Hello Kitty case study Essay

1.0Introduction Hello kitty is a cartoon character of a small white cat that looks kind, sweet and cute, with a button nose, two black dot-eyes, six whiskers and a ribbon in her hair. Hello kitty has no mouth and this represents a major source of emotional association for buyers and buyers can put many different feelings to the little cat. Owners and their cat can be happy, sad and cheerful or any other feelings that user wishes to feel. Hello Kitty was firstly introduced in Japan in 1974 and is a segment of Japanese popular culture and hello kitty is a Japanese bobtail cat also knows as kitty white. Currently hello kitty is 40 years of age; hello kitty trademark is worth over 5 billion annually worldwide. 2.0What the appeal of Hello Kitty? What needs does it fulfill? Hello Kitty appeal is success in Japan to the prevalence of the Kawaii culture in the country. The Japanese, regardless of their age, were known to have a passion for ‘cute’ objects. ‘Kawaii’ itself mean cute. Hello Kitty not only popular among kid but for adult too. They describe as ‘kidult’, the combination of ‘kid’ and ‘adult’. It attracts user who love pink and cat. For instance, it was considered normal for grown women in Japan to be seen with mobile phone cases that were adorned with cartoon characters, or for banks to print check books with pictures of cartoons. The postal department issued stamps featuring popular cartoon characters. Even the Japanese government used Hello Kitty as tourism campaign in Hong Kong and China. Hello Kitty is fulfilling the need of belonging and love. She has become a friend and has its own social fans. People will feel happy when they buy it for their self or receive it as a gift. The appearance and cuteness make people happy when they see it. It becomes collectable items and fans become happy when they can collect all the various looks of Hello Kitty. 3.0What make Hello Kitty distinctive in its early years from other dolls,  and what made non-distinctive in later years as its sales declined? In its early years, Hello Kitty is the most attractive because that time there no other animate that is cute and represent a girl. Hello Kitty then become viral that attract people from any ages. It not only the symbol of cuteness but also as a friend. Hello Kitty for a little girl she become a friend, for teenager special friend and trend and women also is attracted as the symbol of feminine. Hello Kitty enters all age groups and market. The ‘kawaii’ thing that make it very attractive compare to other dolls. Even though Hello Kitty was still among the top-selling brands in Japan, the avenues for future growth seemed limited. The increased popularity of other animate like Pokemon among female consumers make the attraction of Hello Kitty’s was at risk in Japan. Sanrio may have succeeded in reviving the brand in the 1990s by repositioning Hello Kitty to make her appealing to a larger number of people. However, the company could not pull off the same trick a second time. There were several reasons for this. Hello Kitty had already been placed on a wide range of items and there were few new items left. Furthermore, Technology changes factor may lead to it declined. Abundance electronic and gadget that is more attractive to children and teenager. All the gadget come with sound and voice that is more attractive to be watch. Hello Kitty is created without mouth, so it a bit difficult to create a television animation likes others. It seems weird if Hello Kitty has a voice because she doesn’t have mouth. 4.0How have the needs of children change over the years in term of what they look for in a doll? Today technology change rapidly with many gadget and advanced technology in market. As a user it affects us when we can’t catch up with the changes. We may left behind from other. This changes not only effect adult but children too. When toys are now using advanced technology to express the animator creativity and to enter the market. The impact of this, children more  attract to figure that are look more real. Children today not only looking for toys that are attractive but come with voice and have their own trademark. Example like Upin Ipin, the television series with in their graphic technology, latest is Frozen animation, Elsa is the popular one from the movie. It becomes viral among children. The movies itself very interesting come with good graphic, storyline, song and products. It’s a complete package that attract children today, they memories the song. It’s completely different with Hello Kitty that has no mouth and can’t talk. Hello Kitty has the sentimental value that not everyone can understand it. Children now want something that more related to real life, real expression. The technologies today have impact on children choice. Conclusion There many competitor that come with more advanced technology that are more attractive not only for children but for adult too. Hello Kitty is now left behind even there so many promotion and contract with big company. Hello Kitty has lost it shine but not for the fans. The loyal fans are from kids from past year that are adult today. Kitty fails to attract younger kids in this 21st century. Kids may like the kitty but still can’t be the loyal fans of kitty. Hello Kitty should be able to cope with technology changes to attract young kid today. Hello Kitty must change to something that is catchier suitable with kids this 21st century.

Cell Transport Mechanisms and Permeability

Exercise 1: Cell TransportMechanisms and Permeability:Activity 1: Simulating Dialysis (Simple Diffusion) Lab Report Pre-lab Quiz Results You scored 75% by answering 3 out of 4 questions correctly. 1. The driving force for diffusion is Your answer : c. the membrane transport protein. Correct answer: b. the kinetic energy of the molecules in motion. 2. In diffusion, molecules move You correctly answered: a. from high concentration to low concentration. 3. Which of the following dialysis membranes has the largest pore size? You correctly answered: d. 200 MWCO 4. Avogadro's number is a constant for the number of You correctly answered: b. molecules. Experiment Results Predict Question: Predict Question 1: The molecular weight of urea is 60. 7. Do you think urea will diffuse through the 20 MWCO membrane? Your answer : a. Yes, but very slowly. Predict Question 2: Recall that glucose is a monosaccharide, albumin is a protein with 607 amino acids, and the average molecular weight of a single amino acid is 135 g/mole. Which of the following will be able to diffuse through the 200 MWCO membrane? Your answer : b. oth glucose and albuminStop & ThinkQuestions: The reason sodium chloride didn't diffuse left to right is that You correctly answered: c. the membrane pore size was too small. Glucose is a six-carbon sugar. Albumin is a protein with 607 amino acids. The average molecular weight of a single amino acid is 135 g/mole. There is no reason to run these solutes at the 20 MWCO because Your answer : b. glucose is a protein and therefore too large to pass. Correct answer: d. glucose and albumin are both too large to pass. The rate of diffusion for urea Your answer : c. s faster than that for sodium because urea is a smaller molecule. Correct answer: b. is slower than that for sodium because urea is a larger molecule.Post-lab Quiz ResultsYou have not completed the Post-lab Quiz. Review Sheet ResultsDescribe two variables that affect the rate of diffusion. Your answer: the solute and the MWCOWhy do you think the urea was not able to diffuse through the 20 MWCO membrane? How well did the results compare with your prediction? Your answer: I was wrong. The urea was too large to diffuse through the 20 MWCODescribe the results of the attempts to diffuse glucose and albumin through the 200 MWCO membrane. How well did the results compare with your prediction? Your answer: I was wrong here as well. Only the glucose was able to diffuse.Put the following in order from smallest to largest molecular weight: glucose, sodium chloride, albumin, and urea. Your answer: sodium chloride, urea, glucose and albumin.

What attitudes does consumers have on purchasing genetically modified foods (GMF)?

