How does the mobile phone affects the relationship between parents and Essay

How does the mobile phone affects the relationship between parents and children - Essay Example This study examined the relationship between duration of adolescents’ technology use and the relationship with their parents and in this regard three types of technology were considered namely, computers, cell phones and video games. These findings were attributed to the fact that adolescents more commonly use cell phones than the internet to maintain a good relationship with their parents. Therefore, it is possible that cell phones aid parent-teen closeness as it allows them to stay in touch when they are not together. Also, most adolescents reported spending relatively little time playing video games. That may be why video games did not impact their relationship with parents. As technology evolves, its everyday purpose is becoming increasingly common, especially among successive generations due to its indisputable benefits, especially of better communication. With upcoming methods of communication and sharing information emanating every day, come the shortcomings of a world hectic with technology. A recent article in the New York Times suggests that the infatuation with technology and cell phones in particular is taking away from face-to-face social interactions (Blackman, 2010). In -person communication seems to be deteriorating as people are increasingly connected wherever they are through their computers and cell phones or enthusiastic on video games instead of engaging in conversation with the people around them. For the purposes of this study technology was categorized into three namely, cell phones, computers and video games. Computer use includes the use of the internet, both online and offline activities including social networking, doing homework and playing games. Cell phone use in addition to talking and texting includes new capabilities of cell phones such as internet related activities and also playing games. Video games refer to all kinds of gaming platforms outside of computers and cell phones,

Will Positive behavior Modification Decrease the Amount of Negative-Seeking Attention of a Child Essay Example for Free

Will Positive behavior Modification Decrease the Amount of Negative-Seeking Attention of a Child Essay Teaching is a challenging profession especially if the teacher is handling children. Children, when they want to have attention, will do anything just to have it. They do anything positively or negatively just to have the attention that he wants. Children most of the time do it positively, however some would do it negatively. Say for example, in a school setting, the child may seek for the attention of the teacher thus in class he misbehaves. He doesn’t really care as to what attention he would be getting, be it praise or a reprimand, for as long as he gets the attention, he likes it. To a child an attention from an adult is very important. Sometimes, it is just but normal that children seek approval and attention but if this is too much, this could become a problem because the child would tend to be controlling. This action may then result in a situation where the child controls your life. The very reason for misbehavior in young children is to get attention, and in their later life, this may cause discipline problems (Severe, 2000). One of my 5th grade students, a male one, misbehaves that he is disturbing the class and distracts me as well. When he does this, I reprimand him however what he does is that he behaves for a while and then misbehaves again. I wanted to figure out what seems to be the problem with this child and I found out that he just wants some attention. He has this negative-attention seeking behavior wherein he does tricks just to get anyone’s attention. Everyday he has new tricks that he plays so he can have the attention that he wants. One time he threw a crumpled paper towards his classmate just to get the attention of his classmate. Another day this same student loudly talked to his classmate that distracted our discussion. Everyday he gets reprimands from me and he does the same thing again after a while. I started observing the child when he is playing with his friends. He also does tricks to get the attention of his playmates. I asked the other teachers who handled this child if they have observed this behavior and they said yes. This child really needs attention, no matter what he does and what he gets as long as he can have the attention that he wants. He may act negatively just to get the attention he does not care. He wants attention. I observed this particular child from day to day and consulted some books and studies about this kind of behavior of a child and came up with a plan on how to decrease the negative-seeking behavior of this child. This plan would use the positive behavioral modification. The question however is, ‘Will positive behavioral modification decrease the amount of negative-seeking behavior of my 5th grade male student? ’ My plan of action was to employ a positive behavior modification wherein interventions would be done by using techniques such as counter-conditioning, reinforcement and shaping to modify one’s behavior. The first strategy that I employed is the ‘random positive attention’. In this kind of strategy, one must ignore the student’s attention-seeking behaviors while some positive attention would be given at the same time. Say for example if the child would make a noise, just try to look at him in the eye and smile at him. This way he would notice that he is being given the attention. Another strategy is to give positive attention and approval to their behavior when appropriate. This would help the child understand his behavior better (How to handle Attention, 2008). This could be helpful because the child would realize that he is appreciated. This may help lessen his attention seeking behavior because he may feel he is given due credit for. He is gaining the attention that he needs from the people that he wants it from. Say for example when the child perfects his score in his exam, the teacher praises him or if he fails the teacher gives him encouragement thus the child would feel that he has a worth in the class because the teacher noticed him. Another way to handle the attention seeking behavior is to appreciate his positive behaviors and do not give negative attention to his misbehavior (How to handle Attention, 2008). In this way the child may realize that he can only get the attention that he wants when he is doing well. In this way he might change his mind on misbehaving he would try to do positive things to get recognized rather than misbehave and get nothing. Say for example when a child makes noise that disturbs the class, the teacher would simply look at him and smile, that would let this child realize that he is recognized but this is just a temporary recognition and when the child keeps quiet the teacher should acknowledge this in front of the class that the child would feel that he is more appreciated when he is doing the things that are expected of him. Another way to handle the attention seeking child is to make him realize that there are other students who also need the teacher’s attention. He might then realize that he is getting the equal attention that the other children are getting. In this way he may learn to behave in an appropriate way. Say for example when this child sees that the teacher is giving enough attention to the well behaved student he may try to imitate that behavior thus decreasing his negative attention seeking behavior. Another way is to give due credits to the child when he is doing well in class. Give him praise in front of the class. This may make the child realize that he is getting the attention of the teacher when he is doing well in class thus this may make him more motivated in studying his lessons. Instead of investing his time bullying around, he may realize that he may take time on studying his lessons and participate in class. Say for example when the child delivered a good speech in class give him due credit by not just saying that it was wonderful but by further asking the child how he was able to come up with the good speech and that he has to keep it up. Other children may seek attention because they simply want to fell that they are also important. So another intervention would be letting them know that they are important but there are also other students who also need the attention of the teacher. In this way a child may realize that he is not the only student that needs the attention of the teacher. In this way a child may lessen his misbehaviors and learn to consider others. Give the child tasks that you are confident that he can accomplish. If he does, it would make him feel proud about himself and he may fell that the teacher trusts him and that he is important because he was given the task. Another intervention would be, ignore the negative behavior of the child when appropriate. Sometimes children have tantrums, whining, swearing and arguing, and these kinds of behaviors are not harmful to either the child or the other people concerned. This behavior may be ignored and the child may realize that he cannot get attention from this kind of an act thus resulting to the decrease of the negative seeking behavior of the child. A child when he doesn’t get the attention that he needs, he may think of other ways to get the attention from the person that he wants it from. The results were actually positive. I have discovered a lot of things in the case of this child. I learned that a child would really do whatever it takes just to get the attention that he wants. The child would not care if it’s positive or negative attention that he gets as long as he gets that attention then he is happy with it. He would do the same things over and over again if he does not get what he wanted thus we would be on a cycle and the child would not change. With the applied interventions the child’s attitude slowly changed for the better. He was starting to reflect on his actions because he does not misbehave frequently in class. He also became participative in the class. The child’s negative-seeking attention was not really changed but it was somehow slowly decreasing. Changes in attitudes are not that easy to achieve thus it needs patience to be able to achieve the outcome that we wanted. Changes in attitudes does not come overnight thus we need to give time for the child to improve. As the teacher of this child, I learned that my reprimand were not effective as we may got through the same cycle everyday. That if I always give an equal negative attention to the negative-seeking behavior of the child, I might just be tolerating the attitude that he is showing. I also learned that every child is unique. There may be a lot of interventions that are available however this may not be applicable to every child having this kind of problem. As a result of what I learned, I may not have reprimanded the child as I do everyday. The child may just like this kind of attention that he is getting from me but this would not help him change his behavior. The child may just do the same thing everyday. This study may help not just teachers but parents as well who have this kind of child. The children may just need something that they were not able to have either from their teachers or from their parents. A quantity time may not mean a quality time thus what we adults need to look into is the time that we spend with the children. Let us be sensitive to our children’s needs. If the child misbehaves, there might be a corresponding reason for that misbehavior and so we need to know that first before we decide what punishment to give because our reprimands may make the situation worse.

A Detailed Commentary On Act 3 :: essays research papers

Write a detailed commentary on the extract taken from Act 3, Scene 4 When we read ‘King Lear’ for the first time we are presented, on the whole, with a pessimistic view of men and society. In other parts of the play Regan, Gonerill and Edmund define treachery, whereas the character of Kent creates a stark contrast, showing us a strong sense of loyalty by following and supporting Lear throughout his torment. Remembering that Kent was betrayed by Lear in the first scene of the play, this emphasises the goodness of Kent’s character. At the beginning of the extract Lear asks ‘Wilt break my heart?’ In response to this Kent declares ‘I had rather break mine own’. This is just one of many examples in the play where Kent is willing to take Lear’s suffering upon himself. Every time Kent enters we get a feeling of relief because he is there to fight evil, a personification of the rare goodness of mankind. Kent also shows his loyalty and steadfastness for his King in the way in which he tries to shelter him from th e storm. When Kent says that ‘The tyranny of the open night’s too rough for nature to endure’, he is really trying to make Lear think it is the storm that is to blame for his discomfort, although Kent is fully aware of the true reasons for Lear’s pain. In the play ‘King Lear’ grief reaches the utmost depths that any Shakespearean character has ever portrayed. In this particular extract the storm taking place on the heath symbolises and runs parallel with the storm in Lear’s soul. His mind is so wracked with the treachery of his two daughters that he actually finds comfort in nature’s cruel elements. This is conveyed when Lear says that the tempest… “…will not give me leave to ponder On things would hurt me more.'; No matter how much physical discomfort the storm inflicts, Lear feels that in comparison to his mental torment the storm is of little consequence: “This tempest in my mind Doth from my senses take all feeling else Save what beats there.'; At the beginning of the extract, Shakespeare uses Lear’s reference to the ‘contentious storm’ to show us the extent of his suffering. He tells us that the storm… “…invades us to the skin: so ‘tis to thee, But where the greater malady is fixed, The lesser is scarce felt.'; This reference to the word ‘contentious’ also gives us an insight into Lear’s state of mind.

