exceptionally engineered to boost productivity, enhance mobility and reduce the total cost of ownership. * SL Series Small Business Tool. (~ 32k) [All figures from Lenovo India portal as on 2010-08-08 in INR] * R Series Cost Effective Enterprise productivity. (~ 53K) * L Series Cost Effective Enterprise productivity. (~ 63K) * Edge Series Simple and low priced. (~ 28k) * T Series Portable business powerhouse. ~ 59k) * X Series Extreme mobility, lightweight. (~ 60k) * W Series Ultimate Mobile Workstation (~ 107k) * IdeaPads This brand of laptops was basically a rebranding of the existing product line of the parent Lenovo company created to integrate all the multimedia and entertainment based notebooks into one category. It also helped Lenovo to align the existing products with ThinkPad without overlap in targeted segments. These are designed for home/home office, with distinctive designs and features for entertainment and multimedia. * S Series Tiny, Supercompact. * U Series Ultraportable Y Series Multimedia * V Series Small business Home Office * Z Series Ergonomic comfort * Essentials This was the original key focus notebooks from Lenovo targeting the low price segment of users looking value for money. This was aligned into three product lines each in different price range. These are the Laptops that have been customized to suit any budget category. The Lenovo Essential offers well-equipped, smartly designed notebooks for business, home or home office. * G Series Reliable Effordable. No frills. * E Series Thoughtfully designed with human engineering * B Series Small business Budget friendly * Workstations Servers * Peripherals * Printers * Televisions * Scanners * Storage Advertising Lenovo’s Beijing Olympics 2008 Campaign: Lenovo Groups purchase of IBMs PC division gave the Chinese company global scale overnight, yet it didn’t have a strong global brand. So the company used its sponsorship of the Beijing 2008 Olympics to elevate its reputation worldwide, and design played a crucial role in its efforts. Lenovo won the design competition for the Olympic torch, and used some of the same design elements on a limited-edition notebook computer. Deepak Advani, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Lenovo India had quoted, â€Å"Our Olympic tag line Powering the Worlds Biggest Idea reflects Lenovos belief that the Olympic Games are one of mankinds great inspirations and that Lenovo is proud to be a driving force behind them. Every element of our marketing programme underscores Lenovos integral role at the Games and reinforces the fact that Olympic values are Lenovo values global goodwill, the pursuit of excellence and world-class performance. Visual elements featured in the Lenovo Olympic marketing programs include PC product images that convey the companys core mission, a stylised light bulb that embodied the then current advertising campaign, and the cloud motif used in the Lenovo-designed Olympic Torch, appearing in the five colours of the Olympic rings. Lenovo advertised through pervasive billboards, buses, bus stations and other out-of-home venues across Beijing. Advertising leading with the IdeaPad P C line highlighted the ability of Lenovo PCs o support and originate ideas everywhere and included a yellow light bulb recognised by cultures worldwide as a symbol for ideas. Lenovo’Saif Face Recognition Campaign:- The TVC features Saif in a Tom Hanks Castaway setting being rescued by a chopper. On reaching home, his wife fails to recognise him, his appearance is that of a bedraggled and unshaven man and the wife is just on the point of dialling the cops for reporting an intruder, when Saif rushes to his Lenovo notebook and the camera on the computer does a face match and accepts him as an user. This was the first campaign run by Lenovo in India and sought to convey the launch of Lenovos new series of laptops targeted at the consumer market. It also sought to create awareness in the Indian market about Lenovo as a youthful brand and drill home its innovation. This ad is meant to harp on the face recognition feature that comes bundled with the 3000Y series units that have an inbuilt camera. It is an example of Attribute positioning. Banking on the success of his roles in popular movies like Dil Chahta Hai ,the choice of Saif Ali Khan is meant to portray an image which the brand wants to associate itself with young, innovative, experimental and exciting. Promotion Brands in the Lenovo space The retail store in Delhi we visited has been stocking high selling brands of Lenovo, i. e. Thinkpad and the Ideapad G450 and G550 series. Promotion Strategy Traditionally, since its coming to India in the middle of this decade, Lenovo concentrated only on the push strategy. It has a sales training program with Intel and Microsoft called iLAMP across six cities for 600 partners. In Delhi, the retailers for Lenovo admitted the offering on extra margin per computer based on the sales figure and plans for dealers and retailers’ foreign trips based on the yearly sales(mostly or franchised stores). Recently there has been a shift from the push strategy to the pull strategy for Lenovo. With its launch of Y300 and Y500 notebooks in the last fiscal year, Lenovo launched a promotional offer called Face to Face wherein lucky buyers of the 3000 product line would get an invite for dinner with Lenovo Brand Ambassador, Saif Ali Khan . Promoting its product in the youth, from 15 May 2010 to 15 June 2010, Lenovo’s ‘Fun on Campus offer’ gave goody pack including a Sling Bag, Lenovo Optical Mouse, a Multimedia Headset and One-year Protection of McAfee Anti-Virus. Lenovo G Series and Lenovo IdeaPad S Series customers could avail of a goody pack worth Rs 2,660 at a discounted price of just Rs 499 plus taxes. Similarly, Lenovo IdeaPad Y Series customers could avail of a goody pack worth Rs 4,459 at a discounted price of just Rs 749 plus taxes. Running on an equal ground was the Lenovo’s ‘Fun Online Offer’ which coupled the needs of laptop and net surfing. The collaboration with Tata Tele in providing cheap Tata Photon connections ran from May 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010. Impact of Promotion and Future Outlook The market share of Lenovo ending March has jumped from 4. 75% to 7. 2% in the Indian market. With its new promotion schemes in the first quarter of FY11, the company eyes a double digit market share ending this fiscal year. The growth in the volumes was estimated at 33% ending March 2010. The schemes which the company has offered target basically the range of Ideapad computers and targeting the youth. The low range affordability, style and the usage targeted schemes are selected carefully by the company. The company which has a market share of 17% in the enterprises segment has about only 10% share in the consumer. The volume sales are skewed in the ratio of 60:40 to the commercial segment. The company enjoys a large presence in commercial segment, thanks to the legacy of IBM; so a conscious move to engage in promoting the consumer categories is directly in line with the company growth strategy. The company has schemes in pipeline for the four verticals it has. Although the exact nature of the promotion schemes was not disclosed, the schemes would increasingly be targeting youth and revamping its online sales. The company has coupons available online with future expiration aimed at providing discounts online to the users. This again is a conscious strategy at the youth segment which has a registration in the online buying space. Channel Strategy Channels of Distribution With the deal with IBM, Lenovo got access to its 160-country-strong distribution and sales network, skilled staff, advanced technology. The primary target was enterprise customers. Post acquisition Lenovo moved into the highly competitive consumer business. Internally, it has been categorized into four verticals: Lenovo exclusive stores, multi- branded showroom, regional distribution model and large format retailers (LFRs). Regional Distribution model: A large chunk of consumer business comes from metros and A-class cities. To penetrate into tier-II, III and tier IV cities it has adopted regional distribution model. The company has instituted a three-tier model consisting of four national distributors at the top who serve the seven regions India is split into. To address conflict of interest among distributors, as a rule not more than three Tier 1 