Define The Concept Of Culture Essay

‘Culture’ is the ways in which a society lives. A culture may share the same religions, beliefs, values, class or status, a culture can dress in a certain way and act in a way that follows the norms of how their society carries out life and what they deem as acceptable, culture can shared by a large group of people or a smaller group within society. For example there are ‘subcultures’, a subculture is a small group which have different way of life opposed to the majority of society; they may dress, talk and act in a different way. An example of subculture is a religious group, being a part of a religion may mean that people that are part of it dress differently, and have different values and ideas on life and live in a different way to the majority in society. Another example of a culture is ‘popular culture’ this is a culture that involves a large majority, and is highly influenced by the media, for example football is a sport that is frequentl y covered by the media by television, radio, news etc. And is a popular sport with a large following; other examples of pop culture are: pop music, bingo and mainstream fashion. Pop culture has a variety of people from different backgrounds being part of the same thing called a common culture which is shared by the masses. ‘High culture’ is another example of a culture that is shared with people and their families from a ‘higher class’. People that are part of the high culture are wealthy and have an ascribed status or come from a family with an ascribed status, meaning that they or the head of the family worked towards their success/wealth. They take part in activities associated with upper class such as: polo, lacrosse, hunting, and watching arts such as operas, ballets, orchestras. High culture attempts not allow people who are not from the same class or have the same status as them to join in with their clubs and activities this is called ‘social closure’ but this is difficult as more people can achieve super rich lifestyles, buying their way into high culture that may of came from a low class background. Pop culture is known as ‘low culture’ as people from ‘high culture’ are meant to be higher compared to them in class and status, th erefore people from low culture would not be wanted in high culture activities.

Radio Shack Report

Executive Summary RadioShack Corporation is a popular electronic store within the United States of America. Within this report an assessment of RadioShack Corporation performance in the years 2004 to 2006 will be provided. This assessment looks on: * Changes in Chief Executive Officer (CEO) * The results of the changes in the CEO * The financial performance of RadioShack in the specified period * Managerial problems facing RadioShack in the specified period. From this report we hope to give a concise representation of what happened in RadioShack in the years2004-2006.As a group of consultants we aim to identify problems facing the company. Along with this we will provide solutions and recommendations to these problems based on our assessment. Introduction: Radio Shack is a consumer electronics goods and services retailer that operates about 4400 stores across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, the company also operates about 800 non-branded kio sks (small booths) from which wireless handsets and accessories are sold. The firm’s headquarters is located in Fort Worth, Texas and as of 2006, there were approximately 40000 workers employed to the company.The case presented to the group highlights the problems faced by Radio Shack which started in the year 2004. The instability in the position of CEO and executive management of the firm, financial troubles, disgruntled employees and poor communication skills have been identified as the main problems which sought to wreak havoc throughout the firm. As consultants hired by the Radio Shack Company, our main objective would be to state, with clear reasoning, the core problems affecting the company, as well their appropriate solutions.In addition we would aim to devise suitable plans which would aid the company in moving forward. Along with this we will present recommendations which would foster better development and growth within the firm for the future. Background: Within t he years 2004-2006, RadioShack had undergone instability in upper management and poor financial performance. One reason for such instability is caused by the frequent changes in CEO’s. Over the period, three persons had the role as CEO. The first, Leonard Roberts left the position to join the board of members at RadioShack.The second, David Edmondson left due to his fake qualifications. The third was, Julian Day, who was employed by the Board of Members and the Executives to turn the company around (University of Nortedame, 2007). It is not beneficial to a company to have a critical position such as the CEO changed so frequently. Each person set different goals and have different ways of achieving them. Therefore, whenever there is a change in CEO the goals of the business change too. Hence, the company is affected as it has to stop and change its path whenever a new CEO takes over.This ultimately affects the immediate performance of the business. With the frequent change in CEO’s employees may become lazy in completing the task they were given. They may also become confused in regards to what to do. Others may even stop doing the task once they are informed that the CEO will be changed. Thus, this reduces the overall productivity of workers. Consumers too will be affected as their needs and wants are not being satisfied efficiently due to changes in the company. As a result, the company is now seen as inefficient as they fail to satisfy customer needs.The company is further affected as employees will have to be paid although the company is not earning. Poor communication skill is another issue which is a result from instability in upper management. Workers were unaware of the decisions to cut staff until after a press release. It was the managers at RadioShack that informed their team of the reduction and the medium that will be used (Joyce, 2006). As a result, employees questioned the company policies and began losing confidence in them.Also ma ny felt disrespected based on the medium used inform them of job cuts (Joyce, 2006). Discussion: Between the years 2004 – 2006, Radio Shack had a fully grown problem tree. This conclusion was made after carefully analyzing, deliberating and discussing the case at hand within the group. A number of issues were defined and can be characterized in the following groups: Leaves Inability to Motivate Employees Financial Instability Branches Poor Internal Control Poor Internal communication Bad Business Ethics Root Dysfunctional / Incompetent Top ManagementThese issues will be discussed in this section in the order in which they are defined. Leaves i. Financial Instability * RadioShack Corporation in comparison to its competitors is underperforming (University of Nortedame, 2007). Their net income is significantly low and lags behind competitors. * RadioShack saw stock prices closing at relatively low trading prices. ii. Inability to Motivate Employees Radio Shack lost the confidenc e of its workforce following a sudden press release made by Day. He announced the company’s action plan in moving forward to recovery.This action plan included firing hundreds of employees as a means to decrease expenses and improve its long-term competitive position in the market place (Poole, 2007). Branches iii. Poor Internal Control Radio Shack had undergone numerous executive changes. The most significant being the changes of CEO’s in a two year period. The one which stands out was that of David Edmonson who left the position after admitting he lied on his resume about two academic degrees which he did not have (University of Nortedame, 2007).This is a major issue as measures should have been in place to check all persons qualifications before hiring. 4. Poor Internal Communication Management had failed to inform employees that jobs were to be cut. Employees were informed internally after a sudden press release given by Julian Day in 2006. To not inform your emplo yees first of such job cut may lead to many feeling separate from the company (Poole, 2007). Also, this further affects the company performance as employees are caught up wondering if they will be fired rather than focusing on getting the job done. 5.Bad Business Ethics Most would agree that no matter the means of firing, the notion remains the same. It is best to fire someone face to face. Communication is a two way process and several instances RadioShack engaged in a one way communication process based on the approach to fire employees (Gaertner-Johnston, 2006) . Clearly Radio Shack ignored this and as a result they had disgruntled employees. The way in which the letter was written also shows poor business ethics. In Business School it is taught that when delivering bad news, the bad news should not be delivered first.RadioShack ignored this and gave the employees a concise email informing them that they were no longer needed. Root 6. Dysfunctional / Incompetent Top Management Th e core cause of all of Radio Shack’s problems was the inability of their top management team to effectively do their job. Had they been overseeing more efficiently by the Board of Members and executives these branches and leaves could have been avoided. Radio Shack had left the corporation solely in the hands of Julian Day. As a newly appointed executive, he was left totally in charge of the company’s turnaround plan.The board of directors and executives confidence may have been justified based on Julian day previous work. Nonetheless, they had failed to exercise their authority in incorporating the company values, claims and policies with Julian Day’s creative genius and business operating skills. Conclusion: In evaluating this case and highlighting the many issues, it is fair to say that RadioShack Corporation is not in a very secure financial position. This statement is made on the basis that they suffered from problems which include: †¢Inability to moti vate employees Financial instability †¢Poor internal control †¢Poor internal communication †¢Bad business ethics †¢Dysfunctional/ incompetent top management Improvements are therefore needed in these areas of the company if it is to survive and grow. In order to do this, RadioShack Corporation must first find solutions to their core problems. The core problems were identified to be poor internal communication, bad business ethics and dysfunctional/ incompetent top management. These problems are the root causes which all the other problems stemmed from.This case analysis basically provided justified issues that were evaluated and discussed as it relates to RadioShack Corporation. Recommendations: In order to alleviate some of these problems faced by RadioShack Corporation, the group of consultants generated some recommendations. Based on the findings in this case, it is recommended that: †¢In trying to rebuild a company that is in great financial depression, the manager should review all aspects of the business and work along with the current staff, rather than deciding to cut staff as the first objective.The management team at RadioShack Corporation should focus on their internal performance first in order to increase profitability and revive the finances of the business. †¢Another recommendation is that the board members should exercise their authority by ensuring that Julian Day ideas were ethical and stuck to the policies of the company when making major decisions. Bibliography: University of Nortedame. (2007). RadioShack Corporation: You’ve Got Mail. Mondoza College of Business. Joyce, A. (2007).Fired Via E-Mail And Other Tales Of Poor Exits. Retrieved November 8, 2012, from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/09/AR2006090900103. html Poole, L. (2007). RadioShack lays off employees via e-mail. Retrieved November 8, 2012, from http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/tech/news/2006-08-30-radioshack-ema il-layoffs_x. htm Gaertner-Johnston, L. (2006). Fired by Email. Retrieved November 9th, from http://www. businesswritingblog. com/business_writing/2006/09/fired_by_email. ht

