Gender and Sex Worksheet

————————————————- Associate Program Material Gender and Sex Worksheet Answer the following questions in 50 to 150 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is wheather a person is male or female. Sex in biological terms is the property or quality by which organisms are classified as female or male on the basis of their reproductive organs and functions.Gender and sex are not the same sex refers to the differences of biological and gender describes the characteristics of male and females. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? * Gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity in many ways. Gender and sex concepts and constructions of masculinity and feminity of being able to tell the difference between the two. They show them as being completely different like males being the protector and the ladies as being caring and emotional.Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? * Yes, I do feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity. I feel that we look at males in one light and females in another, we all at some point expect men to be the ones that are tough, and brave and look at women as being emotional. When it could be the other way around. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain.Yes, I feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation in many ways. We have a understanding of what each gender is and what they provide, causing us to make a decision on who we want to be with in life. Whether we are Heterosexual: att racted to individuals of the opposite sex, Bisexual: attracted to members of either sex, Homosexual: attracted to individuals of one's own sex. References Debbie Bridges, August 02, 2012, Sexual Orientation, Retrieve from: www. webmd. com Brandon Jones, March 18,2013, Sex and gender distinction, Retrieve from: www. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_ Gender and Sex Worksheet 1) What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? a. Gender is the condition of being female or male and an internal sense of self. Sex in biological terms refers to the physical attributes such as sex chromosomes and hormones. No they are not the same thing even though much of society uses these words interchangeable to hold the same meaning. Gender is what a person most identifies with internally and externally. And sex is how you are born you are either borne a female or a male. 2) How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? b. They play apart in many different ways we are born either male or female which is our sex. This determines what role we will fall in to in society. Gender is our internal self which sex we feel we most identify with. We are born in to the construction society has set out for us. Men are the head and women follow behind and this is seen in many aspects of society. Such as the house hold in wages, job advancement, and job opportunity. 3) Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? c. Yes our concepts do affect the way we view gender and sex in diversity. We believe that there is only a right way and a wrong way and if you do not follow society ways than we are viewed and categorized differently. Our views and the views society says are the norm in which we must follow. 4) Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain. d. Yes our concepts do contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation our concepts of sex in you are born with female organs or male organs by being born in to a certain sex you will take on a certain role society says you should fit in to. You are also to like or be attracted to the opposite sex as you as society says that this is the norm. Gender and Sex Worksheet Associate Program Material Gender and Sex Worksheet Answer the following questions in 50 to 150 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is the description or identification of a person as either male or female. In bioloical terms, sex is described as the biological differences between men and women. Gender and sex are not the same thing. Gender describes a person as male or female, which can be determined by the ender in which a person identifies with.For example, a transgendered female is essentially a person that was born a male, but identifies with females. In this particular situation, the person would be considered female from the gender perspective. However, the person is still considered male from the perspective of sex in the bioloical sense. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Gende r and sex are major contributors to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity in many ways. The biological sex of a person determines how parents and families interact with their children from birth.If the child is a girl, we dress them in pastel colors and buy them dolls. We tend to be more compassionate towards our daughters. If the child is a boy, we dress them in blue and buy them tonka trucks and action figures. We tend to be more active and athletic with our sons. However, if at some point that child finds themselves to identify with the opposite gender, they will exhibit characteristics of that gender (i. e. a male with feminine behaviors and characteristics). Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity?I think that our society’s concepts of gender and sex definitely contribute to how we embrace gender and sex. We tend to be less open-minded if a transgendered woman prefers to be addressed as a male and wants to be called by a male name. We are uncomfortable when a male dresses as a female and exhibits feminine behaviors and characteristics. In actuality, we should all accept those for who they are, no matter their gender or sex. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain. Our concepts of gender and sex can contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation.It is considered normal to be heterosexual in our society and being gay or lesbian is becoming more acceptable in our society. However, if a transgendered woman, who is biologically a male, chooses to be intimate with a male it is considered to be homosexual behavior. This scenario could go both ways because the transgendered woman considers herself a man being intimate with a woman, which is characteristically heterosexual behavior. I believe that love is universal ans should not be defined as heterosexual or homosexual. People should be with the person that they lov e unconditionally, whether they are male or female. Gender and Sex Worksheet ————————————————- Associate Program Material Gender and Sex Worksheet Answer the following questions in 50 to 150 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is gender? What is sex in biological terms? Are gender and sex the same thing? Explain why or why not? Gender is wheather a person is male or female. Sex in biological terms is the property or quality by which organisms are classified as female or male on the basis of their reproductive organs and functions.Gender and sex are not the same sex refers to the differences of biological and gender describes the characteristics of male and females. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? * Gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity in many ways. Gender and sex concepts and constructions of masculinity and feminity of being able to tell the difference between the two. They show them as being completely different like males being the protector and the ladies as being caring and emotional.Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity? * Yes, I do feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to the ways we embrace gender and sex in diversity. I feel that we look at males in one light and females in another, we all at some point expect men to be the ones that are tough, and brave and look at women as being emotional. When it could be the other way around. Do our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation? Explain.Yes, I feel that our concepts of gender and sex contribute to our understanding of sexual orientation in many ways. We have a understanding of what each gender is and what they provide, causing us to make a decision on who we want to be with in life. Whether we are Heterosexual: att racted to individuals of the opposite sex, Bisexual: attracted to members of either sex, Homosexual: attracted to individuals of one's own sex. References Debbie Bridges, August 02, 2012, Sexual Orientation, Retrieve from: www. webmd. com Brandon Jones, March 18,2013, Sex and gender distinction, Retrieve from: www. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_