distributors are allotted to a specified region. It has appointed Redington, Ingram Micro, Iris Computers and Neoteric Infomatique as its four national distributors; Lenovo is now finalizing the names of regional distributors in metros and in upcountry market across the country. that each of the regional distributors will have to select a respective national distributor of their own choice and that partner will be logged in with the same national distributors for at least a year. This implies that a regional distributor has to do business with that particular national distributor only. In North India the company had already announced Kopal Computers, San Infotech and Park Computers as its regional distributors. Lenovo has also signed up with Modern Computers and Royal Vision in Punjab; Aakriti Enterprises in Ghaziabad; KI Solutions in Gorakhpur, Libra Technocorp in Allahabad; Computer Shoppe in Varanasi; Chandra Infosystems in Lucknow; Strutech Computers in Panchkula, Haryana; and Balaji Lifestyle in Rajasthan. So far, the company has not appointed any regional distributor in Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh. In East, Lenovo has appointed Bit Infomedia for West Bengal and Siliguri; Eastern Logica and Computex for Kolkata and South Bengal; Xeoni Infotech for South Bengal; Trade Technology, Nextech and Universal Computers for Guwahati; Peripheral Engineers for Patna, Bihar and Computers India for Jharkhand. They are yet to sign up anyone for Orissa. In West, the vendor has appointed Megahertz, Impetus and Galaxy Infotech for Mumbai, Care Office Equipments, Aegis Infotech in Ahmedabad and Paras Trade Link in Rajkot for Gujarat, Data Care Corporation, Venus Infotech and Monarch Technology in Pune. Data Care has also been appointed for Nasik and Nagpur region. In Madhya Pradesh, AP Distributors has been appointed in Indore; Latest Technology in Bhopal and Geeshal Sales Corporation for Jabalpur. Siddharth Marketing and Hi-Tech Solution have been appointed for Chattisgarh. Lenovo is yet to close the deal with a regional distributor in Goa. Down South, the company is still in the process of negotiating with the channel partners. Margins Based on our findings from retailers at Delhi’s Nehru place, the business is volume driven. The margins in this business are very low and fluctuating. A typical retailers earns anywhere between Rs. 200 to 1000 per laptop. On achieving a pre determined target offers like foreign trips etc are available. In special cases when the company needs to clear inventories, an additional margin of Rs200-300 is offered Retails Partners (franchises),Multi Brand retail: Lenovo drives its products in the retail sector through Lenovo Exclusive and multi-branded stores. It has a different take on retail partners Partners who enrol for the retail segment will sell the products only through retail stream and would not be authorized to do business through channel network. Physical Distribution In House Manufacturing Suppliers Component Lenovo PC Assembly Dealers,VAR,Retailers Distribution Large Business Customers(Think pad),Small business and consumers(Idea Pad) Final Sale,Service,Support A facility at Pondicherry became part of Lenovo after its acquisition of IBMs (IBM) PC business in 2005. It has a capacity of 1 million units. Lenovo announced factory in Baddi,Himacahal Pradesh in 2007 it said it would eventually have a production capacity of 2 million units. It was designed to save on freight costs and shipment time to customers in north India. The facilities support regional customer requirements including product assembly, distribution services, and reverse logistics. They also offer additional value added services such as product configuration including custom imaging, and bundled and over packed orders Lenovo may have over-estimated demand for its products in India, when it created new manufacturing capacity . Lenovos market in the north of India was not large enough to require a large factory there . In the quarter ended Dec. 31 last year, Lenovo shipped about 155,100 laptops and desktops in the country . Lenovo is in the process of completing the required regulatory formalities for closure. From April last year, all production for Lenovo has been undertaken at its second plant in Pondicherry in south India, which has sufficient capacity to meet customer demand. Bulk of the transportation in the entire process takes place through land transport. Company owned/leased trucks transport requisitioned stock on a weekly basis to the 5 major nation wide distributors. Regional distributors in turn use a combination trucks and mini vans to transfer stock to the regional centers. Local retailers mostly collect the stock as and when the order is made. Bulk of the transactions made the mid levels do not involve cash and payment is made as and when the final purchase is made Lenovo Customer Support Lenovo offers a comprehensive suite of customer service and support is everywhere you need it: on the system, on the Web, on the phone and on the way. * On-the-system: Expertise at your fingertips The Lenovo Care portal is a preloaded set of tools on Lenovo desktop computers which can resolve most common system problems and help save time. * On the Web: Online support thats always there Lenovo drivers, downloads, maintenance manuals and technical support documents for your Lenovo personal computing products. Web-based eSupport is available 24/7 On-the-phone: International support Lenovo works with IBM to provide the worlds most comprehensive service and support. IBM customer contact center technicians help provide quick diagnosis and repair support for warranty-related matters. * On-the-way: Bringing powerful support to any size business Exceptional local service and support relationships with 3000+ Lenovo-authorised service, providers and a comprehensive, worldwide service. Lenovo I ndia has introduced drop off-pickup centers and a Rapid Replacement Service scheme for customers. Drop off-pickup centers have been established with a facility for customers to drop off their notebooks that need servicing and pick them up from the same locations. Customers can call the Lenovo SmartCentre at 1 600 44 6666 and will be directed to one of these centers if a hardware fix is required. Distribution Strategy Post its acquisition Lenovo is moving towards a direct model of distribution. Cross-functional collaboration between supply chain executives and sales is the centrepiece of a two-year effort by Lenovo to overhaul internal processes to make its supply chain more demand-driven. Like other manufacturers in high-tech markets, the maker of desktop and notebook computers needs to make frequent additions and enhancements to its product lines in order to keep up with rapidly advancing technology. To do that, Lenovo needs a highly flexible supply network to keep pace. In addition, because many of its products feature cutting-edge components, supply shortages are common, creating added incentive to manage demand to avoid delivery delays and maintain customer satisfaction as well as maximise profitability. In an effort to leverage their understanding of sales and perations planning, Lenovo has set up marketing teams responsible for demand management and maintaining margins across its product lines. The teams monitor the supply chain and meet daily with members of the company’s fulfillment department to ensure availability of components and products, and to recalibrate pricing and promotions as necessary. In addition, the company has installed a range of new s oftware tools to help analyse and correlate data from various sales channels and the supply chain, creating instant visibility for teams in sales and marketing, advanced planning, fulfilment and procurement. The systems allow the company to make real-time decisions on pricing and order fulfilment—all the way back to parts procurement—by integrating all the relevant information. In addition to the traditional benefits of demand-driven supply chain management—better inventory management, more accurate order fulfilment and better cash utilisation—Lenovo’s improvements have delivered a boost to the bottom line, improved customer satisfaction, and accelerated the development and delivery of new products and services.. A key goal of Lenovo’s supply chain organisation is to fulfil all orders within eight business days (four days for building and four for shipment). A little