â€Å"Genetically modified (GM) foods are food items that have had their DNA changed through genetic engineering. † (Mavis 2008). As the population of the world has continued to grow, the supply pressure of food has become more and more significant. With the development of Genetically Modified biotechnology, GM Foods have been come into our daily lives. Though GM foods can help to improve the quality of life, there are risks to complete trust in GM foods. What’s more important, a part of consumers still have doubts about the understanding towards GM food. The question† What attitudes does consumers have on purchasing genetically modified food? † is meaningful because that the issue about GM foods is becoming increasingly controversial. The controversies towards GM foods generally focus on environmental ethics, food security, poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. As customers are divided on their relative importance, some supporters claim that the GM technology can solve the problem of food crisis and poverty. They also consider that GM foods are beneficial to environment such as they can protect soil and water. However, opponents think that GM foods should have some potential threat to human health and they violate the rules of nature by mixing genes among different species. The purpose of this research is to gain a deep understand about the consumers’ attitudes towards purchasing GM foods and find out if most of consumers can accept GM foods. (Hutchison, 2004) Literature review In the last few years, many articles on the consumers’ attitudes toward GM food have appeared. There is a concise review of existing literature that evaluates consumers’ attitudes as following. Most of the information on European attitudes comes from a journal by Bredahl, Grunert, and Scholderer (2003). The article focuses on posted and answered four questions on European consumers’ attitudes towards the use of GM food. These four questions are: (1) how negative are consumer attitudes to the event â€Å"GM technology applied in food production†? (2) How do these negative attitudes affect the preference of consumer for GM products? (3) How deeply does these attitudes rooted in customers’ opinion? 4) Will the new information and experience change the customers’ attitudes? Bredahl, Grunert, and Scholderer (2003) believe that these four questions are central for understanding the consumers’ attitudes about GM food. The article use some tables to evaluate the consumers’ attitudes about genetic modification in food production in seven European countries which are the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway , Italy and Sweden. The data shows that most of the customer have negative attitude towards GM food, the average support for GM foods is quite low. The national differences can also be showed through the table: the attitude is most positive in Italy, and is most negative in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, while Finland and the UK in a middle position. And the article also showed some other surveys to support this result, for example, the Eurobarometer surveys, which is a most well know one, have also shown that most of consumers do not like GM foods (Frewer & Shepherd, 1995 and Durant, Bauer & Gaskell, 1998European Commission, 1997, European Commission, 2000,) For the question how these negative attitudes affect the preference of consumer for GM foods, Bredahl, Grunert, and Scholderer (2003) have design a research about yoghurt. In general, consumers prefer the low-Fat yoghurt, but the yoghurt will become non-attractive consistency if they produced based on skimmed milk. Though using additives can improve this problem, many consumers don’t like additives. However, by using GM technology, the yoghurt can be enough consistency, fat-free and no additives. It provided a good basis for the consumer preferences. In the research, consumers inspected the three products which are normal yoghurt, additives yoghurt and labeled GM yoghurt and rank them according to preference. And they must explain the reason for the ranking. The result showed that most of consumer rank GM yoghurt to last choice. And the common reasons are that the GM technology is not familiar and not trustworthy, they don’t know if the product is healthy, and it harms nature. The conclusion is explicit: the attitude to GM food has a strong influence on the preference of consumers. The third question and the last question were researched in another study. Respondents were asked to take part in a taste test of eight cheeses. Two weeks later, they participated in another taste test which only provides two kinds of cheese. One cheese was the same taste as the one which obtain the highest preference in the first test and it was labeled â€Å"produced with genetically modified technology†; the other one was the some taste as the one which obtain a medium preference in the first test. The results showed that when the most popular cheese labeled genetically modified technology, the preference was reduced. So, the study shows the attitude on GM food is deeply rooted in consumers’ opinion and is not easily to change by experience. There are also some other important researches about consumers’ attitudes towards GM food. Hamstra (1995) evaluate the acceptance of consumers toward GM food through three studies of Dutch consumers. Product characteristics and consumer characteristics are included in these studies. In the first study, consumers participated in a face-to-face interview about their attitudes and willingness to buy nine different GM foods (Hamstra, 1991). Means-end chain theory was used in the second study to further research these aspects in some focus group discussions (Hamstra, 1993). The third study used the sample of consumers to evaluate the model which developed in the second study (Hamstra, 1995). As a result, the studies showed that perceived benefits have a greater impact on consumers’ attitudes than perceived risks and there is no link between attitudes and knowledge of the genetically modified technology. Kutznesof and Ritson (1996) investigated Irish and British consumers’ attitudes through focus group discussions. The results divided the consumers’ attitudes towards genetically modified foods into three types: â€Å"triers†, â€Å"undecided consumers† and â€Å"refusers'†. A large number of consumers were classified into the second group, and the rest of consumers were equally classified as refusing or accepting genetically modified foods. Through the research, Kutznesof and Ritson (1996) found that there are some factors can increase the acceptability of genetically modified foods such as perceived consumer-related benefits, price consciousness, increased product quality (especially the taste), and increased purity of products. They also found that the acceptability of consumers depends on the types of genetically modified foods: the genetically modified technology used on vegetables, fruits and dairy products can be more acceptable than eggs and meat. Some studies have analyzed consumers’ attitudes towards GM foods at a more broadly level. The attitudes of consumers have been proved to be more positive towards applying genetically modified technology to plants than to human genetic material or animals. Frewer, Hedderley, Howard & Shepherd, 1997) The study which completed by Cook and Moore (2002) indentifies the relative importance, nature and strength of influences on New Zealand consumers’ intentions towards purchasing genetically modified foods. The study used four methods to evaluate the consumers’ attitudes which are focus groups, the questionnaire, statistical methods and distribution. Results delivered questionnaires to 289 consumers and received 266. The respondents contain 171 females and 95 males. In the received questionnaires, 159 respondents had an intention or strong intention not to purchase GM foods, 27 respondents had an purchasing or a strong purchasing intention and 80 respondents had no intention to purchase GM foods. Through the analysis with â€Å"Ordered logit analysis† and â€Å"Marginal effects for the extended model† which related to self-identity, attitude, SN and PBC, Cook and Moore (2002) found that self-identity, attitude, SN and PBC can provide a positively influence on consumers’ attitude towards purchasing GM food. Males may more easily to feel in control over purchasing the food than females, on the contrary, females may easily to feel in control over not purchasing the genetically modified food. In addition, other related research shown that the New Zealand public may be slightly less against with purchasing GM food. A national survey about farmers’ attitudes found that 49% farmers not willing to purchase GM food and 12% farmers had positive attitudes to purchase (Cook et al. , 2000). Sallie and Michael, B (2004) choice modeling methods to analyze in what conditions the Australian consumers are willing to purchase GM food, and they also discuss these preferences in the report. The results of the report suggest that if there has a discount on the consumers’ favorite food, they will have an intention to purchase the genetically modified foods. The report also showed that genetically modified technology which used on animals seems to be more unacceptable to respondents than that use on plants, especially among female respondents. In addition, another condition which can influence the consumers’ attitudes for a certain type of food is age of the consumer; the results found that older people generally more accept of genetically modified technology than younger people. In conclusion, the above literature shows that most consumers have the negative attitudes towards purchasing genetically modified foods, and these negative attitudes are not easy to change that can affect the preference of consumers. Furthermore, some conditions such as age and sex of consumers, the species that be applied with GM technology and the discount of genetically modified foods can also effect the consumers’ attitudes. Methodology: The main method of this research is questionnaire which contains online questionnaire and a paper-based survey questionnaire. And the responds assumed to be truthfully. The online questionnaire will be designed on the official websites of large-scale supermarkets. And the links of questionnaire should also be sent to the email of the consumers who are the VIP or the regular consumer of these supermarkets. In addition, the questionnaire will not exceed 8 minutes. The questionnaire should contain open-ended questions and close-ended questions. The sample open-ended questions should be â€Å"Do you have a positive attitude or negative attitude towards purchasing genetically modified foods? Why? † and â€Å"How you access the knowledge about genetically modified technology†. On the other hand, the close-ended question must contain the sex and the age level of the respondents, the questions should be designed like â€Å"I have a intention to purchase foods produced using genetically modified technology (very strongly disagree, disagree, agree or very strongly agree)† â€Å"what do you think your family members’ or friends’ opinion would be when you purchasing genetically modified foods? (Extremely unfavorable, unfavorable, favorable or extremely favorable)† â€Å"Do you think your family members’ or friends’ opinion will change your attitudes towards purchasing genetically modified foods? Very strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or very strongly agree)†. These three questions are very important to understand the consumers’ attitudes towards purchasing genetically modified foods. The advantage of online questionnaire is that it is a less expensive way to investigate more people, and it can also invest igate the people who are at a far distance. Furthermore, the questionnaire can be quickly done and anonymity ensures more valuable responses. But there are also some drawbacks about online questionnaire that must be foreseen. For example, in general, the responds to online questionnaire are from younger people and the response rate should be limited because that not everyone can access to the website. All these conditions should be considered on the result of research. The paper-based survey questionnaire will be sent to the consumers in supermarkets. In order to attract the consumers, the people who accept investigate can get a small gift as an incentive that can increase the participate rate. The age of participate range should between twenties and sixties. And the details of paper questionnaire may be same as the online questionnaire. The drawback of paper-based survey is that poor handwriting may be appeared on the space of open-ended question and some of them cannot be identified accurately. Secondary research is also needed in order to assist the evaluation about results of questionnaire survey. The secondary sources can be found in three areas: sales report of a well-known company which produces genetically modified foods, customer database of this company and primary data. Newspapers, previous research reports, journal content, and government statistics could provide the primary data to secondary. The limitations of secondary research should also be considered during the process of research. For example, some secondary data may not be helpful to the research evaluation because that some data can be vague and general. On the other hand, the source of data must be checked in order to ensure the data is accurate. Moreover, the data maybe out of date. At last, the results of questionnaire and secondary research should be collect together to evaluate the respondents’ attitudes toward purchasing genetically modified foods and calculate if most of consumers can accept GM food. Conclusion: There should be two results of this research; one result is that most of consumers can accept genetically modified foods. It means as genetically modified technology becoming increasingly more oriented lifestyle, the consumers are increasingly familiar with the technology about genetically modified foods, more and more people can trust in GM food. The other result is that most of consumers cannot accept genetically modified foods, and the questionnaire can affect the reasons. It means people still have doubts about the safety and technology of genetically modified food. Genetically modified food is new technology products, though it still exist some problems, but with the development of science and technology, it will be more and more perfect. As long as follow the certain rules, life will be more superior with the healthy and orderly development of GM technology.