Importance of dreams in the novel of ‘Mice and Men’ Essay

The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, written by John Steinbeck is a truly fascinating novel based upon the theme of dreams. This novel was published in 1937, which was towards the end of ‘The Great Depression’ that hit the United States. The novel was set in Soledad, California, during the same time period as published. This was an era in which the economy collapsed; many Americans lost their jobs, therefore leading into a lot of poverty and despair. Although many people were depressed, this was also the era of dreams. This is what Steinbeck’s novel is all about, dreams during the great depression. Dreams were very important in the novel. They played a huge role in the character’s lives, affected their behaviors, as well as their personalities. Steinbeck uses dreams as a tool to enrich the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’; therefore he emphasizes their importance throughout the novel by making them the main theme. Dreams have a rather important role in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’. The whole novel is based around dreams, as well as decisions that were made according to these dreams. The author, John Steinbeck has emphasized this by the plot of the novel, the character’s personalities, as well as their actions. The plot of the novel is based on two characters that were chasing their dreams. These characters are Lennie and George, who left a town called Weed because they got in trouble. They were searching for a job, in order to get better paid, which will help them achieve their dream, ‘The American Dream’. The American dream is a dream shared by many of the characters in the novel, it is the desire to have a happy life, be part of a family, have a stable job, and maybe even own some land. Page 47 of chapter 3 gives an insight why the characters Lennie and George left Weed. It turns out Lennie was accused of raping a woman, George said â€Å"Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie†¦ An’ that night we scrammed outta there.† The characters left Weed because Lennie was in trouble. However, he didn’t want to go to jail; he’d rather chase his dream, which he shares with his lifelong pal George. So instead they make  the decision to leave Weed, and head to Soledad. The characters’ personalities are affected by their dreams, and so are their actions. Their dreams weaken them, which results in them doing things that they end up regretting just for the sake of attempting to make their dream come true. Although dreams can be a source of strength for the characters, they contribute a great deal in their weaknesses, which is what leads to their fatal actions. In chapter five, Lennie and Curley’s wife were confessing their dreams to one another. Curley’s wife stayed longer than she should have with Lennie, because he was a man and during that time period women were not permitted to interact with men, especially if the woman was married. However, she made that decision because she dreamed of having a friendship. Lennie said, â€Å"Well, I ain’t supposed to talk to you or nothing.† â€Å"I get lonely,† She said â€Å"You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad, How’d you like not to talk to anybody?† (Chapter five, page 98). Clearly Curley’s wife felt extremely lonely, empty, and sad. Even though she made a bad decision, she chose to stay longer and risk the consequences in order to achieve one of her desirers, even if it was for a little while. It was her weakness, and when she got a chance she grasped it without thinking. It was almost as though she lost her sanity. Later through that chapter, Lennie physically hurt Curley’s wife. She screamed, thus he made the decision to cover her mouth in attempt to stop her from screaming. He feared if George hears her screaming and finds out so he would get mad. Consequently, Lennie wouldn’t be able to join George in owning some land, tending rabbits, and living their dreams. â€Å"She screamed then, and Lennie’s other hand closed over her mouth and nose†. Lennie said â€Å"Oh! Please don’t do that!† George’ll be mad†¦ George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits†¦ You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will.† â€Å"And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her†¦ he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.†(Chapter 5, page 103). Lennie killed Curleyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s wife, because he didn’t want her to stand in the way of his dreams. Due to the fact that his dream blinded him, he couldn’t differentiate between  what’s right or wrong. He chose his actions carelessly. Achieving his dream was his priority, so much so that he sacrificed a human being for nothing to stand in his way. Not only did dreams have a key role in the novel, dreams also played an important role in the characters’ lives. Dreams were a crucial part of the characters’ lives. The characters were not living the life they craved, and it is safe to say that a few of them were depressed. However, their dreams were a source of motivation to them. In chapter one, on page 15, George said â€Å"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.† It can be noted through this quote, the fact that George truly believes in his dream, and how it will keep him motivated. Not only does it make him not want to give up on his dreams, it also makes him strive and work harder to achieve his goals. Moreover, having dreams, and goals, brought the characters happiness. This is because their dreams give them an image of a better life, and what it would be like. In chapter one, George and Lennie were feeling down and they were upset over the limited amount of food they had, but then they cheer themselves up by reminding themselves of the bright future that would lay ahead for them. George said â€Å"Someday- we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs, and –† â€Å"An’ live off the fatta the lan’† Lennie shouted. â€Å"we’ll have a vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work† said George (chapter one, page 16). George and Lennie spoke with enthusiasm; this indicates how much happiness their dreams bring them. Obviously, dreams had a major impact on the characters’ lives; therefore they were a major aspect of the novel. Not only do dreams impact the characters’ lives, but they also affect several characters in the novel. Dreams had a role in molding the characters. They had an effect on the characters personalities, behavior, dialogue, as well as their decisions. As  stated before, characters made their dreams their priority; this automatically changed the way they thought. Therefore, their behavior changed. The characters only said what would benefit them, and eventually tried to refrain from saying anything that could cause trouble, so that impacted their dialogue. Their dreams also affected their decisions because they either didn’t want to cause trouble so they decided not to do some things, while other characters were blinded by their dreams so they made reckless decisions while trying to achieve their dreams. George’s personality was affected by his dreams. One can see this by his behavior and his dialogue. For example, in chapter 2 (page 28) when Curly lashes at George because he was answering all of the questions that were asked to Lennie, Curly rudely says â€Å"By Christ, he’s gotta talk when he’s spoke to. What the hell are you getting’ into it for?† George didn’t lash back at him, instead he replied coldly; this symbolizes George’s patience towards people, even the rudest people just for the sake of his dream. If he stirred up a fight with Curly just to gain back his dignity he would have gotten fired from his job, but instead he spoke coldly because he couldn’t risk losing his dream or doing anything that could possibly threatens it. Another character whose personality has been affected by his dreams was Crooks. However, unlike the others, Crooks’ personality is greatly affected. Crooks’ dream has a different effect on him. It brings him misery, because he once had everything and now he lost it all. Although, he has accepted that fact that his dream is unattainable, he may still have a little bit of hope. However he has accepted his fate better than the rest of the characters who seem to be unable to accept the reality that their dreams would most likely not come true. As a result, he is bitter and he has isolated himself from everyone. It has drastically affected his personality and his attitude towards life. He knows he won’t have his ‘Happily ever after’; therefore he doesn’t look forward to what the future would bring. â€Å" I ain’t a southern Negro†¦ I was born right here in California. My old man had a chicken ranch, ‘bout ten acres. The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice. My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never knew till long later†¦ but now I know † (Chapter 4, page 79). Although this quote starts off as a happy  story, it doesn’t have a happy ending. In fact, it’s heartbreaking. Nevertheless from this quote, it can be understood that Crooks had a taste of ‘The American Dream’, but then he lost it. In addition, the color of his skin puts him down even though he was literate, and educated. Crooks wanted to belong somewhere, he wanted to have friends, he wanted for life to be as simple as it was when he wa s younger, but he knows that the odds aren’t in his favor. That’s why he isn’t the nicest person, and he has isolated himself from everyone else. In chapter four when Lennie came to see Crooks, at first he shut Lennie out, because of the rules he had to oblige and because he knows what it feels like to have friends and loose them. As one of his dreams was to have a friend, he compromised and he let Lennie accompany him while the others were gone. â€Å"Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends. Crooks said sharply â€Å"You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me†¦ I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room† â€Å"Why ain’t you wanted† Lennie asked. â€Å"†Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all stink to me†¦ well, what do you want?† â€Å"Nothing- I just seen you light. I thought I could jus’ come in an’ set.† Crooks stared at Lennie†¦ Crooks scowled, but Lennie’s disarming smile defeated him. â€Å"Come on in and set a while† Crooks said â€Å"Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down.† (Chapter 4, pages 77-78). Finally, the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a truly spectacular novel by John Steinbeck. The theme of dreams was very important during the course of the novel. All the main events in the novel were caused in relation to someone’s dream, and the sacrifices they had to make in order to achieve it. Additionally, dreams were equally important because they played a big role in the characters’ lives. The characters in the novel use dreams to motivate them through their tough lives, and through the great depression. The characters were also greatly affected by their dreams. For some of the characters, their dream was their weakness and they would literally kill to achieve it. For others it was a source of happiness, while for many of the characters their dream was both their weakness and their source of happiness. All of these three points are what made the theme of dreams such  an important part of the novel. The theme of dreams is what makes the novel ‘Of Mi ce and Men’ so fascinating. Dreams controlled all of the main events, as they were significant in the lives of the characters, their behavior, their ups and downs, as well as their fates.

Impact of Vietnam War on American culture Research Paper

Impact of Vietnam War on American culture - Research Paper Example There were various innovative factors that contributed to the perception of the war. One of them is the transmission of the information of the war by the media particularly television. Its impact on the Vietnam’s war played a more significant role than in any other conflict in the 20th century. It was an innovative method that replaced newspapers and radios, which were the main mode of broadcasting at the time. The general public was involved in the Vietnam struggle raising the height of public opposition. Due to the unlimited access of journalists and photographers in the battlefields, the public were able to see the war as they had never seen before. The war influenced almost all branches of the American culture. However, it is crucial to determine how much the description of the war influenced the lives of the Americans and the whether its representation changed over time. The diverse methods used in approaching the Vietnam War were in accordance to various forms of artistic designs and all forms of cultural categories. Thus, the combination of all the factors of the war resulted into Americans growing tired of the violence and encouraged them to come up with efforts to find their way out of the war. One of the impacts that the war had on the American culture was on the literary culture of the Americans. In the first few years after the withdrawal of the Americans from the war, there were less literary works to represent the attitudes toward the Vietnam War. The change overturned in the late 1970’s and early 1980 are when various forms of literary works started to floods the markets. Most of them represented personal narratives from individuals who had first hand experiences of the war. One good example is the novel, armies of the night by Norman Mailer in 1968. It represented a reflection of the march on the pentagon in DC in 1967 (Anderson, 2011).

Foucaults Contribution to the Study of Punishment Essay

Foucaults Contribution to the Study of Punishment - Essay Example The briefest thing to be said about Discipline and Punish is that it is about how certain people who were subjects of a sovereign became subjects of a new kind. The people in question were lawbreakers, malefactors, criminals--those who were apprehended and punished for contravening the laws of the sovereign. They became and continue to be individuals who, having contravened the laws of societies having modern legal structures, undergo complex processing in institutionalized judicial and penal systems that center on the incarceration of offenders. Discipline and Punish are ostensibly about the change from lawful punishment as brutal monarchical vengeance to lawful punishment as humanized deterrence and rehabilitation. What the book is really about is the production of subjects through the imposition of disciplines; it is about how the process of constant observation, assessment, and control of inmates in the modern penitentiary manufactures new subjects through the employment of manag ement techniques that intrude into and govern every aspect of life. But what makes Discipline and Punish more than a study of penalty is its portrayal of techniques employed in the manufacture of these new subjects as those more widely used in the production of the contemporary norm-governed social individual. (Richard Marsden, 1999). Foucault's point of departure in rethinking a subject-matter is to impugn the commonplace, to query accepted knowledge. In applying genealogy to a penalty, Foucault impugns the commonplace view that our present penitentiary-centered penal system is the result of the progressive humanization of earlier, more ruthless methods of retributive punishment. Foucault begins by discussing how spectacular public punishments and executions constituted a standard procedure for dealing with lawbreakers in the European monarchical order to roughly the mid-eighteenth century.

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

Meditation - Essay Example There are different methods of meditation. To begin with, there is the concentrative meditation that entails focusing attention on an object until it becomes clearer (Jordt, 2007). In terms of the five senses, an object could be a sound, physical sensation, or a visual image. The most common object entails focusing on the natural physical process of breathing. This entails attending to calming sensations of breathing. A receptive meditation involves being open to the experience that arises out of focusing one’s attention on an object. For instance, a person may sit with the eyes open and observe one’s environment without thinking and judging. In reflective meditation, an individual turns one’s attention to a theme but becomes open to consequential experiences. Generative meditation, on the other hand, involves love and kindness. This involves the meditating person turning attention to oneself and others. These types of meditation grant significant benefits. To be gin with, it helps one’s thoughts become still. When the thoughts become still, a person can choose on a particular subject and reflect deeply upon it. This is because fuzzy thoughts that do not possess a given focus do not produce meaningful ideas. In addition, still thoughts ward off worry and anxiety. This consequently contributes towards happiness, as the person does not over-think. Zen meditation is a discipline of sitting down and calming both the body and the mind towards insight into nature. In this sense, the mediating person gains enlightenment.