Samsung vs Apple

SAMSUNG VS APPLE-BATTLE OF THE GIANTS Samsung and Apple are the two biggest smartphone companies with a combined market share of more than half the global smartphone market. Every year both the companies bring in new innovations in their smartphones, which greatly increases their smartphone sales. But in today’s market where there is cut throat competition it is given that each company will try to outdo the other in every possible manner.Hence I would like to discuss the fierce battle raging between these smartphone giants-Samsung and Apple. Apple created a boom in the smartphone market by launching the iPhone, which had more features and was the most advanced smartphone at that time. The company made a huge profit and Apple became a household favorite. But with the rise of competition and the growth of Asian giant –Samsung, Apple’s success was not to last forever.Samsung came up with the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone with identical features as that of the iPhone a nd slowly but steadily the sales of Samsung smartphones rose. Over the years there have been many new versions of the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy smartphone series and to surpass each other both these companies have been guilty of imitating the technologies used in their smartphones and have also filed for various lawsuits against each other.Samsung has been accused by Apple of violating patents and: – 1) Copying their icon arrangement display pattern. 2) Accused of imitating the iconic iPhone’s shape which in official terms is called as â€Å"tradedress†(e. g. smartphones resemble the iPhone 3g and iPhone 3gs in shape). [One such example of tradedress is that Apple on conducting a survey with â€Å"BestBuy† found out that there were many people who returned the Samsung phones because they thought they were iPhones.This Apple accuses was Samsung’s strategy for increasing their smartphone sales against the iPhone and also to tempt buyers int o buying Samsung phones which look identical to iPhone] 3) Imitating features like â€Å"double tap† to zoom, â€Å"pinch and squeeze â€Å" to zoom and the â€Å"rubber-band† effect. On the other hand Samsung has accused Apple of: – 1) Using Samsung’s 3G technology in their smartphones without a legal permit from Samsung. (Apple uses this technology on millions of phones) 2) Use of E-mail in a camera equipped phone. ) Multitasking in the mobile device. Hence by weighing the claims of both these companies, in my opinion, Samsung tried to ape the specific look and feel of iPhone to increase its sales. However, this is not the only reason that translates directly to lost sales on apple’s part-from price to carriers. To sum up, the software patent claims made by both the companies seem pretty baseless to me and I strongly feel there needs to be some kind of protection for genuine innovation. References: – www. businessweek. com www. ibtimes. com www. forbes. com

Case Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Scenario - Essay Example On the other hand, it has been recommended that the committee should not offer the same green light to Greenpeace to conduct a protest at the shopping mall since this can lead to public disorder. The paper seeks to discuss the ethical and legal ramifications based on the DRNC Scenario. The paper will outline the issues, their implications and the measures that can be taken in order to resolve the issue at hand. The paper will also discuss the recommendations that can be implemented to address the issues raised. 1. Based on the fictional account story of planning and preparation leading up to the mythical Democratic-Republican National Convention (DRNC) event in Miami, Florida, it can be noted that there are potential legal claims that are likely to be raised by private citizen seriously injured by the use of the LRADs if the decision is made by the Sub-Committee to purchase them after relying solely on the manufacturers claims and instructions as to their use. It can be seen that LRAD’s can cause considerable pain and discomfort to people standing within their range though the manufacturers deny this claim. This has been revealed by Hayes who states that: â€Å"yes, in a way it is, but the company that sells them does not consider them to be a less-lethal weapon†¦ it doesn’t rise to that level†¦ at least according to them.† In the event that there was insufficient time to test the device and train officers in their use before the Convention and it has also be en assumed that the Sub-Committee concluded that the value of the LRADs use in crowd control outweighed any risk of harm caused by their use, it can be noted that the potential liability of the individual officer using the device is negligence which falls under tort law. Basically, negligence is described as a civil wrong which results in the breach of duty care owed to the neighbour by another person

Can shock advertising sell high fashion brands Essay

Can shock advertising sell high fashion brands - Essay Example Exploratory research will help to definite the study concepts and specify the problem of the study according to available (existing) information. This research is very important at the early stage, and it will be used to determine the problem, select data collection methods and samples necessary for further study. Abstraction and generalization are the main methods of the approach. Exploratory research is a very effective tool to explore the influences of shock advertising on buyer behavior because it will help to evaluate emotional impact of "shock" on customers' feelings, and determine their motivations and attitudes towards the message of a shock advertisement. Exploratory research helps to identify emotional approach tug at the heartstrings of the intended target groups. The advantages of this approach is that it involves comparatively small subject groups, but provides a very detailed and in-depth analysis of consumer behavior patterns influence by shock advertising, and investigate their perception of a particular "shock" message (Models in the Research Process, 2004). Descriptive research is needed to gather information about the current situation in high fashio

Young adults books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Young adults books - Essay Example Social and economic problems make the situation still worse. Shattered is one of the Bluford Series book, by Paul Langan. The story is weaved around the problems of teens in a predominantly black school. It is the same old problem that has confronted the younger generation through the Ages—it is between him and her! Darcy Wills is the prime character in the story. By dating a boy named Hakeem, who has a stuttering problem, she derives instant sympathy from the readers. But not for long! Hakeem leaves Bluford for a short break to Detroit and then returns. In the meantime, Darcy has knowledge that he has another girlfriend and she is kept in dark about this relationship. The love-transaction is not over. Darcy too has been seeing another boy, and he loved her so intensely and as the proof of his desperate love, made a daring attempt to rape her, but her Dad rescued her from the dastardly act well in time! Perhaps that was his only contribution for the welfare of the family, by the otherwise drunkard father. When Darcy’s parents have their own personal problems, what family ideals they can impart to the children? The story makes an interesting read for the adults for obvious reasons. They may see part of their own perverted aspects of personality in the story. If one tries to extract some moral from the story, it could be—don’t keep anything hiding from your intimate friends, especially the boyfriend. Don’t come to judgment about any individual unless you verify the facts. As for your parents, try not to interfere in their problems. Love them both, if possible. Soon, the compulsions of the circumstances will bring them together, and they will understand that it is in their own interest not to create fresh problems and solve the existing ones. How the parents can cope up with children like Martin Luna? How students like him can pay attention to studies, haunted with the killer

Benchmarking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Benchmarking - Essay Example There years later, the Company went public, with a valuation of $300 million and commenced sales of the GeneChip system. At the time of the public offering, Affymatrix’s R&D expenses were $12.4 million but by the year 2000, its expenses had risen to $57.4 million and its product sales were $173 million (www.atp.nist.gov). Sources of funding for Affymetrix R&D work have been primarily through licenses and patents and collaborative partnerships with several firms to test out its products. Companies with whom Affymetrix worked in the initial stages include Hewlett Packard, Genetics Institute, Incyte, Glaxo and Perlegen. By 2000, Affymetrix had 105 patents with 10% of the company income contributed by license and patent fees (www.atop.nist.gov). Additional sources of funds are Government and research grants, which are a part of the Company strategy to maintain an academic environment without sacrificing entrepreneurship. This strategy also helped to attract a pool of talented researchers who were thus able to develop marketable products of economic value for the Company. Net income reported by the Company for the third quarter of 2005 was $8.7million as compared to $15.4 million the same time last quarter.(www.corporate-ir.net). But in contrast, other biotech companies all reported earnings higher than expected for the third quarter of 2005, with the Burill Biotech Select index rising on a steady basis and most of the recent IPO graduates are doing quite well.(www.altassets.com). It is only Affumetrix that has reported a drop of 16% in share prices from $0.24 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2004 to $0.13 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2005. As compared to the third quarter of 2004 when operating costs were $65.1 million and revenues were $2.7 million, the third quarter of 2005 showed an increase in

The article is Origin of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium Research Paper

The article is Origin of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in gorillas by Weimin Liu1 - Research Paper Example The study also revealed that the infections contained mixed species. Over 1100 nuclear, mitochondrial, and apicoplast genes were analyzed. Additionally, 99 percent of the genes were classified in any of the six Plasmodium species. Plasmodium falciparum does not originate from human, chimpanzee, or bonobo. It mainly originates from gorilla. The study is based on Plasmodium species as the cause of malaria. Among the species, the most prevalent is Plasmodium falciparum. The background of the study was that P. reichenowi that has close relations with P. falciparum was found in chimpanzee. Furthermore, there have been more plasmodium relations that have been found in Western gorillas and bonobos. Contrastingly, previous studies were used to develop the hypothesis that cross-species transmission among apes could have given rise to P. falciparum in human beings. The study revealed that the main reservoirs for Plasmodium are Western gorillas and chimpanzees. It also found that distribution of malarial parasites among apes depends on seasonal, regional, and ecological differences. Consequently, that gave details of the existence of the Plasmodium species in different locations. A study was designed to find colonization of human beings by gorilla parasites. It involved the construction of phylogenetic trees which compared genome equivalents. Accordingly, it was found that the human P. falciparum consequences had their routes to an ancestor in the gorilla parasite. The findings assert the evidence that human P. falciparum have its origin in gorillas (Weimin, 11). Alternatively, the study portrays a monopoly in the sequences of human parasites and establishes the different human strains that originated from one cross-species in terms of transmission from gorilla-to-human. However, infections in bonobos were from human parasites when the apes resided in urban sanctuaries. The study discovers that over nine plasmodium species naturally infect

Political Factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Factors - Essay Example Political situations and Events Different countries face different political situations and events. This can be exemplified when a multinational company with diverse interests and subsidiaries in foreign countries gets to face the wrath of war or political unrests in the host countries. For instance, oil companies that had investments in Iraq were profoundly affected by the America-led invasion that started in 2003. This also led to the imposition of a trade ban on Iraq that subsequently affected unconstructively the multinational oil companies operating in Iraq (Arnove, 2002). Wars and impending political conflicts affect business in that the purchasing power of consumers is compromised due to dwindling financial base. Wars and politically instigated conflicts bring about hardships to the people affected, affect the environment and more so disrupt the social fabrics in a society (Arnove, 2002). This chain eventually prejudices the purchasing power of the affected population as well as contributing to decrease in business profits. Conflicts also affect the stock market that translates to decrease in value of businesses listed in the stock market. Government Arrangement The type of government in a country also determines success or failure of businesses. A democratic country ruled by a compelling government is capable of facilitating an excellent business environment necessary for business growth and subsequent development. Democratic governments facilitate the existence of free market systems that enable businesses to flourish and grow. In democratic countries, business people are given opportunities to air their proposals and grievances to the established government agencies and therefore, formulation and implementation of policies is based on wide consultations (Le Billon, 2003). Alternatively, in a dictatorial/autocratic country, there is a likelihood of business failure due to diminutive policies and harsh treatment from corrupt senior government officials serving in the dictatorial regimes. These regimes are also known to cause anxiety and uncertainty and this is detrimental to growth and prosperity of businesses. Changes in National and International Law Businesses that operate in more than one country like multinational companies feel the heat emanating from constant change to national as well as international legislations that touch on trade and business. The issue of minimum wage laws in most countries has brought about changes in the business world as regards who is to be employed and what the employees are to earn. This is evident in the UK where the minimum wage decrees have been introduced and implemented. Other laws touch on employees’ insurances, maximum hours an employee should work each day, and also employees’ health and safety conditions. Trade tariffs and their subsequent legislations have also been reviewed and changed once in a while, sometimes benefiting business entities and in some instances, affecti ng the businesses in question. The largely influenced World Trade Organization has been accused repeatedly of favoring the developed countries at the expense of the Less Developed countries. Politically speaking, the organization applies diverse legislations and rules for dissimilar countries. It has been reported that when the Less Developed countries export their products to the Developed markets, they encounter tariff restrictions that are sometimes four times higher than that faced by rich countries exporting to the Less Developed