Students should not do H.W after school day Essay

Students should not do H.W after school day - Essay Example Adding more studies in the evening only makes it worse for them. Their minds cannot focus accurately in academics at this time of the day, and all they require is some time to rest. This resting period is vital since it allows the brain to process whatever they learned during the day, and to internalize it. Secondly, sporting activities are neglected over the excuse of having too much homework to do after school. The lack of sports and gaming activities creates lazy and unhealthy students, since they have no time to keep fit. The hours after the school day should be used by the sports teams to practice and perfect their gaming techniques. These sporting activities are essential for brain growth and development. They relieve students of any stress they got in class. This time, when used in sports, will allow for the planning of tournaments with the neighboring schools and other community teams. These tournaments create new social networks that are very useful in life. They also enhance the sharing of ideas and knowledge among students of different schools (McManus, 2005). Another reason why students should not do homework after the school day is taking part in community work (Royse, 1999). There are many voluntary activities that students can take part in, including the cleaning of the environment, visiting the sick and attending to the homeless people. They can also plant trees and hold community education forums, whereby they can educate the public on matters affecting the modern world. Such factors include soil erosion, environmental pollution, communicable diseases, and wildlife conservation. These forums are important in enlightening the community. The charity events that involve taking care of the less fortunate also help build responsible, understanding and caring students (Hothersall, 2010). It is also clear that some students have after-school jobs to cater for their school fees (Lincoln, 1999). As such, they should be

Economics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economics - Case Study Example To earn the wealth countries need to trade and maximize the difference in their balance of trade by maximizing exports that is a source of generating revenue and minimize imports that cost it to pay. There were two types of manufacturers; one who were export oriented and others who were domesticated with their products. Export oriented manufacturers favored the mercantilist approach and believed in subsidies, tax rebates etc. to increase their sales to foreign countries. But the domestic manufacturers foresee threats to their produces and wanted tariff quotas and stringent policies to restrict the trade. This mercantilist theory was before Adam Smith's. Then came the theory of absolute advantage; according to Adam Smith countries should export goods in which they have an absolute advantage and import other goods from countries that have absolute advantage in producing them i.e. goods in which they are more productive. Adam Smith's criticism to Mercantilists approach was that it confused the accumulation of treasure with the accumulation of wealth. The gold and silver that the country holds is not the wealth of the country. Wealth of a country according to him is measured by the wealth that the nationals of the country hold. And thus use the term absolute advantage to compare the productivity of people with other people, firms with other firms or between nations. The contemporary of Adam Smith was David Ricardo, who gave the concept of comparative advantage; according to Ricardo if there is no difference in productivity then there is no absolute advantage and hence no trade will take place amongst countries. There are some subtle and slight differences among the absolute and the comparative advantage theories, but it is important to take into account the differences. Firstly, as the term absolute and the comparative in the name themselves suggests that Adam Smith's theory takes absolute measures of productivity to compare and David Ricardo's relative measures to compare the productivity amongst the nations. Therefore if absolute productivity is same then trade should not occur according to Adam Smith but Ricardo suggests that it is important to look at the relative productivity for the trade to occur or not. Adam Smith's trade theory does not incorporate any differences that might arise from the different use of technology or probably the difference in the combination of the labor or capital input used. David Ricardo's model has an inherent assumption and a more practical approach that tells that countries differ in their usage of production technologies such that obviously one country will be more productive in use of its resources than the other. And therefore if both the countries specialize in their production areas then output for both the countries can increase. This increase in output would be because of enhanced productivity even when no more inputs are put into the production process. Then countries can contract between themselves and trade goods that are there specialty i.e. import products in which other country specializes and export in which it has its specialization. Then both countries can benefit from one another. Adam Smith's absolute

Multiaxial Diagnosis of Joseph Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Multiaxial Diagnosis of Joseph - Case Study Example This is a sign of delusion where inpatient assume that people are reading their thoughts and trying to harm them in some way. In psychotic disorder, at times people can look calm and may not project themselves to be a patient. They behave like a normal person and only when they converse about their experience clinician can identify the problem. Joseph had been reported saying that his upstairs neighbors read his thoughts and left negative comments like â€Å"You are no good!† and â€Å"Lisa wants nothing to do with you!† "Why don't you just leave!".  According to DSM people suffering from the psychotic disorder can suffer from delusion and feel like people are saying things related to him and they also feel to have supernatural powers. Joseph is reported to feel like have telepathic powers which are a sign of delusion and hallucination. .â€Å" Delusions are false beliefs that significantly hinder a persons ability to function.   For example, believing that people are trying to hurt you when there is no evidence of this, or believing that you are somebody else, such as Jesus Christ or Cleopatra.   Hallucinations are false perceptions.   They can be visual, auditory, olfactory or tactile†(Heffner, 2002). According to DSM people with psychotic disorder suffer from abnormal thinking and perceptions. Joseph thinks that the people on the street could read his mind and understand the plans he had made for himself. He specifies that when he was in the kitchen and planning the dinner menu, the person on the street already shouted the menu. When people suffer from psychotic problems they lose touch with the real world and assume things which are imaginary and delusive. Joseph had a past occurrence of the psychological problem in college days where he received counseling for the same. This shows that he was susceptible to mental disorder and the major stress of unemployment triggered a psychotic situation in him.

Legal Immigration in the European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Legal Immigration in the European Union - Essay Example The European Union has put into place immigration laws that have been approved by member states. With the constant threat of global terrorism member states are constantly on the lookout for possible terrorists that use the immigration laws to their advantage thus putting the population of the member states at risk. This paper explores the legal immigration legislation that the European Union has put into place. 1. Legal immigration as it appears in the European Legislation. The European Union has put into place legislation that attempts to regulate immigration and migration of workers. The economics and demographics of the European Union dictate managed migration. Obviously, the European Union does not want to encourage migration to areas within the Union that are currently economically depressed. It is in the best interest of member states to have immigration and migration managed to provide workers where there is a need for them. Still, with legislation in place, the Union has a problem with illegal migration, smugglers, and traffickers. The migrants seek work while the smugglers and traffickers make money off of the migrants. A. Persons from third countries are permitted entry into the European Union legally under many circumstances. ... It is well understood that the social well being of immigrants allows for social well being of the member states as well. Legal immigration can take the form of family reunification, long term resident status, student visas, and entry to researchers. The European Union also has guidelines, that member states are encouraged to follow, that include integration of immigrants into society, and 'best practices' for integration. The European Union has in place directives that combat illegal immigration, trafficking of illegals, and return of illegals to their country of origin when most practical. B. There are programs in place to assist member states in dealing with immigration issues such as ARGO (action program that assists with immigration issues), and INTI (an EU program that promotes integration of immigrants). C. The European Commission has installed legislation that governs legal immigration. Article 63(3) of the EC Treaty allows the European Union to draft and institute immigration policies that governs issues such as immigration and residency. The Amsterdam Treaty makes immigration an EU problem/responsibility. The Tampere European Council put into place agreements and legislation to consolidate immigration policies. Scoreboard is a program that follows implementation of immigration policies and reports status every six months. Finally, the treaty that created the European Union outlines the role of the European Commission. (EC of Justice and Home Affairs). 2. Discuss the recent legislations from the Amsterdam Treaty to 2007. Following the Maastricht Treaty (1993), which made immigration a common concern in the European Union, came the Amsterdam Treaty (1999) that put into

Special education paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Special education paraphrase - Essay Example Normally different professionals have various levels of commitment to collaboration. Thus, their perceptions coupled with one’s standpoint determine the number of chances one will have to take part in collaboration or whether much of the work will be completed without much support. 2. Communication skills-Communication skills comprise facial expressions, posture as well as other nonverbal signs in addition to the choice words and the way they are expressed. Communication skills can easily be taught and learnt in various university courses. Collaboration can greatly be developed or inhibited by communication skills. When one is positively interacting and all is well one need not have exceptional communication skills. Nevertheless, communication skills are crucial in awkward or controversial situations. Communication skills cannot be developed overnight and they should be practiced so that one may have them handy when situation demands. The following strategies and concepts are particularly crucial for educators in addition to illustrating the significance of communication skills for purposes of collaboration; One should start with listening so as to enhance his/her communication skills for collaboration. Listening can be challenging due to interruptions that may arise such as when having other thoughts of maybe another student or an upcoming conference may make someone so tired thus making it hard to follow what the speaker is saying or the information being said may confuse somebody.Secondly effective communication skill takes place when you encourage someone else to continue speaking by use of nonverbal signs. For instance when a mother is explaining the favorite play activities of her child, one’s smile is likely to positively influence the mother to say more. In addition communicating through one’s body conveys crucial messages without interrupting the speaker. Thus for instance when one is nodding and

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 11

Business Law - Essay Example Each issue in the current question requires an analysis of the elements and so each of these will be discussed in turn, with respect to each question. The definition of law of negligence is said to be the of conduct which tends to fall below the standard that has been established by law so as to protect others against any unreasonable risk of harm. The landmark decision in which the doctrine of negligence was developed was Donoghue v. Stevenson1 and in particular Lord Atkin’s formulation is till today said to be the benchmark. The material facts of the case were that Donoghue who consume a ginger beer found a decomposed snail in the bottle and claimed negligence against Setevenson. The basic contention was that a duty of care was owed by the manufacture to the person who used or consumed what had been produced and so an act of negligence had been committed when the person who consumed or used the product was injured, even though the bottle in this particular case had been purchased from a retailer. Therefore since the injury had been caused to the final consumer it was contended that whether the beer was purchased from the manufacturer. Thus it was contended that the manufacturer should be held liable to the final consumer as duty was owed by him in the current situation and he was negligent in respect of the duty that he owed. Even though the case was settled out of court the court found all the elements to be present and stated that there had been negligence on part of the manufacturer. The main establishment in this case was the neighbor principle.Thus the case stated that a person must take reasonable care so as to avoid acts or omissions which if seen with reasonable foreseeability are likely to cause an injury to that person’s neighbour. Lord Atkin found a neighbour to be a person who would be so closely and directly affected by the act that he should have been contemplated of when doing the

Current censorship of internet in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Current censorship of internet in China - Essay Example This essay analyses the process of media filtering in China that is by far the only country that is practicing the process very extensively. Unlike many countries, the internet censorship in China is carried out at multiple levels to ensure that no unfavorable information reaches the users through internet. The major reason behind China’s severe censorship is that unlike other countries that have been aiming at a single objectionable area to be blocked, China has listed a number of issues ranging from political to moral as objectionable and required to be censored. Internet censorship in China has its roots inveterate in times before the invention of internet. Every form of media has been censored through it various stages. Although internet censorship has its existence in almost all the states within which internet is accessible to a common man, the role of censorship in authoritarian states like China and Saudi Arabia has an increasing importance. It is because of the fact t hat the internet provides the nongovernmental organizations and citizens to reach out to the global communities, arrange global activities, express their ideas and obtain the non-conservative ideas of the non-Chinese. Since such activities pose a direct threat to the government of China, there is a continuous monitoring of internet usage and filtering of certain material from the internet to maintain the eroding governmental control. The content that is available online is censored on the basis of the ideas and thoughts expressed in them.