more than two years ago, before it launched its demand-driven initiative, the percentage of Lenovo’s laptop shipments, for example, was only hitting the eight-day target somewhere between 34% and 37%,. Today, more than 70% of Lenovo orders are filled within eight days. The initiative has also paid off on the cost side of the supply chain equation, which is particularly critical for technology companies such as Lenovo that switch frequently to newer, more advanced components. Pricing Strategy Lenovo has been very aggressive in their pricing strategy and they constantly offer substantial discounts e. g. via their web site and in addition there are loads of coupons/codes around, which add to the total discount- often making you able to get a ThinkPad for about 20-35% under MSRP. In India there, are different series laptop with each having an entry level model, a mid-range model and a high end model. Pricing of some of the models are as follows: * Lenovo Y Series Laptop are priced from Rs. 32000 to Rs. 54000. Lenovo G Series Laptop are priced from Rs. 24500 to Rs. 34500. * Lenovo N Series Laptop are priced between Rs. 30000 and Rs. 40000. At a certain press event, Lenovo’s CEO Yang Yuanqing detailed his firms strategy to break into rising economies with low-price products before moving its focus to mature markets. In the short term we are pursuing higher market share rather than profits, Yang said. Lenovo’s head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Duijl said,† We will enter the low-end price cells and we will add our netbooks and lower-end price-cell models†. Lenovo may perform well in emerging markets, but the entry-level products it sells will bring low profit margins, said an analyst at UOB Kay Hian, a brokerage. In Indian context, following have been the steps to identifying and setting the Lenovo products. 1. Pricing Objective- Capturing Market Share: As is the objective of the company, the company wants to capture a substantial market share going forward. The pricing strategy of the company hence has been to attract more and more consumers to buy its products. 2. Determining Demand-High Price Sensitivity: Indian consumers are very price sensitive. The sales of Dell have shot up in the recent years ahead of HP because of the low pricing model. High end brands like Sony have to skim their prices to nearly half in the last five years to match the consumer expectations. Due to a presence of a thriving grey market and the options available, the consumer in India has a tendency to get the maximum quality for the price paid. 3. Knowing Competitors’ Pricing: The pricing strategy of Dell has been to offer the lowest possible pricing based on the configuration chosen. The consumer has the flexibility of choosing the laptop configuration and assembled components, and gets a desired configuration at the competitive prices. HP follows a perceived value pricing for its Pavilion range of laptops, and a low cost pricing strategy for its Compaq Presario range of Laptops. Sony basically follows a price skimming strategy in all its models. The following table compiles the current market rates in Delhi for the various players in the market. | Lenovo| Dell| HP Pavilion| Compaq| Sony| Dual Core, 320 Gb, 3 GB Ram| 27000| 31200| 40300| 29900| 35000| Core 2 duo 2. 2 GHz, 320 GB, 3 GB Ram| 30500| 34500| 43500| 32500| 37500| Core 2 duo 2. 2 GHz, 320 GB, 4 GB Ram| 32500| 36500| 45500| 34500| 39500| Core i3, 500GB, 3 GB Ram| 35800| 38500| 44900| 32000| 41000| Core i5, 500GB, 3 GB Ram| 39000| 41000| 48000| 35000| 45000| 4. Pricing Strategy: Based on the competitors’ price vis-a-vis market position, the company had two options of going for pricing. * Value Pricing: Offering the customers high quality offering at a lower price. Going Rate Pricing: Following the pricing strategy of the competitor and pricing the laptops at a rate just lower than that of the market leader. 5. Selecting the final Pricing Strategy: Lenovo in India has gone for value based pricing. It has not gone directly into the price wars with its nearest competitors. It instead has offered high quality products with a substantially lower price in the Indian market. The rationale has been gathering fi rst the market share and then substantially go for alternative pricing strategies. Alternate Pricing Strategy The largest market for Lenovo laptops has been China which is also its birthplace. But since 2001, Dell has been steadily eating away its market share owing to its low pricing strategies. Dell priced its laptops below Lenovo’s and offering similar features. This resulted in a drop of Lenovo’s market share and subsequent increase in that of Dell. In order that Lenovo maintain its market share and remain competitive in the Chinese as well as global market, it is imperative that the company adopt different pricing strategies for the different segments of the market. Some of the following strategies can be useful: * For the developing markets of Asia, the company can adopt a going rate pricing strategy after it has established itself in the Indian market and achieved sufficient economies of scale. Since in most of the countries, including India, Lenovo is a market follower after Dell and HP, this simple strategy can ensure that the product makes an impact on the market as most consumers will not go upon the value of the product only but the price of the product too. For the developed markets of Europe, the company can adopt a perceived value based pricing. As Value-based pricing is dependent upon an understanding of how customers measure value, there is good chance that customers from the developed European economies will have a good understanding of the product value. * For the Chinese market, the company can adopt a competition-based pricing. As the Chinese market is flooded with number of competitors, it is essential that the prices of Lenovo Laptops are in the comparable range of the competitor’s. Product Life Cycle and New Product Development Strategy The Laptops and netbooks developed by lenovo mainly concentrate on the home users and small or medium businesses. Lenovo lacks a product, specifically a laptop, which attracts gaming enthusiasts. Similar products are currently being offered by rival companies like HP and Dell. Hence it becomes imperative for Lenovo to come up with a new product which can perform under extreme conditions and give the ultimate gaming experience. The new laptop which can be developed will be powered by the new intel Core-I3/i5/i7 processors. It will also have a dedicated graphics memory for the high-end gaming graphics. The user will be given the option to increase the memory accroding to his or her requirements. The laptop will be shipped with a minimum hard drive space of 500 GB. As stated above, the laptop will target the niche segment of gamers and casual gamers. The laptop laptop will also be targeted at businesses and industries concerning graphical development applications or any kind of animation industries whose graphics requirement are quite high than what the existing line of laptops can offer. The laptops will be distributed using the existing References 1. Lenovo India portal: http://www. lenovo. com/in/en/ 2. http://www. livemint. com/2010/04/13001711/Acer-p

Free Essays on Skinhead Movement