Comparison of Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking Essay

The foundation of Islamic bank is based on the Islamic faith and must stay within the limits of Islamic Law or the Shariah in all of its actions and deeds. The original meaning of the Arabic word Shariah is ‘the way to the source of life’ and is now used to refer to legal system in keeping with the code of behaviour called for by the Holly Qur’an (Koran). Amongst the governing principles of an Islamic bank are : * The absence of interest-based (riba) transactions; * The avoidance of economic activities involving oppression (zulm) * The avoidance of economic activities involving speculation (gharar); * The introduction of an Islamic tax, zakat; * The discouragement of the production of goods and services which contradict the Islamic value (haram) On the other hand, conventional banking is essentially based on the debtor-creditor relationship between the depositors and the bank on one hand, and between the borrowers and the bank on the other. Interest is considered to be the price of credit, reflecting the opportunity cost of money. Islamic law considers a loan to be given or taken, free of charge, to meet any contingency. Thus in Islamic Banking, the creditor should not take advantage of the borrower. When money is lent out on the basis of interest, more often that it leads to some kind of injustice. The first Islamic principle underlying for such kind of transactions is â€Å"deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly† [2:279] which explain why commercial banking in an Islamic framework is not based on the debtor-creditor relationship. The other principle pertaining to financial transactions in Islam is that there should not be any reward without taking a risk. This principle is applicable to both labor and capital. As no payment is allowed for labor, unless it is applied to work, there is no reward for capital unless it is exposed to business risk. Thus, financial intermediation in an Islamic framework has been developed on the basis of the above-mentioned principles. Consequently financial relationships in Islam have been participatory in nature.

Muslims in America

Population So far, there are no official, accurate figures concerning the actual number of Muslims living in the United States. Estimates have ranged from as low as less than three million to as high as over six million. This is understandable because the statistics being released by the census bureau do not include religion as a category. As far as the census figures are concerned, therefore, Muslims could have been counted as Asians, Arabs, Africans, or even Europeans (Mujahid). Independent observers believe that the figures being released to media depend on the partiality of the source. For instance, David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, claimed that the number of Muslims living in the United States as of 2001 did not exceed 2.8 million – a figure which was way below the estimates submitted by several researchers. This statement was immediately contradicted by Ibrahim Hooper. Speaking on behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Hooper argued that the report which was generated by a review commissioned by the American Jewish Committee was a â€Å"desperate attempt to discount the role of American Muslims.† The debate appears inconclusive since the figures released by Harris and the American Jewish Committee might just prove inaccurate if one considers that the review was done in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks – which everybody knows precipitated an anti-Muslim sentiment in the country (Zoll). However, the exact number of the Muslim-American population is not that significant if one’s purpose is to fully understand the Muslim-American community and examine how it has assimilated and contributed to the economic and social development of the United States. They could be over six million or less than two million – what is more important is the quality and the extent of their contribution as well as their desire to exert a sustained effort aimed at increasing the same. Considering the effects of the 9/11 attacks, the commitment of Muslim-Americans to peace and development in the country acquires greater significance. Profile Almost 80% of Muslim Americans are between 16 and 65 years of age. They belong to households with an average membership of five, suggesting a family-oriented culture. Majority of these families live in cosmopolitan centers: California has the highest concentration of Muslim-Americans with 20%, followed by the state of New York (16%), Illinois (8%), and 4% each for the states of Indiana and New Jersey. Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia each account for three percent of all Muslim-Americans. The fact that they are found in multiethnic and multicultural communities indicates that Muslim-Americans do not have difficulty in living with people with different backgrounds and persuasions. Not all Muslim-Americans are Arabs. In fact, only a minority of about 12% are of Arab descent while 24% originated from South Asia, the majority (42%) being African-Americans. Sixty-seven percent of all Muslim-Americans are immigrants and/or descendants of immigrants. In addition, around 30% of all African-American inmates in the country’s penitentiaries are either Muslims or Muslim converts (Mujahid). Most of the Muslim-Americans are professionals with only a very few venturing in private business. However, the professionals are versatile, making their contributions from different fields. Many of them are serving under the United States Armed Forces. As a matter of fact, the number of Muslim-American servicemen exceeds one percent of the entire population of the armed services of the country. Some – more than 10% – are in the computer and engineering industries, another 8% are employed in the medical field, and some 4% have ventured in the financial field (Mujahid). The Muslim-Americans are not an impoverished people. Although national figures are not currently available, the average income of a Muslim-American household in the state of Illinois was found to be $53,500,.with the Arab Muslims earning the highest average income of $69,000 and the African-American Muslims earning a lower $32,000 a year (Mujahid). In other words, they are good contributors not only to the coffers of the state and federal governments in terms of income taxes but also to private business as far as their purchasing power is concerned, underlying their significant contribution to the overall economy of the country. As a matter of fact, as shown by a study conducted recently by the Detroit-based JWT Advertising, reportedly the biggest advertising company in the country, the purchasing power of the Muslim-American community in the country is estimated at around $170 billion. This is the reason why JWT Advertising is now collaborating with other organizations to assist them in capturing their share of the rather large business of the Muslim-American community. To achieve this objective, the business firms in the Detroit area are now making use of the different aspects of the Muslim culture to win over Muslim customers. In fact, according to the director of trends spotting of JWT, Ann Mack, â€Å"Some marketers – – I am not going to name them specifically – are having Ramadan advertisements,† she says, â€Å"and because they are speaking specifically to these populations, they will appeal, they will resonate and those consumers will tend to gravitate towards these brands† (Elshinnawe). Some companies have been treating this issue seriously. IKEA, a Swedish company engaged in the furniture business even sought the help of the chairman of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce. When consulted, Nasser Baydoun recalled that â€Å"What we were able to do was to teach them how to market to our community.—how does our community get its information, how do they choose which store they go to and how does IKEA create a working staff that is friendly to the community.† Based on this advice, IKEA put together a diversity training program for all its employees, started talking about the needs of Muslims, and required its designers to adapt their product designs to fit the needs and tastes of the Muslim community. All of these changes were aimed specifically at ensnaring the market offered by the Muslim-American community (Elshinnawe). Programs and practices The community takes care of its basic needs. Their religious and educational needs are being served by around 3,000 Islamic centers and mosques scattered all over the country, approximately 500 Islamic Sunday schools, at least 200 Islamic schools and six schools of higher learning. The members of the community are active in spreading the shahadah. In the Illinois area alone, a significant growth was observed. Twenty-five percent of new Muslims in the state came from conversion from other faiths. The Islamic practice of Friday prayers is, however, observed by only about four percent of the community. Observers could not be certain whether this indicates a low religiosity among the Muslims, or whether this is due to the fact that Muslims are not being given a day off from their work to enable them to attend the Friday prayer. As far as tithing is concerned, it is estimated that about $100 million is collected from Muslims every year to go to the coffers of their favored relief organizations for the purpose of helping the less fortunate. Fasting during the month of Ramadan, on the other hand, is practiced by an estimated 47% of the Muslim community (Mujahid). Muslim American Society (MAS) The MAS is a â€Å"charitable, religious, social, cultural, and educational, not-for-profit organization.† It is part of a movement which called on Muslims all over the world to make Islam their â€Å"total way of life.† In the United States, it traces its root to the Muslim Student Asociation (MSA) which was established in 1963 to serve the needs of students and immigrants arriving in the country during the later part the 1950s and the early 1960s. After twenty years, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) emerged from the MAS. By 1992, the Muslim American Society was organized to provide better outreach programs and serve the increasing needs of Muslim-Americans. Its mission statement is: â€Å"To build an integrated empowerment process for the American Muslim community through civic education, participation, community outreach, and coalition building; to forge positive relationships with other institutions outside of our community, that will ensure and facilitate the protection of civil rights and liberties for American Muslims and all Americans† (Muslim American Society). The MAS, therefore, is the best evidence of the Muslim-Americans’ desire to fully integrate with the American society and do their best in protecting not only the rights of Muslims but Americans in general, particularly against the negative effects of terrorism. As FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said in a briefing held on February 17, 2004: â€Å"†¦at the outset, I should mention that the Muslim American †¦ communities in the United States have contributed a great deal to our success. And on behalf of the FBI, I would like to thank these communities for their assistance and for their ongoing commitment to preventing acts of terrorism.† Works Cited Elshinnawi, Mohamed. â€Å"US Companies Aim Advertising at Muslim Americans.† Voice of America. 19 September 2007. 30 November 2007. Mujahid, Abdul Malik. (2007). â€Å"Muslims in America: Profile 2001.† 2007. 30 November, 2007 Muslim American Society. 30 November 2007 Zoll, Rachel. â€Å"Group: Muslim Population Overstated.† Number of Muslims in the United States. 22 October 2001. 30 November 2007.            