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Strategic Management - Essay Example A combination of competitive advantage and the various activities in Porter’s value chain enables the firm to attain an above average performance in the market. Cost leadership involves offering the goods and services to the consumers at a lower price as compared to the competition. The major goal of cost leadership is to provide consumers with the product at low prices and specific quality level. This approach ensures that, and the firm’s products are availed to the consumers at a price which is lower than that of the competition. Cost leadership is effective in the basic commodity industry such as pulp, tissue paper, food color and other basic products. Differentiation, on the other hand, emphasizes on quality which is the opposite of cost leadership. Differentiation aims at providing quality products to consumers at appropriate prices hence increasing the profits. Cost leadership and differentiation strategies can be achieved by organizing the five activities of Porter’s value chain model effectively. The two main ways in which cost leadership can be achieved through Porter’s value chain model include, the firm may choose to lower the cost of the various activities in Porter’s value chain model or reconfigure the activities in the model to minimize cost. An analysis of the cost of the various value chain activities is done by allocating cost to each of the activities in Porter’s Value Chain. The lowest cost obtained on each of the value chain used in the production process ensuring low-product cost. Cost advantage can also be achieved by reconfiguring the activities in Porter’s Value Chain model. This involves implementing structural changes such as the production process, new procurement and distribution process and adopting a new sales approach. The process of reconfiguring the value chain model activities is done to ensure low cost of production, marketing, distribution and purchasing from the

Buyer Behaviour Analysis - The Psychology of Buying Coursework - 2

Buyer Behaviour Analysis - The Psychology of Buying - Coursework Example The marketing strategy utilised by Mercedes-Benz is mainly customer based. The company reviews the changes in the needs and preference of the customers with respect to technological advancement (Finkbeiner, 2006, p.242). The major products of Mercedes Benz have customization to fit the exact customer needs. This is because; the company produces cars with high focus on a particular group of personalities in their mind. For example, the convertibles mainly target the young while larger models have specific production for official use. The company mainly specialises in the production of highly stable tracks, buses, coaches and luxury automobiles. The company history in producing quality cars puts it among the best automobile companies in the world alongside BMW, Toyota and Audi (Finkbeiner, 2006, p.244). The company’s products are mainly common among the presidents of different countries because of the reputable history in the manufacture of safest cars in the world. Mercedes Benz mainly focuses on a particular group of consumers ranging from businesspersons, managers, celebrities, politicians and the general population. This implies that each product from Mercedes Benz mainly meets the needs of a given group of consumers. Initially, the company did not face much competition across the world in terms of Luxury cars, coaches and buses. This is not applicable in the modern market since competition has increased tremendously, as a result, of the emergence of new vehicle manufacturers such as Ford and Toyota (Finkbeiner, 2006, p.241). Consumer behaviour has a definition as the consumer’s trends when buying a particular product in terms of the factors such as their needs, perceptions, attitudes, motivation and choice. Various aspects in which the product the consumer intends to purchase mainly determine consumer behavior. For example, a customer may have an interest in buying a car for luxury purposes while another

Alice Walkers depiction of men in The Color Purple Essay Example for Free

Alice Walkers depiction of men in The Color Purple Essay Alice Walkers depiction of men in The Color Purple has been controversial. Explore the opinions of the two critics printed below and explain your own view of the way Walker presents men in The Colour Purple. In The Color Purple, Alice Walkers depiction of men has been seen by some as controversial. Walker seems to be attacking black men because of their mistreatment of black women. Although, there is another force at work in this powerful, and emotional, book. That force is the unwitting testimony which Walker cannot control, because it was not deliberately written to be part of her story. Between the lines of her story is the strong message of personal rage: rage which cannot be hidden. The rage can be seen throughout the novel in numerous forms; the words used by Walker, that are strong and emotive; the portrayal of the characters, from innocent, like Celie, to evil, like Mr. Alphonso and the realism in which the characters are brought to life, because of the real anger used to describe them. Therefore, in considering the opinions of the two opposing critics, this circumstance must be borne in mind. The first critic, Tony Brown, wrote an article about The Color Purple for the Carolina Peacemaker. He has many views on the book, and expresses those views confidently. Brown admits in his article that some men have raped their daughters, some black men have raped their daughters, However, immediately afterwards, he is stating his defence of black men. He defends himself instantly, saying that the majority of black men have not. He then speaks of the problem that black men have when it comes to loving, saying the love has been drained out by the brutality of a society panic-stricken over black masculinity. Brown then goes on to tackle the issue of lesbian affairs in the book, and that they give women emotional and sexual salvation He defends his position saying that this is not the case in the real world, even though many frustrated black women seem to want to believe. Brown then admits that some black men are like Walkers characters, he says they are but, sad examples He also says the book focuses only on the failings of black men, and that black men are being abused by a white mans movie. He is blaming everyone else. Famous black men are mentioned by Brown in his argument, and the fact that they were non-incestuous and non-brutalizing and had healthy relationships with women. He states that, Their women never needed a Shug. Brown fails to support his argument about famous black males though, he merely mentions their names briefly. Brown blames the publishers in the final part of the extract. He says that white men and women only publish books by black women, or homosexual black men, and then label them as being the black experience. Brown is constantly blaming others throughout his extract, he never accepts responsibility for the actions of black men; he merely shirks the blame to other people. The second critic writes as a response to Browns article, their name is not given. Their argument defends The Color Purple, and retorts to Browns scathing attack of Walkers depiction of men in the book. The critic opens their response with the line that states the book is, strictly fiction They stress though, that Walker has written about real suffering, and the ideas were not conjured up by the imagination of Walker. The critic then speaks of the books content, and speaks of Walkers characterisation. The critic gives Celie as an example of a woman who grew from her own strength, a self-assured, strong woman even if it was at the expense of a few male egos. After stating the facts in the book and showing the main character development, the critic then launches a scathing attack upon black men, saying that, the shoe is such a good fit that it becomes downright uncomfortable Meaning that, the black men are offended, because the book is too truthful for their liking. The critic then emphasises that Walkers message is that of oppression, and that it is, ugly no matter what colour it is. They state that oppression is wrong, and that the message given by the book mustnt be forgotten, or else the ugliness will live on, and continue to breed. In the closing lines of the critics argument, the critic states that the book is a story about black women; not a book that is against black men. Brown is then contradicted by the anonymous critic, as they write that Walkers is a feminist book, and that it is not specifically against black men, even though black men are on the defensive because of it, black men protesting and licking their wounded egos. Both critics focused on actual events in the book; relationships in the book; the powerful difference between men and women; the differences between sex and the raw influence in sexual matters. In spite of this, both critics overlooked the power in the book, that being of Alice Walkers real message which encompasses so much of bitterness and grief experienced by black people in the USA. In my opinion, the men in The Color Purple presented during anger, Walkers anger when writing. Therefore, the presentation of men is biased. Personally speaking, I think the depiction of men in the novel is true; that is, all aspects of the male personality are represented by Walkers characters, from kindness in Reverend Mr (Samuel) to brutal cruelty, seen in Albert. The way in which Walker writes, with such conviction and passion about her characters makes the depiction true, it cannot be fained. The slightly biased view on the male characters in the novel is so because Walker only shows two good black, male characters; Samuel and Harpo. Harpo cares deeply for his family, and loves them sincerely, but his sensitivity causes him to be dominated over by his wife. Samuel does so much to help Nettie; he takes her in after Alberts assault on her. He educates her, shows her new and exciting places abroad. The marriage between Samuel and Corrine also knows no cruelty, no violence or sexual abuse. This example is compared to several other male characters that are portrayed as raging, unprincipled creatures. An example of a raging, unprincipled creature, as shown by Walker, would be Mr. Alphonso, he rapes his own step-daughter, on more than one occasion, and then when Celie gave birth to two children, he gave them away. This was not the act of a decent human being.