The Role of the State in the Marxist Point of View Essay

The Role of the State in the Marxist Point of View - Essay Example For further clarification and exploration, it will also compare Marx's ideal government with that of the Luddites and utopian socialists. The paper will conclude with its findings. The Communist Manifesto which was published in 1848 documents the struggle of two major opposing social classes-the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. According to Marx (1), bourgeoisie refers to the "class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage-labour" while proletariat refers to the "class of modern wage-labourers who, having no means of production on their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live." In order to fully understand the role of the government in the societal context of Marx, this paper will first look at the social structure and their implications in the society. The power struggle between these two social classes is justified by their opposing interests. The proletariat is portrayed as a utility maximizing entity because he seeks to maximize the value of his resource, his labor power, in return for higher wages. The bourgeoisie, on the other hand, is a profit maximizing entity because he seeks to minimize the cost of production by keeping wages for workers low (Marx 2). It should be noted that in Marx society, costs of production are allocated to fixed costs such as rent and interest. Wages, being the most variable and controllable, is kept at minimum. The bourgeoisie also aims to generate the most efficient productivity from the proletariat as this will also increase his profits. In this case, we see an antagonistic and contradictory relationship between the working class and the owners of capital. Therefore, in Marx's definition of proletariat, we see that the working class is portrayed as an exploited segment of the society. The relation ship between the two major classes also documents that power is concentrated on the hands of those who own the means of production. The working class, as implied by the definition of Marx (7), is seen by the bourgeoisie as a factor of production together with land and capital: "He becomes an appendage of the machine, and it is only the most simple, the most monotonous, and most easily acquired knack, that is required of him." This view of the society emphasizes the presence of social equality. The bourgeoisie uses their access of capital in order to exploit the proletariat. In this context of Marxist capitalist society, the state appears to be instrumental in preventing the existence of social equality. Marx recognizes that the state is mainly "a product and a manifestation of the irreconcilability of class antagonisms" (Lenin 2). When the struggle between classes in the society cannot be objectively reconciled, the state is created. Conversely, the existence of the state is a manifestation that the class antagonisms in the society cannot be reconciled. Thus, the state only comes into existence when the society is divided on class lines. As the creation and existence of the state is due to the antagonism between two social classes, the state in the Marxist context is created for a certain function that is, the resolution of the class struggle. It is, then, the utmost goal of the government to serve the interest of both parties and

How Internet Affects Life Essay Example for Free

How Internet Affects Life Essay Nowadays, the use of Internet is increasing especially among adolescence or more accurately, students. The Internet issue is discussed by the adults and parents. Most of them are worried that the use of Internet is dangerous to their kids. Some others said that Internet may bring benefits to their children especially to those who will be sitting for an examination. On my opinion, Internet has both benefits and drawbacks. First of all, let me talk about the benefits first. As we know, Internet is mostly used by students. By surfing internet, students can visit various websites to assist their studies. The examples of popular websites are tutortv.com , unicliq.com , and tutor.com.my. They can visit the websites and revise their studies in more exciting way. Some of them are free. Students can visit it anytime they want. The websites also provide useful notes and exercises. At the same time, students can get additional information that they cannot find it in books. For instance, they can go to Google or Yahoo search engines to search for more ideas to write an essay. In short, Internet provides vast informations and knowledge which is very beneficial for the students. Next, Internet also provides lots of social networks such as Facebook , Twitter, MySpace and many other. Through these social networks, we can add more friends and make new friends. We can also know friends from other country as these social networks are used internationally. Other than adding friends, we can also strengthen our relationship with our friends and family who are staying far away from us using Skype. We can see them in front of our eyes eventhough they are actually far away from us through web camera. Besides, Internet also offers entertainment. We canwatch videos of our favourite artists by just one click through Youtube website. We can also watch favourite movies without paying. Plus, there are many artists born from Youtube. So, fans can know more about the artists from Youtube. Meanwhile, 4shared.com provides tracks, videos and files that can be  downloaded for free! Internet users can enjoy themselves at anytime watching their favourite artists performance for free. Internet doen not only offersbenefits for students but also to those who want to gain more money. It also provides business opportunities. As for example, mudah.my gives a wide room for surfers to promote anything they want to sell. Through this, people with no job can gain money and support their lives by doing the online business. However, as I said earlier, Internet also brings bad effects to its users. Firstly, it can encourage cyber crimes. Besides that, students who spend too much time on Internet may neglect their studies and do not finish their homework. This should be avoided as studies are important especially to teenagers. Although Internet can add more friends to our list, yet, it still can develop anti-social behaviour. Not all of the users use Internet to make friends, someof them only play video games or just sit down wayching videos on Youtube. They will only sit and ignore what is happening around them. The worst thing is, they may not realise that there is an earthquake out there! This anti-social behaviour may leads to health problems. The users will just stay at home and sit in front of computer and this will cause them to be lazy couch potatoes. It will also lead to obesity. Next, most students will not attracted to surf knowledgeable websites, but wasting their time on other non-beneficial things. Wasting timeon Internet can cause students to neglect their studies. Not only time is wasted but also money. With the uses of more electricity non-stop, utility bills may increase dramatically. We just not pay for the electric bills but also internet monthly bills. The conclusion is, everything has its own benefits and drawbacks. However, it depends on how we are using it. If we spend more time using it for benefits, we will get positive effects. But if we use it more to non-beneficial things, we will get negative effects. So, it depends on you.