Keys to Effective Communication Essays

Keys to Effective Communication Essays Keys to Effective Communication Essay Keys to Effective Communication Essay Keys to Effective Communication Name: Institution: Keys to Effective Communication Self The effect of attitudes on communication by communicators is portrayed well in the video. An example of this would be Dr. Blalock who has traits of being confident and educated. The book by Russel and Cohn (2012) portrays him as a cardiologist showing his self-confident nature (Russel Cohn, 2012). The way he carries himself and communicates with the other characters aptly brings out these elements. When Vivien Thomas is portrayed as an ambitious and persistent man It is seen that self-confidence, self-awareness and self-esteem affect the way communicators communicate. Dr. Blalock is sterner and commandeering in his speech, which is because of his personality traits. Even when the other doctors told him that he would fail in the surgical procedure, Dr. Blalock never once doubted himself. Rosenberg (2003) shows in his book how personal traits affect communication (Rosenberg, 2003). Communicators self-monitor their behavior well. The characters are able to change their behavior to suit the given environment. Vivien brings this out well by being able to have somewhat of a dual personality when at work and home. When at work he is always busy learning or performing surgery. He is never seen to have any down time. While at home or with his family, he comes off as being a loving husband, father and son and thus his demeanor changes. Others Over time, the communicators are able to fully understand, respect and adapt to each other, for example, the relationship between Dr. Blalock and Vivien. In the beginning of the video, they were strangers. However, as the video progressed, they grew to have a mutual respect for each other and became more than just colleagues but also friends. When Dr. Blalock passed on, it was evident from Vivien’s mannerisms and expression that he was deeply saddened. The communicators blatantly display such messages in the scenes where Vivien is racially abused, and when he is made to sign in when he enters John Hopkins hospital because of his race. The video is rife with such messages to bring out segregation and the civil rights movement in the United States at that time. Communicators are aware and adapt to their messages of gender, age, race, ethnic background and socio-economic status of others. The communicators bring this out. This is because the video shows that there are issues of gender inequality and racial discrimination. For instance, Harold’s death threats because of the teachers’ strike. Purpose Each communicator’s goal is character development in order to bring out the themes and main story of the video. This is the story of a young and hardworking man who was able to overcome diversity and become the doctor he always wanted to be. Vivien clearly states his purpose in the beginning of the video during his interaction with Dr. Blalock when he asked who he is. Vivien tells the doctor how his dream is to become a doctor, which he eventually achieves. Furthermore, Dr. Blalock gives a speech to make Hopkins better. This achievement is evident as Hopkins is the first hospital to pioneer in cardiac surgery. Dr. Blalock is seen to be very persuasive since he convinces the necessary people that Vivien should be given a pay raise. In addition, he convinces the Saxons that their baby should have the surgery despite the fact that it has never been performed before. Communicators combine cultural understanding with observations to set appropriate communicative goals. This is because Vivien was African American. Dr. Blalock was able to understanding with him when Vivien would tell him about the problems he was facing. He also took note of how others treated Vivien. Context Each communicator has adapted to the communication circumstances and setting. An example is the dialogue between Dr. Blalock and Vivien, which is full of medical jargon when in the setting of the hospital. Each communicator was able to change the way they talked or interacted with their changing environments. Content Whenever communicators are seen trying to put across a point, more often than not, they begin with a back-story that relates to their current situation. For instance, when Dr Blalock is operating on the dog, he relates it to a boy who may have fallen from a tree trying to rescue a cat. This is to show that the work they are currently doing on the animals will be able to save human lives. Furthermore, when Dr. Blalock and Vivien were discussing on how to cure the disease for ‘blue babies’, Vivien related their present situation to the procedure on how they would perform surgery on the dogs and from that, they were able to come up with a way. Finally, how Dr. Blalock passion to do medicine came when he contracted TB as a child. Structure Communicators have not effectively organized the components of their messages, organized their messages to promote credibility, empathy, comprehension, interest, persuasion, and/or inspiration. This is because, in some scenes, in the movie, the doctors use racially derogatory names when referring to Vivien. They have done this by making their messages personal and relatable to people. This is demonstrated when Dr. Taussig persuades Dr. Blalock to help her find a cure for ‘blue babies’. She tells Blalock of how many babies die due to it, and she is confident in her belief that it is curable. Vivien’s father also futilely tries to persuade his son Harold to call off the teachers strike due to his father’s plight. Expression Communicator’s questions are straight to the point, and the answers are clear and concise. This brings out in the beginning of the video when Dr. Blalock is asking Vivien who he is. Yes, the communicators express them effectively. They are able to use non-verbal cues to express how they are feeling even though the other party may or may not notice it. When Dr. Blalock tells Mrs. Saxon about the procedure, she is clenching her hands into a tight fist to show worry and anxiety. She also displays these same emotions when doing the actual procedure and she is paces up and down. Communicators aptly use both verbal and nonverbal delivery to convey their messages for instance during the incident of the smoke drum, it is evident from Dr. Blalock mannerisms and speech that he had surely lost him temper. Furthermore, when Dr. Blalock asks Vivien to pick up the beakers with the clamps, from his expression, he was clearly impressed and intrigued about the person who he had not known very well, and was curious about what other talents he possessed. References Russel, J., Cohn, R. (2012). Something The Lord Made. USA: Book on Demand Publishers Rosenberg, M. B. (2003). Non-violent Communication: A language of life: create your life, your relationships your world in harmony with your values. Encinitas, Calif: Puddle Dancer.

Anglo Saxons essays

Anglo Saxons essays According to the Venerable Bede, the first significant body of Germanic settlers in England had been hired as mercenaries by the British Prince Vortigern during fifth-century struggles for power among British Celts that broke out when Roman colonial troops were withdrawn. After a falling-out with their employer, these Germanic warriors seized British territory in the south of England for themselves and brought their families over the English Channel to settle it. Archaeological evidence also reveals a gradual infiltration of Germanic peoples into England along the rivers of east central England, then a low-lying bayou country that would have been impossible to police. Bede tells us that the Germanic settlers came from Anglian and Saxon regions of continental Europe, within the modern territories of Holland, Southern Denmark, and Western Germany. The settlers brought with them, in their heads, an extensive body of lore encoded in alliterative verse, including versified laws as well as historical and legendary narratives. Some of the settlers could use a runic alphabet to carve brief messages, mostly on wooden sticks, but writing was not used for Old English historical or literary material until the conversion to Christianity, when manuscript technology entered from Rome and Ireland. Old English literature includes a number of works based on native Germanic legend, including the remarkable Beowulf, a complete epic peopled by half-Christian Germanic warriors. The interweaving of Christian elements with native Germanic materials in this work is so thoughtful and intricate that the two cultural strands are very difficult to unravel. Other epic poems in native style use imported Christian narratives. Two of the best, by a poet named Cynewulf, have heroic female protagonists. As in Celtic saga, representation of gender roles in Old English narrative may seem quite strange to a modern reader. In Beowulf, for example, Queen Wealhth...

Clerestory Windows in Architectural Design

Clerestory Windows in Architectural Design A clerestory window is a large window or series of small windows along the top of a structures wall, usually at or near the roof line. Clerestory windows are a type of fenestration or glass window placement found in both residential and commercial construction. A clerestory wall often rises above adjoining roofs. In a large building, like a gymnasium or train station, the windows will be positioned to allow light to illuminate a large interior space. A smaller home may have a band of narrow windows along the very top of a wall. Originally, the word clerestory (pronounced CLEAR-story) referred to the upper level of a church or cathedral. The Middle English word clerestorie means clear story, which describes how an entire story of height was cleared to bring natural light to sizable interiors. Designing With Clerestory Windows Designers who wish to maintain wall space and interior privacy AND keep a room well-lighted often use this type of window arrangement for both residential and commercial projects. It is one way to use architectural design to help your home out of the darkness. Clerestory windows are most often used to naturally illuminate (and often ventilate) large spaces such as sports arenas, transportation terminals, and gymnasiums. As modern sports stadiums and arenas became enclosed, with and without retractable roofing systems, the clerestory lens, as its called on the 2009 Cowboys Stadium, became more common. Early Christian Byzantine architecture featured this type of fenestration to shed overhead light into the massive spaces builders were beginning to construct. Romanesque- era designs expanded the technique as medieval basilicas achieved more grandeur from height. The architects of Gothic-era cathedrals made clerestories an art form. Some say it was  American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) who adapted that Gothic art form to residential architecture. Wright was an early promoter of natural light and ventilation, no doubt in response to working in the Chicago area during the height of Americas industrialization. By 1893 Wright had his prototype for the Prairie Style in the Winslow House, showing second-story windows under the enormous eave overhang. By 1908 Wright was still struggling with a perfectly beautiful design when he wrote: ...often I used to gloat over the beautiful buildings I could build if only it were unnecessary to cut holes in them.... The holes, of course, are the windows and doors. By the time Wright was marketing his Usonian homes, the clerestory windows had become an important part of both the interior design, as seen in the 1939 Rosenbaum house in Alabama, and the exterior design, as in the 1950 Zimmerman House in New Hampshire. The best way to light a house is Gods way - the natural way.... Wright wrote  in The Natural House, a 1954 classic book on American architecture. The best natural way, according to Wright, is to place the clerestory along the southern exposure of the structure. The clerestory window serves as a lantern to the house. More Definitions of Clerestory or Clearstory 1. An upper zone of wall pierced with windows that admit light to the center of a lofty room. 2. A window so placed. - Dictionary of Architecture and Construction The topmost windows of a church nave, those above the aisle roof, thus any high band of windows - G. E. Kidder Smith, FAIA A series of windows placed high on a wall. Evolved from the Gothic churches where the clerestory appeared above the aisle roofs. - John Milnes Baker, AIA Architectural Examples of Clerestory Windows Clerestory windows illuminate many of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed interior spaces, especially the Usonian home designs, including the Zimmerman House and the Toufic Kalil Home. In addition to adding clerestory windows to residential structures, Wright also used rows of glass in more traditional settings, such as his Unity Temple, Annunciation Greek Orthodox, and the original library, the Buckner Building, on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland. For Wright, the clerestory window was a design choice that satisfied his aesthetic and philosophic ideals. Clerestory windows have become a mainstay of modern residential architecture. From the 1922 Schindler Chace house designed by the Austrian-born R. M. Schindler to the student designs of the Solar Decathlon competition, this type of fenestration is a popular and practical choice. Remember that this new way of design is centuries old. Look up at the great sacred places across the world. Heavenly light becomes part of the prayerful experience in synagogues, cathedrals, and mosques throughout the ages, from Byzantine to Gothic to Modern structures like architect Alvar Altos 1978 Church of the Assumption of Mary in Riola di Vergato,  Italy. As the world became industrialized, natural light from clerestory windows supplemented the gas and electric lighting of venues such as Grand Central Terminal in New York City. For a more modern transportation hub in Lower Manhattan, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava returned to ancient architectural history, incorporating a modern oculus - a version of Romes Pantheon extreme clerestory - showing again that whats old is always new. A Selection of Clerestory Window Examples Dance Studio, Preserving Wall SpaceTurner Contemporary Gallery, David Chipperfield Architects, United KingdomKitchen, 1922 Schindler House, Los Angeles, CaliforniaKarl Kundert Medical Clinic, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1956, San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaGothic Exeter Cathedral, United KingdomItalian Byzantine Church of Saint Vitale in Ravenna, ItalySunlight Shining Into Grand Central Terminal, New York City Sources Frank Lloyd Wright On Architecture: Selected Writings (1894-1940), Frederick Gutheim, ed., Grossets Universal Library, 1941, p. 38Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Cyril M. Harris, ed., McGraw- Hill, 1975, p. 108G. E. Kidder Smith, FAIA, Sourcebook of American Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, 1996, p. 644.John Milnes Baker, AIA, American House Styles: A Concise Guide, Norton, 1994, p. 169Additional photo credits: Cowboy Stadium, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images (cropped); Winslow House, Raymond Boyd/ Getty Images (cropped); Alto Church, De Agostini/Getty Images (cropped); Zimmerman House, Jackie Craven