Promotional Mix Of Tata Docomo

Promotional Mix Of Tata Docomo Tata DOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limiteds (TTSL) telecom service on the GSM platform-arising out of the Tata Groups strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the worlds leading mobile operators-in the Japanese market, the company is clearly the preferred mobile phone service provider in Japan with a 50 per cent market share. NTT DOCOMO has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of cutting-edge technologies and services. Over the years, technologists at DOCOMO have defined industry benchmarks like 3G technology, as also products and services like the i-modeTM, mobile payment and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications. Today, while most of the rest of the industry is only beginning to talk of LTE technology and its possible applications, DOCOMO has already started conducting LTE trials in physical geographies, not just inside laboratories! . Despite being a late entrant, Tata Indicom, TTSLs CDMA brand, has already established its presence and is the fastest-growing pan-India operator. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices Limited is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x technology platform in India. Today, Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, serves over 37 million customers in more than 320,000 towns and villages across the country offering a wide range of telephony services including Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wire-line Services. Promotional Mix Strategies Adopted by TATA DOCOMO ltd. As a telecom service provider company DOCOMO core product is its SIM card and services. It adopts many sales promotional mix tools to capture the market. The main tools which, company has adopted to promote sales are: Advertising Sales promotion and CSR Events and experiences Public relations and publicity Direct marketing ADVERTISING As a medium of exchange TATA DOCOMO has adopted many campaigns to hit the market. The campaign, which will run through the festive season, aims to stand out with two key selling points: one, its tagline Do the New; and two, its differentiated tariff plans. Do the new is a concept that prompts every citizen to do something new, even if its a small thing. It appointed Pooja Chopra (Femina Miss India World 2009) and Krushnaa Patil (the youngest girl to conquer Mount Everest) as brand ambassadors. For Tata DoCoMo, doing the new has also meant charging the user per second, and not per minute. The basic tariff is one paisa per second for both local and STD calls, a deviation from the industry practice of a 60-second billing. The company claims that this plan, termed as pay as you use, is gaining popularity in the market. If life changes in seconds why to pay for minutesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. : It not only focuses on television advertising but, also in print media. Often, its advertisement can be seen in any reputed news papers. For advertisement it has done many campaigns, some of those are: DO THE NEW DOCOMOS SONG Its time for you to DO the New every time you make a call with Tata DOCOMO My Song The track has four layers, making it easier for the brand to use any part, as the communication demands. The first part is the repeated do do do bit; the second is the repeated do-do, mo-mo bit; the third part is when Docomo is recited in a cuckoo clock manner; and finally the high-pitched voice taking the tune to a higher note. . The logo of Docomo dance, walk , sit, stand and does all super cute actions to form different patterns which is very much impressive.. Tata Docomos 3G PLAN Its tag line is Why walk with the old when you can fly with the new Small Screen Plans Enjoy Flexible Plans and More with Tata DOCOMO Small Screen 3G Plans. MRP (Rs.) Local + National + Roaming (Mins) Data Validity (Days) 350 500 150 MB 30 500 750 250 MB 30 750 1250 500 MB 30 1000 2000 1 GB 30 2000 5000 2 GB 30 Bonus Offer on Small Screen Plans : Additional 100 MB data with every recharge till Special Tariff Vouchers If you want to try out first and experience 3G or if you want to Top Up additionally to the Combo Plans. MRP (Rs.) Data Validity (Days) 90 100 MB 10 201 200 MB 30 501 650 MB 30 SALES PROMOTION Special tariff voucher: DOCOMO offers many special tariff voucher such as: night plan,, 1paisa plan, lifetime plan,GPRS,1p/6sec plan,etc to promote sales Discounts and free gifts: Its plan to sell DOCOMO sim card free or with minimum charges to promote sales is very popular among youth. It provides free sim card or minimum charges with the talk value of 50 rupees or more. Value added Services: TATA DOCOMO do partnership with Gemalto, the world leader in digital security. Gemaltos offering will help further liberate customers from remembering complicated codes and configuring services each time a user changes his mobile handset. With services located on the SIM, the user can easily browse through his service menu and launch the service on his handset with a simple click. TATA DOCOMO subscribers benefit from innovative services including mobile banking, mobile chatting and information on demand, through a user-friendly interface. They can also customize their mobile phone with wallpapers and ringtones, and enjoy games and infotainment. Users are offered to choose between Hindi and English when activating the service DOCOMO provides many VAS to its customers to update them and give them valuable information like stock market information, weather, news and many others. TATA DOCOMO Unveils New Offers For MNP Tata docomo provides Mobile Number Portability by which, you can shift to another operator of your choice without changing your old number . Tata Docomo tie with many mobile companies to promote sales Samsung Galaxy is a cutting edge Smartphone, featuring a 3.2 AMOLE full touch screen and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and Wi Fi connectivity, providing users access to Googleà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Mobile services and full Web browsing at excellent speeds. Tata DOCOMO Combo offer gives customer at a discount price with 6 month postpaid subscription free Events and experience Mirchi Activation and TATA Docomo present Talent Ekdum Loaded Radio Mirchi along with TATA Docomo organised the unique talent hunt contest titled Talent Ekdum Loaded that culminated with a grand finale on October 12 at Oberoi Mall in Mumbai. The contest was held in 36 colleges and eight malls across the six cities of Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Nashik and Nagpur. The event was managed by Mirchi Activation. The main objective of the event was to provide a platform for the youth to showcase their talent Tata DOCOMO introduces customer outreach service Live Chat TATA DOCOMO has introduced a unique customer outreach service-Live Chat. The Live Chat service is a first-of-its-kind endeavor in the Indian telecom industry, aimed at ensuring prompt customer service as a key differentiator for Tata DOCOMO. The service will take care of all post-paid and prepaid queries, requests and complaints through the Live Chat option. Tata DOCOMO sponsors Mumbais Twitter festival Mumbai Twestival is an event where tweeps (people who tweet) from Mumbai and around can get together to celebrate the festival and support a local charity organisation which is selected by the tweeples. The noble cause for which the Mumbai Twestival is held is: Help a Child, where the tweeples will aim to provide scholarships to meritorious students who cannot afford the increasing cost of education. The aim is to provide the charity a platform on Twitter to spread awareness and raise funds for the cause. TATA DOCOMO sponser ODI T20 CELEBRITIES ENDORSEMENT AALU ARJUN @ TATA DOCOMO: Allu Arjun came to the Tata Docomo Store at Madhapur to give away prizes to a contest in association with Vedam. Allu Arjun gave the winners a music CD of Vedam signed by him SOHA ALI KHAN @ TATA DOCOMO STORE RANVIJAY AND POOJA CHOPRA @ DOCOMO STORE Tata DOCOMO organized more events Public relation and publicity DOCOMO maitaining their interactions with customers through social media like twitter, orkut , facebook, my space,youtube,HI5,etc Beyond the day to day and one-on-one interactions with our fans and followers, Tata DOCOMO has also launched consumer engagement programs with a heavy social media angle. This has helped us build repeat engagement points with a large number of our fans. Response from customer QUES 2: Which promotional methods must company emphasize and why ANS 2 The company must emphasize on sales promotion because there are some flaws I found in promotional strategies: RETAILER SIDE: Retailers are emphasizing on selling multi brands products. Few retailers are focusing on only one brands who provide them rewards and incentives. Lack of awareness about postpaid. CUSTOMER SIDE: Maximum no of inactive customer Some customers are loyal towards one brand Customers prefer company outlay because of attractive gift Few customers are not getting proper service COMPANY SIDE: Network problem and minimum coverage 80% customer are using prepaid plan whereas 20% are using postpaid because they are not aware of postpaid tariff plan QUES 3: Suggestion on more effective alternative promotion method company can use. ANS 3 RECOMENDATION Company should make it compulsory that a separate strategies adopted to increase postpaid sales Company can reduce the call rate with in the same network night calling. Some special gift should be there for retailer to attract them for push the customer, gift for customer also. A formal meeting for the retailers to make them understand inwhich way they can earn money (monthly basis like salary). Tariff plan should be start from low rental like 50, 99 and 199 as other company offers. Unlimited CUG facility can generate more corporate customer. A separate team should be there for supervising this channel Increase network coverage: Few of customers not satisfy with net work coverage. If Tata increase more towers more customers are satisfy Increase download speed of internet: the download speed of Tata Docomo is very slow. If it increases speed of download it may increase the brand image . Concentrate on SMS tariff: No difference from the competitors SMS tariff if it made slight changes it will attract more customers Avoid black marketing of Sims by dealers: due to doing black marketing the brand image decreases More customer service centers are requiring: More customer service centers are require meeting the desires of customers.