Talent Attraction And Retention In Employee Branding Management Essay

Talent Attraction And Retention In Employee Branding Management Essay Employer branding is one of the most significant developments in recent times. Organisations are increasingly recognising that most brand promises are delivered by people not products. Many studies have shown the gap between an average and a top performer has widened than ever before, and in a downturn, productivity and results matter even more. Having motivated and talented employees can make the difference between business success and failure. Simon Borrow is acknowledged as the creator of the term employer brand as early as 1990 (Thorne K., 2004). According to Ulrich D., 1997, employer branding focuses on how the company is seen by current and potential employees with the aim of winning the war on talent. Moreover, Employer Branding helps in recruitment, retention and in becoming an employer of choice. It sets up the uniqueness of the firm as an employer. It labels the firms principles, systems, strategies and behaviors towards the objectives of attracting, and retaining the firms existing and potential talent employees. Additionally, in a labor market where applicants, more than ever before, are smart consumers constantly assessing the value and rewards of their employment experience, its becoming critical for organisations to communicate and market their strengths and image as an employer of choice for a competitive advantage. 3.1 Talent attraction and retention Figure 1: Talent attraction and retention model Attraction material is often the first point of contact with candidates and so it must resonate immediately with the target audience. Uday Chawla, Managing Partner, Transearch, It is an entire process wherein attracting happens first, which should ideally be followed by retention. If we are able to attract talent but fail to retain them, then the entire process of attracting goes to a waste. Attracting and retaining are inter-dependant. Failure in one area affects the other. One cannot exist without the other. 3.1.1 Talent management. According to SHRM India (2008), in an article titled Corporate Indian companies: Forging New Talent Pipelines and creative career Pathways, in the banking and financial services industry, talent is considered to be premium. Talent management has been high on the agenda of HR professionals in the UK over the past few years. TM is a multi-faced concept that has been championed by HR practitioners, fueled by the war for talent and built on the foundation of strategic HRM. . Since 1997, TM has become increasingly popular when the consultancy firm Mckinsey exposed the war for talent as a critical driver of corporate performance, (Chambers, 1998). The starting point of TM is people, namely talents as mentioned in the article Is talent management just old wines in new bottles? A case of multinational companies in Beijing by Xin Chuai et al (2008). Talent is defined as individuals who have the capability to make a significant difference to the current and future performance of the company Morton (2004, p.6). CIPD defines talent management as the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement/retention and deployment of those individuals with high potential who are of particular value to an organisation. On the other hand, Duttagupta (2005) asserts that TM assures that a supply of talent is available to align the right people with the right jobs at the right time, based on strategic business objectives. Besides, Stainton (2005) supports this argument by claiming that TM is concerned with having the right roles in the right environment with the right manager to enable maximum performance. For example, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is currently making the move from succession planning to what it describes as action-oriented talent management. They see this as a more fluid and holistic concept when it comes to getting the right person, in the right place, at the right time. Talent management can also be used to enhance an organisations image and supports employer branding in the labour market as well as providing a means of enhancing employee engagement to improve retention. 3.1.2 Talent management framework In order for Commercial banks to gain competitive advantage they need to develop a strategic approach to talent management that suits their business and gets the best from their people. Talent management can also contribute to other strategic objectives, including: firstly building a high performance workplace, secondly encouraging a learning organisation and lastly adding value to the employer of choice and branding agenda. In an article titled A framework for talent management in real estate. Deborah R. Phillips et al (2009), proposed a talent management framework for industry practitioners. The framework consists of five key elements: attracting, selecting, engaging, developing and retaining employees. Firstly, an organisation have to be creative when developing a recruitment strategy and should adopt modern methods of recruiting such as interactive networking sites, open house events, referral programs, internships, and online job boards. Secondly, it is becoming more common to include an objective measure of performance, such as psychological assessment, in combination with other recruitment tools in order to improve a companys chances of matching the right person to the job. Thirdly, engaged employees are not difficult to spot in an organisation. They are willing to go the extra mile to help the customer (Gostick and Elton, 2007). When HR managers measure their own organisations engagement, they immediately want to find ways to improve engagement among all ranks. On their side, Gostick and Elton (2007) report that employees will stay where there is: a quality relationship with his or her manager; opportunities for personal growth and professional development; work-life balance, a feeling of making a difference; meaningful work and adequate training. Additionally, employee retention is closely linked to an organisations performance management system. Performance management systems should also address how the different generations in the workplace view feedback and the drivers of employee retention. Therefore, the five strategies recommended in the proposed talent management framework measure performance on all sides. It is very easy to recognise the problem and apply the framework but the toughest part lies in the execution. 3.2 Employer of choice As the market for well-qualified and experienced job applicants becomes more competitive and with more people likely to change jobs than they ever have been, employers are becoming increasing aware of the need to manage the image of their organisations that applicants receive. The phrase employer of choice is becoming increasingly common among employers trying to attract new people, and retain key staff. Another point is that the image the organisation creates as an employer and potential employer seems to be recognised as a competitive differentiator in the same way as customer perception has also been held to be. For example, Baver and Aimen-Smith (1996) found that graduates were more likely to apply to organisations that strongly articulate their environmental policies in their recruitment literature, regardless of whether they consider themselves particularly pro-environmental. Moreover, it is important to recognise, as shown in research by Gatewood et al (1993), that the image of an organisation or company will be perceived differently by different people. This suggests that it is particularly important to present a clear, consistent and credible image of organisation to potential applicants. Finally, Employer of choice in recognising the importance of talent as a source of competitive advantage, are looking to win talent by tailoring employment policy to capture the dynamism of the modern era (Ashton et al, 2002). Typical measures might include package of initiatives such as offering career development opportunities, providing challenging, inspiring, enjoyable and flexible work, providing progressive benefits, paying attention to healthy workplace practices, improving incentives and encouraging participation and open communication (CLC,2000; Hewitt Associates, 2000;lowe 2001a) Based on a fact sheet from the Australian Bankers association Inc, the Australian banking industry aims to be an employer of choice and individual banks have adopted people management frameworks aimed at ensuring that: employees maintain a healthy balance between work/life balance, supported by specific policies such as working partly from home; the make-up of the workforce is aligned over time with the broader Australian community and reflects  diversity, including self-identified disability and ethnicity. 3.2.1 Employer of choice strategies The global vice president of recruitment for Philips, Jo Pieters, says it is important to include and measure both internal and external elements of an employer branding exercise and also Each and every employee should act as an ambassador of your brand and that requires a strong and recognised internal and external employee value proposition, One of the most familiar tools of employer branding is employer advertising where organisations use advertising to promote the unique employment proposition they offer potential recruits (Ewing et al., 2002). While advertising is a well accepted tool of employer branding, the employment brand itself encompasses the organisations values, systems, policies and behaviours toward the objectives of attracting, motivating, aligning and retaining the organisations current and potential employees (Gunasekara, 2002). 3.3 Branding concepts Branding has always been an important part of every companys marketing and advertising campaigns. Branding is an ongoing process where all the tangible and intangible elements that constitute a companys image and reputation are organised and communicated. A brand is a symbol that encapsulates that many associations that are made with a name (Gardner and Levy, 1995) and many things can be branded (Levitt, 1980) including the company itself. However, Swystun (2007) argues that a brand is a mixture of attributes, tangible and intangible, symbolised in a trademark, which if managed properly, creates value and influence (p.14). Employer branding may be the least known type of branding yet it is becoming more important to organisation. According to the conference Board report on employer branding (Conference Board, 2001) organisations have found that effective employer branding leads to competitive advantage, help employees internalise company values and assists in employee retention. 3.3.1 Corporate branding The corporate brand provides a source of competitive advantage by bringing together the company vision, culture and values, with organisational systems and networks, to form a unique organisational value proposition for customers (Knox et al., 2000; Hatch and Schultz, 2003). Moroko and Uncles (2008) contend that consumer, corporate and employer branding share similar characteristics; that is, a brand has to be noticeable, relevant and resonant, and unique. Notwithstanding, similarities between corporate branding and employer branding can be observed. According to Ambler and Barrow (1996, p. 187), an employer brand is the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company. In addition, Park et al (1986) categorise brands based on how they fulfill the functional, symbolic and experiential needs. 3.3 2Employer branding Employment branding is the process of placing an image of being a great place to work in the mind of targeted candidate pool. Employer branding is similar to the concepts of employer of choice (Fox, 2003). The link between employer branding and employer of choice has been stated by Harrison Kim (2005) Successful employer branding is built on the employers ability to deliver on its promise and when this happens the organisation becomes an employer of choice. According to Martin et al, (2005) the concept was first discussed by marketing academics and after some delay, by a lagging interest from HR academics. In todays knowledge driven company, all departments play a strategic role in bringing the right kind of people into the organisation. Employer branding is defined as a targeted, long-term strategy to manage the awareness and perceptions of employees and related stakeholders with regards to a particular firm (Sullivan, 2004). Furthermore, it conveys your value proposition the totality of your culture, systems, attitudes, and employee relationship along with encouraging your people to embrace and share goals for success, productivity, and satisfaction both on personal and professional levels

Judith Thomson And Don Marquis On Abortion Philosophy Essay

Judith Thomson And Don Marquis On Abortion Philosophy Essay In politics, religion and even ethics, abortion is a highly controversial topic. Judith Thomson and Don Marquis are no different, as both of these philosophers have their own opinions on abortion. Thomson presents a qualified argument in favor of abortion in some cases based on what we as humans are obligated to do to help others. Her argument survives the challenges that Marquiss opinion against abortion presents. The morality of abortion is discussed by both of these famous philosophers. Judith Thomson provides a defense for abortion, in specific circumstances, through a series of bizarre thought experiments (Thomson, 1971). Thomson begins her argument by refuting the common arguments against abortion, which sets up her first peculiar thought experiment (Thomson, 1971). In the experiment, she asks the subject to imagine that they wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious violinist (Thomson, 1971, p. 48). This violinist has a fatal kidney disease and you are the only person that can save him (Thomson, 1971). You must stay in bed with this violinist for a specific amount of time and after that amount of time you will be free to leave (Thomson, 1971). Thomson implants the idea that the violinists right to life is more salient than your right to decide what happens to your own body. The basis for Thomsons argument becomes based on our duty to each other as humans. Thomson states that nowhere in this country, is any man compelled by law to be even a Minimally Decent Samaritan to any person whereas, in most states in this country women are compelled by law to be not merely Minimally Decent Samaritans but Good Samaritans to unborn persons inside them (Thomson, 1971, p. 63). A Good Samaritan is someone that is often heroic and goes out of their way to help people in heroic ways whereas being a minimally decent Samaritan just requires people to do the right thing without being heroic. This idea is the most persuasive she presents because it shows a clear inconsistency in the expectations of society. Thomson uses the brutal example of the death of Kitty Genovese to further establish her point (Thomson, 1971). In this case a woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked and stabbed to death. Although 38 people heard the encounter only one of them called the police while another yelled out the window to tell them to stop. A minimally decent Samaritan would have at least called the cops, showing that 37 of the people werent being minimally decent Samaritans in this case. However since there is no law against failing to be a minimally decent Samaritan, none of the 37 people were at fault. It is absurd that those people werent held up to the standard of being minimally decent but people against abortion hold that women must be good Samaritans to an unborn child inside of them. Another aspect of Thomsons argument is focused on a characteristic of abortion that she only touches upon. Throughout her argument for the permissibility of abortion she assumes that a fetus is a human at the moment of conception even though she doesnt agree with this idea as shown from this quotation from the beginning of essay, A newly fertilized ovum, a newly implanted clump of cells, is no more a person than an acorn is an oak tree (Thomson, 1971, p. 48). There is obviously no direct parallel between an oak tree and humans, but this raises an interesting question regarding when we must say that a fetus becomes a human. Through this idea and by discussing the double standard surround our responsibility to help each other, Thomson provides a compelling argument. Philosopher Don Marquis wrote his piece Why Abortion Is Immoral after Judith Thomsons essay and developed an argument challenging Thomson. Marquis addresses a central aspect of the abortion argument by talking about when life starts during pregnancy (Marquis, 1989). For the sake of his argument, he concludes that life is present at the moment of conception (Marquis, 1989). The main focus of Marquis argument is the idea that since a fetus is considered a person, the fetus has a future-like-ours, where the fetus will have plenty of experiences and happiness just like any other human being (Marquis, 1989). Since it is prima facie seriously morally wrong to a kill a human being, then because adults and fetuses both share this future it is also prima facie seriously morally wrong to kill fetuses (Marquis, 1989). This poses a rather large problem for Thomsons argument. Her argument about our duty towards each other becomes irrelevant because if something is the only prima facie seriously m orally wrong act then, in the view of a pluralist, it is your duty not to do that action. Thomson points out that, at the time her essay was written, the law required women to be good Samaritans to fetuses (Thomson, 1971). However, the only morally relevant fact in this case becomes that you have a prima facie duty not to kill humans, including fetuses. Thomson states that there are no laws requiring people to be minimally decent Samaritans, but that there should be because many people hold women to this standard in the case of abortion (Thomson, 1971). However, if we begin holding people to minimally decent standards, then according to Marquis argument it seems that women must carry their children to term. Plenty of people carry their baby the full term so since Thomson is asking for laws requiring people to be minimally decent people, then by her own logic abortion would be illegal. While Don Marquis presents a strong argument challenging Judith Thomsons argument, Thomsons argument proves to be stronger than Marquis. When we consider the idea that the zygote might not be a fetus at the time of conception, Marquis argument begins to fall apart. This collapse begins when Thomson uses the oak tree analogy. She states, Similar things might be said about the development of an acorn into an oak tree, and it does not follow that acorns are oak trees, or that we had better say they are (Thomson, 1971, p. 47). This obviously cant be used as a direct parallel to a fetus, but it serves to prove her point. Thomson conveys a relevant idea to the argument of abortion that Marquis fails to discuss. Another way that Marquis argument fails is because he contradicts himself on the subject of contraception (Marquis, 1989). At the time of conception the life is just a cluster of various cells. One step removed from conception, is the failure of a sperm fertilizing an egg for variou s reasons including contraception. It then seems that the use of contraception would be prima facie wrong because it denies the sperm and the egg the possibility of fertilization, which would lead to a life of pleasurable experiences. Marquis is adamant that he doesnt think contraception is wrong (Marquis, 1989) but this becomes seems to contradict his own reasoning. Another problem in Marquis future-like-ours argument is that Marquis is relying on the fetuses having fortunate lives (Marquis, 1989). However the question should be raised about children born into tremendously difficult lives. While many fetuses will have fine childhoods, there are many horrible cases of children living in extremely impoverished conditions. Because this is an idea that Marquis should have considered his argument suffers yet another blow. Abortion is a topic with a multitude of views and opinions to discuss and both Thomson and Marquis many plenty of the possibilities. It is clear that, while Marquis has a rather intriguing argument, Thomson provides a much stronger argument for her view on abortion. Not only does she provide more valid or sensible evidence, her argument is also more applicable to real world situations. Rarely in everyday life are we forced to consider the future of a zygote but almost everyday we must consider how much we owe to one another. Both Judith Thomson and Don Marquis are enormously respected philosophers but in this situation Thomson manages to survive the opposition. All it took was a further examination of Marquis opinion, to discover the more stringent argument. Reference Page Marquis, D. (1989). Why abortion is immoral. In The Journal of Philosophy (4 ed., Vol. 86, pp. 183-202). Journal of Philosophy Inc. Thomson, J. (1971). A defense of abortion. In Philosophy Public Affairs (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 47-66). Princeton University Press. Thomson, J. (1971). A defense of abortion. In J. Thomson (Ed.), Philosophy Public Affairs (1 ed., Vol. 1, p. 48). Princeton University Press. Thomson, J. (1971). A defense of abortion. In J. Thomson (Ed.), Philosophy Public Affairs (1 ed., Vol. 1, p. 63). Princeton University Press.