Critiqing two of my peers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critiqing two of my peers - Essay Example ments because of the evidence presented, such as the statistics on accidents concerning underage drinking, and the fact that children’s brains are developing and they should not be stunted with alcohol. Its weakest argument is the one arguing for alcohol-related illness it is true that drinking at a young age can lead to cirrhosis, but it is not something particular to the age group being analyzed in this essay. All alcohol drinkers can develop these diseases, so saying this is not something that is directly relevant to the claims. The essay does not mention a counterargument. A counterargument that I would suggest is: â€Å"Opponents of setting the drinking age limit at 21 will stress that the age 18 is already a mature age for adolescents, so they should be given the freedom to drink what they want.† A response to this is providing evidence that people at the age of 18, who drink and drive, meet more accidents than people at 21, who drink and drive. Does the author use signal phrases to introduce quotes? (Signal phrases are discussed in more detail in section 10g of The New Century Handbook. ) If so, provide an example. If not, suggest the correct way to do this. Yes, the author uses signal phrases to introduce statistics, for example: â€Å"According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention more than 189,000 children under the age of 21 are admitted to the emergency room annually because of alcohol.† He did not use direct quotations though. If he did, he can write one sentence this way: â€Å"Direnfeld (2012) describes a few different diseases that are related to alcohol, such as cirrhosis of the liver.† The quotations followed proper in-text citations, although the page or paragraph number is missing. For instance, this has no paragraph number: : â€Å"According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention more than 189,000 children under the age of 21 are admitted to the emergency room annually because of alcohol.† The paragraph number is 1,

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management BEM2004 Essay

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management BEM2004 - Essay Example It makes every effort to ensure that its products are preferred by consumers and that its public relations are accomplished without difficulties. Ethical business practice prolongs the life of an organization and promotes consumer satisfaction among other stakeholders. This paper evaluates whether business ethics is an oxymoron justifying the arguments through ethical theories that include; virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism and Marxism. Business Ethics Businesses are compelled to remain flexible due to the inconsistency of the contemporary operating environments. Each competitor strives to acquire a greater market share than other players, which sometimes leads to negligence in regard to corporate ethics. Various situations require to be dealt with differently and sometimes managers are perplexed regarding what business ethics necessitates in certain circumstances. In some instances, acting morally may be costly or may be hindered by obstacles. For these reasons, Velasquez (2 002) observes that referring to ‘business ethics’ as an oxymoron precisely identifies ethics as a challenge. On the other hand, as presented in the definition of ethics, if an organization is to remain ethical in its operations, it has to observe the laid out values and principles. In other words, no matter how pressing the situation is, ethical values have to be adhered to for business ethics to be accomplished. In essence, many organizations avoid being perfectionists in business ethics even though they insist on ethical standards when dealing with stakeholders. This makes them escape the unintentional negative consequences of fanatical business ethics (DesJardins, 2008). Various ethical theories portray business ethics as an oxymoron. For example, virtue ethics is a theory that sheds light on the boundary between balanced decision making and unethical behavior in business (West, 2003). Sometimes financial managers are faced with the dilemma of determining the appropr iate step to take when the business is faced with challenges, yet the set business values have to be adhered to. The right decision that may save a company from collapsing may be regarded as unethical in a different perspective if the common values are not observed. Rather than being restricted to a set of conceptual rules, a manager maintains his/her professional role and appraises an ethically thought-provoking decision within that role. In other words, he/she is not bound by what is believed to be ethical while acting for the good of the organization (Maximiano, 2003). For instance, the finance director in a company X realizes that the organization will incur losses owing to an abrupt change in exchange rates. The company maintains corporate social responsibility and runs a philanthropic community program which is among its core values that costs 10% of its proceeds. The manager is faced with the dilemma of suspending the program to minimize the company’s expenditure or to retain the program. The first alternative will lead him to disregard the company’s ethical values. However, as a professional, his work is to ensure that the company does not incur a loss. The manager has to make an ethically charged decision and suspend the program until the operating environment regains normalcy. According to virtue ethics, he will be regarded as a good manager due to his intelligence that helps in maintaining efficiency and profitability, while on the other hand he is

Cynthia Cooper and WorldCom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cynthia Cooper and WorldCom - Essay Example This expose elucidates on the appropriate decision that Cynthia should take to deal with this issue. From the onset, it is crucial to point out that the right decision for Cynthia would be reporting these fraudulent acts to her superiors without making the information public. In order to make her case strong, Cynthia should use the findings from the additional investigations she carried out in order to ensure that the exposure has enough merit. However, it is crucial for her to seek another job before taking any action since the decision taken might leave her jobless. Any decision that one might take in such a situation has various implications. One such implication would be on the families affected by the whistle blowing in case of termination of careers and effectively the source of livelihood. Cynthia Hooper is no exceptional and has to consider her career and family and the careers of other employees, something I would do in her shoes. According to Sissela Bok, â€Å"Would-be whistleblowers confront the conflict inherent in all dissent: between conforming and sticking their ne cks out. The more repressive the authority they challenge, the greater the personal risk they take in speaking out† (as cited in Donaldson & Werhane, 2007). In this regard, there is a big risk of one’s livelihood and that of the family and the career of the whistleblower in case the superiors view such acts as dissent. Donaldson and Werhane (2007) further support this idea by stating that, â€Å"When audiences are not free to receive or to act on the information-when censorship or fear of retribution stifles response-then the message rebounds to injure the whistleblower.† The most important reason for reporting the extra findings indicate that Cynthia is showing responsibility by indicating the extra steps taken towards unearthing the truth. When making this decision however, it is crucial for her to remember that she may face accusations

FF Managing Diversity Awareness Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

FF Managing Diversity Awareness Campaign - Essay Example They are not given leadership roles as compared to their male counterpart. Such workplace stereotypes have resulted in unequal pay and pay gaps. Despite the effort of the UK government for bridging the pay gap by introducing new equal pay act, UK has witnessed high income inequality compared to OECD countries. The author also states that women on an average earn less than their counterparts by  £140,000. The author proposed that out of every ten people nine people want equality in workplace through equal pay and job roles. He also says that culture has been a key factor that influenced the stereotypes present in workplace that led to income inequality and biased leadership roles. Our culture despises the changing work culture and holds it negative. Working women and home dads have negative repercussions in the society that lead to workforce bias. Not only has the society but organizations have also succumbed to such negative thought that resulted in such stereotypes. Governmentâ₠¬â„¢s Equality Office (2011), describes that the general view is that men are more competent than women and are well suited for leadership roles compared to women. It is quite unlikely, for a woman, who is a mother, to find a job. This shows how workplace biases and stereotypes create gender gaps and leads to gender inequality. It also explains that reducing the gender gap in workplace will lead to increased productivity. It has also been observed through various researches that high ratio of female to male in organizations have led to increased financial performance than organizations with large gender gaps. Women could add as much as  £150 billion to the UK GDP by 2030, if all women who aspire to work were provided jobs. According to the author Ridgeway (2011), managing gender equality will lead to increased productivity of organizations that will drive economic growth. UK faces an aging population which will lead to a shortage of skilled labour supply. This will push the

Productivity Software Usability Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Productivity Software Usability - Research Paper Example The invention of computer brought a revolution. Initially, there were very few companies that were providing productivity software, whereas those software were difficult to use and could not perform advanced and complicated jobs. With the advancement in technology and invention of faster computers, the number of productivity software increased to a great extent and the existing one kept improving. Keeping in view the needs and convenience of business and individual users, companies kept introducing different varieties of these software. This fierce competition between software companies has brought revolutionary changes in the way people use computer. Now, there are thousands of software that can perform hundreds of thousands of jobs with great ease and convenience. One of the most famous productivity software suits is â€Å"Microsoft Office†. It is the market leader, used by majority of companies globally. It comes with a word processor (Word), a presentation developing software (PowerPoint), a website developing software (FrontPage), a database software (Access), a data calculation, analysis and visualizing software (Excel), brochures, flyers, business cards, etc creator and editor (Publisher), email client (Outlook), information sharing software (OneNote) and others. Since Microsoft Office is a comprehensive suite of productivity software, I will use it as an example in explaining the usability of productivity software. After that, I would be discussing more usability of these software by mentioning other examples. A word processor is a software that helps in typing anything be it a latter, legal document, report, dissertation, etc. Microsoft Word can be taken as an example. It can format a document according to your need, automatically corrects typing mistakes, helps in correcting the spelling, and puts reference for you and can

FF Managing Diversity Awareness Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

FF Managing Diversity Awareness Campaign - Essay Example They are not given leadership roles as compared to their male counterpart. Such workplace stereotypes have resulted in unequal pay and pay gaps. Despite the effort of the UK government for bridging the pay gap by introducing new equal pay act, UK has witnessed high income inequality compared to OECD countries. The author also states that women on an average earn less than their counterparts by  £140,000. The author proposed that out of every ten people nine people want equality in workplace through equal pay and job roles. He also says that culture has been a key factor that influenced the stereotypes present in workplace that led to income inequality and biased leadership roles. Our culture despises the changing work culture and holds it negative. Working women and home dads have negative repercussions in the society that lead to workforce bias. Not only has the society but organizations have also succumbed to such negative thought that resulted in such stereotypes. Governmentâ₠¬â„¢s Equality Office (2011), describes that the general view is that men are more competent than women and are well suited for leadership roles compared to women. It is quite unlikely, for a woman, who is a mother, to find a job. This shows how workplace biases and stereotypes create gender gaps and leads to gender inequality. It also explains that reducing the gender gap in workplace will lead to increased productivity. It has also been observed through various researches that high ratio of female to male in organizations have led to increased financial performance than organizations with large gender gaps. Women could add as much as  £150 billion to the UK GDP by 2030, if all women who aspire to work were provided jobs. According to the author Ridgeway (2011), managing gender equality will lead to increased productivity of organizations that will drive economic growth. UK faces an aging population which will lead to a shortage of skilled labour supply. This will push the

Recent Development in the Thoery of Rules versus Dicretions Essay

Recent Development in the Thoery of Rules versus Dicretions - Essay Example In this respect, this essay will assess the rationale in the Barro-Gordon Model of rules versus discretion to illustrate the relationship between monetary policies and inflation in achieving economic outcomes. Monetary policies play a crucial role in achieving certain outcomes – low unemployment, high money supply, or low inflation – in the economy. Achieving these outcomes, however, depends on the existing conditions surrounding the economic environment, which is also affected both by an individual’s expectations on future policies and economic conditions and the manner that these expectations are formed (Barro 1984: 1-2). The weight given to individual expectations, in this regard, highlights the monetary rules versus discretion debate under monetary economics such that as illustrated by the Barro-Gordon Model, an individuals’ expectations regarding future policies can either offset the effects of inflation under discretionary policies or achieve the zero inflation outcome through rules (Barro and Gordon 1983). Contrary to the traditional debate between rules and discretion focused on a policymaker’s capabilities and objectives; the Barro-Gordon Model is based on Kydland and Prescott’s work that identifies rules as a form of commitment similar to public policies and business dealings (Barro 1984: 1). In this respect, a monetary policy will only be as effective as the government’s reputation and its credibility in making a commitment to a policy because assuming that individuals are rational, they will always act in manner that predicts government behaviour and compensate for any losses that they believe will come from it. Hence, under monetary policies, where the output is always a consequent rise or fall in inflation, assuming that inflation is high and individuals are rational, these individuals will always expect a higher inflation rate and immediately adjust to these high rates, eliminating the