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Business - Essay Example The scope and extent of a company’s contribution towards social and environmental causes, almost guarantees successful results, which is why, every other company, today proudly flaunts its commitment towards such causes, in its annual reports. Are the companies today, actually environmentally and socially conscious or is it a desperate bid to gain consumers’ trust through deliberate green-washing? This paper seeks to delve deeper into this aspect of business, and seek answers to the critical issue of social and environmental commitment of multinational companies, their corporate agenda and the impact of the same on their stakeholders. For the purpose of this study, the case of The Body Shop will be explored and analyzed. Corporate Social Responsibility: Fact or Farce? Contemporary multinational organizations today are caught in the middle of a heated debate, surrounding the legitimacy and credibility of their claims regarding their social and environmental commitments. In the process, they are being pushed towards including broader public good will, and beyond their conventional commitment towards their shareholders. ... The Body Shop exemplifies one such situation, where the company seems to have got it right in the beginning, but over the years, ended up in controversies, putting the company on the pedestal, and forcing its management to justify its actions, with regard to its mission and values, which boasts of environmental and social commitment and broader public good (Rosenthal, 1994, Pp. 15 - 17). This brings up the question, whether corporate social responsibility can go hand in hand with the core corporate motive – that of maximizing profits; whether commitment to social and environmental causes and contribution towards society can co-exist along with commitment to the company’s stakeholders; and whether CSR is a farce or a fact? The same is discussed through the case of The Body Shop International Plc – a UK based multinational cosmetic brand, which boasts of its commitment towards the environment, via its ‘green’ and natural products and its contribution t owards social and environmental causes. The Body Shop International Plc. The Body shop is a world renowned British cosmetic retailing firm, founded in the year 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick, and having a strong international presence (The Body Shop, 2011). The company adopted an environmental strategy from the very beginning and showed a strong commitment towards green causes and social issues, thus ideally being an advocate of ‘green’ business and a portraying a model corporate social responsibility agenda (Dennis et al., 1998, Pp. 649-653). The company boasts of an impressive range of environmentally friendly / bio-degradable range of products; endorses recycling and over the years, have shown an active involvement in social and

Aviation Security and its Impact on Airports Essay

Aviation Security and its Impact on Airports - Essay Example A database that links all airline reservation systems in the country to many private and government databases would allow security officials to sort through the travel histories of each flier and allow airport officials to see the backgrounds of all passengers before they board the flight. This will allow officials to prevent passengers suspected of terrorist activities from boarding the aircraft when they are believed to be a threat to the health of other passengers and the aircraft. All passengers will have threat data related to them, with the most threatening passengers to be fully checked before boarding all aircraft. During this process, when a passenger with a high threat rating books a ticket on a commercial airline, aviation officials will be able to screen these individuals prior to terrorist events occurring. A pre-screened traveler is not necessarily a good idea because identities can be concealed and changed to portray the picture of another individual that may not be co nsidered a threat. The approach we chose will gather intelligence information as well as pre-screen individuals at the time of ticket purchase confirming they are who they claim to be and then will screen a threat risk assessment to detect those people that may pose a terrorist threat to others. This approach will identify each passenger, with all privately, government, and airline held information and check that with information of the lists of threatened suspects and terrorists in order to weed out those individuals that pose a flight risk. Once the system has calculated a threat score, it will be secretly printed on the boarding pass or ticket for each passenger, without the passenger knowing what his or her risk is. The database, once fully

Middle Eastern Studies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Middle Eastern Studies - Term Paper Example Others include the nationalization of assets previously owned by foreigners or ‘enemies of state’ and foreign aid. Collectively, such revenue streams are economically referred to as â€Å"rent†; similarly, states that are primarily dependent on such revenue streams are referred to as â€Å"rentier states† (Gelvin 247). Infamously, such states are referred to â€Å"allocation states† coined from the fact that the states’ distribution of rent generated in the aforementioned manner favors particular clients or projects. Each state in the Middle East-more or less- relies on rent income. In the period between 1980 and 1988, a third of Egypt’s government revenue was derived from rent. Over the same period, it also benefited substantially from aid from the United States amounting to about $2 billion annually (Gelvin 247). The involvement of Western powers in the oil wealth of the Middle East has entrenched historical backgrounds. More specific ally, their participation was ‘cemented’ through the establishment of agreements or concessions that saw the emergence of strong consortia that have firm hold-unto now-within the oil industry (Fawcett and Giacomo 15). Oil companies would come together to undertake large contracts which exceeded the capacity of any single firm. Such contracts –perhaps uncharacteristically so-extended between sixty and seventy-five years and granted these consortia exclusive rights to exploit, produce, refine, transport and market the oil. Over the past half century, the most dominant consortium in the oil industry has been that of the â€Å"seven sisters† consisting of Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, Gulf Texaco and British Petroleum (Gelvin 249). However, the blatant imbalance in the distribution of the benefits from oil exploitation as to the host nations propelled the formation of an association that would better represent the concerns of oil producers. Furthermore the threat of diminished returns arising from a fall in demand and subsequent slashing of prices by the consuming West-as was the case during the recession of the 1960s- had to be effectively dealt with. The formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1970 significantly increased this power and with it oil prices rose by 380 percent. Oil wealth therefore shifted from the industrialized and importing Western states to the producing Middle East (Gelvin 250). The Middle East has seen the staging of two major games. Firstly, and which has recently surfaced with revolutionary effects, that of citizens and governments; usually on opposing ends and rarely in cooperation (Richards and Waterbury 1). The recent revolutions in Middle Eastern states-dubbed the Arab Spring-such as Libya, Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Greece have born evidence to this play. In this game, the motive and desire for the advancement of prosperity and national development has seen the ousting of lo ng-serving governments. In Egypt, specifically, it has seen a transition in which the ousted government and long-serving officials additionally face criminal proceedings. The political space internally is highly uncertain with the much anticipated calls for free and fair elections pitted against the influence of the interim Egyptian military council. Secondly, another battle is underway intersecting the region’

Processing the Crime Scene and Establishing Identity Essay

Processing the Crime Scene and Establishing Identity - Essay Example The second step which is examine usually supplements or adds to the initial observation of the crime scene technician. This step comprises of collecting evidences, analyzing the exit and entry points, and sizing up the general layout of the entire crime scene. Photographing is the third step in assessing a crime scene, where evidences as well as general views of the location is taken on film; so that a pictorial review can be done to evaluate how the area of crime actually looks like. Next is the sketch – where a rough draft or drawing is done by the crime scene technician to indicate the actual layout of the crime scene and the location of the bodies including the murder weapon and any other evidences related to the case. Last but not the least in the examination of a crime scene is the process. This stage entails the crime scene technician to collect all evidences, testimonial and physical.

ECONOMIC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ECONOMIC - Essay Example s, property, unemployment, crime, money and corruption are leading indicator of measuring the state of macroeconomics in Sierra Leone (Todaro & Stephen, 2009). This paper reflects the relationship between human capital, income inequality and poverty, and how it affects development in context of EG and HD linkages. Human capital defines the growth rate of nation as evident in the context of Sierra Leone’s economic growth. The absence of subsequent investment in human capital and low level of investment in physical capital affect the rates of return in form human capital, especially education (Todaro & Stephen, 2009). If human and physical capitals mutually affect each other, then the policy problem enables both to increase rapidly. Acute shortages of medicine, skilled healthcare professional, robust power system, hygienic water and such basic amenities as sterilized gloves; Sierra Leone finds the adequate strategy to resolve the health issues of inhabitants. The poor health and education of Sierra Leone’s workers explains low income of the citizen as statistics of pregnancy death showing one in every eight cases in comparison to the United States figure of one in 4,800 and life expectancy of 41 years in not welcome figure (Scott Craft). The coverage of health services remains cau se of concern. Transportation difficulties to avail public services increases the opportunity cost. Cultural barriers further add the woes in accessing health services, especially for women, the lower class, and other vulnerable groups. Infrastructure development and government policies for basic health services will pay substantial dividends as better health will contribute to growth of Sierra Leone. The country depends on the sixty percent of its public expenditure from foreign governments and nonprofit organizations approximately exceeding the figure of $1 billion in aid (Scott Craft). The complex relationship between human capital and economic development needs optimistic approach

New England vs. Chesapeake Paper Essay Example for Free

New England vs. Chesapeake Paper Essay The New England and Chesapeake regions varied in many ways. They varied economically, socially, and religiously. At first there were many small colonies but then they grew into two distinct regions, the New England and Chesapeake areas. The New England region was a more superior place to live in than the Chesapeake region because the people in New England developed swifter and better. The Chesapeake region suffered because it had social, climatic, and religious problems. Even though the southern area is known for their blossoming fields and enormous plantations, the climate is scorching and the area suffered from many diseases. (Jamestown Settlement: Primary Sources New Brittannia). As a result, a large part of the population actually ended up dying due to these harmful diseases like the disease of smallpox. Yes, the southern colonies had a thriving economy due to the growing of tobacco and rice, but they lacked diversity. In this area they mainly had only one type of religion, Anglican. They absolutely had no religious tolerance. The social structure was also way off during this time period. It consisted with the majority of the population being poor indentured servants and slaves and then a small portion being wealthy plantation owners. The plantation owners were white men and they held all the power to vote in the society. That is why this region was so underdeveloped. They had a moist and blistering climate, and they had no diversity religiously or socially. However, The New England colonies developed better than the Chesapeake region because they had a better climate, and were more diverse socially along with religiously. Firstly, it was colder in this region so the people there did not have any destructive illnesses lingering around. Secondly they had more of a mixture in religion like Quakers and Catholics. The people in these colonies focused on religion and they wanted close- knit families (Document A). They did not just have one sole religion but several. The area also had more of a diverse social system with many different levels. They had poor people, middle-class working people, and than the rich. The people in this region believed that they should struggle and win together as a team. (City upon a Hill). The main reason they had a diverse social class is because they did not need to only depend on farming for their economic income. They had a fishing industry and the New England colonies were placed in an urban area so the people had more choices for jobs, although some people still farmed. They also had many technological advances in the New England Colony with Benjamin Franklin making many machines and inventions during this era. That is why the New England area was more developed and had a better chance of surviving. In Conclusion, the New England area was a much better place to live. They were not as prone to diseases because of the colder climate, they were more diverse socially and religiously, and they had economic opportunities because they were an industry. This difference in development needed to occur because without it America wouldn’t be as diverse as it is today because everyone would just have conformed together.