Greece Essay -- Ancient Greece Essays

Greece Greece was founded in 3000 B.C. Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Turkey and Albania. Greece’s area can be compared to the size of the state of Alabama. Between 3500 and 3000 B.C., society was becoming more complex. Villages built during this time were becoming larger. However, the population increased at a slow rate. During the second millennium B.C. two Greek civilizations evolved - the Minoan in Crete and the Mycenaean on the mainland. Sometime around 1349 B.C., the Mycenaean peoples conquered the island of Crete, and the Minoan civilization basically stopped evolving. Archeologists and historians discovered that Minoans first wrote in the Greek language and the Mycenaean’s first spoke it. There was a time called the â€Å"Dark Age†. It was from approximately 1099 B.C. to 800 B.C. This is the time when things seemed to fall apart. An example is when a revolution occurs. In this case, peasants rebelled against the military rulers. It is believed that the Mycenaean’s were very strong in their armed forces, and that probably caused their own destruction. Things became unruly. People were just trying to survive. They lived in smaller communities and farmed for themselves. The population growth slowed down to probably its lowest levels. Sometime around 800’s B.C., things began to change again. Things were starting to get better. Renaissance is another word for re-birth. That is what was happening to this country. Between 750 and 500 B.C., the Greeks had founded colonies in many parts of the Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea. The ports of Argos and Corinth, on the eastern side of the country, grew very fast and trade with the Near East began to grow. Metals were traded with the Near East and Italy. Because things were going good and the population rose, we all know, having more people means needing more food to eat and more land to expand on. This meant more explorers were needed to settle more areas and the expansion of Greece was underway. In the eighth century B.C., (799 to 700 B.C.), the concept of â€Å"polis† began to develop with the rich people to replace the poor people. The tyrants were often related to the rich people. The success of the tyrants created a new rule. That rule was that you don’t have to be born a prince or princess to rule a territory. After abo... ...thousands died because of no food. In all more than 500,000 people lost their lives. During the Civil War that followed, 80,000 more died. The national economy went down the drain. With a lot of help from the United States, things started to turn around for the better. During the 1960s the military took control of the government. The people began feeling like they were losing their freedom. Military leaders and politicians decided to â€Å"clean house†. They agreed that the way to do that was with a new constitution and a vote of the people to get rid of the monarchy. Instead a president was given considerable powers and they were not abused. In the 1970s through the 1980s democracy was finally in place. The European Union began its presence in the 1990s. Many of the European Union’s richer countries worried about Greece’s poorer status. But all of the many countries, including the United States, are richer because of their contact with Greece and its rich history. One of the most recent events was the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Over 11,000 athletes, from around the world, came together to compete in many different sporting events. It was a huge success and fun to watch on TV.

Properties of Hydrogen :: essays research papers

HYDROGEN Hydrogen is a gaseous element, symbol H, usually classed in group 1 (or Ia) of the periodic table Hydrogen melts at –259.2Â ° C (–434.56Â ° F) and boils at –252.77Â ° C (–422.986Â ° F). Hydrogen was confused with other gases until the British chemist Henry Cavendish demonstrated in 1766 that it was evolved by the action of sulfuric acid on metals and also showed at a later date that it was an independent substance that combined with oxygen to form water. The British chemist Joseph Priestley named the gas inflammable air in 1781, and the French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier renamed it hydrogen Properties and Occurrence At ordinary temperatures hydrogen is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless gas, with a density of 0.089 g/liter at 0Â ° C (32Â ° F). It is highly flammable. Like most gaseous elements it is diatomic (its molecules contain two atoms), but it dissociates into free atoms at high temperatures. Hydrogen has a lower boiling point and melting point than any other substance except helium. Liquid hydrogen, first obtained by the British chemist Sir James Dewar in 1898, is colorless (but light blue in thick layers) with sp.gr. 0.070. when allowed to evaporate rapidly under reduced pressure it freezes into a colorless solid. Hydrogen is a mixture of two allotropic forms, orthohydrogen and parahydrogen, ordinary hydrogen containing about three-fourths of the ortho form and one-fourth of the para form. The melting point and boiling point of the two forms differ slightly from those of ordinary hydrogen. Practically pure parahydrogen is obtained by adsorbing ordinary hydrogen on charcoal at about –225Â ° C (about –373Â ° F). Hydrogen is known to exist in three isotopic forms. The nucleus of each atom of ordinary hydrogen is composed of one proton. Deuterium, present in ordinary hydrogen to the extent of 0.02 percent, contains one proton and one neutron in the nucleus of each atom and has an atomic mass of two. Tritium , an unstable, radioactive isotope, contains one proton and two neutrons in the nucleus of each atom, and has an atomic mass of three. Both deuterium and tritium are essential components of nuclear fusion weapons, or hydrogen bombs. Free hydrogen is found only in very small traces in the atmosphere, but solar and stellar spectra show that it is abundant in the sun and other stars, and is, in fact, the most common element in the universe. In combination with other elements it is widely distributed on the earth, where the most important and abundant compound of hydrogen is water, H2O.