Imperialistic Africa Essay Example for Free

Imperialistic Africa Essay During the 19th century of the Industrial Age, many European nations (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Britain) sought for a source for raw material and a market for manufactured goods in Africa. This economic motivation helped drive the Scramble for Africa. The Scramble for Africa [1885-1910] was when many European nations competed for colonies in Africa. To take control of these regions, the European powers came up with the Treaty of Berlin. This stated that they would not sell firearms to Africa; which resulted in Europeans having a monopoly on guns in Africa. However, although it stated that they would not sell firearms to Africa making it easier to take it over, it also stated that they would suppress slavery. During the Scramble for Africa, or the imperialism imposed in Africa, there were great contributions that ultimately modernized Africa, as well as, bad influences, such as the carving of Africa without the influence of the traditional tribal boundaries, causing tribalism and civil wars. Many modernizing contributions were in medicine and education. The British built hospital and schools in Africa. They also contributed to putting an end to the slave trade. The access to basic medical care and education were, therefore, due to British intervention. This boost in medical care also heightened many African life spans. Also, some Africans were even allowed to have a western education rather than just basic education. Also, eventually, Britain allowed the African colonies to vote for power, realizing that the only way for safety in Africa was to rule with the people. This eventually concluded with many African nations liberating themselves from British control and becoming an independent nation, such as Republic of Congo (1958), and Tanzania (1964), Although there were some contributions that helped to modernize Africa, there were also many harmful effects from the imperialism of Africa, such as the methods they used to take control of some regions. In other cases, there was not a clear understanding of what the treaties were about or what the consequences of them would be. Secondly, military force was used in some cases when there was a large amount of resistance to colonial rule. Unit Two: Studying Africa through the Social Studies] This suggested that sometimes European nations would use brute force to impose their authority over the native people. For example, during the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors were killed for their land. This left only a remnants of a once strong tribe of warriors. This demonstrates how military force was used in some cases when there was a large amount of resistance to colonial rule. Also, according to The White Man’s Burden, by Rudyard Kipling, many native people did not like European imperialism. For example, in the 1st stanza 4th line, he states,† To serve your captives need† This illustrates how many natives thought themselves like prisoners. In another line, he states, â€Å"To seek anothers profit, and work anothers gain. † This demonstrates how rather than how Europeans said they came to protect them by signing the treaty; they actually used the colonies raw materials to help fuel their own economy. A major long-term negative effect that still affects Africa today are the arbitrary political boundaries which European nations established. The European nations never thought about the traditional tribal boundaries. This results with several different tribes in one nation that may feel ill towards one another causing civil wars and power struggles within national governments. For example, the 2nd Congo War involved eight African nations, as well as about 25 armed groups. By 2008 the war and its aftermath had killed 5. 4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation. By the turn of the 21st century, the economy of many African nations was suffering. They were battered by rapid population growth, declining export earnings, foreign debt, drought, floods, and civil war. The average African household consumed 20% less than it had in the 1950s. The continents birthrates and mortality rates were the highest in the world. More than half of all foreign aid was consumed by debt service. In addition, over 73% of the more than 40 million people infected with HIV (see AIDS) in 2002 lived in Africa; 30% or more of the populations of Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe were infected. Nevertheless, Africa largely escaped the financial turbulence that engulfed much of the rest of the world in the late 1990s and again in the early 21st century. [Africa, History of (II)] Because of the imperialism of Africa, many European countries have become powerful nations filled with wealth and prosperity and Africa now have many schools and hospitals. Many Africans can now go to school and get an education and may even one day start businesses. However, the negative aftermaths of European Imperialism on Africa has greatly affected its nations. Because of the long-term political borders dividing Africa, there are many civil wars killing millions of lives and spreading disease. Although Europe brought schools and hospitals, it does not make up for all the lives that could have been saved if the European nations had just considered the traditional boundaries rather than for their own profit. Even the education and health care were not substantial. They were the most basic forms of education and health care. Only very few were allowed to have western education. Therefore, overall there weren’t many positive impacts for the African people from European Imperialism.

The Compass of Pleasure by David J. Linden | Review

The Compass of Pleasure by David J. Linden | Review The Compass of Pleasure Omobolanle Ajose Humans have a complicated relationship to pleasure which we spend a considerable amount of time pursuing. Certain forms of pleasure such as rituals involving prayer, music, dance, and meditation are accorded special status. Intrinsic pleasures that can be initiated or increased by artificial activators like cocaine, heroin, or modest doses of nicotine or alcohol, are located in our brains transmitting a pleasure buzz from a wide variety of ex ­periences. I chose the book, The Compass of Pleasure because neuroscientist David J. Linden the author, explored the dark side of pleasure. He explained how the human brain can turn pleasures into addictions and habits so overpowering and pervasive that people will sacrifice almost anything just to get a fix. This kind of behavior makes us wonder why anyone would ruin their health, neglect their family, and spend themselves into poverty all in pursuit of an addiction. Linden says it all comes down to a single neuro-chemical dopamine. The terms I learned while reading this book includes: Stoic, meaning ability to endure pain or hardship without showing feelings or complaints. Painasymbolia, also called pain dissociation which is a condition in which pain is experienced without unpleasantness.Ventral tegmental area (VTA), which is a collection of neurons situated at the center of themidbrain that sends dopamine releasing axons to other regions of the brain such as the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, dorsal striatum and hippocampus. Neuroleptics, meaning dopamine receptor antagonists. Linden (2011), describes most experiences in our lives that we find as transcendent, whether illicit vices, socially sanctioned ritual or social practices as meditative prayer to activate an anatomically and biochemically defined pleasure circuit in the brain. He used past research studies as references. Two postdoctoral fellows at McGill University conducted experiments that involved implanting electrodes in the brains of rats to activate their pleasure circuits. The electrodes were placed in positions that stimulated the medial forebrain bundle, the axons that excite the dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The electrode locations that produced the strongest pleasure were those that most effectively activated the dopamine neurons of the VTA. Another experimental design from the book focused on the stimulation of the brain of a homosexual psychiatric patient using surgically implanted electrodes. Before the patients brain stimulation, he was made to view a film that featured sexual intercourse between a male and a female. He was sexually indifferent and angry about being made to view the film. After the pleasure circuit self- stimulation, he agreed to view the film again during which he became sexually aroused, had an erection and masturbated to orgasm. After he was discharged from the hospital, he had a sexual relationship with a woman for several months. During this period, his homosexual activity was reduced but did not stop completely. In humans, rats, and other mammals, the reward circuit is interwoven with brain centers involved in decision making, planning, emotion and memory storage. When we find an experience pleasurable, it sets in motion several processes such as liking the experience and we associate both external and internal cues with the experience. These associations allow us to predict how we should behave to repeat or assign a value to pleasurable experience so that in future we can determine how much effort we are willing to expand and the risk we are willing to take to get them. Linden (2011) defined addiction as persistent, compulsive drug use in the face of increasingly negative life consequences. He explained that the scientific definition of addiction is actually rooted in the brainsinabilityto experience pleasure and that the dark side of pleasure is addiction. Addiction is associated with long-lasting changes in the biochemical, electrical, and morphological functions of connections within the medial forebrain plea ­sure circuit. These changes underlie many of the dark sides of addiction, including progressive tolerance, craving, withdrawal and relapse. Therefore, pleasure, addic ­tion and memory are closely related, and directly interconnected. Psychoactive drugs can be used in different social contexts; as medicine, religious sacrament, pure recreation, or to define oneself as part of a subgroup. Across cultures and over thousands of years of human history, people have consistently found ways to alter the function of their brains. Psychoactive drugs like cocaine, alcohol, and opiates strongly activate dopamine action in VTA target regions. Pleasure is central to some but not all psychoactive drugs. Certain foods and certain drugs can activate the pleasure circuits. While obesity results from food addiction, food addiction shares many properties and biological substrates with drug addiction, including a strong heritable component and triggering by stress. Orgasm is another pleasure buzz that may be weaker than cocaine but stronger than food. ( Cite page here) It is a multifaceted experience with dissociable sensory and affective, emotional, and rewarding components. It is fiery, transcendent and unique. Orgasm strongly activates the dopamine-using medial forebrain pleasure circuit. Drugs that modulate dopamine signaling in the brain can regulate libido and orgasm. Epileptic seizures or brain stimulation with electrodes can produce orgasms that are devoid of pleasure or emotional feeling. Gambling addiction is associated with reduced activation of the medial forebrain pleasure circuit. Genetic variants that suppress dopamine signaling, particularly in the medial forebrain, are associated with high rate of gambling addiction. For people who carry these gene variants, their muted dopamine systems lead to blunted pleasure circuits, which in turn affects their pleasure-seeking activities. Intensive exercise can bring about short term euphoria, reduction of anxiety, and increases in pain threshold. Long term painful stimulus is associated with increased dopamine. Interestingly, charitable giving produces an activation of the pleasure circuit. The interaction of pleasure and associative learning in the medial forebrain pleasure circuit yields both beneficial and detrimental rewards. The ability of experience to produce long-term changes in the pleasure circuit enables arbitrary rewards and abstract ideas to be felt as pleasurable, a phenomenon that ultimately underlies much of human behavior and culture. This same process is responsible for transforming pleasure into addiction. Reading the compass of pleasure gives an insight on the function of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain and how the dopamine systems in the brain play an important role in pleasure seeking and addictive behaviors. I also learned that dopamine is responsible for most of our immoral behaviors and secret cravings. It is responsible for love, lust, adultery, motivation, attention, and addiction. The denial of pleasure can yield spiritual growth. In practice, one can see beyond a persons behavior, personal history, and environment to understand what goes on in the brain when uncontrollable habits such as addiction present themselves. Understanding the interaction between the pleasure circuits and dopamine in the brain help us as health care professionals to understand that addicts are not weak, defective human beings lacking in willpower but are rather people with brains that are chemically deficient. According to Lundy-Ekman (2013, p.239), Parkinsons disease is the death of dopamine producing cells in the sustantia nigra. Occupational therapy improves mobility and functional status in people with Parkinsons disease. Intense resistance training produces greater muscle hypertrophy and functional gains than are produced by standard exercise. According to Linden (2011, p. 127), there are variations in genes turning down the functions of dopamine signaling within the pleasure circuit. These variations in genes let people seek pleasure through different activities. These activities may be meaningful to a client while others may be addictions they may want to stop. Understanding the biology of pleasure circuits may help clinician’s such as occupational therapist better understand what an individual deems meaningful or pleasurable. Knowledge of forms of pleasure such as rituals, routines , music, dance and even meditations that are of meaningful to a client obtained during an occupational profile, helps therapist in planning interventions for clients. On the other hand, the therapist can also help create therapeutic interventions to help with addictions. Linden (2011, p.150), further explained that exercises has an anti-depressive effect, shows long term improvement in mental functions and slows cognitive decline that accompanies normal aging. Occupational therapists work with a variety of population and this piece of information makes it interesting to know that range of motion exercises and other forms of exercises provided during therapy may be able to improve mental functions and slow cognitive decline in normal aging. Dopamine and serotonin are important neurotransmitters in the brain that influence many behaviors and movement patterns such as walking and coordination. Dopamine levels are associated with many neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, psychosis and even attention deficits hyperactive disorders. Too much or too little dopamine can interfere with cognition, behavior, or motor skills. In practice, occupational therapists work with clients with various neurological conditions by evaluating and analyzing the client, the environment and their meaningful occupational performance. Having insight into a clients deficits and its effect on occupational performance is important to therapist because it helps the therapist to be able to plan and provide therapeutic interventions aimed at improving cognition, coordination, mobility and functional status in clients. References Lundy-Ekman, L. (2013). Neuroscience: Fundamentals for Rehabilitation. St. Louis, Mo: Saunders/ Elsevier Inc. Linden, D. J. (2011). The Compass of Pleasure: How our Brains make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, learning, and Gambling Feel so Good. New York, NY: Penguin Group Inc. Sturkenboom, I., Thijssen, M., Gons-van, J. E., Jansen, I. (2011). Guidelines for Occupational Therapy in Parkinsons Disease. Retrieved July 14, 2014, from National Parkinson Foundation: http://www.parkinson.org/NationalParkinsonFoundation/files/a5/a5c7ef92-a101-4485-96b2-7d81b31a42c9.pdf