Skinheads, just as many other social movements, have through the years come to be generally identified with neo-nazi politics, uncontrolled violence and football hooligans. Through this paper I’ll explore the origins of the skinhead cult, ultimately indicating that skinheads had originally little political affiliation, as well as skin colour had scarce meaning. Such movement is a perfect example of modern European mind, as it resulted directly from modern socio-economic developments that took place mostly in England but largely in Europe. Nowadays skinheads are found worldwide, and it has become one of the oldest youth cults still followed with pride, although the original ideas behind it have become mixed in with those of various other cults, such as the punk movement. Skinhead roots are actually found across the Atlantic, in Jamaica, where the British were quickly importing the modern factories already blooming greatly throughout the United Kingdom. As a direct result of industrialization, the working class was coming to existence in Europe. Likewise in Jamaica, most of the men worked in the factories, creating a very large working class. Whoever worked in a factory found themselves wearing all the same clothes and with their heads shaven to avoid lice due to poor living conditions. The men and women started making of this their uniform and they called themselves rude boy/girl. Rude boys and girls came together as a social movement because of common living conditions. Rude boys and girls were the first â€Å"breed† of skinhead. Factories were sadly the only mean of work for most Jamaicans, generally not skilled for other types of work; as the colonials only had interest in the manpower of the locals, education wasn’t offered to anybody. With the advent of further technological improvements, minimum personnel necessary to run a factory diminished. If many started losing their jobs in Europe, almost all Jamaicans found themselve... Free Essays on Skinhead Movement Free Essays on Skinhead Movement Skinheads, just as many other social movements, have through the years come to be generally identified with neo-nazi politics, uncontrolled violence and football hooligans. Through this paper I’ll explore the origins of the skinhead cult, ultimately indicating that skinheads had originally little political affiliation, as well as skin colour had scarce meaning. Such movement is a perfect example of modern European mind, as it resulted directly from modern socio-economic developments that took place mostly in England but largely in Europe. Nowadays skinheads are found worldwide, and it has become one of the oldest youth cults still followed with pride, although the original ideas behind it have become mixed in with those of various other cults, such as the punk movement. Skinhead roots are actually found across the Atlantic, in Jamaica, where the British were quickly importing the modern factories already blooming greatly throughout the United Kingdom. As a direct result of industrialization, the working class was coming to existence in Europe. Likewise in Jamaica, most of the men worked in the factories, creating a very large working class. Whoever worked in a factory found themselves wearing all the same clothes and with their heads shaven to avoid lice due to poor living conditions. The men and women started making of this their uniform and they called themselves rude boy/girl. Rude boys and girls came together as a social movement because of common living conditions. Rude boys and girls were the first â€Å"breed† of skinhead. Factories were sadly the only mean of work for most Jamaicans, generally not skilled for other types of work; as the colonials only had interest in the manpower of the locals, education wasn’t offered to anybody. With the advent of further technological improvements, minimum personnel necessary to run a factory diminished. If many started losing their jobs in Europe, almost all Jamaicans found themselve...

Evaluating 360-degree Feedback System Assignment

Evaluating 360-degree Feedback System - Assignment Example Besides the normal appraisal to determine employees’ effectiveness, the 360- degree feedback approach may serve other important purposes such as â€Å"professional development and succession planning† as it allows the management a comprehensive knowledge over its employee’s capacities. It is also applicable in determining rewards to employees, determining human resource development needs, and managing performance. Further, the approach’s implementation process is simple and only requires normal managerial skills and resources. It, for example, involves the establishment of goals, determination of participants, development of performance criteria and selection of data collection and analysis methods. These are then followed by implementation of appraisal and communication of results (Pravin, 2010). The appraisal strategy, however, has both strengths and weaknesses that must be considered before its implementation. One of its strengths is the wide information sources on whose basis employees are appraised. This increases the probability of reliable and valid results for informed decisions. It also promotes knowledge of an organization’s human resource base towards interpersonal understanding and relations. This facilitates teamwork that is the core of Creative Minds Inc. Its wide scope also reduces chances of discriminative appraisals and it facilitates identification of employees’ needs towards efficient productivity (Prakashan, 2007). The management should however not have very high expectations from the system whose design may be challenging due to its research skills needs. The approach may also be ineffective if it is not aligned with the organization’s objectives, and may have more attention on employees’ weaknesses than strengths.

Memory Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Memory Activity - Essay Example Alphabet technique could also be of help, in this strategy, you need to identify a word which begins with the same sound as each letter in the alphabet and then associate the word's image with the item to be remembered. Encoding information in an elaborate, meaningful way helps in retention. When possible convert verbal information into mental images, when learning about events and facts, try to focus on their meaning rather than their superficial characteristics. Another example is when you are memorizing for numbers, it is easy to memorize letters or words than numbers, put some codes in your number to have some meaning, for example, 5=L (because there are five fingers on our left hand). It takes time to fully memorize everything that is needed to memorize. For example you are about to memorize 20 words, divide it by 5, memorize each 5 items one at a time until you can remember all of them without looking, then memorize the next group and so on. Take your time in memorizing because, patience is a virtue especially if you are going to memorize lone lines. Take time out Our brains need also to rest to function very well. Study at night and get plenty

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How would you describe the expansion of the United States between 1783 and 1840s - Research Paper Example The expansion that took place in the period between 1783 and 1840 is the reason behind the large size of the USA and its current strong economic position. Is also led to the end of slave trade in the USA The first expansion of the USA took place in 1783 after the treaty of Paris which brought to an end the revolutionary war. England agreed to the claims of the Americans to own the southern land which included the great lakes and the Mississippi river (Rothman 57). The Americans were not successful in getting the Gulf of Mexico, and it remained under ownership of Spain. The next expansion of the United States took place in 1787 whereby the US expanded with the Northwest ordinance of 1787 (Rothman 116). This ordinance established the Northwest Territory, which covered states such as of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The expansion is renowned for having banned slavery in the north of Ohio River. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson talked terms of the purchase of the French claims on the Louisiana territory which they had previously obtained from the Spain. The negotiations were secret, and it is believed that the president purchased the territory at a price of $15million. The land purchased included the western half of the Mississippi river, and it doubled the initial size of the USA. The purchase also extended to the Gulf of Mexico, which was very productive in agriculture. Settler’s movement to the Louisiana territory raised the question of slave trade. The settlers applied for statehood after reaching a number of 60000 and in 1819, it officially became a slave state (Morgan 34). Before 1810, the country had occupied most parts of the Mississippi river but had little control over its mouth which was located in the Spanish Florida (Shelly 239). In 1810, the United States seized the western part of Florida, and it led to the outbreak of war between the Spaniards and the Americans (Smith 17). However, the Spaniards relented since

Important Of Sight For The Purpose Of Survival Biology Essay