Consumers Buying Behaviour Of Fashion Magazines

Consumers Buying Behaviour Of Fashion Magazines Vogue and GQ are the two fashion and lifestyle magazines which are published monthly. Vogue is published in 18 national and one regional edition by Conde Nast Publications. Vogue is most famous as a presenter of images of high fashion and high society. Vogue is giving the millions of women each month of the inspiration and challenge to see things in a different way both for themselves and the world. GQ which is mainly focusing on the mens sector is focusing on fashion, style, and culture for men, through articles on movies, health, food, sports, music, travel and books. It is published internationally in 17 countries and 12 different languages. It is the one which covers almost all the aspects of the males life. In our research the comparison of two fashion magazines, we covered the some characteristics of Consumer Buying Behaviours i.e societal changes overtime, demographics, personality, social group influence and consumer relationship. We also carried out the Primary research in order to attain our research findings. History (Societal Changes) Vogue which is the worlds most influential fashion magazine was founded in the year 1892, by Arthur Baldwin Turnure. After his death the magazine was picked by Conde Nast who changed the magazine from a weekly to a biweekly. Vogues target audience appears to be mainly women and those who prefer to embrace fashion and culture as a lifestyle. Gentlemens Quarterly (GQ) has been a leading voice in mens magazines, covering mens style and culture from fashion and politics to travel, entertainment, sports, technology and relationships. It all began in 1931, when Apparel Arts was founded as a mens fashion magazine. In 1958, Apparel Arts was reborn as fashion supplement issued quarterly for Esquire subscribers and renamed Gentlemens Quarterly. Through the 1970s, Gentlemens Quarterly retained its concentration on mens fashion and style. In 1983 Conde Nast purchased Gentlemens Quarterly and simplified the name to GQ. The up and downs in the growth of both magazines from the time of their first published till date, Vogue has several up and downs in every year but from 1990 it start growing rapidly. In the beginning GQ was also facing difficulties in capturing the market but when it introduced for general public it start growing rapidly. Magazine Covers, Cover Lines Content Over time, magazines covers have changed radically, and that change can be observed by following how magazines used cover lines. This article traces the history of magazine cover lines from early, bookish designs, through the emergence of the poster cover and its dominance, through the integration of type with art, to the proliferation of cover lines at the beginning of the 21st century. In the beginning both magazines shows a characteristic poster cover. The stunning design dwarfs the rest of the cover, even the magazines name. The amazing illustration, the designer has utilized many of the methods that will be re-invented throughout the 20th century for integrating cover lines with cover art: A large title with the models face overlapping it A model in a (nearly) full body pose A model in an unusual and expressive posture (rotated somewhat, spiralling down to the bottom cover line) Cover lines on all sides of her, carefully positioned in relation to the model and the background (The Amazing Fraud is written across the beam of the sailboat, other lines appear against the sail) THEN NOW The images are no longer in the foreground. Cover lines appear in front of the cover models, covering significant parts of their images. We see these beautiful people through the cover lines that surround them, as if they were in the bushes and the bushes were made of words. Vogue combines a modern mix of glamour, style and wit with a passionate flow of intelligent writing and cutting-edge photography. Whereas GQ is the pinnacle of the premium mens lifestyle and covers style, culture, entertainment, health, sports, luxury and life. As far as magazines are concern they also changes time to time the major changes come in their quality of the paper, printing, content etc. Research methodology The research methodology was divided into two stages which involve two sources for collecting the data in order to achieve the objective of our project. 1. Collecting data regarding the potential customers from the existing Magazines. 2. Collecting the primary data directly with the customer with the help of the interviews and questionnaires (Refer Annexure-1). Research design In this project multi stage sampling is used because the total population was too large and due to time constraint it was not practically possible to make a list of entire population. At first stage we have divided it into income wise and then further divided it into three factors which we target i.e. Fashion, Style and Cosmetics so that we can get correct and related information. Sample design Sampling Unit: Fashion Magazine Customers Sampling Size: 15 potential customers Sampling technique: multistage sampling Sampling area: London Contact Method: Personal Contacts. Demographics Segmentation: It is a check to characteristic of Human population and also used in identification of gender, race, age, income, disability, mobility, educational attainment, home ownership, employment statue and location. CLASSES IN DEMOGRAPHICS SHOPPING ORIENTATION VALUE, LIFESTYLE CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND SHOPPING ATTITUDE LIFE STYLE: This has been described as gaining the understanding of your customers. STRENGTH: Here are the strategies which the gq magazines uses to get the audience of their customers. The magazines consider age in publication of their magazines because their target audience are male with age 25-39 and gq magazine have desire for style. The success with style has always been the ethos around which gq was created, a provocative mix of the very best writing, strong visuals and an unrivalled sense of achievement, intelligence and irreverence, the ultimate urban mens tips sheet. Its the pinnacle of the premium mens life style magazine market and covers style, culture, entertainment, tech, health, sport, luxury and life. In vogue magazine it is a famous as a presenter of images of high fashion and high society. This publisher of the magazine also includes art, culture, politics and ideas to enhance the readers more on information. At the front pages of the both magazines theirs are some icons of information displayed on it with the details of the stories in side, which means that the magazines are educating to the customers. VOGUE MAGAZINE AGE:-The age of the target audience is 25-54 and the 82% of the readers are female. Again the 65% of the reader are full time or part time workers and the 26% of the readers are in AB socioeconomic quintile. Final the average household income is AUB 84, 850.( Roy Morgan Research March 2009.) READERSHIP:-348,000. CIRCULATION:-50,752. (ABC statement June 2009) GQ MAGAZINE AGE:-The age of the target audience is 25-30 and the 73% of the readers are men, 63% are single. INCOME:-The 65% of the readers had annual income of $50000 or greater and 25% had an annual income greater than $75000. SEGMENTATION: The vogue magazine implemented strategies which helps them to gain the customers by dividing their formats which are:- Information seekers Sensation seekers Utilitarian consumers Conspicuous consumer It was also revealed that fashion lifestyle segment have a very stronger effect in the vogue magazine readers because in the world today an average person want to be informed and perceives products or services he is purchasing. Personality The specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors, and mannerism that distinguishes one individual from other individuals. Vogue Femininity Sincerity Sophistication Need for cognition Super ego High dogmatism Compliant individuals Colour (Pink) Vogue is targeting the female sector and in its most of its issues femininity is very clear. On the cover page of magazine they are using the female models with sublime makeover to attract its target market. The magazine is making every effort in order to create the sincerity among its customers. They make them feel as a part of the magazine group by introducing the brands and celebrities of the liking of its customers. As they are targeting the female sector so the sophistication is an important element in it. They are introducing more and more glamorous, charming and appealing objects in the magazine. Cognition is the development of information to knowledge. The act of cognition consists of representing and transforming information. This can be done by sensing something directly, or indirectly by reasoning. The magazine is realizing this need and they are including the advertisements that are more perceived by the target market. Still there is much more to do in it to further reach to the wants of the people they are targeting. The magazine readers are super ego people who do have their self beliefs and attitudes. They have the personality composed of their internalized ideals that they have acquired from their parents and from society they belong to. People they are targeting are high in dogmatism and prefer established products rather than new innovative ones. They feel they are comfortable with what they are used to. The people magazine is targeting are high compliant individuals who have lofty goals in their lives and wants to be prominent from all others they are part of. The magazine is using light colours like pink and sky blue etc. which give the feelings to be cool and are highly attractive for women and more demanding in their lifestyles. GQ Masculinity Sincerity Ruggedness Product Personality Ego Low dogmatism Aggressive individuals Colour (Black white) GQ is focusing on the lifestyles of men so they are using more masculine attracted styles and products. There target market men are also very sincere towards the brand selection and products that are advertised in the magazine. They feel comfortable with what they get in the magazine. The target market is more rugged towards their approach for the products. They like aggressive styles and get more involved in these kinds of advertisements. The product personality mainly matches with the demands and likings of the men. The target market of GQ is egoistic and they feel themselves a part of the community if they are getting that what they want. They are in usual having low dogmatism so the people the magazine is targeting are closed minded persons generally prefer innovative products to traditional alternatives. They are normally the trend setters in their society. They want to try different and new things in order to get more attraction in a group they belong to. They are usually aggre ssive in nature and like to be prominent among others. They love to be more experimental in their ideas and approach towards the lifestyles. The GQ normally uses the colour combinations of black and white in order to show the aggressiveness in their styles and products. Social groups There is a difference when consumers make decisions of their perception as an individual and perception of themselves as a member of a group. Their purchase is affected by taking these factors into consideration. (Gary Charness Luca Rigotti Aldo Rustichini, 2005) The motivation to be a part of the particular group depends upon how attractive the Reference group is. These Reference groups sometimes influence that what product is purchased regardless of its brand but on some occasions brand matters but not the decision that what product to buy. (John OShaughnessy, 1995) Social groups are the communication network within the society. Sometimes the general communication within a society is so influential that it effects more than the proper and highly budgeted advertisements. (John OShaughnessy, 1995) There are three reference group influences: informational, utilitarian and value expressive. Informational influence is when individual seeks information about various brands from association of professionals. Utilitarian is when he or she satisfies the expectations of fellow work associates and Value expressive influence is when individual feels that the purchase or use of a particular brand will enhance the image others have of him or her. GQ users are those who mostly have utilitarian influence and try to purchase those products which are preferred by the people they have the social interaction with. On the other hand Vogue target market has mostly Value expressive influence as they want to purchase the brand which they feel that will enhance the image the others have about them. So they feel that by using particular brand they will look as nice as the person advertising the brand is. According to some psychologists there is the existence of trio of needs. These needs can be summed within Maslows theory but considered as individually. These needs have the unique relevance to consumer motivation in a group. These are power, affiliation and achievement. These are ego, social and self actualization needs respectively. As both Vogue and GQ are targeting the upper middle class so these needs plays an important role in the behaviour of the individual to get influenced by the group they belong to. The target market of GQ is more of the field of professionals and they want to be different in their groups. So they carry expensive products and whenever they see some new innovative product they try to be the first to introduce in their group. Vogue users are mostly females and females are usually more sensitive in their approach towards fashion and style in the group they belong to. They are very much conscious about trying new things so they go for the products that are mor e attracting to them in a group they belong to. Consumer relationship Consumer Relations is all about satisfying, safeguarding, enhancing, monitoring, and being responsive towards consumers needs remain profitable. Vogue and GQ are the living example of consumer relationship, since the day of their First Edition till date they never compromised on the factors of consumer relationship and due to which they retain their old consumers as well as attracting new customers, this has become possible because they are continuously taking feedback from their consumers and enhancing the quality in term of their contents and keeping it up to date according to their consumers needs. This responsiveness towards consumers made these magazines successful in their own categories. The strong relationship of Vogue and GQ magazines with their consumers increases their growth in the market. Data Analysis The above chart shows that the income of 20% of the Vogue users is less than  £50,000 while 45% of the magazine users fall under the income range of  £100,000 and we found no user of vogue in our sample size whose income level is above  £100,000. In case of GQ users most of the users have the income level around  £100,000 or more. The above graph inferences that mostly womens (around 60 %) goes for Vogue magazines is because of the Fashion Trends, around 40 % prefer style and the rest 10 % purchase it to get latest update about the cosmetics and accessories. This graph inference that mostly mens (around 60 %) goes for GQ magazines is because of the Style, around 40 % prefer Fashion Trends and as this magazine is mostly targeting the male gender of the society, so people do not prefer it for cosmetics. When we asked about the contents of the magazine such as brands, advertisements, articles etc. the majority of respondents replied in favour of it these magazines as shown in the above charts. CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS Since Fashion is continuously changing and market is increasing, people are purchasing Fashion magazines to get up to date with the current and upcoming Fashion and Style. Questionnaire Name: _________________________________________ Gender: Male Female Occupation: Business Service Student Unemployed What is your annual income?  £ Less than 50,000 50,001 75,000 75,001 100,000 More than 100,001 Which Fashion Magazine do you prefer? Vogue GQ Gentlemen Quarterly Which factor you prefer most while buying a magazine? Fashion Style Cosmetics What do you think about the content of this magazine? Good Average Poor If the particular magazine was not available in the market will you go for any other magazine? Definitely No, I will wait for it If you see your favourite celebrity endorsing in some other magazine would you switch from your existing magazine? Yes, for sure No, Do you discuss about the brands advertised in the magazine with your friends? Yes, I always do No (www.newsspace.com.an/gq) (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1628136show=pdf) (www.wisegeek.com/what-is-magazine-advertising.htm) http://quazen.com/reference/about-vogue/#ixzz17XHMV3BM http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=history+of+vogue+magazinehl=enrlz=1R2SKPB_enGB399prmd=ivtbs=tl:1tbo=uei=76v_TJaMKcGIhQf358CvCwsa=Xoi=timeline_resultct=titleresnum=11ved=0CFoQ5wIwCg http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=history+of+gq+magazinehl=enprmd=ivsa=Xei=eqv_TO-AK5KwhAes5u3VCwved=0CHoQpQItbs=tl:1,tlul:1930,tluh:2010. http://aejmcmagazine.bsu.edu/testfolder/ http://www.bookrags.com/history/vogue-sjpc-05/ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MvilOZhaRkACpg=PA10lpg=PA10dq=role+of+personality+in+vogue+magazinesource=blots=QxDa7RWl7Ssig=SB7BzSjhBTmJ_C_0la7K8f-A0Jghl=enei=sMH_TLS4GsjAhAf9j8miCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=10ved=0CEIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepageqf=false