The Plight of the Late Nineteenth Century American Farmer Essay

The Plight of the Late Nineteenth Century American Farmer From the early beginnings of America to well into the nineteenth century, America has been dominantly an agricultural country. Farming and the country life have always been a great part of the American culture. Thomas Jefferson even expressed his gratitude for the farming class by saying Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever He had a chosen people, whose breasts He, has made His peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue. The American culture was built upon farming and agriculture but since the end of the civil war and the abolition of slaves, things have changed dramatically to the American lifestyle. This time brought on the Industrial Revolution which sparked many factories and new ways of transportation across America. There were many acts passed to encourage the agricultural lifestyle still such as the Homestead Act of 1862, the Timber Culture Act of 1873, the Desert Land Act of 1877, and the Timber and Stone Act passed in 1878. As a result of these acts, farm income dropped and new machines and methods or systems to farm such as sharecropping and tenant farming became available and made it much easier to increase crop yields. The people who had the smaller farms, uncultivated land, or limited resources could not compete against the farms who were bigger, better, and more modernized with the new technology. After many people failed on the farms, they were seen heading to t...

Bubbles Up: a Science Experiment on Density Essay

Density is the measure of the quantity of some physical property [usually mass] per unit length, area, or volume (YourDictionary.com). How does temperature affect density? Do items become denser after being frozen? It is well known that water becomes denser when it’s temperature lowers until its freezing point. Does this principle apply to oil; and if so, which kinds? This question easily applies to real world problems. For example, when there is an oil spill in the ocean, the clean up crews have to know how dense the oil is before simply cleaning it up. If the oil is dense enough that only very small amounts are rising to the surface, the clean-up team will have to come up with a deep cleaning plan that won’t harm marine wildlife. On a more everyday level, understanding how certain car oils are affected by weather, thereby affecting their density, is necessary to keep one’s car running adequately without leaving harmful residue behind in the mechanics. For this experiment, I will be testing the density of three different kinds of oil: olive oil, mineral oil, and Wilbert’s lemon oil. I will test the oils’ density before and after being placed in the freezer to see if there is a noticeable difference in the density of the oil. I predict that all of the oils featured in this experiment will be more dense after sitting in the freezer for an hour. I came up with this hypothesis after reviewing other density related science experiments. What further assisted in the making of this hypothesis was the recalling of the fact that objects with lower temperatures (such as air or water) become denser. Two experiments that I found to be quite similar to this one were the Density Column and the Bubbling Lava Lamp. The Density Column measures the density of seven different liquids by layering them on top of each other. By doing this experiment, one is able to find out which liquid is the most dense; with the order ascending from there. Based on the results, they found that not all oils are the same density. Vegetable oil came in fifth from the bottom of the tower; lamp oil was the seventh and last layer in the column (Spangler, 2012). In the Bubbling Lava Lamp experiment, the fact that water is denser than vegetable oil was taken advantage of. Using an Alka-Seltzer  tablet, the formed carbon monoxide bubbles that pushed the water up and through the vegetable oil. What happened thereafter is that the Alka-Seltzer bubbles would pop and the colored water would sink back down to the bottom of the container through the oil (Spangler). Regardless of penetration, the two liquids did not mix. While temperature was not a key factor in either experiment, they did show that the liquids differing in densities would not mix despite what was happening to them or around them – and that is important for this experiment. In order for Bubbles Up to work properly, the oils cannot mix with the water they are floating on top of no matter what happens. To conduct the science experiment, I used the following items: (3) 12 ounce cups (1) marble (1) dime (1) penny a pitcher of water a bottle of olive oil a bottle of mineral oil a bottle of Wilbert’s lemon oil blue food coloring a freezer a timer a measuring cup a spoon or a pair of tongs to retrieve the objects from inside the cups soap and water solution to clean the objects off paper towel thermometer : In the experiment Bubbles Up, the observer will drop various objects into each of the three cups and record how many bubbles of oil they observe. While the results may vary slightly from mine, it may be because of ambient temperature of the room they are working in. This design plan was chosen because timing how fast an object fell to the bottom of the cup is  impossible without computer assistance. However, counting how many bubbles of oil occur within the water is a good measure of how dense the oil is because of it being light enough to fall with the object. The reasoning behind this experimental design in terms of whether or not the density of oil changes with a change in temperature was a matter of working with limited resources. I have not found any other experiment using this method to test density; but there is a similar experiment for testing viscosity. In The Viscosity of Motor Oil, a marble was dropped through a a graduated cylinder of motor oil three different times. Each time, the motor oil was a different temperature. Density, volume, and velocity were used as variables to solve for viscosity (Ani, 2011). To begin, set up your work station. Mix the food coloring with the mineral oil. Fill each cup with four ounces of water. Then, fill one cup with six ounces of olive oil. Wash out the measuring cup; then fill a different cup of water with six ounces of mineral oil. Wash out the measuring cup again. Fill the last cup of water with six ounces of Wilbert’s lemon oil. At this point, you should have three cups – all of which have a different color oil floating on water. Set up the rest of your materials so that are out of the way, but within easy reach. Set up your data table (see table below). Proceed to Experiment 1. Part 1 Step 1 – Pick up a marble and drop it from the rim of the olive oil cup. Record how many bubbles of oil float upwards from the bottom. Carefully remove the marble with a spoon or tongs and wash it off with soap and water. Repeat this step with the dime and penny, making sure to remove each object and washing it off before moving on to the next object. Step 2 – Repeat step one exactly for the mineral oil cup and lemon oil cup. Step 3 – After ensuring you have recorded all data and washed all objects clean, proceed to Experiment 2. Part 2 Step 1 – Place all three cups containing oil in the freezer. Set the timer for one hour. Step 2 – After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cups  from the freezer, one by one, making sure to not shake them. Step 3 – Repeat Part 1. Do not skip any steps. Step 4 – After ensuring that you have recorded all data, carefully clean up. Have an adult assist in the disposal of the oil – water mixtures if you are under 18 years of age. You will observe how many bubbles float up through the water after dropping an object in, one at a time. Do this with one object, one cup at a time to retrieve accurate results. Remove the previous object before dropping the next one in (ie.; drop in the marble, record the data, remove the marble, drop in the dime, record the data, remove the dime, drop in the penny, record the data, remove the penny, go to the next cup and repeat). The data table should be set up in this manner: [Image Not Included] : I first recorded my data on paper with a pencil, then re-typed it on the computer. I suggest doing this so that there isn’t a possibility of damaging your electronic devices. The independent variables of this experiment are the oils. They will be tested in two differing temperature conditions. The dependent variables are the number of bubbles observed after dropping the objects into the cups. The number of bubbles should differ based on being a difference in the density of the oils after their temperature decrease. The control variables are the objects being dropped into the cups. They are constant and do not change in composition in any manner. While there are ways to ruin the validity of this experiment, I have taken steps to reduce and/ or completely cancel out threats to validity. The objects are all dropped from the rim of the cup to ensure that there are no variations in height from which they are dropped. Should there be a variation in height, that could very well affect the number of bubbles produced. All of the cups have four ounces of water in them so that there is the same amount of space for the bubbles to be observed within in each cup. All objects are washed off before being used again to avoid the oils mixing  together. All objects are reused for each cup so that there isn’t a variation in weight of the marble, dime, and penny. A variation in weight could affect the number of bubbles produced. When the cups were placed in the freezer, they are all placed on the same shelf in a row going side to side. By doing this, I have reduced the chances of any cup being in a section of the freezer that was cooler or warmer than another section. Lastly, I have made it a point to record the data immediately after observation so the chances of forgetting are practically impossible. With those steps taken, the validity of Bubbles Up has been ensured. I began the experiment by mixing the food coloring and mineral oil together. I then filled each cup with four ounces of water.. Then, I filled one cup with six ounces of olive oil; washed out the measuring cup and repeated this action with the mineral oil and Wilbert’s lemon oil. I carefully laid out the rest of my materials so that they were within easy reach, but out of the way of my work space. Lastly, I set up the data table so that I could easily write down my observations. I began by picking up the marble and holding it to the rim of the cup of olive oil. I proceeded to drop it in and counted the number of bubbles of oil that appeared. I then wrote down the number in the date table. I then carefully removed the marble with a spoon and washed the two items off. I then picked up the penny and held it to the rim of the same cup and dropped it in. I counted the number of bubbles and wrote down the data into the table. I then removed the penny with the spoon