Important Of Sight For The Purpose Of Survival Biology Essay The importance of sight has been one of the most taken for granted systems in the human body. Sight, like the other four senses, plays an important role in the survival of an individual. In primitive humans, a loss of vision would make predator avoidance and food gathering difficult. Hence, there is an evolutionary pressure to maintain vision even when the eye sustains injury. While the eye is highly developed, certain post trauma mechanisms have evolved in such a way that our visual axis will not be altered, which would normally lead to instant blindness. Damage done to any normal part of the body usually leads to some sort of immunological response, including inflammation caused by the lymphocytes. Due to the physiology of the ocular system of mammals, the cornea cannot sustain inflammation, which can lead to the changing of the visual axis, thus leading to blindness. In primitive man, blindness could potentially lead to the individuals death. In order to prevent this, certain immu nological responses are suppressed in the cornea, allowing vision to remain. Keratitis is the clinical diagnosis of inflammation of the cornea, which if left untreated, can lead to blindness of the patient. This paper will use the Darwinian Medical approach and the Adaptationist Program to discuss the implications of the suppressed immune response in development and treatment of keratitis and the various microbial and mechanical causes thereof. In order to understand topics covered in this paper, a basic explanation of structures of the eye, their functions, as well as mechanisms and associated pathogens must be explained. Keep in mind, what will be mentioned is a buildup all to save the visual axis. The main anatomical focuses of the eye for this paper are the cornea and the anterior chamber. Concluding this will be a brief description of Darwinian Medicine and the Adaptationist Program. The cornea has two main functions and is composed of five layers. It acts as a protective membrane for the eye. The five layers consist of the following, in order from anterior to posterior, an external stratified squamous epithelium, an anterior limiting membrane (Bowmans membrane, the basement membrane o the stratified epithelium), the stroma, a posterior limiting membrane (Descemets membrane, the basement membrane of the endothelium), and an inner simple squamous endothelium. 1. The main functions of the cornea are to act as a protective membrane as well as to be the transparent window that allows light to enter through the eye to the retina. This unique transparency is due to the uniformity of the cell structure, being devoid of blood vessels, and being in a constant state of dehydration. If the epithelium is damaged, there is only a temporary regional build up of watery fluids in the stroma. However, if trauma is severe enough to expose any corneal layer below the epithelium, the cornea then becomes susceptible to infection of a variety of pathogens. These include, but are not limited to the following: bacteria, fungus, amoeba, and herpes virus.2. Without medical intervention, the basic stages of corneal infections are as followed: trauma, entrance of pathogen, inflammation of the cornea, ulceration, loss of vision, and even possibly loss of the eye. Located between the endothelium of the cornea and the iris, is a fluid filled cavity called the anterior chamber. The anterior chamber of the eyeball is filled with thick liquid-like substance called the aqueous humor. Its primary function is to maintain a normal intraocular pressure as well as provide nutrition for the tissues with no veins attached to them. In the anterior chamber, specifically the aqueous humor, there is a presence of a wide variety of immunoglobulins, as well as a wide variety of immunosuppressive substances such as transforming-growth-factor- Ã‚ ¢ and macrophage-migration-inhibitory-factor. A theory deemed Anterior-chamber associated immune deviation will be discussed later in this paper alongside with ocular-immune privilege. 3. The Darwinian Medical approach looks at both proximate, biological causes, as well as the ultimate, evolutionary causes to explain a disease or an immune function such as a fever. Ultimate causes are usually more complex in their explanations, which include defense, infection, novel environment, genes, design compromise, and evolutionary legacy all of which are evolutionary driven by four forces: natural selection, mutation, gene flow, and genetic drift. Evolutionary causes of an excessive and uncontrolled defense mechanism can affect the risk of the disease. Other risk factors include losing the evolutionary arms race, the preservation of an allele that is harmful, and the result of evolutionary constraints. While keratitis is classified as an infliction, it is actually an immune response related to the infiltration of a pathogen in the cornea. As stated above, keratitis is the inflammation of the cornea. Symptoms include mild to sever pain in the eye, redness of the eye, opaque cornea, photosensitivity, and tearing. Clinical diagnosis of keratitis is done through examination using a slit lamp and proper illumination, Fluorescein stain to detect superficial corneal lesions, and laboratory examinations of corneal scrapings to detect pathogens. 2. Inflammation caused by pathogens is potentially harmful leading up to corneal ulceration, loss of the visual axis, and potentially blindness. The inflammation however is the lesser of two evils, for without having this immune response, the sight of the infected would be doomed to blindness. While this is true, an eyes last-ditch effort to remove the pathogen leads to over-inflammation and ulceration of the cornea. At that point, unless a corneal transplant is done alongside with medicine to kill the pathogen, the eye has given up and the host goes blind. To regulate inflammation and prevent ulceration, it has been hypothesized that there is design compromise called ocular immune privilege in the eye that regulates inflammation up to a certain point. This will be discussed later. The epidemiological qualities of keratitis fluctuate etiologically as well as geographically. Keratitis has risen in both developing countries as well as modernized countries, afflicting people worldwide with no restrictions based on economic status. Thousands of patients each year are diagnosed with some form of pathogenic keratitis, having each pathogen found in particular environments found worldwide. Anyone involved in agriculture is usually at risk for fungal keratitis. Anyone wearing contacts are at an even higher risk for not only fungal keratitis, but also bacterial and amoeba induced keratitis. However, anyone who has any sort of ocular trauma led to lesions in the cornea is susceptible to any form of microbial keratitis. 2. The evolutionary legacy of ocular immune privilege is the result of evolutionary constraints and design compromises. In order to preserve the function of the eye, inflammation is regulated by the hosts adaptive immunity, specifically called ocular immune privilege. Immune privilege has been recognized in only three organs; the testes and ovaries, the brain, and the eye. 5. Coincidentally, these are some of the most important organs in the body related to survival and spreading of ones genome. Adaptive immunity is compromised of lymphocytes that throughout life generate unique receptor molecules that recognize with extraordinary specificity molecules expressed by invading pathogens. 3. (pg 11). It is important to understand this concept to elucidate the mechanisms of ocular immune privilege and ACAID. Ocular Immune privilege was first described about 130 years ago. However, its importance was not recognized until the early 1940s by P.B. Medawar and his colleagues. During the 1970s, it was discovered that ocular immune privilege was caused by anatomical, physiological, and immunoregulatory processes, which prevent the introduction and expression of immune-mediated inflammation. Many ophthalmological researchers agree that ocular immune privilege is an adaptation for reducing immune-mediated injury to ocular cells that have limited or no capacity for regeneration.6. The three major mechanisms of ocular immune privilege are as followed: (1) there are anatomical, cellular, and molecular barriers in the eye; (2) eye-derived immunological tolerance (ACAID); and (3) immune suppressive microenvironment in the eye. 5. Anterior chamber-associated immune deviation, or ACAID, is directly related to the ocular immune privilege theory. ACAID is characterized by impaired antigen-specific delayed -type hypersensitivity and reduced production of complement fixing antibodies. 