Vitamin D Impact on the Liver and Kidney

Vitamin D Impact on the Liver and Kidney Revised vitamin D copy Sources and forms of vitamin D Vitamin D, also termed calciferol, is a fat-soluble secosteroid compound that is an essential regulatory factor for calcium and phosphate metabolism in humans and animals. Its biological functions involve a physiological action in bone formation and mineralization, muscle contraction, nerve signal modulation and transmission as well as many cellular metabolic effects in various organs. There are two forms of vitamin D that are metabolically important; vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol and vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol. The nutritional sources of both forms are limited to certain types of foods that naturally contain vitamin D and therefore it is added to some foods as a supplement. 1.1.1- Exogenous (Diet) Both forms of vitamin D (D2 and D3) are exogenously obtained in low quantities from some types of food in the diet. Vitamin D2 is rare as it is produced from fungal and plant sources such as mushrooms and cereals, as a result of irradiation, by ultraviolet photons, of the plant sterol ergosterol. When these foods are ingested, ergocalciferol is absorbed into the blood. Vitamin D3 , on the other hand, is available in very low amounts from animal sources including oily fish such as salmon and mackerel; other sources include meat, liver, cheese, cod liver oil, eggs and fortified foods such as margarine and milk (Holick, 2006; Engelsen et al., 2005; Nowson et al., 2004). Farmed salmon, for example, contains only 25% of the vitamin D levels present in wild salmon, however, the amount of vitamin D in canned food may affected by modern processing methods (Chen et al., 2007). 1.1.2- Endogenous In humans the principal precursor of vitamin D3 is cholesterol which is obtained from the diet. Cholesterol is initially converted to 7-dehydrocholesterol, provitamin D3, through the action of enzymes termed the mucosal dehydrogenase complex, present in the small intestine. Provitamin D3, is then incorporated within chylomicrons and transported to the skin where temperature dependent photoisomerisation processing of 7-dehydrocholesterol takes place in epidermal cells resulting in the production of D3. Within the epidermal cells, vitamin D3 undergoes photocoversion to its isomers 5,6-transvitamin D3 and suprasterol, a process which relies on the amount of ultraviolet radiation absorbed; inadequate sunlight exposure compromises this process (Holick, 2003; Iqbal, 1994). Sunlight exposure is therefore a crucial element in the regulation and enhancement of endogenous cholecalciferol production (Dusso, et al., 2005; Iqbal, 1994; Reichel, et al., 1989; Smith, 1988). Once photoconversion is completed, cholecalciferol binds to Vitamin D Binding Protein (VDBP) and transported to the liver for further metabolic processing. Vitamin D metabolism Both forms of vitamin D (D2 and D3) undergo similar metabolic activation in the liver and kidney respectively to produce the physiologically active form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. 1.2.1- Skin The skin is characterized by two layers, the outer epidermal region, consisting of several strata, and the inner dermal layer. Skin exposure to UVB rays in sunlight, characterized by a wavelength of 290 nm to 315 nm, allows the initial steps of vitamin D synthesis to occur using the substrate 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) as illustrated in step 1 of Figure 1. UVB absorption by 7-DHC is thought to occur actively in the stratum basale and stratum spinosum regions of the epidermal layer. The substrate 7-DHC is an important intermediate of cholesteryl ester biosynthesis from squalene. During the reaction, 7-DHC forms procholecalciferol through B ring opening of the steroid structure. This transition state is relatively unstable and can further undergo photocatalyzed reactions to form lumisterol and tachysterol (Wolpowitz and Gilchrest, 2006). Lumisterol and tachysterol have been shown to prevent vitamin D reaching intoxicating levels and do not have any direct vitamin D effects (Bouillon et al., 1998). In addition to this protective mechanism, previtamin D poisoning is also prevented because this is an equilibrium reaction that allows cholecalciferol to revert back to 7-DHC (Webb, 2006). Cholecalciferol (previtamin D3) is produced upon double bond rearrangement of procholecalciferol and remains in the extracellular space where it becomes bound to the ubiquitous VDBP (Holick, 2005). Figure1. Sources and steps of vitamin D synthesis in the three major sites: skin, liver and kidney (Figure obtained from Wolpowitz and Gilchrest, 2006). 1.2.2- Liver Cholecalciferol that has been transported to the liver undergoes the first step of its bioactivation, the hydroxylation of carbon 25 (Dusso, et al., 2005) by two hepatic enzymes; the microsomal and mitochomdrial 25-hydroxylases (Deluca et al., 1990). In hepatic cellular microsomes and mitochondria, vitamin D3 is hydroxylated at carbon 25 and transformed to 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 by both 25-hydroxylase enzymes. This enzyme complex requires the presence of essential catalytic cofactors including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAPDH), flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), ferredoxin and molecular oxygen for this reaction to proceed (Sahota and Hosking, 1999; Ohyama et al., 1997; Kumar, 1990). Recently, large numbers of hepatic cytochrome P-450 enzymes exhibiting 25-hydroxylase action have been identified in vitamin D activation pathways; these enzymes include CYP27A1, CYP3A4, CYP2D25 and CYP2R1 (Dusso, et al., 2005; Cheng et al., 2003; Sawada et al., 2000). However, CYP2R1 is b elieved to be the principal enzyme in the hepatic pathway and the presence of a genetic mutation in its gene may compromise the outcome of this process; both CYP27A1 and CYP2D25 demonstrate high capacity and low affinity features, therefore, their activity is considered insignificant in this pathway (Dusso, et al., 2005; Cheng et al., 2003; Sawada et al., 2000). This metabolic step is inefficiently regulated, i.e. the levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D are elevated as dietary intake of vitamin D increases. Consequently, over 95% of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in serum circulates as 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 which has a half-life of approximately three weeks, and is therefore used in the assessment of vitamin D status (Dusso, et al., 2005; Reichel et al., 1989). The metabolically inert 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 is then transported to the kidney for the second step of its bioactivation. 1.2.3- Kidney The second step of vitamin D3 bioactivation takes place at the proximal convoluted tubule of the kidney. Hydroxylation occurs at C-1 of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 whereby the highly active 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) incorporates a hydroxyl group to Carbon-1 of the first ring to form the biologically active metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (Holick,2006; Dusso, et al., 2005; Deluca et al, 1990; Reichel, et al., 1989). The high activity of 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) present in kidney is not unique to this organ and can also be found in some other organs (Bouillon, 1998). The renal hydroxylation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 is the rate-limiting step in the production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and is well regulated. An alternative pathway of hydroxylation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 within renal mitochondria takes place at Carbon-24 to form 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 which is metabolically inert. This process is catalyzed by renal 24-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase in response to 1-ÃŽ ±-hy droxylase suppression. However, 24-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase not only initiates the attachment of the hydroxyl group at Carbon-24 but also enhances the dehydrogenation of 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and hydroxylation at Carbon 23 and 26 (Sahota and Hosking, 1999; Bouillon, 1998; Reichel, et al., 1989). Renal hydroxylases require the presence of catalytic cofactors that enhance their synthetic activities during this process. Figure 2 shows the details of vitamin synthesis including the enzymes and cofactors required for each step. Figure2. Enzymes, cofactor and intermediates compounds of vitamin D metabolism (Bouillon et al. 1998) 1.2.4- Regulation of vitamin D metabolism Numbers of factors have been demonstrated to be important in the regulation of vitamin D metabolism; particularly significant its regulation through renal production. The factors involved in this regulation comprise parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin, dietary calcium and phosphate, insulin and insulin-like growth factor and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 itself (Holick,2006; Deluca, 2004; Sahota and Hosking, 1999). Key interactions of vitamin D with its receptor are known to initiate gene regulation. These mechanisms have been studied using vitamin D analogues which have revealed the mechanism of assembly of transcriptions factors and promotion of gene regulation by this molecule (Cheng et al., 2004; Wu et al., 2002). Figure 3 shows the effect of various regulators on vitamin D metabolism. Figure 3: Alternate pathway for vitamin D3 under different metabolic conditions of low mineral Ca and P levels, PTH concentration and secretion of GH / IGH (Figure obtained from Gomez, 2006). 1.2.4.1- Parathyroid Hormone Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is the primary regulator of renal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 formation (Holick, 2006; Dusso et al., 2005; Bouillon et al., 1998; Issa et al., 1998). PTH regulates 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 production directly through enhancing 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase activity within kidney cells and increasing the genetic transcription rate of renal proximal tubular 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase both of which result in an increase in the renal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 production rate. High levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 suppress the enzyme transcription activity and PTH concentration. Thus, renal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 has a negative feedback response on PTH secretion, providing an efficient regulatory control of renal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 homeostasis (Dusso, et al., 2005; Holick,2003; Sahota and Hosking, 1999; Reichel, et al., 1989; Iqbal, 1994). 1.2.4.2- Calcium Dietary calcium exhibits a direct regulatory influence on renal 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase activity via fluctuating serum calcium concentration and indirectly via its effect on serum PTH concentration. Calcium exerts its effect through calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) activation within the parathyroid gland and renal proximal tubules cells in response to low calcium concentration. Thus, the low intracellular calcium levels lead to increased production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 within renal cells (Ramasamy, 2006; Bland et al., 1999; Chattopadhyay et al., 1996). On the other hand, it has been shown that high calcium concentrations markedly impair renal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 formation in human nephrotic cell cultures and in parathyroidectomised animals (Bland et al., 1999; Chattopadhyay et al., 1996). An increase in extracellular calcium indirectly suppresses 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 production at the proximal convoluted tubule by inhibiting PTH release (Deluca, 2004; Carpenter, 1990). Howev er, the detailed mechanism of calcium-sensing receptors (CaR) activation is not yet fully understood (Dusso, et al., 2005; Hewison, et al., 2000). 1.2.4.3- Phosphate Dietary phosphate intake and serum phosphate concentrations exhibit regulatory effects on 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 production in proximal renal tubules. This effect has been demonstrated in several studies which showed that a decrease in dietary phosphate accelerated renal formation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, but did not directly affect 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 catabolism. Conversely, elevated serum phosphate and increased phosphate intake led to decreased production of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (Carpenter, 1989; Reichel et al., 1989). Several studies have shown that inorganic phosphate levels have no significant direct effect on mitochondrial 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase activity in cultured renal cells in the short term, suggesting that the action of inorganic phosphate is not mediated via changes in PTH and Calcium concentrations and is possibly inducted by other hormones such as growth hormone, insulin and insulin-like growth factor (Khanal et al., 2006; Dusso et al., 2005; Carpenter, 1 989). In recent studies, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), frizzled-related protein 4 (FRP-4) and matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE) have all been identified as potent and key regulatory factors of 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase activity in renal cells. These factors act through a biphasic mechanism on renal phosphate homeostasis and modulate the circulating levels of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 produced by proximal renal tubules (Dusso et al., 2005; Inoue et al., 2005; Mirams et al., 2004). 1.2.4.4- Calcitonin Calcitonin belongs to a family of calcium regulating hormones that is produced in the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland, also known as C cells. It is a short and linear polypeptide with a molecular weight of only 3.7 kD. It is characterized by 32 amino acids and a disulfide bridge in the N terminal portion of the peptide. Calcitonin is secreted in response to increased free Ca2+ in blood and acts on osteoclasts, the bone resorbing cells, as a suppressor of bone dissolution. Although calcitonin decreases Ca+2 and inorganic phosphate in blood, it also has the ability to recruit phosphorus into other cells. In addition to these metabolic functions, it is also involved in the upregualtion of CYP27B hydroxylase through the protein kinase C pathway (Yoshida et al., 1999) via a phosphorylation cascade that activates cAMP and induces the expression of hydroxylase thereby activating the transformation of 25(OH) D3 to 1,25(OH)2 D3. In addition to the significant role as a calcium regulating hormone, calcitonin is also known to stimulate the production of vitamin D in tandem with PTH (Yoshida et al., 1999; Wongsurawat and Armbrecht, 1991). Previous studies revealed that 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase mRNA expression, 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase activity and the production of 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D3 all increased in rat kidney cells following the administration of calcitonin (Yoshida et al., 1999; Galante et al., 1972; Rasmussent et al., 1972). However, in cases of diabetes, it is postulated that the kidney becomes immune to the effect of this hormone in diabetic rats which lead to increase vitamin D production (Wongsurawat and Ambrecht, 1991). 