and washed both off. Lastly, I picked up the dime and and held it to the rim of the olive oil cup before carefully dropping it into the cup. I then counted how many bubbles came up and wrote the number down. After removing the dime with the spoon, I washed the dime and spoon off. I then moved on to the cup of mineral oil. Starting with the marble first again, I held it to the rim of the cup and dropped it in to the cup. After counting how many bubbles appeared, I wrote the number down. I then removed the marble with the spoon and washed them off. Then, I moved on to the penny and held it to the rim of the cup and dropped it in. I wrote down the number of bubbles I observed after dropping the penny in. The penny was then removed with a spoon and both were washed off. Last came the dime to be  dropped in from the rim of the cup. Post-observation of the bubbles, I wrote the number I had seen. Before going on to the last cup, I removed the dime from the cup with the spoon and washed them off. Turning my attention to the cup of Wilbert’s lemon oil, I picked up the marble and dropped it in from the rim of the cup. Counting the number of bubbles, I wrote how many I observed. Carefully, I removed the marble from the cup with the spoon and washed the two items off. Then the penny was dropped in from the rim and the number of bubbles was counted. The data was collected and written down into the table. The penny was removed with the spoon and the two items were washed off. Lastly, the dime was dropped into the cup from the rim and the number of bubbles that appeared was counted; that number was then written down into the table. Before concluding this half of the experiment, the dime was removed with the spoon and the two were washed off. At this point, the three cups were carefully transported to the freezer one by one. They were each placed on the second to top shelf about halfway from the back of the freezer. The three of the cups covered the length of the freezer from one side to the other (this was done in a two door refrigerator where the freezer and refrigerator stand next to each other instead of one top of the other). I then set the timer for one hour; and after that hour I removed the cups from the freezer and took their temperatures. They were all the same temperature – 43 ° F. I then placed the cups down on the table in the order they’d been in before (from left to right): olive oil, mineral oil, Wilbert’s lemon oil. I restarted the experiment by picking up the marble and holding it to the rim of the cup of olive oil. I proceeded to drop it in and counted the number of bubbles of oil that appeared. I then wrote down the number in the date table. I then carefully removed the marble with a spoon and washed the two items off. I then picked up the penny and held it to the rim of the same cup and dropped it in. I counted the number of bubbles and wrote down the data into the table. I then removed the penny with the spoon and washed both off. Lastly, I picked up the dime and and held it to the rim of the olive oil cup before carefully dropping it into the cup. I then counted how many bubbles came up and wrote the number down. After removing the dime with the spoon, I  washed the dime and spoon off. I then moved on to the cup of mineral oil. Starting with the marble first again, I held it to the rim of the cup and dropped it in to the cup. After counting how many bubbles appeared, I wrote the number down. I then removed the marble with the spoon and washed them off. Then, I moved on to the penny and held it to the rim of the cup and dropped it in. I wrote down the number of bubbles I observed after dropping the penny in. The penny was then removed with a spoon and both were washed off. Last came the dime to be dropped in from the rim of the cup. Post-observation of the bubbles, I wrote the number I had seen. Before going on to the last cup, I removed the dime from the cup with the spoon and washed them off. Turning my attention to the cup of Wilbert’s lemon oil, I picked up the marble and dropped it in from the rim of the cup. Counting the number of bubbles, I wrote how many I observed. Carefully, I removed the marble from the cup with the spoon and washed the two items off. Then the penny was dropped in from the rim and the number of bubbles was counted. The data was collected and written down into the table. The penny was removed with the spoon and the two items were washed off. Lastly, the dime was dropped into the cup from the rim and the number of bubbles that appeared was counted; that number was then written down into the table. I then removed the dime and washed it and the spoon off. I then disposed of the oils by dumping them out into my back yard; except the lemon oil. I flushed that down the toilet. After cleaning up my work space, I immediately set to digitizing my data table. Please refer to the attached charts for the data table and graphs. The method used to to run this experiment was counting bubbles instead of timing how fast the objects fell through the oil. The reason I did not time the objects’ fall was because it was far less than a second for each of them. However, the bubbles were a visible observation and did prove to change with the change of the oils’ temperature and density. Because the oil was denser, it stuck more to each object as they fell through and thus produced more oil bubbles in the water. Therefore, the question as to whether or not oil became denser when cooled was answered quite fully. Before freezing the oil, the number of bubbles per oil per object were pretty close in range considering the marble was the heaviest object and the dime was the lightest. It was also taken into consideration that unlike the marble, the two coins could produce only slightly more oil bubbles by flipping as they fell through the oil and water. Throughout the experiment, the coins didn’t flip more than one full rotation at any given time. The number of bubbles for the olive oil in order from heaviest to lightest object was 6, 7, and 4; giving an average of 5.6 bubbles. The number of bubbles for the mineral oil was 6, 5, and 3; providing an average of 4.3 bubbles. The number of bubbles for the Wilbert’s lemon oil was 10, 10, and 9; with a mean of 9.6 bubbles. If you refer to the chart, you’ll see that I didn’t add the averages to the chart or graph. My reason in mentioning them is to show that they fell within the range of numbers. However, if you look at the graph, you will see that after placing the oil in the freezer for one hour, the number of bubbles increased across the board. The post-cooling numbers for the olive oil are 11, 10, and 8; with an average of 9.6 bubbles. The post-cooling numbers for the mineral oil are 9, 7, and 5; with a mean of 7. The Wilbert’s lemon oil post-cooling bubble count is 13, 12, and 12; providing an average of 12.3 bubbles. The conclusion of Bubbles Up is that oil’s density is affected by temperature. This conclusion was reached by observing the change in the number of bubbles between the oil being room temperature and chilled in the freezer. Based on these findings, I accept my initial hypothesis of oil’s density will increase as its temperature decreases. As seen by the data chart and graph, more oil bubbles were created by the falling objects after the oil had been placed in the freezer for one hour. This conclusion was reached by having a clear and repeatable experimental design. Having a concise experimental design is important because it will help to ensure that there is little room for error. Also, designing an experiment around a scientific inquiry will make it more likely for that specific question to be answered in an accurate and testable manner. If the experimental design is badly planned out, one can have inaccurate results, inaccurate information, and even have an irreparable or injurious mistake occur. The reason for having a well made experimental design is to negate any ill effects that could arise during testing; as well  as ensuring valid results. One major factor of a well thought out experimental design is whether or not it can be replicated. Scientific replication in terms of experiments is important because it allows others to see first-hand what the original person observed. It also tests and retests the hypothesis and findings of the original experiment. If the experiment cannot be replicated, there isn’t a way to confirm whether the hypothesis is absolutely true and that those results from the first experiment are correct. For example, my experimental design detailed each step of the experiment as well as the conditions under which the experiment was done so that another person could repeat every portion of it down to the temperature of the room I was in. By making my design fairly simple, the steps of the design are easy and clear to follow. I indicated which order I tested things in, I made it clear to wash the items in between cups, I noted how long to leave the oils in the freezer for – among other things. Mentioning every detail – big and small – allows my experimental design to be replicated. Due to having a simple design that is replicable and reliable for its purpose, my study is fairly valid. It covered the purpose of the experiment, answered the question, and tested my hypothesis. I do believe that if this experiment was replicated, the results would be extremely similar. With similar results between the original experiment and a replication, the experimental design would be proven to be valid. The ability to replicate an experiment and achieve similar results is important. If one replicates an experiment exactly and the results are vastly different, then the validity of the experiment does not exist. The experiment would be considered invalid. The reason for this is because a replication of an experiment tests how well the experiment was designed. If the experiment is designed poorly, then the experiment’s results may be terribly inaccurate. If the results are inaccurate, then the experiment has proven nothing. The results would be useless and provide no kind of scientific advancement. More importantly, the lack of similar results in experiment replication means that the hypothesis can not be tested to prove it to be right or wrong repeatedly. Therefore, the study would be unproductive and invalid for all scientific purposes. References Spangler, S. (2012). Steve spangler science: Making science fun. Retrieved from http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/seven-layer-density-column Spangler, S. (n.d.). steve spangler science. Retrieved from http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/bubbling-lava-lamp Ani, B. O. (2011). The viscosity of motor oil. Informally published manuscript, University of South California, Los Angeles, , Available from California State Science Fair. Retrieved from http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2011/Projects/S1801.pdf density. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6th, 2012, from http://science.yourdictionary.com/density