3. It is an observable fact that allows the antibody response but not the cellular responses mentioned above. 5. The discovery happened when there was a prolonged survival of genetically different transplanted tissue survived in the anterior chamber of the eye. The failure of the immune system to bring forth an immunological response composes the characteristics of immune privilege. This is the reason why corneal transplants are one of the most successful, and least rejected tissue transplant clinically practices. Most tissue transplants are rejected due to inflammation however, the cornea has a weaker immune response caused by low antigenicity, the difference between corneal versus other tissue grafts. 7. The mechanisms of ACAID involve both the eye and the spleen. Transforming Growth factor TGF- Ã‚ ¢2 and thrombospondind TSP-1 located in the anterior chamber are involved in the initiation of mediation of ACAID. Through this, there is an attraction of regionally located natural killer T cells, which bind to CDQd molecules to present the antigens. When these cells come in contact with marginal zone B cells, clusters are formed which then differentiate into ACAID-inducing regulatory T cells. 5. A recent discovery made by Molly E. Skelsy and colleagues, concluded that  Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ T cells are needed for ocular immune privilege and corneal graft survival. The study used mice treated with anti- Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ Ab failed to develop ACAID concluding the injection of spleen cells. It was concluded that these T cells were required for the creation of regulatory T cells. By blocking the creation of  Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ T cells, Skelsey showed that there was a profound increase in corneal transplant reje ctions. 8. Another recent discovery was that thymocytes, cells created by thymus that generate into T lymphocytes, are also necessary for the induction of ACAID. Thus the sustainment of immune privilege in the eye is done through the mutual aid of various cells from organs other than the eye itself. 5. The adaptive immunity is expressed in the form of humoral immunity mediated by antibodies produced by B lympocytes, and in the form of cellular immunity mediated by T lymphocytes. 3. (pg 15) Clearly, ocular immune privilege isnt something that just arose out of nowhere. It has been an evolutionary legacy, because whatever beneficial implications it had, leading up to ACAID, must have been immediately beneficial for it to exist throughout the evolution of many mammals such as humans and even mice. In 2008, Xiaoyong Yuan and colleagues did a study to compare the gene expression patterns in uninfected and fungus-infected mouse corneas at the onset of Candida albicans fungal keratitis. Candida ablican related corneal infections cause an inflammatory response, which has been known to permanently impair vision in half of all eyes affected, including those with therapy. Infected eyes were observed and corneal transcriptomes were categorized to suggest pathways contributing to corneal inflammation during Candida related keratitis. Through the use of gene microarray, the hosts gene expression during the early stages of this keratitis was also observed in mouse models. RNA isolated from the corneas one day after inoculation were used for reverse transcription of the RNA which would then be used in a quantitative real-time RT-PCR to multiply the amount of DNA created. Gene expression levels were calculated for both the experimental group and the control group. When comparing the two groups, a total of 45,102 genes were detected. Of those genes, 3,977, roughly 8.82% of the infected corneas were significantly regulated. Of those genes, 1987 were upregulated and 1,990 were down-regulated. A total of 3.71% were differentially expressed, 1,075 being upregulated and the other 597 being down-regulated. Specifically, there were 30 different genes being upreglated more than 100 fold. These genes were categorized as chemokines, metalloproteinases, interleukin cytokines, leukocyte chemotaxis and surface molecules, Ig recept ors, Neuro-hormone mediatiors and many others. Simply stated, these gene expressions suggest that microbial keratitis involves the synchrony of various host processes that affect inflammatory and immune responses, intercellular communication, and cellular metabolism in other words, ocular immune privilege and ACAID. 9. Keratitis is a microbial infliction occurring globally. Bacteria, parasites, virus, and fungus cause the four main microbial causes for infection. These microbes are currently winning the at arms race due to an increased virulence and re-infection after treatment. At the same time, because there have been changes in mans history, various novel environments have been associated with the etiology of all these infections. Looking at a study in a referral centre in South India from September 1999 through August 2002, MJ Bharathi and colleagues observed and calculated the statistics of keratitis in that referral centre. Of 3183 corneal scrapings evaluated, 1095(34.4%) were fungal related, 1043(32.77%) were bacterial related, 33(1.04%) were acanthamoeba related and 76(2.39) were both bacterial and fungal related. Of the 1043 bacterial related infections, the predominant isolated bacteria were Streptococcus. Males were 56.76% of cases and females were 43.24%, thus showing that sex doesnt af fect the infiltration rate. In the study, 60.2% patients were over the age of 50 were affected significantly more than patients under the age of 50. Roughly 16.97% of corneal injuries were due to soil/sand, compared to the 11.03% caused by other materials, showing a statistical significance between the two. Seasons also affected the rate of infections showing a lower incidence of bacterial keratitis from the months of June to September. 10. The epidemiology of bacterial keratitis varies based on geography. One could acquire keratitis from numerous gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria, such as Serratia, Pseudomonas, and Staphylococcus. Once the bacteria has touched base with the cornea, it colonizes the hosts cells by using adhesins at the surface of the epithelium. The adherence of these three bacteria to the corneal epithelium is significantly higher than any other bacteria, which explains their high frequency of isolation. Several bacteria have also displayed adhesins on pili and nonfimbriae structures to recognize carbohydrates on host cells. Recently, there have been emerging cases of resistance among pathogens, requiring the emersion of a stronger antibacterial to eradicate it. 11. The advent of contact lenses has created a novel environment for the infiltration of many bacterial pathogens. In the United States, there are approximately 25,000 cases of infectious keratitis annually. There are roughly 2-4 infections per 10,000 soft contact lenses users, and 10-20 infections per 10,000 extended-wear contact lenses users. 14. A study done by T. Bourcier and colleagues has identified predisposing factors of bacterial keratitis. After analyzing 300 cases, contacts were the main risk factor, occurring in 50.3% of the study group, with 83% of bacteria being gram positive, and 17% being gram negative. 12. Another study of a case report done by Konstantinos Tsaousis and colleagues concluded that the incidence of bacterial keratitis can be reduced by maintaining high standards of lens hygiene and following the recommended guidelines to safely wearing contacts. 13. In the past, fungal keratitis has been a major ophthalmological problem in the tropical regions of the world. 16. Of all of the fungus related to keratitis, there are two classifications of infiltrates yeast and filamentous fungi. The three main isolates of fungus in fungal keratitis are Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Candida. While the most common of isolate reported has been Aspergillus, ranging from 27-64%, Fusarium comes to a close second (6-32%). Like bacterial keratitis, contact lenses wearers are at a higher risk of fungal infection. In recent news, on March 8, 2006, the CDC began an investigation of the use of Bausch Lomb ReNu contact lens solution. The solution had been related to a series of 130 confirmed cases of Fusarium Keratitis, which resulted in 37 corneal transplant surgeries. Most fungal related incidences however are usually related to agriculture. Since fungus are found in soil and on plants, the probability of infection after ocular trauma increases if one is tendi ng to their crops. Once the fungus accesses the corneal stroma, they multiply and cause tissue necrosis leading to the onset of keratitis and the loss of stromal opacity. 