General Electric Company And Its Leadership Short History Management Essay

General Electric Company And Its Leadership Short History Management Essay Thomas Alva Edison established Edison Electric Light Company in 1878. General Electric Company, known as and commonly abbreviated simply to GE, was formed in 1892, as a result of a merger of the competing companies Edison General Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. Having its headquarters in United States, GE is a major technology conglomerate and is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index of 1896. GE is a big multinational corporation and has a diversified infrastructure. Its business activities span a wide range of areas from aircraft engines, industrial products, water processing products, power generation to financial services, medical diagnostic imaging, security technology, consumer financing, and television programming. GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. In smaller and less developed countries, it operates through distributorship or dealer ship channel by giving the rights to its distributors companies to sell and service its products. Administratively, the General Electric Company is organized into 5 divisions known as Technology Infrastructure, Consumer Industrial Electronics, Energy Infrastructure, NBC Universal and Capital Finance. A sizable portion of its products manufacturing is done in countries outside United States. Even some products research work for GE is done in Japan. In 2009, GE delivered excellent financial results despite the hard economic conditions with earnings of $11.2 billion. Industrial cash flow from operating activities for the year remained strong at over $16.6 billion. Today the company is one of the largest in the world, and owns numerous research and manufacturing firms around the world as well as two television networks and other businesses (Hanna,). John F Welch era: When John F. (Jack) Welch, Jr., became chairman and CEO in 1981, GE was in economical and financial crisis. Under his leadership, GE entered a period of radical change. Jack Welch restructured GE existing operations in an effort to make GE more competitive and profitable in all of its businesses. He sold lot of GE unprofitable businesses and fired brutally thousands of GE employees not performing well or doing redundant jobs. Welchs first order of business was to return much of the control of the company to the periphery. He decentralized GE management and reduced hierarchical management layers. However, he retained his predecessor Reginald Joness system of classifying divisions according to their performance. His goal was to make GE number one or two in every field of its operation and to make every GE business division profitable. He acquired lot of successful and profitable companies. Over the next several years, GE bought 338 businesses and product lines for $11.1 billion and sold 232 for $5.9 billion. Mr. Welch said that his aim was to make GE the nations largest company. In early 1990s, GEs operations were divided into three business groups of technology, service, and manufacturing. Its manufacturing division accounted for roughly one-third of the companys earnings then. However, the service sector was growing faster and represented more than three-quarters of the U.S. economy of mid-1990s. The company launched an aggressive campaign to become dominant in the growing services sector. Research and investment continued towards energy conservation such as more efficient light bulbs, jet engines and electrical power transmission methods. Despite a global economic downturn in the early 1990s, GE managed to keep aggregate sales from its technology, service, and manufacturing operations stable at about $60 billion annually. Acquisitions in the late 1990s centered on two of the companys growth initiatives: services and globalization. Under Welchs leadership, GE in the late 1990s also adopted Six Sigma, a quality control and improvement initiative pioneered b y Motorola, Inc. and Allied Signal Inc. The program aimed at to cut costs by reducing defects in manufacturing. GE claimed that by 1998 Six Sigma was yielding $1 billion in annual savings. The company also continued to restructure where ever necessary, including taking a $2.3 billion charge in late 1997 to close redundant facilities and shift production to cheaper labor markets. During 1999 General Electric adopted a fourth growth initiative i.e. e-business (globalization, services, and Six Sigma being the other three). In October 2000, Jack Welch planned a $40 billion merger of United Technologies Corporation and Honeywell International Inc. This was the largest acquisition in the companys history. However, the Honeywell deal ended up in a sour ending for the Welch era. Jeff Immelt, who joined GE in 1982, was named as president and CEO of General Electric in September 2001. Immelt era: 2001 and Beyond Immelt began to place his imprint in earnest on GE in 2002 through major restructurings and several significant acquisitions. He launched a reorganization of GE Capital. The financial services unit was divided into four separate units to streamline management, increase oversight, and improve transparency. GE began feeling the effects of the economic downturn that year as revenues fell nearly 3 percent, to $125.68 billion; profits nevertheless increased 7.5 percent, reaching $13.68 billion, though that was a far cry from the yearly 13 to 15 percent increases that Wall Street came to expect from GE during the Welch era. The stock ended the year trading at $24.35 per share, less than half of the high price for 2001. Next year, profits rose modestly, to $14.12 billion, or about 3 percent. Taking advantage of the economic downturn to acquire desirable assets from distressed sellers, GEs deal-making appetite grew only larger in 2003. As part of its effort to shift emphasis to higher growth fields, General Electric completed two significant acquisitions in healthcare. Continuing his transformative leadership, Immelt reorganized GEs 13 businesses units into 11 focused on specific markets and customers. Also during 2001, GE Lighting had the largest product launch in its history when it introduced the GE Reveal line of light bulbs to generate a cleaner and crisper light. The reorganization, effective at the beginning of 2004, brought similar businesses together in an effort to increase sales and cut costs. Overall, through the myriad moves engineered during just a few years in charge, Immelt was seeking to cut General Electrics reliance on financial services and mature industrial businesses in favor of such higher growth areas as healthcare and entertainment. He built operations in fast-growing economies such as Chinas. GE was aiming to outsource $5 billion by 2005 of parts and services from China and simultaneously grow sales in China to a like figure. Top Leadership Team and their Characteristics GEs culture of integrity starts with their board of directors and touches every member of the company. Their board members, more than two third of whom are independent, remain in dialogue with GEs leaders. Together they focus on the areas of strategy and risk management while monitoring strategic initiatives personally through site visits. GE leaders are at the forefront of GEs diversified portfolio of business, where they foster an environment that encourages employees integrity and professional development. GE believes that change is the essence of what it means to lead. It is known for having one of the best leadership development models in the world. The end result is that GE is able to build a management core that is very knowledgeable and experienced in the operations of the giant corporation. Worldwide, GE spends $1B every year on training and education program for the people of GE. GE Leadership Team: Jeff Immelt is GEs chairman and CEO. During his tenure since 2001, Jeff has worked to tie GE to the world development, such as emerging markets, environmental solutions, demographics and digital connections. He also laid the vision for GEs ambitious Ecomagination initiative and has been named as one of the Worlds Best CEO three times by Barrons. Leadership to GE means listen to the people and work with them. GE leadership (stated by Jeff Immelt) always believed that building strong leaders is strategic imperative. When market conditions are favourable and a company is on an upward growth then leadership is often taken for granted. However, the true test of leadership is quite evident in turbulent times. Jeff ensured that GE maintained its market position even in turbulent times. Key Actions By Jack Welch Leadership When John F. (Jack) Welch, Jr., took over as a chairman and CEO of GE in 1981, GE was in bad economical and financial situation. He found GE was overgrown, laden with too many layers of management and too many people duplicating work. (Heskett, 2000) Jack Welch restructured GE existing operation extensively. He ruthlessly fired thousands of GE executives and employees and took out GE of hundreds of business lines. Soon he won the nickname of Neutron Jack means getting rid of people while retaining buildings. He decentralized GE management and dismantled the 29 layers of hierarchy and made GE an informal company. Jack opened the GE culture to ideas from everyone, every where by introducing the motto of Imagination at Work, and made boundary less behavior a reflexive, natural part of their culture. He made acquisition of several profitable companies and businesses to make GE more profitable. Jack believed in Globalization and hence implemented strongly. He mentioned that Globalization is good. Globalization makes countries more interdependent on each other. And, the more interdependent we are, the better chances we have for peace. One of the theories of leadership that Welch perfected as CEO of GEl was his theory of the 4 Es. Offic ially known as E to the fourth power, Welch created a leadership dynamics that he employed both at GE and hopes others will employ at their own organizations as well. His program is, for people who have enormous personal energy, the ability to motivate and energize others, edgethe GE code word for being instinctively competitiveand the skill to execute on those attributes. He very strongly enforced the process of Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a vision of quality which equates with only 3.4 defects per million opportunities for each product or service transaction, hence strives for perfection. With