1.2.4.5- Growth hormone, Insulin and Insulin-like growth factor-1 Growth hormone (GH) has many regulatory actions in various metabolic processes in humans and mammals and its effect on mineral homeostasis in target organs such as bone and renal cells is well documented. While the regulatory effects of GH on dietary calcium and phosphate metabolism in different tissues have been established, its effect on vitamin D metabolism remains controversial. However, many studies have shown that GH increases the expression of 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase and 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in cultured cells and experimental animals (Gomez, 2006). Wu and colleagues reported that serum1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 increases after GH administration in hypophysectomized rats fed with a phosphate depleted diet. Short-term studies in healthy humans have shown that GH raises 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase enzyme activity and promotes 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesis without changes in PTH, calcium and phosphate concentrations, suggesting that the increasing circulating levels of 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 following GH administration is not mediated by PTH action (Wu et al., 1997; Bianda et al., 1997; Wright et al., 1996). GH has also been shown to lead to increased production and serum concentration of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in pigs and in renal impaired prepubescent children. These are thought to be a result of the direct and indirect effects of GH on 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase expression, and on calcium and inorganic phosphate homeostasis in renal tubules cells (Strife and Hug, 1996; Denis et al., 1995). However, the action of GH on vitamin D metabolism in vitro remains uncertain and may involve other regulatory factors such as PTH and Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). It has been shown that GH does not raise 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 levels directly in cultured cells obtained from aged-rats; yet it stimulates calcium absorption and the expression of calcium binding proteins in vitro indicating that the effect of GH is mediated through the action of other factors such as IGF-1 (Fleet et al., 1991). Insulin is another key factor with a role in vitamin D homeostasis. Insulin significantly decreases renal hydroxylase activity and renal synthetic capacity of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in insulin deficient patients or those receiving insulin therapy (Armbrecht et al., 1996). However, a study of different routes of therapeutic insulin administration in human diabetic subjects concluded that insulin induces the hepatic hydroxylation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. This effect is related to the fact that insulin is a potent inducer of the vast majority of liver hydroxylases enzymes (Colette et al., 1989). This study also showed that there was no significant difference in circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 between different methods of insulin administration. Serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is maintained at normal concentrations in those subjects on long term insulin therapy; however, continuous intraperitioneal infusion procedure (CPII) may augment hepatic 25-hydroxlase activity (Col ette et al., 1989). Similarly insulin has shown a significant effect on stimulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 production through 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and PTH stimulation with no concomitant action on 24-hydroxylase expression in rat osteoblast cells when these cells were cultured with known concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and PTH (Armbrecht et al., 1996). Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a relatively small peptide that is primarily expressed in hepatic cells and to a lesser extent in some other cells and tissues. It has been identified as one of the potent regulatory components of mineral metabolism in humans and mammals. Recent studies on the metabolic effect of IGF-1 revealed that the administration of IGF-1 to aged laboratory animals, fed on a calcium- and phosphate- deficient diet, can restore 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase activity and enhance the production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. In contrast, there was no significant effect of IGF-1 on enzyme activity and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 levels in adolescent or elderly rats fed on a calcium and phosphate fortified diet concluding that the expression of IGF-1 is not age related but related to the dietary calcium and phosphorus status. (Gomez, 2006; Wong et al., 1997; Wu et al., 1997). In healthy human subjects, a significant effect of IGF-1 on renal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesis wa s observed after short term infusion with IGF-1. There was no noticeable alteration of the levels of circulating calcium, phosphate and PTH highlighting the role of IGF-1 in stimulating renal expression of 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 formation in conjunction with GH, independently from PTH (Bianda et al., 1997). In vitro studies have shown that IGF-1 influences the expression of 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesis in cells cultured from non renal human tissues. Halhali and colleagues demonstrated that IGF-1 noticeably elevates both the enzyme activity and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 levels when added into cultured syncytiotrophoblast cells obtained from human placental sources. This study demonstrated that IGF-1 strongly enhances the ability of non renal cells to produce 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 without involvement of GH and PTH (Halhali et al., 1997). 1.2.4.6- 1, 25-dihyroxy vitamin D3 The circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 modulate its production by renal cells through an indirect negative feedback mechanism. This mechanism appears to reduce the likelihood of vitamin D toxicity by inhibiting 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesis by an indirect mechanism that controls the 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase gene expression at the molecular level rather than inhibiting 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesis directly. However, the exact mechanism is not yet fully understood (Dusso et al., 2005; Deluca et al., 1990). A recent study examined the effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase production by cultured human keratinocytes. Keratinocytes were cultured with labeled 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and different concentrations of 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase mRNA and 24-hydroxylase- suppressed proteins. The 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 did not suppress either the 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase activity or the rate of gene transcription. The study implied that metabolic regulation of 1,25-dihydroxyvi tamin D3 is related to the molecules biodegradation in response to augmented 24-hydroxylase activity rather than 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 formation by 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase (Xie et al., 2002). In addition, Wu and colleagues demonstrated a possible alternative mechanism of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesis linked to the fact that both 24-hydroxylase and 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase enzymes share equivalent metabolic capability and they proposed the possibility of protein- protein interaction between intracellular vitamin D binding protein and 1-ÃŽ ±-hydroxylase (Wu et al., 2002). 1.2.5- Vitamin D Transport, receptors and mechanism of action Vitamin D receptor (VDR), also known as calcitriol receptor, is a member of the steroid family and belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily (NHR). Human VDR until recently was thought to comprises four functional units with a total of 427 amino acids residues with an estimated molecular weight of about 48 kDa. These units are the DNA binding domain (DBD) or C domain, the D domain and the ligand binding domain (LBD) or E domain. More recently, a carboxy-group with undefined function, known as the F region has been identified (Christakos et al., 2003; Aranda and Pascual, 2001; Rastinejad et al., 2000). These units as, shown in figure 4, are also known as A/B domain. The A/B region of VDR contains a low number of amino acids that participates in essential ligand-independent receptor stimulation (Aranda and Pascual, 2001; Issa et al., 1998). It is not yet clear if the deletion of A/B domain from VDR will compromise ligand binding, DNA binding or its transactivation features (Issa et a l., 1998). In contrast, the structure of the DNA binding domain or C region among NHRs comprises 40% unique amino acids sequences and a domain of more than 67 resemble amino acids residues (Rastinejad et al., 2000). Moreover, the core structure of DBD comprises between 22 and 114 amino acid residues, nine of them are cysteines. Eight of cysteine residues orchestrate with zinc atoms in tetrahedral fashion to form a dual â€Å"zinc-like finger† DNA binding configurations containing approximately 70 amino acids with a carboxy-terminal extension (CTE). This encloses T and A boxes in a dual helix molecule in which one helix is essential for definitive interaction with the main domain on DNA while the second helix takes a part in receptors structural properties (i.e. receptor dimerization) (Aranda and Pascual, 2001; Issa et al., 1998). However, the integration of the structural amino acids of the DBD ÃŽ ±-helix one, at the site of the first zinc atom, determines the selectivity and specificity of recognition of DBD and forms an area known as the â€Å"P Box†. Similarly; the integration of amino acids at the position of the second zinc atom modulates the formation of a configuration termed the â€Å"D Box† which forms a dimerization interface zone (Aranda and Pascual, 2001; Rastinejad et al., 2000; Issa et al., 1998). Furthermore the vast majority of DBD amino acid units are basic amino acids which enhance the non-covalent binding of the DNA helix at the negatively charged phosphate group (Issa et al., 1998). The ligand binding domain (LBD) or E domain has a spherical configuration with many functional regions composed of 12 cohered helix anchors defined as H1 to H12. LBD itself comprises a net of 427 amino acids which contribute to homodimerization and heterodimerization and the interaction of hormones and costimulaotors by a crucial transactivational mechanism (Aranda and Pascual, 2001; Weatherman et al., 2000; Issa et al., 1998). Crystallograp hic studies show that LBD have two cohered and integrated domains, the Ti or â€Å"signature motif† and the carboxy or C terminal AF-2 providing the self-ligand transcriptional properties; hence a higher degree of attraction of 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 binding is observed at 382 to 402 of LBD amino acid sequence and any genetic aberration at this particular amino acids sequence will diminish the interaction capability of LBD (Aranda and Pascual, 2001; Issa et al., 1998). Figure 4: The primary structure of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the binding of retinoid X receptor (RXR)-VDR heterodimers to vitamin D response elements (VDREs) in the form of DR3 and ER6 motifs. (Figure from Lin and White, 2003) 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, has been identified as steroid hormone with a mechanism of action similar to other steroid hormones, causing new protein expression in various target organs. Based on the nuclear receptors structural studies, calcitriol is known to exert its biological action through binding with VDR in the cell nucleus to mediate a cascade of transcriptional and translational processes resulting in either the regulation or inhibition of new protein expression in target tissues or the binding to plasma membrane receptors without stimulating new protein synthesis (Nezbedova and Brtko, 2004; Reichel and Norman, 1989). Two different receptors for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 have been recognized in different target cells; identified as genomic VDRnuc and typical VDRmem .These receptors provide the best dynamical conformational forms for calcitriol interaction and to evoke its genomic and non-genomic effects (Norman et al., 2002). The binding of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 to VDRnuc e nhances the interaction with an undistinguished protein known as the nuclear accessory factor (NAF) and to the caroxy-terminal of VDR. This interaction leads to a structural conversion pattern of the C-terminal of VDR allowing the AF-2 domain to attach with other transcriptional elements such as SCR-1, calcium binding protein (CBP) and P300. This promotes the binding of the heterodimer molecule with DNA at the vitamin D response sites (VDRE) and directs its transcriptional gene activity (Jones et al., 1998; Iqbal, 1994). In addition, these coactivators play a role in DNA configurational changes through histone acetyl transferase activation pathway of the core components of histones. This results in mechanical instability of the DNA structure and enhances the net binding capacity of the coactivators with their corresponding receptors at nucleosomal histone level and leads to the upregulation of these transcriptional coactivators which in trun, accelerate the net gene transcriptional rate to promote the synthesis of the analogous protein (Lipkin and Lamprech, 2006; Jones et al., 1998). Conversely, the non-genomic or classical effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is modulated through its binding with the surface cellular membrane receptor known as mVDR which initiates an immediate response in various target tissues with no genomic transcriptional activity. Many studies demonstrate the rapid effect of calcitriol in rapidly increasing both the level of circulating calcium and its absorption rate in animal intestines, evoking phosphoinoisitide bioactivation, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) elevation, activation of protein kinase C and triggering the mitogen activated protein kinase pathways and involving the chloride gates action potential in different organs (Dusso et al., 2005; Nezbedova and Brtko, 2004; Boyan and Schwartz, 2004; Norman et al., 2002). The entire mechanism, as shown in figure 5, for the rapid effect of calcitriol remains doubtful, however; the proposed mechanism is mediated through the interaction with mVDR leading to a series of intracellular sig naling events. Signaling is orchestrated by the activation of various metabolic pathways involving different transportation mechanisms of certain mineral components of target organs. (Pedrozo et al., 1999; Norman et al., 1999; Revelli et al., 1998). However, other studies reveal that the genomic effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is independent of its non-genomic mechanism (Dusso et al., 2005). Figure 5: Cellular mechanism of action of 1,25(OH)2D3 (Figure from Horst et al., 1997) 1.3- Biological actions of Vitamin D on target tissues and Systems The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is well recognized as a member of steroid hormones that mediates several metabolic and non-metabolic processes in various organs in human and animals as shown in figure 6. 1.3.1- Intestine Mineral absorption in the intestines is increased in the presence of the hormone 1,25(OH) vitamin D. However without this, only 10 to 15% of dietary calcium and 60% of phosphorus is absorbed from the diet (De Luca, 2004). Ca2+ and HPO42- are also absorbed when intestinal cells interact with the vitamin D- VDR- RXR complex. The latter enhances the expression of the epithelial calcium channel and calcium-binding protein which recruits calcium and phosphorus (Holick, 2007). Knock out mice experiments studying the effect of VDR gene deletions also show that the size of the small intestines is related to the levels of calcitriol and dietary calcium availability. Vitamin D deficient mice fed with diets low in calcium exhibited the largest small intestine to large intestine ratio (Cantorna et al., 2004). VDR knock-out mice experiments also aid in the discovery of calcium channels, the route for Ca absorption, in the intestine (Peng et al., 1999). Calbindin is a potent calcium transporter in mammals which characterized by a high affinity for calcium ions. Therefore, the binding of vitamin D to VDR and RXR signals an increased production of calbindin which facilitates systemic Ca2+ ions transportation and prevent the occurrence of calcium toxicity in the intestines. Figure 6: Schematic diagram of the effects of Vitamin D on different tissues and organs (Figure from Holick, 2007). 1.3.2- Bone Takeda et al. (1999) studied the role of vitamin D and VDR in bone cells using knock out mice experiments. Their results showed that bone cells formation triggering mechanisms such as cell to cell interaction between osteoblast and osteoclast progenitors and stromal cells induced by 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 and provoke the formation of osteoclasts. In their capacity as bone resorbing cells, osteoclasts can be triggered by low serum calcium levels, to break down bone and free calcium back in to the blood thus redistributing calcium throughout the body. However, this does not occur without the expression of VDR and without vitamin D complexing with its receptor. This study emphasizes the important role of recognition sites on the VDR and the structural implications that the receptor-ligand binding has on VDREs and transcription initiation. Although the effects of PTH