Development of personality Essay

When studying human behavior, specifically focusing on the development of personality and crucial to how a person or individual conducts him/herself, psychology offers a variety of dimensions. The concept of personality is central to the attempt to understand oneself and others and is part of the way in which it accounts for the differences that contribute to people’s individuality. Psychologists have been particularly concerned with shaping of the personality in relation to genetic and environmental influences. People have been fortunate that the study of human personality has been thriving and fruitful. Individuals can choose from as many models they can to help them see themselves better and maintain good relationships. Personality is more than poise, charm, or physical appearance. It includes habits, attitudes, and all the physical, emotional, social, religious and moral aspects that a person possesses. However, to be more precise, the explicit behavioral styles covered in the course, perhaps, best captivate an individual’s personality and how he/she is understood. With the different behavioral styles, an overall pattern of various characteristics is seen. Like a â€Å"psychograph,† a person’s profile is pulled together and at a glance, the individual can be compared with other people in terms of relative strengths and weaknesses (Corey 2005). Personality is defined as integrated general characteristics of the individual’s total behavior and his or her unique adjustment in the environment. Personality theory is a set of assumptions concerning human behavior together with rules for relating these assumptions and definitions to permit their interaction with empirical or observable events. Personality psychology is a scientific study of mental functioning concerning internal drives, inner motive, repressed feelings, thoughts, and conflicts as the nature of personality (Feist and Feist, 2006). Behavior is described and analyzed. On this basis, an attempt to predict behavior is possible, and although this may not thoroughly and completely be accomplished in some endeavors, the basic understanding then is that there are certain expectations concerning how any person would act or decide upon things that are within his conscious awareness. Psychology is of great importance to man since psychological problems are common to group relations, in whatever framework a person or group of individuals come from. The goals of treatment for instance, using the psychodynamic model, include alleviating patient of the symptoms which specifically works to uncover and work through unconscious conflict. The task of psychodynamic therapy is â€Å"to make the unconscious conscious to the patient† (â€Å"Models of abnormality†, National Extension College Trust, Ltd). Employing the psychodynamic viewpoint, the therapist or social scientist believes that emotional conflicts, or neurosis, and/or disturbances in the mind are caused by unresolved conflicts which originated during childhood years. The treatment modality frequently used includes dreams and free association, at times hypnosis (as preferred by either the therapist or by the client). In the integrated or eclectic approach the goal of the therapy is not just relief to the patient or client. Although an immediate relief is very helpful, this may not always be the case in most illnesses. The goal as mentioned is to provide long-term reduction of the symptoms and the occurrence of the disease altogether if possible. The management then is not impossible but neither is this easy. Specifically, the counselee or patient must want to heal or believe that there is going to be curative effects in the process. It presupposes that he/she must learn to trust the therapist in his/her capabilities as well in leading or facilitating the changes or modifications. It is very much essential that (in the perspective of a cognitive-behaviorist) that the client understands ownership to the deeds and choices in thought patterns he/she made are crucial to the recurring or occurring condition that s/he experiences (Rubinstein et al. , 2007; Corey, 2004). Moreover, the identification of specific treatments or interventions according to the diagnosed issue will be accommodated and implemented based on the chosen treatment modalities fit with the therapeutic approach utilized. It may be a single modality based on a single approach (e. g. learning principles and desensitization for a patient with specific phobias) or it maybe a combination of many modalities (CBT, Rogerian, Phenomenological, or Family systems) (Rubinstein et al. , 2007; Corey, 2004). ~Promoting therapy Psychotherapists believe that therapy contributes a lot to the improvement of the psychological condition of the client (Snyder, 1994). Therapy can come in many varied forms and the use of these or any of these has been proven to be of vital significance to clients from various walks of life and with myriads of problems or mental and emotional challenges. Therapy may be long-termed analytical experiences or encounters or brief problem-oriented treatment/intervention. Whatever the case, these consultations and in-depth interactions and activities between a practitioner therapist and the client in most cases, are beneficial (Mutha, 2002). It is therefore wrong to argue that with or without treatment patients recover or improve because subtle issues are overlooked with this statement or findings. Firstly, studies were done with findings that were more correlational rather than experimental (Mutha, 2002). Secondly, the element of catharsis is a powerful ingredient or element of the healing process and many of those without seeking professional help happened to be with a support group whose experiences were years of gaining knowledge and skills from the experts and experienced counselors (Mutha, 2002). It is true that there have been substantial evidences as well that improvement with cases have occurred; these are usually attributed the aforementioned reasons. Specifically, psychotherapy enables a client or patient to help ease his anxiety, managing his fears from the mundane or petty to the horrific. Quality of life, wellness and recovery are primary goals aside from the usual notion that psychotherapy is just a crutch for someone who may not actually have a real psychological problem (Snyder et al, 2000). This last phrase is true for some people who needed more than the advice or the listening ear; precisely, they needed a human ace who is intent on knowing and understanding them. Personality cognitive theories are concerned with constructive alternativism with which the alternative scientific constructs may provide a useful view of the world. George Kelly’s the Psychology or Personal Construct Social cognitive theories explain personality as a reciprocal interaction among behavior involving observation, cognition including self-efficacy, and environment making a chance encounter and fortuitous events (Feist and Feist, 2006). Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory Cognitive social learning theories describe behavior as a function of the expectation of reinforcements and strength of needs satisfied by those reinforcements. Behavior is shaped by the interactions of person variables such as competencies, encoding, strategies, expectancies, values and goals, and the self-regulatory system with situation variables (Feist and Feist, 2006). Behavioral Model The Behavioral model utilizes what is termed as the learning theory posited by Skinner and Watson and the rest of the Behaviorism school. It assumes that the principles in learning i. e. , conditioning (Associative and Operant) are effective means to effect change in an individual. Generally, the thrust of this theoretical perspective is focused on the symptoms that a person is experiencing. Just as many of the errors of the patterns of behavior come from learning from the environment, it is also assumed that an individual will be able to unlearn some if not all these by using the techniques as applied based on the learning principles. To a certain extent this still works: reinforcements are effective to some extent and in some or many people this stance can be separate or distinct from the Cognitive-Behavioral approach. In behavior therapy therefore, thoughts, feelings and all those â€Å"malfunctioning† and unwanted manifestations revealed in one’s activities can be unlearned and the work of a behavior therapist. The basic concepts include â€Å"extinguishing† – utilized when maladaptive patterns are then weakened and removed and in their place habits that are healthy are established (developed and strengthened) in a series or progressive approach called â€Å"successive approximations. When these (factors) are reinforced such as through rewards in intrinsic and extrinsic means, the potential of a more secure and steady change in behavior is developed and firmly established (Corey, 2005). Although few psychologists today would regard themselves as strict behaviorists, behaviorism has been very influential in the development of psychology as a scientific discipline. There are different emphases within this discipline though. Some behaviorists contend plainly that the observation of behavior is the best or most expedient method of exploring psychological and cognitive processes. Others consider that it is in reality the only way of examining such processes, while still others argue that behavior itself is the only appropriate subject of psychology, and that familiar psychological terms such as belief only refer to behavior. Albert Bandura’s social cognitive approach grew out of this movement. Bandura’s method emphasizes cognitive processes over and above observable behavior, concentrating on not only the influence of the person’s upbringing for example, but also â€Å"observation, imitation, and thought processes† (Corey, 2005). Cognitive-Behavioral Model Beck’s Cognitive Therapy The Beck’s Cognitive therapy is one of the most popular and widely studied therapies in the market today and countless times proven the effectiveness of the treatment style or the kind of interventions that had been favored by the doctors. Its stance boils down to appreciating the effects of biology, emotions and environment on the individual and pursues changes in those levels (Padesky and Mooney, 1990). There are various adaptations or revisions of the strategy today and remains to be top of the list in mental institutions all over the world. In the cognitive approach alone, it understands that an individual at varying times in his life has error-filled thinking patterns. These patterns may include wishful thinking, unrealistic expectations, constant reliving and living in the past or even beyond the present and into the future, and overgeneralizing. These habits lead to confusion, frustration and eventual constant disappointment. This therapeutic approach stresses or accentuates the rational or logical and positive worldview: a viewpoint that takes into consideration that we are problem-solvers, have options in life and not that we are always left with no choice as many people think. It also looks into the fact that because we do have options then there are many things that await someone who have had bad choices in the past, and therefore can look positively into the future. Cognitive-Behavioral approach â€Å"facilitates a collaborative relationship between the patient and therapist† (Ellis & Beck in Corey, 2004). For the Cognitive Behaviorist viewpoint, issues are dealt directly in a practical way. Here the client is enlightened as to the patterns of his thinking and the errors of these thoughts which bore fruit in his attitudes and behavior. His/her thoughts and beliefs have connections on his/her behavior and must therefore be â€Å"reorganized. † For instance, the ways that a client looks at an issue of his/her life will direct the path of his reactivity to the issue. When corrected at this level, the behavior follows automatically (Rubinstein et al. , 2007; Corey, 2004). The systems theory portion of the therapy indicates that whatever is occurring or happening is not isolated but is a working part of a bigger context. In the family systems approach then, no individual person can be understood when removed from his relationships whether in the present or past, and this is specially focused on the family he belongs to (Rubinstein et al. , 2007; Corey, 2004). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy postulated primarily by Ellis and Beck â€Å"facilitates a collaborative relationship between the patient and therapist. With the idea that the counselor and patient together cooperate to attain a trusting relationship and agree which problems or issues need to come first in the course of the therapy. For the Cognitive Behaviorist Therapist, the immediate and presenting problem that the client is suffering and complaining from takes precedence and must be addressed and focused in the treatment. There is instantaneous relief from the symptoms, and may be encouraged or spurred on to pursue in-depth treatment and reduction of the ailments where possible. The relief from the symptoms from the primary problem or issue will inspire the client to imagine or think that change is not impossible after all. In this model, issues are dealt directly in a practical way. In the cognitive approach alone, the therapist understands that a client or patient comes into the healing relationship and the former’s role is to change or modify the latter’s maladjusted or error-filled thinking patterns. These patterns may include wishful thinking, unrealistic expectations, constant reliving and living in the past or even beyond the present and into the future, and overgeneralizing. These habits lead to confusion, frustration and eventual constant disappointment. This therapeutic approach stresses or accentuates the rational or logical and positive worldview: a viewpoint that takes into consideration that we are problem-solvers, have options in life and not that we are always left with no choice as many people think. It also looks into the fact that because we do have options then there are many things that await someone who have had bad choices in the past, and therefore can look positively into the future. Just as the cognitive-behavioral model also recognizes the concept of insight as well, this is only a matter of emphasis or focus. In behavioral/cognitive-behavioral therapies the focus is on the modification or control of behavior and insight usually becomes a tangential advantage. Techniques include CBT through such strategy as cognitive restructuring and the current frequently used REBT for Rational Emotive-Behavior Therapy where irrational beliefs are eliminated by examining them in a rational manner (Corey, 2004; Davison and Neale, 2001). Whereas in insight therapies the focus or emphasis is on the patient’s ability in understanding his/her issues basing on his inner conflicts, motives and fears. In the cognitive approach alone, the therapist understands that a client or patient comes into the healing relationship and the former’s role is to change or modify the latter’s maladjusted or error-filled thinking patterns. These patterns may include wishful thinking, unrealistic expectations, constant reliving and living in the past or even beyond the present and into the future, and overgeneralizing. These habits lead to confusion, frustration and eventual constant disappointment. This therapeutic approach stresses or accentuates the rational or logical and positive worldview: a viewpoint that takes into consideration that we are problem-solvers, have options in life and not that we are always left with no choice as many people think. It also looks into the fact that because we do have options then there are many things that await someone who have had bad choices in the past, and therefore can look positively into the future (Rubinstein et al. , 2007; Corey, 2004). Coaching the patient on the step by step procedure of CBT is a basic and fundamental ingredient. Here the client is enlightened as to the patterns of his thinking and the errors of these thoughts which bore fruit in his attitudes and behavior. His/her thoughts and beliefs have connections on his/her behavior and must therefore be â€Å"reorganized. † For instance, the ways that a client looks at an issue of his/her life will direct the path of his reactivity to the issue. When corrected at this level, the behavior follows automatically (Rubinstein et al. , 2007; Corey, 2004).