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Essay

At first, I disagree with this statement. I think Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is universally appropriate or applicable to all businesses. Customer relationship management refers to a series of processes, focused on initiating two-way communication exchanges with customers to have a detailed knowledge of their specific needs and buying patterns. The major benefit of a CRM system is that it helps business organizations in determining the type of customer best suited for the growth of their business. CRM enables business organizations to formulate strategies focusing on customer-driven growth and in providing superior and friendly customer experience There are four advantages of CRM that businesses should implement this strategy. * Customer Satisfaction By implementing CRM strategies, the company can focus on improving customer satisfaction through examination of customer preferences, demographics and interests. This information may be collected through automated surveys or personal phone calls from customer service representatives. Customer research may be performed to discover the reasons why one product is more popular than another. Customers typically enjoy the attention they receive and the interest in their happiness and satisfaction with the product, and the data that is collected can help the company produce better products and services in the future, contributing to improved customer satisfaction. This also improves customer retention over the long run. * Marketing The data that is collected through customer research can provide ideas for marketing and advertising for a big business. With many products or services to market, a large company may have difficulty targeting different customers for each item. However, customer research will provide information about what the customer likes about the product, what they are looking for in future products, and what purpose they would like the product to serve. All of this information provides great content for print or commercial advertisements and packaging designs for each product. * Lowered Costs By automating customer service with CRM software, the company can easily gain customer research through online or telephone surveys. The software automatically formats and calculates the data, making it faster and easier to collect this information. Fewer customer service representatives will be needed for collecting this information and less time will be spent preparing reports on customer research. Another advantage is word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied customers; as CRM strategies make customers happier, they become more likely to bring in new customers through word-of-mouth, which lowers the cost of finding a new customer. * Brand Image As customer satisfaction and retention improves, the corporation’s brand image may begin to improve as well. Customers will begin to associate the brand with good customer service, quality products and a personable approach. The CRM strategy’s focus on the customer will let each buyer know that their input is valued by the company. This can attract more customers and continue to create loyal customers to the brand. There is an example about effective implement of CRM. ICICI Bank has to manage more than 13 million customers. The bank has over 550 branches, a network of 2025 ATMs, multiple call centres, Internet banking and mobile banking. Its customers often use multiple channels, and they are increasingly turning to electronic banking options. Business from the Internet. ATMs and other electronic channels now comprise more than 50 per cent of all transactions. In the process of making its business grow to this level, ICICI Bank has distinguished itself from other banks through its relationship with customers. The Teradata solution focuses on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. Information from various legacy and transaction systems is fed into a single enterprise called wide data warehouse. This allows the bank to generate a single view of its customers. The warehouse has the capability to integrate data from multiple sources comprising Oracle and flat files. The Behaviour Explorer enables profiling of customers and querying on various parameters. These enable the bank staff create suitable campaigns for targeting individual customers on the basis of their requirements. To sum up, CRM is one of the best ways of determining the marketing strategies and other services offered to the customer. A well planned CRM can help organizations predict the current trend in the market and provide better services for customers befitting the trend, in turn increasing the business returns. The three major aspects of CRM are an operational system, a collaborative CRM and an analytical CRM. The customer relationship management concepts adopted by each company differ with their organizational objectives. There are 3 challenges of implementing CRM. * Costs One of the biggest challenges facing companies trying to implement CRM is the cost associated with purchasing, installing and training employees to use new software, according to CRMInfoline.com. CRM often doesn’t deliver the return of investment that companies hope for, though this is typically the cause of a poorly implemented system or poorly trained staff. While a properly implemented system should, eventually, show a good return on investment, CRMInfoline.com claims these results could take years to see in full effect as the new system takes root and customer awareness and participation grow. * Transition In order for a business to use a CRM solution properly, nearly the entire business will have to change. Most companies operate on an â€Å"us first, customers second† mentality, whereas CRM-centric businesses focus on placing customers and their satisfaction before the company. Furthermore, CRM systems are typically very complex and span multiple departments, meaning most employees will have to go through some sort of training that will inhibit them, at least somewhat, from performing their normal work duties. * In-House Versus Supported System Supported systems are CRM solutions that are taken care of or outsourced to another company. While in-house CRM software can be more effective, it’s much more difficult to implement. Companies without any current CRM implementation should consider supported systems more than companies with at least some current level of CRM, according to TMCNet.com. Supported systems typically cost less to implement because they’re not as in-depth or effective as in-house solutions. Jollibee is a phenomenal success story, having grown from two ice cream parlours in 1975 to over 1,800 restaurants worldwide today, including the strategic acquisitions of high profile brands like Greenwich Pizza, Deli France, Red Ribbon and Chow King. The company now operates 300 international outlets in markets in the United States, across Asia and throughout the Middle East. The big business like Jollibee must implement complete and effective CRM strategy. * Form a cross-organizational team. A cross-organizational, or cross-functional team, is made up of leaders from each core department in Jollibee. Representatives usually include at least one member from sales, service, marketing, support, management, IT, finance, and any other functional area in Jollibee. * Jollibee should decide what project goals to begin with (customer acquisition, sales growth, service improvement, or something else). Once goals are laid out, phases for installation of CRM can begin. This includes technology and software implementation led by IT, communication of new roles and responsibilities in each department, and implementation of training and rewards programs. * Provide training. Employees in many functional areas, including, service and support, are likely going to be using new technology devices or software solutions for customer accounts, data collection, customer service, data analysis and other CRM functions. This often requires training on philosophy behind the new system and CRM role as well as technical training on the technology applications. * Measure results. CRM fails without constant measurement. By definition, CRM programs are ongoing and design to improve over time. Feedback and data collected during CRM projects and phases should be analysed, evaluated, and reacted to by the cross-organizational leadership team. Decisions on how to improve the customer experience, behaviours of employees, and any other important components of CRM help guide the next project phases or phases. With CRM systems, Jollibee can streamline their business processes effectively and in accordance with customer needs. Customer Relationship Management software is employed by Jollibee to manage and organize their customer database and contacts. Proper customer relationship management solutions are necessary for any business firm to empower their staff, to expand their business and to provide quality customer care services. Task 2 There are 5 possible negative impacts caused by heavy-use of sales promotions. 1. Increased price sensitivity Consumers wait for the promotion deals to be announced and then purchase the product. This is true even for brands where brand loyalty exists. Customers wait and time their purchases to coincide with promotional offers on their preferred brands. Thus, the routine sales at the market price are lost and the profit margin is reduced because of the discounts to be offered during sale-season. 2. Quality image may become tarnished If the promotions in a product category have been rare, the promotions could have a negative effect about its quality image. Consumers may start suspecting that perhaps the product has not been selling well, the quality of the product is true compared to the price or the product is likely to be discontinued because it has become outdated. The Smyle Powder offer of â€Å"Buy 1 and get 2 free† went on and on. Ultimately people stopped asking for the product as the on-going sales promotion strategy made the customers perceive it to be a cheap and an inferior product. 3. Merchandising support from dealers is doubtful In many cases, the dealers do not cooperate in providing the merchandising support nor do they pass on any benefit to consumers. The retailer might not be willing to give support because he does not have the place, or the product does not sell much in his shop, or maybe he thinks the effort required is more than the commission/benefit derived. 4. Short-term orientation Sales promotions are generally for a short duration. This gives a boost to sales for a short period. This short-term orientation may sometimes have negative effects on long-term future of the organization. Promotions mostly build short-term sales volume, which is difficult to maintain. Heavy use of sales promotion, in certain product categories, may be responsible for causing brand quality image dilution. 5. Harmful Effect of Band image If a brand is perceived by consumers as being a value rather than premium brand, it is more likely to receive the most benefit from a price-based sales promotion. However, overuse of price-based sales promotions for any brand can have devastating effects on the brand’s image. This is particularly true for premium and super-premium brands or products and services in which the consumer has difficulty judging product quality in other ways, such as legal services or vitamins. The objective behind sales promotional tools is to keep current customers while attracting new ones, maintaining sales of seasonal products, introducing new products and challenging competitors. The essence of sales promotion involves using all forms of promotional activities, besides personal selling and advertising, to improve sales. In order to gain a strong foothold in the Malaysian market, Jollibee need effective sales promotional tools to fight its competitor. Coupons Coupons are one sales promotional tool. Customers get coupons in several ways, including via newspapers, magazines, online or mail. Customers present coupons to the retailer while buying merchandise in order to receive a discount or free product. For example, a customer of Jollibee use a coupon which takes 50 per cent off a set of meal costing $10, he saves $5. Bonus Offers Bonus offers or gifts with purchase are widely used promotional tools. When customers purchase a product, sometimes a bonus product is given along with it. The purpose is to increase the sale of the product and to make it more attractive by offering an additional item. When customers spent up to $20, he will get a free ice cream. Free Samples Another popular promotional tool is the free sample. When a customer is in the store purchasing certain products, he may receive a free sample of deodorant, shampoo, energy drinks food or candy. Usually, free samples don’t require the customer to purchase anything. Free samples can be given to a particular target audience in order to attract that type of customer. Jollibee can put new product as free samples to get feedback. Premiums Premiums are extras added to sweeten a purchase for a customer. For example, a software company might add a year of free technical support for a customer who buys an expensive software program. Jollibee can offer special toys in their children meals. Offering premiums gives a business owner the opportunity to partner with complementary businesses, creating a wider target audience. This premium creates a win-win situation for everyone involved. It provides a demonstration to potential customers uses referrals to introduce the companies to potential customers and provides a free, useful gift to existing customers. Mystery Rewards Scratch-and-win cards or raffles for prizes are other popular promotional tools. The key is this mystery reward has enough attraction to attract customers. Popular food and unique gift will be work. Money Back Offers When customers doubt the quality or reliability of Jollibee, offer a money-back guarantee. Give a detailed explanation of eligible returns and refunds available for customer reference. Point of Purchase Displays Point of purchase displays is used in Jollibee to catch the attention of customers. The selected products may be sale items but may also be seasonal or high-demand merchandise. The displays are built in a prominent location such as on an aisle end or at the front of the store near the entrance. Jollibee may also place signs at the product’s normal shelf locations. Sales A sale is a reduction in the price of a product for a specified period of time. Sales are used by manufacturers to gain new users or to increase market share. They also generate traffic in a retail establishment. Sales can result in off-season purchases that normally would not occur, such as Jollibee offer special food at 50 per cent off in Malaysia festivals. Besides, some points about sales promotion are important. A sales promotion constructed to inform customers about a new product might include an advertisement in a local paper explaining the product and inviting customers to visit a Web site for a coupon offer. An activity like this can be measured by tracking the number of people who receive the paper, the number of people who visit the Web site, the number of people who download the coupon and the number of people who actually use the coupon. Reminding customers about a product or service is just as important as an initial product introduction. Something as simple as setting up an in-store display with coupons or having customers complete a survey to indicate how often they use the product keeps brands fresh in consumers’ minds. Information gathered from the survey can expose how often customers use a product, how familiar they are with a product and if they plan to use it more in the future. Couple this with a discount coupon and Jollibee can even track the number of people who make a purchase after completing the survey. A follow-up survey can assess things like customer satisfaction and likelihood for a repeat purchase. Sales promotions are a great way to inform and remind customers about Jollibee. Ultimately, the main objective of these activities is to increase revenue. Weigh the cost of promotional sales campaign against the total revenue Jollibee expect to receive. Consider that many companies are spending up to 60 per cent of advertising budgets on sales promotions. Be sure that Jollibee’s promotional campaign is both cost-effective and profitable. These sales promotion techniques can help Jollibee gain a strong foothold in the Malaysian market. References 1. Why Customer Relationship Management is so important? (2008) By Article Alley [online] Available from http://praveenortec.articlealley.com/why-customer-relationship-management-is-so-important-576369.html [Accessed on 12 Jan 2013] 2. Challenges of Implementing a CRM (2010) By Matt Koble [online] Available from http://www.ehow.com/list_6631188_challenges-implementing-crm.html [Accessed on 12 Jan 2013] 3. Tools of Sales Promotion (2005) By Chris Joseph [online] Available from http://www.ehow.com/list_6073558_tools-sales-promotion.html [Accessed on 12 Jan 2013] 4. Disadvantages of Sales Promotion (2008) By Drypen [online] Available from http://drypen.in/sales-promotion/disadvantages-of-sales-promotion.html [Accessed on 12 Jan 2013]