its services spanning from the services to the manufacturing sectors, GE realized that the only way they could achieve business excellence in what they were doing was by standardizing processes to minimize variations and hence defects. Todays competitive environment leaves no room for errors. GE is spoken of in the same breath as Motorola for the initiatives that it took on reengineering busines s processes by Six Sigma approach. It is this Six Sigma approach that has led to retention of old customers and acquisition of new ones to the GEs ever-growing list of customers. GEs success with Six Sigma has exceeded most optimistic predictions. Having taken GE with a market capitalization of about $12 billion, Jack Welch turned it into one of the largest and most admired companies in the world, with a market value of about $500 billion, when he stepped down as its CEO 20 years later, in 2000. (Google) By Jeff Immelt Leadership In 2001, shortly after Jeff Immelt took over as CEO, a series of events such terrorist attacks on American soil and corporate scandals (Enron, World com) occurred. These events created significant uncertainty and led to a crisis of confidence among investors community which in turn caused a slow down of the global economy. GEs stock price went down by 16% slightly more than SP 500 (GE 2001 Annual Report). Immelt recognized that managing GEs exposure to business cycles would be critical to organizations long term stability. With most of the productivity gains already achieved by his predecessor through extensive internal reforms, Immelt realized that organic growth is essential for future profit growth. In 2002, Immelt set a goal for GE to achieve a sustained organic growth rate of two to three times the growth of global GDP. Hardly any company has achieved this kind of growth what GE was looking for, and none on a revenue base of $150 billion (Stewart, June 2006). Immelt identified t he emerging global trends, uneven economic growth, increasingly interdependent global economy, global competitiveness of emerging markets and a more volatile and uncertain world. He aimed at creating value for customers by leveraging GEs core competencies, particularly the ability to develop, test and deploy new products, highly customized products and services for high growth markets. In his letter to shareholders in 2003, Immelt articulated GEs three strategic imperatives as: 1) sustaining GEs strong business model 2) strengthening the portfolio and 3) driving growth initiatives (GE 2003 Annual Report). To implement this strategy, GEs business portfolio was restructured through a series of acquisitions and divestments around five key growth initiatives: Technical Leadership, Services, Customer Focus, Globalization and Growth Platforms. Technical Leadership i.e. Technology and Innovation was at the heart of Immelts GE growth initiatives. Identifying new growth platforms was established as a central strategic challenge for all GEs businesses and involved analyzing the market to identify high-growth segments that offered potential for attractive returns. An important step towards developing growth potential has been the launch of the Ecomagination business initiative to help meet customers demand for more energy efficient products. In formulating his approach, Immelt viewed technology as a key driver to GEs future growth and took measures to expand GEs research and development capabilities and supported them with adequate financial backing. Another essential part of Immelts growth strategy has been implementation of the Customer Focus Initiative. This manifested in the renewal of GEs marketing function most notably through the creation of GEs Commercial Council and the deployment of a whole suite of customer-oriented programs. An important outcome of customer focus was the organizations ability to create new value for the customer in vertical selling by bundling products with support services and combining products and services across businesses to deliver highly customized solutions. This enhanced GEs capacity to meet customer spec ific needs (2003 Annual Report). Historically GE is known for developing professional managers who are broad problem solvers with experience in multiple businesses or functions (GE 2003 Annual Report). Immelt realized that he needs to transform GE into a growth oriented culture to achieve success in his growth initiatives, and initiated a management development program Leadership, Innovation, and Growth (LIG) for senior managers of the company to enable managers to effectively lead the change in culture from operational excellence to a growth culture at GE (Prokesch, Jan 2009). He aimed at raising a generation of growth leaders people with market depth, customer touch and technical understanding emphasizing the depth (GE 2003, Annual Report). GE has sold modified Western products to emerging markets for decades. But now, it has embraced the reverse innovation (develop in-expensive products for emerging economies and bring them to the developed nations) to pre-empt the emerging giants. For past 30 years of globalization of products, GEs major functional units like RD, manufacturing are centralized and are headquartered in the developed world which acts as a barrier for the success of reverse innovation strategy. However, changing a long established structure, practices and attitudes is an enormous task and to bring any major change requires companys top leaders to play a major role. Jeff Immelt and its leadership team created a new organizational form Local Growth Teams (LGTs) by giving them special status, funding and personally monitoring them on a monthly basis to facilitate faster implementation of the reverse innovation strategy (Immelt, Oct 2009) GE realized that Marketing is an essential function to achieve long-term growth and has strengthened Marketing by doubling its size from 2,500 in 2003 to 5,000 today. CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) positions were created for all GE businesses and at the corporate level. Marketing has established a Center of Excellence (COE) that would gather and disseminate key competitor information. The COEs biggest contribution is its delineation of potential scenarios (Comstock et al, Oct 2010). GE gradually reduced its representation in certain parts of financial services industry as it continues to reposition itself in the market place around the key themes that Immelt has identified as emerging global trends. By 2010, its operating frame work was centered on four main businesses: energy, technology infrastructure, finance, home business solutions and media. Effectiveness of Top Leadership Jack Welch Jack Welch led the company to massive revenues. In 1980, the year before Welch became CEO, GE recorded revenues of approximately $26.8 billion; in 2000, the year before he left, revenue blasted to nearly $130 billion; almost five fold. When Jack Welch left GE the company had gone from a market value of $14 billion to one of more than $410 billion at the end of 2004, making it the most valuable and largest company in the world, up from Americas tenth largest by market cap in 1981. Through the 1980s, Welch worked to restructure GE and make it a more competitive and profitable company. He also pushed the managers of the businesses to become ever more productive. Welch worked to eliminate inefficiency by dismantling the bureaucracy and made GE a more informal company. He shut down factories and sold unprofitable businesses and laid off low productive staff. Welchs strategy was later adopted by other CEOs across corporate America. In 1999, he was named Manager of the Century by Fortune ma gazine. Some people believe that Welch is given too much credit for GEs success. They argue that individual managers are responsible for the companys success. It is also held that Welch did not rescue GE from great losses as the company had 16% annual earnings growth during the tenure of his predecessor, Reginald H. Jones. Each year, Welch would fire the bottom 10% of his managers. Still GE hires and fires its employees very swiftly; the continuation of same strategy. As soon as GE sees any losses of revenue or contracts, it fires employees or send them on suspended employment. Critics also say that the pressure Welch imposes leads some employees to cut corners, possibly contributing to some of the defense-contracting scandals that have plagued GE or to the humiliating Kidder, Peabody Co. bond-trading scheme of the early 1990s that generated bogus profits. Welch has also received criticism over the years for his lack of compassion for the middle class and working class. Welch has publicly s tated that he is not concerned with the discrepancy between the salaries of top-paid CEOs and those of average workers. Jack Welch had a record salary of $94 million a year, followed by his record retirement-plan of $8 million a year. Jeff Immelt In 2001, Immelt demonstrated his ability to recognize the changing business environment in the face of a sliding share price in the aftermath of 9/11 and Enron and World com scandals, and assured shareholders by communicating his commitment to good corporate governance and transparency by the introduction of more detailed financial disclosure. He developed and implemented organic growth strategy for organizations long-term sustainable growth considering the emerging global trends in the business environment. Jeff Immelt also addressed the alignment of the structure, systems, skills and staff to effectively achieve the organizational change to transform GE into a company with growth initiative as a core competency. In the context of global financial crisis of 2008, GEs repositioning towards technology and industry has played an important role in protecting GEs revenue and earnings base. Despite the global financial crisis of 2008 which impacted severely on GEs share price, its financ ial performance continued to show remarkable resilience through 2009. However, the GEs stock price is still down at $16 and has under-performed despite earnings growth. One reason could be its financial units perceived exposure in financial markets. In these challenging economic times, the jury is still out on the long term success of Jeff Immelts growth strategy for GE. However, the time will be the ultimate judge. Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion. By imbibing all these qualities, Jeff Immelt has been successful as an effective leader in positioning GE for sustainable growth in the long term.