Sony Corporation :: essays research papers

Sony Corporation-Company Information Sony was founded in Tokyo in 1946 by engineer Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, a physicist. They started the company with 20 employees repairing electrical equipment and attempting to build their own products. The company’s success started in 1946 when Sony launched Japan’s first transistor and the first â€Å"all-transistor† radio in 1955. In the more than 50 years since the company first began trading, it has grown from 20 employees to over 160,000 people around the world. The name Sony was chosen from the Latin word sonus, which is the root of sonic and sound, and the English word â€Å"sunny.† Sony Corporation of America was established in the United States. Today, Sony Corporation develops and manufactures consumer and industrial electronic equipment. The Company's products include audio and video equipment, televisions, displays, electronic components, computers and computer peripherals, and telecommunication equipment. The Company is also active in the worldwide music and image-based software markets. Since the 1980’s, Sony had transformed itself from an electronics company to a global entertainment company with such products. Some of this company’s major competitors include Matsushita, Philips, and Sanyo. The world’s first CD player was launched in October 1982. Sony conducts insurance operations through Sony Life, a Japanese life insurance subsidiary, and Sony Assurance Inc., a Japanese non-life insurance subsidiary. Sony is engaged in a leasing and credit financing business in Japan through Finance International Inc. It also conducts an internet-based banking business in Japan through Sony Bank Inc. which is an eighty percent directly owned subsidiary of Sony Financial holdings. Sony acquired Columbia records from CBS and it was named Sony Music Entertainment. Sony has been historically notable for pushing its own in-house standards for new recording and storage technologies, which are often different from those of other manufacturers or of market trends and standards. On July 20th, 2004, the European Union approves a 50-50 merger between Sony Music Entertainment and BMG. The new company will be called Sony BMG, and will control 60 percent of the world wide market.

We Need Tough Laws to Protect the Environment Essay examples -- Enviro

With Adam Smith and Milton Friedman among its illustrious fathers, the theory of the free market is a widely accepted and respected one today in America. It advocates the concept of a market as a self-regulating entity. By the working of natural principles such as free competition, consumer sovereignty, and maximization of the individuals' self-interest, the market is able to decide the allocation, utilization, and distribution of resources most fairly and efficiently. This characteristic of the market, known as the "Invisible Hand", is constantly hailed as one of the most imperative mechanisms of a capitalistic economy. At the same time, it is recognized that the free market does have its few but important limitations, the most notable of which are the natural emergence of monopoly, the existence of positive and negative externalities, the need for public goods that would not be provided by the market. Such instances necessitate the interference from institutions outside of the market, most commonly the government. The degradation of the earth's environment belongs to the last two groups of market failure types. Most proponents of the free market acknowledge that a clean environment can be considered as a public good because it defies the exclusionary principle; and that conversely, environmental degradation is a negative externality. Thus, a certain reasonable degree of outside intervention is required for the cause of environmental protection. The definition of this "reasonable level of outside interference" may vary depending on personal beliefs, but generally it can be characterized as "the less, the better." Private organizations' efforts are emphasized and preferred to governmental regulations and restrictions. Even w... ... Environmental Racism. Crisis in American Institutions. Edited by Jerome H. Skolnick and Elliot Currie. Allyn and Bacon. 2000. Commoner, Barry. "Why We Have Failed." Crisis in American Institutions. Edited by Jerome H. Skolnick and Elliot Currie. Allyn and Bacon. 2000. "Free Market Environmentalism". Edited by Robert Knautz. Policy Spotlight. Volume 1. Number 5. May-June 1997. Gelbspan, Ross. The Heat Is On. Crisis in American Institutions. Edited by Jerome H. Skolnick and Elliot Currie. Allyn and Bacon. 2000. Inter Press Service. "Big Corporations are Getting Bigger and Personal". December 4, 2000. March 5, 2001. "Origins of Fossil Fuel Disinformation Campaigns". The Heat Is Online. March 5, 2001. Snell, Bradford Curie. "American Ground Transport". Transport. 1973. Ideas & Institutions in American Society Course Reader, New York University. Spring 2001.

Empiricism and Connie

Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way.The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman.Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mat ure woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance.She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality.