15. Acanthamoeba related keratitis is usually derived from standing water or mud, with an increased risk in contact users. Incidence per million contact lens users includes 333 in Hong Kong, 1 in USA and 149 in Scotland 14. The abnormally high incidence in Scotland is due to the fact that there are many water towers, holding standing water, a novel environment for the acanthamoeba. Survival in the wild is not only based on ones ability to escape a predator, but also ones ability to detect the predator. The up keeping the visual axis is one of the most important abilities of the eyes immune abilities for without sight, many mammals would be at disadvantage. Keratitis, the inflammation of the cornea, has probably been around since the dawn of man, and more specifically, the dawn of agriculture. If injury to the eye were to be sustained, the cornea would become inflamed. Normally, corneal cellular layers would be impaired, leading to a loss of the visual axis. However, it has been observed that there is a key mechanism that has developed over time in order to save ones sight. There is an ocular immune privilege, considered to be an evolutionary legacy as well as a design compromise, in the anterior chamber of the eye, which limits certain immune functions to prevent the loss of vision. The microbial pathogens cause these infections ranges from bacterial, to funga l, viral, and amoebic have been detected around the world, causing countless keratitis infections. Novel environments, such as contact lenses, have created the perfect environment for these pathogens to culture on especially if proper care protocols havent been taken. While most of these infections are treatable, in the long term, the microbes are winning the at arms race. With increase resistance to anti-bacterials/fungals, pathogens will only become more virulent. From an epidemiological standpoint, microbial keratitis poses a serious threat for future infected patients, occurring world-wide. Mescher, Anthony L. PhD. (2010). Junqueiras Basic Histology: Text Atlas, 12e. In accessmedicine. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6183284searchStr=cornea#6183284. Biswell, Roderick MD. (2008). Vaughan Asburys General Ophthalmology, 17e. In accessmedicine. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3090961searchStr=cornea#3090961. Streilein, J.W. et al, 1999: Immune Response and the Eye. Karger, Switzerland Nesse, R. M. and Williams, G.C. 1994: p.x, Why We Get Sick. The New Science of Darwinian Medicine, Vintage, New York Junko Hori. (July 16, 2008). Mechanisms of immune privilege in the anterior segment of the eye: what we learn from corneal transplantation. In PubMed Central Journal List. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802514/?tool=pubmed. Niederkorn, Jerry Y. PhD, Streilein, Joan. PhD. (January 2010). History and Physiology of Immune Privilege. In Informa healthcare. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09273940903564766. Junko Hori, MD, PhD1, Vega, Jose L. MD, PhD2, Sharmila Masli, PhD3. (October 2010). Review of Ocular Immune Privilege in the Year 2010: Modifying the Immune Privilege of the Eye. In Informa healthcare. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09273948.2010.512696. Skelsey, Molly E., Mellon, Jessamee., Niederkorn, Jerry Y. . (2001). {{gamma}}{{delta}}T Cells Are Needed for Ocular Immune Privilege and Corneal Graft Survival. In The Journal of Immunology. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/reprint/166/7/4327. Xiaoyong Yuan, Mitchell, Bradley M., and Wilhelmus, Kirk R. (September 18, 2008). Gene profiling and signaling pathways of Candida albicans keratitis. In PubMed Central Journal List. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562425/. Bharathi MJ, Ramakrishnan R, Vasu S, Meenakshi R, Shivkumar C, Palaniappan R. Epidemiology of bacterial keratitis in a referral centre in South India. Indian J Med Microbiol 2003;21:239-45 OBrien, T P . (February 2003). Management of bacterial keratitis: beyond exorcism towards consideration of organism and host factors. In Cambridge Ophthalmological Symposium. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.nature.com/eye/journal/v17/n8/full/6700635a.html. Bourcier T, Thomas F, Borderie V, Chaumeil C, Laroche L . (January 10, 2003). Bacterial keratitis: predisposing factors, clinical and microbiological review of 300 cases. In PubMed Central Journal List. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1771775/?tool=pubmed. Tsaousis K.T., Sakkias G., Kozeis N., Tahiaos P. . (July 19, 2010). A Management Dilemma: Infectious Keratitis Associated with Soft Contact Lens Use and Dubious Treatment Compliance. In PubMed Central Journal List. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2935133/?tool=pubmed. Trevor John Mills, MD, MPH. (December 2, 2009). Corneal Ulceration and Ulcerative Keratitis. In Emedicine from WebMD. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/798100-overview. Daljit Singh, MBBS, MS, DSc. (June 12, 2008). Keratitis, Fungal. In Emedicine from WebMD. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1194167-overview. Gopinathan, Usha Ph.D et al . (August 2002). The Epidemiological Features and Laboratory Results of Fungal Keratitis: A 10-Year Review at a Referral Eye Care Center in South India. In Cornea, The Journal of Cornea and External Disease. Retrieved 10/1/10, from http://journals.lww.com/corneajrnl/Abstract/2002/08000/The_Epidemiological_Features_and_Laboratory.4.aspx.

Pros and Cons of High Fructose Corn Syrup Essay -- Artificial Sweetene

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Abstract: High-fructose corn syrup is a commonly used artificial sweetener in foods. High-fructose corn syrup is a hydrolyzed version of ordinary corn syrup, which is produced via a steeping process. It is so widely used because it is both economically favorable and it helps to preserve food for extended periods of time. However, the drawbacks of high-fructose corn syrup include issues like potential obesity, diabetes, loss of liver function, malnutrition, and cancer. The fact that the producers of high-fructose corn syrup can deceive people that HFCS is harmless makes matters worse. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is an artificial sweetener commonly used in the United States. As its name implies, this sweetener is derived from agricultural corn. All high fructose corn syrups are corn syrups whose fructose content has been increased via enzymatic processes and then mixed with pure corn syrup. There are several different formulations of high-fructose corn syrup. The product sold in the United States (HFCS #2) has the following composition: moisture, 29%; dry substance, 71% D.S.; dextrose, 50% D.S.; ash, 0.03 D.S.; and nitrogen, 0.002% D.S. The amounts of dextrose, fructose, and other saccharides may vary slightly in HFCS #3, but the analysis is fairly consistent. HFCS #1 hasn’t been commercially sold specifically for consumer consumption in the U.S. for many years. Instead, it is used by food producers in their products. 2 The process by which high fructose corn syrup is made is complicated. To start, ordinary corn syrup must be obtained. Then, enzymatic processes increase its original sweetness. To produce the basic un-enhanced corn syrup, wet milling is a commonly used technique. Wet-milling includ... ...Jones. 2006. 24 July 2008. . Forristal, Linda. â€Å"The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup.† Westonaprice.org. Ed. Linda Forristal. 2003. 24 July 2008. . Inglett, George E. Symposium: Sweeteners. Westport, Connecticut: The Avi Publishing Company, Inc., 1974. HFCSFacts.com. 2008. The Corn Refiners Association. 25 July 2008. Steindom, Joel. â€Å"My Food Manifesto, Part One: The Bad News.† Steidom.com. Ed. Joel Steindom, Heather Steindom. 2007. 24 July 2008. . National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Sweeteners: Issues and Uncertainties. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1975. Lachmann, Alfred. Starches and Corn Syrups. New Jersey: Noyes Data Corporation., 1970.