Marketing Strategies :: essays research papers

Title:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Guidelines in Increasing the Number of Sales (applicable in any Industry; most Applicable in the Food Industry) Researcher:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  RuthLenlea B. Villela Professor:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. M. Pangilinan School:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Technological University of the Philippines Year:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1st Sem School Year 2004 Problem How to increase the Sales in a Local Ice Cream Parlor Summary / Findings PROBLEM ONE: NO SUNDAE DESCRIPTIONS The first problem we saw was that he was only listing the names of his sundaes, since there was no room for a description of each sundae. While this wasn't a problem for his Basic Sundaes, after all, everyone knows what's in a Pineapple Sundae, or a Hot Fudge Sundae, it was a huge problem with his Specialty Sundaes. Many of his Specialty Sundaes had fun, 'creative' names, like The Lala Palooza, The Zombie and The Razzana. Maybe Frank and his staff, and a few of his long-time customers, knew what those sundaes were, but we were certain that most of his customers didn't have a clue. Frank had assumed that his customers knew what those sundaes contained, or if they didn't, they would simply ask. People don't buy what they don't understand. And few are going to ask. They will take the path of least resistance and just buy what they are familiar with -- Pineapple Sundaes, Hot Fudge Sundaes, etc. PROBLEM TWO: NO PICTURES We've all heard that a 'picture is worth a thousand words.' Well, that saying is especially true when it comes to food. When you show pictures of desserts in restaurants, you will sell a lot more desserts. Some restaurants are even more savvy, and actually display the desserts or bring them right to your table for you to see. The bottom line -- visuals sell! Frank had never really thought about his menu system. The plain white letters on the black display boards had been his system since the day his business opened. He never considered adding pictures to his menu. Conclusion: Our experience in marketing, and our knowledge of how people buy, made it clear to us, that these two problems -- obscure sundae names with no descriptions, and no pictures of the sundaes themselves -- were making it nearly impossible for Frank's customers to order his higher-priced sundaes. Having pinpointed the problems, the solution was relatively easy. We suggested that Frank take pictures of each of his Specialty Sundaes, and have them enlarged. Frank then had two large signs made to be placed at both ends of his ordering counter, above his cashiers to make it easy for his customers to see the Specialty Sundaes and what they contained.

Teaching Students Ecological Literacy In the Secondary English Classroo

Teaching Students Ecological Literacy In the Secondary English Classroom In today's world, we are bombarded with industry, economic advancement, and progressivism with new technology. As our world becomes more high tech and produces more products for our consumer world, we may soon face many environmental problems, due to our over-consumption of resources and our excessive, industrial lifestyles. Within all curriculums, I find it highly important to address these issues concerning environmental awareness as well as advocate environmental activism. When many educators think of ways to implement ecological literacy in their classrooms, they tend to find it challenging, and are unable to integrate it into the curriculum. However, students can be taught to think in ecological terms in a plethora of ways. Through researching current methods of integration of ecological literacy in the secondary English classroom and through compilation of my own approaches to these issues, I offer a great proposition for prospective educators like myself. Thi s paper will examine what ecological literacy is, what ways this integration can be successfully achieved, and why it is important to integrate it into the English curriculum. Ecological literacy is teaching students to view the world around them from an environmental perspective, examine their own practices in relation to nature and society's toll upon the earth. For students to become ecologically literate, they must examine social issues on a local and global level in order to develop their own model of individual responsibility to preservation and respect of our world. As time passes and newer technology develops, students sometimes become more involved i... ... Educators in all subjects, must begin to integrate environmental education, promoting ecological literacy for young adults to promote the sustainability of society and the beautiful world around us. Works Consulted Berry, Wendell. What are People For? North Point Press. San Francisco: 1990. Berry, Wendell. The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry. Counterpoints Publishing. Washington D.C.: 1998. McConnell, Malcolm. "Miracle at Adobe Creek." Reader's Digest. April 1999: 78-84. Orr, David. Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. State University of New York Press. New York: 1992. Prakash, Madhu Suri, and Gustavo Esteva. Escaping Education: Living as Learning within Grassroots Cultures. Peter Lang Publishing. New York: 1998. Wigginton. Moments: The Foxfire Experience. Doubleday and Co. Inc. New York: 1975.

Essay --

People have different taste buds and different numbers of taste buds that can determine their sensitivity to taste. In this experiment, we tested the changes in threshold sensitivity of chemoreceptors when maple syrup is consumed prior to the tests. Two subjects tasted four solutions (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter). Each solution had seven different concentrations. Two experiments were also made with and without maple syrup consumption. The first experiment was used as a control group for the second experiment. Results showed that threshold sensitivity of chemoreceptors changed after consuming syrup before the other solutions. Based on the results, it was determined that chemoreceptors adapted to concentration strengths. Tastants, which are taste stimuli, uses chemicals to evoke the sense of taste (Kudo et al., 2010). People’s term of taste differs by a genetic locus, which causes the tongue to identify taste (Eisenstein, 2010). A chemoreceptor is a sensory receptor that can identify chemical stimuli then transmits the information to the brain (Campbell, 2010). The number of taste buds in a person’s mouth can also determine their sensitivity to taste (Kudo et al., 2010). Adaptation occurs when the nervous system does not cause a reaction due to a stimulus being continuous for a period of time (Walsh, 2013). In this experiment, we determined the changes in threshold sensitivity of the taste receptors for salty, sour, sweet, and bitter solutions by consuming maple syrup prior to tasting the other solutions. We wanted to see if taste receptors could adapt to a strong sweet taste, but could still acquire the same threshold sensitivity of the other tastes. I predicted that after consuming maple syrup, the taste threshold for the ot... ...erence on the results. Since we only had time to experiment with only two subjects, our average would not be as precise as if we had experimented with five to ten subjects. Another error was the amount of maple syrup consumed. Sometimes Tuan would consume a little syrup and sometimes he would consume a lot. The same also occurred with Khoi as he also sometimes consumed a large concentration of syrup. Temperature was also a factor to the results as a warmer solution was more noticeable than a cooler solution. Due to the collected data, we concluded that the threshold sensitivity of taste receptors did change after maple syrup was consumed (Figure 1). Future experiments that would further the understanding of this topic could be that instead of using maple syrup, which was sweet, we could use something that was bitter, salty, or sour to see if results would also vary. Essay -- People have different taste buds and different numbers of taste buds that can determine their sensitivity to taste. In this experiment, we tested the changes in threshold sensitivity of chemoreceptors when maple syrup is consumed prior to the tests. Two subjects tasted four solutions (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter). Each solution had seven different concentrations. Two experiments were also made with and without maple syrup consumption. The first experiment was used as a control group for the second experiment. Results showed that threshold sensitivity of chemoreceptors changed after consuming syrup before the other solutions. Based on the results, it was determined that chemoreceptors adapted to concentration strengths. Tastants, which are taste stimuli, uses chemicals to evoke the sense of taste (Kudo et al., 2010). People’s term of taste differs by a genetic locus, which causes the tongue to identify taste (Eisenstein, 2010). A chemoreceptor is a sensory receptor that can identify chemical stimuli then transmits the information to the brain (Campbell, 2010). The number of taste buds in a person’s mouth can also determine their sensitivity to taste (Kudo et al., 2010). Adaptation occurs when the nervous system does not cause a reaction due to a stimulus being continuous for a period of time (Walsh, 2013). In this experiment, we determined the changes in threshold sensitivity of the taste receptors for salty, sour, sweet, and bitter solutions by consuming maple syrup prior to tasting the other solutions. We wanted to see if taste receptors could adapt to a strong sweet taste, but could still acquire the same threshold sensitivity of the other tastes. I predicted that after consuming maple syrup, the taste threshold for the ot... ...erence on the results. Since we only had time to experiment with only two subjects, our average would not be as precise as if we had experimented with five to ten subjects. Another error was the amount of maple syrup consumed. Sometimes Tuan would consume a little syrup and sometimes he would consume a lot. The same also occurred with Khoi as he also sometimes consumed a large concentration of syrup. Temperature was also a factor to the results as a warmer solution was more noticeable than a cooler solution. Due to the collected data, we concluded that the threshold sensitivity of taste receptors did change after maple syrup was consumed (Figure 1). Future experiments that would further the understanding of this topic could be that instead of using maple syrup, which was sweet, we could use something that was bitter, salty, or sour to see if results would also vary.