Movie Task

Classical conditioning was first explored and developed by Ivan Pavlov, wherein the repeated pairings of a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus would result to a conditioned response to the neutral stimulus which now becomes the conditioned stimulus. In simpler terms, Pavlov was able to demonstrate that continuously pairing a product or brand with positive emotions or behaviors, resulted to people becoming conditioned to the brand or product as producing positive emotions or behaviors. Classical conditioning was the first learning program to be applied to a number of fields whose objective does to make people learn something new without actually needing to pay attention or analyze what they were learning. Classical conditioning was the preferred method of marketing strategies for low-risk and low-involvement products and has been quite effective in building the association between safety and Mr. Muscle, or that of a Happy Meal at McDonald’s. Concept in the movie: In the movie, classical conditioning was depicted in the distinction made from the quality of life up at San Angeles and down at the rebels lair. The movie had shown a stark contrast between the kind of life people have up at the megalopolis San Angeles and down the sewers. The affluent and safe life was depicted with the shiny buildings, the morality statute and zero violence, whereas the dark and difficult life was depicted underground in the sewers with unhealthy food, with rags for clothes and unsanitary living conditions. Evaluation of the concept in the movie: Classical conditioning refers to the process in which something is learned because it has become strongly associated with a certain emotional or physiological response. The movie made use of the classical conditioning concept by making the viewers believe that life up at San Angeles was better than life under it because of the contrasting emotional response that it evoked from the actors in the movie. The life at San Angeles was safe and boring, while under it, it was dangerous and exciting. In the concept of marketing, we could see that Dr. Cocteau was promoting the quality of life in San Angeles by making people believe that life there was safer, better and more productive than life under it to discourage people from going underground because he feels threatened by the dissenters. The emotional response of the characters in the movie who were up in San Angeles towards the underground rebels indicate the makings of classical conditioning, wherein the mere thought or presence of a rebel could evoke fear or hostility towards the rebels who did not want the kind of life offered by Cocteau. When the rebels go up at San Angeles to look for food, the citizens feel that they are being terrorized while Spartan looks at it as a means of survival because he had not been conditioned to have negative emotions for the rebels like the normal citizens do. Concept 2 Title: Brand Loyalty vs Brand Equity Concept Definition: Brand loyalty refers to the degree of attachment that a consumer has for a particular brand, while brand equity refers to the intangible value that a consumer attaches to a particular brand and how it evokes familiarity and positive emotions and perceptions. Brand equity is the general term while brand loyalty is a component of brand equity together with brand awareness, perceived quality and brand associations. The level of brand loyalty can predict the likelihood that a consumer will continue buying the brand, which can also be affected by brand awareness. Brand awareness indicates how well informed and aware the consumer is about the brand and its related products, like how many kinds of detergents does Tide have. Perceived quality refers to how consumers assess the quality of the brand, or how congruent the quality of the product is to how it has been marketed, if it says it can make stains disappear, do consumers believe it or not. Brand associations refer to the emotional and mental associations a consumer has about the product, if Tide is associated as the cleanest smelling detergent, then the mere exposure to the product would have us remember that clean smelling shirt at the wash. The stronger the brand loyalty is and awareness and association of the product and high perception of quality, the stronger the brand equity will be. Concept in the movie: Brand loyalty and brand equity was depicted in the movie with the reference of Taco Bell as the only surviving fast food after the different establishments battled it out in the franchise wars. Since San Angeles promoted safe and clean living without meat, fat, high cholesterol and the like, Taco Bell was the only fast food that survived because they offered the food that was prescribed by the leader of San Angeles and since Taco Bell was providing the same kind of food before the â€Å"big one† of 2010, then brand loyalty and equity had been strong as many people were aware of Taco Bell, and knew about its quality and that it is associated with healthy food and clean living. Evaluation of the concept in the movie: In the movie, Huxley explained that the only fast-food in the city was Taco Bell; this indicated that Taco Bell has strong brand equity. This would mean that Taco Bell has a monopoly of the fast food industry and that every franchise in the city is named Taco Bell. Surviving the franchise war gives us an idea of how the brand equity of Taco Bell gained an almost cult like status; the franchise war referred to how the fast-food industry tried to offer products that would be in keeping with the new quality of life with San Angeles, devoid of hamburgers and French fries and other sinfully unhealthy foods. Since most fast-foods rely on the usual fare of grease and salty fries, the move to prefer healthier foods left the other fast-foods cold. It was probably Taco Bell who alone kept up with the changing food habits of the people of San Angeles which s why it has come to be associated with healthy and approved foods. Likewise, Taco Bell has been able to retain the fast-food brand as a memory of the kind of fast foods in the city 20 years ago. The awareness of the brand of fast food as Taco Bell show that people still were loyal to the brand and they already have formed a strong opinion of the kind of food offered in the stores. Concept 3 Title: Cognitive dissonance theory vs Attribution theory Concept Definition: Leon Festinger said that cognitive dissonance arose from the inconsistency of an individual’s attitude to his/her behavior or actions. When a person thinks that he/she is kind but refuses to give alms to beggars, then that person experiences cognitive dissonance, the normal reaction to cognitive dissonance is to reduce the dissonance by changing one’s attitudes. On the other hand, attribution theory refers to the process in which we infer and understand our own behavior or that of other people. Heider said that attributions are made based on personal factors or situational factors in order to explain the behavior of other people. The fundamental attribution error says that observers generally overestimate the influence of personal factors when explaining the behavior of others while we tend to overestimate situational factors when we analyze our own behavior. Concept in the movie: Cognitive dissonance and attribution theory was shown in the movie through the series of exchanges between Spartan and Huxley in their pursuit of Phoenix and also in the justification made by Dr. Cocteau in his attempt at eliminating the rebel leader. In a poignant scene, Spartan complains that chasing and hitting bad people are okay but if these people are only looking for food then it is not okay. Attribution theory was depicted when Dr. Cocteau was dismayed with how his plan turned sour when Phoenix failed to follow his orders and instead went on a killing rampage in San Angeles. Evaluation of concept in the movie: Spartan was a cop of the past and he had trouble adjusting to the quality of life in the new San Angeles, he was brought to life again in order to catch an old criminal which was no match for the new San Angeles police force. This situation already hinted of cognitive dissonance, the presence of a police department who were ill equipped to catch criminals, and the curtailing of freedom of expression in order to keep peace and order in the city. The most memorable example of cognitive dissonance was when Spartan was chasing after a group of rebels who were looking for food, he thought that these people were really rebels but when he found out that they were only looking for food and was rebelling against the quality of life up in San Angeles than an arms rebellion. The dissonance arose from Spartan’s belief that he is a good cop chasing after bad guys, when he realized that he was chasing people looking for food, he felt discomfort and tension which resulted to attitude change, and here we see that Spartan tried to understand the rebels and their principles thereby reducing the dissonance. Attribution theory was depicted in Dr. Cocteau’s explanation of why Phoenix did not go through the plan to kill the rebel leader immediately. He said that Phoenix was made that way that a criminal would always be a criminal; he failed to say that the lack of police force and the flimsy security measures all contributed to Phoenix’s ease at creating mayhem in the city. Reference Schiffman, L. G. & Kanuk, L. L. (2007). Consumer Behavior, 9th ed.   Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.