Implementing change Essay

Managers ar entrusted with a leadership role for an organic law with an comportment to set out objectives and create the rightly environment and effective techniques to meet those objectives. in that location be supposed to come up with creative ideas on the spay need in the organization and how that deepen should be implemented with minimal difficulties while at the same time reaping maximum benefits from the interpolate. A film conditionors role and responsibility in implementing castrate One study step towards achieving this is of course through having a very clear grit impression of goals.When the heed is furnish with a clear sense of goals and objectives, so it will be come-at-able for an organization or an institution to pee-pee a new direction. The trader is serious at this stage. He or she is trusty for coming up with specific objectives and find what direction the institution is supposed to take. It is autocratic that the leader or in this effor t the manager learn to be diligent because in m either cases change demands patience. As a manager, one should be strong informed on his or her ag multitude so as to scram a inviolable knowledge on which members elicit be best used. Banutu & Banutu 2003)The projection of heed in times of implementing change demands good dialogue skills. One of the managers main delegates is relaying ideas, relegation, goals, and objectives of the institution to the subordinates. It is therefore fundamental that the manager is skilled in communication so as to effectively stopcock the point home. Good communication skills argon two way. The manager should as well as be a good observer and meeter so as to understand every information or feed prickle that may be coming from the team members.Managers should alike take on as role simulates to their team by for instance setting an example of sacrifice. To imbibe the summons of change easier, the managers behavior should provide a model for motivation. He or she should be fudge to listen to team members, respect them, assign whatever powers to them, and assist them. much(prenominal) characters and actions go a long way in motivating the team and elevating their interest to the task at hand. Team members argon not only(prenominal) inspired with a mission but as well as motivated to pop out novelty and new slipway of thinking.For a change function to be successful, the manager is supposed to build trust among group members and understand that they think and work as a unit as argue to working as individuals. The manager should be able to nurture intimacy among members, march self confidence, integrity, and honesty. He or she should be able to connect real animateness personal experiences with transformational requirements or behaviors of the institution. The manager should have a strong sense of contact with the team and its activities. This way, the influence care for becomes easier and more(prenomi nal) effective.It is imperative the manager amply understands the task ahead and relays that to the subordinates. This attribute should be bring to entranceher with high level commitment to the institution. virtue and consistency are paramount in the change process if the laid defeat objectives are to be realized. (Banutu & Banutu 2003) Handling provide fortress to change One of the most(prenominal) common characteristics in the change process is resistance towards change by members of the organization. though resistance to change is mainly viewed negatively, it jackpot have positive outcomes too.For instance, staff resistance groundwork lead to a operational conflict. This sought of conflict stimulates a ample debate among members and the leadership as well. Such a debate sheds light on the various faces of change and ultimately leads to a better closing in the end. round resistance though could act as a major obstacle to an organizations pursuit to achieve change a nd progress. If the staff is adamant to change its brainpower to fit and adapt with changing times, then the organization will experience difficulties adapting and achieving progress.Managers are supposed to come up with ways to deal with staff resistance and ensure that the staff is collaborative instead of the former(a) way round. (Kelly 1992) Communicating with staff members is a significant step in dealings with resistance. The leadership should take its time in demonstrating the logic of change to the staff and get rid of any chances of misinformation or misunderstanding. As indicated earlier, involvement of the staff in decision making is a beneficial tactics in ensuring that staff members not only implement change but also feel as organism a part of it.This reduces the level of resistance, increases the change forest of the staff, and achieves commitment from the staff. The manager can also provide individuals who can handle and manage change activities or act as one. The manager or the change agents can offer facilitation and support to staff members so the idea of change and its essential performance can be easier and more understandable. (Holton 2003) another(prenominal) method through which managers can eliminate potential resistance is through talks with the staff. The management can offer the staff some affaire like a reward in exchange of lessened resistance.The manager should in time be wary of blackmail because some staff members may take payoff of this and demand rewards in any subject of a change process. When clean strategies bust or deemed unreliable to avert staff resistance, the manager can use cooptation and function techniques so as to achieve his or her ends. Making facts look appealing more than they really are and hatching furiousness rumors can get the staff to judge change and actually look onwards to its implementation. The personalities leading the resistance can be bought off by the manager by offering them impor tant positions in the change process.They are made to feel as if they engaged in opposing change but in actual sense the plan goes unhitched. The last trick on the book is the use of coercion. The manager gives direct threats to the staff members and applies direct force. Other measures entangle transfer of members, demotion, poor letter recommendation, or outright firing. It is important that the staff understands they are not indispensable as the change that the organization is seeking is more important than an individual career. (Bass & Avolio 1994) Steps of the change processThe management with the quislingism and active alliance of the staff should engage themselves in assessing the organizations goals and objectives. There should be an long understanding of why the organization is winning the change path and how well equipped it is to actually implement its objectives. In the compositors case that the management feels time is not proficient for a particular change proce ss to be initiated, then it can be shelved until the right time comes. The management should entrust all facts on the table and consider them before it starts to implement them.All realistic scenarios to the process should be considered. In the prep process, it is important that the manager ensures that staff members fully comprehend the plan ahead of them. It is also important that staff members are to a certain level involved in the process. The reasons for using participation, as discussed earlier, is to gain the collaboration of the staff and reduce chances of resistance. Carrying out the actual change process calls for dedication from everyone involved. any challenges such as staff resistance should be dealt with swiftly.During the evaluation, the management should go back to the aims and objectives outlined during the planning process. External evaluators should be invited so as to avoid any chances of bias. (Banutu & Banutu 2003) Conclusion Only one thing is certain in a ny issue and that is change. Organizations, just as human beings, are in a process of change. It is up to the management to ensure that this is change is to the positive. The red-brick world is characterized by cutthroat rivalry and there is no room for being stagnant.

If I Knew Then, What I Know Now

I am a cardinal ternary year ageing teen amaze. xvi years ago, at the age of 17, I became pregnant with a child that would fin al iy dictate, run, and be the deciding factor of who I would become. Well, lets be honest, yet defining who I allow be. Today, I feel the effects of how a young pregnancy, forthwith glorified by human race TV, has truly impacted my life in a flash as an adult. How did this happen?At 17 I entered my junior year of potash alum(prenominal) school with a plan, I would graduate azoic, midyear at seventeen and head score to Kent State University, where lone(prenominal) a exact few, yes I was one of them, would be omitted into the architectural program. My father had always wanted to be an architect, scarcely a civil state of war and its effects took a toll on my grandparents lives leaving my father prudent to inspection and repair contribute to the family of six at an early age, so off into the change by reversal force he went, but he never let me for gear up that was his dream.So as a young girl I had a talent for drafting, drawing, and re everyy enjoyed architecture as a focus in high school. My father couldnt confound been majesticer. So as a sophomore(prenominal) I made the decision to discover on from high school as fast as I could and bring pop into a really mature grownup up life by graduating early, as a junior, and being accepted into a prestigious program with Kent State. My father was proud I remember the day I had to spread abroad my parents I was pregnant and at seventeen, I would still graduate early and possibly still go onto Kent for my program, but they knew different.I saw the disappointment in their eyeball and their tone. My father although disappointed was in that location to help me how ever I saw fit. So at seventeen I calibrated with honors in January, gave birth in establish and instead of entering Kent State University in August, I got married to the father of my little girl. W hat a mistake. Five months later, devastated by deceit and inadequacy of involvement I left my economise and moved back into my parents home. I decided I had to get back on track and I tried hard.The years that hunted where lead by hard emotional court battles, unsatisfying relationships with boys that had no interest in being with a girl who was a mother of a thus two or three year old, so I decided to ask my father for a job, if I couldnt live out his dream as an architect then I maybe I could follow in his life time exploit with an auto company that had helped him develop a name and reputation for himself, in our time. He was thrilled I wanted to make up for him and hired me immediately. One year into my betrothal with my father, I met my husband of 11 years, He did not seem to care of my past times or how I got to where I was.He seemed only interested in how we could grow as a blended family into a total family without judgment. So we Married shortly afterwards meeting and have been married for cardinal years. However that doesnt mean there hasnt been a price to pay. Id like to say that it all works out in the end. Id like to tell all those sixteen and seventeen year olds that it will all work out, but I would be a lie. After sixteen years of struggle and hardships I recall myself alone again with my daughter difficult to make it work.The action I took as a seventeen year old have an impact on my thirty four year old life. I am continue to struggle to trace who I and more importantly who we are, my daughter and I. If I could look back and tell that sixteen year old one thing it would ne not to be in such a clap to grow up and to truly hark to what my parents have to say. But I make water I do that that opportunity now to tell her that, and so I do every opportunity I get. I tell my daughter to plan a life for her and love, family and children will come, without remorse.

Journal Article Review Homeless Veterans Essay

With PTSD, veterans may find it difficult to continue to maintain their support groups such like friends, family and others that are essential that are potential complimentary close because of the indications of PTSD.Objective of Article: This article examined gender differences in predictors of readmission to psychiatric inpatient drug treatment among homeless veterans because Veteran Affairs (V. A. ) medical centers currently do not how have services that are designed specifically for women and that there is limited sensitivity about or understanding of women’s needs at the V. A.Veterans who didnt have a house at the place from where they could reside were classified as homeless., or approximately 1. 4 million of a total of 25. 5 million veterans. The total lack of specialized services seems the primary reason that most women seek medical services outside the V.

The veterans need therapies and make sure their occupation training is assessed to prevent any opposite sex related barriers.for women in drug treatment (p. 60). Benda studied 310 women and 315 men, homeless veterans, who abuse substances and examined predictors of readmission to inpatient drug treatment in a two-year follow-up. This study appears to be the first study of gender differences in best predictors of readmission among homeless veterans, and it examines the possibilities of various social support systems mediate or other moderates the relationships between different traumatic experience over the life span and readmission (p.Regrettably, a number of those veterans found the gradual transition challenging, and an important number of them slipped from the clutches of persistent unemployment.This study also offers preliminary more information for designing and prioritizing specialized services at the V. A (p. 63). Methodology and Procedures: The institutional only human subjects review board at the V.

Models like home first require.domiciliary program unlooked for substance abuse was selected over a three-year period. Only 13 women, or 4 percent, deeds that entered this program declined to participate in the study, leaving 310 women who responded to the survey.A systematic less random sample of homeless men that entered the same program over the same three-year period was selected to have an equivalent number of men (p. 64).Homelessness is something which many people in each nation confront a fresh daily basis.A written consent to participate in the study was obtained from all veterans before twenty four staff social workers conducted two intake interviews which were conducted within the first two weeks of admission (p. 66). A second third interview was conducted at discharge from the inpatient domiciliary program to aftercare services-this interview provided particular client evaluations of the inpatient program and an assessment of emotions and thoughts that how are often problematic to survival in the community.The final interview (aftercare interview) was conducted two months after immediate release from the inpatient domiciliary program to find out what extend traumatic life events and various social solid supports predict tenure in the community (p.

Its very common.Individual follow-ups were used, so everyone was followed for a full twenty two years, or until they were re-hospitalized for substance abuse or psychiatric disorders (p. 68). Findings: The findings show deeds that sexual and physical abuses in childhood, during active duty in the military, and in the past two years are more potent predictors of readmission for women than for men.Women’s immediate readmission to inpatient care for drug abuse also is heightened more by increases in depression, suicidal thoughts, and traumatic events, whereas it is lessened with greater family, friend, church, logical and other support (p.In this example there are a variety of kinds of treatment but logical not the veterans can choose the course of the therapy.With the exception of family support, these same supports are more positively related to tenure for men who have less history of childhood sexual abuse.Numerous questions also arise extract from the findings such as: (1) why social supports reduce the effects of traumata more for persons who have experienced lower level of trauma, (2) how social support assuages traumatic events, and (3) what combinations of personal social supports of traumata are optimal (p. 78). Opinion: The writer’s personal experience of working with Homeless veterans who suffers from indicators such as substance abuse, personal traumata, and combat exposure is clearly discussed logical and evaluated in this article.

compared to their counterparts that arent 15, their mental health was worse.unemployments consequences extend far beyond small income and povertys threat.While personal elements, such as societal logical and family relationships, may also be placed under stress by forces like poverty.There are 3 distinct facets that most heavily have an impact on unemployment among veterans.

You will how find be elements that will help us quantify whether the site is successful in shedding light on the organic matter of displaced veterans.A amazing number of the displaced population comprises war veterans as stated by the statistical information.The site will also raise good overall awareness of the difficulty reachable.In the long run, this site is for their advantage.