The Fluidity of War. Gender Norms & Racial Bias in the Study of the Modern “War”

War is an organized and often prolonged conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors. It is generally characterised by extreme violence, social disruption, and economic destruction. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence or intervention. The set of techniques used by a group to carry out war is known as warfare. An absence of war is usually called peace. In 2003, Nobel Laureate Richard E.Smalley identified war as the sixth biggest problem facing humanity for the next fifty years. In the 1832 treatise On War, Prussian military general and theoretician Carl von Clausewitz defined war as follows: â€Å"War is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will. † While some scholars see warfare as an inescapable and integral aspect of human nature, others argue that it is only inevitable under certain socio-cultural or ecological circ umstances. Some scholars argue that the practice of war is not linked to any single type of political organization or society.Rather, as discussed by John Keegan in his History of Warfare, war is a universal phenomenon whose form and scope is defined by the society that wages it. Another argument suggests that since there are human societies in which warfare does not exist, humans may not be naturally disposed for warfare, which emerges under particular circumstances. The deadliest war in history, in terms of the cumulative number of deaths since its start, is the Second World War, with 60–85 million deaths.Proportionally speaking, the most destructive war in modern history has been claimed to be the War of the Triple Alliance, which took the lives of over 60% of Paraguay's population. Etymology The English word war derives from the late Old English words wyrre and werre; the Old North French werre; the Frankish werra; and the Proto-Germanic werso. The denotation of war deriv es from the Old Saxon werran, Old High German werran, and the German verwirren: â€Å"to confuse†, â€Å"to perplex†, and â€Å"to bring into confusion†.Another posited derivation is from the Ancient Greek barbaros, the Old Persian varhara, and the Sanskrit varvar and barbara. In German, the equivalent is Krieg; the equivalent Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian words for â€Å"war† is guerra, derived from the Germanic werra . Etymologic legend has it that the Romanic peoples adopted a foreign, Germanic word for â€Å"war†, to avoid using the Latin bellum, because, when sounded, it tended to merge with the sound of the word bello .The scholarly study of war is sometimes called polemology, from the Greek polemos, meaning â€Å"war†, and -logy, meaning â€Å"the study of†. Types of war War, to become known as one, must entail some degree of confrontation using weapons and other military technology and equipment by armed forces employing mi litary tactics and operational art within the broad military strategy subject to military logistics. War Studies by military theorists throughout military history have sought to identify the philosophy of war, and to reduce it to a military science.Modern military science considers several factors before a national defence policy is created to allow a war to commence: the environment in the area of combat operations, the posture national forces will adopt on the commencement of a war, and the type of warfare troops will be engaged in. Conventional warfare is an attempt to reduce an opponent's military capability through open battle. It is a declared war between existing states in which nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons are not used or only see limited deployment in support of conventional military goals and maneuvers.The opposite of conventional warfare, unconventional warfare, is an attempt to achieve military victory through acquiescence, capitulation, or clandestine suppor t for one side of an existing conflict. Nuclear warfare is warfare in which nuclear weapons are the primary, or a major, method of coercing the capitulation of the other side, as opposed to a supporting tactical or strategic role in a conventional conflict. Civil war is a war where the forces in conflict belong to the same nation or political entity and are vying for control of or independence from that nation or political entity.Asymmetric warfare is a conflict between two populations of drastically different levels of military capability or size. Asymmetric conflicts often result in guerrilla tactics being used to overcome the sometimes vast gaps in technology and force size. Intentional air pollution in combat is one of a collection of techniques collectively called chemical warfare. Poison gas as a chemical weapon was principally used during World War I, and resulted in an estimated 91,198 deaths and 1,205,655 injuries.Various treaties have sought to ban its further use. Non-let hal chemical weapons, such as tear gas and pepper  spray, are widely used, sometimes with deadly effect. Behaviour and conduct in war The behaviour of troops in warfare varies considerably, both individually and as units or armies. In some circumstances, troops may engage in genocide, war rape and ethnic cleansing. Commonly, however, the conduct of troops may be limited to posturing and sham attacks, leading to highly rule-bound and often largely symbolic combat in which casualties are much reduced from that which would be expected if soldiers were genuinely violent towards the enemy. Situations of deliberate dampening of hostilities occurred in World War I by some accounts, e.

Medical Terminology Essay

1. How can eliminating abbreviations reduce errors? Abbreviations are usually used for convenience, to save space and to avoid the trouble of spelling out the word fully. Abbreviations are used in medical records and in medical language. Though the usage of abbreviations do have some advantage and make the recording easy and faster, there are several difficulties that could be faced in using abbreviations in medical record. It makes it difficult for the medical professional to understand properly, takes longer to train medical personnel, and it delays proper patient care and often times it hinders patient care. So eliminating abbreviations can reduce and avoid to certain extent some of these difficulties. Spelling out the word will help understand the message properly and give the right kind of treatment or service as required. Proper communication becomes impossible when abbreviations are used sparingly in documentation. â€Å"When we rely on abbreviations in our business writing, we start a process of â€Å"inbreeding† that may prevent us from clearly communicating our thoughts to people outside our company, department, or discipline. Readers are intimidated when they see a bunch of abbreviations; rather than risk embarrassment by asking you what the abbreviations stand for, they’ll read without really comprehending your message (or will skip your document altogether). To make your writing clear, use abbreviations sparingly and explain every abbreviation you do use. Always define an abbreviation the first time you use it†. 2. Should written polices be developed for Abbreviation usage? If yes, what should the policies contain? If no explain. Yes, it is essential that written polices be developed for abbreviation usage. This will help in using the abbreviations properly and will avoid the consequent errors and difficulties in communication, especially in medical records and communication. In medical record keeping, already there are regulations in using abbreviations: â€Å"Each healthcare facility develops its won list of acceptable abbreviations (that can be used in documents produce in that facility) and a list of unacceptable or â€Å"do not use abbreviations†. In addition to that (JCACHO) has a list of abbreviations that should not be used because they cause errors. JCAHO’s National Safety Goal states that these   abbreviations must appear on a facility’s â€Å"do not use list†.2 So the written policies should contain a list of abbreviations that can be used and should not be used to avoid errors in medical as well as in all documents and communi- cation. â€Å"JCAHO also has addressed errors in interpretation of abbreviations commonly used in health records by publishing a prohibited abbreviation list. The abbreviations note on the list should not be found in the patient health care records of their accredited providers. providers†. 3. When are abbreviations acceptable? Who should use them and why? Abbreviations are acceptable in documents and communication. It is a method of communication In saving time, space and trouble in spelling out the full word. As such using abbreviation can help in solving certain time consuming communication. Medical and technical professionals are the main users of abbreviation. â€Å"Abbreviated terms—whether abbreviations, initialisms, acronyms or symbols—save time, space, and the needless repetitions. However, decisions about acceptable and appropriate abbreviations remain ambiguous in modern publishing. While few general rules apply, in most cases, writers need to be familiar with the rules and conventions recognized by specific Usage authorities.† â€Å"Only abbreviations and symbols approved by the organization should and/or medical staff rules and regulations should be used in the health record.†5 In an organization, the rules and regulations in using abbreviations should be written and maintained as a policy item and should be informed to all the staff, so that proper communication and accurate record keeping are possible by avoiding errors and confusion, at the same time saving much time and effort in searching for the right word and meaning of abbreviations use. â€Å"Organizations that create or use abbreviations often in their work should develop an abbreviation data base or glossary to ensure consistency. This data base will also serve as the basis for decisions about abbreviations among different disciples and organizations.† 4. According to the information in the online articles, do you think enough steps have been taken to reduce errors? Explain why you agree or disagree. No, not enough steps have been taken to reduce errors. In fact there is not much done so far to reduce errors occurring from the use of abbreviations. At present the use of abbreviations have increased tremendously due to the internet and internet based communication facilities. â€Å"Widespread use of electronic communication through mobile phones, and the internet during 1990’s allowed for a marked rise in colloquial abbreviation. This was due largely to increasing popularity of textual communication services such as instant-and text messaging. SMS for instance supports message†. In spite of such increased use of abbreviations, there is no proper step taken to avoid errors in modern methods of communication. Even in technical and medical profession there is need for improvement in streamlining the usage of abbreviations. Specific rules and regulation should be outlined for abbreviation usage in all fields so that the related errors and confusion in the usage of abbreviations can be reduced if not eliminated. REFERENCE: 1. Gary Black and Robert W Bly: The Elements of Business Writing, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York,1991, p. 116 2. Susan Turley: Medical Language, p. 26 3. Merida L Johns: Health Information Management Technology, AHIMA, Chicago, 2007, p. 93. 4. Philip Rubens: Science & Technical Writing, Routledge, New York, 2001, p. 125 5. Medida L Johns; Health information Management Technology, AHIMA, Chicago, 2007, p. 92 6. Philip Rubens: Science & Technical Writing, Routledge, New York, 2001, p. 126 7. Internet: Wikipedia, Abbreviation, p.2