Addiction and Behavior Essay

Thesis Statement: In this paper, I will try and analyze addiction and the various behaviors that addiction will induce in an individual, and I will also describe the kinds of addiction that an average individual is prone to, and research the efforts that are being made for an addict to try to control his offensive behavior brought on by his addiction. Experts feel and do stress on the fact that addictions and compulsions of any kind stem and originate from an overwhelming feeling of not being in control of one’s life, and a need to gain some form of control over events that seem to be overtaking him or her. Certain addictions, however, possess genetic components, and are generally passed on within the family, where one member may have been addicted or been prone to compulsive behaviors. He may have inadvertently passed on this behavior to the next generation, and in these cases, this vicious cycle would continue. Addictions can be of several kinds. One such compulsion is that of an addiction to drugs or other substances, and another is an obsession for sex. Eating disorders can also qualify as addictions of compulsions, and overspending, gambling and overworking too are obsessive and compulsive disorders. According to experts, â€Å"The power of fantasy is the enduring power of addiction†, wherein an addict may be prone to developing fantasies of having gained a sense of control over his life, because of his addiction. The addict would then be quite unwilling to give up these drug induced fantasies and enter a normal life again, and this can be one of the major problems that an addict may face at the time when he is addicted; no matter what his addiction may be. The addicted individual would more often than not choose to induce mood changes in himself, instead of trying to address the actual causes of the stresses that he is faced with. Take for example an alcoholic; he would prefer to drink and blame the failure of his marriage on his spouse, rather than face the underlying issues behind the failure of his marriage. In this lies the causes and the reasons for his continued addiction to alcohol. Take the example of a money addict. This individual would prefer to binge on a spending spree, rather than face the underlying money issues, and making use of the money to settle his debts. In short, an addict behaves in such a way that he believes with strong conviction that no matter what stresses life may have to throw at him, he would be able to face them all, as long as he has his own addiction to get him through life’s tough situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (Earll, Steven, 2004) As a result of extensive scientific research done through the years, today one can be reasonably sure that addiction as such can be qualified as a disease that affects one’s brain as well as one’s behaviors. It is interesting to note that in the past, scientists attributed addictive behaviors related to drug and alcohol abuse to the fact that the user lacked in willpower, and that he could, if he wished to, bring an end to his addictions. This was the view that shaped most of society’s responses to addicts; an addict was viewed as a morally flawed individual, who displayed serious moral failing by being unable to control his own behaviors. It is only today that the average individual is able to comprehend the basic fact that addiction may be the result of a combination of different factors, and that it can must be treated as a disease than could cause great harm to one’s health. Scientists today use this vital knowledge to create and develop effective methods of treatment, which would be able to reduce the toll that addiction has on the individual’s family and friends. Today, preventive drug abuse has gained precedence over other forms of treatment, and this has been proven to help addicts get over their addictions with a reasonable amount of success. Drug addiction or abuse as such can be described as a chronic and relapsing disease that affects the brain of the user, despite the user being aware of the fact that such abuse can result in grave consequences for him in the long run. One must remember that the longer an individual is addicted to drugs, the more harmful the impact of the drugs on his brain, and the more harmful his behavior may become. To understand the true nature of addiction, one must first try to understand why people take drugs, and exactly why they become addicted to drugs and other substances. One of the more important and one of the first reasons according to researchers is that an individual starts taking drugs so that he may feel good. Most drugs induce a sense of great pleasure in the individual who has taken them, and more importantly, the user feels a sense of power, self confidence and self assurance that he would never feel in normal life. Perhaps, the sense of power, feelings of relaxation and of intense satisfaction that the drugs have given him induces him to take more, and then some more, until the time when he can no longer control his intake, and at which time he is considered to be addicted. Individuals, who may suffer from feelings of acute anxiety, or from stress related disorders, or from clinical depression, are also prone to use drugs to help them overcome these feelings. Some others may feel that drugs may help them perform better, like for example an athlete, who may take performance enhancing drugs that would help him win. Adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to drug addiction, perhaps because of peer pressure, or simply because ‘others are doing it, why not me?’ the sad fact is that although drugs may offer the user a sense of satisfaction and power at the outset, it is true that as time goes by, the user will feel that he has to take more quantities of the same drug, if he wished to achieve the same feelings of euphoria and pleasure. It is at this time that the user realizes that he would not be able to function without a ‘fix’, at which time he may be considered an ‘addict’. Drug addicts reach a point of time when they pursue the drug as if it were a lifeline, regardless of the behavioral problems that the Drug usage may cause in them, and the trouble that they may be causing others around them, because of the drug usage and addiction. It is at this point of time that drug usage becomes known as drug abuse and addiction, and it is at this point that the addict’s self control becomes severely strained and impaired. Scientists have conducted brain imaging and mapping studies of drug addicts, and the findings show that for addicted individuals, physical changes become evident in the areas of the brain that would normally control judgment, decision making, memory, and even behavior control. These are the changes in the brain that affect the addict’s behaviors, and they may well be able to shed light on the compulsive and the addictive behaviors displayed by an addict. A tragic factor is that an adolescent’s brain continues to develop and grow into adulthood, and when the adolescent uses drugs and becomes addicted to them, then he undergoes dramatic changes in his pre-frontal cortex, that area of the brain that would enable him to assess a particular give situation, make decisions based on his judgment of that situation, and keep his desires and yearnings under control, as any normal adolescent would do. This means that the adolescent would be forced to lose control over a given situation, and submit to the influence of drug addiction on his behavior. Therefore, say experts, introducing drugs or other substances at this stage of development would automatically have a long lasting negative impact on the young person who has become addicted. (Volkow, D Nora (2007)